“Yep. Me and my sex kitten.”
“C’mon don’t call me that. Seriously, what do you say the minute we can put this behind us, we check our finances, and if we can swing it, let’s do it. We can go anywhere. Florida…California…Hawaii…wherever you want to go.”
“I like the way you think. I’m game. I do my classes online so I can be anywhere. All I need is computer access.”
She was giddy with the thought of putting a lot of distance between them and all the turmoil they had been through since returning to Washington State.
“Okay, the second we can, we will. We can plan now and book it when things go back to normal. Come on, let’s finish up our shopping and go home.”
“Already? You looked like you were having so much fun here.”
“I was, but now I want you to myself, Kev.”
“Oh, I like the sound of that. Let’s try one of the department stores. I’m sure we can knock a lot of things off the list. Who do you still need to buy for?”
“You and Mom.”
They weren’t inside for very long. Kevin found a necklace for his mom, and a his-and-hers perfume set for Howard. Tara bought a pair of sterling silver earrings for her mother.
“Anything else on your list?” he asked as they headed back through the mall to get to his car.
She tapped her lip, glancing around at the nearest stores. Her eyes widened as she saw the lingerie store, and she pulled him toward it. He laughed.
“What? You don’t like lingerie?”
“Are you trying to drive me wild here in this mall?”
“So, is that a no?”
“Not at all. I’d love to see you in lingerie, but I can’t promise you’ll be wearing it for long, okay?”
“Come on!” She ignored the wink he gave her and pulled him into the store so she could go through the racks. She piled several things in her arms and was completely aware of how Kevin stared at each piece.
“Are you sure you have enough?” he asked.
She looked down at her arms and laughed. “I can never seem to pick something I still like by the time I get home. Which of these do you like?”
“Honestly?”
“Yes. Tell me.”
“Either the black lace one you picked out first, or the purple one with the cute frill.”
“You like the purple one?”
“Of course. That color is so hot on you. Come on. Try them on. I’ll buy them for you.”
“Really?”
“Don’t you know that if I see you in that, it’ll be like a gift for me? Plus if we don’t leave, I won’t be able to control myself. And I distinctly remember you saying you were horny for me a few minutes ago.”
“Maybe I can sneak you in my fitting room,” she whispered as the two store clerks helped other customers.
He followed her back to the dressing rooms, and she was relieved no one noticed them. There were benefits to the Christmas rush. After they both stepped into one of the larger rooms, she locked the door behind them.
* * *
To Kevin, each piece of lingerie was better and better. Tara made him cover his face so she could try the pieces on and surprise him with each one. It was pure temptation as he sat in the seat in the corner, waiting to see his woman in those sexy numbers.
“What do you think?” She twirled around in front of him in the purple outfit. Just as he expected, she looked amazing in it. His cock twitched as he looked on. That outfit was a winner.
“Um…yeah, I’m buying that one.”
“It’s settled then,” she said between a giggle.
She leaned down to him. Her breasts were pushed up and looked like they were ready to escape her bra.
“Maybe I should wear this one tonight,” she said, then kissed him.
“You’d better change before I take you right here,” he whispered, pulling from the kiss and pointing down at the bulge in his pants.
“Would that be such a bad thing?”
“For us, no; but for everyone else in the store, definitely.”
“Come on, live a little,” she teased.
She straddled him in the chair and began to grind on the bulge in his pants.
“I’ve created a monster,” he joked, trying to contain himself.
“Okay enough for you, big boy. We can continue at home.”
He let her dress and went out to pay for the piece she let him choose.
“Where to next?” she asked when they met back at the store entrance.
“Let’s get back to the car. I’ve got an idea.” He took her hand and led her out the mall.
“What are we doing?” she asked when they got back to the car.
It was almost dark, and the parking lot was still packed. The police officers didn’t seem to be following them anymore.
“We’re living dangerously. Are you with me?”
“For what?” She asked.
“Living. Dangerously,” he repeated. “I’m tired of worrying about every little thing. I sat in that dressing room, worrying more than I was enjoying. And I was enjoying a lot. And up to now, I worried about my brother…about whether I’ll pass the class…about what’s in store for our future…”
“You worry about that?” she asked, stepping closer to him.
“I want to be with you. I know it, and I’m not worried about that, but there’s uncertainty all the time. Just like this…” He pointed to the back seat of the car.
“There’s uncertainty as to what mischief we can get up to with the possibility of someone passing by and seeing us. But you know what? I’m ready to take a chance. When you get the urge to do something memorable, sometimes you have to go for it no matter where you are. Now jump in back and let’s go for it. We’ll have a story to tell our kids one day.”
“I doubt this would be a story they’d want to hear, at any age”
“We can tell each other when we’re eighty.”
She still looked scared about the idea.
“Hey, don’t get antsy now, Tara. You were giving me a lap dance in the dressing room, remember?”
“Yes, but it had a door. And no windows.”
She looked like she was contemplating it, and then her expression lightened.
“I suppose you only live once,” she said, smiling as she climbed into the back seat after him. “Now, where were we?”
“I seem to recall a hot girl in purple lingerie giving me a lap dance.”
* * *
Jake looked at them from the vantage point of his borrowed SUV. Tara was hot. There was no doubt about that. His cock pressed hard against his jeans, reminding him he was only an outsider. He was relieved when the cops didn’t follow them out the mall, but he had no idea he would be treated to a show. From where he looked on, he could see Tara’s face and her expressions alone were like X-rated entertainment.
You should go to her. Let her see what you’re made of. She’ll never be yours if you don’t take a chance. The voices continued to drown out his thoughts. “It’s not time,” he whispered back to them. “I’ll know when she’s ready for me to have her back. Don’t rush it.”
You’ve told her you love her, yet you’re still sitting around looking like a wounded puppy dog. You need to take action. He let out a deep breath. “I make the calls around here,” Jake said. “Not any of you!” He put his fingers to his temples, as another powerful headache manifested. “Okay, okay. I’ll do it soon,” he answered them, and drove off in the SUV.
Chapter 5
When they returned home, Tara was on a high. As she walked into the house, something wasn’t right.
“Kevin, does something feel strange to you?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know, just a gut feeling.”
“About what?”
“That something isn’t right in here.”
He looked around, walking from room to room on the main floor. Nothing was out of place, and no one was around.
“I’ll check u
pstairs. Wait here,” he told her.
She couldn’t shake the eerie feeling as she waited for him to come back. It was like something was out of place and hiding in plain sight, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.
“There’s no one upstairs, Tara. Want me to check the basement?”
“Okay. But take this.” She passed him the metal shoehorn the owner of the house left out.
He took it and went down the hallway to the basement, but was back a few minutes later.
“Nada.”
“Something is off and it’s going to bug me until I figure it out.”
“Well try to stop worrying,” Kevin said, rubbing her arms to console her. “Let’s make dinner.”
* * *
“What was that?” Kevin asked, lifting himself from between Tara’s legs. They had been watching TV on the couch earlier. Tara had excused herself, and came back dressed in high heels and the purple lingerie. He couldn’t keep his hands off her, and whatever they were watching was immediately lackluster in comparison. But that sound he just heard didn’t come from the TV. He was sure of it.
She sat up. “I don’t know.”
He heard the hitch in her voice and jumped up to check. He looked through the entire house again and no one else was there. Just to be safe, he looked out the front door to see if the police were around. The white van was parked outside.
“Did you find anything?”
“Nothing at all. But I know I heard something. He sat beside her on the couch and pulled her into his arms. She was shivering. He was about to throw a blanket over her when everything went pitch black.
Tara screamed, tightening her grip around his waist.
“Did you scream like this when the power went out all those times during the snow storm?” he asked in the darkness.
“No,” she said with a laugh. “I don’t know why I just did that.”
Kevin tried to look around, but there was no point; he couldn’t see a thing.
“It has to be another power outage. Let me check at the front door.”
Sure enough, the two or three houses he could see outside were pitch black too.
“Looks like the whole area’s out. Not to worry. The cops are still outside.”
“Maybe that’s why this place was so cheap to rent.”
“Yeah. It was too good to be true.”
“But how do these other people survive out here?”
“No idea. Maybe backup generators.”
“Well I want to get out of here.” Her voice was shaky and he could see the fear in her eyes.
“Want to come to my place?”
“Yes, please,” she answered.
They felt around the couch and floor for his clothes, but would have to find her something to wear upstairs as she had come downstairs in just her lingerie. They felt the walls to get upstairs and into her room. She pulled the clothes from her bed and threw them on as Kevin waited.
“Where’s my phone?” she mumbled.
He helped her look, but to no avail. “Don’t bother with it. Let’s just get out of here and we can come back during the day.”
She threw her sweater on, and felt around for Kevin’s hand. They were down the stairs, dressed in winter coats and out the door in no time.
They walked hand in hand to the car.
“Do you sometimes feel that whenever odd things happen, it has something to do with Jake?” she asked him.
“Not sure, but in this case, with the lights out everywhere, I don’t.”
His brother was capable of worse, but he couldn’t pull off an area-wide blackout. He nodded at the men in the surveillance vehicle as they left. Their vehicle was soon behind them. It was reassuring to have their protection.
In the corner of his eye, he saw her tuck her coat tighter around her slim frame and turn to him.
“Doesn’t it worry you?”
There were indeed moments when he felt panicked, and a little paranoid, but he couldn’t admit it to her. He had to be strong so she could relax.
“If Jake wanted to harm either of us, he would’ve found a way to do it a long time ago. This is the fear from our own minds playing out scenarios. By doing this, we’re giving him more power than he actually has. He’s not in charge.”
She didn’t look totally swayed. “Sometimes I feel like he is.”
“Not possible. We’re stronger together than he is by himself. You’ll see.”
It would be foolish to think Jake wasn’t dangerous. Jake had proved he was, time and time again. Kevin was determined to keep her safe until she could have some peace of mind. With what he was planning to ask her next, he needed her to be in good spirits.
* * *
Tara was already emotionally drained when she got to Kevin’s place. She would have given anything to leave it to fate, to know in her heart Jake wasn’t a threat to them. Yet, it wasn’t that easy. She walked into the house after Kevin.
“Do you want to stay here for a few nights?”
“Do you want me to?”
“I’ll feel better if you stay. You probably will too.”
“Will your parents be okay with it?”
“Of course. They love you. And they may be away on business again.”
“Okay. I’ll stay. I’ve got some things here, right?”
“Yeah. A few sweaters, jeans, maybe a skirt too. Definitely underwear. Good thing, too.”
Tara couldn’t look away from Kevin. He seemed pensive. Something was on his mind.
“You want to talk about it?”
“Talk about what?”
“Whatever has your brows drawn and your forehead all wrinkled up from worry or whatever you’re thinking about.”
He paused and looked at her before answering. “Tara, I’ve been doing some thinking…a lot, actually. I think we should take the next step.”
“What next step?” she asked.
“We love each other. We enjoy each other’s company. A lot. And soon we’re going to be heading off to Montana together. I’d like to think we no longer need separate accommodations.”
Tara saw where he was going. She had been thinking about it a lot since they made up after the storm.
“We spend most nights together, and when we’re not, I’m thinking about you. Why don’t we just go for it?”
Her head was spinning. She was giddy with excitement. “So you’re asking me—”
“Let’s move in together,” he blurted out.
“Really? You’re serious?”
“Dead serious. I want to be there for you at all times. I love being around you. I love what we have and I want more. And we won’t have to do all this back and forth stuff.”
“What about your parents?”
“They’ll understand. They know things have been tough on both of us. I don’t think they’d be shocked at all. Let’s do it.”
The words ‘let’s move in together’ resonated. She had been thinking about it too and couldn’t hold back the excitement anymore.
“Yes, Kevin…yes!”
She threw her arms around him and hugged him so tight. She breathed in his musky cologne, sighing against his neck.
“When?” she asked him, pulling back to look him in the eye.
He laughed. “What better time than the present? Well, whenever we head back to your place. But I think we should let the owner know about those annoying blackouts.”
She bounced up and down, enthusiastic about their plan.
“I’ll help you pack!” She started to pass him, but he reached out and grabbed her hand. “What?” she asked, lifting her gaze to him.
“Actually, there’s something I need to do first. I have to go out for a while.”
“At this hour? It’s after eight at night.”
“It won’t be too late if I go now.”
“Can I come?”
“Actually, I’d prefer to go alone.”
“Oh…” Her face fell in disappointment. Being alone at his house was n
ot the way she thought they’d celebrate such a big decision.
“It’s not that I don’t want you there. In fact, I’d love for you to come with me. But I need to do it alone.”
“Do what?”
“It’s kind of a surprise. Consider it a Christmas present.”
“Oh alright,” she said, pouting as he put his jacket back on. “Hurry back okay?”
“I’ll be back before you know it. I promise.”
* * *
Kevin knocked on the door and waited. Finally, she answered. He could tell she was surprised to see him by her facial expression, which showed confusion and surprise.
“Hi Mrs. Matthews. May I come in?” he asked.
“Kevin? What brings you here? Yes, come in.”
Thank you,” he said. He was so nervous now. Before, he had felt confident. “I want to talk to you about your daughter. Well, more like ask you a question about her.”
“I didn’t think you came here to discuss the price of eggs,” she replied with a brief smile. “And by the way, you can call my Mary. So tell me, what is it about Tara?”
“Can we sit?”
“Sure.” She led him into the living room and each took a seat on opposite ends of the couch. “What this about, Kevin?”
“I love her. She loves me. We’re in a great place right now.”
“Yes. She’s been so happy lately.”
“And what I’m getting at is, as happy as we are, there is something missing in the equation. I—I’d like to ask her to marry me. So, I’m here to ask you for your permission.”
“Oh that’s wonderful, Kevin!” Mrs. Matthews jumped out of the chair and leaned over to hug him. He stood up to accept her embrace “When are you going to ask her?”
“At Christmas dinner, if you’re still coming over?”
“That would be fantastic! Yes Kevin! I’ll be there. And I’m so thrilled for you two. You’ve been a constant in Tara’s life, and especially after her dad died. You were a lifeline to Tara, her best friend, and now you’re together and I can’t think of a better person to call my son-in-law one day.”
“Thanks so much, Mrs. Matthews!”
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