Knock, knock...

by Dale Mayer

  She leaned over and smoothly lifted off. He opened his eyes and she sank back down. He shuddered.

  She did it again, and again, settling into a smooth ride. He grasped her hips, his fingers digging into her soft flesh, and he rose up beneath her. Together they set a slow pace that quickly drove them forward. She cried out, her back arching as the tremors started deep inside and spread throughout her body.

  He groaned and bucked desperately beneath her. Then he arched, the cords of his arms taut, as he held her locked in place. She sagged as he collapsed down on the bed.

  Then he tugged her forward into his arms, crushing her up against his chest, his heart.

  Exactly where she wanted to be.

  ***

  Roman rolled over, tucking her up close against his side. To say she'd rocked his world would be to minimize this experience of a lifetime. He had no idea it could be like that between them.

  And though she'd dominated his dreams for years the reality of her, of them like this, was so much better.

  He dropped a tender kiss on the tip of her nose. His artistic eye caught, and then memorized, the tiny details. The small bumpbump on the long, patrician nose. The full definition of her lips. Her eyes. How did he paint that stormy brown with gold flecks?

  He tightened his grip on her, wishing he could slip her inside his soul and keep her there. Never to be separated.

  She murmured softly.

  He loosened his grip. "Sorry," he whispered against her temple. "Sleep. You need to catch a few hours."

  "Need more than a few," she answered softly. "But I'll take what I can get."

  Reaching for the crumpled bedding, Roman tugged it up and over them both. Settling deeper into the center of the bed, he held her close as she drifted off to sleep.

  He knew that somehow he had to share his secret. He should have done so before this. But he hadn't quite foreseen their relationship coming to this stage so quickly.

  Not that he had any regrets. He'd have to hope she'd understand when the time came.

  That she asked about his relationship with his model was both amusing and touching. That she might feel the fool after she found out, could be an issue.

  He hoped not because finally one of his dreams had come true.

  Now he had to work on making the rest happen.

  He knew one thing for sure. Now that he'd gotten her this far, he was never letting her go.

  ***

  Tuesday morning…

  Shay woke feeling surprisingly rested, considering the late night. She went to sit up and realized Roman's arm held her in place. She smiled and tried to wiggle out from underneath.

  He grumbled, his voice deep, and yet gentle in her ear. She studied his shadowed face, realizing she had nothing in the apartment that he could shave with. Too bad.

  Then again, she kinda liked the shadow. Stretching up, she dropped a gentle kiss on the dimple in his chin. As he shifted in his sleep, she slipped out from under his arm and escaped to the bathroom. Once done, she grabbed a silk housecoat from behind her door and, knotting the belt, walked to the kitchen to put on coffee.

  She needed a shower. Glancing at the kitchen clock, she realized the memorial service for Robert Dander was in an hour. As much as she'd come to hate funerals, she felt obligated to go. And maybe she could learn something.

  Lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear Roman get up.

  "Do you mind if I take a shower?"

  She spun around. He stood in the doorway, bare except for softly hugging cotton boxers. Mutely, she shook her head.

  He grinned, and said, "Join me?" He disappeared from view before she had a chance to answer. But not before she saw his sculpted butt disappear. She sighed. He had a really great ass.

  I so didn't need to know that. Stefan's sardonic voice whispered through her mind.

  She gasped, and then broke out laughing. Sorry, Stefan.

  She gently closed the door in her mind and raced after Roman, still grinning. She couldn't get there fast enough. He'd just stepped under the hot spray when she dropped the housecoat and opened the glass door.

  "Don't mind if I do," she murmured, holding up a bar of soap.

  His happy gaze widened to delight when her bar of soap stroked down his front and over the hard length of him. He groaned as her fingers slipped over his shaft. "Like that, do you?" She smiled, her hand movements sensuous but teasing.

  "Witch," he said thickly. In one smooth movement, he turned, lifted her, and pinned her to the wall. With his hard length poised at the heart of her, he said, "Two can play that game."

  She laughed and then groaned as he slid deep inside. Hard and fast he pounded into her as the shower water pounded down on them. She cried out. Secured against the wall she couldn't move. She could only hang on as he rode her to the edge, then drove them both over.

  She hung suspended against the wall, floating free in mind and spirit. Then she gently floated back to reality.

  "Damn, you're good."

  He laughed. "Glad you think so. Now I think we both need to finish this shower before we run out of hot water."

  ***

  Tuesday, later that morning…

  The funeral for Robert was bigger than David's. That made it easier to blend into the crowd but harder to sort through the energy of all those attending. Robert had been the headmaster of Chadworth School for over three decades. He'd interacted with the parents and students and the children of his students. It was a sign of the impact he'd left on the community to have such a crowd.

  With Roman at her side – she'd been surprised at his insistence to attend – Shay tried to get an overall impression of the energy flowing through the crowd. There was a lot of it. Streams twisted and churned from person to person.

  The crowd swelled as more and more people arrived.

  When the memorial service was over, the crowd broke up and some moved on to the gravesite. The family was seated up close and the rest stood in a surrounding circle. Lisa Dander stood head bowed, shoulders shaking and surrounded by her loving family. And there was much love here.

  There was also many other emotions. She could see the family strife, the arguments between siblings, the worry over money, and fear that there wouldn't be any inheritance coming to various members. Astonishing how much of the world revolved around who had what and how they were going to get more of what they wanted. What didn't surprise her after so long was how most of the people spent time wondering how to get what they wanted from other people.

  The man on her left wanted a raise from his boss. The woman directly in front of her was hoping for a small inheritance – she wanted more, but figured she might be good to receive a little something. The two kids, forced to attend, were wanting fast food as soon as they were done, and indeed that had been the bargain struck for their good behavior here.

  She almost snorted aloud. So typical. Still, nothing that she could see indicated anything untoward. If her attacker was here, she had no way to know who it was, if they were hiding or what they wanted.

  Again, all for nothing.

  As they retreated back to the parking lot she caught it.

  Just a hint.

  The same energy she’d come across in Marie's mind. And from David's office. Her apartment.

  How? More importantly, who? She stood on tiptoe, searching the wandering group. The energy drifted off to the left. Without a thought, she bolted in that direction.

  ***

  Roman started as Shay bolted. He turned to see her running, not walking fast, but racing as if she were being chased. And no one was chasing her. Or even appeared to notice her. Yet in a world of slow and somber she was a darting oddity.

  And hell, she was almost out of sight. He took off after her.

  He couldn't see anything that would cause her wild dash. And was especially concerned because she’d taken off without saying anything to him. She was moving fast.

  He picked up the pace as she went around a tree. He didn't dare lose sig
ht of her. By the time he reached the spot where she'd disappeared, he realized he'd taken too long. She was nowhere to be found. Damn it, Shay. Where the hell are you?

  She had to be close. He ran several feet forward, glancing from side to side. Turning around, he kept on the move, searching the way they’d come.

  Shit. He stopped. Changed direction and searched again.

  "Shay?"

  No answer. He kept calling for her.

  Damn it. He pulled out his phone and called her. The phone rang and rang. She'd probably muted the ring so as to not disturb anyone at the ceremony. He put the phone away.

  Now he was getting worried. With a keen eye to the parking lot, which appeared more empty than full now, his mind raced over possibilities. Could she have gotten into a car with someone? Surely, not without him noticing. And not without telling him. Not willingly at least. And not that fast.

  His mind balked at the idea she’d left without him. That wasn't her style. He frowned. She had to be here somewhere.

  He retraced his steps slowly. Back at the trees where he first lost sight of her, he stopped and slowly assessed the area. She hadn't had but a minute to move away. The area was treed, but he'd have seen her if she'd still been pursuing something. So she had to be close by, out of sight.

  There were only trees for cover. He walked, circling each one to make sure she wasn't lying beneath the boughs.

  He didn't want to contemplate why or how she'd be in such a position.

  At the next patch, just beside the first, was a low-lying spruce tree with heavy, arching branches. He pulled the branches aside, feeling like an idiot. Unable to stop himself, he searched underneath––

  And caught sight of something on the other side. He hurried to the far side, lifted up the branches and found Shay lying underneath. He dropped to his knees.

  He placed his fingers against her throat, and felt for a pulse. His breath whooshed out with relief when he felt the slow steady beat of her heart.

  She was alive.

  But what the hell happened? Anger stirred inside. She might have collapsed for some unknown reason, but she wouldn't have rolled under here on her own. More likely she caught sight of someone, ran after them, was knocked unconscious and then was dumped under the closest cover.

  He did a quick check to make sure there were no obvious signs of injury before sitting back on his heels. No blood, no breaks, nothing to show she’d been attacked.

  Then again, with what he'd learned from her and Stefan, attacks could happen in other ways. And those could be deadly.

  He pulled out his phone and contacted Stefan.

  "Stefan, I need help." He explained the situation, finishing with, "I don't know if I should move her. Do I call 911?"

  "Don't move her. I'll call you right back."

  Roman stared at the dead phone. What was going on? He studied Shay's prone form then leaned closer for another look. Something was shifting. He just didn't quite understand what. It was as if her form became less defined. Like he needed to put glasses on to see her better. The air fairly crackled, adding to the weird effect.

  The hairs rose on the back of his neck.

  Damn he wanted her awake. To know she was fine…

  Then he planned to rip into her. Give her hell for taking off the way she did.

  Even as he sat there, hoping no one would notice him hunched over her, she stirred.

  He breathed a sigh of relief. He wanted to haul her into his arms, and at the same time, he was afraid to touch her. Something about doing so felt wrong. But damn. Should he take the risk? Would it hurt her?

  It would make him feel much better. So would calling his brother…

  Updating Ronin took only a moment. That his brother was more in tune with this stuff pissed Roman off. He hated to think all this had been going on around him and he hadn't known anything about it, for his whole life. It just made him all that more aware of how much he had to catch up on. And he would.

  It also made him realize how little he really understood about security. Sure, he'd checked Shay's website completely, set up a security system that would make the computer very hard to access, and he had installers coming to tighten up security on Shay's apartment… But what good was any of that without a way to keep her safe from the dangers they couldn't see?

  The damn twin was still at large. They both hated the latest in developments.

  Ronin rang off, saying, "Whatever you do, don't touch her. Apparently that's really bad for her."

  Roman glared at the phone, then down at Shay. Damn. He'd already done that when he'd checked her over to make sure she wasn't injured. His phone rang. Stefan this time. Why didn't he use telepathy at moments like this? Shrugging, he answered.

  "I burn through more energy using telepathy. I'm working on Shay. She should come around in a few moments. I can't have you disturbing her."

  "That's why you called…?" he said. "To make sure I don't touch her?"

  "You were thinking it. I'm holding you back and can't afford the energy drain. So leave us for a few moments."

  "When do I know to call for help?"

  Stefan's voice was hard and dry. "You'll know." And he hung up.

  Roman had to be satisfied with that. He dropped the bough to hide Shay's form once again and then stood up. He checked to make sure no one was watching.

  Whoever had attacked Shay had taken the time to hide her. Roman would have found her a good five minutes earlier if they hadn’t. As it was, those five minutes were enough for the attacker to get away.

  Chapter 21

  Shay walked alone in the darkness. She didn't know why she was here. She could talk and think, but nothing made any sense. She even wondered if she might be injured and lost in her consciousness. Perhaps she was in a coma.

  She tried to see into her memories. Tried to remember the last thing she'd done.

  Her past was blank. That bothered her.

  There should be something there. People. Scenes. Sounds. Actions on her part. Things she'd done. Plans, hopes, wishes, dreams.

  The complete absence of all was the worst.

  She felt alone in a way she didn't recognize. Like something important, something she’d just found, was missing.

  She turned around, hating the blackness. Where was the light? Where was the natural light of day? There was no change in the depth of the blackness.

  She wandered around in a circle. With nothing to ground her in place, she had a hard time seeing where she was. Fearing that she was losing her mind, she sat down and pulled her knees up to her chest. With her forehead resting on her knees she rocked gently in place.

  Maybe if she sat quietly and waited, someone would come.

  Shay.

  Her head came up. She twisted, searching through the darkness. Hello?

  Shay? Are you there?

  Yes, she shouted. I'm over here.

  Keep talking. This energy is so thick it's hard to see through.

  She laughed. I know. That's why I stopped moving. I'm sitting in one place hoping someone will find me.

  I'm here. Stefan showed up, a big grin on his face.

  She stood up and threw her arms around him.

  Except he was only energy. She gasped, and then laughed for joy. I'd forgotten. Everything. My memories were all gone. But this... Now that I see you. Hear you. I remember you. Remember this.

  Good. I'd hate to have to go through an explanation. You're a little too far advanced to catch you up on your past in a matter of seconds. We don't have much time.

  As long as you are here to help me escape, I'm game.

  He chuckled. There's no need for you to escape. You're home. You need to kick your visitor out.

  She straightened. Say what?

  Remember...black energy. Your cousin Marie and the blackness inside her. The dark feeling inside? His voice darkened. That same energy is here. I can sense it. It's a mask hiding your feelings, your memories…

  Really? Then how do I get rid of it? />
  First step is realization. Second step is to stop being a victim. Get angry. See the energy for what it is. An attacker. You can get free of this by reasserting who you are.

  She blinked. Why was it so hard to understand what he was saying? But it was. His suggestions seemed to come from a distance. The information was out of her grasp. Even though she heard the words, they didn't compute.