I’m here!
As she approached the door at the end of the hall, she tried to straighten her dress by peeling it away from her skin and shaking out a few droplets of water. She ran her hands along her hair to smooth it and pulled it over one shoulder just as the door in front of her opened to reveal Gareth’s dark figure. Soaked and shivering, she smiled sweetly and walked past him into the room.
“I’m a little wet,” she said by way of apology, figuring he wouldn’t mind anyway.
Gareth nodded from the shadows behind the door. “I see that,” he said, his voice deep and raspy. He coughed once and cleared his throat.
“You speak.” Kitty approached him, dropping her purse on the floor. “You sound a little hoarse. You poor dear, have you got a cold?”
“No.”
Kitty lifted her chin and stepped toward Gareth until her breasts grazed his shirt. “It’s nice to hear your voice. I like it.” She played with his shirt, tugging on it gently.
“You seem to like everything.”
“I like a lot of things, but not everything.”
“What don’t you like?”
“Well, I don’t like being in this wet dress.” Kitty looked up at him while she ran her palm down his chest toward his belt.
Gareth blocked her hand and brushed it away. He took her wet hair in one hand and pulled it back over her shoulder. His fingers ventured to her neck and traced a slow line over her breast. Kitty closed her eyes and teetered a little in her heels. With one hand sliding around to her back to steady her, his right hand reached for the top pearl button on the front of her dress. Rolling it in his fingers, he easily undid the little button and made his way down, one pearl after the other, until her dress hung open. He slid his fingers under the damp silk shoulders to peel the fabric down over her arms and expose her white lace bra.
“Why are you here?” he asked.
Kitty tilted her head and rested her hands on his chest. “Because. You excite me.” She moved back to his belt, slipping it open.
“One of us is going to end up very disappointed,” he said.
“Relax, I always aim for win-win relationships.”
Gareth paused. “If you’re looking for a sugar daddy, you’ve picked the wrong guy.”
Kitty laughed, flipped his button open and unzipped his jeans. “If I wanted a sugar daddy you’d have given me my own credit card by now. I’ve been down that road, darling, and there’s no happy ending. Now stop being so difficult and finish what you’ve started.” Kitty pulled off the rest of her dress, shifting her hips from side to side as she wiggled out of the wet silk rag.
Gareth smiled and chased her toward the bed, landing on top of her as she laughed. Kitty clutched the back of Gareth’s hair as he rubbed his hands over her breasts and belly, kissing her neck and face. Kitty reached down and pushed his pants lower until he ripped them off and tossed them behind him.
He pushed his hard cock against her soft behind and massaged himself on her writhing hips. She reached back to grab his ass and pull him closer. When her thighs were damp Gareth guided himself in and moved at a slow, deliberate pace while he explored her breasts and the smooth silky skin that covered every inch of her.
A series of sirens came and went outside the window just as Gareth finished, and he lay limp behind Kitty.
“I’m not finished,” she said.
“What?”
“I need a hand.” She guided Gareth’s hand down and held it in place with her own.
“I’m tired,” he said, still trying to catch his breath.
“Well then you need to learn to pace yourself,” Kitty said firmly as she forced his fingers into place. Gareth growled and shoved his fingers inside her until she gasped.
“Ow!” Kitty clenched her teeth and retaliated by grabbing Gareth’s hair tightly in her white fists. As opponents in this game of pleasure, they each inflicted pain upon the other until Kitty was satisfied and lay on the bed, panting.
Gareth went into the bathroom while Kitty made herself more comfortable with pillows and crawled under the blankets. She grabbed a wad of tissue from the bedside table to clean herself up and when she was finished the tissue was bloody. She carefully displayed the tissue and settled under the covers.
She waited in the dim room for Gareth, trying not to glance at the clock. There was no sound from the bathroom. Just as she propped herself up on one arm, the bathroom door opened.
Gareth glanced at Kitty, then at the side table. “What is that?”
“Blood,” Kitty replied.
“Are you . . .?”
“No.”
“Did I do that?”
“Yes.”
Gareth frowned. “I’m sorry,” he said softly and cleared his throat.
“It’s OK. I like it rough.” Kitty waved him over.
“I don’t think you really know what rough is.”
“Come here.” Kitty took his hand to pull him toward her. She pulled back the covers so he could slide in next to her.
“I need to warn you. I can be . . . aggressive. I don’t think you understand what you’re getting into.”
Kitty laughed. “You’re not that bad,” she said as she played with his hair.
He settled in next to her, cupped her head in his palm and drew her into his chest. Kitty rested her head against him and he slid his arm around her while planting a kiss on top of her head. He lay staring at the curtains as she fell asleep.
- -
Kitty woke to an empty space next to her, again. She wiped her eyes and noticed a covered tray on a cart sitting next to the bed. The room smelled like breakfast. She found a neatly folded robe resting over the back of a chair. She put it on and went to inspect the tray. Lifting the lid, she found two plates, one filled with a good, greasy breakfast and the other empty. Otherwise, the tiny room held no evidence of Gareth. Kitty found the bathroom empty as well, except for a sheet covering the bathroom mirror. As she left the bathroom, she noticed another door, the same cream color as the walls next to the bedside table. It was open just a crack, enough for her to hear the clicking of a keyboard as she approached. She pushed the door ajar and in the adjoining room saw Gareth’s back huddled over his laptop.
“Good morning,” he said, without turning around, his voice a little rough.
Kitty approached him. “Hi there.” She pulled him by the shoulder to turn the chair around so she could sit too. Gareth closed his computer and Kitty curled up in his lap.
“You ate without me,” she said.
“I thought you were never going to wake up. I was hungry”
“What time is it?”
“About quarter to ten.”
Kitty sat up. “Oh shit, I have to be at work in fifteen minutes.” She spun out of his lap, bolting for the bathroom. She ran back out to retrieve her dress that lay in a damp heap on the floor. “Dammit!”
Gareth had come out of the office and watched with fascination as she sprinted around the room.
“My dress is still damp, I have to go home. I have no concealer, no mascara, and I’m going to be late for work,” she said, pouting.
“I thought you did that video stuff for a living,” Gareth said.
“Oh gawd,” Kitty laughed, “that doesn’t pay the bills. All fame and no fortune!” She struggled to pull on her dress. “I work at a shoe store on Terrace Avenue. I have to open the store, so I’ve gotta be there on time!” Kitty said, starting to panic.
Gareth leaned on the doorframe and rubbed his chin in thought. Kitty dashed to the bathroom and ripped the sheet off of the mirror so she could brush her hair. As she was putting on lipstick from her purse, Gareth made a call.
“Hey it’s me. I need you to get a dress and send it to a store on Terrace Avenue ASAP,” Gareth said. “Um, I don’t know what size. Here, you talk to her.” Gareth walked to the bathroom and handed Kitty the phone. “Tell my assistant what size you are and where to send the dress. Let her know if there’s anything else you need.”
>
Kitty looked at Gareth with her pink mouth hanging open. She took the phone from him. “Hello? Uh-huh, well usually I’m a six but if it’s stretchy, it’ll fit. . . . Five foot four . . . Curvy . . . Lush Lash mascara in dark chocolate and maybe some powder in bisque. Oh, and a hair elastic . . . Maybe a hair band, too. God, I look like shit,” she said, examining her face in the mirror.
“Oh, it’s Luxxura Boutique on Terrace. You know where it is? Oh thank you so much! You’re amazing! Bye.” Kitty hung up the phone and handed it to Gareth before she ran back to the bed and slipped on her shoes. She trotted to the door with purse in hand. Gareth opened the door for her and just before she zipped by, she turned to him. He held the door with his foot and embraced Kitty as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard, her feet dangling a few inches from the ground.
With her face aglow, Kitty hurried down the hall. At the elevator, she turned back to wave and Gareth, peeking from the doorway, flashed a short wave before he ducked back inside the room.
- -
Wisdom sat in front of the large window in the hall, fixated on a rabbit perched in the garden, nibbling away at some greenery she held in her front paws. Sky came down the hall, scratching at a persistent itch on her upper back, and saw the wolf transfixed in front of the window. Distracted from her itch, Sky scanned the garden to see what had captivated Wisdom. She smiled when she saw the prey, sitting among the green shrubs and bright flowers. Sky fetched her new running shoes and opened the back door for Wisdom. The wolf dashed out the door, her limp barely evident.
The click of the door had startled the rabbit who had gained a good lead and managed to slip into a small hole in the rock outcrop on the side of the hill. Wisdom tried to claw her way into the hole and alternated between shoving her head in as deep as possible and reaching as far as she could with her front paw. Sky ambled into the garden, watching the hunt for her own amusement. Eventually, Wisdom gave up and left the hole, her gait once again punctuated with a pronounced limp. She glanced up at Sky, waiting to find out what their next move might be.
The two walked through the garden at the back of the house and entered a small patch of grass that narrowed to a dirt path. The path disappeared around the side of the cliff. With Wisdom right behind her, Sky stepped cautiously, her only hand brushing against the rock wall on her left side. The treacherous part was short and opened up to a wide, comfortable route ten or fifteen feet beyond her. Sky looked down the steep hill on her right, where clusters of brush and small flowers held the rocks in place. A few tenacious red cedars clung to the cliff’s side and a dense forest lined the bottom of the twenty-foot drop. Looking straight ahead, Sky could see the green waves of the valley rising and falling for miles.
She looked back down at her footing and held onto the rocks and roots, holding her stump out to the side for balance. With a few more feet to go, she glanced once more at her feet and didn’t notice the small root at eye level. As she advanced, the root swiped her face and the unpleasant surprise caused her to lose her footing. She gasped, unable to scream, her hand and feet scrambling to find a hold.
She slid down the rock face and kept her left hand out to act as a break, but she picked up speed. A small, sharp drop caused her to lose all contact with the cliff, and for a moment, she was airborne. A hard landing on her side knocked the wind out of her. She rolled a good part of the way down and stopped only when she collided with a shrub.
Lying still for a few minutes, she struggled to regain her breath. She tried to move but it was too painful. When her breathing had slowed somewhat she looked up and saw Wisdom standing at the start of the narrow path, staring down at her.
On her back, ensnared in a bush, Sky screamed for help three times. She heard insects buzzing and birds singing. Nothing else. She screamed again, the earth and leaves absorbing the sound of her cries. Wisdom sat down and waited.
Sky kept calling, grabbing her right side each time to ease the sharp pain in her ribs. She paused to catch her breath. A breeze came up and rustled the leaves of an oak tree above her. Wisdom lay down and rested her chin on her front legs. Sky shut her eyes tight, trying to resist the flow of tears that poured out the corners. She sobbed a little but it hurt too much, so she swore instead. She tried to distract herself by watching the clouds inch by. Every so often she would try calling out, and each time, fought back tears after another unanswered attempt.
Eventually she gave up and simply lay in the bush, talking to herself and telling the grim story of her death. She rallied her courage and tried getting up. She at least discovered that her legs worked, and so did her neck, so she knew wasn’t paralyzed. The branches of the bush scraped her face as she slid to untangle herself.
At last free of the shrub, she was able to turn onto her left side. She tried to get up onto her one hand and two scraped knees and roll up into a kneeling position. Sky looked up to see Wisdom still watching over her. With her injured hand, knees, and ribs it was too difficult to move, so she lowered herself onto her back again on a smoother patch of dirt. In the distance she heard a pulsing sound. The beating grew louder until she recognized it. The helicopter.
The familiar whir brought her a dose of consolation. It was harder to see Wisdom from her new position. Sky couldn’t tell if the wolf was still there.
- -
Gareth put his bags down in the foyer and began to remove his shoes but stopped and looked around. He frowned and walked past the staircase, still looking.
“Wisdom.” He waited. His companion did not appear. “Wisdom!”
Rose came down the hall toward him, carrying a pile of neatly folded towels. “Good afternoon, Mr. Renaut,” she smiled.
“Where’s Wisdom?” Gareth asked.
Rose paused. “I don’t know. I’ve been doing laundry most of the morning and haven’t seen her.”
“Did you leave a door open?”
“I don’t think so. I would have received a message from the security system.” Rose looked worried, too, and helped Gareth scan the main level and the garden out back for signs of the wolf.
“Something’s not right. Can you check the upstairs?” Gareth asked.
“Yes, of course.” Rose hurried up the staircase with the towels still in her arms.
Gareth called for Wisdom and walked toward the solarium to check the pool in case she had drowned, but there was no sign of her.
“Mr. Renaut!” Rose called from the top of the stairs. “Mr. Renaut!”
Gareth ran to the bottom of the stairs.
“I can see her sitting at the edge of the garden,” Rose said.
“Thanks, Rose.” Gareth dashed out the back door.
He started down the stone pathway, and Wisdom spun around at the sound of him. She limped over as fast as she could, happy to see him.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked as he crouched down and stroked her firmly, stopping to scratch behind her ear. Wisdom leaned into his hand, her mouth open in a canine grin.
“Did Sky let you out?”
As soon as the question left his mouth, Wisdom heard a distant cry for help and turned in the direction of the sound, her ears erect and her gaze intensely focused. Gareth followed her as she returned to her post. The wolf looked down the hill and his gaze followed hers. This time, he clearly heard a cry for help, the voice high and distinct.
“Sky?” Gareth shouted. The power of his voice made him cough.
“Gareth!” Sky answered, her voice breaking.
Gareth grabbed onto a sturdy root protruding from the rock and leaned over the cliff to look down. He saw Sky lying partway down. He stepped over the edge onto the cliffside and skated his way down with his hand dragging on the loose rock behind him. He bounced over gray boulders that jutted out and stopped near Sky by running into a tree. He groaned and continued jumping over the remaining rocks until he was next to her. He knelt down and examined the red streaks on her face and arms.
“Can you move?” he asked.
“Sort of, but my ribs really hurt, they might be broken.” She motioned to her right side. “I can’t stand up.”
“Is anything else broken?” Gareth asked.
“I don’t think so. I might have twisted my ankle. It fucking hurts.”
“OK.” Gareth brought his hand to his mouth while he considered the best approach.
“Can you turn over on your other side?” he asked, and Sky nodded.
She rolled over as Gareth lay down on his side in front of her. “Wrap your leg and arm around me, tight,” he instructed.
Sky grabbed hold and Gareth held her in place as he turned onto his front. He pushed up into a plank position and gradually moved to standing, leaning forward with Sky on his back.
“Is that OK?”
“Yeah,” Sky said, grunting in pain.
Gareth began taking careful steps toward the path he had slid down, being careful not to jostle his load. He pulled them both up the steep incline a few slow inches at a time. As he reached the top, Wisdom rushed to inspect Sky’s wounds, her ears turning out like a lamb’s.
At the top Gareth leaned forward on a large rock to rest. “Are you still OK?” he asked, winded.
“Yeah,” Sky replied in a strained voice.
Gareth continued toward the house, with Sky holding his neck tight. Rose came out to meet them.
“Call the doctor,” Gareth said to Rose, who immediately pulled out her cell phone.
Gareth brought Sky upstairs to the guest room, across the hall from his bedroom. She tried to roll gently off his back but hit her ribs on the way down. She howled and swore. Wisdom, who had followed right behind them, laid her ears back in distress.
“Sorry,” Gareth said with a look of concern. He brushed Sky’s hair out of her face, pausing to admire the array of freckles sprinkled across her nose. He pulled his gaze away from her face to get a better look at her injuries. He lifted her shirt and examined her ribs, while Sky studied his face. He moved to her feet and slid off her runners, which she wore without socks. As he pulled off each shoe, gravel and dirt poured out onto the bed. He brushed the debris onto the floor.
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