by Abby Knox
“Why?”
“Well, this is the murder house after all.”
“Yeah, but that shit doesn’t scare you, does it?” His hands moved from smoothing her hair to exploring her fine cheekbones and jawline in the dark. He felt her let go of her tenseness and relax into him.
“It might be time to tell you the whole truth,” she said.
“OK.”
“You might not be into me after this. You might think I’m a little bit of a freak,” she said.
“Go on.”
“The truth is, I didn’t come here for a teaching job. I was born in Middleburg. This house is where my aunt died, in 1983. My Aunt Eliza. They ruled it a suicide, but it wasn’t. As you can guess, this is why I’d like for people to stop calling it the suicide house.”
When Ryan didn’t verbally respond but only stroked her hand to indicate he was listening, she went on. “I had been doing some research because I have nothing left of my family. My parents divorced when I was young; I was an only child. My parents never got along while they were raising me. My mom had no friends. She was never happy. My dad stopped being involved when things got difficult in my teenage years. He started denying that he was my father at all, but that’s another story.
“One day I asked my mom, Lucille, why she was so unhappy. She confided to me before she died last year, that her sister, her best friend, Eliza, was murdered here in Middleburg. She was dating a married man, who had been promising to leave his wife and marry her. Then, she got pregnant and my mom thought he killed her. I don’t remember any of this, of course. The police did nothing to track down the killer. The medical examiner ruled it a suicide even though she had two gunshot wounds. But Aunt Eliza was poor and Mom felt powerless. Nobody cared. So she uprooted herself to start over in Charleston.”
Ryan sighed and hugged Misty in closer. “I’m so sorry your family went through this.”
“You’re not mad that I misled you about the reasons I came to Middleburg?”
Ryan replied with a smile, “Of course not. Nobody in Middleburg believes that’s why you came here, anyway.”
She exhaled a small laugh. “Great.”
“And don’t think for a minute that any of this news makes me less into you. If anything, it makes me want to help you. For the record, I think there was more to it than your aunt being poor,” Ryan said.
Misty let out a relieved breath. The fact that she’d been so worried about him changing his mind about her infuriated him. Who had made this amazing woman so closed off, he wondered.
“I think so too,” she said, “but Lucille couldn’t prove anything on her own and she didn’t have money to hire a lawyer or a private investigator. Mom didn’t even know the name of the guy Aunt Eliza was dating at the time. So she figured that was the end.”
He was silent while she spoke about how her search had turned up no hard facts so far, and then he said, “Anything I can do to help you find your aunt’s killer, please let me know.”
She asked, “You don’t think it’s weird that I bought this house?”
“Not in the least. There’s no telling what you might find in here.”
“I agree. I’m so glad you think the way I do.”
“I knew we had a connection. Have you checked the attic?” he asked.
“Yes, there’s nothing up there. Except maybe some beer bottles, which I cleaned up.”
“Yeah I’m sorry to tell you. Over the years there have been plenty of teenagers who have sneaked in here to have parties. I may or may have been one of those kids,” he admitted.
“I understand. Kids will be kids. I’m still experiencing some of that prankster shit since I’ve moved here.”
“How so?” Ryan felt his protective nature stir up again. He would throttle any punk who got too close to her.
“Oh, you know. People staring. Maybe sneaking in when I accidentally left the door unlocked. Moving things around.”
Ryan tensed. “That’s not teenager stuff. That’s breaking and entering kind of stuff.”
“But I should’ve been more careful.”
“I don’t like it one bit. I’m staying here with you tonight and you’re moving in with me tomorrow.”
“Excuse me?” she said.
Ryan tightened his grip around her. “You can’t stay here if there’s someone out to get you.”
She scoffed. “That’s a little overboard.”
Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled again.
He felt her tense up again, and he fully wrapped her in a bear hug.
“I’m here.”
“Thank you for being here for me. You and Elly are good people.”
He caressed her back. Her breasts pushed in and he could feel her nipples hardening at his touch. The sensation sent his primal brain tumbling into deeper, darker fantasies. Here she was, baring her secrets, and he was salivating. “I wish I could say that about myself. I don’t feel like a good person.”
“Why not?”
“Because every time I’m with you, all I can think about is how badly I want to kiss you. And keep kissing you. And take that damn dress off you and get a look at the curves underneath.”
He felt her forehead press against the stubble on his cheeks. “Bad news then. You won’t get to see anything under the dress tonight,” she said.
“It’s OK. I wasn’t expecting—”
She whispered, “You’ll have to use your hands instead of your eyes.”
She took his hand and placed it on her breast. The material was soft and cool to the touch, but he felt her heat radiating from underneath.
Her bra was needing to get out of his way. As he palmed her breast, her hard bud rose to ache for his touch. Ryan growled at the back of his throat. There were far too many layers of material between them.
At the same time, he wanted to let her know he was there for her and not just a horny bastard.
He forced himself to go slowly, even though he wanted to rip off every stitch that covered her curves.
In the dark, he ran his thumb over her bottom lip and imprinted the velvety fullness onto his muscle memory.
He stroked her cheekbones, eyelids and lips with his fingertips. Ryan grazed his hand over her forehead and felt her long eyelashes brush against his skin.
Misty then took his hand in both of hers and kissed the center of his palm. The sensation there set him on fire. It was such a simple gesture, but it made his cock ache for her. She made his cock ache for her.
He let go of her breast and used both hands to move her hair out of his way, pressed his face closer, kissing the nape of her neck, behind her ear.
She released a tiny moan and moved her hands to his chest, and then downward. She touched his abdomen, which rose in gooseflesh to meet her.
“Thunderstorms turn me on. Is that weird?” she asked.
“If you’re weird then I like weird. But for the record, you’re not weird.”
She suddenly made good on her revelation because just as another bolt of lightning slashed through the darkness, she crashed her lips to his.
The thunder punctuated the frantic claiming of their mouths.
They kissed like that in the kitchen for some time: lips owning each other, hands desperately searching for buttons and zippers and openings. It was hotter than any encounter in Ryan’s life.
He felt the thunder rumbling along with their breath, their flesh more electrified with every stroke of lightning. He gripped her waist and pulled her toward him. His rock-hard cock was pressed against her pelvis. She wrapped a leg around him and there had to be no doubt his erection was calling out to her.
“Misty,” he said roughly. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
“Live in the moment, Ryan.”
He kissed her neck. “Love to. Just thought you wanted to wait until after the festival to date me.”
“This ain’t dating. This is fuckin’. Now shut up and give it to me.”
He laughed. “I like the way you think.
”
He kissed and tongued his way down to her open neckline, and tugged roughly at the laces at her front.
He dipped his hands down into the lace bra that covered her breasts. He pulled the fabric aside and devoured her nipple with his mouth, teasing her until she moaned.
“Oh, Ryan.”
He alternated, teasing each of her breasts with his mouth while his hands kneaded the opposite one. He repeated the process until she was panting, and pulling at his shirt.
He felt her hands sweeping over his abs and down his pleasure trail. She quickly sent her hands down to the front of his jeans, which were already unzipped. Her hands wasted no time exploring further, and soon she was caressing his cock through the fabric of his boxer briefs.
She had moves that compelled a caveman growl from deep back in his throat. Her hands on his cock made him want to take a bite out of her.
He helped her tug his jeans all the way down, and then she gladly accepted his help in pulling her dress all the way off and sending it to the floor.
Both now in their underclothes, they continued hungrily kissing and petting and sucking until they were nearly dry humping to the point of climax.
“I feel like I’m at a party and we’re making out in the closet,” he said, catching his breath between her breasts.
“Seven minutes in heaven?” she replied.
“Something like that.”
She giggled, “Hopefully we can keep this up longer than seven minutes.”
His hands found their way to her back, where he unhooked her bra and nudged her straps aside with his teeth. He stood back as she let it fall to the floor. He kept his hands on the small curve of her lower back. He could not wait to see all this soft skin in the daylight. She had delicious curves at every spot his hands could find. How could she not know how perfect she was?
Finally, his hands and mouth had full, unfettered access to her breasts. They welcomed him like fresh pillows after a long day.
What he would give to come home to this woman in his bed every night! The things he would do for her if she gave him that gift!
Ryan gripped her around her waist and hoisted her up so her legs wrapped around his waist.
She ground up against him.
He had a mind to rip her panties off. As if reading his mind, she urged him along.
“Get them off me. Now.”
Lightning struck again and in that brief moment he could see her needful expression. Her perfect mounds and their sweet pink buds responding to his touch. He hoped she could read the same need coming from him.
“Bed first,” he said with a ragged breath. With her wrapped around him, he carefully felt his way from memory to her bedroom.
There was no way their first time was going to be on a formica breakfast bar in this dated kitchen, he decided.
They reached her bed and he laid her back on it gently, despite everything in him wanting to throw her down and start pushing into her like a beast. He gripped the flimsy waistband of hers. His fingers ripped the panties away as more thunder followed more lightning, the noise so loud it rattled the house’s old windows. The brief, bright flash revealed her completely naked underneath him, her hair spread on the mattress around her face like a dark halo.
Her hands slipped his boxer briefs down, allowing his cock to spring free.
“Damn, woman, I’m so hard for you.”
She spread for him, and his hands found her warm, wet and ready. She was completely soaked.
He slipped two fingers into her and she hissed.
“Oh my god, Ryan. Do you have a condom?”
He stopped. Shit.
“I don’t. I wasn’t expecting to come over here to get laid. It’s been so long.”
She hesitated, and then her urgent hands helped his cock find her entrance.
“It’s fine. Just pull out, OK?”
“Are you sure?”
“Ryan, I’m dying over here. Get in me already.”
He sank his length fully into her, joining their bodies together at the center. She cried out. He moaned at the pleasure of having her surrounding him, skin on skin. Hands were everywhere. Lips explored necks, shoulders, breasts. Her legs pulled him in close with surprising strength.
Her pussy squeezed around him like she wanted him deeper, like she wanted every last inch of him.
He adjusted so one arm was holding her ass up off the bed, and they thrust together in a hungry rhythm.
She was beyond his expectations.
When the lights were on, Misty was a cool and closed off person. With the lights off and the thunder and lightning crashing all around, she was a soulful and insatiable and hot creature. Not warm, hot. His body matched her burning desire. He didn’t just want her pussy, he wanted every cell, ever nerve ending to forever and only respond to him.
He was that fully gone for her.
Their commanding rhythm grew into a crescendo until Ryan was ready to blow.
“Girl, I’m about to come.”
“What do you want to do, Ryan? What do you feel?”
He felt suddenly taken aback. He thought she wanted him to pull out. God, he wanted nothing more than to blow his load inside her pussy and make a baby in there. But he didn’t want to do it if she didn't. Now she seemed to be changing her mind.
“Oh god.” It was too late to make a decision. He exploded inside of her, and she squeezed him even tighter, coaxing out every bit of him.
But he wasn’t finished. While still inside her, Ryan used his knuckles on her clit until she seized and cried out his name.
“Oh my god, Ryan!” she cried out in sync with another crash of thunder and bolt of lightning. The storm was right on top of them now.
He traced tiny kisses across her shoulders and neck and jawline as she shuddered her way through the aftershocks of her shattering orgasm.
He held her close and let her milk every last drop of his essence.
When both of them were finished, Ryan tumbled them over so she lay on his chest, the both of them catching their breath and wondering what had just happened.
Whatever it was, he knew it was more than physical. She had a hold on his body and soul.
“Misty, goddammit, why didn’t you come to town to solve your mystery ten years ago?”
15
Misty
To say that Misty had a hard time concentrating at work on Monday morning was an understatement.
Ryan had gotten into her. Mind, bloodstream, down and dirty bits.
After she had her mixed media students set up with their projects for the day and went to her desk, she fished out her phone from her bag.
No calls from Ryan.
Well, what did she expect? He may not have a job and was independently wealthy, but surely he had things to do.
Still, she needed to tell somebody. So she texted Elly: Ryan slept at my house last night.
Elly wrote back a reply that was all exclamation points.
She begged for every detail. Misty wrote: It was intense. But nice. He stayed all night. Insisted on driving me to work and says he’s going to pick me up afterward. Is that weird? I never allow men to behave like this, but somehow this is different.
She didn’t wait for Elly to reply with more squeals and questions. This was still so much for Misty to process.
She turned her attention back to her students and tried to get her mind off of waiting to hear how Ryan’s day was going.
Get yourself together, woman. You have shit to do and a killer to find.
After school, Ryan picked Misty up in his truck, as promised. She had one more stop to make on the way home.
Misty asked Ryan to wait in the truck outside the courthouse while she went in to meet with Judge Diamond.
He leaned in and gave Misty the tenderest of kisses on the lips. Then he spoke to her with his forehead touching hers. “I’ll respect your wishes if you’re not ready to tell me what you’re up to. But just so you know, I’m not going anywhere.”
> She cracked wise and said, “I hope not; you’re my ride home.”
She watched his jaw clench as he replied, “Woman, you know what I meant.”
Walking up the stone steps into the courthouse once again, Misty was still shook by the seriousness in Ryan’s voice. She didn’t know what to do with a man who cut through her sarcasm.
She passed through security and cracked jokes with the bored deputies at the checkpoint who were amused with her Southern accent.
Sarcasm and Southern charm had helped her get through most social interactions, but these traits weren’t going to work to keep Ryan at a distance. He did not want to be kept at a distance, and she was not a fan of being away from him for any length of time.
Which meant one thing. She was going to have to keep on open up. Body and soul. The idea of it triggered both anxiety and excitement.
The judge’s assistant sent Misty on through to the judge’s chambers when she arrived on the third floor.
“Thank you for meeting me,” Misty said to the judge, shaking her hand. She was a tall blonde who looked like the definition of “Iowa girl.” Long, shiny golden hair, strong, sturdy frame and long legs that almost made a mockery of the conservative judge’s robe.
Misty had intentionally cold-called a female judge. According to Misty’s research, Judge Diamond had recently ascended from the post of justice of the peace to criminal court judge.
“You’re welcome. I’m excited to meet you. You’re the one who just bought the house on 666 Main, aren’t you? You’ve caused quite a stir.”
“A stir?”
The judge laughed. “As much of a stir that happens around this town. People are curious; that house has been empty forever.”
Misty replied, “Well, that’s actually why I wanted to see you.”
The judge nodded. “I take it you have questions about that suicide case.”
Judge Diamond was not just shockingly good looking but also direct and serious. Misty immediately liked her.
The judge casually came around the desk and sat on a comfortable wingback chair and motioned for Misty to sit in a matching one adjacent to her.