Chapter 18
“So are you going to tell me what you do for work?” I asked.
“I would tell you but then I’d have to kill you,” Chris said in his best James Bond voice.
I had a sneaking feeling that he wasn’t joking though. He was certainly built to be part of some sort of special-forces group or elite military branch. His chiseled muscles covered every inch of his body. Even his hands looked like they had muscles on them, I had never met a man who had muscles on his hands.
But something about Chris struck me as not being in the military. He seemed a little too rough around the edges to work for the government. Instead, I thought he looked more like some sort of private security guy or something like that. I really had no idea.
“Seriously, give me a clue. Are you in the military? Police? Insurance salesman?” I smiled at the last one. He certainly didn’t look like an insurance salesman. If he were, I would buy every kind of insurance possible. Maybe that would be a good job for him.
“I really can’t talk about it. But yes, it’s something involving police and security.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Even though he had not given away any secrets, it helped to know a tiny bit about what he did. My mind still whirled with all the possibilities of what he really did when he was gone for weeks at a time. I also couldn’t stop thinking about why he had moved to Bain, Missouri. It wasn’t like we were on the map as a big up and coming town to live in.
“Can I ask you something else?” I smiled and leaned my naked breasts over the counter.
His eyes weren’t on mine, instead he watched closely as my nipples slowly touched the cold marble of the counter. They turned hard and it was difficult for me to not smile at the look on Chris’s face. He was mesmerized by my nipples.
“Chris, can I ask you something?” I said again.
“Yes,” he said.
“Why did you come here?”
“To fuck you,” he said with a smile.
I had to laugh, but that wasn’t what I meant and I thought he knew that. He was just avoiding answering my questions.
“Seriously, why?”
“Katelyn, I want to tell you all about me. I want to tell you all about my work and how I came to live here in this town, but it’s just not the right time. I know that is hard to understand, but please just believe me when I say I will tell you someday.”
I did believe him. Despite everything that had gone on between the two of us he seemed like a genuinely trustworthy person. At least that is what I was feeling, I could have been totally wrong. It was entirely possible that this guy was totally playing me. He could be anyone. He could be dangerous. He could be a hired killer for all I knew.
His phone rang again and Chris jumped up and took the call outside. This time he had pants on so he stood on the back porch and talked to whoever needed to reach him so badly. I watched his face as he talked on the phone and it seemed like he was angry. I couldn’t tell what he was saying except the occasional “No” that came out of his mouth. His eyes locked on mine and he winked at me. I melted. It was such a sweet thing coming from such a manly man.
I watched the muscles on his chest as he walked back and forth on the back porch. They moved slowly and with deliberate motion. I could see where they attached to his body because he had hardly any fat on his body at all. His defined muscles were just draped in tan skin with only slightest amount of tissue under it. He certainly was the fittest guy I had every met in person. As his call wrapped up I tried not to look like I had been staring at him the whole time, although I’m pretty sure he knew I was. I went to the sink and started to do some dishes.
When Chris came in he wrapped his arms around me and stood there with his face in the corner of my neck. His lips moving slightly against my skin, he seemed to be getting ready to say goodbye. But this time there was a real connection between us. This time we actually were going to talk about this trip.
“You have to go?” I said as I continued to wash the dishes.
“Yeah, I’m sorry,” he said as he kissed my neck.
“It’s alright. I wrote my number down on the paper over there.”
He released me and picked up the paper. As he placed it into his pocked he walked into the living room to gather the rest of his clothing. Only a minute passed before he was back in the kitchen fully dressed and ready to leave.
“It’s getting late. You are leaving tonight?”
It seemed really weird that he would be leaving so late in the evening. What kind of job called a guy at almost nine o’clock at night to tell them they needed to come to work right away? It didn’t seem right, but I decided it wasn’t my place to say anything else.
“Yep, I’m going to pack up and head out.”
I turned around and stood there, still naked as the day I was born. I watched him walk toward me with a sincerity in his eyes that I had not seen before.
“Be safe,” I said as his lips met mine.
“I will.”
He gave me one more quick kiss and then turned to leave the house.
Chapter 19
I went up to my bedroom so I could watch what he was doing. I didn’t know Chris very well at all but he certainly liked his secrets. There was a way where he told me just a little bit of information to make me think I had it all, but in reality I had no real information.
Chris stayed in his house for about an hour before I saw him coming out the back door with two black duffel bags. They looked like the bags he had before when he had carried them all into the house. My heart sank as I remembered touching the cold metal guns that were in those bags. He certainly was doing some sort of dangerous job if he was carrying around that many guns.
I watched as he loaded all six of the bags again and then went back into his house. I wanted to get a closer look to make sure the bags were the same as before, but I decided not to push my luck.
I fell asleep while watching Chris’s house but when I woke up his Jeep was still there. I decided to hop in the shower and then maybe I would stop by his house again to see what was going on. He had thought he needed leave pretty quickly when he was on the phone but apparently he was able to spend the night.
My art show was just a few days away and it was going to be so important for everyone who worked with me on my team. They all helped me so much with getting my show to go off the ground. Being an artist in today’s world can be very difficult for anyone who takes their work seriously. Art isn’t a way of making a lot of money and it takes a lot of work. I was lucky enough to have been somewhat successful and at least had people willing to buy my pictures. If I didn’t have people buying my photos I wouldn’t be able to be an artist full-time.
I really had to stop worrying about Chris and whatever he was doing with his job and start worrying about myself. My show was getting really close and I couldn’t be unprepared when I showed up. I needed to have all my prints ready and be willing and able to describe my methods for each of the photos. As much as I needed to work on my project, I couldn’t tear myself away from the thought that Chris was involved in something big. Whatever he was doing with those guns, I didn’t like it at all. I didn’t know Chris’s skills in defense tactics, but he certainly seemed skilled in many other areas.
Silently I said a prayer for Chris so that he would return home in good condition and he would accomplish what he had set out to get done with his job. I had never dated anyone who wouldn’t tell me what they did for work; not like Chris and I were dating. But why wouldn’t he just tell me what was going on? He could keep things generic and just explain a general idea of what he does; but even that wasn’t allowed apparently.
Chapter 20
My eyes got big as I watched Chris come out of his garage dressed in all black. He looked like some sort of swat team member and I was turned on. Police officers had never been a big fetish of mine before, but if they all looked like Chris then I could reconsider the option. His muscles seemed to be showing off in t
he tight shirt he had on and his black cargo pants and black combat boots seemed totally out of place. I decided I had to try and follow him.
Obviously, I wouldn’t be able to follow him all the time; but that moment just seemed perfect for getting into my car and seeing if I could follow Chris. He didn’t look back in his mirror and instead kept his eyes on the road as he speed through the traffic and made his way to the downtown area. I had not been down in that area of St. Louis in a very long time.
I felt a buzzing in my lap and I looked down at my phone. It was Chris, he was calling me. I certainly couldn’t answer the phone while driving on the interstate and following Chris. I decided to pull over quickly so I could answer his call.
“Hey, I just wanted to make sure I had your number right.” Chris said as he drove off and I lost him in the traffic of then busy city.
“That’s great.”
“I shouldn’t be gone for more than a couple days this time; hopefully you won’t get too bored.” I could hear the smile in his voice. Did he call me on purpose to get me to pull over? Where was he going? I just wanted to ask him that and see what he would say.
“That’s really great. I think you should start keeping all of your jobs to only a couple of days.”
It seemed obvious to me that Chris was making an effort. He seemed to actually care about my feelings and worked hard to ensure I would understand enough about his travels to know when he would be coming home. As we got off the phone, I continued to drive right to the airport. Just by luck I saw Chris’s jeep sitting in an unusual spot on the airplane tarmac. There was no way I could get to it and instead I just had to observe from afar.
I pulled my car up in a wooded area near the cargo loading planes. I just wanted to see if I could figure out what was going on and why Chris was involved. But it was impossible to see what was happening.
It was impossible to even know what people were in the plane or what was going on during this trip he was going on. I wanted to be supportive, but I couldn’t trust anyone yet. There was just a lot going on for the kids lately and I didn’t have the energy to trust people. I watched in silence as the ten duffle bags were unloaded from the Jeep to the new cargo plane. I assumed the bags were still full of guns, but I had no way of knowing for sure.
I continued to watch as a group of other men, who looked very similar to Chris, arrived and started to load themselves onto the cargo plane. The men all seemed to know each other very well. Whatever these guys were doing for a job, it seemed pretty dangerous. They all were bringing on black duffle bags that seemed to look a lot like the ones that Chris had had in his home.
I closed my eyes briefly to imagine what these guys needed all these guns for. Nothing that I could think of seemed like a very legitimate business. Although I was sure that somewhere there was a fake twitter account for these guys and their sexy hot bodies. The other men were the first to get on the plane and Chris seemed to be in charge so he waited and got onto the plane last. I watched each of the body guards intently as their muscular bodies seemed to have no problems with anything that came their way.
Chapter 21
I watched as the private plane took off and I couldn’t help but think that something illegal was going on. There was no way Chris worked for a police department or even a special agency; they didn’t let their men travel on private jets. It was hard to differentiate between the Chris I knew and the Chris that I saw loading up guns onto that private jet. The Chris loading up guns seemed very deadly. The look on his face was serious and he was not someone you would want to mess with. The Chris I knew was kind and caring and willing to carry an injured woman a half of a mile to her home.
I turned my car around and made my way back home. There was no use trying to figure things out right then, Chris said he would be gone for a couple days and that meant I wouldn’t hear from him that whole time. At least we had gotten to talk a little bit before he left.
The next day I was preparing my photos for my art show and I got a Skype call from Chris.
“Hello,” I said as I held the phone up to my face.
I had never Skyped anyone and wasn’t even sure why I had the app on my phone. Probably something Rebecca thought I needed. When I bought my phone she had made sure to install every possible application she thought I would want to use.
“Hey, I promised to do better. So here I am,” Chris said.
He was wearing a t-shirt and looked very casual in a hotel room. I couldn’t help but smile at the effort he was making to stay in touch. I also couldn’t help but wish I was in that hotel room with him. I bit my lip as thoughts of him naked rushed through my mind. His smoldering brown eyes looked at me as if I was the only woman in the world. It felt good, but it felt like he could tell exactly what I was thinking.
“Where are you?”
“Chicago.”
“Doing anything fun?” I didn’t want to come out and ask exactly what he did for work or why he was in Chicago, but I desperately wanted to know.
“Nope. How about you? That’s a sexy top, let me see it.”
I was out in my garage and wearing a torn up old t-shirt. I had gotten it while visiting Paris and it always gave me inspiration. I set my phone on the table in my garage and took a few steps back.
“It’s nothing but a rag,” I said.
“Yes, it’s horrible. Take it off.” Chris leaned closer to his camera and smiled.
I lifted my t-shirt up over my head and threw it to the other corner of the garage. Chris’ jaw instantly dropped. His eye widened like he hadn’t really expected me to do it. Come to think of it, I didn’t think I would either. Slowly I moved back toward the camera and let my fingers play with one of my nipples. I moved in nice and close so Chris could see what I was doing. He still had not said a single thing since I took my shirt off.
“Mmmm, I wish your lips were right here,” I said as I let my finger circle around my hard nipple.
“You don’t know how bad I wish my lips were there too.”
“Show me,” I said.
It was fun to play this game. Chris could only see my breasts at the moment and couldn’t see my face. It gave me a weird sense of confidence that I had never really felt before. I certainly would not have felt this confident if I was standing right in front of him.
“Oh you can’t handle seeing this,” Chris said in his usual cocky tone.
“You’re right. I better just get dressed and get back to my displays.”
I looked at the screen and there he was, sitting in some hotel room chair with his cock out in his hand. The camera watched as his hand slid up and down the shaft and I got wet just seeing him.
“When will you be back?” I asked as I picked the camera up and moved it to my face. I bit my lip slightly and licked my lips at the thought of feeling him inside of me again soon.
“I’ll be there for your art show. I promise.”
Chris moved the camera back up to his face and I suddenly felt embarrassed now. His chiseled jaw and defined muscular torso made me nervous. I could feel the flush of red taking over my face.
“I’m really nervous. I’ve never had a show as big as this one.”
“Don’t worry, people will love you,” Chris said confidently.
“What are you doing in Chicago?”
“Just work stuff. Nothing exciting.”
“I really am so nervous about this show. I’m afraid I’ll get there and no one else will show up. Or worse yet, people will show up and say the photos are terrible. I don’t know if I can take that kind of rejection.”
“You’ll be great. I’m going to get going. See you in a few days,” Chris said and he was quickly off of the call. It struck me that I felt bonded to Chris. We had not known each other for long and I certainly did not know much about him. I felt somewhat different about us after our conversation. I still wanted to find out all of his secrets, but I was alright waiting for a little bit if that is what he needed.
I finished putting one of t
he frames together for a picture and then made my way inside. As I walked across my yard, I thought I saw a light turn off from inside Chris’ house. I watched patiently from the comfort of my living room, just to see if anything unusual happened. I wanted to see if anyone else was coming or going from his house. He certainly had not talked about anyone being at his home, but then again he might not want to share that information until necessary. I continued to watch his house and felt like I was going crazy. No lights turned on or off and there certainly did not seem to be anyone running around outside. There wasn’t even a car around. After walking around the house and checking all the door locks and windows, I headed upstairs to my room.
For some reason, I felt scared. I had lived in my grandparent’s house on and off for years, and not once had I ever felt afraid while I was there. My instinct was that someone was watching me from afar and I either needed to confront them or pretend like I didn’t notice them. Unfortunately, I had no idea what I should do or if there was even a person out there that was watching me.
Chapter 22
“So tell me more about this mysterious neighbor man,” Rebecca said as she and Robert helped me bring my pictures to the art gallery.
“There’s nothing much to tell. He’s a mystery man.” I said and then laughed.
“You haven’t found out any more about him?”
“Nope, nothing. I guess he doesn’t like to reveal too much about his life.”
“You’re lying to us,” Rebecca said as she stopped and looked me in the eyes.
“What? There has been nothing to lie about. I don’t know anything about him.” I continued to bring my pictures out to Robert’s truck while behind me I heard Rebecca and Robert having a little bit of an argument. Robert was telling Rebecca to leave things alone and Rebecca was telling Robert that he didn’t know what he was talking about. It was actually very fun to listen to the two of them argue.
Secrets (A Standalone Novel) (A Suspense Romance) Page 6