Obsessed

by Aleatha Romig

  “What are you doing?” I asked. “It’s late. You need sleep.”

  “It was your idea,” she said, going to the bottle of wine sitting on the counter. We’d each had a glass with dinner. Now there was a stopper plugging the neck of a half-full bottle. “Where are the glasses?”

  Without speaking, I opened the correct cabinet and removed two wine glasses.

  Her blue eyes shone upward through veiled lashes. “I wasn’t planning on sharing.”

  I cocked my head to the side. “It’s my wine.”

  Pulling the stopper, Laurel poured the remaining wine into the two glasses, filling them to nearly the rim. “I’m not a big drinker, but I guess that doesn’t matter.”

  With the stem of a glass in her grasp, she turned and walked toward the windows.

  Her shoulders hunched forward and face fell forward. Though her back was to me, the windows were now a mirror. In the reflection her forehead furrowed and eyelids fluttered. Finally, with a deep breath she straightened her neck and lifted the glass rim to her lips and drank.

  Laurel spun my direction with new determination in her tone. “You know what else I’m not?” She didn’t wait for me to answer. “I’m also not someone who cries hysterically, hides from problems, steals the university’s property, abandons my friends and family, or runs away with a man she barely knows.” After shaking her head, she took a bigger gulp. “I quit. I can’t do this. You said you stepped in to save me. Don’t. It would be easier if you completed the task that you were hired to do. That way, I wouldn’t have to witness...” She let out a breath. “...all of this.”

  I shook my head. “No, Laurel.” After placing my untouched glass of wine on the counter, I stepped to her, removed the glass from her hand, and set it on the nearby table. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I pulled her closer until her chin rose and her blue eyes were staring up at me.

  “I wasn’t done with that,” she said.

  “Dr. Laurel Carlson, I know something else that you are not. You are not a quitter. There’s no way in this fucking world you would quit. With your formula, did you quit?”

  She shrugged. “I guess I have now.”

  “You haven’t. The research and development is on those flash drives. The flash drives are in my office. You didn’t quit. You’re taking a break.”

  Her forehead fell to my chest and I brought her closer. “I’m taking you upstairs to sleep.”

  “Kader...”

  I’d taken a step back and reached for her hand. As our fingers intertwined, I asked, “What?”

  “Tell me that it will be all right.”

  “I’ll tell you that we will do our fucking best to make it right.”

  Laurel didn’t argue or ask for more promises I couldn’t guarantee. She didn’t say a word until we reached the landing at the top of the stairs.

  “Something else I’m not is needy.” Her head shook. “I doubt you believe that, but it’s the truth.”

  “These are not normal circumstances.”

  “Will you...” Her beautiful blue eyes had dried and were searching mine.

  “What, Laurel?”

  “I don’t want to be alone.”

  Laurel

  “I’ll stay with you—”

  “...until I fall asleep?” I asked, finishing Kader’s sentence.

  “No, until I wake up. Give me ten minutes and I’ll be in your room.”

  I nodded and continued down the hallway. An odd sensation came over me with each step. In the presence of a man who’d been hired to kill me and who I’d recently asked to carry out the job, I felt safe. It was more than the knowledge that his home was isolated—because that should be a warning—or that the house was technologically advanced. It was a sense that I was meant to be here with him.

  I couldn’t explain this predicament to myself much less someone else although I’d like to try. I’d do anything to call my parents and tell them the information was wrong. I hadn’t run off with Russ, stealing the research and development. I had disappeared because after seeing Russ dead, I feared for my own life. I would tell them that despite all of that, I am safe.

  With my hair brushed, face washed, and teeth brushed, I stared into the mirror. The reflection didn’t look different. It rarely did. One doesn’t see oneself age. It happens too slowly. Yes, there were good hair days and bad, makeup and no makeup, clothes that flatter and others that don’t. Those superficial qualities mean less when faced with life or death.

  I’d lost it earlier.

  I wasn’t proud of that behavior, but I was ready to move on, to continue to put the pieces together and find a way to live, to work, and maybe one day to love.

  The opening of my bedroom door drew me from the bathroom. Stepping into the expanse of the bedroom, a smile came to my face as I scanned the man standing before me. He’d done the same as I had and readied himself for sleep. Instead of his normal blue jeans, Kader was wearing the soft pajama pants—similar to the ones he’d worn in the basement—a long sleeved t-shirt, and socks.

  Why was he wearing socks?

  When our eyes met, I asked, “Are there tattoos on your feet?”

  Kader shook his head. “Stop. Remember, that subject is off-limits.”

  “You can’t blame me for being curious.”

  He came closer, lifting a lock of my recently brushed hair. After wrapping it around his finger and letting it go, he said, “I can.” His head shook. “But I doubt it will stop you.”

  My only response was another smile or perhaps the one I’d had simply grew larger.

  “It’s late,” he said. “I haven’t slept in a while. I promise that while you’re in this house, you’re safe.”

  “I was just thinking about that. Do you have the perimeter armed?”

  He shrugged. “Something like that.”

  “If I opened a door to the outside, would I set off alarms?”

  “Internal. Let’s just say, I’d know.”

  I wasn’t certain what it was, but even in my state of exhaustion, I was drawn to him with a need to be even closer as if there were an invisible connection. I wanted more. I lifted my hand to his chest. “Thank you for not leaving me alone.”

  “I can’t promise to be a gentleman.” His lips quirked. “I can more likely promise that I won’t be one.”

  Reaching higher, I cupped his cheeks with the palms of my hands. In the last few hours a tiny bit of stubble had grown. The prickly sensation tingled from my palm to my core. “I had no expectations when I asked you to come in here. You must be exhausted. I asked you to be here because even though this house is safe, being near you fills a hole that the loss of my...” I sighed. “...everything created.”

  Kader took a step back as his gaze did a sweep of my body. “Tell me, Laurel, are you planning to sleep as you were when I woke you?”

  “I’d thought about one of your t-shirts.”

  Kader shook his head.

  “I mean, it’s soft and—”

  He didn’t let me finish. Reaching for the buttons on his shirt currently covering me, his lips found my neck. “The basement was dark.” His words came between kisses. “I felt your soft skin and sexy curves.” With the top few buttons undone, his lips moved downward to my collarbone, chest, and lower.

  My eyes closed and a moan escaped my lips as he nipped my now-hardened nipple, one and then the other. Teeth, tongue, and then he’d suck. I squirmed in his hold at his unrivaled use of both ecstasy and torture.

  “And I saw these gorgeous tits in your bedroom, but tonight...”

  I reached for his head, unsteady on my feet, and weaved my fingers through his recently untethered hair. Kader’s mane was untamed, much like the beast before me. There was nothing else I could do. Our roles were defined—as if before we’d met.

  He was the beast and I was his prey.

  Kader took a step back, the loss of his warmth causing my eyes to open. Though I wanted to protest, to say he’d said I could touch him, the growing cock b
eneath the soft pants reassured me that my fears of being rebuked were unfounded. “Kader?”

  “I want to see you—all of you.”

  “Will you let me—?”

  His finger came to my lips. “Don’t. This isn’t a quid pro quo.”

  Power and control deepened his timbre, sending jolts of energy and warmth through my bloodstream, settling between my legs.

  “Do this for me. Show me your fucking gorgeous body, all of you.”

  He ran his finger over my cheek. Its touch, now heated, left a trail of ashes as if his coarse fingertip was steel and my skin flint. Striking them together had me ready to ignite.

  “Don’t expect life to be fair,” he said. “It’s not. Show me what I saw before dinner. Unbutton my shirt.”

  My lower lip slipped below my teeth while my hands moved to undo the buttons. Desire and command created an intoxicating concoction that forbade me from refusing his demand. With my heart beating faster and lashes lowered, I gazed down at the small buttons and slowly slid one through the opening. When I looked up, the fire from earlier was no longer contained to his fingertips; green flames burnt within his eyes.

  “Another one,” he ordered.

  With my fingers now trembling, I did as he said, looking up to him as it slid free.

  “Fucking keep going, Laurel.” His deep voice was the growl of an animal about to break free.

  I’d never stripped in front of a man. I mean, I’d taken off my clothes but not like this. With each button my skin warmed and nipples went from hard to diamonds. My circulation rerouted as my breasts grew heavy and my drenched core clenched.

  Though I was obeying his commands, what I was doing was powerful in a way I’d never anticipated. Witnessing Kader’s growing erection beneath his pants, the wanton desire in his eyes, and the deep reverberation of his tone had me electrified. I was doing this to him, affecting him, and the sense of influence was exhilarating.

  It was as I reached the final button that he came closer, brushing the large shirt from my shoulders. Fluttering to the floor, the cotton puddled at my feet. His palm floated over my skin, a ghost of a touch, bringing the small hairs on my arms to attention.

  “Fucking gorgeous.”

  My smile bloomed. Kader was doing it again, distracting me, and it was working. There was nothing I wanted to think about at this moment but him, us, now.

  “Turn around,” he said, the huskiness in his tone saturating the air around us. “I want to see every inch of you.”

  Doing as he said, I slowly turned. Once I was facing him again, a mere nod of his chin told me he wanted me to do it again. With each spin my insides wound tighter and tighter until I was certain they may snap under the strain.

  Finally, I stepped toward him, inhaling the fresh scent of bodywash and the richness of his cologne. With my hand on his shoulder, I reached upward, straining my toes and neck until my lips met his.

  A transformer blowing.

  Lightning striking.

  A cosmic boom.

  Kader’s strong arms surrounded me as our lips continued their battle. One of his hands moved higher, his fingers fisting my hair, pulling me closer and bruising my lips. My tongue was the first to seek entrance and his followed. Our moans of pleasure and promise echoed about the room, bouncing off the large windows and filling our ears.

  Still holding on to one of his broad shoulders, with my other hand I reached lower, finding the waist of his pants. Slipping my fingers beneath the elastic band and under the soft fabric, I grasped his hard cock. The velvety surface of stretched skin was a drastic contrast to the rigidity of his shaft. Surrounding it as best I could, I squeezed tighter, all the while moving my hand up and down.

  “Fuck,” Kader groaned as the strain on my scalp increased.

  A whimper bubbled in my throat as he continued to wind his fingers, pulling my hair harder and keeping my face tilted upward. Our kiss grew heated, a battle for domination. My grasp moved faster, my thumb occasionally sliding over the moist tip.

  All at once, Kader reached for my hand, pulling it away as he took a step back.

  When our gazes met, I couldn’t read his thoughts.

  There were too many emotions swirling in the depths of his green eyes.

  Pain.

  Pleasure.

  Desire.

  Anger.

  The seams of his shirt strained beneath his chest as our heavy breathing filled my ears.

  “Did...I do something wrong?”

  He didn’t answer, stepping past me.

  I spun, following his movements with my eyes. Crushing disappointment descended as I anticipated him leaving, going to his own room, and not fulfilling his promise to stay with me.

  The room went dark as he hit the switch near the door. With only the illumination from the reflective snow beyond the windows, I watched his darkened silhouette, waiting for the door to open and close. Instead, he turned and came back until he was before me. Although I couldn’t see clearly, I was certain his cock was no longer contained.

  With one swift move from him, I was falling, my hands before me landing upon the mattress. Holding my ass, his foot tapped my ankles, encouraging my stance to widen.

  “Oh,” I panted as his fingers found my entrance.

  “You are fucking soaked.”

  “I-I want you.”

  One hand masterfully taunted my breasts while the other stayed at my core. His mastery was beyond my comprehension as if he knew my body better than I, fulfilling desires I never knew existed.

  While words were beyond my ability, Kader continued to speak, his deep tenor ringing in my ears as his warm breath skirted my skin. Repeatedly he questioned, the inquiries followed by declarations of admiration.

  “What are you doing to me? You’re like a fucking drug and I’m an addict. I can’t get enough of you.”

  A flick of my clit and my body stilled. The taunting had been too much, the pressure building too high. I was ready to implode. “I-I”

  Kader’s hands stopped what they’d been doing as his fingers again splayed over my hips. My forehead fell to the mattress, my back arched, and my cry filled the air. Primal and needy, the depth and power of his invasion stunned me. For a moment he remained unmoving with his grasp of my hips growing tighter.

  “Laurel, you can take me.”

  It wasn’t a question but another command.

  “I belong in your pussy.”

  I nodded.

  “Say it.”

  My eyes closed as I worked to relax my core’s defensive reaction. “I can. I want you where you are.”

  Though his grip continued to intensify, his rhythm began slowly. With each thrust the pleasure built. My fingers clawed at the blankets below me as I struggled to stay earthbound. My lungs fought for air as my breathing grew shallower. I was back at the edge of the ravine and in a few moments, I would fall to the river below. My toes curled as words I didn’t comprehend spilled from my lips.

  And then he was gone. Before I could ascertain what had happened, I was flipped to my back, my ass on the edge of the bed and knees lifted. In the dimness of the room I looked up to his gaze.

  “Put your arms around my neck, Laurel. I want you to touch me.”

  Sitting upward and ignoring the growing lump in my throat, I did as he said. My arms reached over his broad shoulders, my fingers grasping behind his neck. My eyes closed and head fell back as we were once again one. Threading my fingers in his hair, I lifted myself farther and brought my lips to his. Splaying his fingers under my ass, he lifted me higher, creating the perfect friction.

  It was almost too much stimulation, the fullness and friction, the touch of his skin and my fingers in his hair, and the beating of hearts in unison as we created a chorus of sounds.

  As the cliff reappeared, I held tighter to his shoulders. My muscles grew taut as did those beneath the shirt. Kader’s roar was the bass to my mezzo-soprano. Together we were the music behind the fireworks finale. It wasn’t until the
air settled and we were both lying in bed that Kader declared my destiny.

  My eyes had grown heavy and his breathing steady. His words were the last I heard before falling into a restless sleep.

  Had I heard them or were they a dream?

  Was their meaning a dream come true or the end of everything I knew?

  “I’m no fucking good for you. You’re too good for me. None of it matters. I’m not letting you go. You’re mine.”

  Laurel

  Waking to the glow of sunshine streaming through the windows and empty bed beside me wasn’t a surprise. What had surprised me was when I’d wakened during the night, Kader had still been with me, beside me, and even reaching out to me. One time, the warmth of his body was curled behind me and his strong arm over me.

  Each time his words came back to me.

  I’m not letting you go. You’re mine.

  There was an eerie finality about them.

  Now as I stood under the warm spray of the shower, I contemplated their meaning, much as I’d done throughout the night. It wasn’t only their meaning but the man who’d spoken them. In my limited experience, Kader was a man of few words, yet the ones he spoke, he meant. He didn’t waver and—by his own proclamation—had never lied. The words he spoke, he meant and fully believed.

  As I washed my hair and the glass stall filled with a sweet-scented steam, I recalled when Kader told me that we were leaving the basement. I’d argued and still, here we were, no longer in Indianapolis but in Montana. His stance of never negotiating was as much a part of him as curiosity was a part of me.

  Russ and I used to discuss the differences in different subjects’ reactions to our compound. We hadn’t determined how to respond to the discrepancies—we’d assumed we had time. However, in our limited clinical trials, we’d come to the conclusion that no two people would react exactly the same. We needed to broaden our observations and results because simply put, all people were hardwired differently.

  The everyday term became our personal joke as participants were attached to sensors with literal wires recording physiological responses to stimuli.