by Cate Mckoy
“Oh, you better believe it is. We have our troubles like any couple. But we will get through this. Why do you think he hasn’t come to get his box?” She didn’t wait for Chastity to answer. “Because he wants to come back to me.”
Chastity turned and came face to face with Chelsea. “Whatever, I couldn’t possibly care less about you and Rick.” She was angry with herself because she heard the lie in her own words.
Chelsea had a smug, knowing grin on her face. “Of course, you care. I’ve seen the way you look at him.” She bumped Chastity’s shoulder hard as she went to leave. She opened the door and turned back. “Remember, the princess winning against the Queen is just a fairytale. In real life, the Queen rules.”
***
Rick took a quick glance from the road to look at Chastity. She hadn’t spoken a word since he helped her into the car. He was fine with the silence. It kept his concentration on the ever-worsening conditions outside. The snow had started about fifty minutes in to their trip. At first it didn’t look as if the snow was going to stick. Now, there was no doubt that it would stick. There was a fine blanket of snow on everything.
He switched his satellite radio to an all-weather station to get the latest update. He wasn’t too worried. His truck was built for bad weather, long hauls and hard work. Chastity’s silence worried him more. When he had gone inside to get Chastity after parking his truck out front, he had spied Chelsea coming out of the ladies’ room.
He had known Chelsea’s easy smile, wiggled fingers and “Hello lover” wouldn’t bode well for him. Seconds later Chastity had come out with a fierce frown and a brisk step. She had allowed him to hold her coat for her and put his hand at the small of her back to lead her to the car. However, once she was seated, she had taken a deep interest in the scenery outside her passenger window.
“Did you remember to not tell anyone you were leaving for a few days?”
“I told Sydney.”
Rick sighed.
“And, Erica.”
“Chastity!” He admonished.
“Betty.”
“Chastity, I said no one.” Rick was annoyed. Not only at her silence up until now but at her first words.
“Well, excuse me for wanting my family and friends to know I am safe.”
Rick’s jaw clenched as he counted to ten in his head. “Anyone else?”
“Yeah, I updated my social media statuses.”
“Chastity!”
She heard his patience slipping. “Fine, I only told my parents, Sydney, Erica, and Betty.”
“I guess I have to be fine with it since I can’t do anything about them knowing.” He gave her another quick glance. “Good thing you didn’t know our destination.”
She turned slightly in her seat. “What is our destination?”
“Taking you to a cabin in Echo Cliff.”
“That’s three hours away?”
“A little more than an hour now.” Rick glanced at the dashboard clock.
He switched the station to one playing music from the seventies and eighties.
“Wow. How old are you?” Chastity looked at him.
“Thirty-seven. Why? How old are you?” Rick asked even though he knew the answer.
“Twenty-six.” He gave her a look. “Ok, on my next birthday.”
They were silent for a few moments when Rick couldn’t stop himself from asking. “A twenty-five-year-old virgin?”
“What about it? You have never seen one before?”
“Is that seriously what you expect me to believe?”
“It’s the truth.”
“Like your stalker?”
“What the hell does that mean?” Chastity was getting upset. She didn’t understand why she didn’t go into panic mode with Rick. If someone else had been questioning her like this, she would have panicked and started to hyperventilate. Rick was different. She felt safe with him. Even when they disagreed.
“Chastity, the lab results revealed that the blood and sperm were from the same male.”
“So, isn’t that what you were thinking? I was.” She was confused.
“The tests also revealed that the heart, the blood and sperm came from a lab, they were specimens that had already been medically collected. The heart had signs of having been in autopsy.”
“But that would mean…” Chastity trailed off as realization dawned.
“That the blood, sperm, and heart most likely came from a medical facility.” He tried to convey his meaning with his tone not only his words.
“You think my facility or the college that teaches medical students where I work?” Chastity was suddenly more frightened. She hadn’t expected to know her stalker. If the specimens proved to come from her facility or the college, it was probable that she knew him.
“Not just your facility, Chastity?”
“What else?” His hesitation worried her.
“Not just your facility but…you.”
Chapter 8
“I thought you said you were bringing me to a cabin.” Chastity looked at the cabin in shock.
Rick was surprised at Chastity’s voice. Since he basically accused her of being her own stalker, she hadn’t spoken a word to him. He had tried several times to start a conversation, from the weather to what kind of food she preferred. She totally ignored him. Rick finally gave up and put all his attention to the road in front of him. The snow had fully made an impact. By the time he reached the start of the incline of Echo Cliff even Rick’s truck was fighting to not slide. Visibility was nearly nil. Rick looked at his family’s cabin and tried to view it through Chastity’s eyes.
“With that mansion you grew up in, you can’t tell me that you’re impressed by a simple cabin?”
“When I think of cabin, I think of interlocking logs, a small house made of wood with a fireplace to roast marshmallows. This is a two-story, modern house. A gorgeous, two-story modern house.”
“Thank you. Dad built it with his brother. It started out small. Even with all the renovations and upgrades we’ve always just called it the cabin.” Rick turned off the engine and turned to her. “Now, that you’re talking to me again, I want you to know that I haven’t made any final decisions yet. I am weighing the information.”
Chastity’s look turned serious. “If you had made a decision, I’d be under arrest for false reporting and wasting police time.”
Rick sighed. “Let’s get inside, get warmed up. Then, if you want to talk about this we can.”
She nodded. She felt that Rick was just being kind. He believed the evidence. He was an honest cop through and through. Unless she could convince him otherwise, he would bring charges against her.
***
Chastity reveled in the warmth of her comfortable sweats. She had a soothing shower, finished her nightly routine. Rick had carried their bags in and immediately shown her to a guest bedroom with an en suite bathroom. Chastity had taken full advantage of the modern shower, with multiple showerheads; pulsing and massaging. She had taken Rick at his word when he told her to take her time. She had expected the house to have an empty feeling to it and be chilled. It had been warm and welcoming. Someone had prepared the home for their arrival.
She made her way downstairs and followed the sounds to Rick in a nice size living room with a huge fireplace. He had a toasty fire going. The lights were dimmed. A large window showcased the winter storm. It looked like a Christmas postcard outside with everything blanketed in thick snow. Snowflakes falling silently added to the winter wonderland.
Rick was sitting next to the fire with a stern expression on his face. He had showered and changed too. He wore pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. His bare feet lent an intimate quality to the room. When he saw her, he stood and came over to her.
“Did you find everything you need?”
She nodded. “Yes, thank you. Your bathroom is very well stocked. It has a woman’s touch.” She said curiously.
He stared at her, ignoring her hint, he said huskily, “You look li
ke a teenager in these sweats and that ponytail you’re sporting.”
She took the hand he offered. He led her to a pile of pillows in front of the fire. “I made some cocoa to warm us up.”
She smiled looking at the cups of still steaming cocoa on a small tray on the comforter. She removed her slippers and sat Indian style on the thick comforter. He sat beside her and handed her one of the mugs.
“Careful, it’s still hot. I timed it perfectly it seems.” He took the other mug and took a cautious sip.
She tried hers. “Mm, that’s good. Warms right down to my belly.”
She looked over to find him watching her. She blushed. His look was intense, and his eyes told her things she didn’t fully understand. She looked around for something to talk about. Her eyes landed on the row of pictures on the mantel. She spotted him right away. Even in the pictures of the children. In almost all of them he was pictured with two beautiful little girls. They had to be his sisters. They shared his good looks. He had his arms around both girls in a lot of the pictures. In others they were fishing, swimming, at a cookout and doing various family-oriented activities. There were several of him with the women as adults. They were very good-looking women. One of them posed in several professional modeling pictures. In those she was alone. The girls could have been twins. Their look was so similar, but the expressions of the model was somehow that of an older sister. In the most recent pictures Rick was pictured only with the non-model.
She pointed at the mantel. “Are those your sisters and you?”
He didn’t take his eyes off Chastity. “Yes.”
“They’re very beautiful. What are their names?”
“Lanie and Lara.” At his answer, Chastity thought perhaps she was mistaken. “They are twins?”
He shook his head. “Lanie is the eldest, then me and then Lara is the baby.”
“What do they do?”
His hesitated a moment. Chastity thought he wouldn’t answer her. But then he said softly. “Lara is a Dulaney County Deputy Sheriff.”
“Ah, I guess it runs in the family. Huh?”
He reached over and started to play with her ponytail. “I guess it does.” He answered as if he wasn’t caressing her hair.
“What does Lanie do?”
Again, there was a pause. He continued to stroke her hair. “Lanie was a model.” His voice had gone quiet.
“I figured as much. She really is stun—” Chastity stopped. She looked at the last picture of Lanie and then at Rick. He stroked her hair still, but his eyes were no longer on her. He stared in to the flames. “Was?”
“Lanie was raped and murdered by her stalker.” He said the words in a monotone.
Chastity gasped. “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry, Rick.”
He continued in the dead voice as if she hadn’t spoken. “He had been harassing her for months, leaving little trinkets in her mailbox and on her doorstep. Lanie didn’t take too much of it seriously. But, one night she got scared because he had left something on the inside of her house. She didn’t want to worry our parents, so she called me first and then Lara. Lara had just entered the sheriff’s academy and was so busy and she had a curfew for her barracks. I was a new homicide detective, trying to prove myself with my new partner. Lara and I both sort of blew her off thinking the other one of us would handle it.”
Heartbreakingly, his voice continued in a monotone. She could tell he was hurting. Although his outward appearance hadn’t changed one iota nor the cadence of his voice, Chastity felt his pain. She took the hand that wasn’t stroking her hair.
“A strange feeling came over me suddenly while I was in the car with my partner. I called Lanie. There was no answer. I called Lara. That’s when she told me she thought I was handling it. I shouted at my brand-new senior partner to drive to my sister’s house. We had to kick in the door. I found her on her bedroom floor, naked, her throat slashed, her breasts mutilated.”
Tears ran down Chastity’s face. She cried because she knew he wouldn’t. She hugged him and held him while he finished. “My sister’s case was the first murder case I solved. That piece of shit is on death row. It was my first stalker case too. My parents were never the same. My father was a broken man. My mother lost her mom-sparkle. Lanie had never told them too much about her stalker. None of us took it seriously as we should have. A year after Lanie’s murder my parents were coming home from dinner out and were t-boned by a drunk driver. They didn’t feel a thing… anymore.”
Chastity’s tears ran dry as she held him. They sat in companionable silence until the howling wind battered against the window panes, rattling the glass and the lights flickered and went out.
“Don’t panic. It’s probably just the storm.” Rick got up, looking out the window.
Chastity wasn’t scared at all. It wasn’t like when she was at her house and she had felt anxious and everything felt like it was closing in on her. She felt safe with Rick.
“I’m not scared or about to panic.” She assured him as she took another sip of her cocoa.
Rick turned from the window at her calm voice. He studied her for a moment. She really wasn’t scared. Her beautiful eyes were clear, her posture relaxed in front of the fire. She hadn’t even put down her cocoa. “I can see that. Want to tell me why not?”
He sat down and took up his cocoa while watching her. The firelight enhanced her already stunning beauty.
“Well, for one, there were no frightening noises before-hand.” She set her cocoa down and continued. “And two, I’m much too comfortable to move and the fire is lighting the room. Three, you’re here. I don’t know why, but I feel safe with you.”
He continued his scrutiny of her through narrowed eyes. She sighed. “You think it’s because I am the one leaving all these notes and bloody messages. Don’t you?”
He set his cup down next to hers, moving the tray to the hearth. He moved closer to her. Unable to stop himself, he touched her face with a gentle finger, from her brow to her kissable lips. “Not necessarily.”
His thumb brushed against her plump bottom lip. He watched his actions with an intense concentration. “You have the most incredible lips.” He leaned in, brushed her lips with his mouth. She gasped and her eyes fluttered closed. “They’re perfect.” He whispered as he took her mouth in a long, hot, wet kiss.
Rick knew he was in trouble the second her little tongue stroked along his. He groaned, taking her down to the comforter. She accommodated his body against hers as they deepened their kiss. He put his weight on his hands at the side of her head so not to crush her.
She kissed him back with as much want and need that he felt. He couldn’t get enough of her taste. He devoured her mouth. He sucked on her tongue bringing it into his mouth. She tasted him deeply. His cock pushed against her through their clothes. Like a mind of its own, it sought her heat.
Chastity wrapped her legs around him as her desire to thrust against him grew. The necessity for air had her pulling back from the kiss, arching her throat as he made a hot trail with his tongue down her throat.
The heat from the fire was scorching his over heated body. Rick got on his knees and removed his t-shirt. He looked down on her. She was aroused. She issued little pants as her eyes roved his muscular chest. “Y-your muscles are sexy.”
He smiled at her breathless tone. He put her hands on his chest. “Touch me, Chastity.”
She moaned, rubbing his chest. He laid against her body again, kissing her some more. They traded deep kisses and hot touches until Chastity’s nipples ached. Rick purposely caressed around them, but not the nipples directly. Her ache was nearly painful. She plead for his touch. “Please, Rick.”
He leaned up and looked down into her face. “Please, what?”
She sat up to kiss him. He avoided her mouth. “Tell me what you want, sweetheart.”
Shyly she turned her face away. He brought her eyes back to his. “Tell me.”
She saw the challenge in his eyes. Feeling brave she sat up bringing th
em closer to one another. Before she could lose her nerve, she pulled her shirt over her head, tossing it on the floor.
“Holy, fuck!” Rick swore. She was naked from the waist up. She wasn’t wearing a bra. Her beautiful brown globes called to him. He guided her back down to the comforter. He stayed up so that he could watch her. He reached his hand to cup one of her breasts. “Mm look at this stunning beauty. Your nipples are hard. I love that.”
He teasingly circled a nipple. He smiled satisfactorily as she arched into his hand and begged. “Please.”
He whispered, his mouth a hairsbreadth above her aching nipple. “Please what, sweetheart? Tell me what you want me to do.” He asked, grinding his pelvis against hers, gyrating their bodies together while he licked the underside of her breasts, the top, the sides, her nipple grew bigger, he blew on it.
“Oh, God! Please, put it in your mouth!” She was almost in tears when he growled and took her nipple in his mouth, sucking it down and then laving it with his tongue, licking the crest before taking it back in and suckling her.
Chastity moaned and moved in counter point to Rick’s thrusting against her. She gripped the back of his head, holding him to her breasts. As if he could leave, once he tasted her. He licked a path from one nipple to the other.
“I-I am going to c-come.” She panted.
Rick looked up. She cried out in protest at his mouth releasing her nipple. She looked hot, aroused and ready to explode. He got back on his knees and grabbed the waistband of her sweats. Quickly, he pulled them down her legs, happy to see her naked underneath.
“I want to taste your come.” He positioned himself between her thighs. His hand tested the wetness there. He nodded satisfied. “Part those pussy lips for me. My hands will be busy with your nipples. Show me where you want me to lick you.”
With shaky hands she quickly complied with his hot demand. Parting her lower lips, exposing her clit to him she panted, looking him directly in the face. Rick returned her heated look. He gripped a breast in each hand, massaging them. He looked at her pussy in the fire’s glowing light.
“You have a pretty pussy. Pink and brown are my new favorite colors. Your clit is magnificent. You’re so turned on it’s pushing through, rising for my tongue.” His deep voice did things to her insides. She squirmed in anticipation.