A High Heels Haunting (7 page)

“Do what?”

His mouth traveled down, nipping at my pulse.  “Bite your lip like that.”

A laugh bubbled up in my throat.  “My ex hated it.”

“Then he was an idiot.”

I had to agree with him there.  “Blake?”

“Uh huh?” he mumbled, his mouth opening to let his tongue tickle the hollow of my throat.

I let out a long sigh.  “R.J. told me about Angel.”

He froze.

Shit.  Why had I brought that up? 

Blake pulled back, his eyes unreadable, his expression suddenly guarded.  “He did.”

I nodded.  “He told me what happened.  I- I’m so sorry.” 

“Yeah.”  He looked out at the ocean, not meeting my eyes.  “Me too.”

“Listen, I understand if you don’t want to talk about her, but… well… I just wanted to let you know that if you do, it’s okay.  I mean… I’m here.”

He didn’t say anything, just stared at the sun casting perfect crystal shimmers on the cresting waves.  He sat that way so long I was beginning to worry.  Finally he just said a simple, “Thanks.”

I reached a hand out and gingerly took his, squeezing when he responded to my touch.  Finally he turned his gaze back to me, any trace of his thoughts gone, his genial smile replaced.  “You hungry?”  He nodded toward the picnic basket. 

“Famished.  Posing is more of a workout than I thought.”

He laughed deep in his throat.  “No kidding.”  Then he winked at me.  “
Especially with a
raging hard
-
on.”

*   *   *

It was late before Blake and I finally left the beach, the sun long melted into a dusky purple glow on the horizon as he gave me a goodnight kiss that ended in me letting him round second base.  The entire drive back to the freeway I had a goofy grin pasted on my face as I followed his taillights.  I was two exits from my turnoff when my cell rang out from my purse.

“Hello?” I answered
, popping in my Bluetooth.

“Hey, it’s me.” 

Blake.  If it was possible, my grin grew wider.  Damn I had it bad for this guy.

“Hey, you.” 

“Listen, I hope this doesn’t sound too presumptuous, but I really don’t want this day to end yet.”

I looked at my reflection in the rearview mirror and I think I smirked.  “Oh?  What did you have in mind?”

“Interested in coming back to my place for a nightcap?”

Oh yeah, that was definitely a smirk.  “Are you trying to get me in my skivvies, Mr. Stone?” I teased, flirting shamelessly.  Though I passed my turnoff, continuing to follow his BMW.

He chuckled on the other end.  “Nope.  I’ve already seen those.”

“Good, as long as we’re clear.”

“Follow me home?”

“Yes,” I said.  Then quickly hung up before he could change his mind. 

I followed as he surged into the next lane over, a ball of anticipation building in my stomach.  I tried to remember the last time a guy had invited me over for a
"
nightcap.
"
  I couldn’t.  Probably because it had never happened before.  Not that I’d never been with a man.  As I’d so eloquently put it on the beach, I was no a virgin.  I just didn’t get out all that much.  And when I did, it wasn’t like this, for romantic picnics and nightcaps.  The last guy I’d been with, I realized as I search that cobweb ridden section of my brain, was the rebound guy after Ex.  He’d been living with his mom at the time so we’d had to do it in the back of his car.  Something I hadn’t done since I was sixteen.  And it hadn’t gotten any more comfortable with age, let me tell you.

But I had a feeling tonight would be different.

By the time Bake turned off into a tree lined street just south of the City, the anticipation was so high I was fairly floating off my seat.  And, man, did I have to pee.  Nerves did that to me.  I pulled in behind him in front of a one story bungalow on a modest sized lot.  It was a nice neighborhood, set up on a hill, obviously well cared for.  Cosmopolitan without being too flashy.  It suited him.  The house was all glass on one side, capitalizing on the view of the valley.  And probably the swimming pool.

I shoved that thought to the back of my brain as Blake got out of his car and walked over to open my door.

“Home sweet home,” he said, gesturing to the place.

“It’s nice.”

“Thanks.  I like it here.”

He led me inside where simple, tasteful furnishings filled the modest space.  Wood and leather dominated, with small glass accents here and there.  Overall, a peaceful, homey feeling.  Beyond the living area sat a kitchen fitted with stainless appliances and pale, smooth cabinets.  A pair of glass doors led out to a backyard 
where
a small stretch of patio surrounding a brilliant blue swimming pool that overlooked the valley.  I quickly turned my gaze away, my skin shuddering as if I could almost feel that cold water washing over me.

“Mind if I use your restroom?” I asked.

“First door on the left.” 

“Thanks,” I called over my shoulder. 

Once I’d tinkled in an amazingly clean bathroom for a bachelor, I walked out to find Blake in the kitchen.       

“Would you like something to drink?” he asked, pulling a bottle of wine from a wrought iron rack on the counter.

I nodded.  If I didn’t watch it, I was going to become a lush.

“Merlot alright?”

“Fine.”

“Good.  This is from a new winery up the coast I’ve been meaning to try.  I think you’ll like it
.  I
t’s a little more mellow than most.  Could you hand me a couple of glasses?” Blake asked, his back to me as he rummaged in a drawer for a corkscrew.  

I pulled open the cupboard on my right and grabbed a pair of long stemmed, blue glasses.

“They’re in the first cupboard down the…”  He trailed off, turning around to give me an odd look. 

I looked at the glasses.  “What?”

“How did you know where they were?”

I blinked, looking from the glasses to the cupboard I’d just pulled them from.  I shrugged.  “Lucky guess?”

Blake gave a little shake of his head.  “Very.”  He poured merlot for us both, then corked the bottle and set it on the counter.

“You live here alone?” I asked.

“Yep, just me and Rufus.”

“Rufus?”

He shot me a grin over his glass.  “My dog.  He’s next door with the neighbors.  He hates being alone too long, so they watch him if I’m going to be out all day.  They’ve got three kids and Rufus just loves them.”

“So, you’re a dog person?”

“Yeah.  Why?”  He paused.  “Oh no.  Don’t tell me you’re a cat person?”

I nodded.  “Tabby.  An orange striped monster that doubles as my therapist.”

Blake made a tisking sound as he sipped his drink.  “That’s it, this is never going to work then,” he said, a teasing glint in his eyes.

I couldn’t help the corners of my mouth jerking up.  “No?”

He set his glass down.  Then slowly advanced on me until his lips were inches from mine.  “Nope,” he whispered.  Then
he
kissed me.  Softly.  Tenderly.  I responded instantly, my body going loose, my lips parting to meet his until our movements escalated into hot and needy.  His hands snaked up my back, my arms went around his neck
,
and he danced me backward toward the bedroom shedding clothing as we went. 

I never did get to try the merlot.

*   *   *

It was dark when I woke up.  At first I couldn’t remember where I was, then I heard Blake’s soft, even breath beside me.  His arms were still twined around my waist, our limbs tangled up in each other.  I smiled in the dark.  Wow.  I didn’t know what I did to deserve this night, but, man, I hoped I kept doing it. 

I slowly slipped from his grasp, careful not to wake him, and stood back, admiring his bare body.  A more perfect specimen I could not imagine.  I felt myself go all tingly again as I reached for his discarded shirt and slipped it over my head, padding out to the kitchen on bare feet.

I went to the sink and poured myself a glass of water, looking out the back door at the perfect picture of the valley of twinkling lights laid out before me.  Like thousands of stars fallen down to earth.  The sight was so alluring, I slipped open the back door and stepped out on the patio. 

The stone was cool beneath my feet, the air hitting me like a sudden refrigerated blast, causing little goosebumps to rise on my arms.  I looked out at the
stunning view
. 

Then down at the swimming pool in front of me.

It lay uncovered, the surface a glassy dark blue, appearing almost like a shimmering mirror reflecting the sparse moonlight.  I walked over to the edge
and
look
ed
down at my reflection. 

And t
hat’s when I felt him.

Hands on me from behind, shoving me forward as I watched my horrified reflection stare back at me.  A scream hit my lips, but before it could get out, water covered me, the sound lost in the waves of the perfect blue swimming pool.  I tried to push upward, to reach the surface, but something was holding me down.  Someone.  I thrashed my legs back and forth, my arms lashing out, my vision blurred by the water, everything growing darker and darker as I felt my lungs slowly losing air, screaming for the surface of the pool I could see just inches above me.  I tried to reach it, but couldn’t move.  The hands.  They still held me from behind, firm, strong, menacing.  Pushing me under as my vision went black, as I tried to scream one last time.

“Jesus, Kya, what’s wrong?”

I jumped as Blake materialized in the doorway, clad only in his boxers.

I looked down.  I was dry.  I was alive.  I was sitting at the edge of the pool, my knees tucked up under me, cold sweat pouring down my back.  I was shivering, my teeth chattering together.

“What are you doing out here?  God, you scared me half to death.  Why were you screaming?”

In one quick stride Blake was crouched at my side, his warm arms wrapping around me, chasing away the chill.

“I… I don’t know.”  Which wasn’t entirely a lie.  I shook my head trying to remember what had happened.  I’d gone to the kitchen for water, went outside.  I was standing at the edge of the pool when someone pushed me in.  Only…  I looked down.  My clothes were still perfectly dry.  Obviously I hadn’t been in the water.  A dream? 

“I… I came out to look at the pool,” I said, lamely.

Blake’s face was a deathly shade of white under the moonlight.  “Why?” he asked, his voice shaky.

“I… I don’t know.”  I shivered again despite his arms around me as I remembered the feel of those hands pushing me under the water.  It couldn’t have been a dream.  I’d been wide awake.  A hallucination?  But it had felt so real.  Even as I grasped Blake’s arms in a death grip, I could almost taste the chlorine on my tongue, feel the burn in my lungs, the desperation bubbling up in my throat again.

“Hey, you’re shivering,” Blake said, helping me to my feet. “Let’s get you back inside.”

I nodded and let him lead me through the glass doors and back to bed. 

Though both of us curled up into silent little balls as soon as we got there, each lost in our own thoughts.

Blake had an early shoot, something out in Half Moon Bay for a fitness magazine.  He slipped out at dawn with a chaste kiss to my forehead
, telling me to make myself at home and promising to c
all me later.  Which was fine.  After the midnight interlude at the swimming pool, I could tell some of the magic of last night had worn off for both of us. 

As soon as he left, I got dressed and went to the kitchen in search of coffee, pausing just a moment at the back door to look out at the pool. 

The odd thing was that I’d never thought of drowning before.  I’d learned to swim at my cousin’s pool when I was five, practically lived at the water park in the summers, and grew up just minutes from the ocean.  I’d never feared the water before, never given a second thought outside of basic safety to the idea of being sucked under the surface.  But now, suddenly, I was consumed by it.  First the dream, then last night… that.  Whatever that was.  Can you even call it a dream when you’re wide awake?  Part of me wondered if the stress of being
'
Kya Star
'
wasn’t getting the better of me.  Who knows, maybe the wine on the beach had been too much, maybe my never-before-abused liver had been tipped over the balance last night.

Had Angel been afraid of the water?  R.J. had said she’d gone out for a midnight swim.  I took a step closer to the pool.  People who were afraid of the water didn’t usually go swimming by themselves at night.  She must have known how to swim. 

So what had happened to her?