Stephanie Doyle - Possessed

“It’s all right,” he whispered in her ear.

“But how did they get in?”

“I left the door ajar. You said they liked to sleep with you. I figured they would find you.”

The consideration of the act touched a nerve under her heart and for the second time that night, she felt her eyes well with tears. She said nothing, but instead swallowed the lump in her throat and pretended to be unaffected.

The distant purring, the rumble of his breath in her ear, the warmth of his embrace around her body had her tumbling into sleep in minutes.

It was the same dream as before. She was back in the glittering ballroom, only this time Malcolm was holding her hand. He was dressed in a tux. The color contrast of the black on white seemed so stark. Just like him and the way he saw things in black and white…Only he didn’t. Not really. He said he didn’t believe in the things she told him, but he did believe her.

What was that if not gray?

He reached out his hand for her and she took it. This time, though, she noticed she was in a ball gown. Her shoes sparkled, and when she reached for her hair, she felt a diamond tiara perched on top of her head. She pulled the tiara off and looked at its glittering diamonds.

She frowned slightly at the frivolous accessory. She didn’t want him to give her things. She didn’t need things to make her happy. Things had no meaning. Things didn’t follow you when you died.

Only love did. And hate.

Suddenly, it was no longer Malcolm reaching out to her, but her grandfather.

“Please, Cassie. Talk to me. Let me talk to you. I need to say I’m sorry. You need to let me.”

Cass woke with a start and clapped a hand over her mouth, hoping to smother any noise she had made, but she wasn’t quick enough.

“What is it?” Malcolm stirred beside her, his arm still wrapped tightly around her waist as if he was afraid she might bolt in the middle of the night.

“Bad dream.”

“Was it…?”

“No. No monster. Just a bad dream,” she assured him. The lie rolled easily enough off her tongue, and for a second she felt guilty about it, given that they were currently tucked together in bed. It didn’t seem like the place for lies. But she dismissed the guilt she felt. He didn’t need to be bothered with the truth. Frankly, she doubted he would care.

No, that was probably a lie, too. He might care. That’s why she had to lie.

“Will you sleep?”

No. “Yes. Go back to sleep. If I can’t, I promise I won’t wake you.”

He moved then until he was on top of her, his face above hers so that she could make out the shape in the shadows of the room. Captivated despite herself, she ran a finger over the bridge of his nose. She found a bump there and remembered what he’d told her about having it broken. The small imperfection only added to his appeal in her eyes. It made him that much more touchable. More reachable, too.

“Are you feeling okay? I mean it wasn’t too much…”

“No. It was perfect. I feel fine.”

“Fine, fine?” His voice rose an octave and she smiled at him, knowing what was coming next. “Then I think I can help you get to sleep,” he whispered, lowering his mouth to hers so that his lips just touched hers then pulled away.

“Really?” she said, her smile growing wider as she sensed his playfulness. Suddenly, she had an urge to play along. “Do you have a sleeping pill?”

“Pill? No. It’s more of a therapeutic approach.”

“Like deep breathing?”

She could see his white teeth against the dark and knew that he was smiling again. For whatever reason, it made her happy. Cass couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this way. Tonight she could play with him. Then when she needed to, she could back away from him.

“There will be deep breathing involved,” he assured her. “Plus a muscle-relaxing technique that, while I have often found requires a certain amount of exertion at first, eventually results in a lassitude that makes sleep easy.”

His hips settled between her open legs and she felt him press against the sweet spot between her thighs. The last thing she thought before he slid inside her was that this would be different than the first time. It wasn’t going to be slow and intense or fast and frenzied. It was going to be fun.

And she gave herself over to it.

Cass felt a firm spank on her naked bottom and she was pretty sure it wasn’t one of her cats.

“Get up, sleepyhead. We’ve got a big day.”

Turning over, she saw that Malcolm was already up, dressed as if he was headed for the gym and so chipper she wanted to slap him. In the two days she’d been living with him, she’d come to discover that he was a morning person. And he had discovered that she was not.

“What time is it?”

“Almost ten in the morning,” he told her.

Cass’s eyes popped open. Ten was late even for her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so late. Although sleeping did come much more readily in a big warm bed after a night of passionate sex. It was definitely a pattern she could get used to.

“Seriously?”

He smiled mischievously, and once again, she was reminded of how much younger he seemed when he did. “Seriously. You went out like a light after another of my special relaxation therapy treatments last night, and you haven’t stirred since. But it was getting late and I was starting to worry about you so I figured I would wake you.”

“I’m glad you did.” For two days they’d both been content to just be. They’d read the paper. They’d talked. They’d eaten. And they had made love. Last night, however, Cass had decided it was time to get serious about finding a new job. This fantasy world she was living in was only temporary, and she needed to be prepared for what came next when it ended.

“I would hold off on your shower this morning until after.”

“After what?” she asked tentatively. “Are you planning on seducing me again this morning, Mr. McDonough? Because I have to say if you are…well, that would be fine.”

Malcolm laughed and the sound made her heart bump heavily against her chest. “As enticing as that sounds, I have another idea. I came up with it this morning. Trust me, okay. I want to take you to this place I know. I think it might help.”

“Help what?”

“I don’t want to say. I don’t want you to nix the idea before you’ve had a chance to see what I’m talking about. Get dressed in what you would wear to work out, and I’ll meet you downstairs.”

“Malcolm…”

“Trust me.”

He left before she could protest, and she huffed with irritation. Trust him. Like that was the easiest thing in the world to do. She briefly recalled making a mental pact to stop letting him lead her around. To take back control. But the idea of stubbornly refusing an offer of help for no reason was silly.

Figuring the job search could wait, Cass decided that whatever he had in mind couldn’t hurt. She found a sports tank top she’d packed and matched it with a pair of her yoga pants and sneakers. A normal workout outfit and one that she would have donned to do her exercises anyway.

Skipping down the staircase, she made her way to the kitchen and found a glass of juice and toast waiting on the counter for her.

“You want eggs?” he offered with his head still inside the oversize refrigerator.

“Toast is fine.”

He closed the door and shrugged. “Good, because I don’t have any. I’m running out of everything. I really need to do some grocery shopping.”

Cass stared at him, her orange juice glass suspended halfway to her mouth. “You grocery shop?”