Greg Iles - Sleep No More

“Hmm,” Rose growled.

Ana darted into the kitchen for the cell phone, then ran for the back door. Rose followed slowly, her big hips swinging with patient determination.

As soon as she cleared the door, Waters walked back to the master bedroom and opened the door. Lily lay on her side beneath the covers, breathing deeply.

He walked over and started to touch her shoulder, then drew back his hand. What could he say? How could he know if Mallory or Lily was in control at any given moment? He couldn’t simply ask Lily if she was Mallory. If Lily awakened as herself, his words would confuse and even frighten her. And if she awakened as Mallory, she might simply lie. He closed the bedroom door, but before he could think of a sensible way to learn the truth, Lily rolled over and opened her eyes.

“John?” she said in a sleepy voice. “What are you doing home? What time is it?”

“I’m back from work, babe. It’s suppertime.”

She rubbed her eyes. “God…I must have slept all afternoon.”

He sat beside her on the bed. “Do you feel sick?”

“No, just…out of it. It’s weird, like jet lag or something. Where’s Ana?”

“Outside with Rose. I asked Rose to stay late.”

“Why? I’ll get up.”

“Not yet.” He leaned over her. “Do you remember what you did today?”

Lily nodded. “Yes, I…” She blinked several times, then looked blankly around the room. “I guess I don’t remember.”

Waters looked into his wife’s bewildered eyes. All his instincts told him Lily was herself now. But even if she were, what could he say to her? I think you’re possessed by the soul of my old lover? No, what he needed to do was bring Mallory to the surface. But how to make her reveal herself? Actions speak louder than words, said a voice in his head.

Lily threw aside the bedcovers and started to get up. Waters took hold of her shoulders and gently pushed her back down. “You don’t have to rush,” he said. “Annelise is fine with Rose.”

“I’m okay,” Lily assured him. “Really. I can get up.”

Waters laid the flat of his hand between her breasts and rubbed softly. “What if I don’t want you to get up?”

Her eyes widened in surprise.

“I’ve been thinking about last night,” he said. “All day.”

After staring at him for a moment, Lily reached out and touched his thigh. “That feels good,” she said.

His fingers went to the buttons of her silk nightshirt and opened the top three. As he leaned down to her breasts, he felt her hands entwine in the hair behind his head. He kissed gently at first, but as the pink flesh swelled in his mouth, he withdrew his tongue and bit the nipple.

“Hey,” Lily protested. “Easy, okay?”

Waters murmured his assent, but he knew he would have to go further to awaken Mallory. For a while he caressed Lily’s breasts in the way she had always liked. Then he kissed his way up to her left ear. “I want you now,” he whispered. “Are you ready?”

Lily shifted her thighs, then made a sound low in her throat. “I think so.”

He unbuckled his belt and slipped off his pants. Lily took hold of his shirt and pulled him across her, then kissed his mouth. As she parted her legs, he touched her cheek and said, “I want to be behind you.”

Lily looked uncertain. “I want to see your face.”

“I know.” He shut his heart and focused on what he had to do. “But you know what I like.”

Confusion clouded Lily’s eyes, but after a few moments of reflection, she kissed him, then rolled over and got onto all fours. “Go slow,” she said. “I’m not that ready.”

Waters knelt behind her, rubbing and kissing her lower back. Lily remained still. Mallory would have arched her back, catlike, against his hand. He wasn’t sure exactly what to do next, but he knew in his soul that he was right. Given the right stimulus, Mallory would betray herself. She would be unable to resist. He slapped Lily on the rump, hard enough to sting.

“Ow,” she cried. “What was that for?”

“You know what I like.” He spanked her again. “What do you like?”

“I don’t like that.”

He slapped her once more, and harder. Lily tried to jerk away, but he grabbed her hips, thrust forward, and went between her thighs. She froze. Poised in this odd position, this confusion of desire and resistance, Waters felt something change. The flesh under his hands seemed to shiver, and then, as he watched in fascination, Lily looked back over her shoulder, her eyes glinting with excitement and anticipation.

“Oh, I know what you like,” she said, pressing her hips back against him. “And you know what I like. So do it.”

Waters was paralyzed. The consciousness glittering in those eyes belonged to a woman he had first made love to more than twenty years ago, before he even met his wife.

“Mallory?” he whispered.

She laughed then, a low, throaty sound, and her eyes filled with dark amusement. “When did you know?”

Waters could not find his voice. To look at his wife’s face and see no trace of her in it was more than he could endure. As he knelt with his mouth open, Lily reached between her legs and took hold of him.

Her touch jolted him like a defibrillator jolting a dead heart. He had accomplished part of his goal, but what he needed to do next, he could not do now. He threw himself off the bed, grabbed his pants, and ran for the hallway.

“Johnny!” yelled the voice behind him.

He pulled on his pants by the back door and buttoned his shirt as he ran outside. He saw Annelise and Rose at the swing set, Rose pushing Annelise with the steady rocking motion of an oil-well pump. The moment Rose saw his face, she grabbed the chains of the swing and stopped it.

“What’s the matter, Mr. John? Where’s your shoes?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Lily’s too tired for supper. I’m going to take Ana to her grandmother’s for a while.”

Concern filled the maid’s eyes. “Are you sure everything’s all right? Lily don’t usually sleep like that. Maybe you should give Dr. Cage a call.”

“No, it’s-”

“Mama!” cried Annelise. “Daddy said you were sleeping.”

Waters whirled and saw Lily walking down the back porch steps. He ran toward her with his arms out.

“You need to rest, honey! You said you were dizzy.”

Lily squinted at him and shook her head. “I’m not dizzy. I want to see Annelise.”

“No,” Waters said firmly. “You need to lie down.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s still daylight.”

“Go back inside!”

“Daddy?” called Annelise. “Why are you yelling at Mom?”

Waters turned and saw his daughter walking up behind him. “Mama’s sick, baby. You stay right there.”

“Sick?” Ana’s voice cracked. “Sick how?”

Waters turned and saw Rose staring at him as if he had lost his mind. Have I? he thought. Then he remembered the eyes glinting in the bedroom. “Lily, please go back inside.”

Annelise began to cry.

Lily looked back at him with such a hurt expression that he felt like a Nazi storm trooper. But was she really upset? Or was Mallory reveling in a role she’d been waiting ten years to play?

“Mr. John,” Rose said in an indignant voice, “I think you the one needs to go back inside. Get yourself a drink and sit down for a while.”

Lily’s eyes remained on Waters, pleading for some explanation.

“Go back inside,” he begged. “Please.”

Lily burst into tears, then turned and ran back up the steps. Behind him, Annelise began to wail. Waters turned and saw Rose kneeling with the child in her arms, comforting her with soft words. But over Annelise’s shoulder, the maid glared at him with eyes that could melt steel.