Like a Bird (20 page)

“I know,” Kitty said. “I’m not afraid of work. Do you think building up a loyal following of thousands for no pay is easy?”

Gareth looked away and played with his glass.

“I’d like to see you do that.” She followed up by finishing off her drink.

Gareth huffed. “How are going to find time to build up a business with your videos and your job?”

“Easy, I don’t have a job anymore. By the way, seeing as I no longer have steady employment, I was wondering if I could trouble you for next month’s rent.”

Gareth chuckled and shook his head. He made Kitty wait while he sipped his champagne and slowly placed it on the table. “How much and when?”

“Eight hundred. Tomorrow.”

Her eager blue eyes regarded him with an intensity that forced him to look away and shift in his seat.

“That’s fine,” he said.

Kitty smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. “Thank you.”

They ordered dinner and a bottle of wine. Kitty helped herself to Gareth’s plate and she gradually moved closer to him, until his lips were finally on hers and his hands began to explore her body. She stroked his hair before she grabbed on and pulled him closer. His hand slid along her thigh beneath her skirt, sending a wave of warmth from her legs to her heart. The server silently took their plates away, leaving their glasses and a half bottle of wine.

Kitty stroked Gareth’s face, his eye inches from hers. “I missed you,” she said with longing.

A flash of light blinded her and she pulled back, confused. At the same time, Gareth put his hand out as a shield from the flashes.

“Kitty! We love you. We love the show!” A crowd of Japanese men in crisp black suits wielded their camera phones and smiled at her, while Gareth flipped up his hood and faded away like a shadow. Trapped in the booth, she tried to wave the men away and chase after Gareth but he had already slipped out of sight.

“Uh, thank you. But this is not a good time,” she said with a strained expression.

“We are big fans. Can I get a picture with you?” one man asked.

“Umm . . . one. Really quick, OK?” Kitty tried to slide out of the booth, but two men sandwiched her in and leaned toward her, grinning for the camera. Kitty sat for three flashes before she tried to leave once more.

“Just one more, one more!” they called, and the friends swiftly traded places. When a security guard charged in like a bull to crush the impromptu party, the group of keen fans scurried back to their table. Kitty hurried out of the restaurant with her head tilted to cover her face.

Outside a friendly valet ushered her to a waiting cab. Kitty shook her head and wiped away her tears as she headed for home on foot.

- -

The loud pulse of the helicopter blades disturbed all the sleeping creatures that had settled into the quiet night. Sky opened her eyes to darkness. She had no idea what time it was and scanned the room for a sign. Wisdom stood at the door, her posture erect and ready for action. Sky lifted her head to better follow the story of sounds that told her Gareth had returned.

His footsteps grew louder until they stopped just outside her door. In the momentary quiet she heard a beep and the slide of the lock. The door opened slowly and Wisdom remained still with her hackles raised. Gareth rubbed her head before he stepped past her and approached the cage where Sky lay as though she were still sleeping.

He watched her for a few moments. Sky put on a convincing show, breathing deeply and waiting patiently for something to happen. Her prosthetic arm lay off to the side, and Gareth inspected it from afar. He quietly circled the cage to look at her face. Sky could feel the heat of his gaze and she moved slightly.

“Are you awake?” Gareth asked softly, his voice like footsteps on gravel.

Sky stirred and brought her hand to her face, turning over and rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. She blinked slowly in his direction. Gareth opened the cage door, and Sky sat up, her hair a tangled pile on her head. Gareth smiled at her and reached for her to come to him. Sky crawled to the door and put her arms around him and found her embrace returned in full. Gareth cupped her head in his hand, smoothing her hair with his palm.

“Thank you,” Sky whispered with her head pressed against his chest.

- -

It was morning outside, but not in Gareth’s bedroom. Sky lay curled up in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder and her chest rising and falling evenly. Gareth pulled his arm away and rolled over, rubbing his face and clearing his lungs. Like a symbiotic creature, Sky moved with him, unwilling to let the morning have its way with them.

“Did you sleep OK?” Gareth asked. He kissed the top of her head causing her to stir.

Her hand ran up along his chest, and when she reached his face her fingers slid through his hair. She lifted her head and opened her eyes to get a good look. “You cut your hair!”

Gareth scoffed. “No,
you
cut my hair. Remember?”

Sky smiled and sat up. “I mean, you got a real cut.” She played with his hair. “I like it. It looks beautiful.”

“Everyone seems to like it.”

“See. It wasn’t such a big deal.”

Gareth shook his head. “It was an awful way to go about it.”

Sky smirked and slid back down into his arms. “You never would have cut it,” she said quietly, as if talking to herself.

Gareth grabbed her hair and pulled her face to his. He pressed into her lips and Sky eagerly sucked in as much affection as possible.

She wrapped her arm around his back and pulled herself into him, her breasts pressed tight against his chest, her thighs rubbing against his cock. She felt a rush of warmth and wetness between her legs and Gareth turned her on top of him. She nestled into place and covered his chest with slow, moist kisses, her hips starting to rotate in gentle circles.

Sitting up now Gareth had full access to her breasts and grasped them firmly before he worked his way to her ass. She pressed down and forward, sending him deeper into her until it hurt, and he arched his back and moaned each time she hit him. He pulled on her hips to guide her motions but she fought against his manipulating hands. Her mind flickered like a candle, her attention dancing from the thrill of physical battle to the pleasure emanating from her center.

As her strength waned, her pleasure mounted and when she was satiated Sky rested her head on Gareth’s moist chest while he rested inside her.

After they peeled apart, Sky joined Gareth in the shower, the black silhouette of birds spying on them through the skylight. The water caressed her from every angle and Gareth used shampoo to massage her scalp until her legs grew weak. Hands slid along wet skin, and he brought his warm lips to hers as she rinsed the foam from her hair.

When the room was filled with a heavy fog, they dried off and Sky returned to her own room to dress and collect her gift at Gareth’s request.

Gareth sat on the bed pulling on his socks when she returned with her prosthetic in her hand.

“How does it fit?” he asked, taking the arm from her as she held it out to him. He made sure the small sleeve was in place over her stump before he wiggled the prosthetic in place.

“I didn’t know how to get it on right. But this feels much better.” She hung her arm at her side and they both admired it closely.

“It’s quite realistic. I can hardly tell the difference between the two,” Gareth said.

“It’s amazing how life-like it is. How did you match it?”

“You’re a heavy sleeper.” Gareth smiled at her.

Sky kissed the top of his head, pulled him into her breasts, and embraced him with both arms.

“It’s not mechanical. I had to choose between one or the other and I thought you would prefer this,” he said. “You can still use it to assist you though. I tried to make something myself but …”

Sky tried to force back tears. She brought her hand to her face and squeezed her eyes shut. Gareth stood up and held her while she soaked his shirt.

“You’ve done more for me than anyone,” she said and tried to look up at him through glossy tears.

Gareth glanced at her and looked away. He pulled her back in and pressed her body against his until she was unable to breathe.

Chapter 16

Waves lapped the side of a small yacht named
Ruby on Water
. Kitty lay on a padded deck chair, admiring the horizon just beyond the silver railing. A glass of wine sat on one side of her, a magazine on the other. There was no hope of a tan since she had bathed herself in SPF 60, but the hot rays felt magical on her skin.

She looked up when she heard footsteps on the deck.

“Why don’t you come join me in the whirlpool?” asked a thin man in his late twenties sporting a farmer’s tan and floral swim trunks. He held a towel in one hand and his phone in the other.

“Sure, babe. In a couple of minutes,” Kitty replied and laid back down.

The gentle rocking motion on the water almost lulled her to sleep before she picked up her glass, sucked back the last of its contents, and walked barefoot to the other side of the boat, where her latest Dream Date client sat cooking in the whirlpool. “Dougie, sweetheart, do we have any more wine?” She held up her empty glass.

“Check the wine fridge under the bar,” he replied and pointed toward the cabin door.

Kitty smiled at him and bounced toward the door.

“Do you want a glass?” she called to him.

He thought for a moment. “Sure,” and flashed her a big grin.

Kitty returned with two glasses of white wine and handed one to Doug before she slid in next to him, her pale curves a sharp contrast to his underdeveloped frame. She drifted down until the water was just under her chin and sipped her cool wine from a foggy glass. Doug ignored both her and his wine, too engrossed in the latest tech news to bother with either of them.

When her glass was half empty, Kitty inched away from Doug and found a nice jet to massage her lower back. She moaned and her toes floated to the surface while Doug frowned behind his sunglasses at his phone. Kitty took one last glance at him and closed her eyes.

- -

Gareth hovered, screwdriver in hand, over the complex contraption lay that lay in the middle of the workshop table. He’d finally removed it from his bedroom ceiling. As he lifted one metal arm out of the way to loosen a screw, he saw the red splatter. He dropped his tool on the table, his heart sinking into his stomach. With damp paper towel he began to remove the specks of blood, but a long strand of blond hair caught his eye. He plucked the strand out, slid the full length of it between his fingers, and inhaled deeply to suppress the raw ache that rose from his chest.

Gareth carefully placed the strand of hair in a little plastic bag and added it to a small hidden box that bore only the letter
J
on it. The bo
x’
s contents seemed to call to him, and he as he touched the objects they transported him back to a time h
e’
d rather forget.

The chime of his phone broke the spell.

I’m back! I’m on my way to see you.

Gareth frowned as he read the message from Louis. Though he felt annoyed, part of him was relieved by the interruption. He abandoned his project and headed upstairs.

At the top of the stairs he found Wisdom relaxing, and as he rubbed the top of her head his tension eased. She followed him toward the pool, where he stripped off his clothes, changed into a bathing suit, and dove into a round of laps. The wolf kept watch from the door; an escape route. Gareth had tried to take her swimming, but she was so traumatized by the experience she avoided him for two days afterward. Only his regular offerings of fresh salmon won her trust again.

Wisdom greeted Sky as she walked into the large, sunny room with a towel wrapped around her head. She gave the wolf a rubdown while she watched Gareth glide through the water with precision strokes before he flipped at the wall. She stood at the edge of the pool and startled Gareth. He looked up with his hair slicked away from his face. Sky blinked and focused on his single gray eye. She smiled and crouched down to stroke his face.

Gareth placed his hands on the deck and pushed up to kiss her, water falling from his body and wetting her bare feet.

“Louis is coming today. He’s on his way here,” Gareth said.

“Oh?” Sky replied.

“It would be best if you kept to yourself today,” he advised, the suggestive look in his eye saying more than his words.

Sky nodded obediently though she was disappointed. She left without another word, taking Wisdom with her.

Back in her room, she dried her hair and dressed before heading downstairs to the library. She gathered some reading material then went to the kitchen to find snacks. She grabbed a bag to pack from the closet near the front door, slipped on her running shoes, and headed down the path with Wisdom at her heels, toward her favorite reading spot. They hadn’t even reached the log by the water when the helicopter sounded overhead. Wisdom turned back toward the house to see who the intruder was. She called her back, but Wisdom was locked on the task. Sky couldn’t keep up.

As she neared the top of the hill, she crouched down to watch Louis step out of the helicopter and be assaulted by Wisdom before Rose tore out of the house bearing a broom to ward her off. Gareth charged out the front door and handily calmed the wolf to submission.

Once Sky had verified that Louis arrived alone, she headed back toward her reading spot.

- -

Once Wisdom’s wild teeth had been subdued by Gareth’s stern voice, Louis pulled his friend into a bear hug.

“How was the retreat?” Gareth asked.

“You know, it was actually amazing. I completely freaked out at first, no Internet, no booze, no fun — for a week! I was bored out of my mind, I didn’t think I could handle it. But you know, what was so interesting is other people were anxious, too. You could tell, they were the ones vibrating; they had fear in their eyes. A few people looked like they were going to throw up,” Louis said as they entered the house. “But each day it got easier,” he continued, “and after the third day, I was totally into the routine. The food was good. I think I lost weight! Did I lose weight? I look thinner, right?”

Gareth nodded.

“You know, you would like it. You need to try it. We should do one together. I’ve already booked my next one in October. You can come with me.”

Gareth snorted. “I don’t think I need a retreat.”

“See, that’s what you don’t understand. You definitely need a retreat. You need to get out of isolation and be with people. Everyone there was really cool. Well, there were a few of those New Age snobs who are kind of annoying, but everyone else was cool, you know, totally normal, messed up people who need to turn things around.”

“Are you hungry?” Gareth asked.

“Nah, I had a protein shake before I came. I’m good.”

Gareth raised an eyebrow. “OK, why don’t we sit in my office for a bit, get the business stuff out of the way.”

“Sure,” Louis agreed.

In the office Gareth and Louis made themselves comfortable.

Rose stood in the doorway. “Can I get you anything to eat or drink?” she asked.

“Do you have any herbal tea?” Louis asked.

“Yes, I’ll bring up a selection.”

“Just water for me, Rose,” Gareth requested before she disappeared down the hallway.

“So where are we at?” Louis asked, leaning in. “How’s the balance sheet?”

“Well, now that we’ve off-loaded some of your assets and liabilities it’s looking better. You still have those hefty alimony payments though. We have to deal with that. I’ll get my sister to see if there’s anything we can do.”

“Mm, yeah, your sister. How’s the man-killer doing anyway?”

Gareth sighed. “She’s doing well, busy working as usual.”

“Did you cut your hair?” Louis squinted as he leaned toward Gareth for a closer look. “It looks good. Holy shit. I don’t think I’ve ever said that about a guy’s hair before, but it looks really good.” Louis nodded his head slowly. “How did that happen?”

“It was getting too long, it was time for a change,” Gareth replied. “We need to come up with a short- and long-term income plan for you.”

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I met a guy at the retreat, a former head of R & D at a big firm. Anyway, he’s got a new project on the go and they need help ramping up to sell in a few years. I think we could attract some funding for this guy. Very cool project, water-based energy cells.”

Gareth looked intrigued.

Rose drifted into the room with their drinks. She placed the tray on the coffee table between them and drifted back out.

“That sounds like it has potential. Can you put me in touch with him?” Gareth asked.

“Yeah, no problem. Oh also, I found a brilliant way to land women. It’s so perfect, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.”

“Uh-huh?” Gareth said, mildly interested.

“Go to a retreat.”

Gareth grimaced.

“It’s nothing but handfuls of women in yoga pants for a week. It’s insane, there are hardly any guys there — it’s a dream ratio. It doesn’t even matter if a guy is a loser, it’s like he’s the last man on earth,” Louis elaborated.

Gareth rubbed his hand over his face.

“And you know what?”

“I can’t imagine.”

“Women really dig guys who chant and eat salads. They were all over me. It was almost impossible to keep my vows.” Louis leaned in and slapped Gareth on the arm. “But I did it! I behaved myself for the entire week. I’m a new man. This is not the Louis you knew before.”

He paused and reached for his tea, then changed his mind. “Mm, speaking of which, I’ve been doing some thinking, because that’s all I had time to do. And I figured that, you and I both need to shake up these . . . self-defeating patterns if we’re really going to be successful. And happy. That’s the big thing.”

“Self-defeating patterns?”

Louis threw his hands in the air. “You and I are both just a couple of fucking miserable assholes. I mean, look at you. You don’t leave the house except to play survivor man in the woods. And when was the last time you bought some new clothes? You look like a homeless guy squatting in a mansion.”

“Take it easy, things aren’t that bad. I’ve made a lot of changes recently. This stuff takes time . . .”

“Yeah, and what happened the last time you left this leafy green prison? You met Sky and Kitty. More stuff like that could happen but not unless you get the hell out there.” Louis pointed his finger in the direction of the city. He concluded his speech by taking a swig of tea while Gareth sat in silent contemplation.

“Think about it,” Louis said.

And after a lengthy pause, Gareth nodded solemnly.

“You need to be a slut for a while. Play the field. One of us has to do it! I’m just an old, fat, bald guy. I’ve got nothing. Not even money.”

“You have a face,” Gareth snapped.

“Chicks don’t care about that. They just want alpha males and good-looking babies. That’s where you have the advantage. And the mystery thing — I was never good at that. But you, you make hard-to-get an art form. I admire that, as much as it’s a pain in the ass to come visit you.”

Gareth tilted his head forward to scratch the back of his neck. He picked up his water and took a slow sip, looking past Louis and out the window. His gaze transformed from a distant stare to an alarmed focus.

Louis turned around to see what was so interesting. “What are you looking at?”

“Cougar!” Gareth hollered, and he bolted from the room. Louis followed.

“Stay here,” Gareth ordered.

Gareth was already down the stairs with Wisdom beside him while Louis stood at the top of the staircase, looking down.

“Wait dammit, I can’t move that fast. Geezus.” Louis hobbled down the stairs in an attempt to follow the other two. By the time he reached the front door, Gareth and Wisdom were running at full pace through the field, heading toward the path in the trees.

“What the hell are we running for?” Louis said to himself as he stopped to catch his breath. He pushed himself onward, now far behind the others.

Gareth and Wisdom raced toward Sky, trees and branches a blur He called out her name but received no response.

Sky felt a shiver run through her body. She turned from her book and looked toward the path. A large mass of tan fur crouched just twenty feet from her. Her heart rate ramped up and she gasped, too frightened to scream. As she stood, the cougar twitched, and Sky threw her paperback, hitting the cat in the face. The cougar roared, surprising Sky with its frightening volume. The cat shook off the feeble attack and Sky ducked behind the tree trunk she had been leaning on. She scooped a sharp-ended branch that lay on the grass near her foot just as the cougar jumped onto her log seat.

Sky leapt onto the grass and the cat followed her. With her left hand she thrust the stick and jabbed the cat’s neck as it approached. The cat recoiled, giving Sky a chance to lunge forward and jab him again. The cat backed up as Sky moved toward him, her eyes narrowed and a growl emanating from her gut.

As Gareth and Wisdom neared the creek they saw the cougar, its body low, sizing up its small, yet defensive, prey. Gareth, moving stealthily, picked up a large branch. Wisdom lowered into a crouch, her paws lightly feeling the ground as she inched forward, her eyes locked on the wild predator.