The Thrill of the Chase (16 page)

"
No. Just thought it would make a pretty picture.
"

"
Are those the same pair of pink panties that were next to your skin a minute ago?
"

"
Yes.
"

"
You still naked?
"

"
No.
"

"
You put them back on already?
"

"
Yes.
"

"
I want a picture of those panties on you.
"

"
No.
"

"
You. In. The. Panties.
"

"
No.
"

"
Monica. Babe. Now.
"

Oh, God. This was the sexiest thing she
'
d ever done. By far. Doing this with him was hotter and sexier than any sex she
'
d ever had in her life.

She fired off another text.
"
Are you sure?
"

"
Yes.
"

Monica rearranged herself on the sofa, sucked in her stomach again, lifted her shirt, and took several pictures of her stomach down to and including her panties. She skimmed through each one and chose the prettiest. Sucking in a huge breath and holding it, she pressed send.

"
You
'
re beautiful. I always knew you would be.
"

"
Thanks. I can
'
t believe I did that.
"

"
Believe it, babe. Now put your hand on your pussy.
"

Sharp shock and intense arousal speared through her when she read his dirty request. She loved it,
but no way!
She wasn
'
t doing it.

"
No.
"
She sent a text of refusal.

"
Yes.
"

"
No.
"

"
Babe. Yes.
"

"
No.
"

"
Now.
"

"
No.
"

"
Give me something, babe. I
'
m alone after a hard day of fighting fires.
"

"
Kyle. I want to. I can
'
t.
"

"
Just this. This will be the last one. And then I
'
ll dream about you all night.
"

Oh, God. He knew how to get to her. She really, really liked the sound of him dreaming about her. God knows, she
'
d been dreaming about him long enough.

Monica looked down at her hands. She
'
d never before paid such close attention to what her feet and hands would look like in a picture. But these pictures were up close. And Kyle was the one that would be looking at them.
Would he look at them and be doing what she thought he
'
d be doing?
Another rush of wet heat slid through her. She could do this for him. If she did, it would make Friday all the hotter when they finally got together. So, why not? Soon, she was going to give him her whole body. She wasn
'
t going to make him wait. She couldn
'
t. She
'
d been waiting for him for what seemed like her whole life.

Her hands were pretty with a French manicure. She arranged herself again on the sofa. Getting her phone ready to click a picture, she put it to one side while she tried to figure out what he wanted. The panties were staying on. Of that, she had no doubt. She could only go so far.

She reached down and ran her hand down her stomach until in landed at the juncture between her thighs. She lifted one knee and moved her legs apart a bit. She cupped herself and imagined him looking at the picture she was about to send. Wet moisture flooded her panties. She contained a soft moan and bit her lip. She sucked in a breath as arousal pierced her hard. Her torso stretched and her stomach sank in with the deep breath she took. She looked down at what he would see. She
'
d never thought of her body as beautiful before, but seeing it now, through his eyes, she thought it might be. Her navel was a small, vertical indented strip across her belly. The pink lace fell low, almost to her pubic bone. She pushed her hand down and cupped herself hard, and let her thumb go under the top lace of her panties.

She snapped a picture.

She looked at the picture and gasped.

It was erotic.

It was what he wanted
.

So she pressed send and waited.

Her phone vibrated and rang thirty seconds later with an incoming call.
A call.
Not a text.

She answered it, her voice raspy in her throat.
"
Hi.
"

"
I
'
m going to say this just one time. I want you to listen to me and understand. I
'
m finished waiting for you. I
'
ve been waiting for you to grow up what feels like my whole fucking life. You were always too young, and then you were in a relationship, or I was in a relationship. That
'
s all over. With that picture you just sent me, I
'
m laying claim. You
'
re mine. Don
'
t accept any more dates with anybody else. It
'
s just you and me. And when I get back, we
'
re going to cement that. You understand?
"

"
Y-yes.
"

"
Good.
"

"
Okay.
"

There was silence on the phone between them while she waited for him to speak and tried to get her heart rate to elevate back closer to normal. Her hand shook as she held the phone to her ear.

His voice when it came across had lost the sharp edge. Now it sounded worshipping, full of fascination.
"
You
'
re beautiful. I
'
m keeping those pictures forever. I
'
ll always have you in my pocket.
"

She savored his words in her heart for a moment.
"
Kyle, I
--"

"
Thanks for sending them. I needed them. I need you. I
'
ve had a bad day. All I want is for this shit to be over, the fire to be under control. I want to come home. I want to finally sink in to you. It would have happened the other night, you know?
"

She didn
'
t try to deny it.
"
I know.
"

"
I wanted it to.
"

"
Me, too.
"

"
You be careful, babe. Keep yourself safe
'
til I can get there. Okay?
"

"
Okay. You, too.
"

"
Night.
"

"
Good night.
"

Monica laid her phone down, pulled down her shirt and curled into a ball on her side.
This could be all of her dreams come true. If he felt the same way about her as she felt about him. If it was more than just passion and desire he felt.

She could only wait and see.

****

Kyle leaned back on the hotel room bed and transferred the pictures of Monica from his phone to his laptop. When it was done, he flipped through the four pictures quickly, and then again more slowly.

Hit guts clenched in violent need.

No doubt she was beautiful. He
'
d always known that. She was tall and lean and she had a gorgeous face with dramatic coloring.

She should have been his long ago
.

As he skimmed through the pictures, he looked over every inch of her body. Every inch that she had allowed him, anyway. His eyes moved over her silky legs, up her thighs and down again to her soft little feet. His gaze narrowed on a slight imperfection on her right thigh and he studied it quizzically for a moment until a memory from long ago seared him in the heart.

She had just turned fifteen. Her father worked shift work at a chemical plant and was usually asleep all day. Her mother was a trauma nurse at a local hospital. Monica was an only child and spent a lot of time at his house with Ashley. On this particular day, his own father was at work and his mother had just left for the grocery store.

Monica and Ashley spent long hours that summer riding bikes, swimming at the neighborhood pool and roaming the suburban neighborhood where both families lived.

His mind sharpened on the memory.

Ashley had run into the house screaming for their mother. He had been home that day from his summer job and tried to calm his sister down. She began pulling on his hand and telling him that Monica had been hurt.

He still remembered the cold grip of fear that slid down his spine.

He ran down the street with her, maybe six or seven houses away, and found Monica lying on the green grass, blood running too damn quickly down her leg.

His heart had almost stopped beating.

It was the middle of the day, and the neighborhood was deserted. Most of the adults were at work and the kids were in day care.

He came down on his knees beside her, and Monica
'
s eyes lifted to his. He could still see the searing pain in her eyes, as well as the trust she had,
in him
, trust that he would know what to do. That he could handle the situation.

Her voice shook.
"
I think it
'
s b-bad. It hurts. I
'
m s-scared to look.
"

He took a deep breath and ran his hand over her cheek, lifting her chin up and looking deep in her eyes.
"
It
'
s okay, Monica. You don
'
t have to look. I
'
ll look. Just keep your eyes on me, okay?
"

At her nod, her eyes fixed intently on his face, he lowered his hands to her leg and carefully slid her fingers away from where she protected the damage.

He was hoping to see a really bad abrasion, but it was more than that. She was badly cut. Not only was it a puncture wound, it was deep and jagged. And long. Blood flowed freely from it, but it wasn
'
t close to an artery, so it wasn
'
t life-threatening. But the blood flow needed to be stopped, and he could tell at a glance it was going to need stitches. There was no question about that.

He didn
'
t see the need to tell her any of that yet. It was obvious she couldn
'
t walk, her bike was still on the street next to the curb where it landed when she wrecked. Ashley had ridden hers home to get help.

"
It
'
s going to be okay, angel. But I
'
m pretty sure your mom is going to want to see this. Is she at the hospital today?
"
He kept his voice calm.

Her eyes were still glued to his, and at her nod, he turned to Ashley who was hovering. He began digging his car keys from the pocket of his jeans, and handed them to his sister. Both girls had learner permits, but not an actual drivers license.
"
Take her bike back to the house and bring the Mustang back. Okay?
"

Ashley
'
s eyes grew huge. He never let her touch his car.
Never
. And he could tell she was registering what this meant. How bad it really was. She swallowed nervously and looked back at the cut on Monica
'
s leg where he was now applying pressure.

"
Okay, Ash? I need you to focus. Ride the bike home and bring my car back. It
'
s just like mom
'
s car. It
'
s an automatic. There
'
s nothing different about it. Turn the key, back out of the driveway, and bring it to me. You can do it. Don
'
t worry, just go get the car.
"
His voice was soothing, but firm.