Текст книги "Dark reckoning"
Автор книги: J. E. Taylor
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JET-Fueled Fiction
Dark Reckoning © April 2011 by J.E. Taylor
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This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Cover art © 2011 Willsin Rowe
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Dark Reckoning
By J.E. Taylor
“ J E Taylor writes a thrilling and engaging paranormal horror, “DARK RECKONING”. The absorbing, fluid plot builds slowly towards its divergent terror-driven climax. As sturdy, forthright characters convey the story’s age-old message; stay out of the woods…and while you’re at it, the water too. D I do love a great horror story, so I’m adding this beauty to my ebook collection. Marking it for a repeat read too.” Pamela Jenewein – Romance At Heart Reviews
"J.E. Taylor has penned a tale of terror worthy of Lovecraft. The strong characters, edgy atmosphere and unflinching narrative hooked me from the first and kept me riveted all the way through to its horrifying conclusion – a solid piece of storytelling!" Ty Drago, Editor of Allegory and author of PHOBOS
“ I loved DARK RECKONING – always had a soft spot for demon type horror/thrillers and this is fabulous. Just the right mix of terror and calm so I didn't have a heart attack while reading but came close! Excellent read for anyone who loves horror and a good love story.” Cat Connor author of killerbyte and terrorbyte
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated my daughter Victoria.
Thank you for asking me the million dollar question and putting up with sharing Mom’s time with her computer ever since. Without your prompting, I would have never taken the shot at my dream.
I love you sweetheart!
Chapter 1
The instructions fluttered on the ground under a new rubber mallet, ignored.
She tugged on the hem of his shirt. “Daddy, you promised.”
“Just a minute.” He lifted his hands from the canvas. Poles swayed and metal scraped. Before he could catch it, the tent imploded. Again. Muttering a few choice words, he picked up the fabric and the aluminum frame.
“But Daddy, you said we’d take a walk when Mommy went to the store.”
“Can’t you see I’m busy?” Amy’s father glared sideways at her and tugged on the canvas again. “Just stay out of my way until I get this up.” He turned his back and continued to fiddle with the tent poles, swearing under his breath.
Amy slipped to the edge of the campsite blinking back tears at her father’s harsh words. “Stupid tent,” she said and glanced in her father’s direction.
He yanked the canvas over the unstable rods yet again, cursing as the tent tilted this way and that.
She stepped into the woods, swallowed by the forest.
That had been hours ago. Now she stumbled through the underbrush, sobbing, searching for the campsite, wishing she had stayed by her father’s side.
She turned in frantic circles but dense brushwood blocked her path in every direction. Blueberry bushes, barberries and prickly thistles pulled at her clothing and scratched her legs. Evergreens reached high, mingled with century old maples and oaks, dimming the last of the evening light.
Amy’s hoarse voice persisted, yelling, “Daddy!” over and over and over. Her cries fell on the deaf ears of the New Hampshire forest.
Fighting through a thick clump of bayberry, she fell onto crunchy dried moss in a clearing bordering a small pond. She scrambled to her feet. The still black water rippled and Amy froze, her eyes glued to the malignant form rising from the surface.
What climbed out of the water was far worse than any POKEMON she’d ever seen and fear locked down her ability to function.
She couldn’t move.
She couldn’t breathe.
She couldn’t scream.
The staccato beat of her heart thrummed like the wings of a hummingbird and she shivered despite the summer heat, her sweaty tie-dye t-shirt not enough to keep her warm in the damp clearing.
When it stepped onto the shore, the ground sizzled and the stench of burning moss and rotting flesh blanketed the cove.
Her paralysis broke. A shrill cry of terror, like a lamb at slaughter, barreled from her throat and she turned, fleeing through the woods.
She ran as fast as her little Keds would take her.
But it wasn’t fast enough.
* * * *
The search party combed through the dense forest, each member clutching a picture and calling Amy’s name.
The young FBI agent halted, the child’s name swan diving from his lips in a silent rush of air. The earth in front of him was painted reddish-brown with pieces of cloth, flesh, bone and blood-streaked hair scattered through the red sludge. But the sneaker caught his attention.
A single, blood-splattered Keds.
He took a step back, his gaze bouncing between the photograph in his hand and the carnage before him, trying to reconcile the bloody remains on the ground with the happy child in the picture.
Bile rose in his throat and he gulped, forcing it down his already burning esophagus, willing his churning stomach to settle.
He looked down, surprised to see the snapshot crumpled in his clenched fist.
His eyes drew back to the gruesome scene, scanning the massacre and snapping back to the bloody sneaker.
“I swear I’ll find you, you son of a bitch,” he promised.
He pushed the button on the radio clipped to his shirt, his voice rumbling in his tight chest. “I think I found her.”
Chapter 2
The apartment door swung open. Afternoon sun bleached the picture window, streaking the room with slivers of light.
Jennifer Curtis scanned the expansive living room from the rich mahogany bar to the oversized entertainment center and everything in between. Her jaw dropped and pressure built on the back of her eyes. “Oh my God, this is fantastic!”
She set the carton down on the tile entry and walked through the living room, sliding her hand over the deep brown velour chairs, relishing the soft lush fabric against her fingertips, mesmerized. Kneeling on the couch, she glanced at the balcony and the magnificent view of Mirror Lake beyond.
“I thought you might like it.”
She turned and smiled at her best friend, running her hand through her ebony hair. “I had no idea this is what you meant when you said a nice little apartment.”
Tracy added her carton to the building pile of boxes in the entry and brushed her honey colored bangs out of her gray eyes. “Daddy bought the building this summer and it took some convincing, but he finally crumbled and gave me the penthouse for the year.” She crossed the room. “Wait ‘til you see what we’ve got.” She swung the doors of the big mahogany cabinet open, revealing a state of the art entertainment system culminating around the fifty-inch plasma television in the center.
“Holy shit!” Jennifer stared at the high tech system—knobs for this, buttons for that, and all the bells and whistles a girl could ask for.
“This is our dream place.” Tracy’s eyes danced with childish joy. Her hair shimmered in the sunlight. “Look around,” she said over her shoulder, and disappeared from view.
Jennifer wandered through the apartment. In addition to the sprawling living room, a kitchen that could only be categorized as a chef’s wet dream sat to the right of the entry and monogram nameplates adorned the bedrooms in the hallway on the left. At the end of the hall stood a common dressing room and a bathroom torn right from the pages of Architectural Digest.
She ran her fingers over her gold monogram and a chill crawled up her spine. Her vision transitioned to a shaded red, like blood dripping over the lens of a camera. She shuddered, shaking the bizarre hallucination away, and blinked at the glimmering script that mocked her sudden wave of fear.
Drawing a deep breath, she closed her eyes and swung the door open. Jennifer let her breath out slowly and stepped inside, opening her eyes.
Definitely over the top. Smooth cherry furniture, canopy bed, satin and silk in shades of powdered blue adorned the bedroom, sprinkled with accents of pink here and there, including light sheer curtains billowing gently in the breeze of the open windows along the back wall.
She crossed to the door in the far corner, opening it with curiosity. Cedar drifted from the large walk in closet, enveloping her, reminding her of the woods in northern Maine.
Thick and fragrant and dangerous.
Standing in the entrance, Jennifer imagined how easy it would be to get lost when the closet was full of clothes and other things. Icy fingers tickled the base of her neck sending tingly sensations over her skull. She swung the door closed and a red flicker in the far corner caught her eye.
What the hell was that?
She yanked the door wide, her eyes scanning the closet again, but she couldn’t locate the source of the flare. The air shifted, sending a cool draft into her room. She closed the door and rubbed the newly formed bumps on her forearms, chalking the nip in the air to an over-active air-conditioner.
She glanced out the window. Brooksfield University and the surrounding mountains filled her vision and a slow smile spread across her lips. God, it’s good to be back at school. She tossed herself onto the bed with her arms spread on the lush fabric.
“Nice view.” Tracy leaned against the doorway.
“The best.” She propped herself on her elbows. “This is really ours?”
“Yup. After we finish bringing our things up, I’ll show you my room.”
“I gather that’s a hint?”
Tracy nodded and turned, walking out of the room.
Jennifer climbed off and followed her to the foyer. A dozen moving boxes lined the path to the door. “Have I really been gawking this long?”
Tracy grinned over her shoulder and pushed the button to the elevator.
An unsettling vision gnawed at the edges of Jennifer’s mind, but it was lost the moment the elevators opened. “This is going to be a fantastic year,” she said.
The whir of the descending elevator lulled the silence and they both watched the numbers on the display.
“How’s Billy?” Jennifer looked away from the bright digits crawling through their countdown.
Tracy’s face lit up. “Billy is wonderful!” She grinned like the mad hatter. “And we’ve got someone we want you to meet.”
“Come on Tracy, you know I hate it when you play matchmaker.” Jennifer stepped off the elevator and pushed through the lobby doors heading toward her car.
“This wasn’t my idea, it was Billy’s.” Tracy caught up with her with eyes wide and sincere. “He’s really a nice guy.”
Jennifer sent a warning glance, grabbed one of the two remaining boxes, and started back toward the building. The trunk slammed and Tracy’s hurried footfalls followed her into the lobby and the waiting elevator.
“Jen?” Tracy broke the silence as the doors closed.
“I’m not ready yet. I know it’s been almost two years since Tom died, but…” The engagement ring he gave her the night he died still sat in the little velvet box on her bureau at home. Open, dust ridden, like a shrine. “Not yet.” Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them away, willing herself not to cry.
“You can’t keep mourning him forever. Tom wouldn’t want that.”
“I know.” Jennifer edged around the clutter in the entrance of the apartment. “Are you gonna show me your room or what?” She changed the subject to something Tracy would latch onto like a fighting bulldog.
Tracy beamed and led her down the hall. “Ready?” She swung the door open. “Tah-dah!”
The room was decorated in soft shades of yellow and lavender, and apart from the colors, it was a mirror image of Jennifer’s—with one exception. The view.
Jennifer crossed to the window.
The mountains stared back neutrally.
“Mirror Lake,” she whispered, unaware she spoke aloud. When she turned, Tracy’s arms were laced with goose bumps, her face a peculiar shade of pale. “You okay?” she asked, and in a blink, the room disappeared.
A little girl chased a butterfly and stood perfectly still when it landed on her outstretched hand. She looked up and her smile disappeared. Her eyes darted at the thick woods surrounding her and she slowly turned, searching for the path she had followed running after the winged creature still on her hand. She bit her lower lip, and the butterfly took off. She followed, mistaking a clearing for their campsite. When she stepped from the thicket, soft moss cushioned her feet and the butterfly fluttered into the open sky.
Water shimmered, reflecting the butterfly’s winged journey against the clouds from above, the small cove lush and fragrant with spring flowers lining the edge of the pristine pond.
Curious, she wandered to a flat rock resembling a clover, crawling until she was peering over the edge at her mirror image.
The reflection altered, aging from the six-year-old to that of a young adult. A beautiful woman with honey blonde hair and grey eyes smiled back at the child on the rock.
Back in their apartment, her gaze landed on Tracy, the spitting image of the reflection in the water. Jennifer’s hand shot to her mouth, covering the short gasp of air. She pretended to yawn, covering up the initial shock of the vision.
Tracy dragged her eyes away from the lake, her face still pale.
“Are you okay?”
Tracy nodded and the color crept back into her cheeks. Her eyes looked too bright, too intense. She sat on the bed facing Jennifer, but her gaze drifted toward the window again. “The lake is haunted.”
A burst of laughter escaped but it quickly dispelled with an ‘I’m-not-kidding’ look from Tracy. “Really?” She parked herself on the bed, ready for another convoluted story, one that would explain her vision.
“There’s an old Abinaqui Indian legend about a rock in Paradise Cove that hangs over the water. They say if you kneel on it and look at the surface, you can see your future.”
“No shit!” Jennifer folded her leg under her, turning fully in Tracy’s direction.
Dimples made a brief appearance in Tracy’s cheek and she pressed on. “That part of the lake is practically impossible to get to and has been for as long as I can remember.”
“Then how’d you get there?”
Tracy’s forehead creased. “What?” Her smoky gray eyes shielded something behind them. Something disturbing.
“Never mind.” She waved away the question. “Tell me more about this legend.”
Tracy glanced at the lake and the edges of her lips dragged into a frown. “The legend says if you touch the water while it’s showing you the future, the mirror breaks and you see beneath it.”
“And?” When Tracy didn’t answer, she voiced the question, begging to be asked. “What’s beneath the surface?”
Shaded by her bangs, Tracy’s eyes flashed to the window and back. With an inhale of air, the words tumbled in a rush. “There are all sorts of stories. From the boogeyman to the devil himself, but the Abinaqui legend says people see a glimpse of their own death,” she paused and chewed on her bottom lip for a second. “The legend also mentions a beast that will wreak havoc on the town if it isn’t given an annual sacrifice. Maybe that’s what’s happening lately. Why some folks have disappeared, and others have been found mutilated beyond recognition.”
Chills caressed her, blooming into visible bumps over her exposed skin and she shivered. She read the papers. She knew about the violent deaths near the lake this summer. “Now you’re just trying to creep me out.” Jennifer crossed her arms.
Tracy’s lips twitched into the kind of smile earmarked for psychopaths. “Come on, we’ve got a lot of stuff to put away.” She left the room.
Jennifer looked at the lake, shaking her head. Ever since they were thirteen, Tracy enjoyed freaking her out. The girl was warped, truly warped.
She walked into the living room, finding Tracy busy putting CDs and DVDs into the entertainment cabinet.
“Is there really a legend or was this just another elaborate story of yours to scare the shit out of me?”
“There really is a legend. Google it.” She put the last of the DVDs away and tossed the empty box in the direction of the entry hall.
“Just out of curiosity, how do you know so much about Paradise Cove?” And why haven’t you ever told me about it before? Jennifer wondered.
“My father grew up here. Enough about the lake, let’s finish unpacking.”
She studied Tracy. Her eyes darted everywhere in the room except to meet Jennifer’s and she kept repetitively rubbing her palms on her hips. “You’ve been there,” she said.
She caught Jennifer’s stare and looked away in the direction of the lake. “No.”
In the distance, Jennifer heard evil laughter. A metallic taste filled her mouth and she ground her teeth against the sudden swell of fear.
She headed for the kitchen. Her steps hurried, as if fleeing from the questions in Jennifer’s eyes. “We need to put the food away before Billy gets here,” Tracy mumbled with a frazzled edge.
Jennifer stared at the lake wondering why Tracy had lied.
Chapter 3
They worked together, stocking the freezer, refrigerator, and moving on to the cabinets once all the cold items were put away. A knock at the door interrupted the silence and Tracy exchanged a glance with Jennifer.
With a grin, she grabbed Jennifer’s wrist and pulled her into the living room.
“There you are. I’ve been knocking for a while,” a disgruntled voice announced from the doorway.
“Billy!” Tracy dropped Jennifer’s wrist and flew into his arms.
At least a foot taller than Tracy, Bill picked her up, twirling her around in a big bear hug, their lips locked in a more than friendly greeting.
His hair was lighter than she remembered, but then again, he had worked all summer as a lifeguard. He smiled at her with his soft brown eyes and put Tracy down. “Hey, Jenny.”
“Hey.” She glanced at the man standing next to Bill with curious interest. Dark hair shaded his piercing blue eyes, which, along with the rough stubble along his jaw line, gave him a rugged bad-boy look. Arms crossed and casually leaning on the doorjamb, he reached just shy of six feet and the tight powder blue t-shirt accented the well-defined muscles of his chest and abdomen. The slow easy smile spreading across his lips formed perfect crescent dimples at the very edges and sent chills down Jennifer's spine. That smile alone could charm the pants off Mother Teresa. Her cheeks bloomed with hot crimson flames and she smiled back.
“Jenny, this is Steve Williams. Steve this is Jenny Curtis,” Bill said, and walked into the living room.
“Hi,” they both said at the same time, shaking hands.
When his skin touched hers, the chills his smile created turned to molten lava in her stomach and she took a deep breath to quell the inferno before it devoured her. Instead, she focused on his grip, firm and solid. Disappointment flooded her when he pulled away and walked past her into the living room.
“Want a beer?” Tracy asked. Both Bill and Steve nodded in response and Tracy grabbed a pair of Coors from behind the bar.
“Thanks.” Steve glanced around the room. “This sure beats the frat house,” he said and headed onto the balcony. Leaning against the railing, he popped open the beer. “Great view.”
Jennifer stood at the sliders and Tracy pushed her gently from behind. She glared over her shoulder and stepped on the terrace. “So you’re in the same fraternity as Bill.”
“Yep.” Steve glanced at her.
“Hey, want to go swimming?” Bill blurted.
“Isn’t the lake closed for the season?” Jennifer asked.
“No, it’s open until the end of September,” Steve said and drained his beer. “I’m up for it if everyone else is.”
“Come on, Jen.” Tracy ignored the sharp look Jennifer gave her. “It’ll be fun!”
“The lake is beautiful this time of year.” Steve leaned against the balcony looking back at Jennifer. “And I won’t bite.” He flashed his winning grin. “I promise.”
Jennifer felt her resolve melt. “I guess we’re going swimming.” She headed back toward her room with Tracy in tow.
“Well?” Tracy whispered.
Jennifer met Tracy’s inquisitive gaze with a sharp glare and shut the door on any further conversation.
When she stepped back in the living room, Steve raised an eyebrow. His slow, obvious survey made her nervous, and his lips curved into a smile the moment their eyes met.
Jennifer’s heart skipped a beat. There’s definitely still chemistry here. “Let’s go.”
They waited in awkward silence for the elevator.
“What are you studying?” she asked Steve when the doors opened.
“Criminal Law.”
Jennifer clamped her lips together in a smirk and offered a derogatory huff.
“What?” Steve asked.
“You look more like a criminal than a lawyer.”
Steve smiled, stepping out of the lobby into the bright sunset. “I never said I was gonna be a lawyer.”
“Jen, do you mind driving with Steve?” Tracy didn’t wait for an answer. She pulled Bill toward her shiny, souped-up Jaguar, handing him the keys.
“I guess not,” Jennifer replied under her breath. Turning to Steve, she offered a half-hearted smile.
“Really, I won’t bite,” Steve said, and led her to a beautiful BMW roadster, opening the door for her.
Jennifer slid into the passenger seat and glanced up at the sky. The first hint of starlight sparkled against the deep blue canvas. Fifteen minutes later, they pulled into the beach parking lot next to Tracy and Bill.
Jennifer bolted before the car completely stopped. “You arrogant son of a bitch!” She clenched her fists and stalked off toward the water creating small sand sprays with each stomping step.
* * * *
Steve watched her from the car, amusement finding the curve of his lips at her little display. His smile faltered and he stepped out of the car to Tracy and Bill’s slack-jawed stares.
“What’d you do?” Bill’s glance moved from Steve to Jennifer standing on the beach, shifting from foot to foot and muttering loud enough to be heard from the parking lot.
“I said a few things about her, ah, career choice,” he explained, selectively choosing the words.
Tracy rolled her eyes and headed in Jennifer’s direction.
“What are you, a fucking idiot?”
“Acting,” Steve grunted.
“Dude, she’s a hell of an actress.” Bill shot a sideways glance in Steve’s direction.
Steve shrugged. He didn’t give a damn what Bill’s opinion of her skills were, he had his own thoughts on the subject. “She does have quite a temper.” Steve attempted to suppress his smile but didn’t succeed very well.
“Oh yeah,” Bill said, as the two of them watched the girls on the beach.
* * * *
“Jen, are you okay?” Tracy asked.
“That jerk had the nerve to laugh at me because I want to be an actress.” She glared at Tracy. “Nice! You said he was a nice guy. He’s an asshole!”
“Shush,” Tracy whispered looking over her shoulder.
“I don’t care if he hears me. You’re an asshole!” she yelled over her shoulder. She closed her eyes, calming herself.
“Sorry Jen, just forget it. Let’s go swimming.”
Jennifer gave a slight nod and peeled her shorts off, dropping them on top of her flip-flops. “I guess in his arrogant way he did pay me a compliment,” she said, wading into the water behind Tracy. “He said I have a pretty face and a decent body.”
Tracy laughed.
Steve took that as his cue and both he and Bill headed toward the water. Bill dove in and came up next to Tracy, wrapping his arms around her and whispering something in her ear. She smiled and nodded.
Jennifer sent a cross glance in Steve’s direction when he approached. Her fiery green eyes pierced his and he looked away.
“I’m sorry,” he said, scanning the lake.
“Look at me when you apologize,” Jennifer demanded.
Her sharp tone yanked his gaze back to her. “I, ah, I said I was sorry.”
“Fine.” She dove under the water.
Lines of aggravation etched into his handsome features and he stared at the smooth surface of the water where she disappeared.
Tracy and Bill retreated, leaving Jennifer and Steve alone.
Steve pressed his lips together in a thin line, watching Tracy and Bill disappear into the woods. When he was sure they were out of hearing range, he turned toward Jennifer and started to clap, his scowl turning into a genuine smile. “Good performance, Jen.”
Jennifer stifled a laugh under her hand. “God, Steve, they’re going to kill us when they find out.”
“I had to call you when Bill told me who he wanted to set me up with.”
“I’m so glad you did,” Jennifer said. “I didn’t even know you were coming to Brooksfield. I thought you already graduated.”
“Well, we kind of lost touch there for a while,” he said, his intense gaze captivating her.
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
“I’m sorry about what happened to Tom.”
She nodded and dunked under the water. When she surfaced, she pressed her lips together and crossed her arms, sending a sideways glare his way.
Steve smiled with his back to the woods, assuming Tracy and Bill had reappeared. It amazed him how she could change her demeanor in a split second. He needed a little more time to get back into character, so he swam to the raft and hoisted himself up on the surface.
* * * *
“Would you mind going home with Steve?” Tracy eyed him on the raft. “We want to go to that new place down the road…unless you want to come dancing with us?”
“I’ll pass on dancing.”
“Then would you mind catching a ride back to the apartment with him?” She waved her hand toward the raft.
Jennifer glanced over her shoulder. He was lying on the raft on his back looking up at the sky. She tightened the muscles in her jaw, letting a beat of silence descend before she turned her head back in Tracy’s direction. Instead of meeting her pleading stare, she opted to focus on her hand making slow trails in the water.
“Please?”
Jennifer sighed and raised her eyes to Tracy. “Fine, but you owe me.”
“I promise I’ll make it up to you.” Tracy dragged herself from the water and joined Bill on the beach. She waved just before she ducked into the passenger seat of the car.
Jennifer waited until Tracy’s car pulled away and then swam to the raft.
Steve rolled on his side, propping his head up on his hand.
“Why criminal law if you don’t want to be a lawyer?” she said, climbing the old iron ladder and folding herself Indian-style in the small space between Steve and the outer edge of the raft.
He shrugged, the setting sun reflected in his eyes and his lips curved into a smile.
“Stop grinning at me like that and answer my question.”
“Law enforcement.”
“That’s more believable than you being a lawyer.”
He pushed her off the raft.
“You bastard,” she said, breaking the surface. She skimmed her palm on the water, sending a wave over the raft, splashing him.
Steve grinned and stood. He arched over her in a perfect dive, spearing into the water a few feet beyond her, his entrance clean enough to produce almost no splash.
Seconds later, a tug on her ankle closed the water over her head, cutting off her sudden yelp.
Steve wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her against him and surfacing. His laughter rang out over the lake, creating a musical echo filling her ringing ears. He grabbed the side of the raft to stabilize them in the water and met her irate gaze.
The flash in his bright blue eyes made her heart skip a beat and his close proximity lit a fire in her that had been dormant for the past two years, silencing whatever scalding comments she intended when they surfaced. The urge to close the distance and taste his mouth took hold and Jennifer licked her lips.
“I’m hungry,” he said releasing her and starting toward the shore.
The moment he pulled away, disappointment flooded her, weighing her down, and for a second she thought she’d be dragged under the surface again. She reached out, clinging to the side of the raft and watched him slice through the water, his strokes powerful and full of grace. Sighing, she followed the path he cut before her.
He walked up on the sand and shook his head, sending spray in every direction, glancing back at her with a playful smile.
Staring at his gorgeous profile, Jennifer felt the breath leave her lungs in a silent rush. The sunset played off the droplets on his body, his muscles glistening as he turned toward her. The intensity of his stare made her knees weak and she almost stumbled onto the sand.
* * * *
His smile faltered. Watching the water slip off her body stirred a long latent heat within him and his gaze lingered on her ample curves above and below her tiny waistline before taking in her shapely legs, the whole ensemble enough to make any man drool. “Ten years,” he whispered stepping closer. “God you grew up to be a beauty.” Gently, he wiped the wet hair away from her cheeks, his fingertips throbbing with the sensation of her skin. Steve squashed the urge to take her face in his hands and kiss her beautiful lips.
This can’t happen.
He retreated and looked out over the water, trying to put some distance between him and Jennifer’s powerful magnetic pull.
* * * *
Jennifer stood still. Her cheek still burned where his fingers had touched, and her hand rose, swiping the same warm path. Blowing a slow stream of air, she reached down and grabbed her shorts and flip-flops, slipping them on. His profile remained distant and unattainable, and she slowed her approach, wondering what exactly was going through his ruggedly handsome mind. The muscles in his arms flexed and he glanced in her direction, but his eyes never left the sand near her feet.
“Are you okay?” she asked cautiously stepping closer.
He swung his baby blues in her direction. “Yeah, I’m fine. Where do you want to go?”
“I don’t think we’re exactly dressed for a sit down meal,” Jennifer said, spreading her arms.
“What are you in the mood for?”
Her eyes swept him and she smiled, opting not to voice her less than clean thoughts. “Chinese?”
“Sounds good to me.” He headed toward the car, tossing her a towel and grabbing one for himself. He folded it on the driver’s seat and Jennifer followed his lead.
