Liam came over and took her in his embrace. They stood there, wrapped up in each other, when his desk phone rang. Liam groaned.
“I’d better get that.”
She moved over to the fireplace and stared at the gentle flames as he answered his call. Feeling its heat, she closed her eyes and dreamed.
Moments later, he stood behind her, brushing her hair aside and kissing her shoulder. He turned her around and then he kissed her forehead. “A few things need my attention, I’m afraid. I’ll have to ravish you later.”
Though she’d never admit it to him, she was glad for a breather. “I understand.”
“I can do my work from here. I have a spare laptop if you want to check emails or surf.”
“It’s okay. I should check my messages, but I can use my phone.”
“Help yourself to anything in the fridge. I’ll just be a couple of hours.” He smiled and went to a tidy workspace tucked into another corner of the massive bedroom.
Overwhelmed from seeing how he lived, how he worked, Kate meandered back to the front room. Letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, she sat on the couch where she and Liam had first talked.
It was so easy to forget his wealth when they were twisted in the sheets, just a man and a woman, but every time she was shown a new corner of his life, she felt winded. If her dad or that loan shark Vaughan ever got wind of her being here, the demands for money would never stop.
She touched the skin under her bruised eye, glad it felt better, but the memory of Vaughan touching her made her bristle with fear and shame. If he found her…
No. She was safe here with Liam. Not that she could stay forever, but for now she had sanctuary.
Thinking of Vaughan caused Kate to remember Lisa. Although Kate hadn’t shared the details of the attack yet, she had let her friend know she’d be away for a few days and not to worry. She’d told her to put Rod in charge of the New Horizons meetings until she got back. She didn’t want to keep her friends in the dark about the attack, but didn’t relish the idea of rehashing it just yet.
However, she did want to talk to Lisa about seeing Donny at Vice. Nervous, Kate retrieved her phone from her purse and began typing a text. Changing her mind, she dialed Lisa’s number, wanting to hear her voice instead.
Voicemail.
Lisa always picked up when she called. But as the recorded message ended, Kate couldn’t help wondering if her friend might be avoiding her.
“Hey Lisa. It’s me. I really need to talk to you. A lot’s happened.” She paused, not wanting to elaborate over voicemail. “Please call me back. Take care.” She felt a twinge of unease in her stomach. Within seconds, her unease turned to all-out worry.
She didn’t have much time to contemplate the sensation. As she held her phone, it buzzed and she picked it up quickly, hoping Lisa was on the other line. “Hello?”
There was no answer.
“Hello?”
Still nothing, but the memory of Hugo Vaughan’s face haunted her.
“Did you say something, Kate?” Liam called from the other room.
She fought to master her erratic breathing and shaky voice. “Just making some calls.” Liam nodded and went back to work.
“Who is this?” she whispered into the phone.
The line went dead. She browsed the call log and found the last number, no caller ID. She dialed it and waited, but a recorded voice came on, providing no further information. Even still, she called Detective Baxter and gave him the number, in case it should lead to Vaughan.
She knew in her bones the loan shark had called her. However, her reasonable side reminded her it could very well have been a wrong number.
Nevertheless, she turned off her phone and slipped it back in her purse. She knew she should tell Liam about the call, but couldn’t bring herself to disturb him. She’d taken him away from his work long enough as it was. Besides, he continued to choose to withhold information from her. Now she felt like doing the same.
Instead, she turned on the TV, curled up on the sofa, and stared at the screen.
As morning sun gave way to a rare drizzly afternoon, Liam closed his last document, eager to finish his work. It had taken all his willpower to focus on emails and make decisions, when all he wanted was to retrieve Kate from the other room and drag her into his bed. Now he could. He ignited the fireplace. The warm glow from its flames cast a soft light over his darkening bedroom. It might be piss-pouring outside, but inside it was toasty warm.
He moved to the bedroom door and poked his head around the corner. Kate sat quietly, watching some sort of documentary on space in the other room. She stared at the screen, clearly not absorbed in the content, fiddling with the ends of her hair. Watching her, he shed his clothing, feeling his cock swell and thicken in anticipation of the hunt.
