Trifecta

by Pam Richter

  Robin took a deep breath and shook his head. "I panicked and was going dangerously fast, practically hydroplaning over the icy road. Almost lost control a few times. And finally I slowed down, when I got to the cabin, and the damn bike started backfiring. If I could have killed that sucker, I would have done it. I practically announced I was back.

  "I ran to the door and you were yelling. Saw the door ruined by a gun shot. So someone was inside with a gun, and you were suddenly silent.

  "When I rushed through the door there was little light from the fire, but I couldn't see anyone. I immediately crouched down and duck walked behind the sofa. Juan Carlos was coming down the stairs, holding the gun in front of him. He went to the door and looked outside. He must have seen my bike and he turned around quickly, but I had already jumped up. I clobbered the arm holding the gun and it skidded away. Then we were fighting. He isn't a big guy, so it really wasn't any contest. Then he pulled out the knife. And slashed me. It kind of evened things up. My arm went numb."

  "Go on," Julia said impatiently when he paused.

  "I was desperate to see if you were all right. I had to bash Juan's head against the stair banister because he was sawing on my arm with his knife. He really knew how to use that thing. And he was unbelievably fast."

  Robin started smiling. "Then I ran up the stairs, and there you were, holding Mike captivated. I was so relieved it all seemed funny, suddenly."

  "He killed my brother. A nasty dark part of me wishes you killed him," Julia said.

  "How'd you know?" Robin asked with surprise.

  "How did you?"

  "He fits the description of the man who went into your brother's hospital room. How did you know?"

  "Intuition."

  Robin looked at her for a long moment. "I believe you."

  "You don't have any more knife wounds you're not telling me about?" Julia asked.

  Robin smiled at her and shook his head. He got up and went to the ruined door. "I thought the cabin was pretty safe. Never figured they would shoot off the lock."

  Robin used some rope to tie the door closed. Then he put a chair in front of it. He got pots and pans and placed them on the chair precariously. Then he took silverware from a drawer in the kitchen and scattered it around the chair and on top of the pans. If anyone tried to break in there would be a mighty crash.

  As they went up the stairs, Julia said, "I'd rather sleep in the same room, if you don't mind."

  "Wouldn't have it any other way," Robin said smiling down at her. "We're a winning team. You distract them, then I bash them on the head."

  Julia decided she would do much more than sleep tonight, as she went into the room she had used earlier to put on the pajamas again. It occurred to her that if this had been a normal type of relationship that was beginning, she would have made Robin wait. But tonight she'd had a taste of her own mortality. She might not live long enough to have anything at all if she didn't make a try for it now. Whatever happened in the future, she would have tonight.

  As Julia undressed she had flashbacks of Juan Carlos in this room and was glad she wouldn't have to stay here tonight. She decided not to worry about whether Robin liked her or not, as she finished dressing and fluffed her hair in front of the mirror. She would seduce him and try to work on that later. Her reflection showed exhaustion and her cheek bone was turning blue. Maybe he wouldn't find her appealing. Whatever happened, she promised herself that she would be nicer and more understanding. They might just end up good friends if they were totally physically incompatible. But Julia knew, deep down, that would not be the case.

  The problem was how to get Robin to make love to her. He was exhausted and had a knife wound. She would have to be very sensitive and careful about how she broached the subject. She certainly didn't want him to know how emotionally vulnerable she was, in case he didn't feel anything except an animal attraction. It would embarrass the hell out of both of them.

  Robin was in the king sized bed when she went into his bedroom. He was wearing pajamas and looked perfectly comfortable and relaxed. He had taken the outside spot, nearer the door. He was really squashed over on his edge, so she would have lots of room in the king sized bed.

  Julia stood in the doorway shivering, little seismic spasms running through her. She didn't know if she was afraid, but she was certainly cold. "You took the outside so you get the first bullet?"

  "Let's forget all that."

  Julia nodded. She walked around the bed and got in on her side. The sheets were like ice. "I want to forget it."

  It seemed like they were speaking across a large chasm, although there was only approximately three feet between them.

  "Do you tell bedtime stories?" Julia asked, putting her head on the pillow and turning it towards him, her body facing the ceiling.

  Robin smiled. "I'll bet you're asleep five minutes after you close your eyes." He sat up and turned off the lamp by the bed.

  "You know," Julia said, looking at the ceiling in the dark, "I do want to forget everything. Stealing the books and videos. The murder of my brother. Armed gangsters breaking in. And being so scared. I think you can help me. Even if I only forget for just a little while. I want to blot it all out."

  "You want a bedtime story?" She could tell he was smiling and thought it was a good sign.

  "No." Julia squeezed her eyes shut and screwed up her courage. "What I want is much more than a two minute hug."

  "Blot the whole thing out," Robin said, repeating her words. There was no expression in his voice.

  "Yes," Julia said decisively.

  Robin turned on the light again and looked at her. "You are a very cold woman."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I'm not a giant sleeping pill, to be taken when agitated. To blot out some scary events." He turned the light off and turned his back to her. After a while the light from outside the window became bright as her eyes adjusted to the dark.

  "Okay. Forget I said that," Julia said. "Today really wasn't all bad. Quijada's face when you whisked me away," she laughed at the memory. "He looked stunned. And it was fun learning to ride the Harley. Taking the pictures. And figuring out what the ledgers meant. And cooking. Walking in the snow. And watching the policemen take the gangsters away." Julia paused for a moment, thoughtfully. "I really liked today. Mostly."

  Robin felt his heart melt. He had liked the day, too. And he could feel her shivering from across the bed.

  "When I was a boy, about fifteen years old, I went to Las Vegas."

  "This is my story?"

  "Yes." Robin turned over on his back and looked at her. "I had a room all by myself, and I was thrilled to death. The casino was right below. They stayed open all night and I could go and see the shows or try to gamble. Even then I was a big kid. I could pass for eighteen. And in this room, there was a machine on the side of the bed. You put in a quarter, and the way they described it, you would have an unbelievable experience. Well, naturally before I went to sleep, I put in my quarter. It was quite disappointing because the bed vibrated and that's all that happened. It went on and on and I couldn't get to sleep."

  Robin was silent. Julia could see him still gazing at her across the bed.

  "That was my bedtime story?"

  "I was making a point," Robin said. "If you don't come over here and get warm you'll keep me awake all night, you're shivering so much."

  "Only as a favor to you. So you can sleep."

  "Yes. I'll make you warm."

  "I'm reluctant to move. I have this little warm spot under me now."

  Robin slid across the bed. Julia turned on her side and he put his arms around her. "You poor thing." He was rocking her like a small child. "Everything feels cold. Your arms and especially your feet."

  Robin was rubbing her back and her arms. Julia felt enveloped by heat. He was radiating warmth and it was wonderful. She knew he wasn't angry any more.

  "I have another story."

  "Oh good." Julia leaned her head into his neck. />
  "It's not a nice story. But kind of interesting," he said, blowing some of her hair out of his mouth. It smelled wonderful.

  "Tell me," Julia said. She could feel herself finally relaxing after the long day and she stretched her top arm around his back, careful not to touch the hurt arm. His neck was remarkably warm on her hand and she massaged it, feeling the hair on the back of his head. He had wonderful hair.

  "Okay. During World War 11, the nasty Nazi doctors in the German prison camps did experiments on the people they had incarcerated. In the winter it was very cold in the concentration camps and of course the prisoners were freezing because they didn't have adequate clothing and blankets. The doctors were doing experiments to see how they could bring up the body temperature of the prisoners. The fastest way. And they put the prisoners in front of fires. Or put them in hot baths. Gave them hot drinks. It was all very scientific, you understand, and the doctors periodically took the temperature of the prisoners to see which method worked fastest. They found out that there were two procedures that worked best. One was the warm bath. That raised the temperature of the experimental subject very quickly. The other fast method was sexual intercourse."

  "Which was faster?" Julia asked.

  "I don't remember."

  Julia started laughing. "You don't remember?"

  "No. Both methods worked adequately to keep people from freezing to death."

  "How enlightening. Are you going any place with this?"

  "You know I am."

  Julia nodded.

  "My usual criteria is that the woman feel at least some affection for me."

  Julia looked up to start to say something and he stopped her. "Shh, no. Don't say anything. I don't want you to lie."

  Julia moved back a little bit and looked up at him. "I think I'm in danger of freezing to death."

  "Drastic measures are in order?" Robin asked.

  "Yes."

  Even his mouth was warm on her cold lips when he lowered his head to hers. He started very slowly, with tiny soft kisses, which seemed to meld into one long fusion of their lips which became very intense. She had a momentary thought that he wasn't going to blot everything out, he was simply going to drive her out of her mind. And this was just a kiss. It was unbelievable. It didn't just touch her lips, the sensation was a feeling of tingling shivers that ran through her entire body.

  "It's not working. You're still shaking."

  "Keep experimenting. The shivers aren't from the cold any more."

  Julia didn't know which of them moved forward until there was total body contact. The fact that he was so obviously turned on and yet holding himself very strictly in control seemed to bring out a fierce passion of her own.

  When they both had to stop to get some breath back he touched her face, tracing the contours, like he was trying to memorize her features. When he started in again it was with small kisses on her cheeks, forehead and eyes.

  "Your face is beautiful," Robin said. He was careful when he touched the spot where she had been hit. "I kept seeing you today, and getting these little shocks. Your look after stealing the things from the safe. You on the Harley. Cooking dinner. In the snow. These shocks I experienced; falling in love again, over and over again, each time I looked at you." He shook his head, like it was unbelievable, and kissed her lips.

  Julia looked at him. "Your eyebrows remind me of Sean Connery in his 007 role. And the dimples. White teeth. I was so scared that Juan Carlos was going to hurt you." She loved the fact that his head was so close to her that she could look right into his eyes, see the black eyebrows that were so expressive and feel the slight beard on his face with her cheek. His breath on her skin. She slipped both arms around him so she could feel his back and his chest against her. She noticed she was moving her hips against his and didn't want to stop. He was so big and so male.

  "If he had shot me, I would have managed to crawl up those stairs," Robin said. He was kissing her again and had moved his hand to her breasts, slowly moving it so that she could feel the nipples responding, getting hard under his fingers. As he started unbuttoning the top of her pajamas he stopped for a moment. "No wonder you're freezing. You're not wearing the thermals."

  "My plans excluded underwear."

  Robin smiled when he understood she had been planning to do this. It was flattering. She wasn't using him in order to forget anything.

  He had finished with the buttons and she moved back a little bit so she could shrug out of the long sleeves. He looked at her for a while. Then ducked his head and kissed each nipple very slowly, teasing with his tongue. "I was trying not to look all the time."

  "Really?" Julia asked.

  "Yes. Really.You always looked so sexy. It's extremely distracting. The way they would move under your shirts practically drove me to a frenzy. And the way you were posing on the Harley, today. When you opened the parka and kind of arched and threw back your head." He was moving his hands over her breasts and kissing her lips again. She thought if he didn't hurry up she would certainly go crazy.

  She moved her arm from around him and started unbuttoning his pajama top. She wanted to feel his skin against her. It was a little awkward because of the hurt arm, but she managed to help him take it off.

  "Not that I intend you to think I'm fixated on one part of your anatomy. Or two, I should say," Robin continued as he pulled her back against him. "All of you, your whole form, is absolutely exquisite. As is the way you move."

  He was hugging her tightly against his chest. Their hips were grinding together.

  "Tonight, I knew you weren't down below when the thugs started bumping into furniture. That's when I got scared. You have a feline way of moving. Like a lion or a panther. I admired that before I even knew I liked you."

  Robin laughed and resumed rubbing her back and kissing her. He reached down and pulled her hips against him, very hard with both hands. It seemed to be the first uncontrolled movement he had made and suddenly Julia felt wild with passion. She threw a leg over his hip so that she could feel him better, hot and hard against her.

  "I can't stand this," Robin said. They had on drawstring pants and both of them were pulling on the knots, trying to rid themselves of the last of the clothing barring a complete joining of their bodies. Julia was faster and helped him pull his pants down. It gave her a chance to hold his male parts, heavy and hot in her hand for a moment.

  His thighs were hard and strong with dark hair. She loved looking at him. He gently guided her on her back. He lay down beside her, looking at her as his hands and lips roamed over her body. He knew all the most exquisitely sensitive parts and he took his time.

  "I can't stand it any more, Robin. I need you inside."

  Julia spread her legs a little bit so he could kneel between them. He was moving over her and she finally felt him entering with exquisite slowness between her legs. It didn't feel like an invasion, but something she wanted more than anything in the world.

  Julia had been afraid that he would be too large for her, but he had prepared her so carefully that when she felt their complete joining she was totally relaxed and pushed up against him, their abdomens touching. She moved her knees up so that she could be as near to Robin as possible, holding him tight around his shoulders and back. Then she really did stop thinking and it was all slick movement that was very slow, like a wonderful dance that she never wanted to end. He was whispering, but she couldn't really hear exactly what he said, just that she was wonderful and beautiful. His breath tickled her ear.

  After a while their moments became wild, uncontrolled and faster. Julia felt like a giant hot earthquake in her whole body was ready to explode.

  "I have to come out, Julia." He sounded regretful.

  "No. Don't leave me now." Julia reached down and pulled him closer to her with both hands.

  "Really, Julia. I can't control it much longer."

  "I can't stand it if you go."

  Julia pulled on his hips and swiveled her own to get even nearer, a
nd they both had orgasms at almost the same moment. She could feel his hips jerking forward quickly and it sent her into her own marvelous climax.

  They were quite.

  The breathing slowed down after a while.

  Robin moved up on his elbows a little more so he wouldn't be too heavy. He brushed strands of hair away from her forehead and kissed it.

  Julia shook her head and sighed.

  "What?"

  She smiled up at him. "Sex is much better than a hug. I hate it when you're right."

  "This wasn't sex."

  Julia nodded. "What you did was risky."

  Robin rolled them both over on their sides, so that they were still joined together.

  "I wanted to wait for the perfect moment. When I was sure you were ready. But I was afraid the time might never come, that I might wait too long. And you had the courage to begin it, to give me the ultimate gift."

  "You had it before we started."

  "It took me a while to catch on," Robin said, stroking her face tenderly. "When did it happen?"

  "A long time ago, probably. I finally knew when I was stripping upstairs, and afraid you might be dying down below."

  Robin hugged her tighter.

  Julia fought to keep awake. She wanted to stay like this forever. She wanted to watch Robin go to sleep. She didn't want the moments to end and she was smiling as unconsciousness finally swept her to sleep.

  CHAPTER 21

  Pounding on the cabin door woke Julia. As she opened her eyes, she had a happy kind of shock seeing Robin beside her, in a flash remembering their wonderful night together, even as she wondered if more of Quijada's killers were down below, trying to break in. Robin stared back at her with wide eyes.

  There was a tremendous crash. Pots and pans landing on the floor.

  Robin bounded out of bed. "You stay here."

  He searched for his pajama bottoms, found them wadded up on the floor and yanked them on. Then he grabbed his boots and was gone, thumping down the stairs.

  Julia got up and ran to the bedroom door, her eyes frantically searching for something lethal. She grabbed a heavy candlestick from the top of the bureau, there for emergencies when mountain storms cut out the electricity, and opened the door cautiously. Holding the candlestick above her head, she crept out of the doorway.