I pushed Spike off my lap and gathered Katherine up in my arms. She sighed contentedly.
“Sleepy?”
“A bit. Maybe Spike and I should take a nap?”
“Your mum won’t be here for a couple hours yet.” I climbed to my feet then helped Katherine up. “Go rest. I’ll finish up in here. But, no dogs in the bed or on the furniture.”
“Don’t let him scare you. He’s really nothing but a softy deep down inside.” Katherine scooped the pup up, then retrieved her discarded jeans. “He’s all bark and no bite.”
Spike barked, seemingly in agreement.
“Traitor!” I yelled after them.
“Hello, Charles,” said Julia. “Sorry we’re a bit early.”
“No need to apologize. I’ll let Dr. Atherton and Miss Lawson know you’ve arrived.” He stepped aside and invited them in. “May I fix you a cocktail first?”
I quickly made my way down the stairs. “Julia, you look fetching. Wonderful to see you again, George.”
“Where’s Kate?”
“Upstairs. We heard the doorbell. She’ll be down in a minute or two.” I showed Julia and George into the living room. “Now, about those drinks.”
“Yes, what can I get for you?” asked Charles.
“A scotch would be nice,” replied George, sitting down. He looked around the room. “Wes, you have a lovely home.”
“Mrs. Lawson, what can I get you?”
“White wine?”
“I took the liberty of selecting a nice white Bordeaux from the cellar this morning. I’ll go get it,” offered Charles.
“Ah, here’s Katherine.”
“You’re looking a little tired, sweetheart,” said Julia as she walked up to Katherine and smoothed down her hair. “Are you getting enough rest?”
“We didn’t sleep well last night.” Katherine curled up on the sofa. “There was an accident at the party, someone died.”
“Dear Lord,” gasped George as he removed his glasses and began to polish them. “How awful.”
“Was he someone you knew?” Julia asked me.
“Was a woman, actually.” I quickly poured George and myself a scotch. “Here you go, George.”
“Thank you,” he replied.
Charles returned with a tray of stuffed mushrooms and the chilled wine. After pouring Julia a glass he set the mushrooms down on the coffee table and then quietly slipped away.
“She was an old girlfriend,” added Katherine.
“I see,” said George.
An awkward silence fell over the room.
I poured Katherine a club soda. “Mostly I’m grateful that Katherine escaped getting hurt.”
“Were you almost hurt?” Julia looked alarmed.
“No!” Katherine accepted the club soda and took a sip. “Reese had a bit too much to drink and she climbed into the fountain. There were strong winds, what with the storms, and a power line was knocked loose. She… Excuse me!”
Katherine quickly set her glass down and ran from the room.
“Don’t know why they insist on calling it morning sickness,” I muttered before dashing out of the room after her.
Katherine was in the guest bathroom. I knocked.
“Are you all right?”
It was a foolish question; I could hear quite plainly that she wasn’t. After a moment or two she opened the door.
“Sorry.”
I smoothed down her hair. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for.”
I walked the few steps down the hall and pushed open the kitchen door. “Charles, can you bring out a few crisps and some ginger ale?” I turned back to Katherine and held out my hand. “The salt will help. Maybe you should go lie down?”
She shook her head. “I’ll be all right. I’m just going to run upstairs and freshen up.”
I walked back into the living room just in time to hear George say to Julia, “So, Damien is the father?”
“Katherine will be back down shortly. She’s been struggling with nausea all morning, I’m afraid.”
Charles entered with the glass of ginger ale and a small bowl of crisps.
“Charles, where’s the package I asked you to get when you went out to the house?”
“In the dining room, sir.” He set the items on the table.
“There’s something I’d like to show you,” I told Julia, retrieving my drink, then offering her my arm. “We’ll be but a moment, George, if you don’t mind.”
He reached for one of the mushrooms and waved us off. “Not at all.”
I escorted Julia across the hall and into the formal dining room. The long mahogany table was already set for dinner. The instant we entered, Julia’s eyes were drawn to a painting displayed at the far end of the room. She walked up to it, leaning in to study the piece with a practiced eye.
“It’s for you.”
Julia turned quickly to face me. “What? No! I can’t accept this. Wesley, this has got to be worth a fortune. It’s exquisite.”
I looked back at the familiar painting. My mother, Margo Atherton lay in repose on a red velvet chaise, her almost white blonde hair draped over the arm. Her body arched up as if seeking out the touch of an invisible lover. The chaise was positioned in front of a large set of windows and through them the late-afternoon sun poured in, dappling her pale skin in a golden luminescence. One delicate hand was held next to her head, the second draped, lazily across her stomach. Her lips were smiling in playful amusement and her eyes, her eyes conveyed her utter and complete happiness.
“I walked in on them the day he was trying to finish this. I was mortified.”
“I didn’t know he did any nudes of your mother.” Julia turned on a nearby light.
“He never sold any of them. There are close to a hundred. This, however, is my favorite. It’s very precious to me, and that’s precisely the reason that I want you to have it.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’m in love with Katherine, Julia. Rather madly in love with her, I’m afraid. Perhaps I should say we’ve fallen madly in love with one another. I’ve asked her to stay on, here.”
Julia’s eyes flashed in anger. “And you thought you’d buy her with a painting?”
“No.” I shook my head. “No. That would imply she’s yours to sell and that’s not true, is it? She’s already agreed, Julia. We’re committed to giving this a go. Katherine’s priceless. Until I met her, I had thought this to be my greatest treasure. I want you to keep it, to take care of it for me.”
“Please, don’t hurt her,” said Julia, softly.
“I won’t, I promise. I’ll do right by her, Julia. I’ll take good care of her.”
She sighed and shook her head. “She’s so vulnerable now and she’s not very experienced. Damien’s the only real boyfriend she’s ever had.”
“I know this is fast. But, it’s real and it’s good. It’s bloody brilliant, actually.”
“She’s going to have a baby.”
“I know that. I have a big house and a bigger heart.”
Julie smiled. “You’ve got it bad.”
I nodded. “I happily admit defeat. I’ve never been with someone like her. She’s amazing.” Julia leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.
“I’m happy for you, sweetie. I’m happy for both of you. Of course, you realize what I’ll do to you if you screw this up?”
“I’ve got an idea.”
“Almost a hundred, you say?” she asked, turning back to face the painting.
“Of the nudes, yeah.” My mobile rang. “Excuse me.”
“Get her out!” hissed the voice on the other side of the line. “She’s not safe there. No! No! Please!”
“Damien? Is that you? I’ve been leaving messages for you all day. Are you all right?”
I heard a sudden crash, followed by a groan. “Damien? Bugger!”
“What is it?” Katherine walked into the room.
I rang off then quickly redialed the number. “It sounded like Damien w
as in some sort of trouble, I don’t know. Hello? This is Dr. Wesley Atherton, I was just speaking with a patient in your hotel and we were cut off. I’m concerned he’s ill, too ill to answer the phone. Could someone go check on him and call me back? I don’t know the room number. Damien…”
“Flynn,” interjected Katherine.
“Flynn. My number is 07769584097.”
It took them almost twenty minutes to call me back. I reached for Katherine’s hand. “I’m sorry, I’ve got to go check on him. He told security he didn’t need any help but…”
“But they weren’t convinced?”
“They said he looks pretty bad, might be running a fever. I got the lecture on how they respect their guest’s privacy, then he let Damien’s room number slip. It was purposeful, I’m almost sure of it. I won’t be more than an hour. Charles will come with me in case I need help.”
Katherine opened the door to the hall closet. “I should go with you.”
I turned to look at her and was struck by a fierce need to protect her. She looked so fragile and feminine in the chocolate brown suede skirt and cream-colored silk blouse, its soft fabric accentuating the curve of her full breasts.
“No.” I reached into the closet and pulled out my leather coat. “I’ll take care of it. You wait here. I’ll be back in a jiff, you’ll see. If Will and Jennifer arrive before we return, just fix them some drinks and be your charming self.” I leaned down and kissed her, quickly, on the mouth.
Charles held the door open. “Would you like me to drive?”
“What kind of a kiss was that?” I heard her ask, quietly, just as I was walking through the door.
I paused, turned around and walked purposefully back into the house. I wrapped my arm around Katherine’s narrow waist and in one fluid movement pulled her inside the large entry coat closet, shutting the door and shrouding us in darkness.
“That was a proper kiss,” I whispered. “That’s the kind of kiss you give in front of your girlfriend’s mother, especially when said girlfriend has expressed discomfort with public displays of affection and her former fiancé is sick and in need of a bit of quick rescuing.”
“Oh,” she said. “Why are we in the closet?”
“So that I can give you an improper kiss.” My hand crept up to cup her right breast. “I should warn you. I told your mother I’m in love with you and that I intend to keep you.”
“You told her?”
“Yes.” I brushed my lips across hers and lightly traced the outside of her partly open mouth with the tip of my tongue, coaxing her lips farther apart. “Now, shut up and give me your tongue.”
Katherine slipped her tongue inside and I sucked it fully into my mouth. I could feel her surprise as her breath hitched, but I paid that little mind. Instead I continued, massaging her tongue, sucking it in deeper and then releasing the pressure slightly and backing off.
Harder. Deeper. Faster. Trying to replicate for her, in some small way, the intense pleasure and raw emotion that I felt when I was buried deep inside of her. The sounds of her whimpering in need and the sensation of her nipples hardening as I swept my fingertips over them gave me the desired feedback. I was on the road to redeeming myself. I let my hands slide down over her waist and when they reached her hips I pulled her toward me and abruptly ended the kiss. Katherine staggered slightly in the dark. She wrapped her hands around my biceps to hold on and steady herself.
“Little weak in the knees, kitten?” I asked, feeling quite smug.
Katherine nodded.
“Tell me, what kind of a kiss was that?”
“That,” she replied, still a bit breathless, “was a great kiss.”
“So, I take it I’ve officially atoned for that shamefully inadequate kiss out there?”
“Almost,” she replied as she reached up, again seeking out the warmth of my mouth. I held her back.
“Greedy vixen. Tend to the guests now. I promise I’ll tend to you later.” I opened the closet door and swatted her playfully on her bottom. Before she could respond I was out the door with Charles.
Chapter Sixteen
We were led into Damien’s room by hotel security.
“Good Lord!” exclaimed Charles.
Damien lay on the floor dressed only in a pair of black trousers. He was curled up on his side with bruising evident on his torso. The man was sweating profusely and shaking uncontrollably. I made my way over to him and tried to quickly assess the situation. Damien was mumbling almost to himself, his lips barely moving. “Not gonna do it. Not gonna hurt her. Not gonna do it.”
“Damien, I want you to look at me.”
He’d yet to move. It was as if he hadn’t even noticed our presence in the room. He was unable to focus or respond. His eyes were jittering back and forth in minute, involuntary movements and his pupils were dilated. A puddle of vomit lay just a few inches from his face. His body glistened with sweat and the front of his pants were wet. I felt for a pulse and watched for a few seconds as Damien panted, his breathing shallow and seemingly constricted.
“His pulse and respirations are both elevated. We’ve got to get him to a hospital. Think we can get him into the car? St. Catherine’s is less than a mile away.”
“I’ll get a rollaway bed from the storage room at the end of the hall,” offered the security guard.
“Let’s sit him up first, then we’ll lift him together.”
“Was he beaten by someone, do you think?” asked Charles.
I hooked my arms under Damien’s and pulled him to a sitting position. “Hold him up.” I walked around back. “Christ!”
“What is it?”
I knelt down to examine Damien’s back more closely. It was covered with large angry red welts, swollen and hot, some of them oozing.
“Looks like insect bites of some sort. But, they’re so big and so many of them. Charles, tell the guard to get towels and ice, quickly.”
“Will do.”
“What the hell happened here, Damien?”
“Not gonna do it. Not gonna hurt her. Not gonna do it,” he continued to mumble over and over again.
It took less than five minutes to get him transferred from the room onto the rollaway bed and into the back of my car. We’d laid a cold, wet towel across his back and placed a garbage bag filled with ice on it.
Charles was driving. I dialed my mobile while watching Damien closely. “Laura? It’s me. I’m on my way in with a sick friend. It looks as if maybe he’s been bitten by something.”
“Bitten by something? Does he know what?”
“He’s pretty out of it. His heart rate is over one thirty, respirations over twenty, he’s been vomiting, and he’s diaphoretic.”
“Have you checked his pupils?”
“Yes, they’re both dilated and nystagmus is patently evident. He’s shaking, Laura, almost seizing. He seems delirious.”
“How close are you?”
“We’ll be rounding the corner. I’m going to pull into the ambulance bay. Have someone waiting.”
“I’m on my way out.”
As Charles pulled into the parking area I saw Laura; she was waiting for us with two men. She was practically bouncing on her toes with nervous energy.
I climbed out of the car.
“Any change?”
“None.”
The two men lifted Damien onto a trolley and rushed him inside.
Charles and I followed. A & E was fairly deserted. We waited on the other side of the curtain while Laura rattled off a long list of orders. Finally she pushed the drape aside.
“They’re intubating him now. What the hell happened to him?”
“Don’t really know,” I told her. “We found him in his hotel room.”
She brushed an errant stand of hair out of her eyes, pushed her glasses back up and shook her head. “Wes, when I was with the Peace Corps I spent a lot of time in Mexico. The symptoms and welts are consistent with a scorpion bite. Lots of scorpion bites. I’d guess this was done by fi
fteen or twenty at least.”
“Scorpions?”
“Laura, check this out,” someone called out.
Laura walked back over to the bedside. “What?”
“I’m getting a bizarre reading on the ECG.”
“Let me have a look.”
“See this? Then there are these tiny Q waves.”
“And an accelerated junctional rhythm.”
Charles leaned over and whispered, “What’s that mean?”
I shook my head. “I don’t exactly know.”
“His rate’s between sixty and one hundred beats per minute.” Laura continued to scan the monitors. “I want to see the interleukin levels. If I’m right it’ll be elevated. Get an IV going and start those medicines I ordered. We need to get him some relief.”
I noticed that Charles was watching her intently.
“She’s so confident,” he murmured.
I looked back and forth between them. I hadn’t seen that look on his face in ages. “Did something happen between you and Laura?”
Charles grinned. “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”
Laura rejoined us. “He’s stabilizing. We’re going to have to admit him and continue to carefully monitor the situation, though. I’m going to keep him on the vent as a precaution. He’s out for now. I’ve never seen so many bites.”
“You really think that’s what it is?”
“The presentation is consistent, Wes.”
“But it makes no sense.”
Laura shrugged.
“Will you call me when he’s extubated? I want to try to talk to him as soon as possible.”
“Of course,” she replied. Then she removed her glasses and approached Charles. “Hello, Charles.”
“Hello yourself,” replied Charles.
“I’m off at seven.” She smiled up at him sweetly. “That’s in just a few minutes.”
“I’m working tonight. Dr. Atherton is having a dinner party.”
“Oh, of course. I’m sorry.” She turned her attention back toward me. “I’ll call you when he’s extubated, Wes.” She hurried away toward the emergency room exit, obviously flustered.
“Go on.” I gave Charles a nudge.
He bristled a bit. “Go on, what?”
The Sacrifice: Forbidden, Book 1 Page 14
