The Haunted (Sleeping with Monsters Book 1)

by Alexander, Cassie

  Richard caught hold of her arms, gently and folded them back down. “We have guests. And it’s raining. We can’t go anywhere right now.” He was still a little drunk, but she knew he was right.

  “Tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  “As soon as they leave.”

  He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it like a prince. “The second they’re gone.”

  “Okay.” She bit her lips and crawled under the sheets. “I want you to stay right here.” She dragged him down to lay directly behind her in bed and he went with her. “And don’t move the whole night.”

  “Okay.” He nodded into her shoulder agreeably, and soon he was asleep. Daphne willed herself to sleep shortly thereafter.

  “Come on, pet.” Richard shook her gently in the morning. They were in the same position they’d been in the prior night. Daphne’s entire right side felt stiff.

  She blinked awake. “We’re still leaving, right?”

  He nodded. “After we get the guests out.”

  “As fast as possible.”

  Daphne went downstairs, holding Richard’s hand like he was her new lucky charm.

  Arthur had set a sideboard for breakfast, and Nalo was already picking at a plate when they got there. She looked up as they entered. “Any word?”

  Daphne wiped a hand across her face. “None yet.”

  “Sharon didn’t call?”

  “I don’t think she’s the calling type,” Richard said, cutting her line of inquiry off. “We’ll drop by the hospital on our way out today,” he said, squeezing Daphne’s hand. She squeezed his hand back.

  “James and Roger already left – they’ve got to go to Paris.”

  “Of course,” Richard said, as though their departing without good-byes was expected.

  “We’d check in, but we’ve got a flight to catch too,” Tyler announced. He was already in a suit and looked halfway out the door. He picked up a plate and started serving himself eggs.

  Some unspoken protocol required that they eat breakfast together, despite how awkward it was. Arthur hovered attentively, trying to discern what’d happened to the missing couple, and why things were so generally unpleasant. He looked to Daphne with a question on his face, and she subtly shook her head.

  “Well, that was lovely. Thank you for your hospitality,” Nalo said in a perfunctory fashion, once she and Tyler were done.

  “Can I bring your bags down, Sir?” Arthur asked.

  “No need – I brought them down already,” Tyler said, standing and replacing his chair under the table. “Richard,” Tyler said, giving him a strong handshake. “Daphne,” he said, with a nod.

  “I hope you both have a nice trip home,” Daphne said, as Tyler drew Nalo away, and waved weakly as they headed to the door.

  The second she heard the front door close, she dragged Richard upstairs. “Let’s go.”

  “Where to?”

  “I don’t care.” Daphne yanked down half of her closet and shoved it into a bag. Enough clothing for at least two weeks, and she knew she could always buy more.

  “Pack for me, too?” Richard said.

  “Why?” She didn’t want him to leave her sight – and she didn’t want to be alone.

  “I’ve got to get some files off the computer. I can work almost anywhere, but I am going to have to work.” He reached forward and stroked her chin. “Someone has to bankroll our escape.”

  They’d leave faster if they could split up -- but she was scared to be alone with the Master. “Hurry?”

  “For you? Of course.”

  She reached into Richard’s closet next, throwing heaps of his clothing into a moving box. Three suits, matching ties, shirts, socks – they’d look like hobos on the road in their expensive car, and she didn’t care.

  The sound of rain got worse outside, matching her mood more with each second that passed. She ran down to the entry hall with her own bag, and then returned to pick up Richard’s box. Daphne wondered what responsibility she had to say good-bye to the Master. She didn’t want to be with him again, she wanted things with Richard to work out, but he had rescued her last night --

  She opened up her mouth to speak, and then thought better of it. She grabbed Richard’s box and pulled the bedroom door shut behind herself.

  Richard met her in the entry way with a briefcase.

  “Going somewhere?” Arthur asked, looking between them, genuinely confused.

  “On a trip,” Richard said, with a grin, as though this were just another adventure.

  Arhtur’s eyebrows rose. “Might I inquire how long you two will be gone?”

  “As long as it takes.”

  “For…what? If I may ask?”

  “You may – but I don’t rightly know. But my wife wants to leave, and leave we shall. We’ll let you know when we return.” Richard took her hand in his and squeezed it again.

  “If that’s the case, may I request permission to leave for Mrs. Dudley and myself, before the weather gets worse?”

  “Of course,” Richard said grandly. Arthur cast one last worried look at her, but Daphne smiled, and he nodded back, more settled.

  She turned to face the door, Richard’s hand still in hers. This was it. They were leaving. So close to being free of this place and starting over.

  Daphne reached forward and opened up the front door and found a drenched woman standing outside, about to press the doorbell.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  She looked surprised to see them – as surprised as Daphne was to see her.

  “Richard?” she said.

  “Becca?” His hand fell away from Daphne’s. “What are you doing here?”

  “You invited me!” Her eyes flickered over Daphne again. “What is she doing here? You said she would be gone.”

  Richard looked horrified. “I said no such thing!”

  Despite the fact that Daphne knew precisely who Becca was, she couldn’t help but ask – “Who is she?”

  Richard looked between the women. She could see his mind whirling, trying to come up with an acceptable explanation, one that would work for the both of them.

  He wound up falling to his knees, facing her. “Pet – she’s from my past. I promised you last night --”

  “From your past? I spent two thousand dollars trying to get here overnight!”

  “Why the hell would you do that?”

  “You told me to!” Becca protested.

  “We’re going,” Daphne said, dragging Richard out.

  “You can’t just leave me here, Richard –“ Becca said.

  “Arthur will take care of her, if we tell him.” But would the Master?

  Richard stood between the two women, clearly torn. “We can’t just abandon her like that.”

  “Oh, so it’s fine to abandon me for her, but not the other way around?”

  Richard’s eyes squinted. “Did you know about her?” He sounded offended.

  “Don’t you dare try to make this about me!” Daphne said. “You’re the one that brought her into our life! I heard you on the phone with her once, Richard. And one night I tried to get you to roll over and you whispered out Becca,” Daphne said in imitation of him.

  Behind Richard, she could see Becca’s face flush with excitement. She’d inadvertently let the woman know she had a place in Richard’s life – in his own goddamned bed.

  Becca grabbed hold of Richard’s wrist and pulled him back while stepping forward. “He’s not yours anymore. He said so. He’s mine.”

  Becca shook herself off and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to position herself as the more attractive option. She was pretty, disappointingly so, and even younger than Daphne was. With her hair tousled, her chest heaving with anger, it was so easy to see what Richard loved in her.

  “Can we just have a few moments to discuss this privately?” Richard asked Daphne, looking between her and Becca again.

  “No.”

  Richard inhaled to protest, but withered under D
aphne’s gaze. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “If you let me talk to her alone, I can give the girl some dignity. It’ll be easier on us both.”

  Daphne shook her head. “No.” Richard was her talisman. If she was with him, the Master couldn’t harass her. “Anything you have to say to her, you can say in front of me.”

  Becca made an indignant noise for attention. “Look, someone invited me here,” Becca said, her voice chilly. “I don’t think Richard’s that foolish.”

  “Apparently you’ve never met my husband,” Daphne said, voice just as cold.

  Becca took a bold step forward. “If it wasn’t him, it was you. What kind of pervert leads someone else on over chat like that?”

  “What?”

  Richard turned on Daphne, eyes-wide. “Daphne --”

  “Don’t you dare –“ she shouted at him.

  “I didn’t tell her to come here –“

  “I didn’t either!”

  “But that’s how come you wanted to leave today –“ Richard looked around the hall at the things she’d packed. “You wanted us to go before she got here –“

  “That’s not what happened!”

  “Then tell us what happened,” Becca demanded.

  Daphne whirled on the other woman. “You don’t get to order me!”

  “Let’s be rational –“ Richard said, as if he’d been being so all this time. “It’s okay if you told her to come. You were angry, and you wanted her to waste a lot of money, that seems fair –“

  “But that’s –“ Daphne began.

  “I broke up with George for you,” Becca said, louder than Daphne’s protest.

  Richard stilled, and Daphne could almost physically feel herself losing him, again –

  “Richard –“ she moved to block Becca from his sight, to run her hands up his chest and pull his head down to look at her and only her. “Stay with me. We need to go.”

  “Good luck leaving,” Becca said from behind her. “I had to pay a taxi driver six hundred dollars, cash, to drive me over from the regional airport. He only knew which roads weren’t flooded because he’d lived here as a child.”

  “If there’s one, there’s others –“

  Richard shook his head gravely. “I don’t have six hundred dollars on me, pet. It can’t rain forever –“

  “But we can’t stay here!”

  “Why not?” Becca said, and Daphne could hear the hint of triumph in her tone. “This place seems amazing to me.”

  And then the power went out.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  The library was the only place furnished enough to hold the three of them comfortably, with enough windows to let whatever light passed through the storm clouds in. Richard stoked a fresh fire in the fireplace. Arthur or Mrs. Dudley had made a bold effort trying to get Glenn’s blood out of the floor this morning, but hadn’t entirely succeeded.

  Daphne and Becca sat down on opposite ends of the couch, watching Richard stack logs in the fire. When he stood, they both looked at him expectantly, and he frowned. “I need to be alone for a bit.”

  “No –“ Daphne protested – none of them should be alone here, in the half-dark, it wasn’t safe –

  “I just need some space to think.” He sliced his hand through the air to cut her off, and stalked down the back hall.

  Which left Daphne on the couch with Becca.

  Becca stared pensively out the window at the falling rain. Five minutes passed in silence, and then she stood. “I’m going to go look around.”

  “No,” Daphne said again, her voice more stern. “I don’t want you alone in my house.” It wasn’t safe for her to be alone, not when the Master was still here --

  “What, you’re scared I’ll steal things?” Becca glanced up at the Master’s portrait. “You think I’ll take that out under my coat?”

  “It’s a big house in the dark. You could get lost.”

  Becca’s eyes narrowed, cat-like. “You really think I’d run from room to room until I found Richard and, I don’t know, started blowing him?”

  Daphne hadn’t considered that until this precise moment, but it seemed all too likely now. “Just like in Paris. Just like in Rome.”

  Becca’s eyes went wide and she flushed. “What – wait – that was you!”

  Daphne clenched her hands into fists at having outed herself. “Just the one time – that was the only time, I swear it – I sure as hell didn’t tell you to come here --“

  Becca’s sat back down on the couch and turned towards Daphne. “But the things you said you wanted to do to me –“

  “That wasn’t me –“ Daphne said, scooting back.

  “Those were why I came out here. Not Paris or Rome. I thought I was seeing Richard’s true heart --“

  Daphne put her elbows on her knees and her head between her hands. Becca was in love with the Master, who she thought was Daphne pretending to be Richard, oh God –

  Becca put a hand on Daphne’s back. Startled, Daphne looked up, and found Becca’s face hovering close – she had just enough time to close her eyes before Becca kissed her.

  Daphne jumped back like she’d been shocked, and then sat stock still. Becca’s eyes watched her, and she put a hand on her knee, and then leaned in again.

  Should I run? Why aren’t I running? she thought. But Becca’s lips touched hers and it was too late to run all over again.

  If she was kissing her, she wouldn’t leave, would she? And together they’d both be safe? Yes, that, that could be the reason for this, so that she didn’t have to admit to maybe liking it. Daphne opened her lips, and began to kiss Becca back. Her lips were so soft, and her tongue was so gentle, it was like Daphne was kissing a flower. She turned her head so that they could kiss harder, deeper, and Becca made a little noise of satisfaction, before bringing her hand to rest on Daphne’s breast. Daphne’s breath caught at this, and she felt her nipples rise and she sidled closer so that her knee and thigh brushed up against Becca’s and her own hands rose to reach for her waist where Becca’s raincoat was tied.

  Together they were nearing a hairpin turn, and someone would have to take the wheel and yank it if either of them were going to stop in time, before they rounded the bend together and everything was too late – Becca’s tongue sought more of hers out, her lips becoming needy, pulling at Daphne’s harder as Daphne’s hands deliberately untied the coat.

  Fabric fell open, and inside? Soft skin. Absolutely no clothing. Daphne pulled back in surprise, as Becca’s hands began to tug her shirt up. Of course, Becca’d done it for Richard – but Daphne got to be the one who took advantage of it. She started touching the other woman as Becca got her shirt free and sent her hands roaming up beneath and lips touched lips again as legs pressed against legs.

  Soon they were falling backwards, and Daphne’s shirt and bra were off, breasts exposed to Becca’s mouth as she stroked her fingers against the other woman’s breasts, pinching at her nipples.

  “Tell me that you want me.”

  “Hmmm?” Daphne’s voice was soft, entranced by the creature she was touching and all the delicious touches she was getting in return.

  “Like you did online.”

  Her mouth closed and her teeth grit. She’d read the chat logs, she knew exactly what the Master had said – and Becca’s hands were going lower now, pushing up beneath her skirt --

  Daphne grabbed a hank of Becca’s hair near her scalp, twisting the woman’s head to the side. “I want you,” she said in a low voice, spreading her legs open in invitation. With her other hand she grabbed Becca’s tentative one and pulled her higher, forcing her to feel the wetness staining the cotton between her thighs. “See?” she said, more her own voice, less channeling the Master.

  Becca’s face lit up – and she pulled Daphne’s underwear down and off as quickly as she could, then returned to hover over her again, her raincoat covering both of them, to watch Daphne’s face as she slid two fingers in.

  Daphne gasped and writhed. It was
wrong, there should be no room for Becca inside her life, muchless between her legs, but – as the other woman started to move her fingers in and out and pull inside her with her hand – it felt too good to stop.

  She reached up and pulled Becca’s mouth to hers again, kissing the other woman deep, her wet hair falling down around them both like a curtain. She kissed her as hard as she wanted Becca’s hand to fuck her, as good as it felt to be fucked, and she tilted her hips up so that Becca could reach even deeper inside. She began to moan, and her own hands left Becca’s breasts to drift down to where Becca’s pussy waited, brushing through the small thatch of dark hair to run her fingers against the other woman’s folds. Becca’s skin down there was as soft as her lips, all the moreso because she was as wet as Daphne, and Daphne felt them curiously, tugging Becca’s labia gently.

  “Go on. Do it,” Becca whispered, her voice hoarse. Daphne slid one finger in to Becca’s warm heat, and felt the delicious softness continue, even up inside. Becca shivered, her own hand in Daphne stopping, as Daphne pushed another finger inside of her and began to touch the smoothness that she found there.

  It was magical to touch inside another woman, to share her most intimate space. Daphne found herself ignoring the sensations of Becca inside of her, and concentrated on this, the yielding velvet that moved whenever Daphne pressed – and wherever Daphne pressed, Becca moaned, which made everything even more delightful. Soon the other woman pulled her own fingers out and balanced on all fours above Daphne, arching her hips back into Daphne’s hand, while Daphne tried to touch more of her, inside and out. Her lips kissed at Becca’s neck and her free hand lifted the weight of one of her hanging breasts, and always, always, she was moving her fingers inside, shaking her hand, sensing all of the ways she pleased Becca as the woman’s eyes glazed over and her breath became an endless series of moans.

  She felt the velvet of Becca’s pussy tighten and redoubled her efforts to reach more, press more, shake more, and then Becca threw her head back and shouted, going still before quaking bodily, making Daphne fight to follow her orgasm as she came, her hips twitching of their own accord, wetness spilling out of her like she was a fountain, dripping down Daphne’s hand and forearm.