Fade to Black

by Molly Kate Gray

  “What did you have to do? Offer to sleep with him?”

  Rory shuddered at the mental image. “Just have to clean out the wardrobe closet.”

  Justin cringed as he held the front door open for her. “Might have been easier to sleep with him.”

  “I’m not sure if I’m exactly his type.” Rory smoothed her skirt as the wind caught the hem. She descended the stairwell slowly, trying not to trip on her heels. One definite disadvantage to the personality she’d given the character she played was the fact she was constantly trying not to kill herself on her heels.

  “I guess not.” Justin reached out and grabbed her elbow as she caught her heel in a cracked section of the concrete step. “Hey, be careful.”

  “I am.” She grabbed hold of the metal rail at the edge of the staircase. “Trust me. I am.”

  • • •

  Rory hurried through the door to her dorm room. She’d only planned to close her eyes for a second in the library. When she opened them again, two hours had passed. Now, she had exactly fifteen minutes to change into clothes appropriate for her rehearsal before bolting back out the door.

  “Rory!” Allie’s chipper voice greeted her from the corner of the room.

  “Allie?” Rory spun in surprise. Less than 48 hours earlier, she’d been doing chest compressions on her roommate. She hardly expected to hear Allie’s voice quite so soon.

  “Thought I’d still be in the hospital?” She held out her arm, still covered in medical wristbands.

  “Well, yes.”

  “I got out on good behavior.” Allie laughed and plopped onto her bed. “Turns out, energy drinks and decongestants don’t mix too well.”

  “I see.” Rory slid out of her skirt and reached for a pair of jeans draped across the back of her desk chair. “That was … pretty scary.”

  “Don’t I know it. One second I’m making out with J.C., and then the next, I open my eyes and I’m staring at a guy in scrubs and a mask. Totally thought I was in a horror movie or something. The doctor said I’ll be as good as new.” She reached for a pair of scissors and clipped the first vivid yellow band from her arm.

  Rory unbuttoned her blouse and tossed it in the laundry bag on the floor of her closet. Her chai tea had been a casualty of her unexpected nap. When she’d startled herself awake, she tipped the cup over and spilled it on her white blouse. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever get the stain out of her favorite shirt. “So sad.” She muttered to herself as she took a final glance at the blouse.

  “I didn’t know you wanted to get rid of me that badly.” Allie tossed a stuffed pig at Rory’s chest.

  “No.” Rory stooped and picked the pig up off the floor. “I’m not sad that you’re ok.” She rolled her eyes. “I ruined my shirt.” The bells in the tower of the administration building struck 6:45. “Sorry. I’ve got to go. But I’m happy you’re ok.”

  “Rory.” Allie’s voice was unusually somber. “They told me what you did. I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t helped me. If I can ever do anything for you … ”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Rory rushed to the door and paused with her hand on the doorknob. “What are friends for?”

  • • •

  “Great job, everyone. I think this is going to be a good show.” Gabriel clasped his hands behind his back. “One of the best we’ve had in a few years.”

  “Since you were a student here?” Justin teased.

  “Obviously.” Gabriel nodded with a smile. “I’ll see you all back here tomorrow night.”

  The assembled cast members stood from the positions scattered throughout the black box theater. After a three-hour rehearsal, most seemed ready to leave as quickly as they could — not Rory. She knew she still had quite a large task ahead of her. She flicked on a light in the corridor running between the main theater and the black box. Walking slowly through the empty hallway, she studied the thick stack of paper that Gabriel presented her with when she arrived at the rehearsal. Apparently, she’d just earned the responsibility of costuming the cast on top of her role in the play. No wonder Gabriel seemed amused when he’d welcomed her into the theater office that night.

  “Let’s see how bad it is.” She spoke to no one in particular as she opened the door. Little more than a closet, she flinched at the size of the task in front of her. Clothes, props, and assorted accessories were piled haphazardly on every available surface. “Ouch.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

  Two hours later, she’s made a rather respectable amount of progress. The floor beneath the clothes rack was visible. All the clothing piled on the 6 ft. long folding table had been placed on hangers or returned to its appropriate drawer. The methodical act of sorting one item after another was mindless, but it was exactly the kind of work that gave her the chance to let her thoughts wander and focus on what she knew about the case.

  All the students were part of the recent plays. On a school with a more active theater program, that wouldn’t have been unusual. But not many of MU’s students took part in the shows. They weren’t all theater majors. In fact, only one of them had even taken a theater class as their fine art elective.

  So what were they doing here? Rory stood still, examining a tweed jacket for holes. Quinn never went out of her way to involve herself in school events. Reading the interview with Cadie’s parents, she got the same impression about the most recent of the overdose victims.

  The overhead light flicked off.

  “Ugh!” She glared at the ceiling. Energy friendly lights were great — as long as you didn’t stand still in a room too long. She jumped up and down, waiving her hand to wake the motion sensor.

  “That’s not going to help.” The door hinge hissed closed as a voice whispered into the darkness.

  “Who’s in here?”

  A soft laugh sounded next to her ear. “Don’t you wish you could find out?” Low and threatening, the man stood so close to her, his breath was warm on her cheek. “I know why you’re here. You need to stop poking your nose where it doesn’t belong.” Something round and hard pressed into her back. “Count to sixty before you leave the room.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “I don’t know.” Rory’s hands shook as she took the mug from Zach’s hands. Leaning against the mantle, she didn’t flinch as a glowing log tumbled off the pile and sparked and snapped behind her. “I didn’t hear anyone open the door. I was thinking about the case when the lights just turned off and then he was there.”

  “And was the voice familiar?”

  “Yes. No.” She covered her hand with her mouth and frowned in concentration. “He was quiet.”

  “Did he have an accent?” Zach paced the room, drawing a concerned expression from Otis. He’d just turned on the basketball game when someone pounded on his door. Rory was the last person he expected to see. One glance at the pallor on her face, and he knew something was wrong. He sat next to her as she called Anita to alert her to the potential problem on the case. He’d watched as she typed the report for her superior. With each keystroke, her face grew more and more pale. If the man who’d held a gun to Rory’s back were here right now, he’d kill him where he stood.

  She tipped the cup and flinched as she took a sip.

  “Drink it. It’ll help.” A dribble of whisky-laced hot chocolate dribbled down the side of the mug as she couldn’t hold it steady. Giving a witness alcohol wasn’t exactly procedure, but he needed to do something to help calm Rory down. He’d like nothing more than to have a shot himself right now. Anger flared inside him as he realized just how close this guy came to Rory.

  And how badly he’d frightened her.

  “He had an accent. New England? Boston maybe? I think it was fake, though, it didn’t sound quite right.” She chewed her lip as she did manage to spill her drink. Otis bolted from the couch and began to lap at the p
uddle on the floor. Only then did Zach realize exactly how far gone she was.

  “Hey. Hey. Hey.” He rushed to her side and took the drink from her hand. “Shh.” Brushing her hair from her forehead, he realized he couldn’t fight it any longer. He’d come too close to losing her. If her description was accurate, someone held a gun to her back today. He refused to wait any longer. He brushed a kiss against her hairline and pulled her closer into him. He could feel her shaking through the blanket he’d wrapped around her.

  Wrapping his arms more tightly around her, his side pressed against hers. He leaned over and stared deeply into her eyes — finally answering the question of what color her eyes would be in the heat of desire.

  Bottle green — almost black. Her eyes blazed into his as her trembling stopped.

  He kissed her temple. Her cheek. Her eyelid. If she’d never had a relationship before, she deserved to be kissed — thoroughly. He’d been with countless women over his thirty-three years, but none touched him as deeply as the woman he was currently holding in his arms.

  His lips hovered over hers as he breathed her in. She smelled like chocolate, whisky, and mint lip-gloss. Delicious.

  With a bruising tenderness, he allowed his lips to meld with hers.

  • • •

  For a fraction of a second, she relaxed into the kiss. In her dreams, she’d wondered what his full lips would feel like against hers from almost the first time they’d met. Warm and soft. Tender but still firm and strong. He deepened the kiss, and she sighed into his mouth.

  She wanted to stay here in this moment forever. As his strength seeped into her through his hands pressed against her, there wasn’t anywhere else she wanted to be.

  But she couldn’t do this. “Zach, we can’t.”

  He pulled away and held her cheeks in his hands. Smoothing her hair from in front of her eyes, he rested his forehead against hers. “Yes, we can.” His voice was hungry — intense.

  “No.” She sniffed as her eyes pleaded with his. She took hold of his right hand and gripped it in her left. “It won’t work. It’s not possible. I’m never the same person for more than just a few months. When I’m done with this case, I’ll disappear again. Rory Johnston won’t exist any longer.”

  “But Kennedy O’Donovan will.” He swallowed thickly. “And that’s the woman I’ve fallen in love with.”

  “You can’t do that. You can’t love me. I’m not … this isn’t me.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong.” He pulled his hand out of her grip and softly stroked her cheek, allowing his thumb to drift slowly along her jaw. “I know who you are.”

  “But we can’t.” Tears pooled in the corner of her eyes. “I’m going to have to leave.”

  “I don’t care.” His words were little more than a whisper as he didn’t wait for a response. He attacked her lips like a man who’d been wandering the desert who discovered an unexpected spring of fresh water.

  With those words, her last ounce of restraint fell away.

  “Tonight, I just want you.” His voice became tantalizingly low as he kissed the tender skin below her ear. His hand slid along her lower back and paused — waiting.

  For the moment, all the worry and stress of the case fell away. Rory was lost in the moment as she breathed in time with him. The spice of his cologne mixed with his aftershave and the musky scent that was unique to Zach. “Then so do I.”

  She assailed his lips with a ferocity that even surprised herself. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as her hands traveled up the planes of the well-defined muscles of his chest. All those hours on the basketball court with her brother definitely paid off.

  Her lips parted and his tongue skimmed against her teeth. He leaned back, and Rory bumped her head against the bricks of the hearth. “Ouch.” She flinched as she pulled away. “Maybe this isn’t the best place for this.”

  Silence fell as Zach’s breathing seemed to have stilled.

  Rory watched the conflict in his face. He knew what she was suggesting. Watching him at war with himself made her even surer of what she was asking.

  “Rory.” He drew out her name as he traced her collar with the tip of his index finger. “We don’t have to … ”

  “I know.” She shrugged her collar partially off her shoulder, revealing creamy bare skin. “But I want to.”

  She didn’t have to ask him twice. Leaning down, he scooped her into his arms, as if he were giving her a reverse piggyback ride. She entwined her fingers behind his neck as she brought her lips back to meet his. As if she were no lighter than a feather, he carried her down the hall in the direction of his bedroom.

  Sometime during the last hour, rain began to fall, peppering the oversized windows covering two walls of Zach’s bedroom. He gently placed her on the side of the bed and paused — giving her one last chance to say no.

  Green eyes met brown as Rory gave a nervous smile.

  “Rory.” He nuzzled her neck as he nipped at her collarbone with his teeth. “We can stop here.”

  “I don’t want to.” Never taking her eyes off his, she reached for the hem of her shirt and tugged it over her head.

  “Gorgeous.” He lowered his face to the valley between her breasts as he reached behind her back and released the clasp of her bra. Rory’s eyes closed in unexpected pleasure as he enveloped her breast with his mouth. His tongue swirled her nipple and she shuddered beneath his attention. “Mmmm.” She wove her fingers through his hair and pulled him more tightly against her. Rory had been kissed before. She’d even had guys in the general vicinity of her breasts, but she’d never experienced anything like this. He wanted her to enjoy it.

  She cracked her eyes open and was surprised to find him staring into her face. Zach was studying her — watching her every reaction. His teeth nibbled at her skin and she arched into him, hungry for more. His lips curled into a satisfied smile before he began to pull away. “Oh, god, don’t stop.”

  “I’m not planning to.” He pulled his shirt over his head, wincing as he stretched his side a little farther than he should. Rory blinked as she got her first close up view of his chest. She’d seen hints of his muscles through his tight t-shirts. She’d gotten a glimpse of his bare chest on the basketball court. But now she was looking at him up close, and he was even more unbelievable than she’d been able to tell from a distance. But his amazing upper body wasn’t what immediately drew her attention. “Does that hurt?” She eyed the square of gauze on his side.

  “Not much.” He took hold of her hand and placed it on the smooth skin of his chest. “You’ll just have to watch where you touch.”

  “I’ll have to remember that.” She slid her palm against the rock-hard muscles of his chest. As he joined her on the bed, straddling her, she felt the muscles tense and relax as he slowly lowered his chest to meet hers. Almost overwhelmed by the intimacy of the skin-to-skin contact, she closed her eyes and buried her head in the hollow of his shoulder.

  He ran his fingers through the soft tendrils of strawberry-blonde hair, and a hum of pleasure rattled his chest. Rory took advantage of the close proximity of his neck as she relaxed further. She kissed the pulse point in his neck and began to inch her way down lower.

  Zach pushed off her body and rolled onto one side to allow Rory to move and give himself better access to her breasts. As he traced the edges of her nipple with his thumb, Rory was surprised to see her nipples harden beneath his touch. She’d never reacted to any man’s attention this way before. As he was unable to restrain himself any longer, he slid her higher on the bed and his lips closed on her unoccupied breast, she realized that this was the first time she’d experienced something like this without simply playing a part. “Oooh.” The muscles of her stomach tensed as his tongue swirled her nipple.

  “You like that?” He looked up at her, a mixture of desire and amusement in his eyes.
“Then you’ll definitely like this.” He trailed feather-light kissed between her breasts and down her belly — stopping just below her belly button — clearly asking a question without speaking.

  Rory nodded and shifted her hips to give him better access to the waistband of her jeans. He rocked onto his knees as he took hold of the button. Unzipping the denim, he tugged her pants slowly down her legs before dropping them onto the floor. Rory felt color rise to her cheeks as she lay before him in just her white lace-trimmed panties. Slowly, almost reverently, he took hold of the waistband and removed the last layer covering a part of herself that Rory had never shared with anyone before.

  “You’re beautiful.”

  Rory averted his eyes and he seemed to sense her discomfort. He kicked out of his pants and answered the often-asked question — neither boxers nor briefs for him. “Commando?”

  He flashed a cocky smile. “I’m off duty today.” He brought his lips back to hers as he rested his hand on her stomach. He’d already fully explored the skin available to him earlier. Now he turned his attention to what had been covered just moments before, but Rory was distracted.

  Zach’s smile widened as he realized where her attention was fixed. “It won’t bite.” He raised an eyebrow suggestively as he took hold of her hand and guided it to his cock. The skin was smooth — almost like satin. It pulsed beneath her explorations, and she let go in surprise. He shifted onto his back and pulled her hand back to him. She reached farther down between his legs, and he moaned in pleasure. Slowly, carefully, her fingertips examined every inch of her new toy. As she reached the tip, a stream of moisture cascaded down her fingertips. Giving a gentle squeeze, she cupped her hand around him and slid up and down the length of his shaft.

  “Not too much just yet.” He stilled her movements as he raised himself up on one elbow. “I want to be able to last.” He turned away from her and opened the drawer of his nightstand. Rory could hear his finger strike against empty wood. “Damn it.” He looked at his member in frustration. “I’m … out.”