Icy droplets from the double showerheads pounded his head and chest, assaulting his body like a sadist’s whip. Though drenched with chilly water, nothing helped cool down the myriad of burning thoughts—all centered on Destiny. His body reacted with a throbbing ache deep inside his chest while his cock swelled as hard as his frozen heart.
Tired of fighting these aches, he simply yearned for release. The only woman he wanted in his bed was no longer a part of his life. The truth slapped him in the face, yet his body clenched with needs he’d hoped he’d pushed aside years ago.
As the water heated, and steam clouded his vision, he succumbed to the image of Destiny’s sweet face and luscious curves. Even her taste lingered. Her sweetness burned inside his brain and teased his tongue. Using the memory of her supple body as she rode his, he stroked his cock.
Saddened that this perversion was the only pleasure he might ever experience concerning her again, and as tears flowed and mixed with the shower’s heated spray, he climaxed.
CHAPTER 15
Cindy’s Nelson’s murderer planned his evening’s entertainment. Tonight was the perfect time to satisfy his cravings, so why put it off any longer? Weeks of contemplation had come to an end. His hunger for Destiny Blake had grown over the months since he met her. Throughout Fairfield, and the surrounding college community, several young women had easily succumbed to his attention.
Not her.
What he shared with these nameless women was pure savagery and meant nothing. He had a certain way with women and bedded them left and right. Even so, his body and mind needed more. Sex alone wasn’t doing it for him, and he started getting rough, which drove the women away after one encounter.
Rage festered over time until the urge to force his will on another woman led him to raping and killing that college girl. She’d wandered through the woods and played right into his hands.
“Evil deeds bring a hideous end,” whispered a voice.
He swung his head back and forth, but saw nothing. The echo of a faceless feminine voice, oddly familiar, drifted on the stiff breeze. He ignored it, making sure he was alone, and reviewed his plans.
Destiny Blake had spent the evening partying at the firehouse as if she had all the time in the world. She wore a stupid apron and waited on everyone…except him.
He’d warned her, many times. If she couldn’t understand his need to be inside her, the bitch must be stupid.
“Tonight she’ll find out just how stupid she’s been.” Then the fun would begin.
He’d parked his vehicle up the empty logging road he’d discovered weeks ago. Work had ceased for the season, and all the machinery had disappeared, leaving only ragged stumps and piles of aromatic pine needles and rotting bark. A gate obstructed access to the logging road, but they’d removed the padlock so nothing blocked his way. With an easy walk through the underbrush to Destiny’s secluded cabin, his plans came to fruition. He’d worked it all out.
Most of the terrain was level and not far from the logging road. An important fact, since he would drag her and her belongings back to his car.
He’d fill her backpack with clothes and girly things. Then he’d leave a note for her landlord. He might be surprised she’d split, but with no forwarding address, the jerk would be powerless to complain.
Who’d care if she ran off? Not him. His cock had hardened the moment he decided to visit her tonight. He’d stay hard and ready until he knocked on her door. He’d act cordial, like a houseguest coming to visit. In his fantasy, he would smile as Destiny opened the door for him. He’d nod when she offered him a cold beer.
“Why, thank you,” he would say, and sit in her cozy living room. He’d drink his beer, lean over, and kiss her. He imagined their tongues entwined, and she’d taste the beer and smell his need. He’d fondle her breasts until she moaned.
“I love you,” she would say, as he slid his fingers between her legs. Destiny would tremble with anticipation. His groin throbbed as he imagined the wet heat that lay in wait. She’d be hungry for his cock, but he’d pass the time until she was panting and begging for it. Then he’d bury himself to the hilt.
“Please make love to me all night long,” she’d beg.
While he removed her shirt, and her sweet moans drifted over him, they’d make love on the floor like animals. Then he’d force her lips to open, and she’d swallow his cock then lick him with gentle swirls of her pointed tongue while her hands cupped his sensitive balls.
As he approached her door, he knew his fantasy was a best-case scenario. But, if she didn’t follow his lead, he’d grab her by the neck then drag her into the forest. Once near his car, he’d give her a choice. She must obey him in every way or he’d choke the life from her, as he did that pretty college girl.
If Destiny acted cold toward him, she would fade into oblivion with him fucking her as her last horrifying vision. “Too bad.”
***
Destiny’s tiny wall clock had just dinged twelve midnight when someone pounded on the door, disturbing her evening. After snapping on the porch light, she peered through her front door’s window. Startled and disappointed, she recognized who stood on the other side.
“Darn it all. Foolish little me hoped Jacob had decided to visit.” She cursed herself for acting like a lovesick little girl where that man was concerned. Two longs months had dragged by since she and Jacob had shared more than glances and a few steamy embraces.
The man at the door proved a more immediate problem. On any other night she’d be in bed, sound asleep. Tonight, however, she’d gone out to the potluck supper at the firehouse with Josie. She’d barely been home an hour and was still fully dressed.
Thank goodness.
The knocking intensified and brought her attention back to the problem standing at her door. He looked crazed; out of his mind. Why was he knocking on her door at this late hour?
“I’m sorry you drove all the way out here, but it’s late and I’m not letting you in. Go home and sleep it off.”
He growled, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Had he driven up the mountain to visit her after drinking most the night? Why hadn’t his buddies taken him home?
***
Jacob stared at the ceiling. Sleep once again eluded him. Desperation demanded an answer to the question concerning him and Destiny that had haunted him for two long months. Tired of sleepless nights filled with her image and questions left unanswered, an idea popped into his head. He jumped from bed.
“Only one way to get those questions answered, you old fool,” he sighed. “Get your ass out of this bed, stop wallowing in self pity, and talk to the girl!” If he had to confront her and ask point-blank about the possibility of a relationship, then that’s what he would force himself to do. In order to get her back in his life, he’d climb a mountain. He’d find a way around the problems keeping them apart. He could always offer to meet her in secret.
Or, quit his job.
He didn’t need the income. He’d saved some money and could always sell his favorite painting. He didn’t have alimony to contend with. He’d signed the papers and Penelope had eloped last week. Her new husband promised to buy the Boston town house from him.
“I’ll wash cars or sell popcorn if it means being with Destiny, again.” With eyes wide open, he realized his job at the college didn’t mean as much to him as he’d thought. He’d miss the students, of course, but he’d quit if doing so meant she’d love him again.
And, if Destiny didn’t welcome these changes so they could be together, he’d go away and not bother her. He’d leave town and find a new home where the sight of her would no longer make his chest clench with heartache. At least he’d leave with the satisfaction of knowing he’d tried.
Jacob threw on warm clothes then laced up his hiking boots. He ran his hands through his hair and brushed his teeth before grabbing his ski jacket and stuffing his cell phone into a pocket. He ran out the door and leapt into his Land Rover, backed out of his parking
spot, and shot off into the night. When the vehicle slid on a patch of ice, he corrected and continued until he came to a light. As he slid to a stop, his temperamental vehicle stalled.
Cursing under his breath, he slammed the gear into park and turned the key, with no result.
“God! Not now.” Stuck at a crossroad while fat snowflakes coated his windshield, he concentrated on getting the engine to spark to life. He sat alone on the empty street cursing the snow and his finicky car as he thought of only one thing; reaching Destiny. He grabbed his cell phone.
***
Destiny peered through the door and its poor barrier of brittle glass and weatherworn pine planks. He glared at her through the window then kicked the door.
She shrieked. Did he mean to break down her door? He wouldn’t, would he?
Wood splintered.
“Stop! What do you think you’re doing?”
He kept kicking. She stared back at him, but something told her to run. The moment glass shattered in her wake, she’d already grabbed her red parka. While he stumbled in her front door, she flew out the back door.
***
The Land Rover sputtered to life, and the mechanic under the hood removed the cables.
“You told me you’d bring this in to my garage for service months ago, Professor Oliver. I don’t think the problem’s in the battery. I can’t guarantee the engine won’t stall again.”
“I know, but I forgot. I’ve had a lot on my mind. I promise I’ll drop the vehicle off tomorrow. Do what you have to. Right now, I have somewhere to go. Sorry to get you up so early.” He grinned. Midnight had come and gone.
The mechanic waved goodbye, and Jacob drove up Main Street toward the dirt road that led to Destiny’s cabin, and hoped he remembered the way. A light snow drifted on the wind, coating the street in a perfect blanket of white disturbed only by his tires.
“Tonight evil lurks. She needs your help. Hurry!” the ghostly voice said with an urgency that caused a chill to skitter down his spine.
Glancing around, he pressed the gas pedal to the floor. Streetlights and darkened storefronts faded behind him. The light coating of snow made driving hazardous, but he threw caution to the wind.
“No one else is in sight. I must be mad. Is Destiny the woman the voice says needs my help? Would she be home tonight? More importantly, would she be alone?”
He couldn’t place the female voice that had been whispering cryptic messages since his fall on the mountain, but had a feeling she shouldn’t be ignored.
Destiny might need Jacob’s help. Had something bad happened at her cabin? Only one way to find out. If she had a visitor, he’d see his car in her driveway. If so, what should he do? Barging in on her and a young lover would upset her and put any hope for a reconciliation at a disadvantage.
Maybe I should park out of sight and wait.
But, hadn’t Destiny admitted men never spent the night? Or had her policy changed? She’d let him spend two nights with her, but that may have happened only because of his injury. Even so, he hoped he’d meant more to her than any other lovers.
If Marcus Benton’s familiar car sat in her driveway, repercussions would prove inevitable. Marcus would have every right to turn him in to college administrators.
No longer afraid for his reputation or his physical well-being, Jacob pushed his vehicle to the limit. He would slow his speed only when he approached the clearing in front of her cabin.
“Whatever happens, I’m not leaving. I’m determined to talk things through, and she damn well better listen.”
***
With midnight already a distant memory, and a shattered door in her wake, Destiny ran up her mountain. She shivered as a crisp November breeze blew powdery snow into her eyes. An early snowfall was the least of her problems tonight. A madman pursued her inside a nightmare from which she could not awaken.
Though cold, her blood coursed through her veins, and she was happy to be alive. Worry mingled with fright and urged her forward, even though the darkness slowed her down. Her fog-filled brain, chilled by the night’s cold temperatures, had her thinking today was Friday. Or, was this Saturday?
She oriented herself. “Yes, it’s Saturday morning, sometime after midnight, and I’m running in the dark along a familiar trail on my mountain.”
I hope.
Her hair had already frozen to her scalp, and her braid, coated with ice, no longer blew into her face. She couldn’t even feel her ears.
Should have grabbed my hat.
Sounds of the forest pierced the dark. She listened as if her life depended on it. Then she realized something or someone was crashing through the woods, coming her way.
“Keep your wits. He comes. Hide!” a ghostly voice said.
I can’t be hallucinating. Can I? Freezing temperatures made her feet vibrate with the discomfort of oncoming numbness, but she listened to the dark and to the voice. It seemed to be on her side. Besides, if she wanted to hallucinate, she’d think of Jacob lying on her bed doing strange and erotic things to her. A shudder passed through her chilled body at the memory of how he had exploded in her shower.
These images were part of her perfect dreams. Not this.
She slid to a halt and backed into some trees edging the trail, and sighed. Her body throbbed, somewhere beyond shivering.
Not a good sign. I’ve got to move.
However, if a madman searching the underbrush was responsible for the sounds in the dark, he’d find her if he heard her.
The man’s growls and curses grew louder. The strange voice said to hide, so she decided to heed the mysterious voice that had first spoken to her many months ago.
She shivered. She didn’t like the dark unless buttoned up inside her toasty-warm cabin. Cold, crisp air crept under the neckline of her jacket and up the arms. The chill snaked across exposed skin. She’d been tramping through the woods for what seemed like hours, on feet cold as ice cubes.
Guided by instinct and memory, she’d run higher and higher up her mountain, hoping for an avenue of escape. She knew her way up the slippery trail, now frosted with powdery snow. Fat white flakes stung her cheeks. Unseen in the dark, they most likely blanketed the entire mountain. Aches gripped her legs and called to her to stop and rest. Branches reached out to claw at her face, but she ignored the pain until one foot slipped in mud.
“Get a grip!” Frozen fingers reached out and grasped a branch to gain her balance while her other hand touched a large log beside the trail. Exhaustion crept across her entire body, but her heart beat strong and true. Thudding beneath her breast, it raced not only from the bracing physical exertion of her swift and horrifying trek, but also from the sheer terror of her predicament.
“This cannot be happening! Not now, so soon after discovering so many wonderful feelings.” She’d found the perfect partner in Jacob Oliver.
Even if loving Jacob was only a pipe dream, he’d taught her about fun. And love. If not possible with him, love could still be out there for her. Brisk late-night air swirled and teased so unlike the cheery comfort of her cabin. She’d rather be sitting in front of her pot-bellied stove, reading a paperback romance. This dark night’s chill closed in on her like the bony fingers of the dead. She sucked in a mouthful of frigid air at a sudden image, and coughed.
She would not let desperation pull her under, but she thought of the possibility of being raped.
He’ll definitely have to kill me, first.
No deranged beast would spoil her future. Lasting happiness was on the horizon, and her mouth watered as if she could taste it. It would taste as sweet as downing a cup of hot chocolate while wrapped in her Grandmother’s quilt. Freedom had its own rewards.
If she survived this predicament, she’d use that freedom to track down Jacob Oliver and demand an explanation, but their reunion would have to wait. Strange and frightening noises drifted up the trail. Crunching footsteps mingled with breaking twigs while the noise grew louder. Fear clutched at her frozen heart, and she
forced herself to stand, shaking.
Why hadn’t I grabbed a weapon?
The madman approached from the direction of her cabin, effectively cutting off all avenues of escape. His stomping footsteps and guttural curses sounded more dangerous than anything she imagined might attack her in the dark woods. Terror swept down her spine, but she heeded the urge to stay put.
“I must be crazy,” she murmured in the night. Careful to keep her voice and breathing shushed, Destiny rested on the log. He mustn’t find her.
“You are not crazy,” the voice insisted.
Had the voice originated from somewhere behind nearby trees? Had the monster found her? Her iced-up brain worked in slow motion until she realized a woman’s voice had spoken.
Not him.
“Who said that?” She coughed to clear her dry throat. The frail croak from her lips sounded foreign to her ear and the sound reverberated through the snowflakes, muffling the madman’s approach.
The cold might win if she didn’t locate a safe haven. But, if she moved from this spot of relative safety, her attacker might find her.
“Run for your life. He comes!”
CHAPTER 16
Destiny forced near-frozen eyelids to open. Adrenaline kicked in as she concentrated on whether to obey the voice. Should she keep running? Blinded by snow and darkness, she slid behind the log.
The dead tree provided a hiding space, but her feet splashed into a puddle of breathtakingly cold slush. It flowed over the tops of her boots and she forced herself not to make a sound of surprise and disgust. Instead, she bit her lip until she tasted blood.
If only she had a weapon of some sort; anything capable of defending herself against her pursuer. Her teeth chattered as the cold and dark wrapped around her upper body. Numb fingers had lost any sense of touch, and her breath heaved from her chest, rapid yet shallow. Cold sweat drenched her entire body.
Her situation worsened by the minute. Getting colder as the night worked its way toward morning, she worried she’d freeze solid. She didn’t carry a gun, nor a pocketknife.
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