The Tower (The Tarot Series Book 1)

by Rhylee Davidson

  The change, when it happens, is instantaneous. As if no longer aware of her, Gage tears his mouth from hers. Surprised by the change between them, Katrina opens her eyes in time to see Gage lifting his head, and ever so slowly turning it towards the emergency exit. He closes his eyes, drawing a deep breath through his nostrils. Something is wrong. Something is here.

  Focusing on the scent, his eyes fly open just in time to catch someone breeze by them in a blur, open the exit door, and disappear outside.

  About a second too late, he realizes what it is. It’s the scent of danger… the scent of another… another like him.

  A shiver slides down Katrina’s spine and for a split second, she thinks she sees his eyes change and his pupils expand, and then contract.

  “What is it, what’s wrong?” she whispers.

  “Nothing…we can’t do this here. I don’t know what I was thinking. There are too many people around. It’s too public,” Gage responds but his mind is clearly on something else.

  “That’s what makes it exciting. Don’t let whoever walked by ruin the mood.”

  “No Kat! I’m sorry, but this can’t happen…not here…not tonight,” he says sternly as he starts fastening her jeans for her.

  “We could go to my place, if you want,” she replies in an almost desperate tone.

  “No, you have to get dressed and get back to your friends. I’m sure they’re worried about you, or at the very least wondering where you are. And I…I have to get back to work.”

  Thoroughly disappointed and a bit hurt, Kat finishes putting herself back together while Gage waits for her to finish.

  “Okay then, I’m going to make my way to the restroom to fix my hair and makeup before I meet up with my friends,” she says, waiting for a kiss, a phone number…an “I want to see you again,”…something… anything…from him.

  ”I’ve got to go,” and just like that, he’s gone.

  Kat stops by the bathroom, fixes herself up the best she can and heads back to her friends.

  At least I don’t look like I’ve just been fucking anymore…

  “Hey guys…is it okay if we go now?”

  “Where were you?” Tony asks.

  “Yeah, let’s go, we’re both ready,” states Bre.

  Kat thinks, saved by the bell, while ignoring Tony’s question.

  Pissed, she heads out the door…Damn, I can’t believe that bastard just took off like that!

  Heading out the back door, Gage scans the surrounding area in all directions.

  Nothing!

  At the far end of the employee parking lot sits a large dumpster that backs up to the woods. Running across the lot, Gage ducks behind it, strips off his clothes and changes.

  As a panther, all his senses are sharper… more acute than when in human form. Besides, for this threat he’ll need the strength and fighting skills of his animal form in case his uninvited guest is looking for trouble.

  Using his heightened sense of smell, he tracks the scent of the other to the overflow parking lot down the street. The trail ends there which means whoever it is left in a car and not on foot.

  I’ll have to stay sharp until I know who this is and what they want with me.

  Chapter Sixteen

  After stopping for a bite to eat at Peaches on the way home; and yum, they make the best plate-sized chocolate chip and banana nut pancakes on earth…Tony, Bre, and Kat decide to call it a night. Climbing out of the car, Kat calls out, “It was fun. See you guys tomorrow?”

  “Definitely! How about dinner at the ranch? Mom’s cooking,” exclaims Bre.

  Thinking a home cooked Italian meal sounds fantastic, Kat jumps all over that invitation. “God that sounds good. I’m there.”

  “Great, see you tomorrow then. Good night.”

  “Night, Bre.”

  While the conversation is going on between Kat and Bre, Tony gets out of the car and finds himself standing next to Katrina. Taking her hand, he turns to her, “Come on, I’ll walk you to the door.”

  Climbing the steps hand in hand, Tony takes her keys to unlock the front door. “Thanks for everything, Tony. I really had a great time tonight. I’d invite you in, but Bre’s waiting in the car.”

  “I just want to make sure you make it in safe,” he says. Leaning down and wrapping his arms around her waist, he whispers, “I think you were my good luck charm at the track tonight. But my favorite part of the evening was dancing with you at The Pit.” As she looks up into his eyes, his mouth comes down on hers, soft lips brushing soft lips before taking the kiss deeper as they lean into one another.

  The kiss is warm and feels so good. But this is her best friend’s brother and although it would be so damn easy to go there with him, after what happened with Gage earlier, the way he made her body hum at just his touch, she decides she can’t take it any further.

  Breaking off the kiss, she says, “We shouldn’t start this now. Bre’s waiting for you. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? Good night.”

  He releases her from his arms, “See you tomorrow. Good night, Kat.”

  Glad to finally be home, Katrina closes and locks the door behind her. Checking Max’s water and food bowls, both full, she finds him sleeping in the corner under the breakfast bar in the family room. He lifts his head, looking up at her. She gives him some of his favorite head pats and ear rubs, and says, “It’s alright baby, lay back down and go to sleep, my big boy.” Max lays his head back down on his front paws. His big brown eyes follow her as she leaves to climb the stairs to her room. Max is back to sleep and happily dreaming before she takes the last step.

  Kat kicks off her shoes then promptly hits the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. Stripping out of her clothes and dropping them on the bathroom floor, she thinks, I’ll pick them up in the morning! Back in her bedroom, Kat grabs a short t-shirt out of a dresser drawer and pulling it over her head, climbs into bed, ready to get some sleep. No such luck! The minute her head hits the pillow, the night’s events start running through her head like a scene from her favorite movie.

  The night started out great. Racing was fun and a total rush. Winning wasn’t too bad either. The club was hopping, the band rocked, and dancing and cutting loose with Tony and Bre was a blast. Then there was Gage. He ruined everything.

  What is it about him that made me want to rip off my clothes and fuck him on the spot, with no regard to where I was, or how little I know about him? Am I freaking losing my mind? Yes, I must be. Not only am I doing stupid shit, but I’m talking to myself! Talking to myself in my own head….what the fuck…is that normal? I can just see that conversation with a shrink…uhm yes, I’m here because I think I’m losing my mind…I lay in bed at night and talk to myself…in my mind…and oh yes, I answer myself too…in my mind…can you say loony bin? Uh-huh that’s right, call for the straight jacket ‘cause that’s where I’m going….so, where was I before I started mentally obsessing? Oh yeah, wanting to rip my clothes off and fuck that asshole Gage!

  How can he seem so into me or at least what we were doing one minute and then just like that, flip a switch and take off? And what was that look in his eyes? No, not really a look, it was more like a flash of movement that caused his pupils to start to change. Shaking her head and giggling to herself, see, loony bin! Ugh! Stop being so dramatic, it was just a trick of the light from the exit door opening and closing.

  Playing out in her head how out of control things got with Gage and so quickly, Kat becomes pissed and frustrated…and not just mentally frustrated. Visions of the heat that exploded between them in the back of the club swims through her head.

  Touching her fingers to her lips, Katrina can still feel the softness of Gage’s lips brushing against hers as she opened to him, allowing him to take the kiss deeper. Remembering the way her skin ignited at his touch, Kat removes her shirt and begins slowly following the same path Gage had with his mouth and tongue earlier that night. Using only her fingertips, she lightly runs her hand from her throat to her br
easts, stopping at her hardened nipples, gliding over the tips with her thumbs, then lightly circling and pinching them between her thumb and forefinger. Closing her eyes, she imagines it’s Gage touching her, running his hands over her body, his fingers manipulating her nipples. As her pulse accelerates, the heat between her legs grows stronger, more intense.

  Continuing down her body, she imagines his hands and tongue sliding over her abdominal muscles, past her belly to the hot, wet, sensitive flesh between her legs. Slipping her lace panties down her legs and dropping them on the floor beside the bed, she spreads herself, sliding a long slim finger up and down her wetness, circling her clit and rubbing it gently at first, then harder and faster at the thought of Gage’s reaction as she touched his cock, spreading the drop of semen that escaped over its smooth, plump head.

  How she wants to taste him, lick and suck the length of his hard, marbled penis. Feel him enter her. Giving and taking pleasure from one another until it builds into an explosion of orgasm that leaves them both drained.

  What would Gage think if he knew what I was doing right now? And that I’m thinking about him while doing it? What would I do if he were watching me masturbate right now? That thought almost sent her over the edge.

  With her breath quickening and tension building, a low moan escapes her lips. Slipping her quaking hand lower, she thrusts two fingers into her dripping wet pussy, plunging them in and out and in and out, again and again.

  Wishing it was Gage thrusting into her, harder, faster, she lifts her hips off the bed, crying out his name over and over until she cums.

  Feeling really relaxed and totally spent, Katrina grabs her clothes from the floor, heads back to the dark bathroom, gets cleaned up, and goes back to bed where she falls fast asleep.

  Gage is restless after losing the trail of the other and thinking about what almost happened with Kat. Initially heading out to change into a panther and roam the night-darkened woods, Gage is surprised to instead find himself parked down the street from Katrina’s house, waiting at a safe distance to spy on her.

  At first, he thinks he will just drive by and see that she made it home safely. Then he realizes he isn’t sure if he’s there to go knock on the door and finish what they started, or to find out if she went home alone.

  To his surprise, she isn’t there.

  How can that be? She left before I did. Where is she at this hour? Did she go home with someone else? Is she in bed fucking someone else right now? Is she in bed fucking Tony Morretti while I’m sitting outside her house like a moron obsessing about it?

  Instead of doing the smart thing and going home, curiosity gets the best of him and he finds himself breaking into her house through an unlocked, second story set of glass doors. “Guess she thinks she’s safe leaving the upstairs doors unlocked since it’s too high for a normal human to easily scale. Well surprise…I’m not a normal human, now am I?”

  Gage enters the dark house to discover he’s standing in Katrina’s bedroom. Drawing in a deep breath, her scent slams into him, surrounding him, suffocating him. He can’t get away from her. It’s as if she’s everywhere, standing next to him, in front of him, behind him, inside him. He knows he can drown in her if he lets himself. There’s something different about her, almost familiar. She makes him feel. For the first time he can remember, he can actually feel emotions other than the ones he’s been programmed to feel… anger, rage, and indifference. Feelings he can’t afford to feel in his line of work.

  Deep in thought, he’s surprised when something soft brushes up against him. Taking a defensive position, Gage crouches low to the floor readying himself to attack when suddenly he finds himself being pounced on and assaulted by a wet tongue.

  It’s not human, but a large dog; the same dog that was in Katrina’s apartment in New York, her golden retriever…Max. Oh shit, I forgot she has a dog.

  Max doesn’t seem to mind his presence. They had made friends while he was rifling through her New York apartment when he was trying to figure out who she was and what she knew about his reoccurring nightmare. Sitting down on the floor, he reaches out a hand for Max to sniff and begins to pet him. The overly friendly canine is excitedly wagging his tail and rubbing up against his legs.

  “Hey boy, I guess you remember me, huh? You’re a good dog, but definitely have no guard dog instincts in you.” Max answers by nosing his hand so he will keep petting him. “Come on boy, let’s head down stairs and get you situated.”

  Letting Max lead the way, Gage uses all of his senses to get a quick layout of the beach house, while making sure he doesn’t get caught with his guard down if Katrina arrives home. Heading into the kitchen, they both stop in front of his doggie bowls. Gage has never had a pet that he can remember. Anyway, who needs a pet when you are one? Well, I wouldn’t call myself a pet, there’s nothing tame or docile about me. But he knew enough that if a dog was leading you to his food bowl, he was either hungry, thirsty or both, so he refills Max’s water and food bowls and leaves the dog eating in the kitchen while he takes a tour of the house, quickly investigating each room.

  As soon as he gets half way up the stairs, he hears the key in the lock and the front door opens. Freezing in place, Gage stands still as a statue. Slowly turning towards the door, he crouches down to give himself a better view of the front of the house. The door stands open with two figures facing each other beyond the threshold. The moonlight shining down from the night sky acts as a backdrop that’s just bright enough so Gage can make out the two figures standing face to face. It’s Kat and Tony.

  A voice in his head starts screaming at him to get the hell out of there, while at the same time he’s riveted to the scene playing out before him.

  Tony is leaning down whispering words in her ear. She looks up at him and they stare into each other’s eyes. Fighting every instinct he has, Gage stays there watching as Tony lowers his head and their lips meet.

  Fuck! I’m going down there, tearing him off her and then…I’m going to kill him! Slowly, painfully! I’m going to make him pay for touching what is mine!... Mine? How can she be with him after we almost made love in the bar tonight?...Made love? Where the hell did that come from? We’re not in love and she’s not mine! And that’s the way I want to keep it. What we were about to do tonight is definitely not classified as making love. It was pure lust! We were going to fuck, and fuck hard. It would have been hot…passionate…out of control and good, but sex, pure and simple. So what the fuck is she doing with that prick, Tony?

  Gage becomes infuriated as he watches their bodies intertwined, leaning into one another, arms and hands wrapped around each other, touching and caressing. The kiss is passionate between them. Tony’s hands tugging at her waist and Katrina responding to him. There’s no space between them that he can see and from where he stood, their bodies seem to fit perfectly together.

  God damn it! The kiss is going on forever…and are they grinding against each other like they did on the dance floor tonight?

  Finally, she breaks the kiss.

  If she invites him in and brings him up to her room…to her bed…that will be the end of me…

  But instead, she says good night and enters the house alone.

  Relieved, but why do I feel relieved, she’s nothing to me! Just another fuck when I get in her pants again. Gage is confused, mind spinning. If she really means nothing to me, then why am I feeling this way? Why am I jealous? And why do I know that I would have gutted him right in front of her if she let him in the house and brought him to her room?

  As Katrina heads to the kitchen, Gage climbs the remaining steps, ducking into her room. He isn’t ready to leave yet, so he positions himself in a dark corner of her room. It’s doused in shadow and sits opposite her bed. Luckily for him, when Katrina comes upstairs, she doesn’t turn on any lights. Instead she heads right to the bathroom, stripping out of her clothes and washing her makeup off. She returns to her bedroom, changes into a t-shirt and panties before climbing into bed in complete da
rkness.

  Gage hopes Kat will quickly fall off to sleep so he can head downstairs and sneak out one of the many sets of glass doors lining the back of the house. Once out on the beach, he’ll make his way back to his car and head home. But no such luck. She’s restless, tossing and turning. I hope she doesn’t get up, he thinks. And to his relief, she doesn’t.

  Watching her lying in bed, so close to him, Gage fantasizes about what it would be like to let her know he’s there by ever so slowly approaching the bed, climbing on top of her and pinning her body between his knees as he leans over to take her mouth and body before she can object. Would she fight me, or melt into me and eagerly give herself to me the way she wanted to in the club tonight? Stop it! I’m not a beast; at least not all the time. I’ve got to get the hell out of here before I do something really stupid!

  Movement, and the sound of Kat’s restlessness interrupt his depraved thoughts. He refocuses, noticing Kat using her fingers to trace the outline of her lips and jaw line. Gage holds his breath, becoming very still as she moves her hands down her neck, across her collar bone and finally down to her breasts.

  Staring in disbelief, he watches Kat pull down the sheets and remove her shirt. She’s laying there in the moonlight in nothing but a pair of lace panties. She slides her hands over her breasts, circling the nipples with her fingers, playing with them until they are standing erect. Stunned at his luck, he watches her place the hard nipple between her thumb and forefinger, rolling it back and forth, squeezing and pinching.

  Gage feels his cock react. It’s beginning to stiffen, forcing its way up towards the top of his pants, like a swimmer that’s been under the water too long, trying to surface for air.

  My god, she’s going to masturbate right here in front of me.

  His fully erect cock is painfully straining against his jeans. Before he realizes what he’s doing, his hand slides down to the rough denim and starts rubbing and stroking the bulge beneath.