Hitting reply on the email, Tony types in, “Who the fuck are you and what do you want?” He hits send. A few minutes later, the light saber sounds again. The message reads…email failed. He received his own email back. “What the fuck...whoever my so-called friend is made sure they could communicate with me but I can’t with them.” Angry and upset at Kat, Gage, whoever sent him the email, and at the whole damn situation, he swears, “A friend, my ass!”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Gage awakens to a dark room and the feel of soft, naked flesh pressed to his. Kat’s scent surrounds him, seeping into every pore, and swallowing every fiber of his being. It’s driving him mad, and pulling him under until he can’t breathe. He is drowning in her, and if he isn’t careful, he could get lost in her forever. The need to run, to get away from her and these unfamiliar emotions take over. Quietly climbing out of bed and making his way through the house, he unlocks the back door and steps outside into the humid night air. Immediately, darkness envelops his muscular frame, keeping his nude body and the change he is calling to it secret. The body of a man changes into that of a sleek killing machine. A panther. Moonlight glistens off his silky black body and sharp white teeth. It illuminates everything but the deep, black pupils of his emerald green eyes. Standing there in all his glory, he is both a thing of beauty and a freak of nature.
Taking off at top speed and blending into the darkness, he heads into the area of wooded land that backs up to his home. The woods are alive with plant life, trees, insects, and creatures of all kinds. In his element, surrounded by nature, he will run and hunt until his muscles ache and his mind is too numb to think or reason. Wanting nothing more than to put the thoughts of her out of his head, he wishes that just this one time, his mind would turn to that of a beast like the rest of his body. But the change doesn’t work that way; as he blindly runs faster and faster across the land, thoughts of her race with him. Memories flood his mind, going back to the first time he saw her in the Tampa Airport and realizing she wasn’t just a figment of his nightmares, to tracking her down and following her around New York once he found out who she was. Finally, she turns up here and his reactions to her range from jealousy and brutality to tenderness and lust. In panther form, everything he feels is raw and elementary, which is why he can’t lie to himself. One more emotion plagues him. It is an emotion he didn’t even believe he possessed. Love? Did a beast, a wild animal, a killer, even have the ability to love? How the hell would I know? In my entire life, I’ve never felt that emotion or even come close to it, nor wanted to, that I can recall. Women are just pleasantries to have around from time to time. Play things to flirt with and take to bed, give and take pleasure from, satisfy my most base needs and desires, to fuck and be done with. Then why is it different with Katrina? Where did those words come from? Why in the fuck did I tell her…I think I love you? I can’t love her. I won’t let it happen. I’m not good. What I do and who I am is evil. I’m a beast, murderer, cold, calculating, what they made me, who they trained me to be, an assassin for hire…and my next victim is her father.
Back in the cottage, the feeling that she is floating plagues Katrina’s sleep. Opening her eyes, she seems to be hovering above her own body and staring down at herself, peacefully sleeping, just before she is slammed with the sensation of being sucked through a vortex. Violently, she is propelled up and through the walls of the cottage out into the night sky. Traveling by at dizzying speeds, the sky, moon, stars, and earth below are blurred as if watching the opening credits of a Star Trek episode. Kat closes her eyes so she doesn’t vomit.
She hits something solid, the wind is knocked from her lungs and her eyes fly open. Looking around, she is disoriented when she realizes she is outside in the night, crouched down behind some shrubbery. In the distance, she can see the cottage. It’s dark and quiet. How the hell did I get out here? What’s happening to me? Did I sleep walk outside? I’ve never done that before. Deciding she should get back in the house, Kat tries to stand up and walk towards the cottage. Nothing happens. She doesn’t move and finds herself still crouching behind the shrubs. What the hell is wrong with me? She tries to move her arm and lift her hand to her face. Again, nothing happens. I can’t move my body. Oh my god. Was I in some sort of accident I don’t remember? Did Gage wreck the bike? Am I hurt, paralyzed? No, that can’t be right because then I wouldn’t know what Gage’s cottage looks like. Maybe if I call out loud enough, Gage will hear me and come out and help me. Gage, I need your help. Still nothing, no sound. Now screaming, Gage…she couldn’t move her lips, she couldn’t make a sound. I can’t speak? Why am I mute? Mind racing, Kat starts to panic, when without warning, she stands and begins slowly making her way forward. As if her body has a mind of its own, she’s propelled forward, sticking to the shadows and ducking for brief seconds behind trees, trashcans and the side wall of the house. She feels as if she is a thief in the night, skulking around Gage’s cottage as if she didn’t belong there. What the hell is going on?
Entering the house from an unlocked door at the back of the cottage, Kat quietly goes from room to room, examining the contents of drawers and closets, then carefully reading through every piece of paper she comes across as if searching for something specific. She moves on to the office, using something in her hand to open the locked door and entering the room in total darkness. The strange thing is, even in this complete blackness, she still can see the room’s contents relatively well. Heading first to the desk, she rifles through the drawers in search of something, as if she misplaced it. The item isn’t there. Next, a five-drawer file cabinet is unlocked and each drawer opened. Finally, in the bottom drawer is a large brown file folder. Removing it and quickly flipping through it, she holds the item to her chest and turns to leave the room, but not before relocking the file cabinet and the door. Heading back towards the kitchen, she drops the folder on the table before entering the hallway leading to the bedrooms. Listening intently, she stops in the doorway. What should be the inaudible sound of someone breathing is the only thing that breaks the silence. Why am I able to hear breathing that faint at this distance? Taking a few steps inside, she slowly makes her way to the bottom of the bed. The naked body of a woman is lying in the bed, asleep. Wanting to take a closer look, she moves around to the side of bed and peers down at herself, fast asleep. Stunned, her insides begin to shake and she tries to turn and run. Her body will not move. What is going on here? How can this be? How can I be asleep in bed and standing in the room watching myself at the same time? It doesn’t make sense. Am I dead? Am I just a spirit watching over my dead body? While her mind races with wild thoughts trying to explain what is happening, her attention is torn away to the intense anger that begins building inside her as she watches herself sleep. The anger grows exponentially in a very short period of time and before she knows what is going on, she is overcome with jealousy, hatred, envy, loathing, and rage so intense, she has trouble keeping it under control. She is overcome with fear at the realization that all of the negative, out of control feelings she is experiencing are directed at the Katrina asleep and alone in bed.
Thoughts that somehow did not seem to be her own begin racing through her head. The more she watches herself sleep, the more she thinks up ways she can torture herself, screw up her relationships, cause financial ruin, kill her own father, and ruin her life. The feeling of hatred is so strong, that she begins to scream out in fear as she lifts a hand to reach out to herself. Again, no sound. She is trapped. Trapped in this body that seems to be disconnected from her brain, unable to perform any of the commands she is sending to it. Still screaming in her head, she feels as if she will black out, when her vision blurs and the feeling of being sucked out of her body and back into the spinning vortex reoccurs. As she’s about to vomit, the spinning stops, and the sensation of floating starts. Opening her eyes, she once again seems to be suspended over her sleeping form, slowly floating down like a feather. Sitting straight up in bed, Katrina awakes to the shrill screams of her o
wn voice, a backlit room from a hall light, and an empty spot in the bed beside her.
Not fully changed, Gage comes running into the bedroom at the sound of Katrina’s panicked screams. She is alone in the room, sitting up in the middle of the bed, rocking back and forth, with tears rolling down her cheeks. Trying his best to hurry through the change, he realizes she can see him. She begins to rub her eyes like she is seeing things, and moves as far back on the bed as she can go. Her back is now tightly pressed against the headboard and she continues to scream. As soon as the change from panther to man is complete, he quickly gets onto the bed and gathers her up in his arms.
“Don’t touch me! Get away!” she yells as she does her best to push him away.
Trying to calm her down, Gage presses her even more tightly to him. “It’s okay. It’s just me…Gage. I’m not going to hurt you. Look at me. Come on Katrina, look at me.”
Raising her eyes to meet his, she stares intently into them, looking for something…something she doesn’t find. Recognizing that she is staring into his beautiful, green, and totally human eyes, she stops trying to push him away and lets him hold her. Feeling a shiver slice through her body, she collapses in his arms and begins shaking uncontrollably. Not wanting to scare her further, Gage uses his fingers to tuck her hair behind her ear, then leans in and places his lips to her ear while he whispers to her in a soothing voice, “It’s alright, I’m right here, baby. What happened? What scared you?”
Gasping for air, she tries to speak, but can’t. Instead, she lays her head down on his shoulder and continues to cry. To his surprise, Gage cannot stand to see Kat cry. Not knowing what else to do, he uses his thumb to dry her tears, takes her head in his hands and kisses her fears away. At first she doesn’t respond, so he just keeps whispering calming words and kissing her cheeks, forehead, jaw line, and mouth. When she finally does respond, they both combust into flames. Gage drags her into his lap, as she runs her hands slowly up and down his body, lightly squeezing and pressing on his arms and shoulders, as if testing to see if he is real, solid. Ending the kiss, Gage lets Kat know he can be patient and will wait for her to explain what is going on.
“It’s okay, just wait until you can speak and tell me what happened.” She acknowledges him by nodding her head.
After a few moments, she begins giving her account of the events to Gage. “I know this is all going to sound strange, but the first thing I noticed was the feeling of lightness. As if my body was floating upward, going higher and higher. Then it just stopped, so I opened my eyes and looked down. I could see myself sleeping in your bed, but I seemed to be hovering above myself somehow. Not knowing what was going on, I just stared down at myself in amazement. Then all of the sudden I seemed to be sucked out of the room and thrust into the night sky. I became nauseated as the outside blurred as it flew by me, or maybe I should say, I flew through it. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground in a crouching position behind your blooming shrubs at the front of your property line. I couldn’t figure out why I was outside. I could see the cottage from where I was, so I thought maybe after that weird dream we shared earlier tonight it triggered a sleep-walking episode, although that has never happened to me before. I decided I’d better get my ass back inside and tried to get up to walk back to the house, but couldn’t. My legs wouldn’t move. It really freaked me out. I tried to move my arms and hands as well, but they didn’t work either. The fear that I was injured in a wreck or paralyzed somehow grew inside me. I thought I would call out to you for help and I tried, but no sound came out of my mouth. Do you know how terrifying it is to be screaming in your head but nothing comes out of your mouth? I can tell you I never want to feel that way again. Without warning, I stood up and began stealthily making my way to the back of the house, ducking and hiding behind objects in the yard while using the cover of night to hide my movements. I entered the house and searched it, then went into the master bedroom and stood over my own naked, sleeping body. It scared the shit out of me. I thought I was dead, a ghost or something strange like that. I then began growing angry and that anger grew into jealousy, envy, hatred, and finally rage, and all of those feelings were directed at me. Such terrible thoughts about hurting my family and myself entered my brain. I began screaming again and again but no sound came out. I was panicked, trapped. Trapped inside a body and mind I had no control over. I continued to scream as I was again sucked through the air. That’s when I awoke to my own screaming.”
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I can see how that strange dream could scare you.”
“It was so vivid, so real. Both my dreams tonight were far too real for my liking.”
“I understand. Was that all? Was there anything else?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, when I tried to comfort you, you were still screaming and tried to push me away.”
Looking embarrassed, Kat diverts her eyes down and begins nervously wringing her hands. “Um, well this is really embarrassing, but yes there is more. I thought I saw something in the room with me.”
“Something. Something like what?”
“I don’t know exactly.” Embarrassed, she continues ringing her hands.
“I thought it was some sort of animal, a large beast.”
“A beast, huh?”
“Don’t laugh at me. It’s not funny.”
“I’m not laughing at you, I’m just…”
“Just what, Gage?”
“Nothing.”
“Good answer.”
“All right, go on, you saw a beast. What was it?”
“I don’t really know. It was black with fur. It sort of looked like a large cat…a panther, but a man too. The creature was sort of blurred around the edges. I couldn’t fully make out its shape. It was as if it was changing or reforming right before my eyes. Some of its features were cat like and others human. I know how strange this sounds, but then you appeared and were getting on the bed with me. For a second I thought…”
“You thought what?”
“Oh my god please don’t make me say this, it sounds so stupid now.”
“You thought what? Tell me.”
“I thought it was you, okay? I thought the creature was you and I was afraid of you.”
“I understand that. So the creature scared you?”
“Yes. Since I’m being honest, it didn’t just scare me…it terrified me.”
Gage looks down, his thoughts racing. See, she’ll never accept you for who you really are. You terrify her. After tonight, you’re going to have to stop this before it goes any further.
“Well, you were the only one in the room when I came in. No beasts or panther-men either. Maybe you just weren’t fully awake yet. Sounds like it was either your mind playing tricks on you after such a strange and vivid dream or you were still asleep.”
“Yes, you’re right of course. By the way, where were you? When I woke up, I was alone in bed.”
“I woke up earlier and was having trouble getting back to sleep. I decided to go running, as I frequently do when I can’t sleep. I heard you screaming and came running into the room to see what was wrong.”
“You went running outside at night in the nude?”
“What?’
“Well, you’re undressed.”
Laughing, Gage quipped, “True, I am undressed, but only because after I returned from my run, I slipped into the bathroom down the hall so I wouldn’t wake you, and got undressed so I could shower, which is what I was about to do when I heard your screams. I came running into the room to see if you were all right.”
“Oh, that makes sense, I guess. Thank you for coming to my rescue.”
Caressing her hair while holding her tightly in his arms, he says, “You’re still shaking. Come with me. Let’s get you in a nice warm shower.”
Lifting her off the bed and placing her upright on the floor, he takes her hand and leads her to the bathroom. Opening the shower door, he lets the hot water run. Once the temperature is just right
, he leads her into the shower, placing her directly in the stream of warm water. Closing her eyes, she lets the water cascade down her quivering body. The chill, although from fear and not the temperature outside, begins to subside.
Filling the palm of his hand with unscented shampoo, Gage moves Katrina forward and places it in her hair. Using his fingers, he massages it through her scalp, helping to release the tension she feels in her body. “It’s time to rinse,” he prompts, placing her back in the stream of warm water. When the water from her hair runs clear, he moves her back towards him and repeats the process with a handful of conditioner. Kat moans out, “Mmm, that feels wonderful.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I want you to relax. You’ve had a rough night. Now step back, it’s time to rinse again.” Kat does as he instructs. She is surprised by Gage’s tenderness and with the care he is taking with her. He seems to want to help her forget about the dream and for that, she is grateful.
Turning Kat around so her back is to him, Gage grabs a bottle of body wash off the shelf and squeezes a generous amount into his hands. Starting with her shoulders, he massages it into to her skin, loosening the knotted muscles beneath. Continuing down, he meticulously works all the tight muscles in her back, neck, and arms.
Throwing her head back against his chest, Kat moans, “Your hands are like magic. Don’t stop touching me.” Reaching up behind her, she threads her fingers at the base of his neck, bringing his face to hers and kissing him. Still holding him there, she parts her lips, giving him access to her. He greedily accepts, slipping his tongue into her mouth, as she meets his hunger with a hunger of her own.
As the water streaming down their naked bodies grows cooler, the heat between them intensifies. Her back arched and head still leaning against his chest, Kat clings to Gage as they continue to feed on one another. Gage reaches around, taking her up thrust breasts into his hands while lightly squeezing and rubbing the hardened nipples. She can feel his cock growing hard against her bottom. Just like she had that first night she met him at the track, she thrusts her ass out and begins grinding against it.
The Tower (The Tarot Series Book 1) Page 18
