The laptop joined the suitcase with about as much ceremony. The story she had barely started was tucked safely inside, but she had no interest in working on it. It was a murder mystery and the sleuths were a husband and wife. When she’d conceived it she’d played with the idea of turning the book into a series.
Now the story of a husband and wife investigating a murder was too nonfiction for her tastes. She would write again. Wouldn’t she? Caroline decided not to answer the question while her mental battery was giving her the low- power warning.
A week. She would give it a week and then she would miss him a little less. In a month and she might look back on all of this and realize she’d made a fortuitous escape. Perhaps in a year she’d find the humor…
No. She’d never laugh about her marriage.
Leaving the bags where they were, she headed upstairs. There was no point in flicking a light switch as she’d had the electricity turned off weeks ago. As familiar as she was with the house, she knew her way around in the dusk. Fall was hitting the east coast at a rapid rate if the orange and red leaves were any indication. Just past seven in the evening there was enough light to guide her up the stairs and down the hall to the room that had been her bedroom for so many years.
Caroline knew she’d stripped the bed before she’d locked up the house but she would find what she needed in the linen closet. Some sheets. A familiar blanket. A soft pillow.
Sleep first and think later. Eventually she and Munch would need to eat, but not for a while. In a few hours she could deal with having to move back into her empty home. In a few hours she might be able to concentrate on something other than the empty space in her soul.
A soft
This bark wasn’t a curious smell bark. It was an
No doubt a squirrel or raccoon or some other small animal had made its way into the empty house looking for warmth as temperatures started to dip. The idea of summoning the energy to get the thing out of the house was so daunting that she began to think about leaving and crashing at her neighbor’s. But facing her friends meant answering questions and she didn’t want to do that, either.
Another bark. This one even louder.
“What is it, Munch? Is it a squirrel? Don’t be afraid. Remember, you’re bigger.” Caroline rounded the doorway prepared to deal with the furry intruder when the shift of a shadow stopped her heart.
As soon as the thought registered, she turned to run. An arm snaked out and caught her around the waist hauling her backward against a large hard body. Another hand circled her mouth cutting off her attempt to scream. Not that she had the air left to make any sound.
Then a voice. Rough and soft in her ear. His voice. “Don’t scream. I won’t hurt you.”
Her last thought before she drifted away into oblivion was that he already had.
The first thing that registered was the feel of the washcloth on her brow. A memory of when she’d first come to this house, after her parents’ funeral, surfaced. Caroline had cried herself sick that day until finally she’d collapsed with exhaustion. Her aunt had washed her face with a cold washcloth to ease the swelling around her eyes. She could almost hear the soft voice telling her everything was going to be all right.
But that was years ago. This was now.
Caroline opened her eyes and screamed.
Instantly a hand dropped over her mouth and a large and heavy body followed. She felt crushed by him. In the pitch black she couldn’t see his eyes, could only make out the harsh lines of his face. Her breath was trapped in her lungs and she struggled to shake him off.
Dominic was an immovable object on top of her.
Her legs brushed against his jean-covered thighs and only then did she realize that he’d removed her clothes. She was wearing nothing but her shirt and panties. Her sense of vulnerability increased and so did her struggles.
“Stop it,” Dominic whispered in her ear.
Caroline relaxed her body, not because of his demand but because there was no point in trying to move him. She lay motionless and felt every inch of his body against hers. Including his erection that was pressing into her stomach.
“If I take my hand away, you can’t scream. Your neighbors are close and I don’t want to take the chance of them hearing anything.”
She nodded. Eventually he rolled away and quickly left the bed. His back was to her as he checked outside her window looking for any disturbances. Eventually he turned and walked toward her. When she slid away from him to the center of the bed, he stopped.
“You’re frightened,” he said to himself in a disgusted tone.
He lit a candle on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed. It seemed as if he was waiting for her to make the next move.
She had no clue how to react. “I don’t know what to say to you, Dominic.”
“Then don’t say anything,” he replied. “You’re exhausted. You fainted.”
“I didn’t faint.” Fainting sound so weak. So out of control. Cowards fainted. And she couldn’t have the conversation she needed to have with him if she was a coward.
“I scared you. I’m sorry. There is nothing to be afraid of.”
She couldn’t name the emotion that she was feeling right now. Strangely it wasn’t fear. Rage, maybe. Pain. Sorrow. And, damn it, hope.
She was an idiot.
“Why? I mean…What? I don’t…”
“Shh,” he said again. Two fingers covered her lips in a request to silence her. Even after everything that had happened, her heart fluttered at his touch. The urge to purse her lips and kiss those fingers was almost irresistible. “I’ll answer everything. I promise, Caroline. But not now. You need to sleep.”
“I can’t.”
“Please,” he asked or ordered, it was hard to know. He nudged her over more toward the center. She watched as he stood and kicked off his sneakers and pulled off his T-shirt.
She wanted to tell him to stop. That she didn’t want to even look at him much less sleep with him, she was so angry. But in the candlelight, his movements seemed a little stilted and she decided he was just as tired as she was.
She knew he wasn’t a murderer. She had no idea what his other crime had been, but he’d never hurt her. It was probably insane, but she didn’t have the words to stop him.
Not that it would have mattered. He lay down on his side next to her and he pulled her body into his chest. She smelled the faint hint of soap and the full-on scent of Dominic. The comfort she felt as his arms wrapped around her and a leg settled between hers was enough to bring tears to her eyes.
“I can’t do this,” she cried softly, struggling a little against his hold.
His arms tightened and his lips pressed against her temple. “Shh, shh. It’s going to be all right. Later. I’ll answer everything later. I promise. Sleep with me now, Caroline. It’s been so long since I’ve slept. I need you to just sleep with me for a while. Then we’ll talk.”
She could hear the plea in his voice and it stopped her internal struggles more than anything else. The idea that he would verbalize any weakness was new to her. She suspected it was new to him, as well. Already she could feel the rise and fall of his chest. The sound of steady breathing in her ear.
There was no way she was going to sleep. There were too many things to think about, too many questions she needed to prepare for him to answer. But they could wait. For now, he needed some rest.
Closing her eyes, she tried to think about everything she had to ask him, but the heat from his body made her drowsy and the soft rumble of his snore made her mind wander. With his hand pressed against her heart, she fell asleep, too.
The sound of a steady rain hitting against the glass woke him. The dull light outside the window told him it was early morning. They had slept for almost twelve hours.
He turned his head and studied the face that lay against his shoulder. He could feel the warm breath hitting his
