CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Vorek
My phone rings and I can tell before I even glance down that it’s Sarah because I’ve assigned a special ringtone. I assume she’s calling to chastise me about giving her the phone, so I answer with a smile on my face, ready to spar. I know instantly that something is wrong because she is sobbing. Before she says a word I am running out to my car. I’m driving to her apartment before she even asks me to come.
“I’ll be right there,” I assure her.
Listening to her cry as I drive is heartbreaking. She is incoherent, and I have no idea what is wrong because I can’t understand a single word she’s saying. I slam into a parking space and race up five flights of stairs. Pounding on the door, I’m about ready to break it down when Tessa opens it.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” she says as she leads me to Sarah’s room. “One minute she was fine, playing with her new phone, then that started.” She points to the room where Sarah’s keening wail is coming from.
I open the door softly and see her crumpled on the floor with her face in her hands. She doesn’t even hear me enter. The phone is lying on the ground next to her, which means she’d already collapsed before calling me. I squat down to scoop her up and fold her into my arms.
She’s so tiny, but I can’t enjoy how adorable she looks in her new blue silk pajamas because the expression on her countenance threatens to break my heart. I rest on the bed, cradling her close and rocking her as she continues to lament something only she knows. I can’t demand answers, all I can do is offer her what solace I can and hope she’ll open up to me when she can. She’s moved on to ragged hiccups when I attempt to insert some levity into the moment.
“If all this is over the loss of the old phone, I didn’t throw it away,” I say hoping to lighten her mood a bit.
She smiles sadly and says, “If only it were something so simple.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She hesitates. “No,” she says simply. “Please distract me so I can forget about it.”
“That I can do,” I say as I wrap my coat around her. Then I stand up with her in my arms, and start to walk out the door, but she calls out. “Wait! My phone!”
I don’t let go of her, but I do crouch down so that she can get it. Her hand reaches out and snags her phone from the floor, then I continue out the door with her. Tessa is still in the living room, obviously worried, but relieved that Sarah’s heart-wrenching caterwauling has ceased.
“I’m taking her back to my place,” I explain unnecessarily.
Tessa nods in agreement and opens the door for me.
“I can walk, you know,” Sarah sniffles as I descend the first flight of stairs.
“But where’s the fun in that,” I tease.
Back in my car I strap her in, and lay my coat across her because she’s shivering uncontrollably. I reach out and take hold of her hand as I drive at a sedate pace because I figure calm is what she needs right now. I wish she would talk to me and tell me what’s wrong, but I don’t want to force her.
I know so little about her aside from our relationship. I make a mental note to call Tom, my private eye. I need him to dig deeper and see what he can find out about her past. Her life before coming to Peoria seems to be a complete mystery.
Does she even have family, or any friends besides her roommate? I know I was her first sexual partner, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any ex’s lurking in her past. There has to be a logical explanation for the fear that haunts her. Someone has taught her to be wary, and it’s keeping us apart now.
I park in the garage and proceed to carry her upstairs despite her protests.
“Vorek, I am not an invalid.”
“Just let me take care of you today, please?”
“Well it’s hard to say no when you ask so nicely,” she concedes.
She watches from the table as I make breakfast. She’s offered to help me, but I like spoiling her so I tell her to put her feet up.
“Oh my goodness! Are those real eggs?” she gasps.
“Yes, I thought you could use a treat. You’ve mentioned how much you miss eggs. I got them especially for you from a local farmer who raises free range chickens. They’re not quite as destructive to your body as those toxic things you all used to eat.”
“Do you like eggs?”
“We Krinar never developed the addiction to animal products that humans did. But I’m fine with having an occasional egg or dairy product as long as it isn’t frequent and if I can be assured that the animals are treated humanely.”
She continues to watch with interest as I mix flour, coconut milk, flax meal, baking powder, organic cane sugar and eggs into a batter. I drop scoops of the batter onto the hot griddle, and flip them when they are at the perfect golden brown color.
When everything is done I serve up two plates and set them on the table. I watch her dig into the fresh strawberries, pancakes with organic maple syrup and scrambled eggs. I’m glad I could do something to bring her a little joy today since she is so obviously hurting about something.
She manages to clear her plate in about five minute.
“More?” I ask with a twinkle in my eye.
“Tempting, but no thank you.” She sips her chai tea and looks thoughtful as I finish my breakfast.
“I have something I want to share with you today,” I tell her.
“Oh?” her eyes lift with a touch of their usual sparkle.
“I want to give you a tour of the conservatory. Why don’t we change into some shorts first?”
“Shorts? In the winter?”
“Well I keep it pretty hot in there for the plants, so it feels like summer all year round. Put on some sandals too.”
I follow him upstairs and we both change.
“We can swim if you want, so grab a suit, unless you’d rather go without one.”
She lifts an eyebrow, and takes a string bikini out of a drawer in the closet, and stuffs it in the pocket of her loose shorts. I guess that means she’s not keen on the idea of skinny dipping. After we’re back downstairs I open the door to the library room.
“Why don’t you pick out a book?”
“Why?”
“So you can read in the conservatory of course. And nothing academic. It has to be a novel.” I watch as she searches through the shelves, and finally selects a mystery.
“What about you?”
“I want to spend some time caring for my plants, and I already have a book out there if I need one.”
We each carry an iced tea, and head down the back stairs, and into the stone hallway. We don’t have to go outside into the chilly air because there is another door into the conservatory from the hallway.
“You saw the outside of the hot house the day we left for the Island, but today I want you to really experience it. It’s my favorite part of the house.”
We peer from the hallway through the large glass panels and the exotic beauty from within beckons. I open the door and we go in. The change in climate slams into us like a warm hug. In here it is hot and humid, much like a tropical paradise.
“How do you get it so hot?”
“There is lots of glass, as you can see, which lets in the sun which is one source of heat, plus I store energy utilizing solar panels. Any auxiliary heat that is needed is tied in with the house’s geothermal unit. It draws air from underground which is warmer than the surface air.”
“Wow, sound pretty high tech for a bunch of plants.”
“It is,” I agree.
“I’ve always loved looking at gardens, but I don’t know anything about growing plants because my mom . . .”
She stops abruptly, realizing she has mentioned her mother for the first time. I don’t ask questions because my goal is to give her a peaceful relaxing day, and this room is the best place I know to do that. I smoothly cut in, as though she never mentioned her mother in the first place.
“You’ll recognize a lot of the plants because they’re native to earth, but others are from my home planet. I only grow things here that thrive in a hot humid environment.”
We stroll between the plants, and she stops to look closer at anything and everything that happens to interest her.
“A butterfly!” she exclaims, the look of pure joy on her face melts my heart.
“Yes, this space is home to several species of butterflies. I have to be sure and provide them with plenty of the plants they love to eat in their caterpillar stage, so that they leave my flowers alone.”
The swimming pool is situated near the center of the structure, and when she sees it she comments, “It doesn’t stink like a jug of Clorox, like pools usually do.”
“It’s salt water. There’s also a hot tub if you’re in the mood for that later. The bathroom is over there if need be; there’s no reason to walk all the way back inside. Why don’t you sit down here and read your book for a while. I have some seedlings that I need to transfer so they have more room to grow.”
She stretches out in a lounge chair and is soon engrossed in her book. Every once in a while she takes a sip of her tea. I stay close at hand and have the seedlings transplanted in no time. I check the moisture level on a few of my more finicky plants. There’s some ripe fruit so I go ahead and pick it.
After I put away my tools, I sit with her. I try to read my book, but being this close to her is too distracting for me to be able to focus on the written word. I sneak a glance at her and she looks so peaceful. I should leave her alone. But I’m not going to.
I notice that she has slipped off her sandals, so I reach my hand out and brush the bottom of her foot, grazing gently from the heel to the tip of her little toe. Her toes wiggle in response, and she looks up from her book and smiles at me. I wait a few minutes while she pretends to still be consumed with reading then repeat the gesture on her other foot. This time she giggles.
“Don’t mind me. Just keep reading your book.” I place one of her feet in my lap to massage it. Is it my fault that said foot just happens to rub up against my crotch in the process?
“You are such a pervert,” she teases.
“What does that make you?” I quip.
I nibble the inside of her arch, and draw my tongue further up her calf. I spread light kisses all the way up to her thigh, then place her leg gently back on the chaise and go back to my book.
“Is that it?” she asks, sounding disappointed.
“I wouldn’t want to interrupt your reading.”
To begin with she’s just pretending to read in order to spite me. But after a while I can tell she’s absorbed in the story again. I pick her a flower. This plant is from my native planet, and it resembles a feather. The amber petals hang in plush droopy tendrils. I sneak up behind her and draw the tip lightly up her arm. She shivers, but it has nothing to do with the temperature. Then I let the tip glide over her shoulder and up her neck.
“That tickles,” she complains.
“It’s supposed to,” I assure her.
I take the book out of her hands, and set my flower down long enough to slip off her tank top. Then I draw the feathery tip across her belly. I trails it up across her ribs and circles lightly around each breast before finally teasing the tip of each nipple.
She sighs as I angle my head down so that I can kiss her. At first my touch is soft and teasing, but then it deepens. My mouth claims hers, insisting that she focus all of her attention on me. My goal when I brought her here was to take her mind off her troubles, but it seems as if we are both transported to some magical place whenever we are in each other’s arms.
Her hands slip inside the back of my shirt, and her fingernails drag up my back playfully, scratching and massaging. Then they dip down inside of my shorts, cupping my buttocks. When she presses her mound up against the firm bulge in my pants I groan, enjoying the fact that she’s taking charge for once.
We are still joined at the hips, and she’s raising up and down on her toes as she grinds against me. I feel her quivering, ready to climax even though we both still have on all our clothes. I sneak a hand up her shorts and keep probing until I find her wet center.
My fingers swiftly bring about the release she needs, and before the tremors subside I slide off the rest of our clothes. Her legs widen welcomingly and I ease into her gently. Her mouth opens in ecstasy at the sensation as I begin to undulate inside of her.
I lower my face, mere inches above hers and we stare into each other’s eyes. I continue to move, gradually picking up the pace. Neither of us blink as we drink in each other’s essences. I am inexorable, I must have all of her. I come inside of her, which triggers yet another orgasm for her.
When I finally close my eyes and collapse onto her, I’m afraid I’m too heavy for her. So, I roll us over, still attached, so that she can lay on top of me. I stroke her hair and smile. My mission is complete. I’m sure I’ve taken her mind off of whatever was upsetting her this morning. Of course, I can’t deny that I’ve had a marvelous time myself.