Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
C rying, I stayed up half the night trying to get the naked photos of me taken down.
He’d hidden cameras in our bedroom and bathroom. There were images of me getting dressed and in the shower. Worse were the ones from the nights I’d let Gerry tie me up, trying out light bondage fantasies and role-playing. After seeing those, I’d run to the bathroom and retched over the toilet.
I contacted the websites, along with customer support, on Google, Facebook, and Instagram. Everything was reported to law enforcement, including the FBI, and I emailed my lawyer. I even applied for copyrights of the images—any tool I read about to force those images off the internet.
When my alarm went off at nine, I had to force my eyes open. I stumbled to the coffee maker.
“Kelsey?” Maria called hoarsely. “Is that you?”
“Yeah.” I went to her door. “How are you?”
Her hand massaged her forehead. “Headache. Would you help me find some painkillers please?”
“Of course.”
Maria’s kitten-like snores had reassured me as she slept through the night. I set her up with plenty of fluids, along with Tylenol.
By the time Dominic pulled up in front of the house in his sleek electric car, I was caffeinated enough to shuffle outside to meet him. Only one of the photos had been removed. A hamster wheel in my head spun frantically. I contemplated going to the townhouse during a workday to search Gerry’s computer. I closed my eyes before opening the passenger door, trying to put it aside. It’s disgusting. Dominic won’t want you when he finds out.
“Good morning,” he said, his eyes moving over me.
He was so strong and invincible seeming. I bit my lip hard. “Hi.”
“Where should we go?”
I sucked in a breath. “Have you been to Spirit Falls?”
“I haven’t. Let’s do it.” He used the car’s navigation system to bring up a map. “About twenty minutes away. On the Washington side of the river.”
“Yes.” I buckled my seatbelt.
He glanced at me then started driving, pulling out onto the road. “Something happened.”
I pulled the brim of my ball cap down lower over my face.
His hand touched my arm. “Tell me. And is your friend alright?”
“She is.” I squeezed the bridge of my nose. It was better to tell him while he could still end our date easily. I should have canceled it myself.
“What did he do?” His voice was hard.
“Gerry posted photos of me online. He’d hid a camera in our bedroom… I didn’t know.”
The car swerved off the road and jerked to a stop. “Last night?”
“Yeah.” Pressure swelled behind my nose. Gasping, I pulled out the handkerchief I’d brought and covered my face with it. How could you let this happen? It was like I was being erased—turned into a dirty smear. I wanted to run, change my name, do anything to get away from what Gerry had done to me.
His arms wrapped around me. “Are they traceable to him?”
“No.” My head was spinning—I couldn’t get in a full breath.
“Breathe.” Dominic rubbed my back. He pulled me closer and kissed my head.
“S-sorry.”
“No. Not your fault. Have you eaten? Let’s stop and get something.”
Dominic took us to a Starbucks drive-through and insisted on buying me pastries and a sugary drink. His hand rubbed my back as we waited in line—it surprised me that he was such a toucher.
I told him what I’d done so far to get the images removed as he drove to Spirit Falls. He rubbed his cheek and seemed to listen carefully. My eyes started to burn again—his presence gave this illusion of safety and care. I wanted him to be a reformed rake from one of my romance novels, a hero who cherished me when not overcome by bouts of blinding lust…
Too blotchy and stuffed up to face my reflection in the passenger mirror, I blotted my face with my handkerchief and blew my nose into a napkin. God, you’re disgusting.
We parked at Spirit Falls with Dominic withdrawn into his own thoughts. The hike was a challenging uphill trek on a narrow, slippery trail that forced us to walk single file. I was grateful when my chest burned and that it was hot enough to sweat under my jacket. Gulping in air, I tried to focus on the forest around me.
“Wow,” Dominic said as we reached the falls. “Beautiful deep blue pool.”
“Forty-foot drop. I saw a kayaker descend it once.”
“Did he make it?”
“Yeah.”
Dominic put an arm around my back. “That color reminds me of your eyes.”
I leaned into his side and put my head on his shoulder.
“Kelsey.”
“Yes?”
“I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“I’m sorry.” But was I?
“Are you?”
We turned and faced each other. The waterfall roared below us, the air charged and moist. His hand cupped my cheek as he bent over and pressed his lips against mine.
My ball cap fell backward off my head, and I think I was smiling. It was like the clouds had parted, and the sun burned away every other thought in my mind. His mouth moved in a slow dance across my lips. He tasted like cinnamon.
A twig cracked on the trail behind us, and we pulled apart. He gazed down at me, one side of his mouth turned up as he retrieved my hat. My heart levitated in my chest. It was just a kiss. Don’t get your hopes up.
We made room for the other hikers and then started back to the car, walking much faster for the return journey. Dominic took the lead, holding back branches for me to pass. I tried to remind myself of all of my doubts—instead of staring at his butt.
Surrounded by the lush greenery of firs and hemlocks, we drained our water bottles at the car.
“Where am I taking you to lunch?” he asked.
I smiled, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye. “You’re spending too much money on me. I’m used to paying my own way.”
He pinned me against the car and knocked my hat off my head. “I pay.” This time, he thrust his tongue into my mouth, gripping the back of my neck to hold me in place. It shot a bolt of heat straight between my legs.
Oh, I kept thinking, this is Dominic in bed. So refined and careful and then…ruthlessly carnal. The kiss was on the edge of bruising.
He pulled away and pressed his forehead against mine. “Don’t get the wrong idea about me. I’m in charge.”
I panted, trying to sort words out of the haze in my head. “Um…”
He sighed. “I’m not sure we should do this.”
“Go to lunch?”
His eyes narrowed. “We’ll go to a brewery.”
I nodded and bit my lip. Isn’t he exactly the kind of man you don’t want to be with—again?
He wrapped his hand around my ponytail and tugged so that my face turned up. “I’m not going to change.”
We were the only ones in the parking area. Wind gusted, rustling his dark brown hair. A Wood Thrush whistled from a tree nearby. He was tense, his body hard against mine. And aroused.
“Okay.”
“But…I want something with you. An arrangement.”
Say what? “I don’t know…”
He brushed his lips against mine. “Sexual partners. With no other obligation between us.”
My body arched into his almost on its own. There were so many questions—I didn’t want to ask any of them. He groaned and let go of me.
“Get in the car.”