Chapter Fourteen
Lee Holmes was met with nothing but darkness as she peeled open the front door and stepped into the hallway of her apartment, acknowledging the familiar scent of hyacinths whilst contemplating the unfamiliarity of Morgan not leaving a light on for her at the same time.
After spending an additional hour after the club with Sienna, Kat, and Natalie, the apartment she returned to felt eerily quiet, and worse, empty.
As she dared a glance at the shoe rack, and the empty space in which Morgan’s boots had once been, and not returned, it left an equally empty space inside of her that became rapidly filled with anxiety.
Either Morgan had forgotten to leave a light on, and left her boots somewhere other than the shoe rack, or, more likely, she had not returned.
Her senses came to the latter conclusion before she had even checked the bedroom, pulling her phone out of her purse before finding Morgan’s number in her contacts, hitting the dial button as she flicked the hallway light-switch with her other hand, illuminating the small space to reveal the potted plants that sat delicately against the white plastered wall.
Whilst Lee Holmes had already deduced that the apartment was empty, she felt another wave of panic hit her upon noticing that Morgan’s familiar ringtone didn’t make a sound from any of the rooms, confirming the worst.
Morgan Finch answered on the second ring and was greeted by a vicious exhale of relief on Lee’s part, followed by desperate gasping into the phone. “Baby, where the fuck are you? Are you okay?”
The silence between them lasted for what could have only been a few seconds, and yet, in Lee’s mind, she had already pictured her girlfriend tied up in a basement, begging for her life.
“I’m fine,” Morgan responded, sounding tired, but comfortable enough.
Enough, at least, for Lee’s mind to settle ever so slightly.
“The taxi driver stopped for gas, and then we broke down. Literally in the worst place, too. I had to walk a mile or two just to get service again. I didn’t even see a single car in that time pass us.
Figures. I’ll be home soon. Try to get some sleep, gorgeous. ”
With the situation settled, Lee Holmes exhaled a final sigh of relief as she traipsed her way over to the bathroom, unzipping her dress with one hand as she held the phone between her shoulder and her ear.
“That’s awful. I’m sorry. Do you need me to call you another taxi?
Or provide you with anything else, for that matter?
” Lee asked, flirtatiously, as her dress fell to the bathroom floor around her ankles, leaving her staring at herself in the mirror in nothing but her underwear.
She wasn’t sure what prompted such a comment.
Perhaps it was the idea of undressing alone without Morgan, developing a need inside her, or perhaps it was the fact she had continued to drink at Kat’s house, and whilst the warmth it provided wasn’t in any way equivalent to Morgan’s warmth, it provided a familiar awakening alcohol often managed to provide.
“As a matter of fact…” Morgan said, her voice deepening on the other end of the line, sensing Lee’s desires. “You could tell me what you’re doing right now. Specifically, are you about to jump into the shower like you always do after we go out?”
A slight laugh traveled down the phone as Lee shook her head. “You know me too well,” she said, acknowledging her predictable nature. “I’m literally just undressing right now, actually.”
“That’s very interesting. Now, bear in mind I’m currently in the back of a new taxi and have to be very watchful over what I say, but I may be so inclined as to ask about your current clothing situation.”
The laugh suddenly became very full as Lee stepped out of her dress.
“You know, saying things in a more sophisticated way doesn’t make the driver suddenly unable to understand what you’re saying.
Regardless, allow me to unburden you with having to ask any further questions.
My ‘current clothing situation’, as you so put it,” Lee emphasized, making air quotes with her fingers despite being the only person in the room, “is that I’m in my underwear presently, having just stepped out of my dress. Would you like me to unclasp my bra?”
“Why, yes, that would be delightful,” Morgan offered back, followed by “sorry, ignore my wording, I forgot.”
Feeling much like a Victorian housewife all of a sudden with Morgan’s responses, Lee did as instructed, removing her bra as it fell to the floor, leaving her chest exposed.
“Okay,” she said, her breathing already beginning to accelerate.
“It’s off,” she continued. “Would you like me to remove the rest of my underwear now?”
“No, no,” Morgan said, immediately, taking Lee by surprise. “Tell me more about…” she paused, carefully deciding upon her next words. “Uh…about, what you got up to…in the mountains.”
Lee’s laughter erupted throughout the bathroom, offering an echo back from each of the four walls in response.
“You’re lucky that you’re hot because your dirty talk needs work.
I know, I know, you can’t talk dirty right now,” she said, before Morgan could protest. “My mountains are particularly hard at the peak, right now. I can see them in the mirror. In fact, I think there may be clouds rolling in,” she said, grinning as she traced a hand down her chest, followed by her stomach.
“Is that so? I’ve heard it’s going to rain all night, as a matter of fact.”
Just as Lee was about to respond, she heard the relatively distant sound of a man chime in on the other end of the phone. She couldn’t quite make out completely what he was saying, only partial words like, “actually” and “warm.”
“My driver tells me that it’s going to be rather pleasant tonight, actually. Anyway, I better go,” Morgan said, the charge between them dissipating as the atmosphere in the room returned to normal thanks to the kind correction from the unknown taxi driver.
Ensuring that the spark didn’t die completely, Lee ran a hand over her left breast, observing her movements in the mirror. “As long as it’s pleasant,” she said, before hanging up the phone without even a word of goodbye.
She smiled at the prospect of Morgan shuffling in the backseat of a taxi, pulling at her collar in desperation. She continued smiling as she pulled off the rest of her underwear and stepped into the shower.
As the water washed over her, she closed her eyes and bit her lip, and that was all she did. It was all she needed to do, at least for now. After all, Morgan Finch was a clockwork toy and Lee had wound, and wound, and now, all that was left to do was wait.
She let the water wash over her, and she waited.
When Lee Holmes heard the front door close at 3:05am, as she lay in bed, she smiled into the darkness, her body still on high alert, but the good kind.
The kind of alertness that didn’t suck all of her attention into itself, but rather, harnessed it.
She heard the keys fall into the bowl in the hallway.
She heard Morgan pull her boots off, placing them on the floor instead of inside the shoe rack.
It usually drove her wild, and yet, at present time, Morgan Finch could throw those boots through one of their windows and shatter it.
It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. Because her body was on high alert, and it was the good kind.
She heard movement outside the bedroom door, which was currently ajar, leaving a sliver of light from the hallway.
She saw the sliver disappear as a silhouette covered the gap, until the door was pushed open quietly, and the silhouette stood in the doorway like a haunting figure with evil intent.
Only, Lee Holmes knew what Morgan’s intentions were, had always been, when it came to her. And that was why she was so alert.
“Are you awake?” Morgan whispered. The polite tone didn’t match the feral feeling inside of Lee, desperate to come out.
She was not only awake, she was awakened, and waiting.
Since everything had happened, she hadn’t felt such pure desire until now.
It was raw, it was exciting, and oddly, it somehow felt new.
“I am,” Lee replied, not making any effort to whisper, herself. She flicked on the bedside light, illuminating her features as she bit her lip, hoping that her actions would imply just as much as her words did.
She stood up now, traipsing delicately across the carpet towards Morgan.
Despite everything inside her wanting to throw herself at the woman standing in the doorway, she didn’t.
Instead, she moved slowly and built the anticipation even further, edging closer, closer still, until she was now standing in front of her.
She extended a hand, running it down Morgan’s chest, placing the other on her left bicep.
She allowed the silence to linger for just a moment before she spoke again, hearing nothing but the sounds of Morgan swallowing, her arms still pinned firmly to her sides. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Five words were all it took in order to reignite a spark, evoking that animalistic stare that Lee had feared only days prior, only to desperately desire it now.
That gaze that could set alight a single cinder and burn an entire building to the ground.
Lee Holmes wasn’t sure if she wanted to stand back and watch the flames burn, or dive headfirst into them.
Others had seen that stare upon a knife's edge, but not like this.
This was reserved for her, and for her alone.
Where others had seen pain, and suffering, Lee Holmes saw nothing but pleasure.