Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

M ia tossed and turned in bed, finally falling into a restless sleep. She had strange images cluttering her mind until she started to dream about two men in dark suits chasing her. She couldn't find Sarah and felt her heart begin to race, a cold sweat forming between her shoulder blades. In the dream she felt as if she was running in quicksand, not able to put enough space between her and the ominous men behind her. She turned but could not see their faces, just the image of their bulky bodies, arms outstretched, trying to capture her. A hotel lobby appeared out of nowhere in her dream and she was in it, running, running, doing her best to elude their grasp. The next thing she knew, she was in a hotel room holding Sarah, looking to escape from the evil men who were now outside her door. She looked down at the baby in her arms and suddenly she knew one thing for certain. The little girl's name wasn't Sarah.

It was Daisy.

She woke up with a start and heard screaming. It took her a minute to realize that the sound she heard was coming from deep down in her throat. A minute later, the door to her room was flung open and Kyle stood there, gun in his right hand, eyes wide with apprehension.

"Mia." He craned his neck, searching for unseen assailants. "Mia, are you alright?"

She watched him search the room with his eyes, looking for intruders. His shoulders lost some of their tension when he realized that the windows were all closed and that she was the only one there. He crossed from the doorway to the bathroom and stepped inside. She imagined he went in there to check and make sure that they were alone.

"It was a dream, Kyle. A bad dream." Tears stained her face.

She pushed the blanket off the bed and stood up quickly, intent on going to check on her baby, to make sure that her screams hadn't woken the child. Kyle stopped her.

"I already checked. She's fine, fast asleep."

"You're sure?" Mia asked.

"Positive." He pointed to the baby monitor on her night table. "See for yourself."

She looked at the screen. The baby was sleeping, her small rump in the air. Then she glanced back at him only to find his eyes roaming her face. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" he asked softly.

Mia looked at him and suddenly realized that he was shirtless, his sweatpants slung low, and barefoot. If her heart wasn't already beating out of her chest from the nightmare, she'd be dizzy from the sight of him. Then she realized that she was barely dressed herself, wearing a sheer camisole and a pair of lace panties. She quickly climbed back into the bed and drew the blanket up to her chest, covering herself as best as she could.

"There were two men, and they were chasing me."

"Were they the men I told you about? The thugs that were outside my apartment and then again on Sibby's block on Halloween. Maybe they were stuck in the back of your mind until now."

"I don't know. Maybe. In my dream I was in a hotel, and they were there too. They were trying to catch me, and I couldn't find Sarah."

He sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, gingerly resting the gun on the night table. "It was just a dream, Mia. There's no one here but us. You're safe."

"Kyle. That's the thing. It didn't feel like a dream. It felt so real, like they were going to catch me. It was truly scary," she said as she felt another round of tears well up in her eyes. She tucked her legs underneath her and leaned her head into her hands. She could not stop the torrent as she began to cry with a sudden intensity that surprised her.

"Don't cry." He crawled up on the mattress to where she sat and pulled her into his arms. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you or to the baby. I promise."

"But what if they find us here? We're all alone and…"

"And nothing. If in the very unlikely occurrence that those goons find their way up to the Cape, it's their funeral. I won't hesitate to shoot a trespasser. This is private property."

"That sounds equally as frightening. If anything were to happen to you because you were protecting me or the baby, I don't know what I'd do. I feel my life spiraling out of control. I'm so sorry I brought you into this."

He held her tightly as she cried, all the while rubbing small circles on her back, telling her that he was there and not to worry. It was so easy to lean against his strength, to feel the warm of his bare skin seep into her own chilled body. She wiped away the tears and looked up at him. "Kyle, I –"

"Shhh," he said. "Try to get some rest." He gently placed her back against the pillows and went to stand. She grabbed his hand.

"Can you stay? Until I fall asleep? Would that be okay?"

"Of course," he replied, positioning himself next to her, leaning his head back on the pillow next to hers.

Mia turned her body to face his, resting one hand against his chest, feeling the hard muscle there beneath his warm skin. Then slowly with the tips of her fingers, she began to tangle with the patch of hair between his nipples, ever so lightly expanding her exploration until she caressed one bud and then the other. She heard his breath hitch; she felt a familiar strumming between her own legs. She didn't know what came over her, she just knew that she couldn't ignore the desire that pooled in the pit of her stomach. She wanted him, and not because he had come to her rescue, but because he had proven himself to be a caring and kind man who clearly felt an attraction to her as well.

"Mia," he said her name so slowly it sounded like a moan. Maybe it was, she wasn't sure. "If you don't want to end up naked beneath me tonight, please, stop now."

Instead of answering him with words, she dipped her fingers down lower, caressing his belly button before slipping under the waistband of his sweatpants.

"I'm not kidding. Last chance to change your mind about this," he whispered in her ear.

"I'm not kidding either. Please Kyle, believe me."

The next thing she knew, his mouth was on her camisole, teasing one nipple and then the other through the thin fabric. She could feel a small stream of milk escape from one, but he pulled down the lacy garment and licked it before it could soak the mattress. Then he pulled the straps off her shoulders and shimmed it over her hips, grabbing her panties with his thumbs and removing them as well. She could feel his erection underneath his sweats, and she didn't hesitate to kick the blanket away so that she could pull them off him. If she was going to be naked, then he would be too, and once uncovered she could see his body fully. A fine sheen of sweat had broken out across his chest, and she slowly tasted its salty flavor before reaching up and kissing his mouth. His tongue swept against her own, shooting sparks of electricity throughout her body. She had no recollection of ever feeling this way about anyone else; something deep within her soul told her that she never had.

Mia rolled on top of him so that he was right outside the entrance to her body. Then she slowly lowered herself, allowing him to fill her with an ever-expanding wave of pleasure. He wrapped his arms and legs around her and let her set the tempo for a bit, then he spun her around on to her back and took control. Mia could have sworn that he went further and deeper into her body than she could tolerate, but instead, their fit was perfect, and they tipped over the edge together in a spiral of sensation that she'd not soon forget. As each wave passed through her body, she had only one thought—something had sent her away from a different sort of life and into this man's arms. And now, she had no idea if she could ever leave him.

Kyle took nothing for granted. Not his misstep the night he shot that perp, not his family and their devotion to one another, and certainly not what he'd just experienced with Mia in her bed. He knew that he was attracted to her, but he didn't expect the depth of his feelings to result in the most incredible sexual experience he'd ever had. And now, he wasn't sure what to do next.

She had fallen asleep in his arms, her chest rising and falling peacefully, her hand still resting between his legs. He needed to be careful not to move; he didn't want to her to shift and wake up; he liked the feeling of her warmth against the most sensitive part of him. He wondered about her nightmare, though. It was probably just a by-product of all the stress she'd been under, coming up to the Cape with him under duress. But maybe it was something more. And the sudden baking, that was odd as well. Maybe pieces of her memory were returning, and she just had no other way to process them, he wasn't sure. The only thing Kyle did know was that he was starting to wish that she'd never remember her past. That way, maybe he could convince her to stay here with him. There was something about this woman that was so attractive that it made him wish that he could hold on to her and call her his own. After what they just did, he thought, how the hell was he going to be able to ever let her go.

And then there was the matter of his gun. When he first heard her screaming, he was sure that someone had broken into the house and was in her room. The fear that struck him in that moment was heart-stopping, but he didn't hesitate as he once thought he might. He reached for his gun in the night table next to him, grabbed a handful of bullets out of the box that sat next to it and ran as fast as he could to check on the baby and then go find Mia. But there was no one else in the house. As a matter of fact, he remembered now that the alarm panel was set to "arm" – had someone broken in, there would have been a siren blaring, not just a woman screaming. None of it made any sense. The only explanation was that she must have remembered something, even if it was just the feeling of being threatened. He'd have to ask her some very pointed questions in the morning.

For now, however, they were safe and warm in this bed. He could hear the ocean as it pounded against the beach outside the window. The rhythm was familiar and comforting, and he did his best to fall into the sound of it, allowing it to lull him to sleep as well. As his eyes grew heavy, he had one final thought: whatever it took to make the woman next to him feel safe, that was the mission. He could not let her down.