Dark Realms (19 page)

He backed away from me, breathing heavily.
“Leave your balcony door open tonight.”

Then in a flash he was gone and I was left
feeling frustrated.

Chapter Seventeen

“Nikki,” said Rosie, stepping into the break
room. “Someone named Duncan is waiting for you in the diner.”

“Thanks.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You okay? You look kind
of flushed.”

“I’m fine,” I replied, not able to meet her
eyes.

“Go home and get a good night’s sleep,” she
said. “Working here can take a lot out of you.”

“I will. Thanks.”

I followed her back out and expected to see
Ethan and his friends, but they were all gone.

“Hi,” said Duncan.

He was dressed in a light blue polo shirt
that complimented his silvery-gray eyes and low-riding jeans that
showed off his tight abs. Because I was still feeling the
pheromones from whatever Ethan produced, I had an incredible urge
to jump his bones.

“Ready?” I asked, grabbing his hand.

He chuckled as I pulled him out of the
diner. “What’s wrong? Had enough of this place already?”

I released a heavy sigh and nodded. “It was
a long day.”

We both hopped in to his truck and he turned
on the music. He caught me staring at him and smiled.

“You look nice,” he said, grabbing my
hand.

His smile was much more boyish than Ethan’s
and the tenderness in his eyes was so sweet. Part of me was already
falling hard for Duncan, while another part of me screamed out for
Ethan. It was frustrating and I decided to try and drive away my
lustful thoughts of Ethan, so I told him to pull over to the side
of the road.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

I scooted closer to him and pressed my lips
against his. Soon we were kissing and my hands were all over him.
When I pulled myself onto his lap and looked into his eyes, he let
out a shaky sigh. “Nikki,” he groaned, and then his mouth captured
mine.

I ground my hips into his and he moaned with
pleasure as I rocked against him. He unbuttoned the top of my
uniform and raised my bra, kissing my breasts. Nobody had ever done
that before and the sensation made me quiver down below.

“Shit,” he groaned as a squad car pulled up
behind us and we were surrounded by bright flashing lights.

I jumped off of him and buttoned my uniform
while Duncan tried to compose himself. “Man,” he said, looking at
me again. “That was intense.”

There was a tap on the window and we both
smiled sheepishly at Sheriff Caleb, who was frowning.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

Duncan’s face looked so guilty it was
comical. “Um, we were just talking.”

He smirked. “You certainly fogged up the
windows pretty good with all that talking you must have been doing.
Next time, open one up.”

We both smiled.

“Listen,” said Caleb. “I’m not stupid, so I
know your raging hormones probably got the better of you. Next time
you feel like making out, though, don’t do it on the side of the
road. It’s pretty dangerous, especially at night. Now, Duncan,
bring Nikki home before her mom gets worried.”

“Okay. Thank you, sir,” answered Duncan.

He looked at me. “Say hello to your mother
for me.”

“Okay.”

He walked back to his squad car, and we
drove to the cabin in an awkward silence. Thankfully, Nathan was
waiting on the porch for us when we pulled up because I didn’t want
to talk about what had just happened. The truth was, I wasn’t
exactly sure myself. That promiscuous girl back there? That wasn’t
me. I’d made out with two guys in the last two days and had no real
explanation for it.

“Hey, guys,” said Nathan, who was sitting on
a gliding bench with a grim smile.

Duncan cleared his throat. “What’s up,
Nathan?”

“Read this,” he said, holding out a
newspaper.

I grabbed it from him and we both started
reading the article he’d circled. There were several pictures of
girls who were either missing or dead under the headline: ‘Serial
Killer Targeting Similar Victims?’

“They’ve included a picture of the girl who
was found in the lake, as well as Amy,” said Nathan, pointing. “See
the resemblance there of the two girls?”

“Why is Amy included in this? She killed
herself,” I said.

Nathan’s eyes narrowed.
“Or maybe it
was
only made to look like she did. The most disturbing thing
about this article is the photos of the girls.”

“They look very similar,” said Duncan. Then
he turned to me and tensed up. “In fact, they look similar to
Nikki, too.”

My brother nodded. “Their hair is different
but, if you look closely at the facial features of those girls,
there is a definite resemblance to Nikki’s. What really concerns
me, are the strange things that have been happening to her. What if
it’s somehow related?”

“Seriously, I doubt it has anything to do
with what’s happened to all of those girls,” I said.

“Still, we’d better keep a close eye on
you,” replied Nathan.

“Fine,” I said, yawning. “Listen, I hate to
be a party pooper, but I’m exhausted from being on my feet for the
last several hours. I’m going to take a bath and then sleep for
days, if mom will let me.”

“Do you need any help getting that bath
ready?” asked Duncan, smiling.

“Dude, that’s my sister you’re talking
about. Don’t say that stuff loud enough for my ears to pick up,”
said Nathan, looking horrified.

Duncan laughed.

“So, Duncan, are you planning on going to
the barbeque tomorrow night?” I asked.

“Only if you’re going,” he said, leaning up
against the cabin.

I smiled up at him. “Definitely. “

“How about if Nikki and I just meet you
there?” interrupted Nathan. “I’ll call you tomorrow afternoon.”

“Sounds good,” he replied.

“Goodnight Dunc,” he said, opening the cabin
door. “I’ll give you guys some privacy, in case you want to suck
face or something.”

“Funny,” I mumbled.

“Night,” replied Duncan. As soon as Nathan
was gone, he stepped closer and stared down into my eyes. “Well,
goodnight.”

“Goodnight.

He gave me one of his dimpled smiles and
then leaned forward, kissing me tenderly on the lips. This time the
kiss was short and sweet.

“Maybe tomorrow I won’t smell like a diner,”
I said softly as he stepped back.

“Believe me,” he replied, licking his lips.
“I didn’t mind one bit.”

I cleared my throat. “I guess I’ll see you
tomorrow then?”

He reached into his pocket, pulled out his
keys, and began twirling them around his finger. “Definitely. Can’t
wait.”

“Me, too.

He motioned towards the door. “I’m not
leaving until you’re safely inside of the house.”

His concern made me tingle. “Okay.
Night.”

“Goodnight.”

I went inside the cabin and locked the door.
When I turned around, Nathan stepped out of the kitchen with a bowl
of popcorn.

“Where’s mom?”

“Where else? Sleeping,” he said, sitting
down on the couch.

“Okay, I’m beat, too. I’ll see you in the
morning.”

He nodded and flipped on the television.

I checked on mom and found her sprawled out
on the bed, snoring softly. I closed the door and went into my room
to get ready for my bath. I took out my hair down and set my
cellphone on the charger, my head still spinning from everything
that happened tonight. The fact that I’d made out with two guys in
less than an hour was almost comical for someone like me; I still
wasn’t sure what to make of it. In California, I’d shied away from
the opposite sex; here, I was totally acting like a slut.

Maybe it’s the fresh
air
? I mused.

With a yawn, I walked into the bathroom and
started the water. My cell phone began to ring and I rushed back
into the bedroom to answer it. When I saw who it was, I sat down on
the edge of my bed and smiled.

“I just wanted to say goodnight, again,”
said Duncan, a smile in his voice. “I… um, miss you already.”

I laughed. “You’ll be seeing me soon
enough.”

“Believe me, it won’t be.”

My heart melted. He was the sweetest guy and
I told him so.

“You must bring it out in me,” he replied.
“Because, normally, I’m not like this.”

“Really? That’s hard to believe because
you’re a natural. I can just tell.”

“Maybe, but I still think it’s you.” He
sighed. “Look, this isn’t easy for me, so I’m just going say it. I…
I think I’m falling in love with you. Actually,” he paused. “I know
I am.”

“You hardly know me,” I said softly,
although his words made me giddy. I’d never heard anyone says those
words to me and it gave me tingles of pleasure.

“I know. Kind of weird, huh?”

I lay back on the bed and stared at the
ceiling, a wide grin on my face. “No. I, um… actually, I think I’m
falling for you, too.”

“Really?”

He was sweet and made my stomach flutter.
I’d never been in love before, but I knew one thing, I felt
something special for him. I wasn’t sure if it was love, but it
sure felt good.

“
Yeah, really.”

“Okay, I just wanted you to know that I
can’t stop thinking about you, and it’s driving me crazy.”

“Was that before or after I attacked you in
the truck?”

He chuckled. “Both.”

I burst out laughing.

“Can I pick you up every night?” he teased.
“I figure we’ll be at third base if this keeps up.”

“Oh, my God,” I said. “Just for that, I’m
sending you back to first base.”

“I’ll take what I can get. We don’t even
have to play the bases; we can just wander the fields.”

I laughed again, and it
reminded me of my mother with Caleb.
I was
as pathetic as she was with men.

“Man, I love your laugh.”

My face hurt now, I was grinning so wide.
“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

We sat in silence for a few seconds and then
I spoke. “It’s late and I was just about ready to take a bath.”

He sucked in his breath. “I’ll be right
over.”

“Duncan! I’m hanging up.”

“Wait, are you naked yet?”

I groaned. “Goodnight, Duncan,”

“Just give me
something
to fantasize
about.”

I looked down at the
uniform I was still wearing. “Yeah, I’m
totally
naked, except for the nail
polish on my feet.”

He groaned. “You’re killing me.”

“Night,” I said. “This time… for real.”

“Night,” he murmured back.

He waited for me to hang up and I smiled
again as I ended the call. One thing was for certain, Duncan was
definitely the guy making my toes curl. No doubt about it.

I put my phone back in the charger, eyeing
the balcony, suspiciously. The moon was bright, and normally I
would have thought it was cool, but right now it was only ominous.
There was no way that I was going to unlock the door, even if Ethan
could somehow make it up here.

Ethan.

I didn’t even know him and the conscious
side of me knew that my reaction to the guy made no sense. Sure,
I’d basically climbed all over him in our break room and his kisses
ignited a raging fire inside of me, but the truth was, he scared
the crap out of me, crazy sexy or not.

I checked the lock on the balcony door to
make sure it was secure, then went back into the bathroom and got
undressed. Seconds later, I had the jet streams going in the tub
and my back was getting a much-needed water massage. I closed my
eyes and soon began drifting off.

A strange noise jolted me awake, and I
looked towards the window, only to find myself alone.

Must have been dreaming…

Sighing with relief, I checked the time and
noticed I’d been in the tub for a half hour. The water was too
chilly to enjoy anymore so I decided to get out. I toweled myself
dry, put my robe on, and unplugged the bathtub. I then padded into
the bedroom where I stopped dead in my tracks. Ethan was on my
balcony, leaning against the railing watching me. He reminded me of
a predator studying its kill before striking.

Time seemed to stand still as the
realization of what Ethan really was sunk in. Obviously, he’d made
it up to my balcony all by himself, and yesterday, we’d soared
through the night faster than what was humanly possible. There
could only be one explanation now, and it chilled me to the
bone.

We stared at each other for what seemed like
forever and then he pointed to the door.

Swallowing hard, I stepped over and unlocked
it.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” he asked
softly.

My heart was hammering in my chest and I bit
the side of my lip, trying to decide what to do.

“Well?” he asked, smiling devilishly. “I
promise I won’t hurt you, Nikki. In fact, I imagine you’ll enjoy my
company tremendously.”

I let out a ragged sigh and nodded.

He stared at my mouth. “I’d like to hear you
say it.”

“Come in, Ethan.”

Chapter Eighteen

Ethan stepped into my bedroom and I
instinctively took a step backwards.

“Are you afraid of me?” he asked with a
sardonic grin.

“I… don’t know,” I whispered, as the hair
stood up on the back of my neck. Obviously I was lying. He scared
the hell out of me.

He took another step towards me, his eyes
probing. “Nikki, seriously, you have nothing to be afraid of.”

“Uh, why me?” I squeaked, surprised that I
was able to ask any questions at all when what I really wanted to
do was run like hell.

Ethan’s lips curled up. “Why not you?”

“I…” I stared at him as my panic began to
change into something else entirely – an achy need to be closer to
him; to touch and be touched by him.