FIRST ONE DOWN: A Paul Sutton Novel (16 page)

"Strong," Ryan said, cutting Sutton off.

Sutton chuckled and ran a hand through the mess of tangled gray hair on his head. As he was passing Ryan's desk on the way to the elevator, he gave him a quick pat on the shoulder, "Thanks, partner."

Andrew pulled his rental car into the small visitor parking area of Kali's condo complex promptly at seven. Hefting his large frame out of the compact rental, he snatched the bottle of Barolo he had picked up earlier that day and walked to her front door. Standing outside for a moment, he collected his thoughts and told himself to take things slow with this woman; he didn't want to scare her off and after the night before he knew he had some ground to make up with her.

"Hello, Colonel," Kali said, as she opened the door, taking him by surprise. "You brought the wine I see, and a nice one," she said as she removed the bottle from his hand and opened the door all the way, inviting him to enter.

"Hello beautiful," he said, taking her in his arms and squeezing her tight in an extended embrace.

Smiling up at him, she pulled out of the embrace, grabbed his hand in hers and led him towards the kitchen area stopping at a barstool at the gray, tiled bar that separated the kitchen and dining room area. She pointed towards it and said, "Sit."

Laughing, he sat down. "Are you going to give me a treat if I obey?"

"I might," she said, coyly.

"Fair enough, I will sit." He sat down and watched her fluttering back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room table, "Smells delicious," he said, as he closed his eyes and inhaled loudly.

"The food?" she asked.

"Yes, the food and the lady."

"Awww Colonel, did you borrow that from Hallmark, or is that an original line?" she asked, teasingly.

"Only originals for you," he said, as he gave her a wink, his voice low and seductive.

"You always know the right answers, don't you Colonel?"

"Always? That's a big expectation to try to live up to," he said, "but I will do my best."

"I doubt you will have any problems living up to my expectations," she said and quickly changed the subject to prevent herself from going down that road. The one that always led back to Nate. That was the always she hoped to change, "Wine?"

"Yes, you keep doing what you're doing, and I will pour." Getting up from the barstool, he entered the kitchen area and pulled a few drawers open until he found a wine opener.

Andrew walked over to the beautifully set table that already had two wine glasses set out. He opened the bottle of Barolo and filled both glasses to the top.

"Sit," she said, motioning for him to sit in the seat he was standing next to. Kali leaned over and lit two candles in the center of the black, square dining table. Then she walked to the wall switch and dimmed the overhead light. Perfect, she thought to herself just as her favorite Banks song began streaming from her Bose system.

Kali sat down across from Andrew and opened the top to the serving dish containing the entrée, "I hope you like Entrecôte Bordelaise," she said in her best French accent.

"Well, I couldn't have chosen a more appropriate wine," he said, a smile stretching wide in anticipation.

She lifted the Fusion Triumph wine glass next to her plate and held it up in a toast, "To fairytales and great wines."

Lifting his glass to hers, he toasted in agreement.

They talked and laughed all through dinner, sharing stories from the past and telling of their dreams for the future. Kali felt light, peaceful and a closeness she had forgotten was possible to have with a man. By the time they were done eating and the kitchen was put back in order, it was approaching midnight.

Andrew pulled his leather jacket off the back of the barstool and got one arm in when Kali tugged at the other side, forcing his muscular arm to come back out of the sleeve he had just put it into.

"I would like it if you stayed here tonight, Colonel," she said, moving towards him slowly, until she was pressed against his body.

"I would feel better if I was with you tonight, uh...better if I was here, just in case."

Kali looked up at him, the back of her head tilted as far back as she could take it, "You don't need to worry about my safety. I want you to stay because you want to stay.
With
me. Not to protect me."

"I want both," he said, leaning down, taking her face in one hand and pulling at the back of her waist with the other, he kissed her mouth. Parting her lips, his tongue found hers and began exploring her mouth, teasing her, tasting her, feeling her passion swell and enjoying the feel of her body relaxing in his strong embrace.

With her right hand, she reached up and gripped his bicep, as her left hand slid down the side of his body until it rested on his belt, she hooked a thumb at the hip area, and tugged lightly at it, trying to keep herself in check, at least a little. Breaking the kiss, she looked into his light green eyes and asked, "Shall we move to my room, Colonel?"

"I want to take this slow. I want you, God, I want you Kali. But I want to take my time with you. Can you understand that?" he asked.

Kali looked down and blinked back the hot tears welling in her eyes. She could understand that, but she also felt slightly rejected by it. She had grown so accustomed to sex being something that was taken from her after she was seduced into it, usually by force and restraint. It conditioned her to respond to things that had little to do with softness, sensitivity or her opinion. She wasn't sure what she was feeling in that moment or why. Wanting to break down and cry but not wanting him to see that, she looked up, demurely and said, "Yes, I understand. Can we just lie together? Can you just hold me, Colonel?"

"Of course beautiful," he said and lifting her up, he carried her back to her bedroom. He set her gently onto the bed. Then he pulled her white t-shirt up, over her head and off, her long, dark hair spilling over her shoulders. He laid her back onto the bed, un-did the button of her jeans, unzipped the copper zipper, grasped the sides at her waist and pulled them down to her ankles as she lifted her hips making it easier for him to pull them down.

Andrew pulled his polo shirt up exposing a flawless, very well defined chest and sculpted abs. Pulling his khaki pants down, he stopped and looked at Kali's eyes which were fixed on the bulge growing in his boxer briefs. After he stepped out of his pants, he walked over to the wall and turned the light switch off, then made his way to her bed. He pulled the covers back and slid in slowly along side her. Reaching out, he found her soft, delicate skin. With one hand he pulled her in next to him until her back was against his chest and her buttocks pressed firmly against his manhood. He pulled the covers up over both of their bodies and pulled her long strands of hair up towards the pillow. He ran his fingers through it like a rake, over and over, smoothing out the small tangles that had formed. He let her sweet scent envelope him and any doubt that he belonged laying next to her vanished. The comfort of being in her space was a comfort he had never known and he vowed never to allow anything in the way of something so precious to him. Not ever again.

Nate was sitting up on the edge of his bed, back straight, teeth clenched. The air surged in and out so loud and hard through his nose that the noise of his own breathing snapped him out of the trance he had fallen into. He could not believe what he was hearing. He had been listening to the audio surveillance receiver every night since he last saw her.

He could not handle the mere thought of any other man touching Kali's body. It was a thought he never pondered, not even for a moment. And to hear it, in real time taking place at her condo, in her bed, a bed he had recently been with her in. A place where he had used every ounce of will power that he possessed to resist taking her the way he had needed to - to give her what she wanted.

"Whore!" he yelled aloud, to himself as he sprung up, out of bed, and dressed.

Looking around his stark, empty room, he considered getting the duffle out of the closet. Then he decided against that. He would have to kill the man, and that would get in the way of what he intended to do to her. What she had coming. He needed time with her, with her body. He needed time to punish her, to make her feel the same amount of pain that he felt listening to her allow another man to touch what belonged to him, and him alone. He wouldn't tolerate that - he wouldn't tolerate her allowing what belonged to him to be dirtied by another mans hands. He needed to plan. No mistakes, he had to do this right.

As Kali was drifting off to sleep, she thought back to the holiday weekend in July when everything changed between her and Nate. She opened her eyes and shifted her body weight slightly. She could tell that Andrew was sound asleep and she inched herself away from him until she was on the edge of the bed. Reaching next to the bed, she pulled the nightstand drawer open without making a sound and pulled the very top journal out of the drawer. Clutching in against her chest, she got all the way off of the bed and quietly made her way to the bathroom. Once inside, she sat on the cold tile floor resting her back against the door and opened to the entry she wanted to read. Still searching for the answer to how she had let herself fall so far with Nate, wanting desperately to lay blame on one incident, on one specific event that could somehow explain it all. Her mind constantly pointed her back to that weekend. She read the journal entry from that experience repeatedly, trying to find some point within the story of that weekend, where she could have, where she should have, turned back. Said no. Left Nate. Something, anything that she could have done differently. She felt that if she were able to identify the moment where the decision she had made had set the entire series of events that followed into motion, that she could avoid ever going through the pain that she had been going through again. That she could better equip herself to not repeat that mistake. That she could let go of all the negative feelings associated with her part in those experiences. That she could fully move on. That she could put the blame on Nate, label him a monster and not hurt over losing him anymore, not miss him anymore.

July 7, 2008

....upon entering the hotel suite, with Nate leading me in by my hand, I felt a rush of cold air hit me and goosebumps immediately overcame my flesh. There was a faint scent of magnolia in the cold air and although I couldn't tell because the blindfold was covering my eyes, I felt a darkness. I assumed the room was dark. Dark and cold. Nate's hand left mine, and I stood alone where he left me. I could hear movement, a clinging sound, Nate's footsteps. I could feel a rush of air when he moved past me again. He didn't touch me, or say anything to me, and I could hear more movement, sounds I couldn't make out the origins of.

"I am going to tell you everything that I am going to do to you, Kali."

"Okay..."

"Shhh...don't talk. Just listen and either nod yes or no, do you understand?"

I nodded yes, nervous and excited. I couldn't get a handle on which emotion was stronger. I had no idea what was about to happen and my head was starting to feel dizzy, but I didn't want to say no. I wanted to see what it was that Nate liked, what it was that he needed from me, hoping that I would be able to give him what he wanted, eliminating his need to find it elsewhere. I suspected that he was seeing other women. I felt it in the long absences, and in the way he always seemed to hold back with me. I could see the look in his eyes when we made love, that far away look. I always thought that when I felt him check-out while we were together, the place he went to had to be one of re-living sex with a past lover or going into a fantasy world that I was, for whatever reason, unable to fulfill for him in real life. I wasn't positive, of course. But a woman knows when her man is somewhere else mentally and emotionally. I have no fear at this point in our relationship that he has emotional ties to any other women, and I suppose that's how I justify his wandering. I never ask, I never question him. He has always done what he said he would do, he doesn't break dates with me. He treats me well when we are together and I can tell, I can feel that he has a strong connection with me, I believe he needs me, I think he loves me. When he asked me to be open to whatever was to come, I felt privileged that he was going to take me deeper into his world. This world he sometimes referred to, or at least alluded to. I thought this was him letting me in, bringing me closer. Like many other times before this night, I didn't question, I just did as he requested.

"I might do things that scare you, Kali. I might hurt you. I need you to do two things for me," he said, as he pushed the strands of hair framing my face back over my shoulders, "I need you to try to block out the fear, and the pain. I need you to feel it with your body - don't think about it tonight. Just feel it. Can you try to do that for me?"

I nodded yes again. My lips were dry, my knees were getting shaky, and the space between my legs was warm and growing increasingly wet.

"I am going to remove your dress, your shoes and your necklace, okay?"

I nodded yes again, and he unzipped the back of my white dress, and I felt it slip off my body and pool at the floor by my feet. The sound of the fabric falling off my body and hitting the floor flooded my ears. My senses were heightened, and I was getting comfortable with the blindfold that took my sight away. I felt his hands glide back up my body, touching the places that the dress had covered. One hand stopped on my breast, my nipples were already hard. I felt a quick pinch, and then he grabbed me with both hands holding me by the waist; he lifted me abruptly and tossed my body back on what felt like a firm bed mattress. As my body hit the mattress, I heard the clanking sound again. It sounded like something was hitting a bed frame or wall I wasn't sure which. I felt my shoes being removed one at a time. Then he took both of my hands and pulled me up into a sitting position. I sat up straight, pushing my breasts out towards him, hoping he would touch me there again. But he didn't. I felt his strong, rough hands reach around the back of my neck and unclasp my necklace, and then I felt the chain tighten around my neck briefly before he removed it. The chain was then rubbed across my lips. With a finger, he opened my mouth.