Soul Mate (The Mating Series) (42 page)

“Really?” I purred. “Maybe you should show me.” In one movement Jimmy pinned me face down on the bed.

“I’m in charge,” Jimmy said. He sat astride on my back, as he kissed along my neck. I tried to flip over, but I couldn’t move. “Don’t fight.” Jimmy teased. “I will just prolong giving you what you want.”

I arched my back
attempting to topple Jimmy, but he was too heavy. “When I get up, you’re in trouble,” I said.

“I don’t think so.” Jimmy reached between my legs. His touch was light, but enough to drive me crazy. It didn’t take much. I moaned in excitement. “Do you like that?” Jimmy asked. “Then I’ll stop.” I groaned in frustration. “Who’s in charge?”

“You are,” I said.

“I didn’t hear you.”

“You are in charge!” I shouted. He spread my legs with his knees and rubbed his erection against me. “Quit teasing me.” I loved the game. I wanted him inside me. I heard Jimmy open the condom wrapper. “No condom,” I said. “I want to feel you.” I felt confident we’d be safe.

“Sorry
Babe,” Jimmy said. “I promised Cho I’d keep it covered.”
Cho is the freaking poster boy for safe sex.

“How would he know?” I asked. “Just this last time.”

“He’ll know in nine months if we screwed up. Stop talking,” Jimmy said. Before I could reply he slid into me from behind. The new position was heavenly. Jimmy leaned close to me. I could hear his breathing in my ear. “I love you.” He moaned.

Jimmy went slow drawing out the anticipation of climax. Each time I
reached that point, he slowed his movements to make it last longer. “Don’t stop!” I cried when I felt the orgasm come on.

“I want this feeling to last all night
,” he breathed.

“Please, don’t stop.” I keened. “Oh Jimmy!” There was an upsurge of muscle contractions that spread throughout my entire body. I trembled at his touch.

Jimmy’s movements went from gentle rocking, to quickly driving into me. He pushed up on his arms, and pushed hard against me one last time before he collapsed on my back. He didn’t move for a very long time trapping me under his weight. “Jimmy?” I squirmed under him. “I can’t breathe.”

“
God that was good!” he said as he rolled off of me. Jimmy’s phone began to buzz on the night stand. “Cho,” he said, not looking at the phone. I picked it up and answered it.

“Hello
,” I said, drowsy.

“Hey Kiddo
,” Cho said.

“Hey.”

“Sounds like I interrupted intercourse,” Cho said.

“No, just finished.”

“Me too,” Cho said.

“You sound too chipper to have had sex.”

“I’m chipper because I
had
sex.” Cho laughed. “It was magnificent.” Cho taunted. “How was it for you?” He chuckled on the other end of the phone.
Better than you!

“I’m not discussing it with you
,” I said, annoyed. “Why are you calling?” I asked. He interrupted my after sex basking and knew it.

“I promised Jimmy I’d call when I got home.”

“You got home hours ago.”

“Well, not exactly. I made a detour first.”

“I don’t care,” I said. The last thing I wanted was to hear about was Cho’s sexual experience.

“What’s Jimmy doing?” I glanced over. I heard the soft snoring sounds.

“He’s asleep.”

“Tell him I called
,” Cho said.

“I will.” I said and hung up on Cho.
I snuggled close to Jimmy and slept.

The next morning, I
got up before Jimmy. I busied myself making breakfast. I heard the shower running at about seven thirty. Cho called to make sure we were up. I confirmed that we were both up and ready.

Jimmy had enough time to choke down some toast before the
doorbell rang. “Don’t get up. This won’t take long,” Jimmy said. “Finish eating.” He went into the other room. I heard him talking to Trisha Pennington. I had half a mind to go glare at her, but I didn’t want to be catty on my last morning with Jimmy. Her giggles echoed through the door.
Vomit!

I
ignored the technician while he removed the base. It was the same guy who installed it. I pretended to read the newspaper. As he walked in and out of the kitchen, I noticed the sound of his movements. He made a thump… drag… thump… drag sound as he walked. Similar to how Nessie described the man who attacked her.
Ironic
. I watched the technician briefly. He systematically unscrewed wires…with his left hand. I hadn’t noticed the man when he installed the device. The guy looked in his late forties or early fifties. I began to put things together, left handed, middle aged, and walked with a slight limp. I blinked. Skinner killed the prostitutes, but denied killing Mary. The technician couldn’t be the killer. It all pointed to Skinner and the church. My mind forced things together.

A loud crash broke my concentration. I dashed to the living room. I saw the coffee table
on its side. Trisha Pennington stood with a long hunting knife in her hand. I froze in confusion. “What the…”

“Cassie run!” Jimmy yelled. He
lied flat on the floor. The light color carpet turned red. It took me a moment to connect the red stain to blood.
Jimmy is bleeding!
“Run!” He cried. I ran towards him wounded on the floor.

“Shut the fuck up.” Trisha screamed
, and kicked Jimmy hard in the stomach. He crumpled. “Get out of here, Cassie.” Jimmy begged.

Trisha straddled Jimmy and drove the knife into him. “I said shut the fuck up!”

A scream rose to my throat, but wouldn’t manifest. I ran to the door, but Trisha blocked my path brandishing the knife. I stopped short. My mind raced between getting out, and going to Jimmy, who lay lifeless.

The technician came
up from behind, and punched me hard in the back. Pain shot through me. It brought me to my knees. The man hit the back of my head. “Don’t kill her,” Trisha said. “We need her alive.”

I fought to stay conscious. My vision blurred and I couldn’t
breathe. I began hyperventilating. Another blow to the back of my head took me out. I had a momentary thought about Jimmy bleeding on the floor.
He’s dying and I can’t save him.
“I said don’t fucking kill her!” Trisha yelled.

I came around briefly in some kind of van. My hands and wrist zip tied behind me. My mouth duct taped shut. My head throbbed. I looked around for Jimmy, but I
found myself alone.

The back door
swung open. Trisha Pennington stood outside. She held up a syringe. “This will keep you quiet,” she said. I tried to push myself away from her, but too restrained to move. Trisha grabbed me by the shoulder and sunk the needle deep into my neck. “When we get there, all will be explained,” Trisha said. “You will not be hurt anymore.”

“Jimmy!” I screamed, but it didn’t come out right through the tape.

“Oh you want your boyfriend.” Trisha stroked my face. “I know why you liked him. He was sexy wasn’t he?” Tears ran down my cheeks. Jimmy was dead. “You’ll forget about him,” Trisha said. “It won’t take long before you begin to get sleepy.” I felt my lids getting heavy. I tried to ignore it. I had to get out of there. I had to get help for Jimmy. Cho wouldn’t miss him for hours. He’d bleed to death. I blinked back tears. It became difficult to open my eyes after each blink. Soon, I couldn’t open my eyes or move. Paralyzed, I fell over unconscious when the van began to move.

CHAPTER 21

I woke disoriented. I
bolted up and looked around. I appeared to be in a lush hotel suite, decorated in cream and maroon satins, with plush carpet. The room had a bed, a couch, and a small table. The curtains were drawn, but several bright floor lamps illuminated the room. I noticed the door. It wasn’t a hotel door. It was a heavy sliding door, probably steel, with a keycard slot on the side. I couldn’t escape.

I went to the windows to see out. I
hoped to get my bearings if I saw the landscape. I found a brick wall behind the curtain.

My head began to pound.
Panic rushed over me. Trisha Pennington kidnapped me, Jimmy was dead, and no one knew where I was. No one would miss me. Cho would begin to miss Jimmy when he didn’t show up in Chicago, but it would take days for anyone to classify me as missing. I couldn’t contact Mom. If I could, she couldn’t help. Screwed, I began to cry.

“Hello.” Trisha said
, bursting into the room. She carried a tray full of food.

“Where am I?” I
demanded.

“
Nowhere.”

“People will
look for me.”

“I don’t think so. Cassandra Williams no longer exists.”

“What?” I asked. “I exist and I am here, wherever
here
is!”

“No, Cassandra Williams died in a terrible car accident. It is happening as we speak.
You’re nobody and you’re nowhere,” Trisha said.

My heart sank.
If everyone thought I died, then no one would look for me. “You and your church will not get away with this!”

Trisha turned on me. “We’
re not part of any church. Those mindless idiots couldn’t catch their asses with both hands.” She sat the tray down on the table. “Eat! You need food for these pills.” She held up a little cup.

“
I’m not taking drugs,” I said.

“We can do this the easy way or we can do it the hard way.” Trisha seethed.

“I’ll handle this, Trisha.” A man said from the doorway.
     Trisha turned and averted her eyes. “Master, I didn’t see you come in.”

I studied the man. He had long brown hair, bright green eyes, and big dimples. He almost looked like the Caucasian version of Jimmy. He wore a simple vest that accented his muscular arms, and European cut pants that were slightly baggy. If
not for being held captive and terrified, I’d probably give this guy more than a passing glance. “Cassandra.” The man flashed a dimpled smile. “May I call you Cassie?” I shrugged in indifference. “Cassie, it is so good to finally meet you.” The man spoke slow and deliberate to calm me. “Let’s sit and talk.”

“Where am I?” I asked. “Who the hell are you?”

“I’ll answer all of your questions, but let’s sit and eat.” The man put his hand in the small of my back and pushed me to the table. His touch felt unusually hot. I hadn’t noticed before, but I wore a silky night gown. My hair had been plaited into a long braid. I smelled the braid. I hadn’t showered in the morning, but now my hair was clean. It smelled like honey suckle.
These bastards stripped me, and bathed me while I was comatose!
“Where are my clothes?” I asked. “What did you do to me?”

The man raised his hand. “I swear you were not violated while you were unconscious.” The man smiled.
He had an alarming smile. I thought Cho was scary; this guy scared the hell out of me. “Only women prepared you for me.”

“Prepared me for you?” I asked.

“Let’s back up,” the man said. “I’m Aziel. You can call me Z. Everyone else does.” Z pulled out a chair and pushed me into it. “Let us eat as I explain the situation.” I looked at the tray. It had two plates. The food looked and smelled mouthwatering. Each plate had a big juicy steak, baked potato, and small side of greens. My stomach growled, but I didn’t trust this food. It looked too tempting. It was probably drugged. “It’s not drugged,” Z said, reading my mind. “See.” He cut a piece from both steaks and put them in his mouth.

“Why am I here?” I asked.

“You’re a very special guest.”

“I don’t feel like a guest, more like a prisoner.”

“You’re a guest and you’ll be freed, if you accept the terms of my offer.”

“What if I don’t accept?” I asked.

“If you don’t accept willingly, then you won’t leave until I have what I want.”

“What is it that you want?” I asked.

“You haven’t heard my offer yet.”

“Then tell me.” I
couldn’t leave, so I might as well indulge him.

“
You’re a special person, Cassie,” Z said. “I’ve been watching you for weeks. I know your mother too, that woman is quite the handful.”

“My mother is dead
,” I said. “You couldn’t possibly…” Z smiled as I realized. This man was either not from my world, or like Jimmy.

“Who are you?” I asked.

Z flashed a big smile. “I told you my name is Aziel.”