Night Lover
by Lacey Diamond
SMASHWORDS EDITION
* * * * *
PUBLISHED BY:
Lacey Diamond on Smashwords
Copyright © 2006 by Lacey Diamond
Originally Published by New Concepts Publishing-November, 2006 as Stranger In The Night
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
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Also by Lacey Diamond
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Slow Hand
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Chapter One
“There! Oh yeah, faster. Bite it...”
His tongue licked the bud of Kim’s right nipple. Ten fingertips kneaded the breast. Without warning, his lips slithered down her belly, simultaneous with a middle and index finger plunging inside her.
“Yes...” Kim screamed as her hips jerked off the mattress. When his lips gripped her clit, she arched further upward trying to fight the climax. Kim wanted the incredible sensation to last forever. But another powerful ram with the fingers, lips suctioned fast to the clit, and she exploded.
“I’m coming!”
The eruption shook her from sleep. Her eyelids flickered before fully opening to the darkened bedroom. His masculine scent continued to intoxicate her as she sat up, swinging long slender legs over the edge of the bed. She sobered quickly when the night air coming from her open bedroom windows smacked against her nakedness.
Shivering, she crossed her arms over her chest and stumbled into the adjoining bathroom. Staring at her image in the medicine cabinet mirror, reality hit hard. Kim tried to ignore the way her nipples stood erect and swollen from all the sucking and touching. Her dark hair lay in a tangled mess around her shoulders. Sky blue eyes glared at her reflection with determination.
“He’s not real. You were dreaming again,” she said and grabbed a wash cloth from the towel rack to cool herself.
* * * *
“He came again last night,” Kim told Jill Dawson, her best friend since kindergarten, who had seen her through a few heartbreaks over the years. The most recent was the worst since it came with a marriage that ended a year later after a hellish divorce.
Kim doubted she’d have survived her husband’s decision to dump her so he could re-unite with his ex-wife without Jill’s words of encouragement. Jill had talked about her opinion of marriage, which was anything but positive, and how wonderful the single life was for her. She’d reminded Kim of all the fun they’d had together before she took up with Jonathan and made the regrettable decision to marry the cheating, self-centered jerk.
They were seated at a window table in the café where they’d been meeting for lunch once a week since Kim had returned to town. Kim looked forward to the weekly face-to-face with Jill after spending the past year communicating strictly by phone or email.
Jill twisted her gloss-covered lips before she spoke. “Kimberly Marks, all these sexy dreams tell me you’ve been spending way too much time alone in that spooky house.” She flicked an auburn curl behind an ear that glittered from diamond studs along the outer edge. “You only leave long enough to make quick trips to the store.”
Remodeling her house and trying to run a new business out of it left little time for much else. But Kim always made time for Jill and quickly reminded her of that. “Not true. I meet you for lunch. And--”
“That’s only because I insisted we meet here, instead of there. You know that house gives me the creeps.”
Kim grinned. “Does that mean you won’t be dropping by to check out what I’ve done to the downstairs rooms?”
Jill plopped the straw she’d been chewing on into her empty glass and glared at Kim. “Tell you what. You come out with me Saturday night to meet some real men and I’ll come have a look, provided it’s during the day. You couldn’t pay me enough to come at night.”
Kim frowned. “I know it’s more than the rumors floating around town about my house being haunted that has you so spooked. Something happened to you inside my house. So when are you going to tell me about it?”
“Pick me up at eight and we can--”
“Jill, answer my question.”
The green of her eyes darkened as she glared at Kim. “I’m not ready to talk about it.”
Trying to shake the eerie sensation snaking through her, Kim said, “I’m here when you are.”
On the verge of tears, Jill nodded, then snatched her purse from the next seat as she stood. “I need to get back to work. See you Saturday.”
Kim shivered as her friend rushed off. They had no secrets from each other, except this one thing. She took a sip of water while her thoughts raced. Maybe the rumors floating around town were true. Could Kim’s house be haunted? Had Jill encountered a ghost? If so, then why hadn’t Kim seen one? She was no expert, but thought ghosts made themselves visible if they were in a house. Kim couldn’t recall a single unexplainable sound or movement during the day or night since she’d moved into the historic Victorian, perched elegantly on the hilltop at the edge of town.
She glanced around the café. The two male customers seated at the counter were busy eating and the couple at the corner booth only had eyes for each other. No one saw the goose bumps beginning to dot her bare arms when her thoughts of what could’ve happened to Jill inside her house sent icy chills through her. Something had terrified her so badly that she couldn’t even talk about it. Dwelling on it wasn’t going to give Kim answers. Jill was the only one who could tell Kim what had actually happened.
Kim paid the bill and headed for her car. The afternoon sun sent warmth through her for about thirty seconds before the coldness returned.
“There’s no such thing as ghosts,” she said repeatedly on the short drive home. But no matter how many times she said it, she was still doubtful. She parked in front of the three-story Victorian and remained behind the steering wheel. The sun faded and chipping paint did give the magnificently sculptured structure a creepy appearance. But the new color planned as a fall project would change that and quiet all those rumors. “At least one can hope,” she mumbled and headed inside.
She’d finished painting the downstairs rooms a week ago, but the smell lingered. After going from room to room raising windows to freshen the air, she fixed a glass of iced tea and carried it to the front room she’d turned into an office. Kim smiled as she situated herself behind the long antique dining room table that served as her desk, her work station where she planned to make an honest living designing Websites for authors and publishers. In just six weeks she’d snagged a dozen clients. If things continued at this pace, her dream job of being a self-employed business woman could continue.
After the divorce Kim had fled the city, vowing never to return. The settlement money she had received had afforded her the opportunity for a fresh start just about anywhere. But she had headed for the place she thought she had the best chance to heal emotionally, the small town in central Pennsylvania where she had grown up. She had moved in with her parents and would still be living with them if she hadn’t seen the ‘for sale’ sign in front of the big old house on the hill. She’d admired the place since childhood and was determined to make it hers.
She had her grandmother to thank for her fascination with the house. It all began the night before her grandmother passed away. Kim was barely six and had a stomach ache and fever. She had crawled into her grandmother’s lap for comfort and her grandmother had told her the fairytale that made her forget she was sick. It was such a wonderful story that she thought of it every time she was sick since that night. She had listened to her grandmother tell how the poor sickly little girl had become well the day a handsome young boy took her by the hand and guided her to the magical house set way on top of a hill. There, she’d never be sick again and would live happily ever after with the young boy who would become her Prince Charming.
The first time Kim had noticed the house on the hill was after attending her grandmother’s funeral. The magical house of her grandmother’s fairytale was real.
“At least it will be after a little tender loving care,” she said the day she spotted the ‘for sale’ sign.
“You’ve gone and lost your mind if you think I’m showing you that house,” Jill told Kim the day she walked into Jill’s real estate office and requested she give her a tour of the property.
“If you don’t want to show it to me, then I’ll buy it without seeing the inside.”
“That would be unethical, Kimberly.”
Kim shrugged bony shoulders. “Then I guess I need to see it.”
Jill tapped the tip of her pen on the desktop several times before letting it fall from her fingers. “I’ll have one of my agents give you a walk-through.”
The minute Kim stepped inside the house she fell in love with it. The stained ceilings and walls from leaky water pipes could be repaired and made to look new. The hand-carved woodwork and wood floors would polish to their original shine. Gazing up the winding stairway in the front foyer with its beautiful railing, she was reminded of the image of Prince Charming proudly carrying his princess.
Her computer finished loading. Time to work. She’d decided if she was to make a success of being self-employed, she needed to stick to a schedule. Five days a week the morning hours were spent working on refurbishing the house. Afternoons and evenings were to be devoted to building her business. Weekends were for everything else. Anticipation of the weekend ahead kept Kim from work a few minutes longer.
A twinge of excitement tickled her belly as she thought about the night on the town with Jill. Kim hadn’t dated since before her marriage. She hadn’t given another guy more than a quick glance since Jonathan, except for her nameless and faceless night visitor. She had never believed another man could satisfy her sexual hunger like Jonathan had until this stranger began invading her sleep.
She licked her lower lip and closed her eyes, willing her subconscious to give her a glimpse of him. When she inhaled deeply the same masculine scent from the night before drifted up her nostrils. With that wonderful smell a magnificently sculptured frame began taking shape. His muscled chest and washboard waist glistened with perspiration. Kim bit down hard on her lower lip as his cock came into view. The throbbing rod began expanding and expanding...
“Ouch,” she yelled when her teeth clamped down hard enough to draw blood.
She blinked several times before she had a steady vision of her surroundings. The monitor in front of her beckoned her to work.
“But I need to see his face,” she said out loud and once again closed her eyes.
Nothing but darkness came to her, no matter how much she willed herself to see more. A few more seconds and she opened her eyes.
Short black hair, perfectly rounded cheekbones set high beneath royal blue eyes held her captive before he faded into the greenery on her monitor. “What the hell,” she gasped, releasing the firm hold on her breath. She jumped up, walked around her chair, and plopped back down in front of the monitor. Nothing there but the forest of trees she used as a screensaver.
Chapter Two
Kim ended her fantasizing and got to work. Hours later, she wondered if her client would approve of the Website she’d just applied the finishing touches to. She didn’t expect a response from him for a day or two. In the meantime, she would begin redesigning another client’s site.
“But that job can wait until tomorrow,” she said, yawning and stretching as she stood.
A quick snack, hot bath, and she’d call it a day. The thought of skipping both and heading straight to bed crossed her mind, until another thought struck. What if he decided to pay a visit tonight? She didn’t want hunger pains to diminish the pleasure of his touch. Plus, if her skin smelled of lavender and tasted sweet he’d want to take his time with her.
Thoughts of his visit swirled inside Kim’s head as she slid between the sheets. She became wet just thinking about his lips and tongue caressing every inch of her before his huge cock slid inside her dripping cunt.
Repetitive chirping outside the bedroom windows slowly roused Kim from sleep. Squinting from the morning sunlight flooding into her room, she pulled herself free of the sheet twisted around her and slowly raised on an elbow. Once her vision cleared she spotted the birds lining the tree branch.
“For Pete’s sake guys, you sound like a bunch of gossiping old hens. Couldn’t you do your chatting outside someone else’s window?”
The birds turned up the volume and Kim gave up and flopped back on one of the pillows and used the other to cover her face. A second later she tossed it away and rolled to her side, grabbing for the phone on the nightstand.
After three rings she heard Jill grumble. “This better be an emergency.”
“He didn’t come.”
“Kim...”
“He didn’t come last night, Jill.”
“The important thing is, did you?”
Her soft chuckle echoed in Kim’s ear as she shot to the edge of the bed, frustrated. “I mean he never showed himself. I went to bed early anticipating a visit once I dozed off. But he didn’t come.”
“Calm down, honey.”
“What if it’s over? What if he never comes back?”
“Kimberly Marks, listen to what you’re saying? You’re getting all worked up about a guy who doesn’t exist. He’s just someone you dreamt up.”
Silence.
“Kim...”
“I’m here. It’s just--”
“Tell you what, I know it’s only Thursday, but what do you say we get an early start painting the town? Tonight, they serve chicken wings during happy hour at the Magnolia Hotel. The place will be hopping. It’ll give you a chance to mingle with a few studs before we hit the clubs Saturday. Okay?”
More silence.
“I’ll pick you up.”
“I really shouldn’t. I have a lot of work to do and--”
“Eight o’clock okay?”
“You aren’t going to take no for an answer, are you?”
“No.”
“Will you be coming inside?” Kim finally said with a giggle.
“Smart ass. I’ll be parked outside at eight sharp.”
A smile played around the corners of Kim’s full lips when she hung up the receiver. If it was to be a night on the town, morning and afternoon would be spent at the computer, she decided as she headed into the bathroom.
Splashing cold water in her face didn’t get the adrenaline flowing. “A shot of coffee will do the trick,” she said to her reflection in the medicine cabinet mirror.
It took a second cup of the strong brew before she eased into her desk chair, determined to keep her mind on work instead of her night lover.
By four o’clock she’d finished the difficult Website she’d spent the day working on. Famished since she hadn’t taken time for lunch, she shut down the computer and headed for the kitchen. After rummaging through the refrigerator and finding nothing that appealed to her appetite, she pulled a TV dinner from the freezer and popped it into the microwave.
Her mouth watered for one of her mom’s home-cooked meals. But it would be another week before she could have one since her parents were spending the month visiting her brother in Oregon. Times like this she wished she’d spent more time in the kitchen learning some of her mom’s secret recipes.
“The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” Kim repeated words said by her mom more than once when she had tried to talk her into helping prepare a family meal. Kim didn’t buy it then, but thought her mom might’ve been onto something ever since Jonathan told her he wanted a divorce so he could remarry his first wife, the gourmet cook.
He had known Kim couldn’t cook when he married her. But it was a better excuse for wanting out of the marriage than the truth. Telling a judge he preferred screwing around over being faithful to one woman wasn’t going to win him points in the divorce settlement. But confessing that he missed his first wife’s cooking and was still in love with her might. Kim was thankful that Jonathan’s story didn’t work for the judge, and she got everything she asked for in the settlement. Jonathan’s reunion with his ex was a joke in Kim’s eyes. She knew the home-cooked meals weren’t going to keep him from sniffing around for another bedroom playmate. Her biggest regret before saying ‘I do’ was not realizing he was such a cheating rat.
“Saved by the bell,” Kim said when the microwave dinged. If a man only wanted her for a home-cooked meal, he wasn’t worth having. At least that’s what she kept telling herself every time the thought of taking cooking classes crept into her mind.
By seven o’clock she’d eaten, showered, dressed and debated how to spend the next hour before Jill arrived. Instead of booting up the computer to squeeze in more work, she headed for the front porch swing.
A gentle breeze made the high humidity bearable as Kim glided back and forth. Before long she closed her eyes. Her thoughts drifted to him almost immediately. If she allowed herself to doze off, would he come? Would those luscious lips glide from her throat to her breasts, then downward to suck on her clit?
She began squirming in her seat. Her cunt readied itself for his thick cock, pounding inside her until she couldn’t hold back any longer and her body shook from the final burst of electrifying pleasure.
The sound of the phone snapped Kim from fantasyland. Grumbling, she hurried inside and had the receiver in her hand after the third ring.
“Hello.”
“You sound out of breath,” Jill said.
“I was outside.”
“You ready to go?”
Kim glanced at the kitchen clock. “It’s only seven thirty.”
“My last client just cancelled. So I thought I’d see if you wanted to go a little early.”
“Sure.”
Chapter Three
Kim climbed up into the passenger’s seat of the SUV to the sound of Jill scolding a sales associate on her cell phone. Once she’d finished, she glanced over at Kim and gasped. “Wow, you look hot.”
Kim’s mouth opened to protest, but ended up closing into a sly grin as she clicked on the seatbelt. The black spaghetti straps holding up her silk top did look sexy on her bare shoulders. Her beige skirt had crept up around the top of her thighs when she sat down. But when she stood, the hemline only rose about six inches above the knee. In Kim’s eyes just long enough to make her appear respectable.
“Damn, I admit I’m horny as hell. I feel like I haven’t been with a guy in months.”
“You haven’t,” Jill reminded. Kim opened her mouth to protest, but Jill didn’t give her the chance. “The guy in your dreams doesn’t count.”
Jill reached down and cranked up the volume on the radio before Kim had a chance to respond. The short drive to the refurbished hotel in the center section of the college town ended before either spoke again.
Kim followed Jill into the entrance of the building. A combination of laughter and chatter echoed from the barroom, sending a thrill of excitement through Kim. Jill led the way into the crowd. Kim couldn’t help but notice the way her friend’s hips kept knocking against male butts as she worked her way to an empty booth at the end of the bar.
“Can you tell school’s back in session?” Jill remarked as her gaze swept around the room before landing on the guy at the other end of the bar. “I think I’ll bring that one along home tonight.”
“I outgrew college boys a few years ago, Jill.”
A waitress had made her way to their booth, blocking Jill’s view of the guy. Kim saw the irritation in her friend’s face. But Jill gave the young woman, probably a college student as well, her order followed with a pleasant smile.
Kim placed her order for a half dozen wing-dings, agreeing to share a pitcher of beer with Jill, and the waitress took off, giving Jill a clear view again of the hunk at the other end of the bar.
“You’re drooling,” Kim said in hopes of gaining Jill’s attention.
It took a few seconds before she glanced in Kim’s direction. “I can’t help it. I need to get laid myself. It’s been weeks and the old vibrator just isn’t the same as the real McCoy.”
Kim giggled. “You have one of those things?”
“Not just one, dear.”
Kim burst out laughing. When she regained her composure, she spotted him. He took up the entire doorway, the entire room. The sound of her heart pounding feverishly overpowered the voices around her. She didn’t notice Jill glancing over her shoulder to see what had caught her full attention.
“I must admit you’ve got an eye for the ones hung like a horse. He doesn’t even have a hard on and his crotch is bulging.”
“It’s him,” Kim finally said, releasing the firm hold on her breath.
“Who’s him?”
“Him,” Kim declared. “My night lover.”
Jill gave the tall, dark and handsome hunk in the doorway another quick glance, then steadied her gaze on Kim. “You saw him?”
“He’s looking at me,” Kim said, focusing on the tabletop before daring a peek in his direction.
“Kimberly, you actually saw his face in your dreams?”
“Oh no,” Kim shouted and slid to the edge of her seat about to jump up when the waitress stepped in front of her.
“Here you go girls,” she said, placing the pitcher of beer and two mugs on the center of the tabletop.
Jill thanked her, but Kim just wanted her to move so she could get up. The second her path cleared, she shot to her feet and took one giant step forward when Jill’s hand clamped around her wrist.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Motioning toward the doorway, Kim said, “I’m going after him.”
Jill retained her firm grip, while her cat eyes glared. “You can’t follow him. I won’t let you.”
“Let go of me,” Kim demanded, jerking her arm back.
“Not until you promise you won’t run out that door.”
Kim continued to hold her friend’s sharp gaze, but the fire in her eyes smoldered when she saw the genuine fear in Jill’s eyes. “What’s the matter with you?”
“If I let go, will you sit back down?”
“But he’ll be gone and--”
“Please, Kim?”
Jill’s fingers eased from around Kim’s wrist. “I’m ready to tell you why I won’t go into your house.”
Her words sent shockwaves through Kim. No matter how hard she’d tried to get the story from her before, she’d refused. So why now?
Chapter Four
Kim eased back into her seat, glaring at Jill, who lowered her gaze to the mug of beer she gripped in both hands.
“I’m waiting,” Kim insisted.
Jill tilted the mug to her lips and took a huge swallow. She dared a peek at Kim as she lowered her drink. “The people who owned the house before you needed a house sitter for a few days. I volunteered for the job with the promise they’d list the property with me if they ever decided to sell.” She took another gulp of beer and finally looked into Kim’s eyes. “Now when I think back, I see how blind I was. But I’d just opened my office for business and was willing to do just about anything to get some clients.”
The waitress appeared with their food. She no sooner zipped off and the hunk Jill had been drooling over earlier, stood next to them. His right hand held a half full mug of beer while the left had an unlit cigar between the first two fingers that he waved in front of him when he spoke.
“Would you ladies be willing to allow my friend and me to share your booth?” His dark eyes steadied on Jill the entire time he talked. “Seems there isn’t a vacant seat in the place and...”
Jill scooted toward the wall and he slid in next to her before motioning to the geek hovering a few feet away. If looks could kill, Jill would be dead from the way Kim’s sharp gaze tore into her.
Kim sensed the bean pole next to her but didn’t budge from where she sat near the center of the bench. The instant she saw Jill nod for her to move over she grabbed her purse from the tabletop, reached in for a few bills, tossed them on the table and nudged the skinny guy out of her way as she stood. She refused to look at Jill when she called Kim’s name.
Jill caught up to her as Kim swept out the front door. “What the hell’s the matter with you?”
Kim spun around. “How could you do that?”
“You’re pissed because I didn’t tell them to take a hike? I thought the point of us going out was to get laid?”