Page 21 of A Storm of Nightmares

I bite my lip, wondering if I should just spill it or if now is not the time. Keith smiles at me. “We don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for. I’m not denying the fact that I find you incredibly sexy, and you sitting on my lap like this turns me on.A lot. But I’m not going to do anything to mess this up. We’ll go at your pace.” God, he’s so sweet. A perfect gentleman. All those high school and college boys can suck it. This is how you treat a woman you want to sleep with.

Leaving my arms around his neck, I look down into my lap. My cheeks are already blushing, and I haven’t even started yet.Alright, just rip off the band-aid. With a deep breath, I begin. “I think I’m ready for this. I know that I want this. It’s just that I’d like to talk first, maybe.” I finally force my eyes to look up and, much to my surprise, Keith is still smiling at me.

“Talk about what? I’m all ears.”

“Um... well, our first time will be myfirst time. Ever. So, I guess I just thought you should know.” Embarrassment is spreading through my veins like a wildfire. I feel overheated, so I climb off Keith’s lap and back into my own chair. A gorgeous, sexy man like this has undoubtedly been with a handful of women, at least. The only experience I have is what I’ve read in romance novels, and I never got into the super descriptive ones.

“Are you sure you want to take that step with me?” Keith asks, his pristine blue eyes never leaving mine.

“I’m sure,” I answer quietly.

Keith’s smile grows even bigger, and he takes my hand in his. “I’m glad you trust me with your first time, Kat. You didn’t have to tell me, but I’m happy you did. And like I said, we’ll go at your pace.” He leans in and kisses me sweetly.

“But I don’t think I want to do it in here,” I add quickly, so he doesn’t get excited over something that’s not going to happen yet.

He laughs and shakes his head like what I just said is absurd. “Oh, Kat. I wouldn’t dream of it.” He pauses, and after a moment to think, a smirk creeps onto his handsome face. “Actually, I would. But not for your first time. This dingy room isn’t worthy of you in that way. I don’t want you thinking about security or Rick or anything like that when you reminisce about how good I was your first time.” Keith shoots me a seductive smile, and my stomach does a backflip. There he goes again, making me melt.

My mind starts imagining having sex with him. This perfect specimen in front of me, with his bright blue eyes, face scruff, and chiseled abs. If I’m locked in this room much longer, I may change my mind about where I want to do it.

As if fate decides to intervene before my resolve is completely worn down, Keith’s phone starts ringing. Its loud ring tone is enough to break me out of my thoughts for now. Keith pulls his phone out of his pocket and answers it without looking at the caller ID. Instead, his eyes are on me. He smiles his panty-dropping smile at me before speaking into the receiver.

“This is Keith.” He says in a serious tone. He’s clearly all-business now.

...

“How did that happen?”

...

“How do I stop it from happening again?” His voice is slowly getting louder, tenser. It’s evident he’s angry and only getting worse by the second. He stands from the table, his metal chair making an awful screeching sound against the floor, and raises his finger to me to indicate he needs a minute.

Keith is pacing the room, listening attentively to whoever is on the other end. He runs his fingers through his hair. “Were you able to pick up anything before the signal went down? I need to know if someone is lurking around my property.”

...

“It’s not me I’m worried about! I have a... a guest.A woman.I need to know if she’s in any kind of danger being here.”

...

“Alright, thank you. Call me as soon as you know.” The call ends, and Keith sits back down next to me with a huff. Gone is the sexy, playful Keith. Sitting in front of me is serious, scary, ex-cop Keith. “The security company says someone must have hacked into the camera system and put them on a loop so they could sneak by unnoticed. I’m sure it’s Rick. You said he’s basically a tech genius, right?”

“Um, yes. So he could still be here?” A chill runs down my spine.

Keith nods but doesn’t say anything more on the topic. From what I heard of that conversation, I take it we’ll be waiting in this stupid room even longer now.

I decide to give my butt a break and stand up from the chair. I pace around the table a couple of times until I catch Keith’s gaze. Maybe I’m being annoying, but frankly, I can’t just sit in here all day with nothing to do and no comfortable furniture. I eye the wall of monitors and wonder if any of them double as a TV. I don’t see a remote laying around anywhere, though.

At this rate, we’ll be sleeping together just to pass the time. I giggle at my thought. What have I become? I just can’t think straight so close to Keith. “I have to pee,” I blurt out before I can stop myself. I mean, it’s kind of true, but mostly I just need to get out of this damn room and stretch my legs. And I need a second to myself, away from Keith and his gorgeous face and delectable scent.

Keith hesitates for a minute but then nods and gets up to unlock the door for me. He stops right in front of me before reaching the keypad. “I’ll come with you. We have to be fast. Unless you’re alright sitting in here alone while I search for Rick?”

“Absolutely not. I’m going insane in here. If you weren’t in here with me, I think I’d curl up in a ball and die of boredom.” I sag my shoulders and tilt my head back like a three-year-old about to throw a temper tantrum. “My headstone would read ‘Here Lies Katherine Bowers Who Died A Slow, Boring Death.’ I’m not even kidding.”

Keith just grins and nods and then walks the rest of the way over to the door. He pushes in his secret code, and the device buzzes at him. He tries again and gets the same result. I hear him mutter some choice words under his breath. He tries once more, and this time the security’s female voice sounds through the room, except something’s not right. “I warned you. There’s no escaping me.” I feel chilled to the bone at the words. I know they’re from Rick somehow. My knees give out, and I drop to the ground, cradling my face in my hands to hide the tears already spilling.

“Motherfucker!” Keith slams his fist into the keypad. He tries the door handle with no luck. He starts kicking and banging on the door, but nothing is working. We’re trapped in here. I sob even harder, and that seems to get Keith’s attention. The next thing I know, he’s on the ground, and he’s scooped me into his lap. He wraps his arms around me tightly and kisses my head. “Hey, hey, take a deep breath, Kat. I’m going to figure this out. Rick will not come near you.”

“How are we supposed to get out of here? We’re going to starve. We’re going to die in this stupid fucking room!” I’m vaguely aware of how harsh my words sound, but I can’t control myself. All I can think about is being trapped.

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