“It’s no less than you deserve. You’re an asshole.” He could hear her in the other room but not what was going on. She could have been laughing or crying for all he knew. Turning on the water to as cold as he could get it, he pulled off the condom and dropped it in the toilet. Stepping under the cold spray took his breath away.
He washed himself twice before he turned the water to a much warmer temperature. Then for good measure, he washed his entire body again. As he turned off the water, he thought about taking her against the tile wall and had to put his hand around his cock again or risk hurting himself. Christ, he wasn’t even this horny as a teenager. Steele dressed as slowly as he could, then moved back into the bedroom.
The first thing he noticed was that she was gone. Then he looked around. The bed had been stripped and clean linens were laying at the foot of the bed. The robe she’d had on had been picked up and now lay on the back of the chair near the closet. The condom wrapper had been put in the trash can and other that that, it was as if they’d never had sex in here.
Moving to the large walk-in closet, he opened the door to it and looked at her meager belongings. There were two shirts and a pair of pants. Nothing else. Not even a coat or jacket. The top drawer to the dresser had two pair of panties, a white bra, and a pair of socks. The next drawers were empty. There was a brush in the bathroom, and that was the extent of her personal items in this room. He sat down to pull on his shoes as he wondered what kind of life she’d lived. It must have been sad indeed. He left the room and went back to the office. He had work to do and it wasn’t going to get done mooning over what might have been. Besides, he was afraid if he found her right now, he’d be inside of her before he could get her naked again.
~~~
Izzy told her that dinner would be served at six, and as much as she wanted to skip the meal that would no doubt be some fancy affair, she knew that she’d have to show or he’d hunt her down. It was already in her mind not to be caught with him in a room with a bed again. There lurked pain and humiliation. Instead, she wandered outside and into the dreary day.
The grounds were surrounded by a tall fence. The landscaping made it look very lovely, but she was trapped here no matter how much it was prettied up. As she made her way to the little fenced-in area deeper into the woods, she thought of the man who had taken her in.
She knew who he was now. A quick search on the computer that had been in the kitchen had cleared that up. Kari had also read the papers about everything that had happened to him that day a long time ago. His father had been found guilty of murdering five women and three children, and had killed himself too when he was found out. Steele’s sister had also been killed that day, stepping off the sidewalk into the path of a fast-moving vehicle. The mother had been tried and found guilty of helping her husband murder and dismember the four woman and their bastard children, all of whom were children of the late Mr. Bennett. Kari wondered if Steele had worked for Mr. Hancock before or after that.
“Hello.” She turned to see one of the other men who lived in the house sitting by a large tree. “I didn’t want you to be frightened if you saw me first. I’m Mitch.”
“Kari.” He nodded and she looked at the small cemetery that the fence surrounded. “Is his family here?”
“His sister is. Not his father. I think he’s in a cemetery on the other side of town.” Mitch looked to his left and then back at her. “I’m having a conversation with his long-dead grandmother. She’s not at all happy about the arrangement that you and Steele have yourself in.”
“I’m not all that thrilled about it either.” She thought about having him tell her to mind her own business, but she was only a guest here and needed to stay until she had a job. “You’re all necros, Mr. Hancock said.”
“We are.” She heard the humor but said nothing. If he wanted to make fun of her, then he could damn well enjoy it. “She wants to know if you’re happy.”
“No.” There was no point in lying to them. She’d certainly done so enough to herself lately. “But I need a job and some money before I can move on. And once he’s tired of me, then I should be all right.”
Kari opened the gate and moved into a well-maintained area. There were perhaps fifteen headstones here, all of them made of a light colored marble and each of them the same style and cut as the next one. She stood in front of what she thought was the grave of the woman Mitch was speaking to.
“Her name is Aster, Constance Lilly Aster. I suppose his sister was named for her.” He told her she was right. “My name came from the note that was left with me; my last name, the make of the lawn mower I was found on.”
“You were an orphan then.” She told Mitch she had no idea. “I’m sorry. I assumed since you said you were named from a note that someone had left you somewhere.”