“These have been reviewed to death, Mike. We are not going to find anything else here until we find the connecting piece that brings all of these loose ends together.” Liz sighed about two hours later, rubbing her eyes and feeling the exhaustion catching up to her.
“We need to talk to that kid. That’s got to be where the answer is going to come from. Let’s go now and get lunch on the way back.” Mike said standing up.
“I’m not hungry, but yeah let’s go.” Liz followed him. She felt nauseous over the entire case. The Photographer was watching her and Kate seemingly at all times. Who knows who else he was watching or where he was but he had the upper hand and Liz did not like that.
~~~~
Kate yawned and stretched in their bed then turned over to look at Derrick dozing beside her. She loved that they were going to be living together and even though she wasn’t fully moved in yet, she already felt more at home here than she had ever felt in her own apartment. With Derrick here, there was a reason to come home and a reason to smile every time she heard the front door open.
It had been quite some time since she had been able to smile like that. It had been several weeks since her attack and she knew her case was still top priority, but Kate lost a little more hope every day that went by. She was getting to the point where she wasn’t sure it would ever be solved and now that The Photographer was tracking her around, she clung to Derrick’s side for protection.
The odd thing is that she was able to push it out of her mind, pretend that it wasn’t happening. She was able to pretend that threatening pictures weren’t showing up in her dresser or on her car. She was even pretending that there was not a murdering psychopath following her around.
Kate was so emotionally tired from her harrowing few weeks, she just couldn’t think about it anymore. She focused on Derrick instead and how excited she was to move in together and to be engaged. A secret engagement, the thought of it excited her. There was something clandestine and taboo about it that made it that much more appealing. Her life had been laid bare for the world to see but now Derrick had given her something private, something that was just theirs. It was the greatest gift that he could have given her.
She was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to have him that she couldn’t help herself and had to wake him up. With a few small kisses to his cheek and down his jaw, she softly roused him as she curled herself up against his side and slid her hand down his smooth, muscular chest. She easily found what she was looking for and with only a little teasing, Derrick was wide awake and flipping her over, grinning at her.
Already having stripped off each others’ clothes, Derrick kissed her fiercely but passionately as he pressed his body down on top of her and she pulled him into her. Their lips locked and her hands slipped around his back, pulling him against her, wanting him to be as much a part of her as possible. She wanted to breathe him, feel him, and be one with him. He was eager to please and followed her lead as she pushed him off her and took control. She climbed onto his firm body and took what she wanted, which was exactly what he wanted too.
After some time, Kate fell down onto the mattress next to Derrick and exhaled, attempting to slow her ragged breath. Derrick couldn’t move, his eyes closed, as he just focused on everything his body was feeling and every delicious pulsing sensation. He reached one hand over and grabbed hers and the couple just lay there, naked and sweaty, holding hands.
“You should definitely wake me up that way every morning.” Derrick said to her, flashing his boyish grin at her as he turned his head to the side to look at her. She smiled and rolled her eyes at him, playfully swatting him on his chest as she finally sat up and climbed out of bed to start her day.
“Where are you going?” Derrick asked her, leaning up on his elbows.
“I have to get ready for work, silly. You should too, don’t you think?” Kate said to him as she pulled some clothes out of her dresser.
“Uhm, babe, you quit your job yesterday.” Derrick looked at her with a puzzled look. She turned around and looked at him, realizing he was right. She didn’t know why she had completely forgotten. She wondered what that meant, maybe she was just feeling so normal again that work seemed like the natural fit.
“Well, looks like I don’t have a reason to get out of bed today then. You better call in sick.” She smiled at him, pulled her shirt off over her head and bounced back into bed, tackling him. He grabbed her and rolled with her so she was in his arms and he was leaning over her.
“Oh, yeah, I can definitely feel a nasty fever coming on. It’s going to get really hot in here.” Derrick smiled at her, chuckling and then kissing her gently, soft pecks down her neck. Quickly, he turned to nibbling and slightly firmer pressure, pulling her against him and leaving no room for imagination. She was his and he was hers and they were open books that only the other one knew the key to open.