The woman sitting across from Kate may bear a striking resemblance to Jenny Fuller, but something about her evokes a strong fear within Kate. For one thing half of the woman's face is rotting off, her hair and nails decaying, then there's the fact she's nothing like the lovely and vibrant human being Kate knew her mom to be. Instead this woman is a corpse, empty and lifeless.
All of a sudden the woman looks up, locks eyes with Kate and there's a fierceness there which is terrifying. Kate wants to walk away but she can't, she doesn't even have the willpower to look away.
"Why are you doing this? This is wrong. Wrong! Don't you know that? What's wrong with you, Kate?"
"What do you mean?" Kate asks, reaching out to hold the woman's hand but the corpse slaps her hand away, as if disgusted by her touch.
"It can never be. It's wrong. Don't you get that?"
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
The words get louder and louder, growing into a chant, echoing throughout the room. The shrill voice is deafening, forcing Kate to cover her ears. "Stop! Please stop. I don't understand what you mean!"
The walls start to bleed, there's blood gushing out of the floor.
One minutes she's cowering in front of her mom's corpse, the next she's floating in a pool. Liquid, red liquid, surrounds her. Blood. She's covered in blood, submerged in it, the taste of it strong in her mouth. She starts choking, screaming for help.
At long last there's a familiar voice in the horizon, yelling her name. She's drowning, he's too far away, but then there's an arm reaching below the water, pulling her to the surface.
It's Richie. He's saving her. But then his face morphs into Seth's.
She's disoriented, confused, clinging to him as he drags her out of the water.
They're no longer by the pool. Instead she finds herself relaxing in a black bikini, lying on the warm sand, under the hot sun, in complete bliss. Seth's grinning down at her, an amused expression covering his beautiful face as he taps her nose.
"Better ways to get my attention than fake a drowning, Princess."
Balancing herself on her elbows, she gives him a soft smile. "I wasn't faking it."
Seth smirks. "Damn fucking right. You'll never have to fake it with me."
"Leave the girl alone, Jackass. Can't you see she's not in the mood?"
Richie's amused voice reaches her ears, and she looks to her right to find him approaching them. He's wearing an easy, cheerful smile that is so unlike him. Her heart starts beating rapidly, her body getting hot under his loving gaze as he draws closer. He looks so different, so normal, in an open shirt and a pair of cargo pants that lay low on his hips. His body is long, lean, athletic, and her gaze is automatically drawn to the contours of his abs, the way his hip bones taper into a V-shape. That oh-so-familiar ache returns, the need for something more coursing through her veins.
She finds herself between the brothers, Seth lying down beside her, Richie sitting on the other side of her.
Seth places his hand on her body, his large palm spanning her belly.
"I missed you," she whispers, looking into his warm brown eyes. There is so much love in his gaze and it fills her with warmth, spreading throughout her body like sunshine.
"I know," he whispers.
"Why did you leave?" she probes.
"Because he's a dumb fuck," Richie pipes in.
She locks eyes with Richie. He leans in closer, his lips brushing softly against her own and it's like being struck by lightning. Swift currents of electricity run through her body, growing more intense with every stroke of Seth's hand, every kiss from Richie's lips.
In a blink of an eye Seth is naked, and he's perfect, broad-shouldered, muscular, the black sleeve tattoo a striking contrast against his bronzed skin. She aches to touch him, to kiss him and taste him but he's too busy ripping off her bikini bottoms with his teeth. An incorrigible grin curving his face, he throws the fabric at Richie who catches it effortlessly, slipping it into his back pocket.
Seth's mouth closes over the very intimate parts of her, sucking her, tasting her, his tongue circling around the sensitive nub that seems to be connected to every nerve in her body. He's brutal with his assault, teasing and taunting as she writhes under his touch, screaming for more.
"Once a screamer, always a screamer," Richie whispers. He kisses her with a languid, sensuous intensity that makes her wet.
Guttural moans escape her lips, in response to both their machinations. There are fireworks in the sky, birds chirping loudly. The ocean waves crash against each other, rapid and fervent.
She can't think, can't breathe, pleasure surging through every inch of her.
Richie swallows her groans in his mouth, his tongue playing with hers, making her tremble when his thumb circles her right nipple deliberately slow, squeezing the hardened nub between his fingers.
"No, don't stop," she whispers, breathless, when Richie pulls back, his gaze consuming her. "Please."
Richie's index finger smooths over her bottom lip. "We're not going anywhere, Sweetheart. This is just the beginning."
She takes his finger in her mouth, sucking the digit, licking it with her tongue, and the blues of his eyes darken to match the colour of the ocean next to them.
Suddenly it's night, the sky pitch black. She's still naked, comfortably positioned between the brothers, Seth facing her, Richie behind her. Their arms and legs are all tangled together, melding into one.
"If you had to pick, who would it be?" Seth asks. His hand rests on her waist, his fingers drawing lazy patterns on her skin.
"Really? This shit again?" Richie murmurs, his voice filled with sleep.
She shivers at the delicious sensation of his breath humming against the nape of her neck.
"Kate, don't answer that."
"Richie, don't tell me what to do," she snaps.
Seth chuckles softly, dropping a tender kiss on the tip of her nose. "That's my girl."
She rolls her eyes. "Shut up, Seth."
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed tonight," Richie teases.
She yawns, closing her eyes. "I don't know why you keep asking me the same question, Seth. It's not like my answer's going to be any different. I wouldn't pick Tango or Cash. I haven't watched the movie, remember?"
"You have no idea what you're missing," Seth chastises.
"You're not missing much," Richie says at the same time.
She smiles, slowly nodding off to sleep.
"Hey, Princess," Seth murmurs, his voice a soft whisper in her ear. "Not going to leave us again, are you?"
Her eyes remain closed. "I'm not the one who runs, remember?"
Richie traces the curve of her ear with his tongue, his fingers playing with her hair. "We can't do this without you. You know that, don't you?"
"I love you," she whispers.
Kate wakes up with a start.
At first she's discombobulated, unsure of where she is, why she's naked, why she's alone and then it all comes back to her, a mad rush of unwanted memories flashing through her brain.
Hearing the door, she reaches for the sheets to cover herself.
Richie steps inside, his blank gaze fixated on her. He shuts the door behind him.
"Hi," she says.
He doesn't say anything, simply staring at her for the longest while before drawing closer. There is something malicious in his gaze, it makes her anxious, but she tells herself she's being silly. "Have I been out long?" she asks.
He sits down on one corner of the bed, careful not to make any physical contact. Pulling out a large roll of cash, he drops it by her foot.
"What's this?"
He's cold as ice. "Cash. Moolah. Whatever you want to call it. There's enough here to last you months. Take it and get the fuck out of here."
