Tick. Tick. Tick. The nondescript clack of the clock was the only thing breaking the heavy silence. It pressed closer to me, overwhelming and ringing like a thousand church bells. I looked drunkenly at my clock, which read 12:01 p.m. Lunchtime. My stomach bellowed, screaming and growling agonizingly in starvation. I had been in complete lockdown for three days. I sniffed, imagining myself holding a stacked, juicy burger and a Diet Coke. I could almost smell the grease…but, I could smell it. This is it, I thought in despair, a sinking feeling growing in my stomach. I'm hallucinating. It's all over. Bang! I spun around to face my window, and in the darkness of the drawn blinds, I could see a dense, shadowy figure swing up the window and make their way slowly towards me. Fighting back a scream, I grabbed my pencil box off my desk and lunged at the figure, beating it over the head with my weapon. Their voice turned all my limbs to Jell-o and I collapsed as it pushed me upright.
"Damn it, Madi, that hurt." Duke said with a shaky laugh, rubbing the bruises on his head and shoulders from my beating. He looked around my room quickly. "Pack your bag. We're getting the hell out of here."
"Oh, oh…" I moaned, running at Duke and kissing his bruises. "I knew you'd come back," I whispered to his shirt. "Oh, thank God. I knew it." I tried to walk, but my legs were still in shock. I sank onto my bed.
"I'll pack your bags," Duke said, running to the door and picking the lock with one swift motion with a bent paper clip. "Do you need to do anything before we go?"
"Pee!" I cried desperately, and as I flew from the room I heard Duke laugh, "My Madi…"
"So where are we going exactly?" I questioned later as I sat in the airport, waiting for a plane to who knows where.
"South Texas," Duke answered me with a slight smile. "My parents have a beach house down there from when I was little. We'll go there before we decide what to do." Ugh. We had to tackle this mystery, and that was the idea that quickly hollowed out my stomach.
"Gate 3-C to Texas, now boarding," the bored flight attendant announced over the intercom.
"Let's go," Duke said with a slight smile as he led me onto the plane and down the cramped aisle. We had two isolated seats in the very last row. There were about ten more people on this flight, but all in business class, so we had this half of the plane to ourselves. I sat down and adjusted myself so I was facing Duke, and he caught my hand with his and sat in silence. The blue plush seat was very comfortable; the soft velvet of the cushion sank just the right amount. I leaned my head against the cool leather of the perfectly stuffed headrest and closed my eyes. The only quirk was the seat was very large and could fit about two people of my size, and I think Duke realized this too because he was eying me slyly and gave a short raise of his eyebrows. I giggled and Duke's hand tightened on mine, and he leaned over to plant a kiss on my neck and I shivered delightedly, but I was cold too, and the empty space on my seat didn't help much. By this time the plane had risen and Duke called for an attendant to come give me a blanket. I was still cold even with this extra heat, so Duke lifted me gently and lowered me across his lap where I snuggled closer to him, and he ran his nose up and down my hair smoothly. Better get comfortable, I thought drowsily. There's a long flight ahead of us…
The next thing I knew, I was blinking into the harsh sunlight of the South Texas coast. The doors of the bedroom of the beach house were propped open and the breeze whipped my hair around my face like a lion's mane. Realizing I was alone, I sat up hurriedly and looked around for Duke's perfect figure. Just as I was going to call his name, he stepped through the doors and into the bedroom, clad only in low-rise swim trunks, his muscles rippling with every twitch of his limbs. He grinned at me and I looked down, discovering I was only wearing a silky nightgown that would put any respectable woman to shame. He laughed at my face and pointed me toward my suitcase, asking if I wanted any help dressing. I stuck my tongue out at him and he ducked back out the door. Skipping over to my suitcase, I decided to wear a swimsuit, since that was obviously the appropriate attire. I grimaced as I pulled, one by one, skimpy bikinis in every color out of my bag and thought vaguely weather he had a membership at Victoria's Secret. When I went into the bathroom and shimmied out of my nightgown, a smile twitched at my lips, and I felt like I should do this properly. I chose the scantiest of them all and headed through the backdoor, careful to place a sexy smile on my lips before I saw him. I slinked onto the patio, and his eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. Closing the final distance between us, I stood on my tiptoes as my tongue snaked into his mouth. His hands started at my waist and gently slid around my hips and over my butt, his features grinning wickedly. My stomach growled low and fierce, and the spell was broken. Placing my hands on his chest, I firmly disconnected his face from mine, and he moaned in protest. Rolling my eyes, I danced over to the table to eat, and smoothly whispered, "Later," in his ear, dragging my hand over his chest as I passed. His eyes shone with a secretive, mischievous light to them and he grinned, following me over to the table to eat.
"So, why are we in Texas again?" I asked Duke, lounging on the bed as he bent over the computer.
"Simple," he answered me, then continued. "See, Coshell was a History teacher before she was an English teacher. That's important. I found out that she took a trip to Texas last year to visit a Comanche Indian tribe that her grandfather knew, or something."
"Wait," I cut in. "How did you find out she went to Texas last year? And how do you know what she did?"
Duke grinned slyly. "It's amazing what school files can reveal if you know what to look for."
"You moron!!!!!!!" I yelled at him, whacking him over the head with the book I was reading while he researched. "Do you know that's against the law?! That you can go to jail? Do you???"
"Damn you, Madi, stop!" he whimpered, protecting his head from my blows. The book fell from my hands as I studied him. He looked like I actually hurt him. I sighed and regret filled my heart like a thousand scalding knives. I reached over to wipe a silent tear from his cheek, but he crossed his arms and spun away from me. He spoke in a low voice, "It's late. You should go to bed." I don't think he realized how much pain he was causing me. His absence was the only thing on this earth I couldn't bear, and now I've gotten him angry because I can't control my temper. In the bathroom, I prepared myself for bed. When I was done, I walked out and I could feel the tension rolling off him. He was still mad. I dragged my unwilling feet over to him, and when he didn't turn, lightly kissed one of the bruises from where I hit him before. I didn't notice them before. Some were tinged with green and healing, but others were more recent, a deep, dark purple. The ice-cold tears that filled my eyes blurred them, and I went to bed, his absence making me shiver. So what if he got to the damned school files? I overreacted. I'm the moron.
"I'm sorry," I whispered softly, but he couldn't hear me over the tapping of the keys as he searched for our attacker.
That night I was completely empty of hope or happiness. Dark dreams raged through my mind under my closed eyelids. I awoke, screaming. Duke was slumped over in the computer chair, fast asleep. He turned when I woke him, eyeing me coldly. I saw him and realized with a pang of guilt why I was having these dreams. I choked as I opened my mouth to speak. His eyes saw my pained expression and softened immediately. He rose and padded across the floor, smoothing back the covers and climbing in next to me. I turned towards him, and the depths of his eyes showed pure, intense agony. Our fight must have hit him as hard as it did me. He wrapped his arms around me and cradled me to his chest. My hands reached up, exploring the bruises I created across his back, careful not to press to hard.
"I'm sorry," I rasped to his chest. "I am so, so sorry…"
"Don't be," he whispered to my hair. "I shouldn't have done it. I knew it was wrong and I did it anyway. You were defending your morals. That's what I love about you…" he planted kisses up and down my neck, across my collarbone and down my chest until he reached the hem of my nightgown. This is where he rested his head, breathing deeply through his nose. I cuddled closer to him, fitting myself into his every curve. His nose gently lifted up the hem of my nightgown. I clamped my hand over it, laughing silently. He took my hand in his big, hot one and placed my hand over his heart, squeezing slightly. Giggling sweetly, I took his head in both my hands and connected my mouth to his, his face wet with sweat that sang to my nostrils. He unlatched my hands from his face and flipped my body over so I could match his curves, his arms making a sling around my waist. He kissed my neck and behind my ear, and I squirmed with laughter and he sighed as my body pressed closer to his. The dark shadows on the door danced with my happiness as we continued blissfully into the night.
I awoke once again, but this time in warm, bubbly happiness. My legs were still tangled with Duke's, his arms around my torso and his hands gently slipping up and down my stomach. I sat up and so did he, grumping in protest and trying to pull me down with him again. I reluctantly got out of bed and adjusted my nightgown, which was twisted around oddly. I looked at Duke wonderingly, but he blushed and looked away, tracing the patterns on the bedspread with his sweaty finger. While he was sweating, I was shivering in the breeze. He stood up, his arms held out to me. He buried his face in my hair and tried to tangle me again in him. I pushed him away and looked him in the eye.
"Shouldn't you be studying Coshell?" I asked drowsily, but I didn't really mean it.
He whispered softly against my skin, his smell wafting under my nose. "To hell with Coshell," he growled and nipped my ear playfully. "We're both here, and you're very, very safe…" I couldn't argue with that, but I had a sinking feeling we should be doing something. "Damn you," he repeated, but this time in awe.
"What?" I asked, giggling slightly, tracing his muscles with my shaking hands.
"You're just so…" he lost his words as his eyes grazed over my body.
"Uh!" I scoffed and swat him playfully. His arms moved to my hips and he swat me back, grinning at the face I made.
"I should get dressed," I thought to myself out loud, and gently pushed Duke away.
"No, you shouldn't," he spoke, softly, slyly, and pulled me back. "In fact, you should cool down…" he trailed off, tilting his head, taking my thin spaghetti strap off my shoulder and let it drop down my arm. I gave a sly smile of my own and lightly kneed him between the legs, and he fell onto the bed, half laughing, half howling. I pounced on top of him, put my nose to his and said, "No, I shouldn't for your sake." Grabbing my suitcase, I pranced into the bathroom, leaving him on the bed grinning after me.
"Why do you do this to me?" he asked later, leaning around me and dipping a chip in salsa.
"Do what?" I laughed, sitting down in a chair for lunch.
"Existing," he answered and looked pointedly at my chest.
"Pig," said playfully, but I ran my fingers through his hair, suggesting my opinion otherwise. "I really think you should do something to learn more about her. I mean, what's with the change of heart?"
"I really don't know," he said, looking at my face. "I mean, I've got a beautiful girl, a nice house, and Mrs. Coshell is nowhere near here. To hell with her, then. I'm safe. And you are most definitely safe," he purred, leaning over to speak in my ear.
"Are you sure? I don't know, I just have this feeling…" I trailed off, wrinkling my brow.
"You're right," he said darkly. "You're not safe…" he jumped over to my chair, leaning over me and tracing a line of soft, wet kisses down to my bikini top, where he kissed the bow on the string and looked up at me, licking his lips. I stood up on my chair, smiling seductively and jumped into his arms. He smiled and swung me around, holding my rear and rubbing his nose down my chest, kissing it lightly. Strangely, I never felt uncomfortable (hence the "meant to be") with Duke, like he could do anything with me and I wouldn't mind. Because I love him, I thought with delicious shivers. I love him and I trust him. He carried me down to the beach, swinging and kissing me all the way down. He took his hands from my hips to my rear, but I picked them off and they rested on my chest. I tightly laced my arms around his waist, pulling him closer. He stood there grinning. I looked at him and he leaned in slowly to attach his mouth to mine, his eyes excited, and his tongue slipped in first playfully, yet serious enough to force me to respond. I curled my fingers in his hair and responded joyfully to his actions.
"You're right," I whispered between gasps as my mouth connected and disconnected with his. "To hell with her." But the her I spoke of stood on the rising hilltop behind Duke's oblivious form, who was standing with me in a happy haze. She watched us closely, her eyes gleaming maliciously.