Disclaimer: I don't own 'em…
Chapter 8
Sara immediately considered removing the footage from the hard drive, but something in her made her stop. She hadn't gone through all of the footage from the previous day and with the setup she had, she couldn't selectively erase things. It was all or nothing. And in this case, it was going to be nothing. The possibility existed that there was something on those videos which would come in handy when it came to protecting Catherine and that possibility was enough in and of itself to make Sara hang on to the videos when every fiber of her being and every ounce of instinct she possessed said to immediately delete them.
The rest of that afternoon passed in reasonable silence as the women had avoided each other. More to the point, Sara had avoided Catherine—leaving a room when she entered it, flipping her phone open to take imaginary calls and pretending to notice something through a window and going to check it out. None of it had been lost on Catherine. She was rather enjoying the fact that she was making the lethal brunette squirm.
Catherine had a "client" scheduled for that evening and was definitely busy with him. Not wanting to be privy to the cries of pain and pleasure that came from Catherine's "office", Sara settled on the couch in the den. The muffled sounds of a whip and Catherine's stern voice still drifted to her. She closed her eyes but images of Catherine topless or Catherine pleasuring herself fluttered on the backs of her eyelids preventing any slumber which might befall her. Before she knew it, half the night had passed. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she heard the front door slam.
It was on her way back up the stairs that Catherine noticed her would-be protector draped over her couch. She hesitated a moment before stepping into the room and watching Sara sleep. The full moon was casting an eerie glow over dark features. Catherine knelt closer, glad to be able to observe Sara without the younger woman knowing it. Her features were sunken and she obviously didn't take proper care of herself. Still, there was something about the woman that was striking. Before she realized what she was doing, Catherine had reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind Sara's ear.
As soon as her fingers made contact, Sara flinched slightly. A smile gracing her lips, Catherine pulled a blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over the lanky woman before turning toward the window. Something had caught her eye. She was certain she had seen a shadowy figure moving across her yard. She fought the urge to wake Sara and instead turned and headed upstairs. She was tired. It had been a long day and her eyes were likely playing tricks on her.
When she heard the barely audible click of Catherine's door being shut, Sara expelled the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She didn't know how long Catherine had been standing over her, but it made her uneasy to be the focus of someone's attention. Given the personal trespasses she had incurred against Catherine the last two days, she felt it tolerable, however unpleasant, to endure the woman's study of her.
When the morning sun broke through the curtains, Sara woke with a start unable to recall exactly where she was. She ran through the events in her mind…jogging, Catherine in the pool, getting off to Catherine getting off, Catherine's "client" and finally, falling asleep on the couch. As she pulled the afghan over her face to shield her eyes from the offensive light, she couldn't recall having covered herself…and then she did. She remembered how she felt like she was being watched after Catherine's "client" left and the touch of Catherine's fingers against her skin as she pushed the hair behind her ear and then finally, the caring gesture of covering her.
Groaning, Sara pushed herself upright and then stood. She folding the blanket over the back of the couch and straightened the cushions before walking into the kitchen. She was famished. Skipping meals to avoid any interaction with Catherine Flynn was not working in her favor. She stretched her stiff muscles as she opened the door to the refrigerator and tried to find something to stave off the hunger pangs.
It was in the kitchen nearly half an hour later that Catherine found Sara. The smell of cinnamon had wafted up the stairs and woke her several hours before she had intended to drag herself out of bed.
Dressed in a cut-off tank top and boxer shorts, Catherine sat down on one of the stools at the island where Sara was flipping French toast in a pan.
"Something smells good," she said as she rested her elbows on the counter and subsequently her chin on her knuckles. "I didn't realize you knew your way around the kitchen."
Deciding to go with the easy banter that Catherine had initiated, Sara quipped, "I have many talents you don't know about." She slid a couple of pieces of French toast onto a plate and placed it in front of Catherine.
Catherine looked up at her and batted her eyelashes before playing coy, "For moi? If I had slept a bit longer you could have served me breakfast in bed."
"I guess we'll never know now, will we?" Sara said as she took the first bites of her food. Her lips curled into a satisfied smile as she closed her eyes and moaned in pleasure at the tastes that combined in her mouth.
Catherine couldn't help but watch as the brunette ate. "Should I give you some time alone with that toast or do you mind if I watch while you get off eating it?" She couldn't keep the humor in her voice at bay as she spoke.
Sara blushed and kept her eyes trained on the remaining food on her plate.
Realizing her discomfort and not wanting to dwell on it for the moment Catherine said, "You're certainly in a good mood."
Sara responded without looking up, "Why shouldn't I be? It's a beautiful day outside. The sun is shining. I slept well. I feel great."
"Is there anything in particular responsible for this good mood?"
Sara was never one for friendly conversations and was out of her element when they did come up. She took her last bite of food and the set about washing the dishes, ignoring Catherine's question.
After she was satisfied that Catherine had dropped her line of questioning she decided to start her own query. "So, did you have a productive "meeting" with your "client" last night?"
Catherine dropped her fork and food back down to the plate and slowly raised her eyes to meet Sara's. "I don't know," she paused before continuing. "You tell me. Did I?"
"Wha…how would I know?" Sara's dishwashing froze and she shut the water off.
"You have cameras all over the place. I figured you'd know my every move even when you aren't completely up my ass. Hell, you have so much a/v equipment around here a fly can't fart without you knowing about it," Catherine said as she pushed her unfinished food away from her.
"It's for your protection. There's nothing out of the ordinary about any of the measures I've taken to secure your property." Sara couldn't help the defensive tone her voice had taken. "Anyone hired to protect you that's worth a damn would have done what I've done so far." Sara slammed her hand down painfully loud on the counter and reiterated, "Anyone!"
"Why are you so defensive, Ms. Sidle?" Catherine asked as she stood and attempted to pull her shirt down to at least hide the bottom curve of her breast.
"I'm merely," Sara realized she was near the point of yelling and closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening and beginning to speak in a lower tone. "I'm merely explaining why there are so many cameras. It's just for your protection. I go through the footage and look for anything out of the ordinary."
"Out of the ordinary? Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary in the last couple of days?" Catherine asked as she picked her plate up and dumped the remaining food in the garbage.
"Last couple of days? No. Then again, I haven't gone through all of the footage, yet. There are a lot of cameras since your property is so immense," Sara explained as she put some things back in the refrigerator.
Catherine was leaning against the counter with her arms folded over her chest. "So, do you watch these videos daily? And just what do you consider out of the ordinary?"
"What's with all the questions? Is this the Spanish Inquisition? Are you questioning my ability to do my job? Is that it? Do you think I'm going to miss something important and something's going to happen to you that I could have prevented?"
Catherine's voice remained even, "I haven't raised my voice. I haven't cursed. I've been down here, trying to enjoy this lovely breakfast you made and enjoy some pleasant conversation. What I don't understand is why you're so incredibly defensive. Have I said something?"
"No," Sara meekly responded.
"Have I done something?"
She shook her head.
"Then what? What's the problem?"
"I'm sorry," was all the brunette could offer as she turned to leave the kitchen.
"Sara, for the record, I do trust you to do your job. I mean, I know the videos are just for surveillance and nothing else and that it's important for you to go through them and look for anything that would help you keep me safe. Even if I don't act like I get that, I do."
Sara nodded and smiled weakly, paling a bit at the mention of the videos only being used for surveillance. "I think I'll get back to work. I should watch some of the videos from yesterday and last night."
Cath took a few quick steps toward her and stopped at the bottom of the stairs, "Can I watch with you?" She winked and added, "I love a good show."
"Those videos are boring and mundane. I'm sure you have more exciting things to do than to watch security videos."
Somehow, Sara needed to convince Catherine that there was no need for her to watch any of the videos. Right about now is when she was mentally kicking herself for not deleting the videos for the last couple of days.
The older woman brushed by her and started up the stairs at a quick pace, "You didn't seem so bored a couple of days ago when you were watching those videos."
"You know, I think I'll go for a run first. Then shower and watch those vids," Sara said as she turned to walk back down the stairs.
Catherine wasn't about to let her off the hook so easily. "You can go for your run, just cue the video up for me. I can watch while you're out."
Sara stopped at the sound of Catherine's voice. Catherine smiled warmly at the brunette as she turned the doorknob to her room and pushed the door open, motioning for Sara to enter.
"You know, there was an issue I wanted to talk to you about. Why don't we go back…" Sara's rambling was cut short by Catherine interrupting her.
"Is there a reason you're stalling here? Is there something you don't want me to see?"
Catherine's head was cocked to the side and she was studying the younger woman. She was well aware of the fact that Sara had watched her having sex with the pool guy and she was relatively certain that she had watched the show she put on for her yesterday in the pool. She was just looking for the perfect way to let her know that she knew.
"I just really want to go for my run. You know I go for a run everyday around your property. It helps me clear my head so that when I watch these videos they're the only things I'm focused on," Sara attempted to placate the woman who was in her protection.
"You can go for your run, just cue the video up and I'll watch alone," she said as she stepped into the room and sat down behind the desk.
Sara stood in the doorway. Her face was fixed with an expression that was a perfect marriage of fear and anger. She didn't speak, but instead just engaged in a staring match with the older woman.
Catherine finally broke eye contact and reached for the mouse to the computer. "Fine, you can sit there and watch me fiddle with your little machine here while I look for the videos to watch. Hopefully I won't mess anything."
Sara took a quick step inside and nearly screamed, "Don't!"
Catherine's movements froze before she narrowed her eyes. "Look, I'm not the type of woman who likes to play games…outside the bedroom. So cue the fucking video now."
"My computer is password protected. It's an alphanumeric sequence that you'll never figure out in a million years. So you can sit there and fiddle with that mouse and punch all the keys you want, but you won't get anywhere. I'll cue it when I get back from my run," Sara said evenly and flatly as she turned to leave the run.
"Did you enjoy it?"
Sara turned slowly toward Catherine's voice. "Excuse me?"
"Watching him…how he fucked me in the pool…Did you enjoy it? I mean, that is why you aren't cueing the video for me to watch, isn't it?"
Sara didn't answer. She could only look down guiltily at the floor.
"And yesterday? Did you enjoy the show I put on for you yesterday? You finished your run and were as eager as a teenage boy with his first titty magazine to get upstairs." Catherine was now standing and slowly moving toward Sara.
"I don…I don't know what you're talking about," the younger woman said weakly as she briefly made eye contact and then quickly looked away.
"You sat right there, didn't you? You sat right there and watched. Did you enjoy the show I put on for you?" Catherine was now standing in front of Sara. She ran her finger over her clavicle and between her breasts. "Did you touch yourself?" Her fingers moved lower still, across Sara's stomach. "Did you get off watching me?"
Sara was mesmerized by the woman in front of her. Her voice was as smooth as silk and her touch was electric. She was transfixed an unable to speak. She couldn't believe that Catherine was talking like this to her and touching her.
Catherine leaned in close so that their bodies were touching and reaching down, cupping Sara's sex. Sara's eyes closed briefly at the contact and then sprang open. "Did you imagine it was you that night?"
At the sound of Catherine's voice, something in Sara snapped. She reached down and grabbed Catherine's wrist and spun her, pinning her to the wall. She pressed herself firmly against her. "Why'd you do that…in the pool….yesterday?" Her words came out in spurts as her mind fought to maintain control over her body. "Were you...thinking of me?"
Catherine broke out in laughter. "Thinking of you?? You're not even on my fucking radar, Sidle."
Sara jerked away from her harshly like she'd been burned, and in a sense, she had.
Catherine was still laughing as she stepped out into the hallway. "Don't fucking flatter yourself, kid. I get paid to give people what they want. And I don't think you can even begin to afford me."
Even after Catherine's laughter had subsided and the door to her bedroom had shut, Sara could still hear her laughing….ridiculing her. Catherine had taunted her. She'd played with her emotions and fucked with her mind when only hours before she'd sat and watched Sara supposedly sleep and had even touched her and covered her with a blanket. Those thoughts were still running through her mind when the smell of smoke began to fill her nostrils.
A/N: I know it's been a while since I've posted. I think my muse went on a permanent vacation. I really thought I'd spend my entire summer vacation writing and that hasn't been the case. Oh well, hopefully I've broken the curse and will be able to write now. It certainly hasn't been for a lack of ideas.