9
Darkness had engulfed Seaview on the moonless night.Perfect. Dylan sat leaned forward against his steering wheel. Hisbreathing was as slow and controlled as the speed of his car as hedrove past her house. This had become his nightly routine, drivingpast Maddy's house to catch a quick glimpse before going to bed forthe night.
Tonight, he could see that she was inside,her lights were on and he could see her moving back and forthinside. As usual, her curtains were closed. He tried to guess whatshe might be doing, as he could only see her lithe body'ssilhouette occasionally pass by the curtained window. He rarelyparked, not wanting to get caught. His windows were darkly tinted,so he doubted she'd be able to see him even if she stood justoutside his car.
One-night last week, she'd forgotten to closeher curtains. Her reject of a brother had been visiting. Somehow,she always seemed to enjoy his company. Dylan had no idea why;Aiden wasn’t as smart or clever as he was.
They’d been such an amazing couple. They hadalways been invited to the best functions. Both were on their wayto successful careers, she one day a supreme court justice, hewould dominate the finance world.
He realized he had been too understandingbefore, too soft when she’d begun making plans without him. If he’dcracked down on her secrets sooner, both of their futures wouldn’thave been ruined. She wouldn’t have tried to sneak out soclandestinely. He wouldn’t have been so angry and wouldn’t havestruck her. He’d never hit her before that, he’d been able tocontrol it, but she’d made him so furious he couldn’t help it.
That night, she'd been too busy visiting andlaughing to realize the sun had set and she was now in a fishbowl.And he was the cat, waiting to pounce. He'd fantasized about herleaning back in laughter like she had that night, but with pleasureas she rode him hard instead of laughing at a joke that ass hadmade.
He couldn't resist stopping again tonight. Hepulled over and parked, allowing himself the rare treat. He closedhis eyes and remembered their first night together. How she'd criedthat she wasn't ready, that she wasn't sure it was right. She'dlooked so hot in that red silk homecoming dress.
He'd brought her another shot of tequila andgotten her just drunk enough to be awake, but not so much she'd besick and ruin his good time. He wasn't a monster; he wouldn't everhave raped her. She'd finally consented in a slurred "ok." He'dmade her suck him before he drove into her. Told her that was howthis sort of thing was done, how to properly pleasure a man.
Aroused at the memory, he loosened his beltand took his cock in his own hand. Despite the tequila, she'd criedout at the pain. He'd reassured her it was normal. Eventually,they'd found a rhythm in their relationship. He’d tried to begentle and kind, but poor thing just wasn't capable of orgasm. Shedidn’t believe him when he tried telling her that it was somethingwrong with her body, so he'd even provided her with articles toprove his point.
A loud knock on his car window broke themoment. He looked out to see a group of stoners giggling on thesidewalk. Grateful for the darkly tinted windows, he quickly tosseda sweatshirt over his erection. He relaxed his face and rolled downthe window, ready to be polite like the rest of the idiots in thisbackwards town. He didn't want to raise any suspicion, especiallyoutside of Maddy's house.
"Hey man, you from around here? We can'tremember how to get to our hotel. I think it's the SeaviewInn."
Dylan answered in a gracious tone, "Twoblocks north and three blocks inland." Morons. Once he had sealedthe deal to take over the waterfront and bring in the cruise ship,eliminating that ridiculous antiquated fisheries business Maddy'sdad ran, he'd help drive this sort of scum away.
He'd have to eliminate Chase first. The oldfool was ready to retire and would jump at the opportunity to selloff his land. Chase was a problem. He always had been. At firstopportunity, Dylan had stepped in to make Maddy his own.
He'd better move quickly this time. He'dalready seen them together, pressed up against each other at thetavern. Like a pot boiling over, he felt himself becomingoverwhelmed with anger and tried to calm himself.
He shouldn't worry so much. He'd eliminateChase one way or another.
He glanced back across the street to Maddy'shouse. She'd turned off the lights and was clearly headed for bed.He'd have to finish reminiscing in the comfort of his motel roomwith the brilliant photo album he'd compiled. He turned the cararound and drove back out of town.
10
Maddy awoke bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on Fridaymorning. She dramatically swung open the bedroom curtains towelcome the day, causing the curtain rod to come crashing down,tangling her in the curtains. Perhaps she should have used thoseanchors the instructions recommended.
But even that couldn't spoil her mood. Sheinhaled a refreshing breath and took in her view of the morning sunshining over the smooth sand and calm ocean waves. Yes, it wasgoing to be a great day.
Finally, at long last, herantiquated-in-a-bad-way ugly yellow dishwasher had finally kickedthe bucket. She'd never been so happy to handwash dishes lastnight, she remarked to herself as she strolled into the airykitchen.
A few months ago, she'd been thrilled toreplace the matching behemoth of a refrigerator with acounter-depth side-by-side stainless refrigerator with icedispenser. She was gradually upgrading her kitchen. The stainlessappliances nicely complemented the concrete counters atop thecabinets she'd painted when she'd moved in.
Crap. A dishwasher was not going to fit inher jeep, and she wanted to pick it up today. Well, not withoutsome serious creativity. She needed a truck. Maddy called herdad.
He answered on the first ring. "Good morning,Sunshine. What can I do for you?" Her dad was clearly as chipperthis morning as she was.
"Hey dad, can I borrow your truck today? Myhideous dishwasher finally kicked the bucket."
"No can-do. My truck has met an untimelydeath as well." She heard the phony grief through the line. Or wasit through-the-air as no one had land lines anymore?
"You love that truck, why are you so perky?"She poured herself a steaming cup of coffee and leaned back againstthe countertop, staring at the broken yellow hideousness of anappliance.
"Sunshine, I've had that truck since you werein diapers. I was going to wait until after we got back from Italyto trade it in but looks like I'll be doing some shopping tomorrow.Borrowed your mom's car for today. I'm thinking I'll need somethingwith GPS and heated seats for when the dementia and frailty of oldage kick in."
Maddy rolled her eyes. "Dad, you just turned60. But yes, maybe it is time for you to join the modern world. Ican't believe you kept that thing running for so long. I think therust was the only thing holding the tailgate on."
Maddy gently blew the steam over the top ofher mug while she considered her options. "Why did Aiden have toget that ridiculous sports car? I've been keeping an eye on him soI can write him a juicy ticket while he's caught the eye of somegirl as he's cruising with the top down."
