Captain Of Her Heart Ch 13

I thought I was going to puke. Alisa massaged my shoulders, trying to keep me silent. The lovers broke their kiss, gazing into each other's eyes and Annabelle squealed when Ryan grabbed her ass cheeks and ground himself against her.

"Anxious tonight, eh?"

"I can't help it. You always make me hard, Mom." He slid the purse off her shoulder, followed by her jacket. "Now, come on. Take those clothes off. There's a tub full of bubbles waiting for us."

"Sounds good. Let's go."

Alisa and I shrank back into the darkness of the closet as they moved past and it was at least twenty minutes before we heard the sounds of them splashing in the tub. We made our move then, tiptoeing out of the closet, into the hallway, down the stairs and then quietly shutting the door behind ourselves. As we slipped away, I bent and lifted the mat to satisfy my curiosity.

The key was gone.

*****

The something that Alisa had found was an envelope that had my name written on it and inside was a safe deposit key for the Atlantic Bank. Since it was late, we decided to head over in the morning and I took a cue from Ryan, running a bath for us. Alisa stood in the doorway, watching me clean and fill the tub, then froth the water to build a huge bank of bubbles. I set her favorite gel on the corner, along with the scrubby and made sure that there was an elastic for her hair, then nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw her there.

"Why are you doing this?"

"What, running a bath? So we can relax."

"No, not that." She walked over and picked up the hair tie, pulling her hair up. "You made sure my gel was here and the band for my hair … you really pay attention to details of things I like."

"Is there a reason I shouldn't?"

"No." I didn't like the way her response sounded, very uncertain and non-committal. My heart felt like a balloon that had suddenly lost its air. "It's just … "

"Just what?"

"It's only been a little more than a week and things have been going so fast … "

It was then that I knew. A variation of the it-was-nice-to-know-you speech was coming up and my gut wrenched. The one time I'd gone out of my way, the one time I'd taken a risk … it was too painful to think about. I swept my mind clean, reverting back to the Tawnya I'd been before Captain Alisa Gudmundsdottir stepped aboard my airplane. I was alone again, as Gilbert O'Sullivan said, naturally.

"It's all right, Alisa. I understand."

"No, I don't think you do." Her hand on my arm seemed to sear a hole in my skin and I jerked away, glancing at her in apology.

"Hold that thought. Let me run down and get us a bottle of wine. I think that's a good way to relax, eh?"

Her beautiful face brightened and she pulled off her shirt, taunting me with those perfect small C globes, their fat pink nipples begging to be sucked. She let one hand slice through the bubbles, checking the temperature of the water. It was such a beautiful scene, tendrils of her hair pooling on her shoulders, her pale breasts rising and falling with each breath and her bare feet ending in long toes and raspberry sunrise nail polish.

"Sounds good." She smiled, tossing her shirt at me. I caught it, the whiff of gardenia almost making me cry. "Hurry back. I have something important to talk to you about."

I just nodded numbly, quickly turning away and giving the impression that I was excitedly hurrying to grab some chardonnay from the 'fridge. I pulled the door half-shut as I left, something we always did and walked down the hallway, fighting to bite my sobs back until I was out of hearing. I packed yet again, shoving my things into my backpack and suitcase. A quick call to the Hilton and I had a room for the week at a discounted rate, something I probably should have done at the beginning.

"Tawnya, where are you? Hurry up!''

The sound of her voice broke my heart and it was all I could do not to break down in tears. "I'm coming!" I half-heartedly called back, hefting my suitcase.

Goodbye, captain of my heart

. I took a long look down the hallway toward the bathroom door and went down the stairs, letting myself out and refusing to look behind.