The Killing Kind

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

March 24

Sean Hewitt picked up the heavy duffel bag and set it on the edge of the bed. He glanced out the big window above the bed and saw a maze of beach houses and narrow roads with sandy shoulders. The room he and Annalisa had taken overlooked the driveway and swimming pool out front. It would have been nice to have a room with a view of the beach and the ocean, but he wasn’t about to complain. It’d been damn generous of Chuck’s dad to foot the bill for everybody. The main thing was just being here. There had been some unpleasant delays. That whole weird thing with Chuck and whatever had happened to him. The even weirder tension between Zoe and her supposed best friend, Emily. But they were here now, with nearly a full week of sun and fun ahead of them.

He unzipped the bag and began to sort through its contents in search of the new swim trunks he’d purchased for the trip. Everyone else was down at the beach already and he was anxious to join them.

“There you are.”

Sean turned around. “Uh…hi.”

Emily Sinclair stood just inside the door to the room. She was wearing black pumps and a tiny white bikini. She looked sensational. The white fabric against her already pale flesh created an interesting effect. From a distance she would look naked. Hell, this close it almost looked that way. Her red lips curved into a smile beneath the dark sunglasses covering her eyes.

“Hey, Sean. I’m glad you’re here.”

He cleared his throat. “Uh…yeah. I thought you were down at the beach.”

She was still smiling. “I was. But remembered something I needed to do.”

“Huh.”

Her smile gave way to a pensive look. “Yeah. I sort of need help with something in my room. Do you mind? It’ll just take a minute.”

Before he could answer, she turned and strutted out of the room, giving her hips an exaggerated sway. Sean stared after her. That ass was really something. He frowned. He wanted to get down to the beach with Annalisa. Oh, well. Whatever Emily needed help with couldn’t possibly be that complicated or time-consuming. He’d just go help her out, then come back and change.

Emily was already waiting for him in her room. She stood near the foot of the king-size bed that dominated the room and waited for him to come inside. He hesitated a moment. Something was a little off here. He shook his head. That was silly. What could possibly be wrong? He smiled and came into the room.

Emily licked her lips. “Care to guess what I need help with, Sean?”

She hooked her thumbs inside the bottom piece of her bikini and wriggled her hips as she slid the tiny piece of fabric down over her thighs. Sean’s mouth went dry as he got a look at her neatly trimmed patch of pubic hair. It looked like a porn star’s snatch. Barely any hair at all, really. She sat on the edge of the bed and kicked the bikini bottom across the room. She braced her hands on the mattress and arched her back a little to emphasize the swell of her breasts.

His dumbstruck expression made her giggle. “I was getting all horny down at the beach. I can’t help it. Sunshine and sand gets me all worked up. I was hoping you could go down on me for a few minutes. You know, just to take the edge off. What do you say, Sean? Can you help a girl out?”

He coughed. “Um…isn’t this a job for Joe?”

“Joe could do it, sure.” She smiled. “But you’re cuter.”

Sean watched in disbelief as she spread her legs and started fingering herself. What was wrong with this girl? “Look…you’re hot and all, like seriously fucking hot, but I’ve got a girlfriend. And, shit…I love her. I’m sorry, I just…I can’t do this. And what the hell is your problem? Isn’t Annalisa your friend? This is some fucked-up shit. Do me a favor and stay away from me, okay?”

He turned away from her and started toward the door. Emily came off the bed with a snarl, grabbed him by a shoulder and spun him around. His feet tangled and he started to stagger backward. Emily slammed the heel of a hand against his chest and he stumbled backward into the wall.

“Jesus, Emily. What the fuck?”

Her hands curled into fists at her sides. He saw the muscles in her shoulders and arms tense. She looked ready to tear him apart. “Don’t you fucking dare tell anyone about this.”

He laughed-a nervous laugh. “Okay.”

“I mean it.”

Sean stared at her in silence for a few tense moments, and his own anger began to build. “You know what, Emily? I think I will tell Annalisa about this. She should know what kind of-”

“You won’t say a word.”

“I will. And you can’t stop me.”

Emily smiled again, but now there was something almost ugly in the expression. “Oh, but I can. Does Annalisa know about Melinda?”

Sean’s heart almost stopped at the mention of the name. “Um…what?”

Emily’s laughter was almost as ugly as that smug smile. “You heard me. Talked to the girl a couple weeks ago. She told me some very interesting things. Including a thing or two about you. Things you wouldn’t want your girlfriend to know.”

Sean’s eyes filled with tears.

He watched her strut back to the bed. She sat on its edge and spread her legs again, beckoned him with a bent forefinger. He pushed away from the wall and started toward her.

Then stopped.

“No.”

“What?”

He shrugged. “No. Seriously. Fuck this. Tell Annalisa about Melinda. I’ll deal with it one way or another. I made a mistake. I’ve felt like shit about it ever since. It won’t be happening again. And I sure as hell won’t be pushed around by you.”

He left the room without another word, pulling the door shut behind him. Something thumped against the door. She’d probably thrown one of her shoes. That sound and her accompanying cry of frustration were very gratifying things to hear.

Sean went back to his room and changed.

Then he went down to the beach and found comfort in the arms of his true love.