Chapter 27
Kris left his
co-worker's hotel room sated and grinning gleefully while strolling down the
hall to his own room. Nothing like a great romp in the sack to put you
in a good mood! He stopped in front of his door, unlocked it, and
walked in. Immediately, he made his way to the top drawer and pulled out
a photo of his lil' Kitten. His diabolical eyes
roamed over her smiling face as she looked up at her precious Nick. His
eyes narrowed. I win. You lose Nick Carter. No wimpy
Backstreet Boy's gonna beat me. He smirked. Especially if he
looks like you!
Kris shook his
head in disgust. To this day he didn't understand what Kat sees in
him. Nick was so nasty...so...pathetic. He, on the other hand, had
the looks, the confidence, and the personality. Everything a girl could
ever want. He closed his eyes and licked his lips, recalling Kat's
glorious mouth against his and every muscle in his body tightened. Oh
yeah...he wanted her.
Badly.
Patience
buddy. Don't let your urges get in the way of your plan. Make her
relax...let down her guard...wonder...
And then go
in for the kill.
***
Billie awoke
to very tender kisses being placed on her shoulder by his warm lips.
Smiling, she rolled over to gaze into his handsome face. "Good
morning."
Howie's face
broke into a sleepy, but beaming grin. "Good morning."
"Did you
sleep well?"
"Perfectly."
She snuggled
closer to him. "Good." She giggled as he nestled his head
into her neck, his goatee tickling her. But his breath against her skin
wiped out her laughter and was replaced with longing.
"Billie...I
want you here...every morning when I wake up."
"Oh
Howie..."
He lifted his
head and peered at her with those warm brown eyes that always caused her
insides to melt. "I'm crazy about you Billie. I have been since the
moment we met."
A surge of
happiness and flattery exploded from her heart. She caressed his
cheek. "I didn't want to admit it before, but since the day I met
you...you were never far from my mind either." Her smile
dimmed. "I felt so confused."
"But that
doesn't matter now. You're going to be a free woman soon, we'll get
engaged...eventually marry...have at least three kids...start their college
funds..."
Billie
laughed. "You sure think ahead!"
He joined in
her laughter, but it soon died down and he pulled her so that she laid on top
of him. He cupped her face. "I meant what I said before."
Her heart
began to suddenly pound at a much quicker pace. "What you
said...?"
"I love
you Billie."
Her eyes
flooded with joyful tears and she sighed. "I love you too
Howie."
Their bodies
took over after that.
***
Katarina stepped out of the airport and hailed a cab. She handed the
driver the piece of paper with Brian's address on it and leaned back against
the seat, tired as usual. Her dreams were getting worse with each passing
day and sleep was getting harder and harder to attain. She pushed her
sunglasses back up her nose. At least her make up mostly covered the dark
smudges under her brown eyes. Hopefully, she could get through her
confession to Brian without collapsing into unconsciousness.
She prayed
that her plan would work...that Brian would believe her and do something to
help Nick. She was running out of time. He was fading so
quickly. Her eyes glazed over with tears that she refused to shed.
It was all her fault. If she hadn't left, he wouldn't be in so much pain...he
wouldn't be so angry...
And they'd
still be together.
If only there
were some way of letting him know that she still loved him...
"We're
here Miss."
"Thank
you," she murmured shakily as she stepped out of the cab. She paid the
driver and waited until he drove off before turning to glimpse at the Littrell
household. It was beautiful looking place... It also looked like
there was no way to get in. Great. Now how am I supposed to talk
to him if I can't even get to the door? As if someone had heard her,
the door opened suddenly and she gasped and moved out of view.
"I'll
call every day okay? Promise."
"Aw
Leigh...say you'll stay."
"Bri..."
"..."
Katarina turned bright red. Oh Geez...
"I love
you B."
"I love
you too."
Katarina heard the door close and a pair of high heels clicking down the
steps. She took a deep breath. You can do this Rina. You have to! The gate opened and a
beautiful and thankfully friendly looking blond woman stepped out onto the
sidewalk. Her eyes registered surprise when they fell on Katarina.
"Can I
help you?"
"Uh...yes,"
Katarina gulped, "you don't know me, but I'm Katarina Clark, B--"
"Oh!
Are you related to Billie?"
"Yes, I'm
her sister."
The blond
grinned. "I thought you had a slight resemblance to her! It's
a pleasure to meet you! I'm Leighanne Littrell." She put down
her suitcases and extended her hand.
Katarina took it and smiled.
"What can
I do for you?"
"Well,
actually I'm here to see Brian. There's something I need to discuss with
him."
Leighanne's
eyes suddenly held a lot of questions, but there was no time to answer them.
"Is that
okay?"
"Sure,
I'm sure he'd be interested to meet you...or has he met you before?"
"No...but
we have a...mutual friend...and I need to talk to him about that."
Leighanne
nodded. "Okay." She punched in a number into the security
system and the gate re-opened. "There you go." She looked
at her watch. "Oh shoot! I'm gonna be late for my
flight!" She looked up at Katarina and
grinned again. "I hope we'll meet again so we can get to know each
other better. I'm sure you're as sweet as your sister."
Katarina blushed. "Thank you. I hope so too."
They said
their good-byes and Leighanne drove off, leaving Katarina
with an open gate and a ton of doubts, but she shook them off. Don't
chicken out now Rina. She stepped onto the
Littrell property, closed the gate and proceeded up the walkway and stopped at
the door. She gulped again and then rang the doorbell.
***
Brian lifted
his head from the book he was reading and raised an eyebrow. Leighanne
wouldn't ring her own doorbell...unless she forgot her keys. No, that
can't be it. I saw her put them in her purse. Visitors? I'm
not expecting any. He sighed warily. Did they need to change
the security system again? He moved toward the door, hoping that they
didn't. The last thing he wanted was his house to look like a
prison. He opened the door and sure enough, the person in front of him
was a total stranger.
"Uh,
hello."
"Hi,"
he replied cautiously, "may I help you?"
"I'm Katarina Clark, Billie's sister."
Instantly, he
relaxed. "Oh! Billie's sister? She's mentioned you
before. How are you?"
"I'm fine
thank you...may I come in?"
Brian
laughed. "Of course. By the way, you and your sister are
cute!" He laughed even more when she blushed. "Although I
don't think Billie blushes quite like that!"
Katarina chuckled. "I can't help it...I don't handle compliments
very well."
"That's
all right," he ushered her into the living room. "Would you
like something to drink? Coffee, juice, cola..."
"No, I'm
okay thanks." She sat on the couch and began to twiddle her thumbs.
Brian took the
seat across from her and noted her nervousness. He wondered why.
"So, do you like wearing sunglasses indoors like A.J?"
She smiled
lightly and took them off, revealing warm, but fatigued looking brown
eyes. "That better?"
Brian grinned
and nodded. "Much better. Well, what can I do for you?"
Her
nervousness became much more evident. "I need to talk to you
Brian...about something very important."
"Okay."
"Um...I...well..."
she stuttered.
Brian leaned
in and patted her hand. "It's okay Katarina.
Just take your time."
She looked at
him gratefully and relaxed slightly. "I...I heard that you were one
of...Nick's closest friends."
His mood
instantly plummeted, recalling his concern that Nick was not okay.
"Yeah...he was my best friend out of all the fellas."
She
nodded. "That's why it's important that you know..."
He looked at
her in confusion. "Know what?"
"There's
a lot that I need to explain to you Brian. I just don't know how to
start."
He
sighed. "Look, if you don't mind, I really don't want to get into
this with you...I've been having lots of bad feelings about Nick and..."
"So have
I."
He
nodded. "And I don't want to dwell on it because he's dead
and--" He paused, finally registering Katarina's
words. He stared at her in bewilderment. "So have
I?" She was now trembling.
"Yes..."
"But I
don't understand. How can you...?" He looked at her more
closely. "Did you know Nick before he passed away?"
"No..."
He was getting
more and more confused by the minute.
"I met
him after he passed away."
She said it so
quietly that he barely heard her, but he'd heard enough to suddenly feel
ill. "Wh...what?!"
Katarina held his gaze. "Brian, Nick's not dead."
***
