Black Diaries

78. Fire in the Snow

Five minutes later I was bundled into the passenger seat of Roy's Mercedes. Not the Mercedes he'd picked me up in, mind you. That had been a sleek, black limousine with style coming out of the exhaust pipe. No, this was a monster of a machine, a massive four-by-four that could crush a normal car under one wheel.

"I'll be right back." With a wink, he disappeared back into the house and reappeared a few moments later, carrying several things towards the vehicle. I started at the odd assortment of objects in his arms, and then glanced at the snowy landscape.

"This kind of weather isn't usual for these parts, is it? Why do you have a car like this?"

"You'll see." Opening the back door, he unloaded his burden on the back seat, and, looking over my shoulder, I saw for the first time clearly what he had been carrying: an old, half-burned down candle, a patchwork quilt, a small black bag, and a bottle of wine.

Okay. This date was probably not going to be in a fancy restaurant. What the heck was he up to?

"Where are we going?" I demanded as he came around the car and climbed into the front seat.

His response was to lean over and kiss me ravenously on the mouth.

Not fair! That's my patented tactic for shutting people up! How dare he steal it?

Although, now that I thought about it... maybe I would let him borrow it. Just for a while. If he continued kissing me like that.

Breaking away, he captured my face with his hands.

"Wait," he ordered. "It'll be worth it. I promise."

"Okay." The word was nothing more than a breathless whisper.

"You'll wait?"

"Yes."

"Good girl."

He twisted the key in the ignition, and the engine roared to life. We shot forward, out onto the snowy road, at breakneck pace. But I had no qualms about our safety whatsoever. The car had wheels on that looked like they ate roads for breakfast, and to judge by the way Roy directed this monster with casual command, he was clearly a master driver.

Oh no, I didn't worry about our safely getting to wherever we were going. What was on my mind much more, was where exactly that was. What kind of date required a patchwork quilt, a candle and a four-by-four with off-road snow tires?

The last part of that question was answered when we veered off the main road and onto a lane that looked as if the only things using it were sheep and the occasional tractor. Snow sprayed up on both sides of the car. Roy didn't slow down a bit.

"What are you doing?" I wanted to know. "The town is that way, down the main road."

He flashed a smile at me. "I know."

"So what are we doing, driving up here?"

"Patience, Cassy, patience. You wouldn't want to ruin the surprise, now, would you?"

I opened my mouth to tell him that yes, I damn well would. But he reached over and took my hand in his. An electric tingle shot up my arm at the contact. Taking advantage of my surprise, his thumb delved into my hand and found the soft skin of my palm, starting to massage and caress with infinite expertise.

I shivered.

Oh my God! If being touched by him in such a tiny, soft spot felt like this... What would a real massage from him feel like? He was a doctor. It surely wouldn't be the first time he'd given one. His strong, elegant fingers would slide over my skin with practiced ease, would take me to another place, deep in my imagination, and high up on cloud nine.