Finding Kate

Chapter Thirty Six: The End Is Near

We walked along a crowded street
You took my hand and danced with me
And when you left you kissed my lips
You told me you'd never ever forget these images,

Goodbye, my almost lover
Goodbye, my hopeless dream

A Fine Frenzy - Almost Lover

The wedding was underway. The ceremony was set for the late hours of the afternoon, and already things had started going wrong. Speed pulled up outside the glamorous hotel, hands resting on the handle bars of the Ducati as he put his foot down to steady the bike and switch off the engine.

He straightened up, stretching out his back from the thirty minute drive over here. He loved the bike but it could be murder on his body.

"You alright?" he asked Kate, watching through tinted sunglasses as she hopped off he back and ran a hand through her tangled hair.

Kate turned to face him a small smile across her lips.

"My hair's a little worse for wear but you know how much I like taking a ride on the Ducati." she said unzipping her leather jacket to reveal a white gypsy style top..

Speed sat back and watched her peel the leather off before letting his eyes rove her body. At thirty she was still energetic and athletic. Kate had always been slender, but there was more muscle now, most of it toned. Her legs were shapely under the tightness of her denim jeans, he found himself staring at her ass, exhaling deeply as she bent over to pick up her backpack, and swing it over her shoulder.

He knew he shouldn't... Well he thought he shouldn't. Kate it turned out didn't care. She said it made her feel more attractive knowing he was looking at her that way.

Twelve weeks, for some reason was killing him. He'd lasted two years when she'd been injured by Clavo Cruz, but for some reason now he didn't last five minutes. Cold showers had become a regular relief for him, especially after spending the morning playing the make out game with her.

It wasn't that they shouldn't make love, it was the fact Kate physically couldn't. Hagen had done a lot of damage to that area of her, and it had taken this long for it to heal. Tim was patient, and understandably so but it was weighing down on him.

Knowing that another man had touched her, been inside, her made him red hot with jealousy. The primal instinct was there to make her his own just as it had been back in college whenever a guy came onto her, but now it wasn't like that. There were too many emotional issues involved.

Kate may not remember every sick, horrific detail of the things Hagen did to her but she knew the basics. She knew she'd been violated, she remembered being kidnapped and held for a day with internal bleeding in the dark. She couldn't sleep without a lamp on anymore. She wasn't a fan of confined spaces and she would never be able to wear a bracelet again, watches had to have leather straps not metal.

He'd discovered all these things in the past twelve weeks and he was quick to accommodate them. She told him she felt stupid having a night light so he'd switched back to the lamp. He knew never to surprise her from behind, or never to grab her wrist. He knew making a sudden movement in her direction made her flinch as if she'd been slapped. He knew that's what Hagen had done to make her comply, he'd floored her with a blow to the side of the head, her cheek had been stained with his hand print for weeks.

"Will I get to see the bride later on or do I have to wait for the wedding?" he asked as she sashayed towards him.

She was still aware of her sexuality and she used it at every chance she got with him. He thought part of her wanted to make sure that he was still interested. That the lack of actual sex wasn't boring him. She kept him plenty entertained with oral sex after the stitches had healed. She was almost her old self, and he liked seeing her face contort with pleasure, her body writhing underneath his mouth.