Saving His Kat Ch. 02

Emily was my best friend. If she could have, she would have put me up for as long as necessary. Yet, her parents were here visiting. In a little studio apartment, two people were crowded. Three people were far too many. There was no way I could stay with her.

Yet, when I showed up at her door the next morning, she let me in and fed me. "I can't put you up Kat, I'm sorry."

I nursed my cup of coffee. "I know Emily, I just didn't know where to go."

She leaned across the table and patted my shoulder. "You can always come here." She looked around ruefully at the mess. "But staying here might be an issue."

"I understand. Do you know where I could stay for just a little while as I look for an apartment? Natasha is out of town..."

"Yeah, I know." She ran her fingers through her brown curls. "Let me make a couple of calls." She grabbed the phone and walked out.

I took a sip of my coffee. I couldn't hear what she was saying. Apparently her apartment walls were thicker than my old ones. Though it was still before ten in the morning, Emily's parents were already long gone on some shopping trip or something.

"All right, thanks again Tom," Emily was saying as she walked back into the room. "Kat, do you know Tom Jones?"

I frowned and tucked a stray lock of blond hair behind my ear. "Yeah, he works with Jack. Why?" I knew him well. He used to call, looking for Jack, and then end up talking to me for hours. I hadn't ever seen much of him, but we talked a lot.

"He's looking for a roommate. It could be temporary if you prefer, but you can stay there as long as you need to."

I was startled, but cheering on the inside. "Won't that make working with Jack awkward?" He was such a nice guy, I would love to date him.

"In his own words: 'Fuck him.'" She sat down next to me. "When you're done with your coffee, I'll show you the way there. Rob said you can take off as much time as you need." Rob was our boss. Emily had called him this morning, called us both in sick.

I shook my head. "I'll probably be back at work tomorrow, I don't think I could stand being idle for so long." Dumping the dregs in the sink, I put my mug in the dishwasher. "I'm ready when you are."

"Let's go then," Emily said.

She led the way out to the parking lot and to our cars. She had to shorten her stride quite a bit so I could keep up. At only five foot two, she was nearly half a foot taller than I.

Emily didn't speed this time, though she was close. I followed her closely. I'd never been to Tom's house, and I was sure to get lost.

It was a large house, two stories, painted white with red shutters. The lawn was well-groomed with just a few trees.

I parked on the street and got out, then followed Emily to the front door. She rang the doorbell. "Don't worry, he's really nice."

Tom opened the door and I got a good look at him for the first time in my life. We had talked on several occasions, and I'd seen him in the office when I went to visit Jack. But a suit and tie didn't do him justice. A suit and tie allowed you to appreciate his height (at least a foot taller than me) and his strong jaw line without being distracted, him in jeans and an unbuttoned button-down shirt were enough to strike me speechless.

"Kat," Emily hissed in my ear. "Say something."

"Hi," I said. Even to me it sounded breathy.

"Hey Kat, Emily." He held the door open for us. "Come on in."

"Thank you for doing this Tom," I said.

He lifted me off the floor in a huge hug. "It's no imposition, really. You can stay as long as you need to."

*** I ended up staying longer than I originally planned. Every time I talked about finding my own apartment, the newspaper disappeared. Apparently I wasn't going anywhere without a fight. A week turned into two, which turned into three. The week I had been planning on staying turned into two months without me really trying to move out. I felt safe here.

In the two months I'd been living at Tom's, my cooking skills had improved exponentially. Learning Tom could barely boil water made this a necessity.

During the two months, I had become much closer to Tom. He never asked about what had happened with Jack. I think on some level he knew it was more than the rape, but he never asked.

I had fallen in love with him in those two months. I thought he felt the same.

Yet I was terrified. I didn't want to fall in love with someone who might reject me because he thought I was a pervert.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Maybe I should take the chance. Maybe he would be more understanding. I shook my head. It was time to go to bed if I was thinking like this. "Good night, Tom," I said, standing up. We'd been watching the news, but it really was getting late.

"Good night, Kat."

I went upstairs, got ready for bed and crawled beneath the covers, falling asleep almost instantly.

It was dark, Tom wasn't home yet, which was weird because he came home before I did usually. And always before dark. None of the lights in the house were on, it was deathly quiet. No cars, no animals, just silence. I sat on the couch in Tom's house, staring at the blank TV screen. Blank but glowing softly with a black light. The door opened. Not Tom but Jack. Jack was standing there, holding a bloody knife identical to the one that Travis had used to slice up my back - possibly the same one. Jack spoke, but Travis's words came out of his mouth. "There's my little kitty Kat. Where have you been my little kitty?" Jack had never called me his kitty Kat. That was Travis's nickname for me. And I hated it.

"Where's Tom?" I asked, my voice breaking with fear. I couldn't see Jack's other hand. I could only see the hand that was holding the knife. I could only see that there was blood dripping down behind him as well as in front of him.

He grinned like a mad man. "Here he is my little kitty Kat," he said, revealing his other hand. He was holding Tom's head by the hair, his mouth open in a silent yet eternal scream. It was dripping blood onto the carpet, on to the end of the whip he held in that same hand. A whip. I backed up slowly.

"What have you done?" I managed to squeak out. Tom, my wonderful Tom was dead. I never had the chance to tell him, tell him how much I loved him. Now I never would be able to.

"I'm protecting you my little kitty Kat." That sounded less like Travis and more like Jack. But who was this man? He didn't act like Jack, he acted like a crazy person. No. He was a crazy man. Jack's mind had broken under some unseen pressure.

He stepped closer to me and I screamed as loud as I could, hoping someone would hear.

"Kat!" I was being shaken awake. "Kat, are you okay?"

"Tom?" I blinked a couple of times to clear my vision, then threw my arms around his neck. I was trembling in fear, crying softly. "You're alive!"

"Of course I am sweetie, of course I am." He held me tightly. "Nightmares?"

"You were dead." I took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

"I'm right here Kat, I won't leave you." He stroked my hair and I looked at him. He planted a soft kiss on my lips. "I'll always be here for you."

I crawled out from under the covers and snuggled back into his arms. "Don't make promises you might not be able to keep."

"I'll never willingly leave you alone, Kat." His next kiss was more urgent, prodding. I opened my mouth to his advances, running my fingers through his short brown hair.

There was a tangle of legs as Tom pushed me onto my back, his hands slowly traveling down my body, then up under the large t-shirt I wore to bed. He moved my panties to the side and slipped a finger deep inside my pussy, reaching up to grope my breast with his other hand. "Oooh, Tom," I moaned. He gently nibbled on my neck as he slipped another finger into my pussy.

He slowly moved his fingers in and out of me, flicking my clit. I raised my hips to allow deeper penetration. "You like that, don't you?"

"Yes, oh god yes." He chuckled and pushed my shirt up with his free hand so my breasts were bare. He licked my left nipple before starting to suck on it. "Jesus Christ, Tom."

He chuckled, then kissed his way down my body. When he got to my clit, he started to lick and suck it. I was close. "Tom..." I lost all words when he scraped it gently with his teeth. All I could do was moan as the orgasm shook my body.

Tom leaned up and kissed me. "Good night sweetie." I pulled down my shirt and he wrapped his arms around me.

"Good night Tom." I fell asleep curled up in his arms.

I woke a second time to sunlight streaming through the window. Tom had his arm wrapped around my waist, holding me tight. I snuggled in closer to him. "Good morning beautiful," he whispered.

"Morning." I rolled over, facing him. "What time is it?"

"Don't know, don't care," he said, kissing my forehead. "They'll call if they get too worried." He wrapped his arms around me tighter.

"We really should get up, if only to get breakfast."

"But I'm so comfortable..."

"I'll make pancakes..." That got him out of bed.