Shadows of Merrill Hill

Toni hadn’t slept long before something inside the strange house awakened her. Sitting straight up in the unfamiliar bed, she knew immediately and instinctively that something was wrong.
Jumping out of bed she turned on the lamp on the bedside table. Picking up the discarded negligee, she checked the lock on the door. It was not locked now! She distinctively remembered locking it before she took her bath but now it opened with one turn of her wrist.
Then she heard it again…a voice coming from down the hall; pulling the negligee tighter she walked silently on bare, hesitant feet down to the room Dr. Merrill had placed his aunt earlier. The carpet felt soft and fuzzy under her bare toes. The door was partially open; Toni stood there, pressed tightly against the wall as she listened shamelessly.
“Who’s there? What are you doing in here? Take your hands off me…no, no; don’t push me! No…!”v The voice sounded upset, more than a little frightened; her fear evident. Toni was stunned for a moment as she stood quietly against the outside wall.
Swallowing her own fear, Toni glanced inside. She was really afraid of what she might discover there. The small lamp beside the bed still burned. Briefly she glanced all around the room. There was no one there. The little lady was all alone, obviously dreaming and only crying out in her sleep, although she was probably still delirious or she could be reliving the horror of her fall.
After listening to her mumble a few more incoherent words, Toni turned around to make her way back down the darkened hall toward the patch of light coming from the bedroom where she was sleeping.
Instantly she realized she’d turned in the wrong direction; the second set of stairs confused her; these went back toward the kitchen area; not the front where her bedroom was located. The light she saw was not coming from the pink bedroom at all but from a lamp in another room.
She spun around so fast her foot caught in the thin material of the long train of the borrowed negligee. She stumbled, completely off balance then sprawled flat on her face on the carpeted hallway. The heavy thud of her limp body reverberated loudly down the hall. Momentarily she lost her breath, gasping with pain, her head whirling dizzily. Her wrist throbbed painfully where caught the weight of her entire body.
The door across the hall from her opened, flooding her with bright light as she crouched there, trapped and tangled in the confining folds of the long gown. She struggled vainly to stand.
“What happened? What caused you to fall?”
Dr. Merrill’s tall shadow was silhouetted in the doorway for just a moment before he sprang to her aid, helping her to her feet with his muscled arms of steel.
She laughed hollowly to hide her confusion. “Just being my usual, clumsy self.”
“I’m sorry I woke you.” she murmured lamely.
He pulled her closer to him, his hands firm and warm on her waist through the flimsy, thin material of the silk gown.
“You didn’t wake me. I’m behind in reading some medical journals. But, what are you doing up right now and down on my end of the hall this time of night?”
“Pure ignorance,” she laughed lamely as she rubbed her burning wrist. “I thought I thought your aunt might be calling out for help but she was only talking in her sleep. I must have turned in the wrong direction then. I tripped on this long gown and fell on my silly face. I’m so sorry for disturbing you.”
“Step in here for a moment so I can see if you’re all right.”
“I’m perfectly fine…” she protested but he led her into the bedroom, closing the huge door soundly behind them.
His strong sure fingers roamed over the bones of her wrist. She didn’t pay any attention to his room; she only had eyes for him. The commanding presence of this warm giant of a man fascinated her completely. His large muscular body was overpowering; but the piercing gaze of his blue eyes robbed her of any ability to speak coherently.
For a few seconds his eyes flashed fire; he unconsciously pictured that long dark hair tangled up in the white sheets of his bed…she looked so seductive that his body grew hot with sudden desire.
“You should never wear your hair up,” he ordered hoarsely. “You should let it flow long and free, wild as the wind in the trees…like it is right now.”
She shook her head in confusion; her silver eyes grew wide with concern but she couldn’t utter a single sound.
“You’re absolutely stunning like this,” he groaned heavily, moving against her quickly. “Do you have any idea what effect the sight of a lovely woman in that gown in my bedroom in the middle of the night does to me?”
She tried to back slowly away from him. Her eyes grew wide in fear; she felt the color leave her face. His eyes, half mocking, half tender looked at her, his sensitive, almost sardonic mouth curled in a brief smile as one strong warm hand burned her skin, making her tremble with an unfamiliar, sensuous desire.
Stepping back helplessly, she bumped into the solid wall behind her. She was immobile as his other hand traveled down the side of her neck toward the exposed skin of her chest. His hold tightened as he jerked her completely off her feet until she was pressed up tight against him, virtually binding her helplessly in his strong arms.
Her trembling body was vitally aware of every inch of his warm fame. His left hand grasped her waist, pulling her closer to him. She was vibrantly aware of his masculine strength and hard arousal. She saw the swift, hard beat of a pulse throb along his temple as a muscle twitched in his tanned cheek.
He bent his dark had, shutting out all light. She closed her eyes suddenly in breathless anticipation of his kiss. His lips brushed hers tentatively then grew harder as they clung desperately to her mouth as her lips opened naturally under his.
Her heart pounded against his as she returned his embrace. She’d never been affected by a man’s kiss before, but she strained to be closer to him as she responded warmly, wantonly for the very first time in her life.