For Carla & Grayson, the Magic City Serial Rapist/Killer Gets Personal It’s been nearly two years since their last encounter. Everyone hoped he was dead, especially Special Agent Carla Genny and her lover, Dr. Grayson Baxter. But as he resurfaces, the truth about this monster will hit them close to home. And the one left standing will lose it all
This is a Portrait of Gray Backstory shared free for readers. Enjoy
All Rights Reserved Copyright (c) Palessa 2014-present
CHAPTER 1
Miami, Fl 198?
Their breaths synced as Grayson looked up at Carla, who straddled him. Her sun-bronzed skin had a subtle pink hue. Strands of her luxurious chestnut hair clung to her face as she gave him that catlike smile he adored. Every time they made love, it was something close to perfection in his mind and he wanted nothing more than to hold on to the feelings for as long as possible. Had he known that being in love was so intoxicating, he wouldn't have spent over half of his life numbing himself to any sort of sensation with the medicine chest of drugs his friend Jerry cooked up for them on a regular basis.
But that was the past. Carla was his present and his future. Maintaining their intimate attachment, Grayson quickly flipped her on the bed. Her throaty, seductive giggle gave way to a purr as he kissed her softly, feeling her body shift to be closer to his. With one hand, he caressed her naked skin, letting his fingers gently waft and then cup her neck.
Loving the feel of his weight, Carla moaned and deepened her kiss, using her leg to pull him even deeper into the passion that was reigniting. It had taken her a long time to adjust to being desired by him. After spending so long begging for Zach's love and then walking the path of unattached trysts where the sex lasted longer than the afterglow, Grayson was a shock her heart welcomed. It took her mind a while to catch up but it had come a long way. She loved him. He loved her. What they had was more than she had ever thought she had the right to hope for.
Grayson felt Carla's body welcome him even more. He loved making love to her anytime but in the mornings, it was a delicious treat that had become a bit of a ritual for them when they were able to make the time.
He cupped her bottom as he felt the blistering heat between their bodies get even hotter. On any other morning, he would have succumbed again but this time was different. Before he let himself give in, he had to do one thing first. His free hand and whatever concentration he could muster, he reached under his pillow. Gently pulling from their kiss he moved his hand up to her jaw, her chin caressing them.
Her brown eyes were bright and full of the love he knew she felt for him. There was no question of that between them and in his mind, that was all the proof he needed.
"Marry me," he muttered as he tenderly kissed her cheek.
He felt her body go still for a moment. Inwardly, he smiled because it was never easy to catch his intrepid girlfriend off guard.
"Gray, we--"
Carla heard a soft snap as Grayson reached over and showed her a square cut solitaire sapphire surrounded by yellow and clear diamonds.
Carla looked at Grayson, whose eyes mirrored the color and brilliance of the sapphire. She felt the tears forming but in addition to that acute joy she felt as she looked at the ring and at the man she loved, something else was dampening the moment.
"I thought you'd think it was the sex talking," he grinned. "I figured you'd need proof that I meant it because you are Carla and that's how your mind works."
"It's beautiful, Gray." She looked up at him, seeing the excited anticipation. Then her heart sank and before she had a chance to really absorb everything that was happening, she spoke. "I can't. I can't marry you."
She expected anger, rebuke, both understandable and justified. Instead she saw a tinge of sadness which made her feel worse.
"Why?" Grayson asked quietly, removing himself from her, easing back on his elbow and laying on his side. He gently snapped the box closed. "I know you love me. I feel it." He paused briefly, looking at her steadily.
Carla, raised herself, placing her back against the headboard. She held the sheet over her chest and looked at her fingers playing with each other. If she was truly honest with herself, she wasn't altogether sure why she said no. There was just something inside of her that just pulled back the minute she saw that ring.
Finally she muttered apologetically, "I'm just not ready, yet. I'm sorry."
Carla looked at Grayson, whose lips were pursed as he snapped the box shut. Her stomach lurched as she wondered just how much damage she had done to their relationship, especially when he had bought her such a gorgeous ring.
Carla turned her head to the side and swung her legs off the bed. As she was about to get up, she felt a strong hand hold her wrist. She turned to see a slight smile as Grayson leaned and kissed her shoulder. His hands rubbed her arm as she leaned down and kissed him.
"I do love you, Dr. Baxter." she whispered.
"And I love you, Officer Genny," he muttered with a wicked grin
Carla chuckled. It had been a little over two years since she had left the West Gables Police Department for the Miami Bureau of Investigations, MBI, a hybrid agency of local and federal law enforcement,where she became Special Agent Genny. But Grayson loved to call her "Officer Genny" especially in bed. He tried to pull her back into bed.
"Oh no, you don't!" she squealed as his hands made their way under the sheet fondling her unapologetically. Carla could feel her body become jelly as he scooted closer and kissed her neck. Reluctantly, she wriggled away from him, standing naked, hands on hips. "We both have to get to work. We can continue this little session later."
Carla briefly contemplated giving him a quick kiss but seeing that special sparkle in his lavender eyes and the mild tenting of the sheet, she knew she wouldn't have the strength to stop at just one kiss. Instead she playfully blew him a kiss and scampered to the bathroom.
Hearing the sizzle of the shower, Grayson growled and fell heavily on the bed. The last few years with Carla in his life, had been the happiest he had ever been. Graduating with his PhD in psychology, working special cases with law enforcement and opening his practice, he had been lucky enough to have a waiting list of patients in and out of police uniform.
His life was full.
Maybe the ring was a bit more than he had a right to hope for. The last thing he wanted to be was greedy with his second chance. He shoved it back under the pillow and looked at the ceiling.
His past struggles were no secret unlike his family history. Because of everything that had happened with Cass, and Virgilia's quiet, secretive return from Georgia, Quinn was the only one he felt that he could truly trust. They hadn't been close but ever since Cass' disappearance, he had grown much closer to his little sister. His little sister, he chuckled to himself. She wasn't so little anymore. Quinn was almost twenty and happily moved herself half a world away to school in England. She enjoyed taking classes at the prestigious drama school there living up to her self-prescribed title of the Baxter harlequin, colorful and comical. Their letters and phone calls were frequent as she constantly enticed him to visit and he promised he would when things settled down with his practice.
She made cursory inquiries about their parents and there was hardly anything new there. Joan had been placed on the periphery of the family, barely seen or heard by anyone except Milly while Julian's grief over missing Cass made him delve even deeper into work. The two of them couldn't have been farther apart. Despite everything he had gone through with them, he missed Julian sometimes. The only times they saw each other was when Grayson practically dragged him for a quick meal.
Julian's loneliness in his own family was painful to see and it was ironic that the only link he had to the world around him came from a son that wasn't truly his.
With his thumb on one side of his head and his fingers on the other, Grayson firmly massaged his temples. He had promised himself that he wouldn't bring up the subject of his parentage but it was one thing to say it, another to do it especially when it was one of the most basic question any human had a right to: where did I come from?
Breaking away from his thoughts, he swung his feet off the bed and sat on the edge.
The shower had stopped and he could hear the door gently open. Carla came back to the bedroom wrapped in a towel, her wet mass of dark hair piled on her head.
As Grayson made his way to the bathroom, she patted him on the buttock, eliciting a grunt, and quickly puttered past him to the dresser. Grabbing her lotion, Carla gently massaged her skin and smiled.
If anyone had told her that she would have found this kind of happiness for this long, she would have dropped them hard. Her last serious relationship with Zach had broken her into so many different pieces that she wondered if she would ever be recognizable again. To her, serious relationships did nothing more than mess with your head. She had her career, which she loved. Being a cop was in her blood despite the new federal title she sported. Her father, her brothers, all cops in Braddock, Massachusetts. Her mother was a housewife and expected her only daughter to follow that same path. There was always a tinge of disappointment whenever she felt Carla was putting off getting married and starting a family. To her mother, that was a woman's highest calling. To Carla, it was something akin to an eight-by-ten at Alcatraz. Then she met Grayson for the second time and she was never the same.
Carla loved Grayson completely.
Their relationship felt so easy and right that she had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming it up. But, on the other hand, she loved her freedom and her career, both of which she fought hard for. The question was would she be able to have all of that with a ring on her finger? Would what they have morph into something like prison if she said yes to him?
As she finished getting ready, the phone rang.
It was Carl Weatherly, her boss and partner at MBI.
"Glad I caught you, Genny."
Carla looked at her watch. It was barely seven-twenty and Grayson was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast.
"I was about grab some food. What's happening?"
There was a moment of tense silence before he answered. "It looks like the Magic City Serial's back."
