Part 9 (2/2)
Kristen cried out, tried to go back and help. The water was so cold and the waves so angry and unforgiving.
No,he wasn't going to make it, and she couldn't reach him.
”Ben! No! Ben, noooo-”
”Angel?”
”No, Ben. Ben, please!”
”Angel, wake up.”
Kristen snapped her eyes open and found herself staring into the scowling face of the Blu Devil. The next thing that registered was that he was all wet, a green towel curled around his neck. No, he wasn't just wet, he was soaked.
”What's happening? What's wrong?” She scrambled up into a sitting position.
”You tell me. Who's Ben?”
”Ben?” Kristen shook her head. ”I don't know. Why are you all wet?”
”We've got a storm kicking up.”
”It's raining?”
He nodded. ”I was topside for a while. You were calling for Ben. Another nightmare?”
”Yes.” Kristen shoved the sheet aside and hugged her knees. The white sheets were surprisingly clean, the built-in bungalow was cozy and it smelled like... ”Is this room yours?”
”Yeah.”
”I thought you said there were two rooms.”
”Mort's stuff is all over the spare. He must have thought we were going to- I already planned on taking the other room, but if you prefer to stay there, I'll-”
”No. This is fine.”
He turned away, tossed the towel on the floor, then stripped off his wet T-s.h.i.+rt. ”Tell me about this nightmare.”
”I was drowning in the Gulf.” His muscular torso caught Kristen's eye. Not wanting to stare, she began to study the room. She heard a noise, and she turned to see Blu rummaging in one of his drawers. Her gaze traveled the length of his broad back, then lower to where his wet jeans hugged his b.u.t.t and long legs. She had been going to say something, now she couldn't remember what it was.
She should look away. She should snap out of this foolish fog she'd drifted into and concentrate on the nightmare. But all she could think about was how alive she had felt when the Blu Devil wrapped her in his arms and kissed her.
In his bed, seeing him half naked, she should be clutching the sheet and reliving the deja vu fear that had been her life for three years. Yet as big and powerful as Blu duFray was, she wasn't afraid of him any longer. It was crazy, and she didn't completely understand why, but fear was no longer an issue.
She knew very little about kissing, but Blu duFray certainly must. The mind-numbing heat he'd offered her with his mouth had been all about giving instead of taking. And what he'd given her was still churning low and warm in her belly.
He turned and caught her staring. ”Sorry. I should have... I'm just used to-”
”This is your room. It's only natural to do ... uh, to do whatever it is you do in here.” She'd gotten tongue-tied and it was all because she couldn't look at him without remembering the amount of heat and emotion he could fan to life by just breathing on her.
”The nightmare... We were talking about the nightmare.”
”Yes.” Glad he'd brought her down to earth, Kristen curled her legs beneath her in the middle of his bed, ready to tell him anything he wanted to know. Well, almost anything. She still wasn't ready to expose Amanda to anyone. ”I've had trouble sleeping in the past. Dr. Eden gave me a prescription to help me relax.”
”Sleeping pills?”
”Yes. He called it a mild sedative.”
”Do you have them on you?”
”No. I stopped taking them the night I left the house.”
”And you've had trouble sleeping since?”
”Yes.”
”You called out to Ben. Got any idea who he is?”
He hung one hand on his hip, the other held a pair of jeans he'd retrieved from his drawer. He looked tough and dangerous, and Kristen wasn't the slightest bit afraid. ”I don't have a face to put with the name, but he has green eyes. Don't you think that's strange, that I would know what color his eyes are and nothing else?” His wet jeans were making a puddle on the floor. ”Maybe you should change.” She motioned to the water on the floor.
He glanced down, saw the puddle. ”Yeah, I suppose I should. I'll be right back.”
He disappeared inside the head, limping slightly as he went. Again, Kristen found herself wondering what kind of injury had been responsible for the limp. But she didn't have long to wonder. Minutes later he was back wearing a pair of dry jeans that hugged his thighs and hard, flat belly. They were well-worn, and the contrast between the light-colored denim and his coppery chest was startling. Wonderful.
He must have been aware of her roving eyes, and to her surprise, he pulled a gray underwear tank from a drawer and slipped it on. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he asked, ”Do you think you're having trouble sleeping because you don't have the sedatives with you?”
The question brought a frown to Kristen's face. She'd never given any thought to whether she'dneeded the pills to sleep. She'd just been blaming that dreadful nightmare on the lack of them. Yes, she'd gotten used to taking the pills, mostly because they had helped her to deal with the anxiety of having to endure Salva's attention, but she'd never thought- ”Oh, G.o.d! Is that why I can't sleep? Do you think I'm addicted?” When he didn't answer, Kristen stiffened. ”You do, don't you? You think I'm some kind of prescription junkie!”
”Hold on,” he growled. ”I never said that. Don't go putting words in my mouth.” He ran his hands through his wet hair, then looked at her as if he was trying to decide something.
”What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
”I was just wondering if it was intentional. If the pills were a way to control you.”
She didn't dare to comment, but she knew it was true-the pills had helped her, but they had also aided Salva's sick obsession with her. The more repressed she was, the easier she had been to handle. And though he liked seeing her fear grow and her body tense with the knowledge of what would come next, there were times when she...
Kristen squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to remember.
”What's wrong?”
”Nothing.”
She felt a strong hand on her arm, and she blinked open her eyes to see that even though he'd sat as far away from her as he could get, he'd still been able to reach out and touch her. ”I can't go back there,” she whispered. ”Please, don't ever let him touch me again. Please...”
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