01 Untouchable - Untouchable (40 page)

“
Close your eyes,” I
asked.

“
Why?”

“
Please, just for a minute,
I want you to do something for me.”

“
Don’t kiss me,
Leese.”

That stung. “I’m not going to kiss you;
just close your eyes.”

Reluctantly he obeyed.

“
For just a minute, I want
you to think about someone else. Ryan is the only man I can think
to use for this…”

He gave a light laugh, eyes still
closed, “He’s a boy, not a man.”

“
Well he’ll just have to do.
I promised him a date when I return his car and…”

The eyes came open. “You didn’t tell me
that. You said he didn’t want you sleeping with me.”

“
That’s because we never got
to finish that conversation, now close your eyes.”

He gave me an annoyed look and reclosed
his eyes.

“
Just for a moment I want
you to think that this is over, for both of us. Robert has had a
change of heart and calls off the hit, Jack and Ricky are gone.
It’s just me—and Ryan now.” I could already see him tensing. “I
return his car to Pensacola and he takes me on the date I promised
him.” His breathing was starting to get a little harder. “After the
date, I find myself feeling vulnerable because you’re gone and I
end up in his bed.”

The eyes opened, the veins were coming
out on his neck and the jaw was clenching. He grabbed both my arms
and pushed me back and stared at me. “You wouldn’t do that. You’re
not that kind of girl…” he was grinding out the words.

“
But I might. I already told
you yes. What would keep me from…”

“
Leese, you can’t. I won’t
let you…”

His grip on my arms was starting to
become painful and I was afraid I was going to end up with a pair
of bruises like the one that had only recently faded away. “Tell me
what you’re feeling right now, Micah? Tell me the truth. Are you
the only man you can see me with? Would you want any other man to
put a hand on me?”

“
I—I don’t want—I’m just
selfish, that’s all.”

“
You are the one, and you
know it. There is no other man out there I want. Please don’t ever
tell me that if this works out, you won’t be here for
me.”

“
That’s a promise I will not
make to you. But you’re right, I can’t even think about someone
else touching you.” He pulled me in close to that warm chest and
whispered that this was just too damn hard to figure
out.

“
We belong to each other for
however long we have,” I said, my hand finding the remote and
turning off the television. “We’ll figure the rest out if we get
the chance.” This whole conversation had been too hard on both of
us and I decided it was time to back off. “Can I go outside to the
hammock?”

“
Sorry,” he whispered. “I
can’t take that chance.”

I looked up and gave him a weak smile,
“Fine, then I guess a shower will have to do.” I kissed his cheek
and left the room.

When I came out of the shower, I was
surprised to find that he was gone. There was a note on the coffee
table that said he had left to get a rental car, and a reminder to
stay indoors.

Both cars were still in place so I
wondered how he was getting to the rental lot. Surely he didn’t
take off walking, unless he wanted a chance to clear his
head.

I straightened up the bungalow and made
the bed, rearranged the furniture slightly, dug the disposable
dishes out of the trash and washed them simply for something to do.
But, once I had done every possible thing inside, the only thing
left to do was to sit and think. Think about what we’d said to each
other.

What it would mean to be free from the
ugly curse that Robert had hanging over my head. What it would
really mean to be with Micah when this was over. I couldn’t tell
him that there were times when he truly frightened me, but there
was a part inside him that was coming to the surface that I loved
more than anything I’d ever known. I knew the frightening part
would remain with the total package. Someday, if we got a shot at
someday, the unemotional, void and scary part of his personality
would surface and I’d have to learn how to handle it without
turning away. I could only hope I’d survive this and get the
chance.

I heard the sound of a vehicle. I
opened a sliver of the curtain to see a white, four door Taurus
pull up in front of the other unit with Micah climbing out of the
driver’s side.

When he came through the front door, he
had his unemotional face back on. “Grab your stuff. I’m moving you
over to the other unit.”

I was going to rebut, but I could tell
he was in no mood for it. I packed up my items, wondering if he was
going to bring his things as well. When he didn’t make a move to
get his stuff, I asked. “Do you want me to pack your clothes for
you?”

“
I haven’t decided yet if
I’ll stay here or in the other unit with you.”

“
There isn’t any reason to
stay in here. I mean you can watch this unit…”

“
There are plenty of reasons
to stay here, alone. I just want to think it over
first.”

“
If you stay here,” I
challenged him, angry that he might be thinking of putting some
distance between us, “then how are you going to make sure I stay in
the other unit?”

His eyes narrowed and I could tell he
was not happy with my implied threat to escape. “I suppose I could
tie you up, if you make me take that step.”

I crossed my arms and stood there
defiantly.

He walked past me and grabbed his
duffle.

I relaxed.

He was going to get his things. But,
when he turned around, he had something metallic and shiny in his
hands; handcuffs.

“
I told you, you don’t know
what kind of person I am,” he stated, grabbing my arms and pulling
them out in front of me.

He was wide open. I knew the weakest
point in a person’s grip and I could have twisted away. His groin
was exposed for me to plant my knee, and there were a hundred
different points I could pick to strike him, but I couldn’t do it.
I simply caved inside. I handed him my life the day I had guessed
what was happening and I was utterly unable to do anything to
resist whatever he wanted to do with it.

He let go to open the handcuffs, and I
just stood there offering my wrists. His eyes never softened as he
accepted my offered arms. The metal clipped down so tightly that I
winced. For an instant, I saw the regret flash across his face,
then it was gone. He picked up my duffle and threw it over his
shoulder and pushed me toward the sliding door. He opened it and
looked out before proceeding to pull me toward the back door of the
other unit.

He had already unlocked the other
sliding door and he moved me to the single bedroom, but this unit
had two beds. He unclipped one side of the handcuffs and placed the
open end securely around the pole on the headboard. He walked away
and never looked back. I lay down on my back, unable to roll onto
my stomach because of my handcuffed arm, and just cried. I heard
the Taurus crank up and pull away. I couldn’t believe he’d actually
left me this way. The conversation that I had hoped would make him
realize that we belonged together had apparently had the wrong
effect.

I don’t know how much time passed
before I finally sat up and assessed my situation. The handcuff was
too tight and my hand was paying the price. My wrist was trying to
swell and my fingers had begun to tingle. I rubbed my arm to keep
the blood flowing and pulled the red-marked skin out from under the
metal and tried to slip the cuff to the smallest part of my wrist.
I checked the headboard to see if I could free the other end, but
it was firmly bolted to the wall. I pulled the bar that ran
horizontally, blocking me from sliding my handcuff directly over
the top of the post. It wiggled slightly as I pulled it toward me.
I began rocking it back and forth, each time it became a little
more pliable. I kept it up until it finally broke off in my hand. I
lifted the handcuff over the top and was free. Now the only problem
was what was I going to do with this freedom?

I had packed my Porsche keys in my
duffle and they were still there. I could drive away and, even if
he came back as I was pulling out, he’d never catch my car in that
crappy rental. I laughed sardonically to myself, he wouldn’t catch
me even if he had his Vet.

I wondered which unit he would enter
first. Would he check on me or would he simply avoid me by going
back to our old bungalow? I made my decision, wrote him a note and
grabbed my car keys.

It was after dark when I woke to feel
his arms around me. He was kissing my neck and asking if I could
forgive him for what he’d done.

“
Turn on the light,” I
whispered. He reached the bedside lamp and his distraught face came
into view. I was back where he’d left me. I replaced the handcuff
back over the top of the post so I couldn’t wrap my arms around
him, but that was when I felt the pain shooting in my right wrist.
When I had fallen asleep my arm had slid down, pulling the cuff
back to where it was too tight.

I winced and tried to move it. My hand
had a purplish cast.

As soon as he looked at what was
causing me pain, I watched the mortified expression take over.
“Damn it,” he growled out, but I knew it was directed toward
himself instead of me. He quickly fished the key from his jeans and
released me, rubbing and forcing the blood flow back to my
hand.

I cried out, but tried to muffle it by
clamping my free hand over my mouth. It stung so badly, a million
different pin-pricks began to assault the once numb limb and the
red marks where the cuff had bit into my wrist burned like fire. He
just kept rubbing it until the color returned. My eyes were watery,
both from pain and emotion. He pulled me against his chest and
asked me why I didn’t run when he’d given me the perfect reason to
do it.

“
There’s no place else I’d
want to be,” was my choked reply.

“
Come on,” he said, turning
away from me and wiping his eyes.

“
Where are we
going?”

“
I need to get you something
to eat. We’ll go for a ride.” He still wasn’t turning around to
face me and I realized he didn’t want me to see just how emotional
he was at the moment. We slipped into the Taurus and drove away
from the motel. “There is a drive through Chinese take-out up here
on the right, or we could get a burger or a little
seafood.”

“
I’m not really hungry,” I
stated, just glad to be out of the bungalow. It had been hours
since I’d eaten anything, but my emotions overruled my need for
food earlier in the evening.

“
Please eat something,
Leese. You’ve got to be hungry.”

“
Why did you do that to me?
Did I piss you off for some reason? Was it something I
said?”

“
If you’ll eat something,
we’ll talk.” He gave me a pleading glance.

I pointed to the Chinese restaurant and
he pulled up to the speaker box and looked at me expectantly. “Just
some pork fried rice and an ice tea, if they have it.”

He ordered the same for both of us.
Once we pulled away he headed toward the public beach. It was open
until midnight and it wasn’t even ten. There were a few other cars
parked but he drove down to the deserted end and pulled into a
spot. He grabbed the bag of food and opened the door.

“
Don’t you want to stay in
the car,” I asked, as I reached for his arm.

“
Nah, I was out here earlier
today and there are some tables under the pines, we’ll eat
there.”

I followed silently as we walked
through the shadows of Australian pines down to an area just before
it opened into a wide section of moonlit beach.

We sat down and he opened the bag and
handed me a small white box and a plastic fork.

“
So tell me what happened
today. Why did you decide to…” I knew it was partly my fault for
asking how he would keep me from leaving, but there had to be more
to it than that.

“
You made me think about
what I was feeling for you, Leese. You made me think long and hard
about it. You’re right...”

I waited for something more, but he was
silent. Was he admitting that we belonged together forever? Was he
admitting that he was the one for me and I was the one for him? I
had a feeling that wasn’t what he was about to say. “Go on, Micah.
What am I right about?”

“
I told you I’m a selfish
person. When I left to get the rental, I kept thinking about you
and—and someone else. I couldn’t handle it and I realized I can’t
let someone else have you—ever.”

I reached my hand over to rest on his
in the semi-darkness. The trees blocked much of the moonlight, but
I could still make out the pain-filled expression on his
face.

He pulled his hand away from my touch.
“Don’t think it’s love, Leese. That’s not what was running through
my mind. I was relieved…” His voice choked up and I could tell he
was on an emotional edge. He was looking at me now and I could see
the tears starting to run down his face. I wanted so badly to reach
out and stop them, but I knew he needed a minute to finish saying
what was hurting him so much. “I was relieved that when this is
over, no one is ever going to touch you.” He stopped to wipe away
the tears, “God, that is so wrong to know I’d rather have you dead
than to have you with another man. You’re so unselfish and giving
and all I’m doing is taking everything away from you.”