Borrowed Identity (16 page)

B
ACK AT
M
OORE
H
OUSE
, Kelly went straight to her room, holding on to her composure by a thin thread. Of all the things she had imagined happening at the hospital, forgiving her mother had not been one of them. The woman had burned her, scarred her for life, inside and out. But Kelly couldn’t hate her mother anymore.

Mona Hall was sick. It wasn’t her fault any more than it would have been had she developed cancer.

Kelly hadn’t expected her mother to be stuck in the past, living in the hopes of seeing her little girl again. It was an awful tragedy all the way around. She prayed her mother would find some sort of peace.

Kelly entered her bedroom without a thought to a possible intruder or another awful message until she was walking through the doorway. Fortunately, there was nothing. Not a single thing out of place.

With a sigh of relief, she collapsed onto the bed and felt her tumultuous emotions wash over her. The bed sagged beside her and a hand stroked her hair. Familiar fingers rubbed her scalp. Before he spoke, before she saw him, she knew without a doubt it was Michael.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “You probably hate me now for making you go through that. I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t know it was going to be like that.”

“No.” Kelly lifted her face. “I’m glad I did it. She’s not the way I remember her at all. I was afraid of her. I had built her up in my head to be some sort of horrible monster. But she’s not. She’s a lonely, sick woman.”

“I bet.” Michael’s tone was a bit hostile.

“I forgive her for what she did. I can’t hold on to that anger anymore. It’s not healthy.”

“I agree with you there.”

“I need some time to myself. Could you leave me alone for a while?”

“No,” he said. He lifted her until she was sitting beside him. “I have to tell you something first. Then I’ll go if you want me to.”

“Okay.”

“That was the most remarkable thing I have ever seen anyone do. You confronted your worst nightmare—your past and your mother. And you held together.”

“I cried,” she interrupted. “I wasn’t exactly brave.”

“Yes, you were. You
are
brave. You got in touch with your emotions. There’s no shame in that.” The muscle in his jaw jumped and he turned his eyes away from her. “There are some things in my life that I wish I’d cried over now. Instead, I played the tough guy. I locked my feelings away until I couldn’t reach them anymore. There’s nothing wrong with feeling.”

“Tell me,” she breathed. “Let me in, Michael. I want to know everything about you. I don’t want you to hold anything back from me. It’s too important.”

“Know this,” he said. One of his hands stroked her cheek. His eyes met hers steadily. “I am so in awe of you right now.”

It was an incredible admission, and it caught Kelly off guard.

Tears filled her eyes, but this time they represented hope and light. She wanted Michael more than she ever had before. She wanted to make love to him, wanted to give him the one thing she hadn’t given another living soul. Long ago she had made the decision to save herself for the faceless man of her dreams, a man she hoped to meet one day. Sometimes she’d felt silly for waiting.

Now she knew what she’d been waiting for, and it was more than worth it.

It was her turn to touch him. Kelly caressed his face, savoring the feel of the hard planes and the soft flesh. He had tiny wrinkles at the corners of his eyes that crinkled when he smiled. Her fingers lovingly touched them now, memorizing the moment, tucking it away in her mental scrapbook. She didn’t want to ever forget what she was feeling at this moment.

She leaned closer and kissed him full on the mouth.

His lips were soft yet demanding, hardening for a brief moment.

Kelly straightened up. While holding his gaze, she reached for the hem of her sweater. A split second later it was off. She tossed it to the floor, her eyes still locked with his. She heard his breath catch and she saw the desire in his eyes. He wanted her as much as she wanted him.

“I should probably warn you,” she said. “I haven’t been with a man before.”

“What do you mean?” His expression froze.

“I’m a virgin.”

Her hands went to the hooks at the back of her bra.

Michael blinked at her in wonder. She had finally managed to stun him. She tensed for the rejection she feared would come after such a confession.

“Wow,” he said, releasing the breath he had been holding. “I should probably tell you a few things too. I’m not who you think I am,” he confessed.

She smiled, unhooking the bra clasps. “You are everything I’ve ever wanted.”

“I’ve been with a lot of women,” he said. It wasn’t a boast, rather like an admission of guilt. “I just want you to know that. None of them made me feel like you do. If you don’t ever believe another thing I say, believe that.”

She moved to lower her bra, exposing her vulnerability to him.

Michael’s hands covered hers, stopping her.

“This is an incredible gift you’re offering me,” he said. “But you should give it to a man who deserves it. I don’t. I’m not a knight in shining armor, angel. I’ve done some bad things. If you knew, if you had any idea what my past is like, you wouldn’t be here with me now.”

“Yes, I would. Trust me. When I look deep into your eyes, I see the real you. The time for true confessions is past, Michael. Make love to me. That’s all I want. Everything else is trivial.”

He released her hands and she tossed her bra aside.

“Are you sure?” He asked the question even as his hands were betraying him, sliding up her body.

“Make love to me,” she repeated.

Michael gently laid her next to him, and his clothes quickly joined hers on the floor.

Being with Michael was more incredible than Kelly had imagined it would be. He seemed to give her everything, sharing everything including his soul with her. It was a sensual dream. His hands, his mouth, his tongue traveled over her, exploring her flesh until she was ready to purr in delight.

After what seemed to be endless hours of amazing torture, Michael joined his body with hers. Brilliant colors swirled as Kelly was lifted higher than she’d ever been before.

In the past she had worried that she wouldn’t know what to do, wouldn’t be able to please a man. Michael took those concerns and blew them away like green mist.

His world became her world. There was the feel of his hair beneath her fingers and his hard muscles encased in smooth skin. All of her senses were being stimulated simultaneously, adding to her pleasure.

There was the sound of Michael’s breathing, soft at first, then growing fast and hoarse as the two of them reached for the clouds.

There was the sight of Michael’s incredible body as he moved over her and beneath her and within her. Not even the pain that accompanied his possession of her could mar the beauty of the moment.

There was the smell of lavender on his skin, from the soap he had used in the shower that morning. The sweet scent teased her nostrils. She couldn’t get enough of it, of him.

There was the salty taste of his flesh on her tongue.

When she thought it couldn’t get any better, Michael proved her wrong. He took them both to dizzying new
heights, flying them closer to the sun. She couldn’t take it. She was going to explode.

Kelly arched her back and dug her fingernails into his shoulders.

He didn’t complain. He appeared to be lost in his own world, head thrown back and eyes closed. The thing that had brought them closer than any two people had a right to be was now tearing them away from each other, sending them on solo journeys of self-discovery.

Kelly cried out.

Michael collapsed against her, his damp forehead resting in the groove of her neck. His erratic breathing matched her own.

She was sure she wouldn’t recover from this.

Her eyelids floated shut. Without a word they fell into a deep sleep in each other’s arms. It was as it should be. Kelly relived the beautiful lovemaking in her dreams. Everything was perfect.

Then something was wrong.

Someone was trying to come between her and Michael, yelling at the top of their lungs.

“Fire!”

Chapter Ten

Michael’s eyes flew open. He didn’t move a muscle, barely breathing as he listened for the sound that had pulled him from a deep sleep. Part of him believed “Fire!” had been screamed in his dream, a mere apparition that faded in the light of reality.

So he waited and listened.

“Fire! There’s a fire. Get out!”

The desperate voice didn’t come from his imagination. Paddy—he was certain it was Paddy—yelled from somewhere down on the first level, trying to wake them before they burned to death. Paddy was probably trying to control the flames by himself until help could arrive.

Michael threw back the covers and jumped to his feet. He ran to the door, testing it by placing his palms flat against it. The door was cold; there wasn’t any telltale warmth in the wood. If there was a fire, it wasn’t anywhere near the bedroom.

He opened the door and stepped into the hallway, sniffing the air. There was definitely an acrid smell of smoke in it; the house was on fire. Michael raced back into the master bedroom, knowing every second counted. He struggled into his clothes. The house was big, but that didn’t mean they had forever to make their escape.

Michael took a blanket to the bathroom. Tossing it into
the tub, he turned the water on full blast. He didn’t take time to turn the water off. Instead, he pulled the dripping blanket from the tub and returned to Kelly’s side.

“There’s a fire,” he shouted, shaking her awake. “We have to get out!”

“Fire? Are you sure?”

“I could smell smoke in the hallway. I’m sure enough. Better safe than sorry.” He threw her clothes at her. “Get dressed.”

He lifted Kelly high into his arms once she was fully clothed. “I can walk,” she yelled back. “Put me down.”

Michael set her on her feet but grabbed her hand, fearing he could lose her if the smoke was too heavy downstairs. They held the wet blanket over their heads and stepped into the hallway. The smell of smoke was heavier now, more insistent.

They stumbled forward.

Michael wrapped an arm around Kelly’s waist as they descended the stairs. A black fog of smoke enveloped them. Oxygen became a precious and rare treasure. Michael would have traded ten bags of diamonds for one breath of clean, fresh air. He covered his mouth and nose with an edge of the blanket.

He took a tentative breath and choked.

It wasn’t working. A wave of dizziness crashed over him, almost knocking him from his feet. The front door was too far away. They weren’t going to make it.

Kelly stumbled, and his arm tightened around her in an effort to keep her on her feet. They made it to the bottom of the staircase. Michael looked in the direction of the front door, but he couldn’t see a damn thing with his eyes burning from the smoke.

Kelly swayed and slumped forward, obviously losing consciousness. She would have hit the floor if he hadn’t grabbed her more tightly. He let the blanket go and swung her up in his arms for the second time. The most intelligent
thing he could do was to get down on the floor and crawl to the door, he knew, but he had to get Kelly out of the house. Desperation pushed him. For all he could tell she wasn’t breathing.

He staggered forward. She didn’t weigh much more than a feather, but he was feeling weak and nauseous himself. His limbs had turned to molasses. His throat was raw and his lungs ached, scorched by the heat.

They weren’t going to make it to the door. At least Kelly was out cold and wouldn’t suffer. Michael didn’t care about himself, only the sweet lady in his arms. She had to live. Paddy would have phoned out to report the blaze. Where were the firemen?

Flames crackled somewhere in the background. Michael didn’t have the time or the inclination to look for their source. He only knew the fire was closer than ever before.

His arms strained under Kelly’s weight. He went down on one knee, striking the bone hard against the wood floor. Pain shot up his thigh. Desperate to breathe, he turned his head, pushing his face into Kelly’s hair. Smoke was everywhere. He couldn’t get away from it.

Grunting, he used his last drop of strength to stand.

His life flashed through his mind like a series of snapshots.
What a waste.
From the sadness of losing one person after another, to his current situation, he saw his life laid out like a giant map, going nowhere.

He gazed down at Kelly’s angelic face and felt the pang of true remorse. He should have told her the truth. He vowed that if they made it out of the house alive, he would tell her everything, hold nothing back. Then once he knew she was safe, he would let her choose. If she told him to leave and never return, he would do that. Even if it killed him inside.

Perhaps leaving would be for the best. He was a lost cause when it came to relationships.

The truth was Michael Taggert didn’t know how to love. No one had taught him, although a few had tried. For some
reason he was cold inside. His heart and soul had turned black long ago, long before he’d seen Kelly’s loving blue eyes.

As if in answer to his prayer, the front door swung open and firemen poured in. The first one through the door took Kelly from Michael’s arm, ignoring his faint protests. The second fireman grabbed Michael by the arm and half dragged, half carried him outside into the frigid cold.

Blessed oxygen filled his lungs. The fresh air brought on a horrible coughing spell. Michael’s body shook uncontrollably.

When they reached the ambulance, a paramedic slapped an oxygen mask onto Michael’s face. A few more coughs racked his body, but he didn’t care. He was in better shape than Kelly. He watched the paramedics work on her, using a round of CPR to revive her.

She didn’t appear to be responding.

Michael offered a silent prayer to the heavens, begging for his angel’s life. In a short time she had become the most important thing on earth to him. He didn’t care what happened to him in the future; he just wanted Kelly to live. She was too good, too pure to die so young.