Inseparable Strangers (7 page)

When I opened the
door, he was leaning against the wall. His vibrant green eyes warmed over me as
I walked out. It was odd, but strangely pleasant. Everything about him was
peculiar, indifferent, but it didn’t send warning signals to my brain like it
should. His presence almost seemed to immobilize my brainwaves.

~~~

Now that Aaron was
clean, I allowed him to sit in the entertainment room and enjoy the TV. I’d
told him his limits in the house. He could roam amongst the house just as long
as he never stepped foot upstairs or in the basement. Those two sections were
closed off. That was my “safe” place. Although he’d gained my trust by the
hour, I still couldn’t let my guard down completely.

I had a hair
appointment in thirty minutes and this meant I was going to have to leave Aaron
alone in my home. Zoila came every Wednesday to clean the house and she was due
any minute. Normally I would scold her for showing up a minute late but today I
was hoping she wouldn’t show up at all. I really didn’t want anyone knowing I
was hoarding a homeless man in my home. If my dad found out, he would lose his
shit. I was a daddy’s girl through and through, and if he thought I was in any
sort of danger, he would have the cops here within seconds. A slew of cop cars
parked outside my house was just the perfect headline to make the Sunday’s
paper in this small town.

“Aaron, I have a
few errands to run. Do you think you’ll be okay while I’m gone?” I asked while
I sent Zoila a text explaining to her to not be alarmed when she found a
strange man in the house. All I told her was he was a friend of mine. It wasn’t
her business who he was and why he was here, and she knew better than to ask.

He glanced up at
me, those eyes locking onto mine. “I’ll be fine. Thank you for asking.”

As a test, I
decided to leave Aaron home alone for the rest of the day. His mobility had
improved tremendously from yesterday. If he was legit, everything in my house would
remain untouched and he would carry on as he had been. I texted Zoila to let
her know I wouldn’t be home until later, and under no circumstances was she to
tell him. I also told her to make sure he had something to eat since I wouldn’t
be there.

While I was in
town, I decided to swing by JC Penney and pick up some clothes for Aaron. This
wasn’t a store I normally shopped at, which was good. If I stepped into my
regular boutiques, the attendants would become suspicious. After shopping there
for years, they knew exactly what size my dad wore. As I walked in, I was
surprised to find the store wasn’t as thrifty as I’d assumed. Maybe next time I
bought for Zoila, I would buy her something from here.

By the time I
pulled in the garage, the time on my watch read a quarter after nine. All the
lights outside the house were off and an eerie feeling rushed over me. The
lights were set on a timer, and unless Aaron or Zoila purposely turned them
off, something was terribly wrong.

I killed the
engine and sat a few minutes in my car with the windows down, listening for any
sign of life in the house. White noise filled the garage. After listening to
nothing for too long, I got out of the car and cautiously walked in the house.
The lights inside matched the ones outside — not a single one was on. Complete
blackout. I silently crept into the kitchen, placed my purse on the floor, and
grabbed a butcher’s knife from the knife block.

I quietly walked
down the hall towards the bedroom Aaron was using. A bluish glow flashed from
beneath the door, and I inhaled a deep breath as I was relieved to realize he
was watching TV. Softly, I knocked on the door. I kept the knife pointed down
in my right hand. You could never be too careful, especially when you were
housing an abstruse stranger.

“Come in,” Aaron
called out.

My eyelids closed
for a split second in relief. Suddenly, I wished I hadn’t brought the knife
with me. He was going to be freaked out. He might even think I had some crazy
plan of killing him.

As I opened the
door, with my eyes focused on the shiny weapon in my hand, I felt compelled to
explain. “Don’t freak, but I have a knife in my hand. I don’t have any
intentions of hurting you, but when I saw all the lights off inside and outside
the house, my security alarms started ringing in my head.”

The next thing I
knew, I was standing with my eyes wide open, hands fisted around the knife in
front of me. A blood curdling scream erupted from my mouth when I saw someone
who wasn’t Aaron lying on the bed. My natural instinct kicked in and I lunged
at the man with the knife.

He gripped both of
my wrists, stopping the knife from piercing his chest. “It’s me, Lennox,
Aaron.” The voice matched but not the person. The man standing in front of me
had short, brownish hair. His face was cleanly shaven, but his glowing green
eyes were the same.

“Aaron?” I
whispered in disbelief. “Turn the lights on so I can see you better.”

“You turn the
lights on. I’m not releasing you until you drop that knife.”

His hands were
tight around my wrist. If he put any more pressure on them, I was going to lose
my hold on the knife’s handle. “I’m not dropping this knife until I can see you
better. You might sound like Aaron but I can’t be sure you’re him,” I said,
knowing he had the upper hand in this situation. He was strong enough to take
the knife from me if he wanted to. I just prayed he didn’t.

I was hyper-aware
of how close we were, and it made me uncomfortable. It wasn’t because I didn’t
like it, it was because I felt this strange pull to him. And the way his eyes
drank me in made it even more difficult.

“Okay, I tell you
what, we’ll walk over to the switch just like we are, and we can flip the
switch together,” he suggested. “Does that sound like a plan?” he asked, his
eyebrows raised as if it was a brilliant idea.

What the hell. Did
I have a better idea?

“Okay,” I agreed.

We walked
simultaneously over to the light switch with our arms above our heads looking
like a couple of fools. “You know we look ridiculous don’t you?” I held back a
giggle as I got a visual in my head.

“I’d rather look
ridiculous than be decapitated,” he said seriously. “Imagine how stupid I would
look without a head all because I let my guard down for a split second.” Those
green eyes didn’t reveal a hint of laughter.

Damn, dry much?

If he was this
guarded, then he must’ve really felt threatened by me. Maybe he didn’t have the
upper-hand after all. A touch of smugness formed on my lips.

Gracefully, we
managed to turn the light on without either one of his getting harmed in the
process. When my eyes adjusted to the light, the knife quickly slipped from my
grip. He was beautiful. I know you’re not supposed to say a man is beautiful
but he was. His light brown hair was cut short around the sides leaving the top
long enough to run your fingers through. And that was exactly what I wanted to
do. The braid was gone too.

My eyes focused on
his mouth as he spoke. His kissable lips had just the right shape for his
strong angular jawline. They weren’t those overly large lips you find on many
models, and they weren’t so thin that you couldn’t find them.

His hands released
my wrist and the air felt cool where his heat had just been. It was strange; I
was slightly attracted to him. I knew what he was and what he looked like
before he cleaned up so where was this attraction coming from? Why was I
mesmerized by him? Blinking rapidly, I came out of my trance.
Did he ask me
something?
From the way his emerald greens were assessing me, I’d say he
was waiting for an answer.
Shit. I wasn’t paying attention.

“Huh?” That was a
safe enough response.

“Do you believe me
now?”

I nodded, unable
to stop the electrifying stare going down between us. What was happening? He
had complete control of the situation that wasn’t happening between us.

“I think it’s my
bedtime,” I said so soft, I wasn’t sure if he could hear me.

He nodded once
then turned to climb back on the bed.

Right before I
closed the door behind me, Aaron once again grabbed me without touching me.
“Lennox.” I paused in the doorway, not turning around to face him. “Sweet
dreams.” And with his goodnight wish, I closed the door behind me without
acknowledging him. If you only knew, Aaron.

Is he playing mind
games with me? How is he making me lose control of myself?

A
hand scanted along my thigh leaving a hot sizzle in its path. A gasp passed
through my lips as fear trickled up through my chest. My eyes flashed open, but
I was unable to see who was drudging up a desire from my core.

His
calloused finger pressed over my lips. “Shh… it’s okay. It’s me,” he whispered,
his breath tickling my neck.

He
didn’t have to say who it was; I knew his voice well by now. After all, he’d
invaded my life and I seemed to have lost all control over my mental state.

Aaron
was hovered over me with both arms stationed on each side of my head. The
moonlight streamed through the curtains generating enough light to illuminate
the shadow across his face. His eyes stared at me hungrily with lust. I reached
up to skim my fingertips over his injured ribs and found his skin bare. His
eyes widened along with mine as I realized his entire body was bare.

A
tingling sensation seized my core and I lifted my hips in seek of relief. That
was all it took for Aaron. He lowered his head and his mouth was on mine,
stealing my breath, my sounds, my sexual thirst.

Taking
his knees, he pushed my legs apart and his toned quads pressed down between my
thighs. The feeling of skin on skin was exhilarating. I could feel his hardened
length graze along the top of my inner thigh, teasing the sensitive lips below.
My breathing became shallow with need.

His
lips descended along my jaw, down to my neck, leaving tender kisses along the
way. His tongue darted out, licking a trail along the swell of my breasts, then
he closed his mouth over my cami, pulling the nipple up gently between his
teeth. His hot breath teased the sensitive peak. I arched my back. I wanted
more.

When
his mouth released my breast, the wetness he created chilled me to the bone,
and my nipple peaked as it hardened. He took turns, giving each one attention
until I thought my pussy would explode from all the foreplay.

A
low rumble vibrated against my breast, and I was sure he knew what kind of
sexual frustration he was building up in me. To my relief, he began to kiss
along the same trail he’d made from my breasts to my mouth. As soon as he
reached the top of my chin, his mouth ravished mine in one clean sweep. The
heat from his tongue singed my lips as he slipped it through to explore the
depths of my mouth.

It
felt good, and I couldn’t stop the moan that roared in my throat. This seemed
to bring him pleasure as he reached down to grab my ass cheek. He squeezed the
hot flesh as he deepened the kiss, plunging his tongue further into my mouth.

He
pulled away leaving my mouth craving his taste.

His
moves were primal like a wild animal. He nipped my earlobe then scraped his
teeth along the skin in slow motion. “Are you ready to be fucked?” he
whispered, then graciously licked the shell of my ear.

No
sooner than my brain registered what he’d just said, my legs were positioned
against his chest with my ankles resting on his shoulders. He plowed into me
with one hard push and his long moan was overshadowed by my scream of pleasure.

His
movements were relentless, and I absorbed every thrust he punished me with.
Laying my hands flat on his chest, I studied every hard curve and ripple of his
stomach until I reached the thickened cock moving within my wet heat. My
fingers branded the contours of his body to my mind.

He
continued a steady rhythm that hit every delicious spot in my core. Drops of
sweat fell from Aaron’s face landing on my lips. I licked the salty drops,
tasting his desire on my lips. Before I knew it, I could feel a gradual build
of my orgasm, and with one flick of my clit, an explosion of juices derived
from my pussy followed by my cry of ecstasy.

The
top half of my body shot up from my bed. My brain was muddled with confusion as
the awareness of being alone in my room hit me.

When
I opened my eyes, there was no one there. Something from my peripheral vision
caught my attention, but it disappeared before I could get a better look. Still
confused and trying to figure out if I was dreaming or if my act of intimacy
was real, I flipped my covers off. My sheets were soaked with sweat, but my
body was covered in chills, and wisps of hair were matted to my face. When I
scooted off the bed the cool, wet sheet alarmed my heated core. My panties were
gone.
Holy shit! What the hell just happened to me?

Without
taking the time to slide my panties back on, I dashed out of my room as quietly
as possible. I needed to check on Aaron. I needed to see if he had taken
advantage of me while I was sleeping. Tiptoeing downstairs at an excessive
speed, I reached the bedroom Aaron was using. I didn’t want to allot him any
time to feign sleep. If he was in my room moments ago, he would be naked,
breathing heavily, and probably still sporting a hard-on.

Gently,
I opened the door, peeking in as it widened. He was lying in bed with his back
facing me. It wasn’t clear if he was asleep or not, so I lightly padded over to
the bed and bent down by his head to listen to his breathing. It was slow and
steady. Very easily, I lifted the comforter to sneak a peek of his body. He was
wearing a dark pair of boxer briefs. That was two things indicating the person
I thought I saw walking out of my bedroom wasn’t him. I didn’t take a chance on
looking to see if he had a boner. I felt like I had enough proof already.

Without
any disturbance, I walked back to my bedroom dazed and confused. I was also
relieved to know Aaron didn’t take advantage of me in my sleep.
How could
everything have felt so real but not be?
Even my panties were off.
Did I
take them off in my sleep? Was the dream so intense it caused me to break out
in a sweat?
I was completely baffled, and rightly disturbed. Unconsciously,
Aaron was getting to me more than I realized.

Tomorrow
morning was going to be difficult. Facing him, looking at him eye-to-eye, the
knowledge of what happened between us in my dream was going to be challenging.
The worst part was even though I found him appalling, I now had this
unexplained desire for him, too. I just hoped he wouldn’t be able to read my
body language while around him. The indescribable feeling I was having toward
Aaron didn’t feel like something that was going to disappear anytime soon.

I
crawled back into bed and hoped the remainder of my night ended uneventful. As
I shuffled around to get comfortable, I was still able to feel damp spots on
the sheets. My mind began racing again as I replayed my dream over and over in
my head. Knowing there was no way I would be able to fall back asleep, I
glanced over at the clock and saw that my night had already ended. It was a
quarter after five and within the next hour the sun would be coming up.

Normally
when I had a sleepless night, I would veg out on the couch and watch reruns of
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but not tonight. Tonight I was staying in my room. My
bed might’ve been where the scene of the crime happened but it also served as
my safety net.

Since
I couldn’t go back to sleep and I didn’t have a TV in my room either, I decided
to organize my closet. Two hours later I had created three piles— one was
clothes I hadn’t worn or would never wear again. The second, an endless
quantity of shoes. And the third, a collection, or for better words, obsession
of purses. I probably had every color and style of every high-end brand
possible.

Normally
when I cleaned my closets out I would drop them off at the local consignment
shop. Not that I needed the money for them, but I saw no reason to take them to
the Goodwill. My stuff didn’t belong in a store like that.

When
I got up from sitting on the floor, the muscles in my back and neck screamed at
me for holding them in one position for so long. The sun was shining through
the slits in my curtains, creating white streaks across the hardwood floor. It
was now a decent and safe hour to leave my room so I headed downstairs to find
bags for my items. 

I
was hoping to avoid the man of my dreams, (pun intended) until I’d had at least
two cups of coffee. Aaron was sitting at the bar with a steaming cup of java,
staring off into space. When he heard me step into the kitchen his eyes
captured mine. My heart flip-flopped around in my chest.
Stop it, dammit.
He’s homeless. Remember how disgusting he was. He’s a leech. He might’ve killed
someone once.
I had to remind myself of the person he really was and not
the breathtaking man sitting in my house, drinking my coffee, and sleeping in
my spare bed.

He
lowered his head, releasing the hold he had on me. “Morning,” he said before
taking a sip of his coffee. “I hope you didn’t mind, but I made some coffee.
Finding all the things I needed, I assumed you drank the addictive stuff too,”
he smiled.

This
was the first time I was able to see his smile and it was beautiful. His lips
formed a perfect curve, and he had one dimple that formed at the top of his
cheek, right below his left eye. What an odd spot for a dimple, I thought to
myself. Nonetheless, it was a cute flaw and it fit perfectly on his handsome
face.

“No,
not at all. It’s nice to wake up to the smell of fresh ground goodness,” I
said, pouring me a cup of the warm, brown liquid.

He
nodded then stared back down into his cup before taking another sip.

The
silence was stifling, and it disturbed me how I was allowing a dream to
overtake my emotions. I had to get control of myself before he ended up taking
the reins. I’d always had a handle on my life and I wasn’t about to stop that
now.

Taking
the bull by the horns, I decided to test him. “So, how did you sleep last
night?”

I
caught him mid yawn with my question.

“Well,
from the way it looks, not well, but really, it was the best night’s sleep I’ve
had in weeks.”

Dammit.
That answer could be interpreted a hundred different ways.

“How
about you?” he asked, catching me completely off guard.

“Well…um…good.
It was good. I had a crazy dream, but other than that it was just like any
other night.”

“What
kind of crazy dream? Bad? Good? Scary?”

Was
he challenging me? This was getting very bizarre. I didn’t like the idea of him
molesting me in my sleep, even if it did feel incredible, if that was what
happened. But, it didn’t happen. He was sleeping. I have proof. I saw him
myself.

“You
know, I’m not sure. Have you ever had a dream that you knew was strange, but
you couldn’t remember what it was about?”

He
nodded.

“That’s
how it is for me.”

There
was no way in hell I was giving up the details of my dream to this chunk of hunk.
Oh, my God. What am I thinking? Stop. Just stop.

“Maybe
it will come back to you later. Who knows, you might be lucky enough to repeat
the same dream.”

“I
never said it was a good one, just a strange one, so I’m not sure I want to
repeat it.”

“Huh,”
he shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”

This
conversation was wearing out its welcome. I was ready to move on to a subject
I’d been curious about since they day I had found him.

“So,
how are you feeling this morning? How are the ribs coming along?”

“They’re
still very sore, but I’m able to maneuver a little better than yesterday. I
guess it’s just going to be one of those ‘dealing with it one day at a time’
sort of things.”

“How
about the lacerations you had on your shins? One of them was pretty deep. I
don’t know a lot about first aid and shit, but I swear that one gash could’ve
used a few stitches.”

“Nah,
it wasn’t as bad as it looked. After I cleaned it up, and put a butterfly
stitch on it, it looks as if it’s healing nicely now.”

“That’s
good to hear. I guess when you begged for me not to take you to the hospital you
knew what you were doing.”

He
raised an eyebrow with amusement. “I begged?” Then he lowered it, pulling both
eyebrows together. “I never beg,” he deadpanned.

“Well,
I guess you didn’t necessarily beg, but you were very persistent about it.”

He
nodded.

His
nodding was starting to wear on my nerves.

Time
for the next question. Hopefully this one will be more successful.

“So,
has any memory of what happened came back yet?”

He
shook his head. “Nope.”

And
that was it. That was the extent of our morning conversation. Afterwards, I
fixed myself a bowl of cereal then showered before taking my closet leftovers
to the consignment shop. I left Aaron to himself the rest of the day. I didn’t
like the positive vibe he was administering to my body.