Secret Worlds (371 page)

Lash trailed off and furrowed his brow. He cocked his head to the side as if he were listening to something.

Naomi strained to hear what he was listening to, but all she caught was Ellen arguing with her mother over the phone. “What’s wrong?”

Lash flicked his eyes toward Dantan’s office. “I knew it,” he mumbled.

“What? Knew what?”

He shook his head, then turned his attention to Naomi. “Uh, Tori’s story. I remembered that I heard it somewhere else before. She made it up.”

Naomi eyed him suspiciously. There was something he wasn’t telling her.

When Dantan opened the door to his office and called her in, Lash took hold of her hand briefly, sending a tingling sensation up and down her arm again. He looked at her intently, sending another flurry of butterflies to her stomach. She wondered if it had anything to do with the burrito Chuy dared her to eat earlier from the new mobile food truck in the neighborhood. It was the only rational reason she could think of for feeling so strange.

“I’ll be here for you,” he murmured quietly. Then he glowered at Dantan and spoke louder, as if he were directing his words to him instead of Naomi. “Ellen and I will be here waiting for you. We won’t go anywhere until you come out.”

Naomi gaped at Lash and then at Dantan. They were both behaving oddly. One minute Lash was spilling his heart out to the group, and the next he was acting protectively, as if Dantan was out to hurt her. She sighed. She had no idea what to expect from Dantan, but he was a well-respected psychologist and had given her no indication during the group session that he was anything but polite and professional. She might as well get this over with. As she walked into his office, she saw Dantan glare at Lash one last time before he closed the door.

The weeks in group therapy flew by. It took a while for Naomi to get comfortable talking about her father. When she did mention him, she didn’t tell them how the Sutherland camp had framed him. Surprisingly, when she shared her story, the others were polite and supportive; even Tori managed to find a kind word to say to her.

She’d anticipated that the others would take time warming up to her. Not Ellen, though. Ellen had spilled her entire life story during the ride home after the first session. At the following group session, Ellen had hugged Naomi tightly, as if she were her best friend. Naomi had the funny feeling that Ellen had had few friends in her life.

What Naomi hadn’t anticipated was that she would actually look forward to the sessions. She found herself taking extra care in selecting her clothes and applying her make-up. At one point, Chuy teased her about having a crush on her shrink. Naomi simply rolled her eyes and said making herself look good made her feel better, and that there was nothing wrong with that. An image of Lash crossed her mind when she said it, but she quickly dismissed it.

Naomi had to admit that she wondered about Lash from time to time. He shared little about himself, but what little he did share was profound. He obviously cared about and missed his family deeply. At the same time, it was as if he wore a chip on his shoulder, as if he expected someone to hurt him. It was at those times, when he was most vulnerable, that Naomi felt drawn to him. He would say something that was clearly difficult for him to say and then glance at her. They would lock eyes, and she’d feel an intense connection with him that she couldn’t explain. But then, as quickly as the moment came, he’d say something humorous and break the connection.

Ever since her first group session, Ellen had offered Lash and Naomi a ride every week. It was obvious that Ellen was infatuated with Lash. To his credit, he was the perfect gentleman to her and never teased or took advantage of her feelings. Still, Naomi worried Ellen would mistake his kindness for something else and be hurt when she discovered that Lash did not think of her in that way.

Naomi wasn’t sure, but she thought that Lash might be interested in her. The thought of it sent chills of excitement through her, and she’d promptly chastised herself for being silly over a man she hardly knew. Against her better judgment, she couldn’t stop thinking about his lingering glances during their group sessions, not to mention the times she caught him looking at her reflection in the rearview mirror when Ellen drove them home.

“Good group today, you think?” Lash asked after the session was over.

He touched Naomi’s arm, and the bottled water slipped from her hand. Why did her body have to go into stupid mode whenever he touched her?

“Uh, yeah. It was good.” She was all thumbs as she tried to pick up the bottle from the floor. Why did it keeping slipping from her hands? She felt like a moron.

Lash chuckled, bent down, and grabbed the bottle. “Slippery little sucker. Let me wipe off the condensation for you.” He lifted his t-shirt, exposing a sliver of muscled stomach. Naomi couldn’t take her eyes off him. Her fingers itched to touch him, wondering how it would feel.

“Here you go … Naomi?”

Naomi blinked, and her eyes shot up to meet his. He wore an amused expression.

Oh, God.
Her face felt hot. “Sorry, I was thinking about … something.”

Lash leaned into her suggestively and raised an eyebrow. “I would say so. Anything … interesting?”

“Get a room,” Tori said as she passed them on the way out the door.

Naomi was mortified. “I-I-I was thinking about calling Ellen to see if she needed anything,” she spluttered. Before the group session, Ellen had texted both her and Lash that she was at home with the flu.

“That’s nice of you. But don’t you have to get to your self-defense class in a few minutes?”

Naomi looked down at her watch. “Crap, I gotta go.” The community center was several blocks away. If she ran, she might make it on time.

“It’s getting dark. I’ll go with you.” Lash opened the door.

“You really don’t have to.” She rushed out the door, hoping he wouldn’t follow. When Ellen dropped her off, she didn’t have to worry about Chuy meeting Lash; Ellen always drove away before Naomi walked through the door. She dreaded the thought of her nosy cousin meeting him.

“No problem,” Lash said, chasing after her. “I could use the exercise.”

Naomi was outside for less than five minutes, and she could feel the sweat oozing from her pores. She panted as she pushed her way through the thick humidity. Even though it was late in the evening and the sun was starting to set, the heat continued to engulf the city. Her bangs were plastered to her face, and she just knew her hair had frizzed up. It probably looked like she’d stuck her finger in an electric socket. Lash, on the other hand, had well-behaved hair that waved back off his face and not a spot of sweat in sight.

Lash jogged ahead of her and ran backwards—his eyes twinkled with amusement. “Want me to carry your bag for you? You look like you could use the help.”

She scowled. Why did he have to look so perfect? “No … thank you. I … got it,” she panted.

“Are you sure?” He glanced at the street sign as he continued to jog backwards. “We’ve got four more blocks to go.”

She nodded. If it wasn’t for the damn humidity and heat, she wouldn’t be so out of breath. She groaned when she thought of what Chuy was going to say when he saw her. She’d been meaning to start working out again. Yeah, right. Who was she kidding? She hated exercise.

“Here we are.” He held the door open for her. “After you.”

Naomi leaned against the wall and took a drink of her water. “Give me a minute.”

She dug into her bag and pulled out a rubber band. Tossing her head down, she gathered her hair into a ponytail and twisted the band around it. She flipped her head back and immediately felt a breeze on her neck cool her off.

“That’s better,” she said, smiling. Lash stared at her, the cocky expression on his face gone.

“What’s wrong?” She wondered if the heat had gotten to him. That would serve him right for teasing her.

“I’m not sure. I have this funny feeling—like déjà vu.”

Naomi gazed into his eyes, mesmerized by the soft tone of his voice. The only time he sounded like that was when he was talking about missing his Uncle Ralph. In that moment, she forgot where she was and what she was doing. An image from the deepest recesses of her mind surfaced, a river and eyes like Lash’s staring intently at her.

“It’s about time, Naomi. Who’s this?”

Naomi jumped at sound of Chuy’s voice.

“Hey, you mind closing the door? You’re letting out the cool air,” Chuy said to Lash.

“Sure, no problem.” Lash was about to step into the building when Naomi moved in front of him.

“Thanks for walking with me, Lash. See you next week,” she said, grabbing the door handle and attempting to pull the door closed.

Lash looked at her, surprised.

“Lash? That’s an interesting name.” Chuy extended a hand to him. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Naomi’s cousin, Chuy. Why don’t you come in and join us?”

Dear Lord, help me
, she thought as Lash shook Chuy’s hand.

“I’m sure you have other things to do,” Naomi said to Lash. “You don’t have to stay.”

“Nope. I don’t have any plans. I’d love to stay,” he said as he walked past her and into the building. “Maybe I’ll learn something.”

“Great, we could use the extra help. Most of the time, I pair up with Naomi to provide the demonstrations.”

Oh, no.
He’s going to ask Lash to partner with me.
Don’t do it, Chuy.
Naomi stood behind Lash waving her arms at Chuy, trying to get his attention.

“If you don’t mind pairing up with Naomi, it would make it easier for me … to teach … the …” Chuy glanced quizzically at Naomi. “Why do you keep shaking your head?”

Naomi froze when Lash turned to her. “I don’t mind at all,” he said with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “Anything to help out.”

She smiled weakly and wondered how she was going to handle having his hands on her body.

***

Raphael is right. I’m an idiot.
Lash rubbed his hands against his jeans. He was so busy thinking about how he wanted to be near Naomi, so wrapped up in his desire to touch her and feel the soft curves of her body underneath him that he didn’t think about what would happen if he actually acted out his desires. As it was, it was getting more difficult to pretend he didn’t care. He did. More than he should. He closed his eyes and groaned. How did he get himself into this mess?

He was attracted to Naomi. She was beautiful. What was there not to like? He’d thought that it wouldn’t go further than that surface level of attraction, that he’d have his fun flirting with her. He’d done it with other women before. It was harmless fun. Then he’d gotten to know her. The more she talked about herself in group and the more he watched how she protected her family and even Ellen, whom she hardly knew, the more drawn to her he found himself to be. To top things off, there was the strange physical attraction he felt every time he touched her. He’d never experienced it with anyone else. Now here he was, volunteering to place his hands on her. In front of her cousin!

“Okay, people.” Lash’s eyes flashed open when Chuy clapped his hands. “We have a guest who is going to help us out with today’s demonstration. Everyone, say hi to Lash.”

Six pairs of eyes turned in his direction. “Hi, Lash.”

Lash felt his face grow warm as he waved. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. It was so unnerving. He’d never felt embarrassed before.

He looked at the members of the small class. There was a woman in her early thirties and what appeared to be her teenage daughter with her. The girl wore her hair in a long braid and watched Chuy’s every move. Two other girls were paired up and wore matching sorority shirts. An older couple, who looked like they were in their fifties, completed the class. Lash’s gaze lingered on them, taking in the matching Journey concert t-shirts and grey jogging pants. They were one of those couples who had been together so long they had started to look like each other.

“Today, I’m going to show you how to get out of a back choke hold. Lash, you stay right there. Naomi, come over here and stand in front of Lash.”

Good. Back choke. I can do that. Better than seeing her front.
Lash stifled a moan when Chuy placed Naomi inches from him. His eyes took in the graceful arch of her neck and traveled down the small of her back to the firm roundness of her bottom.
This was a bad idea.

Lash’s hands seared with heat when Chuy placed them onto Naomi’s shoulders.

“When you have someone coming from behind, you’re going to want to swing your arm around like this.” Chuy took hold of Naomi’s left arm. “Go ahead and swing it.”

She swung her arm out and behind, hitting against Lash’s forearm. As she twisted toward him, her hand slammed into his neck and his hand slid down, brushing against the fullness of her breast. He moaned.

“Did I hurt you?” Naomi looked wide-eyed at him. “I didn’t mean to hit so hard.”

Right, my neck.

“A little. I can take it.” He rubbed a hand along his neck. He barely felt her hit him. What he couldn’t take was touching her like that again.

“Good job, Naomi,” Chuy said before he turned to the rest of the class. “Get into your pairs and practice this move and if we have time, we can work how to defend yourself when someone has you down on the ground.”

Lash balked. There was no way he’d be able to control himself if he had to have his body pressed against hers.

As Chuy left to help the others, Lash turned to Naomi. “Uh, did you want to practice?”

Naomi bit her lip, and Lash diverted his eyes. He wished she wouldn’t do that. “I guess so.”

Lash let out a rush of air. “Okay. Turn around, and we’ll try the move again.”

After ten exquisitely torturous minutes, Chuy called Naomi to help him demonstrate the move to the mother-daughter pair. Lash sighed and sank to the floor.

He watched the older couple as they practiced. The woman swung a little too hard and turned so fast that she bumped into her husband, sending him to the floor.

Lash rushed to his side. “Are you okay?”

The man gave him a wink and then looked at his partner. “Couldn’t wait to get me on my back, could ya, Deborah?”