Tempted (38 page)

I awake with a start
–
more than a start.
 
It’s like Uma Thurman in
Pulp Fiction
when she ODs and is revived by a shot of adrenaline to the heart.
 
I bolt upright in bed and wonder what the heck I must have been dreaming about to cause such panic.
 
The house is absolutely still, something I’m not used to.
 
No rustling feathers, no purring, no snoring
–
from either Persephone or Mom
–
only absolute stillness.
 
I lay back down with a smile, loving the coziness of my bed and everything that goes with slumber.
 
I am falling deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole of sleep with just a glimmer left of the real world above, whe
n I feel the bed jo
stle.
 
Earthquake
, my mind shouts!

Before I can wait for the confirmation of a second jolt, I feel a body spooning me and a mouth all over my neck and shoulder.
 
I am too dumbfounded to even scream.
 
I realize I have no idea who is next to me, but a rigid erection pressed against my tailbone tells me it is a male.
 
Lamely, and as calmly as I can, I gasp, “Why are you here? What do you want?”

“I want you
Claire Eden
.
 
You are mine.
 
And I’ve been patient enough.”

Still not thinking clearly, the word patience rings a bell and my thoughts fly straight to Alex.

“Alex?” I whisper
.

“Who’s Alex?
 
You mean that
namby-pamby fancy
pants
from New York?”

I recognize the voice and am suddenly scared.
 
“Nimo.”

“Of course it’s me.
 
Not your precious cyber fling or little houseboy David.”

How does he know about David?

“I have waited and waited for you to come to your senses and act like an adult.
 
But I am tired of waiting.
 
You’re mine and it’s time you accepted it.”

He pulls me onto my back and forcibly wedges a leg between my clenched thighs.
 
The one time I choose to sleep nude and am completely alone, and completely vulnerable.
 
I have never felt so defenseless and have no idea what to do.
 
He pins my arms and begins kissing my lips and breasts hungrily, all the while muttering that I am his and it’s time he claims what belongs to him.
 
I thrash my head from side to side trying to avoid his mouth on mine, all the while trying desperately to reason with him.

“Nimo, not like this.
 
Is this really how you want our first time together to be?
 
By force?
 
I thought you wanted to marry me.”
 
It’s clear I can’t overpower him and escape.
 
I pray for a solution, and with everything in me
,
I strain to be rational and talk my way out of impending rape.

“We
will
be married.
 
I already told you, the psychic said so.”

“But did the psychic tell you to rape me?”
 
I cringe at the word, surreptitiously working to slip from his grasp.

“It’s not rape.
 
You’re my wife and I look after you.
 
I could have had you many times before, but instead I just watched you sleep.
 
Tonight it’s time to consummate our love.”

Suddenly it dawns on me.
 
All those nights when I felt someone was watching me.
 
They were.
 
It was no guardian angel.
 
It wasn’t Alex in spirit.
 
It was this man, this upstanding citizen turned obsessed marauder.
 
Renewed panic kicks in.

“Don’t do this, Nimo.
 
You’ll regret it.
 
It will ruin everything,” I plead.

His passion mounts, as does he.

“Stop, Nimo.
 
Please.”
 

“But I love you, Claire.”

“This isn’t love. It’s a felony!”

“And I’m going to show you how much I love you.
 
I’m going to give you a child.”

I feel his penis, his weapon, probing between my struggling legs
,
while his hands maintain a firm grip on my wrists.

“I mean it, Nimo.
 
Don’t do it.”
 

“Relax, baby.
 
I’m going to make love to you.”

“For the last time, NO!”

“You’ll enjoy it more if you stop fighting me.”
 

I thrash with all my might and scream, “For God’s sake, Nimo, STOPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!”

My words ring out
,
and with a loud crack he collapses on me, just as he is leveraging himself to force entry.

From next to the bed, David calls out
, “He shoots, he scores!
 
You okay,
Cece?”

I turn on the light to find Nimo unconscious and David beaming, his beloved hockey stick in hand, and now mangled.

* * *

When the police arrive
,
I am barraged by more questions than I would have thought possible.
 
These guys are thorough!
 
Because Nimo was thwarted before actually violating me, I am spared a physical examination and trial, and trauma.
 
Nimo is cuffed and taken away.
 
A young officer suggests I take out a restraining order and shyly holds out his hand to give me something.

“Umm, are these yours?
 
We found them in his pocket.
 
There’s more in his car.”

A pair of my panties.
 
Oh my god!
 
That’s where my underwear has been going.

After the police team clears out, Davi
d and I curl up on the couch.
 
My hero.
 
But how?

“I forgot my hockey stuff and promised one of the guys i
n San Jose we’d do a little one-on-one while I was
there
–
no pun intended.”

I elbow him in the ribs.

“Ow.
 
Anyway, I forgot my gear when I packed the car with your mom and all the pets and so I came back to get it.
 
When I pulled up and saw a car in the driveway and all the lights off
,
I thought you had, umm, a gentleman caller.
 
So I crept in quietly so as not to disturb you.
 
When I heard you raise your voice
,
I first just thought you were being, ya know, vocal.
 
But then I could tell something wasn’t right.
 
It looked like things were down to the final seconds
,
so I took a shot.”

I glance at the hockey stick on the floor, bloodied and broken and looking peaceful in its utter ruin.

Hometeam:
1

Intruder:
0

MVP:
David

ALEX:
 
“If some one loves a flower, of which just one single blossom grows in all the millions and millions of stars, it is enough to make him happy just to look at the stars. He can say to himself, ’Somewhere, my flower is there
...
’”

YOU are my flower, Claire.

That’s the beautiful message awaiting me when I turn on my phone, the morning after the Nimo break-in.
 
It’s one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite books,
The Little Prince
by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
 
I briefly text back to fill Alex in on what’s transpired.
 
He’s mortified and feels helpless that he isn’t here to protect me.
 
I tell him not to worry, that David saved the day and that Nimo is out of the picture
–
and lucky to be out of jail.
 

Against my will, David cancels the rest of his San Jose trip and spends every moment by my side.
 
It’s lovely.
 
We agree not to tell Mom about the incident
–
no good can come from it.
 
So, we let her return home in blissful ignorance and with a new crop of stories about how adorable the menagerie were during their visit to The Meadows.
 
Apparently
,
everyone adores the pets
,
and Mom was treated like queen-for-a-day for bringing them.
 
Things settle down and domestic tranquility reigns.
 
David has stopped sneaking out in the wee hours
,
and Mom smiles at me in satisfaction.
 
I could swear she even winked at me once.

My feelings for David are evolving and going somewhere I don’t want them to.
 
They are veering down the road of romance again, and I don’t know what to do about it.
 
Meanwhile, things are escalating with Alex.
 
Following the Nimo thing, I feel it’s time to fa
ce my fears.
 
I go to my room,
grab my computer and open the Facebook chat window that’s always at the ready for communicating with Alex.
 
I take a deep breath and click the little button that looks like a video camera.
 
Eek, my video call is connecting.
 
Eek again, it says he’s answering.
 
Another deep breath.

The first few minutes are awkward beyond description, with me acting like a three year-old playing peekaboo, hiding behind my hands and ducking off camera.
 
I want to act cool
,
but am unable to see him without my glasses, so on they go.
 
They are plastic readers from the dollar store and I look dorky as can be.
 
Wow.
 
He is so incredibly handsome.
 
Those eyes.
 
That hair.
 
The smile.
 
I had no idea.
 
I just want to stare in silence
–
off camera, of course.
 
But he won’t have it.
 
Instead, he begins gushing about how beautiful he thinks I am.
 
Obviously
,
he needs glasses too!

“I always knew you were gorgeous, but
...
my God, Claire.
 
Do you have an
y idea how stunning you are?
 
igh>
 
Let me catch my breath.”

I feel exactly the same way
,
and we just sit stammering and blushing and smiling at one another for minutes on end.
 
Suddenly
,
I’m kicking myself for not doing this sooner.
 
Not only is it not so bad, it is wonderful.
 
He is wonderful.
 
Though ‘wonderful’ doesn’t come close to adequately describing this king among men.

David has been staying close to home
,
and neither of us ever discusses the houseboat anymore.
 
I have no idea how the project is coming or if it was ever completed.
 
He and Mom have begun a Monday night ritual without me, while I am at my ballet board meetings.
 
They now have poker nights with the middle-aged, next-door neighbor and his seventeen year-old son.
 
They order pizza and Davi
d bakes brownies.
 
Rumor has it
,
Mom is quite the card shark.