by Soranna O.
Table of Contents
Tell Me
Forever In Your Arms
Ready For Love
Fantasy Life
One More Time…
Never Again
Hot and Steamy
Her Man, My Lover
Late Nights
Tell Me
Chapter 1
Rain was bathing her body, washing away all the wounds and slowly bringing her back to this world.
Anne slowly opens her eyes when she feels some strong arms lifting her up off the cold, wet earth.
His body felt warm and safe.
She closed her eyes again and allowed the stranger to carry her away.
Not that she had any choice, she felt too tired to speak. She had no power to struggle.
Actually, she didn't remember a moment when she felt more grateful in her life.
Come to think of it… she couldn't remember anything.
No matter how much she tried, Anne couldn't even remember her own name.
"Who…who are you?"
She finds the power to ask the stranger carrying her in his strong arms.
"Shh… don't speak. Someone attacked you but everything will be okay. I am here now. Did you see the person who attacked you?"
"I don't remember anything. I don't even know my own name. Something is wrong with me…"
"Oh… You don't remember anything? You need some rest, I am sure everything will be back to normal before you know it."
He said and kept walking without another word.
They finally got to his car and he gently put her on the back seat then he got in the driver's seat and started the engine.
Anne's memory was blank but she knew that she shouldn't trust a total stranger.
She sure as hell shouldn't agree to drive to a strange man's home.
But she didn't have any strength left in her to argue.
She just closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep filled with nightmares.
When she woke up it was morning and she was in a big comfortable bed.
Anne wasn't wearing her dirty clothes anymore.
She was in fact dressed in comfy pajamas that happened to be her exact size.
Did he go shopping for me?
Her mind was still very confused and she couldn't remember anything about her past.
The only memory she had was of the previous day and of the handsome stranger.
He was tall with dark hair and blue eyes.
Anne was still in pain but she couldn't help feeling attracted to him.
What was his name?
She made a mental note to ask him as soon as she saw him.
Anne slowly got out of the bed and down the stairs from where she could hear someone cooking.
She could also smell the ham and waffles.
It was strange how her mind could remember the smell of food but couldn't tell her anything about her past.
It was a start though.
Anne hoped that in time her memory will get back.
At the same time, she was a bit scared of what she could discover in her past.
She was after all found unconscious.
Someone hated her enough to attack her and left her to die.
If it weren't for James, she probably would be dead. But she didn't want to keep thinking about that now.
All she needed was a good breakfast and to spend more time with this handsome stranger who saved her life.
"Hey, there you are. Come, take a sit at the table and help yourself to some breakfast."
He said in a cheery voice.
"Thank you, it smells really good. Do we have any coffee?" Anne asked.
"I just made a fresh pot. Have a sit and I will bring you a cup."
"I don't know how to thank you for what you did for me. I know you are a total stranger but I feel safe with you. I do however have to leave after breakfast. I need to find my family."
She said while sipping her coffee.
"You still don't remember anything?"
James asked with worry in his voice.
"No, all I can remember are things I like such as coffee but for the rest nothing. What is your name?"
"James… it's James. And your name is Anne."
"What… how do you know?"
"Well, this might surprise you but we know each other."
James said.
"We do? Are we friends? Or are we family?"
Anne asked secretly hoping he wasn't related to her because that would be a shame.
He was too attractive to be a cousin.
That would mean he was off limits.
Even though starting a relationship was the last thing on her mind under the circumstances, a girl could dream.
"I prefer to give you time to remember.
Everything will come back to you. I have to go to work soon but someone will stop by later on.
It's Daniel, my friend and he is a doctor too.
He will help you."
"Do you really have to go?
I really don't want to be alone now."
She said feeling very sad and scared.
What if the person who attacked her got back?
She was attacked nearby.
"Don't worry, Anne.
Doctor Daniel will be here any minute and I will get back in a couple of hours.
Everything will be ok.
Daniel has a key.
Don't open the door to anyone else, okay?"
"Okay."
Chapter 2
Just as James said, as soon as he was out of the house, someone was opening the door.
Doctor Daniel was a good friend of James and he had his own key.
James didn't want to let her go to a hospital where she would feel all alone.
He wanted to have her with him all the time. Doctor Daniel promised to help with her memory.
Her head wound didn't look too bad.
"Hello there, Anne.
I think James told you I was stopping by.
I am Doctor Daniel and I am here to help."
"Hello Doctor, yes, I was expecting you.
Would you like a cup of coffee and some breakfast?
James cooked for an army."
Anne said trying to be a good host.
"A cup of coffee sounds great.
I just had breakfast at home."
Doctor Daniel said with a smile.
With fresh coffee, they moved to the couch and Daniel asked her to relax and close her eyes.
He asked her questions about her past and the night of the attack.
Anne couldn't give him too much information but he could see that Anne knew her way around the house.
That's a good sign, Doctor Daniel thought.
The brain is a powerful tool and sometimes it knows or remembers more than we think.
"So, what do you think, doctor? Will I ever remember anything from my past?"
Asked Anne.
"I am hopeful, you just need some time.
Try not to focus too much on the fact that you lost your memory.
This will only cause stress and delay the process."
Doctor Daniel said with a reassuring smile.
"Thank you so much, that makes me feel much better.
I feel so lost.
Not knowing who I am makes me feel very lonely.
At the same time I am scared to remember some details.
I mean, someone tried to kill me.
Why?
Am I such a bad person to make someone want to see me gone from this world??"
Anne said with tears in her eyes.
"Oh Anne, I can only imagine how you feel but you shouldn't think that way.
&
nbsp; Bad things happen to good people all the time.
It was not your fault.
I hope the police will find the person who did that to you."
"I hope so too… I don't feel safe until that happens.
I feel like anyone could be my attacker.
I am scared to go out of the house."
"Take your time, for now stay inside and take it step by step."
Doctor Daniel left and promised to get back again to check on her in a couple of days.
Now Anne is all alone and she keeps watching the window waiting for James to get back home.
She is scared but it's more than that.
I actually miss him, she thought.
This made her think that maybe they were more than just friends.
Maybe he was her boyfriend or husband.
There was a connection there and he could see the way he looked at her.
There was worry there and something else… Love.
Of course she couldn't be sure of that and she didn't want to get her hopes up.
While she was deep in her thoughts, she suddenly heard the keys in the door.
"James! You're back early… Oh, you're not James, who are you?"
Anne asked the beautiful woman who just entered the house.
She had a key too.
Anne didn't want to believe what her mind was telling her.
"Hello Anne, how are you feeling?"
"Oh hi, do we know each other?"
Anne asked.
"It's me, Julia. Oh that's right, James did say you lost your memory.
I am so sorry this happened to you, Anne."
"Are you my friend?"
"Sure, we are friends, but I am James' fiancée.
We don't live together but we try to spend as much time as possible together.
We both work a lot."
Julia said with a big, fake smile.
"Oh, I see.
I hope it doesn't bother you that James invited me to stay at his place for a few days.
I can go to a hotel if that is a problem.
I don't want to cause any problems."
Anne said with sadness in her heart.
He is engaged, of course he is.
Anne thought that such a handsome and charming man couldn't be single.
Deep inside her, she was hoping James was engaged but to her.
He refused to tell her if they were just friends or more.
This got her hopes up and now she had to get back with her feet on the ground.
"Not at all, James has a big heart.
You can stay here for as long as you want."
Julia said and gave her a hug.
Anne wanted to hate her but she couldn't.
Julia seemed to be a nice woman and she was even allowing her to stay with her fiancé.
Anne wasn't sure if she would allow that if James was hers.
But he wasn't, she had to remind herself.
Anne thought she must be a really bad person if she was feeling jealous.
These people were trying to help her and she was dreaming about breaking up their relationship and taking Julia's place.
"Oh look, James is home."
Julia said looking out the window.
James was just parking his car and making his way in the house.
Before he knew it, Julia wrapped her arms around him and gave him a long kiss on the lips.
Or maybe it just seemed long to Anne who had to watch this happy reunion.
"Julia, what are you doing here? I thought you said you had to work late today."
James asked.
"I know but when you told me about poor Anne I just had to come check on her.
What kind of a friend would I be?"
Julia asked with a sweet smile.
"You two are not friends…"
He said looking a bit angry.
"I know we had our moments but all that changed now.
I want to be here for Anne if she needs me.
So I decided to stay at your place too while she is here."
Julia announced without asking permission.
She already had her bags at the door. Anne just noticed the bags now.
"Are you sure that's the reason?"
Asked James.
"Of course, what else would it be?"
Julia replied.
Anne suspected that the real reason was because she was jealous and didn't want to let the man she loved all alone in the house with another woman.
Anne understood that and she couldn't blame her.
Without any modesty, she could see that she was a beautiful woman.
She had big, green eyes and long, black hair.
She wasn't exactly skinny but she was sure men loved her forms.
"Okay, whatever, you can stay."
James said but he didn't sound very happy.
Strange, Anne thought.
She thought that he would enjoy having his girlfriend spend time with him.
This gave her hope that maybe they weren't happy together.
Stop it, Anne.
She felt bad for thinking this way but she couldn't help it.
The more she looked into James' eyes, the more attracted she was.
He worked in an office as a real estate agent and he had to wear suits all the time, but even so, she could clearly see he worked out a lot.
His body was covered with muscles.
Even though her mind couldn't remember being intimate with a man, her body seemed to have a better memory.
Suddenly she blushed and she had to look away.
Julia went to his room to unpack and change for dinner.
She was a beautiful woman too but Anne thought she used too much makeup and her lips looked unnaturally big.
She was sure Julia had them done.
Anne preferred the natural look and she secretly hoped James did too.
Chapter 3
Julia seemed friendly but sometimes when James was talking to Anne or when he touched her shoulder in a friendly gesture, she could almost see the fire of jealousy in Julia's eyes.
Any chance she had, she would kiss James in front of Anne and make other intimate gestures.
It was almost like marking her territory.
Anne started to remember things from her past.
She knew now that she was working with James and that they were friends.
Just friends.
Although she could feel that he was attracted to her.
Actually it was more than just attraction or lust between them.
It was something deeper.
Julia was his fiancée and he had to marry her.
Her father was a very powerful man and he threatened to destroy James' career if he ever left his daughter.
He made that clear two years ago when James finally decided that he wasn't happy.
It was before he even met Anne.
When he told Julia, she cried and called her father.
He was at his house in less than an hour and threatened to destroy him.
James knew he had the power to do it.
So, he decided to stay in the relationship.
It wasn't that bad, he thought.
So what if he didn't love her, many couples were happy together without passion.
Love was overrated.
He changed his mind about love when he met Anne.
She came to work at his firm and she was a very successful real estate agent.
They quickly became friends and one night after an office party they even kissed.
He found himself thinking about her all the time, even when he was making love to Julia.
But even so, James knew that he couldn't do anything about it.
He told her that the kiss was a mistake and she agreed although James could see the hurt in her eyes.
Anne tried to hide it but he could feel it.
Anne knew everything about her life now but she still couldn't remember who a
ttacked her.
She was leaving James' house.
She just stopped by to bring him a contract to check.
Of course, it was just an excuse to spend some more time together.
After they talked about work he offered to cook dinner and they had a wonderful dinner together.
Nothing else happened even though they both wanted.
Anne didn't want to park her car in front of the house just in case Julia found out about her visit.
She knew Julia was very jealous and Anne didn't want to cause more problems.
They had enough on their plate.
They always seemed to argue but James kept forgiving her.
They never talked about their feelings and Anne was a bit angry with James.
One moment he looked at her like she was the only woman on earth and the next he was doing anything to avoid her.
Many nights Anne went to bed with tears in her eyes.
Why did she have to love a man who belonged to another?
Why wasn't he taking the risk to leave Julia?
Even if her father would destroy her career, they would manage.
They could move away and start over together.
Anne was prepared to give up anything, even her job if that would mean being with the love of her life.
But he wasn’t asking…
Every night now Julia was sleeping in his room and she was in the next room.
This was strange but at least she knew for sure they had no intimacy.
The walls were very thin and all she could hear was them fighting every night.
All the fights were about her.
As she suspected, Julia wanted Anne out of there.
James didn't want to hear about it.
He told her Anne needed him until her memory got back.
Anne was just planning to let them know that her memory got back but hearing that, she changed her mind.
That would mean that she had to leave.
She had to get back to her lonely apartment.
No more mornings with James or movie nights on the couch.
Of course, it wasn't as romantic as she hoped since his fiancée was there too but Julia worked long hours and she had plenty of chances to spend time alone with James.
During that time, she could imagine Julia wasn't in his life.
It was just the two of them and she was his woman.
They had a lot of fun together.
James was a funny man and could always make her laugh.
Anne had to be careful what she said though, she couldn't let James know that her memory was back.
