by Ana E Ross
He washed her tenderly like a mother washes her newborn infant, passing a soft washcloth across her back, up along her neck and throat, over the mounds of her breasts, then beneath them. His fingers and the cloth trailed across her chest and her stomach, lower and lower he washed until the cloth brushed between her thighs sending shock waves rushing through her.
“You’ve been sold to an Arabian Sheikh. They’re shipping you out tonight. You’ve been sold… Sold… Sold... Sheik…. Sold… S…”
“No. No.” She struggled against him, fighting to disconnect her body from his. “Let me go. Please let me go.” She tried to stand up, to get out of the tub.
“It’s okay, Tashi. It’s okay. It’s me, Adam. You’re safe, dear one. I’m just giving you a bath. Relax, baby. Just relax...”
His voice was like a cascading waterfall, deep and soothing, bringing her back, or pushing her forward—she didn’t know. She closed her eyes and settled back down, allowing her body to relax into his.
“There, there,” he murmured. “It’ll all be over soon.”
The distant sound of a deep male voice brought Tashi awake. She lay still, her heart racing in her chest as she tried to get a perspective on her surroundings. Turning over onto her back, she opened her eyes and took a panoramic look around.
The room was enormous and everything was white—the walls, the chandeliers extending on silken cords from a vaulted, white tray ceiling that seemed as far away as the sky, the floor-to-ceiling drapes that had been drawn to shade the room, the sofas and chairs scattered about on a white carpet, and the white marble fireplace on a far wall.
Frowning, she narrowed her range of vision. She was lying on a soft mattress covered with white sheets. The padded headboard and footboard of the bed were upholstered with a white silky material that matched the intricate designs of the fluffy white comforter spread over her. Lifting the comforter, Tashi noted that she was wearing a white satin nightgown and panties—items of clothing she’d never seen before.
Was she in heaven? Had she died and gone to heaven?
“No,” she whispered as the desire to pee, and a dull ache on the backs of her hands alerted her to the fact that she was still mortal. Her uncle used to take her to church, and according to the minister, there was no pain or peeing in heaven. Well, he didn’t actually say that one didn’t pee, but she’d gotten the gist of his account of what it meant to be an immortal soul living in heaven.
She glanced toward the left side of the room where a wide archway opened up onto a white marble floor and walls. Bathroom. Throwing back the covers, Tashi tried to raise herself up, but immediately fell back against the pillows. The room seemed to spin around her. She let out a soft moan and was trying to gather her strength for a second attempt when she heard a noise like a chair being pushed along the floor. She cocked her ears. The voice she’d heard earlier had stopped, but the sound of heavy footsteps approaching made her pulse quicken.
Burrowing down, Tashi pulled the covers up to her chin and lay very still as the footsteps grew closer, then stopped. Peering through one eye, she glanced at the door on the right side of the room. When she recognized the magnificent figure of the man standing in the doorway, it all came back to her.
She’d been sick for three days. She’d called Adam. He’d come to her aid and brought her back to his home. His friend, Dr. LaCrosse, had examined her while asking her a bunch of questions about what she’d eaten before and since she got sick. He’d asked her about her medical history: how much she normally weighed, if she had any allergies, were there any chronic diseases in her family history, could she be pregnant, and so on. He’d checked her temperature, and then he’d set up an intravenous line. He’d said it was to help her sleep, ease her cramps, bring down her fever, build up her strength, and keep her hydrated.
He’d worked very swiftly, giving Adam orders on how to help. After she was hooked up, the doctor and Adam had left the room talking in hushed voices. Tashi had lain in bed, watching the liquid drip from the sacks hanging on a metal hook at the side of the bed. Soon the medicine was coursing through her veins, working its magic on her. Her cramps had stopped, or maybe she just couldn’t feel them, and as she’d drifted off to sleep, Tashi remembered Adam lying next to her, his comforting arms holding her tight through the night.
She mildly remembered him waking her up several times to carry her to the bathroom, rolling the metal hook with her bags of sustenance beside him. She’d gone back to sleep each time, and then he was waking her again. The needles in the backs of her hands were gone and so were her bags. More than once, Adam had propped her up against the comfy headboard and spoon-fed her something warm and tasty then encouraged her to sip something sweet from a glass, and a lot of water. He’d brushed her teeth after each meal.
As she watched him now, standing in the doorway, his handsome face kindled with a sort of passionate beauty, something fluttered around in Tashi’s belly. It wasn’t hunger. It wasn’t cramps. It was the same sensation she’d experienced when she’d bumped into him in the café. Her body had come alive, as it was now…curious about him and confused about the way he made it feel.
As that curiosity intensified, Tashi realized that the vision she’d had a few minutes ago wasn’t a dream after all. They were memories. Memories of Adam sitting behind her in the tub, bathing her before Dr. LaCrosse saw her. He’d lifted her from the tub, dried her off in a big fluffy towel, then taken her to the bed and dressed her in the white nightgown and panties. He’d repeated those actions several times during the time she’d been sick. Every time she awoke, it seemed like he was there—as if he’d never left her side.
How long ago was that? How long had she been in his home, in his bed?
Anxiety cooled Tashi’s heated thoughts. Where was her bag of cash? Her cell phone? Her eyes darted frantically around. She had to get back to her apartment. If she lost that bag and her phone, she would…
Tashi held her breath as Adam pushed away from the door and began walking across the gigantic room toward the bed, her anxiety over the whereabouts of her possessions giving way to a different kind of apprehension. He was irresistible in a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a light blue shirt. His lustrous black hair flowed down the sides of his face and bounced against his chest, the tapered ends brushing his narrow waistline as he walked.
As he got closer, Tashi could make out the corded muscles of his arms and legs with the mat of dark hair sprinkled along his olive-toned skin. His humongous bare feet sank noiselessly into the fluffy white carpet. He looked god-like, as if he was above everything on this mundane planet, yet Tashi knew better. He wasn’t above it. He’d embraced it—the most elementary part of it—and without hesitation.
Suddenly, all the embarrassment Tashi thought she should have been feeling since Adam Andreas crawled through her bedroom window in the middle of the night, now crashed over her like a tidal wave.
How could she ever face him now? How could she look into those enigmatic blue eyes knowing that he’d seen her in the most disgusting condition of her life, that he’d breathed her stench, washed her filth from her body, seen and touched parts of her anatomy that no other man had ever seen or touched.
And still they were strangers. Intimate strangers. Tashi closed her eyes and tried to relax her face muscles and breathe normally as he came within a few yards of the bed. Maybe he’d go away if he thought she was sleeping.
“I know you’re awake, Tashi,” he said in a low husky voice. “And if you’re not, then perhaps a kiss would do the trick.”
Tashi’s eyes flew open to see a smile playing at the corners of his sexy mouth. A dark stubble shadowed the lower region of his face. He probably hadn’t shaved since she’d last seen him. “I’m awake,” she said when he attempted to bend over as if he was going to carry out his threat to kiss her.
His smile widened, revealing the even whiteness of his teeth. Tashi had never admired a man’s teeth before. She didn’t know that a woman might fantasize abo
ut a man’s teeth, about the way her nipple might look caught between them before his lips closed around her breast.
Tashi felt a curious swooping pull in the area just below her bellybutton. She forced her gaze from Adam’s mouth to his eyes. They were soft and gentle as he gazed down at her. They seemed full of knowledge—knowledge about her. No one had ever looked at Tashi that way before—like he knew her, but was still seeing her for the very first time. It made her uncomfortable and excited in the same breath.
“Hi, there,” he said.
“Hi.” She could feel her dry lips trembling.
“Feeling better?” He perched on the side of the bed as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do, like they’d known each other for a lifetime and were accustomed to sharing these unplanned moments of harmony.
Her need to pee resurfaced, but she still felt lightheaded. He’d done so much for her already, she hated to ask for more of his help. It wouldn’t be good for her to become anymore dependent on him. “Yes,” she said, licking her lips that were consistently growing drier.
“You must be thirsty. The doctor said to keep you hydrated.” Reaching out, he picked up a crystal pitcher from the nightstand and began pouring water into a glass.
“I need to go to the bathroom. Really badly,” she said as the sound of water trickling into the glass made her want to pee more. It would be a lot more embarrassing if she wet his nice white bed. “Can you help me up, please? I’m still a little weak.”
“Of course.” He flashed his even whites at her, and before she could wink, he pulled down the comforter, slid one powerful arm under her upper body and the other under the backs of her knees and picked her up. “Hold on tight,” he said, as he’d said the night he’d crawled through her window and picked her up out of her own filth.
Tashi rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her effortlessly across the floor. He smelled nice, like sandalwood and spice. His soft mane and his facial stubble tickled her cheek causing a series of quivers to surge through her veins.
If she weren’t certain before, Tashi now knew that she was well on her way to a full recovery. Her body was becoming aware of and responding to Adam in a way it couldn’t have while she was writhing around in pain, drugged, and half conscious.
He strolled down a passageway, passing two closed doors on each side. Then they were in a spacious circular-shaped bathroom with wraparound marble counters, a large, open shower stall, and an equally large Jacuzzi under a wall of windows—the only wall in the en suite that wasn’t mirrored. Tashi trembled as she recalled sitting naked on Adam’s lap submerged in water.
When he set her down in front of the door that opened up to the commode, she was astonished that her legs supported her. “Thank you,” she said, glancing at him through lowered lids.
“You’re welcome.” He gazed down on her, his galvanizing look stirring that army of butterflies in her stomach again.
He was seeing her differently too, Tashi thought in dismay as his gaze slowly traveled down the length of her. She wasn’t his sick helpless patient anymore. She was a woman, a young beautiful woman with hot blood running through her veins. A woman whose naked body he’d seen, and bathed, and touched. She was a woman he now desired.
Those primal feelings, those natural cravings for that ultimate physical union between a man and a woman were making their way to the surface of both their minds. Tashi shuddered outwardly
He took a step toward her. “If you need more help, I’ll—”
Goodness no. She jumped back and collided with the closed door. “No. I—I can manage.” It was one thing for him to hike up her nightgown, pull down her panties, and sit her on the toilet when she was half conscious, but no way now while she was fully awake would she allow him to treat her like a toddler. It was probably second nature to him, seeing he had a two-year-old daughter. But he’d gone even further than merely helping her to the bathroom. He’d seen her through her period that was now thankfully over—changing her pads and taking care of her like nobody in the entire universe had ever done.
To keep her embarrassment hidden from him, Tashi stepped inside the private space and closed the door. She squinted at the sunlight streaming through the window. It wasn’t nighttime anymore. The sun had broken through—literally and figuratively. They were no longer shrouded in darkness, and she was no longer delirious with fever and pain—just with desire.
His blue eyes had been laced with as many questions about her as they were with desire for her. He had questions she couldn’t answer. She didn’t want him getting any further involved in her life. It was too dangerous for him, and his daughter. She would never forgive herself if she caused harm to come to that innocent little girl. The people who were after her wouldn’t think twice about killing a child if she got in their way. They were in the business of selling children, some as young as five, into sexual slavery. They killed those who crossed their paths. They’d killed that FBI agent. She was certain that’s why she hadn’t heard from him. And they would kill Adam, too, if he got in their way.
She’d already said too much when she told Adam that they might find her and kill her if she went to the hospital.
Why, oh why had she told him that? Tashi wondered as she washed her hands and splashed cold water on her face. Why hadn’t she just told him that she couldn’t go to the emergency room because she didn’t have medical coverage? That was the truth. Ever since she’d been on the lam, she’d made it her priority to take care of herself—eat healthily, exercise, dress warmly in the winter, and stay out of the rain in the summer. She’d never been sick once.
Tashi sat down in a nearby chair and dropped her face in her hands. The FBI agent had told her not to trust anyone, not even the police—no one but the man whose name began with A. Why hadn’t he given her the name when she’d first walked into the house that night, before he gave her all the other instructions on how to escape from the house, the city, about what to do once she got to Granite Falls?
He’d even questioned her about whether or not she’d slept with Scottie—a strange question she’d thought at first, and one she’d refused to answer until he’d asked her quite adamantly again. When she’d responded negatively, he’d let out his breath and the tight line around his mouth had relaxed.
Why was that information more important to him than first giving her his friend’s name? The name that had been swallowed up in the first round of gunshots that rang out into the air that night. The agent hadn’t even given her his own name. So she couldn’t drop it in the hopes that some man here in Granite Falls whose name began with A would recognize it, say he was the agent’s friend and that…
“Tashi. Are you okay? Do you need help?”
Raising her head, Tashi pulled herself together. There was no lock on the door. “I’m—I’m fine, Adam. I’ll be out in a second,” she called, hoping to keep him on the other side of the door.
Standing, she stared at her reflection in the mirrored wall above the sink. God, she looked horrible. Dry, tangled hair that was sticking out every which way, puffy eyes, hollow cheeks, and cracked lips made her look like a wasted scarecrow. Yet, just a few minutes ago, Adam had lusted after her. The man was impossible. Too good to be true.
Giving no thought to invading Adam’s privacy, Tashi rummaged through the drawers on both sides of the sink until she found a pack of hair elastics. She pulled her hair back from her face and secured it in a ponytail. She pinched her cheeks trying to bring some color back to her complexion. That would have to do until she got back to her apartment. The sooner the better. But she didn’t know how to tell Adam she was leaving without seeming ungrateful.
After all, he’d just spent… She had no idea what day it was. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. Adam was standing on the other side like a sentry on duty, ready to pick her up again if she just said the word.
“What day is it?” she asked, walking ahead of him toward the bedroom. Her legs
were still unsteady, but at least she could walk, and without pain at that.
“It’s Monday. Afternoon. Four thirty to be exact.”
Monday? She faltered in her step.
Immediately his arms went about her. “Whoa. Take it easy.”
She leaned back into his support for a few wildly exciting moments and curled her toes into the white carpet that was so silky and fluffy, she felt as if she were standing on air. The heat from their entwined bodies and the distinct bulge pressing into the small of her back reminded Tashi that she was scantily clad and alone in a huge house with an irresistible man. Prying his arms from around her, she continued toward the bedroom, and reached for a robe lying at the foot of the bed. It matched the nightgown she was wearing. She slid it on and tied the satin belt around her waist.
“Adam, whose clothes am I wearing?” she asked. Borrowing a nightgown wasn’t such a big deal, but the thought that the undergarments might belong to one of his lovers made her nauseous.
“My mother’s. You’re both the same size. Petite and slender.”
His mother’s? That was worse.
“Don’t worry. They’ve never been worn. You can keep them if you want.”
“I thought you said you lived alone.” Tashi turned and perched on the edge of the mattress as the effects of being on her feet for too long began to take a toll on the little strength she had. “You said no one else but Dr. LaCrosse would know I’m here.”
“I do live alone. My parents live in Como, Italy, but they visit often.”
Another reason for her to get out of here fast, Tashi thought as she encountered a certain watchfulness in his gaze. His questions and suspicions were evident and valid. He’d brought a total stranger into his home and nursed her back to health. A stranger who’d told him that people were trying to kill her. He’d done his Good Samaritan deed. She would do him a favor and relieve him of his duties.
