by Susan Hayes
She finished unpacking and cleaning while the soup simmered, filling the small cabin with familiar odors and making it feel like home. “Tomorrow night maybe we can do a fire on the beach, s’mores and roasted hot dogs, the works.” The idea made her smile, and she dug through the cabinets until she found the family stash of roasting sticks, all carefully fashioned from old coat hangers. Memories of family vacations long-past helped pass the time as she scrubbed the lot of them until every trace of age and rust was gone.
It was late by the time she had everything organized, and she decided to indulge herself in a hot bath. The strange windstorm of earlier was long gone, but if it came back, she’d be at risk of losing the electric water pump and the water heater, so she was going to indulge in a hot soak while she could. She knew from experience the lake would be anything but warm.
The water was the perfect temperature, and she slid into the smallish tub with a sigh of contentment. What it lacked in length it made up for in depth, so at least she could soak properly. She ached in places she hadn’t ached in a very long time, and the heat felt wonderful as it eased newly discovered muscles and tender flesh. Eyes closed and as much of her submerged as she could manage, Michelle just let herself drift. She was feeling downright blissful for the first time in ages.
She was half asleep and thinking of Sinjin when it started. At first the gentle, swirling contact on her calf seemed part of the erotic daydream she was enjoying. Too light to be a massage, the touch was soothing, intimate, and strangely familiar. She drifted deeper into her dream, and her mind assigned the caresses to Sinjin’s talented hands. It was his fingers stroking over her leg from ankle to knee and back again. A slow, leisurely exploration that felt so good she sighed aloud. The contact faded away, and for a minute, she drifted in the bathtub, more asleep than awake, wishing that he’d touch her again.
Her wish was granted soon as a faint, kneading sensation began at her breasts. First one, then the other was being gently squeezed. Her nipples hardened as something brushed over them, too soft to be Sinjin’s callused hands. The touch came again, harder this time, and she began to come out of her dream. A sharp pain made her catch her breath as something pinched her. This was wrong. Sinjin had never touched her like this, rough and uncaring. Her eyes flew open, and she stared down at the bath, realizing the water in the tub was swirling around her body. It moved on its own, as though something was there, just below the surface. But there was nothing else in the tub but herself and the quickly cooling bathwater.
Uneasy now, she watched as the surface of the water rippled and swelled slightly and the strange caress returned, squeezing her breasts roughly as a new sensation flowed over her thighs. She felt something try to part her legs, and she screamed. She tried to stand and failed. Her legs were caught, and something heavy was pressing down on her chest, pushing her deeper in the bath.
Fear spiked up the scale to pure terror, and she grabbed at the edge of the tub. She clung to the cold porcelain and tried to pull herself over the lip, fighting for every inch of movement. Whatever was attacking her grew stronger, jerking her legs apart, and she felt a slight, flowing pressure across her labia. She screamed in terror and fury, a primal sound that helped her focus. She threw everything she had into trying to escape the bathtub and finally her legs moved, just enough to give her hope.
“Chelle,” Robert’s voice whispered from just behind her, and Michelle screamed again.
“This isn’t happening! No!”
“Miss you, Chelle, going to be with you, forever.”
She screamed a third time and lunged out of the water, tearing herself free of whatever held her. She slithered over the edge of the tub and onto the cold bathroom floor, landing in a drenched, terrified tangle. She scrambled to her feet and bolted for the front door. Every instinct she had was telling her to run, to get as far away as she could.
She tore the door open only to have it ripped from her hands and slammed shut by a gust of wind, a gust of wind that came from inside the house. What the hell was happening?
“You’re mine, Chelle. You can’t run away from me now. I can follow you anywhere.” Robert’s voice again, a hint of smugness in the disembodied words. “All mine, always.”
“Fuck you, Robert. I am not yours. You’re dead!” she challenged him and yanked the door open again, running out into the darkness. Laughter followed her out into the night, swirling around her, mocking her. The rough ground tore at her skin and the stones cut into her bare feet as she ran. She ignored the pain, fear pushing her past feeling anything other than the need to escape. She ran faster. Bathwater dripped down her face, half blinding her so she didn’t see the shadow that blocked her path until she slammed into it.
It’s him! It’s Robert. He’s caught you. These were her first thoughts as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and she fought to break free, to escape again.
“Michelle? Jesus, stop it! It’s me. It’s Sinjin.” The arms around her held her close but didn’t crush her, and she made herself go still.
“Sinjin? Thank god it’s you.”
“What’s wrong, baby? I heard you screaming—are you out here naked?” His hands ran over her bare skin, gently checking her over.
“I was in the bath. Something happened. A nightmare,” she tried to explain and realized she didn’t know what to say. How could she explain what she’d experienced without sounding insane? Hell, I’m not entirely sure I am sane.
“Mine.” The wind carried that single word as it blew past them, and Michelle shivered.
“What the hell was that?” Sinjin’s body tensed, and he lifted her into his arms as if she weighed nothing at all, cradled her close to his bare chest. “Was that part of your nightmare? I just heard it, too.”
“You—you heard that?”
“Yes, sweetheart, I did. Now we’re going back to my cabin and you’re going to tell me what the fuck is going on.” She heard the worry in his voice, and she nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding tight. He’d heard it, too, so she wasn’t crazy, and that meant that her abusive and supposed to be dead ex-boyfriend really was back. How was that even possible?
“I’ll tell you everything. Just please, don’t leave me alone. I need your help, Sinjin. I’ve never been this scared in my life.”
His lips brushed her temple as he carried her back the way he’d come, back toward his cabin. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Michelle, I promise.”
She prayed to whatever gods that were listening that he’d be able to keep that vow, because she was now very sure that Robert had other plans for her.
Chapter 5
He’d lost the last person he’d been supposed to protect. The guilt he felt over that failure welled up and threatened to overwhelm him as he carried Michelle back to the warmth and safety of his cabin. What if I failed again? If he lost her, if he let her get hurt, he’d never forgive himself. So what’s the alternative, Leave? Could I forgive myself if I left her to face this alone? He knew the answer was no. He wouldn’t leave her, not when she needed him. Like it or not, he was back in the protection business.
Once inside he set her down carefully and then picked her right back up again when she winced as her feet hit the floor. “Feet hurt?” She nodded, and he felt a wave of protectiveness wash over him as he noticed how pale she was, the arms around his neck trembling slightly from cold and shock. “We’ve got to get you warmed up.”
He carried her to his bedroom and settled her gently on the bed, her feet dangling over the side. Snagging the quilt folded at the end of the bed, he wrapped it around her. He was pleased to see her half smile of thanks as he reached around and drew out her soaking wet hair, leaving it above the quilt to dry. “I’m going to go get the first aid kit, I’ll be right back.”
Her smile warmed up a little more and a faint spark gleamed in her eyes as she nodded. “I think I can manage for a few minutes alone.”
“Glad to hear it, but believe me, now I have you back in
bed I don’t plan to leave you here alone for very long.”
Her laughter followed him as he ducked back out into the main cabin, and it made him glad to hear it. If she was already laughing, she was well on her way to getting over whatever scare had sent her running from her cabin. He grabbed the first aid kit and some towels. Then he filled the biggest bowl he could find with warm water and took everything back to the bedroom, setting it all down on the floor by her feet.
“Warmer?” he asked before giving into temptation and leaning in to kiss her gently. Her mouth was soft against his, and he forgot everything else as he kissed her again. The second kiss was deeper, and then he was lost as her lips parted and she moaned into his mouth. He felt her cool fingers sliding into his hair as she tugged him closer. Her tongue flicked over his lips, tasting and tempting and he began to answer in kind. He cupped her head in his hand, and the cool, wet touch of her hair brought him back to reality, fast.
“You’re distracting me from what I’m supposed to be doing.” He scolded her gently as he sucked in a lungful of air. He stood up again, his hand still cradling the back of her skull. “And you never answered my question, feeling warmer now?”
“After that kiss?” Her smile made his pulse rate jump as she looked up at him with total trust. “Oh yes, I’m much, much warmer.”
He slid his hand forward, brushing her cheek with his fingertips before letting her go and dropping to his knees on the floor at her feet.
“What are you doing down there?”
“Relax, baby, this isn’t a proposal. I need to look at your feet, remember?” Where the hell did the idea of proposing come from? He glanced up and realized her eyes were wider than they’d been a second ago, something unreadable in those sweet blue depths.
He dropped his gaze and grabbed the bowl of warm water and a towel before cupping his hands lightly around her left foot. He dipped it carefully into the water, cleaning each injury as gently as he could manage with the wet towel. Apart from the occasional wince or hiss of breath as he uncovered another cut or bruise, she showed no sign of the discomfort he knew she was feeling. When her left foot was done, he switched to her right and repeated the whole process. Once he had her cleaned up, he treated each cut with ointment, being as gentle as he could be as he smoothed it into her injuries. It was obvious that she was going to be limping for a few days, and he wished there was something else he could do to help.
“You’ve got some pretty good cuts there, but nothing that needs stitches.” He wiped his hands on the last clean towel and looked up at her for the first time since he’d mentioned proposing. “You’re going to be sore for a day or so.”
“Are you trying to find a reason to keep me in bed, Sinjin Heath?” Her color had returned, and there was a wicked edge to the smirk she was currently giving him. The way his name flowed from her lips made his groin ache, and he was on his feet and kissing her before he had time to think.
“I’m hoping I’ve already given you a few reasons to want to stay in bed with me,” he murmured between kisses, his hands peeling back the quilt just enough to let him past to the soft, bare skin beneath.
“Oh, you did, believe me.”
“Good, then it’s decided. You’re staying with me. Whatever the hell it is that’s going on, I’ve got no intention of letting you out of my sight.” He drew a finger under her chin and tipped her face up so she was looking into his eyes. “I need you to understand something, Michelle. If you want my help, then you have to do as I say, when I say it. No argument, no questions.” He knew he was pushing things, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to lose anyone else because they wouldn’t listen to him. Not ever again.
Her eyes widened slightly, and she didn’t answer right away. When she finally nodded in agreement, he felt the knot in his chest loosen. “I’ll do as you say. No arguments.” She flashed him a half smile, but behind it, he sensed a new wariness.
“But before you agree to help me, you should probably know what I was running from.” She took a deep breath and then blurted out, “What do you know about ghosts?”
“What?” He knew he was staring at her, but he couldn’t help it. Had she just said ghosts? “What do you mean, ghosts? This might go better if you started at the beginning, baby.”
She took a slow breath, before saying, “I thought maybe I was losing my mind, but you heard it, too, and if you did, then we’re both hearing the voice of a dead man.”
“That can’t be the beginning,” he pointed out as he tidied up the towels and repacked the first aid kit. “I’m going to put this away, and when I come back you can explain what the hell is going on, and why you think we’re hearing a dead man talk.”
* * * *
She watched him leave the room, unable to tear her eyes away from his beautifully sculpted back and the lines of muscles that vanished into the waistband of his gray track pants.
He’d come running to her rescue half-dressed, and she was going to reward him by dragging him into the nightmare her life seemed to have become. It didn’t seem fair, but she didn’t have much choice. It had taken everything she had to get away from Robert when he was alive, and she had no idea at all how she was going to escape from his ghost.
Sinjin returned with two opened bottles of beer and handed her one with an apologetic shrug. “I don’t have much in the way of supplies, and I figured we could both use a drink.” He kicked off his shoes and went around to the far side of the bed, stretching out on his side with his head propped up on one elbow as he faced her. “Come here, sweetheart, and tell me what you think is happening to you.”
She took a drink of the beer and rearranged herself beneath the quilt so she was facing him, her position mirroring his. “Until a month ago I was living with someone. When I left… he, well, let’s just say he didn’t take it well. He was rich, arrogant, and used to getting his way. He had a really bad temper.” Her mouth went dry as she recalled just what Robert’s temper had been like. She took several quick swallows of her beer before she started speaking again, part of her noting with surprise that her hands were shaking as she held the bottle to her lips.
“He hurt you?” Sinjin’s voice was soft, but there was something about his expression, a gleam in his eye that made her feel certain he didn’t like hearing she’d been hurt.
“He hurt me,” she confirmed simply, a nightmare’s share of memories summed up in those three short words. “He’d hurt me, and then I’d try to leave and he’d always be so apologetic, so sorry. He always promised me he’d never do it again. He’d swear that he’d get help, that he loved me. He always found me. Always wore me down. And I always went back to him. I was such a fool.” Anger rose up in her again as she talked. She was angry at him for the lies, and at herself for believing them.
“No one deserves to be treated that way.” Sinjin reached out and took her hand, his strong fingers curling around hers, offering comfort.
“No, they don’t. I finally realized that he was never going to change, and I started planning a proper escape. It took me some time to arrange everything. I worked at one of his companies, so I needed a new job. I had to find a new place to live, somewhere he wouldn’t know to look for me. I went to see a lawyer and found out what I should do to get a restraining order, how to protect myself legally, the works. I even ditched the cell phone he paid for. He’d tracked me down with it before so I knew I had to get rid of it. I left one day while he was in a meeting out of town. I just packed my things and ran.”
“What did he do when he found out?”
“Apparently he went crazy. He called all my friends demanding they tell him where I’d gone. Not that I had many friends left. He’d made sure I’d cut ties with most of them. He phoned the police and tried to report me as a missing person, but I hadn’t been gone long enough for them to take a report. I had my lawyer file the restraining order the next morning, and he let the police know what was going on. They were the ones who told him about the missing person report. I staye
d hidden, and after a few days, he stopped calling my friends. I guess he realized I was really gone for good. It all seemed like it was going to be okay, and then last week I got a call from the police department. Robert had killed himself. He left a note saying that he couldn’t live in a world where I wasn’t with him, and that I was all the joy he’d had in his life.”
“What a bastard.” Sinjin shook his head in obvious disbelief. “He offed himself and made sure you felt guilty about it? Unbelievable! So why do you think he’s haunting you?”
“I don’t feel guilty, not really.” Michelle’s denial came out sharper than she’d wanted, but she needed Sinjin to believe her. “I felt a little guilty, of course I did, but mostly I felt relief. If he was dead, then I was free. I wouldn’t have to hide from him anymore. His funeral was yesterday. I didn’t go. When I got back from a run, there was a letter waiting for me. A letter he’d written to me before he died. There was no postage, so he must have had someone deliver it. He’d found me again. He said he forgave me, and that he’d be watching, waiting for another chance for us to be together.”
“Son of a bitch,” Sinjin swore and took a long pull on his beer. “Your ex was one sick puppy.”
“Oh, it gets worse.” Michelle was surprised at how much better she felt to say it all out loud. Weeks of worry and fear eased as she shared the story for the first time. “Right after that, Robert’s mother Nancy arrived at my building. I have no idea how she tracked me down, but she did. She was fresh from the funeral no less. She blamed me for her son’s death and kept going on and on about her precious Bobby. Then she tells me he left everything to me, changed his will just days before he died. She was furious.” Michelle shuddered at the memory. “That was when I realized just how similar mother and son were. The Tanners are not a family to mess with.”
Sinjin blinked at her, his mouth opening in shock. “Bobby Tanner? As in Robert Tanner III, Vice President of Tanner Entertainment?”
