Inseparable Strangers

by Jill Patten

  “I’m really sorry I wasn’t here for you, Lennox.”

  “Mom, stop apologizing.” I gave her an evil stare then smiled. “Woman, I love you more than you could ever imagine.” I kissed her on the cheek and she kissed me back.

  “It’s been an exhausting day and night. You should really get some rest if you plan on visiting your father tomorrow,” she suggested. “I have a feeling it’s going to be another long day.”

  I agreed. “You’re probably right. Goodnight and thank you for coming back,” I said, giving her one more hug.

  “There’s no other place I’d rather be, Lennox,” she said smiling.

  Aaron took my hand and walked with me up to my bedroom. Once we got in the room I shut the door behind us. He quickly turned back around and opened it. “I’m not staying. You have a lot to process and you don’t need me here to distract you.”

  Going behind him, I closed the door again. “I wasn’t planning on seducing you and having sex till all hours of the night. I just want your company.” He hesitated for a second. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking about. “Will you lay with me until I at least fall asleep?”

  He nodded. “Yes. I’ll stay however long you need me to.”

  Stretching up on my tiptoes, I kissed him quickly on the lips. “Thank you.”

  With his arms wrapped around me, I fell asleep faster than I had in weeks.

  Chapter 22

  Waking up was a beautiful thing when heavy arms were draped over your waist, and the slight movement of a tender hand caressed your chest. My nipple erected, and my nether regions heated with desire.

  As he massaged his way over and around my breasts, he finally gave my hardened peaks the attention they needed.

  “Aaron,” I whispered. My voice a mere breath.

  Turning to face him, I searched my way under his shirt and allowed my hands to roam freely over his rigid muscles. His skin felt like velvet under my fingertips. My lips were jealous. I bent over him, kissed his tiny nipple, and then descended down his taut torso. When I reached the trail of hairs below his belly button, I shimmied his sweats down over his hips.

  He sucked in a deep breath.

  “Lennox,” he growled.

  His hardened length sprang free and I immediately wanted to lick it.

  Aaron took my head and pulled me to him as he sat up. His mouth opened as soon as our lips met, and his tongue tangled with mine slowly and sensually.

  Being with him touched on every nerve within my body. My skin buzzed all over with lust.

  Aaron took both of my legs and adjusted them around his waist. We were locked together and I wanted us to unite as one. With a quick tug, I pulled the hem of his shirt up and he took over the rest, ripping it over his head. The need to feel skin on skin was becoming too much for us both, and he fervently took my shirt off and latched onto my breast.

  His hot, wet tongue circled around my nipple, then his teeth grazed along the sensitive skin, pulling it to a peak. “God, Lennox, I need you.” His needy words vibrated over me, piercing me right in the heart.

  “I’m yours, Aaron. Take what is yours,” I murmured.

  No other words were necessary. He did just what I asked and in one swift movement he was filling me with more than just himself. He was filling me with more love than I deserved.

  He pumped into me slow and steady; taking his time as if he wanted time to stand still. If I could stop time, I would hold us in this moment forever.

  “Lennox,” he said panting. “You’re so perfect…so beautiful…so completely mine.” His words came out uneven. He was lost in me just as I was him, and I hoped we never found our way out.

  His hands cupped the bottom of my ass cheeks, and he bounced me on him hungrily increasing the tempo. A tightness formed in my belly and I knew I was seconds away from having an orgasm.

  As Aaron set the rhythm he desired, I reached between my legs and rubbed my clit with precise pressure. Hungry, green eyes filled with lust penetrated me, and I knew my upcoming orgasm was going to send him over the edge.

  Aaron hastily picked up the pace, sending me into an oblivion. My muscles contracted around him, causing an animalistic groan to erupt from his chest. He shuddered beneath me as he released his own pleasure.

  We sat still with heavy breaths. Our bodies molded together as one. Neither one of us attempted to move. The sound of love floated through the air. The silence of it was beautiful.

  “Lennox.”

  “Hmm.”

  “Something’s different,” he deadpanned.

  “What?” Was he meaning this really happened and it wasn’t a dream?

  He rolled over to his side and took me with him. He took my face in his hands and gazed intently into my eyes. “What just happened felt…real. Like, really real. I felt every second of it. It wasn’t something forced by energy from my mind. My nerve endings are no longer desensitized, Lennox. You honestly take my breath away.” He kissed me as if he was trying to steal the oxygen from my lungs.

  After coming up for air, he started up again with gusto. “My heart has been hammering in my chest telling me it’s beating. Feel,” he commanded as he took my hand and placed it over his heart. Bump, bump, bump tapped against my palm. Unbelievable. I pushed myself up, leaned over him and pressed my ear to his chest.

  “What’s happening?”

  “Shh,” I demanded. My heartbeat matched the one I was hearing. The beating was the speed of a hummingbird’s wings. My lips stretched into the biggest smile.

  “It’s true, isn’t it? I’m not imagining this am I?” he asked as if I never believed him to start with. If I didn’t have the proof in front of me, I wouldn’t have believed it. He took me by surprise when he started laughing. “This is fucking amazing.”

  After just having mind-blowing sex, I couldn’t wrap my head around it all just yet. He was handling it better than me. I was in shock. “What?” I muttered with a whisper. Through my fog, his excitement was becoming contagious. “How?”

  He lifted me off of him and sat me down on the bed. In a flash, he was standing on my bed above me jumping around like a five year old who’d received his favorite present on Christmas day. “I don’t know, but can you believe it?” I’d never seen someone so happy in all my life. His smile was turning into a permanent fixture on his face. It looked good on him.

  Shaking my head, I answered, “No.”

  He stretched his hands out to me, and I took them. With ease, he pulled me up to his chest, perched my ass in his hands, and fastened my legs around his waist. Jumping up and down while holding me he laughed with joy. “Do you realize what this means?” he asked. He didn’t give me the chance to answer. “It means I can no longer read your mind.” The realization brought me relief.

  “Ha! Now we’re even,” I joked, touching the tip of my nose to his.

  He gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “We can go out in public and act like a normal couple now.” He unlatched my legs from his waist and set me down on the bed with ease. Goose bumps rose up over my arms, so I slipped under the comforter and tucked it up under my chin. “In fact, I think we should go out for breakfast and celebrate. I’m starving.”

  As soon as he mentioned eating, a hungry rumble emanated from his stomach. I slapped my hand over my mouth to control my laugh.

  He grinned. “You know what? I love the feeling of my stomach eating at my backbone. I’ll embrace any ache or pain I get. As long as I’m alive, I don’t care.”

  Taking us both by surprise, the door opened and Mom walked in. “Mom!” I shrieked. Aaron was still standing butt-naked on the bed. Luckily his backside was facing her.

  “What are you two clowns doing this early in the morning?” Aaron jumped, quickly trying to cover up his manhood. When he did, his foot got tangled in the comforter and lost his balance. He hit the bed so hard he bounced off and landed on the floor.

  Grabbing his side, he groaned as he hunched over and cursed under his breath. “Damn, I forgot what real
pain felt like.”

  Mom disappeared and I rushed over to him to make sure he was okay. He held a hand up letting me know he was going to survive. “Sharon, I hope you don’t mind my nakedness,” he said with a grunt, grabbing for his sweatpants.

  “She’s gone. Your cute ass scared her off,” I said giggling.

  He huffed. “I’m glad you find my pain a laughing matter,” he followed with a wink to let me know he was joking.

  I quickly slipped my cami and shorts back on before Mom came back in the room. “Mom, Aaron is dressed. You can come back in,” I called out.

  “I’m making it worse than it really is. It’s just been so long, I can’t be sure what’s bad enough for the hospital and what’s not.” He laughed as if he were crazy.

  After slipping back into his sweats, Aaron worked his way up off the floor and sat on the edge of the bed. “I can’t believe it, Lennox. I’m like you now.” He shook his head in disbelief with the same smile on his face.

  “I know so far everything that’s happening is a sure sign of you being human but how do you know you’re really alive and you’re not still in transition?”

  He turned his head and looked at me. “I’m breathing. If I hold my breath, my lungs start to burn. I can feel everything; internally and externally.” His skin was warm. In fact, it was hot. “My heart is pumping blood through my veins, feel this.” He took my fingers and pressed them against his juggler. A rhythmic beat pulsated beneath. It was beautiful. “I can’t disappear. I can’t see your mom. All my supernatural abilities are gone.”

  He was right. “Oh my god, Aaron. You are alive.” I couldn’t pull my hand away from the steady thump in his neck. I leaned up and kissed him where fingers were. “You’re a living being again.” You couldn’t erase my smile if you tried. My happiness mirrored his.

  “This is the best day of my life. I’m so happy I’m able to have this experience with you,” he said. His hand snaked around my neck and he pulled me against him for a celebratory kiss. My taste buds didn’t tingle like they had before, but his flavor was stronger and I couldn’t get enough of it.

  “Ehem.”

  I jumped and took a step away from Aaron as if we were pre-teens getting caught by our parents. “Sorry, Mom,” I apologized.

  “Your mom is here?” he whispered as if she couldn’t hear him.

  Whoa! “Wait! You can’t see her or hear her?”

  His eyebrows bunched up. “Huh, I guess not.”

  A surge of anxiety hit me. “What will I do when Mom disappears? How will I find her without you?” I asked Aaron.

  Mom spoke up. “Lennox, I’m not going anywhere. I’m getting a better grip on this communicating with the living, so if I do leave for a while, I’ll always come back,” she said reassuring me.

  Aaron held his palm up toward me. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute here. This isn’t fair. You two can’t be having conversations in front of me,” he said pointing his finger back and forth at me and the door. He clearly had no idea mom was standing by the window. “I can’t trust you two to not talk about me,” he teased, most likely trying to make light of the situation.

  “Haha. Now Mom and I can have our own little secrets without you getting in the middle of our business,” I teased. I clearly had nothing to hide from him. Aaron narrowed his eyes at me and ran his hand through his hair. It was a simple gesture, but I found it sexy.

  “Is that so?” He bit his lip and the memories of this morning ran back through my mind.

  “Oh boy,” Mom muttered then rolled her eyes.

  “Well shit, now I won’t be able to seduce you whenever I feel the urge,” he said. He may not have heard her, but he must have sensed how she was reacting to our flirting. “I’m joking, I’m joking,” he said waving his hand up and down. “No worries. I wouldn’t disrespect you like that, Sharon.” Watching him trying to talk to someone he couldn’t see was entertaining.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t stick around if you two got carried away. Believe me, I know my cue when to leave. I’ve had to do it several times already,” she teased. Inwardly, I cringed. When Mom had told me before she’d always been by my side, I never thought about what all she had watched me do until now. “Mom, please tell me you disappeared during all my most private and personal moments?”

  After I got over the shock of her talking about my potential sex life, I told him what she said.

  A boisterous laugh came from Aaron and Mom soon followed. I sat on the bed with a stale expression on my face while I waited for them to get over their fit of giggles on my behalf.

  “Oh the visuals,” Aaron blurted while bent over laughing.

  I punched him in the arm as hard as I could.

  “Ouch!” he pouted, rubbing his arm. “That hurt.”

  “I meant for it to. I would call you the “p” word but my mom is in the room,” I laughed.

  Mom hung out with us a few minutes longer before she claimed we needed our privacy.

  Once she was out of the room, Aaron turned to me and cradled my face in his hands. “You did this, baby. Without your love, I would’ve never been given a second chance on life.”

  I imitated his movements by encasing his face in my hands. “And without your love, I would still be a hateful, miserable bitch. Thank you for making me a better me,” I told him softly then kissed him lovingly on the lips.

  He gazed into my eyes for several seconds and I absorbed every inch of his face. He was so gorgeous; I could stare at him all day. “Are you ready to go to your father’s and get things dealt with so we can work on our future together?”

  Nodding, I agreed, and it pleased me to know he saw his future with me just as I did with him.

  “C’mon, let’s shower and get this day over with,” he said as he smacked me on the ass.

  Chapter 23

  After we showered and got ourselves ready, I asked Aaron if we could wait on breakfast in town. He agreed and we settled for cereal instead. The sooner I talked to my dad, the faster I could get past the obstacles in the road to my future with Aaron. Grabbing my keys from the side table, I walked into the garage and slid into the leather seat of my car.

  Startled by Aaron and my mother already inside my car, I screamed, then swatted at Aaron for frightening me. “What the hell? You two scared the shit out of me,” I said, catching my breath. I held my hand over my heart as if it would help slow down the pace. “You’re no longer dead so how did you beat me?” I asked.

  He shrugged with his eyes widened. “I really don’t know. Must be my stealth moves,” he said with a chuckle.

  Narrowing my eyes at him, I silently told him he was full of shit. “Don’t let this human life go to your head. It can be taken from you just as quick as it was given to you.” Instantly, I regretted my words. It was meant as a joke, but the sullen look on his face told me he took it differently. “I’m sorry, Aaron. I didn’t mean it that way,” I leaned over the console and kissed him on the corner of his mouth. He grabbed the back of my head and pulled me back to him for a full-on lips on lips kiss. I guess he didn’t like my half-ass job.

  Neither of us moved. We stared each other down. I was mesmerized by the new living and breathing Aaron. What he saw in me, I wasn’t exactly sure. After many years of believing I was better than everyone else, I knew I was possibly the worst person walking the earth. Well, not the worst. There was still Pam. And now my father. Aaron wanted to come with me to support me, but there wasn’t any reason in bringing him face to face with the man who had ordered his death.

  “Aaron, you should stay here. If he sees you he might do something worse than what he’s done already.”

  “I can’t allow you to go alone. Lennox, your father is a dangerous man. If you confront him, he’s liable to lose his head,” Aaron explained. The concern was evident in his eyes.

  “Aaron is right, Lennox. It’s best if we both go with you.”

  “I’m his baby girl. He won’t hurt me.” I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince them
or myself. From what I’d learned, he was a different person than I’d always believed him to be. He’d never gave me a sense of insecurity. And I had to believe he would never hurt me. Pam, on the other hand, was a different story.

  “We’re not willing to take any chances. Besides, if your mom pulls a few of my old moves, he’ll be scared shitless,” he said smiling, very sure of himself.

  When we pulled up to the gate, the big, burly guard, Dwight knew me well and allowed me inside without any question. “It’s nice to see you visit your father, Lennox.” He nodded to Aaron as if to say hello. Aaron’s eyes broadened in surprise. I think he forgot people could see him now.

  Plastering on a faux smile, I asked with an upbeat voice, “Do you know if Pam is home?”

  He shook his head with a smile. “Nope. Today is your lucky day.” He loathed Pam just as much as I did.

  “Excellent. Thanks, Dwight.”

  “Don’t be a stranger so much, Lennox. The guy is getting old, you know.” I smiled at him, then rolled my eyes once I got out of his sight. It was once again a dreary, rainy day. The lights were on in his office, so I knew he was home.

  Fluffing my hair and wiping the mascara off from underneath my puffy eyes, I examined myself in the mirror on my visor to look as presentable as possible. My father knew me well, and if I showed up looking as if I’d just crawled out of bed after a night of partying, he would be suspicious.

  “You look beautiful,” my mother said from the back seat.

  I smiled. “Mom, of course you say that but Dad can’t be fooled. He’s already going to wonder what my unexpected visit is for. The least I can do is look presentable,” I said, dabbing a touch of lip gloss to my dried lips.

  They followed close by me as I walked up to the front door and walked in. “Hi Dad,” I yelled out into the foyer. “Your favorite daughter is here,” I added with a singsong voice. I had to try to make things as normal as possible, and this was my normal way of making my presence known.

  “Aaron, go make yourself scarce. I don’t want him seeing you yet,” I muttered quietly. Aaron slipped behind the wall leading to the kitchen.