Her Imaginary Lover

by Doris O'Connor

  "If you know who he might be and where we can find him, the police would be most interested in speaking to him to shine some light on what's happened. Most, if not all of the blood covering your daughter wasn't hers, so he clearly was injured in the attack and must be in need of medical attention."

  Kaylom tensed anew as Trevor paled and shook his head.

  "No, you don’t understand. This Kaylom is just a figment of her imagination. He's not real. And that's my point. What if this attack has brought all that shit back again. I can't stand to see her talking to herself again like she used to."

  To her credit Nurse Lucy took this revelation in her stride.

  "Well, whoever saved your daughter is very real. He killed a man, and he bled profusely. The police recovered a bloodied knife at the scene, and it was covered in the same blood-like substance that covered your daughter."

  "Blood-like substance?" Jenny asked.

  "Yes, we're running some tests, but it doesn’t seem to be human blood. The police are looking into it, and I've really said too much already, but I wanted to put your mind at rest so to speak. There was someone there, either this Kaylom or, well … who knows. I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation. For now, I would suggest you go home, grab some things for her overnight stay, and by the time you get back she'll no doubt be awake and much more coherent."

  Lucy smiled at them and left them alone in the cubicle.

  Trevor swore under his breath, and Jenny, too, tensed.

  "If he's not a figment of her imagination, then what the fuck is he?"

  Chapter Two

  Macie blinked to try to moisten her gritty eyes. Everything hurt, and there was an annoying beep in her ear. What the hell was going on?

  "Darling, you're awake. Finally. How you're feeling?"

  Macie winced as her mother's excited words seemed to echo around her skull, and she carefully cracked one eye open and turned into the direction of her mother's voice. To reassure her further she tried to form her lips into the semblance of a smile, even as the events that led to her lying on a hospital bed flooded back into her consciousness with alarming clarity.

  Kaylom. Had he really been there, saved her?

  "Macie, don't start that again. You know he's not real." Her father's voice confirmed that she must have said Kaylom's name out loud, and Macie winced at the annoyed undertones.

  It transported her right back to all those times in her childhood, before she had learned to keep Kaylom's existence hidden from the world at large and her parents in particular. She hadn't been entirely successful, of course, but that tone of voice warned her to tread carefully. Besides, there was another presence here with them. A feather light caress by calloused fingers that made her heart beat faster and made her wish her parents far away.

  "Trevor, the girl has just woken up." Macie's mother cupped her cheek, and the ghostly fingers disappeared, as though they had never traced the line of her jaw.

  "I'm all right, Mum, really. Everything just hurts."

  Her mum made a choked sound, and then there was the press of her lips to Macie's forehead and an awkward pat to her knee from her Dad's heavy hand.

  "I'm sure it does. We can talk about this in the morning," her mum said. "We brought you some toiletries and a nightgown to change into. Do you want me to help you with that?"

  "No, Mum, really. I don't need help. I'm not a child." Macie regretted her sharp retort instantly, and her mum sighed.

  "Yes, I know, I'm sorry, I just thought … well, you just rest and sleep. You're by yourself here, mostly. There are a couple of other women in the bay opposite you, but I'm sure they won't bother you. You get well, and we'll be back in the morning. The nurse said you'll be discharged then, so that's good, isn't it? I put your buzzer right by your hand here." She pressed the plastic button into her palm and sighed again. "So, if you do need help, then get the nurse, okay?"

  Macie nodded carefully so as not to increase the pounding in her head, and then her parents left. Once their retreating footsteps could not be heard anymore she turned her head in the direction of Kaylom's presence.

  "Is it really you?" she asked.

  "It's me, munchkin."

  The childhood moniker made her burst into tears, and she felt the bed dip, as hard masculine arms cradled her to an equally hard, broad chest. His chest hair tickled her cheek, and she inhaled deeply as his unique musk enveloped her. It was more potent and altogether more virile than she remembered it being, and Macie snuggled in closer. Buzzer forgotten she let her hands roam, and he tensed under the frantic exploration of her fingertips. Where earlier there had been a sticky congealed mass, now, all she felt was smooth, warm skin that flexed and rippled under her hands.

  "How can you be healed already? I know you were injured. There was a knife and … and…" She couldn't go on. To say it out loud just brought the memories to life. The paralyzing fear, the stench of her attackers, the harsh hands that dug into her skin, and the foul taste in her mouth. She gagged and tried to pull away, but Kaylom tightened his hold on her.

  "Shhh, it's okay. Don’t think about it. They'll never bother you again. Not while I'm here."

  Macie allowed herself one more blissful moment of simply being held, and then she pushed against his chest. His very male, very naked chest. Renewed heat climbed into her cheeks. Had he been naked when they were children? Maybe he had been, and she'd just never noticed, but she sure noticed now, and despite her earlier ordeal, her skin heated and her nipples firmed under the scratchy hospital gown she still wore. Her breathing hitched, and her stomach hollowed out as she squeezed her thighs together.

  Her childhood friend had grown into a man, one her body couldn’t help but respond to as if those large hands that stroked up and down her back were touching her in far more intimate places. His fingers found the gap where the gown didn't quite meet, and his movements slowed. Tingles of awareness raised goosebumps on her skin, and he withdrew and urged her back against the propped up cushions.

  "Your mum is right. You need to rest. I've got to explain a lot of things to you, but the hospital is not the place to do so."

  He lifted a glass of water to her lips, and she swallowed eagerly.

  "Did they bring me a toothbrush?" she asked, and he chuckled.

  "Yes, they did. Let me buzz the nurse for you, to help you freshen up. I'll be just outside that curtain."

  "Promise?"

  "Cross my heart and hope to die, munchkin." He placed a kiss on her forehead, and then he was gone with a rush of air.

  "You called, my lovely." The over enthusiastic young sounding voice must belong to one of the nurses, or maybe a health care assistant, and Macie nodded.

  "Yes, I would like to freshen up, please."

  "Of course you would. I can give you a wash down. Don’t think you ought to leave that bed just yet. I'm Mandy by the way."

  She helped Macie sit up and kept up a stream of over friendly chatter. By the time Macie was in her own nightdress, and with her hair and teeth brushed, she was quite exhausted, and couldn't stop her yawn.

  Mandy laughed and settled her back down on the cushions and lowered the bed.

  "There you are. You just snuggle in now for the night, and you'll feel lots better in the morning, you'll see."

  "Thank you, Mandy," Macie said, and smiled in the general direction of the young woman's voice.

  "All in a day's work, my dear, and it was my pleasure."

  "Mandy, can I ask you something before you leave? I'm sorry, I know you must be busy."

  "Sure thing, my lovely, shoot."

  Macie hesitated, for surely if there had been a naked man here, Mandy would have called for security or something, but she had to know for sure.

  "Was anybody here or just leaving when you arrived?"

  "No, my lovely, no one. I saw your parents leave earlier, if that's what you mean," she said.

  Macie shook her head and swallowed down the sudden lump of apprehension in her throat.


  "No, it's okay, thank you."

  "Well, okay then. Sleep well, my dear."

  Macie dutifully shut her eyes and tried to sleep, but it was impossible. When she did snooze off all she achieved was to relive the attack over and over again. The noises of a busy hospital surrounded her, and she flinched when someone came to take her blood pressure, and placed a thermometer under her arm. Of Kaylom there was no sign. So much for being just outside her curtain. Then again, if he was real, he couldn't stay she supposed. It was enough to do her head in. Real or a figment of her imagination, and if the latter what did it say about her state of mind that she imagined him naked? Was she that sex deprived that she had to make up a brawny naked man as her rescuer?

  Macie grimaced in the never ending darkness that surrounded her. The sex deprived part was true at least. Macie refused to be a notch on a man's bed post, and that's all men seemed to want her for. The novelty of sleeping with the blind girl was all well and good, but no one wanted a relationship, no matter how self-sufficient she was. Still, who needed a man? Her battery operated friends worked just as well, if not better. They didn’t clutter up her place with dirty socks and shoes out of place that meant she tripped up over them, and sent herself flying.

  Whoever her rescuer had been, it couldn't have been Kaylom. She'd left her imaginary friend behind years ago, and she wouldn't allow him to invade her life again. It had caused countless problems back then, had made her doubt her own sanity, and she couldn't do that to her parents—not again. As it was she would have the devil of a job to convince her father to let her get back to her own cozy flat once she was discharged from the hospital, and there was no way she'd move in with her parents, even if only for the short term. She’d fought too long and hard for her independence to have those bastards who attacked her snatch it away from her now.

  It might take her a long time before she could sleep without nightmares again, but she would get there. And she would sign up for those self-defense classes, too. She eventually drifted off to sleep with a determined smile on her face.

  ****

  Kaylom watched her sleep. He'd had to leave earlier. Knowing that she was naked behind that flimsy hospital curtain had been too much of a temptation. It would have been so easy to slip through the gap and feast his eyes on her naked form, but that would make him a bastard. It was a common sport amongst the adolescents of his species, and he knew some of them went a lot further than a simple look. Many an Athuron had sampled the goods of a human while they slept. Humans called them erotic dreams. In reality they were having sex with Athurons. The species were incompatible, so with the risk of interspecies breeding removed, and with Athurons' high sex drive, these encounters were to be expected, even if they promised harsh punishments back in their realm.

  Some older Athurons looked upon it as the lesser of two evils. With the younger generation sowing their wild oats in the human sphere it meant they were more settled and willing to act responsibly in their dimension.

  The whole thing had always left a sour taste in Kaylom's mouth. Nonetheless he, too, felt the pull to the human world. It was only his feelings for Macie that had stopped him from seeking relief with anyone else. He'd had a few encounters with his own kind, enough to take the edge off his desires, but there was only one woman he loved, would ever love, and she was the one woman he couldn't ever have.

  His father expected him to step up and take on the responsibility that came with being an elder's son, and Kaylom knew he was running out of time, but he couldn’t tear himself away from Macie either.

  She thrashed about in her sleep, and he gathered her in his arms and pulled her close. Instantly she relaxed and fell into a deep sleep. Kaylom, however, did not have that luxury. He was too wired, too aware of the way her breasts rose and fell with her even breathing. The way she smelled and the way her soft curves fitted against his long, hard frame, as though she was meant for him. The force of his emotions swamped him. Yes, he wanted to sink his aching cock into the warm embrace of her body. He wanted her to scream his name as she came around his shaft lodged so deep inside her core that he knew he'd never want to leave. Kaylom wanted to lick every inch of her fragrant skin until he'd marked her as his. He wanted to see her body flushed with desire and trembling under the onslaught of his hands, mouth, and teeth, until she begged him for her release, but most importantly, he wanted to simply hold her—forever.

  Kaylom wanted the privilege of waking up next to her every morning, and that could never be.

  With the dawn of morning came reality. He stayed in the background and watched her answer the police officer's question with quiet determination. More than once she looked into his direction and frowned as though she could sense him there, and perhaps she could. Every time she visibly shook herself and then firmed her lips.

  "No, officer, I don't know who came to my rescue. I know he was a man, and he was injured in the fight, but I don't know where he went."

  "At the scene you called him Kaylom," the officer said, and Macie laughed and shook her head. A delightful blush stained her cheeks, and Kaylom's heart slammed hard against his chest bone.

  Her father rolled his eyes, and her mother blinked back tears, as everyone waited for her answer.

  "I was confused, officer, that's all. I hit my head pretty hard when I fell, and I guess a part of me reverted back to what brought me comfort as a child. Kaylom was my imaginary friend when I was little, so you see it couldn't possibly have been him."

  Her father expelled a loud breath, as though he'd been holding it in waiting for her answer, and her mother blinked back tears.

  "I told you not to worry, Trev, see. She's all right."

  "I see, Miss. Okay, this is really all I need from you right now. If you remember anything else, anything at all, then please ring me. Here's my card." The middle aged copper pressed his business card into Macie's hand and then left.

  It took Macie longer to finally be discharged, and to convince her parents that she was perfectly fine and she would be going back to her own place, thank you very much.

  Kaylom smiled at the quiet determination his Macie exhibited. It shone through her and made her look even more beautiful, even with the angry looking bruises that formed on her face and throat. He knew she would be all right. He, on the other hand, was royally fucked.

  He would make sure she got settled into her own place okay, and then he would leave, and this time he would never set foot in the human realm again.

  Chapter Three

  Macie shut the door on her parents, and leaning her head on the cool wood, breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, she was on her own. She loved her parents dearly, but geez louise, they sure liked to fuss. Now that she didn't have to keep up the pretense, she let the tears fall.

  Truth be told she felt like shit. Every muscle in her body hurt, her head ached, her throat felt sore, and she'd never felt more confused in her entire life. She'd told her parents and the police what they wanted to hear, but she'd felt Kaylom's quiet presence in the background all day. Maybe she was going mad. Maybe he was just a figment of her imagination, but she needed him right now, and she was going to worry about her state of mind when she was feeling less fragile.

  She sensed him behind her, and when he ran his fingertips up her bare arms, she allowed herself to lean back. His warm solid presence felt so real, so comforting that she shut her eyes and simply absorbed the sensations.

  "Kaylom?" She whispered the question, and his heavy hands settled on her shoulders and gently massaged her tight muscles.

  "I'm here, munchkin. I thought they'd never leave." Humor laced his voice, and Macie smiled through her tears.

  "They worry too much. They always have." She murmured the words and barely suppressed a groan when his nimble fingers found a particularly sore spot. "And don't call me that. I'm not a child."

  He soothed the hurt away, and she held her breath when he lifted her hair off her neck and pressed his warm, firm lips to the bruised area.

 
"Oh, believe me. I'm all too aware of that, baby." Shivers went down her spine as his hot breath ghosted across her skin, and his deep voice dropped an octave. Her stomach dropped right with it, and time stood still as she waited for his next move. He inhaled against her neck and then stepped back. Curiously bereft without his warmth against her back she swayed slightly as she turned. Instantly his hands were back on her forearms steadying her, and she raised her head and stretched her hands out. Just as before she encountered smooth, warm muscle, covered with fine swirls of hair, and she nodded to herself.

  "I'm not going crazy, am I? You're really here, right?"

  His deep sigh blew across her face, and his minty breath allayed her fears. It mixed with his unique male scent that sent her hormones into overdrive, and she tried to lean in closer.

  "Kaylom, talk to me. What's going on? Why can no one else see you? Who are you?"

  He didn't answer her, but she could sense his turmoil, and she traced her fingers over his face. The deep groove between his eyes told of his frown, as did the tight set of his lips and the carefully controlled way he was breathing. She flinched when he ran his hands up her arms and then cupped her face and turned it sideways.

  A whisper of a calloused fingertips only, yet it set her heart beating faster, and her lethargy fled.

  "I could tear those bastards limb from fucking limb for what they did to you." She sensed him coming closer, and a whimper of feminine need escaped her when he trailed butterfly kisses across her skin, and then leant his forehead on hers. Their breaths mingled, and she couldn't help the tears welling from her eyes. Tears he kissed off her face with such tenderness it made her cry harder.

  "I was so scared. I thought they were going to kill me."

  With a low growl Kaylom pulled her closer until her breasts pressed against his naked chest, and his erection dug into her belly. He felt huge, hot and hard, and her pussy clenched in helpless need. Macie locked her hands behind his thick neck and jumped up at him. Her legs went ‘round his waist, and his huge hands grasped her ass to support her. His groan trembled through her, and he pressed her back against the door. She raised her lips in a silent offering, and he brushed his tongue along their seam just once before he withdrew.