by Twyla Turner
“So this can be your room for now. There’s no bed in the downstairs bedroom. I know this bed might be a little small for you-”
“Its fine, Alexis. I’m sure it’s better than the ground.” Sloan reassured her.
“True. Sorry. Well anyway, I want to eventually tear down the walls to this room to make one huge master bedroom and attached bathroom up here. So using this second bedroom will only be temporary.” Lexi told him.
“That’s okay, Alexis. You know that’s a fantastic idea!” Sloan exclaimed and then whistled. “That’ll be one badass master suite.”
“Exactly.” Lexi agreed. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.” Lexi walked out of the room, appearing a few moments later with folded clothes in her arms. “These should be able to fit you I think.”
Lexi handed him an extra-large white t-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants in the same size. Lexi withheld the fact that the clothes were Eric’s that she had sometimes worn when she wanted to be comfy around the house. When she realized she still had them, she’d wanted to burn them, but was now glad she hadn’t. I guess that jackass was good for something, she thought as she also handed Sloan a fluffy white dry towel.
“If you’d like to take a shower, there’s soap in the bathroom if you need it. It’s girlie, but I’m sure it’ll do the job.” Lexi offered, a small smile playing at her lips.
“Thank you for everything, Alexis. This is really kind of you.” Sloan said sincerely.
“It’s nothing.” Lexi tried to wave off the compliment.
“No, don’t do that. Don’t make light of this. What you’re doing is more than most people would. Trust me, I know. People walk past me daily and look at me like I’m a piece of shit. You actually took the time to get to know me.” Sloan said with feeling.
“Well, not everyone would take on a couple of crackheads to save a virtual stranger. Some would say that takes some level of insanity.” Lexi joked, still trying to make light of the heavy situation.
“Fine. Then we’re even. We’re both freaking amazing people. Agreed?” Sloan held out his hand to Lexi.
“Agreed.” She hesitated and then took his hand firmly, feeling shocks radiate up her arm at his touch.
It was the first time in years that she didn’t so much as flinch at the touch of a man. It was only a hand shake, but she held out hope that one day she could be touched intimately again.
“Alright, I think I’m gonna head downstairs and start on dinner.” Lexi said, suddenly feeling shy and vulnerable.
“Alright. I’ll be down after I wash what feels like a decade of filth off of me.” Sloan joked.
“Okay see ya in a little bit.” Lexi said before walking out of the room.
~~~
Sloan got in the shower, his first in longer than he could remember. He let the water run over him, enjoying the hot water most take for granted. He smelled all of her soaps and shampoo and conditioner, and she was right, they all had soft feminine fragrances that reminded him of her scent.
It felt intimate to be surrounded by all of Lexi’s things, like he was seeing inside the woman and feeling a little guilty for it. He reached out and touched the bright blue loofa that she used to wash her body and just the thought made his body come alive. He hadn’t felt this turned on in a long time, and he felt like a creepy stalker getting aroused by her toiletries.
Trying to shake it off, he grabbed her shampoo and washed his hair. As much as he tried to rinse off almost daily in whatever body of water he could find, no amount of rinsing was going to make a difference if he didn’t have soap. He rinsed his hair and repeated just for good measure. Flipping the dog tags that he never took off over his shoulder and grabbing her bar of soap, he lathered from head to toe finally getting years’ worth of grime off of his body.
Once he was done, Sloan stepped out of the tub to dry off, feeling more human than he had in a long time. He grabbed the scissors that he had sat on the sink. He had ran downstairs and asked Lexi for them before he got in the shower wanting to cut his hair and beard. She only had kitchen shears, but they would work for now. He stood in front of the mirror and stared at his rough overgrown reflection, ready to say goodbye to the vagabond he had been.
Reaching for one of Lexi’s combs, Sloan combed through his snarled hair. Satisfied that it was untangled enough, he grabbed a section of hair and started cutting about an inch or two below his chin. Not caring about being too fancy, Sloan finished within minutes moving on to his beard next.
He chose a smaller comb out of Lexi’s menagerie of combs and brushes. He placed the comb in his beard, flush against his skin, cutting as he went along. When he was done he had a low semi-groomed beard. He didn’t feel comfortable enough yet for a clean shaven face and short hair. It would just enhanced his angry scars. So he preferred to have at least a little something to hide behind.
Content with the results for now, he cleaned up his mess and pulled on the sweats and t-shirt Lexi had given him. I wonder who she got these from. The guy she was talking to on the phone? He vowed to find out what had happened to her and who was possibly harassing her. The feelings that he already had for her made him feel extremely protective of her, and he’d do anything to make sure she was safe.
Finished with cleaning himself up, Sloan grabbed some antiseptic and cotton balls that he found under the sink for Lexi’s scraped knee and elbow and walked downstairs barefoot, not wanting to put back on his old worn boots. He walked around the corner into the kitchen where Lexi was finishing up dinner. Tank sat loyally next to her. Sloan realized that he wasn’t the only male that felt protective of her.
Sloan took in her comfy clothes that she had changed into and swallowed hard. She wore black yoga pants that hugged her wide hips, decadent round ass and full thighs. And her V-neck little yellow t-shirt hugged her large breasts like sin. Jesus Christ, how am I going to live with this woman and not touch her? Or completely embarrass myself, he thought as he tried to control his need to have her. The sweatpants didn’t exactly do much to hide an erection if his thoughts continued down the road they were on.
Lexi looked up when she felt like she was being watched and saw Sloan leaning against the frame of the kitchen entryway, watching her. Her breath stuck in her throat. Holy fucking shit! Who knew all that was under all of that scruff!?
His damp black hair was straight and flipped and curled in different directions at the ends that lay against his neck and jaw. The short beard defined his strong jawline and shapely lips. The two scars on his face only enhanced the bad boy look. The smaller scar that cut through the upper left side of his lip, then continued down his bottom lip to his chin pulled focus to his beautiful mouth. The larger scar that ran down his left eyebrow, skipped his eye and started again at the top of his cheek and cut through his beard down to his jaw, made him look dangerous. Dear God, he looks like a freakin’ sexy pirate!
“Please don’t stare at me. It makes me feel like a freak show.” Sloan said quietly, dropping his head, making his hair swing in his face to hide his scars.
“Oh God, Sloan! I wasn’t looking at you because of your scars. Wow, this is embarrassing! I was staring because…because I wasn’t expecting you to be quite so…so gorgeous.” Lexi said, ending on a whisper while looking down at the floor.
Sloan was floored by her confession. When he looked in the mirror all he saw was how his faced used to be, how it was supposed to look. Never in his wildest dreams did he think anyone, especially the stunning woman in front of him, would think he was attractive.
“Oh”, was Sloan’s quiet one word reply, at a loss for words. “Um…I ah, brought down some peroxide to clean up your scrapes.” Sloan said, changing the subject of his looks, feeling awkward. “Come sit.”
Lexi moved to the table and sat in one of the chairs. Sloan crouched down in front of her and poured a small amount of the peroxide on a cotton ball. He touched her arm and she flinched a little at the contact.
“Sorry.” Sloan said, a little hurt at he
r reaction to his touch.
“No, it’s not you, it’s me.” Lexi said guilty.
She presented him her scraped elbow, bending her arm back. Sloan dabbed at the fresh cuts and then blew gently against her skin, making her heart pound. He looked down at her leg asking silently for her to lift the material of her pants up. Obliging him, she leaned forward and pulled up her pant leg. Baring her knee, Sloan tended to the wound there too. Again blowing on it after cleaning it with the antiseptic. Lexi’s breath caught at the feeling of his cool breath against her skin like a caress and the vision of his full shapely lips near her feverish skin.
Once he was done, they looked at each other intensely for a few moments at a loss for words in the heated moment. Lexi cleared her throat and pulled down her pant leg, as Sloan stood up and stepped away from her, putting much needed distance between them.
“So…I uh…made us some dinner.” Lexi said trying to fill the awkward silence. “Since it’s so warm I decided to do a chilled pasta dinner. I sautéed some shrimp in a lemon garlic sauce with zucchini and other veggies all on top of angel hair spaghetti. And Tank gets a medium rare steak for being such a good helper.” Lexi said, looking down at her new shadow.
“Wow, Alexis! That sounds fantastic!” Sloan exclaimed, looking at the spread. “This’ll be my first home cooked meal in almost two years.” He admitted softly, feeling a little choked up.
“What happened to you?” Lexi blurted out before she could stop herself.
“It’s not easy to talk about, but if I tell you, will you tell me something about yourself? How you came to be here?” Sloan asked, trying to bargain with her.
“I…I…I can’t, Sloan. I’m sorry.” Lexi said sadly, grabbing some silverware out of a drawer. “So you don’t have to tell me anything. It wouldn’t be fair for me to expect you to tell me about yourself and not do the same in return.”
“You know what, it’s alright. If I’m going to be staying under your roof…a man you barely know, I owe it to you to tell you my story. And maybe, just maybe if you know me better you’ll eventually feel that you can trust me enough to know who you are as well.” Sloan offered generously.
Lexi just nodded her head in agreement as they took their seats across from each other. Sloan used the big spoon and fork to lift the pasta out of the giant glass bowl, serving her first and them himself. They ate a few bites in silence while he got his courage and thoughts together. Taking a deep breath, he started.
“I come from a wealthy family, from old money. My family earned their money as real estate tycoons in South Carolina. And of course growing up I was groomed to take over. But my interests laid more in home construction. I wanted to build them, to use my hands, not sell them and sit in an office.
“Then in high school a couple of the poor families in town lost their homes in a massive hurricane, but unlike many others, they couldn’t afford to rebuild or buy new. So Habitat for Humanity offered to rebuild their homes and I volunteered. And once I helped build those houses, I was a goner.
“Instead of going to an Ivy League school like my parents wanted me to, I went to trade school to learn construction after I graduated high school. I was good at it and I got jobs working for contractors.” Sloan looked at Lexi with a guilty look on his face. “Yeah, I know a little more about construction than I let on.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it, just go on.” Lexi said, letting his little fib slide, absorbed in his story and wanting to know more.
“So, after I finished trade school, I worked for three years building my resume, to the total and complete displeasure of my parents. But I made a name for myself. People respected my work ethic and skill and I was hired on as the general contractor for a bunch of jobs. And then 9/11 happened, and it changed everything. I was twenty-three and pissed off and wanted to defend my country. So I joined the Marines, ready to leave behind my nagging parents, putting a whole ocean between us.” Sloan sighed and ran his hands through his thick hair.
“God, it was hell on earth, Alexis. Young men who started out as strangers, then bunk mates, then friends and finally brothers. I watched them drop like flies. But somehow me and my buddy Vick kept going and climbing the ranks over the years, me Lieutenant and he a Sergeant.
“We made it through nine years. And then on a day that we all just wanted to hang out in town, doing some shopping for family and friends back home, we were ambushed. Vick and a nineteen year old kid were killed. I made it out alive, but with these scars to remind me every day that I unfairly made it out and they didn’t.
“I was discharged from the Marines, my nearly deadened nerves on my left side not allowing me to continue. So I came back to South Carolina, back to my parents who still didn’t hide their disappointment in me. Even though I came home with a medal for courage under fire, a bonafide “war hero”, they weren’t impressed. Shortly after I was home, my parents had a dinner party with friends and business associates. One of them started talking smack about the military and the war and I lost it on him and knocked him out cold. That night my parents kicked me out of the house.
“So I came down to Savannah because one of the contractors I had worked for years before was working on a subdivision and he hired me on to help me out. Only a few days on the job and the sounds of a nail gun caused me to have a flashback and I attacked the guy, nearly choking him to death. As much as my old buddy wanted to help me out, he knew he couldn’t risk it, so he let me go. I tried to find other jobs, but everyone in town had already heard about the war vet with PTSD. Nothing like bad news in a southern town…spreads like wildfire. So no job, no money…here I am two years later.” Sloan took another deep cleansing breath, finished with his story.
“But what about your vet benefits? Aren’t you getting paid those?” Lexi asked perplexed.
“When I got home, I felt so guilty that I made it back alive and Vick didn’t, because he had a family, a wife and kid. I started sending them the money from my check. It wasn’t much, but I figured that it would help. And once my parents kicked me out and I lost my job, I felt like a dick for even thinking about not sending them the money. I’d rather sleep in the grass under the stars, than get a place of my own knowing they needed all the help they could get without Vick to support them. And like I said before, it wasn’t a whole lot of money in the first place and I never went hungry for too long. I’m a southern raised boy after all and can hunt better than a man with a gun. Plus, these last two years were a piece of cake compared to the nine years of hell over there.” Sloan finished, finally picking up his fork again to finish his plate.
“You truly are an amazing person, Sloan.” Lexi said in wonder at all he had been through.
“Neh. I was a hot-headed cocky arrogant son-of-a-bitch. You kinda learn to be humble when you’ve got nothing but the clothes on your back.” Sloan shrugged off the compliment. “So…is there anything you can tell me about yourself that won’t upset you?” Sloan asked wanting to turn the topic of discussion far from him. “Age? State you grew up in? Last name? Unusual birthmarks?” Sloan grinned trying to make light of it in the hopes that she would tell him a little about herself.
“Thirty-one. Moline, Illinois until I was eleven and then Davenport, Iowa after that. Bolden. A lopsided heart on the back of my thigh.” Lexi answered the questions exactly the way he asked them, rapid fire.
“Middle name?” Sloan asked, trying to keep her talking.
“Marie.”
“Mmm…Alexis Marie Bolden.” He rolled her name off of his tongue. “I like it. Family?” He asked again.
“Nope. What’s your middle and last name? And how old are you?” Lexi dodged.
“Nathaniel Stryker. And I’m thirty-five. What happened to your family?” Sloan pressed on.
“Too personal. Sloan Nathaniel Stryker” She mimicked him, testing his name on her tongue. “Sloan Stryker, you sound like a character in a movie.”
Hmm…she’s good at dodging questions and redirecting the conversa
tion back to me. Well she’s met her match, cause I’m as persistent as a rabid dog.
“What do you do? Why did you pick Savannah?” Sloan continued, not willing to give up.
“Nothing yet. I used to work in a call center. My mom always talked about Savannah. Talked about moving here.” Lexi sighed. “My Aunt Betty, who raised me after my parents died, just passed away not too long ago and she left me with some money. So with the money, I decided to move here in honor of my mother. And thankfully my aunt gave me the gift of being able to weigh my options on what I want to do with my life for a little while.” Lexi finished, finally giving him some of the details he wanted, without giving too much away.
“I’m sorry to hear about your family. But this is a great opportunity for you, to figure out what you want. Not many get that, enjoy it.” Sloan said, sliding his hand across the table and placing it over hers. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re here.” Sloan said shyly.
Lexi looked up at Sloan like a deer in headlights, the heat from his rough and calloused hand radiated up her arm. She pulled her hand away and placed both in her lap, looking down unable to meet his gaze any longer.
Whenever you’re ready…I’ll be here.
~~~
Shortly after dinner Lexi had excused herself and went up to her room, getting ready for bed. Sloan couldn’t sleep and with nothing to do but stare at the ceiling, curiosity got the best of him. He went downstairs to grab the pink binder that Lexi had been carrying with her for her meetings with the contractors and he brought it up to his room to look at her design ideas.
Flipping through the pages, Sloan thought she had impeccable taste and decided in that moment to offer to do the renovations on her home in return for her letting him stay there.
Closing the binder, Sloan pulled off his t-shirt and laid back on the mattress that he had placed on the floor since he couldn’t fit on the small bedframe. He closed his eyes finally feeling tired enough to fall asleep.