The Naughty Nine: Where Danger and Passion Collide

by Nina Bruhns

  “Is that a lighthouse?” She pointed to the rocky cliff and an old building.

  “Yeah, we can take a walk there some day. What do you say to some hot chocolate and French toast? I have the roofing guys coming in about an hour, but I can squeeze in making us some breakfast.”

  “Hmmm, sounds good.” He enjoyed the feel of her small hand in his and he could tell she was in deep thought as they walked back towards the house.

  When they hit the clearing, he glanced around the place. The yard would need some work next spring, but so far, the company he'd hired the last few summers had done a great job keeping it up. He knew the pool had been drained and had sat empty since the first summer he'd owned the place.

  The yard could stand for a few flowers, though. His grandmother had always had flowers everywhere. He looked off towards her rose garden and sighed when he saw the state the bushes were in. Just then Eve stopped. He looked over at her and her eyes were huge.

  “What? What is it? Are you dizzy?” He reached for her and held her close.

  “I…I think I remember your grandmother. I just had a flash.” She reached up and touched her forehead. “There was a woman in a large hat with a blue bow on it. She was bending over, digging in the dirt with a red spade.”

  He smiled and kissed her forehead. “Yes!” He leaned back and looked into her eyes. “That was our grandmother.” He noticed a tear on her cheek and wiped it away gently. “You two would disappear into the garden for hours.”

  “I had my first memory.” She smiled up at him. “What a wonderful memory.” Then she put her hand to her head and frowned. “Ohh.” She held onto his arm and he saw her face go pale.

  “What?” He held her tighter.

  “I'm dizzy.” He could see her eyes become unfocused. Swooping her up quickly, he rushed into the house with her in his arms. Setting her on the couch, he sat beside her. “Do you want some water? What about an aspirin?”

  “No, I'm fine now. I think I'll just rest a while.” She leaned back on the cushions. “You said something about French toast and hot coco?”

  He smiled and stood up. “Stay put. Hot food coming up.” He rushed out and into the kitchen. Less than half an hour later, he walked in with a tray full of food. When he walked in, she was asleep, the large comforter his grandmother had made covering her almost completely. He set the tray down and sat next to her, watching her sleep until the roofers drove up outside.

  When he came back inside after getting the men started, Eve was sitting up finishing the plate of food he'd left for her.

  “Sorry if it was cold. You were resting when I brought it in.” He sat beside her and propped his feet on the coffee table.

  “That's okay. It was still warm.” She drank the rest of her hot chocolate. “Thank you, it was delicious.” She leaned back and put her feet next to his, crossing them at the ankles. “You're fixing the place up?” She nodded towards the men outside the large picture window. There were half a dozen of them, scurrying about trying to get ladders and other equipment ready.

  “Yeah, I can pretty much do everything else myself. But, well, you know how I feel about heights.” He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

  She chuckled. “No, I don't. But I guess I can piece together that you're not too fond of them.” She watched his eyes open and a hint of sadness crossed his face.

  “Oh, yeah. I guess I forgot.” He closed his eyes again.

  “What else are you going to be doing around here?” She looked around the large room, trying to imagine what it could look like. The furniture in the room was old and very much out of date, but the room was solid and had great potential. With a fresh coat of paint, new curtains, new furniture, the room would be more up to date. She could just imagine how rearranging the furniture would open the room up and make it flow better.

  “Was I any good at decorating?” She tilted her head, trying to remember.

  “Hmmm, yes. You helped Mitch redecorate his place after the Suzanne incident.”

  “Now you've got me curious. What was the Suzanne incident?” She watched the men working outside and listened to Carter tell her all about yet another part of her past that she no longer remembered.

  That evening she decided to try and cook something. Since they'd been there, Carter had been the only one moving around the kitchen. She'd been curious if she could cook. A few minutes later, she had her answer.

  The fire alarm was blaring as Carter ran in, sheer panic on his face. He'd been cleaning out his grandfather's old office, and there was dust all over his shirt and pants. Eve tried not to laugh, but the scene was almost too much. The pan she'd used had black things floating in the oil.

  Carter rushed over and put the lid on the pan, sufficiently snuffing out the blaze that had been building. “What are you doing? You know damn well you're not allowed to use this kitchen. Not after the cake incident.” He carried the pan to the sink and turned on the water. As a large pile of steam rose and almost hit him in the face, she crossed her arm and raised her chin.

  “No, I don't know. I don't remember! I don't know anything about what I can and can't do. I can't remember anything about being here before. About you!” She stomped her foot as he turned towards her. “I don't know if I can cook. I don't know if I know how to drive a car, or what my favorite book is. I don't remember my first kiss or my mother's name. I don't know if I like chocolate or vanilla.” She walked towards him and shoved her finger into his chest. “I don't remember you or even if I still liked you. I can't remember why we were in Chicago or what happened to me that night. I don't even know how I got this bump on my head. So far, all you want to tell me about are the good, ‘safe’ things like your grandparents.” She air quoted around the word safe. She threw her hand up in the air and raised her chin a little more. “I don't even know why I feel a very strong urge to kiss you and to throttle you at the same time.” She turned and stormed out of the room and made it all the way up stairs before he spun her around.

  “Wait just a minute. I'm sorry, I forgot.” She could see sadness in his eyes again, and it tore at her a little more. “I'll answer any questions you have.” He rubbed his hand over his forehead and she could tell he was tired. He walked over and sat in the soft chair under the window, closing his eyes and resting his head on the back.

  “Do you need some help?” She watched his eyes fly open.

  “Help? In the office? No.” He shook his head.

  “Listen. Since it's obvious that I'm no good in the kitchen and you've confirmed that I am good at decorating, maybe I can give you a hand.”

  He shook his head again. “No. You're not supposed to overdo it.” He stood up and started to walk out. “Your arm is still in a sling and just this morning you almost passed out when walking.” He stopped and looked over at her. “Were you hungry? Is that why you were in the kitchen?”

  She shook her head. “I was just seeing if I could cook. I wanted to make you dinner since you were working so hard.”

  He smiled. “Well, now you know. Avoid cooking, cats”—he ticked things off with his fingers as he talked—“riding a unicycle while juggling, oh, and most importantly…staplers.” He smiled and walked out.

  She blinked. “Staplers? Why staplers?” She rushed after him as he laughed.

  Secret Identity: Chapter Eight

  Carter knew that Eve was getting restless. He could see that look she got in her eyes when she was bored. And she was very bored a few days later. She'd taken her arm out of the sling and swore to him that it was feeling better, but he could see that she kept it close to her and didn't use it when lifting things. But he agreed that she could help him sort through all his grandparents’ stuff. He had a large storage unit delivered the day after the roofers had finished the roof. The metal box sat on the drive and was already half full of items he planned on selling. Already he was thinking he'd need at least two more storage devices just to hold everything.

  There were boxes and boxes of paperwork that Ev
e was going through. She was shredding the unimportant items and placing paperwork that he would want to keep in a large box. She'd found his grandparents’ wedding license, copies of all his aunts’ and uncles’ birth certificates, as well as his own.

  “My grandfather was very cautious. He always kept copies of important documents. After he died, I found a stack of the same stuff in a deposit box at the bank.” He chuckled and got back to his job. He'd carried every piece of furniture out of all the rooms downstairs.

  Eve had called around and found a local place that would reupholster the couch and two chairs in the living room. They'd picked out the new material from the patches the woman had brought with her. He'd smiled when the older woman had assumed that he and Eve were newlyweds. Then when she'd found out that it had been his grandparents’ place, she'd gone on and on about them like they'd been best friends.

  The moving van had come and hauled the three large pieces away to her store the next day. Everything else downstairs was being sold, except the piano, the dining room table and chairs, and his grandfather's desk.

  “Where are you going to buy everything you need to replace all this?” Eve stood around in the now empty main floor of the house, her hands on the hips of an old pair of his worn jeans. The legs were rolled up to just above her ankles. She'd become accustomed to wearing his Princeton sweatshirt and she'd found an old bandana to tie her hair up with. He found the outfit oddly appealing.

  “Well, I had planned on ordering some of the stuff. I know there's an old antique store in town. Maybe we can head in and look around someday. I've got to stop by the hardware store and pick up some paint and supplies so I can get started on a few items.”

  He looked down at his feet and frowned. The hardwood floors his grandfather had installed the year he built the house were in dire need of sanding and staining. Something else to add to his list.

  “What?” She looked at her feet.

  “Hmm, I've never sanded and stained a floor before.” He looked up at her and smiled. “Looks like we'll be learning how to do that together.

  That evening after having quick turkey sandwiches, Eve went upstairs to soak in the tub. She'd taken to enjoying the bubbles every night. Carter didn't mind sleeping down the hall in the other room on the top floor. It was a little girlie for his liking, since the room used to be his mother's, but he found it comforting looking around and seeing all her things around him.

  When he heard the water draining from the tub, he walked into his bathroom and started a shower. He knew the water heater could only accommodate a bath and a short shower before needing more time to heat the water.

  He'd tried over the last few days to keep his distance from Eve. Every time he forgot that she'd forgotten everything, it was like opening the wound again. The frustration on her face told him everything he needed to know. She hated not remembering as much as he hated it.

  Every day she was trying to push herself more, physically. She wanted to carry larger boxes, work longer hours; she'd even taken up walking with him in the mornings. He wouldn't tell her, but he'd cut his walks by half since she'd started tagging along. Still, it was nice having her along.

  They used that time to talk about her past. She'd ask questions and he'd answer, filling in every little detail he could remember. The weather was growing colder and he was sure that any day now they would see snow. He'd made sure the firewood was stacked up and even spent an hour or two chopping kindling. He thought about having a fire, but then remembered the fireplace probably hadn't been used in a while. He'd better have it checked out first.

  After five minutes in the shower, the water started to turn cold and he flipped it off. Maybe while he was at the hardware store tomorrow, he'd look into a new water heater.

  He'd just walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist when he heard Eve scream. Racing down the hall, he barged into the room and saw her standing half-naked on a chair. She had a shoe in one hand and was holding her towel in the other.

  “What?” He looked around, trying to find what she'd screamed about. “What is it?”

  “There!” She pointed to her bed. “It crawled under the bed. It was huge!” She got further up onto the chair and held the shoe close to her.

  He walked over to the bed, lifted the blanket and knelt down. It was too dark to see anything.

  “What is it?” He looked up at her.

  “A spider. A huge spider. It had hair!” She shivered and closed her eyes.

  “A spider?” He stood up slowly and dropped the blanket. Then he rolled his eyes. “Oh, yeah. I forgot that you're afraid of spiders.” He started laughing and walked over to her. “Sorry, sweetie, looks like this one got away from you. I'm sure he was more afraid of you then you were of him.” He reached for her, but she recoiled.

  “I am NOT getting down until you kill that monster.” She thrust the shoe in his direction.

  He placed his hands on his hips and glared at her. “I'm not hunting for a spider that's probably long gone by now.”

  “Well, I'm not moving until you do.” She tilted her head and he saw a flash of the old Eve there. He knew that even without her memory, she was going to win this battle. Grabbing the shoe from her, he walked over to the other side of the bed just as the small, hairless arachnid crawled out. Dropping the shoe quickly, he sufficiently squashed the thing. Looking up, he smiled at her. “There. That was easy.” He made a show of dusting his hands as he walked towards her. “Now, if you don't mind. I'd hate to see you fall off this thing and bonk your head again. I don't think your brain can take it.” He laughed.

  She put her hand in his and stepped off the chair, but she must have dislodged the rug that covered the wood floors when she'd jumped up there. Instead of smoothly gliding to the floor, she ended up falling right into his chest, knocking him back a step until he tripped over her other discarded shoe and fell backwards himself. They landed on the floor with a thud, him on his back, her facing him on his chest. Their legs were tangled and his breath had been knocked out of his lungs.

  “Oh, did you hit your head?” She reached up and started running her hands along the back of his skull. Any pain he felt quickly disappeared as he realized the position they were in. “You did. Oh, you have a knot at the back here.” She continued to feel his head as he looked into her face. Her hair had been brushed away from her face, which was clean, and her skin color had finally returned to its natural olive tone. Her eyes were back to their sparkly self and her lips…When he looked at them, he could just imagine how they felt and tasted. His hands had been on her back and when he moved them, he realized he was touching her bare skin. Looking down, he saw her towel was open at the back. She was still busy feeling his head for more bumps when she realized he wasn't paying attention to his injuries.

  “Carter?” She started to sit up a little, then realized her towel was no longer wrapped tightly around her body. “Oh.” She lay back down on top of him. Her breasts fit perfectly against his chest. “Carter, shut your eyes. My towel has fallen off.”

  He smiled and shook his head. “I think mine has fallen away, too. You shut your eyes.”

  She looked down at him and even though he knew the look, there was no way he was going to let her have her way this time. “I guess we'll just have to lie here then.” The hand that was on her back started moving slowly across her soft skin.

  “How do you get so soft?” He smiled and sniffed her hair that had fallen in his face. “You smell pretty good, too.”

  She tried to brace herself by holding her hands on either side of his face. “I just had a bath.” She looked around. He could tell she was trying to figure out how to wrap the towel around her without exposing herself further. “Just close your eyes for a second.” She looked down at him and tried to blow her wet hair out of her face.

  He shook his head. “I don't think so. Besides, I like it where I am.” He leaned up and started nibbling on her neck, just below her ear. She stopped moving and he thought he he
ard her moan. Her head dropped a little, giving him more access to her skin, which he took advantage of.

  “Carter, I don't think…” She trailed off when his hands started roaming over her back. He felt her arch towards his hands and then her lips were on his as her hands went into his hair and he knew at that moment that all thoughts had left her.

  * * *

  She couldn't explain it if she had to, but he felt right. When his hands roamed over her naked skin, she moaned and wished he would touch her more. She felt herself vibrating as she ran her hands over his chest and arms. They were full of impressive muscles and she wanted to take in everything. He moved a little so that his leg was between hers and she started to move so that her silky skin touched his hairy leg. It felt too good to stop and soon his hands were on her hips as she glided her slick skin over his leg.

  “Yes,” he moaned against her lips. “Don’t stop, don't ever stop, Eve.” She couldn't if she wanted to. She was building to something she'd forgotten about. His hands reached up and pulled the cotton away from their skin so they laid there with nothing between them now, heat to heat, and she felt her skin tingle as it met his. She ached and needed him to fill her, to touch her.

  His head dipped and when his mouth covered her breast, she jumped at the contact, grabbing hold of his head to keep him close to her. He lapped at her exposed skin and she closed her eyes, tilting her head back to allow him full access.

  He moved just a little again and he now he was sitting up, his back against the bed frame, her tucked in his lap. She felt his desire next to her heated skin and wanted more than anything to slide onto him and never stop. But he held her hips still as he lapped at her breasts slowly.

  “Mmm, let me take my time. We have all the time, Eve. I want to enjoy every inch of you.” His mouth moved to her other nipple as he sucked and licked his way across her heated skin. Her hips kept moving on their own, grinding his hips as her hands held his head to her. She was feeling dizzy and breathless and wanted speed.