Skin

by Dale Mayer

  When she didn’t answer, he turned to look behind him to make sure she was following. She was, but a worried look had taken over her features. “Okay.”

  He grinned. “If you walk in like that, it’s going to look like we’re guilty of something.”

  She smirked. “I guess we are, in a way.”

  At the next landing, he opened the door and stepped into the main floor where the restaurant was. “And in what way is that?”

  “We didn’t do our homework.”

  They walked into the restaurant laughing and smiling. The others noticed, but no one made a comment.

  Just like he’d expected.

  Chapter 15

  Dinner was simple, fast, and silent, at least on Tania’s part. She smiled brightly at everyone, and when her food arrived, she tucked into it with a ravenous hunger.

  “You must have worked up an appetite.” Robin poked fun at her as she finished her own pasta.

  Tania nodded as she forked up another mouthful of salad to avoid having to answer. Before she was halfway done, several of the other members of the group were getting up and drifting away. Good.

  She settled back to enjoy the rest of her meal. By the time she was done, the table had mostly emptied. She smiled and ordered coffee.

  “Tania, how was your day?” Jenna shifted from her seat at the far end of the table to one across from Tania. Robin chose that moment to excuse herself, leaving Jenna and Tania essentially alone. Kane was finishing his meal on the opposite side of the table.

  The coffee arrived just then, giving Tania a moment to collect her thoughts.

  “So, was it a good day?”

  “Absolutely.” She sat back and rubbed her tummy. “That filled a hole.” Forestalling any attempt on Jenna’s part to get too personal, she asked, “What’s on the schedule for tomorrow?”

  Jenna smiled at the change in topic and launched into the plans for the middle of the seminar. Realizing she’d skated by, Tania devoted the next half hour to discussing the rest of the seminar. Jenna had lots of work for them. In fact, as Jenna handed over a few sheets, Tania realized they’d missed the handout she’d given out before the group had ordered dinner. It looked like there was homework tonight.

  Damn. She’d been hoping to spend time with Kane. Speaking of which, she lifted her head from her papers and looked around the room, but there was no sign of him. She did not notice when he’d left, but she’d studiously kept her focus off him so as to not draw attention to their relationship.

  She wondered if he had the homework. The thought of having an excuse to see him again tonight made her toes curl. She tried hard to keep a straight face. The last thing she wanted was for Jenna to pick up on the attraction. Then she caught Jenna’s eye and recognized it was too damn late. Jenna already knew.

  Lifting her cup to her lips, she drained her mug then pushed her chair back. “I’ll say good night then, see if Robin wants to work on this together.” With a quick smile at Jenna, she walked away.

  And damned if she didn’t feel Jenna’s concerned gaze as she escaped.

  She texted Robin out in the lobby and asked if she wanted to work on the homework together, only to find out that Robin had done hers.

  Double damn. Stay alone in her room or go somewhere to do it? She chose the pub attached to the hotel. She could grab a beer, sit down at a table, and work her way through the information.

  How hard could it be?

  Ten minutes later, she was sitting at a window table watching the sun’s rays march across the horizon. Vancouver was a beautiful city, and the university campus was even more stunning. Sipping her beer, she started on the homework.

  And cringed. The homework was a worksheet on their yet-to-be-seriously-started project. There was a place to list the theme, objective, and process. The project sheet was starting to read like a damn lab report.

  Crap. This was definitely an assignment to do together. She brightened. A great excuse to see him again.

  Which brought her full circle. Should she be spending so much time with him? Was it a good idea? She knew falling for him probably wasn’t, but it was a little too late for that.

  The man was hot, kissed like a dream, and photographed even better.

  Where could she go wrong with such a choice?

  While she sat there grinning, someone stepped up beside her. “Hey lady, want some company?”

  And before she had a chance to answer, a young male slid into the seat across from her at the table.

  “No, thanks,” she said politely. “I’m working.”

  “No, you’re not.” He snagged the paper from her hand and tossed it beside him. “You’re too pretty to care about stuff like that. Why don’t we go find a room and see if we can’t find something more fun to do together?”

  Tania hated drunks and aggressive males, and worse, she hated being in a position where she had to deal with them. She had over half a beer left. She glanced around the room, wondering if there was a spot up by the bar. At least there, the bartender was likely to chase off anyone bothering her. She hadn’t made it through this many years of university without seeing her fair share of drunken guys. But the man sitting across from her wasn’t drunk enough to be at the pass-out stage. He looked to be just in the rosy glow of a couple of beers. Not too bad yet, depending on what kind of drunk he was.

  She gave him a firm “No, thanks,” and stood up.

  He stood up, too, and leaned forward. “What’s the matter, beauty queen? Am I not good enough for you? Well, I got news for you. I’m better than you, you fucking bitch.” By now, his voice had risen to the point of attracting attention. Just why did it never bring help?

  Bitterness clogged her throat. She’d learned a long time ago that people preferred to stay out of things rather than get into trouble helping someone else.

  “Look, I just want to have a beer in peace and do my homework.”

  “Ha. Homework. You’re nothing but a stuck-up bitch that thinks you’re better than everyone else. Another of the uni bitches who hand it out to everyone but the working man.”

  She glanced around to find some guys watching with big grins on their faces. A few frowned into their beers but were trying to ignore the scenario. A couple of women standing by the door got up and left, and that was about the only avenue left to her.

  She picked up her glass, guzzled back the beer, placed it on the table, snatched up her homework, and turned to leave.

  He grabbed her arm. Inside, her nerves knotted and her pulse started to race. She jerked her arm back. “Don’t touch me.”

  “Don’t touch you or what?” he sneered. “I’ve seen stuck-up bitches like you before. You’re all prissy-white on the outside but you’re just another fucking cunt looking for a man between your legs.”

  She could feel his words like small darts hitting her on some visceral level. She hated it when guys did this, used a few beers to loosen their mouths so they could say whatever the hell they wanted. She backed up and tried to navigate a way through the full room. She just wanted to get to her room safely and alone. So much for the quiet drink idea.

  She’d almost reached the exit of the pub when she heard something behind her. She spun around, and instinct and training had her immediately shifting to a slight crouch to assess the danger.

  And damn if it wasn’t the same guy. He stumbled forward. Another guy shoved him into an empty seat. “Leave her alone.”

  “What the fuck.” Arms flailing, the drunk managed to stand up and resume his way to the exit. “I just want to go home.”

  Tania slipped through the door into the hotel lobby and waited off to one side.

  The drunk came out and stopped. He straightened and looked around. He wasn’t as drunk as she’d hoped. He’d had the presence of mind to fake it with the other man.

  Sitting in the lobby, she was relatively safe. Hotel security would help her if the man got out of line. Better a minor drunk than a full-scale attack. She wasn’t twelve anymore walkin
g home from school, innocent in the way of the world and men. The man made his way to the front door of the hotel, and she relaxed. He was leaving, so there was nothing to worry about after all. Except the incident had left a bad taste in her mouth. She wanted to rest in the security of her room, maybe have a bath, and get through her homework. And a decent night’s sleep would be good.

  She walked to the wall of elevators and pushed the button to bring one to the lobby.

  When the door opened, several people stepped off. She stepped on.

  Just as the door closed, another man raced in.

  The drunk.

  Tania stumbled to the front corner of the elevator. She’d already pressed the close door button and wished she could open it again. She pressed it again several times. She’d take the stairs over an altercation any day, but the drunk zeroed in on her.

  He stared at her, anger growing deep in his murky gaze. “Bitch. Think you’re too good for me.”

  His fingers flexed. Tania risked a quick glance at the light above the moving elevator. It was almost time to get off, but she had to get around him. If there were other guests waiting to get on, that would be helpful.

  Just then, the floor dinged and the double doors opened. She raced out, but he grabbed her shirt as she made her escape and dragged her backwards. She spun around and jammed her elbow into his throat. He roared and released her.

  She desperately wanted the safety of her room, but she didn’t want him to know where she was staying.

  “Goddamn it. Get the fuck back here.” She was already racing down the hallway, only he was faster and caught her just outside her room. He grabbed her and slammed her up against the wall. She cried out but kept her head. She rammed her elbow into his gut, stomped on his instep, then turned and shoved both fists upward into his chin before she brought them both down on the back of his head as he doubled over. She spun around and bolted.

  Into a mountain of spitting fury.

  Kane.

  *

  Kane thought he’d heard Tania’s cry outside the door. He’d raced into the hallway in time to see Tinkerbelle slam, stomp, and then give a doozy of a double-fisted blow to some guy’s nose.

  Blood was spurting between the guy’s fingers even as he swayed to stay on his feet.

  Then Tinkerbelle slammed into him. He grabbed her by the waist and lifted her to his eye level. She kicked out wildly, crying out in panic until she realized who held her. She hung suspended in his arms, gasping for breath. Then groaned, closed her eyes, and sagged in place.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  She opened her eyes to stare at him, stunned.

  He gave her a little shake. “Damn it, Tania, talk to me. Did this asshole hurt you?”

  She gasped and shook her head. “No. No, he tried…I hit him. I think I hit him.” She kept shaking her head, only now the shakes were working their way down her tiny frame.

  He lowered her to the floor, shoved her behind him, and eyed the asshole standing in front of him.

  Some of the alcoholic haze was leaving his eyes as pain replaced it. He had both hands clasped over his face. He looked at Kane, then at Tania, then back at Kane. “I think she broke my nose.” He blinked at the two of them, and then said to Tania, “Why did you break my nose?”

  Kane snorted. “You think I’m going to let you get away with blaming her? You’re twice Tinkerbelle’s size. Do you think you can attack a woman and get away with it?”

  The drunk looked at him. “She attacked me,” he said in a nasal voice. “She broke my nose.”

  “I defended myself. You attacked me,” Tania cried. “At the pub verbally, then when I didn’t like your suggestion, in the elevator.”

  Kane’s fists clenched. Tinkerbelle was tiny. She was always going to have to watch out for predators. At least she’d taken some self-defense training. The world was full of assholes like this one.

  Hotel security came running up the stairs, then quickly surrounded the two men. “What’s the problem here?”

  Kane pointed at the drunk looking closer to collapsing now, but whether that was from the drinking or the blood loss, he didn’t know. Or care. “This guy attacked a woman.”

  “Did not.”

  Kane was surprised that Tania didn’t immediately pipe up with ‘did, too’, as that was what he’d have expected. But she stayed quiet.

  “I was minding my own business,” he squeaked out, “when Tinkerbelle attacked me.”

  The hotel security guys looked at him and sighed. “Tinkerbelle?”

  The drunk nodded rapidly. “She broke my nose.” One security guard led the drunk to the elevator. “Let’s get that nose taken care of.”

  “She broke it. Tinkerbelle broke it.”

  “Right, buddy. Sure she did. And how much have you had to drink tonight?”

  The second security guard spoke through a device on his shoulder strap, letting the others know what was going on and preparing for the drunk to be received on the main floor. He turned to Kane. “Sir, did you hit him?”

  Kane snorted and gave a hard smirk. “Nah, do you think I’d have broken his nose? I’d have cracked that asshole’s head wide open if I had the chance. Still will if he comes back.”

  “And his story about Tinkerbelle?” The security guard shook his head as if to say he’d seen it all.

  Kane laughed and stepped to one side. “Meet Tania, also known as Tinkerbelle.”

  Tania lifted her hand in a small finger wave. “Hi.”

  Chapter 16

  Tania had tried to brush off the incident as minor, but neither the hotel security nor Kane would allow her to.

  “He’s made trouble here before. We have to take an incident report and contact the police. If we don’t, he’ll just come back and do it again.”

  The security man looked at her. “Consider if he were to do that next time to a girl who didn’t know any self-defense techniques.”

  She sat back because of course, that had been her twelve years ago. Her attack hadn’t been his first offense, either. He’d told her at the time that he’d done this before, but he preferred children; they couldn’t get their stories listened to anyhow.

  The reminder hurt, plus it made her responsibilities clear. She had to do this for the next woman’s sake.

  With Kane at her side, they went down to the lobby and she made a statement before she repeated the process with the police. Talk about overkill, but the men were adamant.

  When it was over, she was drained.

  They’d been drinking coffee during the whole ordeal, and now she was so wired she wasn’t sure she could sleep.

  After the day she had, she just wanted to not dream.

  Hours later, alone, Kane had left her at her doorway after making sure she was okay. With a gentle but distant kiss goodnight, she made her way to her bed.

  The nightmares hit a couple of hours later. Tania woke in a cold sweat, whimpering in her sleep as she felt the rough hand over her mouth, the ripping of her clothing, the male body swamping her, overwhelming her, and the never-to-be-forgotten feeling of being raped.

  She lay there dry-eyed for a long time. When the memories faded back slightly, she got up and filled a glass with water. She walked around her room sipping the cold drink. She pulled her nightdress away from her clammy skin, hating that after so long, the memories could still overwhelm her. Still ruin a good night’s sleep, take this rational, balanced woman and turn her into a bag of nerves.

  She understood that the drunkard’s attack had precipitated the nightmares always lurking behind the scenes to destroy her calm. Even though she understood, it didn’t change the fact that it still happened, that nothing she did stopped the nightmares for good.

  It had been months, if not years, since her last really bad nightmare. She couldn’t remember what had set those off. Exhausted, she sat back down on her bed and flopped backwards. She didn’t know how to go back to sleep. She’d brought melatonin with her, but taking it often left her grogg
y in the morning. She sat up and ran through several yoga moves to release some of the tension, but that just brought up images of Kane. He’d been wonderfully protective, almost irritatingly so, demanding she file a report and deliciously sweet with his goodnight kiss. She wanted so much more.

  And she was a mess with nothing but a broken shell to offer.

  She’d come so far and yet not far enough.

  Immediately, a protest jumped into her mind. She’d come a hell of a long way. She’d fought off her attacker, survived to see him taken away, and so what if she had a nightmare or two? Surely that was normal. She might not be whole, but it didn’t mean she was so far gone she couldn’t heal. It was – she’d just proven it.

  And she’d keep on proving it.

  But her one chance to get through a sexual encounter was with Kane.

  Even her wording made her wince. Who’d want anything to do with that? Lovemaking? Yes. Getting through a sexual encounter? Nasty.

  She could almost hear Jenna saying the terminology was important. It showed she was still distancing herself from the personal element of lovemaking. A sexual encounter was cold, clinical, like a lab experiment. She almost laughed. Wouldn’t Kane love that description?

  And then she remembered those arms around her, his lips moving on hers, his tongue…there was nothing cold about Kane, nothing clinical about what they’d done that afternoon. She glanced at the clock. Okay, yesterday afternoon.

  Even now, her body warmed at the thought of those hands of his. How gently he’d held her. How his strength had been so controlled. She couldn’t imagine what it would take for a man like that to lose control. He’d be a force to contend with. He had problems with women. She’d heard it a couple of times in his voice, saw the look in his eyes when he watched couples walk by. He’d been hurt. How he’d managed the hurt was the problem. She wished he’d talked to her, but he didn’t trust her. Maybe that was the problem. Trust. She didn’t trust any man not to hurt her again physically, and maybe he didn’t trust any woman to not hurt him emotionally. Someone in his life had ripped a hole in his body, creating so much damage he’d been forced into therapy to try and heal himself.