Skin

by Dale Mayer

  Maybe for his career. Another woman? To stop his brother from pushing? Who knew what was the driving force going on in there, but he was here. And he was dealing. She didn’t know how this project was supposed to help him, but it was testing her.

  She sighed and realized if she wasn’t going to sleep, she might as well finish her homework.

  Tucked in bed, she came back to the first question – the theme of their project. She’d considered light and dark, but it wasn’t quite right. She wrestled with it for a few moments then moved on to the next question. This one was easier as it was about process. She got to work.

  A half hour later and she was done mentally, but she hadn’t gotten even halfway on the homework. But maybe she was ready to try to sleep.

  Closing her light, she crawled into bed and relaxed.

  Then it hit her. The theme. Was her idea right? Could it work? She thought about the images she’d taken. The look in Kane’s eyes, the changes from one day to the next. She hadn’t even downloaded today’s images, and she needed to. It would tell her if she was on the right track.

  The theme – skin.

  *

  Kane woke the next morning and immediately got angry all over again. He’d been so proud of Tania and her moves and pissed off at the drunk. Even more so when he understood this wasn’t an isolated incident; this guy was a hell of an ugly drunk, and research would likely show he was a controlled, angry man who, when under the influence of alcohol, found it much harder to control the rage that lived just under his skin. And he felt empowered to let it out and be the angry man who lived inside. Kane wanted the guy stopped before he really hurt someone. That it could have been his Tinkerbelle last night scared him shitless.

  That he considered Tinkerbelle his terrified him even more.

  What the hell?

  He didn’t come here for that.

  Sex was one thing…this was something else altogether. The trouble is, he didn’t know what. She was…broken…to use her words. He had his own problems. The last thing he should be doing was hooking up with someone who wasn’t whole. He winced. But he wasn’t whole himself – who was he to expect someone not dealing with major trauma issues to be looking at him?

  Then he wasn’t looking for himself. It’s the last thing he wanted.

  But Tinkerbelle was…different.

  But she was still female, so how different could she be?

  Very, he knew. Her experiences had molded who she was. She didn’t have the deviousness of other women he knew. But he could be wrong. He’d been horribly wrong at the time when it had counted, and he didn’t want to go through that ever again.

  He showered, dressed, and headed down to breakfast. He was early, but maybe he could check in with security to see what had happened last night. The drunk had been spouting off something about suing Tinkerbelle, but he hadn’t been able to describe her nor name her correctly. Kane hoped in the cold light of day that the man had come to his senses. Kane would push for him to be charged with assault if he could, but that decision wasn’t his to make and if it came down to Tinkerbelle pressing charges, he figured she’d just want it all to go away.

  He’d wanted to ask her about her rapist. Had he been found? Charged? Done his time and been released? But he figured she’d tell him if she wanted to. It didn’t stop him from wanting the details, though. He could put a call out to a buddy if he wanted to bad enough. He could get the details, but it seemed underhanded prying into her life, a life he’d been allowed to see just one corner of. A good corner, but still just a corner.

  He’d be the first to admit he wanted into every corner.

  He couldn’t find the security guards, so he left a message for them to contact him later. Then he headed into the restaurant for breakfast where he found Jenna waiting alone at the table.

  “Kane.” She smiled up at him. “I was hoping for a chance to see you alone. What on Earth happened last night?”

  He winced. “It might be better if you asked Tania, but as it involved security and police, I can give you the short and dirty version.”

  He explained, watching her face drain of color. “She handled herself well.” He grinned, pride in his voice. “Actually, she handled herself really well.”

  “Well.” Jenna shook her head slowly, letting out a gust of air. “Poor Tania. What a difficult thing for any woman.”

  “True. But it was also a win for her. After all she’s been through, she wasn’t a victim this time. She was the victor.”

  Jenna studied his face. “She told you?”

  He nodded and smiled up at the waitress who’d arrived with the coffee pot. After she’d left, he turned his attention back to Jenna. “Yes, she did.”

  “Interesting.”

  “In what way?” God, he hated how Jenna said that word so often. He hated feeling like there was more going on here than he understood. Of course, there was – there always was – but he didn’t want it to be a constant irritation in the back of his mind.

  He waited for Jenna to answer.

  “I’m just surprised she told you about her history.”

  “We’re working on this project together, isn’t it normal for her to have shared something like that?”

  Jenna’s lips quirked.

  Okay, so that came across as slightly defensive. Damn.

  “It’s intensely personal.” Jenna studied him closely.

  He frowned. He should have seen that coming. “And…”

  “Nothing. I’m happy she was comfortable enough to share with you.”

  He frowned at her, saw the twinkling in her eyes, and understood she was poking at him to see what might come out. He smirked. “It’s early, professor, but not so early that you’re going to get anything out of me.”

  “Oh, so there is something to get, though, is there?”

  He glared at her, and damn if her laughter didn’t ripple free.

  He sighed and lifted his coffee cup. No doubt about it, he had it bad.

  Chapter 17

  Tania dragged herself into the restaurant, wishing she could just go back to bed. She had a headache, and her elbow hurt after defending herself last night.

  The table was full. She caught Kane’s gaze, and damn if her heart didn’t speed up at the possibilities promised in his eyes. He’d turn any woman to mush. Oddly enough, not one of the other females at the table appeared to be bothered, but there were several others in the restaurant checking him out. His size alone attracted attention. That his voice was deep, dark, and promised midnight dreams helped a lot.

  She sighed. Talk about being lovesick. Or was it lust struck? Stupid body. It could have stood up and sang hallelujah when she was high school. She’d have enjoyed spending time in the back seat of cars making out, especially if the guys kissed like Kane. Then again, how many guys could make her melt like he had?

  Tired, she took the last empty seat and caught the waitress’s eye, motioning desperately for coffee. It had been a long night, and getting through the morning meant she’d need some serious fortification. With that in mind, she ordered a big breakfast. She might be short and small, but her appetite was seriously large. Her breakfast, when it came, made her sigh with happiness.

  “Whoa, isn’t that a bit too much food for you?” asked Robin, who was sitting across from her. Tania shrugged. “I’ll let you know in twenty minutes.”

  “What did you do, work out all night?” Snide jokes started up. She ignored them all and plowed through her meal. When she laid her fork down, she was surprised to see she’d cleaned her plate.

  She reached for the last piece of toast and polished it off, too.

  When she raised her gaze, it was to see everyone staring at her. She raised an eyebrow in question. Kane asked in a gentle, humorous voice, “Would you like seconds?”

  She smirked. “I’m good until lunch, thanks.”

  Jenna picked up the conversation from there, after which, they moved to the seminar room and got started on the homework.

>   “Tania, did you get a chance to do the homework?” Jenna asked.

  “In the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep, I worked on it.” She sighed. “But is it done? No.”

  “Sorry about all the trouble you had. I hope you’re happy with the way the hotel dealt with the issue.”

  She nodded. “They were fine.” She really didn’t want to go into the whole mess again, but several people were looking at her oddly. She said, “Some drunk accosted me outside my room last night.”

  The women cried out. The men stayed silent.

  After a quick explanation of what happened after that, she ended with, “As a result, I didn’t get much sleep.”

  “I bet,” Robin said with feeling. “Take it easy today.”

  “Sure. I’ll be fine.”

  “Are you fine?” Jenna asked seriously. “Why don’t we go for a walk outside and we’ll talk?”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to say she didn’t need to, but the truth of the matter was her nightmares had returned with a vengeance. If she could figure out how to get her subconscious to let this all go, her nights would be much better. And talking about it just might be the answer.

  “Sure.” She stood up from the table and handed her homework to Kane. “I’ll work on this when I get back.”

  He nodded. “I haven’t even looked at it yet. Go. Enjoy your talk.”

  “Thanks.” As she turned away, he added, “You look tired.”

  “I am. The nightmares were bad again last night.” She walked outside with Jenna.

  *

  Kane watched the two women leave. One was small and normally walked with determination and focus, but today it looked like taking every step was hard work. Tall, stately Jenna strolled easily alongside Tania; they made a striking pair. He sat back down and looked at the homework sheets, but his mind returned to Tania’s comment. Why hadn’t he considered she’d have nightmares? Of course she would have them. That attack had to trigger bad memories, and when did those memories usually hit the hardest? During the dream state.

  Damn.

  He’d never even thought of it, so he’d gone to bed and slept like a baby while she’d barely gotten any rest. He could have helped her. He didn’t know how, but he could have slept in the chair to watch over her. Then again, she might have found that even more disturbing. It’s not like she’d ever slept with a man – innocently or not.

  But he could have done something. Instead, he’d given her a gentle kiss and pushed her into her room with orders to lock the door.

  Then his eye caught the theme question on Tania’s page and the one word she’d written beside it. Skin. What the hell did that mean?

  Chapter 18

  The fresh breeze blew Tania’s hair across her face as they exited the hotel’s front doors. It was a beautiful day; even the breeze was warm. It was also early enough that the morning sunshine was fresh and bright and missing the muggy heat promised for later in the day.

  “What were the nightmares about?”

  Tania gave a broken laugh. “The rape. It’s the same as always, triggered, no doubt, by last night’s attack.”

  “Were you hurt last night? How bad was the attack?”

  “Not bad in some ways, but bad enough.” Tania shrugged. How did one determine how bad something was? “I was scared, but he didn’t physically hurt me. I hurt him. I broke his nose, apparently.” The reminder put a smile back on her face.

  “Good. He deserved it.”

  “The police hauled him away, but I don’t know the final story.”

  “I hope he’s gone and stays gone. You don’t need that around.”

  “No. I need sleep at this point.”

  “Do you want to miss the morning session and go back to your room?”

  As tempting as that thought was, she didn’t want to miss any time with Kane or the seminar. She was here for a reason and wanted to get as much out of this as she could. “No. I’ll stay. I would like to stop the nightmares, though.”

  “Then lead me through the details. Let’s see if we can find out what your subconscious was working on.”

  It took several minutes to relay the details as she remembered them. “I don’t think there was anything new in these ones, just the same old, same old.”

  “But not as potent? You didn’t wake up screaming?”

  “No, not at all.” Tania recognized the truth with surprise. “It was uncomfortable and I woke up in a cold sweat, but it wasn’t nearly as bad.”

  “Good. Great, actually. When you think about it, last night’s attack might have been a gift in that it gave you a chance to see where your subconscious thoughts are at. And it looks like they are slowly getting better.”

  “That’s one way to look at it.” She hadn’t mentioned any of the intimate time she’d spent with Kane. It felt odd, almost disloyal to mention him in context of her healing to Jenna. Still, he might have had an impact on that same subconscious. As she thought about the problem, she realized Jenna was correct.

  She was healing.

  *

  Kane tried to single out Tania yet again to ask her about the homework. He wasn’t sure where the hell she was going with that theme. He just knew he didn’t want this to be a sex project. There was no way he wanted their relationship documented, and although she was here to heal, he didn’t want his participation anywhere on paper. As long as she understood then he was good, otherwise…he was done with this assignment. She’d been sitting at the far end of the room after coming back with Jenna. He was surprised at feeling miffed that she hadn’t come up to sit beside him. He wanted her to. He’d waited for her, had even saved her a seat. They were partners, damn it.

  And she’d sat at the back of the class by the door. A half hour later when he checked, it was to see her empty seat. He glanced around the room, but there was no sign of her.

  He frowned at the table. Given how tired she was, what was the chance that she’d gone to lie down? He continued to check on her empty seat until they broke for lunch. Rather than follow the group into the restaurant, he strode upstairs to her room and knocked quietly.

  She opened the door. Her face lit up when she saw him. “Hey.” She covered her mouth with the back of her hand as she yawned. “I just woke up.”

  “Ah. I wondered.” He couldn’t help but notice the sexy, tousled look she wore. “I was checking to make sure you’re okay and had no ill effects from last night.”

  She smiled and pushed her dark blonde hair off her face. “No ill effects. Nightmares kept me awake, but as they weren’t as bad as they have been in the past, I’ll take that as a good sign.”

  “Are you ready to eat again then?” he teased. “It’s lunch break now.”

  Her gaze widened. “I was going to have a quick shower, but lunch would be good.” She considered it. “Give me a couple of minutes to get dressed again, and I’ll walk down with you.”

  “Perfect.”

  Then to his surprise, she opened her door wider to let him in.

  “You might as well come in and wait.”

  Damn if he was going to turn that down.

  Chapter 19

  Tania surprised herself by inviting him in. There had been no need. He could have stayed out in the hallway for those few minutes. She bustled about grabbing her clothes, throwing the bedding back into position. With an embarrassed smile, she disappeared into the bathroom.

  “Remember to be quick,” he said.

  “Be right back out.”

  In the bathroom, she reminded herself: Small steps, small steps. Well, she’d certainly been taking lots of small steps. Inviting him in was yet another one. Realizing the time was wasting as she stared in the mirror with a silly grin on her face, she dressed quickly and washed her face.

  She opened the door and said, “Ready.”

  “Good, let’s go.” He walked out and turned to wait for her to follow. She closed and locked her door and almost ran into Robin. “Hey, I was just coming to check up on you.�
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  Tania smiled. “Thanks. Kane here dragged me out of my room to make sure I don’t starve.”

  “Ha. After your huge breakfast, you shouldn’t need to eat again for a week.” Her gaze wandered from Kane to Tania and back again speculatively.

  Tania refused to let the heat rising swamp her cheeks. She walked towards the stairs – no more elevators for her – and called back, “I’m always hungry.” She laughed and ran down the first flight. She had turned around the railing to start down the second when Kane passed her. He jumped.

  “Hey, that’s cheating,” she called after his retreating back. She figured from the laughter floating upward that he wasn’t bothered about any imaginary rules. He waited for her at the bottom of the stairs.

  “Besides, your legs are longer.”

  He snorted. “So what? Pick yours up a little faster and you’d have made it.”

  “I doubt it.” They walked into the restaurant and grabbed a quick meal as the laughter and joking continued. She’d never experienced anything like this relationship between a man and a woman. She loved it.

  The afternoon session sent them off to work on their project. She ran back to her room, snagged her camera, and raced back down. Kane waited outside the front door for her.

  After the heavy emotions of last night and the sense of freedom this morning, today’s photo shoot couldn’t be anything less than amazing. Life was just about perfect. Okay…maybe it was Kane who was perfect.

  She walked beside him and said, “Where to?”

  “I’m still not at home and still can’t renovate my bathroom or do my yard work, so that leaves the touristy side.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “And then as someone took up much of my yesterday, I didn’t get my workout in, so I will need to go to the fitness room sometime today.”

  “Perfect,” she said, beaming. It was perfect. There were still some shots she wanted of him pushing his body. And for all she knew, he had different moves, new ones that would give her even better shots.