by Debra Kayn
Out cold, he continued deep breathing. Instead of yelling his name again, she walked over to nudge him. An idea came to her and she silently left the room. Thankful the lights were on again, she ran up the stairs and entered the bathroom. She searched through the cabinet and found everything she needed.
With supplies in hand, she returned to the living room. She reached down, pulled the side lever on the recliner and popped Alex into a sitting position.
He blinked as he squinted at her. She motioned for him to follow her. With the inability to communicate without yelling over the noise, she hoped he wouldn’t put up too much of a fight. She was perfectly all right with tying him to a chair if he balked. She had to get her mind off everything and since Alex was the only one around, he could help.
In the dining room, she pulled a chair out, pointed at him and then the chair. He picked it up, and she nodded in satisfaction. So far, so good.
She led him into the kitchen, set the towel she’d used to hide all her supplies on the counter, took the chair from him and pushed him down until he sat. Standing behind him, she removed the cape, flipped it to the front of his body and snapped it around his neck before he could stop her.
She expected, and readied herself for his retreat, and pushed him back down in the chair when he tried to escape. “You need a haircut, and I need to get my mind off being stuck in the house.” She leaned down and spoke loudly in his ear. “Please, let me cut your hair.”
Alex reluctantly nodded and pinched his thumb to his finger. She rolled her eyes. She knew better than to do more than a trim.
Not that she’d want to take off too much. He had gorgeous hair for a man. She filled the spray bottle with water left over from one of the bottles on the table and misted his hair. His shoulders relaxed, and she smiled, happy when Alex closed his eyes and let her do what she did best.
Thick and wavy, his hair hung longer than she’d originally guessed. She wondered who cut his hair now that she wasn’t doing the job, and then quickly pushed the thought away. It was only natural he’d have someone else giving him a trim.
He probably had someone who recommended a hair stylist in New York. A hollow ache settled in her chest. The same person probably pointed him to the best market to shop at and helped him acquire a housekeeper too. She quickly gathered more hair between her fingers and snipped. Just because he claimed he wasn’t dating anyone, she knew a man like him wouldn’t stay unattached for long.
He was the perfect boyfriend. Adorable, sexy and successful, he had it all going for him. Most of all he paid attention to details and went out of his way to make sure she wanted for nothing. She sighed. Don’t think. Cut.
Determined to forget about what she’d lost with him, she continued to cut his hair. The back of her fingers brushed against his whiskers, and he opened his eyes. He hadn’t shaved since Domo locked them inside. He caught her watching him, and smiled.
She knew what caused the flash of happiness on his face because the same memories were going through her mind. Her stomach fluttered. Even the most basic of tasks took her twice as long to do the job when he was around because he always distracted her from what she was doing.
The music ended. She lifted the scissors from his head, waiting for it to start again, but it seemed as if Domo finally shut off the song. “I think I’m deaf.”
“What?”
“Funny.” She pulled his hair. “You slept through most of it.”
“Yeah. We were up most of the night. You must be tired.” He rolled his shoulders.
“I slept longer than you,” she said. “You didn’t give up until early this morning.”
He turned his head. “We could go lay—”
“Be still.” She moved in front of him and stepped between his thighs. “You don’t want me to slip and cut too much off.”
With her arms raised, she was highly aware of how her body aligned with his. She glanced down at him. He stared straight ahead at her shirt, a little too long, and her nipples peaked. Choosing to ignore her body, she continued to snip away.
But, she couldn’t help glancing down at him. He licked his lip, and she bit her tongue to keep from moaning. She wanted him to touch her, but feared what would happen if he did. She loved him, but she’d never hold him back. And that’s what she’d be doing if she started something with him again.
He slid his hands around the back of her thighs. Her skin burned where he touched her, and she leaned forward against him. She kept the scissors far away from his head and tried to still the tremors racking her body.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, pressing his head between her breasts.
“Alex.”
“Cut my hair, babe.” His hands wandered higher.
She exhaled loudly. “I can’t cut straight when you’re touching me everywhere.”
“I don’t care.”
“So you don’t mind if one side of your hair is too short and crooked on other?” She laughed.
He shook his head. She paused, waiting for him to hold still. I should stop him. I need to stop him. I’m going to die if he stops.
Time ceased to exist. Somehow, she managed to finish his hair without cutting off the tip of his ear or taking too much off his neck. Reluctantly, she stepped back, breaking away from his touch. She took the cape off him, and walked around the chair on shaking legs.
“Go ahead and check your hair in the bathroom.” Unable to access the washing machine since the house went on lockdown, she balled the material and slipped it into a grocery bag to clean later.
She stepped into the pantry, retrieved the broom and dustpan and then set about cleaning the floor around the chair. Sweeping Alex’s hair into a pile brought on a rush of tears as if she was cutting him out of her life and throwing him away. She blinked through the moisture blurring her vision. How she wished things were different. It always felt like she was brushing him out of her life, when all she wanted to do was grab him, hold him to her heart, and never let him go.
If only he’d be satisfied living in Seaport or she’d miraculously forget about how much she hated moving and she owned a business here. Such simple problems to others, but to her and her livelihood, she viewed leaving as failing. A promise to herself that she swore she’d never do, no matter what.
Her customers needed her. The community supported her. Most of all, she finally belonged somewhere and the security of knowing she was making her mark in the world brought her a happiness, a sense of contentment, which filled the hole of never having a place to call home before.
She stepped on the pedal of the garbage can and dumped the hair inside. Alex’s arms came around her from behind and she closed her eyes briefly, leaning back against his broad chest. Letting his strength support her, she gave in to the weakness of wanting him.
“Thanks for the haircut.” He kissed the crook of her neck. “You know exactly how I like it, and I was overdue for one.”
“Alex.” She walked out of his embrace. “We need to stop.”
“Is that what you really want?” He leaned his hip against the counter and studied her.
She didn’t look away. It was what she needed to do. Her wants would keep him here, and she knew what it felt like to live a life, when your heart wanted something more. She’d never hurt him that way.
“We broke up,” she whispered. “You can’t act this way, as if...we’re still together.”
He glanced away, dropping his chin to his chest. She rubbed his arms, more confused than when Linda let her know he’d come back. She didn’t know what he wanted from her. She left him standing in the kitchen. Right now, they both needed to distance themselves from the problem in front of them.
“The air-conditioning is now on,” Domo announced.
“Shut up, Domo,” she whispered. “You’ve caused enough problems for me.”
Chapter 7
Alex flopped onto his back, trying to remember what woke him. He ran his hand across his bare chest. Dawning came quickly. His fa
ntasies while he slept had quadrupled from the norm after spending two nights stuck in the same house with Shannon
Of course, they were all about her. He didn’t know what they were doing together in the dream. He didn’t know where they were in the dream. All he knew was what they shared in the dream was special. The kind of special worth fighting for, and he wasn’t giving up.
A soft thud hit the wall behind the headboard of the bed he laid in. He held his breath. She’d put him in the spare bedroom beside her room. He’d practically lived with her for the three years he’d gone to law school and not being in there with her now sucked.
The sound came again, followed by Shannon mumbling. What was she doing up?
She’d insisted they keep the hallway light on because she couldn’t face any more long periods of darkness. He tossed back the covers, swung his feet to the floor and stopped. He glanced down. She’d also taken all his clothes and washed them in the sink after his shower.
A shadow appeared on the hard wood floor outside in the hall. He pulled the blanket around his hips and waited for her. A few minutes went by and he thought she’d gone into her room when she tiptoed in front of his open doorway, then hurried past.
What was she doing? She’d barely made it through the peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich dinner they’d shared earlier. It was hard to believe the same woman who’d yawned and rubbed her face at the table was now sneaking around in the middle of the night.
Shannon returned and scuttled past his room. He waited, not wanting to confront her without his clothes on. She already thought he was coming on too strong.
Although, she’d certainly understand how he was feeling, and what he couldn’t seem to say in words. He needed her to stay still for more than five minutes, and he had to start thinking with his head, rather than another part of him, every time he got close to her. He was running out of time. He needed to make an official decision when he went back to the East coast, and he needed to talk with Shannon first.
On her third trip past his door, he called, “Shan?”
She froze in his view. “I’m sorry, did I wake you?” she whispered.
“No.”
“I’ll leave you alone.” She stepped back.
“What’s wrong?”
With the light behind her, all he could make out was her silhouette. “Nothing.”
A sexy outline of her bare legs beneath a large T-shirt didn’t go unnoticed. He propped himself on his elbow to get a better look. “You should be in bed. Are you sure nothing is bothering you?”
“I’m okay. I just can’t sleep.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
“Come here.”
“I’m fine...” She wrapped her arms around her waist.
She wasn’t. Neither was he.
“Shannon.” He flipped back the cover far enough for her to understand he was asking her to come to bed with him. “Come here.”
She hurried across the room and settled next to him so deep in the blanket, he chuckled. He covered them and snuggled to spoon against her with a sigh of relief.
“Alex. I shouldn’t—”
“No, you should.” He inhaled deeply and slowed down. “What’s keeping you awake?”
She shrugged.
“You’ve never had a problem talking to me before. No matter what’s bothering you, I’d like to help.”
“You can’t,” she said.
“Why don’t you let me decide if I can or can’t.”
She lay stiff in his arms. Not sure if it was him or her who trembled, he waited until he couldn’t take not knowing anymore. “Talk to me. What’s bothering you enough that you’re walking around dead on your feet?”
“You,” she whispered.
Fully awake now, he kissed the back of her head and sprawled his hand on her abdomen. “Go to sleep, babe, everything’ll be okay,” he whispered back.
“I hope so,” she said softly.
They both fell silent. He willed his body not to respond, but he’d lost control of even that. Thoughts of baseball, court cases, and long hours at the office did nothing to get his mind off having Shannon in his arms, in his bed, in his life again, if only for the night.
She affected his sleep, his daytime hours, and had the power to take him to his knees. His greatest wish was to put this year to bed, and start the New Year with Shannon.
“Alex? Are you sleeping?”
He smiled into her hair. “No.”
“Thank you.” Her heart raced under his hand. “I can’t imagine being locked in this house by myself, and although I know you probably hate the situation we’re in, I’m glad it’s you who is with me.”
Yes. He’d take that confession right to the judge. “I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
She covered his hand with her own. “’Night, Alex.”
“’Night, babe.”
He had no idea how long he laid there. It could’ve been hours or minutes, but Shannon’s breathing finally slowed and her body eventually relaxed. She remained asleep later when Domo announced the lights were going out. He held her in the dark, trying to rehearse what he’d say to her in the morning and came up with nothing. How could it be so hard to talk about what he was feeling, when it was so easy to debate a case in front of a jury?
He stifled a yawn and closed his eyes. Maybe something brilliant would come to him in his sleep.
“The dog needs to go outside.” Domo’s voice broke through the silence of the night.
He groaned. Exhaustion beat at his body, and he wanted to sleep.
“The dog needs to go outside.”
“Shannon doesn’t have a dog, Domo.” He growled in her ear.
“The dog needs to go outside.”
Shannon giggled and twisted in his arms. “Are you talking to Domo now?”
Lack of sleep made her voice husky. His gut tightened and he groaned. This could not be happening now. Not in the middle of the night.
“The dog needs to go outside.”
“That’s it.” He slid off the bed. “I’m getting us out of this damn house if it’s the last thing I do.”
“Where are you going?”
He glanced back at her and paused. She propped her head on her hand. His chest tightened as she moistened her lips. Mesmerized by her rumpled beauty, he wanted nothing more than to crawl back in bed.
“Downstairs to read through the manual we found earlier.” He dragged his hands through his hair, caught between wanting to solve all her problems and climbing back in bed. “This has got to stop. We’re both physically and mentally exhausted.”
She snickered, holding her hand over her mouth. He shook his head. “This isn’t funny.”
“Come on, Alex. Think about it. It really is.” She snorted and continued to snicker.
He folded his arms across his chest, and she rocked on the bed, bursting with laughter. Shaking his head, he walked out of the room and carefully worked his way down the stairs in the dark. He had to figure a way to open the house, before Shannon totally broke down.
At the dining room table, he lit one of the candles. When he sat down and his bare butt hit the cold wooden chair, it was clear what had caused Shannon so much humor upstairs. He growled low in his throat. Sitting at the table alone, naked, reading a manual about a Smart House in the middle of the night was not on his list of favorite things to do.
Chapter 8
The lights flashed on. “The lights will remain on for six hours.”
Shannon squinted into the brightness and poked Alex who’d fallen asleep on the couch after their breakfast of cheese and crackers. He roused, but kept his eyes closed. She giggled. He appeared young with his hair tousled and sleep lines from his hand imprinted on the side of his cheek.
“Alex.” She ran her finger down his nose, laughing when he scrunched his face avoiding her touch. “Hey. The lights are back on.”
“Wh...at?” He sat up on the couch and ran his hand over his whiskered cheek. “Is the door still lo
cked?”
She nodded. “For the third day in a row. It’s eleven o’clock in the morning. We both fell back asleep.”
“Doesn’t surprise me. We’re not sleeping normal hours.”
She stifled a yawn. “Domo said the lights will stay on for six hours this time.”
“I guess that’s something. At least I can see what I’m doing.” Alex strolled to the shielded window, picked up the hammer and swung.
She covered her ears. No matter how many hours he continued banging on the same spot, he was no closer to making a dent. Her parents bought the best to make up for their absence in her life, and that meant Domo was one of the top-of-the-line Smart Houses in existence.
He paused. “What time does Linda go to work?”
“It depends on her schedule. It changes. Why?”
He continued swinging, powering through each hit. “She’ll hear us if we keep pounding against the metal,” he yelled.
“No she won’t. She told me at the party she was staying the week with her boyfriend, because your mom gave her the no-sex rule.” She rubbed her forehead. “What about your parents?”
“Shit.” He dropped the hammer. “I gave them strict orders not to come over here under any circumstances.”
“Why would you do that?” She shook her head. “Don’t you want me around them?”
“Of course, I do.” He nudged the hammer with the toe of his shoe. “Although, I don’t need my mother setting you up with Whitman, and they knew I wanted time alone with you.”
“You did?” She stepped forward, caught herself, and blew out her breath. “Just great.”
“What about your customers? Maybe one of them have an extra fruitcake to drop off for you.” he asked.
“No. They wouldn’t do that. I made sure they understood I’m not open for business and the salon door would remain locked. I hate telling them no, but this is my one week I use to catch up on my own life and I have to be firm since I live where I work.”
He inflated his cheeks and blew the air out. “Then our best bet is to try pounding at different hours. I know Linda, and she’ll come home at some time. Mom still does her laundry.”