Touch Me In The Morning Read online

  “Either way, I hope he’ll stay out of my way from now on.”

  “What happened? I couldn’t look.”

  “I beat him. Badly.”

  “What did he say?”

  “I’ll t-talk to you about that when we get home. You calm down now. Everything is going t-to be all right. I’m here.” He heard her teeth chattering and tightened his grip on her slender hand. Her petite build made him feel so masculine; so strong. She’d already carved a soft spot for herself in his heart. That frightened him and wasn’t good at all, but he couldn’t control it.

  Chapter Six

  As soon as Damon turned down the street where he lived, Kendra whooped.

  “Aiden! I see Aiden’s car in front of the house!”

  Heaven, with eyes closed and stomach churning, heard Kendra’s happy cry. Unfortunately, her voice pounded the hammer in her head.

  “Yes, he’s here.” Damon sounded surprised as he parked his truck behind the car.

  Heaven heard the door open, followed by a harsh slam, which exploded in her head. She’d emptied her stomach twice on the way home, much to her humiliation. Damon had helped her to the grass. Although he’d rubbed her back as she vomited, it must have repelled him.

  “I’m carrying you t-to the house.”

  Heaven opened her eyes and rolled her head towards him. His uncompromising eyes bore into her so she didn’t argue. He opened the door and lifted her, as if she were a feather. She had no choice but to grab him around the neck and nestle into his solid, strong, comfortable body. The smell of earthy spice permeated from him and she relaxed, leaning her cheek against his muscular shoulder. It soothed her to hear the steady beat of his heart and feel the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

  Somebody opened the house door and held it, but Damon said nothing and Heaven’s eyes were still shut. As Damon settled her on a soft, leather recliner, she opened her eyes a slit to find herself staring at a boy, almost a man, who looked a lot like Damon. He wore blue college sweats and his eyes were the color of a stormy ocean. He quickly introduced himself, adding, “Kendra said something that scared you. I’m sorry.”

  Heaven tried to smile.

  Kendra stood at his side, her face beaming. Obviously, she adored him. Through her fog, Heaven noticed something else. Aiden had his gaze on Damon and, even in her confused, chaotic state, she saw hero worship in the younger man’s eyes, though Damon seemed oblivious.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him approaching her with an afghan slung over his arm. “Lay back.” Damon knelt before her, tucking the cover close to her body. As he bent over, a lock of silky hair brushed her forehead. Heat enveloped her.

  “Kendra,” Damon called over his shoulder. “Please bring Heaven s-some ginger ale t-to settle her stomach.”

  Kendra headed towards the kitchen.

  “Really.” Heaven felt embarrassed at the fuss and uncomfortable that Damon continued to ignore his brother. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “You had a bad scare.” He appraised her, must have decided she looked comfortable, and then stood. Heaven missed this closeness, but was glad when he finally faced his brother.

  “Don’t say hi.” Aiden smirked.

  “You c-came home early. Thought it would be later in the week.” Damon sounded slightly annoyed.

  “I drove a friend home today, so I packed up and came back. Dropped my stuff off next door and came by to see Kendra.” His eyebrows lowered. “I knew you wouldn’t be thrilled to see me.”

  “Bad t-timing, that’s all.”

  “No.” Aiden laughed. “You don’t care for me, Damon.”

  “That’s not true.” Damon’s words were guarded and even Heaven didn’t know if he meant them.

  “Can you tell me what happened?” Aiden ran a hand through his hair; much like Damon did when distressed.

  Damon tossed a look at Heaven. “I d-don’t want to rehash it in front of her.”

  “It’s all right.” She wanted Damon to wipe the sorrow from Aiden’s face.

  A hand tapped her shoulder and Heaven turned. Kendra handed her a glass. She smiled and Kendra returned to Aiden.

  “Can I help?” Aiden asked Damon.

  “With Kendra. Take her upstairs.”

  “I meant could I help with this crazy man.”

  “No.”

  Aiden’s face fell. “All right, Damon.. Come on, Kendra.” He grabbed her hand and they headed upstairs.

  Heaven watched them until they disappeared. Damon immediately turned his attention back to her, striding up to her and settling on his haunches. “We have things to discuss.”

  “We do, but about you, not me.”

  Damon’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

  She didn’t want to discuss anything about herself. And she had plenty she wanted to discuss about him. And Aiden. “Why do you treat Aiden like you don’t care about him?”

  Damon’s eyes flashed with…what? Hurt? She wanted to reach out and stroke his hair. “Some things happened – he saw something I d-did – I’m sure he never f-forgave me. Now can we move on t-to you?” His eyes frosted.

  “What happened?” Stalling, yet also interested.

  Damon frowned. “Let it go. It’s you we have t-to discuss.” Suddenly, he surprised her. His features softened and he grabbed her hand in between his large palms. She felt a sizzle as his gaze clashed with hers. “Are you married to Gavin?”

  The sizzle dissipated. “Gavin held me hostage. When I wasn’t chained to the bedpost, he carried a gun. One day he told me a preacher and witness were coming to the trailer to marry us, that I’d better cooperate. I didn’t argue.”

  Damon’s eyes darkened. “Bastard. T-tell me more about him. How d-did you meet him? How d-did he fool you? You don’t strike me as a person who’d willingly go with an abuser.”

  Heaven pulled her hand out of his hold. “You need to know this?”

  “No. And you don’t need to t-tell me. I’m curious.”

  His unexpectedly soft voice stirred something inside of her. What difference did it make if he knew? She’d be leaving one day and never see him again. Why not unload the garbage on him and come clean with all the shame and humiliation? He seemed to have demons of his own. Maybe he wouldn’t judge her.

  “I met him at his father’s workplace, where I did bookkeeping. He worked there for a while. He was handsome and sweet, but very unhappy. My motherly instincts came out, and I thought I could cure his ills with my love.” She laughed at her own stupidity.

  Damon nodded, and stroked her arm. Why did his touch burn her flesh?

  “We started dating and I agreed not to tell his parents or even my friends about it. Seemed important to him.”

  “You didn’t find this strange?”

  “I thought it strange. I figured I’d tell everyone later on. We’d work it out. I’m soooooooo smart.” She mocked herself.

  “It’s all right.” Damon sounded unexpectedly…sweet? “Trust me, I’m no winner in the love department. You d-don’t have t-to tell me anymore if you feel uncomfortable…”

  “No, it’s therapeutic.” It surprised her that she meant it. She especially found it easy to talk to Damon, although she didn’t know why. She felt as if she’d known him forever. “I met Gavin after I’d lost my parents and I’d hoped to recapture a family life again. I thought we were in love.”

  “He never showed a violent side?”

  “He did.” She found his compassionate gaze and wished she could hold him while she told him her story. What was wrong with her? Again, she cleared her head. “He’d punch men who so much as looked at me by accident, but I thought that meant he loved me so much. Stupid, I realize now. He also broke things, especially when he had his terrible headaches, but I thought the pain caused that.”

  Damon exhaled harshly. “I see.”

  “When he was in a coma, his parents almost pulled the plug. He certainly had no love for them after hearing that.” She let out a sad laugh. “He h
ad amnesia about anything before his injury and he suffered debilitating headaches. I got some of my worst beatings during his headaches.” Her stomach recoiled at the memory of Gavin…his gun…his whip…undoing his pants…

  “What? You t-turned pale.” He moved closer so that his knees jammed against hers.

  The shock of his knees on hers caused her palms to sweat and her heart to pound. His nearness unsettled her, yet made her feel safe. She wanted to share everything with this man.

  “Once I agreed to move in with him, the abuse began. That night. He became a different person.” Her throat pinched and she found his lips were right near hers. He had such perfect lips – wide, full, arrogant – she’d lost her mind. Why else could she talk about Gavin, and think about kissing Damon? In fact, how could she think about kissing anybody after Gavin’s abuse? She knew the pain men caused women. She leaned back against the cushion to put distance between them.

  “I think I know enough.” Damon’s voice sounded soft, almost silky. “Don’t upset yourself.”

  She felt herself pulling towards him again, closing the gap between them. He didn’t discourage her. Instead, he gently moved his large hands to her arms and held her.

  “I can talk about it – with you. I’m not sure why.” Butterflies seemed to tickle her gut and the air seemed charged.

  He smiled, seeming genuinely pleased. “Then, if you’re not t-too upset, may I ask a few more questions?”

  She nodded. Sharing her story with Damon seemed perfect.

  “The psychiatrist’s report.” He searched her face. “I know it’s bullcrap, b-but how did he get it?”

  “Paid off a shrink to write it. I never saw a psychiatrist. He didn’t allow me to leave the trailer.” A lump formed in her throat. She remembered the day he’d come home, waving the report, laughing at her, talking about how he’d paid good money for it.

  “It’s a fraud then. I’ll t-take you to a therapist who’ll refute it.”

  “I hate therapists.”

  He frowned. “Heaven, therapists saved me. They c-can help you, too. Ethical ones. I know a very good psychologist you’d like.”

  “No!” What was he thinking? “I can’t share this with a therapist!”

  “You shared it with me.”

  “Yes, but…” How could she explain? She trusted him. She didn’t trust a therapist. “A therapist can’t erase the abuse.”

  Damon’s hand cupped her jaw, flaming her skin. “I wouldn’t be able to speak – I’m convinced of it – if not for my therapists. When you go t-to the cops about Gavin – for that stress alone – you could use one.”

  “I can’t!” Panic encased her. Was he crazy? The cops? “It’s my word against his. If there was a trial – I can’t!” Suddenly the dam burst and tears spilled all over her face.

  Damon’s eyes rounded and he looked lost. “Woman’s tears,” he muttered, and she cried harder. His face softened and he caught her in his arms and cradled her, gently, resting his cheek on top of her head. “There now, don’t cry. We’ll do this without cops for now.” He mumbled into her hair. “Please d-don’t cry. T-tears are my undoing. Please!”

  She couldn’t stop; was almost hiccupping now. “Damon, do you understand what he did to me? I can’t tell the cops! I can’t go to trial! He raped me! Over and over and over again! And he laughed while he did it. He laughed…”

  “Shhhhhhhhhh.” Damon rocked her as she threw her arms around his neck and held him for dear life, reliving the horror of Gavin’s revenge against her and all women. She heard somebody’s high cry and realized it was hers. But he continued to rock her and suddenly started singing to her, quietly, into her ear, a soothing, loving song she’d never heard before – one a loving father might sing to a distressed child. His voice pleased her; the comforting words soothed her. Her parents would have held her this way and sung to her, too, but Damon felt and smelled nothing like a parent. She melded into him as she let him comfort her with his solid yet gentle grasp – and his alluring voice.

  Time ceased to have meaning as she basked in his arms, telling him, between sobs, how she’d escaped from Gavin. “He came home with a monster headache, so bad that he didn’t chain me, but demanded I make him soup. He said he’d lay down with his gun and wouldn’t fall asleep, but he did, and I saw my only chance — it was the only time he’d ever messed up!”

  As she sobbed her story, he threaded long fingers through her hair and patted her back, telling her it was all right and that he understood. She believed him. She wanted to stay in his arms forever.

  An eternity later, he rose and filled her glass with more ginger ale. Then he knelt before her on one knee and handed it to her, a gleam in his eye.

  “I don’t need it.”

  “But I’ll feel better if you drink.” He flashed her a devastating grin that caused her head to reel. “You cried so many tears, I’m afraid you became d-dehydrated.”

  She laughed, took the glass, and took a few sips before setting it beside her on a table.

  They locked eyes.

  “I hate crying.” She sniffed.

  “I do, too.”

  She laughed again. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?” You t-told me some important stuff.”

  “And you made me feel better.” Her emotions were riding high. She felt so much – what towards him? Friendly affection?

  He leaned his elbows on the arms of her chair; closing in on her as her head swam. When his smile suddenly faded, hers did the same. The intensity of his eyes electrified her; commanded her to stare at him; grabbed her as surely as his arms pulled her close.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, and that was the last thing she heard before his lips touched hers. After that, the rest of the world receded and only he existed – his lips, the way he pressed his mouth on hers, hard then soft, and the sweep of his velvet tongue drinking her up in an intoxicating way…she swept her tongue in his mouth, savoring his taste and scent. What the hell was she doing? What the hell did it matter? The way he moved his lips made her body zing and hum. Nothing had ever felt as good as this…

  “Are you getting married?”

  Kendra’s voice was like a bucket of cold water. They pulled apart at once, both staring up at the hallway, watching Kendra and Aiden, who looked down at them. Aiden wore an amused grin. Kendra’s eyes bulged out of her head.

  Damon sucked in an audible breath, then shot a look at Heaven. His eyes flashed, but not with longing. “Heaven, I’m so sorry.” He stood up, self-recrimination written all over him.

  Heaven’s heart raced. He regretted it? Of course he regretted it! She should too! What were they thinking?

  Aiden and Kendra came downstairs and Heaven barely paid attention to an argument between Damon and Aiden. Through her fogged mind, she heard Damon allow Aiden to take Kendra overnight to visit a friend of his.

  “The parents will be there too, and I care about my sister. Nothing will happen to her! Why don’t you trust me?”

  Damon enumerated the many reasons he didn’t trust him, throwing in his love of wild parties, drinking, and women, and Aiden insisted he no longer partied much. In the end, Aiden won, but Damon read him the riot act and nobody was happy. When Aiden and Kendra left the house, Damon stood moodily by the stairway, a hand on the railing. Clearly, he was no longer thinking about their kiss.

  As Aiden’s car screeched from the curb, Damon let out every cuss word Heaven knew.

  Chapter Seven

  Damon felt tension in the house with Aiden and Kendra gone. He remembered how Heaven kissed, quickly trying to shove it from his mind. She had felt far too good in his arms and he knew better. Maybe it would be best if he left the house, but he couldn’t leave her alone. Not after the trauma of the day.

  Heaven seemed uncomfortable too. She didn’t look at him as she rose and started glancing around the room. He wondered if she’d start cleaning up a house that, since her arrival, always seemed clean to him.

  “Don’
t work.” He grumbled.

  “I’m all right now. Let me do my job.” She caught his gaze.

  He inhaled sharply at the effect of her lingering stare. Did she feel the crackle in the air between them? He needed a fast solution that would enable him to watch her yet took them out of the intimacy of his home. “I have to run a few chores. I c-can’t leave you here alone. Come with. I feel like some ice cream too. All right?”

  She seemed surprised and hesitated. “All right, but I don’t want anything to eat.”

  “No?” He wondered if this was the money issue again. He decided to play it light. “I’ve heard a rumor that pregnant women crave ice cream. Is it true?”

  He could see her trying to hide a smile. “Not me. Tomatoes.”

  He laughed. “I n-never heard about tomatoes.”

  “Me either, but I crave tomatoes.” A smile burst through.

  “I have tomatoes.”

  She laughed a little. “I know.”

  He narrowed his eyes in mock anger. “You sneak. Kidding. You can have them all. Would you like t-to get some ice cream, even though you don’t crave it?” In seriousness, he added, “I think it’s best if we stay out of the house to-tonight, at least until we’re ready to turn in.”

  She nodded.

  Damon thought about his car with the one long seat in front. His truck had gearshifts that separated the driver from the passenger. He’d take his truck, less chance of accidental touching. “I’m going to shower and change. Meet me down here in an hour and be ready t-to leave.”

  She nodded again, then broke into a pretty smile. “I think I’ll eat a few tomatoes then do the same.”

  He shook his head as he walked towards the staircase, unable to hold in a grin.

  Heaven enjoyed running errands with Damon. Although they didn’t speak much, when he did talk to her, he was solicitous and good-natured. She noticed he blushed a lot, which she encouraged. Maybe he was shy, like her. Her admittedly limited experiences with men had none-the-less made her think of handsome men as confident, even arrogant.

  Damon didn’t seem that way.

  After tagging along to several stores, he finally took her for ice cream. They walked, side by side, into an ice cream shop called “Flavorama.” The tomatoes had been delightful, but the sight of so many people holding delicious looking ice cream cones made her suddenly desperate for one.