CHAPTER SEVEN: GROWING CLOSER

She watched as he entered the flat, his form filling the doorway. He looked uncomfortable and she smiled, picking up the pile of mail from the doorway.

"Bills and junk mail," she said, dropping it on the table.

"That one isn't," said Kane, picking up a blue envelope from the pile. She glanced at the handwriting and narrowed her eyes.

"Yes it is," she said, dropping it on the pile.

"Who is it from?" he asked, curiously. Eloise ignored the question though, heading through to the bedroom and dragging her case from under the bed. She opened the wardrobe and started throwing things in the case. He came and stood in the doorway, leaning his head on the frame, watching her.

"You didn't answer me," he said, softly.

"I don't think I'll have room in the case for everything. I'll have to put some of it in bin liners. I don't want to come back in here again if I can help it."

"Eloise," he said, softly. She looked up at him and narrowed her eyes, before turning to the draws behind her. She simply pulled them out and turned them up over the case dropping the clothes in. Kane watched her for a moment and then crossed the room, placing his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to sit down. She looked up at him as he leant towards her, his eyes searching her face.

"Look, it's just a letter from Rico. It'll be full of his usual crap; apologies and the like. I don't want to read it because I have nothing to say to him. Ok?"

Kane sighed and let her up, walking back to the kitchen. He picked up the letter and opened it, reading the contents. She was right; it was a letter of apology. It also said that he had recently filed for divorce because he couldn't get her out of his head. Kane stared at it for a moment, wordlessly and didn't see Eloise come up behind him. She started when she saw he had opened the letter.

"I can't believe you opened that!" she cried.

"Sorry," said Kane, but she was furious. She slammed down the bag in her hand and snatched the letter from him.

"Who the hell do you think you are opening my post? I said I didn't want to read it! I didn't say you could!" She tore the letter to shreds, without reading it, tears of rage burning her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said again, but she was still angry and would not respond. She threw the letter on the floor and got to her feet, turning back to the bedroom.

"Eloise," he said, grabbing her shoulder. She whirled round and struck him with all her strength.

"Take your hands off of me!" she snapped. Kane's head jerked back with the force of the blow and he stared at her, shocked. Eloise stared at him and he saw her eyes suddenly register fear. "Oh God, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She backed away from him as he stepped towards her and he stopped, staring at her.

"I won't hurt you," he said, softly. Eloise stared at him for a moment and then crossed the room to his side, throwing her arms around him. He returned her embrace, kissing her hair gently. "Come on, let's go home."

They gathered her bags together and took them down to the car. She took one last look around the flat and then closed and locked the door, placing the key in an envelope. She posted it through her landlord's door and followed Kane out to the car. They drove back to his house in silence. He sat on the passenger side, staring out of the window, while she concentrated extra hard on her driving.

"Kane, I'm sorry I hit you," she said, suddenly. He looked across at her, but her eyes were focussed on the road in front of her. He reached across and placed a hand over hers briefly.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "I probably deserved it; I shouldn't have been looking at your post."

"Bit of a hypocrite though, aren't I?" she said. "Going on about Rico and then I go and do the same thing to someone I care about."

Kane was silent, drinking in what she had just said; she cared about him. He smiled, broadly.

"I never hit anyone before," she said, quietly. "I... I thought you'd hit me back."

"To be fair I'd probably have done a lot more damage," he replied. She laughed, bitterly.

"Yes. Even Rico could do some damage and he was considerably smaller than you."

He squeezed her hand.

"I'd never hurt you, Eloise," he said, softly.

"I'm just sorry I hurt you," she said and he saw tears standing out on her eyelashes.

"Pull over," he said. She glanced at him, but carried on driving. He sighed and put an edge into his tone. "Pull over, now!"

Eloise did as he said, pulling into a lay by. As she switched off the ignition, Kane leaned across and unbuckled her seatbelt. He then pulled her onto his lap and held her close to him, kissing her face, gently. She leaned against him, resting her head against him. Suddenly his lips found her lips. She jolted back, surprised and he stopped, but then she leaned towards him and kissed him back.

***

Jacob watched as Eloise walked in the garden. She looked completely at ease, her hands at her sides, a serene expression on her face. Since she moved into her flat in the house a couple of months before she had been very relaxed. The building works were running smoothly and she had taken charge of Kane's diary now. He had a lot more engagements than she had thought possible for a so called recluse, though she noted many of them were with people he had known since childhood. He did not work as such, just appeared at various functions as an esteemed guest. Nobody commented on the mask; well not to his face anyway.

Eloise looked towards the house and saw Jacob at the window. She waved and he waved back, a broad smile on his face. She headed further down the path, towards the woodland at the back of the garden. She walked down the wooded path, breathing in deeply the chill air and sighed with contentment.

"Hi, hun, been waiting for you."

She started violently at the voice and turned to see Rico standing behind her on the path.

"How did you get here?" she asked, looking back towards the house.

"Mr Johnson gave me your address, didn't he? I thought I'd bring your mail along for you." He waved a small pile of envelopes at her. "You get my letter, hun?"

"I tore it up," she replied, shortly. "This is private property, Rico. I suggest you leave or I'll call the police."

"From out here? I doubt it. You never did carry your mobile with you. I've tried calling it for months now and it's always switched off."

"No it isn't. I just blocked your number. I have nothing to say to you, Rico."

"Nothing, hun? Well I got plenty to say to you." He approached her, taking hold of her arm, but Eloise was ready for him and shook him off.

"Don't touch me," she hissed at him through her teeth.

"You never used to mind me touching you," he said, his eyes narrowing dangerously. She took a step back away from him, nervously.

"Well, I do now," she said. "Go away. I don't want to see you. Go home to your wife."

"Wife?" he repeated. "Didn't you hear? I got a divorce. Couldn't stop thinking about you, hun. Wanted you back."

"Well, you can't have me. I'm quite happy with the life I have now. I don't want to be with you."

Rico glared at her and seized her arm too in a vice like grip, pulling her towards him.

"You know, hun, I don't have to ask," he said. She heard the danger in his tone and struggled, but his hold on her was too tight.

"I'll scream," she said.

"Go ahead. Who will hear you? The place looks deserted!" he replied. Eloise didn't think twice; she screamed at the top of her lungs. Rico backhanded her, so hard that she fell down at his feet.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked her. She backed away from him, but he grabbed her by the hair.

"You're not going anywhere."

"Take your hands off of her," said a voice. Rico looked back to see a tall man standing behind him. The man easily had at least a foot on Rico, who released Eloise without a word. Eloise looked up to see Kane standing over her. Before she could stop him, he grabbed Rico by the throat. "You will come into the house and wait for the police to arrive. Assault is a serious crime." Rico could not fight out of Kane's grasp, however hard he tried and was forced to go up to the house. Jacob had already called the police when he saw a figure he didn't recognise follow Eloise into the woods. They were on their way.

"Eloise?" She hadn't moved from the forest floor while he was gone, not even to stand. There were tears streaming down her face and she was clutching her ankle.

"I twisted my ankle when I fell," she said. Kane reached down and before she could protest, lifted her up into his arms and carried her back to the house.

"He is such a… I don't understand why you stayed with him," he said, eventually, as he held the ice pack to her face again. She shook her head, to hide her tears from him.

"Miss Eloise, the police have taken him to the car. They want to speak to you," said Jacob. Eloise looked up, frightened and then shook her head again.

"I… I don't want to press charges," she said.

"What?" cried Kane. He stared at her open-mouthed for a moment and then got to his feet, pacing angrily. "You have to prosecute! He's done it before; he'll just think he can get away with it. How can you not press charges?"

"I didn't press charges against you," she said, softly. He bowed his head and looked away, not wanting her to see his rage. "I can't explain it to you, but I won't press charges. You can for trespass if you want, but… I just can't go through all that. Please try to understand."

"Well, miss, regardless of that, they insist on seeing you," said Jacob, glancing from his master to the young woman in the chair. Eloise sighed, deeply and got to her feet. Kane watched her go from the room and then turned to Jacob.

"Why will she not prosecute, Jacob?" he asked.

"Because it would go against her nature, sir," he said, softly. "Surely you realise that? She loved him once, certainly and perhaps she sees beyond the hurt he caused her to see his own pain."

"She is a better person than me then," said Kane, with a sigh.

"As she said, sir, she could just as easily have had you prosecuted, but she chose not to. She has a good heart, sir. But I think she will need you to be extra strong for her over the next few days. She's had quite a shock."

"I guess," he said, vaguely. Jacob smiled, seeing for a moment the little boy in the man before him.

***

Kane sat up abruptly, grabbing for the mask at the side of the bed. He turned his face away from the figure at his doorway and fastened it before turning back. Eloise was standing there, leaning on the doorframe, sniffing.

"I'm… I'm sorry to disturb you, but I couldn't sleep. I wondered if you were awake still."

Kane glanced at the clock beside his bed. It was only four in the morning. He gestured for her to come in and switched on the lamp. The room was flooded with shadowy light and she blinked her reddened eyes stinging. Without another word, she crossed the room and sat down beside him on the bed, drawing her knees up to her chest. Kane sat beside her, awkwardly. The only woman who had ever been in his room was his wife and that had not lasted long. She had soon demanded her own suite of rooms. She had certainly never requested a late night chat with him. Eloise looked across at him, eventually.

"Are you upset with me?" she asked, eventually. Kane was surprised by this and tilted his head to one side, looking at her quizzically.

"Why would I be upset with you?" he asked.

"Well, about pressing charges against Rico. I kind of got the impression you were cross that I didn't go through with it."

Kane was silent for a moment, wondering why how he felt about it should worry her.

"I thought you would press charges. He hurt you," he said, eventually, looking at her directly for the first time.

"He's hurt me lots of times," she replied, with a shrug. "Only difference this time was that I don't think he was drunk, just annoyed for some reason."

Kane was thoughtful for a moment and then he took hold of her hands, deciding he would prefer to know where they were before he spoke.

"That letter he wrote you, the one I read; he said he was separating from his wife because he couldn't live without you. Maybe he expected a reaction from you…"

"Idiot," she muttered and Kane was unsure for a moment whether she referred to him or Rico. She withdrew her hands from Kane's but made no move to strike him, for which he was grateful. She suddenly looked directly at him. "Has anyone ever hurt you really badly and yet you still cared, you still loved them just a bit?"

Kane shook his head. He couldn't think of anyone who was strong enough to actually physically hurt him. He was nearly seven feet tall and a wall of muscle. His constant sessions with the weights downstairs meant that he was strong too and he couldn't imagine anyone besting him physically. She smiled a small smile, as if she guessed what he was thinking.

"I don't just mean physically, Kane," she said, softly. "What about Rachel? She hurt you pretty bad, but I bet deep inside you still care for her a little."

"I won't talk about her," he said, firmly. Eloise ducked her head to avoid his gaze.

"Then I'm right, aren't I?"

Kane scowled at her. He did not even want to think about Rachel, much less talk about her, particularly with Eloise.

"I care nothing for her," he said, flatly. "I may have never hurt her while she was my wife but trust me if I saw her again I would choose not to keep control of my temper. She allowed people to think I was an animal; I'd like to show her how much of an animal I can be…" he broke off as Eloise flinched at his tone.

"Then really, you are just as bad as Rico," she said. Kane shook his head, entwining his fingers suddenly in hers.

"You did nothing to deserve what he did to you. Trust me; Rachel deserves more than a slap."

Eloise looked down at their fingers locked together and sighed deeply. His hands were so large; she hated to imagine the damage he could do if he chose to. He leaned towards her and she felt the leather of his mask resting on her cheek, as his lips sought her throat. He kissed her gently.

"I would never hurt you," he breathed and she shivered as his breath touched her.

She pushed him away, gently.

"I'm sorry, Kane," she said, softly. "I don't want this; not tonight. I'll go back to bed. I feel sleepy now and I need some sleep before tomorrow. The interior designer is coming for a meeting first thing and we both need to be there."

He watched her go and as soon as the door closed behind her he slammed his fist hard against the mattress. Damn her! She came in here in the middle of the night for a chat and didn't expect him to think there was more to it than simply a chat. His hand found the straps on his mask and he held it briefly in his hands before replacing it on the bedside table, switching off the lamp and closing his eyes, though he knew sleep would not come.