Chapter twelve
Sometime in the early hours of the morning Kevin jerked upright in bed when an arm was flung out and hit him in the face, and he automatically turned the lamp on to see what had happened. Then he turned and saw Lenny tossing and turning restlessly, her face screwed up and small distressed noises coming out of her mouth.
It was obvious she was having a nightmare and for a second he didn't know whether to wake her up or not, but when she made an even more terrified noise he reached out and gave her a gentle shake, calling her name.
Her eyes shot open and for just an instant she froze as her mind tried to figure out who had gotten hold of her, then she relaxed as she focused on Kevin's concerned face. The relief that she wasn't still down that alleyway with Jack and another faceless man trying to rape her was intense, and she tried to stop herself from crying, failing when two big fat tears slid from her eyes.
"C'mere, baby," Kevin said gruffly, hating seeing her like this when she was always so strong, and he pulled her onto his lap as he sat back against the headboard. His big hands gently smoothed her hair down her back and he rocked her slowly, letting a sigh out as he made her feel as secure as he could. "Okay?" he asked, kissing the top of her head and stroking her back, much as he had done earlier that evening.
She sniffed and nodded, wiping a weary hand over her eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm such a pain...I didn't mean to wake you up."
"Don't worry about it. I'd rather be awake than have you trapped in a nightmare, anyway. Want to talk about it?"
She shook her head this time as the dream replayed itself. Thank God it hadn't got that far in reality, but it was still enough to shake her. "Where do you think he is now?" she whispered.
Kevin knew she was talking about Jack. "I don't know. If he has any sense it'll be miles away from here."
"What if he isn't?" she asked him, her voice shaking.
Kevin lifted a hand and tilted her face up to his, frowning when he saw the fresh tears there and the obvious fear. "If he isn't, then I'll take care of him. Don't worry, cupcake, I'll make sure he doesn't get near you ever again. You're safe, baby."
"Thank you," she said softly, flinging her arms around his neck and burying her face against his throat, the action making him smile.
"No problem. Hey, want to see something to make you smile?" he asked, injecting a light note into his voice as he nudged her face out of hiding.
She looked at him warily. "Like what?"
"Well, like this," he said, jerking back the sheet and wiggling his toes for her. Despite her tears and her nightmare, the sight of his enormously overgrown foot made her giggle again. He shook his head and grinned. "Personally, I can't see what's so damn funny."
"Oh, I'm sorry, it's just...I've never seen feet that big. They're like a clowns!" she giggled, mirth making more tears appear, but not sad ones this time.
"Thanks a bunch," he said, looking slightly offended.
Lenny looked at him and bit her lip, realizing what she had said and wondering if he was really insulted by it. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that nastily," she said, raising a small hand and placing it against his cheek to try and make him feel better. She thought it must have worked judging by the odd expression that came over him when she did it.
"Hell, I don't care if you did," he murmured, wondering how such an innocent touch could affect him so much. His heart was beating overtime, but it wasn't because he was aroused, it was because she made him feel warm inside....alive. She made him feel alive. He cleared his throat and tried not to look as shocked by that as he felt. "Do you think you can sleep now?"
"I think so...if....could I...?"
His feelings swelled his chest and he gave a reluctant smile. "You want to sleep in my arms again?"
She nodded and closed in on him again, wrapping herself around him without any prompting, and he closed his eyes trying to strengthen his willpower again. It was worth any discomfort his body might give him, just to have her with him like this, even innocently. And he had thought he hated her, he chuckled to himself. Shaking his head he eased his way down the bed again with her on top of him, and reached out one long arm to switch the lamp off, before wrapping her close and listening to her fall back asleep. For him, sleep took longer to come and take him.
****
The insistent ringing of the telephone jerked Kevin out of his deep sleep the next morning, and he threw his arm onto the bedside table, finding the receiver with sheer luck. "'lo?" he murmured, his voice husky.
"Kev? It's Sam, did I wake you up?"
"Nope, wide 'wake," he said, yawning and not bothering to open his eyes.
"Listen, I tried to call Charlene and there's no answer. Can you go check up on her, make sure she's okay? I'm really worried," Sam said, his voice sounding slightly panicky.
Kevin's eyes snapped open as he remembered exactly where Lenny was, and he looked over at her, finding the telephone hadn't woken her up. She was sprawled on her stomach, her hair fanned out all over the place in a horrendous mess that he thought she would have problems with when she woke up. He smiled at the picture she made and sighed. "It's okay, Sam, she stayed here last night. I didn't like the idea of her being on her own."
"Oh thank God, I had visions of all sorts of things happening to her! Is she okay?"
"She's fine now, but you ought to know that Jack Penn tried to attack her last night. She tried to call you and when you didn't answer she called me, and I went and got her. She's fine," he repeated quickly when he heard the other man's shocked gasp. "He didn't rape her, but she thinks he was going to."
He pulled the phone away from his ear as Sam started ranting and calling Jack Penn every name ever invented and then some. "Where's the son of a bitch now?"
Kevin frowned. "I have no idea, I didn't go looking for him last night, I was too worried about Lenny. I shouldn't think he'd bother showing up at work today though, not unless he's crazy."
"Oh, he's crazy alright. Just make sure Charlene's okay, will you? If you see him, call the cops. In fact, call them anyway, have her file charges against him or something!"
"I'll keep an eye out for him, but I doubt she'll want to go to the police, I think she just wants to forget about it. Listen, don't worry about none of it, I'll take care of everything. How's Rachel?" he asked, changing the subject abruptly.
"She's good, she's not getting any worse. But they won't let her out of here for some time, if at all before the baby's born. I'll keep you informed. Will you bring Charlene up to see us today? We need some things from home," Sam said, sounding slightly calmer as he reeled off a list of things he wanted Kevin to bring.
"Sure thing, buddy. We'll come up before lunch. I would bring her sooner, but she's laying here fast asleep, and I think she needs it, you know?" Kevin said, his eyes moving back to Lenny.
"Laying there...? She's...you're...she's in your room?" Sam sputtered, his voice changing.
"Er...yeah. It's not like it sounds," Kevin said, looking up at the ceiling and then closing his eyes.
"Really? Kev, I've known you for a long time, and I know what you're like where women are concerned," Sam said quietly, sounding worried now.
"This is Lenny we're talking about," Kevin said, trying to think up something to say to make Sam think he hadn't touched her.
"Yeah, it is, and I thought you two hated each other. Except I've seen you trying to eat each others faces over the last few days, remember?"
"Oh, come on Sam, this is ridiculous!"
"Is it? Swear to me you didn't touch her!" Sam said, his voice getting louder now.
"Dammit, I can't! But that doesn't mean that I took advantage of her, because I didn't!" Kevin said.
"Yet you're laying in bed with her, right now? Put her on the damn phone!" Sam shouted now, making Kevin get angry.
"I am not waking her up just because you've decided you can't trust me!" Kevin hissed, glancing at Lenny again and trying not to make too much noise. "She needed someone last night, she had a nightmare...she damn well asked if I'd stay with her. What was I supposed to do?"
Sam went silent for a minute and Kevin could hear him sigh. "I guess you couldn't really refuse," the other man admitted grudgingly. "Just...look, promise me you didn't actually...you know...do it."
Kevin gave a reluctant chuckle. "No, we didn't. But I'll be honest, I wanted to."
"You're not going to, though, unless you want to get married damn quick," Sam said sharply.
"Is that right? Are you telling me that you and Rachel abstained until the wedding night?"
"Well, no...but Lenny's different, she my baby sister," Sam said softly, giving a small laugh.
"Don't worry Sam. I value our friendship, I wouldn't do anything to compromise it," Kevin said, sighing as he ran his eyes down Lenny's small body. "No matter how hard it is."
"Okay. Look, I'm sorry if I sounded a bit severe, but it's difficult sometimes," Sam said. "I don't want her to get hurt."
"It's okay, man, I understand. I'll come and see you later, okay?"
"Yeah, thanks. See you."
Kevin listened to the click and then put the phone down, turning back to look at Lenny. She was only just waking up and she rolled onto her back, yawning hugely as she did so. The moment her eyelids lifted, she looked over at him and blushed, remembering in vivid detail what had happened between them the night before.
"Good morning," Kevin said, smiling softly at her and brushing his knuckles over her face.
"Morning," she said in return, staring at him in amazement. "We don't hate each other anymore do we?"
He shook his head. "No, I'd say we definitely don't hate each other. I'm sort of wondering if we ever did."
"This is kind of confusing," she said, biting her lip.
"Yeah, I know," he murmured. He leaned back to study her face closely, his lips tightening as his eyes traced the bruise she had on her cheekbone, darker now. "Does it hurt?" he asked, touching it gently and immediately making his fingers tingle from the contact.
She winced. "Only a little bit, it's okay."
"It isn't okay. Maybe I should kiss it better huh?" he asked her, dropping tiny little kisses on her that felt like feathers tickling her skin, and she smiled at the gesture. "How's that?"
"It's good," she murmured, giggling as he moved further down her face and neck, his beard brushing her skin.
He drew back slightly and looked at her, his eyes narrowed. "Women don't usually laugh at me when I'm doing my best smooching," he said, pursing his lips.
"Sorry, but it tickled," she said, her smile fading slightly as she studied his face, taking in the small lines at the corners of his eyes and the way his hair was sticking out all over the place. Her heart flipped over in her chest and she had to breathe deeply when she thought of the little endearments he had been using on her and the way he had held her in the night. She wasn't sure if she should be pleased by it all or not, it was such a sudden switch to their normal feelings, and she'd never been in this position before - literally and figuratively. When she met his eyes again she found him staring at her with open curiosity. "How did this happen?" she asked, still confused by the rapid change from animosity to desire and affection.
Kevin shook his head and rubbed her back. "I have no idea, and I'm not going to question it, not now. This is far better than fighting all the time." He leaned in and kissed her softly, his eyes open the whole time so he could study her expression. When he leaned back again he gave her a slow smile, brushing her hair away with a slightly unsteady finger. "It's going to take some getting used to, not wanting to drown you."
Lenny gave a small laugh and then bit her lip, thinking that this probably wouldn't go anywhere, and she was certain she would inadvertently make him feel that way again sometime. She started to feel acutely aware of her current situation and she tried to think of something to say, remembering what had woken her up. "Did I hear you talking to someone?"
"Yeah, Sam phoned. He wants me to take you over to see them today."
"Oh, right. Well, I'd better get dressed and...er...we can go. I have things to do at home too, and I bet they need some things, so maybe I should just run back there. You don't have to get up yet, I can get back on my own," she babbled, going red as she tried to think of a way out of the bed without him seeing her half naked again.
Kevin studied her, a frown drawing his eyebrows down as she fidgeted about. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she said, too quickly, her face glowing.
He reached out and grabbed her chin, forcing her to face him. "Yeah, there is. Spill it."
"There's nothing wrong," she said again, raising her eyes to his reluctantly. The lack of animosity in his gaze floored her because it was so alien for him to look at her in that way. Even after the previous night, she still felt uncomfortable around him, now even more so.
"Liar," he said softly, tilting his head to one side. "If I had to guess, I'd say you didn't know how to act around me after last night."
"I don't," she confessed, looking away again.
"Why not?"
"Because I don't know you," Lenny said quietly, biting her lip. "I thought I did, but now...everything's different."
Kevin frowned again. "Would you rather we were fighting again?"
"No. Well, I don't know. It was easier that way," she said, her eyes darting to his again.
For some reason, her words disappointed him and he abruptly let go of her chin. He hadn't ever had a female not want his advances, but it seemed that was what Lenny was saying, and he didn't like it. "If that's how you want it," he said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing up.
"I didn't mean..." Lenny started saying, but Kevin turned around and stared down at her, his hands planted on his hips.
"What? You didn't mean you preferred it when we were trying to kill each other as opposed to me kissing you?" he asked sharply. "Like I said, if that's how you want it, then it's no problem!" He turned and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.
"I liked you kissing me," she said quietly as she stared at the closed door, wondering what had just happened. If she didn't know better she would have said he seemed almost...insecure. But Kevin Nash wasn't insecure about anything, so that couldn't be the case. Maybe he had just realized how he had acted and with whom, and her heart plummeted in her chest at the thought. He was probably regretting every word and every action, but she couldn't say the same. She had felt protected and cared for, and she had liked it. She shook her head as she got out of the big bed, a sigh escaping her as she pulled her clothes on. Maybe it was better if things got back to the way they had been, but she was going to find it incredibly difficult to forget how it felt to be held by him.
She turned when the bathroom door opened again, watching Kevin walk back into the room. He had obviously had a lightning quick wash and had brushed his hair back into a ponytail, but he wasn't looking in her direction at all. Just when she thought he wasn't going to speak to her he took a deep breath and glanced briefly at her. "Are you ready?"
"I have to go home...to get a change of clothes," she said, feeling awkward as she met his cool gaze. He didn't look like he wanted her there and all of a sudden she wanted to be somewhere else too. "I'll do that now." She turned and opened the bedroom door, rushing out and intending to just leave the house before she could feel any worse. But he grabbed her arm before she got very far and spun her around, frowning down at her.
"You shouldn't go back there on your own," he said, reluctant to let her leave despite how he was feeling at the moment.
"I'll be fine," she said, trying to tug her arm away from him so she could go home and shut herself inside. When she realized she couldn't get free, she looked up at him with big eyes, her shoulders slumping. "Please let me go home."
Kevin looked down at her sad face and instantly softened, sighing and grabbing her other arm so he could pull her closer to him. "I can't do that. What if that Jack person went back there? I'm not going to let you get hurt, not again."
"Like you said, he's probably miles away from here anyway," Lenny said, still pulling back from his hold, something he couldn't fail to notice.
"Stop squirming," he said mildly, pulling her right up against him and wrapping his huge arms around her. "You're not going anywhere, not alone. Don't worry," he said with a twist of his lips, "I'm well aware you're not too keen on my kisses, so I'll make sure I don't do that anymore."
"I didn't say...I didn't..." she stammered, frowning up at him and then looking quickly away from his piercing gaze, her face red.
"What?" She shook her head in answer and he moved one arm so he could tilt her face up, his eyes narrowing. "Come on, tell me what you were going to say."
"It's nothing...I just....I didn't say I didn't like your kisses," she mumbled, still not looking in his eyes.
He blinked slowly at her words and then couldn't help smiling. "I thought you preferred it when we were fighting?"
"I didn't mean it that way, though. I just meant that it seemed easier then, and now it's weird," she said, shrugging and glancing briefly up at him. "I'm not used to this."
"Good God, I know that, otherwise you wouldn't still be a virgin!" he said, shaking his head in exasperation. "So you're telling me you don't have anything against me kissing you again?"
Lenny found herself trapped in his hazel stare, and she shook her head slowly. "I liked it," she whispered, as if it was something bad.
"You did?" he asked her, raising his eyebrows and grinning, a feeling of intense relief sweeping through him.
She shrugged. "It was okay."
"Okay? Just okay? Oh, I think you can do better than that, don't you?" he said, picking her up so she was level with him and taking her mouth in a deep, masterful kiss that made her head spin. By the time he was finished she was clutching onto his shoulders so tightly she had nearly torn through his shirt. "There, now try again," he said, his voice husky.
"Try what?" she asked dazedly, blinking at him.
"Tell me how good my kisses are, go ahead," he invited, smiling smugly.
"I like them," she said, licking her lips and swallowing as her brain started functioning again.
"Uh huh. How much?"
"Quite a lot," she admitted.
"No more than that? Hmm, maybe another little reminder...." he broke off and kissed her again, opening her mouth quickly and exploring every crevice inside, only pulling back when he thought he was about to lose control and just throw her on the floor so he could be inside her. "How much?" he prompted her again, breathing heavily.
"I love the way you kiss," she whispered, her eyelids lifting slowly so she could stare at him in amazement. "No wonder."
"No wonder what?" he asked.
"No wonder you got that name," she said, her eyes lowering to his mouth and staring at it as if it could work wonders.
"What name, darlin'? Big Sexy?" he asked with a wide grin.
"Yeah....you are you know," she said, then went even redder when she realized what she had said. She groaned and let her head fall forward onto his shoulder, feeling him move as he laughed. "It isn't funny."
"Oh, I don't know about that," he said, chuckling again. "God, if the guys could see me now, I'd never live it down."
"Live what down?" she asked, lifting her head to look at him.
"The fact that I had a willing woman in my bed and she left it without being compromised in any way. They'd probably think I'd lost my touch," he said, grinning and raising his eyebrows.
A spark of mischief lit up Lenny's eyes. "And have you?"
Kevin looked slightly amazed, his mouth hanging open. "Oh my God, you're really asking for it, you know that, don't you?" He shook his head when she giggled and shot her a disgusted look. "Unfortunately, I don't have time to give it to you at the moment. We have to get some things packed and take them over to Sam and Rachel."
Lenny shrugged. "Okay. Well, I guess you really have lost it then," she said, turning away from him and walking off down the hallway while he stood there gaping at her.
"Lost...! Why you little...hey! Come back here!" he roared as he took off after her, laughing with sheer enjoyment as she ran from him, her giggles echoing back up the stairs as she ran down them. He had a feeling life was going to change drastically now they were no longer fighting.
