THE ORIGINAL NOVEL WAS WRITTEN IN SPANISH, I APOLOGIZE FOR THE TRANSLATION. IF YOU WANT TO READ IT IN SPANISH LOOK FOR IT UNDER THE SAME PSEUDONYM AND BY NAME "GIRO DEL DESTINO"
It was hot in the room, a warm embrace around me, like an intense fire that spread throughout my body. For the side that moved I felt the same embracing warmth. I opened my eyes and saw myself in a room that was completely on fire and couldn't escape anywhere. I wasn't screaming, I was just standing in the middle of the room. At one point everything changed, the room stopped being on fire, I didn't feel cold but I didn't feel the same heat as before. Then Christian materialized in front of me. He came to where I was and began to caress me as he filled my neck with kisses and pressed me against him, so I started to feel warm again.
I woke up with the same feeling I had a few minutes ago when I was dreaming, I felt a lot of heat next to me, something on my chest was squeezing and burning me. I turned around and what was my surprise when I found Christian sleeping next to me, with his arm on me. Shit! What's he doing sleeping here? In my mind I memorized again the night before and the truth was that after I got to my room and changed my clothes I had fallen asleep instantly, when did Christian get to my bed? I'm just in my panties and a shirt. I moved it around a bit so he'd wake up and explain to me what he was doing in my room.
—Mmm... —a groan slipped out as I moved it.
—Christian, wake up. — I told him as he kept moving it.
—I knew you'd come to my room eventually. —he said to me with his eyes closed as he smiled and his arm pressed tighter against me.
This was about to get out of control, I had to wake him up any way I could.
—I'm not in your room, Christian. —I told him strongly and as soon as I did he opened his eyes wide and sat down on the bed.
Christian looked in all directions and saw that it wasn't really in his room but in mine. And in the meantime I stopped breathing and I was gawking at him. He found himself shirtless, his arms resting on his legs, and I realized it was the first time I had seen him like this. The weekend on the yacht had never taken off his shirt.
But right now I had him by my side and I could see him well. His muscles were perfectly marked all over his body, it was like seeing a Greek sculpture from the museum, not really this was much better. The sculptures were not alive, much less had hot skin. Ana, concentrate on the important stuff, I scolded myself. He was serious, her hair was all messed up and falling sexy on her face and then I remembered again that I was half-naked.
—Oh, shit! Not again. —he said as he put his hands on his head, causing his hair to water even more than it already did.
—What's going on? You can tell me what you're doing in my room. — and I regretted it the moment I asked him.
He stared at me very seriously as he removed his hands from his head and rested them on the bed and got up. And that's when I stopped breathing for the second time in the morning. Time stopped, it was as if everything was in slow motion, my eyes followed all the movements his body made, as his muscles tightened as he got out of bed and walked towards the door. He was wearing gray pants that were provocatively dropping on his hip, and when he reached the door he turned to me.
—I'm making breakfast, then we can talk. —he said as he left the room.
And I just sat there gawking at where he'd gone. This didn't make sense, it would be best if I got dressed quickly and went out, only then I could know what had happened last night. Before I left the room I checked my cell phone for a missed call or a message from Kate but there was nothing. On the display of this one was only the clock ticking a little after 10:00 am. I got out of bed, and after a quick run through the bathroom, cleaned myself and brushed my teeth, I dressed decently and headed for the kitchen.
Christian was standing in front of the kitchen, exactly how he had left my room.
—Please sit down. — he said to me and without hesitation I sat down at the bar.
In front of me he put a plate with waffles, a bottle of maple syrup, a plate with bacon and eggs, two glasses, he took a box of juice out of the fridge and sat down next to me. What should I do? I was asking him now or when I finished my breakfast. I think I'd better when I'm done with breakfast.
—I know I told you I'm not talking about my past but I think there's something you should know. —he said to me, barely giving me time to take a bite.
—At least I can have breakfast before we talk. —I asked him as he looked at my breakfast intact in front of me.
—I don't think it makes much difference, but if you want it that way. —he said as I was beginning to eat breakfast.
The breakfast was delicious and I practically ate everything that Christian had put in front of me. As soon as I finished breakfast I turned to him and the truth was that for a moment I forgot why I was sitting there. He was still sitting next to me with his shirt off. I had finished breakfast too, and he was watching me very curiously.
—Can we talk now? —he said in a calm voice.
—Whenever you want. —I said encouragingly.
—What happened last night hadn't happened to me for years and I don't know why exactly it happened last night. —he said to me as he looked at me very seriously, pending my reaction.
— And what happened? —I inquired curiously.
—When I was 12 years old I was diagnosed with sleepwalking and night terrors. Sometimes I had them, not always, and around the age of 18 they disappeared, I had not had any more episodes, I thought they had disappeared permanently. —he said as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
I had never heard of that, although the logical thing was that since it had apparently disappeared, I didn't have to know about it until today.
—Night terrors? It's the same as nightmares. —I asked him with concern.
—No, it's nothing like nightmares. — he said with a blank stare, imagining that in some memory of the past.
—You explain that to me. —I asked him as he looked at me.
—In a nightmare you only feel fear and anxiety to the point where you wake up, and in night terrors you feel extreme terror, you lose control of your movements, you scream loudly, you can't move, you don't regain consciousness completely and when you do you are agitated, sweaty and don't remember anything you dreamed of.
Shit, that was worse than I thought it would be.
—At least you didn't have any last night, you just went to my room. —I said as I stared at him.
— Yeah, at least it's something, but I fear the worst. — he told me with great concern.
—What's the worst? —I asked her worried.
—I only went to your bed last night, but I don't know what I'm going to do next time I sleepwalk, I think I'm going to have to take some measures. —he told me with the concern marked on his face.
And it was no wonder, he could open the balcony door or who knows what he might think of doing. I shuddered at the thought of something happening to him on one of those night walks.
—And what measures do you have to take? — I asked him firmly.
—I don't think you want to know that. —he said very seriously to me, staring me in the eyes.
—Believe me, right now, I want to know. —I told him as I touched his arm lightly that he was resting on the bar.
Christian looked at my hand touching his and then stared me in the eyes again.
—I handcuffed me to the bed. — why I asked, of course he had to tie himself to the bed.
—And why with handcuffs, it couldn't be with some tape or something. —I asked her curiously.
—The tapes and straps were unhooked. —he said to me as he put one hand on mine and stroked me slowly.
—Then we need a pair of handcuffs for tonight, so we'd better go out and get them. —I told him as I got up from the sidewalk but he held my hand.
—That won't be necessary, I think I have them stored somewhere in the closet. —he said to me as I looked at him strangely with a frown.
That was strange, if he had not suffered from too much sleepwalking as he says since he was 18, why he still had them in storage.
—I don't know why I never got rid of them even though I didn't sleepwalk again. — he said, answering the same question I was wondering at the time.
And now that I was supposed to do. Walking away from him after discovering something about his past that I seem to know almost nothing about. Or stay and help him get over his situation. Because right now what he needed most was someone by his side, someone to look after him and be there for him 24 hours a day, and I could become that person? I could take the time to take care of him at night or any time he needed me. Well there was only one way to find out and that was to try at least, we'd see how things went later.
—Then let's go get those handcuffs. —I told him pulling his hand and making him get up off the sidewalk
It was the second time that our hands were intertwined as I led him to his room and then to the closet which, as he had shown me, was on the right as soon as you entered.
And I was amazed when I got there. The closet, more than a closet it looked like a room. It was the same size or bigger than my room.
—You can see him if you want. —Christian said to my surprised face.
To the right and to the bottom, the coat racks with jeans and suits of different models as well as the shirts were stretched out. On the right hand side was a huge full-length mirror, following the right hand side were the drawers where they imagined the socks and underwear would go, because at the end and folding to the right was the closet with hundreds of pairs of shoes and more at the end were the winter clothes and many boxes. I returned to Christian who was lying in one of the closets with his arms folded over his chest and smiling.
— Anything interesting? —he asked to my astonished face.
— I think if Kate sees this closet, she'll get something, how you've got so many clothes, mine barely makes it to the middle of it. — I said pointing to the whole space.
—Most of them are gifts, remember that I am the owner of one of the most prestigious clubs in New York, I have to look good, the others are made to order. —he said unimportantly.
—Wau, I marvel at the way you live, so you've never been shopping. —I asked him intrigued.
—Not really, I haven't done that in a long time. —he said, running one hand through his hair.
—And who supplies the fridge? —I asked curiously.
—The housekeeper cleans three times a week except on weekends and refills the fridge every Monday. —he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
—I don't think I could ever adapt to your standard of living. I said as I ran one hand over the jeans hanging on the coat racks.
—I said the same thing and you see me, with time you get used to things you never believed. —he said smiling as I looked at him briefly.
—Great, good for you. So where we started looking. —I told him as I looked at him standing in the middle of the closet a few feet from him.
His closeness still continued to disturb me as the first time, and if I had him half-naked in front of me, it was much worse.
—Ana...I don't want to get you into my problems. —he said as he uncrossed his arms.
He walked over to where I was and grabbed my hands gently as he stared me in the eyes. And again I felt that current running through my body. God! And I almost melted on the floor when I heard him say my name like that. It was the first time he called me that, not by my name, just as my friends did, and the truth was that it sounded completely different. My name on his lips sounded sexy and exciting. His tongue caressed my name, making me shudder and almost lose my balance. For a moment I had been deconcentrated from the issue at hand, but I quickly refocused on the matter.
—Why not? —I asked him with a frown.
—Because I can see in your face that you're afraid. — he said staring at me.
Maybe my face reflected all my emotions or he could read minds. If it was true that I was terrified. Terrified that something would happen to him if he stayed alone at night in the apartment. Without anyone looking out for his safety.
—I won't deny it, I'm afraid, but not of you. — I said to him while he was fussing over the sign.
—You should be afraid of me, pick up your things and leave, you don't know what will happen when I have some night terror... you have no idea what I have done on other occasions. —he said, holding his face a few inches from mine as he squeezed my hands a little.
At the time he was angry. I could feel it in his speech and in his tense hands squeezing mine, though without hurting me. His voice sounded cold and distant, but I knew he was really saying it for my own good, because nothing would happen to me. I was trying to take care of myself the way he did, by walking away from him, only I wasn't going to. I knew he was angry with himself, so I had no choice but to help him.