Somewhere in His Arms (10 page)

             
The power went out an hour later and they ate by candlelight. The wind howled and beat against the shutters and rain drummed quietly on the roof. Alec told her to the let the dishes soak and to sit with him by the fire he managed to coax out of the old fireplace. “You look tired, Lucia. You should rest.”

             
“I’m fine,” Lucy told him, but not feeling very fine. She felt miserable. What if she
was
pregnant? What then? She didn’t know who the father was. According to Rudy he had dropped off the face of the earth. Let alone what she would do with a baby! She could barely take care of herself.  She thought of confiding to Alec who seemed just the person to understand. But she didn’t want pity and besides, he had his own problems.

             
“Are you cold?” he asked, blue eyes gazing at her intently. “I think there’s a quilt in my room. I’ll get it.”

             
“Oh, don’t bother---” she began, but he left and zipped back in with a handmade quilt that he handed to her. “Thank you,” she said as she wrapped it around her. It smelled like him. Like soap and just a hint of cologne. Lucy inhaled deeply. The scent was oddly soothing. “So what do we do now?”

             
Alec put more wood on the fire and went to his study. He came back bearing his laptop and several movies. “Care for a movie, Lucia?”

             
She leaned forward as he laid the DVDs on her lap. This was a side of him she never would have guessed. They were classic horror films from the thirties and fifties. She held one up. “
Dracula
or
The Creature from the Black Lagoon?
Where did you get these?”

             
“Well, if you don’t like those, I’ve also got
Attack of the Fifty- Foot Woman
.”

             
“Oh no, these are fine. I love these old movies!”

             
“You do?” he asked in amazement. “Really?”

             
“Sure! Pop one in. I’ll make some popcorn.”

             
“But, the microwave---”

             
“—isn’t needed,” she finished for him and went into the kitchen. She came back with an old-fashioned metal popcorn maker. Lucy held it over the fire as Alec popped the DVD in.

             
“I’ve got a six- hour battery on this baby,” he grinned at her as they sat and ate popcorn and watched as a giant woman wrecked havoc on the hapless town and crushed the man who had wronged her.

             
Lucy soon forgot all about her little chore in the morning as she sat beside Alec. Being with him was comforting somehow. She reached into the bowl the same time he did and their fingers touched. Their eyes met again and for a moment, Lucy felt her heart skip a beat. She quickly recovered and withdrew her hand and tried to concentrate on the movie.

             
Alec on the other hand, couldn’t recover himself quite as fast and stole glances at Lucy. He didn’t want to give her the impression he was coming after her. Rudy had told him she’d been hurt by some guy she’d dated. As for the ring, he didn’t buy it. He swore silently. He wished Rudy had told him more about her aside from the basics.

             
He was worried about the girl who was fast becoming more than just a nurse and companion. More than once he’d woken in the middle of the night to hear her crying softly in her room. The ache returned and he sighed trying to relieve it. He hoped he wasn’t falling for her. It was the last thing he needed. Damn Gavin anyway! He was so lost in his thoughts he didn’t hear Lucy asking if he wanted something to drink.

             
He nodded and took out the movie. They watched
Dracula
until they both got sleepy and Lucy wheeled him to his room and helped him into bed. Alec held his breath as she reached over for his pills. He got a glimpse of a lacy bra and a sample of small creamy breasts as her peasant blouse slipped a little. She gave him his sedative and pulled the blankets over him. “It was a nice evening wasn’t it?”

             
“H-Huh?” he stammered, trying not to look guilty. “Oh, yes it was nice.”

             
Lucy frowned. “Are you all right? You look a little flushed.” She reached and felt his brow.

             
Alec wanted to cover her hand with his own. “I’m fine, Lucia. It’s a little humid.”

             
“Hmm,” she replied suspiciously.  He really did look flushed. In fact, he seemed to be sweating. “Did you get your flu shot?”

             
“Who? Me? Sure, I did. Don’t worry about me. You go to bed.”

             
If she hadn’t been so tired she might have argued with him over that, but she needed sleep. “Well, if you’re certain. Goodnight, then.” She blew out the candle and closed the door leaving a small crack.

             
Alec sank down into bed wondering if he was losing his mind. His heart was pounding so hard he was afraid it would make its way out of his chest. He was sweating profusely. Horrified at his lack of self- control, he also discovered he was aroused. Cursing at himself and the blasted thing, he yanked the blankets over his head and tried not to think of a certain tiny brunette.

              Lucy was up the next morning and hurried into the bathroom. She got out her watch and waited. When it was time, she held it out and there it was. Positive.

             
She tried the next morning and the next and they all came out positive.

             
She
was
pregnant.

             
Lucy didn’t know what she was going to do. One more month and she’d start showing. She sat on the toilet and wept. It was so awful. Then to her horror, her nose started bleeding. She tilted her head, but the awful stuff ran down her throat.

             
Lucy hurried to her bed where she lay down and put pillows under her feet. She hoped Alec hadn’t heard her pity party. She didn’t want anyone to witness her humiliation. Pressing the cloth against her nose, the blood didn’t seem to be stopping. The only thing she could do was calm down and then figure out what to do.

             
She closed her eyes.

             
But the answer never came.

             
Life was such a bitch!

              Her nose finally stopped bleeding, and she had dozed off forgetting all about Alec’s breakfast. She woke with a start wincing as her head throbbed painfully in protest and settled back into the pillows, trying to convince herself that curling up into a fetal position just wasn’t the humane thing to do.

             
She sighed in resignation and was just about to fall asleep again when the door creaked open.                            

             
“Lucy?” Alec’s concerned voice drifted over her.

 
              She lifted one corner of the washcloth over her eyes.

             
“Are you all right? I thought I…” his voice trailed off when he saw the blood.               “My God! What happened?” he exclaimed and wheeled toward her in a panic.

             
Lucy sighed again and winced as a little man began drilling into her skull. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

             
Alec stared in horror at the small mound of bloodstained cloths on the bedside table. “Did you cut yourself?”

             
She let out a half snort, half sob. “No.”

             
“T-Then why does it look like someone got slashed by Jack the Ripper?” he demanded, seriously considering calling Rudy.

             
Lucy’s head finally stopped pounding long enough for her to sit up. “Is that what it looks like?” She reached up and rubbed her nose gingerly just to make sure Niagara Falls had dried up. “This is nothing compared to the flood of 1998!”

             
Alec stared at her in disbelief. “W-What?”

             
She swung her legs around and let them dangle over the edge. “Compared to the others, I mean this wasn’t so bad.”

             
“O-Others?” he repeated blankly, looking at her like she had suddenly sprouted another head.

             
“Hmm, yes,” she told him blithely. “Nosebleeds, don’t you know!” Lucy frowned. “I thought Rudy told you all this.”

             
Alec let out a frustrated sigh. “No! No, he didn’t! And I ought to throttle him for that little oversight!” He sounded so angry Lucy was startled.

             
She rushed to reassure him. “It’s okay. Really. I have them all the time. It’s not that big a deal.”

             
“Not
that
big a deal?” he repeated with a derisive laugh. “You’re in here bleeding to death and its no big deal?”

             
He looked so stricken she wanted to hug him. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone was this worried about her. Oh, there was Rudy and Tia and Dean, of course. Lucy felt her stomach heave a little at the thought of her former fiancé. She remembered the first time she’d bled in front of him. It had been on their first date to dinner and a movie. Unfortunately, one of his exes had chosen that particular night to dine in the exact same restaurant. She’d made a whole to-do, swearing and screaming her head off, throwing a whole glass of red wine at Lucy and ruining a vintage ivory lace dress. Lucy had saved for months to buy it.

             
As she stared down at the ruins of the antique lace, Lucy hadn’t noticed the police dragging away the hysterical redhead, nor the stares of her fellow diners, nor had she noticed that sudden first gush. It was only after Dean had calmly pressed several napkins to her nose, did she realize what was happening. He’d been so sweet. But in the back of her mind, Lucy suspected he’d been quietly disgusted.

             
“Oh, Alec,” she sighed wearily. “I’ve had nosebleeds since I was a kid. You just learn to live with them---wait!” she called out as he suddenly wheeled himself around and peeled out of the room.

             
Lucy chased after him and found him in his room on the phone to Rudy. “I didn’t
do
anything! What do you mean? I did
no
such thing!” he protested angrily, raking an agitated hand through his inky mass of hair. “Just what the hell are you
implying?”
             

             
She had never felt so embarrassed in her entire life. Lucy had gotten so used to the repeated bloodlettings, that it simply did not occur to her that someone else might find it abhorrent. For her, it was simply a way of life.

             
Alec’s worried gaze flickered over Lucy as he sparred verbally with Rudy. “Aren’t you the least bit concerned?” he demanded, outraged at the man’s cavalier attitude. “What do you mean you’re busy?  No, I will
NOT
calm down! What the---” he swore viciously and slammed the phone shut. “The little bugger hung up on me!”

             
“It’s psychosomatic,” she said quietly.

             
“What?”

             
Lucy shrugged, ignoring the confusion on his handsome face. “I give myself nosebleeds, Alec,” she said simply and turned away towards the kitchen to prepare his breakfast. “Did you want an omelet or scrambled?” she called.

             
“Lord, woman,” he groaned in exasperation as he wheeled after her. “How can you be so bloody calm?”

             
She wasn’t listening as she knelt down and rummaged around in the cabinet for a frying pan. As she stood up, Lucy felt her brain doing its silly dance and gripped the counter to steady herself. “Whoa!” she gasped as the room settled into a slow spin.

             
“Dammit, woman will you
sit
down!” Alec growled as he entered the kitchen, nearly banging his cast against the table. “I can fix my own bloody damn eggs!”

             
When the kitchen settled back to earth, Lucy managed a wry smile as she began beating the eggs. “I’m sure Gordon Ramsay would love to try those!”  She reached for the salt and pepper. “One egg or two?”

             
Alec glared at her, not knowing why he was so angry with her. She’d done nothing wrong, but he was suddenly overcome with an almost overwhelming urge to put her over his knee and whip the holy daylights out of her. It was most unsettling. He wasn’t one to give credence to acts of violence, but Lucy’s casual disregard for her own health was pissing him off. “Don’t mock me woman!” he barked, startling Lucy so much that she dropped the spatula onto the floor
. “Sit down!”