Somewhere in His Arms (31 page)

             
“Why?”

             
“I don’t know,” she shrugged and patted the bed beside her. “Come to bed, dear.”

             
Alec peered at his wife with something akin to horror. He may have held her the night before, but he certainly didn’t intend to make a habit of it. He loved having her in his arms, but for the sake of his sanity, he was obliged to live like a monk. Not that anything would happen mind you, but still…

             
He swallowed hard and fled to his bedroom suddenly at a loss for words.

             
She sighed heavily and resigned herself to a lonely night in front of the television. Lucy flipped through the channels, ignoring the nightly news broadcasts, and decided to pop in a disc. Settling against the pillows and pulling the comforter closer about her, she began watching the episode where Fred and Ethel had a fight. Though it wasn’t much fun without her husband.

             
She was at the part where Fred had shoved Ethel off the bench, when Alec strolled in wearing a white T-shirt and gray sweatpants. He approached the end of the bed looking adorably nervous and said with a rueful smile: “Where do you want me?”

             
She laughed and patted the bed beside her.

* * *

             
Lucy lowered her aching body into the steaming water and winced. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a decent bath. Showers were nice and all, but it couldn’t compare to a large tub filled with oodles and oodles of rose scented bubbles. She sighed in relief as the heat relaxed the tight muscles and leaned back and placed a washcloth over her eyes.

             
She hadn’t been sleeping well. Now that she was regaining strength, Alec had deemed it necessary to retire to his bed once or twice a week Most nights he sat up with her and even held her while until she fell asleep, then he would sneak off to his bed while Lucy had to contend with shadows crawling up and down the walls in her dreams.

             
She
didn’t think it was necessary.
She
had been perfectly happy with the sleeping arrangement, but she supposed a man had to go off by himself once and a while. Though she could understand why he wanted to sleep alone, Lucy didn’t think it was fair considering the number of nightmares she was having. She slept better when Alec was holding her, staving off the demons, especially ones with pointy knives. She had half a mind to beg him to sleep with her, but she didn’t want to come off as needy and who wants a wife who’s clingy?

             
Maybe she should ask him to buy her a nightlight the next time he was in town.

             
Finally, she sat up to wash. There was an assortment of scented soaps and body gels, so she picked up a bar that smelled faintly reminiscent of plumeria and some other exotic flowers, and was startled when it slipped out of her hand and plunked into the water with a resounding
splash!

             
“What the---” she muttered in frustration, patting blindly beneath the sudsy water for the wayward bar of soap. She’d been dropping things here and there, and Lucy wasn’t too put out until now. Now she was terrified there
had
been nerve damage after all. “That’s just great!” she swore under her breath and finally located the slippery offender behind her back. She winced as snatched it up.

             
“Something wrong, love?” came her husband’s voice, warm and dripping with amusement.

             
Lucy shot him a baleful glare. “I dropped the soap,” she sighed finally. “Again!”

             
“Again…?”

             
“I’ve been dropping things all week or haven’t you noticed?” She peered up at him with some embarrassment. She really didn’t want him to know but here it was, out in the open. Lucy sunk miserably into the water until it rippled about her shoulders.

             
Alec stood awkwardly for a moment, not knowing what to say. The doctors had in fact, warned him there might be probable nerve damage, but they hadn’t been too concerned about it at the time. He finally gave up attempting to explain to his wife that the doctors had been too damn concerned with putting her back together for them to worry about something as trivial as a few damaged nerves. They had suggested more surgery and physical therapy, if needed. But he didn’t think she’d care to hear that. So he pulled up a stool.

             
“Sit up, love and I’ll wash your back,” he offered instead. One brown orb eyed him warily before she nodded and sat up.

             
Lucy drew her knees up to her chest and leaned forward a bit. She sighed as her husband lathered up a sponge and gently scrubbed her aching back. “What did the doctors say?” she asked finally.
“Is
there damage?”

             
Her husband didn’t answer right away and instead soaped up her shoulders. Finally, he drew in a deep breath and blurted, “They said you’d have to have more surgery and physical therapy!”

             
Alec watched as she paled slightly and hung her head, as if in defeat. “Is that
all?”

             
The sponge stopped. “They said lots of things.”

             
“Tell me the bad stuff.”

             
“I don’t think I want to.”

             
She turned so she could see him. “That bad, huh?”

             
He shook his head. “No,” he sighed at last and handed her the sponge. “Every time they fixed something, there’d be something else. First there was a clot and they had to pry your chest back open! You nearly bled to death, love.” His voice caught at the memory and his jewel-like orbs glistened with unshed tears. “They were going around asking people if they were O negative. You’ve got a pint of mine in you, by the way.”               Alec stood up, wiping his eyes on his sleeve, and began to rinse out the shower.

             
Lucy sat, stunned. Damaged nerves were one thing, bleeding nearly to death and having to ask your husband if he’ll gladly give up a pint to save your life was quite another. She couldn’t imagine what it had been like for him. “I’m sorry, Alec,” she said, feeling ashamed of her selfishness. “I-I didn’t know.”

             
“Don’t apologize for being angry,” he said flatly, wiping his hands on a towel. “I just don’t want you to feel like it’s going to hold you back when you’ve been doing so well.” He sat down again. “Besides, there
are
worse things.”

             
“Oh…?”
Here it comes,
she thought wildly, not sure if she wanted to hear what was about to be said. Something in his voice suggested that he didn’t want to rip off the bandage on this wound.

             
“Like…” his breath left him in a sudden harsh exhalation, “Turkish cigarettes.” He closed his eyes and shuddered in remembrance of the foul stench and the subsequent agony that followed. “And cold cement floors and--” he broke off, unable to continue.

             
“Alec, don’t--” Lucy choked, alarmed at the pain in his voice. She reached up and put her hand on his mouth to stop him when he tried to continue. “No more!” she begged. “I can’t bear it!”

             
He closed his eyes and for a brief horrifying moment, he was yanked violently back to that cell with its cold damp floors, and the cockroaches that scurried over his feet as he tried to sleep.

             
Even now after all this time, Alec could still hear Corporal Banks in the next cell, screaming as they beat the soles of his feet. The torture had continued long into the night and Alec had waited, paralyzed with fear, knowing they would soon come for him. But they didn’t come and young Corporal Banks, who had been all of nineteen and who missed his mum and her shortbread biscuits, ceased his hysterical wails sometime near dawn, when they inevitably broke his spine.

             
They’d come for Alec that afternoon and tore out his fingernails one by one with a pair of pliers. The cigarettes had come later.

             
“Alec!” Lucy cried. “Look at me!”  He seemed to be in the throes of some private hell that only he could see. His eyes were squeezed shut and he shook all over. It was the first time she’d seen him this way: terrified and lost and she didn’t like it.  “Alec!” she cried again but he refused to look at her.

             
Taking matters into her own hands, Lucy struggled to her knees, the water sloshing violently over the sides of the tub. She leaned halfway out and took him into her arms. Her husband’s body was taut with fear, and she pressed her body close to him offering herself to him in this way. She drew his head down to her shoulder and cradled him as if he were a frightened child. “It’s all right, my love!” she wept, clutching him to her. “I’m here! Hold me tight!”

             
Lucy wondered if he heard anything she’d said until his arms crept up around her, and her breath was sucked from her body. The strong arms crushed her to him and she tightened her embrace as he wept. “I can still
hear
him sometimes!” he cried hoarsely. “They beat him to death and then they beat me too!”  His voice caught on a ragged sob. “I can still hear them coming for me at night!”

             
“Shush,” she soothed and kissed his tears away. Her hands came up to cradle his face. “They can’t hurt you anymore! I won’t let them,” she swore, kissing his trembling lips. She looked him firmly in the eyes
. “Understand?”

             
Alec blinked, as if awakening from some vivid dream, and the wild terror in his eyes faded. He nodded and returned her kisses with increasing ardor. Lucy gasped in panic and tried to pull away.
“Alec!”

             
He tore his mouth from hers and buried his head against her shoulder. He sighed heavily. “Sorry,” he muttered against the fragrant silk of her skin. “Got away from me for a moment, wife.”

             
“Is
this
why you’re refusing to sleep with me?” Her hands stroked his hair.

             
He pulled away slightly, clearing his throat. “And what do
you
think?”

             
Lucy outlined his mouth with her finger. His eyes closed at her touch.               “Hmm,” she tilted her head to one side. “You
tell
me.”

             
The perfect lips curved upward in a devilish grin. “You’re healing nicely!” His heated blue gaze raked over her scarred chest appreciatively.

             
Her mouth dropped open and glanced down. The small creamy breasts were on full display and she covered them quickly and sank back down in the tub. “You’re wicked!” she accused breathlessly.

             
Alec laughed like some lecherous pirate from one of those romance novels Tia had been so fond of reading. The white teeth gleamed as he shot her a leering grin. “Ah, but you
love
me because I’m so wicked!”

             
Lucy flushed scarlet and struggled to keep a straight face. It was true, all of it. She was madly in love with him and he well knew it!  “And how did you come to this startling conclusion?” she asked tartly.

             
He reached down and let his finger travel slowly from her shoulder to her breast. Bubbles obscured the rosy peak and her breath caught as his finger scraped off the protective film. Gently, he teased the soft peak until it responded and stiffened beneath his tender caress. Lucy’s eyes slid shut, and the most delightful warmth crept over her body. “Oh!” she cried softly.

             
Alec pressed his lips against her cheek. “That’s how I know,” he whispered huskily. “You do the same thing to me.” Then he moved away, leaving her cold and aching for his touch.

             
Lucy’s eyes flickered open. Alec was standing a good distance away with his arms crossed over his chest. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before he cleared his throat. “Want me to wash your hair?”

             
For the moment, Lucy was utterly incapable of coherent speech. She merely nodded and watched him leave to fetch some towels. She reached into the murky water and yanked the plug out.

              The warm water cascaded over her body, and Lucy held the washcloth over her eyes and soaked her hair. It had gotten too long to manage properly. She was going to have to cut it and soon before she clogged the drains. It was falling out anyway, due to stress no doubt. Not to mention that she was going gray. It was only inevitable that her body would show the effects of a near murder attempt. Not that she was vain, mind you, but really---!

             
She was startled by the shower door sliding open when her husband poked his splendid head in. “Ready?”