Unconventional Scars (14 page)

“Always. So what are you doing?”

“Just listening to some music.” Anna settled back onto the couch. She pulled her legs up and crossed them, covering her knees with her nightgown.

Alex sat beside her. Not too close, but
near
enough that she could have reached out and stroked his cheek. Which she was
very
tempted to do.

He threw his elbow over the back of the couch and propped his head on his hand, facing her. “What are you listening to?
It’s downright
macabre.
”

“
Ostia
,” she told him. “The Death of Pasolini. It’s about this Italian director who was murdered by a seventeen-year-old
male prostitute.
Supposedly the
kid
ran over him
several times
with his own car, just outside of
Rome
.
”

Alex look impressed. “You did your research, didn’t you?
”

“I was curious about the lyrics. I love this song.”

“The melody gives me the chills
.”

“Yeah. Sort of fits the atmosphere tonight.”
D
id she have to mention atmosphere? From where she was sitting, the air seemed charged with it. The
dark
living
room was illuminated only by
faint
candlelight
and
an
occasional flash of lightning
,
and the rasp in his voice was
so
darn
sensuous.

“Mm. Definitely. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

Was he
kidding
? “What could you
possibly
be interrupting? I was just about to watch a movie when the power went out. I’m glad you’re here. You can keep me company.”

“All right then. What would you like to do?”

Dear Penthouse . . . it was a dark and stormy night . . .

Anna almost giggled out loud at her own
perverse
thought, but managed to keep a straight face. “I don’t know. I guess we could play a game. I think maybe there’s
some
in Uncle Phil’s office.
At the very least I know there’s a deck of cards in there.
”

“That sounds like a really good idea. But I think I’d rather play a different sort of game, Anna. One where you and I get to know each other a little better. What do you say?”

She swallowed nervously. “What kind of game?”

“It’s simple enough. Sort of a game of truth. We take turns asking each other one question at a time. Anything at all that you’d like to know about the other person, no exceptions whatsoever. Only rules are
,
you have to be explicit
with
your
response
and you
must
be completely, brutally honest.
Also, once the question is asked,
you
can’t
refuse to answer. Can you handle that?”

“I’m sure I can. So who goes first?”

Alex smiled. “Ladies first.”

“All right. Let’s see.” Anna thought for a minute. “Okay, I’ve got one. Is it true you haven’t dated anyone since you moved here?”

“Yes, it is.”

“How come?”

“That’s two questions. Save it for next time.” Alex studied her face, contemplating what to ask. “What exactly did Sebastian say to you that pissed you off enough to hit him?”

Anna bit her lip, wondering whether to tell him the whole truth, rules be damned. She decided she might as well. “He said I was a tease. And . . . called you queer.”

To her
astonishment
, Alex laughed.

“You think that’s funny?”
She was surprised by his reaction.

“Immensely. He couldn’t be more wrong on both counts. I hope you don’t take anything he says seriously. Sebastian tends to get belligerent when he’s had a few drinks. Now. Your turn.”

“Okay.
Why
haven’t you dated anyone since you moved here?”

“Easy enough.
I just never met anyone that interested me enough to bother with.
Relationships require a lot of effort and compromise.
I never found anyone that seemed worth the trouble.
Does that answer your question?”

“Yes.”
Although
Anna found his response intriguing
, she wasn’t sure she bought it
.

“My turn now. Regarding your mother. Do you
want
her to return, or does part of you hope she’s out of your life for good?”

She paused.
This one was tough.
“That’s kind of hard to answer. It’s not
. . .
that I don’t
care
about her. She’s my mother and I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to her. But . . . I don’t think I want to see her again
,
either. Sometimes I have these dreams where I’m being forced to leave with her. Which
I know
is stupid because Uncle Phil would never let that happen. I just know there’s no way I could ever go back to that life, you know?”

Alex nodded slowly. “Yes. I know.” His tone was gentle.

“I have your question.”

“Okay. Shoot.”

“What is that scar on your arm, really?”

The question obviously caught him off guard, and Anna sensed a sudden tension. But he only said mildly, “You’re very astute, aren’t you.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No. I’ll tell you. It was made by a broken beer bottle. During a fight, if you could even call it that.” He hesitated, searching for the right words. “When I was fifteen, I was leaving a party one night when I was jumped by a group of guys older and bigger than me. They hurt me pretty bad. I was in the hospital for a while. Remember, I told you that I missed a lot of school? That’s kind of why. I was home recovering.”

“
Holy cow
.
What . . . what did they do to you?”

“Well, let’s see. My jaw was broken and had to be wired shut for
six weeks
. I had several deep
cuts
from the bottle.
I forget how many
stitches. Three broken ribs. A fractured arm. Both eyes were swollen shut. My whole body was bruised.” Alex’s gaze left hers, as if the shock on her face embarrassed him. “And . . . my upper cervical spine was injured. It still bothers me sometimes. I have to wear a back brace usually. Anyway. Um . . . I guess it was a good thing I was drunk when it happened because I didn’t feel too much. Until I woke up. I wanted to die for a while there.
H
urt like hell.”

Anna was stunned. The very idea was reprehensible. That anyone,
anyone
,
could want to hurt sweet, gentle Alex was beyond her comprehension. When she thought of all the pain he must have endured . . .

“The
sickos
that did it. Were they arrested?”

“They were not. The police never found out who they were. There were no witnesses. None that were willing to speak on my behalf, anyway.”

“So you didn’t know them?”

“Oh, I knew them.” Alex returned his gaze to hers.

“I
. . .
don’t understand.”

“I mean, I knew exactly who they were. I just
wouldn’t
admit it.”

“But
why?
” she asked, confused.

“Simple. My brother would have gone after them. Someone
probably
would have wound up
dead
. I didn’t want Creed to ruin his life, not because of me. I never told anyone who did it. We left
Indiana
once I was well
, and
that was that.”

Anna took a deep breath, then released it slowly. “Wow. So . . . you
knew
them. Then . . . then why did they do it?”

“Apparently they thought I deserved to die,” he said indifferently.

“How come?”

“Anna, you exceeded your limit for questions a long time ago.”

“Oh. Sorry. It’s just . . . jeez. That’s pretty insane. I mean, I can’t believe anyone would do that to you.”

“It’s in the past. I’ve moved on.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that, Alex. I wish I could have been there for you.”
She meant it with all her heart.

“That’s sweet of you to say. If I’d had more friends like you at the time, the whole thing might never have happened in the first place.”

A booming crash of thunder shook the whole house suddenly, startling them both.

“Man, this is some storm,” Alex remarked. “I better call my mom so she doesn’t think I got blown away or something. Would you excuse me for just a minute?” He stood up and pulled a cell phone out of his pocket.

“Sure . . . go ahead.” Anna listened to the
Depeche Mode
tune
that was playing and tried to process her thoughts while Alex spoke quietly into the phone. She was still amazed by his story. It was almost surreal.

When he was finished with his call, he placed the phone on the coffee table and reclaimed his place beside Anna, albeit somewhat closer than before.

“Should we continue our game?” he suggested.

“If you like.” His arm rested once again on the back of the couch, almost encircling Anna, and his knee touched hers, sending
sparks of
electricity through her
.

“I believe it’s my turn. Correct?” His ever-mellow voice was even softer than usual.

“That’s right.”

“All right then. Do you . . . think about me?”

“What?” She wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly.

Alex leaned forward slightly. His beautiful blue eyes held her in his gaze and she couldn’t look away.
Bedroom eyes,
she thought crazily.
That’s what he’s got.

He patiently repeated the question. “When you’re alone in your bed at night, Anna . . .
do you ever think about me?”

Holy cow!
Her heart was suddenly thumping in her chest. “Yes,” she replied honestly. It was amazing how much could be conveyed with one little word.

He smiled. That same sensuous, knowing smile he’d given her in the movie theater when he caught her staring at him. “Your turn.”

Without hesitation, she said quietly, “Same question.”

He continued to hold her eyes for a moment before answering. Then in a low voice, he said
,
“Oh, yes. I think about you all the time. Especially when I’m alone. I think about what it would be like to kiss you. And touch you. What your hair would feel like wrapped around my fingers. How you might look, naked and tangled in your sheets in bed. What you would taste like. And now I have a question for you, Anna. Are you ready to answer it?”

She nodded mutely.

“What
do
you taste like?”

“What do I . . . what?”

“I know you heard me.”

“I don’t . . . really know how to answer that.” Her voice sounded hoarse.

“Don’t you? I think maybe you do.”

Anna trembled, even as she felt heat rush through her body. Alex leaned forward and kissed her
lips
lightly. Once. Twice. Again. His hand reached behind her head and his fingers twisted themselves gently in her hair. She parted her lips slightly. Slowly, he began to kiss her more deeply, his tongue tasting her, exploring her. His mouth was so soft and warm
and delicious
, she never wanted him to stop. She put her arms around his neck, wanting to pull him closer.

He pushed her carefully back so that she was lying down, and in one smooth motion managed to arrange himself almost directly on top of her. They continued to kiss, Anna holding him tightly. It still wasn’t close enough. She wrapped her right leg around his left one. Her nightgown had
worked its way
up her thighs, and Alex reached underneath and slid a warm hand slowly up the side of her leg until he reached the silk of her panties. His breath was coming harder now, and he clenched the material in his hand tightly, fighting against himself.

Anna
had
never experienced such
a jumble of
intense feelings before in her life.
Everything was happening so fast. She felt an overpowering need
to be as close as possible to him,
yet
at the same time
was
afraid of
this
unexplored
and
uncharted territory
. Feeling completely out of herself, s
he desperately wanted
to vocalize her emotions, but the only word she could find to breathe was “Alex . . .
?
”