Her Imaginary Lover (3 page)

"Macie,
don't start that again. You know he's not real." Her father's voice
confirmed that she must have said
Kaylom's
name out
loud, and Macie winced at the annoyed undertones.

It transported
her right back to all those times in her childhood, before she had learned to
keep
Kaylom's
existence hidden from the world at
large and her parents in particular. She hadn't been entirely successful, of
course, but that tone of voice warned her to tread carefully. Besides, there
was another presence here with them. A feather light caress by calloused
fingers that made her heart beat faster and made her wish her parents far away.

"Trevor,
the girl has just woken up." Macie's mother cupped her cheek, and the
ghostly fingers disappeared, as though they had never traced the line of her
jaw.

"I'm all right,
Mum, really. Everything just hurts."

Her mum made a
choked sound, and then there was the press of her lips to Macie's forehead and
an awkward pat to her knee from her Dad's heavy hand.

"I'm sure
it does. We can talk about this in the morning," her mum said. "We
brought you some toiletries and a nightgown to change into. Do you want me to
help you with that?"

"No, Mum,
really. I don't need help. I'm not a child." Macie regretted her sharp
retort instantly, and her mum sighed.

"Yes, I
know, I'm sorry, I just thought … well, you just rest and sleep. You're by
yourself here, mostly. There are a couple of other women in the bay opposite
you, but I'm sure they won't bother you. You get well, and we'll be back in the
morning. The nurse said you'll be discharged then, so that's good, isn't it? I
put your buzzer right by your hand here." She pressed the plastic button
into her palm and sighed again. "So, if you do need help, then get the
nurse, okay?"

Macie nodded
carefully so as not to increase the pounding in her head, and then her parents
left. Once their retreating footsteps could not be heard anymore she turned her
head in the direction of
Kaylom's
presence.

"Is it
really you?" she asked.

"It's me,
munchkin."

The childhood
moniker made her burst into tears, and she felt the bed dip, as hard masculine
arms cradled her to an equally hard, broad chest. His chest hair tickled her
cheek, and she inhaled deeply as his unique musk enveloped her. It was more
potent and altogether more virile than she remembered it being, and Macie
snuggled in closer.
 
Buzzer forgotten she
let her hands roam, and he tensed under the frantic exploration of her
fingertips. Where earlier there had been a sticky congealed mass, now, all she
felt was smooth, warm skin that flexed and rippled under her hands.

"How can
you be healed already? I know you were injured. There was a knife and …
and…" She couldn't go on. To say it out loud just brought the memories to
life.
The paralyzing fear, the stench of her attackers, the
harsh hands that dug into her skin, and the foul taste in her mouth.
She
gagged and tried to pull away, but
Kaylom
tightened
his hold on her.

"
Shhh
, it's okay. Don’t think about it. They'll never bother
you again. Not while I'm here."

Macie allowed
herself one more blissful moment of simply being held, and then she pushed
against his chest.
His very male, very naked chest.
Renewed heat climbed into her cheeks. Had he been naked when they were
children? Maybe he had been, and she'd just never noticed, but she sure noticed
now, and despite her earlier ordeal, her skin heated and her nipples firmed
under the scratchy hospital gown she still wore. Her breathing hitched, and her
stomach hollowed out as she squeezed her thighs together.

Her childhood
friend had grown into a man, one her body couldn’t help but respond to as if
those large hands that stroked up and down her back were touching her in far
more intimate places. His fingers found the gap where the gown didn't quite
meet, and his movements slowed. Tingles of awareness raised
goosebumps
on her skin, and he withdrew and urged her back against the propped up
cushions.

"Your mum
is right. You need to rest. I've got to explain a lot of things to you, but the
hospital is not the place to do so."

He lifted a
glass of water to her lips, and she swallowed eagerly.

"Did they
bring me a toothbrush?" she asked, and he chuckled.

"Yes, they
did. Let me buzz the nurse for you, to help you freshen up. I'll be just
outside that curtain."

"Promise?"

"Cross my
heart and hope to die, munchkin." He placed a kiss on her forehead, and
then he was gone with a rush of air.

"You
called, my lovely." The over enthusiastic young sounding voice must belong
to one of the nurses, or maybe a health care
assistant,
and Macie nodded.

"Yes, I
would like to freshen up, please."

"Of course
you would. I can give you a wash down. Don’t think you ought to leave that bed
just yet. I'm Mandy by the way."

She helped Macie
sit up and kept up a stream of over friendly chatter. By the time Macie was in
her own nightdress, and with her hair and teeth brushed, she was quite
exhausted, and couldn't stop her yawn.

Mandy laughed
and settled her back down on the cushions and lowered the bed.

"There you
are. You just snuggle in now for the night, and you'll feel lots better in the
morning, you'll see."

"Thank
you, Mandy," Macie said, and smiled in the general direction of the young
woman's voice.

"All in a day's
work, my dear, and it was my pleasure."

"Mandy, can
I ask you something before you leave? I'm
sorry,
I
know you must be busy."

"Sure
thing, my lovely, shoot."

Macie hesitated,
for surely if there had been a naked man here, Mandy would have called for
security or something, but she had to know for sure.

"Was
anybody here or just leaving when you arrived?"

"No,
my lovely, no one.
I saw your parents leave earlier, if that's what you mean," she said.

Macie shook her
head and swallowed down the sudden lump of apprehension in her throat.

"No, it's
okay, thank you."

"Well, okay
then. Sleep well, my dear."

Macie dutifully
shut her eyes and tried to sleep, but it was impossible. When she did snooze
off all she achieved was to relive the attack over and over again. The noises
of a busy hospital surrounded her, and she flinched when someone came to take
her blood pressure, and placed a thermometer under her arm. Of
Kaylom
there was no sign.
So much for
being just outside her curtain.
Then again, if he was real, he couldn't
stay she supposed. It was enough to do her head in. Real or a figment of her
imagination, and if the latter what did it say about her state of mind that she
imagined him naked? Was she that sex deprived that she had to make up a brawny
naked man as her rescuer?

Macie grimaced
in the never ending darkness that surrounded her. The sex deprived part was
true at least. Macie refused to be a notch on a man's bed post, and that's all
men seemed to want her for. The novelty of sleeping with the blind girl was all
well and good, but no one wanted a relationship, no matter how self-sufficient
she was. Still, who needed a man? Her battery operated friends worked just as
well, if not better. They didn’t clutter up her place with dirty socks and
shoes out of place that meant she tripped up over them, and sent herself
flying.

Whoever her
rescuer had been, it couldn't have been
Kaylom
. She'd
left her imaginary friend behind years ago, and she wouldn't allow him to
invade her life again. It had caused countless problems back then, had made her
doubt her own sanity, and she couldn't do that to her parents—not again. As it
was she would have the devil of a job to convince her father to let her get
back to her own cozy flat once she was discharged from the hospital, and there
was no way she'd move in with her parents, even if only for the short term. She’d
fought too long and hard for her independence to have those bastards who
attacked her snatch it away from her now.

It might take
her a long time before she could sleep without nightmares again, but she would
get there. And she would sign up for those self-defense classes, too. She
eventually drifted off to sleep with a determined smile on her face.

****

Kaylom
watched her
sleep. He'd had to leave earlier. Knowing that she was naked behind that flimsy
hospital curtain had been too much of a temptation. It would have been so easy
to slip through the gap and feast his eyes on her naked form, but that would
make him a bastard. It was a common sport amongst the adolescents of his
species, and he knew some of them went a lot further than a simple look. Many
an
Athuron
had sampled the goods of a human while
they slept. Humans called them erotic dreams. In reality they were having sex
with
Athurons
. The species were incompatible, so with
the risk of interspecies breeding removed, and with
Athurons
'
high sex drive, these encounters were to be expected, even if they promised
harsh punishments back in their realm.

Some older
Athurons
looked upon it as the lesser of two evils. With the
younger generation sowing their wild oats in the human sphere it meant they
were more settled and willing to act responsibly in their dimension.

The whole thing
had always left a sour taste in
Kaylom's
mouth.
Nonetheless he, too, felt the pull to the human world. It was only his feelings
for Macie that had stopped him from seeking relief with anyone else. He'd had a
few encounters with his own kind, enough to take the edge off his desires, but
there was only one woman he loved, would ever love, and she was the one woman
he couldn't ever have.

His father
expected him to step up and take on the responsibility that came with being an
elder's son, and
Kaylom
knew he was running out of
time, but he couldn’t tear himself away from Macie either.

She thrashed about
in her sleep, and he gathered her in his arms and pulled her close. Instantly
she relaxed and fell into a deep sleep.
Kaylom
,
however, did not have that luxury. He was too wired, too aware of the way her
breasts rose and fell with her even breathing. The way she smelled and the way
her soft curves fitted against his long, hard frame, as though she was meant
for him. The force of his emotions swamped him. Yes, he wanted to sink his
aching cock into the warm embrace of her body. He wanted her to scream his name
as she came around his shaft lodged so deep inside her core that he knew he'd
never want to leave.
Kaylom
wanted to lick every inch
of her fragrant skin until he'd marked her as his. He wanted to see her body
flushed with desire and trembling under the onslaught of his hands, mouth, and
teeth, until she begged him for her release, but most importantly, he wanted to
simply hold her—forever.

Kaylom
wanted the
privilege of waking up next to her every morning, and that could never be.

With the dawn of
morning came reality. He stayed in the background and watched her answer the
police officer's question with quiet determination. More than once she looked
into his direction and frowned as though she could sense him there, and perhaps
she could. Every time she visibly shook herself and then firmed her lips.

"No,
officer, I don't know who came to my rescue. I know he was a man, and he was
injured in the fight, but I don't know where he went."

"At the
scene you called him
Kaylom
," the officer said,
and Macie laughed and shook her head. A delightful blush stained her cheeks,
and
Kaylom's
heart slammed hard against his chest
bone.

Her father
rolled his eyes, and her mother blinked back tears, as everyone waited for her
answer.

"I was
confused, officer, that's all. I hit my head pretty hard when I fell, and I
guess a part of me reverted back to what brought me comfort as a child.
Kaylom
was my imaginary friend when I was little, so you
see it couldn't possibly have been him."

Her father
expelled a loud breath, as though he'd been holding it in waiting for her
answer, and her mother blinked back tears.

"I told you
not to worry,
Trev
, see. She's all right."

"I see,
Miss. Okay, this is really all I need from you right now. If you remember
anything else, anything at all, then please
ring
me.
Here's my card." The middle aged copper pressed his business card into
Macie's hand and then left.

It took Macie
longer to finally be discharged, and to convince her parents that she was
perfectly fine and she would be going back to her own place, thank you very
much.