In Search of Grace (26 page)

             
Slowly he eased inside of her inch by
agonizing
inch until he
was completely
enveloped
.  
Clutching
her hips, he pulled all of the way out to the tip and slowly
and gently
eased
back
in
.
Back and
forth
he did this until she was
panting with
desire.  His hand reached to the front
again
, touching her.
  W
ithin
seconds,
he could feel her
release
and could not
hold back
,
driving into her faster and faster until he felt himself exploding
.

             
Alex woke up to a pounding headache.  Climbing out of bed
,
she winced at f
eeling sore between her legs. 
Smiling through the pain, she reme
mbered her evening with Seth. 
It was everything she had
imagined
it
to be and more.
She knew he had wanted her to spend the whole night.  Waking up in the morning to him was more than she was ready for and was a level of intimacy that she could not allow her heart to feel
until she absorbed this first
. 
Waves of dizziness washed over her and she swayed. 
Migraine
.
Sighing
she
walked to the kitchen,
took
three
Advil
,
trying to decide if she should go
back to bed
when
she heard
a light tapping at the back door. 
Knowing
it had to be Seth, she
quickly
swung it open.  Seth stepped in, scooping her up in his arms
in a big bear hug.  “I missed you.”

             
“
You’re
crazy.  I just left you a couple of hours ago.” 
Laughing Alex
shyly wrapped
her arms
around him
and hugged him back.  He smelled
so good
; so
familiar
already
.

             
“Do you always answer the door without asking who it is first?”

             
“I knew it was you…who else would it be?”  Alex laughed weak
l
y.
 
Seth
scanned her face and saw that she looked
pale.
 
Noting her
pajamas felt her
forehead
.

             
“What are you doing
,
rabbit?”

             
Alex smiled
weakly
.

             
“
Nothing
, I just got
up
and think I am going to head back to bed
.
”

             
“Are you ok
ay
?
”
D
ropping his voice
,
he looked at her with concern.

             
She
smiled weakly
.  “
Really bad
headache and
probably
overtired.
  I
just need to
lie
down for a few minutes
.
”

             
With an
evil
glean in his eye
,
he
responded
,
I am not sure it is
JUST
because of the
headache
that you
are
tired.”

             
Taking her
hand,
he led her to the
hallway
.  Her head really started to throb, and she ran her fingers through her hair.

             
“Seth, please
, d
on’t you have to go to work or something?
”
She begged in a pained voice. 
This was the last thing she needed right now.

             
“
Oh my God
,
Alex
, I
a
m just going to get you settled.
  I am tired myself
you know
.
”

             
Her face went red at her misunderstanding.
  She definitely was not used to someone taking care of her
except for Charles
.

             
“I would like that
,
”
she acquiesced.

             
Taking her into the
living
room,
he settled her onto the sofa
and
placed an
afghan
over
her legs
.

             
“Did you take anything?”

             
She looked at him in surprise
,
and he laughed.

             
“I grew up in a house with
women
.  Trust
me
,
I know how important pain medicine is
.
”

             
Alex laughed
again
as she
allowed herself to sink into
the sofa.  A bit uncomfortable
, s
he watched him as he
sat down on the other end of the couch and put her feet between his legs.  Her eyes went wide
.
“You have such a dirty mind.”
  Slowly he started to rub her feet.  She was amazed at how quickly h
er eyes became heavy. 

             
“
I am sorry
,
Seth
,
” she whispered
,
“I
am just
so tired
.
”

             
“
Rest
then.
I
will make some
breakfast
for you
,
as I am sure that you haven’t put anything in your stomach.
”

             
Seth kept rubbing her feet until she was asleep
,
before
he
carefully extricated
himself from
her and the
couch.

             
Walking into the kitchen, he quickly perused the refrigerator, frowning at the lack of contents he found there.

             
“Hmmm
,
” he muttered under his breath.
“This isn’t good
.
”
A
fter
going
back to check on her and finding
her
still
sleep
ing
, he headed out the back door to his house to grab supplies
,
picking up
her keys as he went.

             
Seth was back within 20 minutes with
everything
he needed
to feed her
,
and a
s an
afterthought,
h
e
had
grabbed the flowers that
had been
left on
her
porch, intending to find out who sent them to her
if she felt better after her nap
.  

             
He loved to cook but kept things simple.  Cracking some eggs, washing spinach, grating cheese, he started humming to himself
as he worked his way around her kitchen
.

             
Within a few
minutes,
he had the
omelet
cooking in the pan.   His mind flashed to the
evening
and realized how natural being with her felt. 
He liked this. 
Sliding the
omelet
onto a plate, he was just grating the cheese
topping
when he heard her whimpering.
 
Without making a sound, he left the food and strode into the
living room
.  His heart constricted
as he
watched her struggle with the demon in her nightmare
again
.
Walking towards her,
he knelt at the edge of the couch.
 
“Who is it Alex?” he whispered.
 
“Tell me who is after you?”

             
Still asleep, she stilled hearing his voice
before
her
struggle
continued
.

             
“Seth? Where are you…help me!” she screamed.
Pulling every resolve he had
not to
pick her up and comfort her, he asked again.

             
“Who is it?” 
He
demanded this time.

             
“It’s Peter….he’s
coming…..Oh God, please help me
!
” 

             
Seth could take no more
of her pain.  Gently shaking her
,
he tried to wake her up.
             

             
“Alex
,
wake up!”
H
e spoke harshly as he felt her fighting him.
As h
er arm
swung
out
hitting him on the side of his
face,
he grabbed
both of her wrists
,
yanking
her off the couch.

             
Alex woke up with a start. 
Her breathing labored
,
as
wide-eyed and
terrified
she looked at him. 

             
“Alex,
you’re
safe
now
.
”  

             
Alex collapsed into his arms,
trying to
pull herself together.

             
Seth
quietly stroked her hair waiting for
her
to calm down.

             
“Who’s Peter
?
”

             
Alex stiffened.

             
“What?”

             
“Who is Peter?”

             
Alex pulled away from him
,
and Set
h
could feel her shutting do
wn
.  Grabbing her face in his hands before he lost her completely,
he put
his face closer to hers
.

             
“Alex, WHO IS PETER
?
!
”

             
“Please don’t ask me that.  Please Seth, p
lease.”  Fear enveloped her
making her head pound even worse, if that was even possible
.  

             
“Who is Peter
?
!”  Seth kept repeating
, v
owing
to get through to her. 
Grabbing his hands
on her face
, s
he struggled to pull away from his
touch
.

             
“Who is Peter
?
!”

             
He
r
resolve broke
at that
moment, knowing that he was not going to give up until she told him
.

             
“
He was someone in my past
,
dammit…..is
that what you want to hear?
He tried to hurt me, but I got away.”
S
obs wracked her whole body.
  She shoved him away from her
, dropped to the couch
while continuing to cry
uncontrollably - “I got away.”