Page 16 of Love Sick
I know why he did it. What a crafty bastard he is.
With my head lowered and hair shielding my face, I wait for the right moment and when Noah turns his back, I spit out the pills. Old Timer quickly conceals them with the bristles of his broom before anyone sees. Once Noah is done, he wheels me out of the sunroom.
I can sense Noah’s annoyance which makes me wonder just who this woman Belinda asked about is. He leads me down the corridor, the wheels squeaking over the polished linoleum. I know from experience the drugs take about ten minutes before they kick in.
Noah wheels me into my room and the thud of the door closing has me panicking. But I can’t let it show.
He begins unfastening my restraints in belief I am about to succumb to a drug-induced coma.
My heart is racing and memories of him being in my room sit on the surface, dipping in their toes and teasing me to remember.
“I think I preferred it when you were calling me a son of a bitch,” he says, unfastening the final strap around my wrist. “Now, you’re so…boring.”
I wait, however, and be smart. If I run now, I don’t know where I’m running to.
Noah lifts me into his arms and places me into bed. It takes all my willpower not to bite off his nose. Once settled against the pillows, I wait for him to leave. But he doesn’t. He does something which creeps me the fuck out.
He lies down beside me.
There’s hardly any space, which has him dragging me into his arms. He doesn’t speak. He simply strokes over my hair and face, watching me closely. I don’t mistake this gesture as one filled with love.
It’s obsession.
“I wish you remembered…I liked the way you smelled when scared.” On cue, he bends low and smells along the side of my throat.
I remain passive because I can’t let him know I’m alert. This is the only advantage in this place, and I can’t blow it now.
When I feel his fingers caress my breasts, I hold my breath. The thin hospital gown does nothing to conceal his touch.
“I know a secret,” he whispers into my ear which turns my blood cold. “I wonder if I should tell you? I know lots of secrets about you.”
His touch gets rougher and all I want to do is break every single bone in his hand. But I can’t. I need to know what this secret is.
He licks a slow, deliberate path from my neck up to my mouth, where he then begins to kiss my slack lips.
I dare not move.
I dare not breathe.
All I can do is helplessly lie there, plotting my revenge.
I am going to kill this asshole and it’s going to be messy.
He kisses with me passion and if I were insane, I would suspect this kiss is done with love. But the fact that I am supposed to be comatose erases out that thought. The kiss grows more intense and when Noah begins rubbing himself against my leg, I can feel he is hard.
But I’m used to some men being vile creatures. I’ve dealt with them in the past—well, I think I have.
A stripper pole and red monster heels flash before my eyes as I see a woman dance in front of hungry eyes.
That woman is me.
My heart threatens to burst from my chest, but I will it to calm because I can’t let on to Noah that I am alert. So, instead, I think of long elegant fingers playing over piano keys. The lights overhead catch the silver from the rings he wears.
His long dirty blond hair falls over his face, but I know his eyes are the deepest blue. So blue, it appears as if one is peering into the bluest waters where nothing exists but the ability of the sea to wash away one’s pain.
And that’s what he did.
He took away my pain.