Stranger In My Bed

Stranger in my bed

By: Kyara Caledonii

Copyright November 6, 1995

I was dabbing his forehead with a damp cloth when he finally came to. I looked into cloudy green eyes before they sharpened. He moved to sit up and groaned as the wound in his side made that impossible. His eyes quickly took in my face and the cloth before he looked around.

"Where am I?" he whispered hoarsely, "Who are you, where are my things?"

"You're in Dornie, my name is Kyara and your things are on the table."

"How did I get here," again with the questions.

"I found you, bleeding just inside my barn, I wanted to take you to the hospital but the snow storm got worse and there's no snow plow around here. Luckily I know some field medicine and I got the two bullets out of your side. You've been unconscious for four days now. I was almost afraid I'd lose you from lack of blood. Now you can answer some of my questions."

"Do you always take in strange men into your home?" he interrupted.

"Only if they're bleeding to death", I replied, " So what is your name? I didn't find any ID." she waited for several minutes while he stared deeply into her eyes. sighing softly she slowly raised her right eyebrow in question. "well.....can you at least tell me why were people shooting at you?"

"My name is......Roy", he smiled, but not a happy one. "i don't know why those people want me dead."

"what can you remember?"

"May I have my cell phone, please" he asked

I brought it to him and he called a number, I went into the other room to give him some privacy and to make something for us to eat. When I brought some soup back for him he was just lying there staring at the ceiling. I put the tray with the soup and some bread on the table beside him. After much maneuvering and a few more pillows, i got him propped up enough to eat. His hands were shaking so badly I took the spoon from him and began to feed him.

"Who were you calling?" I asked quietly

"My....friends, they won't be able to come and get me but they need to know exactly where I am."

"Your friends," I mused.

"Yes," was all he would say.

He couldn't finish all the soup, I took it away and returned to sit at the edge of my bed. I told him he wouldn't be able to be moved for a couple more weeks. it wasn't just the horrid snow storm that would keep him with me for that long, but also the wounds he had suffered. The stitches I put in were holding but I didn't want to take the chance of reopening the wounds. He took the news in silence, just watching my face. I felt my cheeks go red and I turned away.

"You should go back to sleep, you need your rest."

He grabbed my arm and turned me to face him again. "Thank you…for everything," He seemed to be thanking me for more than just saving his life.

Then he fell back and was asleep in a few minutes. I watched his face as he slept. He had the face of an angel. Tousled wavy, Cinnamon colored hair, glorious Green eyes, full lips and a face to die for. I was just hoping it wouldn't come to that.

I went into the living room to relax and practice my Tae bo. The fluid movements helped me relax until I could focus. My movements sped up into my advanced exercises and evolved into a full fledged attack against an unseen enemy. The exercises took me about two hours but I wasn't tired. I grabbed a bottle of water and my towel and contemplated my guest, as I had since I found him. I wanted to know who he was, not just his name, but where he came from, what he was hiding. I didn't think he would be too forthcoming. There were many secrets behind those pale green eyes.

The next morning I woke up and went into my bedroom. Roy (if that was his real name) was up and waiting for me. He seemed embarrassed; I blushed and helped him to stand up. He groaned with the pain and held his arm to his side. We made our slow way to my bathroom where I left him until he opened the door and then I helped him back to the bed.

I checked the bandages and cursed when I saw the blood seeping through. I went to get my supplies. Roy just lay there and watched me as I wiped down the wounds and changed his bandages. His scrutiny was disconcerting and made me feel awkward.

"Stop staring at me." I said, exasperated

"Why? You're very attractive", he answered

"That's not the point, it makes me uncomfortable."

"I'm sorry, but you move with such grace."

I blushed again. Damn this man had a way of getting to me. I considered myself a confident woman who took no crap from any man but this one made me feel like a schoolgirl with a crush. And did I ever hate it. I had spent years developing a shell against the wiles of men. I thought I was now immune.

I rather brusquely finished with him and went to make breakfast. When I got back, he had managed to pull himself up into a sitting position.

"You should have waited for me, I don't want to have to change those bandages again so soon."

"I don't like to be a burden."

"You're not," I assured him, " I'm so sorry to be so brusque with you, I'm just not comfortable with strange men in my bed."

He had a wonderful laugh. I laughed along with him and the tension eased between us. He asked for his jacket and I brought it from the other room. He searched the pockets for a wallet or ID, frowning he lifted his gaze and stared at me, a question flashing in his eyes. "I carried nothing to identify me?" he asked bewildered.

Shaking my head i shrugged. "all you had was two hundred pounds and they were soaked in blood."

With a sigh he laid back against the pillows and closed his eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Things went along quietly for the next couple of weeks. I worked from home so I could take care of him twenty-four hours. He slept a lot, partly due to the wounds, partly due to the sedatives I slipped in his food. He healed quickly. He was able to get up and to the washroom himself in a couple of days. I heard a suppressed moan of pain the first time he showered, as the water hit his still healing wounds. I still insisted that he take his meals in bed for a little while longer.

He contacted 'his friends' every so often. I was intolerably curious but had a feeling he would never tell me who they were. I tried to let it go, Roy would be gone soon anyway, for some reason when I thought of that, it always gave me a pang in my stomach. I didn't want him to go. Damn it he had gotten under my skin. I thought, the sooner he went the better; I could go back to my regular life.

When he found out that I was sleeping on my couch, he insisted that we share the bed. I didn't sleep much the first couple of nights. It had been so long since I had let a man stay the night. I listened to him breathing; at least he didn't snore. One morning I woke up early to find myself wrapped in his arms. As I tried to ease away, he woke, looked at me sleepily and hugged me tighter. It felt wonderful. I fell back into a comfortable sleep.

I woke up to him leaning over me, running his hand lightly over my face, along my hairline. He smoothed my hair down, stroking it like it was silk. I smiled up at his gorgeous face. He suddenly bent over to kiss me, softly and lightly. He teased me with his lips, moving from my lips to my cheeks to my neck. I moaned when he began to bite gently at my pulse point. He moved back up to my lips and began to kiss me more urgently. He moved his body on top of mine and began to caress my flesh. I tried to push him off, protesting that he would reopen his wounds. He just growled and pulled my hands over my head. After that, I was lost.

I tried to go slowly, gently, but he would have none of that. His passion scared me a little; he was so impatient and hungry. He pulled my silk nightgown over my head and tossed it to the floor. We made love, hard and fast the first time. The outcome was explosive. I fell back panting but he just smiled ferally. The second time was slower, gentler. I felt his heartbeat racing, beating in time with mine. I clutched at him, wanting more. And he gave it to me. We fell asleep again, exhausted by our morning activity.

I knew it was time for him to go. the snow had subsided and the air had turned warmer, making the snow on the ground melt enough so my car could be driven. besides if he had that much of his stamina back, he didn't need me anymore. He knew it too. I saw it in his eyes, a deep sadness. We spent the day quietly. He watched as I went through my exercises, even getting up to spar with me. He was fast, whoever trained him, certainly trained him well. But I had been training since I was a child. I was smaller, so faster and slightly more flexible. But he was good, one move I didn't recognize and I was down on the carpet, his weight holding me there. He gave me a long kiss and was on his feet again. I made him show me the move, and how to counter it.

We ate a quiet dinner, cooked by him, it was excellent, I was surprised. None of my other male guests had been able to do anything but burn my pots. I didn't think much of men in the kitchen.

We made love again that night. This time my passion and hunger took over. I tasted every part of his body making him groan. I laughed in delight. When he couldn't take it anymore, he grabbed me and rolled me over so that I was under him once again. Once sated, we fell asleep quickly. In the morning I woke to find Roy and all his things gone. I wept quietly for a time then went on with my day. I knew he had to go; I just wished we had had more time together.

Not a day passed when I didn't think about him. His smile, his eyes, that wonderful body. I would remember him always.

I was walking back to my home from the garage with some groceries when a black van screeched to a stop in front of me. Five men in black, wearing balaclavas jumped out and tried to grab me. I dropped my bags and went into a defensive position. They just laughed, I was just a little girl, what did I know of self-defense? Well it turned out a lot. The first grabbed for me, I pulled him to me so that he was off balance, a wrist to the nose and he was dead with bone splinters in his brain. A second grabbed me from behind, holding my arms. A head butt to his mouth and he let go, spitting teeth and cursing, a jab to the abdomen and a knee to the face took him down. A third came at me with a rope, apparently I was not to be harmed. A quick leg sweep, snap of the neck and he was the second dead. The last two came at me at once, one high, one low, these two were more cautious.

I grabbed the drumsticks out of my bag and settled myself. Why drumsticks? Well, they are light, heavy enough to be weapons without breaking at the first hit and they aren't classified as weapons unlike Kali sticks. unfortunately I didn't even get to use them. A blow from behind knocked me forward and I was losing consciousness. My last thought was, 'where did he come from?'

I woke up slowly, with the world's worst headache. My mouth was like the Sahara and all my limbs were shaking. I tried to talk but my mouth was too dry. i jumped as a woman with wild, dark, curly hair kneeled beside me.

"Where is he," she demanded

"Who," I tried to play the innocent.

"You know who, Roy. If you don't tell us, we will be forced to kill you, but not without a great deal of pain first."

"I don't know." I figured telling the truth couldn't hurt, I really didn't know where he was.

A blow to the side of my face and the pain exploded in my skull.

"Liar! We saw you take him in, he is no longer at your house, he must have told you where he was going!"

"Look lady, I don't know who you are and I don't care, I found a man bleeding to death inside my barn, I took him in, cared for him and then he disappeared."

Another blow to the other side of my head and I thought my brains were going to leak out of my ears. i concentrated all my efforts into keeping my head from falling off my shoulders as the entire world began to gray in and out. i frowned as the woman stood and rushed away before i lost consciousness.

I was not sure how long i had been out but as i blinked the pain and darkness away, my eyesight cleared I saw a man, dressed in black. I thought I was hallucinating when I saw Roy kneeling beside me, his eyes deeply gazing into mine.

"You have a concussion."

"I figured that."

"Hold still." he stated as he helped me to sit up. "Can you walk?"

"Not by myself and don't ask me to tap-dance," I quipped, the concussion seemed to make me a little giddy.

Roy helped me up and held on as we made our way up the last few steps to my house. as soon as the door opened I blacked out, again. This time I woke to find myself in my own bed, a stranger shining a light in my eye. I waved him away but gentle hands covered mine.

"Let the man do his job, Kyara." Roy's voice came from my left.

I submitted to being prodded and poked and I was beginning to wonder if the doctor wasn't just doing this for fun. He had given me something for my head so it was only a dull, background ache.

"How did you know what was happening?" I whispered, my mouth had gone dry again.

Roy gave me a drink of water, holding the straw for me. I looked at his face and saw that he was stalling. I pushed the water away and cleared my throat. "Roy.…"

"I've been nearby watching you."

"Watching me, I don't understand"

"I couldn't be sure she would not come looking for me so i decided to stay nearby and watch you while the proper authorities were contacted." He looked down at the comforter.

"You expected them to kidnap me?" I was slowly getting angry.

"I wasn't sure."

"you weren't sure?" I shouted making my head ache terribly. Glaring into his worried green eyes i continued my angry soliloqui in a much softer tone of voice. "You bastard, you hurt me! You made love to me, you used my body."

Shaking his head he stood and walked to the door, locking it. then he sighed heavily and bowed his head. "You're so beautiful, I wanted you from the first time I saw you, you have to believe me."

"I don't have to believe a word, you've lied to me at every turn. Just get out, I don't want to see you again. You come near me, I will kill you."

He sighed and opened the door, In the doorway he paused, " I hope you can forgive me someday." And left. The tears rolled down my face. Damn it, this was the second time I had cried for this man. Why did he have to use me?

Flowers and chocolates appeared at my door everyday for a week. The flowers I threw off my balcony, the chocolates I gave to my neighbors. I had no forgiveness in me to give. I got back into my routine, working for the national historic society. I also stepped up my martial art exercises, going to an old friend to help me spar.

Walking home one night, I passed an alley. A hand reached out and grabbed me but jumped back before I could attack. It was the girl who had tried to kidnap me. She smiled and beckoned to me. I smiled, this should be fun. We traded blows, feeling each other out. My forearm quickly blocked a leg kick to my head and I grabbed her leg and twisted, she landed on the ground but was up too quickly for me to press the attack. I jumped over a leg sweep and kicked out at the same time, her head snapped back. Dazed, she couldn't block my blows as effectively. I was about to finish her off when suddenly she pulled a gun. I backed off a little, waiting to see what she would do. She started to squeeze the trigger; I dodged to one side. A shot ran out but I wasn't hurt. I looked at her and saw a small hole in her forehead. I looked around. Roy was across the street; three men surrounded him, one of them had the gun still pointed in my direction.

He crossed the street and stood over me, holding out a hand. He didn't even look at the corpse. I sighed and took his hand, letting him help me up. He held on to my hand and I let him. He moved closer to me.

"You've been following me." It wasn't a question.

"I told you to stay away from me."

"I tried Kyara, I really tried but you're all I have. You are the only thing worth having in my life. Without you, I'm a dead man."

I sighed again. I couldn't let him go again. It had been painful enough the first time. I searched his eyes, he was telling the truth as far as I could see.

"Fine, but first, who are you?" i asked, exasperated as the three men rushed toward us and quickly carried the corpse away.

Smiling softly he wrapped his arm around my waist and carefully dragged me back into the street. "i'm Roy Dupuis." he said simply.

Stopping, i crossed my arms over my breast and sighed. "i meant, WHO are you? why did that woman want to hurt you?"

I watched as Roy leaned back against the wall and sighed heavily. Lowering his gaze he clasped his hands in front of him and sighed once again before he lifted his gaze to meet mine. "She's my ex-girlfriend."

Seeing that would not make me stop asking he sighed heavily and took my hand in his. "Claire and i lived together for a while, a year ago she left me and three months ago i decided to travel. it seems one of my suitcases had a secret inside that she wanted back fervently."

My eyebrows went up as i let myself slide closer to him. "and what is that?" I asked, feeling my skin tremble at his mere touch.

Smiling softly, he lifted his hand and gently caressed my cheek with the back of his knuckles. "some forgotten Information to a stash of drugs that would bring them a high price here." he simply stated as he wrapped me in his embrace.

I stared at him, slack jawed and breathing rapidly as i realized what he meant. Marijuana and some other specialized drugs would go at a very high price in Scotland, where those kind of drugs were inaccesible. "so are you staying?" i asked hopefully as i leaned up on my toes.

With a soft nod he gently kissed my nose and I smiled widely, gently wrapping my arms around his waist. "Good, I could use a sparring partner."

His laugh warmed my soul; we set off for my home a few miles outside town. Maybe this time, we'd get it right. Actually, I knew we would.


	Stranger in my bed By: Kyara Caledonii Copyright November 6, 1995 All Rights Reserved. Story cannot be reprinted/reproduced without Kyara's permission. I was dabbing his forehead with a damp cloth when he finally came to. I looked into cloudy green eyes before they sharpened. He moved to sit up and groaned as the wound in his side made that impossible. His eyes quickly took in my face and the cloth before he looked around. "Where am I?" he whispered hoarsely, "Who are you, where are my things?" "You're in Dornie, my name is Kyara and your things are on the table." "How did I get here," again with the questions. "I found you, bleeding just inside my barn, I wanted to take you to the hospital but the snow storm got worse and there's no snow plow around here. Luckily I know some field medicine and I got the two bullets out of your side. You've been unconscious for four days now. I was almost afraid I'd lose you from lack of blood. Now you can answer some of my questions." "Do you always take in strange men into your home?" he interrupted. "Only if they're bleeding to death", I replied, " So what is your name? I didn't find any ID." she waited for several minutes while he stared deeply into her eyes. sighing softly she slowly raised her right eyebrow in question. "well.....can you at least tell me why were people shooting at you?" "My name is......Roy", he smiled, but not a happy one. "i don't know why those people want me dead." "what can you remember?" "May I have my cell phone, please" he asked I brought it to him and he called a number, I went into the other room to give him some privacy and to make something for us to eat. When I brought some soup back for him he was just lying there staring at the ceiling. I put the tray with the soup and some bread on the table beside him. After much maneuvering and a few more pillows, i got him propped up enough to eat. His hands were shaking so badly I took the spoon from him and began to feed him. "Who were you calling?" I asked quietly "My....friends, they won't be able to come and get me but they need to know exactly where I am." "Your friends," I mused. "Yes," was all he would say. He couldn't finish all the soup, I took it away and returned to sit at the edge of my bed. I told him he wouldn't be able to be moved for a couple more weeks. it wasn't just the horrid snow storm that would keep him with me for that long, but also the wounds he had suffered. The stitches I put in were holding but I didn't want to take the chance of reopening the wounds. He took the news in silence, just watching my face. I felt my cheeks go red and I turned away. "You should go back to sleep, you need your rest." He grabbed my arm and turned me to face him again. "Thank you…for everything," He seemed to be thanking me for more than just saving his life. Then he fell back and was asleep in a few minutes. I watched his face as he slept. He had the face of an angel. Tousled wavy, Cinnamon colored hair, glorious Green eyes, full lips and a face to die for. I was just hoping it wouldn't come to that. I went into the living room to relax and practice my Tae bo. The fluid movements helped me relax until I could focus. My movements sped up into my advanced exercises and evolved into a full fledged attack against an unseen enemy. The exercises took me about two hours but I wasn't tired. I grabbed a bottle of water and my towel and contemplated my guest, as I had since I found him. I wanted to know who he was, not just his name, but where he came from, what he was hiding. I didn't think he would be too forthcoming. There were many secrets behind those pale green eyes. The next morning I woke up and went into my bedroom. Roy (if that was his real name) was up and waiting for me. He seemed embarrassed; I blushed and helped him to stand up. He groaned with the pain and held his arm to his side. We made our slow way to my bathroom where I left him until he opened the door and then I helped him back to the bed. I checked the bandages and cursed when I saw the blood seeping through. I went to get my supplies. Roy just lay there and watched me as I wiped down the wounds and changed his bandages. His scrutiny was disconcerting and made me feel awkward. "Stop staring at me." I said, exasperated "Why? You're very attractive", he answered "That's not the point, it makes me uncomfortable." "I'm sorry, but you move with such grace." I blushed again. Damn this man had a way of getting to me. I considered myself a confident woman who took no crap from any man but this one made me feel like a schoolgirl with a crush. And did I ever hate it. I had spent years developing a shell against the wiles of men. I thought I was now immune. I rather brusquely finished with him and went to make breakfast. When I got back, he had managed to pull himself up into a sitting position. "You should have waited for me, I don't want to have to change those bandages again so soon." "I don't like to be a burden." "You're not," I assured him, " I'm so sorry to be so brusque with you, I'm just not comfortable with strange men in my bed." He had a wonderful laugh. I laughed along with him and the tension eased between us. He asked for his jacket and I brought it from the other room. He searched the pockets for a wallet or ID, frowning he lifted his gaze and stared at me, a question flashing in his eyes. "I carried nothing to identify me?" he asked bewildered. Shaking my head i shrugged. "all you had was two hundred pounds and they were soaked in blood." With a sigh he laid back against the pillows and closed his eyes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Things went along quietly for the next couple of weeks. I worked from home so I could take care of him twenty-four hours. He slept a lot, partly due to the wounds, partly due to the sedatives I slipped in his food. He healed quickly. He was able to get up and to the washroom himself in a couple of days. I heard a suppressed moan of pain the first time he showered, as the water hit his still healing wounds. I still insisted that he take his meals in bed for a little while longer. He contacted 'his friends' every so often. I was intolerably curious but had a feeling he would never tell me who they were. I tried to let it go, Roy would be gone soon anyway, for some reason when I thought of that, it always gave me a pang in my stomach. I didn't want him to go. Damn it he had gotten under my skin. I thought, the sooner he went the better; I could go back to my regular life. When he found out that I was sleeping on my couch, he insisted that we share the bed. I didn't sleep much the first couple of nights. It had been so long since I had let a man stay the night. I listened to him breathing; at least he didn't snore. One morning I woke up early to find myself wrapped in his arms. As I tried to ease away, he woke, looked at me sleepily and hugged me tighter. It felt wonderful. I fell back into a comfortable sleep. I woke up to him leaning over me, running his hand lightly over my face, along my hairline. He smoothed my hair down, stroking it like it was silk. I smiled up at his gorgeous face. He suddenly bent over to kiss me, softly and lightly. He teased me with his lips, moving from my lips to my cheeks to my neck. I moaned when he began to bite gently at my pulse point. He moved back up to my lips and began to kiss me more urgently. He moved his body on top of mine and began to caress my flesh. I tried to push him off, protesting that he would reopen his wounds. He just growled and pulled my hands over my head. After that, I was lost. I tried to go slowly, gently, but he would have none of that. His passion scared me a little; he was so impatient and hungry. He pulled my silk nightgown over my head and tossed it to the floor. We made love, hard and fast the first time. The outcome was explosive. I fell back panting but he just smiled ferally. The second time was slower, gentler. I felt his heartbeat racing, beating in time with mine. I clutched at him, wanting more. And he gave it to me. We fell asleep again, exhausted by our morning activity. I knew it was time for him to go. the snow had subsided and the air had turned warmer, making the snow on the ground melt enough so my car could be driven. besides if he had that much of his stamina back, he didn't need me anymore. He knew it too. I saw it in his eyes, a deep sadness. We spent the day quietly. He watched as I went through my exercises, even getting up to spar with me. He was fast, whoever trained him, certainly trained him well. But I had been training since I was a child. I was smaller, so faster and slightly more flexible. But he was good, one move I didn't recognize and I was down on the carpet, his weight holding me there. He gave me a long kiss and was on his feet again. I made him show me the move, and how to counter it. We ate a quiet dinner, cooked by him, it was excellent, I was surprised. None of my other male guests had been able to do anything but burn my pots. I didn't think much of men in the kitchen. We made love again that night. This time my passion and hunger took over. I tasted every part of his body making him groan. I laughed in delight. When he couldn't take it anymore, he grabbed me and rolled me over so that I was under him once again. Once sated, we fell asleep quickly. In the morning I woke to find Roy and all his things gone. I wept quietly for a time then went on with my day. I knew he had to go; I just wished we had had more time together. Not a day passed when I didn't think about him. His smile, his eyes, that wonderful body. I would remember him always. I was walking back to my home from the garage with some groceries when a black van screeched to a stop in front of me. Five men in black, wearing balaclavas jumped out and tried to grab me. I dropped my bags and went into a defensive position. They just laughed, I was just a little girl, what did I know of self-defense? Well it turned out a lot. The first grabbed for me, I pulled him to me so that he was off balance, a wrist to the nose and he was dead with bone splinters in his brain. A second grabbed me from behind, holding my arms. A head butt to his mouth and he let go, spitting teeth and cursing, a jab to the abdomen and a knee to the face took him down. A third came at me with a rope, apparently I was not to be harmed. A quick leg sweep, snap of the neck and he was the second dead. The last two came at me at once, one high, one low, these two were more cautious. I grabbed the drumsticks out of my bag and settled myself. Why drumsticks? Well, they are light, heavy enough to be weapons without breaking at the first hit and they aren't classified as weapons unlike Kali sticks. unfortunately I didn't even get to use them. A blow from behind knocked me forward and I was losing consciousness. My last thought was, 'where did he come from?' I woke up slowly, with the world's worst headache. My mouth was like the Sahara and all my limbs were shaking. I tried to talk but my mouth was too dry. i jumped as a woman with wild, dark, curly hair kneeled beside me. "Where is he," she demanded "Who," I tried to play the innocent. "You know who, Roy. If you don't tell us, we will be forced to kill you, but not without a great deal of pain first." "I don't know." I figured telling the truth couldn't hurt, I really didn't know where he was. A blow to the side of my face and the pain exploded in my skull. "Liar! We saw you take him in, he is no longer at your house, he must have told you where he was going!" "Look lady, I don't know who you are and I don't care, I found a man bleeding to death inside my barn, I took him in, cared for him and then he disappeared." Another blow to the other side of my head and I thought my brains were going to leak out of my ears. i concentrated all my efforts into keeping my head from falling off my shoulders as the entire world began to gray in and out. i frowned as the woman stood and rushed away before i lost consciousness. I was not sure how long i had been out but as i blinked the pain and darkness away, my eyesight cleared I saw a man, dressed in black. I thought I was hallucinating when I saw Roy kneeling beside me, his eyes deeply gazing into mine. "You have a concussion." "I figured that." "Hold still." he stated as he helped me to sit up. "Can you walk?" "Not by myself and don't ask me to tap-dance," I quipped, the concussion seemed to make me a little giddy. Roy helped me up and held on as we made our way up the last few steps to my house. as soon as the door opened I blacked out, again. This time I woke to find myself in my own bed, a stranger shining a light in my eye. I waved him away but gentle hands covered mine. "Let the man do his job, Kyara." Roy's voice came from my left. I submitted to being prodded and poked and I was beginning to wonder if the doctor wasn't just doing this for fun. He had given me something for my head so it was only a dull, background ache. "How did you know what was happening?" I whispered, my mouth had gone dry again. Roy gave me a drink of water, holding the straw for me. I looked at his face and saw that he was stalling. I pushed the water away and cleared my throat. "Roy.…" "I've been nearby watching you." "Watching me, I don't understand" "I couldn't be sure she would not come looking for me so i decided to stay nearby and watch you while the proper authorities were contacted." He looked down at the comforter. "You expected them to kidnap me?" I was slowly getting angry. "I wasn't sure." "you weren't sure?" I shouted making my head ache terribly. Glaring into his worried green eyes i continued my angry soliloqui in a much softer tone of voice. "You bastard, you hurt me! You made love to me, you used my body." Shaking his head he stood and walked to the door, locking it. then he sighed heavily and bowed his head. "You're so beautiful, I wanted you from the first time I saw you, you have to believe me." "I don't have to believe a word, you've lied to me at every turn. Just get out, I don't want to see you again. You come near me, I will kill you." He sighed and opened the door, In the doorway he paused, " I hope you can forgive me someday." And left. The tears rolled down my face. Damn it, this was the second time I had cried for this man. Why did he have to use me? Flowers and chocolates appeared at my door everyday for a week. The flowers I threw off my balcony, the chocolates I gave to my neighbors. I had no forgiveness in me to give. I got back into my routine, working for the national historic society. I also stepped up my martial art exercises, going to an old friend to help me spar. Walking home one night, I passed an alley. A hand reached out and grabbed me but jumped back before I could attack. It was the girl who had tried to kidnap me. She smiled and beckoned to me. I smiled, this should be fun. We traded blows, feeling each other out. My forearm quickly blocked a leg kick to my head and I grabbed her leg and twisted, she landed on the ground but was up too quickly for me to press the attack. I jumped over a leg sweep and kicked out at the same time, her head snapped back. Dazed, she couldn't block my blows as effectively. I was about to finish her off when suddenly she pulled a gun. I backed off a little, waiting to see what she would do. She started to squeeze the trigger; I dodged to one side. A shot ran out but I wasn't hurt. I looked at her and saw a small hole in her forehead. I looked around. Roy was across the street; three men surrounded him, one of them had the gun still pointed in my direction. He crossed the street and stood over me, holding out a hand. He didn't even look at the corpse. I sighed and took his hand, letting him help me up. He held on to my hand and I let him. He moved closer to me. "You've been following me." It wasn't a question. "Yes." "I told you to stay away from me." "I tried Kyara, I really tried but you're all I have. You are the only thing worth having in my life. Without you, I'm a dead man." I sighed again. I couldn't let him go again. It had been painful enough the first time. I searched his eyes, he was telling the truth as far as I could see. "Fine, but first, who are you?" i asked, exasperated as the three men rushed toward us and quickly carried the corpse away. Smiling softly he wrapped his arm around my waist and carefully dragged me back into the street. "i'm Roy Dupuis." he said simply. Stopping, i crossed my arms over my breast and sighed. "i meant, WHO are you? why did that woman want to hurt you?" I watched as Roy leaned back against the wall and sighed heavily. Lowering his gaze he clasped his hands in front of him and sighed once again before he lifted his gaze to meet mine. "She's my ex-girlfriend." Seeing that would not make me stop asking he sighed heavily and took my hand in his. "Claire and i lived together for a while, a year ago she left me and three months ago i decided to travel. it seems one of my suitcases had a secret inside that she wanted back fervently." My eyebrows went up as i let myself slide closer to him. "and what is that?" I asked, feeling my skin tremble at his mere touch. Smiling softly, he lifted his hand and gently caressed my cheek with the back of his knuckles. "some forgotten Information to a stash of drugs that would bring them a high price here." he simply stated as he wrapped me in his embrace. I stared at him, slack jawed and breathing rapidly as i realized what he meant. Marijuana and some other specialized drugs would go at a very high price in Scotland, where those kind of drugs were inaccesible. "so are you staying?" i asked hopefully as i leaned up on my toes. With a soft nod he gently kissed my nose and I smiled widely, gently wrapping my arms around his waist. "Good, I could use a sparring partner." His laugh warmed my soul; we set off for my home a few miles outside town. Maybe this time, we'd get it right. Actually, I knew we would.