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Hesitating only a moment longer, she came around to the far side of the bed and slipped in beside him. She didn’t touch him except for laying her hand on his chest. “I can’t get any closer or I might bump your leg.”
There was more he wanted to say, and much they needed to talk about, but the drug was taking effect. Having her close was some consolation. He wanted to enjoy it. But against his will, he slipped into oblivion.
* * *
Some time later he awakened. Partially. Not completely. He didn’t want to awaken completely. He wasn’t in pain. In fact, he was in a sublime state. Good stuff, those painkillers.
Beside him, Alex stirred. He felt her sit up. “Hammond, are you awake?”
“Hmm.”
“Can I get you anything?”
He mumbled something that she must have taken as a no because she lay back down. However, a few moments later he muttered something that even he couldn’t distinguish.
“Pardon?” Her head came back up. At least he thought so. He still hadn’t opened his eyes. “Hammond?” Concerned, she placed her hand on his chest. “Are you in pain? Do you want some water?”
Covering her hand with his, he guided it down beneath the sheet.
Then he floated backward into a semiconscious state that was better than the best of dirty dreams. As in an erotic fantasy, his participation was unnecessary. All he had to do was give over control and submit to the sensations. Let it happen. Go with the flow. Rock adrift on the gentle swells of feeling.
The buildup was deliciously slow. They were on no timetable, under no deadline. There was no pressure or recrimination. Dreams were blissfully void of consequences.
He was aware of her repositioning herself, but a few preliminary, delicate kisses didn’t quite prepare him for the wet heat that sheathed him. The sensuous stroking was unlike any other. He held his breath and let the sensations saturate him. His entire body settled heavily into the mattress, as into a warm bath, and soaked in sexual lassitude.
Instinctively he moved his hand. Stretched. Sought. Found. Softness. Silkiness. Mystery deep. Center of the universe. Heartbeat of Man. Pathway to Life.
He had to move his fingers but slightly to elicit little jumps of excitement. The ball of his thumb was possessed of an ancient knowledge. Gifted with a special touch that drew from her soft moans. Not sounds exactly. Vibrations inside her mouth that were transmitted back to him.
This living dream, this oblivion, was so sweet, he didn’t leave it, not even after a slow, undulating climax that left him feeling as though he had dissolved.
On the fringes of his consciousness lurked something threatening and ugly, but he refused to acknowledge it. Not now. Not tonight. Tomorrow.
* * *
Hammond’s tomorrow started three hours later with an explosive “Jesus Christ!”
Thursday
Chapter 27
Steffi continued shouting as she bounded up the stairs. Reaching Hammond’s bedroom, she barged in to find him sitting bolt upright in bed, holding his head between his hands, and looking like he was only one heartbeat away from cardiac arrest.
“I thought you’d been murdered. I saw the bloody towels—”
“Goddammit, Steffi. You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“You? Myself! Are you all right?”
He glanced anxiously around the room as though looking for something. “What time is it? What are you doing here? How’d you get in?”
“I still have a key. Never mind that. What happened to you??
??
“Uh…” He glanced at his bandaged arm as though seeing it for the first time. “I, uh, got mugged last night.” He motioned toward the bureau. “Get me a pair of underwear, will you?”
“Mugged? Where?” His boxers were kept in the second drawer from the top. She brought him a pair. He swung his legs over the side of the bed.
