Every Touch (33 page)

   “Uh, sorry,” she said, blushing.  “Can you tell him I’m sorry?”

   “He can hear and see us,” Laila said with a smile, “we just can’t hear or see him.”

   “Oh.  Right.  Um.  Sorry.”  She glanced in his general direction briefly.

   Denny reached out and patted her shoulder.  She flinched.

   “You look like you need to sit down,” Laila said.

   Kelly nodded rapidly and Laila took her to the sofa while Denny fetched a glass of water.  All things considered, he thought it was going relatively well.  She wasn’t running or screaming or calling for the nearest exorcist.  Those could only be good signs.

   He carried the water to where they were sitting and held it out towards Kelly.  Several long seconds of staring at the glass hanging in the air in front of her followed before she took it, muttering a quiet, “Thank you.”

   Denny smiled and sat on the sofa on the other side of Laila from Kelly.  She was angled toward her sister and he nestled in close against her back, taking her right hand in his, sliding his left hand around her waist and kissing the side of her neck.  He felt a strong need to hold her safe in his arms.  If it was practical, he would have kept her there forever.

   She turned towards him, leaning her head back against his shoulder.

   “I’m sorry,” she said, “I didn’t want us to have to go to Trish.”

   He kissed her again and kept his lips against her skin as he spoke.

   “It’s alright.  We’ll be okay.”

   While Kelly drank her water and watched, Laila filled Denny in on what had happened at the hospital.  The more she told him, the bigger his smile became.  If it hadn’t been for Kelly, she would have done it.  They actually had a chance at this.  He was beginning to think his girlfriend could do anything.

   When she had finished, Kelly spoke.

   “So what do you need the blood for?  Does he drink it or something?”

   Both Denny and Laila burst into laughter.

   “He’s not a vampire, Kel,” Laila said.

   “Well, I don’t know, do I?  I’m new to all this ghost stuff.”

   Laila suddenly leaned forward and hugged Kelly to her.

   “Thank you,” she said.

   “For what?”

   “For not freaking out.”

  For the first time since she’d got there, Kelly smiled.  “Don’t get too excited.  I still might.”

   Laila spent the next half an hour telling Kelly all about Denny and their life together.  She told her about who he was, how he died, about his intervention with Avery.  She told her about their relationship, how much they loved each other and how close they were.  She told her about Oliver and the fading.  And she told her about Crystal and the ritual. 

   Through it all, Denny had his arms around her, relaxing back on the sofa as she leaned against him.  It was strange, being able to openly touch her in front of someone, but it felt good.  He knew how difficult it had been for Laila, hiding her feelings for him from her sister, more difficult than she had let on.  But he knew.  The relief of being able to let it all out was obvious in the way she spoke. 

   As she finished, he watched Kelly carefully, trying to gauge her reaction to everything she’d just heard.  Every bizarre, unbelievable, ridiculous-sounding thing.  It was a lot to take on board, he knew. 

   “I have two questions,” Kelly said after sitting for a while in silence.

   “What are they?”

   “Not for you,” she pointed beyond Laila to where Denny was sitting, “for him.”

   He shifted and she sat up.  Taking the pad and pen from the coffee table in front of her, Laila passed them to him.

   He wrote briefly, then held the pad up for Kelly to see.

  
Go ahead.

   She nodded.  “First, would you ever put my sister in danger?”

  
NEVER.  I would do anything to keep her safe.

  
“And yet, you sent her to steal blood from the blood bank.  She could have been arrested.”

   “Actually, that was my idea,” Laila said.  “Denny begged me not to go.  I wouldn’t listen.”

   Kelly smiled slightly.  “Good.  If you’re going to start doing stupid things, you need someone to look out for you.”

   “Shut up.”

   “Second, I know Laila’s told me you love her, but I want to hear it from you.  How do you really feel about her?”

   He paused before writing his answer, gathering his thoughts.  His feelings for Laila were so deep, so profound, so beyond his understanding, that he wasn’t sure how to put them into words.

  
I never knew what it was to really be alive, even when I was living, until I met Laila.  I didn’t know what it meant to be happy until she took my hand the first time.  I am a better man because of her.  My heart belongs to her in a way it has never belonged to anyone else.  The words don’t exist to tell you how much she means to me.  I would do anything for her.  I love her with all my heart and soul.
 

   He heard Laila’s gasp as she read his words and she felt for his hand, grasping it and closing her eyes as tears seeped through her lashes.

   “Oh Denny,” she whispered.

   He wrapped her in his arms and leaned his head against hers.

   Movement caught his eye and he looked up to see Kelly wiping tears from her face.

   “Tell me how I can help,” she said, smiling.

The next day, the weather made one of its crazy u-turns and went from pleasantly not-too-cool to startlingly far-too-hot.  Everywhere, jackets came off and shorts went on.  In some cases, shirts came off of men who really should have kept them on.

   A man walked towards Laila on the street with his gut spilling over the top of his beige cargo shorts and wearing sandals.  With socks.  Laila tore her horrified stare from him before he got the wrong idea.

   It had been a long day at the library.  The air conditioning, which struggled at the best of times to keep up with hot weather, had simply given up and broken down.  It was going to take the engineers three days to come and fix it and she was working all three days.  She was sweaty and uncomfortable, her dress soaked and her hair plastered to her forehead.  The building was like an oven.

   She’d lost count of the number of times she’d said, “Yes, it
is
hot in here.” 

   All she could think of was getting home and showering away the whole sticky day.  She walked home quickly, unconcerned with how much sweatier she was getting.  Cleanliness was just a ten minute walk away, eight if she hurried.

  Reaching home, she closed the door behind her and dropped her bag onto the kitchen island.  The windows were open, allowing a breeze to waft through the flat.  It wasn’t a very cool breeze, but it was a breeze nonetheless.  Laila closed her eyes, enjoying the soft touch of the air drifting over her. 

   She felt a hand take hers.

   “Don’t come near me,” she warned, “the AC broke down at work.  I’m a sweaty, stinky mess.  I am in dire of need a shower.”

   Denny lifted her hand and she smiled as his lips pressed to her knuckles.  Not letting go, he pulled her through the bedroom and into the bathroom and dropped her hand.  Seconds later, she felt the zip on the back of her dress slide down.  The swelter induced lethargy of the last eight hours was forgotten as her body tingled with a whole different kind of heat.

   The dress was pushed from her shoulders and she gave a shimmy to help its journey to her ankles.  Warm lips kissed the back of her neck while a soft touch unhooked her bra and sent it to join her dress.  She felt the band holding her ponytail being pulled off.  Her hair failed to drop sexily onto her shoulders as the sweat held it in place more effectively than hair gel.  As Denny’s fingers brushed down her back and hooked into the lacy edges of her panties, she became too turned on to bother about what she looked like.  Despite the heat, she shivered as her underwear slid down her legs.

   The shower enclosure door opened and a hand rested on the small of her back, guiding her in.  She felt Denny walk in behind her, the bare skin of his chest just touching her back.  She had no idea when he had undressed.  She didn’t really care.

   She and Denny had never showered together, since he didn’t ever need one and she tended to take them when he was away from the flat or asleep.  She had wondered once or twice if he never suggested it because of guilt over what he’d done while watching her shower the one time before she knew him.  They had made love just about everywhere else.

   As he switched on the water and began to pour shampoo into his hands, she was glad he had got over whatever it was that had held him back.

   His hands slid into her hair, distributing the lather through her hair and then sensuously massaging her scalp until she wondered if she could come without him actually touching her body. 

   “My hair’s clean,” she said, with a slight groan, “but the rest of me could use some attention.”

   A kiss grazed her shoulder and she felt his lips widen into a smile against her skin before she felt his arms brush her shoulders as her reached around her for the shower gel.  Moments later, he was working the soapy lather into the warm, sensitive flesh of her abdomen. 

   Her legs weakened as his hands worked their way over her wet skin, removing all vestiges of the sticky day.  She groaned as he lingered on her breasts, leaning back against him for support.  His erection pressed against her backside and when his hands moved between her legs, his fingers exploring, her knees almost gave way.  He grabbed her around the waist and held her against him, his mouth feasting on her neck.

   Groaning again, she turned round in his arms to face him, desperate to feel him inside her.

   Her eyes widened and she gasped, staring.

   The spray from the shower was flowing over Denny’s body, clinging to his skin, creating a living sculpture in water before her.  Muscles were defined in glistening rivulets.  Streams of water cascaded from his hands and arms.  A mask of diamond moisture droplets described his face, tilted down toward her.   She gazed up at him in awe, raising her hand and touching his lips.

   “I can see you,” she said in a hushed tone.  “The water... I can see it on you.”

   He lifted his arm and looked at it, turning his hand over and over, watching the water flow over it.  His mouth opened and he looked back at her. 

   Her gaze roamed slowly down his body and legs to his feet and back up again.  For the first time, she could almost see the man she loved.  Tears mingled with the water on her face.  She placed her palms flat on his chest, watching the water stream over his muscles onto her arms.

   “I can see you,” she repeated, laughing and crying at the same time.  “I can see you!”

   Water droplet covered lips spread into a smile as he looked at her.  She was utterly captivated.  She watched enthralled as his hands raised to her jaw.  His face moved towards hers and she gazed at the gaps in the moisture created by his eyes.  He stopped.  The sudden movement of his chest and his parted lips betrayed his gasp.  For a moment his reaction confused her, then understanding dawned.  She had never seen him, he had never been seen.  He was seeing her look into his eyes for the first time.

   She held his face in her hands.  “I love you, Dennis Carpenter,” she said, smiling.

   His huge answering grin made her laugh and she slid her arms around his neck.  He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up, laughing and crushing her chest against his as their lips joined then letting her slide slowly down him as they kissed, reigniting their passion.

   As soon as Laila’s feet touched the shower floor, Denny’s hands moved to grasp her ass and he lifted her up again, pushing her back against the slippery tiles of the shower enclosure and devouring her mouth.  Body pulsing with desire, she wrapped her legs around his hips immediately.  He slid into her moments later.

   The slickness of Denny’s skin rubbing against her and the warm water lubricating their movements made Laila feel like she was melting into him.  She hooked her ankles around each other behind him and kissed him fervently as he pushed her back against the hard tiles.  Her fingers tangled in his wet hair, holding him against her as she swept her tongue into his open mouth.  His chest hummed against hers with his groan.

   Pulling back, she opened her eyes to look at him.  Again, he stilled, staring back at her.  Her eyes dropped to his lips where the water was smudged from her kisses and she watched them form a word she recognised.

   “Laila.”

   His mouth slammed back onto hers as he thrust his hips forward, plunging himself deep inside her.  Her cry echoed from the surrounding ceramic.

   All she could feel was Denny, his wet skin sliding against hers, his hot mouth devouring her lips, her neck, her shoulders.  His solid shaft filled her completely, working in and out of her with growing force and speed.  She wanted to watch him, but increasingly her eyes closed of their own accord as she was overwhelmed by the intense sensations.