The Glass Secret (Chain of Secrets) (7 page)

“Look into my eyes. Say my name,” he ordered ever so softly.

His eyes. Beautiful, translucent ominous heather gray eyes, with the darkest pupils, drew me in. I could barely look at him afraid he would be disappointed with me.

“I can’t remember,” I whispered, barely audible. The shame of not knowing his name must have radiated in my eyes. I turned my face away.

He shook his head, tilting my chin, turning me to his gaze. Willingly he made any shame I felt his own. “No. It is okay. It’s not your fault, it’s all mine.” He brushed his hand against my cheek. “You are so beautiful.” With each spoken word, each syllable that rolled off his tongue, he pushed further and further, deeper into my soul, repeating my name. “Beautiful Brielle. My beautiful Brielle.”

Just hearing my name,
him
saying my name, caused the world to drift away. With him I felt safe, bathed in the dim blue light of the room. I felt lost in his penetrating eyes. In the moments with him, time flew by.

His body trembled and strained, pushing...so exquisitely tamed, in perfect rhythm with mine, driving me towards that edge of no return. I could feel his blood coursing from his heart into his steely muscle. The veins in his neck expanded as he thrust farther, steadily, rocking me into a different dimension.

“Oh my God,” I whispered against the back of my clenched fist, trying to muffle my pleasure. He was a god in every-way. The impassioned climatic waves grew, coming faster and harder. So intensely the pressure in the core of me blazed, filling me, expanding. Deep within me, I felt like the inside of a bomb, ready to explode. All of him, his fingers, lips, tongue and movements continued to toy with every sensitive area of me.

My breath caught, exhaling my nectarous savor with a long cry pouring from my lips. Hot tears streamed down my cheeks. I fervently arched and released my explosive orgasm around him. Simultaneously, he did too, spilling his seed deep into the core of me with a raging throaty moan, causing me to quake-to-the-bone. Pure satisfaction lingered in the depths of our shallow breathes.

The embrace that followed swallowed my soul, holding me in the folds of passion. We clung onto each other for what seemed to have been one million beats of time. Without delay, he effortlessly swooped me into his muscular arms.

“Come with me, now. I can’t promise you what awaits us, but I know I love you.” His eyes aglow, lips smiling down on me.

My heart shattered, so did my words. “I want to...but I can’t leave with you, not now. I still can’t remember you. Please, you must let me go. I need to regain my memories...I must stay. I’m sorry...” I said, breaking our eye contact, and the connection we had shared.

His smile deflated, and the spark in his eyes dimmed. He lifted my chin so our eyes would meet.

He spoke firmly, articulating every word. “You are in danger if you stay. Think, Brielle, before you answer me—If I leave here, you will lose any memories of me from this moment forth. These moments.” His eyes flashed over the length of my body then he begged, “Please, come with me.”

I contemplated his strong message and his words of love. Yet, I had no memory of him, as he believed I would have after we kissed, and we did more than just kiss. Still, my memory was blank.

Despite, our beautiful moments together, and the fact that he was overwhelmingly gorgeous, still I did not know who he was.

“I can’t...” I cried my final words to him, no sooner, feeling deep regret.

A dark, painstaking shadow clouded his eyes. Yet, he recoiled and gently placed my listless body back down.

I ran my fingertips across the stubble on his cheek. The muscles clenched in the hard line of his jaw. His beautiful full lips tightened in the corners as he grasped both of my hands.

“So small and so brave. My love will never die for you,” he deplored, releasing his despair. He kissed my fingers a thousand times, indebted unto me as if I were the breath of his life. I felt like crying, pushing back the tears. Disappointment spiraled through me. I inwardly chided myself for denouncing his offer of love. In a semi-daze, I blinked, and he vanished into the haze of my mind. Gone like a dream, or a fantasy that I couldn’t give any semblance to.

-6-

Eye opener...

When I opened my eyes, regaining consciousness, the sinfully beautiful man that appeared in the doorway was gone, and the good doctor was hovering above me with watchful eyes. My gown was drenched, and I felt as if I were burning up with a fever.

“It is good to see that you are awake again,” the doctor said. His eyes scrutinized my glistening skin. He placed his palm against my forehead, the way my grandmother used to do, and a curious look splayed on his face. “You are burning up, but it does not appear as if you have a temperature. How are you feeling otherwise?”

“Truthfully? Like shit. I had a terrible shock-like pain shoot up my spine and through my head,” I said in a whiney tone, clutching the back of my neck. “I think it caused me to pass out.”

The doctor explained away my pain as being normal because I had suffered a head injury. He also reassured me there was no nerve damage present.

“It is going to take time...plenty of rest, and a lot of water before you begin feeling like yourself again.”

Yuck, no more water!
Nevertheless, respectfully, I nodded, acknowledging his advice.

“I still feel like a train ran me over and dragged
 me by the ass.” The doctor glowered. Evidently, he was offended by my choice of words. “So sorry, it’s just I’m hurting,” I said, curving my description of the pain. “I guess I’m not the best patient.”

He tilted his head, and to my surprise he did not hide what he thought about me. “Yes, you are quite a perplexing case, and you certainly have a sharp tongue for such a pretty woman.”

A case? And you are a saint I suppose.

“Sorry. I don’t mean any disrespect.”

Despite that he was curt—he was offended, so I felt the need to apologize again. He reacted as if he had never heard a woman swear.

Perhaps this is a religious hospital or something,
I thought. If so, I would have understood his reaction to my slip of the tongue. If he expected me to speak like a nun I would fall short of doing that. But, if he had asked politely, perhaps, I would have been more inclined to oblige him.

Typically, I didn’t use words that caused the average person to get their panties twisted into a wad. The worst was the occasional fuck word, but only when necessary. I didn’t consider myself vulgar or unladylike. It was a good thing my friends were not there visiting me and casually dropping the F-word for no apparent reason. The doctor would have called a code blue—for himself!

In my circle of friends, I was the one who swore the least. Thank God I could still remember my two closest friends, Nuilley and Jack. Jack cursed like a bandit, but he did not do it to intentionally offend anyone. It was just his nature—it fit his image of an old-school agent. His tongue could cut like a double edge sword, but really he was a gentle giant.

As for Nuilley, she was blunt and outspoken. She could undeniably sling some verbal mud-pies when pissed off. Curse words were simply an allotment of her everyday repertoire; nonetheless, she always sounded cultured and polished.

“Allow me to get you something for your pain,” the doctor said, pivoting on his heels.

“Wait...there’s something else. When you left earlier, a very tall, dark-haired man entered my room then
 he disappeared,” I said in a groggy tone. “Is he a doctor?”

His eyes narrowed, moving slightly from side to side as he shook his head. He seemed surprised or alarmed more like it.

“No. I am the only resident on staff today.” He tapped his index finger on his lower lip. “But, I will definitely check into this.”

I filled the back of my throat with air, inhaled deeply into my lungs then exhaled and said, “It’s fine. I just thought I’d mention it.”

“Yes, thank you. I am glad you did. This hospital ward does not have public access. If someone bypassed our security, this is definitely something we would want to know about.” His mouth contorted back and forth as he spoke.

I furrowed my brows for a multitude of reasons. “Hmm, I don’t know maybe he was visiting someone. He didn’t bother me or anything...by the way, what kind of ward is this?”

The doctor’s eyes shifted from me. “It is a private wing in the hospital. If necessary, we provide long-term care.”

“Well, I don’t think that I’ll be needing
 long-term care. I can’t stay here much longer. Okay?” I exasperated bluntly, making it clear to him an overnight stay was not an option in my opinion. I knew that was what he had up his sleeve.

“Are you certain you saw someone?” he asked, dismissing my argument.

“Definitely...he opened the door. Then just stood there for a second,” I confidently said, gauging the doctor’s expression. “You know he—never mind.” I paused. I felt it was best to drop the subject.

The doctor didn’t look too pleased that their security had been breached. Personally, though, I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble for wandering the halls unauthorized.

“You know...maybe, I fell asleep and dreamt about him. And thought he was real when I woke up,” I said resoundingly. “I do that sometimes.” It was obvious I was trying to brush the entire incident off. I knew—the doctor knew that I had seen someone. Now, it looked as if I was lying.

The second the words left my mouth, I felt
 as if I was going to be sick. It came on so suddenly. My head began pounding like a steel drum, and my palms broke out into a cold sweat.

What’s happening to me?
I have told white lies before in my life, but my body’s reaction was almost like a supernatural sign of something. But what?

A concerned look gradually panned the doctor’s face. “Are you alright? You are very pale and as white as a ghost.”

His euphemism struck a chord in me. I felt overwhelmingly emotional. “Actually—I don’t feel like myself...I feel really panicky.” My heart pounded wickedly, out of control. I knotted my fingers together and wanted to cry. Tears crested behind my eyes, but I held them at bay. I felt so alone. Didn’t I have any friends in Paris?

The doctor’s expression softened further. “You are going to be just fine,” he said, holding up a finger. “Give me a second.”

A man of his word! He scurried out of the room and returned almost immediately, leaving me no time to think.

“Miss Eden, I want to apologize—if in fact someone had entered into your room. That being said, I asked the staff, and they have reassured me that they had not seen anyone suspicious lurking the halls—either way, we will make certain that this does not happen again.”

“Okay.” I shrugged nonchalantly. It really was none my concern who unofficially trespassed.

“Here, these should help with the swelling, which is the main cause of your pain. I also have a light dinner being prepared for you.”

Dinner? It’s only eleven o’clock.

“Thanks,” I moaned as he handed me a glass of water.

“I am also going to prescribe you something to help ease the blues you seem to be experiencing. We do not want you feeling blue during your stay us.” He flashed me a grin.

Blues? I think it’s more than a case of the blues.
I was depressed. Who wouldn’t feel depressed if they woke up in a hospital with no family, no friends, and no short-term memory?
Me. Me. I would!
I inwardly waved my hand into the air, excited that I knew that answer.

I eyed the two white pills in the tiny Dixie cup he held and hesitated to take them. Since I had suffered a few severe allergic reactions from meds, I have been wary about taking any prescription drugs. The doctor must have sensed my trepidation and reassured me the pills were safe. “They are similar to aspirin only a bit stronger.”

Without further thought, I swallowed the pills, hoping they would kick in quickly.

The good doctor scribbled notes in my file and, every so often, glanced at me as we chatted. He acted aloof as if he was not paying me much attention, but I was well aware that he was scrutinizing my every word and writing down all my responses.

“I am still curious how nobody saw this man, except for you.”

Oh jeez, we're not talking about him again.

“Why is that?”

“It’s just odd. Were you expecting him?”

“No.”

His lips tightened to a straight line, and then he asked, “Is he someone you could have forgotten? Perhaps you called him earlier, and you don’t remember doing so.” The doctor asked and narrowed his eyes.

“What? No, I don’t know him, and I haven’t spoken to anyone yet.” I sighed out of frustration. “But, I need to,” I said as I twisted the strings on my gown, wondering when I could get my things and get out of here.

The doctor paced at the end of my bed then opened his mouth to speak but hesitated.

“Is there something wrong?” I asked.

“No, I would not say wrong. I was just wondering if he said anything to you?”

“Uh...you mean the man I saw...that no one else did?” I asked jokingly, smacking myself in the forehead.