Addicted To Him (Man Season) (5 page)

When they arrived at Fleet’s mansion
the driveway was empty. The moon cast a spotlight on their faces.
Tegan
glanced at Fleet; he looked worn and helpless. She
smothered an urge to cry, helped him into the garage entrance.

“I have a private room down here
below the pool. It’s a kind of panic room, I guess you might say. I go there
when I need solitude. You’re the only other person besides me, and
Digby
, to see it.”

They entered the claustrophobic room.
It was somewhat like an old ocean liner’s bedroom, with all the furniture built
in to the walls. They were paneled in mahogany, with cream-colored fabrics on
the bed and chairs, and a beige carpet on the floor.
Tegan
didn’t like it – the air was musty and damp.

“I think you’d be better off in your
own bed upstairs, Fleet. This place is liable to give you pneumonia!”

“No, I want to stay here!’ He was
belligerent, stubborn. “If you don’t want to stay, I won’t force you.”

“I’m staying. When was the last time
you took any pills?”

“Yesterday, before I entered the pub.
I swore I’d kick them before I introduced myself to you but I couldn’t wait any
longer! It’s been hell trying to keep away from you.”

“Is that why you stayed away?
Because of your addiction?”

“Yeah, I …”

He fell to the floor, quaking all
over in a frightening wave of tremors.
Tegan
dragged
him to the bed; eased him up onto it. Then she began to remove his shoes and
jacket. Even in the throes of misery he was tempting. She had to scold herself
for thinking of sex at a moment like that.

“I want you,
Tegan
.
Love me. Love me now!”

“You’re not up to it, darling. Calm down,
please, and rest for awhile. You shouldn’t have tried to stop taking the pills
all at once. Weaning your system off of them very slowly is the way to do it.
My dad tried it your way, and he …”

“Your dad?
I thought he died of cancer?”

“Yes, he did. But he was a drug
addict, too. And going cold turkey killed him as surely as the cancer.”

“I’m sorry. I had no idea. Will you
lie with me? We don’t have to make love. I just want you near me.”

“Shouldn’t I call
Digby
,
or my mom? She’ll know better what to do. She is a pharmacist, you know.”

“Wait awhile, okay? I want to rest
now.”

She nodded, took off the raincoat and
slipped under the cold sheets.

“I wish you hadn’t ruined my dress.”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I
turn into some kind of mindless being whenever I see you. It’s like a power
surge I can’t stop.”

“It’s the same thing with me; has
been since the first time I saw your picture in the paper. I remember rubbing
myself afterwards, to make the surge go away. I pretended you were kissing me
down there.”

He managed a faint laugh. “Was it
good?”

“Better than I’d ever had it before.
Of course I was embarrassed when I
was done.”

“Why? There’s no shame in pleasing
yourself when the need arises.”

“I know, but the strength of it was
so powerful it freaked me out. I didn’t dare try to daydream about you unless I
was alone where I could finish what my dreams had started.”

“You might not believe it but I did
the very same thing the first time I saw you. And it was better than any
lovemaking I’d had in real life. I guess we were made for each other.”

He leaned over to kiss her; his
breath was stale but still inciting. His body temperature was feverish; he was
sweating. His limbs were still shaking. Seeing him that way was hard, but she
knew she had to be strong, to help him beat the addiction.

She pulled her lips away,
reluctantly.

“Fleet, let me sneak up and get your
pills. You need to get back on them then start the weaning process.”

“No, no, I want off of them now!” His
voice was strange, haunting. She scooted close to him; fit her arms about him,
breathing in the scent of his skin. His own breathing seemed forced, uneven.

“I’m afraid, Fleet. We can’t do this
alone. Please let me call my mom.”

“Later. I want to wake up with you in
the morning, like I should have done today. But I panicked, and ran out on you.
I was worried you couldn’t love me if you knew I was hooked on drugs. You can,
right? It doesn’t change how we are together.”

“No, it could never change that. But
I’m still scared you won’t make it through the night. Mom could give you
something that would help.”

“I don’t want to trade one addiction
for another.”

“It won’t be for long, just until you
get off the others.”

“But it didn’t work for your dad.”

“It might’ve. We didn’t know about his
addiction until it was too late. He hid it from us. Fleet, please try, for both
our sakes.”

“All right.
Call her. But don’t let anyone else
know she’s coming here.”

“Not even
Digby
?”

“No. For all I know, Ned might’ve
bugged his phone. I wouldn’t put it past him.”

She reached into her purse, found her
phone and hit the buttons. Callie answered in a lilting voice that surprised
Tegan
.

“Mom, are you okay?”

“Yes, baby! Oh, I’m so glad you
brought
Digby
into my life! We’ve been together all day!
Did you know he loves jazz and blues as much as I do? And he’s crazy for Billie
Holiday! We’ve been listening to her records all afternoon!”

“That’s wonderful, Mom. Is he still
there?”

“Yes.”

She whispered to Fleet: “Digby’s with
Mom. Should I let her tell him?”

“Yeah, there’s no way Ned could bug
your phone.”

Tegan
nodded. “Mom, I need both of you to
come out to Fleet’s mansion as soon as possible! He’s sick, very sick!”

“Take him to the hospital.”

“He won’t go. Mom, he’s addicted to
prescription drugs, just like dad …”

The phone was stone quiet for a few
minutes.

“Mom, did you hear me?”

“Yes, I heard you. Has he overdosed?”

“No, he’s quit, cold! And he’s in an
awful mess. The withdrawal is slow murder!”

“He needs to see his doctor,
Tegan
. I can’t do anything.”

“Just get here, Mom, please?
Digby
will explain why Fleet should not be seeing his
doctor. We need you. I don’t know if I can handle this alone.”

“We’ll be there as soon as we can!
I’ll have to stop by the pharmacy and get something. Keep him warm and calm.
And relax,
Tegan
. You’re stronger than me. I know you
can handle anything that comes your way!”

“Right!
Mom, please hurry!”

“We will!”

She hung up, looked at Fleet. The
room about them was closing in like a tomb.

“We’re going upstairs!” she decided.

CHAPTER FOUR

Fleet was throwing off the cover one
minute and grasping for it blindly the next.

“Are they coming?”

“Yeah, they’ll be here soon. Mom’s
bringing something to help you get through this.”

“Love me,
Tegan
,
I can’t stand being
this close without kissing you!”

She shook her head, though the need
was building inside her.

“It can’t hurt me, you know
,
if that’s what’s stopping you. It might even save me.”

She looked into his eyes; they were weak
and lined. His face slowly shifted into a smile.
Tegan
couldn’t resist. She moved to surround him in welcoming arms and open thighs,
taking him into her and rocking him subtly. The passion washed over them,
gentler this time. She kissed him, stroking his firm torso and hips with a
comforting, arousing massage. He groaned, began to tremble; his sweat pouring
down on her like rain. The effort seemed too much for him.
Tegan
urged him back down and rose up to set herself on top of him. She moved her
pelvis like a wheel, the rhythm creating an exquisite tension between them. She
bent low to bite at his nipples. He couldn’t take it, drove his hips up to
seize control, sending them both off into a rapturous spiral of blinding,
all-consuming electricity. Once the sparks subsided,
Tegan
fell off of him and let the sweet tears flood her eyes. Fleet leaned close,
kissed them away.

“Did you make it to Mars this time?”
he asked just before he passed out on her shoulder.

“Yes, I did,” she whispered back,
sweeping the wet hair from his brow.

They remained in bed, quiet and
content, for a good twenty minutes. Then
Tegan
remembered her mother and
Digby
would be there soon.
She slid out from under his chin, hurried to the bathroom to wash. She dressed
again and used a warm rag to cleanse Fleet’s body.

“That feels good!” he sighed. “Are
you ready for more space travel?”

“Not tonight, darling.
You’re grounded.”

She walked over to the big oval
window in his bedroom. Another band of bats took the opportunity to fly across
the panes, startling the stuffing out of her.

“Damn, I hate that! You know, I think
I’d rather we moved in together in my mom’s attic than live here! Or do you
have any other houses?”

“I’ve got ten, but I rarely use them.
Ned uses them, though.”

“I’ll bet he does.
Seems
to me your dear uncle has quite a nice life, thanks to you.”

“Yeah, but I felt like I owed him
something. He was a kid when my mom got married. She was his only relative and
she loved him like a mother, but after I came along he was kind of shuffled
aside. She sent him to medical school but after she poisoned my dad he was
shunned and couldn’t find a position. Once he became my guardian that all
changed. He bought a fancy office in
Beverly Hills
, began treating depressed
housewives, and made a fortune.”

“And he hooked you on the drugs.”

“Yeah.
Come over here. I want to hold you.”

She looked at him; he was still lying
on the big black canopy bed, his arms stretched towards her, his azure eyes
glowing with a banked heat.

“All right, but no hanky panky.
They might show up any minute.”

She was wearing one of his dress
shirts and a pair of his running shorts. The red dress had been cast into the
trash bin in the bathroom.

“You look sexy in my clothes. But
then you look sexy in anything, and without anything, too. I’m hungry.”

“I told you, no hanky panky.”

“No, I mean, for food. I think I
skipped dinner … and lunch … and breakfast.”

“My God!
Why didn’t you say something? I’ll
run downstairs and cook us dinner, if you think you’ll be able to keep it in
your stomach?”

“I’ll try. But let me come with you.”

He sat up but she settled him down
with a kiss.

“You need rest. Close your eyes and
dream of a time when you’re clean and healthy; a time when we can be together
on an island somewhere, alone.”

“Sounds like heaven. I’ve often
thought about buying an island.”

“A whole island?
You can do that?”

“Sure. I’ve seen some in the
Florida Keys
that go for less than two million!”

“Oh, and I guess that’s chump change
for you?”

“Yeah, it is.”

Tegan
rolled her eyes; he laughed and
smacked her bottom playfully as she skidded off the bed.

“Anything in particular you want to
eat?”

He grinned.

“Besides me, that is.”