Shadow Keeper (25 page)

When Lisa nodded, I carried her down the hallway to the bedroom. I nudged the door open with my foot and waited for Sherry to flip on the light. The soft glow of the ceiling lamp illuminated her room. The sight surprised me. With Monica’s obsession to keep her daughter a little girl, I expected butterflies or dancing fairies adorning the walls, but this looked like a young woman’s room. The purple bedspread and frilly curtains contrasted with the white headboard and dresser. Framed pictures of her family were scattered on the desk next to a laptop computer.

I carefully sat her on the edge of the double bed. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything.”

She didn’t answer. Her shoulders slumped and her head hung down. Her hair spilled across her face. I glanced at Sherry. She grabbed my arm and shoved me out of the room.

“We’ll be fine,” she said before closing the door in my face.

Carson roamed around the kitchen, foraging through the cabinets in search of food.

“Find anything to eat?” I asked.

“Nothing good. No cookies or chips.”

I opened the fridge door and ducked down for a quick inspection. “Guess I’ll have to cook something.”

“What happened tonight with her father?”

“He flipped out—totally.” I shook my head at the memory. “He started hitting and kicking Monica. Slapped Lisa around and jerked on her hair. I stopped him from doing more, but I should have been quicker.”

“Man, don’t blame yourself. You did what you could.”

“I should have seen this coming.”

“You can’t see into the future, X–man.”

Maybe I could. In my nightmares, it sometimes seemed the future unfolded before me.

Carson stuck his hand into the freezer and rummaged around. “What’s this? A frozen dinner?” He turned the carton over. “Man, that’s one of those diet dinners. Probably tastes like crap.”

“Isn’t it supposed to be healthy?”

“Yeah, if you can stomach it.” He dug deeper in the freezer. “Here’s a frozen pizza.”

I glanced at the little package he held. “That’s not big enough for the four of us.”

“Sherry and I already ate.” Carson ripped open the box. “If the pizza is too small for you, then cook two. There’s a second one buried in there.”

“One at a time will do.” I flipped the dial for the oven.

“Strawberry ice cream.” He tossed the carton on the countertop with a loud clunk. “Lisa might like this. Girls always eat ice cream when they’re upset.”

“Good idea.” I dug through a drawer for the scooper. By the time I dropped a double dip into a bowl, Sherry’s voice echoed from the living room. I grabbed the bowl and headed in that direction.

Lisa sat in the middle of the couch wearing pink flannels and a grey sweatshirt with the neck band cut off. The top draped off one shoulder, revealing the pink strap of either a tank top or a sports bra.

I offered her the bowl. “I got you some ice cream.”

“Wow. Look at him.” Sherry sat beside her. “Brendon takes such good care of you.”

Lisa glanced into my eyes as she took the bowl from my hand. This was the first time in the last hour I’d seen her so alert. I slouched into the other corner of the couch. “Do you like strawberry?”

A spoonful of the ice cream went into her mouth just as I asked, but she managed to nod.

“You’ve got a great boyfriend.” Sherry patted her on the knee. “You better hang onto him.”

Carson stood in the middle of the room, rubbing at his belly. “All this talk about food is making me hungry. Why don’t we go to your house and see what your mom has to eat?”

Sherry glanced at me. “Will you be all right if we leave?”

“We’ll be fine.” I moved to the edge of the couch. “Monica should be home in about an hour.”

“Don’t get up, man.” Carson grabbed Sherry’s hand and pulled her up. “We know the way out.”

“Thanks, Carson.” I leaned back and stretched my arm on the top of the cushion behind Lisa. “I’ll walk over to Sherry’s after Monica gets home.”

“Just give me a call.” He put his hand to his ear like he held an invisible phone. “I’ll swing by and pick you up.”

When the door closed behind them, I glanced at Lisa. “How’s the ice cream? If you want something else to eat, I’ll toss another pizza in the oven. Or maybe a healthy frozen dinner?” The words seemed to babble out of my mouth, but I didn’t want to talk about anything that might remind her of what happened tonight. “Do you want to watch some TV?”

She braced one hand on my shoulder so she could lean across me to set the empty bowl on the end table. As she straightened, her other hand pressed against my chest. I covered it with my own.

“Your fingers are cold. Do you want some hot chocolate, or something to warm you up?”

Her hand slid up my chest and around my neck. She pulled my head toward her. Her cool, strawberry flavored lips brushed against mine. She leaned back and gazed into my eyes.

Bewildered, I stared at her. Getting romantic was something she generally avoided. Her fingertips pressed into the back of my neck, urging me to her. I tried to resist, but my willpower crumbled and my mouth pressed against hers. I wrapped my arms around her body and pulled her against me. My fingers threaded through her hair. Her head turned and the kiss deepened. Beyond the coldness of her lips, the warmth from the inside of her mouth ignited a spark in my body. My brain hammered out a warning, but I pushed it aside. We were just kissing. Nothing more was going to happen.

I nibbled at her lips. Her mouth opened and she caught my lip between her teeth. Her tongue brushed over the flesh. The blood pounded faster through my veins. I sucked my lip free and caught hers with my teeth. As I brushed my tongue over her softness, a tiny moan squeaked inside her throat. The sensual sound brought me to my senses. My head turned and our kiss ended. “We have to stop.”

“No.” She clasped her hands around my neck and used the leverage to crawl into my lap. Her knees straddled me as her upper body pressed against my chest.

“Lisa—” My warning was cut short when her mouth covered mine. Her tongue brushed across my lips. Heat flashed through my body. I couldn’t fight it. She wanted me. And I wanted her. I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her to me.

“Mmm.” Her head lifted. “Not so hard.”

Control.
The word vibrated in my skull. Lisa was a virgin and I didn’t want to hurt her. I had to slow down. But how?

All the advice I’d heard, but never had to use, flew through my mind.
Think of baseball. Picture something ugly. Count backward from a hundred.
Nothing worked. All I could think about was Lisa and how good she felt in my arms.

My hands grabbed at her hips, and I lifted her from my lap. I laid her onto the couch and crawled on top of her. Her scent overwhelmed me when I nuzzled my face into her neck. Her hair smelled like peaches. Vanilla body butter coated her skin. The strawberry ice cream lingered on her lips. She was a dessert waiting to be devoured.

I brushed my lips across her cheek to her ear, placing little kisses on her skin. My hand rested at her hip. I edged my fingers beneath the sweatshirt and rubbed my palm up her warm, soft belly. My fingers inched higher over her bare skin until I touched the band on the underside of her bra. Just as I was about to move higher, her arm clamped across her breasts.

Some semblance of sanity returned. Lisa didn’t want me to touch her there. What else didn’t she want?

All or nothing weren’t the only options. But could I handle something in between? If she drew an invisible line, declared a body part off limits,
could I honor her request? I summoned my self–control.

Using my arms, I lifted my upper body so I gazed at her face. She was so sweet and innocent. I never wanted to hurt her. Whatever she desired, even if it was only kissing, I could handle it. I turned so I lay beside her on the couch. My lips pressed at her temple. “How far do you want this to go, Lisa?”

“I don’t care. I’ll do whatever you want. I just don’t want to lose you.”

“Don’t talk like that. You’re not going to lose me.”

“But I could. There are other girls more experienced than me who like you. One of them could take you away.”

“I don’t want anyone else.”

“But you want a girlfriend who will let you do things. You’re always pushing me to do more.”

“No, I don’t.” My anger flared. I wanted more, but I’d never force her to do anything.

“Don’t be mad.” Her voice quivered. “I only want to make you happy so you’ll stay with me.”

“Then don’t accuse me of things.”

Her leg curled over my hip. “Do you want me?”

“Damn it, Lisa.” I pushed her leg away and crawled off the couch. “This isn’t fair.”

She sat up and pulled the bottom edge of the sweatshirt down to her waist. Her eyes filled with tears.

“Don’t start crying, or I’ll walk out that door.”

“What did I do wrong?” The back of her hand pressed against her trembling lips.

“Everything,” I shouted.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I know I’m not experienced, but you could always teach—”

“Stop it. Just quit talking.” I turned away. If I kept looking at her, I might jump back on the couch and do exactly as she asked. Her crying turned to heavy sobs. I couldn’t take it. I walked to the kitchen for a glass of water.

“Don’t leave me,” she cried out.

I stopped at the entrance to the kitchen, but didn’t look back. “Come here, Lisa.”

Her bare feet scuffed across the rug at a rapid pace. She flung her arms around me from behind. “I’m sorry.” Hot, wet tears soaked through the back of my shirt.

If I turned around, I’d be lost. I stared at the wall while I talked. “Do you know what I want?” I asked, but didn’t wait for her answer. “I want to take you in the bedroom and make love to you. Then I want to hold you in my arms the rest of the night. But do you know what’s preventing me from doing that?”

She sniffed back a heavy sob. “My mom would find out?”

A couple seconds ticked by before I burst into laughter. “Damn straight. And your mom is pretty scary.” I pulled at her arms so I could turn around and face her. “The real answer is that I’d lose you.”

“How would you lose me?” Her forehead crinkled. “It was my idea to…to...”

“Yes, but it was for the wrong reason. If you want to make love to me, then it has to be because you actually want me, not because you’re afraid you’ll lose me.” I cupped her face in my hands. “You’ve been through a lot tonight. You’re worried about your dad and everything else. Pretty soon, things will get better. Then you may regret what we’ve done. That could change how you feel about me, and you might start thinking I took advantage of you. I don’t want anything to interfere with what we have right now.”

“I understand.” She pulled my hands from her face and laid her cheek against my chest. “You really are a great boyfriend. You take care of me and protect me, even from myself.”

“Yeah, I’m a frigging saint. A virginal one.”

Her head popped up and she looked at my face. “You’ve never…
been
with a girl before?”

Crap. Had I actually said that out loud? “Well, I…I’ve—”

“You don’t have to be embarrassed. I kind of like that you’ve never done anything more than me.”

I chuckled at the concept. “Don’t you think one of us ought to know what we’re doing when we finally get around to it?”

“I’m sure we can figure it out. And I think it would be exciting to discover everything together for the first time.”

I gazed into her clear blue eyes. “You know something? You’re a really great girlfriend.”

Chapter Thirty–Two

Two little pizzas later and my stomach still growled. I got comfortable on the couch with a large bowl of ice cream.

Lisa sat next to me sipping herbal tea. Her arms lifted over her head as she stretched her back. “I’m sleepy.”

“You can go to bed.” I set down the empty ice cream bowl. “I’ll wait here until your mom gets home.”

She grabbed the fleece blanket and curled her legs underneath. “Is it all right if I snuggle next to you until she gets here?”

“Sure.” I laid a throw pillow on my lap. “Do you want to lay down?”

She started to do just that, but lifted up and kissed me on the cheek. “Thank you, Brendon, for everything.”

“My pleasure.” I almost laughed when the words came out of my mouth. There wasn’t any physical pleasure happening here, but I was happy with the way things turned out. Lisa and I had survived a major event, and our relationship grew stronger.

She tucked the blanket under her chin. I pulled her trapped hair free and smoothed my hand over the silky strands. My head flopped back against the cushions and my eyes closed. I was sleepy too.

****

Like a mirage forming in the distance on a hot, blacktopped road, Kyle Stratton materialized and surged toward me. My body tensed, waiting for the moment he would transform into a filthy, vicious creature and pounce on me. Or would he remain in human form and attack me like in the hospital? I raised my arms and clenched my hands into fists as he flew closer.