Promises (7 page)

He swore
long and hard, shaking his head as he scooped her up and placed her on the bed. Staring down at her unconscious body, he cursed the amount of wine she’d consumed. She wouldn’t remember tonight, he realized, so he decided to give her something to think about.

With
quivering hands, he pulled her T-shirt off, followed by her shorts, and without any reservation or conscience, he unclipped her bra. A deep longing gnawed his stomach as her breasts spilled loose and he remembered their soft texture.

H
e’d expected to be tasting them.
But not now
, he sighed with regret. Slipping her panties off, he stared down with an almost painful hunger. With one final frustrated glance, he reluctantly covered her.

He s
potted her vibrator and slipped it into his pocket before closing the door behind him. With a shaky sigh, he headed for a cold shower alone in his own home.

A
lex moaned and turned over, nestling deep into her pillow. A blaze of light illuminated the room, and her eyes gradually flickered open. As a burst of pain shot through her forehead, she squeezed them shut. Wincing groggily, she pushed her hair back and tried to sit up. She noticed her bra lying at the bottom of the bed.
What the hell had happened last night
, she wondered. She dared to peep beneath the sheet, groaning.
Oh please, God no
, she prayed.
Please say I didn’t make love to Sol.

S
nippets of the evening broke through the foggy haze. Bit by bit it drifted back to her. She remembered bouncing on his lap and covered her eyes with her hand. She was about to shake her head when a splitting pain smashed through her cranial cells. She staggered out of bed and went in search of some serious pain relief. With slow, measured steps, she made her way carefully down the landing to the bathroom.

She rummaged
in the cabinet and poured a glass of water. Her mouth felt as if it was lined with cotton wool. Tossing the tablets into her throat, she almost gagged before washing them down. Then Alex happened to glance at her reflection in the mirror.

Christ!
She looked as bad as she felt. Checking the time, she groaned when she saw she was late again. Yet for the life of her, she couldn’t hurry. She needed to try and act as if she were a human being with blood, not wine that has turned to vinegar, running through her veins.

Alex stood beneath the shower.
It was freezing, but she needed it to wake up. Letting the cold water stream down her body, she ran a hand over herself, inspecting for any sign of Solomon’s love making, but knowing she would find nothing.
What did you expect, a sign stuck to your ass saying: Sol was here?
she thought in irritation.

When her
lips were almost blue, Alex flicked the shower off and started to shiver convulsively. Wrapping herself in a large towel she dug from the mess on the floor, she rubbed her body with an urgent roughness as goose bumps exploded on her skin.

Finally
dressed, she made her way downstairs, holding her head at an unnatural angle, afraid to move it. She flicked the kettle on and scooped a large teaspoon of instant coffee, needing it black and strong. Then she threw another couple of tablets down her throat, preferring to overdose rather than suffer.

Looking
out of the window, she stared in horror at the mess. Wine bottles were on the table, her glass was on the floor, and at once she spotted Solomon studying her from his garden. He wore a big soppy grin and blew her a kiss.

Alex spun
about quickly … too quickly. Her brains smashed into her hangover, and she groaned as she grabbed her head.

At last
she made her way on a track of slow painful steps to work. She wondered how the hell she could phrase the question without sounding like a drunk. Sol, did we make love last night? It was humiliating. But what was worse, if he had, she wanted to remember it!

Alex sat at her des
k, unwilling and unable to move. She felt sick, and in fact had been. Twice. She was thankful that the library had a toilet and washroom.
Even if it has sod all else
, she conceded, wallowing in her misery. Wishing she could curl up and die, she swore never to drink again.

T
he door creaked open, the tinkling of the bell breaking the silence. She didn’t bother looking up. Instead, she held her head in her hands, eyes closed, pretending to be engrossed in something. Anything, as long as it took the pain away. The footsteps came closer and stopped in front of her. She knew at once who it was. She recognized his scent.

Christ
, she thought crossly,
I’m acting like a bloodhound now, a bitch in heat
. She kept her head lowered, refusing to look up.

“Ahem!”
coughed Sol, slamming his hand down hard on the surface. When she dropped her hands and stared balefully at him, he winked.

Alex
winced as the pain lanced through her head. “Did you have to do that?” she hissed, trying to focus, the nausea rising again.

Solomon
grinned at her red-rimmed eyes. He studied her pale face, her skin so white it was almost translucent. “Got a hangover?” He leaned forward, his chin propped up by his hand.

“What do you think?” she whispered, trying to k
eep her voice down. All she wanted was to be wrapped in a blanket of blissful silence.

“Do you remember what we did?”
He wore a naughty suggestive smirk. “And what you did to me? You’re ten out of ten, honey, I’ll give you that.”

S
he raised a hand to her forehead, striving to remember.

“Please
, Sol. Tell me we didn’t do anything?” She pleaded for the truth.

But he wasn’t giving her the easy option
. “Honey, we did just about everything.” He gave her another wink. “Don’t tell me you can’t recall when I ….” Walking around the desk, he bent over and whispered in her ear. His breath hot against her skin, she felt her cheeks heat up as she sat listening to what he’d done. What
she’d
done.

“Oh
, dear God, no!” She dropped her head back in her hands. “I don’t remember.” She cursed that the second time she had indulged her fantasies she couldn’t recall a bloody thing.

The door swung
open again, and the unmistakable voice of Tanya called her name.
Just great,
she thought,
the vamp on legs.
She wondered if Tanya, feeling defiantly territorial, was here to attempt to claim Solomon.

“Crumbs, what’s happened to you
?” She stared down into Alex’s pale face. Then she turned, her attention on Solomon, who stood close behind Alex. Her gaze narrowed on him, envy distorting her features.

“She’s hung over
,” supplied Solomon, his gaze shadowing her. He barely glanced at Tanya. “Don’t give her any sympathy. It was self-inflicted.”

“Solomon, just shut the hell up
,” Alex said in a flat voice. At least he could have the decency to show some compassion. It was obvious he had no morals or scruples, making love to a woman too drunk to remember it.

“Bossy little thing
, aren’t you,” he said, adding in a whisper, “even in bed. You really know what you like, and I was more than happy to oblige.”

Tanya
watched them, a bemused expression on her face.

“Sol!” she warned, fed up
with his innuendo. She only had his word for it. Maybe she’d taken her own clothes off? She tried to remember and cursed when she couldn’t.

“What’s up with you two?” asked
Tanya, cocking her head.

“She can’t remember sleeping with me
,” stated Solomon, as if it were an everyday occurrence.

“Go on, just tell everyone
, why don’t you?”

Tanya
’s gaze burned through her. “What, nothing at all?” she asked in disbelief.

“No
, but he could be making it up.” Then she turned, challenging him. “Couldn’t you?”

The d
oor chimed again and an elderly lady inched slowly forward, her cane tapping in rhythm along the wooden floor.

“Could be
, I guess,” he said, “but I wasn’t. Oh and you’d better have this back.” He tossed her vibrator on her desk. “I won’t remind you what you wanted me to do with it.”

“Solomon!” she screamed,
forgetting the pain shooting through her head. “I’m going to kill you!” She grabbed Roger just before the old lady reached her desk. Slamming him safely into her drawer, she cringed at his deep baritone chuckle as he sauntered out of the library.

H
is hands were dug deep into his pockets, a huge smile on his face. An air of confidence radiated from him. Turning for a nanosecond, he flashed her a sexy, bad-assed smile.

Tanya
glanced at his back, then at her friend and shook her head. “You’ve got to be crazy. Trust me, take a re-run with him. I know I would!”

* * *

Alex checked the time and thought,
Sod it, I’m closing up early.
All she wanted was to lie down and sleep, thankful that her head was clearing and her stomach had stopped rebelling. When the tinkle of the door peeled, she glanced up and groaned when she spotted who it was. Typical. She couldn’t go anywhere now.

“Miss Powell, how are you today?”
The short podgy man smiled. A bulging waistline burst out over a belt pulled tight beneath his stomach. His tiny beady eyes roved over her assets. All two of them. He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

Fine until I saw yo
u, creep,
she thought. She felt a distinct flutter of nerves swirl in her belly at the thought of being alone with him in the empty library. “I’m okay, thanks, Mr. Evans.”

“Now now, call me Ron
,” he insisted. “It’s nice to be on first name terms, don’t you think?” He attempted to perch nonchalantly at the edge of her desk then gave up. His stumpy legs were too short. Instead, he moved around to stand beside her, looking down.

Alex was glad Roger had been packed away
, in preparation for her early escape. She shifted, making a pretence of checking out some books for herself. As it was a library, the choice was hers. With a casualness that belied her nerves, she studied each one, placing them back on the shelves. She wished he’d back off and get the hell away. But he was her boss, so she couldn’t exactly tell him to piss off, though if needs must, she certainly would. Except that speaking up would involve looking for another job and they didn’t come easy.

“Many people been in today?” he asked
whilst following her.

“No, not many
.” She moved forward, all of a sudden finding she’d walked her way into a corner.
Shit,
she thought and turned, trying to squeeze past him. “Er, excuse me Mr. Evans, I really need—”

H
is hand shot out and held her arm in a tight grip, his chubby fingers digging in hard enough to leave a bruise. “What you need is to be nice to me,” he warned, the smile vanishing, his heated gaze firing over her chest. He swallowed. “And call me Ron, unless of course you don’t need this job anymore ….” He leaned into her, his wet, soft, flaccid lips pressed against the side of her face.

“Get off me!” she screamed
, pushing against him when she found herself free.

“I suggest you list
en to the lady,” snarled Solomon. His amiable smiling expression was replaced with a mask of fury. His hand neatly hooked into the man’s collar, he shook him roughly, releasing him so suddenly he almost fell. “Now get the hell out of here before I lose my temper!”

Alex stared at him i
n shock, wondering why he was back but thankful he was. She unconsciously rubbed her arm.

“You ok
ay?” asked Solomon quietly, noticing her gesture. A muscle ticked against his jaw, the only evidence of his rage.

Alex nodded
, unable to speak. Feeling a slush of misery swamp through her, she stared down at the floor and counted the maze of wooden blocks, anything not to think.

“Come on
,” he urged, taking her by the arm and noticing her flinch at the contact. “Let me look at that.”

She moved quickly past him.
“No, really. It’s okay.”

“
I’ll walk you home.” His tone brooked no refusal.

Once ou
tside in the sunshine, his worried gaze scanned over her. “Who was that guy, anyway?”

“My boss
,” she sighed. “I guess he could be my ex-boss, now. Shit, I can’t afford to be out of work.” She rubbed her head tiredly. “The thought of going back to Mother creases me.”

Picking up on that snippet of news
, Sol looked up, startled. “What do you mean?”

“Well
, if I lose my job, I can’t afford to keep my house, and that would mean moving back home,” she explained as if to a child.

Sol stumbled, that bit of news disarming him. A slam of worry hit him square in the stomach.
Alex moving was the one thing he couldn’t let happen. Not while he was working on getting her on her back. He decided he’d better have a word with her boss about her job situation, and also ensure the man didn’t pay any further visits. “Does he live around here?”

She pointed
towards a brick cottage set back on the hill a ways. The Bay was so small that most of its inhabitants lived along the main strip. “Just there.” Then she continued on home.

Solomon paused and took note, then followed her
.

Alex opened her front door and stepped inside, noticing that Sol had followed her to her front
step and hovered in the doorframe. She spun around and confronted him. “Where do you think you’re going?”

H
e held out his hands, trying to placate her. “Just coming in and making you a coffee while you change. Told you, I’m just being neighbourly.”