Quench Me
      Chapter 7
 

"Danny," I whisper when I see him looking down at me.

"It's me, Michelle," he says in a voice that turns my insides to mush.

It's then I remember the rest of the evening, and I immediately sit up with a jolt.

"How long have I been asleep?" I ask.

"About an hour," he answers, his hand still tucking my hair behind my ear. If he doesn't quit touching me, I'm going to explode.

"What time is it?" I ask

"Eleven thirty. How's your head?"

I try to focus on what was my migraine headache. "Much better. It still hurts, but nothing like before. I'll be fine in the morning. Tomorrow's Saturday, so I'll just go home, crawl into bed, and sleep late."

I've got to get out of here as soon as humanly possible.

"You're not going anywhere, Michelle," Danny states.

"What?" I ask, completely astounded.

"Your brother's working, and I'm not going to let you go home and be by yourself."

"Danny, I'm fine. Really. I just need a good night's sleep." Please let him believe me so that I can go home. Please.

"I don't care what you say, Michelle. You scared the hell out of me tonight, and I'm not going to let you be alone."

I can tell by the look on his face that he's not going to let up. The only solution is for me to agree, and get back to sleep in a jiffy, so that I don't have to sit here and look at him any longer.

"O.K. Fine," I relent. "I'll just sleep right here on the sofa."

"No you won't," he counters. "You had a migraine, and you need sleep. You can sleep in one of the guest rooms upstairs. It's not like I'm short on space in this joint."

I'm glad for the small bit of humor and say, "Yeah, I noticed."

"So, what do you think of the place?" he asks.

"Honestly?" I ask, gently rubbing my temples.

A smile breaks on Danny's face, as he says, "Mausoleum, right?"

I laugh slightly and answer, "Yeah, and a pretentious one at that."

"I always kind of thought that," he says. "I've been thinking about getting a place of my own, but my mother's only been gone six weeks, and, I don't know, it's been kind of nice having the place to myself."

"I guess so," I say.

"You still look pretty out of it," Danny comments.

"Yeah, that medication is fairly strong," I reply.

"Well, let's go upstairs and I'll show you where you can sleep."

Again, he takes my hand and leads me down the hall, this time toward the stairs. I keep expecting him to let go of my hand as we climb the stairs, but he doesn't. He keeps his fingers laced with mine, and I feel like I'm going to go through the roof.

When we get to the top of the steps, he stops at the first bedroom on the left side of the hall. "Just a sec," he says, as he walks inside. I see him taking off his watch and laying it on the nightstand, and I realize that this is his bedroom. He goes to the closet and pulls out two pillows and pillow cases.

"I thought you might want some extra pillows," he says.

"Thanks," I say, as he walks across the hall and I follow.

"You can sleep in here," he points out, as he opens the door. "If you need anything, I'll be right across the hall." He tosses the extra pillows on the bed.

"I'll be fine, Danny."

"Well then, goodnight," he says. He gently touches the left side of my face, and then he's gone.

I slip into the bed and under the covers. If I have to stay in this house with my new "friend", at least I can sleep through it. Luckily, the medication is still affecting me, and sleep comes easily.


Somewhere in my sleep, I turn toward the door and see him standing there. He's staring at me again, the same, intense stare that I've seen before. My voice catches in my throat and I can say nothing.

"Is it all right that I'm here?" he asks softly as he walks to the bed and sits down beside me.

"Oh Danny, yes. It's so much more than all right," I answer.

His face moves slowly toward me, and he presses his forehead against mine. He looks into my eyes so deeply that I think he surely must be able to see my soul. His lips meet mine in painstakingly slow motion, and I move my hands to his face to hold him there, afraid that he'll move away any second. His tongue traces my lips and I open my mouth to his, inviting him to come in. Our tongues meld together in a dance so intimate, so real, and I can feel him moan, "Mmmmmm" as he moves himself on top of me.

As he lifts his face from mine, he looks at me and says, "Do you want me this way, Michelle?"

"God yes, Danny," is all I manage to say before he buries his face in my neck, creating a trail of fire toward my collarbone. "Nothing has ever felt so right in my entire life."

I struggle to get my arms between our bodies, and begin unbuttoning his shirt. With each button that I release, I feel more of his skin, and realize that he's already sweating with anticipation.

His mouth is on mine again, and he's talking as he's kissing me. "You feel so good, Michelle."

He sits up briefly, so that I can slide his shirt off his shoulders. As I run my hands across his now bare chest, I say, "So do you, Danny. So do you."

He reaches for the bottom of my tank top. I instinctively raise my arms, and he pulls it over my head in one, quick motion.

"Is there anything about you that's not perfect?" he asks, as he cups my breasts in his hands.

Something primitive in me takes over, and I throw my head back, thrusting my chest closer to his face. He doesn't take advantage of it immediately, but rather teases me with his hot breath. Just when I think I can't stand anymore, his mouth is finally on me, and I feel the fire within me begin to rage. I grab him and pull him down on top of me, pressing my chest hard into his. Our mouths are hungry for one another and he deftly takes possession of mine as he reaches down and slides my pants to my ankles. He removes them the rest of the way with his feet, and kicks them to the floor. My hand are already working on his pants. He helps me do away with them, and in a flash, they join mine in the floor next to the bed.

He's poised over me, ready to begin what I know will make me soar, when he asks, "Are you sure?"

I nod, and he begins to lower himself to me.


My eyes fly open and I kick the covers from my body. I'm in the bedroom all right, but Danny's not here. It takes me a moment to realize that I was dreaming, and when I do, I also realize that I'm dripping with sweat.

"It was just a dream," I whisper to myself. I look at the bedroom door and notice that it's slightly ajar. "Oh God, please tell me I didn't talk in my sleep."

I sit there, shaking in the bed, fully expecting Danny to walk through the door. If I talked in my sleep, I'm sure he heard me, and I'm going to have a hell of a time explaining myself.

Several minutes pass, and he doesn't appear. I breathe a sigh of relief, and I look over at the clock. It's 3:00 a.m., so surely he's sleeping. Silently, I get up and tip toe across the hall.

The door to his bedroom is cracked slightly, and I peek inside. I start to berate myself for spying on him, but then I see him. He's lying on his stomach, arms encircling a pillow. He's covered from the waist down. I can see his naked back, and it takes my breath away.

"Michelle, get a hold of yourself," I think to myself. "What if he finds you here?"

Quietly, I start back across the hall. When I reach the bedroom door, a rush of heat barrels through me, and I know that he's looking at me. Damn.

"Michelle," he says in a sleepy voice.

"I'm sorry. Did I wake you up?" I ask, as I turn around. He's wearing plaid pajama bottoms and nothing else, as if I need to be turned on more.

"Not really. Are you all right? How's your head?"

"I'm fine," I say, knowing I need an excuse for being out of bed. "I just couldn't sleep."

"I'm having trouble with that myself," he responds. "Are you sure you're O.K.?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Sometimes that medicine makes me have crazy dreams. It just woke me up, and now I can't get back to sleep."

I had a crazy dream, all right, but I highly doubt it was because of the medication.

"Well, do you need anything?" he asks, stepping across the hall until he's within inches of me.

I can't speak. I can't even breathe. I just shake my head "no".

"Do you need anything from me?" he asks again.

Do I need anything from you? You bet I do. If you only knew, Danny.