TouchStone for ever (The Story of Us Trilogy) by Sydney Jamesson Page A

painless feeling of tightness. All in all I am visibly healing, but the
fact I may not be able to conceive is a crushing reminder of my brutal attack.
An unwelcome shiver of fear runs the length of my body; fear at what might have
happened and fear of what is to come.  I can’t begin to even contemplate living
my life like this; a married couple under one roof with nothing to connect them
other than a surname.
    I pour some expensive
bubble bath into the bubbling water and watch it fill with scented froth. The
room folds in around me as the steam rises from the bubbles. When I turn to my
left I flinch slightly, seeing Ayden standing by the door, leaning on the
frame.
    “You’ll feel much
better after a bath,” he states. “Let me help you.”
    I don’t resist.
    He begins by
unbuttoning my dress and folding it over my shoulders, around my elbows,
holding it while I step out of it. He falters.
    “What’s the matter?”
I ask. “Can’t you bear to look my bruised body?”
    He’s shaking his
head. “Of course no, it isn’t that.”
    As I wait to be
rejected, I’m transfixed by his penetrating stare. His features appear to
soften; that faraway look in his eyes morphs into something else…
    Sadness.
    A single tears falls
from his right eye and trickles over the fine row of sutures before descending
onto his cheek. I stand on my toes and catch it with my lips when it reaches
his chin. As my tears fall, he does the same and kisses away my pain, until my
sobs become no more than a hard swallow.
    “You’ve been very
brave but there is one more trial for you to face before you can be truly free
of all this. My only concern is that you’re in no shape mentally or physically
to process what I have to tell you.”
    Feeling restored by
the closeness of his body I offer a reply, “There’s nothing I can’t handle if
we’re together, Ayden.” I take a step back. “Why do you mention a trial? You
mean for having killed my attacker?”
    “No. That’s being
taken care of and you won’t be charged with anything. My legal team is handling
all that and there’s enough evidence against him to forgo any charges that may
be levelled at you.” He takes a deep breath. “No. This is more of a personal
sacrifice …”
    “It is?”
    He’s nodding. “Take
your bath, and once you’re refreshed and we’ve eaten, I’ll explain.”
     
    We’re sitting across
from each other. The glass table is highly polished and the crystal wine
glasses reflect in it as I did not so long ago. Thankfully, there are no traces
of my fingerprints or smears left over from my naked body; everything is
pristine and untouched.
    Between mouthfuls I
look up and he catches my eye but I refuse to respond to the midnight blue hues
of flickering light emanating from those bewitching orbs. I need to think
straight and I must not let myself become caught up in his silent seduction.
    “You’ve found your
appetite,” he observes, watching the last morsel of carpaccio leave my plate.
“Are you feeling revived after your soak?”
    Still unsettled by
the tone of his voice I nod slowly. Both timbre and phrasing are recognisable
as Ayden’s, but the playfulness I love so much is missing, and no amount of
wine will restore this man to his roguish self, tonight.
     “So, you mentioned a
trial.” I align my knife and fork neatly. “What am I to be put on trial for?”
    He pushes back his
chair. “This isn’t the place to discuss that. Come and sit down.” He reaches
for our glasses of wine and moves gracefully in the direction of the sofa. Once
seated, he taps the cushion for me to join him.
    I join him on the
sumptuous leather sofa and turn to face him. He looks calm and composed,
perfectly at home.
     “Do you recall your
first meeting with Alenka?”
    Alenka!
    I simply nod, still
hearing her name whirring in my ears several seconds after he has spoken.
    “Something surprising
happened in the washroom, didn’t it? Something that has puzzled you since