Mistaken Identity

Mistaken Identity - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Sinking into the warm bubbles of the large clawfoot tub, Addie willed every muscle in her body to relax. She could not believe with everything she had been through in the past two days, it was only yesterday morning she had one of the best massages money could buy. Her muscles ached and when she took off her clothes and tried to wash them out before getting in the tub, she noticed several purplish marks on her legs, arms and back, probably from her roll in the grass after jumping from the train.

Lowering her body to cover her hair with water, she enjoyed the warm scent of the gardenia bubble bath as she emerged from under the water. Using the soap, she washed every inch of her body... twice, and then reached for the shampoo. As she lathered her hair, through the door she heard Duncan curse. “Is everything okay?” she called to him. She did not understand the feelings she was having for this man. All she knew was that acting on her impulses like she did earlier would only embarrass her more. Especially when he used her like the others had.

Having terrible taste in men had been a downfall for her since she started dating in high school. Sure guys liked her, but they either wanted something she could give them (or so they thought) or they believed she would make a better friend than lover. Is that what Duncan thought? That she would be one of the guys, a pal or friend to hang around with? Addie was utterly confused. She thought she read Duncan’s attraction earlier, but when he grew quiet after the kiss. Did she mess up again? Never again would she put herself out there for Duncan or any man. Whomever wanted her would need to make the first, second and maybe even the third move in order to make sure she was reading him correctly. And she definately was not going to fall over for the first man in a kilt that came along, no matter how much she loved her Scottish romance books!

On the other side of the door Duncan said, “Just some bad news that I already suspected. I’ll tell ye when yer out. Don’t worry, everything’ll be fine.”

With her other clothes drying over a towel rack, Addie put on the over-sized t-shirt Duncan had given her to sleep in. It was large, warm and smelled of him. Finding a brush in the bathroom, Addie brushed her wet hair and headed out to the bedroom.

Duncan was trying to figure out what to do next when Addie emerged from the bathroom. She looked beautiful, like an angel, dressed in only his t-shirt. It had never looked that good on me, he thought to himself. It took him a moment to realize that he was staring at her. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and he was about to get in bed with her, and not touch her. Damn!

Only when she spoke did his mind snap back like a rubber band, to their situation instead of what he wanted to do with her in that king size bed. “Um, I called my mechanic. When he looked at the Jeep he noticed the brake line was not leaking,” he raised his eyebrow and continued, “but it had been cut. Someone cut it while we were in my apartment.”

A concerned look on Addie’s face made Duncan want to go to her and comfort her. She did not need this, nor did she deserve being put in this situation. Taking a step towards her, Duncan raised his hand like he was going to caress her face, but in the last moment he just moved a tendril of hair off her cheek. “We’ll be okay,” he said with a sigh as he dropped his hand to his side. “We already knew someone was after us. I told Tony, my mechanic, to call the police and see if they could get a fingerprint. He assured me that he already did that and informed me that his shop had been crawling with police all day long.”

“You’re right, we’ll be okay. Tomorrow we will get a rental car and go to the cabin. And we’ll be safe in the cabin!” Addie said it with such conviction and determination that Duncan believed it himself.