บททั้งหมดของ Enemy Mine (Unseen Enemy 3): บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

Jennifer Sawyer stared out the window at the children playing in the park across the street. She’d sat in this exact spot often enough that the sight was as familiar as the view out of her own windows at home. She even recognized a few of the kids; she noted idly that the girl in the green hat was toddling now, and that her older brother had a new winter coat.Lori Donovan watched Jenny quietly. She knew that the woman was at a critical place right at the moment, and Lori wanted to give Jenny the time that she needed to make her decision. These things couldn’t be rushed, Lori knew, and so she sat and waited.Jenny turned to Lori now. “OK, I’m ready to talk about it.”Lori nodded. “So. Tell me about touching Dallas.”Jenny sighed. “I – I can’t explain what happened. He was just so upset about Liv being so badly hurt, and the fact is that Dallas had just killed someone. I know that he had no choice at all in the matter, and it’s not like it was the first time he’d done that… but it stil

Jenny jumped when the door opened, then she felt embarrassment and fear as she took in Chris standing there in just his boxers. His upper body was massive, much bigger than it looked when he was clothed, and he had a large tattoo on one arm. He was strong and muscled, and the sight of all that brute strength and male power made her want to run screaming.Beside him stood a blonde woman who narrowed her eyes at Jenny and looked her up and down. It was glaringly obvious that these two had had sex, and Jenny had no idea where to look all of a sudden.Oh, God… has he got a girlfriend now? If he does, none of this is going to work.“Hey, Jenny,” Chris said, trying to look and sound calm. “Hey, how are you?”“Good,” Jenny said, avoiding his eyes. “Is this a bad time? I can come back later.”“No, it’s OK.” He stood aside. “Come on in.”“You got a revolving door on this place, huh?” Cara said with a smirk. “You got us all on as schedule?”Jenny flushed bright red, and Chris felt anger surge i

Chris got to his feet too, his hands facing palms-up in a gesture of supplication. “OK, whoa. Sweetheart, sit down again. Let’s – let’s just talk this through a bit more. Alright?”She nodded and sat down. She wiped the tears from her eyes.“So, what you’re asking is for me to help you get used to being touched by a man again,” he said softly. “So that you can remember that not all male touch is scary. Right?”“Right.”“And you’d want us to take this as far as possible, depending on how much you can handle. I’d have to be prepared to – to go all the way. If it got to that.”“Yes.”He took a deep breath. “I don’t know, Jenny. What happens when you’re scared? How can I – what would I do to calm you down, make you feel safe again?” He ran his hands through his hair. “I’m not a therapist, I’m not a doctor. Fuck, I’m just a mechanic. I’d be sure to screw it all up, somehow. Make it worse.”“We’d have to talk all that through.” Her eyes were huge in her pale face. “I’d tell you what I’d nee

Chris was quiet as he thought about that statement. It was indeed true that while they were in Afghanistan, Chris had been the one man in their unit who had been called in to talk to local women who had been raped or brutalized, but who knew information helpful to the Americans. None of these women had been willing or able to let a man near her – let alone a huge, fierce Ranger – but Chris had always been able to get into the room with the women, and get them to relax enough to tell him what they knew. He had no idea what it was, but something about him was soothing, calming. He’d learned how to talk to terrified women, how to make himself non-threatening. Jim was right, he realized; of the four of them, he did have the most experience with women who had no reason at all to trust men. He just wasn’t sure that applied in this case.“Yeah, but I didn’t touch those women,” Chris said. “And I certainly didn’t get into bed with them. Big difference, man.”Dean shrugged. “It all starts wit

He met her eyes. “What am I up against, Emma?"She bit her lip. “I can’t say too much… it’s not my place.”“I know.”“But what Jenny went through was nothing short of a living nightmare. The fact that she’s managed to get on with things, and build up a successful restaurant after it, is all a miracle. Hell, the fact that she gets out of bed in the morning is a damn miracle. But she’s strong, and she’s determined that what happened will not ruin her life. She wants things for herself, Chris: happiness, financial security, a family. And she’ll do whatever she has to do to get those things, if she can.”Chris nodded. “If you can’t help her, she’ll go ahead another way,” Emma said. “She wants to be in a healthy relationship. She wants to relax in bed with a man who loves her. She wants to be a mother. She’s going after that life, Chris, and if you want to be a part of it somehow, then this is your chance.”Chris started at her words. “You think she’d let me be part of that life? That Jen