by Marie Kelly
“How are you feeling” he said softly lifting her hand into his own. Looking at him she was surprised to see how pale he was. There were deep black lines around his eyes making him look 10 years older
“Are you OK” she asked with worry in her voice as he had laughed softly at her concern for him.
“I am now that you’re awake” he said gently
“You gave me quite a fright….I thought when I saw you that…..” again his voice faltered
“I tripped” she said remembering the details
“I know” he replied softly “I found your water bottle on the path”
She began to try to sit up but fell back against the bed as the dizziness had suddenly hit her
“Lie still. Docs orders” he said gently
“Did I break anything” she asked ruefully, not feeling any real areas of pain
“Not that we can tell” came back the answer
Hearing his tortured groan her eyes flew back to him
“God Kira another few feet either way and you would have been in the rocks. It was a miracle that you landed on the sand……..saved your life. I should have been with you. I should never have left you alone. I’m so sorry”
She could see the emotion in his eyes as he spoke, the look of fear deep within them.
She reached out her hand to softly touch his cheek, wanting to comfort him.
“Guess I’m just lucky” she joked softly
“Get to come away for an all expenses paid luxury holiday … and still miss the rocks”
He laughed gently holding her open hand so that he could kiss the palm.
“What time is it” she asked
“About 2 in the morning………you’ve been unconscious for a while. I was getting really worried about you” he said raggedly
“Oh” was all that she could manage
“Doctor said you might have one hell of a headache…….but he can’t see any other damage”
Kira smiled her eyes starting to flutter slowly closed. With a little giggle she weakly joked
“Is this how all the girls fall for you Craig” making his lips twitch with a soft smile, wondering at her ability to laugh even now
Craig stood, leaning over to gently kiss her forehead.
“Get some sleep sweetheart” he whispered this time the sweetheart spoken gently and not with its usual dripping of sarcasm.
Quickly her eyes had flown open
“Where are you going” she asked
“I’ll give you peace and let you sleep” he said softly “I’ll go to my own room”
Suddenly there were tears in her eyes as she reached out for him
“No, please don’t leave me” she whispered, her heart crying out for him “don’t ever leave me” she had added so quietly that he had not been able to hear it
Kicking off his shoes he lay down beside her on top of the covers watching her. He saw the panic leave her eyes as he lay on the pillows beside her, seeing her eyes slowly closing while her hand held his tightly. He watched as her features had become serene and completely relaxed as she fell into a deep sleep. After a while sleep took him too as he watched her breathing slowly her long lashes sweeping along her pale skin and her beautiful mouth slightly parted. He felt such strange sensations at the realisation that he had so nearly lost her forever and he had shuddered.
As her eyes opened she could feel her head pounding. Groaning slightly she felt Craig moving beside her.
“Kira ….. You OK” his soft voice spoke as he pulled himself onto his elbow to look worriedly down on her
Licking her dry lips she gave him a weak smile “Did you get the number”
He looked at her in surprise “The number?”
“Of the truck that hit me” she chuckled slightly before the sharp pain in her head caused her to wince slightly “ow!!” she moaned
“Ben said you should try not to move” he spoke gently
“Ben?” she looked at him questioningly
“It was Ben who took care of you” he exclaimed
“Sometimes its handy living next island door to one of the worlds leading neurosurgeons” he grinned
Kira recalled the meeting with the couple. She remembered that Ben had been some kind of doctor
“That was really nice of him” she whispered
Craig nodded, gently brushing away hair from her face
“He is a very nice man, and he told me to make sure that you stay in bed” he said
Kira giggled gently “I don’t think I’m really up to that Craig” she said looking over at him
“But I appreciate the offer”
Craig laughed back at her “You are impossible” he said softly before kissing her tenderly
He was still wearing his shirt and dress trousers, which were creased and dirty, and his unkempt look was further obvious by the 12 o’clock shadow which gave him an even more sensual look she thought and she looked at him with a little grin
“mmm I like this new look on you... the pirate thing” she said softly suddenly feeling very tired feeling her eyes fluttering closed again
When she once again awoke she had felt much better. Even the headache seemed to have become nothing more than a dull thudding. She had been alone, and pushing back the covers she had shakily stood up. Taking her time until the feeling of dizziness had subsided she slowly walked to the bathroom taking one of the fluffy bathrobes from the back of the door and pulling it on, before leaving the room.
As she descended the stairs she spotted Craig talking with Ben and Heather. He had at some point changed and was wearing white linen trousers with a black t-shirt. As they spotted her slowly moving towards them he had gasped running up to meet her
“What are you doing up” he demanded
“Back to bed”
Kira had looked at him with impatience
“I am not spending the whole day in bed” she spoke defiantly
“Oh I think you are” he said with grim determination as in one fluid movement he swept her up into his arms and moved back up the stairs before gently laying her back onto the bed
Behind him Ben and Heather followed. Ben chuckled, “Sorry Kira, but for today you stay here” he said before examining her. He looked into her eyes asking questions and taking her blood pressure. Finally with a smile he had looked happy
“Well I’m glad to say that you seem in good health…..but still stay in bed today” he had added seeing Craig’s look
She had sighed in submission “Fine” she said a little sulkily
“Are you hungry” Craig asked softly looking at Ben “Is that OK” before receiving a reassuring nod.
As she nodded he and Ben had disappeared out of the room. Heather however, stayed with her
“How are you feeling” she said gently
Kira smiled softly
“Very lucky” she responded with real feeling “I shiver when I think what might have happened”
The older woman nodded her face more serious
“You missed all the excitement” she said
“What do you mean” Kira asked confused
Heather then went on to tell her the story of her rescue
“Craig called to tell us what had happened, boy was that boy panicking. The easiest way of reaching you was by sea, so we got the speed boat straight over while he organised for a helicopter to be ready if needed to winch you out of there” she paused to see the look of disbelief on the young woman’s face
“We were there in less than 10 minutes and you were out cold. Craig…what a mess….he was in a hell of a state”
“He was?” Kira whispered
“He was half out of his mind with worry….we had to give him jobs to do just to keep him busy. Fortunately you came around long enough for Ben to tell that you hadn’t broken your neck or back”
Kira frowned not able to remember.
“So we managed to get you onto a stretcher and into the boat and take you back to the house” Heather smil
Chucking she had added
“I never thought I would see the day that Craig...” she stopped seeing the confused look in the younger women’s eyes
She took Kiras hand
“You were very lucky…….Ben says that you will be fine. The bed rest is only to help you with the shock. You were unconscious because the wind was completely knocked out of you as you landed - even sand is hard from 20 feet up”
Kira smiled back thankfully at Heather
“Tell Ben thank you” she said with such sincerity that the older woman had squeezed her hand
“Well maybe you and Craig can buy us a big fancy meal” she laughed, once again seeing the same hurt look enter Kiras eyes she had seen on the first day they had met
At that point Craig and Ben reappeared carrying a tray full of a variety of food and drinks
Ben had taken his wife’s hand and with a wave had said that it was time to go, with a “don’t get over excited” comment to the two of them. As Craig had started to rise to show them out Heather had put a hand on his shoulder
“We can see ourselves out….you stay here” and then they were gone.
Craig had poured her a cup of tea watching as she drank it with relish.
“mmmmmmm now that is good” she whispered “but very British” she giggled
He smiled back before looking at her with thoughtful eyes
“I’ve been thinking a lot about the way I treated you yesterday” he said continuing as she placed her hand on his to stop him “but I really believe that you don’t know what’s going on……….and I wish I could tell you but I promised Paul I wouldn’t”
Kira had looked at him in surprise “Craig I don’t know who you thought I was meeting, but I was alone the whole morning”
Looking down he had nodded “I know………I saw the footage” he said softly “but just the thought that you” he paused for a second “I couldn’t bear it” he said looking up his tortured eyes meeting her confused ones.
“And then when our argument nearly resulted in you’re…” he stopped again real grief passing over his eyes which made her groan leaning against him
“Lets not go there Craig” she said softly holding him against her before with a soft sigh kissing his lips. She could feel his body shudder at her touch before leaning further into her until his weight pushed her into the mountain of pillows behind her. With a small groan he pulled away from her
“I don’t think this is what Ben had in mind” he said softly
Kira purred sensually leaning back on the pillows looking at him seductively from half closed eyes her arms crossed above her head.
“OK” she said gently
“If that’s what you think”
Craig laughed gently “You are a little witch” he smiled leaning forward towards her as the phone on the bedside cabinet rang
Gasping Kira turned to grab the device suddenly serious
As she answered the phone she watched him stiffen beside her. He could hear her apologising for not calling earlier. He had noticed that she avoided talking about the accident keeping the conversation light. As she rang off once again declaring her love, she had looked at the phone with great confusion before looking over at him. Kira could see the question in his eyes even before he voiced it
“Who are you phoning Kira” he asked gently
“Please don’t ask” she pled with him
“I could find out myself” he said suddenly very serious
Kira knew that he would have no problem, sure that it would only take one call for him to know everything. With a myriad of emotions crossing her tortured eyes she finally looked at him her eyes full of tears
“I know you could……..but if you did it would ruin everything.” She said softly “We don’t have long together Craig…….please don’t spoil this time”
“Kira…” he began as she grabbed his hand
“Promise me Craig” she begged pain crossing her eyes as her head suddenly began to throb.
Craig watching her carefully had finally nodded his head in agreement
“OK, I promise” he said his voice sombre
She watched as he looked intently at her seeing the way her eyes were growing heavy
“But only if you promise to sleep” he said standing suddenly and dropping a gentle kiss on her forehead
Kira had smiled “thank you” she whispered, before closing her eyes and succumbing to the sleep which tugged at her.
Craig had returned to his office. He had caught up on his emails and phoned those who needed to be informed of events. Everything was moving smoothly and all indications were very positive. For a few moments he wondered how she would react when she found out, before sighing, choosing not to think about it at that moment. His hand had hovered over the phone to find out what she was hiding, but suddenly he couldn’t face breaking a promise to her, and he had let his hand drop. Frowning he had remembered her words
“We don’t have long together” and he realised that there was no point in destroying the little time they had left. She must love this man very much he thought to himself.
As Kira had once again woken up, she had felt stiff. However, the headache had passed and sitting up she had moved out of bed. Slowly stepping into the shower she had enjoyed the feel of the water cleansing her body and hair, bringing life back into her stiff bones. She had been surprised to find that she didn’t have one single bruise on her body and had been amazed that she could have been so lucky. After dressing in a pair of white shorts and blue sailor’s shirt she had stood on the balcony watching the waves beat against the cliff enjoying the breeze blowing through her hair.
As she stood peacefully watching she heard the door being slowly opened as Craig had slipped into the room. She smiled hearing his soft curse as he found the bedcovers thrown back and her gone. As he stepped out onto the balcony sighing in exasperation she looked patiently at him
“Kira…….you heard what Ben said……….you need to be in bed”
“I can’t lie there all day Craig” she sighed “I just start to feel stiff”
He looked about ready to demand her return when she smiled softly at him
“Please…..I really am OK” she said twirling “See no damage”
She saw the quick look of pain in his eyes, and felt sorry for being so flippant
“It could have been very different” he said his voice serious
“I could have been explaining to whoever you phone that you weren’t ever coming back”.
Craig saw the pained look in her eye as she turned away from him suddenly
As she stood there biting her lip to hold back the tears at who she would have been hurting he had groaned moving behind her to embrace her within his arms, rubbing her neck with his cheek softly.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean………” he faltered. “If I phone Ben and he says it’s OK, would you like to go on the boat” he asked more brightly
Kira had smiled the idea of escaping her bed for a day on the high seas very attractive, and nodding her head she had skipped past him to find shoes
One phone call later and with instructions to pack a small overnight bag they were making their way down to the jetty which she had noticed as they were flying in.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The boat was not surprisingly, huge. It was motorised and was luxurious to the extreme. At one end it was equipped with fishing tackle and seats which Kira had twirled on with delight. In the belly of the boat were 3 state rooms, a large sitting room which was decked with all the latest electronic gadgets and a large galley which would have swallowed up her kitchen back home.
“You’re not exactly slumming it when you go fishing” she had giggled as she peered into every room. Each contained at least a double bed and en-suite bathroom. He had grinned lifting her bag into the largest of the rooms. “Hell no” had been his response with a wicked twinkle in his eye as he had dropped the bag onto the king size bed, laughing as she skipped excitedly around the boat.
“Well can we leave now” he had laughed down at her
Moving back up to the deck he had taken the controls and manoeuvred the large boat out onto the ocean. Kira had been impressed as to how well he navigated the large vehicle and been nervous as he had insisted that she take a shot. Very quickly she had mastered the basics gaining more confidence. As the boat moved she enjoyed watching the schools of dolphins which swam alongside, riding the wake made by them
They had spent over an hour at sea before he cut the engines declaring that they had worked hard enough, and tradition had it that they should now relax and worship the sun. Kira had laughed at the playful side of him saluting him in an equally playful manner
“Aye, aye captain”
Running down to their room she had quickly changed into a bikini which showed off her wonderful figure and long shapely legs. Pulling on a hat and sunglasses she had then rejoined him
Craig had groaned seeing her before changing himself.
For a glorious hour they had lounged on the deck on the plush double Lillo which he had produced. They had spoken little, enjoying the way the boat bobbed peacefully on the still water while the gulls cried overhead, the sound of the water plopping against the side of the boat so soothing. As she lay on her front enjoying the feel of the warm sun soaking into her still stiff body Craig had leant over her, his eyes scanning her body
“Not one mark” he breathed in wonder
Kira had laughed softly “Ah….you can’t hurt the righteous” she said
“Besides My skin is so thick I would probably just bounce off………or isn’t that what you think” she asked rolling around against him so that he was now looking down into her face. He had sighed wearily looking into the distance his mind obviously lost in some deep thought.
Feeling her fingers stroking his broad muscular shoulders he had once more turned to look at her, a small grin on his face
“Now don’t start me Kira………you know what Ben said……….. You need rest”
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