Page 87 of A Winter Wedding Adventure
She was a heavy sleeper, so he wrapped his body around hers like an octopus, soaking up the subtle scent of her and wallowing in the sensation of her skin pressed to his. He studied her blue hair, pale in the dim moonlight penetrating the curtains, the crescent-moon scar on her cheek. The line of her shoulder was unbearably beautiful, the musculature an outward sign of her strength of character.
Stirring, she moved instinctively closer and he pressed a light kiss to the side of her neck. Nothing about how he felt was casual, but he knew her layers of armour would not be removed easily and they didn’t have any more time.
She felt something – he was certain of that – but it wasn’t his place to work out how much.
He must have slept eventually, because he awoke suddenly to find the room brighter and Kira at his neck, using her mouth to bring him out in goosebumps and draw a deep moan from his chest.
His hands threading in her hair, he brought her up for a kiss, long and drowsy and deep. Pausing for a moment, he opened his mouth to say something, but she shook her head and tapped her finger against his lips, kissing him again instead. Then she stole his thoughts completely, moving her body against his and eventually fetching a condom and taking him in.
His agreement not to say anything felt binding, so he showed her instead, with gentle touches to her throat, an urgent clasp on her thighs and finally, tangling his fingers with hers as they tumbled together.
‘Kira.’ He couldn’t quite stop the gasp of her name. She was silent, her chest heaving, where she propped herself up on top of him. She wouldn’t meet his gaze, but her mouth wobbled in a frown.
Then she hauled herself off him and left the bed, swiping her clothes up from the floor, flinging them on and disappearing into the bathroom. Five minutes later, she’d gathered up her meagre belongings and, without a backward glance, she left.
35
‘Come on! What do you call that? Your head’s all over the place today!’
Kira’s seventeen-year-old student abseiled down from the top of the climbing wall with a grimace, stumbling over an apology. A twinge of guilt assailed Kira, especially since she knew she’d been a hard-arse and a hypocrite to boot.
She still doubled down. ‘It’s only three months until Nationals. There’s no time for laziness. I expect better on Wednesday.’
The girl ambled away in the direction of the changing rooms, her head hanging. Kira watched her go, consumed by the restlessness that had become a familiar companion over the past three weeks.
The fact that she’d done the right thing – the only thing – by leaving before anyone got hurt was no comfort when she seemed to have to readjust to life without him. It made no sense. She’d been fine before – content with her friendships and occasionally scratching the itch in bed with someone. She shouldn’t feel starved of touch – a very particular kind of touch.
She’d always been alone, so why did she feel even more alone now?
‘I hope you don’t go so hard on me.’
Turning with relief at the distraction, Kira found Ginny and enfolded her in a hug before she realised what she was doing. God, she’d turned into a sappy mess. It was a good thing Andreas wasn’t there to tease her, and Rhys was off photographing pumas in Patagonia.
Actually, Andreas would try to recruit her for his pyramid scheme again and she might choke him before Sophie ever had the chance to drag him to the altar. She was not in love, like everyone else seemed to be, all of a sudden.
She just missed Mattia like a part of her own body. Nothing serious.
‘Whoa there,’ Ginny said with a smile, extricating herself from the tight hug. ‘I need to breathe if I’m going to learn to climb.’
It was Ginny’s third session and she was still entirely uncoordinated, but she claimed determination would make up for her lack of natural talent – although she also definitely lacked the self-confidence to test herself against the wall.
It was late January, which could have explained Kira’s restlessness. She wanted to get back to the real crags along the Dorset coast, or into the hills – anywhere legitimately outdoors. But the weather was dreary and cold, so she was stuck focusing on her indoor groups and individual training.
But that was just an excuse. She was miserable and it was getting harder to pretend she wasn’t.
‘Is something bothering you?’ Ginny asked.
‘I’m always this grumpy,’ she joked instead of answering.
Ginny rolled her eyes. ‘We are going for a drink afterwards,’ she stated, giving Kira no opportunity to protest.
After they’d finished their forty-five-minute session, Ginny was sweating and groaning, but Kira could honestly say, ‘You did well today.’
‘Yeah, right,’ Ginny laughed, still panting from her last ascent.
‘A definite improvement on last week.’
Ginny snorted. ‘That’s because Rhys isn’t here. I started to think he haunted this place.’
