“Idle threats will certainly not help your cause,” I replied, not even looking at her.
A strong gust of wind blew my hair forwards, covering my face in my red curls. As I brushed them back from my face, still hypnotised by the sea, a sharp sting hit me in my left kidney. In an instant, excruciating agony consumed my body. My blood turned to lava, boiling me from the inside.
The next thing I knew, I found myself hurtling over the wall, towards the sea. The fresh sea air whipped at my cheeks and water streamed from my eyes. As I fell, the splashback from the waves below hit my body, tingling like pins and needles. I could feel the energy draining out of me already. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to succumb to whatever the sea wished to do with me.
I opened my eyes, a scream resonating around me. I sat up, absolutely soaked. Then I realised it was sweat, not water.
“Easy, easy,” a voice said, calming my startled state.
I whipped my head around to see Luke at my side, concern written all over his face.
“It was just a bad dream,” he said.
He tugged the blanket from me, removing a layer of heat. The clothes he’d leant me were drenched, like they’d just been washed.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, scrabbling to my feet and standing in front of the dwindling fire. “What time is it?”
“A little before two.” He stretched his legs out and stood up. “I’ll get the fire going again. Don’t want you catching a chill.”
I moved out of his way and caught sight of my phone on the coffee table. I couldn’t help but wonder if Marcus had been in touch again.
“Has my phone beeped anymore?”
He bent down, his shoulders and back visibly stiffened. “No, Cat. Sorry.”
My heart sank a little but at the same time I was glad. He’d done what I’d asked and left me alone. I started shivering as my hot sweat started to cool off.
Luke glanced up at me and grimaced. “Give me a minute and I’ll get you a change of clothes.”
“It’s ok. I’m only going to end up probably drenching them as well.”
“I do own a washing machine you know.”
I laughed. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I know, I know.” The fire started to take hold again and he threw a handful of logs on it. He went over to a cupboard in the far corner of the room and pulled out a grey fluffy blanket. “Here.” He held his arms out wide with the blanket stretched out between them. “Get yourself wrapped up again.”
I moved towards him, more than grateful for the soft dry fleece he laid around my shoulders. I flopped back on the sofa, turned the pillows over and snuggled down ready to go back to sleep.
“Is it too late to mention that that is actually a sofa bed?”
My ears perked up. “And you only decided to tell me this now?”
“Well, I didn’t want you to think I was trying to suggest something.”
“Luke…” I breathed. I stood up and pulled all the cushions off. “Come on. You’re not telling me that and not expecting me to use it.”
He unfolded the bed, which had a fresh sheet already on it, and then put all the pillows and cushions in place.
“There you go. A bed fit for a queen.”
I giggled as I settled down onto the spongy mattress. Luke went back into the cupboard and pulled out a duvet.
“Lose the blanket,” he said. “This will be better.”
“Blankets are easier to wash.”
“Cat, I think I can manage,” he said, smirking.
I did as I was told and ditched the blanket. Luke threw the duvet cover over me.
“You going to be ok down here on your own?” he said. “I’m feeling pretty tired.”
I hesitated for a moment then dared to ask the question on the tip of my tongue. “Would you…would you stay with me? In case I have another bad dream. Please?”
He shifted from foot to foot. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “Sure,” he whispered, the word almost strangled as he spoke it.
“You don’t have to,” I said, not wanting him to be uncomfortable in the slightest. “Just if you don’t mind.”
“Of course I don’t mind.”
Was I being selfish? Perhaps. But since my return to Whitby, my nightmares had only worsened. It would be nice to have some comfort from them on a rare occasion.
He climbed onto the bed and laid on his back, as far away from me as possible. I could have built a three-inch-thick wall in the divide he’d left between us.
“Luke,” I said. “I haven’t got the plague.”
He chuckled. “No, but you do have a Marcus.”
“Well, if he bothered to stay in bed then he would have the opportunity to do this, wouldn’t he? But he doesn’t.” I shrugged my shoulders. “It would just be nice to have something comforting and familiar around me when I wake up.”
“I understand, Cat, I really do, and I think Marcus is a complete ballbag, but I also feel like this is encroaching on boundaries we shouldn’t be anywhere near.”
I closed my eyes and sighed. “I know but we’re just friends, Luke. If two friends can’t hug in this day and age, then when can they?”
“In daylight. Not in a bed in the middle of the night.”
I rolled over, turning my back on him, and curled up under the duvet. “It’s ok. I get it. I don’t want to put you in an awkward situation.”
Silence stretched for several minutes. Then he moved off the bed. “I’ll stay down here,” he said, his voice low. “But I’ll sleep over here.”
I lifted my head to see him settling down on the other sofa, his long legs hanging over the end of the arm. “Luke, you look so uncomfortable. Just go to bed. I’ll be fine.”
“Nope,” he said, popping the P. “In it for the long haul now. See you in a few hours.”
Chapter 29
The next morning, I woke up to bright sunlight streaming through my eyelids. I forced my eyes open, shielding them with my hands.
“Morning, Sleeping Beauty.”
Luke’s voice broke through my sleepy fog. I turned my head to see him walking through the door with two cups of steaming tea in his hands.
“Hey,” I said, sitting up.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, nodding his head towards the bed.
“Alright, actually. It’s really comfy.”
He chuckled. “I slept on that thing for an entire year. Believe me, it’s not as comfy after that long.”
“A whole year? Why?”
“Whilst I renovated my bedroom. I pretty much lived in here and the kitchen.”
I smiled at him as I took the hot mug from him. “Thanks.”
“I debated making breakfast, but I figured breakfast in bed isn’t really a friend thing to do.”
My cheeks burned. Were we really discussing acceptable boundaries as soon as I woke up?
“I did, however,” he continued, a smirk tweaking at his lips. “Think that going out for breakfast would be a friend thing to do.”
I grinned. “Are you forgetting the key thing about that?”
“What?”
“I don’t particularly want to go out in public in my birthday suit. That would definitely not be a friend thing to do.”
“Valid point,” he said, laughing. “I guess it’s a good job—” he bent down behind the sofa and plonked my bag down in front of me “—I got these then.”
I gasped. “How did you get that?”
He grinned. “Ask no questions get told no lies.”
I laughed. “But I am asking.”
“Just be happy you got your clothes.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Hmmm. I will let it go—for now.”
He smiled. “Good. Have you got plans for today?”
Right on cue, my phone started ringing. Luke’s eyes locked onto mine. After a couple of seconds, he turned around and grabbed it from the coffee table.
“His majesty himself,” he said, looking at the screen before passing
it to me.
Nerves churned in my gut. Should I answer or let him sweat it out a bit longer? Whilst I deliberated, it rang off, giving me my choice.
Luke put it on the duvet next to me and took a swig of his drink. An awkward silence stretched between us as the elephant in the room became a depressing reality.
“I’ll go and grab a shower real quick then I’ll run you back to Marcus,” he said, his voice resigned and dare I say almost pained.
On instinct, I reached out and grabbed his forearm before he could move. “I don’t have any plans today,” I said quietly.
His eyes flickered to my phone, saying what his words failed to.
“I told him I would talk to him when I’m ready and I meant it. He’s going to suffer with this for a while yet.”
A small smile tugged at his pink lips. “Are you sure?”
I snorted. “Err…yeah. He needn’t think he’s turning this around on me and getting away with it.”
“I really hope we never fall out,” he said, chuckling.
“Why’s that?”
“I don’t fancy being tortured hour after hour wondering if you’re ever going to speak to me again.”
I laughed. “Are you trying to tell me that I need to speak to him today?”
“No,” he said, very quickly. “I think he deserves all the silent treatment you can give him. I’m just pleading my case in the event we ever argue.”
I couldn’t help but grin at him. A swell of heart bursting joy flowered inside me, suddenly making me really grateful that I had this guy in my life. “So where are you taking me for breakfast?”
“It’s a surprise,” he said. “Any chance I can book you for the whole day?”
I raised my eyebrows. “The whole day? I thought you had the rooms to do today?”
He flashed me a devilish grin. “I called in a favour from Joanna. She owes me plenty.”
“Luke, bless her heart, she’s a single mum.”
“She doesn’t have it as hard as what you think, Cat. Besides, the extra money will help her.”
“Ok. What have you got in mind?”
He wiggled his eyebrows at me, then placed his hand over mine, still on his forearm. He squeezed it gently and gave me a warm smile. “Something that will make you smile for days to come.”
“Ooo, this sounds interesting.”
He took my hand from his arm, holding it in his warm hand for a few seconds before placing it on the duvet. “I’m going to head to the shower. I’ll be as quick as I can.”
I sipped at my tea, enjoying the sweet milky brew he’d thoughtfully made me this morning. He disappeared upstairs, leaving me alone with my thoughts, which right now, was a dangerous thing.
As much as I didn’t want to admit this to myself, I found myself attracted to Luke and that attraction only grew the more I spent time with him. I realised then that uncertain times loomed ahead, and I had no idea what would happen.
A Note From The Author
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Love, Lies and Immortal Ties: A young adult paranormal romance (Love, Lies and Ties Book 1) Page 27