Kelly’s Jellyfish Romance
By Kristina Belle
Kelly’s Jellyfish Romance. Copyright 2013.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information retrieval or system without express written permission from the publisher.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Authors Comments
Chapter 1
Kelly Brennen feels alive again. She digs all ten toes deep into the powdery white sand of the Mexican beach while gazing at the blue-green sparkling waters. The soothing sound of waves lapping against the shore is magical. For the first time in weeks Kelly feels relaxed and glad to be alive. After all the troubles of the last few months an escape to a tropical paradise is the perfect way to unwind. Kelly takes a deep breath of salty sea air. She’s gradually finding her way back to normalcy and picking up the pieces of her life.
Looking at the incoming tide, Kelly thinks no one can blame her for wanting to get away for a while to recharge batteries. She really feels she deserves it. What a year 2012 has been. One she would like to forget. In March Kelly's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her father, older brother, and younger sister were traumatized. The entire family was terrified her mother wouldn’t make it. And her mother is only 53. No one expected this tragedy to occur. Until recently her mother was the picture of perfect health. Luckily modern technology, her mother’s untiring fighting spirit, and an excellent chemotherapist came through. After months of treatment and trauma the cancer was solidly in remission. It was an exhausting painful ordeal for everyone.
As if that hadn't been stressful enough, Kelly returned home at ten o’clock one night after taking her mother to a chemo session and then visiting with the family to find her apartment totally trashed. Thieves broke in, tore the place apart, and took many of her valuables, including a diamond necklace that’s a treasured family heirloom. It had been in the family for three generations. She still felt sick over the loss. Police investigated, filed their report, but had recovered nothing.
Another shock came only a week later when she discovers her ex-boyfriend of three years, the man she thought she loved and couldn’t live without, ran off to Las Vegas with Tina Raines, one of her best high school friends. While in high school they always had each other’s back. Losing her boyfriend was bad enough and made her ill but the icing on the cake is her former love and Tina got married. What a bummer. She really thought she had a future with that man. Now she was concerned about her judgment.
When her best friend Lola suggested a girl's week at a beach in Mexico, Kelly jumped at the chance to bury her troubles, get out of Boston for a week, and hopefully have some fun. She thought the combination of sand, surf, and half naked men would do the trick to lift her spirits. She planned to drink a few margaritas too. So far in the first two days of the vacation all she accomplished was sun burning her nose and back of her neck while watching a boat load of happy honeymooners at the resort. Some of them were painful to watch, practically making love on the beach, when they had perfectly good rooms.
Margaritas helped kill some of the pain but drinking alone or only with Lola left her feeling depressed. She craved male company but all the decent looking men at the resort seemed to be attached. Lola neglected to mention the all-inclusive hotel they are vacationing at is a romantic couple's resort. Not exactly the perfect setting to forget about your disappointment and heartache. It’s especially tough when your only love turns out to be a miserable cheating bastard.
Chapter 2
A deep masculine voice interrupts her thoughts. A few beach chairs to her right, a shirtless handsome blonde man in swim trunks is ordering a margarita from the cabana waiter. He has a golden tan and is wearing designer sunglasses. Much to Kelly’s surprise, he is alone. Maybe his wife or girlfriend is feeling ill or they’re out shopping. Kelly discreetly sneaks a peek at his left hand. There is no tell-tale golden band or white stripe around his finger. Letting her gaze travel slowly from his finger, up his toned arm, to his masculine chest, Kelly notes to her satisfaction she finally found some worthy eye candy. The kind you can drool over and dream about. No question he’s in excellent shape. The man is well muscled with absolutely no sign of body fat, like an athlete in peak condition. When he notices her hungry stare the blond man boldly shoots her a wide sexy smile. Embarrassed to have been caught obviously gawking, actually drooling, Kelly gives a little wave and decides it is well past time to get her new tiny little bikini wet. She definitely needs to settle down and cool off.
Kelly runs into the gentle surf and dives in head first. She doesn’t care about her long red curly hair getting wet. The salty ocean water is warm and inviting and feels fantastic. Swimming leisurely she senses the blond man's eyes on her. Well, Kelly thought, fair is fair. No problem. After all she had openly filled her eyes. She hoped he enjoys taking in her fit body as much as she enjoyed watching his. She had worked hard at the gym to develop her figure; maybe now her hard work would pay off.
As Kelly swam, she sees a flash of something pink glimmering on the sandy white sand ocean floor. Diving down to check it out she sees the beautiful rose and cream swirl of a conch shell. She surfaces, takes a deep breath, and dives back down to collect her prize. Just as her fingertips brush against the edge of the shell, ready to claim her treasure, a searing pain shoots up her right leg. Her involuntary scream underwater results in saltwater entering her lungs.
Terrified Kelly tries to reach the surface. The pain in her leg is enormous. She fears she will pass out. Desperately Kelly claws for the surface, trying to get to the air. Just as the fear of drowning feeds growing panic her head breaks the surface. She is in still in trouble. In water over her head and panicked all she can do is cough and wildly flail about. She not only fears drowning she is drowning.
Chapter 3
As she fights to keep her head above water a pair of strong arms grabs Kelly, expertly turns her to a lifeguard’s carry position, and starts pulling her towards the shore. With a few powerful strokes Kelly is out of danger and near the beach. A manly voice penetrates the fog of fear still in Kelly's mind. "Easy, I've got you. Just breathe. Don't fight me, relax just breathe." Over and over his voice commands her to relax and breathe. Then the two are back on the beach. In a daze Kelly finds herself carried to the beach chairs by the muscular handsome blond man. Setting her carefully in the chair, the man calls to the cabana waiter as quickly as possible to bring some vinegar and baking soda. Kelly clutches the stranger's arm sobbing and whimpering as pain rips up and down her leg. Seeing her friend in trouble, in a panic Lola runs to the chair, asking what she can do to help her friend.
"Your friend was stung by a jellyfish. We need to treat the stings as quickly as possible." The waiter returns at a run with vinegar and baking soda. The handsome stranger asks Lola to fetch him some ocean water in a nearby ice bucket. He begins to efficiently treat the stings, first soaking Kelly's leg in vinegar, and then applying a thick paste of baking soda mixed with ocean water. As the pain begins to fade Kelly finally understands what happened and how lucky she is to be alive. Coming out of shock she stares at her rescuer in amazement. Even though still dazed her first reaction makes her mumble, “He’s so handsome. Is this real?”
"Who are you? How did you… how did you know what to do?" Kelly stammers out. Smiling a slightly roguish smile, the man answers
"With your emergency I guess there wasn’t time to get introduced. I’m Alex Johnson. I was in the coast guard where I learned how to treat a jellyfish sting. I also learned how to rescue beautiful drowning women." He winked and with a smile looks down at her injury. "There’re still a few tentacles embedded in your leg. Those have to come out. The sooner they come out the better you’ll feel." Running to his nearby chair to retrieve his wallet, Alex pulls out a credit card. "I'm going to scrape them off. Then I’ll put the baking soda paste back on. How’re you doing? Is your breathing alright? The pain isn’t too bad?" Kelly confirms that although the stings still hurt, her breathing is fine and she’s feeling much better now on dry land.
Carefully Alex uses the credit card to scrape off the jellyfish tentacles. Gently he turns her leg this way and that, holding it firm with strong hands, checking to make sure he gets rid of every last one. Lola fetches another ice bucket full of seawater and Alex applies a new layer of baking soda paste to Kelly's injured limb. Feeling his tender touch on her leg as he works, Kelly finds herself suddenly hoping she can somehow convince Alex to apply some tender loving care to the rest of her body. All too quickly he finishes applying the paste. Kelly almost wishes her other leg needs attention.
Surveying his handiwork, Alex tells her "we need to get you back to your room and out of this sun." Rather than give her a chance to get up and try her weight on her leg, Alex sweeps Kelly up in his arms, carefully placing his hands to avoid touching the sore leg. Giving in to temptation, Kelly rests her head against his chest and listens to his heart beat as Lola leads the way to their room. Once they reach the door Lola unlocks it and leads the way in. As they enter Alex begins to instruct Kelly on what to do next. "Soak your leg in a hot bath for at least twenty minutes. Make it as hot as you can stand. Then take some ibuprofen and get some rest." Alex gently places Kelly on the bed. Then he stares at her with soft deep blue eyes. "I just realized I didn't get your name. Things happened pretty fast in the water and on the beach."
Pleased he asks and giggling a bit, she tells him. "My name's Kelly Brennen. Thanks for this, for everything. I really owe you big time." Not wanting him to just walk out, Kelly grabs Alex's hand and gives it a grateful firm squeeze. "I’d like to thank you more. Please let me take you out for dinner. That’s the least I can do." She doesn’t take her green eyes off him. "Oh, I think I can manage that." Alex answers with another roguish grin. "How about we meet in the lobby at say, seven?" Kelly agrees, hoping she’ll be feeling fine by then. Alex takes his leave of the two women while again looking Kelly over on his way out.
"If it wasn’t for how painful that red rash looks, and how you almost drowned, I'd say you’re the luckiest lady I know!" Lola giggles as she helps Kelly undress and into the piping hot bath. While Kelly soaks in the bathtub, a loud knock sounds at the door. Kelly hears Lola raising her infamous "angry" voice, while she speaks with whoever is at the door. A few minutes later, Lola comes trouncing into the bathroom looking happy and victorious.
"That was some guy with hotel management. He was very apologetic about your injury and wanted to know how you’re doing. When I mentioned you nearly died, and that my brother is a litigation attorney, and the hotel has no lifeguard, he began to look ill and became even more apologetic." With a sigh, Kelly interrogates her friend with a knowing stare. "What did you manage to get out of them, Lola?" Looking triumphant Lola replies "A free hour long couple's massage, two tickets to the dinner show tomorrow night, and a $100 gift certificate at the hotel gift shop." Kelly rolled her eyes as her friend skips out of the bathroom. "I'm surprised you didn't get a complimentary stay. That would’ve been nice” she calls after Lola. "The day's not over!" Lola replies in a merry sing song voice.
After Kelly baths and takes a nap Lola helps Kelly get ready for her dinner date. Although Kelly is limping, her leg feels much better. When she asks Lola what she plans to do with her evening, her friend tells Kelly not to worry. "You remember that handsome Italian businessman we met as we were checking in? “Kelly did remember him. Roberto Quattrochi is probably the only other single man in the hotel besides Alex. And he’s good looking. Like a suave Italian movie star. "He’s taking me out on the town. So if I don't come back till the morning, well, you’ll know I had a really good night. Hey, don’t look so shocked, I’m a big girl now and we’re on vacation." After warning her friend to be careful, and to keep her cell phone with her and call at any hint of trouble, Kelly limps downstairs to meet Alex.
Chapter 4
Kelly finds him standing by the lobby fountain, dressed in a white cotton safari type short sleeved shirt and white cargo pants. Kelly is pleased. He is even more handsome than when he was wearing the bathing suit. As she limps slowly over to him in her soft low cut summer dress, Alex meets her halfway. "Your leg’s still sore, huh?" "Yes" Kelly admits "and itchy". Alex nodded his head. "I’m not surprised. The rash will be like that for a while. I’ll try to think of something to help take your mind off of it." As he escorts her into the restaurant, Kelly begins thinking of several immediate things she wants Alex to do to take her mind off her injury.
As they sit down, she realizes he’d continued speaking while she was daydreaming about some delightful bedroom things. "I'm sorry I was in another world and completely missed what you were saying." Kelly admits as she sips her water. Alex repeats his question "Are you seeing anyone, anyone special?" After nearly spitting out her water, Kelly regains her composure and confesses her last boyfriend ran off to Las Vegas and married another woman. She admits she was completely blindsided and terribly hurt. She had no clue that he was seeing another woman, someone she thought was a friend, while staying in her apartment and sleeping with her.
Although he gives his condolences, Kelly notices Alex doesn’t look at all sorry to hear she is single. Over a long leisurely dinner, the two click and get to know each other better. While having desert Kelly shares the story of Lola wrangling complimentary gifts out of hotel management. Alex laughs out loud. "Is her brother really a litigation attorney?" Kelly confirms that yes, he really is. That was how she and Lola met. Kelly works as his paralegal and knows how good of an attorney Lola’s brother is. Then she asks Alex what he does for a living, is he still in the coastguard? "No, I work for the FBI now." He said simply, clearly not wanting to say more about it. Although intrigued, Kelly wisely doesn’t pursue the subject.
Instead she invites him to share her couple's massage the next morning. Jumping at a chance to spend more time with her, he says he would be delighted. As they finish their meal, Alex asks if Kelly's leg feels good enough to take a walk on the beach. Although her leg is still burning a little and is sore, Kelly isn’t about to pass up a chance to sit under the stars with this nice handsome man. Kelly wonders if he could be the one, the one she hungers to meet. One far better than the man she wasted three years of her life with. The pair sits together and watches the waves wash gently up onto the beach.
A full moon lights up the sky, its reflection shimmering on the water. It’s a night begging for romance. When Kelly turns toward Alex to speak he leans toward her and kisses her, at first tenderly, then with a rising passion as she responds to him. When his stroking hand brushes against her sore leg Kelly's cry of pain abruptly ends the moment. Apologizing profusely, Alex walks Kelly back to her hotel room. Promising to see her in the morning for breakfast, and then the massage, he wishes her a goodnight. Before leaving, he gives Kelly a brief, but achingly sweet kiss. Feeling frustrated Kelly goes right to bed, feeling lonely as she struggles to fall asleep. Finally falling into restless sleep she dreams about Alex.
Chapter 5
The next morning, Kelly wakes up to find Lola not in their room. Checking her phone, Kelly discovers Lola left her a voicemail. Listening to the message, Kelly finds her friend spent the night with Roberto, and hoped Kelly was similarly occupied with "her savior". She would join Kelly for lunch. After taking another hot bath to soothe her leg, Kelly dresses and heads downstairs to have breakfast wit
h Alex. They enjoy each other's company along with their breakfast of fresh tropical fruits, croissants and fresh coffee. When Alex asks what Lola was doing to stay out of trouble, Kelly laughs. "Oh, she is definitely not staying out of trouble. She spent the night with a new acquaintance. An Italian man named Roberto Quattrochi." When Alex hears the name both his eyebrows shoot up. "Is there something wrong?" Kelly asks. Alex reassures her it is nothing important and asks if she would like more coffee. Kelly watches as Alex takes the cups to be refilled, and then stares at the beautiful morning tableau on the beach. The azure waters look inviting but Kelly thinks after yesterday she will be more comfortable at the swimming pool.
Alex returns to the table carefully carrying two coffees. He seems deep in thought, as if wondering where his new friendship would lead. As he sits down and smiles at Kelly her cell phone rings. Lola is calling. While the women quickly exchange stories, Alex keeps his eyes on Kelly, smiling all the time. He loves the contrast between her long curly red hair and oval green eyes. While covering the phone with her hand, she looks at him. "Lola says Roberto invited the two of us for lunch. Somewhere called the…" Kelly double checks the restaurant's name, The Blue Doubloon. Do you want to go?" Alex heaves a sigh, and manages "Of course, tell her I'd be glad to see them".
The couple makes their way to the hotel's spa for the complimentary couples massage. While her masseuse carefully padded the table to make Kelly’s injured leg comfortable, Kelly can’t help but watch Alex undress. My God, she feels faint, he’s completely undressing .When he throws her a saucy wink before lying down on his own massage table Kelly decides she could definitely get used to frequently checking out that view. By the time the massage is finished Kelly is feeling completely relaxed. Thanks to Lola and her negotiating skill it was just the right touch. After the two masseuses left the room, Alex gently draws Kelly into his embrace. Kissing her passionately, he picks up where they left off the previous night. Before things become too heated in a public spa, Alex stops, and brings Kelly back to the privacy of his room. This time taking care to avoid her injury, the two make love. It just seems right.
Kelly's Jellyfish Romance (Romantic Short Stories) Page 1