Chapter IX
Phyl awakened slightly and smiled softly as she felt Thad's hand glide softly up her arm, and she opened her eyes and gazed sleepily over at her husband, snoring softly, the moonlight highlighting his rugged features. She noticed that his arms were folded across his chest. Hmm..m. All right. Her brows furrowed as she groggily assessed the situation and tentatively ran her hand up along her arm. Halfway up her fingers touched something that was large, rounded, and apparently had a hard-shell. She glanced down at her arm in the faint moonlight.
"Thad!" she screamed. Jumping up off the blanket, she frantically began brushing her arms and blouse, looking around her in the darkness.
"What? What?" She saw Thad leap up off the bed as she swatted around her.
"I think a huge bug was on me. I thought you were rubbing my arm." She looked down at him, and took a deep breath. She watched as Thad grabbed the flashlight and began scanning the area, and she pitched in to look for the culprit, helping him pull back the blanket from their headboard. "It must have been a beetle of some sort."
"I don't see anything." Thad searched the area for a few minutes, then smoothed the blanket after checking a second time behind their headboard. "Do you have any bites? We don't know what type of insects are on this island."
"No, I didn't feel anything but a soft grazing on my skin." She inspected her arm. "No bites. Sorry I woke you. It was just very startling." She brushed off her clothes again.
"I'm sorry it wasn't me," he laughed, and they settled back in their bed. "Do you think you can get back to sleep?"
Phyl scooted over and leaned back on his outstretched arm, and gazed up at her husband. She squinted at him and pursed her lips at seeing the slightly amused look on his face as he folded his other arm across his chest. "You know, Thad, I don't mind bugs in general. I just don't like waking up to one crawling up my arm in the middle of the night."
"Not to disparage your experience in any way, but we are sleeping on a beach," he teased her. "Hmm..m. I hope those sweet pigs don't show up now and insist on sharing our bed. It could get a little crowded in here."
She narrowed her eyes at him, then scooted over a little closer as he wrapped his arm around her and she sighed contentedly. A moment later, she felt his fingers glide softly up her arm. She laughed and swatted his hand, slanting her eyes at him and seeing him smile softly. They nestled together and fell back into a deep sleep.
A Pale Paradise Page 22