by Karin Baine
She turned slowly into his embrace, her breath hiccupping in her throat when he dipped his head to make good on his promise. Her eyes fluttered shut as he pressed his lips to hers, their gentle pressure soon building to the passionate exchange she’d been waiting for. Each time she was in his arms like this, being kissed in a way she’d only dreamed of, Henri chased away one of her bad memories to replace it with a happier, sexier one.
He cupped the curve of her backside and pulled her closer, fitting their bodies perfectly together. Lola heard herself moan and felt her hand slide from the door handle, all thoughts of leaving this corridor vanishing by the second. She was the filling in the sandwich between Henri’s hard chest and the wooden door and she relished it. Pinned in place by his hands and lips, she’d never felt so wanted, so safe.
Lola all but slid to the floor when he let go of her.
‘For the record, when we’re both ready to take the next step you will have my full attention.’
His husky-voiced promise sent those goosebumps popping over Lola’s skin once more and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand upright. If this was Henri when he was distracted, Lola wasn’t sure she would survive him at full strength. Although she’d be happy to die trying.
On that thought, Henri took her hand and kissed it like a true gentleman. Only the wink as he left her gave away that devilish side she knew lurked within.
Lola sighed as she let herself into the bedroom, thoroughly dazed and now with absolutely no chance of a peaceful night’s sleep.
CHAPTER SEVEN
HENRI WAS COUNTING down the time until he could join Lola and the children again. He’d talked about and listened to advances in emergency medicine enough for one day.
It wasn’t that he thought he knew everything there was to know on the subject, but he could do with some light relief after talks on such topics as evaluating paediatric trauma and medical legal caveats. He always welcomed new techniques and important literature which would improve everyday patient care in the department, but he had a folder bulging with notes and leaflets still to digest before tomorrow’s workshops.
At any other conference he would’ve stayed for the after-dinner drinks and the table quiz, where the competitive nature of those in the medical profession came to the fore, but he could think of better ways to wind down. He’d checked in with Lola on his mobile during the coffee breaks to find they’d all enjoyed a full sports programme while he’d spent the day sitting on his behind. Tennis, pitch and putt on the golf green and swimming were just a few of the activities Lola had listed when he’d asked what they were up to. Now, feeling guilty and sluggish, Henri was hoping for a quick dip in the pool before it closed for the night.
He hadn’t expected to find anyone else splashing about in the water. Especially not his niece and nephew, who really should have been getting ready for bed.
The urge to tell them off faded once he saw Lola in there with them. Engrossed in the sight of her frolicking without a care in the world, he paused to watch her from the changing-room door. Although she was wearing a conservative navy one-piece, it clung to all her curves and made Henri glad he’d chosen shorts over unforgiving Speedos. The clothes Lola usually wore, although unmistakably feminine, did not do her body justice. She was beautiful—inside and out.
This was as close to naked as he’d seen her and, coupled with his memory of last night’s doorstep clinch, it was pure torture. As soon as this weekend was over and he could hand over parental responsibility to Angelique he was going all out to seduce her.
Lola had been half right when she’d accused him of wanting to drag her straight to bed. That was exactly what he’d wanted to do. But he’d used the kids as a barrier to protect her and himself from his libido. She deserved more than a quick release for his frustrations.
‘Uncle Henri!’
Bastien’s squeal echoed around the pool and immediately sent Lola ducking for cover. She dipped below the water so only her head was clearly visible and Henri was able to walk closer without fear of embarrassing himself.
‘I thought you’d be safely tucked up in bed by now.’ He climbed down the steps and launched into a front crawl towards the trio bobbing about in the far corner. The water was warm enough to soothe his tired limbs, but refreshing at the same time.
‘We were having so much fun we must’ve lost track of time.’
Lola’s smile vanished beneath the surface as Henri drew closer. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her and yet she didn’t appear remotely pleased to see him. This wasn’t the happy reunion he’d dreamt of during those never-ending lectures.
‘Lola taught me how to swim. Wanna see?’
Bastien doggy-paddled over, a bright sight to behold in his orange swim cap, armbands and goggles. His face was a picture of pride as he puffed and splashed his way towards Henri.
‘Well done, you—and well done, Lola.’
He caught Bastien up in his arms and planted a kiss on his head. It was a miracle she’d even got him near the water when bathtime was a battle of wills to get him to take his clothes off.
‘Gabrielle’s an amazing swimmer, too. I told her she should think about joining a local club.’ Lola deflected his praise back to the teenager currently torpedoing the length of the pool.
‘That’s a good idea. If she’s interested we can check it out at the local leisure centre.’
Henri had known Gabrielle could swim, but the speed with which she was moving was an eye-opener for him. This was the sort of skill he and Angelique should be encouraging, instead of leaving her to wallow in her teen angst. They hadn’t worried too much about her lack of friends outside school, but a swimming club would be a great way for her to meet people her own age and get her out of the house on a regular basis.
Lola beamed as he promised to follow up on her suggestion. She was investing a lot of her time and effort into these two, and he was lucky to have found someone who didn’t feel threatened by his role as their guardian. Part of the reason he didn’t do long-term relationships was that most women invariably ended up resenting either him or the children for their drain on their time together.
Gabrielle made her way back in record time, breathless and smiling. ‘Hey, Uncle Henri. How was your day?’
‘Not nearly as much fun as yours, I suspect. I’m exhausted just watching you.’
Even Bastien was now starting to show signs of fatigue, simply floating on his back and staring at the ceiling.
‘After the tennis and the golf I am starting to get tired. And thirsty.’ Gabrielle hitched herself up onto the side of the pool and squeezed the water from her braid.
‘Give me five minutes to get a couple of lengths in and we can all go up and have hot chocolate in the room before bed.’
Henri took over from his niece, slicing through the water, in a hurry to join the happy band of spectators before the end of the night. He pushed himself until his lungs were threatening to burst, gulping down a breath with each turn of his head as he made the return journey. Before he’d come to a full stop Lola was already out of the pool, chivvying the others towards the changing rooms.
‘Lola—wait.’ Henri hoisted himself up the steps, eager to catch her for a moment alone.
He was sure she’d heard him. Her steps had faltered for a second before she carried on running towards the door.
‘Lola!’ He made certain she heard him this time, his voice booming around the four walls.
She paused, her back still to him, forcing Henri to run a couple of steps ahead so he could face her.
‘Didn’t you hear me call you? I just wanted to say thanks for taking care of everything today.’
‘No problem. I just want to get changed and then we can talk.’
She was acting very strangely, with her hands held up to her chin, her arms covering her c
hest. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen a woman in a swimsuit before, and, frankly, he hoped to see her in a lot less very soon.
‘Is everything okay?’ It was in his tactile nature to reach out to her, so he was taken aback to see her withdraw into herself so much she hunched over.
‘Fine.’
Her teeth were chattering, even though the place was hotter than a sauna. Something was definitely amiss, but Henri didn’t want to make her any more uncomfortable than she obviously was. He didn’t know what had happened since last night to cause her to retreat again. Perhaps a day with two active children was more of a passion killer than he’d anticipated.
‘I hope you’re still going to join us for supper?’ He wasn’t averse to bribing Lola with chocolate to get a few more precious minutes with her.
‘I will. As soon as I get changed.’
She was off again, the patter of her bare feet across the wet tiles marking her escape from whatever it was that had spooked her.
Since the others were in the ladies’ changing room, Henri had time for a quick, uninterrupted shower.
Although he was always on hand to help out with the children, both he and Angelique had drawn the line at him moving in. He had even more respect for his sister coping so well without a partner since he was relying so heavily on Lola. Twenty-four hours with an inquisitive six-year-old had only reinforced how difficult it was for his sister to have some time on her own—or privacy, for that matter.
At least Henri wasn’t shy about his body or it would have been awkward for him when Bastien had walked in on him this morning. Oh, God! If he’d bombarded Lola with the same questions about ‘down there’ it was no wonder she’d been anxious to cover up. And now he’d left her to wrangle Bastien on her own.
He jumped out of the shower and gave himself a quick towel-dry. His clothes stuck to the layer of moisture left on his skin, but it was a small price to pay to save Lola from having to explain to Bastien why she didn’t have a winkie.
The three water nymphs were sitting, waiting for him on the couch outside the gym, all fully dressed and yawning. If Lola was traumatised by Bastien’s quest to know everything about everything before he was seven, she hid it well by letting the nuisance in question curl up on her lap.
‘I’ll carry the Tasmanian Devil if you can manage the gym bags?’ Henri handed his wet swimming stuff over and scooped Bastien up into his arms, not letting go until they were all safely inside the hotel room.
Bastien was still fast asleep when Henri put him to bed. He knew from experience that trying to get the child into his pyjamas now would be as easy as wrestling socks onto an octopus.
‘Angelique will kill me if she finds out he’s slept in his clothes two nights running.’
‘I won’t tell if you don’t,’ Lola whispered as she pulled the bedcovers around the sleeping babe. ‘But it’ll cost you that hot chocolate you promised me.’
Henri boiled the kettle and set three cups out, but Gabrielle shook her head. ‘None for me, thanks. I’m cream-crackered. I just want to go to sleep. Why don’t you and Lola take your hot chocolate into her room, so you can chat without worrying about keeping us awake?’
He applauded Gabrielle’s attempt at matchmaking, even though it wasn’t necessary. Lola’s natural beauty and kind heart had captured his attention from the first moment she’d run into his A&E department.
‘That’s okay. I’m sure Henri wouldn’t want to leave you alone. We can do it some other time.’
Lola was making more excuses not to be alone with him, but she’d underestimated the Benoit stubborn streak.
‘You need some adult company. Now, stop talking and let me get to sleep.’ Gabrielle climbed into bed and ended the subject.
‘There’s no point in it going to waste.’
He held out a cup and Lola took it with a sigh, surrendering to the tag-team guilt trip. If nothing else was to come of being invited into her room, he was determined to discover what was behind the look of fear when he’d grabbed her arm earlier.
* * *
Lola’s hands were shaking as she unlocked the door. It was little comfort knowing Henri’s hands were occupied with steaming mugs of chocolate when his sheer presence in her room would be overwhelming. They’d agreed not to embark on anything out of her comfort zone until they’d handed Gabrielle and Bastien back to their mother, but things were progressing between them with each passing moment. Although there were some areas she clearly needed to work on...
Henri rounded on her as soon as they were inside and he’d set the cups aside. ‘Do you want to tell me what that was all about down by the pool? Did Bastien do anything to upset you?’
‘No. Not at all. It was just me being silly.’
She didn’t want anyone to take the blame for her hypersensitivity except the men who’d caused it in the first place. Not that there was a chance in hell of that happening. They were free to carry on with their lives, never looking back, while she couldn’t seem to move on—no matter how hard she tried.
‘It wasn’t silly. I could see the terror in your eyes when I reached for you. Is it to do with what happened to you before?’
Henri kept his distance, as though he was afraid to touch her now, her skittishness having scared him off. The bullies had chalked up another victory.
She nodded, choking back her fear and determined to fight back. Henri deserved to know why she was still acting like a scared virgin when he’d done everything to make things easier for her. Perhaps if she actually gave that young, naïve Lola a voice she would regain some power over what had happened to her.
Henri stood silently, no longer cajoling and begging her to confide in him but waiting until she was ready.
Lola took a deep breath, in and out, exhaling all the anxiety that went with sharing the memory. ‘I was a flat-chested, short-haired tomboy in my brothers’ hand-me-down clothes. It was no wonder I was a target of ridicule. But that didn’t mean I didn’t have the same feelings as every other teenage girl, and I was flattered when the handsome rugby captain took a shine to me.’
She wanted to close her eyes and avoid that look of pity in Henri’s eyes, but that would only make it easier for those hideous images to play back behind her lids.
‘To cut a long story short—it was a prank. He got me to his house, his mates were there, and they held me down and stripped me to make sure I was a girl underneath the masculine clothes.’
Humiliation still burned all these years later. Her tears and screams had been drowned out in the cacophony of laughter and jeers.
‘Bâtard!’
Lola’s French was limited, but Henri’s growl was enough to know he’d have dished out the same punishment as her brothers had.
‘Needless to say, I have a few hang-ups about my body.’
‘But you’ve had relationships since?’
It was so simple to someone so confident in themselves. Henri had probably never thought twice about anything that had happened to him in his teenage years.
Lola sat down on the edge of the bed, preparing herself to carry on with her sorry story. ‘In hindsight, I should have gone to the police...had therapy. But I didn’t have anyone to turn to for advice except three bloodthirsty brothers. I jumped from one disaster to another until I realised I’d be better off on my own.’
Her voice trailed off as she relived those moments of defeat when boyfriends had grown tired of dealing with her intimacy issues.
This time Henri came to her and knelt on the floor before her. ‘They weren’t worthy of you, Lola. Don’t think for one moment you are any less of a woman because of what those scumbags did to you. You are beautiful. Never be ashamed of who you are.’
She stroked his cheek and felt his jaw tense beneath her palm. ‘If only it was that easy.’
‘Do you trust me, Lo
la?’ He took her hands in his and leaned in, capturing her in his intense gaze.
‘Yes.’
She said it more confidently than she’d expected. There’d been moments when she’d questioned his motives, but she’d never been physically afraid of Henri.
He got to his feet, gently coaxing her off the bed to stand with him. ‘Will you let me undress you?’
‘No.’
She attempted to sit down again. He’d overstepped the mark. There was no way she was stripping here in front of him when she was at her most vulnerable. Hell, she hadn’t even been able to let him see her in her swimsuit without trying to hide her meagre assets.
He caught her by the wrist and pulled her up to face him again. ‘Do you trust me?’
‘Yes, but which part about me being afraid don’t you get? I’ve spilled my guts about what happened to me and all you can think about is getting me naked!’
She’d clearly underestimated who she was dealing with if Henri was nothing more than just another sex-obsessed male, pretending to care so he could get her into bed. He might as well have ripped her heart out there and then.
‘I only want to help you, Lola. This is why I’m asking for your permission to see you naked.’
The husky tone was back in his voice, making Lola’s lady parts tingle despite her best efforts to remain immune to his request.
‘Henri—’ She didn’t know where this was going, and that terrified her more than getting naked.
He let go of her hands, taking away her support. ‘The next move is yours, chérie.’
‘Only if you strip, too.’ It didn’t seem fair that she was the only one expected to be open to scrutiny. This wasn’t a peep show.
‘I will if you insist, but this isn’t about me. How can we take the next step if you’re not even comfortable in your own skin?’
Henri brushed his hand along her arm, electrifying all the little hairs he came into contact with and charging Lola with renewed sexual energy.