by Karin Baine
She didn’t count her ankle as a serious injury when it was neither life-threatening nor caused by the earthquake. Even if it was throbbing like hell.
‘My Kaja. Always putting other people first.’ Seth put an arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead.
She wanted to fall into his arms and pick up where they’d left off before nature had roared its disapproval but so much had happened since then. Seth’s worry for his daughter, for all those caught in the quake, had overridden any discussion about their relationship. Even if there was some way of sustaining a long-distance romance the issue over her divided loyalties remained. They were both going to have to make big life changes to make it work. In her case there was one huge problem that couldn’t be overcome with desire alone.
He led her outside the perimeter of the village back onto safer ground out in the open.
Kaja spotted some objects lying in the field behind the ruins of the wall where the family had been having their lunch earlier. They walked over to find a rolled-up blanket and the remains of their picnic in a cooler box.
‘Okay, we’ve got a bottle of water, an orange and some breadsticks.’ Seth discarded the half-eaten sandwich and the dubious-looking yoghurt back in the cooler. Hopefully they’d get picked up before they had to resort to eating any of that.
He spread the tartan rug out on the grass for them to sit on. The light was beginning to fade as the evening drew in but thankfully it was still warm. If help didn’t arrive soon there was every chance they’d be spending the night under the stars.
‘Do we need to ration the food or can we feast?’ Kaja teased as she held up the meagre provisions they’d scavenged.
‘I’m willing to take the chance we’re going to get rescued before we resort to divvying out crumbs. We haven’t eaten since breakfast and I think we deserve a little treat. Now, would madam prefer an orange segment or the bread course first?’
‘Mmm, I think I’d like to start with some orange, thank you.’
* * *
It was ridiculous sitting out here in the aftermath of an earthquake joking and pretending that things were all right but Seth wanted to make Kaja laugh rather than have her dwell on things beyond their control.
He didn’t want to think about what could have happened to her back there either, when he’d come close to losing her. For ever this time. Her stubborn refusal to go with the others and stay with him had been touching. If she’d been more concerned with her own welfare she would’ve gone to the hospital. It proved, along with their earlier kisses, that he was more to her than a house guest or simply here for her father’s benefit. He didn’t know what that meant for them but, for now, he was happy they were together.
He peeled the orange for her, the sweet, refreshing scent of citrus preferable to the earthiness and dust they’d been breathing in since the quake hit.
Kaja popped a piece in her mouth and closed her eyes. ‘Mmm. That tastes so good.’
He had to agree. On a day like today one small piece of fruit had suddenly become the best thing he’d ever eaten.
‘Could I also recommend our house water to accompany the dish?’ He opened the bottled water and offered her the first sip.
Kaja waved the bottle under her nose, took a drink and swilled the water around her mouth before swallowing. They were being silly. A kind of hysterical reaction to the trauma they’d just been through. It didn’t last and they fell silent as they devoured the rest of the orange. His body was becoming weary now and his muscles were aching after all the heavy lifting he’d been doing. He lay down on the blanket leaving Kaja sitting up, nursing what was left of the bottle of water.
Only moments after closing his eyes there was that ominous rumbling below the earth. He felt Kaja tense beside him, as the ground shook and forced them back onto that unwanted fairground ride. It was impossible to remain flat when every tremor was reverberating through his body. He sat up and hugged Kaja until the world stopped trembling. It was all he could do to protect her out here.
‘I think that’s it over for now.’ It was little reassurance to her, he was sure, as they could still hear the sound of loose rocks tumbling nearby and see the new fissures opening up in the road ahead. ‘Hopefully the family got to the hospital before the aftershock. Although I’m sure it won’t be the last.’
Kaja was quiet. Too quiet. Then it seemed as though a mini earthquake of emotions began inside her. The shaking came first, her shoulders heaving beneath his arm, but it was the sobbing that took him most by surprise.
‘Hey, we’re gonna be okay. That one was quick.’
He cursed himself for being the voice of doom predicting more nerve-shattering aftershocks even though it was the truth. Usually Kaja preferred that kind of straight talking but perhaps under the circumstances she was a bit more fragile. From now on he’d be careful not to upset her. Not when he’d been drawing from her strength to keep going throughout this ordeal.
She leaned back into his chest, content to let him hold her. A cry for help in itself for someone who’d single-handedly waded into a collapsed building to rescue a man twice her size. Kaja was a strong woman who didn’t accept help easily, as he’d discovered in those early days of working together when he’d tried to get closer to her. It took her a long time to trust anyone but he’d been persistent, willing to put in the time getting to know her when he’d been so entranced by the newest medic on the block. There’d been something so endearingly naive about her beyond the efficient, focused surgeon. Of course, now he knew why she wasn’t as worldly wise as some of her counterparts and the reasons she liked her privacy so much.
He let her cry it out until they were both soaked with her tears and she was ready to talk.
‘It’s just too much to take in. We could’ve been killed. We still could.’ Her face crumpled again as she contemplated their fate.
Seth didn’t want to upset her but neither would he lie to her. There was no way of knowing how this would end for anyone. It was probably the shock setting in that was making them both so emotional. Without the drama and distraction of saving others they had time to replay events and think about their loved ones. If he let himself go down that rabbit hole and start catastrophising what was going on with Amy back at the palace he’d be sobbing too.
‘We’re still here,’ he reminded her. ‘Mother Nature has tried twice to take us out and failed. Hopefully she’ll take the hint and leave us alone for a bit, yeah?’
She managed a half-hearted smile. ‘Thanks for today. I know this wasn’t what you had in mind when you suggested an adventure but I’m glad I’m with you.’
‘Me too.’ He snuggled in closer to Kaja, nuzzling his nose into the curtain of her hair. In the short space of time since they’d got to know each other again she’d quickly become an important element of his life once more. As if those intervening years had never happened and their life together had carried on where it had left off. Easy to do out here where there were no reminders of how different her world was or the relationships they’d had after their separation.
He breathed her in, her hair smelling of dust and earth but also the sweet floral perfume that was unmistakably Kaja. If he closed his eyes he could almost believe they were back in their house in Cambridge.
She turned her head so he was almost nose to nose with her now. Eyes open, lips parted, their breath mingling as they mirrored each other. Seth didn’t know who made the first move, they were so in tune with each other, gravitating towards that kiss they both knew was coming.
Here, now, she was all that mattered to him. She was everything reminding him he was still alive. He kissed her as though it might be for the last time. Hard and passionate enough that he forgot to breathe. They fell down onto the rug still wrapped up in one another, hands tugging at one another’s clothes, impatience erasing all logical thought. Seth wanted Kaja as he’d never wanted any woman before. He
needed that reaffirmation that she was back in his life, that she hadn’t fallen out of love with him after all and that she wanted him too. She was telling him that with her words and every stroke of her tongue against his.
He slid her top over her head but his shirt buttons proved more time-consuming. After fumbling with the first two she gave a frustrated groan and yanked the shirt open. The night air cooled Seth’s fevered skin but not for long when Kaja trailed first her fingers then her tongue down his chest and lower. Now his breaths were coming in excited pants as she snapped open the buttons on his fly and left him in no doubt what it was she was expecting from him. Seth flipped her over onto her back to slow things down. He hadn’t been with anyone since Paula and he needed to regain some control over his body as well as savour every moment with Kaja while he could.
Not that she was doing anything to help that vow as she wriggled out of her scrub trousers so she was lying beneath him clad only in skimpy black silk lingerie.
‘You’re beautiful.’ The sentiment slipped from his lips. She didn’t need the expensive clothes or the royal title to be anyone special when to him she was the most beautiful woman on the planet.
‘And you’re still dressed,’ she purred as she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back down into another brain-melting kiss. If this was all she wanted from him for now he wasn’t going to turn her down. This memory would be a more pleasant one than the last night they’d spent together. Only this time he’d be the one leaving and hopefully on better terms.
* * *
This was madness. Kaja knew it yet she didn’t want her sanity to return any time soon. She’d never felt more alive than she did right now getting naked with Seth in the open air. They had all the reasons in the world not to pursue a relationship further but none that could convince her that sleeping with him here and now was the wrong thing to do. They’d been through a lot together and in the scheme of things it seemed silly not to act on these feelings they had for one another. Life was too short to deny themselves some pleasure. She didn’t want to wait any longer.
Seth was taking his sweet time kissing the skin along her neck and across her clavicle, until Kaja was aching with need. She undid her bra and tossed it aside, revelling in the hungry look he gave her as she exposed her breasts to his gaze. He cupped her soft mounds in the palms of his large hands, kneading and kissing the sensitive flesh until her nipples were throbbing in anticipation of his touch. When he pinched them between his fingers and thumbs she bucked off the ground, that painful ecstasy only furthering her desire. He flicked his tongue over the taut tips, teasing her, the glint in his eye promising her so much more. When he took her in his mouth and sucked, he delivered on that promise.
Arousal swept away the very last of her inhibitions and patience. She pushed down his briefs and pressed her body against his engorged erection. It was the final straw for Seth too. He let out a primal grunt, pulled the last of her underwear away and plunged inside her.
Kaja’s gasp was one of surprise and satisfaction that she’d finally got what she wanted. They paused for a second, their bodies both adjusting as they joined together.
His eyes searching hers. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Uh-huh.’ She nodded, though she doubted she’d ever be okay again after this. It was such a wanton display of need and raw passion she knew nothing or no one else could ever surpass it. He kissed her softly on the lips then began moving rhythmically inside her, reminding her how good they could be together. She rocked her hips against his, losing herself in that full feeling every time he rammed her to the hilt.
‘I’ve missed you so much,’ he whispered in her ear, sending tiny shivers of delight up the back of her neck both from what he was saying and doing to her.
She was incapable of talking right now. Even if she hadn’t been in the throes of ecstasy the sincerity of his words would’ve rendered her speechless. He should hate her for the way she’d lied to him, the manner in which she’d left him, but most of all for denying them a future together. Hearing him say those words, knowing he would’ve forgiven her and taken her back, made those bad-decision years all the more painful. At least she had him in this moment and she intended to make the most of their time together.
Kaja clung to him, never wanting to let go as he took her higher and higher on that wave of pure bliss. Why had she ever given up on this? On them? Especially when...
Oh.
All regrets and tears, any thoughts at all, were now simply background noise as Seth set off a fireworks display inside her. Lights flashed behind her eyelids as a succession of delicious explosions detonated in her body, all triggered by what Seth was doing to her. Her orgasm was prolonged and repeated over and over again as he continued working his magic, not letting up on his now frantic pace until she was limp and sated beneath him. Totally exhausted and completely satisfied. Only then did he give into his own fierce need, his climax seeming as overwhelming as hers when he cried out into the night.
When she was able to see straight and breathe again—albeit hindered by the gorgeous hunk currently sprawled across her body—she fully appreciated the beauty of the moment. ‘Belle Crepuscolo—it means beautiful twilight.’
A dazed Seth looked down at her, his hair flopping over his face and his eyelids heavy with exhaustion. He kissed her again and though she knew she was getting carried away by the romance of the moment she couldn’t help it.
‘This is madness,’ she reminded them both.
‘What, sleeping with me?’ He genuinely looked hurt but her comment had absolutely nothing to do with sex.
‘Of course not. You know that was amazing.’ Despite everything they’d just done she felt her skin flush at acknowledging the mere memory. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her chest to his and nibbling his earlobe. ‘I mean the fact we’re lying naked in the middle of a field.’
But she didn’t care. Being with Seth was her happy place.
‘It’s certainly a night to remember,’ he said with a grin.
‘I wish it could be like this all the time. Only without the whole earthquake and danger-to-life thing.’
‘I know what you mean.’ He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. A contented moment that should have been played out in the privacy of a bedroom but out here under the stars somehow seemed equally intimate. They knew they were alone and today’s events had taught them to live in the moment in case it was their last; a feeling Kaja wished she’d be able to hold onto and carry back to real life.
She let out a wistful sigh and laid her head on his bare shoulder. Right now a simple life seemed very appealing. One where all she needed was a naked Seth and somewhere to rest their heads. ‘How long do you think we’ll be out here before someone comes to find us?’
‘Hopefully a while longer.’ One suggestive look was all it took for Kaja’s body to wake again in anticipation of more mind-blowing, bone-melting sex with him.
He tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her in for a long, sensual kiss reaching every nerve-ending in her body. She put up no resistance when he lowered her back onto the ground and showed her what it was he intended to do with the extra alone time.
* * *
There were some aftershocks through the night but they gradually decreased in intensity. Kaja was certain they weren’t the only ones sleeping outside when most residents would be afraid of staying indoors tonight in case of further structural damage. Although she was sure she was the only one waking up with a smile on her face. She knew there would be a fallout back in the city. Not only would they have to deal with repairs and casualties and generally getting the country back on its feet, but their loved ones would take precedence over examining what was happening between her and Seth. For now she was content to remain where she was.
As the sun rose, the sky around them changed from the inky black they’d fallen asleep under, to a warming ombre of
pinks and golds, the beauty only eclipsed by the sight of the man she woke up to. His dark stubble combined with his mop of unruly hair gave him a wild look in keeping with the animal passion he’d unleashed.
She shivered with memories of what had kept them awake most of the night.
‘Are you cold?’ he mumbled, still half asleep, misunderstanding the trembling in her limbs. He pulled her closer to his chest and threw his leg over hers to share his body heat.
The movement brought them into contact in the most intimate of places so she could feel his body waking to start the new day. His burgeoning erection pressing against her was the early morning wake-up call she missed. Making love with Seth was something she’d never tire of or take for granted when she’d been without him in her bed for so long.
Kaja shifted position until he was sheathed inside her and hooked her legs around him as he drove deep into her core. This was the only place she wanted to be right now. The only place she wanted Seth. Worrying about everything else could wait until they could do something about it.
* * *
Once the sun had fully risen and the morning had well and truly begun it felt too indulgent, as well as risky, to continue lying au naturel in the open countryside. With the last of the water drained and every breadcrumb consumed they hadn’t enough sustenance to keep on with their energetic sensual reunion. Well, her mind was willing but her body needed a rest before they resumed relations again. Something she was looking forward to after a proper meal and, preferably, in a comfortable bed.
They got dressed in yesterday’s dirty, torn clothes. Going home in these was the ultimate walk of shame although she hoped no one would guess what she had actually been doing all night. If the clothes didn’t give her away the great big smile on her face might. Then she looked at the scene of utter devastation on top of the hill and quickly quashed the smug feeling. Residents had a lot more to worry about than her love life today. What was more, there would be a lot of people concerned about what had happened to her during the earthquake.