Abandoned but Not Alone (2 page)

“
Sir, unhand me, this instance.
”

By now Hope
and the giant had tears of laughter in their eyes as well as their big old
teeth on display, which were so white they nearly blinded her, Aviva thought
nastily.  Unable to hold in her own laughter a moment longer, she did what she
had wanted to do since she first spotted Hope giving chase
–
she laughed: she bent over like a floppy
puppet, feet still off the ground, hands dangling and laughed right along with
them at the ridiculousness of the situation.

“
Girl, where did you learn to run like
that, I thought I was gonna pee my pants.
”

The huge
man added with a shake of his head, just in case she didn
’
t feel silly enough. 
“
It looked like some kind of crazy funky
chicken dance
–
but wrong
–
very, very wrong.

Somehow,
Aviva managed to stop laughing; again with her best British accent in place she
intoned,
“
that particular
run took many weeks to perfect I will have you know. 
It is called,
Aviva running from
a chicken that had chased her until she was backed up against a wall.
”
 
She went
went on to inform them she was lucky to be alive.  Said chicken had somehow known
she was from '
England'
therefore she had no right to tell it to
‘
shoo
’
.

Looking at
them under her long lashes she informed them in a small pathetic voice,
“
It
’
s true, I swear it, I was seven and I thought I was going to die
by chicken.  You know what they say about your life flashing before your eyes
just at the point of death?  Well it happened to me. That chicken had me backed
up against the wall so fast, all I could do was scream and pray my granny heard
me before it was too late, and that I didn
’
t die from a chicken attack.  I tell ya, that Sunday
’
s rice, peas and
chicken
were the
best I ever tasted.
”
  Aviva
smacked her lip as though in remembrance of the best meal of her life, which
started another round of laughter.

“
Girl you are something else, and you can
stall all you like, you
’
re still
going to the spa with me.
”

“
But I already went, so there's no need
for me to go again.
”

Aviva knew
she was fighting a losing battle, Hope only cared about three things, fashion,
body hair and Hope, and not necessarily in that order. 
“
By the way, I always meant to ask, what
is this aversion you have with body hair?  Do you and the thousands of men and
women like you think that body hair under one
’
s armpits, on one
’
s legs and
surround one
’
s
unmentionables aren
’
t there for
a reason?  Well, to be honest; I
’
m not
really sure why females have hair on their legs
…
now think about it
…
I
’
m not even sure why men have hair on
their legs.  Do you have hair on your legs?  No probably not. You look like the
kinda guy that would shave his legs.
”
  Aviva
finished, looking at the nameless man
’
s legs
concealed by his jeans
…
jeans that
hugged his muscular thighs, clinging in all the right places, displaying his
huge
…
  Aviva gave herself a
mental slap averting her wondering eyes, hoping she hadn
’
t been caught checking him out.

Looking at
the huge man as though he should have the answers to her questions a sudden
image of him standing in the shower shaving his legs popped into her mind.  The
image was so graphically ridiculous she gave him a curious look; unable to
clear the picture from her mind she shook her head in an attempt to clear the
sight from her mind.  The man let out a bark of laughter, looking at her as
though she were a new entity.  He was almost certain she hadn't realized she had
just spoken her thoughts aloud.  It was turning out to be quite a morning.

“
Honey, you and I both know there are only
four places you grow hair, and he doesn
’
t need to know about any of them.
”
  Hope lifted her head in the direction of the man listening closely
to their conversation with a curious lift of an eyebrow. 
“
You know this spa day isn
’
t about hair removal
…
well maybe a little.  I
’
ve seen better groomed eyebrows on a
yeti.
”
  Aviva came up
spluttering at this last quip, for once completely at a loss for a quick
come-back.

Looking her
up and down with interest the man raised one eyebrow; eyes fixed on her as
though expecting her to elaborate on Hope
’
s statement about her hair growth.  She thought being able to
raise a single eyebrow was something she wouldn't mind learning; she also
thought it was totally cool and told him so.  He thought the small woman
’
s ability to change the course of a
conversation was nothing short of amazing and very endearing.  His musing
brought another smile to his face.  Having released her moments before, his
fascination took over, and he took a step towards her.  Their eyes met and the
man
’
s eyelids lowered, a
look of resolve prominent in his regard of the woman before him.  She was
funny, outspoken and the four places she grew body hair were intriguing and
sexy as hell.  He counted three places from which hair grew.  The fourth had
now become his personal quest of discovery.

If the look
in her eyes was an indicator, he had just telegraphed his thoughts and was
damned if he cared.  He wanted her to know what he was thinking, what he was
feeling
–
he wanted to touch
her again.  He had only managed to get a quick look at her as she approached
him, as the chicken run had distracted him. Now that she was standing in front
of him he wanted to get in closer so he could draw in the fragrance of her body
that had wafted past him as she hid behind him, and again as his hands had
gripped her around her waist, preventing her escape.  He could still feel the
touch of her hands as their palms had passed across his body in her attempt to
hide from Hope, still feel the indent of her feminine waist as his hands had
encircled her tiny form.

As certain
as he had ever been of anything in his life, this little woman was going to
play an important part in his life.  Her touch had gone straight through him
and lodged in his gut, oh yes, she was going to be a part of his life for a
very long time to come.  He was unsure of his certainty but he didn
’
t question the feeling; it just felt
right, she felt right.  His mind made up; he lowered his eyebrows in
determination and took a step towards her. 

Unable to
pull her gaze away from what looked very much like determination reflected back
at her, he took a step forward.  Aviva tingled with anticipation of what would
happen when he finally covered the distance separating them.  Preoccupied with
her thoughts, it was easy for Hope to shoot out her hand and grab her wrist
–
the spell was broken.

“
Okay, little miss thing, I got you now. 
You
’
re coming with me.
”
  Opening her eyes wide, baring her teeth
and looking as fiendish as she could, Hope murmured,
“
it
’
s show
time!
”

Ensuring
her grip was true; she pulled Aviva towards the bright red convertible parked
in the driveway.  As they moved forward she kept up a token struggle of
resistance while howling,
“
No, no,
please
–
not the beauty salon
–
not the spaaa.
”
  Looking over her shoulder, eyes beseeching, Aviva made one
last pitiful attempt to elicit help from the giant. 
“
For the love of God, save me from the beauty salon, please, I
beg of you, save me from the
…
spaaa.
”

He didn
’
t know when he had last had so much fun. 
Hope opened the passenger side of the car and pushed the smaller woman into the
seat before closing the door.  Aviva made no attempt to extricate herself to
gain her hard fought freedom.  Hope calmly strode around the front of the car,
opened the driver
’
s door, got
in and slammed it shut.  She then leisurely pulled and engaged her seatbelt
into the locking mechanism. Inserting the key into the ignition she engaged the
engine, bringing the powerful little sports car to life.

At the
sound of the engine turning over, Aviva pulled herself onto her knees, turned
around to face the man and reached out both her hands towards him in
supplication. 
“
Don
’
t let her take me, please
–
I beg of you, don
’
t let her take me
”
gulp
“
to the
spaaa!
”

As the
little car began moving towards the exit of the estate, Aviva and the man made
eye contact for a brief moment, but it was enough for Aviva to feel the
intensity of his gaze.  He pivoted as he watched her with a promise in his
eyes, making no attempt to suppress his laughter as she moved further away. 
His last view of the little woman was the cheeky wink she threw his way as she
disappeared from sight.

The last
thought in Aviva
’
s mind as
they turned the corner that took the giant out of sight was; the man even had
dimples.  There really ought to be a law against anybody being so out and out
fine!

Without
taking his eyes from the driveway although the car was now out of sight, Jason
asked Steve, now standing beside him,
“
Who was that with your fianc
é
?
”

Laughing
Steve, who had witnessed the whole hilarious episode from the balcony, slapped
him on his shoulder and replied,
“
That my
friend was Aviva, and that was just breakfast.  Just wait for lunch and dinner!
”

“
I
’
m not sure if I
’
ll be able
to wait for dinner
–
and I don
’
t even think I
’
m going to try.
”

As the
little convertible awaited the opening of the gates, Aviva turned around in her
seat, reached for her seatbelt engaging it before seeking information about the
stranger she had just encountered. 
“
Who was
that?
”
  Hope laughed while
driving through the gates that had electronically opened to allow them to pass
through.

“
Hope, who was that man?
”
Aviva asked again as Hope maneuvered her
car.

Briefly
glancing at her best friend for the last twelve years, Hope shook her head,
having witnessed the exchanges that had passed between them. 
“
That my dear was Jason King.  Steve and I
refer to him as King Midas.  In other words everything he touches turns to
gold.
”

“
I
’
ve never seen so many delicious muscles on a guy.  He even gives
your Steve a run for his money.
”

Hope
carried on speaking as though Aviva
’
s statement
hadn
’
t registered with her.
“…
and all the women he
dates are golden, if you get my drift.
”
With that said, Aviva put Jason to the back of her mind, at
least she tried to, but Jason King was not a man easily overlooked, he cried
out alpha male, what woman didn
’
t love an
alpha male.

“
Enough said my sister.
”

“
Yeah, now you mention it, my man is fine
ain
’
t he!
”
Hope laughed at her own good fortune,
giving Aviva a grin that said she was a very lucky girl indeed.

Rolling her
eyes Aviva decided to change the subject before Hope started in on all the
wonders of Steve.
“
So how long
am I expected to stay in the torture chamber you
’
re taking me to?
”