Still Falling (15 page)

“Oops!”

“Woman, you need twenty four hour
supervision.
 
Let’s get you up.”

He managed to walk her to the large bed
in his spacious suite.
 
Sitting down on
the edge of the bed he ordered her to kneel on the floor in front of him.
 

“Why Mr. Chest....and here I thought you
were a gentleman.
 
Why don’t you kneel
down on the floor in front of
me!
”

“Christ Serena!
 
One day I just might!
 
But for now I want to dry your hair.
 
Just do as you’re told!”

Pouting she obeyed and steadying herself
on his knees, she slipped down to the floor.
  
Marco gently towel dried her hair.
 
At some point Serena had folded her arms on his knees and put her head
down.
 
Her hair was as dry as he was
going to get it with a towel and although the suite had a hairdryer it was
inconveniently on the other side of the room.
 
Gently he finger combed her hair back, releasing any tangles from the
towel.
 
She must have washed her hair
before going out tonight because he could still smell her shampoo.
 

That
little runt is supposed to be looking after her.
 
What the hell is she doing out on her own
this late at night and so drunk?
 

He grasped her under her arms and lifted
her with him as he rose from the bed.
 
With gentle encouragement he walked her around the side of the bed.
 
He pulled the covers back and removed the
robe before laying her down.
 

“Hi honey, I’m home...” she mumbled,
snickering as she drifted off to sleep.

“Oh God woman you are intolerable!”

The robe had absorbed most of the
moisture from the thin lace of her underwear so he felt certain she wouldn’t
come to any harm if she slept in them tonight.
 
He tucked her in and muted the light.
 

“Shit.
 
Why me!” he muttered with ragged breath.
 
Quietly he retreated to the sitting room and made a call to the
concierge.

Three things fought for her attention as
Serena reluctantly drifted away from a nearly perfect dream.
 
The most beautiful man in the world had been
at her beck and call.
 
He belonged to
her.
 
But no matter how hard she tried
she couldn’t see his face.
 
Now in no
particular order, she had a pressing urge to pee, an overwhelming need to brush
her teeth and a persistent desire to take some strong painkillers for the
pounding in her head.

Eyes still closed she moved her head
slowly to test its strength and groaned at the lancing pain that shot through
her skull.
 
She brought a hand up to rub
her eyes, startled at how heavy her arm felt.
 
Tenderly she opened her eyes to narrow slits, testing the light quality
before committing to open them fully.
 
The light levels were bearable.

Oh
this is bad!

She thought looking up at the strange
ceiling.
 
Frantically she closed her eyes
again and tried to replay the last twenty four hours in her mind.
  

Doctor
says I’m good...Check.

Marie
wanted a Chaperone...Check.

Party
at the Hyatt...Check.

Sat with Mavis and Arnie...Check.

Had
a Brandy
Liquor.....Okay defiantly more than one.

Conversation with stone horse, embarrassing but ...Check.

Little
accident on steps.....Oh God Mr. Chest!

What
the hell happened after that?

Wallowing
in a spa bath being fed
grapes....no that was
the
dream....definitely the dream.

Watching
my own very private strip show as Mr. Chest removed his wet clothes?
    
Shit was that part of the dream?

Who
the hell is Mr. Chest?

Where
is Mr. Chest?

Serena stretched out tentative fingers
on either side of her.
 
Her left hand
found something first.
 
The edge of the bed.
 

Good!
Okay if Mr. Chest is in this bed, he will be on my right!

Slowly she peeked through a thin slit to
the right hand side of the huge expanse of the bed.
 
The Chinese silk cover spread out in front of
her in small smooth folds.
 

We’re
good.
 
There is no one there.

Looking beyond the bed, a little more
alert now, Serena studied the huge room.
 
Elegant, minimalistic and modern.
 
She could tell that only the most expensive
materials had been used to decorate the simple space.
 
The overall effect was stunning.
 
Sweeping her eyes left, she tried to see the
end of the bed without lifting her head from the safety of the soft
pillow.
 

Kneeling
on the floor at the foot of the bed.....why did I think of that?
 
Maybe I really don’t want to know!

She turned her head slowly to see what
clues existed on the left of the room.

Double
Crap!

“If you really want to spend so much
time in my bed Serena, you are going to have to stop playing so hard to get!”

Serena had no idea what to say and just
stared like a rabbit caught in headlights.
 
Marco sat in a small armchair, denim legs stretched out in front of him
in that way that made her wish she was stronger.
 
His bare feet crossed at the ankles.
 
He wore a simple white T-shirt that clung to
his body hiding nothing.
 
His hair was
ruffled and his face dark with stubble and emotion.

He
is angry!
 
Sexy, gorgeous and angry!

One arm hung loosely down the side of
the chair.
 
The other rested on the arm
of the chair, a small tumbler held loosely in the grip of his long fingers.

“Trust me.
 
I can think of a thousand places I would
rather be right now!”

Like
on your lap.

Her voice didn’t sound convincing.
 
Wincing, Serena pulled herself up on the
pillows, taking the covers with her to preserve her modesty.
 

If
it still needed preserving!
 
How the hell
am I going to find out?

“I should leave you suffer.
 
Maybe you’ll think twice about being so
irresponsible next time!”
 

Marco reached for two small white
tablets and a little brown one and handed them to her with the tumbler he had
been holding.

She looked at him questionably as she
accepted them.

“It’s just Ibuprofen, vitamin B complex
and water.”

She tipped her head back tenderly, not
wanting to shake her brain around her skull too much and let the tablets fall
onto the back of her tongue.
 
The water
was cool and sweet and good and while it made her mouth feel a little better it
also reminded her that she needed the bathroom.

“Umm do you mind?” she asked flicking
her eyes toward the doorway she assumed lead to the bathroom.

“No I don’t mind at all.
 
Help yourself!”
 
His eyes twinkled, deepening the creases
lining the corners.

“A bit of privacy please!”

“Don’t worry.
 
I won’t follow!”

Frustrated, Serena managed to wrap the
meters of silk sheet, wool blanket and silk cover around her small body in a
huge swirling bundle and climb out of the bed.

“A little late to be shy now, isn’t it?”
He teased still lounging in the small armchair in front of her.

In defiance, Serena glared solidly at
him for two counts and dropped the covers.
 
She stepped over his outstretched legs and stalked across the room to
the bathroom, swaying her hips as seductively as she knew how, hoping she
wasn’t overdoing and making a fool of herself instead.

Note
to self....thank you for wearing decent underwear last night!

Sitting on the loo she studied the
bathroom.
 
The walls were tiled to the
ceiling in polished Tavertine stone.
 
Except for one wall which was covered end to end in mirrored glass.
 
Across a space large enough to do cartwheels
was a large jetted spa bath with a waterfall tap.
 
Down the other end of the bathroom was a
large glass enclosed rain and steam shower.
 

Just
like the one Mr. Chest stripped off in....damn I hope that was just a
dream.
 

Finished she raided the larger than
necessary vanity cupboard and found a toothbrush still in its wrapping.
 

Thank
God for small mercies.

 
Serena studied herself in the mirror while
brushing her teeth.
 
She could tell she
had gone to sleep with damp hair.
 
She
glanced over her shoulder at the shower again.
 
All the carefully set smooth curls from last night were gone.
 
Instead it fell around her shoulders in
finger brushed waves.
 
Her eyes were a
little bloodshot but she hadn’t worn much makeup last night so her face looked
puffy but clean.
 
Apart from a small pair
of studs, which were still in her ears, she hadn’t worn any other
jewellery.
 
Rinsing her mouth and patting
it dry with a towel, she moved her attention further south.

“Now I know I didn’t go out dressed like
this last night!” she told the reflection.

She hadn’t seen any clothes in the
bedroom and a quick look around the bathroom told her there were none here
either.

“Well isn’t this just great.”

Feeling better with clean teeth, and
empty bladder and a fading headache, Serena went into full minx mode.

She strode out of the bathroom as though
she was fully clothed on the catwalk and had nothing to be embarrassed
about.
 
She was more than a little
disappointed to be greeted by an empty bedroom.
 
She quickly checked bedroom again for clothes but only found a handful
in the closet that belonged to him.
 

Suddenly not feeling as brave as she had
few minutes earlier she grabbed a soft blue linen shirt from a hanger and
climbed into it.
 
Rolling up the sleeves
to her wrists she studied the outcome in mirror.
 
The shirt tails fell most of the way down her
thighs.
 

Back
in control!

Soft voices filtered through from
another room and she peeked through the door way.
 
Stretching out before her was a huge double
space.
 
The walls alternated between soft
eggshell plaster, Tavertine stone and seamless mirrors.
 
The lighting was recessed behind the
Tavertine panels and gave everything a soft glow.
 
Arranged on the floor on one side of the room
was a large oval table ready to seat ten people, a sleek black stone desk sat
to one side and a mix of chairs and sofas surrounded a small coffee table.
 

Taking a walk through the lounge area
she noted a private terrace through a set of glass doors.
  
Following the sound of dishes she moved
through to the area where the long dining table dominated its space.
 
She now noticed the small kitchen off to one
side.
 

Still
twice the size of my kitchen!

Marco glanced up at her and nodded approvingly.
 
She looks damn good in my shirt.

 
“Table.
 
Now!”

Serena was not used to been ordered
around like this.

“I’m not hungry.” She said pouting like
a three year old.

“I don’t care.
 
Now are you going to sit at the table and eat
your breakfast or am I going to have to strap you in and feed you?”

Serena blushed at the mental image his
threats created.
 

“Ummm, what kind of straps?” she asked
coyly.

Marco glared at her, his expression
unreadable.
 
With a shake of his head,
brushed his fingers through his hair and gathered up the tray.
 
Laying out two settings at the table,
opposite each other he pointed for her to sit.

Actually
I’m starving and this smells good.

Quietly, they both ate their eggs,
mushrooms and pastries.
 
Both staring pointedly at their plates.
 
Finally Marco cleared his throat and looked
up at Serena.

“Gabrielle will be here shortly with
some clothes for you.
 
She can give you a
lift home.”

“Thank you.
 
But may I ask where my own clothes are?”