Fire in the Blood

'It would serve you right if you did!'

'Thanks!' he said, seething.

'Well, this is all your fault!' she muttered.

Sean's blue eyes narrowed and flashed at her. 'It takes two, you know!'

'Not when one of them simply won't take no for an answer!' she retorted, and saw the mounting rage in his face with sudden alarm. She wasn't feeling up to one of these confrontations with him. Not that she didn't believe this was all Sean's fault, but she simply couldn't face another bitter row.

She was very cold now, the clammy material of her dress moulded to her wet body making her shiver all the time. She was constantly aware of Sean too, naked and much too close, reminding her all the time of their lovemaking a few minutes ago, when what she wanted was to forget the sweetness and agony of being in his arms.

All she wanted now was to get back to the hotel, to her room, to change into something warm and dry and then get into bed and go to sleep.

But she knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep if she knew Sean was out here on the beach all night like that.

'Look, I'll open my balcony windows and throw you out my towelling robe,' she hurriedly conceded.

'Your towelling robe?' he repeated, still glowering at her.

'Well, one towelling robe is much like another— they're sort of unisex, aren't they? You'll be able to walk back into the hotel as if you've been swimming, tell them you've lost your key, and ask for the spare one.'

'Are you blind? I'm half a foot taller than you are. I'll look ridiculous in anything of yours! Not to mention that I'm a completely different shape from you, of course! I'm not walking into the hotel dressed like something from a French farce!'

She could see he had a point. 'Well, what if you don't come in through the front of the hotel, but use my balcony? Only, if anyone sees you they may alert the hotel security people and we could find ourselves in an embarrassing situation.'

'We are in an embarrassing situation!' he muttered, scowling. 'It can't be much worse. You open the windows and chuck me the robe and I'll climb in through your room, and if I'm seen and the hotel security people catch me and ask questions, we'll say we were just playing at being Romeo and Juliet...'

He laughed at his own joke. Nadine didn't.

'I can imagine their faces!' was all she said.

'Who cares what they think?' Sean said with an arrogant shrug of those broad, muscled shoulders.

She looked away, biting her Up. She had already lost her head over him once tonight; she was never doing it again. If only he weren't so sexy. Look at those long, tanned legs... No, she thought, don't look at those long, tanned legs!

'Are you listening?' he asked impatiently and she nodded. He gave her flushed face a suspicious look, but said, 'OK, then once I'm in your room

I'll ring the desk clerk and ask them to come up and open the connecting door between your room and mine.'

She did not want that door open, but she decided to argue about that later, when she was safely in her room and dry and warm again.

'All right,' she said, and hurried away.

The walk back to the hotel was an ordeal. At first the beach was empty, then she ran into a little group of people wandering along by the sea, talking. They stopped talking to stare at her. The two girls in the party giggled. The men mostly grinned.

'You're all wet!' one said.

'Been for a swim in your dress?' asked one of the girls.

Nadine laughed merrily. 'I had a little accident. Fell in the pool. Well, see you later!' She ran on and heard them all laughing and talking behind her. That had given them something to gossip about! She would have breakfast on her balcony tomorrow; she couldn't face the stares over the breakfast table.

She ran through the hotel gardens, avoiding any guests she saw after that, but felt people watching her and raising their eyebrows at the state she was in, and when she hurried into the hotel lobby she found Luc Haines and his wife talking to the reception clerk. Their conversation broke off, they turned to stare in disbelief at Nadine.

'What on earth happened to you?' asked Luc, skating a glance from her dishevelled wet hair down over her dishevelled wet dress to her bare, wet feet.

He was looking amused, but Clarrie's face was anxious. 'Are you OK, Nadine?'

Nadine picked up on Clarrie's tone and realised she was afraid something serious had happened to her, so she managed a weak little smile.