Maid for Advertising - Susie Tate Page 0,28
you and your stupid boat. You’re off the hook. Go back to making oodles of cash now.” I waved him away, my eyes still closed and heard him sigh.
“Will you please just agree to sleep somewhere tonight where you won’t be woken up by three other people in the room?” he seemed very serious about this.
I was silent for a long moment.
“There’s an en suite bathroom.”
“Sold,” I said. He might have been offering out of guilt, but I wasn’t about to look a gift horse or an en suite bathroom in the mouth. As soon as the word left my mouth he reached for me and tugged me away from a furious Kira.
“I’m watching you, cockwomble,” she muttered as he pulled me towards him and then to my shock lifted me up against his chest. Kira snorted. “Ugh, you really are a cheeseball, aren’t you? That is such an eighties romance manoeuvre. Not cool, bro.”
I was too tired to make a fuss, and his chest was big and firm and warm. Just for tonight, just for now I was going forget my health, forget my finances and let myself be carried.
“You’re setting back feminism fifty years,” Kira called after me and I gave her the finger. “Don’t you touch her, Pervy Perverson. I’m coming too.”
Chapter 9
Calm down, Julia Roberts
Urvi
I blinked open my eyes. It was pitch black but it didn’t feel like the middle of night. It felt like I’d slept for days. I groped around the bed blindly until my hand closed over my phone and the screen lit up.
“Holy shit badgers,” I gasped as I sat up so fast my head spun. It was past eleven in the morning. I hadn’t slept this late in months, maybe years. I jumped off the bed and found the light switch, taking in a shocked breath at the cabin I found myself in.
“Ugh,” grumped Kira, only her pink-tipped hair was visible from underneath the duvet. “Turn the light off, you dick.”
“Kira, get up! It’s after eleven.”
“Calm down, Julia Roberts,” she told me, her disgruntled face appearing above the cover. “After you gave everyone the Steel Magnolias treatment nobody is expecting us to serve brekkie, believe me. By the way, I’m glad you’ve adopted the badger swear. It’s on its way to catching on globally – I can feel it in my waters.”
“Kira can you stop talking about your waters and listen. Where the hell even are we?”
“Oh, we’re in the posh bit of the boat. Nice huh?”
“Why on . . . ?” I trailed off, and a memory of a hard chest, clean male scent and soft linen of a shirt next to my face came back to me. “I was carried, wasn’t I?”
“Hmm . . . lil’ bit,” she said, wincing through a smile and holding her thumb and forefinger close together. “It was super pathetic.”
“Great,” I muttered, rolling my eyes and searching around for my clothes. “What am I wearing by the way?” I had on a tiny pair of sleep shorts – the kind that migrate up your arse, and matching, equally tiny, lace-trimmed vest.
“Oh yeah, I couldn’t be bothered to rifle through your shit, so I changed you into some of mine. Went for my sexy pair – thought that would be appropriate.”
“Kira, only you would think that I would need to be in sexy nightwear after narrowly avoiding an admission into hospital.” I whirled round as a knock sounded at the door.
“Come in,” Kira shouted from the bed and my eyes flew wide as the door opened. Before I could see anything to cover myself with, Jack was standing in the doorway.
“I – ” he started, and then blinked as he scanned me from my face down to my toes. Two streaks of colour appeared high on his cheekbones and his mouth fell open. “Er, I . . .” He snapped his mouth shut and his blue eyes came back to mine as I saw his throat work on a visible swallow.
“Come on, Romeo,” Kira teased from the bed, sitting up now and equally as underdressed, but Jack’s eyes didn’t even flicker to her from their intent perusal of me. “You can do better than that. Remember to use your words.”
I looked up at the ceiling, seeking patience, then scowled at Kira before I turned back to a flustered-looking Jack.
“Er . . . I’ll come back. I was just . . . I didn’t mean to . . .”
“Calm down,” Kira told him. “She’s just in