Freya felt like a weight had been lifted. The chain that had been squeezing tight around her heart making her fearful to let anyone else in, a friend or a lover, afraid to lose someone she loved again, had loosened. She sensed something similar with Zander, his openness and honesty a relief for him as much as it had been for her.
‘Thank you for telling me that.’ Freya stroked the side of his face.
He gently caught hold of her wrist and looked intently at her, his green eyes searching her face, as if taking her in for the first time.
‘I like spending time with you, Freya.’ He kissed the side of her hand. ‘And I love talking to you.’
His hand slid from her wrist and found her waist. They were inches from each other, neither of them breaking their gaze. Zander closed the gap. His kiss was tentative at first; unexpected but wanted. Freya responded, allowing the kiss to deepen. His hands pulled her closer. Freya ran her hands over his chest, firm beneath his T-shirt. They stayed clasped together, their hands and tongues exploring for a seemingly endless amount of time that Freya didn’t want to end.
‘Stay the night.’
His hand was hot on her thigh; her stomach still doing somersaults from kissing him. This time she didn’t think he was talking about staying in a guest room. Her heart and head were in turmoil, her heart longing to say yes and see where the night would take them, her head telling her it was a bad idea to risk their newly-formed friendship. And even though she knew Aaron was leaving and she’d probably never see him again, she didn’t want to prove him right in his unwarranted assumption that there was something going on between her and Zander.
‘No, I uh... I really shouldn’t. I’m going to go back.’
Aaron was still fresh in her mind; she’d tumbled into bed with him – although not straight away – and look how that ended. She’d been hurt too much recently, first by Owen and then Aaron; she didn’t want to risk messing anything up with Zander. They had a friendship that she wanted to keep. She truly treasured the time she’d spent with him over the last few weeks.
‘I’m sorry if I came on too strong then. See what I mean about being inappropriate... And after all we’ve talked about this evening...’
‘It’s okay.’ She clasped his hand. ‘The kiss was lovely.’ It had been more than lovely, sensual and spine-tingling, a moment she hadn’t wanted to end.
‘Honestly, stay in the guest room. No expectations. I want you to be safe.’
‘I’m sure it’ll be fine going back to the staff village...’ She couldn’t bring herself to say Aaron’s name again. She assumed he’d be asleep by now and not causing any trouble, but as she’d learnt this evening, she didn’t really know him so maybe Zander’s overprotectiveness was necessary. ‘It’s late.’
‘Fine, but I’m walking you back.’
She didn’t argue but she did get a stab of regret as they walked across the sand to the path through the trees. Zander led, lighting the way with the torch on his mobile. Freya followed behind trying to concentrate on her footing rather than Zander striding ahead. Lanterns then lit the path so Zander switched off the light and they walked together in silence. They’d said enough already this evening and Freya’s head was a mess.
It felt strange walking towards the staff village with Zander. It was late and there were few staff about. They rounded the corner of the women’s block and Zander stopped before they reached the open courtyard and the possibility of prying eyes.
‘I’ll say goodnight then.’ He leaned closer and kissed her cheek, lingering long enough for her to feel his warmth and the brush of his stubble. ‘I’ll wait until you’re safely inside.’
She nodded, a surge of warmth flooding through her at his concern. ‘Night, Zander.’ She turned and paced the short distance to the door and pushed it open. With a quick look and wave, she went inside.
Her heart thudded as she took the stairs two at a time. She prayed no one else was up, certainly not Drew – she didn’t want to have to explain herself or talk about the evening she’d had. Confusion constricted her chest. All was dark and quiet. She shut herself in her room, not bothering to shower, wash or even clean her teeth, just needing time and sleep to make sense of everything that had happened.
Freya lay in her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Something had changed between them tonight, and it was more than the kiss. She imagined Zander lying in his bed. She’d said no to staying the night and yet she was thinking about him. She couldn’t get him out of her head. She didn’t want to. As sleep finally drifted over her, she wondered if he was thinking about her.
Chapter Thirty-One
‘You two are driving me insane. How do you cope with the sexual tension?’ Drew laughed.
Freya
