A Natural Act (Contradictions) (15 page)

“
Of course,” I smile happily. She seems lovely.

“
Won’t be long,” he breathes as he pulls my hair away from my face, pressing a gentle kiss to the sensitive flesh of my neck that causes my breath to catch in my throat.

I’m in so much trouble
with this man.

“Just the two of us,” Jamie-Lea smiles, handing me a cup of tea.

I nod and take a seat on the sofa.

“It’s so nice to meet you, really,” Jamie continues, joining me on the sofa. “Craig never br- I mean…” she blushes and bows her head as though realising she’s said too much. She looks genuinely worried.

“
It’s okay,” I reassure her. “Craig already told me he rarely introduces his… female friends to his family.”

“
Sorry,” she cringes apologetically.

I just smile because she doesn’t need to apologise for his womanising history.

“I want to ask you a million questions,” she admits bashfully.

“
Then ask away,” I smile as best I can.

“
Craig won’t like me prying,” she shakes her head. “He’s very private,” she adds quickly.

I tilt my head and study Jamie-Lea, she seems incredibly young for her age and yet she seems to carry the huge weight of maturity and responsibility on her shoulders.

She’s an extremely beautiful young woman but she sometimes seems a bit jumpy. It’s an endearing combination and I find myself liking her, especially because of the fondness she has for her brother.

“
Then he shouldn’t have left us alone together,” I wink because I don’t want her to think I don’t like her. She’s my best chance at getting an insight into Craig and – as Carla said – she’s cute as a button. It’s hard not to get on with her.

“
Maybe not,” her adorable smile broadens.

She studies me pensively and then leans back in the sofa.
“Have you heard him play guitar?”

I’m not sure what I was expecting her to ask but that was not it and the memory of Craig’s
dextrous fingers gliding seamlessly over the taught string of his guitar brings a smile to my face and I have no control over it.

He brings the guitar out whenever I feel anything other than happy. It’s my own personal therapy brought to me by the world’s finest therapist.

And boy, is he fine.

“
He’s very talented,” I beam because it’s true. “Do you play?”

“
No,” she shakes her head. “I’m far too clumsy for that. Craig and Jake are the only musical ones in the family.”

“
Jake? He’s the youngest brother?”

She nods.
“Craig taught him to play guitar.”

“
That’s nice. Who taught Craig?”

She seems to think it over as though she’s not sure she should be discussing it with me but she must decide it’s okay because she indulges me with more insight into my doctor.

“Dad taught Craig. Granddad says Craig was the only one who would sit still long enough for Dad to teach him,” she smiles a sad smile. “Dad gave Craig his first guitar right before… right before he died. He still has that same guitar.”

I nod because I don’t feel there are any words I can say to that. I can’t imagine losing your parents so
young.

“
What’s it like having such a big family?” I ask because I must be rough being the only girl in a family of what Carla describes as “seven alpha males in a cage”.

“
It’s great,” she beams happily. “I don’t know what I’d do without them.”

“
Craig says they’re protective over you. How’s that?”

She rolls her eyes and giggles.
“It can be… frustrating.”

“
So I’d imagine,” I laugh with her.

“
Their hearts are in the right place,” she smiles. “Ian and Karl have been looking after me since I was a baby. I understand why they are the way they are.”

“
Still,” I grin. “I feel rather sorry for Jason.”

She frowns guilty but then shakes her head.
“He can handle it.”

“
That’s what Craig said,” I reassure her because she seems genuinely worried about it.

She brightens at this and takes a sip of her tea.

“Did Craig tell you he beat Jason last night?”

I shake my head and this time it’s my turn to frown.

She studies my face pensively. “You don’t like that he fights.”

I shrug guiltily and she waits patiently for me to elaborate. She reminds me of Craig in the way she considers her words very carefully before she speaks and gives people a chance to think their own answers through.

“It’s just… it’s violence,” I answer, nibbling on the flesh of my lip because I don’t want to offend her.

She cocks her head.
“I can see why you’d think that,” she answers diplomatically. “Have you ever seen him fight?”

I shake my head.

“It’s called martial arts because it is an art form in many ways. It’s about tactics, discipline, and training,” she explains. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like seeing my brother get hurt, although it doesn’t happen very often, but it’s definitely not about violence for him or the others.

I think they just like practicing their defence skills and showing off their bodies,
” she smiles mischievously.

“
Your brothers all look like Craig?” I ask because I assumed Craig would be abnormally muscly because of the training.

“
He’s one of the skinniest,” Jamie laughs. “Not that he’d like me saying that.”

I have to laugh. Craig is most definitely not skinny.
“I heard one of your twin brothers call him scrawny.”

She grins.
“They like to tease him because they’re a bit stockier than he is.”

“
Wow,” I sigh. “I can’t believe
all
your brothers look like that. Do you not get sick of girls fawning over them?”

She
almost chokes on her sip of tea as she bursts into giggles, nodding. “There are many fawns.”

“
I might become pro-hunting if I spend too much time with Craig,” I mumble wryly.

It takes her a few seconds to catch on that I’m joking but then the giggles return full pelt.

So I join in; I giggle.

I don’t remembering the last time I giggled. Stomach
-clenching, bladder-crushing, soul-tickling giggles. It feels so free and wonderful.

It feels like this is what my life should be like and would be like if I could escape the demon of my past.

“What are you two giggling about?” Craig smirks as he follows Jason into the flat.

“
Fawns,” I smile innocently, causing Jamie to clutch her stomach with laugher.

“
I see,” he raises an eyebrow stalking round the sofa towards me. He stops next to his sister who is curled up in a ball giggling. He gives her a gentle poke to the ribs and she just laughs harder.

“
Nutter,” he mumbles before moving to where I’m sat. He bends down low, placing a hand on each side of me and bringing his face low down to mere millimetres away from mine.

“
Okay, lady?”

I nod to the affirmative, still fighting o
ff my own giggles.

He smirks and presses a gentle kiss to my lips. It’d be a superficial kiss if it weren’t for the way his lips linger on mine for those few extra seconds and he clears his throat as he pulls away as if he’
d rather not pull away at all.

My own breathing becomes
heavier as I watch him straighten with that dark desire in his eyes. The desire that tells me his mind is on that kitchen worktop.

I miss that worktop.

It wouldn’t do to linger on such things with company so I compartmentalise them and focus on baking a cake with Jamie.

It feels so normal. So wonderful. It’s also extremely insightful to see the way Craig is with Jamie. It’s another layer to my mystery. Another piece of the puzzle. He’s playful and relaxed and it’s heart-warming. This is my Craig.

My Craig.

I like those two words in combination.

Our day with Jamie and Jason is so pleasant that by the time Craig and I reach the train station for our journey home, I’ve almost forgotten the worries of this morning’s journey.

However, it’s all brought back to me as we take our seats on the train.

“Craig,” I prompt as he offers his shoulder for me to rest my head on, his arm around me.

“
Yes, lady,” he answers.

“
I need to tell you what happened this morning,” I look at him guiltily.

His lips sets and he stares out the window.
“Already know, Bella.”

“
What?” I blurt in confusion.

“
Already know.”

I look at him expectantly because I haven’t told him.

He just carries on looking out of the window. I suspect I won’t like what he has to say.

“
Craig,” I prompt.

He ignores me and I shrug away from him because I need him to communicate with me.

“Read your messages,” he mumbles but he doesn’t sound apologetic.

“
You had no right to do that, Craig,” I snap angrily because even though he did it to check on the Nigel situation, he still invaded my privacy.

“
Need to know what that fucker is up to, Bella. You don’t always tell me.”

“
That’s not fair, Craig. I was about to tell you.”

He shrugs.

“Not sorry, Bella. I’d do it again. I’d never read your texts from anybody other than him but he’s playing mind games with you and I need to know the moves he’s making to stay ahead of him. To him it’s a game, to me it’s a threat to somebody I care for. I don’t take that lightly, Bella.”

“
You should have asked,” I insist, slightly less irritated because I can appreciate that he’s trying to protect me but I’m not okay with him breaching my rights like that.

“
Know that, Bella. But I also knew there was a guy following you and I needed to know what to do about it and you weren’t ready to tell me. Completely understand if you wanna be pissed at me lady but be pissed at me while you let me hold you.”

“
Why should I let you do that after-”

He cuts me off with a finger to the lips.
“Because you were on a train with some strange wanker following you. Because I was fucking scared for you, Bella. Because I need to hold you for a while.”

I close my mouth and glare at him but I settle into his warmth because,
no matter how mad at him I am, I sort of need him to hold me anyway.

“
Thank you,” he whispers against my hair, slowly moving his fingers over my shoulder, tickling me in relaxing oscillations.

“
Wait, how would you have known there was a guy following me? You wouldn’t have known that before you checked my phone,” I frown, tilting my head to look up at him.

“
She told me not tell you,” Craig mumbles, looking back out of the window.

“
Who told you not…” my voice trails off because my brain catches up. “Carla.”

Craig nods.

“She realised I was being followed before I did,” I think out loud.

Another nod.

“Why is everybody conspiring against me today?” I grumble in irritation, the warm glow of happiness from the day fading quickly in the light of this new information.

“
Bella,” Craig says sternly. “Carla knew you’d be mad. She just didn’t want to ruin today for you. She thought you had enough on your plate.”

“
I can handle it!” I half-shout.

“
She was trying to be a good friend, Bella.”

I ignore him because I need to be angry at somebody. I want to be angry at Craig for violating my privacy. I want to be angry at Carla for keeping it from me.

But both of them had my best interests at heart.

So I end up being angry at myself. If I
were more open and honest with Craig, he wouldn’t have to go behind my back to find out what he needed to know to keep him from worrying and to help him protect me.

If I
were stronger, Carla wouldn’t worry about being honest with me. She’d know I could handle it.

“
Sorry,” I mumble eventually into Craig’s surprisingly soft pectoral muscle.

“
Nothing to apologise for, lady,” he answers, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

“
I meant for not telling you everything. He just texts a lot and I hate having to come to you with my problems.”

“
Your problems are my problems, Bella.”

“
But they’re a lot of them.”

“
Doctor, musician, fighter, rescuer of damsels in distress. I can multitask, lady,” he winks with that cheeky smirk.