A Natural Act (Contradictions) (8 page)

“Don’t know,” he admits. “The moment I saw you in the hospital, I couldn’t just leave.”

“
I don’t understand,” I frown.

“
Me neither,” he admits. “But I’m not complaining.”

“
I don’t want to be a burden.”

“
You’ll never be a burden, Bella,” Craig insists, reaching down to cup my chin and force my face up to meet his.

“
Never,” he insists, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

“
But-” I begin but he silences me with a gentle finger over my lips.

“
I didn’t want you here, you wouldn’t be here, Bella,” he assures me. “Let me be here for you.”

I just nod because, once again, I’m blown away by this man.

He pulls me into him once more and his solid warmth is what I need. I can already feel my breathing easing and the tightness in my chest loosening.

I’m not in the right place to be questioning his motives. I resolve myself to accept that he’s my guardian angel whether he’ll admit it or not. I might not be alive without him and living suddenly doesn’t seem so bad with Craig around.

Did he fall asleep with a cucumber in his pocket? I somehow doubt it.

Which means that the rather solid force pushing into my lower back is exactly what I suspected.

A gentleman’s sausage.

A generously proportioned sausage by the feel of it. It’s not a sausage you’d say no to.

I need to stop calling it a sausage.

My back is to his front and I’m wrapped in his arms. He held me all night and my nightmares stayed away. I’ve never slept so well in my life.

Now that I
’m awake though, I’m not quite sure what to do about the fact that Craig’s morning erection is massaging my lumbar.

I don’t know what to do about the fact that I’d like to massage it back.

“Morning,” he greets me sleepily.

“
Morning,” I still lest he realise I’m aware of his morning situation.

“
You sleep okay?” He asks, his breath caressing the tendrils of my hair.

“
Like an angel,” I reply on a contented sigh.

“
How apt,” he chuckles, tucking my hair behind my ear. “The first time I laid eyes on you, that was my first thought.”

“
What?”

“
That you looked like an angel. Bruised and broken from your fall from heaven.”

“
I’m not angelic,” I frown.

“
Sure you are,” he grins. “White blonde hair, beautiful blue-grey eyes, and a smile that could only be sent from above.”

“
You’re crazy,” I shift my head so I can eye him sceptically.

He just laughs and kisses the top of my head once more. The vibration of his laughter travels down my spine
and causes his previous massaging to recommence.

It takes him a few seconds to realise but I know when he does because he stops laughing and stills.

“Was going to sleep on the sofa,” he mumbles, his arms still around me and my cocoon of duvet.

“
Okay…”

“
But you fell asleep and every time I tried to get up, you grabbed my arm and I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“
It’s okay,” I try to reassure him. I’m not sure if he’s embarrassed or not.

“
This is what happens when you wake up in bed with a beautiful girl,” he chuckles, pulling away and not so subtly reaching into his boxers to readjust himself.

I blush and look away.

“Did I scare you?”

“
No,” I answer defiantly, meeting his eye because I wasn’t scared.

Unless you count being scared that I wanted to hop on and
go for a ride with a man who I’ve known for a week. A man with a generous cucumber.

“
Good,” he grins. “Because he may have a mind of his own but he still answers to me and I’m a good boy.”

“
A good boy?”

“
Can’t you tell?” He raises an eyebrow and gestures to himself.

“
I don’t think you look like a boy,” I raise an eyebrow in reply to his. There’s nothing about him that doesn’t scream man. “But you’re definitely good. Anybody who takes a second to really look can see that.”

He narrows his eyes at me and sits up, studying me like he’s not quite sure what to say. As a result, he says nothing. He just stands up and shakes his head, pulling
his t-shirt off with one hand as he makes his way out of the room.

“
I’ll make you breakfast in a bit,” he calls over his shoulder as he leaves the room.

And just like that he went from hot to cold.
His shields were down and I was talking to Craig and then they were sky high and he was gone.

I lie in the bed for a few minutes trying to decide what I did to make him switch like that but I’m just not sure.

In the end, I figure it’s better to ask. If I’m going to be staying here a while, I need to know what to avoid to keep from upsetting him.

He’s not in the kit
chen, nor the lounge. Which leaves only the bathroom. As I get nearer, I can hear the shower running.

Which means he’s in the shower. Naked.

I figure I can just try and talk to him through the door. It might be easier to talk to him without him being able to see my face anyway.

“
Craig-” I start to knock on the bathroom door but it’s not shut properly and it opens a couple of inches.

I reach out to shut it again but my gaze is held captive by the strip of bathroom I can now see.

The room is filled with steam but I can still make out the door of the shower.

The transparent door.

There’s a frosted modesty strip but there’s still a lot to be seen.

His body is dripping with wate
r and glows in the bright beams of light. I’d be mesmerised by the way the small beads of water travel down the dips and valleys of his muscles if it weren’t for the fact that I’m preoccupied with what he’s doing.

I know it’s wrong of me to be looking but I can’t help it. His back is hunched forwards, his left arm raised above him, supporting his weight against the wall.

Cautiously, quietly, I inch forwards to get a better view. The shower is on full blast, creating a waterfall along the dips and grooves of his back. I hadn’t realised the extent to which he is covered in ink. There’s a barely a patch of skin on him that the needle hasn’t touched.

I’m not close enough to make out the intricacies of the designs
but I am close enough to see what he’s doing. The majority of his movements are hidden behind the frosted strip of glass but I’m familiar enough with male anatomy to be able to guess at what his repetitive motions are.

Deep groans rumble from his chest as his
movements quicken and my feet inch forwards of their own accord.

The thick tendons of his body ripple as his movements grow more rapid. I can see each and every line in high definition
and it’s a beauty to behold. If I didn’t already know he trained so intensely, it would be obvious in his semi-naked form.

As he begins a slow shudder, I’m almost at the glass separating me from the naked glory a few feet away.

He utters a low guttural groan and I snap to my senses. I’ve crossed a line. I’ve more than crossed a line. The line is so far behind me it’s a blur on the horizon.

This man ha
s taken me into his home, put the clothes on my back, saved me from my tormentor, and how do I repay him?

By sneaking into the bathroom and watching him tickle the pink python.

This is so very wrong.

As quietly as I can, I back away from the room
sending up a silent prayer that he doesn’t turn around.

Karma hasn’t caught up with me yet and I’m able to escape without drawing attention to my peeping tom ways.

Thankfully, he takes his time enjoying the rest of his shower without any wayward perverts intruding so I have time to recover slightly.

I head into the kitchen and put the kettle on. I’d make breakfast but I’m not sure what he likes. I know he’s a doctor, fighter, shower-pleasurer, but I don’t know what he likes for breakfast.

Shameful.

“
I was going to do that,” he surprises me, coming into the kitchen wearing nothing but scrubs bottoms and boxers.

Bare foot and in the kitchen.

I stare at him a fraction of a second too long as the image of what I’ve just seen burns bright in my eyes.

I blush and turn away quickly even though I’m fairly sure he saw my red cheeks.

“I don’t mind,” I shrug with a slightly shaky voice. “It’s the least I can do.” Considering I just spied on you.

“
You should be resting,” he scolds mildly.

“
I’m fine,” I dismiss. “What do you want for breakfast?”

“
Said I’d make it,” he ignores my question curtly and starts reaching for cupboards.

“
Sorry,” I retreat because I feel like I’ve upset him again.

He freezes instantly and turns his head to look at me.

I’ve backed up a few paces and my body is coiled tightly. It’s a few seconds before I realise I’m trembling.

“
Dammit,” Craig sighs, his head dropping. “I’m sorry, lady.”

I shake my head because he doesn’t need to be sorry for anything
. I’d tell him that but I can’t seem to get the words out.

He takes a step forwards but I instinctively take one back so he stills.

“Not going to hurt you, lady,” he whispers, his face crestfallen.

I nod because I know that. I can’t explain my reaction.

“Come here,” he says gently, opening his arms to me. “Please.”

I take a deep breath through my nose and force myself closer because he’s offering a hug and – for reason’s unknown to me – I definitely need one.

“Thank you,” Craig sighs with relief, gently folding his arms around me. “It’s okay, Bella. It’s okay.”

I nod into his neck because my brain knows that but my body knows nothing but fear and hurt.

“Tell me what spooked you?” He asks once he’s held me long enough for my muscles to relax.

“
I thought I’d made you angry,” I whisper into his neck almost silently.

“
Why?”

“
Because I wanted to make you breakfast.”

He chuckles sadly.
“Why would I be mad at you for that?”

I shrug because Nigel would have been.
“Nigel said I should anticipate his wants and needs. He… he didn’t like it if I got it wrong.”

“
He hit you if you tried to make him breakfast?” Craig’s body stills.

“
No.” Not always. “Sometimes he just wanted to make his own breakfast.”

“
Don’t defend him, lady. You’re better than that.”

I let his words sink in and then nod slowly because I want to be better than that.

“It’s great that you wanted to make me breakfast, Bella. I appreciate it to no end. But I said I’d do it and taking care of you makes me happy. Okay?”

I nod.

He studies me silently. Expectantly.

I know he can see I want to say more but I can’t.

“Bella,” he prompts.

“
It’s just…” I sigh

He looks at me and waits for more.

“I don’t want to be ungrateful. You’ve done enough. Letting me look after you would make me feel better about all that you’ve done for me.”

He looks at me like a puzzle, a curious expression on his face.

“Okay,” he nods eventually. “But my eating habits are slightly complicated.”

“
I think I can handle it,” I finally venture a smile and relax, reluctantly withdrawing from the hug.

Thankfully
, I can handle it but only just. There are so many rules I can hardly believe it. He eats every three hours and has complete awareness of his macronutrients. There are so many foods on his not-allowed list that I’m surprised he eats at all.

“
Can you write the recipes down for a few of your meals? Even the smoothies and shakes?” I ask when he’s done explaining it all.

As he was explaining he was making a smoothie for himself and poached eggs on toast for me. He ev
en made me some fresh orange juice.

“
Sure, if it makes you happy,” he winks, knocking back a good portion of the smoothie in one gulp.

“
It would,” I affirm, taking a bite of my delicious breakfast before I look at him again. “Your diet sounds like a lot of work.”

He nods.

“Don’t you ever just want to binge on a pizza and shovel crisps into your mouth?”

He grins.
“I have cheat days.”

“
Still, it sounds tough.”

“
If you set your goals high, you have to make sacrifices to meet them,” he shrugs.

“
That’s very admirable.”

Another shrug.

“Can I ask you something?” I ask cautiously.

“
Anything,” he nods.

“
Why do you fight?”

“
My brothers all fight. It makes them proud and keeps me fit. Win-win.”

I nod. I don’t understand why he has to take it to this level though. Surely they’d be proud even if he didn’t fight professionally.

“Plus, thanks to the money I’ve made through fighting, I’ve paid off my student loans. Not many medical students can say that,” he continues, a flicker of pride in his eyes.

I know how much is left on my student loans and I have to agree, paying them off is quite a feat.