Free Sunrise for Two by Merlot Montana

first year at university.” Harry
took a deep breath and added very quietly, “He came to my room one
night. My wheelchair was in my student hall because mother doesn't
like it and he climbed into my bed.” she paused then added shakily,
“It hurt so much.”
    “ Harry that's
awful.” Chris felt a white hot rage descending, and the
possessiveness that had shaken him when Julia had spoken of the
paramedic intensified. “He had no right to do that you. It’s a
crime and he should face the consequences.”
    Harry closed her eyes. “I
don't know why I told you, I’m sorry, Julia and Libby know about
it, but nobody else.”
    “ Don't let
him come near you.” he said with a searing intensity, “Not now, not
ever and if you want help with that then I'll talk to
him.”
    “ Thank you
but no, I can handle it myself.” She closed her eyes, trying to
find her equilibrium, trying suppress the painful memories that his
face had forced into her consciousness.
    Chris spent the last five
minutes of the journey rehearsing the best way of asking her out
for dinner. He wanted to tell her that there were men that
respected women, men that were gentle and offered things without
taking, but every line that he thought of sounded melodramatic,
even in his own head. Reluctantly he opened her door, sorry his
time with her was ending, and said tenderly, “Let's get you back
inside so you can put on something that suits you
better.”
    “ Don't you
like the way I look?” she asked, her dark eyes holding his. He
lifted her into his arms then, savouring the way she smelt,
intoxicated by her proximity and the revealing way her dress
emphasised her curves. He felt her breath on his face and gently he
lifted her higher and kissed her. He could think of no better way
to communicate how much he already cared for her, and when she
opened her lovely mouth and kissed him back, he felt the jolt all
the way down to his toes. He looked at her low cut top and fought
the urge to place her proprietally back in his car and drive her
home to his house. Instead he held her tighter, wanting to savour
the moment as much as he could, until he felt her small hand on his
arm.
    “ Can we get
my chair?” she asked awkwardly, and feeling that she needed to
explain, she added softly “It’s a bit unsettling not have my
independence.”
    “ Of course.”
He said gently, wishing he had realised how she would be feeling,
particularly after seeing the man who had hurt her. He carried her
to the IT suite where Mike and Rafiq and two men in the same
uniform of black jeans and trainers clustered round
them.
    “ What
happened?” Mike asked, wanting to tear her out of the taller man’s
comfortable grasp.
    “ She
collapsed.” Chris explained, wanting to give her space to breathe
as he helped her find her balance in her chair.
    “ No I didn't.
I just felt a bit faint and you leapt in.” Harry said, with an acid
in her voice that Chris didn’t recognise. She pulled her hand free
from his grasp and disappeared into the toilet, slamming the door
loudly.
    “ Word of
advice mate,” Mike told him coolly, “Women who use wheelchairs
really don't like it when you announce loudly that they've fallen
over in public.”
    Chris looked down at him,
breathing heavily, and fighting the urge for physical retaliation.
He was angry and upset and not in the mood to take advice. He
didn't understand why she was reacting so badly when they had been
so close and so very intimate. He pushed his hands into his rumpled
pockets and started to wonder about the practical challenges of
falling for Harry. His main concern was how easy it would be to
have a relationship with someone who seemed to have such a dramatic
effect on almost all of the men around her. Belinda stopped to
trying to get their attention and instead pushed between them to
pour herself a cup of coffee. She wondered bitterly if Harry even
knew where the coffee machine was.
    Harry sat in the bathroom
and gathered her