Free His Bahamas Affair (The Albury Affairs) by Christina OW Page B

than she had in weeks, loving the feel of Reno’s arms
around her. She hadn’t known for sure but now it was a proven fact. The only
way to keep the nightmares away was by sleeping in his arms.
    She slowly crawled out
of bed, careful not to wake him. She was surprised to find him in bed with her
in the middle of the day, but remembering the night before and his promise to
watch over her made her stomach churn with guilt. He was missing work because
of her.
    God she felt so stupid,
and weak! He was right when he said she couldn’t buckle to her fears anymore.
It wasn’t just her life she was making miserable anymore, Reno had gotten roped
into it. And if she knew anything about him, it was that the man was determined.
Now his focus was on her and getting her life on track and with his kind of
strength she had no excuse for letting that psycho plague her life any longer.
    She padded barefoot on
the hardwood floor to his spacious kitchen. She loved his home and though it
resembled a picture in a catalogue it was beautiful. The living room faced the
ocean and when the sliding doors were opened the sounds and scents of the ocean
floated in. And the floor to ceiling windows allowed her to watch the roaring
ocean from the comfort of the couch. It was probably why his bedroom faced the
ocean too. It was beautiful to wake up to.
    Loraine wanted to cook
for him to show her appreciation. She had been a wreck the night before and he
had taken care of her. She hadn’t even realized she had stripped naked before
him until he stepped into the shower stall to turn off the jets. He’d dried her
off and carried her to bed without a leering look or comment. Not many men
could accomplish that, even with the best intentions.
    But Reno…he wasn’t like
most men. He wasn’t like Pierre.
    Her hand stilled over
the bowl of eggs she was beating. She’d never permitted herself to think that
name let alone say it out loud. It had been one of her ways of coping,
pretending that she never knew his name or his face, that it never happened and
it was all a bad dream. She had actually achieved in making him faceless in her
nightmares except for those haunting grey eyes.
    Her body shivered. The
look in those eyes as he stared down at her, his body looming inches above hers
would stay with her forever.
    Mon
Coeur …
    The beater fell out of
her trembling hand and into the glass bowl with a loud cling.
    She could still hear
those soft spoken words as he whispered wetly in her ear. Then he’d kissed
right behind her ear before taking her lobe into his mouth…
    “No!” she yelled loudly
until her own voice rang in her ears. “You are not doing this to me anymore. I
got rid of you once, I’ll do it again!”
    She picked up the
beater with enforced determination and continued until the eggs were fluffy.
She chopped two chilies, one red, one green and added them to the eggs. Then
she chopped the dogs and bacon that were already cooked and left on the kitchen
counter and added them to the mix. She grated some cheese and added a sprinkle
to mix before she poured it all into the skillet.
    She busied herself with
making butter toasts and orange juice, filling her mind with a grand brunch
menu and drowning the thoughts of Pierre until he was completely gone. She was
going to use cooking as her new therapy.
    Cooking and Reno.

 
    * * * *

 
    Reno was dragged out of
bed by the beautiful aromas that came from his kitchen. No one had ever used
the area before except for the microwave and fridge. Everything that was in the
kitchen was put there by the interior decorator he had hired. Even though he
knew he was never going to use any of those appliances because he had his meals
at the resort or brought from the resort kitchen, he still wanted it. He wanted
to know how it felt to have something, not because he needed it but just
because he could afford it.
    Georgia couldn’t cook a
lick and he couldn’t trust Riana with any of the appliances, especially