Starting Over

Chapter 6

Ellen followed Jan out of the water and up the sand, flopping on a towel beside him. Lying on her tummy she stretched out resting her head on her folded arms looking at him.

“Thank you for today, I really needed to get away from the hotel.” 

He lay on his side propped on an elbow watching her, “I usually spend my days off alone, travelling the island, walking, climbing....but it’s really nice to do something with someone, have company, you know?”

She nodded, “I do.”

Closing her eyes she drifted off, the rush of the sea the only noise disturbing the serenity.  

 A hand touching her warm shoulder woke her up. 

“Do you want some lunch?” She opened her eyes to see him sat smiling at her. When she nodded he added, “the hotel chefs usually take care of me!”

With an ever dropping jaw, Ellen watched as he pulled stuffed cherry tomatoes, cold meat, cubes of cheese, beef sandwiches, boiled eggs, chilli prawns, a variety of pastries,  a thermos of coffee, another icy bottle of water, fruit...it was a virtuoso fest for a king! Jan looked proud as he laid it all out on the blanket for her.

“Well you are definitely the perfect host!” She announced finding a juicy olive and popping it in her mouth. “Can we build a shack in the corner? I can live there and you can provide this every day for me?”

He laughed, “That’s not a bad idea, and would save you from going back to where that bastard can hurt you again.”

Ellen sighed, “Let’s not talk about him anymore; he’s in the past Jan.”

Jan nodded, filling a small cup with black coffee and handing it to her, “Ok, I’ll call a truce in being angry for you!”

She laughed, he was so endearing, and so protective of her, yet he’d only known her for a few days. Ellen couldn’t remember Richard ever being like this, caring for her, doing nice things for her. How had she been so blind? And when did she ever think that marrying him was the right thing to do?

He’d knocked her off her feet, that much was true. From the day she’d started work as a fresh faced graduate, he’d flirted. His intentions were always clear, she’d worried about getting into a relationship with her boss, but after just a month he’d taken her out for a celebratory dinner, they’d secured a contract that was sending his fairly small business to another level. After a meal in a very nice restaurant with Audrey the elderly secretary and Martin the older partner, the two ‘young ones’ at Martin’s behest had gone onto a club. Within the hour they were leaving wrapped around each other and she woke up with him in her bed.

From then on it had been a secret affair. Occasional encounters in the office after hours, late dinners. Never more than that. Never a visit to his home, never even a proper date. It was only when Audrey discovered them in an uncompromising position a year later that Richard came clean and started to date her properly. Within a month they were engaged and the whirlwind of the wedding began.  Now looking back Ellen couldn’t believe she’d been so duped, so stupid. But Jan had been right in one respect; she had such low self esteem then that she’d been happy with any scraps thrown to her. And now?  She asked herself. Now it’d taken a stern talking to from Jan, but also the insight that she deserved so much more for herself to make her see how it had been. She owed Jan SO much!

“What are you thinking?” he asked with a chuckle. “You looked really angry.” He lifted a thumb to her forehead and stroked out the frown lines.  

She sighed, her body instantly appreciating the contact, “whatever I was thinking, it’s changed now!” Closing her eyes she exhaled softly.

Jan continued his gentle massage, but then suddenly his lips touched hers. To Ellen it was like a fuse being lit, the bomb inside her fired again. Earlier in the sea things had been rushed, out of control, now she was having a master class in kissing. Jan’s lips were firm, insistent as he explored hers; his tongue sneaking into her mouth, his hand cupped her cheek. Relaxing back on to the blanket she wriggled under him as he threw a thigh across hers, brought his body over her, all the time is lips hypnotising her, sucking her lips, teasing her tongue. It was even more erotic and exciting than the previous kiss.