Falling In Love

CHAPTER SEVEN

During the following week, Melanie was busy until Friday afternoon when she found herself with very little to do. So she decided to take the rest of the day off and drive out to the cottage to take measurements for new curtains which Robert had decided to buy for some of the rooms.

Earlier that day, she had called Mrs Hudson who personally delivered the key to her. A few hours later, she had reached the cottage. She had measured all the windows upstairs when she heard a sound downstairs.

Melanie froze, listening intently. Had she imagined the faint creak, as if someone was creeping about in one of the rooms. It was easy to imagine things in an empty house, especially if you were alone. An old house like this must be full of creaks and murmurs;

"What's that?  Am started getting scared. It's really scary in here." She thought.

A moment later, she knew it wasn't just her imagination, there was indeed someone in the house.
Someone began climbing up the stairs. The thread was heavy and loud.

"Those aren't a woman's steps. No woman walks with heavy footsteps like that. That is a man. How had he got in?" Melanie thought, her skin cold. She was so sure she had closed the front door behind her.

She came down the ladder as quietly as possible and looked around for a weapon. The best weapon she could come up with was a chair. She hid behind the door with it raised over her head, ready to smash it down on anyone who comes into the room. From where she stood, she could be able to see the man clearly in the dressing table mirror as soon as he walked into the room.

She concentrated on every tiny sound, guessing what the intruder was doing. She heard doors open and close at once. She knew he wasn't searching each room, just looking in  and immediately shutting the door.

What is he looking for? She thought.

The footsteps approached the door behind which she hide. Melanie barely breathed. The hundle turned. The door began to open. She tightened her grip on the chair, staring at the mirror, her body tensed. A mans shape swam into views in the mirror.

For a second, she simply registered the masculinity. The man wa well built. His clothes were working clothes. She saw all that in a hurried glance. Then focused on his face.

Poised to smash the chair down on his head when he took one last step into the room, but she didn't. She recognised the face. He was also watching her too through the mirror. All the breath seemed to leave her body in one long gasp. Relief! Surprise! Or something else? She didn't know.

"What the hell are you doing standing up there with that chair?" Aaron drawled.

"I thought you were a burglar." She reasoned.

"Well am glad you waited before you brought that thing on my head."

"You're lucky I waited to see if you were a burglar."

"Am glad you did. It could have given me a nasty headache."

It wasn't easy to get down from the chair while those cool blue eyes watched her. She tried to do it with all the dignity she could muster. It was unfortunate that she missed her footing and stumbled, crashing into the door and knocking over the chair she had just put down.

Aaron moved fast. One minute she was lurching towards the floor and the next he had grabbed her around the waist with both hands. She gasped in shock at his touch. Her face suddenly burning.

"You should be more careful, working here alone." He softly said.

She tried to step back away from him, but that only resulted in his tightening around her waist. She couldn't break his hold on her.

"I'm ok, let me go."She said shakily.

"Did you hurt yourself?" He asked but made no move to free her.

"No"

"Sure? I thought you hit the door. No bruises anywhere?" He ran a slow, exploring hand down the side of her breast, her waist, her slim hip and down to her thigh. Melanie felt a strange heat growing under her skin everywhere he touched.