Natasha's Awakening (21 page)

Eric sighed. “I’m not going by public transport, I don’t do public transport.” He said and Natasha snorted. “What was that snort for?”

“Could you sound any more pompous Eric? I would have thought you’d be used to public transport given your upbringing.” She couldn’t help but remind him of his poor upbringing. He really could be an annoying ass at times.

“That’s why I won’t do public transport anymore Natasha, because of my upbringing. Where we lived was rough, the other kids were rough, I was small for my age, I got attacked sometimes on the bus and there is no way in hell you will ever get me on a fucking bus again, so judge me if you damned well please, I’m not going by public transport.” Eric’s tone made it quite clear there was to be no more discussion and Natasha stepped forward, touching his arm.

“I’m sorry Eric.” She said quietly. “I wasn’t trying to make you take the bus, I had no idea it is something you associate with bad memories, but I do have to say.” And she smiled up at him. “You say you were small for your age?” she questioned him and Eric nodded. “Well, you sure made up for that one, didn’t you?” Her eyes travelled up and down the length of him while she tried to picture in her mind, Eric as a boy and a boy who was undersized for his age too. No matter how he’d started out in life, he was a perfect example of the male form now, tall, muscled, sexy as sin as far as she was concerned.

“Ok, enough of this.” Eric said obviously not wanting to discuss anything more about his past. “Lets get out of here, we’ll take your car then, but I’m driving.” He told her.

“I don’t let anyone drive my car.” Natasha protested.

“I’m not going to damage your car Natasha, trust me, if I do something to it, I’ll buy you a new one.” He said and she looked at him in amazement.

“You are not going to buy me a damned car Eric.” She said and he just grinned at her.

“Well, then trust me when I tell you, I’ll look after your car, ok?”

Realising this conversation was just destined to go around and around in circles, Natasha sighed and stormed off to get her car keys, depositing them quite forcefully into Eric’s hand when she came back with them. He grabbed her and pulled her against him, cupping her buttocks with one hand and dropping a quick kiss on her lips.

“Come on baby, don’t sulk.” He said, flicking one of her curls. “I promise to take good care of your car.” And he grabbed her hand, heading for the door. Natasha scooped up her bag and together they left the penthouse and once they were down in the lobby, they walked out of the hotel, Eric’s hand still firmly gripping hers.

The valet came over and Eric handed him Natasha’s car keys and he disappeared to go and bring her car around. While they waited, he reached into his pocket and brought out a pair of sunglasses which he slipped on. They were the kind with the really dark lenses so it was impossible to see his eyes once they were on but Natasha was pretty sure he was wearing them so he wouldn’t be recognised by anyone.

A part of her tried hard not to be upset by that, that he didn’t want anyone recognising him because if they did, then they’d want to know who she was but at the same time, she knew she was also being a little ridiculous about it all. Eric was big enough that if you googled him, he was there with various photos of him from over the years.

There were also plenty of photos of him with women that had been linked to him and there had been quite a list. She could understand his need to conceal his identity and she needed to stop taking it personally and just enjoy the fact that he was taking her out. He was prepared to be out in public with her and that was a huge change in attitude from when he’d first suggested their week away.

The valet turned up with Natasha’s car and they climbed in, Eric settling behind the wheel, adjusting the driver’s seat back to give him more room for his long legs. With a squeal of the tyres, they left the hotel and Natasha scolded him for doing that with her car. He just grinned at her, but she had to concede, he drove confidently and weaved his way through the Sydney traffic like a professional, so it was obvious he didn’t always travel everywhere by limo.

When they arrived at Bondi Beach, Eric found parking not too far from the beach and once Natasha had gathered up her bag with everything she needed for their time there, they made their way down onto the sand.

There were people everywhere as per usual but they found an area fairly free from others and Natasha spread out her towel and untied her sarong, folding it and putting it into her bag. When she turned around to get ready to sit down on the towel, Eric was staring at her, his eyes raking up and down her body. He frowned, showing definite displeasure as he looked at her.

“What’s wrong?” She asked him. He didn’t seem very happy at all and she had a moment where she suddenly didn’t feel so confident in her bikini.

“Why are you dressed like that?” He asked his expression darkening the longer he continued to stare at her.

Natasha couldn’t help smirking at him. “Well, this is a beach, I intend going in the water and I’m wearing my swimsuit for SWIMMING!” She said, sarcasm lacing her tone.

“Don’t get smart with me.” Eric warned her. “I don’t like the fact that everyone can see you dressed like that.” He said and Natasha couldn’t help it, she laughed.

“Look around Eric, everyone is dressed like this and some have even less on, like them.” She said pointing as a group of young women walked past wearing g-string bikinis.

Eric glanced at them and one of the women smiled at him, her smile and the look in her eyes showing she was definitely liking what she was seeing. Natasha watched his face as he acknowledged the woman with a small tilt of his lips and a stab of jealousy shot through her.

“So how come you don’t have a problem with the way they’re dressed?” She asked him, drawing his attention back to her and he stepped towards her, his hands coming up to cup either side of her face,

“Because they aren’t you.” He told her, dropping a kiss on her lips before releasing her. With just that one comment and that kiss, he knocked the wind right out of her sails and she felt a burst of happiness inside her. He didn’t want anyone else looking at her, that was obvious and she wasn’t sure what she should read into it, but if it meant he was showing some kind of possessive attitude towards her, then she was going to simply enjoy that moment.

Natasha bent over to pull her sunscreen out of her bag, hearing Eric’s harshly drawn breath when he saw just how little fabric there was making up her bikini bottom. Although not as revealing as the ladies who had walked past in their g-strings, there wasn’t much left to the imagination all the same.

She turned to face him, holding out the bottle of sunscreen. “Can you put some on me please?” She asked him and he took the bottle from her.

“Dammit Natasha, you’re going to kill me aren’t you?” He ground out. He took the bottle from her, squeezing some onto his palm before stepping behind her to start spreading it over her shoulders and back. His touch was warm and more like a caress than him merely rubbing in the lotion. She was sure he was trying to punish her for the way she was dressed in his own way and by the time he’d finished covering her in sunscreen, she was feeling a little flushed.

“I want to go for a swim. Are you coming?” She asked him and his answer was to drop down on her towel.

“Not yet, I can’t.” He told her.

“Why not?” she asked him and he gestured to his groin.

“Lets just say, seeing you dressed like that isn’t helping much and I can do without the embarrassment of being seen with a raging hard on.” He said jokingly.

Natasha’s eyes dropped to his crutch. “Oh.” she said.

“Yes, oh.” Eric repeated.

“Well I’m going to get my feet wet at least.” She told him and turned to walk off down to the water’s edge. She couldn’t help gasping when the cold water curled around her ankles and she braced herself before stepping deeper into the water until it surged against her thighs. As the waves washed against the shore then flowed back out again, the sucking sensation of the sand under her feet, took her by surprise and Natasha felt herself starting to overbalance. She tried to right herself but just when she thought she was going over and braced herself for the shock of the cold salty water, strong arms grabbed her and hauled her against a hard chest that was damp from the waves.

She gasped and turned her head, ready to thank her saviour and was surprised to see Brodie, the young man who had woken her yesterday on the beach smiling down at her. “Natasha.” He said, grinning widely. “What a surprise, seeing you here again.”

“Brodie.” A huge smile lit up Natasha’s face. “You came to my rescue again, thank you. Do you make it your life’s mission to save damsels in distress do you?” She laughed as they made their way back onto the sand.

Brodie dropped his head with fake modesty. “Yeah, that’s me, the Knight in shining armour to any damsel who needs me.” He glanced down at himself. “Well make that the Knight in a wetsuit.” He joked and Natasha laughed again. She looked up into his face. He was so attractive in a far more boyish way than Eric’s overwhelming sexiness but he was more open, less complex, far easier to read. He was just an incredibly likeable person and easy to talk to. She didn’t have to try and get in his head to see what he was thinking, it was written all over his face and Natasha could see the interest, the attraction for her clearly showing in his expression, that spark of interest in his eyes.

“So what brings you to Bondi again Natasha?” he asked. “Is it my overwhelming charm and damsel saving skills?” He grinned and Natasha punched him lightly on the arm. It was so comfortable being with someone like Brodie, he was funny, attractive and fun to be around. They barely knew one another, but she liked him, he had the potential to become a good friend. Talking to him, laughing with him felt like she’d known him for years, not that they’d only met yesterday. Maybe if she wasn’t so in love with Eric, she could have enjoyed getting to know someone like him more. Still her and Eric would be parting ways soon and Brodie might be a good one to help take her mind off Eric, although she knew deep inside that it wouldn’t be fair to use Brodie like that.

“I’m actually . . .” Natasha started to say when suddenly Eric’s voice cut her off mid sentence.

“Natasha, what are you doing? Who the hell are you?” He turned to Brodie, tension clearly etched on his face, his eyes scanning over where Brodie’s hands rested on Natasha’s waist.

Natasha pulled away from Brodie and his hands fell to his sides as he looked at a very angry looking Eric standing before him. Eric approached them, tension clearly visible in his rigid stance. He’d removed his jeans and t-shirt wearing just a pair of black speedos, something that Natasha normally hated, but which he managed to make look extremely sexy. His muscles rippled in the sunlight as he walked towards her and Brodie and for Natasha glancing between them, despite Brodie’s good looks, there was just no comparison between the two men in her eyes. Eric was simply in a league of his own as far as she was concerned. He was sex on legs, a fine example of a beautifully sculptured male in his prime.

When he reached Natasha, he slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her back against him. She could feel the tension in his body and she placed a hand over his arm trying to calm him down a bit but when she dared to take a quick glance at his face, he was still glaring at Brodie, who to give the younger man credit, hadn’t backed down at all and was still maintaining direct eye contact with Eric.

“Eric, this is Brodie, I met him here yesterday. He kindly woke me after I’d fallen asleep before I could get sunburned. He was my knight.” She told him. “Brodie, this is my friend Eric.” She introduced him and waited anxiously while the two men reluctantly shook hands.

“Well, I’m a bit more than Natasha’s friend, aren’t I baby?” He asked, tightening his grip on her, making it blatantly clear to the younger man that she was his and that their relationship was definitely of a sexual nature.

“Weren’t we going for a swim?” Eric asked his lips brushing Natasha’s neck and she shivered despite the fact that she was dangerously close to hitting him because of his rude behaviour and macho performance in front of Brodie. “Well I was.” She told him. Natasha turned to Brodie again. “Well, I guess that means we’re going for a swim.” she told him. “Again, thank you for coming to my rescue not once but twice.” And acting impulsively just because she wanted to infuriate Eric as much as his behaviour was infuriating her, she pulled free of his grip and stretched up to kiss Brodie on the cheek. He pulled back, looking surprised at her gesture, smiled at her, then warily looked over at Eric who was looking about ready to explode. Fury burned in his eyes and his cheeks were flushed as anger threatened to boil over. He grabbed Natasha’s arm and hauled her away, tossing a good bye over his shoulder at Brodie.

Natasha glanced back, mouthing an apology to Brodie who watched them as they left him standing there alone. Eric kept dragging her along, his stride long and hurried forcing Natasha to run to keep up with him. Once they got to the water’s edge, she pulled free and stood there, bristling at his caveman performance.

“For fuck sakes Eric, what the hell was that stupid display of your macho crap all about?” She asked him angrily and he turned to her, pulling her in close to him.

“I don’t like him.” He told her. “I don’t like that he had his hands on you, you two barely know each other.” He ground out. “He had no right to touch you. You..are…mine and don’t you forget it.” He said possessively which only infuriated Natasha more.

“Are you jealous?” Her tone was incredulous and Eric ground his teeth in frustration.

“No I’m not, I don’t do the whole pointless jealousy thing.” He said. “I just don’t like him putting his hands on you, while we are here, on this time away, together, you are mine.” He repeated and with that, Eric turned and waded out into the water. He dived in and started to swim strongly out into deeper water. Natasha watched him for a moment, her fury at him rising. How dare he go all caveman on her. She’d done nothing and Brodie had helped her. She was only talking to the man after all.