TENDING TO THE STORM

CHAPTER 11

      The sound of clinking and banging woke her from her slumber.
     Groaning,she looked up at the alarm clock which read 3:00am.She struggled so hard to go back to sleep but with a defeated sigh gave up trying and left the bed.

     She walked into the kitchen in nothing but her flimsy nightgown underneath the thick flannel robe she had on.

   She needed some sugar or caffeine,whichever one works.
Turning on the light switch she shrieked as she saw the shadow of a man lurking around in the darkness beside the pantry door.

     She let out an involuntary scream as the shadow advanced towards her ,searching around and arming herself with a weapon of choice; a frying pan.

    Before she had a moment to register,she swung the pan in defence colliding with a hard,firm body just before the pan and the incriminating evidence;a bag of flour hit the floor coming in contact with his right foot.

   "Ouch!" She heard Blake let out a string of curse words and he nursed his aching foot while hopping on the other around the kitchen,wincing in pain.

    "What the hell is wrong with you?"
   Blake stood in nothing but the sweatpants hanging loosely around his waist revealing bronze sculpted chest and abdomen complete with the occasional six packs.
   
     She shivered but not from the cold.
  
     Chasing away those thoughts,she moved to his side examining the foot of concern but he seemed fine.
  "Are you alright?"

"What does it look like to you?"
He grumbled setting his feet back onto the floor.
  
    "What are you doing here?" He glared at her.

   "I thought you were a burglar! Why are you sneaking around your own house?!" she blurted out pissed.

    He scoffed.
"A burglar? Really?"
He flashed her a look of annoyance.
"I just wanted to make something and I didn't want to wake you."

   The fight flew right out of her.She moistened her parched lips.

     "Well..am sorry for the..way I hit you." She lowered her head.

  And abruptly raise her head to face him .He reered back in surprise.She was a strange person.

   "In my defence,I didn't know that it was you.I was trying to protect your house ..and myself"

  He scoffed.

   Glaring at him,she grinned and asked in a soothing tone
"Would you like me to get something for that? You're just like a baby"

   He cleared in throat in warning and raked his hair uncomfortably.

   "In my defence,I dropped what I was holding to save you from falling on your cute little ass"
She glared at him.
    He chuckled.He just threw her words right back to her.

    She trudged over to the counter to get a broom and a dust pan.
   She cleaned the mess up while Blake watched her every move.His heart beating at a rapid pace.

  His desire growing by the second.

   He watched her dumped the remnants of the flour into a disposable bag before asking.

   "You should have told me to make something for you.I..."
She rinsed her hands.

    Trying to busy his hands to avoid admiring the smooth curves of her back even in her oversized robe, he set out to make coffee .

    Her left shoulder was exposed because the robe had managed to slip down.

   "Like I said I didn't want..." She cut him off
 
  "...I know.I know." She dried her hands with the white table cloth on the counter.