Stolen Kiss (The Turners of Copper Island #2)

Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Heidi

S he blinked open her eyes, feeling hot, hungover and dizzy.

Her house was old and therefore first thing in the morning in late September, her room shouldn’t be this warm. She remembered Freya putting her to bed, but that was it, she was out like a light.

The thumping behind her eyes was horrendous, and she closed them again, snuggling further into the duvet. That’s when she realised why she was hot. There was a body behind her.

“Freya, move back will you, you’re like a human radiator,” she mumbled.

“Freya’s not here right now,” a deep voice said behind her.

Heidi whipped around and regretted it instantly as the throbbing intensified throughout her head. She clasped her hands on top of her head as she lay on her back, her eyes tight shut.

Jason Turner was not in her bed.

“How are you feeling?” the voice said again. Soft, concerned and sexy as hell.

Turning her head to the side, she opened one eye to see Jason in a white t-shirt and faded jeans sitting up in her bed on top of the covers. He was reading a newspaper and not looking her way.

“Why are you in my bed?” she whispered.

He folded the paper and tossed it on the floor. Then he sank down, tuned on his side and prized her hands off her head. What shocked her then was he pressed his thumb at the top of her nose between her eyebrows and rubbed in a circular motion. She sank deeper into the mattress and groaned.

“That feels so good,” she said.

“Can you open your eyes?”

She did and locked onto his gaze while he kept rubbing. She took his wrist and held on stopping what he was doing.

“Why are you in my bed?”

“You needed watching.”

“Where’s Freya?”

“Right now? Probably scalding her tongue on red hot roast potatoes.”

“Christ, what time is it?”

Heidi sat upright, dropped Jason’s hand and looked over his body to her alarm clock.

“Oh crap, I’m going to be late for Sunday lunch.”

“Freya called ahead. They’re delaying it until three so you can take your time.”

She fell back on the bed and looked up at the ceiling wondering why he was sitting on the bed while her best friend stole potatoes when it should be her in the kitchen, Freya trying her distraction techniques and Jason far far away.

“I’d better get up and get a shower.”

“Do you need help?” he said. “I don’t you fainting and hitting your head.

She looked at him with a baleful gaze only to find him grinning at her.

“No, I’ll be fine.”

“Well, I’ll stay here while you shower just in case you fall.”

“I feel much better than last night. Just a dull headache now.”

Her bed was against one wall which meant there was only one way off the bed and that was over Jason. She was in no fit state to straddle his body to get and get ready for family time.

“I need to get ready, Jason.”

“In a minute,” he said, grabbing her waist and bringing her in close so they were front to front.

He kissed her forehead where his thumb had rubbed.

“How are you really feeling?”

A little dizzy by his proximity, but she didn’t say it out loud. His warm body was comforting. The duvet had dropped to her waist. Even though she was wearing thick PJs, she could still feel him and it made her insides sigh.

“I feel okay, no blurriness, dizziness. I think the sleep did me good.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you for bringing me home.”

“You scared the shit out of me when you fell in the water after your team mate whacked you.”

“Yeah, she’s off my Christmas card list.”

“You’ve got good team mates, they all went into the water after you, no hesitation. I was impressed with the speed in which they got you to safety.”

“We practise a lot. The waters can be unpredictable. I think we practise more life-saving techniques than rowing.”

“I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Me too,” she said and dropped her head. Before she knew it she was moving closer to his body and he wrapped her in his arms. She could’ve stayed there all day, but she needed to get to her parents’ house and apologise for no roasties.

Then her head snapped up. Jason was quick enough to get his chin out of the way as it was resting on top of her head.

“Did you say my best friend is stealing roast potatoes?”

“Yeah, if she burns herself then she only has herself to blame.”

“She can’t cook.”

“But I can.”

“Oh, yes, you can.” In her Jason haze she’d forgotten he was a chef.

“Yeah.”

“Like well? My dad is a tough judge of roasties.”

“We’ll see when we get to your parent’s place.”

“We?”

“Yep. I got an invitation for carrying their daughter home. Apparently your dad said it makes a change you weren’t drunk this time.”

She cursed into his chest hiding her embarrassment from him. His hand came up, slipped under her hair at the back of her neck and rested there. He was massaging lightly encouraging her to look up.

“I was glad I was there. Freya kept watch over you while I made your potatoes and now she’s downstairs, thinking I don’t know what she’s up to.”

“You really shouldn’t have left her alone with them. For a slim framed woman she can pack away a lot of roasties.”

“I think I’ve got you covered.”

Jason dropped his head and pressed his lips to her mouth lightly, grazing back and forth. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said over the lips.

He toyed with her some more until she opened her mouth. She wasn’t a fan of morning kisses before teeth cleaning but somehow, Jason made it all okay. He swiped inside her mouth, sealing their lips and he hauled her half on his body as he reclined back into her mattress. Things were getting heated when she brought a thigh up and over his legs.

“Heidi, are you awake yet? You need to get your arse down here,” Freya bellowed from the bottom of the stairs.

Heidi pulled back from her make-out session and sat up astride Jason’s thighs.

“I need to get ready,” she said.

“Yeah,” Jason sighed. “Can I see you tomorrow night? Maybe we could go for a drink?”

“Okay, I’d like that.”

Jason dazzled her with his smile and she clambered off his lap and thudded along the bare wooden floors to the top of the stairs.

“What’s got you excited?” Heidi called down the stairs.

Freya appeared with a half-eaten roast potato in her hand, the other half in her mouth. “They’re so good,” she said emphasising the last word.

“How many have you had?”

“Six, but I reckon I could go for a seventh.”

Heidi looked back to Jason who was now sitting up reading the paper like he’d always been in her bedroom. He glanced her way and nodded that it was all good.

“She has her own tray. The rest are out of reach,” he said quietly.

“Is that possible?” Heidi asked.

Jason nodded to the foot of the bed. Heidi when back in to her bedroom and rounded the bed to the foot and saw a large plastic box filled with roasties.

“Smart.”

“I have siblings,” he answered like that explained everything.

It did.

“When I come out of the shower, you need to be out of this room so I can get ready.”

“I’ve seen it before, Heidi.”

“You’ve seen twenty-two-year-old me, not thirty-three-year-old me.”

“You haven’t aged a day.”

“Just be out of here.”

“Okay,” he said and shook out his paper. “I promise,” he added when she didn’t move.

Heidi trudged to the top of the stairs and called down to Freya she’d be ready in half an hour. And true to her word she was. When she got downstairs, Jason was hugging the box and Freya was eyeing up how to get it out of his grasp.

“He can cook,” Freya said.

“I know, he’s a chef.”

“He might have to make potatoes every Sunday.”

“I’m sure he has better things to do.”

Jason chuckled, and she looked at him more closely. He’d changed.

“Didn’t you have faded jeans and a t-shirt on half an hour ago?”

Jason was now in trouser a shirt and proper shoes. He still had his leather jacket, but he was still much smarter than he was an hour ago.

“I’m having Sunday lunch at your parents’ house. I thought I’d dress appropriately.”

“It’s not Turner Hall,” Heidi bounced back.

“And thank god for that. Shall we go?”

Freya got up and grabbed a coat off the rack and handed it to Heidi, then choose a pair of flats for her to put on. Heidi rolled her eyes knowing it was because she didn’t want her toppling over after getting hit by an oar. She indulged her friend and slipped her shoes on.

“You ready?” Heidi asked Freya.

“Yup, Jason said he’s driving,” Heidi said.

“And you’re carrying these,” Jason said to Heidi.

That earned him a scowl, thwarting no doubt Freya’s cunning plan to take her pick of the stash.

They pulled to a stop outside her family home and they piled out. Freya’s family were already in the living room arguing over nothing at all. Heidi’s dad was in the garden and her mum was in the kitchen stabbing at the joint of gammon.

“Oh Jason, you came,” she said.

She hobbled over to him and gave him a warm hug. She greeted him like a long-lost relative. Heidi’s dad came in and strode over shaking Jason’s hand.

“Where’s Keith?” Heidi asked.

“Here,” he said from the open doorway from the study. “It’s bedlam in the living room.”

Jason went over to Keith and stretched out his hand. It started awkward and then ended up as a man hug with back slapping. Still awkward but less formal.

“Okay, let’s eat,” Heidi’s mum said. And everyone got to position. Either at the table or helping to take in the dishes through to the dining room. When Heidi took a large dish of carrots through, she noticed the best crockery had been laid out. Sighing at the effort she plonked down the serving dish and went back to help.

Everyone dug in once everyone was settled and there was silence for a minute or so as they tasted their food.

“Oh my, you can come again,” Freya’s grandmother said.

“Absolutely. Why you two broke up is beyond me,” Freya’s mother said. “Look how many roast potatoes we could’ve had.”

Heidi looked to her brother and then so did Jason. Keith looked up no doubt aware eyes were on him.

“Why are you all looking at me? It had nothing to do with me, I was just the messenger.”

He slammed down his fork and pushed away from the table. He left the room and left the house, trudging down the garden. We all watched from our positions out the window. When he was out of sight, everyone around the table slowly started eating again.

“Should I go after him?” Jason asked.

“No, I’d leave it. He’s been in a bad mood of a decade. I think he’s set for life,” Harold said.

Heidi shook her head, disappointed that her brother had caused another scene. It wasn’t until he flounced out that she realised she wanted to give a good impression to Jason.

The rest of the meal was subdued and after more conversation, and dishes washed Freya said she would walk back, burn some calories to work off the spuds she’d eaten. Jason drove him and Heidi back to her house and they stayed in the buggy in silence.

“What’s wrong with your mum?”

Grateful that Jason wasn’t going to ask why Freya’s grandmother was asking why they’d broken up when it was supposed to be a secret.

“She had her foot amputated a couple of years ago. Her foot got crushed when some boulders came loose on one of her walks along the coast line. She didn’t have her phone with her and it was too late to save her foot. She has a prosthetic now, but she still gets frustrated she can’t walk as far or as fast as she used to.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, she must have had a long recovery time.”

“Yeah. My dad tries his best, doing the laundry and cooking but he gets barked at more than he’s thanked.”

“It sounds like it’s always been that way.”

“Yeah, probably. It’s a loving kind of bickering. If they didn’t bicker, I’d know something was really wrong.”

“What about Keith, he had a strange outburst?”

“Not sure about that. He put himself firmly as messenger, I don’t know why he’s in a strop about it.”

“Are we going to talk about eleven years ago?”

“Not today.”

“So, Monday, will you still meet me for a drink? There’s a Rum Distillery on the island. It wasn’t here the last time I was home. I thought I’d check it out.”

“It hasn’t been open long. At the start of the summer. You cannot get me drunk on a weekday night, Jason Turner.”

“Okay, promise,” he said and leaned in for a kiss.

One arm around her back, shifting her flush to his side and the other in my hair, keeping her in place. His mouth came over hers, tongue seeking entrance. When she let him in, she tried to take over because he smelled and tasted too good, so familiar. He let her for a few minutes and then he took control back and dragged her onto his lap. Heidi curled her knees up until her feet were on the bench seat and she was cuddled close as he kissed her for minutes on end. Deep slow slides of his tongue. Firm hold on her body and measured pressure to send her into a dizzy spell that had nothing to do with being hit over the head.

She pulled back and pressed her fingers to her lips turning shy from being kissed by her old boyfriend who dumped her without a reason.

“I do and I don’t want to talk about eleven years ago,” she said.

“I do want to talk about it. I really want to talk it through.”

“I’ll let you know when I’m ready,” she said and shifted off his lap and his apparent excitement.

“I’d like that, sweetheart.”

“I should go in, I’m amazed we haven’t been heckled by kids yet.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven, eat before as I don’t want you drunk and trying to jump my bones.”

Heidi let out a laugh and stumbled from the buggy. She didn’t know what was going on, but she knew she wanted to jump his bones.

He tossed her the keys and walked away. When she turned the corner, Freya was leaning against her door jamb inspecting her nails. “Do not fuck up this reunion. I want to eat roast potatoes again. And let me tell you something else, I am not into any of the Turner boys but by god they have aged so fine.”

“How’s Luke?” Heidi asked.

“Hating school, I got a letter yesterday.”

She acted like she didn’t know what Heidi was implying but her blush told me all she wanted to know.

Not into any of the Turner Boys, sure.