When Alec had left, Rose drained her second glass of wine thinking it had been a bad idea to drink so much after only eating a sandwich. She would have had nothing if he'd not been thoughtful enough to bring her something. Who was this Alec Hardy who had looked so familiar on closer examination? Where had she seen him before? She got out her laptop and connected to the hotel wi-fi and typed in 'Broadchurch Alec Hardy' and waited for the results. Then she realised where she had seen him before. She had not told him the truth, she has seen some TV news when she had been trying to find a film she had watched with John to get all sad again and had seen the tragic story of a young boy who had been murdered and now she remembered seeing Alec Hardy had led the investigation and eventually solved it. Then something shocked her, he had almost died, twice while on the case from heart attacks and there she was, thinking it had been a good idea to snog him outside her door to get rid of those obnoxious blokes.
What had she been thinking? The first man she had kissed for two years and there was something wrong with him. This had to stop now before it had got started. If he had been forced off active duty, what was he still doing living in an hotel? He must still be working or he wouldn't have an I.D card so maybe he was on light duties such as a desk job? No, she definitely couldn't get involved with him at any costs. Maybe that's why he and Becca Fisher didn't get along, maybe he'd disappointed her or collapsed on her and she had let him carry her cases, she could have killed him. Then he'd gone out his way to be nice to her, made sure she got something to eat after she had run out of the dining room, he not needed to do that.
No, she would be a friend to him, nothing more and forget the kiss. She didn't know anyone and he had been nice to her so she shouldn't throw it back in his face but if he wanted more, she could use the excuse she wasn't ready to move on and spare him from being rejected by her. Yes, that would work. She wasn't ready anyway.
She rang her mother to let her know she had arrived safely and told her about the mysterious Police Detective she had just met, how he had helped her with her luggage and that it had been a man they had seen a few weeks before in the dining room but Jackie didn't remember him, which was unusual for her, she normally remembered any bloke wearing trousers. She missed out the bit where she had fled from the dining room otherwise her mother would have been down on the next available train. Rose wanted her to think she was finally getting on with her life. Then she decided to get some sleep, she hadn't lied when she'd told him she was tired and the wine had made her even more so. She got ready for bed, it was late but as much as she tried, she couldn't get Alec Hardy off of her mind.
Her mind finally wandered back to the first day she had met John or rather Doctor Jonathan Smith, tutor of Science and Physics. He had asked if he could sit opposite her in the college canteen a few weeks after the start of term as she had her head buried in a business studies book and she didn't notice him at first then he'd told her she wasn't in his class and why not? That had got her attention, he was being a smart-arse and she was about to tell him so until she looked over the top of her book then she was lost for words. He was the most gorgeous bloke she had ever seen and he was talking to her. They introduced themselves as he shook her hand and she told him she was doing business studies two days a week and working as a trainee in a bank the other three days. Later that same day, he had seen her waiting on her own in a bus shelter as he was walking to his car and asked her if she wanted a ride home. Rose knew he'd get into trouble if she accepted and politely turned him down, to which he looked disappointed but knew she was probably right, he couldn't afford any trouble, she was a college student. She had told her friend, Suzie the following day who told her she had been right.
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Rose woke up and grabbed her phone to see what time it was. It was six thirty and she had heard a tapping on the door that brought her back to reality. She was hoping it was maybe Becca about something or maybe Alec had woken early but she was praying it was not that creep from last night. She put on her dressing gown over her nightdress and switched on the bedside lamp.
"Who is it?" she called out, not willing to unlock the door. She was relieved to find it was Alec after all.
"It's Alec," came a low voice she could just hear.
Rose unlocked the door and opened it slightly. "Alec, it's only six thirty, don't you sleep in on a Sunday morning like normal people do?"
"Ssh, don't talk so loud, are you going to let me in or do you have to kiss me first? 'Cos if so, I told you not to give me any warning."
He stood there in a pair of tight jeans and a striped t-shirt that was unbuttoned all the way down showing his hairy chest and Rose just wanted to forget about what she had read about him last night and totally snog the life out of him in the doorway but she composed herself and let him in.
"So, why are you awake so early? Don't even Police Officers need their sleep?"
She sat down on one of the chairs and he sat down opposite, not failing to notice her cross her legs and her nightdress was showing under her dressing gown, which she was doing her best to cover but failing miserably. He put his mobile and key on the table, next to where the half bottle of wine now had the top back on and two unwashed glasses from last night.
"I couldn't sleep, I was worried about you, you were upset last night and I want to help Rose. Please tell me about it."
"I really don't want to, no-one can help. It's something I have to get over, I'm just not ready," she replied, hoping he'd get the hint and leave and let her go back to bed.
"Well, it didn't seem like that last night when you were kissing me and drinking wine with me, not to me anyway. Do you want to talk about that?" He was not going to drop this.
"I told you, I didn't want those blokes leering at me and when we were in the dining room, I saw you watching them, don't think I didn't notice you. You were trying to make it look like you were giving me your full attention. That didn't upset me. You were going on about the news and it just all came back to me, that's all, you didn't do anything wrong so please don't think that you did. It's me, I'm not ready to forget and I thought that I was, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lead you on. I know who you are now, you solved that boy's murder last year and it made you ill and you got taken off active duty. I hope you're ok now and I'm sorry I made you carry my bags, I wouldn't have if I'd known." Rose looked down at the floor, not wanting to meet his glance.
Alec got up and pulled his chair over and was directly in front of her. Now he could see it wasn't really much of a nightdress she was wearing. "Rose, I'm fine. Yes, I got taken off active duty but I got reinstated two months later after I had an operation. I had a pacemaker fitted."
He pulled back his t-shirt and pointed to the scar, then taking her hand, pulled out one of her fingers and put it over the fading scar. Rose never flinched but allowed her finger to touch it and looked at him.
"Does it still hurt?" she asked, as her finger gently touched the scar and broke his grip on her hand but she stayed where she was, gently circling around it then put her hand over it.
"Only when I think about it," he smiled as he touched the back of her hand and pressed it down on him. "Really Rose, I'm fine now."
He bent his head and kissed the back of her hand as he removed his then took her hand again and led it away from his scar directly over his heart. She could feel it beating normally though maybe a bit more than it should be considering her close proximity to him and the fact she was wearing very little under her dressing gown which would probably have made him collapse by now. He kissed the back of her hand again.
Rose started to move her hand slowly across his chest. "Yeah, I can tell it's fine now but you did have me worried when I read about you though."
Suddenly on an impulse, she leaned forward and moved her hand lower as her other hand reached out for the bottom of his t-shirt and he grabbed her hand, pulling the t-shirt up as she leaned her head forward. Alec angled his head slightly to meet her and with his other hand, brushed her cheek and whispered, "Rose" and their lips met slowly at first as she melted into him and kissed him deeper than she had last night. Alec put his hand onto her bare legs, daring to move it further up and round the back of her thigh, kissing her deeper as he darted his tongue around seeking hers. She responded by finding his tongue and moving her hands to take his t-shirt off as their lips parted briefly and once it was over his head, resumed their seeking of each others tongues again.
Alec stopped and said before they continued that she should know that he was probably older than her to which she said she didn't care. He told her he was thirty eight and tried to guess how old she was tactfully without upsetting her. He finally got her to admit she had just turned twenty seven a few weeks ago.
They kissed again then Alec pulled the belt tie of her dressing gown as he looked down to see her breasts, not quite covered by her nightdress as she was leaning forwards and the hand that wasn't on her leg reached out to touch her breasts as they continues kissing. Rose slid over to sit on him, putting one arm around his bare shoulders and one down on his back just above his jeans. Alec's hand reached under the hem of her nightdress for him to discover she was wearing very skimpy knickers underneath. Rose moved slightly on him as he felt between her legs and let out a sigh as their lips parted as he whispered her name again. Rose was getting extremely turned on and was murmuring softly as he touched her again as she opened her legs wider and ventured under the edge of her knickers. Then leaning her back, he bent his head over her and kissed her breasts.
Suddenly, she broke the kiss and got off his knee. "Mmm, maybe we should just put this on hold, I'm getting way too ahead of myself, I'm really not ready for this yet. I shouldn't have led you on again," she said as she fastened the belt of her dressing gown again.
Alec stood up and reached for his t-shirt, bewildered to say the least at her mixed signals. No, he had done what he'd tried to avoid, he was taking advantage of her state of mind but she had responded or he thought she had responded and she'd been more than willing to reciprocate his advances.
"Rose, I'm sorry, things just got out of hand, forgive me." He went to put his arms around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. Rose responded by putting her arms around his still bare shoulders and rested her head on his chest. He pulled his arms tighter around her and she lifted her head to meet his lips and kissed him again. "I should go now and you should go back to sleep for an hour. I'll come back and wake you so you don't miss breakfast."
"Alec, I don't want you to leave, please and I'm sorry I gave you mixed messages, I didn't mean to, it was my fault. I just need someone and well, you were nice to me and I got carried away. Please stay." She reached up and kissed him again and ran her hand over his chest.
"Rose, please, just go back to bed again. I'll stay, if you want me to but you get back into bed and I'll sit beside you."
Rose nodded and climbed back into bed again and Alec started to put his t-shirt back on but she stopped him so he sat down at her side and leaned down and kissed her forehead. She put her arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a long kiss. He leaned over her and fell onto her, separated by the bed covers. Their kiss deepened and Rose carelessly pulled the covers back as he crawled towards her. Rose reached out and unbuttoned his jeans as Alec tried to pull them down at the back as she helped him and he flung them onto the floor and crawled the rest of the way and unfastened her dressing gown again and pulled it off her shoulders, leaving the thin straps of her nightdress and her bare shoulders and him in just his shorts.
He lay just above her and looked down on her and said, "Rose, I'm not going to take advantage of you and I'm not going to do anything you don't want me to do." He let go of her and lay on his back. "Why don't you come and lay on me?"
Rose responded by turning over and positioned herself on his slim body as she spread out over him and he put his arm around her waist. He could feel her through her thin nightdress which had suddenly become shorter now she was lying on him, could feel her breasts on his chest and she could feel him through his shorts. His hands stayed where they were as they started kissing then started wandering up her back towards her shoulders and one by one he pulled the straps of her nightdress down and eased his hands down the back of it. Rose had stopped kissing him and was enjoying feeling his hands on her and moved her head lower down and suddenly realised it was over his heart and his scar and moved it quickly.
"Rose, it's ok, it doesn't hurt, please stay there," he said as he stroked her back and she moved her head back where it had been. "Try to close your eyes for a while, breakfast is served until nine, I won't let you miss it."
Rose just snuggled up closer to him, feeling contented. It had been a long time since she had found comfort in a man and she was going nowhere, she was staying right where she was. She closed her eyes as she realised he was talking to her but she was too comfortable to move, just kissing his chest and burying her head in it. His arms gripped tighter around her shoulders then suddenly as she moved, the top of her nightdress slipped and he could feel her bare breasts on his chest and he was just loving the feeling as she realised what had happened and glanced her eyes upwards at him and smiled as if to say "Ooops!" but she didn't, she just lay there. He smiled back at her, kissing her forehead. That just made her move even more and it was driving him insane when she did it.
Her eyes were getting heavy and after another ten minutes she had closed them and drifted off. He knew she had fallen asleep because she had stopped moving on him and lay still. He reached an arm out for her mobile that she had left beside the bed and glanced at the time. Seven twenty five, he could give her forty five at most to give them both time to get dressed and not miss breakfast but there again, they could always go out somewhere, it's not like the hotel was the only place in town. He knew the café near the Police Station was open because he been there when he used to bury his head in paperwork instead of having a social life. Now he was actually having sort of a social life, this young woman who he had met not even twenty four hours ago was lying on him in bed, with part of her bare breasts that were uncovered on his chest and he hadn't even had sex with her. He'd considered it, not a one night stand though. No, this woman lying in his arms needed help, mentally and physically and he was prepared to do anything to see she got it. If she just wanted his comfort, to just lay on him, he could do that but he was going to get to the bottom of what was troubling her. He decided not to wake her, to just let her sleep.
It was nine thirty when Rose finally woke up all of a sudden and panicked. She could feel a man's hairy chest under her cheek, warm and welcoming, two strong arms wrapped around her holding her close and she could feel his manhood through her thin nightdress and realised she like the feeling. Then she remembered. She was not with John, she was with Alec Hardy, the man she had met and had been taken in by not twenty four hours ago, he had sort of 'adopted' her and she was fascinated by him. Feeling slightly guilty and enjoying the sensation slightly more than she should be, she stirred and said hello.