CHAPTER 14
"Well, that wasn't part of the plan" Riley smiled as he peered through the large hole in the wall. "I think he's gone" Lara smiled slightly as she wriggled underneath Riley, trying to move herself closer to the door so she could look through it. He lifted his weight off of her and watched her every movement as she used her shoulders and legs to move herself along the floor. When she was closer to the door, she rolled over onto her stomach and lifted herself slightly to look outside. Gibson had indeed gone. Riley had moved forward, so he too now looked through the door way. He looked down at the back of Lara's head, unable to ignore the potentially sexual position they were in. He knew that she was unaware of it, so slowly he edged forward more, until they made contact. The backs of Lara's thighs were against the front of his and his chest rested against her back. Lara turned her head as far as she could; trying to look at him. He moved so she could see him with more ease.
Lara lowered herself to the ground, and turned over again so she was looking directly into his face. He smiled and moved closer to her; trying to kiss her again. She placed her hands firmly against his sculpted chest. His flesh felt warm and smooth under her hands. She smiled, knowing from the look in his eyes what he was thinking. She had been thinking the same thing earlier that night and now it seemed that they had switched places. Lara held his face gently and spoke only two words to him. "Not now!"
Riley's reaction to these two words was much better than hers had been. He laughed and got to his feet pulling her up after him. She was still smiling as she brushed herself off. Riley indicated the bullet damage with his thumb "so, how are you going to explain this one?"
This time Lara laughed as she kicked at a piece of the broken wall. "oh, I'll think of something" she was still smiling as she turned away from him "come on" she had started to walk further down the hall when Riley caught her hand with his own, and turned her to face him. "So" he started as he stepped closer to her, "does that smile mean I'm forgiven?"
"Well, I suppose I have no choice do I" "Erm, after that..." he grinned "no you don't really" Lara smiled she looked down at their hands as they held onto each other. That was when she noticed the chunk missing from Riley's arm.
Quickly she pulled him towards the kitchen knowing that there was a first aid kit in there. She walked backwards, while she inspected the wound, never releasing Riley's hand as she moved.
"This looks nasty" she glanced up at his face to find that he too was inspecting the wound as if he didn't even know he had it. She moved him near to the sink and turned on the tap; washing the dust away from the wound. Just then Winston came running into the room. "Lara, what happened? I heard gun fire!" "Yes, we had a little visitor." Lara said calmly as she cleaned Riley's injury. It didn't look like it was going to need stitches, just a clean dressing and some anti-septic. "Mr, Jackson" Winston stuttered when Lara pushed Riley into a chair at the table "what happened to you?" "Ah, it's nothing. I can't even feel it." "It looks very painful sir" "No, it's fine. It doesn't. ARGH!" Riley turned his head and flinched sharply. Lara had just applied the anti-septic and it stung like hell. "Ok, it hurts now!" he admitted. Lara smiled softly and ran a hand quickly over his cheek "sorry"
Winston smiled at the move. Although it seemed incredibly small, but someone who knew Lara, knew that small signs of affection, such as the touch of this mans cheek, were not something she did. In fact, he was certain that this was the first such display he had ever witnessed.
"Winston. I believe our visitor tonight was Gibson Vanderbelt" Lara informed her butler and old friend. "The same man who attacked you?" "Yes that's right." Lara was now finishing bandaging Riley's arm as she spoke. "This just makes our suspicions stronger. If he's turned up here again, the attack can't have been random. We'll have to disappear for a while, lay low until we can get things figured out"
" 'We' Ma'am?" Winston didn't want to question her but he couldn't resist. Lara smiled knowingly at him "that's right. 'We', Riley and I. he is as much involved as I am; they have seen us together and will be after him too. We should assume also that you are not safe here for the time being. I want you to take some time off, go and visit family, or take a nice trip abroad." Winston's eyes widened, in all the time he had served Lara and her family, he had never taken a holiday. She was more than just a job to him, *she* was his family!
"But Lara" "No Winston, it's not safe. Please do this. For me?" Lara gave him the look she had learned to use on him when she was eight years old. He always buckled when she looked at him that way, and this time was no different. He wasn't pleased about it, but he agreed.
"I shall take the liberty of arranging accommodation for you." "Thank you Winston. Any requests?" Lara looked at Riley, not knowing what he would prefer. Again was intrigued by him as he gave an answer that proved he had been trained to almost disappear into the woodwork if need be. "Not a hotel, they're too obvious. If they see that we're not here or at my place, then Hotels are the first place they'll check. We need somewhere out of the way and low key. Somewhere there aren't too many people around who could give us away. Somewhere in the country would be good." Lara stood next to Riley and placed her hand on his shoulder. She smiled at him then turned to Winston. "The man seems to know what he's talking about." "Yes ma'am, right away" Winston turned and left the room to arrange things for them. "Winston!" Riley called. "Yes sir" "It might not be a good idea to use the land line! Gibson was here for a reason and I don't think it was to kill us this time. That, he'll try later when were separated, he'll have more chance that way. I think there is a high chance that he may have bugged the phone line, so then he'd know where we'd be. Actually." he looked up at Lara. "We could use that to our advantage. Buy us some time. We could book one place, one end of the country using the land line. But book another place on the other side of the country using a mobile!" Lara smiled and sat down next to him. "They'd go one place to kill us, while were safe and sound on the other side of the country!" she finished his thought and grinned at Winston "did you get all that?" Winston was grinning himself now "yes ma'am, I did indeed. I'll do it right away" "Thank you"
Lara could feel Riley watching her as she put the first aid kit away. "What?" she asked without turning to him "You're glowing" he said, she could hear the smile in his voice "Glowing?" she turned slowly; leaning against the kitchen counter. "Yeah, you're glowing." He got out of his seat and moved over to her, his arm was throbbing as he moved. "All this excites you, doesn't it? Gives you a rush." "I don't know what you're talking about!" "Oh no? I think you do. I saw it in your eyes, when Gibson was shooting. You were glowing then and you're glowing now."
Riley was now right in front of her, and she felt her lips go dry when her eyes landed on his mouth as he spoke. "I'm still mad at you Mr Jackson!" she was grabbing at anything she could find, to have an excuse to put some distance between them. She wanted nothing more than to jump into his arms and make love to him, but she would not let herself do something like that. She had known the man just under two days and she wasn't the kind of girl who would just jump into bed with a guy within a week of meeting him. If she did that, she had no idea what image he would get of her. Most likely he'd think that he could get it whenever he wanted it. She hated to admit it to herself, but she knew that he was the only man she would let take her whenever he had the urge. She hated feeling like that. She hardly knew him, but under the circumstances, she had bonded with him, and he seemed to respect the fact that she had told him to go slow.
It had hurt like hell when he had stopped her earlier, with his "not now". She had thought that he didn't want to be with her, but she knew now that he had stopped it because it truly wasn't the right time. Gibson had been lurking in the shadows, presenting a very real threat to their lives. *it wouldn't have been such a bad way to go* a little voice inside her head spoke up as she watched riley move slowly closer to her. *to be killed quickly while making love to Riley Jackson* Lara pushed the thoughts away as Riley began to speak to her.
"I thought you had forgiven me Lady Croft" he was smiling slightly, still moving closer to her as she slowly side stepped him, still keeping to the line of the kitchen counter, knowing that soon it would end and Riley would have her trapped. She smiled at the thought. "Oh, I'm still not sure about that" she raised her eyebrow as he moved closer still; she took one more side step keeping the space between them. "You were pretty harsh" she kept her eyes locked with his as she stepped straight into the wall at the end of the kitchen. She smiled "ouch".
Riley grinned even wider at her and soon he was blocking her totally, he placed his hands on her hips and moved her away from the wall, keeping her close to the counter. He took one last step towards her, totally closing the gap between them. Lara placed her hands on his bare sides and again her fingers burned when they touched his flesh.
Lara felt her lips tingle as she watched Riley move teasingly slowly towards her mouth. Quickly she used her tongue to moisten them as she prepared them for the feeling of the kiss.
Winston cleared his throat and both Lara and Riley jumped. "Excuse me for interrupting" he smiled shyly at the two young adults. "That's fine Winston" Lara said as Riley stepped back, allowing her move away from the counter. "What is it?" "I have everything arranged. I did as Mr Jackson instructed, and booked a place in Dover using the Manner phone. And rented a small house in Wales using your mobile ma'am" "Thank you Winston!" He nodded and left the room.
"Right" Lara said as she turned back to Riley who had had been inspecting his bare feet as she had spoken to her butler. "it looks like we're going to Wales!"
"Well, that wasn't part of the plan" Riley smiled as he peered through the large hole in the wall. "I think he's gone" Lara smiled slightly as she wriggled underneath Riley, trying to move herself closer to the door so she could look through it. He lifted his weight off of her and watched her every movement as she used her shoulders and legs to move herself along the floor. When she was closer to the door, she rolled over onto her stomach and lifted herself slightly to look outside. Gibson had indeed gone. Riley had moved forward, so he too now looked through the door way. He looked down at the back of Lara's head, unable to ignore the potentially sexual position they were in. He knew that she was unaware of it, so slowly he edged forward more, until they made contact. The backs of Lara's thighs were against the front of his and his chest rested against her back. Lara turned her head as far as she could; trying to look at him. He moved so she could see him with more ease.
Lara lowered herself to the ground, and turned over again so she was looking directly into his face. He smiled and moved closer to her; trying to kiss her again. She placed her hands firmly against his sculpted chest. His flesh felt warm and smooth under her hands. She smiled, knowing from the look in his eyes what he was thinking. She had been thinking the same thing earlier that night and now it seemed that they had switched places. Lara held his face gently and spoke only two words to him. "Not now!"
Riley's reaction to these two words was much better than hers had been. He laughed and got to his feet pulling her up after him. She was still smiling as she brushed herself off. Riley indicated the bullet damage with his thumb "so, how are you going to explain this one?"
This time Lara laughed as she kicked at a piece of the broken wall. "oh, I'll think of something" she was still smiling as she turned away from him "come on" she had started to walk further down the hall when Riley caught her hand with his own, and turned her to face him. "So" he started as he stepped closer to her, "does that smile mean I'm forgiven?"
"Well, I suppose I have no choice do I" "Erm, after that..." he grinned "no you don't really" Lara smiled she looked down at their hands as they held onto each other. That was when she noticed the chunk missing from Riley's arm.
Quickly she pulled him towards the kitchen knowing that there was a first aid kit in there. She walked backwards, while she inspected the wound, never releasing Riley's hand as she moved.
"This looks nasty" she glanced up at his face to find that he too was inspecting the wound as if he didn't even know he had it. She moved him near to the sink and turned on the tap; washing the dust away from the wound. Just then Winston came running into the room. "Lara, what happened? I heard gun fire!" "Yes, we had a little visitor." Lara said calmly as she cleaned Riley's injury. It didn't look like it was going to need stitches, just a clean dressing and some anti-septic. "Mr, Jackson" Winston stuttered when Lara pushed Riley into a chair at the table "what happened to you?" "Ah, it's nothing. I can't even feel it." "It looks very painful sir" "No, it's fine. It doesn't. ARGH!" Riley turned his head and flinched sharply. Lara had just applied the anti-septic and it stung like hell. "Ok, it hurts now!" he admitted. Lara smiled softly and ran a hand quickly over his cheek "sorry"
Winston smiled at the move. Although it seemed incredibly small, but someone who knew Lara, knew that small signs of affection, such as the touch of this mans cheek, were not something she did. In fact, he was certain that this was the first such display he had ever witnessed.
"Winston. I believe our visitor tonight was Gibson Vanderbelt" Lara informed her butler and old friend. "The same man who attacked you?" "Yes that's right." Lara was now finishing bandaging Riley's arm as she spoke. "This just makes our suspicions stronger. If he's turned up here again, the attack can't have been random. We'll have to disappear for a while, lay low until we can get things figured out"
" 'We' Ma'am?" Winston didn't want to question her but he couldn't resist. Lara smiled knowingly at him "that's right. 'We', Riley and I. he is as much involved as I am; they have seen us together and will be after him too. We should assume also that you are not safe here for the time being. I want you to take some time off, go and visit family, or take a nice trip abroad." Winston's eyes widened, in all the time he had served Lara and her family, he had never taken a holiday. She was more than just a job to him, *she* was his family!
"But Lara" "No Winston, it's not safe. Please do this. For me?" Lara gave him the look she had learned to use on him when she was eight years old. He always buckled when she looked at him that way, and this time was no different. He wasn't pleased about it, but he agreed.
"I shall take the liberty of arranging accommodation for you." "Thank you Winston. Any requests?" Lara looked at Riley, not knowing what he would prefer. Again was intrigued by him as he gave an answer that proved he had been trained to almost disappear into the woodwork if need be. "Not a hotel, they're too obvious. If they see that we're not here or at my place, then Hotels are the first place they'll check. We need somewhere out of the way and low key. Somewhere there aren't too many people around who could give us away. Somewhere in the country would be good." Lara stood next to Riley and placed her hand on his shoulder. She smiled at him then turned to Winston. "The man seems to know what he's talking about." "Yes ma'am, right away" Winston turned and left the room to arrange things for them. "Winston!" Riley called. "Yes sir" "It might not be a good idea to use the land line! Gibson was here for a reason and I don't think it was to kill us this time. That, he'll try later when were separated, he'll have more chance that way. I think there is a high chance that he may have bugged the phone line, so then he'd know where we'd be. Actually." he looked up at Lara. "We could use that to our advantage. Buy us some time. We could book one place, one end of the country using the land line. But book another place on the other side of the country using a mobile!" Lara smiled and sat down next to him. "They'd go one place to kill us, while were safe and sound on the other side of the country!" she finished his thought and grinned at Winston "did you get all that?" Winston was grinning himself now "yes ma'am, I did indeed. I'll do it right away" "Thank you"
Lara could feel Riley watching her as she put the first aid kit away. "What?" she asked without turning to him "You're glowing" he said, she could hear the smile in his voice "Glowing?" she turned slowly; leaning against the kitchen counter. "Yeah, you're glowing." He got out of his seat and moved over to her, his arm was throbbing as he moved. "All this excites you, doesn't it? Gives you a rush." "I don't know what you're talking about!" "Oh no? I think you do. I saw it in your eyes, when Gibson was shooting. You were glowing then and you're glowing now."
Riley was now right in front of her, and she felt her lips go dry when her eyes landed on his mouth as he spoke. "I'm still mad at you Mr Jackson!" she was grabbing at anything she could find, to have an excuse to put some distance between them. She wanted nothing more than to jump into his arms and make love to him, but she would not let herself do something like that. She had known the man just under two days and she wasn't the kind of girl who would just jump into bed with a guy within a week of meeting him. If she did that, she had no idea what image he would get of her. Most likely he'd think that he could get it whenever he wanted it. She hated to admit it to herself, but she knew that he was the only man she would let take her whenever he had the urge. She hated feeling like that. She hardly knew him, but under the circumstances, she had bonded with him, and he seemed to respect the fact that she had told him to go slow.
It had hurt like hell when he had stopped her earlier, with his "not now". She had thought that he didn't want to be with her, but she knew now that he had stopped it because it truly wasn't the right time. Gibson had been lurking in the shadows, presenting a very real threat to their lives. *it wouldn't have been such a bad way to go* a little voice inside her head spoke up as she watched riley move slowly closer to her. *to be killed quickly while making love to Riley Jackson* Lara pushed the thoughts away as Riley began to speak to her.
"I thought you had forgiven me Lady Croft" he was smiling slightly, still moving closer to her as she slowly side stepped him, still keeping to the line of the kitchen counter, knowing that soon it would end and Riley would have her trapped. She smiled at the thought. "Oh, I'm still not sure about that" she raised her eyebrow as he moved closer still; she took one more side step keeping the space between them. "You were pretty harsh" she kept her eyes locked with his as she stepped straight into the wall at the end of the kitchen. She smiled "ouch".
Riley grinned even wider at her and soon he was blocking her totally, he placed his hands on her hips and moved her away from the wall, keeping her close to the counter. He took one last step towards her, totally closing the gap between them. Lara placed her hands on his bare sides and again her fingers burned when they touched his flesh.
Lara felt her lips tingle as she watched Riley move teasingly slowly towards her mouth. Quickly she used her tongue to moisten them as she prepared them for the feeling of the kiss.
Winston cleared his throat and both Lara and Riley jumped. "Excuse me for interrupting" he smiled shyly at the two young adults. "That's fine Winston" Lara said as Riley stepped back, allowing her move away from the counter. "What is it?" "I have everything arranged. I did as Mr Jackson instructed, and booked a place in Dover using the Manner phone. And rented a small house in Wales using your mobile ma'am" "Thank you Winston!" He nodded and left the room.
"Right" Lara said as she turned back to Riley who had had been inspecting his bare feet as she had spoken to her butler. "it looks like we're going to Wales!"