Hello folks. Thank you all for your continued readership – and I am so glad you are still here with me for the ride. Thank you for your messages and reviews that help feed my writing. Sally – please don't worry! I and glad you are eager for new chapters as it also helps to keep me writing. I hope I can write more soon; my stresses are still around and are becoming a bit of a new normal which I suppose is an improvement in itself.

Now, back to the story and I think it's high time Laura woke up from her little snooze don't you? Hmm, Laura and Robbie relaxing together on a hotel bed – what could possibly happen next I wonder? ;)

ML x

As the afternoon sun slowly made its way around the side of the hotel and with Laura still fast asleep on his chest, Robbie felt himself relaxing fully. He glanced down at the sleeping form nestled against him. He smiled. Out for the count he thought. He was glad she could rest like this and he knew from what she had been telling him about her recovery that resting when she needed to was helping her get back on track.

The rich sound of birdsong and the scent of cut grass drifted gently in through the window and Robbie took a deep breath as he watched Laura sleeping. He felt a huge relief wash over him and a sense that he too was tired, exhausted from everything that had unfolded over the previous weeks. He wondered if he might doze off for a while himself but somehow he couldn't let himself sleep. He knew it was foolish, but the need to watch over Laura as she slept seemed to override his own needs.

Instead he was more than happy to just lay quietly while she slept, marvelling at her closeness as the afternoon passed softly by. Outside the window he tuned into the sounds of a rural summer afternoon and the extra peace that came from being away from the city. For a while he lost himself to the birdsong and the scent of roses that floated up from the garden of Stone Edge House hotel.

The moments passed as Robbie relaxed on the bed with Laura and he almost lost sense of time. He looked down at Laura again and saw she was still fast asleep. He was about to check his watch to see the time when there was a knock on the door.

Robbie grimaced; the knock came again after a few seconds but it didn't seem to disturb Laura. Carefully, Robbie shifted himself from Laura's embrace and checking she was still sleeping soundly he padded silently over to the door and opened it as quietly as he could.

In the corridor a smartly dressed young woman held a silver tray with a basket of fresh fruit and a box of chocolates on it. Robbie smiled at her, although he was a little puzzled.

"Hello, Mr Lewis, sorry to disturb you but these are for your room"

"Oh" Said Robbie with a puzzled but friendly smile "I don't think I ordered any extras" he said

"They're complimentary; I'm so sorry, we've only just got round to putting them in the rooms"

"Oh, right" said Robbie still a little bemused.

"Shall I bring them in?" The girl said, keen to deliver her charge and get on with her other tasks

"Er, well I was, my er, well, we, er, we're resting" Robbie said, suddenly flustered, recognising he was, without any premeditative thought, referring to himself and Laura as a couple. The realisation manifested itself as a feeling of pure joy and he found he was smiling.

"Here, let me" he said to the girl in the corridor, reaching for the tray

"Oh, I'm so sorry" Said the girl now with a quieter voice as she handed Robbie the tray "I'll put the do not disturb card on the door for you." And from behind the door, she quickly retrieved a cardboard doorhandle hanger that said DO NOT DISTURB on it before she apologised again and quickly departed, the door closing after her as she went.

As quietly as he could, Robbie took the tray into the room and placed it on the table next to the champagne. He glanced over to the bed; Laura was still sleeping soundly. The afternoon sun was high in the sky and the room was bright and Robbie saw that it would soon send a blinding shaft onto the bed so he quietly and slowly pulled the curtain across so that it wouldn't disturb Laura's rest.

Confident she was still fast asleep, Robbie went into the bathroom. Turning on the light he saw it was equally as luxurious as the rest of the accommodation with immaculately clean marble surfaces and vintage style ceramic ware with chrome taps. Pristine white towels were neatly presented on the heated towel rail and next to them were two towelling bath robes. Robbie raised his eyebrows to himself, glad again that he'd asked for the best rooms.

Back in the bedroom Laura was still sleeping soundly as Robbie carefully and quietly got back onto the bed next to her, managing to ease her sleeping form back to where it was before the knock on the door. She didn't seem disturbed by the goings on. After a few moments, however, she began to stir and he felt her hand caress his chest where it had been resting. She sighed as she emerged from her sleep and gradually her eyes opened.

"Hi" he said softly as he watched her awaken.

"Hi" she replied with a smile, stretching her body gently against his as she looked up at him on hearing his voice

"You feeling better?" He said softly, caressing her back as he spoke

"Mmm" she said sleepily, still with a smile on her lips "How long have I been asleep?"

"About an hour"

"Oh gosh, Robbie, I hope I haven't drooled on you" She said with a dozy smirk. He voice was still a little sleepy.

"No, you're alright" Robbie said with a smile and his eyebrows raised. "You were snoring your head off though"

"I wasn't?" she said, her face a little aghast

Robbie laughed at the effect of his gentle tease and pulled her a little closer

"No. But you were fast asleep"

"Sorry I conked out like that"

"It was a pleasure"

"Thank you" She said, her eyes bright now as she looked at him

"What for?"

"You make a marvelous pillow"

"Ah, well; I'm glad I've got my uses" Robbie said raising his eyebrows to her as he spoke

Laura laughed softly. It seemed an absurd statement after everything he had done for her. She laughed again, feeling an almost ridiculous sense of relief. Robbie laughed too, realising the amusement and also the release of pressure after so much trauma. Laura, caught up in the moment dissolved into peals of laughter, her eyes watering a little which in turn made Robbie laugh even more. He pulled her closer, enjoying the feel of her as they shared the joke. Laura felt it too, the sheer pleasure of being together, their bodies close as they laughed with no other thoughts about anything other than simply sharing the moment together.

As Laura's composure returned, her hand came to rest on his chest and she looked up at him, feeling his body under hers, the thud of his heart under her palm. Her own heart was racing too. She lifted herself up slightly and now her hand went to his face and she tilted her head towards him and kissed him, lightly at first, a kiss that soon turned into several kisses before a gentle urgency took over and their kisses became more substantial.

Laura shifted her body a little, partly to relieve a slight tension in her arm. Robbie realised what she was doing and also moved to make things more comfortable for them both and now they both found themselves on their sides, supported by the large comfy pillows and covers of the bed, facing each other in an embrace. With the soft comfort of the pillows underneath them they continued to kiss. Laura felt herself float away on the sensations, familiar ones that suddenly presented themselves with a deeper resonance and along with the aching thrill she felt as her body responded to Robbie's closeness she also felt a deep feeling of love rise up in her consciousness. At the back of her mind she wondered if Robbie was ok; a lot had changed for them both in just a short amount of time. As wonderful as it all was and despite what he had said in the summerhouse she hoped he wasn't finding it all overwhelming. From his kisses and his caresses, however, she chanced the thought that he was very much ok. Despite this, the need to know he was alright pushed itself forward again. Robbie was caught up in the sensations just as much as she was and like her felt wonderfully sensitive to the moment but sensed the slight hesitation from her.

Suddenly, and together as if both simultaneously sensing the other's concern they both pulled away from each other. Laura panicked; perhaps this all really was too much too soon for him.

"Robbie, if this isn't right, if it's . . . I mean if you want to stop, oh god I'm sorry" Laura said, an almost apologetic frown on her face

"No, no, Laura, I don't want to stop, not at all" Robbie hastened to reassure her. Stopping was the last thing he wanted to do "I was wondering if you are ok - if you, well, I mean, y'know, after your surgery"

She was touched by his thought for her and also relieved that clearly they were both on the same page, with no hesitations other than a concern for each other

"I'm fine" She said with a sweet smile, her hand going to his face and caressing his cheek. "I don't want to stop either" she said as she pulled him back to her with an urgency that took his breath away and which he in turn responded to. And, as the summer's afternoon continued to pass by outside the hotel room it soon became wondrously clear they were both very much on the same page as each other.