The next morning came sunny and peaceful, without a hint of the
destruction of the night before. Ryan and Gillian lay asleep on the
tiny
cot, Ryan holding her cuddled against him. Both were sans shirt, which
were still knotted around the shutters.
It had been several months since Gillian had shared her bed with
anyone - even if it was just to sleep - and the tiny cot didn’t help.
She
sleepily rolled over on her other side and softly landed half on top of
Ryan. In her groggy state of half-sleep, she settled down with her head
on
his chest, her face upturned towards his.
The light jostling woke Ryan, and he opened his eyes to find
Gillian more or less laying on him. He looked down at her peaceful
expression and closed eyes and knew she was still asleep.
He sighed to himself. He missed this. Holding her in the night,
until they both fell asleep. Slowly waking up together the next
morning.....
He missed her. A wave of longing washed over him and, bending down,
he gently kissed her temple.
Gillian sleepily smiled, slowly opening her eyes. It took her a
moment to fully wake up and remember where she was. As soon as she
realized she was laying on Ryan, she quickly jerked back towards the
other side of the cot. But Ryan instantly caught her around the waist
and
pulled her back on him, holding her there with his arm.
Unable to move away, Gillian held herself rigid and looked
downed at him cautiously.
“Good morning, Princess,” he said.
“Good morning,” she replied, slowly.
Ryan smiled softly at her.
“You’re alive.”
This brought a happy smile to her face, and she relaxed her guard a
bit.
“Yes,” she said, “We both are.”
A stray piece of hair fell across her face and Ryan reached up,
brushing it behind her ear.
“It looks like you got your wish,” he said, gently.
For a moment, Gillian was puzzled and didn’t understand what he
meant. Then, it all came back to her. The night before, in the midst of
the
worst part of the storm, she had pleaded with God to safe her and give
her
a second chance to fix what was wrong with her life.
She looked down at Ryan and knew instantly what was wrong. Her
eyes softened and she melted against him, laying her head on his chest.
Ryan had watched the emotions play across her face, and saw as
well as felt the change in her. With his free hand, he lightly stroked
her
hair. For awhile, that was enough. Then, Ryan broke the silence.
“Aren’t you going to thank me?” he asked, playfully.
She lifted her head off his chest and turned to look at him.
“Thank you?” she asked, acting outraged. “For what?”
“For saving you life,” he said simply.
She smiled.
“Thank you.”
“What? That’s all?”
She looked at him incredulously.
“What did you expect?” she asked.
“Well,” he said, his eyes sparkling as he talked, “generally, when
the White Knight saves the Princess, she rewards him with a kiss.”
“A kiss?” she repeated, smiling.
“Yes. And you are a princess. And, I think it’s safe to say, I’m
your white knight.”
“Oh, you are?”
“I saved you from deportation. I pulled you out of the wreckage at
Holidays. I saved you just now.....” He paused, the playfulness gone
from
his face. “But, in this case, the princess also occasionally saves the
knight.”
She looked at him now, with sheer love in her eyes, and slowly
bent down to kiss him.
Their lips met, for the first time in months, softly and sweetly.
Then, as they tapped into the unbridled passion and love that was
always
there with them, just below the surface, the kiss deepened and
threatened
to spiral out of control.
Gillian had both her hands wrapped about his neck. Ryan had one
hand caught in her hair, the other softly caressing the bare skin at
her
waist.
Clearly sensing that she was no longer holding back, Ryan ran his
hand up her back and slid it underneath her bathing suit strap. Gillian
tensed a little, but continued to kiss him. Then, he slowly moved his
hand
around to her rib cage.
Gillian jerked away and Ryan, who was not prepared, couldn’t
catch her in time. She moved to the opposite side of the cot and they
stared at one another, breathless. She slowly moved her hand to her
bottom lip and, with one finger, traced where he had just kissed her.
“That’s....That’s all the thanking I’m prepared to do right now,”
she said.
Ryan looked at her for a second longer and, in one fluid
movement, got up from the cot. This new position provided her with an
excellent glimpse of his chest, which wasn’t exactly helping her. Ryan
felt
the same way looking down at her, and determined he desperately needed
some air.
“I’m going to go look outside,” he muttered, and quickly left the
cabin.
Gillian stared off after him, feeling his absence as soon as the
door
closed. She wasn’t sure what to do, but she decided getting dressed
would
be a good start.
