23. Elias
Elias heard the sounds of retching coming from the bathroom, and he leapt to his feet. He may have just been fantasising about Kate in a bathing suit, but hearing the sounds of obvious distress wiped any sexy thoughts from his brain.
Not that he didn’t still think Kate was sexy.
He knocked on the door, but when she didn’t answer he called out, ‘I hope you’re decent because I’m coming in.’
He opened the door and crossed the bedroom to the bathroom, but Kate wasn’t there. She was kneeling over the toilet throwing up.
He didn’t think about the propriety of his actions, he just went to her and gathered her hair in his hand to hold it back from her face. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and he didn’t know what to do except gently rub circles on her back with his free hand and coo soothing nonsense words into her ear.
When the throwing up abated, Kate slumped into him. He held her securely and reached across to close the lid and flush.
‘Do you think you can stand?’
‘Yeah,’ she croaked.
He helped her to her feet and together they went into the bathroom so she could wash her hands and rinse out her mouth.
‘I’m so embarrassed,’ she said, not looking at him.
‘Why?’
‘It’s kind of gross.’
Elias shrugged. ‘I’ve seen worse.’
She looked at him sceptically.
‘Uni night on a Thursday night at a pub I used to bartend at. Two-dollar shots do all sorts of things to people, the evidence of which I’ve had to clean up on more than one occasion. Believe me, this is nothing compared to fluoro-pink drinks making a comeback.’
She smiled, and then her face went green. ‘Please do not talk about it right now.’
‘Gotcha.’
Elias helped Kate out of the bathroom to the bed. She climbed onto the mattress and groaned with satisfaction as she snuggled into the pillows.
‘I think the swim will have to wait.’
‘We’ve got all weekend,’ he said. ‘I’ll call down to room service and see if they have any dry crackers.’
‘And ginger ale.’
‘No problem.’
He waited until she closed her eyes before going to the lounge room to dial the concierge. He doubted room service would have what he needed, but the concierges of this hotel had been great on his previous stays. He’d been several times. Once to see the space for his sculpture and to get a feel for what exactly it was they wanted. Another time just to get away from the madness of his family. And then the final time to install the piece. Every time the concierges had gone out of their way to find whatever weird thing he needed. This time was no exception. Once he explained the problem, Larry, the concierge on duty, provided. Larry explained he and his wife had three kids, and each time the morning sickness had been worse than the last. He personally delivered a basket full of remedies—both chemist approved and alternate options that his wife had found helpful—plus the dry crackers and requested ginger ale.
When Elias went to check on Kate, she was fast asleep. The pregnancy books said that the first couple of months could be tough on the mother, and tiredness was something that seemed universal. Apparently the second trimester was supposed to be much better, but they were still about six weeks away from that.
Elias remembered his nanny had always given him flat lemonade when he’d been sick. Did the same hold true for ginger ale? Would Kate prefer it to have bubbles or not? Just in case, he poured a glass to let it go flat, and then she could choose.
Rather than hover, waiting for her to wake up, Elias headed out for a swim and then lay on a sun lounge beside the pool. He’d brought a book to read, but before he knew it, his eyelids were drooping, and he fell sleep. Maybe Kate wasn’t the only one who was exhausted with the prospect of becoming a parent.
* * *
The gentle sloshof water woke him. He blinked open his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Kate doing an impressive freestyle in the water. He levered up onto his elbows to watch her swim the length of the pool. When she surfaced, he was pleased to note she looked a lot better than when he’d helped her into bed.
‘Feeling better?’
She startled and then grinned at him. ‘Much. I didn’t realise just how tired I was.’
‘Same,’ he said with a laugh, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the sun lounge. ‘Mind if I join you?’
‘I don’t mind at all.’
The initial shock of the cold water felt good against his overheated body. He’d had sunscreen on and was under the shade of the umbrella, but it still hadn’t been a great idea to fall asleep outside. The heat and humidity were like a film on his skin, and the coolness of the pool washed away that sticky feeling.
He dove beneath the surface and swam toward Kate, finally surfacing not far from her. He shook his head like a dog, and she squealed. He just chuckled and sluiced the water from his face and beard.
‘Thanks for the supplies,’ Kate said as she leaned against the side of the pool and let her body float.
‘No problem, although I think Larry deserves a big tip when we leave.’
‘Larry?’
‘The concierge. I asked, and he provided.’
‘Larry knows his stuff.’
‘He has three kids. He said his wife went through it with each one.’
Kate grimaced. ‘Ugh. They say you forget the pain and discomfort of being pregnant and giving birth, but I’m not entirely sure I will.’
‘What about your sister? How were her pregnancies?’
‘She had a bit of nausea, but I barred her from telling me any horror stories. I’ve seen enough in the emergency room and during training. I had to do a stint in maternity and let me tell you, it’s not all beautiful babies and angelic mothers.’
‘Have you had much of it? The morning sickness, I mean.’
‘A little bit here and there, but this was probably the worst.’
Elias searched her face. He wasn’t sure he was convinced she was telling the truth. If he knew Kate—and he had to admit he didn’t know her that well, but he was beginning to—then she would downplay everything. He doubted she would accept help lightly.
‘You think I’m lying,’ she said, watching him carefully.
‘I think you’re an independent woman who doesn’t see the point in complaining, and you would much rather do things yourself than rely on others.’
She rolled her lips together. ‘Maybe.’
He laughed and gently splashed some water toward her.
She feigned horror at his audacity and then splashed him back but lost her grip on the edge of the pool and slipped under the water.
Elias was there, pulling her into his arms, even though he knew she didn’t need rescuing. It had been an automatic reaction. Besides, having her wet and barely clothed body up against his wet and barely clothed body was not something he was opposed to.
Kate didn’t immediately pull away—another thing he wasn’t opposed to. Her hands rested on his shoulders while his were on her waist. She hadn’t wrapped her legs around his hips but… but it wouldn’t take much, and he definitely wouldn’t hate it if she did.
His gaze dropped to her lips. He knew they were only supposed to be friends but… friends could kiss, right? Of course he knew they couldn’t, not unless they’d negotiated a friends with benefits arrangement—which he and Kate had definitely not done—but with her in his arms, her body pressed against his and her mouth only inches away, kissing sounded like a perfectly reasonable and even expected action.
Her fingers squeezed his shoulders and her legs… her legs finally wrapped around him and…
Fuck it.
He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her.
She didn’t resist. She kissed him back as her fingers curled into the wet length of his hair.
He tightened his arms around her and deepened the kiss.
This was it. This was what he had been craving since that first time with her. How could a kiss feel this good? How could it feel like nothing else in the world existed? He never wanted to let her go.