lives.
Landslide
ricocheted through her mind. The great hills around St Austell, now
covered in grass and seeming almost natural, were, in fact, great hills of
waste pulled out of the china clay mines. In Wales in the 1960s, in the
village of Aberfan , a mountain of waste from a coal
mine had buried a school and some farms. Over a hundred had died, mostly
children. But these deaths were at different times. This was no
disaster.
Deep
in thought, Robyn hadn’t noticed that she was no longer alone on the shore so
when a wet nose touched against her wrist she jumped.
Snapping
her head up, Robyn looked into the soulful black eyes of a dark Labrador.
His gaze appeared slightly sad and a little wary. Her quick jump had
startled him too. His legs were wet, probably from running in the sea,
and he held his tail down and still, but his coat was luscious and shiny.
Tightly packed with short hairs it called out to be touched, stroked
Without
thinking, Robyn automatically held out her hand to pat the dog on the head, to
sooth him and assure him that she meant him no harm. The moment she
touched his smooth coat, he gave his approval, swept his tail into the air and
began swinging it joyously. He took a step forwards and lowered his head
to place it on her lap, his soulful eyes looking up expectantly before she
indulged him and rubbed behind his ear. Appearing to like the fuss, the
dog cocked his head to one side to encourage her to do it again then rolled
over to expose his underside in complete submission.
Robyn
laughed out loud as the dog let down his guard completely and exposed his
stomach, utterly trusting, and nuzzled his head into her legs in utter
pleasure.
Whilst
petting the Labrador and giggling at his response, Robyn didn’t think about his
owner. Not until two booted feet stopped in front of her, and a deep,
smooth voice said, “I’m sorry, is he bothering you?”
“Oh no! Not at all.” She slowly raised her gaze.
Robyn’s
eyes drifted over dark leather boots with black laces, and up denim clad, long
legs. Denim gave way to a black sweater that clung to a slim waist and
flat, hard stomach. She felt her lungs tighten as her eyes swooped
further up and moved to the lean solid chest that showed clearly defined muscle
under the tight sweater. Her heart thumped heavily as she lifted her gaze
to broad shoulders and a rolled turtle neck collar that covered a pale, long
neck, leading to a chiselled jaw that had darkened with a day’s worth of
stubble. Her breath held in her throat as her eyes rose up to the
face. Defined nose, high cheekbones, dark brows, black hair and piercing
pale eyes surrounded by thick black lashes.
“Oh,”
he said, “I didn’t recognise you.” The words were dismissive but she could have
sworn she caught a slight startle before they escaped his lips. His deep
voice was clipped and his stance no longer easy and carefree. Andrew Obursen loomed over Robyn and the look upon his face was of
pure disgust.
“Uh”
was all she could force out. Her calm had definitely been shattered and
it had been a fairly pleasant afternoon.
“How
did you get here?” His deep and lustrous voice drifted on the breeze but was no
less demanding. He stood over her, holding the dog’s lead, looking
windswept but stiff. His stature and frown made him aloof, and she
wondered just how much starch he used to put such a board up his back and stick
up his arse.
Robyn
sat beneath him, frozen and incapable of conscious thought. Fear trickled
into her system. Again, the intensity of his stare and the luminosity of
his pale eyes captured her, making her feel exposed before him.
“Nobody
comes here, so why would you?” Andrew continued, his lips a thin line.
Robyn
felt the weight of Andrew’s loathing. What did Kat see in him? She
may have had an unexpected and unwanted reaction to Andrew’s touch before, but
without it, she could see more clearly. This was a man
Landslide
ricocheted through her mind. The great hills around St Austell, now
covered in grass and seeming almost natural, were, in fact, great hills of
waste pulled out of the china clay mines. In Wales in the 1960s, in the
village of Aberfan , a mountain of waste from a coal
mine had buried a school and some farms. Over a hundred had died, mostly
children. But these deaths were at different times. This was no
disaster.
Deep
in thought, Robyn hadn’t noticed that she was no longer alone on the shore so
when a wet nose touched against her wrist she jumped.
Snapping
her head up, Robyn looked into the soulful black eyes of a dark Labrador.
His gaze appeared slightly sad and a little wary. Her quick jump had
startled him too. His legs were wet, probably from running in the sea,
and he held his tail down and still, but his coat was luscious and shiny.
Tightly packed with short hairs it called out to be touched, stroked
Without
thinking, Robyn automatically held out her hand to pat the dog on the head, to
sooth him and assure him that she meant him no harm. The moment she
touched his smooth coat, he gave his approval, swept his tail into the air and
began swinging it joyously. He took a step forwards and lowered his head
to place it on her lap, his soulful eyes looking up expectantly before she
indulged him and rubbed behind his ear. Appearing to like the fuss, the
dog cocked his head to one side to encourage her to do it again then rolled
over to expose his underside in complete submission.
Robyn
laughed out loud as the dog let down his guard completely and exposed his
stomach, utterly trusting, and nuzzled his head into her legs in utter
pleasure.
Whilst
petting the Labrador and giggling at his response, Robyn didn’t think about his
owner. Not until two booted feet stopped in front of her, and a deep,
smooth voice said, “I’m sorry, is he bothering you?”
“Oh no! Not at all.” She slowly raised her gaze.
Robyn’s
eyes drifted over dark leather boots with black laces, and up denim clad, long
legs. Denim gave way to a black sweater that clung to a slim waist and
flat, hard stomach. She felt her lungs tighten as her eyes swooped
further up and moved to the lean solid chest that showed clearly defined muscle
under the tight sweater. Her heart thumped heavily as she lifted her gaze
to broad shoulders and a rolled turtle neck collar that covered a pale, long
neck, leading to a chiselled jaw that had darkened with a day’s worth of
stubble. Her breath held in her throat as her eyes rose up to the
face. Defined nose, high cheekbones, dark brows, black hair and piercing
pale eyes surrounded by thick black lashes.
“Oh,”
he said, “I didn’t recognise you.” The words were dismissive but she could have
sworn she caught a slight startle before they escaped his lips. His deep
voice was clipped and his stance no longer easy and carefree. Andrew Obursen loomed over Robyn and the look upon his face was of
pure disgust.
“Uh”
was all she could force out. Her calm had definitely been shattered and
it had been a fairly pleasant afternoon.
“How
did you get here?” His deep and lustrous voice drifted on the breeze but was no
less demanding. He stood over her, holding the dog’s lead, looking
windswept but stiff. His stature and frown made him aloof, and she
wondered just how much starch he used to put such a board up his back and stick
up his arse.
Robyn
sat beneath him, frozen and incapable of conscious thought. Fear trickled
into her system. Again, the intensity of his stare and the luminosity of
his pale eyes captured her, making her feel exposed before him.
“Nobody
comes here, so why would you?” Andrew continued, his lips a thin line.
Robyn
felt the weight of Andrew’s loathing. What did Kat see in him? She
may have had an unexpected and unwanted reaction to Andrew’s touch before, but
without it, she could see more clearly. This was a man
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