All of a sudden, the water seemed to turn to ice! No wonder! She thought she'd felt that uncanny uneasiness one is apt to feel when being surreptitiously watched.“My goodness, Nick, you nearly gave me a heart attack!’’ Katie snapped in a panic, failing in a desperate attempt to reach for her robe, or at least cover herself.A part of her consciousness chided her for being so silly. After all, she wasn't naked. She was putting on a ‘very appropriate’ two piece bathing suit. “And nothing more!” A naughty voice chipped in, flawing her newly built armor of confidence before it was even fully on.Katie gasped in a quick breath, forcing herself to relax, yet she still shyly dunked upper body into the water so only from her shoulders upward were left exposed. If only she'd seen the amused look on Nick's face at her little panicky display of shyness.Unknown to her, he'd seen it all already.At first he was a little surprised when he sighted Katie coming over to the pool. He'd been right t
Katie's nightmare started like this. She was bolting full force across a deserted little road, in the midst of a violent storm. It was the middle of the night. A furious gale ripped at every tree and bush in sight. The pace at which she fled mirrored the pounding of her own heart in her rib cage. She was terrified of something…someone. Not far behind, a bearish growl of a voice cut through the storm. Menacing. Urgent. Advancing swiftly. “Don't let her escape!” It yelled. Her lips were quivering, and it had nothing to do with the ice-cold water drenching her from head to toe. Katherine dashed around a street corner and faltered. She'd run into a dead-end courtyard full of shops. “Looks like you've got nowhere else to run eh, bitch?’’ The monsterous voice called out suddenly. No time to backup! The dread that sliced through her was enough to drive her already tasked heart to cardiac arrest. Instead her body froze, and for a moment every other sound- but the rain pelting down
In no time they had all their swim gear on and were ready to dive. Katie had seen how beautiful the waters of Conrad Island from above. Now she got to see them from beneath. It was a wonderful warm day. The water shone a lovely turquoise-jade green color. “You ready?” Nick asked, and she nodded. She'd been hesitant to go snorkeling in the beginning, so why was she so excited now?“Let's stay close to each other just in case, okay?” He added, and then he put on his snorkel. Katherine dove in first, and then a second splash from above told her Nick was in too. They'd been submerged for less than an hour, and it was already a daydream. From colorful tropical fish, to seahorses, sea turtles and beautiful coral, there was much to see in the waters of Conrad Island. This underwater adventure was the most wonderful thing she done in all her life!Katie knew that these moments with Nick would be branded in the warmest part of her memory. The experience was sublime!It came as a mild surpri
This time, Katie cried out in fear. Nick swiftly caught her to himself. She buried her face in the crook of his neck. “It's alright, Katie. It's going to be alright.” He tenderly whispered. He held her tightly to himself as she sobbed softly. “Just don't move. Remain as still as possible.”Katherine bit down so hard on her lower lip She was certain if she didn't let go she would taste blood. In her mind, she could already see a mental picture of the horrible ways many of the victims of these monsters had died. Most of them being from all the horror movies she liked to watch. Was she going to die in such a gory manner as well, now? Through her state of panic, she felt Nick's hand soothingly running up and down her back, and she relaxed a little. She found herself nestling further into him, her face well hidden in the crook of his neck, his body temperature so warm and inviting to her skin when compared to the coolness of the water surrounding them. Instead of the doom looming roun
The fire was so intense it was horrifying. Acrid smoke so thick that Nicholas could not see two inches in front of himself covered everything. It watered his sore stinging eyes and filled his lungs. Nicholas coughed. He inhaled deeply, his body seeking fresh air but instead his nose was filled with the same choking fume and he almost convulsed. "Anna! Anna!" He screamed his sister's name out loud. The building shook terribly and some ceiling boards showered down to the floor burning with sulphur yellow fire. Nicholas crawled towards the door. It seemed the smoke filling the entire room was coming from underneath it. He could feel the biting heat around him intensify. A roar as of a thousand thunders sounded from the other side of the door indicating something had just exploded, and the door was engulfed in flames. He screamed. Nicholas crawled away from the snarling flames and curled himself into a ball at a corner of the room. Fear. Untainted fear. The kind of fear that automatically
Twelve years later. Katherine Cooper threw open the door to her uncle's apartment and tried to switch on the light. The dimness in the room assured her that the power had been cut off again because they were delaying payment. Shaking her head in self pity, she groped and drew open all the curtains in the living room to let in enough light. She reached into her bag and brought out a beautiful jade jar. A tear made its way down her face as she set it on the table. Inside that jar was the cremated remains of uncle Jonathan. When her parents had died in a car accident on her tenth birthday, he was the one who took her in. When uncle Jonathan had told her that her parents had died twelve years ago, she'd argued, and yelled, and cried but he was there for her through it all. He was the only one she had left. And now he was gone. Katie had never felt so useless in all her life. Uncle Johnathan didn't have much, but the little he had he gave all to her. He had deprived himself of quality med
Katherine Cooper took extra care in looking her best the next day. She wanted to make a good impression on her first day. The weather was extra chilly so she made sure to wear a coat over her clothes. A taxi passed by, then the bus Katie was to board to her new place of work came hobbling towards the bus stop. Just when it pulled over and opened it's doors, Katherine changed her mind. She decided to walk, after all Cole Corp. was not that far from her home. The bus fare wasn't a significant amount of money, but if she saved that paltry sum everyday it would certainly amount to something substantial and the more she saved, the closer she would come to paying off the accumulated rent for the house. Two years before uncle Jonathan had died, their landlord had increased the rent to a ridiculously outrageous sum. He had used their own sentiment against them, giving them two options- leave immediately, or pay up. Due to the fact that her parents had died so long ago and when she was still
Katherine Cooper had been anxious to see the owner of that office space ever since she set eyes on it so when the next day came quickly, she was very relieved. Just as she walked in, a black car pulled into the parking lot. Katherine's jaw dropped. From its design, to it's windows, even down to the headlamps, everything about the model of this car screamed latest brand. The only place she'd seen a car this expensive was in magazines or on TV. She watched, lost in trance until the car slowed down to a halt at a reserved parking space. The windows were tinted so she could not see who was inside. Katie felt her heartbeat accelerate at the mere thought. The driver inside, whoever he was, first turned off the ignition and Katherine waited, her breath ceased, for a time that seemed so long to her that she began to wonder if the person inside would come out at all. Then, as if taunting her, the door at the driver's side slowly opened. Nothing more happened for a moment, then a foot clad in
This time, Katie cried out in fear. Nick swiftly caught her to himself. She buried her face in the crook of his neck. “It's alright, Katie. It's going to be alright.” He tenderly whispered. He held her tightly to himself as she sobbed softly. “Just don't move. Remain as still as possible.”Katherine bit down so hard on her lower lip She was certain if she didn't let go she would taste blood. In her mind, she could already see a mental picture of the horrible ways many of the victims of these monsters had died. Most of them being from all the horror movies she liked to watch. Was she going to die in such a gory manner as well, now? Through her state of panic, she felt Nick's hand soothingly running up and down her back, and she relaxed a little. She found herself nestling further into him, her face well hidden in the crook of his neck, his body temperature so warm and inviting to her skin when compared to the coolness of the water surrounding them. Instead of the doom looming roun
In no time they had all their swim gear on and were ready to dive. Katie had seen how beautiful the waters of Conrad Island from above. Now she got to see them from beneath. It was a wonderful warm day. The water shone a lovely turquoise-jade green color. “You ready?” Nick asked, and she nodded. She'd been hesitant to go snorkeling in the beginning, so why was she so excited now?“Let's stay close to each other just in case, okay?” He added, and then he put on his snorkel. Katherine dove in first, and then a second splash from above told her Nick was in too. They'd been submerged for less than an hour, and it was already a daydream. From colorful tropical fish, to seahorses, sea turtles and beautiful coral, there was much to see in the waters of Conrad Island. This underwater adventure was the most wonderful thing she done in all her life!Katie knew that these moments with Nick would be branded in the warmest part of her memory. The experience was sublime!It came as a mild surpri
Katie's nightmare started like this. She was bolting full force across a deserted little road, in the midst of a violent storm. It was the middle of the night. A furious gale ripped at every tree and bush in sight. The pace at which she fled mirrored the pounding of her own heart in her rib cage. She was terrified of something…someone. Not far behind, a bearish growl of a voice cut through the storm. Menacing. Urgent. Advancing swiftly. “Don't let her escape!” It yelled. Her lips were quivering, and it had nothing to do with the ice-cold water drenching her from head to toe. Katherine dashed around a street corner and faltered. She'd run into a dead-end courtyard full of shops. “Looks like you've got nowhere else to run eh, bitch?’’ The monsterous voice called out suddenly. No time to backup! The dread that sliced through her was enough to drive her already tasked heart to cardiac arrest. Instead her body froze, and for a moment every other sound- but the rain pelting down
All of a sudden, the water seemed to turn to ice! No wonder! She thought she'd felt that uncanny uneasiness one is apt to feel when being surreptitiously watched.“My goodness, Nick, you nearly gave me a heart attack!’’ Katie snapped in a panic, failing in a desperate attempt to reach for her robe, or at least cover herself.A part of her consciousness chided her for being so silly. After all, she wasn't naked. She was putting on a ‘very appropriate’ two piece bathing suit. “And nothing more!” A naughty voice chipped in, flawing her newly built armor of confidence before it was even fully on.Katie gasped in a quick breath, forcing herself to relax, yet she still shyly dunked upper body into the water so only from her shoulders upward were left exposed. If only she'd seen the amused look on Nick's face at her little panicky display of shyness.Unknown to her, he'd seen it all already.At first he was a little surprised when he sighted Katie coming over to the pool. He'd been right t
After moments of anticipation, Katherine was fully aware of where they were going before their plane touched down in Malè, the Maldives. But where exactly in the Maldives were they going? That part, to a great extent, remained a mystery as Nick refused to spill the beans no matter how deviously she coaxed. Eventually, Katie gave up, leaving the answers to her questions to be provided by time. A part of her was still having a hard time believing that everything she'd experienced in the last two days was real, and not just another sweet dream. The Maldives was such a ‘hot’ place to be. Recently, a friend of hers had returned from her ‘picture perfect’-as she'd described it, honeymoon in a special resort in the Maldives, and she'd said it was so romantic. Actually, now that she thought about it, her friend wasn't the only one. Everyone was talking about how great a vacation to the Maldives was. Much so that even she, curious for a personal experience of such a dreamy place, had p
Katie couldn't explain why her heart skipped a beat as soon as a knock finally sounded on her door early that morning. Perhaps, it was because she'd been anticipating it since she had an early rise by six. Maybe it was for some other reason, either way she couldn't tell why.Dashing up from her bed, she skidded to a halt at the large dressing mirror, taking a moment to scrutinize her appearance.Kate pushed back a loose strand of hair behind her ears, and by then another knock sounded. Hurrying off to the door full of smiles, she dragged it open and her face fell.The cheery gray eyes staring back at her were those of a stranger.“Good morning, miss.” “Good morning.” Katherine replied dryly. The young hotel attendant flushed at her tone. “Oh. I'm so sorry. Were you expecting someone else?” She asked. She was quite calculative. Katie affected a small smile. “No, it's fine. What are you here for?” “Oh. W-well, since it's late enough for you to be awake, I was sent to ask what you'd
"Did I say our? I meant your hotel room." He said, smirking at the breath of relief she let out in that instant. "Unless you prefer we made it ours?" He teased, lowering his face to hers. Nick chuckled at the bright red color she turned in that instant. Easing the door open, he parted way for her to enter, before going in after her. The match had just begun by the time they'd arrived the massive stadium and Kate could already feel thrilled.Surprisingly, everywhere was already packed with mostly Emiratirs. A few foreigners poked out here and there too. Nick had somehow gotten them VIP seats with the most wonderful view of the pitch.No sooner had they taken their seats that the match kicked off with frenzied excitement. Katie kept a steady flow of comments the entire time, unable to hide her excitement. Meanwhile Nick remained silent, watching intently all the while."Which team do you think is doing better?''Katie tapped his hand gently, her excited face beaming with smiles. Turni
Katie woke up to the sound of the P.A. announcing that the plane would be touching down soon. Instinctively her eyes moved to the side in search of Nick, but to her surprise he wasn't there. Then how was it that the earthy scent of him was all around her? Looking down, Katie realized his suit jacket was over her. He must have put it over her when she'd slept in case she got cold. Katherine knew she was crazy to think this, but a part of her was willing to be deluded for the sweetness of it. It was so enthralling to know that somehow, in some way, Nick cared about her. She sat up at once, turning her head from side to side in search of Nick, slightly concerned. Thankfully she caught sight of him coming back towards their seats in a moment. "You're finally awake, sleeping beauty." He teased, a sarky gloss to the edge of his tone. "I was thinking you were going to remain that way until I woke you with true love's first kiss." He continued, and Katie snorted out a laugh to hide her t
By now some of the other security guards had smelt a rat and were all rushing towards them already because they'd started attracting attention. Katherine was barely a few heartbeats from pouncing on Nicholas Smith when the security guard pulled her back by the collar. "Katie, when did you leave my side?! I've been looking for you all over!'' He said with affected concern and they both froze. Katie in bewilderment, the security guard to see who it was that spoke."You know this woman, sir?" He asked, turning to Nick now. "Yes. She's with me." Nick answered, going round the width of him so that he was now standing directly beside Kate.In a twinkling, his quick hand snaked itself around her waist and firmly pulled her body to his. Letting out a gasp in shock, Katie whipped her head to the side as soon as she felt his hand burn a sizzling hot path along the cool material of her dress. "Can you not play along just once!" He subtly hissed into her ear, his warm breath tickling the sensi