Excerpt: THE COLOUR OF DESIRE

Her knock sounds even louder than the soft hum of the sea when Cara lifts her tired hand to the old oak front door. Strange, but there’s no door bell, but then, this is probably not a problem in a town like Thorn Bay, where everyone is a neighbour. Yet, she must admit that she just assumed that this is a guest house, since it is standing alone, pretty much isolated from the rest of the main road, it’s garden a lush wonder of green, its gates an open invitation. As to strengthen her resolve, Cara knocks again, the fatigue now closing in on her with determined leaps. But the door remains closed, as if to spell out just how lost and alone she really is. The tears that she swallowed back over the past six hours now threaten to break free from her firm hold, and it’s with a deep breath that she swallows the flood of hysteria back, staring up at the dark windows of her haven. Then, the door opens, a bright light falling over her as if to pull her back to reality. For a moment she is totally blinded by it, so when the voice assaults her ears, she has no idea of the face behind it. “Please don’t tell me you are another one of those reporters! I will have you forcefully removed from my property, so just get lost, right now! You have exactly 60 seconds to do so, or I swear you’ll regret ever putting a toe on my land!” Cara’s gaze moves slowly upwards, a journey that takes quite a while, since the angry volcanic male in front of her is taller than most men she seems to know! To make matters worse, the tall frame has broad shoulders, a feature that would have set Cara’s pulses racing if she wasn’t so caught up in the claws of catastrophic circumstances. When her gaze finally meets that of the man opposite her, a chill runs through her, icy and cold, bringing goose flesh to her exposed arms. The eyes are blue, and if they weren’t so cold, she would have described them as arty eyes, the sort of eyes that makes you think of a calm blue pool on a wind still day, the sort of eyes that would make a girl want to buy the kitchen curtains and go on the pill. But the eyes had none of the attraction in them that would have made them so truly irresistible! They were eyes that fought a very cold war, and at this moment in time, she was an unwilling opponent. “This is not a guest house?” Her voice sounds strange to even her, as if she was asleep for a long time. Angry Eyes glare openly at her now, strong hands folding together, as if they would much rather want to fold around her neck. “Is there any indication that this might be a guest house?” The deep voice sounds even deeper now, the words a clipped, aggressive thrust in her direction. Cara stiffens, pulling her back straight, her blood rushing to her face in a sudden force of raging anger. “Are you always so bloody rude!” she exclaims, her hands trembling as she gestures towards him. “I made a mistake ok, I never would have bothered you if I thought about what I was doing, but that gives you no right to treat me like I’m mud under your shoes! I suggest you change your attitude pal, or even better, go take a dive in the ocean and don’t surface for at least 24 hours, it might cool you down!”