‘Thanks,’ I said and disappeared inside, locking the door firmly behind me.
‘Wow!’ I said out loud as I looked around. He wasn’t wrong about the room being ‘prepared’. I surveyed the super-king-size bed made up with big fluffy pillows and a soft duvet – all in white, of course. But clean white, that I just knew didn’t have any stains left over from other people. There was a big flat-screen TV behind shutters that you could close if you didn’t want to be reminded of the outside world, seriously tasteful Thai art, and when I touched the walls, I realised they were covered in silk. Dumping my rucksack on the teak-wood floor, I searched inside it for my shower gel, then padded into what I presumed was the bathroom, but turned out to be a walk-in wardrobe. Trying another door, I found myself in a room that had a power shower and a massive sunken bath set against a wall of glass, beyond which was a little garden full of bonsai trees and pretty flowering plants that Star would know the names of, but I didn’t. The whole thing was shielded by a high wall so that nobody could spy on you as you bathed.
I was sooo tempted to run a bath and sink into it, but I felt that would be taking advantage. So I turned on the shower and scrubbed every part of me until my skin was tingling. I needn’t have bothered searching for my shower gel, as there was an entire range of luxury body products from some posh eco brand sitting on a marble shelf.
After emerging from the shower – even though I wouldn’t want anyone to know it, as I was so anti those lotions and potions that women got conned into buying – I creamed my body to the max with everything on offer. Unwrapping the towel from my head, I shook out my hair and noticed how long it had grown. It was just touching my shoulders and fell around my face in ringlets.
Star had always gone on about how much better I looked with longer hair. Ma had called it my crowning glory, but at sixteen I’d had the lot cut off into a short crop because it was so much easier to maintain. If I was being honest, it had also been an act of rebellion and petulance. As if to show the world I didn’t care what I looked like.
I dragged my hair back from my face and held it on the top of my head. It actually made a ponytail for the first time in years, and I wished I had a hairband with which to tie it up.
I padded through to the bedroom and looked longingly at the big bed. After double-checking that the door was still locked, I donned my T-shirt and climbed up onto it. Just ten minutes, I told myself, as I lay my head on the downy white pillows . . .
*
I was woken abruptly by a loud banging. I sat up, having absolutely no idea where I was. It was pitch black and I searched blindly for a light. I heard something crash to the floor, and I rolled out of bed in a panic.
‘Are you okay?’
I followed the sound of the voice and felt for the door with my palms. My muddled brain finally registered where I was, and who was knocking.
‘I can’t find the keyhole, and it’s very dark in here . . .’ I said.
‘Just use your hands to feel for the key. It’s right there in front of you.’
The voice calmed me and I searched just below my middle, as that was usually where a door had a lock. My fingers felt for, then grabbed, the key and after a few attempts I managed to turn it, then reached for the handle.
‘It’s unlocked,’ I called, ‘but I still can’t open the door.’
‘Stand back and I’ll open it for you.’
The room was suddenly awash with light and I managed to breathe again as relief flooded through me.
‘Sorry about that,’ he said as he entered the room. ‘I’ll have to get someone to come and fix the handle. It’s just got stiff because it’s not been used for a while. You okay?’
‘Yeah, sure.’ I sat down on the bed, taking in deep gulps of air.
The Werewolf studied me silently for a while.
‘You’re afraid of the dark, aren’t you? That’s why you like sleeping outdoors.’
He was right, but I wasn’t going to admit it. ‘Course not. I just woke up and didn’t know where I was.’
‘Right. Sorry to frighten you, but it’s nearly seven o’clock in the evening. You’ve slept for almost twelve hours. Wow, you must have been tired.’
‘I was. Sorry.’
‘That’s okay. Are you hungry?’
‘I don’t know yet.’
‘If you are, Tam’s making supper. You’re welcome to join me on the main terrace.’
‘Tam?’
‘The chef. It’ll be ready in about half an hour. See you then.’
He left the room and I swore loudly. A whole day gone! Which meant I’d almost certainly lost the booking at my new hotel when I hadn’t turned up at lunchtime to check in. To add to it, because I’d slept so long, I’d have to go through jet lag all over again, plus my weird werewolf host probably thought I was special needs or something.
Why was he being so nice to me? I wasn’t stupid enough to think there wasn’t an ulterior motive. After all, he was a man and I was a woman . . . at least to some people. But then, if that was what he wanted, it would mean he fancied me, which was beyond ridiculous.
Unless he was desperate and anybody would do.
I dressed in a kaftan I didn’t like because it was almost a dress, but it was all I had, given most of my clothes were still at the laundry. Once outside, I surreptitiously locked the door behind me and hid the key in the planter next to it, because my world was in that rucksack.
This place was probably even more beautiful at night than in the day. Lanterns hung from the low roofs, giving out a soft light, and the water around the onyx Buddha was lit from beneath. There was a fabulous scent of jasmine from the massive planters, and even better than that, I could smell food.
‘Over here!’
I saw an arm waving at me from the terrace in front of the main pavilion.
‘Hi,’ he said, indicating a chair.
‘Hi. Sorry I slept so long today.’
‘Never apologise for sleeping. I wish I could.’
I watched him sigh deeply, and then, as I really didn’t think I could carry on calling him the Werewolf, considering he’d been – so far anyway – kind to me, I asked him his name.
‘Didn’t I tell you the other day?’
‘No,’ I said firmly.
‘Oh . . . just call me Ace. What’s yours?’
‘CeCe.’
‘Right. A nickname, like mine?’
‘Yeah.’
‘What’s yours short for?’
‘Celaeno.’
‘That’s unusual.’
‘Yeah, my pa – the guy who adopted me – had this weird fixation with the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades. Like, the star cluster,’ I explained, as I usually had to.
‘Excuse me, sir, okay to serve now?’
The maid had appeared on the terrace, with a man wearing chef’s whites standing behind her.
‘Absolutely.’ Ace led me to the table. ‘What can I offer you to drink? Wine? Beer?’
‘Nothing, thanks. Just water’ll be fine.’
He poured us both a glass from the bottle on the table. ‘Cheers.’
‘Cheers. Thanks for saving me today.’
‘No problem. As if I don’t feel bad enough living in this place all by myself, there’s you sleeping on the beach.’