Escape

Emergency Room doctor, Lucy Grey, thought she had it all figured out. She had a great job, a flat in London, and a boyfriend who loves her. But one night at the hospital changes everything. On impulse, she runs away to Koh Tao, a small island off the coast of Thailand, hoping to figure out what to do with her life.

What she hadn’t bargained on is meeting dive instructor, Rudy. With big brown eyes and a lop-sided grin, he instantly takes her breath away. He helps her escape into a new, underwater world, but, as they grow closer, Lucy is riddled with guilt. Should she tell him about the boyfriend back home and her early mid-life crisis, or pretend to be someone she’s not? When a storm hits the island, Lucy has to make a decision.

But Rudy has secrets of his own and secrets drive people apart...

PLEASE NOTE: ALTHOUGH THIS NOVELLA CONTAINS SOME EROTIC ELEMENTS, THIS IS NOT EROTICA.

Escape is approximately 50K in length.

Excerpt:
I should tell him about Max, she thought. It was wrong that he’d gone to all this effort and him not know that she, albeit technically, still had a boyfriend back home. Because after all, Max was more than just a boyfriend, he wasn’t someone she only saw on weekends; they lived and worked together and before this week, spent all their free time together. By her sitting here with Rudy, she was being unfair to both him and Max.
When had she turned into such a bitch?
Tears threatened, but she didn’t know if they were because she felt bad about Max or because she hated the thought that after a few more days she would never see Rudy again.
“What’s the matter?” Rudy asked, noticing she had fallen quiet.
I’ve got a boyfriend.
She looked into his face, willing herself to say the words. But they refused to come. Whatever her brain shouted, her mouth refused to comply. She simply couldn’t imagine giving Rudy a reason to not want to spend time with her.
But Rudy didn’t allow her the time to talk herself into telling him the truth. Instead, he leaned in toward her. He paused for a moment, searching her eyes.
Lucy’s body seemed to have a mind of its own and she found herself leaning toward him, just a fraction of an inch, but enough to tell Rudy he was what she wanted, and he moved closer and kissed her.
His mouth pressed soft and tentative, against hers. She tasted salt on his lips and the faint hint of wine. His hand slipped around the back of her head, twining his fingers in the base of her hair, pulling her toward him. She melted into the kiss, loosened by the wine, and all thoughts of Max left her head.
Rudy lowered her down into the sand. His hand moved from her hair and slid down her waist, coming to rest on her hip. His naked chest pressed against her breasts, and her nipples hardened in response. His kiss grew deeper, his tongue gently teasing open her lips, finding her own, moist and warm.
Lucy moaned and sunk deeper down into the sand, and he crushed himself against her. His hand crept back up her body and he lifted himself slightly, his fingertips lightly trailing across her body, finding the swell of her breast and the sensitive nub of her nipple. He tweaked it lightly and heat spread down between her thighs.
The sensations suddenly filled her with panic. Realizing where she was and what she was doing, she sat up quickly and pushed him away, her palms pressing against his broad chest.
“No, I can’t,” she said, her cheeks burning. “I’m sorry.”