Doctor Who_ Father Time - Lance Parkin [86]
‘Not that way.’ She laughed and skipped out into the road.
He could feel the knife weighing down his jacket pocket. He slipped his hand down, so casually she didn’t even register it.
He looked over at her, thinking how she was oblivious to her fate, oblivious to the danger she was in.
There was a car.
She was perched on the kerb, but she lost her footing.
Her eyes went wide as she began slipping back.
The car sounded its horn, started skidding to a halt.
It was going to hit her.
Ferran leapt forward, grabbed her arm, pulled her upright.
She hugged him, out of breath. He could feel her chest heaving on his, her breath on his neck.
‘You saved my life,’ Miranda said. She leaned in. Her eyes peered into him. It was one of her kind’s tricks. She was inside his mind, she knew him.
‘What’s the matter?’ she asked.
Ferran hesitated. She didn’t know. He blinked, sighed a little in relief.
Miranda slumped back, exasperated. ‘What?’ she asked, irritated.
He stared at her.
One swift stroke and this would be over.
He leaned in, imagining that he could hear and feel her hearts beating, faster than they should have been. His hand reached for the knife again. He felt his fingers tighten on the hilt.
He could feel the cool warmth of her body.
She looked him in the eye.
Her lips brushed his.
They were kissing.
* * *
And it was only when they broke away from each other, some time later, that Miranda realised she hadn’t been thinking for a while.
Ferdy was watching her, confused.
Bob had done the same after they’d kissed. But all Bob had done was realise she was kissing him as part of some experiment, not out of any passion. Bob had sensed her coldness towards him. With Ferdy everything had been different.
‘If you don’t want to...’ she began.
Ferdy looked into her eyes, which made her feel exposed. Then he moved forward, kissed her again, held her tight to him.
‘I want to,’ he said, sounding surprised at his decision.
They kissed, and Miranda found her hands were all over the place. Ferdy’s were, too, but she didn’t mind that at all.
‘Not here,’ she said, knowing they were getting carried away. ‘Do you have your own place?’
‘No,’ Ferdy admitted. ‘I have a car.’
She knew very little about him, Miranda realised. She wanted to. She corrected herself: she wanted to, but not yet.
Miranda looked deep into his eyes. ‘Why don’t we go to my place?’
* * *
Miranda lay on her bed, Ferdy leaning over her, kissing her, stroking her side.
They were taking their time, they’d agreed there was no rush.
Her dad and Mrs Castle were out. She’d known that as soon as she’d seen that the Trabant was missing from the driveway, but she’d done a sweep-search of the house, keeping Ferdy close by, anyway. Knowing they were alone, she’d led him upstairs.
They’d stood there, kissing, holding each other, in no doubt at all what they’d do next. A moment later they’d been on the bed, unable to keep their hands off each other.
Ferdy broke away from her mouth, and began to nuzzle her neck and collarbone. He loosened her tie and undid the top couple of buttons of her blouse to make it easier. She undid a couple more. Ferdy was confident, and that was steadying her own nerves a little. They shifted around a little, and the weight of him beside her on the bed felt normal, relaxing.
‘I love you,’ he told her, looking very intently at her.
‘No you don’t,’ she said, laughing.
He paused.
She strained to get a look at his face. ‘I’m sure you like me, I’m sure we’ll love each other. But we only met a few days ago. It’s not like it’s our destiny to be together. I don’t know anything about you, I don’t know where you’re from, whether you’ve done this sort of thing before.’ He looked worried. ‘There will be time for all that,’ she reassured him, hugging him.
Ferdy was looking down at her. Miranda didn’t feel at all shy: she felt more comfortable than