by Jillian Neal
“Come on. You two are driving him crazy,” he gestured to Dan.
“Oh, sorry,” Fionna grimaced as Dan glared at Rainer. He did not appreciate being called out. “Just girl stuff,” Fionna was extremely uncomfortable suddenly.
“It’s fine,” Dan assured her, but he was more intrigued with the fact that in one quick grab of Emily’s hand, Rainer had her. Emily’s attention was all his. She gazed at him adoringly, and Rainer returned the gesture. They could have been the only two people in the restaurant, or in the entire world, for that matter.
After picking up the ice cream menu, he leaned closer to Fionna. “They have a caramel chocolate, and I could help you with the sutra positioning when I get you back to the room,” he flirted shamelessly. With a wry smile, she shook her head and giggled.
“That sounds good, but we should try something we can only get here.” Her breath danced heatedly on the skin of his neck. His stomach clenched in hopeful anticipation.
Dan leaned and kissed her cheek. He was unable to help himself. The motion seemed to delight Fionna, and hope sprung once more in his heart.
“Let’s split one,” she urged.
Dan was well aware that this was a tactic of women’s to keep themselves from eating more calories than they thought they should. He decided to allow it for now. He didn’t want to call Fionna out on it.
“Sure, whatever you want,” he agreed as he recalled Rainer’s comment that Fionna and Emily had shared food and drink and, therefore, energy.
The waiter returned for their orders.
Rainer smiled, “Yeah, she’ll have vanilla with extra cherries, and I’ll just have a scoop of chocolate chip.” He hadn’t even had to ask Emily what she’d wanted.
“Uh,” Fionna looked uncomfortable as she studied the menu and Dan. “Do you want to try the hokey pokey?” she quizzed hopefully. Dan chuckled.
“Sure,” he shrugged. The waiter applauded Fionna’s choice by telling her that it was a local delicacy, but his eyes remained just a moment too long on Fionna’s chest once she’d turned back around.
Dan ground his teeth and shot the waiter a vexing glare. He got the message, and scooted away quickly to retrieve their ice cream.
As it turned out, Fionna’s choice was excellent; vanilla ice cream with candied honeycomb pieces in it.
Dan enjoyed the ice cream almost as much as he enjoyed watching Fionna devour it.
When she’d had enough of it that he could taste her energy in his bites, Dan was done for. He wanted her all to himself, and took to feeding her the ice cream just so he could taste the spoon after she’d had it in her mouth.
Fionna seemed delighted with the gesture, and Rainer nodded his approval.
47
Eager
The girls still wanted to try out the private heated pool, but Rainer had pled a nap, so they’d agreed to swim in a couple of hours.
As they returned to their suite, Dan debated. “Do you want to go out and see the city, or go down to the beach, or just hang out?” He was perfectly willing to do anything at all, as long as he got to spend every moment with her. “I promised to take you shopping, so we could do that.” He’d never had the desire to spoil a woman so thoroughly.
Fionna considered, and then that intoxicating grin spread across her face once again.
“You just want to see me topless,” she teased.
Dan chuckled. While nodding his agreement and giving her a cocky smile, he agreed, “Always.”
She giggled and glanced out to the pool and ocean beyond.
“I don’t know,” she hemmed. “The time difference is kind of crazy. I’m a little tired, too.”
Dan kicked off his shoes and pulled off his shirt. He tried not to be delighted at the way her eyes lit and instantly traced his chiseled pecs and abs whenever he did that. He moved to the largest couch in the sitting room of their suite, reclined against the arm, and gestured for her to join him.
“Come here to me.”
She slid off the sandals she was wearing, and moved to him. She sighed contentedly as she let him cradle her on his chest. He considered for a moment and then went on with his question.
“Uh, I’ve heard Garrett and Emily call you ‘Fi’. Can I call you that?”
He felt her smile against him. As she relaxed, he could pick up on more and more of her energy. It rolled in placid waves.
“Of course; everyone calls me that.” She cuddled her face deeper into his chest, and he kissed the top of her head.
“What did you ask Emily at the restaurant?” he quizzed and then clenched his jaw. He shouldn’t have asked. He wished he could take it back. He felt her cheeks flush against his chest. “You don’t have to tell me,” he feebly backtracked.
“No, it’s ok. I guess I didn’t really think about the fact that we’re spending the week together and sort of agreed to, kind of, maybe start a serious relationship, but we really don’t know much about each other.”
Suddenly worried that she was regretting her decision, Dan edged. He didn’t care for the ‘kind of, maybe’ portion of her declaration.
“Well, I would really like to know everything about you, but I’d be willing to take a crash course if you’re offering one.”
“Ok,” she chuckled. “I’m just scared that eventually I’m going to tell you something you don’t like,” she admitted, and he felt her energy seize as if her body was warning her off.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen, so why not give me a try?”
“Well,” she seemed to force herself to go on. She raised her head. He saw the blood pool quickly in her cheeks. “You promise not to think I’m like a sex addict or anything?”
He laughed out loud at her, which only made her blush more.
“Because that would be such a huge turn off,” he teased.
She rolled her eyes, and her blush grew even more pronounced.
“Ok, well, I kind of do things differently. I don’t usually sleep in anything. I believe it’s healthier not to. I think your skin and your soul need to breathe when you sleep.” Her body tensed and braced for rejection that certainly wasn’t coming. Dan willed her to understand that.
“And since my coming with you was kind of last minute, I forgot to pack the couple of nightgowns that I bought and used when we were in Brazil. I mean, I remembered stuff that I wanted to wear for you before, but I guess I sort of forgot the after part.” The admission seemed to have cost her quite a bit. She tucked her head back into his chest and hid from him.
Dan nodded. He cradled her tighter. He wanted her to know that he was already crazy about her. If what she was trying to tell him was that she was different from the duplicated drones he’d been banging, without thought or care for the last decade, then he needed her to understand that nothing in the world sounded better than that.
“Ok, I have several questions,” he probed. She raised her head hesitantly. “What did Emily have to do with all of that?”
“Oh,” Fionna seemed relieved with that particular question. “Well, I told her that I forgot my nightgowns because, you know, she already knew that I normally don’t wear anything to bed. At first, she said that you’d already offered to take me shopping, but I can’t actually let you buy me stuff like that,” she stated as if the very idea were preposterous. “And then she said that she thought she’d brought a nightshirt I could borrow, because she normally wears Rainer’s shirts to bed.”
Dan tried to decide what to ask first.
“Ok,” he hemmed, but was unable to find an appropriate place to begin. “I’m just gonna ask everything I’m thinking, and you answer whatever you want.”
“Ok,” Fionna giggled, probably at the desperation in his voice.
“First, why can’t I buy you stuff like that? Second, when I said a serious relationship, I meant that. If you normally sleep naked which, other than the fact that I assume some other guy has had the pleasure of you doing that with him, is a huge turn on,” he made her blush again, �
��then why can’t you sleep that way with me? You did last night, and it was incredible.” He sincerely hoped she’d found it just as exhilarating as he had.
“And if you were uncomfortable sleeping here with me like that, why don’t you just borrow one of my shirts?”
With another deep breath, she appeared to force herself to go ahead and complete her confession.
“Well, I was kind of trying not to show you what a spaz I am right off the bat. You know, maybe save that for after the second time we sleep together or something,” she teased.
He chuckled and shook his head.
“So, if I borrowed Emily’s shirt, then I wouldn’t have had to admit to you that I forgot mine; and as long as we’re taking Fionna 101, no I haven’t ever slept like that with another guy,” she sighed after her confession.
Dan waited. He knew there was more. She seemed to want to fill the silence, so she went on, “I, uh, I’ve never let a guy stay over with me before you, and I’m not into that whole walk of shame thing, so I always invite them to my house and then sort of make them leave.”
Everything she said brought about another round of questions Dan desperately wanted answered.
“Ok, well, first, I don’t think your forgetting something that you don’t normally use when I gave you approximately a half hour to pack, for a week long trip to the other side of the world, makes you a spaz.”
“I think I forgot my shaving cream, and I’ve had a week to pack.” The relief on her face made him continue. “And I’ve never stayed over with anyone either. I hope my asking didn’t put you in an uncomfortable position, but, honestly, Fionna, sleeping with you like that drove me wild. I wanted to hold you, and protect you, and keep you warm. I don’t want you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable, but, honey, I would be honored to hold you all night, every night we’re here. Naked in my arms sounds like absolute perfection to me,” Dan needed to tell her the truth
She looked overwrought. Her energy picked up. Dan could feel it as she lay against him.
“I was really happy you asked to stay,” she admitted hesitantly. “If you’d left, I would’ve cried for a long, long time.”
Her raw, tender confession touched Dan in the places that he’d thought were dead and gone, the places that she’d filled and soothed the night before. He held her tightly not certain what to say.
“I don’t ever want you to cry sweetheart, and…” he hesitated. His mind was at war with his heart and his soul. ‘She’ll make you feel, not just think. She’ll make you a better person if you’ll let her.’ Rainer’s words pierced through Dan’s reluctance. “Fi, I’d like to stay over or for you to stay at my house whenever you want.”
He was dumbfounded by the ease with which it rolled off of his tongue. That was the only way a relationship between the two of them would work, he reminded himself.
“Ok, you have to stop,” she sighed, and Dan’s entire body seized. He’d gone too far. He’d pushed further than she was ready. He started to backpedal, but she continued.
“I feel like I’m in this fantastic dream, and that I’m about to wake up and you’re not going to have said everything today that I’ve wanted you to say, and then I really am gonna cry.”
Utter relief flooded through him as he held her closely. He exhaled the bitter regret that had worked through him so quickly, and he allowed himself to breathe once again. Since she was providing him with information with relative ease, he kept up his questions.
“So, back to why I can’t buy you things like that…”
“Dan,” she scoffed and rolled her eyes. “You brought me here. I didn’t pay for my plane ticket or any part of this really nice suite. You wouldn’t even let me pay for my lunch. I can’t just let you take me shopping and buy me clothes for a week.”
He studied her incredulously.
“Baby doll, I asked you… no…” he changed course, “I begged you to come here with me. I meant what I said. I will take you out and buy you anything you want. You didn’t have to pack anything at all. I’m just thrilled you’re here.”
“Thank you, but you don’t need to spend money on me. I’m happy I’m here, too.”
As he thought over her response, he took a guess.
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that you make a whole lot more money than I do, would it?”
She grimaced. His assumption was correct, and some moron had given her hell over that before him. Anger bubbled in his gut.
“Guys get all weird about that,” she conceded.
Dan shook his head.
“Well, I don’t know who you’ve been with before me, but you’re an amazing athlete, and as I’m certain you are aware, the Angels make the city and the Realm quite a bit of money.”
“You should be paid well for what you do. It doesn’t bother me in the least, but when I asked you to be in a serious relationship, I meant I want you to be my girlfriend, and that means that when we go out, I pay.”
“If I coerce you into flying around the globe with me, then I get to buy whatever you need when we get there. And, as I am the guy who has to give legal approval to the Angels contracts, I know what you make. Just trust me, I make a good living being top of the food chain at Iodex, and for the past ten years or so, I’d say I’ve eaten ninety percent of my meals in the Senate cafeteria. My house is paid for. My bike is paid for. So, other than occasionally buying a bottle of Scotch, a few beers, and gas, I don’t spend much money. Let me spend some on you. Nothing would make me happier.”
She still seemed uncomfortable with the concept, but she shrugged her agreement.
“Actually, the first thing we have to buy you is a helmet,” he informed her with another wry grin. I could put her in a full helmet and feel her hold on tight while I take her for rides on my bike. No one would have a clue who was with me. This could work.
“Oh really,” she drawled.
“Really,” he nodded.
“You know, my car has two seats, and I don’t have to mess up my hair to ride in it,” she informed him sassily.
“Helmet hair is sexy, baby doll. Trust me.” He made her laugh, but his brain continued its negotiations. I can never ever be seen in her car with her.
Eventually, Fionna was yawning more than talking, and she fell asleep once again curled up on Dan’s chest. He debated momentarily and then eased her shirt up. This time, only enough for her stomach to be against his, so he could place his hands on the small of her back.
He closed his eyes and focused on her energy as she slept.
He wondered if all Gifted women felt so amazing if you got that close to them. Dan decided that they didn’t; it was only her.
As he began to understand the rhythms her body made, she once again, hypnotized him. She was happy, peaceful, and content in his arms.
He’d never felt anything so fulfilling as he held her in his protective embrace and watched her sleep.
48
The Chicken Queen
Dan and Fionna joined Rainer and Emily in the pool outside their suite. Emily was seated on the side, with her legs dangling in the water. Rainer was standing in the pool between her legs, smiling up at her.
Dan entered the pool via the steps, and offered his hand up to Fionna.
“Do you know how to swim?” he quizzed as she let him guide her in. She almost laughed, but she simply nodded instead.
Emily giggled. “Fi’s an amazing swimmer. She taught the kids at the orphanage while we were there. She’s like a mermaid.”
“Wow,” Dan smiled at Fionna. He let his voice take on an appropriately impressed tone. “You’ll have to tell me about Brazil.”
“It was amazing,” Fionna gushed and then turned to Emily. “I got a letter from Aida!”
“What did it say?” Emily begged. Whoever Aida was, she clearly meant a great deal to both women.
“It made me cry,” Fionna sighed. “She kept saying how much she missed us and wanting to know when we were coming back. I cried for
an hour before I could even write her back.”
Emily nodded her understanding. Rainer moved placidly through the water until he was right beside Dan.
“Really sweet little girl at the orphanage who they both fell head over heels for,” he informed Dan, who smiled his appreciation. “Ask Fi about it later. She’d like that.”
“Ok, let’s chicken fight,” Emily urged excitedly. Rainer shook his head at her. Fionna looked excited by the idea as she moved close enough to Dan to lean her head on his chest.
“You want to?” she pled.
“I’m good with anything that gets my head between your legs,” he murmured in her ear. She waggled her eyebrows as that adorable giggle echoed in the recesses of his soul.
After giving him a naughty wink that made him ache, Fionna spun away from him.
“Ok,” she chanted, “whichever couple wins gets to use the pool tonight all alone.”
Dan chuckled. He very much liked his odds in this scenario.
Rainer looked rather embarrassed, but Emily was extremely intrigued.
“Deal,” Emily agreed.
“We will never ever discuss this at work,” Rainer negotiated.
“Agreed,” Dan nodded his acceptance of the deal, with a chuckle.
With that, he dipped under the water and came up rather smoothly with Fionna seated on his shoulders.
Rainer attempted the same move, but Emily was distracted. As she tried to position herself on his shoulders, Dan continued to flirt shamelessly.
“So, tonight, after we win,” he informed Fionna, “I’m gonna do the same basic thing only I’m gonna turn you around.”
He felt Fionna’s abdomen clench in anticipation as she leaned down and murmured, “I can’t wait.”
Rainer edged towards Dan and Fionna, with Emily on his shoulders. Fionna and Emily were both laughing and attempting to trash talk, which Rainer and Dan both found hysterical.
Emily reached for Fionna, but Dan backed her away. Fionna laughed and stuck her tongue out at Emily.