“You’re a great swimmer, aren’t you?”
“I swim almost every day,” he told her, drying his head and shoulders. Her gaze on him was making his skin catch fire. He threw the towel around his neck and let the rest of his body air dry.
“I’m not great at swimming, as you can tell, but I enjoy it, when I can do it.”
“As long as you’re having fun, it doesn’t matter how well you swim, does it?” he made eye contact, holding her gaze as he asked, “Did you have fun?”
She lowered her lashes for a moment before nodding. “Yes, I did. Thank you.”
He reached across to take her hand, needing the physical touch like he needed his next breath. “Nothing to thank me for. We’re rediscovering what it means to be on vacation, remember?”
“True. Do I have time to go back in for another swim?”
He glanced down at his watch. “Only if I can join you.”
“I can’t stop you from doing anything you want to do, Niall,” she said, and then looked at him with a coy smile.
He laughed. “I’ll hold you to that,” he informed her before rising again and dropping his towel. “Last one in must pay for being a slow poke,” he declared, and ran off, dropping into the pool before she had managed to stand.
He laughed again when she slid in from the side and swam over to him, outraged at his cheating.
“You cheated!” she accused him. That’s not how races go!”
“He chuckled, holding her off as she tried to slap him. “My game, my rules,” he said, “Besides, you just finished telling me I can do whatever I want. I’m just following your rules as well!”
He could see her struggling not to laugh as she replied, “What do the British say? Oh yeah…cheeky bugger!”
Then she slapped the water, splashing him as she swam away, and he let her evade him for five minutes so he could listen to her laugh like a happy child. The he closed in and trapped her against the wall at the deep end. No one was at that end at the moment, and he wanted another kiss. If he were honest, he wanted to pull her body into his so he could show her how she had destroyed his control completely. She whimpered when he slid against her, letting his burgeoning hardness brush against her thigh.
“Niall…”
She looked up at him with a plea in her eyes, leaving her sentence unfinished. He refused to let her avoid him.
“What do you need, Willa Mae?” he asked, leaning in to breathe into her ear. “Tell me.”
“I need you to remember your promise,” she said breathily, and the puffs of air warmed his neck as she hid her face from him.
“And what exactly did I promise?” he asked, not letting up on the seduction. He didn’t care that they were in a public place, that anyone looking in their direction would think they were canoodling. For the next ten days, she was his woman, and he was allowed to let the world know that in any way he chose.
“You promised to behave until I asked you not to. And I just did.”
He noticed that even though he kept pressing against her, she hadn’t tried to move away from him or push him away from her and her body was tight with tension. She wanted him. He knew it as surely as he knew his own name.
“No. You asked me to remember my promise. And I do. I’m just waiting for you to ask for what you want.”
“Niall, please…”
“What do you want, Willa Mae?” He kissed her cheek even as he slid his hands down to her bottom and squeezed those cheeks gently, pulling her more into his body.
Her breath shuddered out from between her lips, and finally, she managed a feeble push against his chest. “I need you to let me go, Niall. Please.”
Immediately he moved away, releasing her, but before he swam off, he said, his voice tight with unrealized need, “Okay…but is it what you want, lass?”
Then he swam off, powerful strokes taking him to the other side of the pool. Back and forth he went until his body calmed. Then he hauled himself up and went to where she was waiting, her coverall once again in place. He dried off hurriedly without looking at her and they walked silently back to their suite where she disappeared into her bathroom almost immediately, leaving him shivering in the cold sitting room.
After his shower, he unpacked and chose a pair of pale slacks and a dark-blue button-down shirt with short sleeves. He brushed his still-damp hair, preferring to let it air dry, dabbed on some cologne, and went to wait for her. When she walked into the room, he smiled widely. It was as though they had planned their outfits together. The blue dress she wore was the same color as his shirt, and the sexy high-heeled stilettos on her feet were a matching blue. She wore silver jewels to enhance her look, and had let her braids fall down her back.
“You’re gorgeous,” he told her, not willing to play games this time. “I’ll be the envy of every other man tonight.”
He leaned in to kiss her cheek and the sweet fragrance of her perfume washed over him. He inhaled deeply, wanting to keep her inside in any way he could.
“And you smell delicious,” he added after a second slow inhale. “Will you let me kiss you now?”
“Niall…”
“I promise I won’t ravish you until we get back,” he said, only half teasing. “But I need to taste you, and after all, you did lose the race.”
“It was an unfair race,” she huffed, but a smile played about her lips.
“You’re glad you lost,” he told her. “Admit it.”
“Just shut up and kiss me,” she demanded, and then slapped a hand over her mouth at the words she had let slip through.
Niall obliged, not even waiting to savor his triumph, but driving into her mouth with passion and desire, searching out her wary tongue and owning it, owning her mouth, wishing he could own her body.
“Sweet baby Jesus!” she exclaimed, pulling away from him.
“Sweet indeed, mo leannan.” He didn’t know where the endearment had come from, and he hoped she wouldn’t ask what it meant. He had to figure out what was happening to him before he told her anything.
“Let’s go.”
He ushered her out of the suite and down to a cab that took them to the fancy Japanese eatery he had booked a table in. He told her the choices that he thought she would like, and after they placed their orders, he sat back, sipping the glass of water provided. She was as tightly wound as anything, and he could see she was a breath away from bolting. He didn’t want that. He wanted her to want what was unfolding between them. It was sweet, romantic, and hot as ever.
“Niall…”
“Willa Mae…” A pause, as they spoke together, and then he said, “Ladies first.”
“I don’t mean to lead you on,” she said, and his heart cracked wide open.
She was worrying about what he might think of her after their afternoon together and the way she had retreated from him. No woman of his acquaintance had ever had that issue. They had all been confident women, knowing exactly what they wanted from him and how to get it. And once they had had their fill, they had moved on. It meant a great deal to him that Willa Mae wasn’t like that, that she cared what he thought of her, that she wanted to preserve a common respect between them.
“Never fear, sweet lady. I know. I am getting to know you more every day, and I think I have already seen who you are inside.”
Her shoulders visibly dropped, and she exhaled sharply. “Thank you.”
It was a whispered sound of gratitude, and Niall wanted to hold her until she was calm. He held her hand instead, and nodded. “You’re welcome.”
“So, what were you going to say?” she asked after a long moment.
“Only that I am enjoying every moment I spend with you, and that I hope you are, too.” He looked deeply into her eyes before adding, “And I promise to try harder to behave. I want you to be comfortable with me.”
Their drink orders arrived just then and they each took a sip. Then she said, avoiding his eyes, “I am too comfortable already. It…it’s unusual.”
; “Does it frighten you to feel like this?”
He knew it frightened him to feel so out of control around her. He didn’t like feeling rudderless in the sea of emotions that being in her presence evoked in him. He didn’t like winging it, flying by the seat of his pants, as they said in this country. He wanted the power to rein in his feelings, to change the course of the events, and nothing so far was allowing that with Willa Mae. And yet, while he found it curiously terrifying, he loved the way it warmed him inside at the thought of her having such control over him. He had never had that with anyone else, either, this contradiction of emotion.
“I…yes, I suppose it does. I’m usually much more reserved and cautious.”
He sipped his drink. “Maybe we should just let this run its course. Whatever it is, we can’t seem to win against it, so why not enjoy it? See where it leads? We both know where we want it to go, but if you’re not ready for that, I am an adult. I can take no for an answer.” He chuckled. “It won’t be the first time.”
Her eyes widened in disbelief. “Really? You’ve had a woman tell you no?”
Niall laughed softly. “Don’t believe the hype. I’m just human, and I have to take my lumps like every other man.”
“That’s good to know,” she said with a grin.
Once the food arrived, they dug in, sharing with each other the choices they made, though she adamantly refused to try his soft shell crab or squid dishes. They finished a bottle of wine together, and once the bill was paid, they left for the circus. Happily, their seats weren’t too close to the clowns, but he knew she was enjoying herself by her enthusiastic applause, the way she leaned in to show him something she especially liked, the way her laughter at the clowns’ antics bubbled up uninhibitedly. He found himself watching her almost as much as he watched the show. At the end of it, when she asked him what his favorite part had been, he couldn’t answer; because his favorite part had been watching her eyes light up, listening to her laugh, wishing he could suck on her lips again.
“I…I can’t choose,” he hedged. “They were all quite good.” he was glad when she didn’t call him on being so vague.
“This was fun, Niall,” was all she said. “Thank you.”
“Would you like to stop in the store? A souvenir might be a lovely thing.”
“Niall, you don’t have to…”
“We’ve already had this discussion. I do what I want to do. Would you like a souvenir?”
“It would prove to Jill that I was actually here doing something fun, and not just not coming in to work, but holed up in my house.”
Niall laughed. “Is that something you would have done?”
“Probably, if I procrastinated enough.”
They had reached the store level by this point, and he ushered her inside. He didn’t want anything in particular, but he watched as she hovered over mugs and keychains and shirts. Finally she picked up three things…a mug, a keychain and a fridge magnet. She insisted on paying for the mug.
“It’s a gift,” she said. “I won’t have you paying for my gifts to other people.”
Back in the hotel suite, she scurried to her room after pretending to be too tired to stay up and watch television with him. He let her run away. The day had been intense emotionally, and they hadn’t really fully recovered from the long train ride. Both of them needed time to come to terms with the new stage in their growing friendship. Niall wanted more than a few stolen kisses from her. He was now ready to admit he wanted her as a lover. But he knew she still had doubts. He would just have to settle her doubts. He had nine days, and then he had to go home.
Chapter Eleven: Giving In
Willa Mae was exhausted. Between the long train ride and the almost two hours of swimming and playing in the pool earlier, she had used up all her store of energy. She would need to go to bed soon. But first, she wanted to leave Niall’s gift where he would see it in the morning when he woke up. Which would mean going into his bedroom while he was asleep. She admitted that she wanted to see him asleep. He had seen her sleep twice. She thought it only fair if he returned the favor, even if he didn’t know he was doing it.
And she admitted that she wanted him. Her whole body craved him. Earlier, in the pool, when he had backed her into the corner at the deep end, she had wanted desperately to open her legs, and angle her hips so that the erection she had felt pressing against her could settle between her thighs and rub her needy places. It had been the hardest thing she had ever done to push him away. But she knew that what they were doing could only be described as foreplay. The act before the main event. And oh how she wanted there to be one.
But she still didn’t know him well enough, and what she knew of him did not bode well for any kind of long-term relationship. She wasn’t looking for a fuck buddy. She wanted someone in it of the long haul. Niall would be returning to Scotland in another week or so. Where did that leave her? Better to keep it in the friend zone, to enjoy the flirting and the occasional hot kiss, and to keep her heart intact. Just as she was sure he would be doing.
Shaking her head, she put the mug and note back on her side table and went to bed. She needed to avoid him as much as she could until she was clearer in her head. A good night’s sleep would put everything in perspective. She fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, and didn’t wake until her phone buzzed. She yawned and reached for it, but she had missed the call. Checking the recent calls, she saw it had been her grandmother. Flipping over onto her back, she redialed the number and stifled another yawn when her grandmother answered.
“Good morning, Grannie,” she said.
“Good mornin’, child. Did I wake you?”
“Yes, ma’am, but it’s okay.” She held the phone away from her face so she could yawn again.
“I got your message and wanted to call before you came and I wasn’t here. I’m goin’ on an overnight trip and won’t be back until tomorrow evening. So I wanted to let you know, and to see if you’d like to come in the afternoon on the day after.”
“Sure, Grannie. I’m on holiday, so I can come whenever you like.”
“That’s good. Are you on your own?”
Willa Mae laughed. Her grandmother was always trying to set her up with some man she knew who provided services for the old folk in her facility.
“I don’t need a date, thank you, Grannie. I’m perfectly capable of finding my own man.”
“Seems to me you’ve forgotten how to find one, since I haven’t heard you talk about a man in forever! What are you waiting for, girl?”
“The right man to come along?” Willa Mae quipped. Her mind went immediately to the man in the other bedroom, and to the fact that they were sharing a suite but not a bed, at her insistence.
“Haven’t you learned anything from me, girl?” You can’t be sittin’ there waitin’ for him to come along. You need to be out there lookin’ for him, trackin’ him down and reelin’ him in!”
Willa Mae laughed again. “Oh Grannie, you make it sound so easy.”
“”It is!” her grandmother said impatiently. Stop makin’ a production out of things and just get it done! You spend too much time behind your eyelids, and not enough time in front of them.”
“Okay, Grannie. Have fun and take pictures.”
“I’ll see you on Friday, child.”
After she rang off, Willa Mae lay still in bed thinking about what her grandmother had said. She knew she was an over thinker when it came to men and to her feelings, but she didn’t want to be the woman who kept falling in love for the wrong man. She also didn’t want to be the slut, opening her legs to anyone with a penis because she was horny. She was right to be cautious.
She hopped in the shower and it finished waking her up. Deciding that today would be a sundress day, she slipped on a bright yellow spaghetti-strapped maxi dress, black gladiator sandals and gold accessories, pinned her hair up and went out to face the man whom she was afraid to care for.
Niall was already sitting at the table r
eading on his tablet. He looked up as she walked in, and his eyes warmed. Dimples appeared in his cheeks as he smiled a welcome.
“Good morning,” he said. “Did you sleep well?”
“Like a log,” she replied. “you?”
“Yes, I did, as well and now I’m starving. There’s room service if you don’t feel like going out so soon, or we can visit one of the restaurants in the resort that’s open for breakfast.”
“Well, since we aren’t going to be seeing my grandma until Friday, I’m happy to start my day now with breakfast in the hotel restaurant. But then we need to get some groceries.”
Scottish Swag Page 12