“Thank you and may I offer you a ‘wow’, as well?” He asked, his eyes running over her with that glint that signaled the impending removal of her clothing. “Where’s the zipper on that dress?” She laughed and put both hands in front of her as she quickly put the sofa between them.
“Oh no, Mr. Secord, we’re going to go eat…”
“You read my mind…that’s exactly what I was thinking.” He waggled his brows at her teasingly, a lascivious grin shaping his mouth. She giggled and shook her head.
“We are going to the dining room. This is Michael Kors.” She said as she ran her hands lovingly over the body hugging sheath. He looked her over again and gave a low whistle of appreciation. He picked up her tiny evening bag from the sofa and handed it to her when they met at the door. His chocolate brown eyes gazed into hers for a moment before dropping a soft, lingering kiss on her mouth.
“You will be the envy of every woman in the room.” He said in a serious voice. She snorted, but he kissed her again. “And I will be the envy of every man because I’m with you.”
She laughed, blushing with pleasure as he opened the door and placing his palm in the small of her back, escorted her out to the waiting transport.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Dinner had been fabulous in the elegant main dining room and Ava had discovered Cian was as comfortable in this setting as he had been at Hal’s Place. She had loved watching every woman present look him over with varying degrees of appreciation; from young teenage girls with their parents to white-haired matrons, they all had noticed him as soon as they walked in. Cian being Cian was oblivious and wouldn’t have given it another thought if he had noticed. After they had dined on the sumptuous, gourmet fare, they had decided to try out the newly opened casino where they had each dropped several thousand dollars before laughingly giving up. Not ready to call it a night, they were having a nightcap at Slammin’ Sammy’s sports bar and checking out the poor Pittsburgh Pirates getting stomped by the Braves on one of the big screens. She had noticed several women checking Cian out when he had removed his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and loosened his tie before challenging her to a game of foosball. They had both laughed at her attempt to play foosball in four-inch stilettos. She had excused herself to the restroom and was adjusting her dress to leave the stall when she heard two laughing women entering the restroom. Her hand was on the knob when the sound of her name brought her to an abrupt halt.
“That’s Ava Talbot, one of those women that won that huge lottery a few years ago.” One woman was saying in a very condescending tone. “I guess that much money can buy you eye candy like that.” Both women snickered at the catty comment.
“He is gorgeous…I can’t imagine what he sees in her. But I can certainly see what she sees in him. Maybe he’s a gigolo.” The second female voice said in a snarky voice, causing more laughter. “I wouldn’t mind fattening his bank account; he looks like he could go all night.”
“You and me both. That would be the only way a woman like her could get a man like that. I mean, come on, she’s almost old enough to be his mother, for God’s sake.” The women’s jealous words hit Ava like a ton of bricks, immediately ruining her good mood. Before she thought better of it, she threw open the door to the stall and stalked out. The two women were in their mid to late twenties and had that over bred blueblood look to them. Both had been watching Cian with predatory intent all evening. Their mouths fell open with identical looks of stunned surprise at getting caught gossiping by the very woman they had just been verbally bashing, their faces coloring with embarrassment. Ava flashed them a cool smile, her head high as she stepped up to the long, marble counter beside them to wash her hands and reapply her lipstick. An awkward silence ensued before she slipped her lipstick back in her handbag and gave her hair a quick fluff. She turned to exit the room and had just heard both women breathe a sigh of relief when she whirled around to face them with the doorknob in her grasp.
“Just to set the record straight, Ladies, he’s not a gigolo and to be his mother, I would have had to have been a very precocious twelve year-old.” She turned to exit again, throwing over her shoulder as she opened the door, “Oh and he can go all night.” The twin outraged gasps that followed her out of the bathroom brought a broad smile to her face and gave her momentary satisfaction. It was short lived, though, because as soon as she saw Cian at the bar waiting for her, the smile faded. Those bitches may have a point. Everyone probably did believe she was just an old woman buying herself a young stud. She was making a fool of herself and as the old saying went, there was no fool like an old fool. Her earlier happy contentment vanished and all of her doubts about this relationship with Cian came back in a flood. What was she doing? She asked herself as he looked away from the baseball game and saw her standing at the end of the bar, her face leached of all color and a disconsolate expression on her face.
“Ava, what’s wrong?” He asked with concern, pushing away from the bar and crossing to her, looking down into her face. His hands settled gently on her arms as he searched her face. She couldn’t meet his eyes and dropped her head. “Are you not feeling well?” She shook her head and he immediately pulled her against his hard body for a comforting hug. “Come on, Baby, let’s get you back to the cottage. Do you need a doctor?” She shook her head again and gently but firmly pushed free of his arms. She took a deep breath and after carefully schooling her features, looked up to meet his worried expression.
“You don’t have to go back to the cottage with me. Stay and finish the baseball game. I just need to lie down…” She began, watching the confusion form on his face.
“Why would I want to stay here without you?” his voice was perplexed. “Come on, we’ll go back to the cottage and I’ll take care of you…”
“I don’t want you to take care of me, okay?” she snapped. The confusion in his eyes was briefly joined by hurt before a shutter seemed to come down. His mouth formed a tight line as he grabbed her hand and began pulling her behind him through the exit of the bar, passing the two women from the bathroom. He glanced at the women curiously when they gave them an unusually wide berth. Both females were watching Ava with apprehension when they swept by them. He turned his speculative gaze on Ava but she tossed her head, put her nose in the air and didn’t even acknowledge the wary women’s presence. They exited the main building of the resort through a side exit. She plowed hard into his chest as he suddenly whirled around without warning, his eyes burning with fury.
“What the fuck, Ava?” He snarled at her. “What the hell just happened back there while you were in that restroom?”
“Nothing…”
“Bullshit!” He bit out, rage blazing from his eyes. “Do you think I’m fucking stupid? Something happened while you were gone to the restroom and I want to know what.” She cast him a sullen look, her lips in a thin line. “You’re gonna tell me.”
“No…I’m not. I’m going back to the cottage.” She went to move past him but he stepped in her path and refused to move. “Cian…” she said warningly but he was unfazed.
“We can stand here all night, Ava. I have no where I need to be.” He stated calmly. She glared at him but he just stood there glaring back at her until she threw her hands up in defeat and stalked a little ways from him, muttering under her breath.
“Fine! You want to know my problem?” She asked sarcastically, facing him again, her hands on her hips. “Those two women in the bathroom said I was old enough to be your mother…” His mouth fell open in shock.
“They actually said that to you?” he asked incredulously. She rolled her eyes.
“No, they were gossiping and I overheard them. They didn’t know I was in there until I confronted them.” A broad knowing grin broke over his face.
“Did you kick some ass?” Her lips quirked in unwanted amusement before shaking her head with disgust.
“No, I would probably feel better if I had.” She muttered. He came towards her and made to pull her into his ar
ms but she stepped away, her arms hugging her body. He put his hands on his hips and looked up at the sky as if he were praying for patience.
“Ava…what am I gonna do with you?” She immediately stiffened, her eyes narrowing.
“What is that supposed to mean? I don’t need you to do…”
“Damn it shut up!” he barked at her, losing his patience. “Stop trying to pick a fight with me. You’re upset; I get that but I didn’t do anything and I’ll be damned if you’re gonna use something two gossiping bitches you don’t even know said in a bathroom to push me away.” Her jaw had dropped as soon as he had told her to ‘shut up’ in that commanding tone. She watched him warily as he stalked closer. “Somebody is always gonna have something to say…are we gonna have this fight every time or what?” She watched him mutely for a long, pregnant moment, suddenly feeling even more foolish for letting the gossiping women get to her. His brows were drawn down in anger, his brown eyes almost black as he glared at her.
“Why do you want to be with me?” She asked suddenly, her look direct. He looked at her as if she had grown a second head. “I mean really, Cian, those women may have been way out of line, but they had a point. I am a lot older than you and they’re probably not the only people thinking you’re some young stud I bought myself…” His eyes widened, a look of shocked disbelief marking his expression. “After all, how else would a woman like me get a man like you without money involved…?” the bitter words poured out of her mouth until he stepped closer and got in her face.
“Have you lost your fucking mind?” he gritted out, obviously enraged. She took a step back, alarmed and cautious, but he matched her step for step, looming over her. “You think I’m with you because of your damn money?” Her face flushed with embarrassment, her eyes on the ground; unable to hold his gaze, but he gripped her chin and tilted her face back up to his.
“I shouldn’t have said that…”
“No you shouldn’t have, but you did.” Anger vibrated in his voice but hurt was the primary emotion visible in his eyes. When she continued to stare at him mutely, he released her chin and took a step back. He shook his head in disgust and turned to walk away. After a moment’s hesitation, she moved after him and grabbed his arm.
“Cian…” she said in a pleading tone but he shook loose of her grasp and turned to glare at her.
“You insult me but even worse, you insult yourself.” He bit out. “I don’t appreciate being lumped in with the rest of the users and losers in your life. For the record, I don’t need or want your fucking money.” And with that, he turned and walked away.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ava lay face down on the massage table, having already availed herself of several other spa services, hoping the brawny masseuse could work some of the tension from her tightly strung body. She had hoped a day of pampering would improve her mood but it hadn’t; not one little bit. If anything, she felt worse, having had all day to think about the ass she had made of herself with Cian the previous night. It would have been better if she could have blamed any of it on him but he was 100% blameless. To make matters even worse, he wasn’t talking to her. For that matter, he wasn’t looking at her, paying attention to her or acknowledging her presence in any way. She had returned to their cottage the night before wanting to somehow make amends but keep her pride intact at the same. He hadn’t been there when she arrived and hadn’t shown up until a couple hours later. She had been waiting for him, knowing she wasn’t going to be able to sleep until she talked to him, but he had shut her down with one stony look when he walked past her to the second bedroom and shut the door. The click of the lock being turned had sounded loudly in the silent room. She had stood gazing after him, stricken with the magnitude of her blunder. She’d gone into the other bedroom and spent a miserable night alternating between angry tears and pondering how she could have better dealt with her jealousy and insecurities where Cian was concerned. Anything would have been an improvement.
Shedding tears over a man was something she had mistakenly thought was years behind her, but one ill-advised conversation with Cian and it all came back to her. He was right; he hadn’t done anything to deserve the horrible things she had said to him. The women gossiping in the bathroom had made her feel exposed for the fraud she was and she had taken her upset out on him. She had lay awake thinking about the mean, nasty things she had said to him. She had practically accused him of screwing her for her money. He had been truly offended by the suggestion and she couldn’t blame him. He knew she knew better. She had no idea what he did for a living or where he got his money but he didn’t seem to lack funds. He hadn’t cost her anything with the exception of this trip since his arrival. His parents were pretty well-to-do from what she could recall. Clayton was a college coach at one of the big New England schools and Denise did something with the stock market so for all she knew, they supported him. She had never asked him what he did for money; it wasn’t any of her business. Jameson had said Cian’s job allowed him to be off during the summers and that was the extent of her knowledge. When they had went to the casino last night, she had seen him use his bank card to withdraw several thousand dollars without batting an eye when he lost every penny between the Black Jack table and the Roulette well.
The masseuse finished a few moments later, exiting the room so she could dress. She showered off the massage oil and dressed in hip hugging pink yoga pants and a matching halter top before heading back to the cottage. Everything had been waxed, trimmed, exfoliated and polished but none of it made her feel any better. What did it matter if her skin was soft as silk if no one was touching it, she thought morosely. Cian hadn’t talked to her last night, he hadn’t talked to her this morning when he came back from his run and he hadn’t talked to her when he’d left the cottage shortly thereafter to golf. The cottage was still empty when she arrived. She’d considered several courses of action during her long day of pampering and had decided to pull out all the stops and throw herself on his mercy. She ordered dinner for two from room service, champagne and candles, feeling faintly foolish at the romantic gestures but determined to fix things with Cian. She turned the stereo system to a satellite channel playing soft rock. While she waited for room service she freshened up and dressed in a ruby-red, French-cut lace teddy with push up support and a matching silk robe, dabbing her pulse points with her favorite perfume, Givenchy Indecence. She darkened her eyes with eyeliner and mascara, making them appear bigger and bluer and slicked her lips a glossy red. As a finishing touch, she twisted her hair up on the back of her head in a simple twist that would fall around her shoulders with one deft flick of her wrist. Hopefully, he wouldn’t know what hit him and she could start trying to make amends for her stupidity. Room service arrived a few moments later, setting up at a small table for two while Ava scattered the abundance of white pillar candles around the room and lit them. She tipped the waiter well and checking the time, saw that it was nearing the time Cian would return from his day of golf. She lit more candles in the bathroom, running the deep tub full of steaming water, adding a dab of Sandalwood bath oil before turning on the bubbling Jacuzzi jets. She had no sooner double checked everything and turned out the lights when she heard his key card swipe through the door lock. He stopped abruptly when he saw her leaning against the sofa, watching him with a smile, her blue eyes sparkling. The brief look of indecision on his face was rapidly being replaced with hard anger when Ava spoke.
“I’m sorry, Cian.” She said softly, her eyes locking with his, refusing to allow him to look away from her. He was undecided again and didn’t speak, but the fact he didn’t immediately stalk off to the bedroom gave her hope. She continued talking before he changed his mind about hearing her out. “You have every right to be angry with me. You didn’t do anything wrong and I took out my own insecurities on you. I didn’t mean anything I said to you last night.” Her voice was soft and a little pleading while he watched her with suspicion. “The comments about the money and age difference were w
ay out of line and I’m hoping you will forgive me for acting like a hysterical female.” Her gaze held his while her hands easily untied the sash of the robe, spreading it open to frame her curves decked out in the barely there teddy. His eyes immediately moved down over her body, his tongue coming out to wet his lips, arousal replacing the suspicion in his eyes. When his eyes met hers again, the heat arcing between them was palpable. Her smile was full of invitation when she strolled slowly towards him. “I’m hoping you will let me show you how sorry I am…”
“What have you got in mind?” his voice was a low, husky rumble from his chest, the sound sending a thrill through her body. She slid her hands up his chest to lock behind his neck and pulled him down for her kiss, her lips nibbling at his for a moment before pulling back, barely leaving space between their mouths. They were both already breathing heavily and had barely even gotten started.
“Let me make it up to you, Baby.” She whispered before sliding her tongue between his lips and devouring his mouth, her soft curves rubbing sinuously against his hard, muscled form. He groaned and grasping her hips, pulled her tightly to his body, his erection pushing at the notch of her thighs. She pushed his hands down and gently disengaged herself from him, taking his hand in hers and leading him towards the bathroom. When he saw the bubbling Jacuzzi, he grinned broadly and raised a questioning brow. She undressed him slowly, dropping lingering kisses on his warm skin as she bared him to her gaze. He was already hard and ready but Ava had plans to make her apology last all night. When she had him settled in the tub with a glass of champagne, he tried to pull her into the tub with him but she laughed and moved out of his reach.
Melting The Ice Page 14