“So, was it good for you?” he whispers in my ear.
“It was great for me.” I giggle.
I turn to look at him over my shoulder as I deliberately press further back into his warm, hard body, needing to feel closer to him. His face is merely a couple of centimetres from mine, his mouth so close that I can almost taste the citrusy drink on his breath as it blows across my lips. Every nerve ending in my body is alive and singing.
He reaches out and smooths a few stray hairs back into my bun, his fingertips teasing and light. He doesn’t take his warm, playful eyes from mine; it’s like I’m trapped in his gaze as I become aware of every place that our bodies touch. He’s doing that eye-fucking thing again as his teeth sink into his bottom lip. It makes my knees weak, so I’m glad I’m already sitting.
His thumb lazily traces across the side of my thigh, and my whole body prickles and braces for impact when his mouth slowly starts descending towards mine. I hold my breath, my heart jackhammering against my ribs. I’ve never wanted to be kissed more.
“Uncle Theo!”
We both startle just as our mouths were about to connect, and he jerks back, whipping his head to the side as Carys comes bustling out of the hotel, hurtling towards us, everyone else following behind her with drinks in their hands. My mouth drops open, and I blink rapidly in shock because of what almost happened. We were about to kiss.
Theo pushes himself away from me slightly. There’s a fumbling against my back as he rearranges himself downstairs, and then he stands and grins at his niece. They hug, and she basically drags him by the hand away from me and over to her mum and Finley.
My heart still hasn’t stopped racing.
Heather looks at me over the top of her sunglasses, her eyebrows in her hairline. “Good grief, that was hot. Damn. So much sexual tension. I might have to go for a cold shower.” She vigorously fans her face.
I chuckle and nod, puffing out my cheeks and dramatically blowing the air out. “Me too.”
Amy plops into the lounger next to me and looks between Heather and me as she sips her Coke. “What did I miss?” She frowns, clearly sensing the charged atmosphere.
Heather opens her mouth to speak, but I shake my head, trying to look innocent. “Nothing.”
I settle back and get comfy, pulling my knees up and slipping on my shades. Theo comes back then and starts exchanging some stupid banter with Amy, but I don’t hear any of it because at the same time … he also removes his shirt. It comes off in one smooth, sexy movement, inch by inch, exposing tanned, toned skin, abs, pecs, shoulders, muscles. He even has the V-line thing going on.
Holy moly.
My thighs clench, and my mouth goes dry. My eyes seem to have a mind of their own as they zero in, taking in every damn fine inch of it, committing it to memory. He’s beautiful, all tall, sculpted perfection. I want to lean in and press my face against his chest, tickle my nose on that small spattering of hair he has below his belly button, let my tongue follow that V line …
He stows his shirt with mine and pulls on a black baseball cap before turning to go back to his niece.
Oh, good Lord, the back view! I didn’t even know backs could be sexy until now.
Sucking in a ragged breath, I look around to see if anyone else is feeling this ridiculous attraction, but they’re all simply going about their day like nothing’s happened. No one even glances in the magnificent man’s direction. Meanwhile, I feel like I’ve been hit with a frying pan—right in the vagina.
I can’t drag my eyes from him at all. And when he plucks Finley from his sister’s arms and starts playfully throwing him up in the air and catching him, a big grin on his face, I feel like every womanly part of me explodes with longing.
“Theo is a professional uncle,” Amy jokes at my side.
I startle because I was so in my own little pervert fantasy world that I forgot she was there.
“We could hire him out to kids’ parties. He even does magic tricks.”
“Shut up. Magic tricks?” I look over to her to see if she’s joking. And now, I want to see one.
Amy nods, sipping her drink through the straw. “Yep. He’s a right dork.” She doesn’t say it like it’s an insult though; the fondness to her voice is easy to spot. “So, listen, tomorrow morning, we’re having girlie time before the wedding. Heather, Emily, and I are getting our nails done and having massages. Want to come? I can tell them at reception that we’ll be adding one more.”
A wave of affection washes over me that I’m being included. She is adorable. I can see why Theo likes her so much. I hate that I’m a tiny bit jealous of that knowledge now. “Oh, that would be great. Are you sure you don’t mind me crashing?” I would love a bit of pampering.
Amy waves her hand, as if it’s nothing. “Course not! Theo will likely be busy talking Jared down from the edge tomorrow, doing his best-man duties, so you’ll be able to come and hang with us.”
“Great, thanks.” I grin happily and look back over to recommence Theo Watch.
He’s now in the water, up to his knees, bending so Finley’s little toes dip in, as he and Carys run around, making loads of noise and splashing each other. All three of them are laughing, and I can’t keep the smile from my face.
It’s bloody adorable.
After a little while, Emily takes the baby back into the shade, and Theo and Carys start building sand castles, bantering back and forth as they make it bigger and bigger, even adding a moat around the edge, which Carys attempts to fill by going back and forth to the water with a bucket.
Suddenly, she stops and puts her hands on her hips. “Mum, I’m hungry!” she calls, pouting.
Emily sighs and digs in her bag, coming out with a pack of Oreos, which she tosses in Theo’s direction.
“Oh, score!” He grins as he catches them.
Carys does a happy jig as he tears them open for her. They both take one. Theo twists the top from his. Then, I watch in absolute fascination as he brings the cream-filled half to his mouth, and his tongue strokes across it.
My whole body tightens, and my skin prickles with sensation. Leaning over, I pick up the magazine Amy’s discarded and open it across my knees, pretending to read. Thank heavens my sunglasses are mirrored, so no one can tell what a damn pervert Theo Stone has turned me into.
I can’t take my eyes from it. It’s probably the sexiest thing I’ve ever witnessed, and all he’s doing is eating a biscuit. Jeez, who knew I was into voyeurism? Not me—that’s for sure.
He stops torturing the poor biscuit (and my libido) and finally pops it into his mouth, chewing. I let out the breath I was holding and feel my body relax … until he reaches for another.
Oh, dear God.
Somewhere in the deep depths of my mind, I know I should probably pull out my phone and record this, maybe play the Diet Coke advert “I Just Wanna Make Love to You” song in the background just to sex it up that little bit more, but I can’t move. I can barely breathe.
He repeats it over and over, twisting off the top and licking the cream from each one, and I have never wanted to be a damn foodstuff more in my life. I clench my thighs together, trying to relieve the building ache.
I know it’s not supposed to be erotic, but try telling that to my vagina.
I can’t tear my eyes from him, his mouth, his tongue, his shoulders, his abs, his skin …
I continue to slowly turn the magazine pages for show.
A soft kick to my shin makes me jump.
“Stop staring,” Amy says.
“I’m not staring. I’m reading!” I splutter indignantly.
“The magazine is upside down, Lucie.”
What? Shit!
I look down at it, and she’s right.
“Crap. Busted.” I giggle and feel my face flame as I flip it the right way up and shake my head.
Amy giggles darkly and holds out her fist to me. Dying inside, I raise my own, and we bump. Girl solidarity. She knows he’s hot; she’s marrying his body doub
le tomorrow.
The whole time we’re on the beach, Theo never stops and relaxes. He’s either playing with the kids, talking to someone, or playing Frisbee with Jared and Tim—oh, and did I mention that Jared is shirtless, too, and they look exactly alike? Well, almost exactly alike. When shirtless, they’re easy to tell apart. Jared has a large slash of a scar down the centre of his chest that looks so precise, it must be surgical. I can’t help but wonder if it’s linked to Theo’s scar on his leg that he said was from a car accident.
I’ve given up the charade of the magazine now. Instead, I’m lying on my belly, chin propped on my hands, as I watch the show. It’s like free soft porn. If it were on TV, I’d record it, so I could watch it on repeat. With the beautiful loch behind them, the view is spectacular. And I’m not even looking at the scenery.
Amy is watching unashamedly too. It makes me like her even more.
When guests start arriving for the wedding, Amy and Jared, Theo’s parents, Emily, Chris, and the kids all disappear inside to say their hellos to people. Heather and Tim head in, too, Heather announcing she wants a nap before she has to start getting ready.
I glance at my phone to check the time. It’s only just before five. “Theo, what time is this pre-wedding party starting tonight?”
He walks over and flops down onto the lounger next to mine. “Not until seven thirty. We have loads of time.”
I nod and close my eyes again, soaking up more rays, already nervous about this party. It’s a little out of my comfort zone—something I would have found amazing when I was younger, but now, not so much.
When I hear pencil scratching on paper, I lazily turn my head to the side to see Theo sitting cross-legged, facing me, his sketchpad balanced on his knee. His baseball cap has been flipped backwards, and his eyes skim over my face before darting back to the paper again, his hand moving rhythmically.
“Are you drawing me?” I ask, shocked.
He nods, chewing on his lip in concentration.
Grinning, I take off my shades, turn a fraction towards him, and lie back suggestively, dipping my chin and throwing my arm across the top of my head, striking the pose. “Draw me like one of your French girls,” I joke.
He bursts out laughing, and a thrill prickles over my whole body.
eleven
Theo
The two of us spend another three-quarters of an hour down at the beach. It’s nice, companionable, easy. I sketch her the whole time. She’s a pleasure to draw—her face, the lines of it, the way the shadows fall across her cheekbones, the subtle freckles sprinkled across her nose, the way her long eyelashes fan across her cheek when she closes her eyes, the shape of her chin, and the curve of her neck and shoulders. She’s an artist’s dream; I could draw her every day and not get tired of it. In fact, I would give anything to paint her. I’m not really a paint kind of guy. I usually prefer pencil or charcoal, and I use inks a lot for work, but for her, I would like to crack out the oils and see what happens.
I enjoy the whole experience way more than I should, spending more time than necessary getting her bikini just so. The way she fills the damn thing makes my upper lip sweaty. She’s all luscious curves and soft skin. I knew there was an amazing hourglass figure under her sexy pencil skirts and belly tops, but I didn’t expect her to unveil Marilyn Monroe curves encased in a sexy black bikini. I had to distract myself for the last couple of hours with anything other than sitting next to her because every time I look at her, she gives me a boner. So inappropriate—and talk about uncomfortable.
I shift in my seat now, making sure my sketchbook covers my arousal, as she sits up and checks the time on her phone.
“Do you think we should head up now?”
Her gaze flicks to me; those brilliant green eyes meet mine, and I lose all train of thought.
She tilts her head, watching me. “Theo? I said, should we head up now? It’s gonna take me a while to wash and dry my hair and get ready for the party tonight.”
I clear my throat and nod dumbly. “Oh, right. Yeah. Sure. We could order room service, if you’d like.”
She grins that cute little smile, luscious, full lips pulling up at the corners as she nods along with my suggestion. “Perfect.”
Actually, you might just be, Luce.
She points at my sketchbook. “Can I see? It’s not one of those caricature things, where I’ve got five chins and a hook nose, is it?” She laughs and chews on her lip as her eyes flick up to mine hopefully.
I’m not one to be precious about my drawings, so I hand the sketchbook over to her, watching her reaction. As she looks down at it, she gasps, her eyes widening and her mouth dropping open. Her expression is awed, and pride swells inside me like a balloon.
“Oh, wow, this is amazing.” She hasn’t taken her eyes from it yet. “I’ve seen some of your drawings. You know … because of work and stuff.” Her cheeks pinken, and she doesn’t look at me. “You’re incredible. This is beautiful. I mean, I look amazing.”
She laughs incredulously as if I somehow falsified her or enhanced how she looks. I didn’t. It’s pretty much as accurate as I could get it. She is amazing.
My ego inflates at her compliment. “Thanks. And you do look amazing.” I stand and quickly turn my back, awkwardly adjusting myself so I don’t show her just how damn amazing I think she is. Shrugging on my T-shirt, I pick up the towel from the sun lounger and half screw it up, using it as a shield to hide my crotch.
I turn and watch as she sets my sketchbook down, picking up her own clothes from the sand and shaking them out. Every couple of seconds, her eyes dart back to the drawing, and a smile tugs at the corner of her lips as she pulls on her clothes too.
Once we’ve collected everything, we trek across the warm sand and climb the steps to the hotel.
“Let me go see if that extra room is ready.” I nod towards the reception desk as we walk inside.
The lady beams over at me, obviously already knowing what I’m about to enquire about because she brandishes a keycard and seems pleased with herself.
“Ah, great, thanks.” Even to my own ears, my voice sounds flat.
I’m disappointed they fixed the room issue so quickly. I liked sharing a room with Lucie—minus the shitty sofa bed with the broken spring, of course. I enjoyed waking up and seeing her, watching her sleep like an absolute creeper, and then drawing her while she was unaware of it. No, that beach sketch wasn’t the first I did of her. But in my defence, I couldn’t help myself this morning. There was a strip of light bleeding in through the curtains, slowly sliding across her face; the shadows it created were fascinating, and before I knew what I was doing, I was searching my luggage for a pencil and paper, so I could try to re-create it. I’m going to miss the opportunity to do that again tomorrow morning. Not going to lie, she’s a lovely thing to wake up to.
“Can we order room service from here, or do we have to phone it in?” I ask the receptionist.
“I can certainly help you with that.” She smiles and picks up a couple of menus, sliding them across the desk to us.
Lucie and I scan the menu for a minute or so and then put in our order, asking for it all to be delivered to her room, seeing as I’m going to be in there, packing up my stuff for a while.
Just as we’re finishing up, someone shouts my name from the other side of the lobby.
I turn, and my stomach dips when I see who called. So far, I’ve managed to get away without this interaction, but it appears my luck has finally run out.
“Oh shit, Luce, I need you to pretend we’re dating.” My fingers curl around her hip, and I pull her to me, pressing our sides together tightly.
“What?”
“Theo, hi!”
Amy’s mum and nanna are both waving excitedly as they walk towards us, each clutching a large glass of wine. If the pink on their cheeks is anything to go by, they aren’t on their first glass. I gulp as Nanna’s eyes make a slow, appreciative sweep of my body. She looks at me like I’m an injured ant
elope and she’s the lioness waiting to take me down.
I lean in closer to Lucie. “Please, please help me out here. Save me from the clutches of a randy, old lady who is actually adorable and hilarious but way too flirty for her own good.”
I shoot her the begging face, and she chuckles, her eyes twinkling with humour as she catches on.
“I got your back.” She sends me a wink and wraps her arm around my waist as the two women stop in front of us.
I clear my throat and smile. “Hi, ladies. How are you both? Long time, no see!” I lean in and give them each a kiss on their cheek, trying not to wince as Peggy, Amy’s nanna, turns her head at the last second, so her mouth connects with the corner of mine.
“Hi, Theo. You’re looking nice and relaxed. Did you catch some sun?” Amy’s mum asks, smiling affectionately.
I nod and brush a finger over my cheek. “Probably. We’ve been on the beach.” I pull Lucie closer to me and slide my arm up from her back to drape over her shoulders to make it glaringly obvious that we’re together. “Luce, this is Amy’s mum and nanna. Anne and Peggy.” I motion to them both in turn. “Ladies, this is my date, Lucie.”
“Hi. It’s so lovely to meet you,” Lucie greets warmly, raising her hand and slipping it into my one that rests casually over her shoulder.
Nanna Peggy catches the small, possessive move, and I see disappointment flash in her eyes.
I grin happily. “So, where have you two been hiding all day? I’ve been keeping my eye out for you both.” That’s not a lie. I was keeping watch, so I could either run in the other direction or use Lucie as a human shield.
Peggy sets her hand on my forearm and squeezes gently. “Oh, Jared booked us on this amazing couples spa day as a treat! It was wonderful. We’ve been massaged, steamed, and mud-wrapped. Then, we drank Prosecco in an aromatherapy spa bath … well, until they confiscated it anyway—”
Stand-In Saturday: (A standalone romcom. Book 2 in the Love For Days series) Page 10