Chapter 9
NINE
Cormac still couldn’t believe the pace they were travelling at.
The scenery was whizzed past them so fast he could barely take it all in.
Back home it would have taken them days to travel this distance.
The hills they had been travelling past on their journey were a velvety golden brown and had obviously not seen rain in quite some time.
There were many other cars and trucks travelling the roadways with them and he wondered, were they all going to the same place?
The truck left the flat black road and was now climbing uphill through densely forested land.
It was the first real greenery he had seen since his arrival.
Cormac couldn’t believe his eyes as they drove past two eight-foot tall cat sculptures guarding an entry gate.
His head whipped back to catch another glimpse as they quickly faded from sight.
Jenna must have noticed, because she was quick to explain their presence.
“Don’t worry Cormac, I’ve driven this same road too many times to count. You’re in good hands,” Dylan assured him.
“I’m nae worried, Dylan,” Cormac lied, he’d be daft not to fash.
“Good. We’ll be there in no time flat. You’re gonna love surfing, won’t he, Jenna?”
“I wouldn’t know, Dylan. I’ve been asking you to teach me for years, but you’ve never had the time,” she said with her usual sarcasm.
“You got me there, cuz. Maybe today will be your lucky day.”
Cormac looked back at Jenna to see her shrug at her cousin’s words.
She looked so beautiful back there with the sunlight streaming through the windows creating streaks of gold through her hair.
She was focusing all of her attention on Chester, who was sound asleep in her lap.
He wondered if the dog knew how fortunate he was and he tried to imagine what it would be like to have Jenna focus that kind of loving attention on him.
“Jenna,” he asked as he watched her. “Do you mind having to sit back there with Chester?”
“Of course not, Cormac. Chester is a good travelling companion. He never complains and he’s been asleep since we pulled out of the driveway,” she smiled.
His heart nearly melted at the sight of it.
“The question should be, do you mind sitting up front with Dylan? I have to admit that sometimes when he drives I get a bit nauseous,” Jenna said as she wrinkled her nose.
Was she trying to drive him to insanity? The way she was looking at him was completely mesmerizing and had him forgetting about the breakneck speed they were travelling at.
“I be fine, Jenna, lass. Dinna fash,” Cormac said.
“What beach are we going to, Dylan?” Jenna asked.
Cormac noticed the shift in her as she switched her focus to Dylan.
“I thought we’d go to Manresa. If I were doing this with more seasoned surfers I’d go to Steamer Lane, but I don’t want to kill anyone their first time out.”
“I hope the surf’s good,” Jenna said.
“We’ll know soon enough. We’re just about there,” Dylan said as he slowed the truck and turned onto another smaller roadway.
Cormac turned back towards the front to watch where they were going, wondering if Jenna would kiss him again this day.
***
Jenna was having all she could do to maintain her cool.
Cormac had a maddening way of making her feel things she didn’t want to feel.
She had to keep reminding herself that he was not for her, but damn it, every time he looked at her with those amazing blue eyes, she almost jumped into his arms. Speaking of which, those arms were so strong and muscular, she kept imaging them wrapped around her, holding her close to that equally muscular chest.
“Stop it, Jenna.”
“Stop what?” Cormac asked.
Had she just said that aloud? She couldn’t recall being embarrassed this much in her entire life. Cormac was still eyeing her.
“Oh, it was nothing. I was just talking to myself,” she said.
“Aye. I ken ye were since ye mentioned yer own name,” he teased.
She laughed a little too loud at his comment, probably because she was feeling pretty self-conscious at being overheard talking to herself.
“Really. It was nothing for you to worry about.” But it was definitely something for Jenna to worry about. Maybe a dip in the ocean and a surfing lesson would help.
They managed to get all of their stuff down to the beach in one trip, although not without complaint from Dylan.
“Jenna, what on earth did you pack? There are only three of us, you’d think you were planning to feed a pack of hungry wolves,” Dylan teased.
“Sorry. Better to have too much than not enough,” she pouted.
They found a good spot near the water and set up their chairs, blankets and a small beach tent for Chester so he could get out of the sun.
The temperature was perfect and the sun was shining brightly off of the deep blue of the ocean making it sparkle like it was covered in sequins.
Waves crashed onto the beach and sea birds roamed the shoreline in search of food, while a light breeze blew just enough to keep the sun from making it uncomfortable.
Jenna watched as Dylan prepared his surfboard and put on his wetsuit.
“Hey, aren’t we going to need one of those,” she asked.
“Not unless you’re planning to spend a lot of time in the water,” Dylan said as he waved and headed for the waves with his surfboard.
Cormac had planted himself on the blanket and was busily observing everything going on around him, and as Jenna pulled her sundress off, he jumped up so fast she didn’t even have time to react before he was trying to wrap her up in a towel.
“Cormac, what are you doing?” She was irritated at the crazy way he was behaving.
“Jenna, should ye take yer dress off, lass, for all the world to see?”
“Cormac, look around you. Every woman on this beach is wearing a similar version to what I have on. It’s okay. This isn’t a nude beach. I promise I’ll keep the bathing suit on.”
He looked really concerned, but he allowed her to put the towel down as he tried to cover up what was obvious to Jenna - she had aroused him.
She secretly smiled at that. So, she was apparently having the same effect on him as he was having on her.
She cleared her throat as she sat on the blanket next to him.
“Cormac, would you mind putting some sun screen on my back?” she asked as she handed him something he’d obviously never seen before. He just stared at it as he examined it in his hands.
“Don’t tell me … they don’t have sunscreen where you’re from.” She stated matter of factly.
“Nae, lass, they dinna.”
“Here,” she took the cover off and squirted some into his hands. “Now, you rub it into my back until you can’t see it anymore. Okay?”
“Aye.”
She could feel the heat of his hands before they even touched her back.
If she had been thinking clearly she would have realized what a bad idea this was.
His large hands covered her easily as he applied the sunscreen to every bit of exposed skin.
He was very thorough in his ministrations, stopping only momentarily to squeeze more sunscreen into his hands and then he went to work on her legs, gently covering them from top to bottom.
She couldn’t tell how uncomfortable he might be, but she was starting to feel an aching sensation between her thighs as his hands lightly brushed near the core of her sweet discomfort.
She snuck a peak and was pleasantly surprised to see that he was looking at her with an unusually pained expression on his face.
He wiped his hands on a nearby towel and then dove face down onto the blanket.
She thought she might know why and smiled as she looked over at him.
His lustrous ebony locks were covering his handsome face and Jenna was surprised by the fact that she needed to see his eyes.
“Cormac, let me do something with your hair. It can’t be comfortable all over your face like that.
” She sat up and reached for the beach bag.
She searched through the pockets and came up with a hair tie and a brush.
Jenna motioned for him to sit with his back to her and she brushed his beautiful hair into a ponytail and then into a man bun at the base of his neck.
She couldn’t help observing that he was quite tan from head to toe.
He must spend a good deal of time shirtless and that image made her practically drool.
“Do you want me to put some sunscreen on your back for you?”
“Why would I need sunscreen, lass.”
“Oh … well, it’s to keep you from getting a sunburn. Too much sun is not good for your skin.”
“’Tis not?”
“No. It can cause skin cancer, age spots and wrinkles.” Why was she taking the time to explain this to him? He had to know all of this already. It wasn’t a secret, but somehow she almost believed him. His reactions seemed very genuine to her.
“Aye, then I will nae stop ye if ye wish to put it on me.”
Jenna went to work covering his back with the sunscreen and relishing the feel of his warm skin beneath her palms. She skimmed over the hard planes of his back and had to bite back the groan that played at her lips.
She ran her fingers down the corded muscles of his arms as he sat stock-still. She didn’t think he was even breathing.
When she was finished, he turned to face her asking less than innocently, “Would ye like to put some on me chest?” The twinkle in his eyes gave him away and she pursed her lips, shook her head and handed him the sunscreen.
“You can handle that yourself,” she said.
“I dinna believe I can, lass. Yer much better at it than I,” he teased, holding the sunscreen out for her to take.
“Okay. If you insist. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to help you with it, especially since you have so little experience with this kind of thing.”