Chapter Three #2
Elspeth suddenly realised her gaffe. Her twin was a lingerie model who had chosen to leave school before she got her GCSEs in her quest to make a career out of modelling.
There were numerous interviews Elodie had given about her struggle with dyslexia and how she had spent most of her childhood avoiding reading.
‘Erm...yes, it’s kind of a hobby of mine.
..’ She turned away and gnawed at her lip, her heart racing so hard and fast she thought she might faint.
She could feel her cheeks heating...so much for the controlled-temperature environment.
At this rate, her cheeks would turn the precious books into ashes within minutes.
‘What other hobbies do you have?’
Elspeth forced herself to face him again, painting a smile on her face, while her heart did somersaults in her chest. ‘I draw. I dabble in watercolours.’ At least those things were true. It was a talent she and her twin shared.
Mack came up to where she was standing, his eyes holding hers in an unwavering lock. ‘Tell me something. Why did you accept the invitation to be Sabine’s bridesmaid?’
The question blindsided her for a moment.
She moistened her lips and averted her gaze, focussing it on the collar of his shirt.
‘I like Sabine. She’s a sweetheart.’ That was also true, Elspeth decided.
Sabine was a warm and friendly soul who deserved better than Mack’s cheating younger brother, Fraser.
She wished she could warn Sabine about the man she was marrying tomorrow but how could she do it without blowing her cover?
Sabine would be hurt by not one but three betrayals—her fiancé’s cheating, Elodie being the person he cheated with and Elspeth standing in for her twin as bridesmaid.
‘Then why did you sleep with her fiancé, my younger brother?’
Elspeth swallowed. ‘I—I don’t wish to discuss—’
‘We are not leaving this room until we have discussed it.’ His tone had that determined edge that had so irritated her before.
Elspeth gave him a frosty look. ‘You can hardly hold me prisoner.’
His grey-blue eyes darkened to gunmetal-grey. ‘Don’t tempt me.’
The air crackled with tension. A throbbing tension Elspeth could feel in her body. The low and deep secret tug of desire, the heightening of her senses, the flaring of her nostrils, the lowering of her lashes, the soft parting of her lips.
Mack’s gaze became hooded and dipped to her mouth and lingered there for a heart-stopping moment.
The tension in the air tightened another notch as if all the oxygen particles had been removed.
Elspeth couldn’t take her eyes off his lips, the sensual contour of them totally mesmerising.
Was he going to kiss her? Her heart flip-flopped and she moistened her lips with a nervous dart of her tongue.
She mustn’t let herself get carried away but, oh, how amazing it would be to feel those firm lips against her own.
She hadn’t been kissed in a decade. She was a virgin who was nudging thirty with only one kiss under her belt.
One almost deadly kiss that had put her in hospital and sent her mother under the care of a therapist for over a year.
It was a timely reminder that Elspeth was way out of her depth. She might pretend to be sassy and in control but she was playing a role. She was shy and inexperienced Elspeth, not street-smart and ebullient Elodie.
Elspeth raised her chin a fraction. ‘Right now, I’m tempted to slap your arrogant face.’
‘Then maybe I should give you an even better reason to do so.’ Mack took her by the upper arms in a gentle but firm hold, the erotic intent in his glittering gaze unmistakable.
‘W-wait.’ Elspeth placed her hands flat against his rock-hard chest. ‘Have you been eating nuts?’
His brows came together in a deep frown. ‘What?’
She licked her lips with another flick of her tongue. ‘I can’t allow you to kiss me if you’ve eaten nuts. I—I hate the taste. I find it nauseating.’
Mack measured her with his gaze for a long moment, his hands still on her upper arms. ‘Do you want me to kiss you?’
Gulp. Elspeth blinked and she could feel scorching heat storming into her face. ‘Erm... I—I thought you wanted to kiss me.’
His gaze dipped to her mouth for a nanosecond before reconnecting with her gaze. ‘Now, there’s a thought,’ he drawled, his lips tilting in a smile that made her legs go weak. ‘But I’m not sure it would be wise under the circumstances.’ His hands fell away from her arms but he didn’t move away.
‘Because of the...the nut thing?’
‘Are you allergic to them or just don’t like the taste?’
Elspeth found herself confessing the truth. ‘Erm...allergic. Badly. I can’t even touch the same surface where nuts have been or use products that have almond oil in them.’
‘That’s tough. It must be hard to avoid them.’
‘I’m used to it. I—I don’t like to make too big a thing of it. It’s not good for my image, you know?’
‘You haven’t thought of being the poster girl for peanut allergies? Using your profile to campaign for much-needed funding in allergy research—that sort of thing?’
Elspeth’s cheeks felt as if they were on fire. At this rate, she could solve an energy crisis for a small nation. ‘I like to use my influence in other ways. I don’t like being reminded of my faulty immune system.’
He studied her for a lengthy moment. ‘All nuts or just peanuts?’
‘All nuts but peanuts are the worst.’
‘I’m not a fan of them either.’
Her eyes widened. ‘You’re not?’
‘I once inhaled one when I was a toddler and had to be rushed to hospital. I haven’t eaten them since.’
She couldn’t stop staring at his mouth, the shape of it captivating her. ‘Oh...wow, I’ve heard that’s pretty dangerous for little kids...’
‘It is.’
He was still so close to her she could feel the warm waft of his breath against her face.
Could see the flecks of grey in the blue of his eyes, reminding her of smooth stones at the bottom of a riverbed.
Could feel her body responding to his proximity with soft little flickers of awareness, flutters of lust and need that bloomed inside her like an exotic flower under the searing rays of the sun.
He slid a hand along the side of her face, his touch so mesmerising, so thrilling she was totally spellbound, trapped in a sensual stasis.
She thought of stepping back away from his light touch but that was as far as it went—a thought.
Not one muscle in her body agreed with acting on it.
‘So, given that we’ve established I haven’t consumed nuts, what harm is one little kiss going to do, hmm?’ he said in a low rumbly voice, his eyes drifting to her mouth once more.
Elspeth disguised another gulp, her own gaze drinking in every contour of his mouth. ‘So, you do want to kiss me?’ She hadn’t meant to sound quite so gobsmacked. Her twin probably kissed men all the time without a single qualm.
Mack’s hand moved further back along her face until it was embedded in her hair, sending a shivery wave of pleasure across her scalp. ‘I find myself incredibly tempted to do so.’
Elspeth stared at his mouth with her pulse skyrocketing. ‘But...but why?’ Her tone had taken gobsmacked to a whole new level.
He gave a soft breath of a laugh. ‘Because for some reason I find you irresistibly attractive.’
What he found attractive was her version of Elodie, Elspeth quickly reminded herself.
It had nothing to do with her. A sharp twinge of disappointment got her under the ribs.
Would someone as suave and sophisticated as Mack MacDiarmid want to kiss the real Elspeth?
Not flipping likely. ‘That’s very flattering but—’
‘There’s nothing about you having a nut allergy in any of the interviews you’ve given. Why is that?’ Mack’s tone had a probing edge that sent a wave of alarm through her.
‘Yes, well, I didn’t want to make a big issue out of it.
..or to have someone sabotage me just before an important shoot.
Believe me, it’s a jungle out there.’ Elspeth was pleased with how she was handling the situation.
Who knew she could think on her feet so well?
She had clearly missed her calling as an improvisation actor.
His frown deepened. ‘Another model would actually do that?’
‘Who knows? It’s very competitive out there on the runway. I decided long ago not to risk it.’ She forced another smile on her lips and added, ‘Erm...shouldn’t we be getting back to the rest of the party?’
‘What’s the hurry?’ His hand slid deeper into the cloud of her hair, sending more tingles over her scalp and a shiver skittering down her spine.
She was conscious of his strongly muscled thighs standing within inches of her own.
Conscious of the citrus and wood notes of his aftershave.
Conscious of how much she wanted him to kiss her.
Conscious of the way his gaze kept tracking to her mouth.
Her lips tingled in anticipation. Every inch of her skin tightening and twitching with awareness.
‘They might be wondering what we’re up to. ..’
His lazy smile did strange things to her heart rate. ‘Maybe they think I’m making mad passionate love to you in the library.’
‘Wh-why would they think that? I only met you an hour or so ago.’
‘That’s not stopped you before, or so I’m told.’
She moved out of his hold, wrapping her arms around her middle, her face hot as fire. ‘You shouldn’t believe everything you’re told.’
‘I don’t.’ Something in his tone made her turn back to look at him. His expression was inscrutable except for that enigmatic smile curving his sensual lips.
‘Why do I get the feeling you’re playing with me like a cat does a mouse?’
Mack came back to stand in front of her. ‘I’m fascinated by you.’
She disguised a nervous swallow. ‘Wh-why?’ She could safely say no one had ever been fascinated by her before.