Chapter 4
Chapter Four
H e’d come on too strong. That’s what several months of celibacy and a week of too much work and too little sleep did to him. Yet Liam had a feeling there was more to it than that. Something about her made him desperate to taste her, feel those soft, dynamite curves slot against all his hard edges. Hear the hitch of her breath again, see the bright flame of arousal in those huge blue eyes that had drawn him in right from that first meeting, despite how exhausted, how pissed off he’d been feeling. He went for classy over sexy, discreet over obvious, brunette over blonde, slim over curvy, but she’d smashed through all his usual preferences.
He hadn’t made the same impression on her, though, as evidenced by the taut silence that followed his coarse declaration, broken only by laughter drifting over from the bar and the gentle sounds of the sea washing up the beach. He’d apologise, call it quits and wish her good night. She’d been unsure right from the start, and his crude talk had shifted her mood from unsure, to no fucking way.
She made a little coughing noise in her throat. ‘That’s a lot of… sex.’
Okay, so she hadn’t jumped to her feet yet. ‘Yes. But you asked what I was thinking. Not what I expect to happen.’
‘True.’ She glanced down at her drink.
‘I’m happy just to sit here and have a drink with you.’ She let out what could only be described as a dismissive snort and he felt a flare of annoyance. ‘If you think I came out here searching for someone to have sex with, you’re very much mistaken.’
Her eyes turned impossibly wider. ‘That’s not, oh God, I didn’t think that at all. I just…’ She glanced away, looking out to the now ink-black sea. ‘Men look at me and see sex, not someone to chat to.’
‘You’re implying we’re all the same.’
‘You’ve just explained, in great detail, how you want to fuck me.’
‘Can’t I see both? A woman I want to engage with physically and verbally?’
A smile played around her mouth. ‘I guess both works.’ She took a long sip of her drink, her throat moving in a way that made him want to kiss the pulse there. ‘So.’
Sex with this intriguing blonde might have slipped away, but he felt no great desire to shift from the sofa. What did he have waiting for him? Another night where he tried to sleep, but spent a good deal of time lying awake and staring at the ceiling? ‘Top of your list, should be the whale museum.’
‘Whale museum.’ She looked at him blankly.
‘You asked what you should do while you’re here.’
‘Ah, yes, before we got sidetracked by all that sex.’ She sipped again at her drink, then eased back into the sofa in a way that made him think she was more relaxed now. ‘I read about that. What about seeing actual whales. Do they do tours from here?’
‘Whale watching is more popular from Cade Cod. But I could take you out, if you like.’ Where had that come from? He didn’t have time to take tourists out on joy rides, no matter how attractive he might find them.
Laughter burst out of her. ‘Last time I tried to cadge a lift with you, you weren’t very happy.’
It was rare he was teased. ‘I don’t like people invading my space.’ Her pretty eyes blinked and he realised he’d sounded too harsh. ‘This time I would be inviting you.’
She seemed to study him, perhaps working out if she wanted to be taken out into the middle of the ocean by a stranger. ‘Then sure, that sounds amazing. But will we really see whales?’ Immediately she groaned and put her head in her hands. ‘That sounds like I’m accusing you of luring me onto your boat to ravish me, but what I meant was what are the chances of actually seeing a whale? Because when I went to Spain we were talked into taking a boat trip to see dolphins but it was a real con because we didn’t see any.’
‘Either I’m conning you, or planning to have my wicked way with you? Are there any other options?’
She gave a shake of her head, blonde hair tumbling around her shoulders as she rolled her eyes. ‘One day I’ll think before I open my mouth.’
Automatically, his eyes were drawn to the mouth in question. As he imagined her lush pink lips parting for him, his groin tightened. ‘I can’t guarantee whales, but I’m pretty sure we could find some, yes.’ His voice sounded rough, as raw as the sex he couldn’t stop imagining. ‘Humpbacks, finbacks, Minke, pilot whales,’ he added, trying to focus back on the conversation. ‘Probably some dolphins and seals, though the best place to see them is Muskeget Island. There are also three lighthouses to visit, plenty of opportunities to go fishing?—’
She put up her hand. ‘Whoa, hang on a second, let me make a note.’ He waited as she picked up her phone from the coffee table, then promptly dropped it onto the sand. ‘Oh, buggeration.’ As she bent to pick it up, he cursed his bad luck that he wasn’t sitting opposite, because if he had been, he’d have had a perfect view of the round swell of her breasts. ‘Okey dokey.’
Christ, who said that these days? And why did he want to smile as he watched the diligent way she took notes, her tongue peeking out between her lips.
‘Seals, lighthouses, fishing, whaling museum,’ she repeated. ‘I read that whales are a big thing on Nantucket.’
‘I think you’ll find whales are big wherever you are,’ he responded dryly. ‘But yes, for about a hundred years, Nantucket was the headquarters for the global whale-oil business. The whalers here were renowned as being the best in the world at hunting the sperm whale.’
She grinned. ‘Maybe I don’t need to go to the museum, I just need to listen to you.’
‘The museum has visual aids to help the story.’
‘I’m kind of a fan of the visual aid I’ve got now.’ Her gaze slid over his face and he heard his heart thump against his ribs. ‘In case you missed it, that was me flirting with you again.’
‘I didn’t miss it.’ He did his own inventory, ending again on the mouth he was becoming obsessed with. It was no good reminding himself that he didn’t need distractions right now, not with so much on his plate. Or that a few hours ago he’d been complaining he was beat. The tiredness had been drowned out by raw need, his body raging with arousal. In a bid to calm himself, he took a sip of his drink. ‘Beaches.’ He glanced towards her phone. ‘That’s another must.’ She stared back at him and he gave her a wry smile. ‘That was me trying to stick to my promise of talking.’
Soft laughter followed his admission. She was all big blue eyes and pretty dimples, approachable in a way that beautiful women weren’t. Beauty drew the eye, but having been the recipient of the harsh side of it, he now found it easy to ignore. Sexy, though, with a side of funny and a slice of cute. Why was he finding it so hard to ignore that?
‘Okay, hit me with the best places to sunbathe.’
Immediately he pictured her in a bikini. Something fun, like polka dots, but skimpy, those big breasts barely contained… Cursing inwardly, he gulped at his whisky. And rejoiced in the distraction of the burn as he rattled off a couple of his favourite beaches. ‘How do you feel about sharks?’
‘Er, like I only want to see them in 2D?’
‘Then you should probably skip swimming off Great Point.’
Horror flitted across her face. ‘Are there really sharks in the sea?’
‘That is where they tend to spend most of their time.’
‘Ha ha. I’d love to say something cool, like, I know how to handle a shark, or even better, it’s the shark who needs to worry, but in reality, if I came across one, I’d totally shit myself.’
He lived in a world where people watched what they said around him– Jeremy and his grandma excluded. Jade was refreshingly unfiltered. ‘Relax. If you keep to the main beaches the most frightening sea life you’re likely to come across is the small human variety.’
Her face softened. ‘Now that I can handle. Kids are so funny, they say the things we want to say but are too scared to.’
He thought back over their conversation. ‘You don’t strike me as someone who’s scared to say what they think.’
‘Maybe that’s because I’m basically still a kid at heart.’ Her eyes slid down to her phone and then back up to him. ‘Thanks for the tips. I’ll aim to give everything a go except the shark attack off Great Point.’
Silence descended between them. He’d finished his drink, she’d finished hers. Now was a good time to head back.
‘Would you like another whisky?’ She nodded down to his empty glass. ‘I know you own a fancy yacht and can afford to buy your own, but that doesn’t mean you should have to. My way of thanking you for the tourist tips.’ She gave him a hesitant smile. ‘But no worries if you want to head off. You’ve probably got better plans for the evening.’
‘Definitely not better.’ He waited until she looked at him. ‘Are you offering to buy the drink because you feel you should, or because you want to?’
She blinked, gaze slowing rising to meet his. ‘Because I want to.’
There was only one way his thoughts were now travelling. ‘And if I said why don’t we have that drink on the boat, instead?’
Her breath caught, but the hand that carefully placed her glass back on the table was steady as a rock. ‘I’d say I hope you can make a good cocktail.’
Sex. It hung, hot and heavy in the air between them. He was aware he was acting totally out of character. He didn’t joke with strangers. Had never invited anyone back to his boat, let alone a woman. He also avoided hitting on guests in his own resort, too easy for things to become complicated. Yet for this guest, he was throwing away his rule book. Maybe because she was nothing like the women he usually came across who liked to play games, to be seduced, to pretend they weren’t just out to do something as dirty, as basic, as hooking up for a night.
The less smooth he’d been with Jade, and fuck, he was seriously rusty, the more she’d seemed to relax.
Standing, he reached to take her hand and as her warm fingers clasped around his, he realised his heart was thumping loudly in his chest.