Chapter 5
Chapter Five
S he was about to do something stupid, yet whether it was the buzz of the alcohol, the punch drunkenness of jet lag, or the heady giddiness of arousal, right now, in this moment, she didn’t give a rat’s arse. She wanted to carry on the evening a little longer, to spend more time with this deeply attractive man with his brooding good looks and magnetic air of worldly confidence. A man so different to anyone she’d ever met.
She wasn’t na?ve, she knew he was hoping for sex, but maybe part of her was hoping for that, too. What she knew for certain was she’d enjoyed his company, felt flattered that he’d made the effort to engage with her. Most of the guys who tried to pick her up assumed all they had to do was give her a cocky smile.
Liam cleared his throat. ‘If your sole purpose to come back with me is for a cocktail, you’re in for a disappointment. The range of alcohol I keep on the boat is very limited.’
She glanced sideways at him as they walked back along the beach, her heart beating a crazy rhythm. ‘I don’t think I’ll be disappointed.’ Once again she was at the mercy of that piercing look, the one that made her skin prickle and her belly flip-flop. ‘Not that I’m expecting you to make me a cocktail. I just said that to try and sound sophisticated, like I often get asked by hot guys to go back to their boat.’ She started to laugh at the absurdity of it. ‘Twickenham, that well-known magnet for luxury yachts.’
He quirked an eyebrow. ‘That’s where you live?’
‘Yep, home of English rugby, but not home to many boats. Well not yet anyway. There are plans to develop part of it by the river…’ Oh, my frigging God, what was she doing? ‘But then I don’t suppose you’ll be heading to Twickenham any time soon so I won’t bore you with the details.’
They reached the wharf. It stretched out into the sea, several large sailing boats and two more luxury yachts now moored against it. She recognised his at the end, looking resplendent in the flickering lights from the lamps along the waterfront. Wealth, class, sophistication. It was everywhere she looked… until her eyes dropped to her stained cotton dress. And her Primark flip-flops.
Suddenly she felt inadequate.
No, that’s the old you .
She wasn’t sure who the new one was, but tonight wasn’t the time to find her. It was the time to shove all her insecurities in a box and be the heroine in her very own billionaire romance novel, only the rich guy wasn’t an arsehole. And she wasn’t going to fall for him. Instead she was going to flirt, to enjoy him. Maybe even use him for sex. Definitely use the experience of being chatted up by him to reconfirm she was worth more than the shitty guys she’d been dating. Then she was going to prove she was better than the shitty things they’d said about her. After that, she’d go home and find herself a man to fall in love with who valued who she was.
She felt Liam’s hand rest low on her back. Not pushing her forward, just touching her. Reassuring her. ‘We can go back to the bar.’
She glanced again at him, felt everything inside her tighten with longing. ‘But then I’d never get to nosy inside this fancy boat you threw me off.’
He let out a bark of laughter and holy crap, if brooding Liam was irresistible, laughing Liam was I need to jump his bones now.
His hot gaze pinned hers, and his hand travelled up from her back and along her arm until it cupped her face. ‘You are… unexpected.’
Her heart bumped against her ribs. She was used to being told the opposite. That she was obvious. ‘Unexpected, as in I’ve found a slug in my lettuce or as in that sprout flavoured ice cream didn’t taste as bad as I thought?’
His mouth was tantalisingly close to hers, those impossibly soft-looking lips curved in a smile. ‘Yet again, you provide only terrible options.’
No words were said as they walked the final few yards to the boat, yet it seemed as if their bodies were saying plenty. Touch me , her breasts demanded. His hand tightened on hers. Soon , it seemed to say.
She wasn’t sure how far she wanted to go, but she needed something to take away the ache.
When they reached the yacht, he halted and turned to face her. ‘The wobble you had a few minutes ago. It’s over?’
Wow, he was perceptive. ‘Seeing the boat again made me take a breath. I’m more used to getting in a guy’s Ford Fiesta.’ She cringed. ‘Not to have sex, I mean there’s not much room in the back of those things…’ She let out a strangled laugh. ‘I really need to stop talking so much.’
His eyes travelled to her mouth. ‘I know a way to achieve that.’ Then he grimaced and glanced back at her. ‘Was that too corny?’
‘Er, no.’ She swallowed, heart fluttering. ‘Actually, it sounded like something you should definitely follow up on.’
The word please almost left her mouth but she swallowed it as his lips finally, finally found hers.
And holy crap. It was like she’d been zapped with a live wire. Every nerve end tingled, her skin felt hot, her brain started to melt as his mouth teased hers, his tongue brushing her lips before slipping inside, his breath warm with a hint of whisky. Gentler than she’d thought he’d be, he seemed content to take his time, tasting her from every angle like he was savouring her. Just as her knees were about to buckle, he drew back, eyes a smoky grey as they stared into hers. ‘I was right.’
‘Sorry?’ She could barely get the word out she felt so unsteady. Like he’d taken her world and, in one smooth, sensual glide, turned it upside down.
‘You taste even better.’
With the fluid grace of a man at ease with himself, and with the boat, he climbed on board. She stumbled after him, only the hold he had on her hand preventing her from ending up flat on her arse. ‘Think I need to find my sea legs.’
The look he gave her made her blood thicken. ‘I know a way we can solve that.’
Her belly swooped. She knew what he was implying, and part of her was desperate to take him up on the promise in his eyes. The easy way he carried himself, the confidence he wore like an expensively tailored suit, the heat he elicited in her from just his gaze… Instinctively, she knew sex with him would be explosive.
‘Relax.’ He gave her a small smile, one that perfectly communicated he’d read her indecision, then held out his hand. ‘Come, let me show you those stars I promised.’
I’ll fuck you again under the stars.
His words from earlier flooded back to her, yet alongside the sharp tug of arousal, was the flutter of unwanted nerves. She was way out of her depth.
But then his warm hand enveloped hers and the nerves settled, leaving only the tug in her belly.
* * *
Liam handed Jade a glass of champagne and as he settled next to her on the sun pad, he felt the earlier tension start to leave her. People called him a cold bastard, and maybe at times he could be, but not where women were concerned. No, there he’d been too trusting. ‘Nothing will happen tonight that you don’t want to.’
She gave him a soft smile and his heart performed an odd skip. ‘You clocked my hesitancy, huh?’
‘I’m a stranger to you.’ He shrugged. ‘I’d be more surprised if you weren’t wary.’
Her eyes searched his, and she smiled again. ‘Yeah, I’m not wary of you. You don’t look like an axe murderer.’
‘How can you tell?’
She grinned. ‘You’re not carrying an axe?’ Her eyes skimmed the deck. ‘All I can see is an ice bucket and a bottle of champagne. I’m no detective but I figure that’s more death by seduction, which is a far better way to go.’
‘I’ll bear that in mind next time I reach for my axe.’
She laughed, and it felt strangely satisfying to know he’d caused it.
‘It’s myself I’m wary of,’ she added when her laughter died down. ‘I’ve a tendency to rush into things without thinking first. It got me into trouble loads at school and if I’m honest it’s still getting me into trouble now, especially where men are concerned.’ He wanted to ask her what she meant, but she put her glass down on the deck, settled back on the sun pad and stared up at the sky. ‘These stars I can see. Do you know any of their names?’
He shifted so he was lying down next to her. Not touching, but close enough he could feel the heat of her skin. His dick, which had been half hard most of the evening, stirred again. ‘I know the Milky Way,’ he offered, willing his body to catch up with what his mind had already worked out. Sex was not going to happen tonight.
‘Yeah, I’ve heard of that.’ Her head turned towards him. ‘Just in case I’m not absolutely certain what it is, though, besides a yummy brand of chocolate bar, can you remind me?’
‘It’s the galaxy that includes our solar system.’ He pointed at the sky to the left. ‘You see the area that looks like a cloud?’
He watched as her eyes scanned the inky blackness, littered with thousands of twinkling stars. ‘The one that looks a bit like an alien with a transparent head and a brain that is glowing in the dark?’
Amusement hummed inside him and he cleared his throat, not wanting to laugh in case she thought he was laughing at her. ‘Astrologists say the Milky Way looks like spilt milk, but I guess an alien’s brain works, too.’
‘Split milk is kind of nondescript.’ She sunk further into the sun pad. ‘So, um, that’s the Milky Way, then.’
‘It is. About two-hundred billion stars. Plus a bit of dust and gas.’
‘Holy crap, billions? Seriously?’
He hadn’t realised those blue eyes could get any wider. ‘There are too many to see individually, hence the glow. Nantucket is a great place to view it. There’s hardly any light pollution here.’
‘More than I can say for Twickenham.’ She paused, seeming to take it all in. ‘Makes you feel very small and insignificant, doesn’t it, knowing all that is out there.’
‘Yes.’
Again he felt her gaze on him. ‘I bet it’s the only time you feel insignificant.’
Christ, if only she knew how wrong she was. ‘You think tall people can’t feel small?’ He could tell he’d surprised her, but because he didn’t want her asking any more questions, he kept his eyes firmly up at the sky.
‘When I was a kid I used to think I could wish on a star and it would all come true,’ she said quietly after a while.
He turned to look at her, finding her expression unusually pensive. ‘What did you wish for?’
‘Oh, you know, the usual. Ten-year-old me wanted a pony, twelve-year-old me wanted to live in a castle made of books.’
‘Ah.’ Understanding dawned. ‘It’s a bookworm– that key ring you showed me– not a caterpillar.’ When she didn’t immediately reply, he glanced at her again and found her staring open-mouthed at him. ‘What?’
‘I’m surprised you made the connection, that’s all. But Sparks thanks you for realising his worm credentials. My sister didn’t get it. In fact, she laughed till her belly ached when I told her I bought it because I thought it was a worm.’
He couldn’t miss the pain in her voice. ‘Sounds like you don’t get along.’
‘Oh, we do, mostly.’ She let out a deep exhale. ‘But fourteen-year-old me wanted her to fail an exam, just one, so my parents could be disappointed in her for a change.’ He was shocked, not by what she said, but the fact she’d openly admitted something so private. ‘I don’t know why I said that,’ she added, face still turned up to the sky, like she was embarrassed to look at him. ‘It’s the first time I’ve admitted out loud how jealous I am of her.’
‘We’re strangers sharing a moment in the dark. It’s not like I’m going to judge you.’
Finally, her eyes met his and she smiled. ‘It’s not even that my parents are horrible. I mean I know they love me, you know?’ As he didn’t, he kept his expression neutral. ‘It’s just Lauren has always been the shining star, the one who went to university, who became a doctor. I’m the one still trying to find my way.’ She sighed. ‘Have you got any siblings you’re jealous of? Just to make me feel better.’
‘No siblings.’
Silence descended, broken only by the occasional creak of the rope on the moorings and the gentle wash of water against the hull. He was usually happy with quiet, preferred it to conversation, yet after what she’d admitted, his cursory response felt churlish. ‘But I was jealous of the boys in my class.’
‘What were you jealous of?’
Fuck, what was he doing? His childhood wasn’t something he talked about. In fact, screw that, he didn’t talk about himself . Clearly he was too tired to put up his usual defence. ‘Their swagger, their bond.’ He kept his gaze up at the sky. ‘They had money, and it made them important in the eyes of everyone around them.’
She scoffed. ‘Being rich doesn’t make a person important. It just makes them think they are.’ As if she’d suddenly realised what she’d said, she added, ‘Not that every rich person thinks like that. I’m sure there are some perfectly nice ones. Like, um, you.’
He wasn’t sure if he’d just been insulted, or agreed with. He couldn’t fault what she’d said, though. Only that she lacked a few vital insights. Money wasn’t important unless it was what you were judged on. Judged, shunned, tormented, ridiculed. He felt the familiar knots tighten in his stomach and focused on the stars as he willed the memories to fade.
‘So what did ten-year-old Liam wish for?’
He slammed his eyes shut and heaved out a breath. This evening wasn’t going anywhere near how he’d imagined it when he’d invited her onto the boat. He’d thought they’d have a bit of a laugh, something he’d almost forgotten he was capable of. And yeah, okay, he’d hoped to make out with her, tempt her into sex.
Aware he’d not replied, he rolled over onto his side to face her. She looked fucking perfect, lying on his boat, beguiling blue eyes, blonde hair draped across the pad of his sundeck, her dress moulded against her curves.
Maybe he could put up with answering a few more questions if it meant he kept her here a little longer.