Chapter 1 #2
My dick jumps excitedly at that proposition, but I tamp it down.
She’s bold. Beautiful. And impossible. The first woman to get my dick stirring in over a month is as forbidden to me in just about every way a woman can be.
Gotta love that irony, but that doesn’t mean I’m getting up and walking away either.
She’s a winless game I can’t help but want to continue playing.
“Is that what has you out here? You no longer need permission to be up past midnight?”
A shrug of her shoulder, her hands twining up in her hair, lifting the heavy strands off her dewy neck. It also lifts the bottom of her crop top and I catch the hint of the heavy undersides of her breasts. Holy damn, that’s insanely fucking sexy.
“Are you flirting with me?” I tease when she doesn’t answer.
“Possibly. Does that bother you?” she asks, throwing my question back at me.
I chuckle under my breath. It fucking should. “Not even a bit. I’m just glad you’ve stopped calling me sir and haven’t referred to me as Dr. Luca. But you never answered my initial question.”
She tosses her hands up, the strands of her hair falling around her. “I couldn’t sleep. What’s your excuse?”
My eyes snap back up to hers. “I decided I was done for the night and didn’t feel like going to one of the parties my siblings were headed for.”
“No woman for Luca Abbot-Fritz to end the night with? Has such an atrocity ever occurred before?” She gives an exaggerated gasp, covering her mouth as her eyes widen.
“You mock me, Little Bird, thinking you know me so well. You knew it was me and not Landon, as well as my birthday, age, and evidently my fuck habits. What else do you know?”
Aqua eyes sparkle, lit with challenge as she matches my position, crossing her legs at the knee, her arms across her breasts forcing them up just a bit and revealing a hint of more cleavage.
Cleavage I have absolutely no business looking at, but her rare and exquisite form of beauty makes it impossible not to notice.
“I know you sleep shirtless, only in your boxer briefs. I know you like to run ten miles before the sun comes up because your eyes are sensitive to light, and you don’t want to run with sunglasses.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” I interrupt, holding up a hand. “How do you know I only sleep in boxer briefs?”
She winks at me without answering. “I know you take your coffee with a touch of cream and no sugar because you prefer hazelnut coffee and feel that’s sweet enough.
I know you know every line from the original three Star Wars movies and likely all the newer ones, even if you hate one, two, and three.
I know you also have a coveted secret stash of Star Wars figurines but brought only five of your favorites with you when you left for college.
I know your heart shifts as quickly as your eyes, favoring a new woman every week.
I know your greatest love is your family and that you’d give your life for any of them without a second’s hesitation. ”
I stare at her. Utterly floored. “Raven Fairchild, how long have you been stalking me?”
“Nearly all my life.”
A laugh bursts from my chest. “And why is that?”
“If you’re looking for someone to pad your ego with compliments and batting eyelashes as they throw themselves at you, you’re talking to the wrong girl.”
“You know, you’re nothing like the girl who stuttered at the sight of me, saying sir and Dr. Landon.”
“That was all before you looked at my boobs.”
I choke out a cough, hacking up my lungs. “Christ, woman. You’re going to kill me.”
“What are you doing here, Luca ?” She emphasizes my name. “Looking for a quick, easy lay?”
“If I wanted that, I’d be at the party right now. Instead of here with you. But the fact remains, you know an awful lot about me when I know so little about you.”
“You mean like how you didn’t even recognize me tonight?”
“Caught that, did you?”
She raises an eyebrow.
I shrug contritely. I should have recognized her. Maybe I wouldn’t be sitting out here with her then. As close as I am. Intrigued and unable to force myself to get up and walk away as I should.
“You saved my life once. Do you remember?”
I rack my brain for a moment and then answer, “When you fell in the pool, and I jumped in after you?”
She nods, staring down at her lap, her fingers twirling an errant string on her tiny shorts.
“I was running back to the staff house and tripped over something in the yard. I sprained my ankle and fell into the pool at the same time. I was in so much pain I could hardly swim and was struggling to reach the side. You jumped in. Dragged me out.”
“Then I spent the rest of the afternoon watching Disney movies while you were bundled up under a blanket in front of the fire. I think I also made popcorn and ordered pizza.”
A smile lights up her face. “You did.”
“What does that have to do with the stalking?”
Her head falls back, her long hair along with it, and I admire the column of her neck. How graceful she is. She doesn’t look or act eighteen. That’s for damn sure.
“I developed an adolescent crush that day.” She rights herself. “But don’t worry, old man. I gave up that ghost a long time ago.”
My hand hits my chest. “Old man?”
She scrunches her nose. “So old.”
“I’m wounded.”
“I’ve been told.”
Any warmth or amusement I was feeling instantly dies inside me as ice runs through my veins, making my body shudder and my shoulder ache as if to remind me of the real reason I’m on this island.
She leans forward, her fingers stroking over my hand, a tender look in her eyes, along with a soft smile. No pity and it’s a relief.
“Walk me home.”
It’s not a question, but I stand all the same, swallowing thickly.
I flip my hand around, grasping hers and helping her up.
She doesn’t release me as she goes for the massive cello, nor does she allow me to take it from her when I attempt.
Instead, she silently holds my hand as we exit the garage, the warm, salty wind hitting us with its briny tang, blowing our hair and clothing about.
And when we reach the front door of the staff quarters at the back of the estate, she gives my hand a squeeze, meets my eyes for a flicker of a second, releases me, and walks inside, shutting the door behind her. No good night or see you around.
I chuckle to myself, rubbing my hand over my mouth.
Well, that was unexpected as hell. Kind of fun. A lot dirty—at least my thoughts were. Raven Fairchild. Yes, definitely unexpected. And inappropriate…
I have no idea what that was. All I know is I can’t do it again. Not with her. No matter how much I want to.