Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Del
Err…
My heart pounds in my ears like a frenzied metronome.
“Right?” he says with a smile that could be considered playful and adorable if it wasn’t for the unreadable emotion burning in his eyes.
Desperation?
I frown, even as a flush of pleasure whispers over my skin at his large hand on the small of my back. What would that firm, long-fingered hand feel like on my butt? My boobs? Between my legs?
I swallow. What am I thinking?
“Right?” he repeats, his stare locked on mine. His Adam’s apple jerks up and down his throat.
What am I thinking? Ha! What the hell is he thinking? As if I’d go along with whatever this…this…jerk is up to.
This sexy, annoying, gorgeous jerk.
“Utterly in love.” The declaration slips from me as my hands—seemingly of their own accord—skim up over his abs and chest.
Good gravy, is the man carved from granite?
He sucks in a sharp breath and flattens his palm firmer on my back, and for a second, I think he’s going to draw my body closer to his.
Do it.
“I wish we could bring our wedding forward to this weekend,” I continue with a smile I hope looks sappy, like I’m the love-struck heroine in a Hallmark movie. “It’s beautiful here.”
His cloud-gray eyes drop to my lips, and before I can stop myself, I’m biting the bottom one.
“Beautiful,” he echoes, the word a deep, gravelly growl that somehow caresses my senses.
My sex floods with tight want, and a soft whimper hitches at the back of my throat. If he kissed me now, I’d one-hundred percent kiss him back. If he grabbed my arse and hauled me to his body, I’d jump up and wrap my legs around his waist and—
“Oh, this is wonderful,” the old guy—Angus?—crows, shattering whatever surreal trance I’ve fallen under, and I jerk back a step. Away from the tattooed sex-god giant and his hard chest and big hands and broad shoulders and incredible jaw and lips and…
Crap, I need to get a grip.
Unreadable gray eyes hold me prisoner for a heartbeat, and then he snags my hand and threads our fingers with a dexterous ease that’s both startling and exciting.
“Thanks, Angus,” he rumbles, turning to the elderly couple and gently tugging me to his side. “I should have told you about…” He shoots me a glance that screams Fuck! Help!
Slipping my fingers free, I plaster a wide smile on my face and step forward, right hand extended to Angus.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” I say as we shake.
For an old guy, his grip is tight. A businessman’s grip.
“I’m Delphine. But most people call me Del.
” I drop his hand and turn my smile to his wife, who’s watching me—us—like we’re a petri dish about to vomit up a new species.
“My big bear back there has told me so much about you. And Cloudkiss.”
A strangled cough pocks the air behind me.
“Big bear.” The wife titters. “Such an appropriate term of endearment.”
“How bout we stick with Lachlan for the weekend, princess?” my new fiancé rumbles, his hand once again on the small of my back.
God, I like how it feels there.
Tilting my head back, I gaze up into his eyes, lips twitching, like I’m a freaking femme fatale flirting with a dangerous force. “Whatever you say…Lochie.”
“Lochie, eh?” One dark eyebrow arches and, letting out a low chuckle that’s almost a moan, he slips his hand a little lower, skimming the top curve of my arse.
My nipples bead. I like how it feels there even more.
Angus clears his throat. “Let us show you to your room then, so you can get settled before all the business begins.”
Lachlan frowns. “We’re not doing it now?”
“No.” Angus beams at us both. “We’d like to do the exchange tomorrow, if that’s okay. Over breakfast? By a stroke of luck, we put aside one of our suites for you, Lachlan. Big enough for you both.”
My pulse trips over itself. Both?
His wife hooks her fingers through his offered elbow. “It’s not the honeymoon suite, I’m afraid. We have a wedding here this weekend as well.”
Wedding.
A lash of guilt hits me. Oh God, Stevie! She’s probably wondering where the hell I am.
“But,” Angus’s wife continues, giving him a knowing grin, “it’s one of our most cozy. With a very big bed.”
An image of a massive bed pops into my head. Lachlan stretched out on his side on it, smirking. At me.
“Come.” Angus waves his cane at the sprawling homestead. “Let’s get you lovebirds—”
“Del?” A female voice calls, and my stomach knots.
I turn, fixing the cheesiest smile on my face, heat crawling over my cheeks. “Stevie.”
My cousin, who I love more than anyone else in the world, is hurrying across the lawn, already wearing the fairy wings I made for her, confusion etched on her face.
Heading straight for me.