Chapter Two #3
“And it won’t make me want you any less.” My nipples literally buzz alive. It must have something to do with that accent. It could be the husk of his voice or that he told me he wanted me.
“I’m sorry if I come on too strong, Hannah, and I apologise. When I want something, I get it. And I know I want you.”
I break our gaze and focus towards his hand as it rests on mine. My body ripples with goosebumps and I can’t help but worry we’re moving at one hundred miles an hour.
“We met a few hours ago. This is all so quick.” I try to be the voice of reason.
Again, he places his finger under my chin and guides my eyes back to his. “If there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that life is too short. Why wait to see what develops? If you want it, make it happen.”
My body shivers as my skin prickles with excitement, but I hide it with a serious nod of the head. “But sometimes, you’ve got to get to know a person.”
He jumps in. “Ask me anything.” There’s a playful edge to his voice.
“Okay.” I think for a second, “Anything?”
“Fire away.”
I sit up straight. “Okay then. Why are you still single? I mean, you must be the most eligible bachelor in Australia. Why would a man like you still be on your own?”
Daniel looks away momentarily and takes a deep breath. He blows it out and releases his hand from mine. I expect to see an arrogant expression due to the ‘eligible bachelor’ description. Instead, he looks sad, and instinctively, I take his hand as he speaks.
“Well… there’s a story… there was someone once. Someone special to me.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. What happened?” I ask, assuming this is just another broken romance.
“She died.”
My stomach rolls. “Oh God, I’m so sorry, Daniel.
” He looks at me with glazed hazel eyes.
“Thank you and please don’t apologise,” he says while he looks up briefly.
“It was a long time ago.” He sits bolt upright in his chair and smiles.
“How the hell did we get so morbid? We need a drink.” He catches the waiter’s eye and calls him over.
“Could you get us two glasses of champagne, please?” He looks at me in question and I nod my acceptance back. “Oh, and a change of subject.”
The waiter gives him a quizzical stare, “I’m sorry sir, but is that some kind of cocktail?”
“Just the champagne, thanks.” His lips slowly turn to a smile and I blush with the goosebumps it gives me. At least the mood is lighter now.
“Shall we try another subject?”
I nod, “Okay. How about you tell me how you came to work for your dad?” I say while smiling at a very elegant lady who sways her arse with purpose as she passes by.
It wasn’t my attention she was trying to gain, but she’s not in luck.
His focus is firmly on me. He leans in, touching my knee.
“I bet you think they handed me my position on a business plate.” His hand is there for just a moment, but it ignites a flame through my entire body.
I raise my eyebrows, and Daniel’s panty dropping smile sparks a fire below.
From nowhere, he turns in his chair briefly and shakes a hand.
“John. Good to see you,” he says before his attention is back to me.
“I love where I am and dad made me work hard for it. I started out at ground level and worked my way up. ”
“Are you talking about a building site?”
“I am. Are you shocked?”
“I can’t imagine it.” Actually, I can. I’ve seen his incredible biceps and defined chest through the tight shirt he was wearing earlier.
“It’s true. My first job was labouring.”
“Really?”
“Yep.” He pushes his chest out so far as he takes in a breath I’m sure the buttons may burst from his shirt.
“I’m impressed, Mr Grant. I assumed, as you’re the boss’s son, you’d go straight to board level.”
Daniel’s smile ignites yet another fire between my legs. This could get dangerous.
“Have you met my dad? He may be the friendliest man you’ll ever meet, but, Christ, he’s a taskmaster.” His hand brushes my knee when he says, “Especially with his sons.”
We both lean back as the waiter arrives. “Thank you,” we say in unison as he sets down the tall, elegant glasses and then the conversation picks up from where we left it.
“I must admit, I forgot about your brother, Joe.”
“Oh yes. He’s as bad as me when it comes to construction. Dad insisted we both start from scratch. It was the best training we could have done. You’ve got to understand every level of what you’re talking about in this business and there’s no better foundation than a construction site.”
He screws his face up, and it makes me laugh. “What’s the face for?” I say, still laughing.
“The pun. It made me sound like an arse.”
“I didn’t think so.” I love how he pronounces arse. It’s all drawn out and lazy. ‘ Arrsse .’ I could listen to him all night long.
I take a brief look around as the room fills with people searching for their seats or casually standing in groups.
There’s a lot of shaking hands and kissing cheeks while the gentle hum of conversation makes it easy for us to chat without gaining too much attention.
As my eyes scan the room, I ask, “Is your brother here?”
“He’s in Melbourne on a business trip with his wife.”
I turn my attention back to his hazel eyes. “What a shame. I would love to meet them both.”
“I’d like you to meet Joe.” I notice Daniel clench his fists before fanning his fingers out several times. “My sister-in-law? Not so much.”
I don’t want to pry, but I am intrigued. “Is there a problem?”
Daniel sighs and sits back in his seat, “Freya and me, we don’t really get on too well these days.”
Just as he is about to continue, Diana takes her seat next to me. She winks as her mouth curls to the side with a smile. Damn it! Bang goes that conversation.
“Everything all right Daniel?” She asks while her eyes move between the two of us.
“We’re good, aren’t we, Hannah?” His arm reaches around the back of my chair, and I nod in Diana’s direction, “Absolutely, thank you.” Diana re-arranges the cutlery in front of her slightly with a small smirk on her face.
“Good. I’m glad you’re both enjoying yourselves.
” Diana leans into me and talks out of the corner of her mouth.
“I believe someone is smitten. He’s been asking about you. ”
I’m surprised, but thrilled. Unfortunately, my good mood doesn’t last long when I raise my head to reply and come into direct eye contact with Richard.
He is wearing what I call his ‘professional mask.’ It means he is pleasant and happy in front of his hosts, but underneath he is pulling a face the devil himself would flinch at.
He heads to his seat, taking the route behind my chair, and I sense his eyes as they bore into the back of my head.
Daniel can sense something too. “Your boss has a serious problem with me talking to you.”
“He just worries.”
“Listen, Hannah.” He shifts in his seat, his voice low so his mother doesn’t hear him. “Earlier at the farm…” He takes my hand under the table resting it on his thigh. It excites me in places it shouldn’t. “Tell me you didn’t feel something too.”
“Yes. I felt it.” He has no idea how much.
He whispers. “Can you feel it now?”
I nod while I relish the pad of his thumb brushing over my hand. For a moment, we are the only people in the room as he whispers once more, “I want you.”
My breath hitches as the waiter clears his throat behind us and holds back on serving our starters. He’s giving me time to control my breathing and come back into the room. We shift apart and straighten when the food is placed in front of us.
“I want to see more of you and Richard can’t stop that from happening.
” There’s another brief pause while I rest my knife and fork on the plate then pick up my napkin and dab my mouth.
His words have fuelled something deep inside me.
“Daniel,” I gaze into his sparkling eyes then instinct has me looking towards my hands again.
They have an uncontrollable urge to squeeze his firm thigh, but I have to answer his unspoken question.
“Spending time with you today was wonderful, and I have no doubt, there is something happening here.” I stop for a second, giggling. “Actually, I must admit initially, I assumed you worked with the horses.”
“I thought you might.”
I giggle before I go back to being serious.
“Anyway, I wanted to say, whatever we had going on today, Richard was very aware of it and gave me a lecture when I got back. It’s not that he wants to stop us.
He worries about me. I lived with someone in London and it didn’t work out, so I took this job.
I suppose what I’m trying to say is, he doesn’t want me to get hurt again.
He had to cope with my moods after my last break up, so I doubt he intends to go through it again.
” Then Daniel puts his hand on my knee. It causes my pulse to accelerate.
“Did he hurt you?” I don’t register for a moment as I home in on his palm, which has moved and is now providing warmth to my upper thigh. It feels amazing.
“What—who? Richard?”
His tone is dark. “Your last boyfriend. Did he hurt you?”
My finger runs along the sharp edge of the knife in front of me, “Yes, he hurt me, but not in the physical sense. He slept with someone else and it wasn’t the first time. He broke my heart.”
Daniel squeezes my thigh, “I’m sorry.” Then I hear, “What a dickhead,” under his breath.
“That’s a good way to describe him,” I whisper while trying everything to control the buzz in my core.
I want him to move his hand further up and touch me and I instinctively part my legs.
I breathe deeply; lost in my own mucky thoughts.
It’s time to pour a virtual bucket of water over us both.
I stand, leaning over the table in search of a bread roll, which means Daniel having to remove his hand.
I didn’t want him to take it away, but if he hadn’t, I would have exploded.
“So that’s why Richard didn’t look happy.”
“Well, if you think about it, you can see his point. You are a partner. That makes things awkward. Oh, and he’s worried because you have… a reputation.” Daniel squints, but I notice a spark as the light catches the slight part of his eyes.
“And you believe everything you hear?”
“I believe nothing. I don’t have a clue about your past or what Richard is referring to, but I’d like to get to know Daniel Grant for myself. The one in the cowboy hat.”
“Akubra,” he smirks. We’re both silent for a moment, then he breaks it. “Do you still love him?” I frown quizzically and he repeats, “The boyfriend in London. Do you still love him?” I stare into space. “You mean the ex- boyfriend and no, I’m not in love with him.”
“Good,” he whispers as his palm returns to my thigh. I praise the Lord and panic in equal measures. What the hell am I doing? He is my boss’s boss! The problem is, now he’s told me how much he wants me, I badly want him too.
He is my forbidden fruit and I can’t wait to take a bite.
As dinner progresses, there is a natural flow, not only to our alcohol intake but also to our conversation. I can’t help but tease him about being the chairman’s son, but he takes it in good spirits.
“You need to get over it. I don’t want to sound rude, but that line is already boring the crap out of me,” he reassures while a smile spreads across his face. I laugh, but his next sentence nearly has me spraying my mouthful of champagne all over him.
“Something else about me, I’m a straight talker.
For example, I regretted not kissing you today because you’re beautiful and sexy.
” Shit! Is my hearing playing tricks on me?
My face burns and my power of speech slips away.
He moves close to my ear and blows—a soft chill runs over my neck. “I want to kiss you.”
I take a deep breath and spot the way he looks to my lips.
I’m so close to letting go. His smile almost dazzles me and reaches all the way to his deep hazel eyes.
“There will be a kiss. Maybe not now, but soon.” We both take deep breaths but do our best to hide them.
I squeeze his hand and sit back. We need to cool off.
A change of subject calms the ache inside me. “Can I say something?”
“Anything.”
“I think you owe Matthew an apology. He took care of me when there was no one else about and he didn’t want to leave me on my own. Frankly, I was grateful.”
His eyes darken, “You’re joking right?”
I shake my head slowly to show, no.
He squeezes his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose and sighs, “All right.” Again, his voice reaches the very depths of his tone. “I’ll apologise, but only because it will make you happy. I don’t like the guy. He’s an arsehole.”
There’s the arse word again. If only he knew what that did to me. “Thank you,” I smile, “Oh and one very last thing.” His eyebrows raise in question and my face is flushed with heat once again. I’m about to give him the clear signal he needs.
“This kiss you mentioned. Please don’t leave it too long. I really want to kiss you too.”