Bachelor Unclaimed (15 page)

“No, I enjoyed the interview sessions. They were...intense. And you have to admit I did get through all thirty questions, eventually.”

He chuckled as he reached out and twirled a strand of her hair around his fingers. “Yes, eventually.”

She inhaled deeply, thinking just how perfect life could be if...

Her breath suddenly caught when she realized where her thoughts were going. Life was already perfect or getting there. With the article almost finished, she would eventually get back her job. That meant she would be leaving Barrett Shores to then leave Claxton to return to New York and be in her own little world again. She could do the plays, treat herself to days in Times Square and go dancing whenever she wanted. Life would be good. It would be perfect.

Who was she fooling?

“We got an hour to spare,” Winston said huskily close to her mouth.

She looked up at him. “Do we?”

“Trust me. I know this recipe.”

She eased close to him. “So what do you suggest?”

He used his finger to tip back her head and kissed the corners of her mouth. “What about a walk on the beach?”

She blinked. That wasn’t what she’d thought he had in mind. “A walk on the beach?”

“Yes. Grab your jacket so we can go. We only have an hour.”

“Oh, all right.”

She turned to walk out the kitchen when he called her name. “Ainsley?”

She looked over her shoulder. “Yes?” She let her eyes graze over him. No man could wear a pair of jeans quite like him.

A crooked, naughty smile curved one side of his mouth. “I need more than an hour with you today...
that
way.”

She couldn’t help smiling knowing she had a lot to look forward to later.

* * *

Winston carefully eased from the bed and stood at the edge to glance down at Ainsley. The moonlight shining through the window cast streaks of light on her naked body. The entire room smelled of sex and he instinctively breathed in that scent. Her scent. One that had gotten to him from the first. Reeled him in and was still holding him tight.

He rubbed his hand down his face. What the hell was happening to him? Why had he begun feeling so vulnerable where she was concerned? She had been on Barrett Shores for almost two weeks now. Two mind-blowing weeks. And he would admit they had been the best two weeks of his life. Waking up with her. Going to bed with her. All those times in between. She would help him feed Lucy and Ricky each day and, once they covered the interview questions for that day, she would make herself useful by assisting him in the lab and inputting data into the system. And he’d let her look under his microscope to see things that interested him as a biologist. He’d even shared with her his desire to work on the Great Barrier Reef to further his studies on the Australian loggerhead turtles.

Then at night, every night, before they retired to bed, she would dance for him. It amazed him how agile her body was and no matter what dance she performed, she was simply beautiful. He even had a new appreciation for hip-hop. And after she finished each dance, she would take a bow then cross the room to curl up in his lap. He would hold her while thinking how some man would be lucky to have her as a permanent part of his life.

Sighing deeply he figured with a slight chill in the room that he needed to cover her instead of just standing there, ogling her naked body and getting an erection all over again. But at that moment he had a desire to see all of her and to try and understand. What was there about Ainsley St. James that had him tied in knots? Why was he wanting to share things with her that he normally didn’t share with women? That part of himself he’d always kept closed off. But he had allowed her to cross the threshold beyond the door. Like today in his kitchen.

Not only had he let her in it, he had even shared one of his grandmother’s recipes with her. And then they had walked the beach holding hands and later, by candlelight, they had eaten the dinner she had prepared. Candlelight, for crying out loud. What man did such nonsense except when he needed to make a score?

So here he was at 2:00 a.m. trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with him. And why he didn’t want her to leave Barrett Shores when there was no reason for her to stay. She had finished the article and it was time for her to move on and for him to start thinking about all those offers that had begun rolling in.

But at that moment, all he wanted to do was think of her.

He moved to the window and looked out. Affairs started and affairs ended. Life went on. Nothing was forever. Nothing. Hadn’t Caroline taught him that lesson well? But why had he allowed her—the ex of exes—to be the one to teach him anything? Caroline should have been the last person to leave a lasting impression on him. But she had, and the pain she’d caused him had been ingrained in him.

But not anymore, he thought, turning around and glancing at the naked woman stretched across his bed. Suddenly, a heavy weight seemed lifted from his shoulders. At that moment he knew why his emotions had been so damn confused lately. And at that moment he knew what it meant to be
whipped
.

He smiled. He would have even laughed, if doing so wouldn’t wake Ainsley. But bottom line, he knew without a doubt what he was going through. He had fallen in love with the most gorgeous, sexy woman alive. Hell, no one could blame him.

He eased back into the bed with her, cuddling close to her, and his smile widened when she whispered his name while she slept. He knew he had his work cut out for him. She had a life that didn’t include him and that was the life she intended to return to in a few days.

But he knew what he had to do. Somehow, he needed to get her to see that she belonged with him, just like he knew without a doubt that he belonged with her.

He needed more time.

More time to show her that his feelings for her had grown beyond the bedroom and that he wanted a future with her. He could just come right out and tell her, but she had no reason to believe him. Besides, he believed that actions spoke a thousand words.

Now that she had finished the interview, her plans were to leave the island this weekend. That gave him four days to change her mind.

Chapter 18

T
he next morning Ainsley looked over the rim of her coffee cup at Winston, surprised. “You want me to stay two more weeks?”

“Yes,” he said, buttering his toast. “You did say you didn’t have to officially report back to your office until the first week in March, right?”

That was if she had
her
office to go back to. Although she had kept her end of the deal by handing in her interview, Bobby hadn’t fully kept his. Yes, she had a job at the paper, at the same salary, but that other woman was still occupying her office and writing her column. Bobby hadn’t told her when that would end. He just said that it would eventually. Not having a definite date didn’t sit well with her.

Still, she wanted to be settled in New York in the early part of February. There was her stuff to pack up at her parents’ place in Claxton while spending some time with them before she left to clean and reinhabit her newly vacated condo. If she stayed longer here, it would make her timetable tighter. “That’s right,” she finally answered.

He nodded. “Two more weeks will give me time to do some things with you. I never got around to showing you the other side of the island,” he said before taking a bite of his toast.

“You were busy.”

He chewed his toast and paused to swallow it before saying, “Yes, but I’m going to have some free time on my hands for the next couple weeks. I want to go boating, crabbing on the beach, shrimping and scuba diving.” He glanced over at her. “You do know how to scuba dive, right?” he asked.

She chuckled. “Wrong. I can swim but that’s about it.”

“Then I intend to teach you.”

She had to laugh at that. “It would take me longer than a couple weeks to learn how to scuba dive.”

“You’d be surprised what a good teacher I am.”

She wouldn’t, not really. He had taught her a number of things during the past two weeks, most of them in the bedroom. “Yes, but are you sure you want me hanging around for another two weeks? I would think you’d want your island back with just you and Charley.”

“Would you believe me if I said that I enjoy your company?”

She would believe it, only because enjoying her company also meant enjoying her presence in his bed. He didn’t have to say it but she knew that’s what he really meant.

Really, girl, what else would he mean? Do you actually think that all those days the two of you hung out together here and those nights wrapped up in each other’s arms meant as much to him as they did to you?

Part of her work had been in researching the real man behind the medical breakthroughs. Where there had been limited information on Dr. R. J. Chambers, there had been plenty on Winston Coltrane in the archives of several newspapers—especially the society section. Although he’d been lying low for a couple years doing research, his name had been linked to a stream of beautiful women. Some had tried real hard to get a ring on their finger and become the mistress of Barrett Shores. He was quoted more than once in several newspapers that he wasn’t the marrying kind and intended to remain single forever.

“So...what about it? Think you can handle another two weeks of me and Barrett Shores?” he asked her.

She placed down her cup and picked up her fork. A smile touched the corners of her lips when she said, “Um...I love it here and you really aren’t so bad.”

He chuckled. “Glad to hear that. Does that mean you’re staying?”

She sighed knowing if she decided to stay that meant eighteen more days. Shouldn’t she leave now before she got any deeper into emotions she had no right to feel? But then all she had to do was look at him and her heart would go pitter-patter, letting her know that she wanted that additional time with him. At least he wanted her and wanted to be with her. She needed those two weeks. And then when she left here, she would be able to accept a love that couldn’t be. She would have closure.

“Yes,” she finally said. “I’ll stay two more weeks.”

* * *

The days flew by but Winston was determined to make each one count for the both of them. Every morning upon waking, they would walk on the beach and talk, learning more about each other and sharing things that he’d never shared with any woman. He told her about the Bachelors in Demand Club, wanting her to know his initial dedication to it, so when he eventually told her that he was getting out of the club, she would understand the depth of his love for her.

After their walks on the beach, they would return and prepare breakfast. Together. He had gotten used to her working alongside him in the kitchen, even if she was only handing him the ingredients he needed. Then she would assist him in the lab where he would tell her more about his work with the turtles and his desire to one day set up a sanctuary near the Great Barrier Reef.

And now he was down to the wire. His heart cringed when he thought about their time together coming to an end. They were down to four days and he was determined not to let her leave Barrett Shores without telling her how he felt. Tonight was it and he had a big evening planned for them.

He wanted to take her someplace special and decided the perfect place would be where they’d met—the Sparrow.

* * *

The surprised look on Grady’s face when they walked in was priceless. He pulled Winston aside the first chance he got. “Man, you did it. You said you were claiming her that night. Evidently things went down just the way you planned.”

Winston darted a glance around the club in case Ainsley had returned from the ladies’ room. He turned back to Grady. “To be honest, things didn’t go down as I planned.”

Grady looked surprised. “They didn’t? But you’re here with her now.”

“Yes,” he said smiling. “I hadn’t planned on being so taken with her, but I am. I intend to marry that woman...if she will have me.”

Grady stared at Winston as if he’d suddenly grown horns out from his head. “You let a woman do that to you, man? What kind of hex has she got you under? What—”

“No hex and I’m in my right mind, trust me,” Winston said laughing.

Grady gave him a look that indicated he wasn’t so sure. “Well, I’d like to be a fly on the wall when you explain things to Virgil and Zion.”

Winston sighed deeply. He would deal with those two godbrothers later. He was about to respond when he saw Ainsley returning. “We’ll talk more later.”

“Okay. And man, she still looks hot,” Grady said with a huge smile on his face before walking off to tend to a customer. “And if I weren’t a married man—”

“You would still do nothing. You love your wife too much,” Winston said, watching Ainsley head back over his way. He felt a deep pounding of love in his heart. “And now I know the feeling.”

* * *

Ainsley knew this feeling all too well.

The desire to make this night count. With so few left, each night had become special, precious.

When they returned to Barrett Shores after dinner, she decided to make this a night to remember for her and Winston. They had enjoyed a wonderful meal and had danced to her heart’s content. Although she had taken pleasure in dancing to the sounds of hip-hop, Motown and disco, she had relished the slow dances the most, when he had held her in his arms, whispered naughty things in her ear and ground his body against hers, letting her know just how much he wanted her.

When she entered his home, she barely made it across the threshold before he pulled her into his arms. From the hard feel of his erection, she knew he still wanted her.

And she wanted him.

“I going to take you hard,” he murmured in a raspy voice close to her ear, already easing down the zipper to her dress.

“I going to take you hard as well,” she warned, reaching for the buttons on his shirt. She saw the dare of a smile on his face, those dimples that could kick her heart into overdrive.

There was no time for talk and they wasted no time in undressing each other, tossing clothes all over the place. The one and only thing Ainsley could think about was that she needed this, the memories of being here with him and of a moment in time she would not forget.

Within seconds they were flesh to flesh, skin to skin, heat to heat in a way that sent an urgent need all through her bones. She reached out, took his hardness in her hand, gloried in it, felt how the head throbbed beneath her fingers and how the bulging veins felt pressed against her skin.

Likewise he slid his hand between her legs, testing her readiness, and he gave her that oh-so-sexy smile again when he found her wet already. What had he expected?

She would have asked if her mind wasn’t suddenly snatched from logical thought when his fingers slid inside her, delving deep between her legs. “You’re hot, baby. Moist and...”

Releasing one of his fingers he placed it to his lips, licked, tasted and said, “So damn sweet.”

Ainsley tightened her hold on his erection, rubbed her finger gently over the head and smiled when pre-release touched her finger. She brought it to her lips, sucked her finger hard, then said, “Aah...damn good.”

As if her words triggered an intense primitive urge within him, he reached out, grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up, cupped her backside firmly and plunged inside her. His tongue echoed the action, invading her mouth.

Invasions, she thought, had never been sweeter, and she wrapped her legs around his hips as he continued to pound into her. Her mind became a turbulent vortex of sensations as he spread apart her legs to go deeper. He was a man losing control and she was a woman who’d already lost it. That was evident by the way she was returning his kiss, with a hunger, need and greed that could not, would not be denied.

Her skin felt hot, and she could feel his fingers move all over her, igniting flames across her skin. She felt herself being lowered—to what she wasn’t sure—as he pulled away from her mouth and captured a nipple, sucking hard. She suddenly felt overwhelmed and lost as one erotic sensation after another assaulted her senses.

When she felt a soft cushion behind her back, she realized she was on the sofa. How had they gotten from the front door across the room with their bodies still joined? All she knew was that she was now flat on her back and Winston was on top of her, thrusting in and out of her.

Too much was too much and she cried out, calling his name when her body exploded in one hell of an orgasm. He was right behind her and she felt his hot release at the same time a guttural groan was torn from his throat. He tightened his hold on her, as if he needed their bodies to remain locked tight, unmovable, for a minute. Then another minute. And another.

Moments later, still intimately joined, he shifted their positions to where they faced each other. Instinctively, she tucked her head under his chin, took a deep breath of his scent and slowly closed her eyes. She wished she could stop the passing of time but knew she couldn’t. So she cuddled closer knowing the next four days was all she had.

At that moment she heard her cell phone go off. It was close to ten o’clock. Usually she wouldn’t get a call this late.

“You want to get that?”

She glanced over at Winston. A part of her wanted to say no, she didn’t want to get it, because she didn’t want to leave his arms, but then she figured she had better. “Yes. It might be important.”

He released her and helped her up. She crossed the room to her purse, trying not to notice all the clothes they’d gotten out of moments earlier. Her phone had stopped ringing and the caller had left a voice mail. She furrowed her brow when she saw the call had come from an unknown number with a Claxton exchange. She listened to the voice mail.

“Ms. St. James, this is Marv Lattimore, president of the Claxton Community Council. Not sure if you heard the news report but...”

When the voice mail ended, she clicked off the phone. Stunned.

“Ainsley? Is everything okay?”

She glanced across the room. Winston was still lying naked on the sofa and staring at her with a concerned look on her face. She couldn’t shake off the significance of that phone call and how it could change her life forever.

“That was the president of the Community Council in Claxton. The mayor-elect, the man who beat me in the primary in November, was ousted from office on corruption charges. They will be holding a special election for his replacement in a week and will support me in taking his place.”

He didn’t say anything for a minute as he continued to stare at her. Finally he asked, “What are you going to do?”

What was she going to do? At one time she thought being mayor of Claxton and following in her ancestor’s footsteps was all she wanted. But now...

“Ainsley?”

She drew in a deep breath, searched his eyes. For one heart-sinking moment she was hoping to see a sign...of what? That maybe...

She shook her head, knowing she had to be realistic. Winston didn’t love her, she knew that. At least going back to Claxton and becoming mayor meant she would be too busy to reflect on the one man she couldn’t have.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she said, “Considering that call, I need to leave for Claxton first thing in the morning.”

He nodded slowly. “Being mayor is what you want?”

Ainsley took a deep breath and said, “Yes. That’s what I want.”