Melting The Ice (13 page)

Chapter Twenty-One

Ava lay with her back pressed against Cian’s front, her head on his arm, his other arm wrapped tight around her waist.  No words had passed between them since the last mind-altering orgasm had blasted through their bodies.  They hadn’t even made it upstairs the first time and had somehow or another ended up having sex on the stairs.  She could honestly say she had never done that before. 
Parts of her body that she hadn’t even been aware of ached from that ill-advised move
.  She knew he was awake, too, because every so often, he would run his lips over her shoulder or neck.  She felt bad for how she had acted earlier and hated that she had been handling this entire situation like an immature teenage girl.

“Ava?” His voice brought her out of her reverie. “You awake?”

“Yeah.” She sighed.

“You still mad at me?”

After a moment’s hesitation, she turned to face him, their faces close together. “I wasn’t mad at you…” He eyed her skeptically causing her to giggle. “Let me rephrase that.  I had no right to be mad at you.”  He studied her for several seconds before shaking his head in disbelief.  “What?” she asked, obviously confused by his attitude.

“Why wouldn’t you be mad at me?” he asked curiously. “I was out with another woman tonight.”  She looked down and shrugged.

“It’s not like we’re a couple, Cian.” She responded softly. “I was out with Scott tonight…”

“And that’s exactly why I was with Sabrina!” He vehemently stated his frustration with her apparent. “I was so pissed at you for taking off with that guy…”

“He’s just a friend…”

“Ask me if I give a fuck.” He interrupted her tersely.  Her mouth opened in surprise before a trill of laughter escaped.  His eyebrows drew down warningly at her. “I’m serious, Ava.” She controlled her laughter and raised a hand to caress the same stubbled jaw she had slapped earlier.

“I know you are and I’m sorry.” She leaned up and placed a soft kiss on his frowning mouth.  She appeared undecided for a moment, then letting out a long breath, started speaking rapidly. “Listen, Cian, I’m going to be blunt with you.  It’s not that I’m not attracted to you…I mean obviously I am but…well…” He rolled his eyes.

“Stop beating around the bush.  I’m a big boy.” He deadpanned.  She nodded her head and let out another breath.

“You’re right.” She smiled. “I have not been in anything resembling a relationship, emotional or sexual, since Jameson’s father and I split several years ago.” He opened his mouth to interrupt, but she laid her hand gently across his mouth. “Let me finish or I’ll never get this out, okay?” His eyes stared into hers for an instant before he kissed her fingers and nodded his head in agreement. “I have had several brief affairs over the years and none of them in my hometown.  No attachment, no repeat performances and damn sure not any exclusivity for any of the involved parties.  Most of the guys were younger than me, a couple even younger than you.  The age thing was never important because they were just passing through.  Not one of them was even an acquaintance of my son.” His mouth opened to speak and immediately shut when she arched an eyebrow at him. “I didn’t know any of their parents and none of them were for all intents and purposes living with me at the time.  Then I hook up with you in my hometown my first night back in months, thinking I would never see you again after that night but the very next day, I find out I’ve broken several of my hard and fast rules; no guys from home, no friends of my son, no children of friends and no moving anyone in with me.” He chuckled but didn’t interrupt. “Since then, I have been in a constant battle with myself to stay away from you but you wouldn’t let me.  I went out with Drew trying to distract myself.  It distracted me all right…you had to step in and be the big hero and since apparently I was looking for any reason to be with you again, I took full advantage.  I didn’t plan on it happening again, but you’re pretty hard to resist when you put some effort into it.” He grinned smugly. “When you witnessed the scene with my dad…” She hesitated before shrugging. “To make a long story short, this entire situation makes me uncomfortable but at the same time, I can’t seem to leave you alone.”  He continued to watch her expectantly.

“Can I talk now?” he asked sardonically.  She nodded. “Then let me say I’ve had a few relationships but nothing remotely serious.  I’ve dated women younger and older than me.  I’ve never slept with a friend’s mom before…and may I say that
completely
fulfilled my MILF fantasy?” She burst out laughing and teasingly smacked him on his bulging bicep.  He grinned cheekily before continuing. “I was as surprised as you when I showed up at your house and found out the woman I had slept with the previous night was Jay’s mom.  Of course I wanted you again but no matter what I did, you blew me off.  I’ve never had a woman act like that, especially since I…” His words came to a halt when he abruptly stopped talking.  She looked at him curiously.

“Since you what?”

He laughed and leaned down to kiss her hard and fast. “Since I became the hot, young stud you see before you.” She snorted out a disbelieving laugh, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, I didn’t expect you to ‘reward’ me for knocking Drew around a little, but thankfully, you did.  Every day since then, you’ve run hot and cold.  One minute you’re acting like I’m some twelve year old boy you’ve let come sleep over at your house and the next you’re tearing my clothes off.”  Both of her eyebrows shot up her forehead in alarm.  He looked at her strangely until he realized what he had said and started laughing. “That came out wrong.  What I meant to say was you went back and forth between treating me like some kid you barely knew to the man that spent the nights in your bed.  Does that sound better?”

“God, I hope so.” She grinned. “You made me sound like a child molester for a minute.”

He returned her grin. “You frustrated the hell out of me and I decided I wasn’t going to let you act like there was nothing between us.  I thought I was making progress until I saw you by the pool with that Scott guy yesterday and you let me believe…”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“I was so pissed at you when you sailed out of here last night to go out with him.  I wanted you to feel as shitty as I did.  I’ve never been jealous of anyone in my life, but last night I was and I wanted you to be jealous too.” He blurted his confession, his expression sheepish and slightly embarrassed.

“I was.” She sighed, shaking her head in disgust. “When I saw you with Sabrina…she is much closer to your age than I am…” He cut her off, looking irritated.

“You are way too caught up in this age difference thing.”

“I’ll be forty years old next year.  You’re twenty-seven!  When I was a senior in high school, you were in kindergarten!” She said her voice shrill and argumentative.  He burst out laughing.

“Well, that would have been a different story then but you’re not a senior in high school and I’m damn sure not in Kindergarten.  We’re both adults and any relationship we choose to have is no one’s business but ours.” He stated with conviction, his dark gaze locked with hers. “Like I said last night…why would I want a girl when I can have a woman?  So you’re a few years older than me.  You said you had been out with younger guys before.”

“But…”

“And don’t use that argument about me being friends with Jay or you being friends with my parents.  Neither holds water.  What’s the real problem, Ava?”  His stubborn gaze searched hers.  She hissed out a breath of frustration when he continued to regard her patiently, realizing he wasn’t going to just drop it.

“I don’t know.  I guess… I’m just completely out of my depth with you.  We’re living together for the time being and it smacks of a relationship, something I’ve avoided for a long time.” She answered quietly.  He seemed to give her words careful consideration before nodding.

“I can understand that.”

“Can you?” She queried. “Because there is way too much that could go wrong in this situation…”

“Can we stop borrowing trouble?” He asked with an exasperated sigh. “Can we just enjoy being together and see how it goes?”  She didn’t answer right away.  Never having been a wait-and-see kind of woman, she wasn’t sure she even had it in her to stay in the moment with him.  She looked at him searchingly before taking a deep breath and nodding.

“I’ll try.” She muttered skeptically.  An ear-to-ear grin broke over his handsome face.  He hooked a hand behind her neck and pulled her mouth to his, rolling onto his back and taking her with him, kissing her with all the pent up emotion in his body.  All her doubts and reservations faded away as the intense craving for him engulfed her senses until all she could do was be grateful she had agreed.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Where are we going?” Cian questioned as the helicopter lifted into the air behind Ava’s house and took off in a southeastern direction.  She glanced over at him, adjusting her headphones.

“You said you wanted to golf.” She said simply, smiling at him broadly like a little kid with a secret they were bursting to tell before returning her attention to the pilot. “How long before we arrive, Dale?”

“Thirty minutes, give or take a few.” The pilot of the rented chopper grinned over his shoulder at them.

“Where are we going?” Cian asked again, his impatience obvious. 

“It’s a surprise.” She answered mysteriously, her smug grin speaking volumes.

“I don’t like surprises.” He said, crossing his arms across his chest like a pouty little boy.  She giggled.

“That’s not what you said last night.” She teased softly.  He burst into laughter and reached out to give her a quick one-armed squeeze.

“I don’t like surprises anywhere outside of the sexual realm.” He clarified.  The pilot snickered reminding them both they were not alone.

“You’ll like this surprise; I promise.” She stated.  He reached over and entwined his fingers with hers, laying their joined hands atop his thigh.  Her hand shifted uncomfortably in his grasp but she didn’t try to pull away.  He had been going to great lengths to get her accustomed to him touching her outside of the bed over the last few days.  In the bed, she was extremely comfortable with any touching he felt moved to engage in and wasn’t shy about making demands or offering suggestions.  Outside of bed, was entirely another story.  Sometimes, she reminded him of a wild animal that was leery of human contact.  He couldn’t seem to keep his hands off of her so the only acceptable option was to get her accustomed to his hands
on
her.  He liked holding her hand while they walked through the mall; he liked throwing an arm around her shoulders to snuggle her close to his body; he liked to pull her down to set on his lap; he liked kissing her goodbye and hello and he loved patting her on that fabulous ass of hers whenever he felt so moved.  He wanted her to be equally comfortable with touching him whenever the desire hit. 

They had made no promises to each other but for all intents and purposes, they were a couple.  In the last week, they had spent almost all of their free time together, shopping, dining out in the evenings, watching movies, swimming and talking for long periods of time.  They talked about their childhoods and past loves a little, but mostly talked about their likes and dislikes.  Cian had learned about Ava and her friends winning the lottery and the effect it had on all their lives.  She had told him some about Jay’s father, Patrick and the crap she had put up with from her ex, but she hadn’t been overly forthcoming on that subject and he hadn’t pushed the issue.  It irked him that he gave a damn about a man Ava hadn’t been with in years but he couldn’t seem to stifle the jealousy when she talked about
him
.  Luckily, he had been able to keep his feelings on the subject of Patrick Corbin from her.  He would feel pretty stupid after he had urged her to talk about anything then shut her down the first time she actually shared something meaningful with him. 

The one thing he had learned about her that worried him was her extreme aversion to the media.  When she had been talking to him about Patrick, she had mentioned after she won the money, Patrick had become enraged when she wouldn’t marry him or give him any of the money he wrongfully felt he deserved so to spite her, he had sold his story to the tabloids.  She had made it very clear to him the unrelenting media attention to which she, her friends and their children had been subjected was the main reason they lived behind walls and gates.  Every move any of them made had ended up in the newspapers, on the local news, and as the hot topic of gossip amongst people they had known all their lives.  Between that and the dogged requests for money from everyone and their brother, their lives had taken bizarre twists.  He now understood why Jay hadn’t wanted his mother to know why Cian needed to lay low.  Her wrath would be no laughing matter if she found out the truth.  

He wanted to tell her the truth about his fucked up relationship with Lani but he knew, without any shadow of doubt, she would give him the boot so fast it would make his head spin.  Him being a professional hockey player had worked against him when all hell had broken loose in Miami and it would again with Ava.  She had no desire to be in the limelight and wouldn’t appreciate being unwillingly dragged into it.  It probably wasn’t the smartest move to keep it from her, but he couldn’t come up with any other options that would get the results he wanted; to stay with Ava.  He justified keeping her in the dark with the slim chance maybe she wouldn’t mind if they were actually involved in a relationship and she cared about him.  He was confused by their whole relationship, having never been in one of any importance.  He could honestly say he had never been in love and had no idea whether he loved Ava or not, but he did know he had never liked a woman more than he liked her.  He damn sure had never wanted to spend time with any woman like he did her.  She was easy to be with, not irritating at all and rarely dramatic.  Plus, she was beautiful, sexy, smart and prime in the bedroom.  He couldn’t remember any sex partner that had been more sensual and inventive and found himself constantly amazed by her ability to arouse him time after time.  His musings were interrupted by the pilot announcing they were making their approach.  He looked out the side window at acres of manicured golf courses and what appeared to be a monstrous white-pillared mansion surrounded by lush landscaping and smaller buildings.

“Is that
The
Greenbrier
?” He questioned, awe in his deep voice while he surveyed the opulent scenery.

“Welcome to The Greenbrier, Ms. Talbot, Mr. Secord.” Dale’s voice came across the headset, amusement in his voice.  Cian turned to look at Ava, a broad, happy smile on his face as he leaned forward and planted a hard kiss on her mouth.

“Do you still not like surprises outside of the sexual realm?” She teased her own smile as big as his at his pleasure in her gift.

“I think I can make an exception this once.” He said sternly, his eyes sparkling with excitement.  “I’ve always wanted to play golf at the famed Greenbrier Resort but never had the opportunity.  This rocks!” he exclaimed, all sense of decorum gone.  He gave her another quick hug while Dale landed the helicopter on the helipad behind the resort.  A uniformed employee of the grand hotel swept open the door of the chopper and assisted Ava down.

“Welcome back to the Greenbrier, Ms. Talbot.”

“Thank you.” She said with a friendly smile as Cian stepped out onto the helipad.  Dale unloaded the luggage into the waiting golf cart along with the ridiculously expensive set of Five Star golf clubs Jameson had purchased and used two or three times max before discarding them in his mother’s garage.  Cian wasn’t sure he was entirely comfortable with using custom golf clubs trimmed out in platinum and gold but figured if there was anywhere to use them, the Greenbrier would be it.  He climbed into the golf cart beside Ava and listened to the hotel employee that introduced himself as Marcus drone on about the history of the Greenbrier and all the amenities offered at the luxurious resort.  They were driven to a house Marcus referred to as a Paradise Row Guesthouse that overlooked something called the Springhouse.  The interior of the spacious residence was decorated too prissy for his taste with all of its flowered wallpapers and bright colors, but the sumptuous opulence of the place screamed wealth.  When Ava pulled her wallet out of her purse with the intention of tipping Marcus, Cian cast a disapproving frown and pulled his own wallet out of his hip pocket. “I got this.”  He slipped Marcus a large bill, earning him a smile and the reminder to let him know if there was anything at all they might need during their stay before leaving them alone. 

“I’m going to unpack…” Ava said right before he grabbed her and kissed the power of speech out of her.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss, their mouths meshing, and their tongues sliding against each other while their bodies pressed as close as possible while still clothed.  His hands slid under her thighs and lifted her until she wrapped her legs around his waist; her pelvis grinding against his while his mouth mimicked what his body wanted to do.  A loud knock on the door caused them both to groan in frustration.  He reluctantly put her back on her feet, allowing her to get the door since his state of arousal would be obvious to anyone that could see at all.  She crossed to the door on shaky legs and accepted the garment bags from another hotel employee.  She slipped the man some money before laying the bags over the back of a sofa and heading back to him to pull his head down for a kiss.

“What’s that?” he asked against her mouth, his hands lifting her to the exact position she had been in before they were interrupted.

“Evening clothes; we are at
The
Greenbrier
.” She teased in a mocking haughty tone, her lips moving against his as he carried her off towards one of the two bedrooms and fell with her onto the plush bed.  She giggled when he gently used his teeth on her throat.   “Now that you’ve carried me off to bed, Mr. Secord, whatever are you planning to do to with little ole me?” she asked with an exaggerated southern drawl, batting her lashes for all she was worth.  He rose up and smiled devilishly at her, his fingers working on the buttons of her blouse. 

“My plan…”his lips teased at the base of her throat. “Is to get you naked…” lips gently skimmed down her chest. “And kiss every inch of your body…” he placed a lingering kiss on her deep cleavage while his fingers released the front clasp on her lacy bra, freeing her breasts to his eyes and mouth. “Until you beg me to do you…”Kisses rained down her stomach to the waist of her slacks where his fingers worked the button and zipper. “Raise your hips, Baby.” Her panties and slacks were shoved down her legs.  He dropped a kiss to the top of her mound before sliding lower and arranging her legs to drape over his shoulders and smiling with seductive intent, his thumbs opening her to his gaze.  She was already panting for breath and he had barely undressed her.  He leaned down and teasingly ran his tongue over her swollen flesh.  Her hips came off the bed, her hands sinking into the silkiness of his hair to caress him.  He pulled back to smile at her again. “And when I have you begging me…”

“I’m begging you now.” She moaned as his tongue again made that maddening trip into her most sensitive flesh.  He chuckled.

“And when
I think
you really, really need me inside of you…” His finger teased at her slick opening. “I’m going to give you what you’ve been begging for over and over until you’re screaming my name…” His long finger sank deep into her body. “And after you’ve come so hard you’re sure you’ll never come again…” A second finger joined the first, his tongue flicking at the little bundle of nerves. “I’m going to carry you into the other bedroom and do it all over again,” Her burst of laughter turned into a strangled moan when his fingers made a swirling motion inside of her, causing her hips to jerk involuntarily.  He grinned up into her beseeching blue eyes. “Just to be fair.” His mouth closed over her for some serious work.  She was screaming his name for the first time in a matter of minutes.