Holding Out For Skye (3 page)

“What are you afraid of? That you’ll fall for me?”

“Oh,
please
. As if! Where do you get these lame ideas? Sure, that will happen when the devil trades in his horns for a halo.”

His smile widened. “Looks like you’ve given it some thought.”

Her mouth dropped open. “I have
not
!”

“Yeah. I’d say you’re running scared.”

“You don’t scare me.” Her eyes flashed with temper. Just to prove she wasn’t affected by him, she rolled her chair next to his. She hated the close proximity, would have preferred the previous arrangement but he would just have something else to rag her about.

Cian wisely didn’t say anything. He’d gotten her to sit next to him, hadn’t he? Mission accomplished.

Trying to ignore the propinquity, Skye concentrated on reconciling their work. An amount on his screen caught her attention, and forgetting herself, she moved closer. When she asked him about it, he turned to explain. And she was startled at how close his face was to hers.

So close, her eyes looked like brown orbs of mystery, Cian thought. A citrusy perfume tantalized his nose, intoxicating him. He unconsciously bent his head towards hers.

Too close,
he was too close!
Alarm bells rang in Skye’s mind. He was doing it again. Invading her personal space. Well, damn if she’d let him.

Using her foot as leverage on the floor, she wheeled her chair backwards and sent him a glare. “It won’t work, you know,” she told him smartly. “I’m on to you.”

“What?” Cian blinked, feeling as if he’d been released from a spell.

“You think I don’t know you’re trying to annoy me as usual? Just give it up already, will you?”

His brain finally clearing, Cian was aghast at his actions. What the hell had he been doing? If she hadn’t backed away—just a few seconds more and he would have
kissed
her. What had he been
thinking
? No, he
hadn’t
been thinking at all. He didn’t understand what had just happened. The only thing he could remember was falling into her eyes.

Shaken, he managed to control his expression from giving him away. He gave a humorless smile as he realized she was completely unaware of what had almost happened.
Did she
even see him as a man?
he thought. Why the hell that should matter to him, he had no idea. Good thing she had no clue he had almost kissed her. Better to leave it that way.

“Yes, you’re right. I’ll just have to come up with better ways.”

“I told you to give it up, not find other ways,” Skye snapped, irked.

Cian managed to smile smugly, though inside, he was still shaken up. “Don’t you know, Fletcher? I never give up.”

Skye sent him one fulminating glare and turned back to her laptop. No matter what she said, he always had a comeback. She would just have to be smarter next time, she told herself determinedly.

CHAPTER THREE

“Come on, let’s go. They are waiting for us. And you haven’t eaten anything all day,” the bane of her existence complained.

It was Thursday. Skye had gotten roped into going out to lunch with Nick, Thea and Cian to celebrate completing the deadline for the review of a particularly important client. Marina had already given them permission to take a longer lunch than usual since all four of them had been working hard all week to finish.

Nick and Thea had already gone ahead to the restaurant,
Delizioso
, which was conveniently round the corner from their office, to order pizzas and save them seats. Skye had been on the verge of finishing the format of a database she’d been working on, so she’d told them she’d join them later.

For some insane reason, Cian had stayed behind to wait for her. She didn’t need a freaking escort to go to lunch, for god’s sake. And how the hell did he know she hadn’t eaten anything all day? She’d been running late this morning so she hadn’t had time for breakfast.

“Geez, why don’t you go ahead? I’m almost finished.”

“No, you won’t. You’ll just keep stalling. To hell with this!” He grabbed her arm and began pulling her away from her laptop.

Skye looked up in alarm at his too-forward behavior. She could feel the warmth of his hand through the cotton of the three-quarter-sleeved blouse she was wearing. The sensation was disturbing.

She pulled her arm away. Her stomach chose that moment to let out a grumble. He stared pointedly at her and she stared defiantly back.

Then she threw her hands in the air. “Alright, fine! I’m finished anyway. Just let me save the work and lock my laptop.”

She did so and grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder, cross-body style. She loved that bag. It was so
cute
, dark blue and all velvety with little blue stones sewn on the hem of the flap.

Thankfully, the elevator came soon and they got in. Unfortunately for her, it was an empty one. No people around to act as buffer between her and Cian. They took opposite corners. Skye stared straight ahead, ignoring him completely.

She could feel him staring at her. Damn, when would they get to the ground floor? Finally, as usual, she couldn’t stand his staring. “What?” Goddamn it, she really had to stop letting him affect her so much.

“Nothing.” The smile he flashed her was pure charm.

She glared tetchily at him. There was just something about him that always got on her nerves. The elevator stopped on the ground floor and when it opened, they both got out, walking fast. He walked ahead of her what with those long legs of his eating up ground quickly.

She had to take two steps to match every one of his. He was so damn tall!
Everything
about him aggravated her.

Skye was surprised when he suddenly halted in his tracks and she bumped into him. “Aren’t we in a hurry now?” she remarked sarcastically.

But he didn’t appear to have heard her. He was staring at something up ahead and he looked knocked for six.

“What is it?” When he didn’t answer, Skye peeked around him in the direction he was staring at. Her own countenance rippled with shock. There, in the alley between their office and the next building, leaning against the wall, was his girlfriend, Vanessa, kissing his
cousin
, Alastor. Like French kissing. Giving him mouth-to-mouth.

Maybe there was a reasonable excuse. Maybe the guy hadn’t been breathing. Yeah, right.

Of course, Vanessa was the chatterbox brunette Skye’d clashed with in college and she hadn’t been surprised to find out she was Cian’s girlfriend. Vanessa had a model’s body and she was beautiful. Of course Cian would have gone for her.

Thea didn’t like her. She called her his on-again off-again fling and had rambled off about the twit, totally ignoring Skye’s various I-don’t-want-to-know-about-it protests. So Skye had heard an earful.

Vanessa’d been after Cian since college, hoping for an engagement ring since he was loaded but it hadn’t been forthcoming. Skye had to give him credit that
at least
he was too smart for
that
. He’d only gone out with her ‘for fun’, then they’d both decided to ‘see’ other people. Now they were ‘dating’ again. Skye had been like
what a twisted relationship!

Skye couldn’t stand Vanessa’s airhead, snotty, Oh-I-am-so-helpless-I-need-a-man attitude. She worked in the same company as them, albeit in another team. Who would have thought the dolt actually had gray matter in that flimsy head of hers? When she’d seen her again, Skye had been like
“Omg. Freaking small
world.”

Snapping out of his shock, Cian strode towards them, caught Vanessa’s arm and wrenched her from Alastor. “Vanessa! What’s the meaning of this?”

Vanessa pouted at him. “Isn’t it obvious?”

Alastor gave a grating laugh. “Well, golden boy sure is stupid even when he can see the evidence with his own eyes.”

Alastor was as tall as Cian’s six foot two frame, but he was the complete opposite of him. Where Cian had fair good looks, Alastor had dark hair and cold black eyes. Skye had seen him before and the image of a vicious snake had popped into her mind.

Cian sent him a freezing look. “You stay out of this.” He turned back to Vanessa. “Start talking.”

Vanessa tugged her arm from his grasp. “Well, I’m dumping you, okay?”

“You couldn’t have just said it instead of two-timing me?” Incredulity rang in Cian’s voice.

Vanessa smiled coyly. “What would have been the fun in that?”

Cian stared at her with disgust and turned away from her before he did something he’d regret. He’d never been inclined to violence towards women until that moment. And to think he’d been attracted to that
slut
! Had he actually cared for that bitch?

Skye glanced at him. The expression on his face was cold and unwelcoming. But in his eyes, those mercury-colored eyes, she could see shock and hurt there. Skye didn’t stop to wonder how she knew what he was feeling. She simply
acted
.

Stepping closer, she slipped her hand in his. Startled, he looked down at her.

Skye ignored the unwelcome tingles that shot up her arm from the contact and beamed a smile at him. “Cian, isn’t this great? Now we don’t have to hold back anymore!”

He just stared at her, baffled. She turned to Vanessa, who was watching her with confusion.

“You see, Vanessa,” Skye explained. “Cian and I fell in love but we decided not to be together because he was with you. He wanted to break up with you but I wouldn’t let him. I thought you’d be really,
really
hurt.”

Beside her, Cian felt a jolt of surprise. What the hell was she talking about? But he didn’t belie her statement.

Vanessa’s and Alastor’s mouths dropped open and they stared at her dumbfounded.

Didn’t expect that, did ya?
Skye thought to herself in satisfaction.
Tables
turned and all that, you pieces of shit.

“Mind the flies,” she drawled. They quickly shut their mouths but continued to stare at her in disbelief.

Skye tightened her fingers on Cian’s, hoping he’d gotten the message by now. She slowly felt him relax by her side. In her peripheral vision, she caught the small smile on his face.
Good
, she thought.

“But… but you’re always
fighting
!” Vanessa burst out. “And you can’t stand him!”

“Duh. It was all those fights that caused the chemistry between us, you know?” Skye stated as if it should have been perfectly obvious. “Haven’t you heard opposites attract?”

“I don’t believe it,” Alastor said skeptically.

“Me neither,” Vanessa stated, taking her cue from Alastor and staring from Skye to Cian and back.

“Gee, Vanessa, don’t you remember that time when you came to see Cian and accidentally heard us discussing something about you? He wanted to tell you the truth but I wouldn’t let him. And then you walked in and we switched subjects,” Skye provided helpfully.

Cian remembered the conversation she was referring to, which had been two weeks ago, just before Vanessa’s birthday. Skye had always disliked Vanessa. She called her his airhead vain girlfriend and said he was a moron for liking frivolous girls like her and of course, that he had no taste. Cian hadn’t been looking for a serious relationship, simply someone to have fun with.

So just to bug Skye, he had asked her to help him buy a gift for Vanessa’s birthday. He knew she’d vehemently refuse and he hadn’t been able to resist irritating her. The memory made him smile. She had been repeatedly saying no, and he had kept bugging her about it, saying things like
“It’s for Vanessa’s sake.”
And she’d said,
“It’ll only hurt her when she
finds out.”
He’d replied,
“She won’t find out.”
And she’d snapped.
“I said no, and
I mean it, you idiot.”
And Vanessa had walked in and they had both stopped arguing and adopted an innocent look on their faces.

Cian saw Vanessa remembered the conversation as well. She wasn’t stupid. She put two and two together but came up with five. From the shocked look on her face, she had drawn the wrong conclusion, which luckily for both him and Skye was the right one in this instance. That was why Skye had brought out that conversation. Cian grinned. He had to hand it to her, she was good.

“So you see, Vanessa,” Skye was going on, “You just did us both a favor. Now we can be together without any guilt. The guilt was really getting to me, you know?” She smiled angelically at her.

“You… you slut!” Vanessa hated that bitch Skye, had hated her since the first time they’d met in that college class long ago and the bitch had told her to shut up. Who did she think she was? So much for Cian having his heart broken over her. The jerk had already been fooling around with Skye behind her back.

Of course, it slipped right over her head that
she
had been fooling around behind
his
back.

“Careful what you say about her,” Cian uttered in a deadly voice. “In my opinion, you’re the slut. So mind it who you’re calling names.”

“You’re defending her?” Vanessa looked like the wind had been taken out of her sails.

Alastor just looked bored. This hadn’t worked out as he had thought. That Vanessa had been of no use at all.

“Yes. She’s the one I want.” The words slipped out with a surprising conviction that felt
right
. Skye jolted but didn’t say anything. Cian didn’t want to think about what he was feeling. He gave Vanessa a triumphant grin. “And you just paved the way for me.”

Even though Skye knew he was only playing his part, his words still had a swarm of butterflies fluttering in her tummy.

“But—but—” Vanessa spluttered. It was kinda comical.

“Let’s go, Skye.” Cian tugged at her hand, dismissing Vanessa.

Skye’d managed to ignore the tingling sensation in her hand when she’d started this farce but when he defended her, a warm feeling had washed over her. Now she couldn’t stop thinking about the electricity that was spreading from her hand, where his touched hers, to the rest of her body.
Focus
, she ordered herself.

“One minute, Cian.” He shot her a questioning look. Skye stepped towards Alastor, Cian coming along since they were holding hands.

“She’s already two-timed one guy, she can easily betray another,” she said pleasantly to Alastor. Then her tone turned arctic. “But then you already knew that, didn’t you? Since you set out to steal your cousin’s girlfriend and destroy him. Be warned that you won’t find me that easy. If you even try that on me or try to harm Cian, which of course knowing you, you’ll keep at it but remember this—I’ll break you into teeny tiny pieces.”

Cian looked at her in something akin to amazement, more like horror. Had Skye just threatened his cousin on his behalf?
Had she lost her ever-loving mind?
Didn’t she have any sense of self-preservation? She was like no one he’d ever met. An unnamed emotion rocked him to his core at how she had defended him, an emotion that had him wanting to throw her on his back and rush her away in a cave somewhere, with no idea what he’d do with her when he got her there.

Or maybe he did
, he thought somewhat taken aback by these sudden startling thoughts and feelings that were so unlike him. But
were they?
he asked himself. He remembered that almost kiss.

Alastor looked at her in disbelief for a moment, and then threw back his head and laughed. “Is that supposed to scare me, little girl? Have you looked at yourself? You
dare
to threaten me?”

“I have a very limited tolerance for low-lives like you. I’m not a weak mindless idiot.” Skye glanced in Vanessa’s direction, her meaning clear, which went right over the latter’s head. Vanessa was the type of person on whom sarcasm was wasted.

“You think you’re so strong, you stupid ugly bitch.” Contempt glimmered in his black eyes.

“Take me on and you’ll find out, you gibbon. And get a life, will you?” Skye dismissed him and turned to Cian. “Now we can go.”

Alastor’s rage was replaced with bafflement. Had she just called him a
gibbon
? What the hell was a gibbon anyway?

Cian’s eyes were like the color of a violent storm, that gray, that wintry. “Don’t ever call her names again,
cousin
. Or
I’ll
break that pretty face of yours,” he declared, his words covered with a layer of frost.

Skye shivered. He meant every word. His stance said,
Be afraid. Be very
afraid.
She had never seen this side of him before.

Alastor swallowed, instinctively stepping back and furious at himself for it. “We’ll see who breaks who,” he managed lamely.

Cian ignored him. “Let’s go.”

He tugged Skye along and they walked away from them. She wanted to pull her hand from his but couldn’t because those two could still be watching them.

“What’s a
gibbon
?” Cian asked out of the corner of his mouth as they walked.