Melting The Ice (16 page)

“How sorry?” he growled when her lips moved down his throat.  She raised her head and grinned impishly at him.

“Let me show you.” She said before moving to straddle him, her lips continuing their downward path.  He jerked against his bonds as she proceeded to show him just how sorry she was.

Chapter Twenty-Six

“I thought you were golfing this morning.” Ava’s sleepy voice came from amongst the pile of covers in the middle of the bed the following morning.  Cian grinned and shook his head as he headed for the bathroom having returned from working out in the health club. 

“I
was
going to golf this morning…but
somebody
forgot to untie me before they passed out and my shoulders are too sore to swing a club this morning.” He chuckled as Ava grunted something about him being a pussy.  He shucked off his clothes and stepped into the steaming shower, letting the hot water from all six showerheads soothe his sore muscles.  He winced slightly when he raised his arms to lather his hair, shaking his head in disbelief.  He hadn’t been kidding when he said his shoulders were too sore to swing a golf club from having his arms tied up over his head by her; they really were.  Not that he was complaining because he wasn’t.  She was more than welcome to restrain him any time she felt the need after last night.  What was a little temporary numbness and pain in the grand scheme of things? When he thought about the things she had done to him…damn she was hot.  She had told him she was tying him up so she could apologize for their fight and let the night be all about him.  In theory, it had sounded like paradise.  In reality, it had been as much torture as paradise.  Sure, all he had to do was lie back and let her do the work…that was the positive and the negative.  Letting her take complete control and go at her pace…without any way to encourage her along; he was lucky he hadn’t lost his sanity.  It had rocked!  Being right in an argument with a woman had to be the best thing ever…who knew?  Not him, apparently, since it had definitely been a first for him, he thought with a chuckle.  She had worked him over with her mouth, her hands, and her body.  Riding him like she would never stop, her body had gripped his like a tight, wet fist, bringing him to the brink over and over before finally letting him explode inside of her.  He thought he might have blacked out with the force of his orgasm…either that or it had just addled him.  When he had come to his senses over an hour later with Ava asleep at his side, he realized his arms had gone to sleep still tied over his head.  Once he had gotten her awake, she had scrambled to untie him, apologizing over and over again for forgetting to release his arms before passing out.  In truth, he figured her orgasms had been as mind-draining as his and she hadn’t really made the conscious choice to sleep.  She had called down to room service for some massage oil while they ate their cold dinner and after warming it in the sink had proceeded to continue her apology by giving him the most erotic massage he had ever experienced…what an apology.  He really hoped she was wrong more often, he thought with a grin as he felt slender arms encircle him from behind and soft, female curves press against his back.  Her head lay between his shoulder blades as she seemed to melt against him.

“Did I really hurt your shoulders?” she mumbled against his skin, letting the hot water stream over her body.  He smiled and turning around pulled her into his arms.  She rested her head against his breastbone and let out a sigh.

“Yes you did, but a few sore muscles are a small price to pay for the things you did to me last night.  Damn girl…” He teased, his hands running lazily up and down her backside.  She lay heavily against him, not even stirring at his caresses.  “Are you still feeling sorry?” He asked in a low, husky voice.

“Nope, not one little bit.”  She sighed as she snuggled closer to him.  He chuckled and started lathering shampoo into her hair.  She allowed him to bathe her and help her into a fluffy white robe and after moisturizing and drying her hair, climbed back into bed with him and slept the afternoon away.  They dressed for dinner and headed to the main dining area for another five star meal, laughing, flirting and touching throughout the meal, not paying attention to anyone around them. 

“Have I mentioned how beautiful you look tonight in that dress?” He asked, waggling his eyebrows and smiling salaciously.  She giggled and leaned against him, her lips meeting his for a tender kiss. “How about how beautiful you look
out
of it?”

“That’s all you have on your mind is getting me naked…” She responded with a mock scowl that quickly melted into a soft smile.  A deep voice wiped the smile from her face and she stiffened as if her spine had been replaced by a steel rod.

“That’s all men think about, darling.  One would think at your advanced age, you would have figured that out by now.”  The man said in a silky tone.  Cian turned to find a tall, handsome man dressed in a conservative navy blue suit that so strongly resembled Jameson Talbot, he had a pretty good idea he was looking at Patrick Corbin.  Jay’s father smiled what could only be called a smarmy smile, his eyes fairly dripping contempt.  Cian watched in shock as Ava gracefully came to her feet and stepped around the table, putting herself directly in front of Patrick, a wide, fake smile pasted on her lips and pure hatred lighting her eyes.  Patrick grinned like a cat licking his chops right before he goes in for the kill and held his arms open, his eyes running over her body with avid appreciation. “If you had looked like
this
when we were together, you would never have gotten rid of me.”

“Patrick…” She exclaimed with false enthusiasm before lowering her voice so that only Patrick and Cian could hear her, submitting stiffly to her ex’s light embrace. “Getting rid of you was the best decision I ever made…no, wait! That would be the
second
best thing I did, the first being purchasing that $500 million lottery ticket.” Cian, unable to help himself, snickered at the venom dripping from her deceptively sweet words.  Patrick’s attention immediately lasered on him, looking him over disdainfully before raising a questioning brow at Ava, the smile still on his face.

“Babysitting, Ava?” Patrick inquired in a biting tone while he continued holding her hands in his like they were two old friends.  Cian lounged negligently in his seat, looking for some sign of distress from Ava and seeing none, decided not to interfere yet. “Does his mommy know you are holed up in a hotel with her child or should I be perusing milk cartons?” his words were snide and insulting but she and her ex continued to smile for the benefit of the other diners who were watching the “reunion” with ill-concealed speculation. “Perhaps an amber alert has been issued?” Cian watched her dig her nails into the back of Patrick’s hand and her jaw tighten with anger.  Patrick quickly released her hands and took a step back, watching her warily, though still smiling.  His eyes returned to Cian, a wild mix of emotions crossing his face, none of them good. “Didn’t your mother teach you about ‘stranger danger’, son?” Cian felt anger wash through him when Ava’s face flushed red with fury.  But Patrick’s childish taunting of his ex in a public venue where he knew she wouldn’t cause a scene amused Cian on some level.  He chuckled as he came to his feet and extended his hand to Patrick, forcing him to shake his hand or look like a jealous ass.  Patrick begrudgingly shook his hand, looking up slightly to meet his eyes since Cian’s rangy, 6’4” frame topped Patrick’s by a few inches.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Patrick.  Ava and I have already had dinner but won’t you join us for a drink?” Cian asked magnanimously, sliding his arm around her waist and pulling her unresisting body against his, resting his hand lightly on her hip in a possessive gesture Patrick was quick to note.  Patrick glared at him, hostility emanating from him with every breath.

“No, thank you.  I am a law-abiding citizen and wouldn’t want to contribute to the delinquency of a minor.” Patrick responded snidely, his lip almost curling in a sneer.  Cian burst out laughing loudly as if Patrick had told the funniest joke ever, further angering the older man.  Cian felt Ava relax more fully against him as Patrick’s composure began to deteriorate.

“Good, then this pathetic attempt of yours to embarrass Ava and myself is over?” Cian inquired nonchalantly as if he were asking the time.  Patrick’s fist clenched and his eyes narrowed further but he kept silent. “Then we will continue our evening…”

“I would like to understand the attraction you have for Ava…I mean other than her money, of course.  I’ve had her and I can’t say as I was ever that impressed…” the malevolence that poured from Patrick was all the more unsettling in that he smiled congenially through every malignant word he uttered. “Maybe she learned some new tricks?”

“Maybe it was
you
.” Cian grinned, shaking his head in disbelief at this man Ava had once loved.  Her laughter rang out through the dining room, causing even more diners to look their way.  He put a hand on Patrick’s shoulder in a deceptively friendly gesture. “Better luck next time, pal.”  With his hand still riding Ava’s hip, Cian steered them towards the exit, leaving Patrick looking after them, frustrated fury in his gaze.

“Fuck you.” Patrick bit out softly, for their ears alone.  Cian threw up a hand without turning as if waving at a friend.

“Always a pleasure, Old Man.” Cian called over his shoulder, feeling Ava’s body shaking with her silent laughter.  They managed to maintain their decorum until they were back at their cottage but lost it as soon as the door was shut behind them.  Both of them were holding their sides with laughter at the surreal quality of the scene in the dining room.  When they were able to pull themselves together, they sat on opposite ends of the sofa grinning at each other like a couple of loons. “What did you ever see in that guy?” He asked curiously.  She shrugged.

“Who knows?  All I can say in my defense is I got smarter as I got older.” He chuckled, still watching her as if he were trying to figure something out.

“He still loves you.” He stated matter-of-factly but she scoffed and laughed derisively.

“He never loved me in the first place so there is nothing ‘still’ about it.  I was never anything but a piece of ass to Patrick.” She shifted to the edge of the sofa, suddenly looking slightly uncomfortable.  Before she could rise to her feet, he reached out a hand and pulled her gently towards him.  She resisted for a moment but quickly gave in and snuggled herself into his side while his hand stroked over her bare arm.  She kicked her shoes off and curled her legs underneath her and let out a long sigh against his chest.  “He doesn’t like that I’m not at his beck and call any longer.” His fingers idly began to sift through the dark length of silky curls lying against her shoulders.

“How long were you together?” he questioned softly, liking that she was actually talking to him about something personal.

“Fifteen years off and on…and there was as much off as there was on.” When he didn’t respond but silently continued to play with her hair, she raised her head off his chest and looked at him incredulously. “Do you really want to hear this?”  He nodded and smiled sheepishly.  She sighed and returned her head to his chest.  “I’d been dating Pat about six months when I found out I was pregnant with Jameson.  It wasn’t like he was a good boyfriend or anything but once I had the baby, things changed…well, for me anyway.  In hindsight, I guess I thought I was supposed to be with him because I had his kid so I tolerated a lot of crap.  Whenever he and I were getting along, he would be a good father to Jameson but the minute we would fall out or some other woman would strike his fancy, it wasn’t just me that got dumped.  The final straw was when I saw his engagement announcement to another woman in the Sunday paper when he was allegedly living with me.  He expected me to carry on as if nothing had changed.  Whatever feelings I had for him just seemed to evaporate overnight and I didn’t care anymore.  For a while I was afraid I would revert back to old patterns with him but it never happened.  They only stayed married for about a year before he was cheating on her and getting divorced.  What you just witnessed has been running in a loop ever since.  It’s like he hates me now.”

“It may not be love he’s feeling but he’s damn sure jealous as hell seeing you with another man.” Cian drawled.  She pulled back to look up into his face and grinned.

“Since we’re
sharing
, tell me about the stalker you’re hiding out from.”

Warning bells immediately went off in his head.  He didn’t know why he hadn’t realized she would expect him to be forthcoming with his own tales of love gone wrong before he had pushed her to share hers.  He didn’t want to lie to her but he didn’t have a choice at this point unless he planned on sleeping alone. “I started dating Lani several months ago…nothing really serious.  She was a cokehead but of course, I didn’t find that out until later.  I broke things off with her when I found out.  That’s not something I’m interested in.  I went on vacation with my friend, Max…”