Persuading Spring: A Sexy New Zealand Romance (The Four Seasons Book 4) (18 page)

“You look beautiful,” he said.

“Aw. Only you could think trackie bottoms
and a faded T-shirt were beautiful.” She laughed, then tipped her head and gave
him a curious look as he still didn’t move. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” It was just that he’d realized
his idle words to her had come true a lot quicker than he’d thought they would.

Because he’d fallen for her, and he was
falling for her more with every minute. Joe was right; Izzy was right. Everyone
was right, and he was always the idiot, the soft touch, stopping to help those
in need and starting off a process that he knew would only lead to disaster.
What had Joe called it? His girlish heart.

Well, there was nothing he could do about
it except grin and bear it. He was who he was, and he actually kind of liked
that guy. He was a bit of an old dog, and it was far too late for him to learn
new tricks.

Bridget moved closer to him, looking up
with a frown. “Aaron? What’s the matter?”

He slid a hand into her hair, cupped her
head, and saw surprise and pleasure light her eyes like fireworks before he
lowered his lips to hers. He kissed her, a snatched kiss, just a few seconds
out of the 86,400 there were in a day, and yet he made sure to take the time to
enjoy the softness of her mouth, her sexy, contented sigh, the way her hand
rested on his biceps, her fingers squeezing the muscle for balance as she
leaned into the kiss.

When she finally pulled back, her eyes were
dreamy and held as much promise as the evening sky, scarlet and orange tinting
the clouds and suggesting the delight of a shepherd somewhere.

“What was that for?” she asked, her cheeks
turning the rosy blush of the ocean.

He couldn’t tell her he loved her, because
they were only supposed to be having a fling. He knew that love developed over
time, and it was far too soon for him to be feeling what he thought he was
feeling. Instead, he just shook his head, pressed his lips to her forehead, and
then held her hand as they continued along the beach.

Bridget liked Aaron’s friends as soon as
she met them, but she wasn’t sure the feeling was mutual.

He’d spoken about Joe quite a bit, so she
knew he was Maori, about the same age as Aaron, that he had a huge extended family
that he moaned about but secretly adored, that he bossed Aaron around quite a
bit, and that he was married to one of the veterinary nurses, Izzy.

She hadn’t known how gorgeous he was, that
he had a great sense of humor, or that he obviously cared very much for his
friend. He welcomed her to the table warmly, and he was friendly and included
her in all their conversations, but she could sense a hint of caution in his
eyes nevertheless, a reservation that suggested he was worried about Aaron and
whatever was developing between them. She liked that, though. It was good to
know that Aaron had someone looking out for him.

Aaron introduced her to Izzy—who also
looked as if she had some Maori blood in her with her warm brown skin and thick
dark hair tied back in an untidy bun so that frizzy strands stuck out all over
the place—and then to Pam—a little older, with short salt-and-pepper hair and a
ready, crooked smile, and her husband Kevin, the two of them a typical Kiwi
couple, friendly, down-to-earth, and ready to do anything to make a person feel
welcome.

They sat at a round table and ordered
drinks and a mixture of starters, and it wasn’t long before Bridget relaxed.
Aaron and Joe teased each other continuously, obviously having the type of
long-term relationship that made it difficult—if not impossible—to truly insult
each other, and Izzy and Pam played up to it, making them all laugh.

She found it difficult to take her eyes off
Aaron while they ate. Cute, sexy, and funny, he had an undeniable charm that
worked a treat not only on animals but on people too, and she could see that
the others adored him.

As the evening wore on, she realized that
although they asked her about Wellington, about her business and her life
there, nobody mentioned the wedding that hadn’t gone ahead, and none of them
asked what was going to happen between her and Aaron when she went back.

Had he instructed them not to mention
anything? She couldn’t imagine that Joe, especially, wasn’t concerned about it.
But the topic remained untouched… Until Aaron took himself off halfway through
the evening to visit the Gents’.

“So…” Joe eyed Aaron’s disappearing back
before turning his brown eyes on Bridget. “You’ve certainly had an impact on
him. I haven’t seen him like this for a long time.”

“He seems very fond of you,” Izzy said,
softening her husband’s words with a smile.

“I’m fond of him too.” Bridget sipped her
wine and then speared a piece of chicken with her fork. Aaron had been right—the
Madras was spectacular.

“How long are you staying up here for?”
Joe’s tone was innocent, his eyes not so much.

“Until Sunday.”

“Nice.” Joe sipped his lager. “And then?”

“Joe,” Izzy said cautiously.

Bridget shrugged and tried to swallow the
chicken, but her throat had tightened, and it wouldn’t go down. She coughed and
sipped her wine, her heart rate picking up. “I’m not sure.” She didn’t want to
talk about it to these people she hardly knew, not when she didn’t have any
answers.

Joe winced, and Bridget suspected that his
wife had kicked him under the table.

“So tell us about the Four Seasons,” Pam
said, obviously reading Izzy’s stare and changing the subject. “I bought one of
your bras a few weeks back—didn’t realize I’d be meeting the owner of the
firm!”

Bridget sent her a thankful smile and
started talking about Rowan’s designs, and the awkward moment passed. Aaron
returned to the table shortly afterward, so that put an end to the personal
questions.

She squeezed his hand under the table, and
he looked at her, a frown appearing when he read something he didn’t like in
her eyes.

“Are you all right?” he mouthed.

She nodded, but the light had gone out of
the evening for her. The sun had set and it was getting cold, and suddenly all
she wanted to do was get back to the house and curl up in bed with him.

Maybe reading her mood, after they’d
finished their meals, he declined coffee and told the others they’d be heading
off. Hugs and kisses were exchanged, they paid their share of the bill, and
then they headed off up the hill.

Aaron put his arm around her, and Bridget
slipped hers beneath his jacket, welcoming the warmth of his body next to hers.

It was stupid to let one person ruin the
evening for her. Joe was only worried about his friend, and he’d not really
been rude or aggressive. All he’d done was breathe life into the issue she’d
been trying to pretend didn’t exist, and she couldn’t blame him for that.

“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering
you?” Aaron said quietly.

She looked to her left, the rise of the
hill giving her a perfect view of the ocean, which was now a deep, dark blue.

“What did Joe say?” Aaron asked.

She turned surprised eyes on him. “How did
you know?”

“I didn’t, but it was an easy guess. What
did he say? Did he upset you?” His eyes were hard, angry.

“No, not really. He was nice, Aaron, and
he’s only worried about you.”

“What did he say?”

“He only asked me what was going to happen
at the end of the week. That’s all.”

Aaron’s lips thinned, but he bent to kiss
her hair. “I’m sorry. I told him I didn’t want any talk of the future. I’ll
have a word with him about it tomorrow.”

“It’s okay, I understand that he’s—”

“It’s not okay, Bridget. He’s upset you
after I asked him not to talk about it, and that’s not on.”

“I don’t want to come between you and your
friend,” she said. “Let’s not talk about it anymore. I had a lovely evening,
and I want to make the most of the time we have together.”

He stopped walking and put his arms around
her. She slid both of hers around him beneath his jacket, enjoying his warmth.

“Are we being crazy?” he whispered. “Spending
this time together?”

“I don’t know.” She pressed her cheek to
his shirt, inhaling the smell of his aftershave and washing powder. She didn’t
want to think about it. “Do we have to quantify this, or qualify it?” It felt
like holding a rose and instead of admiring its beauty, only trying to count
how many petals it had. “Can’t we just accept it for what it is and live for
today?”

He tightened his arms. “Of course. I’m
sorry.”

She bit her lip hard to stop tears forming.
Poor Aaron. She’d shoe-horned her way into his life and he’d had little say in
the matter. Joe would have seen how difficult it had been for his friend to get
over his marriage. She’d only thought of herself and her own desires.

She moved back a little, placed both hands
on his chest, and looked up at him. “Do you want me to go?”

“No,” he said immediately.

“Aaron, think about it at least. I’ve not
given you much say in things so far—you felt honor-bound to help me on the
quay, and when I turned up on your doorstep there was little you could do
except ask me to stay. I hadn’t really thought about it before now, but I’ve
been really selfish.”

“No,” he said, cupping her face, “you
haven’t. You’ve reacted to an attraction between us, that’s all, and I’ve done
the same. Neither of us can be blamed for that.”

“But—”

“Do you really think I have no balls at
all?” he said. “That I would have fallen for any woman who happened to be on
the quay that day? Bridget, what has happened between us is as rare as a
shooting star. It’s happened in spite of our better nature, not because of it.
Of course it doesn’t make sense for us to spend time together when we know it
has to come to an end—of course it’s going to hurt to say goodbye. But does
that mean we shouldn’t have done it? Would you rather we’d parted at the hotel
and never seen each other again?”

“No.” She shook her head vehemently.

“Me neither. You’re the best thing that’s
ever happened to me, and I don’t regret meeting you for one second.” He kissed
her, then lifted his head to look at her again. “Do you want to go?”

“No.”

“You’re sure? You wouldn’t rather end it
now, go back to the B and B, and head for the airport in the morning?”

“I don’t want to leave you.” Her voice
caught, and sudden emotion made her eyes sting with tears.

“Then don’t.” He touched his lips to hers.
“Fuck everyone else.” He did it again, longer this time, and she opened her
mouth to his tongue and let him deepen the kiss. “I want you,” he said
hoarsely, splaying his hands on her bottom and tightening his fingers. He
pulled her to him, pressing his erection against her. “I need you. Say you’ll
stay with me, Bridget. Come back with me and let me make love to you.”

“Yes,” she whispered against his lips,
“God, yes please.”

So they walked the short distance back up
the hill to his house, kissing all the way, a hunger threading through her at
the thought of getting him naked, sliding her hands over his skin, and
welcoming him inside her. They stumbled through the door, still kissing. He
closed it, then pushed her up against it, pinning her there with his body while
he continued to stroke his tongue into her mouth, sending all her nerve endings
tingling.

“Mmm.” She lifted her arms around his neck,
loving the way he seemed to want her so much.

He pulled back, tearing his lips from hers,
and she complained, but he gave her a hot look that stole away the words, took
her hand, and led her into the living room.

The dogs bounced around, acting as if
they’d been gone for days when it fact it had only been a couple of hours.
Aaron fussed them briefly, then let them out into the garden and closed the
sliding door.

He took off his jacket and tossed it over
the chair, and, while she did the same with hers, he turned on a couple of the
lamps around the room, bathing it in a warm glow. Finally, he came back to her,
moving up close so she had to lift her chin to look up at him.

Tonight she’d chosen a pretty pink top over
a black flared mini skirt with opaque black tights and flats, and he’d already
told her repeatedly how sexy she looked in it.

Placing his hands on her thighs, he slid
them up to the top of the opaque tights and pulled the waistband down over her
hips. Bridget let him pull them all the way down to her feet, leaning on his
shoulders while he removed them. Then he pushed himself back up to his feet.

Taking her hand, he moved backward to the
sofa and sat, then gave her hand a tug. Laughing, she fell forward, lifting a
knee so she could sit astride him.

He pulled her tight to him, so she could
feel the press of his erection against her mound through her thin skirt. She
rocked her hips, closing her eyes at the exquisite sensation of him rubbing
against her clit through the material.

“You’re right,” he murmured, his voice
rough with desire. “We should live for the moment. For right here, right now.”
He slid his hands up her top to cup her breasts, groaning as he discovered she
was wearing a soft lacy teddy. He brushed her nipples through the lace, and she
moaned and continued to rock her hips against his erection.

“How can this be wrong?” he said.

“It’s not,” she whispered, and she lowered
her lips to his to claim them for a kiss.