“Mating of the sea horses. But before there’s mating, there’s a few days where they go through this courtship ritual.”
A huge smile touched her lips. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No, I kid you not,” he said, grabbing hold of her elbow to lead her toward an area where she could see a huge tank ahead.
She tried ignoring the stirrings in her stomach from his touch. “You mean sea horses actually court before they mate?”
“Yes. As far as I’m concerned that’s too much time wasted. I say just get the one you want and do your thing.”
Like he’d done to her. Like she’d done to him. “Um, I sort of like the courtship part.”
“I’m sure most women would.”
Was that disdain she heard in his voice? She wouldn’t be surprised if it was. “There’s nothing’s wrong with a man making a woman feel special before he does her.”
He chuckled. “If he works it right, he can make her feel special while he’s doing her. Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.”
Ainsley stopped walking, which made him have to stop, too. “May I ask you something?”
A smile touched his lips. “Ask away. That doesn’t mean I’ll answer.”
She pushed a hand through her hair. If she was a violent person, she would hit him—just like had she been in her right mind, she would have slapped him right before he’d gone down on her. “Your mother.”
Lifting a brow, he asked, “What about her?”
“You know her?”
He chuckled. “Of course I know her. She and my father have been happily married for close to thirty-eight years. They were married a few years before I was born. I’m the oldest.”
She nodded. “You have siblings?”
Winston wondered where her line of questioning was headed but decided to answer anyway. “Yes, a brother who is three years younger.”
“No sisters?”
“No.”
Nodding again, she asked, “Are you and your mother close?”
She looked so serious, he thought, studying her features. Her eyes, full of questions, were a beautiful shade of brown. He’d thought that the first night they met and thought it now. And her lips were erotically shaped in a way that would make a man want to ply them with kisses all day. He could see himself nibbling the corners and then taking his tongue and laving the center before finally wiggling that same tongue inside for a feast.
“Winston?”
“Yes?” he said, moving his gaze from her lips back up to her eyes.
“Are you and your mother close?”
Why did he always feel this burning awareness in the pit of his stomach whenever he gazed into her eyes for so long? “Yes, we’re close. Why?”
She shrugged. “Just trying to figure something out,” she said as she began walking again.
He joined in step beside her. “Figure out what?”
“What you have against women.”
He stopped walking and she stopped, as well. She could see the deep frown etched in the grooves of his face. “I have nothing against women. In fact I enjoy women.”
She placed her hand on his arm and tilted her head to the side as if to assure herself that she had his undivided attention when she said, “Yes, you enjoy women, but you’ll never love one.”
The nerve endings in his arm began to come alive at her touch. That wouldn’t be so bad if her scent wasn’t surrounding him as well, making his pulse rate escalate. He tried focusing on what she’d said and would be honest with her like he was with all women—especially any with foolish romantic notions.
“You’re right. I’ll never love one.”
He decided that with her he would go a little further by saying, “But it has nothing to do with any lack of respect for women. I operate on the ideology that once burned you have the good sense not to play with fire again.” And that was the bottom-line truth of the matter. Unlike his godbrother Virgil who believed in “do them before they do you,” he preferred to enjoy the opposite sex and let them know up-front what would or would not happen between them. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about things getting crazy later.
They began walking again. “It’s hard to believe some woman broke your heart.”
Winston wondered why they were discussing this. She’d asked her question and he had answered it. Why wasn’t it the end of story? “It happens even to the best of men,” he heard himself saying when he probably just should have kept his mouth shut. “I was young, stupid and figured one day I would meet a woman and share the same kind of marriage my parents had.”
“What happened?”
He opened his mouth to tell her it wasn’t her business and then decided maybe she needed to know in order to understand just how serious he was about not falling in love. “She betrayed me.”
He heard her surprised gasp. “With another man?”
“Yes.” He cocked his head and glanced over at her and saw the shocked look on her face. “You act like you find that hard to believe.”
“I do. You aren’t exactly chopped liver.”
He smiled. The woman was good for his ego. “Well, she did. I didn’t need anyone in my life that I couldn’t trust.”
She didn’t say anything and it was just as well, he thought. He’d probably given her too much information anyway, but talking to her took his mind off making love to her. And he had been thinking about it; thinking about it a lot even though he tried not to. He wanted her. Spending any amount of time with her triggered his libido like crazy. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow morning to get here so she could leave. Hell, if it stopped raining long enough, he’d even be tempted to take her back over to Hilton Head on his boat this evening.
When they got closer to the tank she rushed on ahead when she saw the two dolphins bobbing on the surface of the water. “Oh, Winston, they are beautiful.”
“Thanks.” When he saw her smile at Lucy and Ricky, a weird feeling of satisfaction raced through him.
“Okay, which is which?”
“This is Ricky,” he said touching the nose of the dolphin closer to them. “And the other one is Lucy. She’s sort of shy.”
“How can you tell them apart?”
“I’ve worked with them long enough to know them. But to tell a male from a female you look at the slits on their belly. The male has—”
“Aah, I get the picture.” A deep blush covered her cheeks.
“I can’t believe talking about animals’ reproductive organs makes you blush.”
“Well, it does.”
“Then it’s a good thing you won’t be here when the sea horses start mating. They can get downright nasty. They like doing it until he gets pregnant.”
She jerked her gaze from the dolphins to him. “He?”
A smile curved his lips. “Yes, in sea horses it’s the male who gets pregnant.”
Ainsley started laughing and couldn’t stop. Winston lifted a brow and stared at her. “You find that amusing?”
She smiled at him sweetly once her laughter subsided. “Yes, it’s good to know there is justice somewhere in the world after all.”
Chapter 10
Seated at the same table she’d sat at earlier for lunch, Ainsley watched Winston move around the kitchen preparing dinner. She had offered to help but he’d declined her assistance. He didn’t have to turn her down twice. She wasn’t a woman who liked being in the kitchen, anyway. Takeout worked just fine for her. Besides, the more distance between her and Winston the better. Watching his interactions with the dolphins had gotten her mind off him for a little while. But now he was back to holding court and taking possession of her thoughts.
There was a strong tug on certain parts of her body when she remembered him in this very kitchen earlier that day with his head between her legs. At the time all his attention had been focused on her and giving her pleasure. And he had. Now his attention was on preparing the food and with the same single-minded concentration. Her entire body was buzzing w
ith a degree of desire that she hadn’t known was possible until she’d met him.
“Lucy and Ricky like you.”
Ainsley smiled at the significance of that and appreciated him breaking into her thoughts before he short-circuited her brain.
“And I like them.” And she’d said that with all honesty. She rarely got taken with sea animals, but she’d been taken with that pair. It was amazing how well they were able to understand Winston’s orders. After making sure they were fed, he had proceeded to get them to do various tricks.
The closest she’d gotten to dolphins had been when she and her parents had been lucky enough to sit in the front row at SeaWorld one year. Today she’d not only been closer but had even petted the sea creatures.
Winston had been wonderful with them. She wondered if Dr. Chambers realized how fortunate he was to have him for an assistant.
She leaned back in her chair and took a sip of her tea as she continued to watch him move. His muscular thighs filled out the well-worn jeans and his hard muscles rippled beneath his shirt. The man had such an amazing body, every time she focused on it she could feel heat suffuse her pores.
She couldn’t help but recall what he’d shared with her about the woman who had betrayed him. She’d got the feeling he hadn’t intended to, but he had and a part of her couldn’t imagine any woman in her right mind doing something like that to him. Now she understood why he worked so hard not to let down his guard, a guard he had deliberately put up between them. The only time he’d let it down was when sexual tension had been too overwhelming.
The rain had finally stopped an hour ago, and she’d fully expected him to suggest that she leave, but so far he hadn’t. So now she had her plans in place. Charley had revealed the location of the lab and she intended to try her luck in finding it once she was certain Winston had gone to sleep. It would be a risky move but one she didn’t have any other choice but to make. There was no way she was leaving tomorrow before seeing Dr. Chambers, whether Winston wanted her to or not.
“You’re going to have to stay the night.”
His words intruded on her thoughts and she inwardly released a sigh. “It’s stopped raining. I probably can make it across the bridge,” she said, figuring she needed to present some semblance of protest.
“I wouldn’t try it if I were you. It’s gotten dark and going across the bridge after a pouring rain can be dangerous. I suggest you wait until morning. I can put you up for the night. There’s plenty of room here.”
That was an understatement, especially since it seemed Dr. Chambers lived in another part of the house. That prompted her to ask, “Will Dr. Chambers be joining us for dinner?”
“No,” he replied as he took a pan out of the oven.
“He has to eat sometime.”
“And he will. I’m preparing enough, but he prefers his privacy.”
She didn’t say anything for a minute and then asked, “Does he know I’m still here?”
There was a soft chuckle. “Oh, trust me, he knows.”
Ainsley picked up her cup of tea, not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. “Then why hasn’t he made an appearance and said hello?”
“Why should he? You’ve shown up twice now. Uninvited.”
She sighed, knowing there was no way she could deny that. “At least he knows I’m persistent.” She took a sip of her tea. “Hey, this is pretty good.”
“Thanks. Dinner will be ready in a second if you want to go ahead and wash up.”
She nodded, took another sip of her tea before standing. “Will I get to see any other parts of the house? You’re keeping me confined to the kitchen and laundry area.”
He shrugged broad shoulders while he opened the refrigerator. “You’ll get to see the guest room where you’ll be staying. That’s about it. No reason for you to see more.”
She tried not to show her irritation as she headed toward the laundry room where a powder room was located. She knew he was serious and wouldn’t be giving her a tour. That meant she would have to find her way to the lab on her own.
* * *
Winston watched her leave and his dark eyes narrowed as he watched the sway of her hips in her jeans. The woman had more curves than she knew what to do with. He shook his head, remembering their night together and knew she did know what to do with them, which was why he wanted her back in his bed again.
He swore under his breath thinking morning couldn’t come quick enough to suit him. The woman all but had him tied in knots. First, he’d been surprised by her reaction to Lucy and Ricky. She actually liked them. Most women—the few women he had invited here—would almost die of fright and acted as if the animals would eat them alive if they got too close. Not Ainsley. She had petted them, talked to them and had even helped feed them. He meant what he’d told her. Lucy and Ricky liked her and they didn’t take to everyone. Smart mammals.
He carried the platter and bowls over to the table. Like he’d told her, she was an uninvited guest and he would be in his right to let her eat alone. However, he couldn’t do that any more now than he could do it at lunch. But still, already she had cost him an entire day of work, which meant while she slept tonight, he would make up the day by working in the lab.
He heard her returning. After dinner, once he had her settled in the guest room and out of his way and sight, he could get some semblance of normalcy back in his life by drowning his thoughts in his work.
Three hours later Ainsley paced the guest room Winston had given her. Just as she’d assumed it would be, it was simply beautiful. The one large window in the room afforded her a gorgeous view of the ocean, and even at night she could see the waters underneath a moon-kissed sky.
The meal he’d prepared, low-country stew over rice with mouthwatering corn bread, had been delicious. He’d credited his cooking skills to his mother and paternal grandmother. Over dinner she had tried picking information out of him about the lab and was fairly certain he hadn’t detected her ulterior motive for doing so. Now at least she had a good idea of where she needed to go after leaving this guest room to find the lab. And she’d all but gotten Winston’s affirmation that Dr. Chambers would be working late tonight.
During dinner she had pretended she could barely keep her eyes open, and afterward he had escorted her up a flight of stairs where several spacious bedrooms were located.
So now she was waiting, giving Winston time to settle in for the night and go to sleep in his bedroom, a floor above her. He had knocked on her door an hour or so ago with an oversize T-shirt for her to sleep in. The shirt was thrown across the bed for her to put on later. Right now her main objective was seeing Dr. Chambers.
What if he refused to see her? What if he sounded the alarm and ordered Winston to put her out? That meant she would have to sleep in her car. That also meant she would have lost her one and only chance for that interview.
Ainsley glanced over at the clock and saw it was close to midnight. The house was completely quiet and she figured now was time to make her move. She tiptoed to the door and opened it to peek out. All was quiet and dark except for a night-light that lit the hallway. Easing the door shut behind her, she walked quietly to the staircase and instead of going up another level, she took the stairs down to the first floor. Since Winston had told her the guest rooms were on the west side of the house, she knew she had to go to the opposite side to find Chambers’s lab. Thanks to Charley she knew it was in the basement in the east wing.
Once she made it to the main floor, she crossed the huge living room, went past the kitchen and laundry area. Her goal was that door they’d gone through earlier to feed the dolphins. Moments later, she stood in front of it. What if an alarm sounded when she opened it?
Ainsley drew in a deep breath knowing she had to take her chances. She reached for the doorknob and turned it slowly. When the door opened without a sound, she released the breath she hadn’t known she was holding until now. Looking over her shoulder to make sure all was still quiet, she moved
down the stairs.
Winston’s erection began throbbing the minute he heard the steady and determined footsteps coming down the stairs. He couldn’t help but appreciate Ainsley’s tenacity.
He had known what her plans for tonight were when she had pretended total exhaustion at dinner. He had found her playacting rather amusing to say the least. More than once he had stared across the table at her, struggling not to allow her fake drowsiness to become a total turn-on. But there had been something about her lowered lashes and flushed cheeks that had made him want to haul her right off to bed. His. But he had played right along knowing that as soon as she figured the coast was clear, she wouldn’t waste time coming here, to this lab where she assumed Dr. Chambers was hard at work during the night.
Over dinner he had been fully aware she’d been pumping him for information. And when she thought she had accumulated enough to make an appearance in the lab, she had begun feigning total exhaustion.
It was time to switch gears with Ainsley since the woman was too willful for her own good. They had played this game long enough. He wanted her and whether she admitted it or not, she wanted him.
Winston felt that he was very astute when it came to women and although she said one thing, he was very much aware her body was saying another and tonight he intended to prove it to her. After all, nobody told her to go snooping around in his house at this hour of the night. She had come in search of Dr. Chambers and he was going to make sure that’s what she got. His gaze swept the laboratory where he spent most of his time. The space wasn’t exactly conducive for seduction, but a man had to do what a man had to do. At least there was that cot on the other side of the room, the one he used occasionally to take power naps.
Placing down his wine glass, he picked up the remote that controlled the lightning in the room. Immediately the room was thrown into darkness, except for the brightness from the computer screen. When she opened the lab’s door, she wouldn’t see him at first. But she would eventually. And then it would be on.
* * *
Bachelor Unclaimed Page 9
