by Kimber Davis
"I want you to stay, but I want you to stay because you want to, if you know what I mean. I can see feelings growing between you and Stuart where there were none before. He's a good man, one of the best I've ever known. But there's still the potential for getting hurt. Promise me you'll be careful."
Unexpected tears stung Ivy's eyes. She hadn't expected this talk, despite what her cousins had told her about her father's overprotective nature where they were concerned. "Not that there's anything going on there, but I thought that, if there were, you'd be happy about it."
"I'd be happy if you were, Ivy." He patted her hand and the threatened tears slipped down her cheeks. "Stuart's a nice man, but he's still a man."
Ivy laughed, then tried to wipe away tears without her father seeing it. She knew that he had, however, when he clasped her hand again and squeezed.
"Just remember what I said." He leaned back against the pillow and Ivy stood. "I'll send in Beth."
"Thank you." His eyes were closed again, and Ivy figured he would be asleep within minutes, if not seconds.
When Beth was in the room and tending to her father, Ivy stepped out into the hallway, pondering his warning about getting involved with Stuart. It wasn't a warning, per se, she supposed, more of words to ponder.
She shut the door behind her and sighed, glancing around and then shaking her head in disgust. The hallway was empty. She went back downstairs and found a few female relatives cleaning up plates and putting trash in bags.
She wanted to ask if anyone had seen Stuart, but she was afraid that, after the public kiss, people would get the wrong idea. So she scanned the room and didn't find him. She joined in the clean up, figuring he'd reappear. But by the time the chore was done, and everyone was gone, Ivy found herself alone.
"So much for seducing me after the party," she said, shaking her head. She decided, though, that it was probably better this way. She didn't have to make the decision about whether or not to accept his advances, and this way she didn't have to worry about getting hurt.
Still, the rejection stung just a little, and she went to the kitchen, poured herself a large glass of wine and gathered up some crackers and fruit and went to her room. Better to be alone upstairs than to sit down here and make it look as if she was waiting on him.
She finished the wine quickly, then feasted on grapes and crackers, despite the fact that she wasn't hungry. She wished she'd taken the time to go and buy a laptop, like she'd planned. At least that way she could play some games, or she could have it hooked up to the Internet by now.
She knew there was a library downstairs, with some classics and some newer novels, too. Beth liked to read, and so did Constance, the housekeeper. They'd told her at one point that they left books after they were done with them for the other to find and read. Maybe she should go downstairs and see what she could find. Or maybe she should trudge out to Stuart's cabin and ask him what had made him change his mind.
The more she thought about it, the more it bothered her. He'd been hot for her this week, making sure he let her know it, too. It was a huge blow to her ego for him to just disappear after the party. Had she done something wrong?
"Why do you care, Ivy?" She got up and looked in the mirror, studying her hair and makeup. "You don't like him, remember? He spanks you, and that's a bad thing."
She twirled a stand of hair around her finger. "Yeah, but he's tall, and he's cute, and being rejected just sucks."
Ivy thrust back her shoulders, narrowing her eyes at her reflection. "You know the answer to that problem, don't you Ivy? You need to go down and reject him. Let him know that it's your decision, not his. Jerk."
She spent a few minutes sprucing up her makeup, making sure that it looked perfect before she thrust her feet back into the shoes she'd kicked off the minute she'd come in the door, then headed down the stairs.
"Reject me will you," she muttered as she stalked across the living room toward the kitchen door. "We'll just see about that. You'll be the one who gets rejected in the end."
"Are you talking to yourself?" She skidded to a halt and turned to where Stuart sat at the table, his hand wrapped around a mug of beer.
"No." She shook her head.
"Sure sounded like it to me. If you're not talking to yourself, then what are you doing?"
"I'm going to the library to get a book to read." She'd be damned if she would let him know what she was planning on doing. He looked so smug, yet downright sexy, as he sat at the table, grinning at her in a deliciously naughty manner.
"Really? Well, the library is the other way, if I remember right." He pointed toward the doorway she'd just gone through and she put her hands on her hips and glared at him.
"I know that."
"Do you? Then why were you heading outside?"
"Maybe I needed a breath of fresh air."
"Or maybe you were going to visit me?"
"In your dreams, buddy."
"That's true." He stood and drained the little bit of beer that was left in his glass, then winked at her. "I've been having lots of dreams about you coming to visit me."
Warmth spread through her body. He stayed close to the table, staring at her. "Pretty words. But you left right after the party, didn't you? Seems to me if you wanted me to visit you would have stuck around a little while longer."
"I did leave, yes. I wanted you to come to me, so that I can make sure this is something you wanted. I didn't want to put you in a situation where you felt I was taking advantage of you. I want you to want this as much as I do."
The warmth spread, and she cleared her throat. "So, what you're telling me is that you would have waited all night for me to show up? And, if I didn't show up, that would have been the end of it?"
"Something like that," his voice was deep, and she could hear the desire hidden just underneath it. "The only difference I would say is it would have been the end of it, for tonight. I would still pursue you, the chase would have just lasted a little longer."
Ivy couldn't contain the smile that spread across her face. "Maybe I was coming to tell you to forget it, that my father warned me against you."
Stuart's shocked look made Ivy smile. "Are you serious?"
"Yes. He saw the kiss, and he told me to stay away." When his shocked look turned to one of stunned pain she relented. "Okay, well maybe he didn't exactly tell me to stay away. He told me basically what you just did. To make sure it was something I wanted, and not something I was being forced into. So I guess you can say yes, he warned me off you."
He cocked his head and narrowed his eyes in an evil glare. "You tried to make it sound like he didn't want us together. Shame on you."
"No, I never said that. What I said was he wanted to make sure I wasn't forced into anything."
"You came clean, but at first you wanted me to believe he'd told you I was a bad guy. That makes you a very naughty girl." He took a step toward her with every word and Ivy thrilled to the sensation at the sound of danger in his voice. She stood rooted to the spot until he stopped in front of her.
"Naughty girl."
"I was, um, going outside to tell you I don't want you."
"Right. You were coming all that way to tell me you wanted to go back inside and sleep by yourself."
"What makes you think I'm not telling the truth?"
"Well, there are several clues," he said, tracing her lips with his thumb. "For one thing, your nipples are hard, and don't give me the excuse that it's cold, because it's not cold in the house. For another, your eyes are dilated, just a little. And for another, you keep licking your lips where I've touched them, like you want me to do this."
He cupped her neck and drew her to him, claiming her lips in a firm, yet soft, kiss. She didn't push him away this time, or fight his touch. Instead she leaned into him, savoring the feel of his hard hands on her body, of his lips on hers.
"I'm not sure this is a good idea," she said when he broke the kiss.
"Why not?" He put his hands on her hips and li
fted her up. The outline of his erection pressed against her and she gasped. It had been a long while since she'd been held like this, and she was pretty sure the feelings coursing through her right now were more intense that what she'd ever felt.
"Because, it can't go anywhere. I mean, oh..." He tweaked her chin then nibbled on her lower lip.
"You were saying?"
"I was saying nothing." Screw the doubts and the anger over spankings. She'd be a fool to pass this up, considering the way she felt right now, both physically and mentally.
His grin made her giggle. "Then I'm going to take you to my cottage and make love to you. Any objections?"
"Not a one." She blinked her eyes rapidly, then cocked her head in what she hoped was a coquettish manner. She didn't have a lot of experience in the flirtation business.
The way his eyes darkened with desire let her know her look had the desired effect. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, heading for the back door.
"It might be easier to walk if we weren't pressed together like this," she said with a laugh.
"Easier, but not as much fun. I rather like feeling you right next to me."
The night was cold, and as they stepped outside she snuggled further into his warmth. Doubts still plagued her, but she pushed them as far back as she could, knowing that if she waited until she was absolutely, positively sure this was the right thing to do, she'd be waiting a long time.
Wasn't love a risk, all the way around? One could never be sure things would turn out perfect in any relationship. She'd had friends who'd been happy for years, and then suddenly the bottom had dropped out. You had to take things as they came, build on them and see where it led you.
Memories of the last time she'd visited his cottage, when he'd spanked her for the first time, reared their ugly head, reminding her that she hadn't liked Stuart at first. In fact, she'd hated him. Hated the way he acted, and hated the fact that he spanked her.
What had changed that she was now allowing him to lead her toward his cottage not with the intent of spanking her, but of making love to her?
Of course he hadn't exactly led her here the last time. He'd dragged her.
"I can hear your thoughts rolling round and round inside your head," Stuart said as they neared the cottage. "You were so relaxed inside, but you're tense now."
"I was thinking about the first spanking." Honesty, she knew, was the best policy. "I didn't like it."
"I didn't either." They were at his cottage door now, and he pushed it open and propelled her inside right in front of him. "I hope you don't think I enjoyed it."
"No, I don't."
"Good." He gathered her close, kissing her again, sliding his tongue into her mouth until she melted into him, welcoming him inside her.
And then he smacked her bottom, the sound of his hand hitting her jean-clad bottom reverberating against the walls.
"Now that one, I liked."
Ivy giggled, then tried to push out of his arms. "I didn't."
"Liar." He smacked her bottom again as his lips trailed over her chin and down her neck.
Ivy clasped his shirt in her fists and groaned. Yes, she did like that. A lot. Just like the other night at the bar, these swats elicited feelings of arousal unlike anything she'd ever felt before.
When his hands went to work lifting her sweater over her head, her fingers undid the buttons of his shirt, every trace of anxiety gone.
Soon they were skin on skin, their hands roaming each other's bodies with abandon. She threw her head back and groaned as his lips captured first one, and then the other nipple, teasing them with a mixture of nibbling and sucking that drove her insane with pleasure.
And between the caresses, the kisses and the strokes he would smack her bottom, each swat sending her desire swirling upward until she thought she would go mad. He'd smack first one cheek, and then the other, alternating between them as Ivy clasped at his body.
When he finally sheathed himself, laid her gently on his bed and buried himself inside her she held him close, never wanting to lose the feeling of pure desire and the realization that being with him felt more perfect than anything she'd ever felt in her life.
She clasped his hips between her thighs as the feelings peaked, sending her into a tail spinning orgasm that made her feel as if she were soaring to the stars. Her body still pulsed with energy as groaned, then nibbled her ear as he reached his own release.
"Good heavens above," Ivy said, holding him close to her. "I've never been spanked during love making."
"I just wanted you to know it wasn't always something bad," he said, kissing her neck and shoulders.
He left the bed for a few minutes, and when he came back he pulled her against him. She snuggled into his warmth, savoring the feel of him.
Neither of them said anything, and Ivy knew she'd never felt this comfortable with a lover before. And that idea let her know this experience was right, more right than anything she'd ever felt.
Chapter Seven
"Checkmate." Ivy's eyes widened, then she leaned forward to study the chessboard. "Give it up, girlie, I've got you beat."
"How did that happen so fast?" Ivy glanced between the board and her father, who winked at her.
"Possibly because you're thinking about young Stuart, and not about your game." She blushed at his words but didn't correct him. He was right, after all. In the week since she and Stuart had made love she'd practically moved into his cottage, setting up her small amount of belongings right next to his, cuddling up to him at night, sleeping in his arms after he made sweet love to her.
It was the most incredible thing she'd ever experienced, and she never wanted it to end.
"Does it make you angry that we're together?"
"Not at all." Her father sat back in his chair and she couldn't help but notice his color looked a little faded today, his breathing a little more labored than it had been yesterday. "I rather like the idea."
"Because it will keep me here?"
"Because it makes you happy." He inhaled sharply, the wheezing sound of his breathing making her sit up straighter. "No matter, no matter. I think it's time for a lie down, though. Run and fetch Beth for me, will you?"
Ivy nodded, hurrying from the room. She'd stayed home from the pub this evening so she could spend time with her father, who had been too tired that afternoon for a visit. Now she worried that she'd pushed him for their game and it had made her feel very guilty. If something happened to him because of it she would feel guilty the rest of her life.
She found Beth in the library, curled up with a book. When the nurse had hurried from the room Ivy sat down in a chair, staring out at the cold, rainy evening. A month ago she would have told anyone who asked that she could care less if her father dropped dead or not. Now the thought scared her half to death.
Life had changed drastically. She had a father she cared about, and a lover whom she never wanted to leave. If she'd known this was going to happen she would have come to Scotland years ago. Of course there were still nagging doubts about why her father had left her in the first place, but now she always managed to push those to the back of her mind. It was better not to dwell on them. She'd accepted his reasoning and felt grateful he'd contacted her, and made sure she was provided for the rest of her life.
Today's episode, though, reminded her that his health was precarious, at best. Truth be told it could be considered less than shaky, although she wasn't exactly sure what term she could use to describe it. She wanted to go upstairs right now, see what was happening.
But Beth had made it clear at times like these it was best she and Hamish were left alone, to take care of things and not worry about what someone else was thinking or feeling at that time. Beth was probably right, although it didn't make Ivy feel too good at the moment. She thought about picking up the phone, calling Stuart and seeing how things were going at the pub.
She'd become dangerously addicted to the place in the last few weeks, laug
hing and joking with the regulars and learning the ins and outs of Scottish food and drink. Of course there was still Tyler Jameson to contend with. She still worried about him and what he had up his sleeve. She had no doubt that when her father died Tyler would pull something nasty, just to get back at Stuart for "stealing his woman," something that had happened only in Tyler's mixed up brain.
"He's sleeping now." Beth's soft voice came from just inside the doorway. "Maybe you should go to the cottage and do the same."
It amazed Ivy that everyone accepted her relationship with Stuart so easily. No one had said anything about it happening so quickly, or about her being a sleaze for sleeping with him without knowing him for a long time, or without the benefit of a wedding ring.
"Is he worse? I mean overall? I thought he was getting better." She turned to Beth, saw the sad smile on her face.
"I'm sorry, Ivy. I know you being here has given him a reason to want to stick around. But eventually it won't be enough. It's his body that will give out, not his will to live. All our bodies give out at some point or another."
Ivy nodded, blinking back the tears that formed in her eyes. "Maybe I will go to rest, or maybe I'll read a book. Or maybe I'll just sit here and wonder about the ways of life."
Beth crossed the room and sat down in a chair opposite from her. "I know this is hard on you."
"I never would have expected it would be. Actually, I never thought I'd stay."
Beth grinned. "Yes, I remember the original Ivy. She was rather a handful. But you've reinvented yourself into the Scottish Ivy. The Scottish Ivy has accepted her father and found a new man to make her life whole."
"Yes, I suppose you're right. She has." Ivy twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. "But the Scottish Ivy has Stuart to thank for her transformation. She never would have made it without him. And at first she wanted to throttle him."
Beth's soft laughter filled the room. "Stuart fell for you the minute he saw you, Ivy. He may not have liked your attitude, but I can guarantee you that he liked you, a great deal."
Ivy didn't reply, just looked down at her feet. "Sometimes I wonder about life. It's not fair that I knew my father so little."
