Melting The Ice

by Amy Leigh Napier

  “Yes, that is very cool.” Ava agreed, taking a sip of her own drink. “I will let Jameson know I ran into you.” She smiled again and suffered another quick squeeze from the perky little blonde. He allowed Sabrina to pull him back into the crowd. He couldn’t resist looking over his shoulder at Ava. She sat on her barstool observing him with a look of disgust on her face. He flashed a broad grin earning him a quick narrowing of her eyes before she seemed to shrug it off and turned her attention back to Scott-the-Contractor. The bastard. He really didn’t like the guy putting his arm around Ava’s shoulder while he chatted with the rest of the group. When

  she smiled up at Scott, he forced himself to focus on Sabrina’s hot little body and ignore Ava hanging all over that bastard she obviously liked better than him. She wasn’t worried about him and he damn sure wasn’t going to worry about her.

  Chapter Twenty

  That little son-of-a-bitch, Ava thought as she carelessly tossed her purse on the kitchen counter. Her body was practically vibrating with rage at Cian and his antics at the bar. She had told herself repeatedly that he was not her man and was no more to her than any of the other men she had been with in the past. He was free to do whatever he wanted with whomever he wanted; it was nothing to her one way or the other. “Then what the hell is your problem?” she muttered under her breath, stomping angrily through the house to her bedroom. She removed her makeup and took a quick bath before slipping into soft cotton sleep pants and a ribbed tank that left her midriff bare, fuming the entire time. She had been stunned when she walked into Hal’s place with Scott and some other friends and saw Cian with Jameson’s old girlfriend, Sabrina. It had been like someone doused her with cold water. Sabrina was pretty, well-built and a whole lot closer to his age than Ava.

  As hard as she had tried, she hadn’t been able to stop watching them together for the couple of hours she had been there. Every time she had sneaked a look, they had been dancing or laughing and appeared to be completely fascinated with each other. She had grown increasingly upset, though she had hid it well for the most part. Only someone who had known her as long as Scott would even notice she wasn’t her usual self so when he had asked her if she wasn’t feeling well, she had jumped at the excuse to leave. There was nothing between her and Scott but a lifetime of friendship and several mutually beneficial business deals so it hadn’t bothered him at all to run her home. She had known earlier in the day when she and Scott were out by the pool that Cian was misreading the situation and she hadn’t done anything to correct the misunderstanding. Ever since she had started sleeping with him, it had been a fight, mostly with herself, to keep distance between them. The sex between them was off the charts hot but they also had fun out of bed together. He was attentive and affectionate whether he was making love to her or watching television. After the blow up with her father the previous night, he’d held her in his arms, listening to her and then carried her off like some hero in a romance novel to make love to her until they were both exhausted. She had awakened this morning to him still holding her wrapped in his arms. She had been lying there watching him sleep for a few seconds when it had occurred to her what she was doing.

  Ava Talbot did not lie around watching guys sleep. She got what she wanted and moved on. Of course, it was hard to move on when said guy was sleeping in her bed. She had sneaked out of bed without waking him and took off to her mother’s, knowing he would be off to wherever it was he went every morning by the time she got back. She wasn’t accustomed to dealing with guilt but guilt was exactly what she felt for the cowardly way she had slunk off. She had been so distracted, her mother had even asked her if she was feeling well and tried to send her home with some frozen chicken soup. She had arrived back at the house and had been sunbathing when Scott had shown up to give her the updates on the rehab project. They had been laughing and talking about Jack’s weekend long party that had resulted in the water damage and what could possibly have been the cause when Cian had strolled out looking good enough to eat. Truthfully, though, he always looked good enough to eat. There was not one part of him that wasn’t fine with a capital F. He had had regarded her with narrowed eyes, obviously angry and hurt when he thought the contractor was a boyfriend of hers. He had been increasingly irritated with her for the last few days anyway. He was young and cocky and probably had never experienced a woman that didn’t want him to be her “boyfriend”. To him, spending all night giving her screaming orgasms was no bigger deal than dropping casual kisses on her mouth, running a hand over her hip, or snuggling up to her on the sofa. It wasn’t even that he was more invested in a relationship between them than she was; it was the age difference.

  She had been seriously burned by Jameson’s father but even before that, she had commitment issues thanks to how she had grown up. Cian had obviously never been burned and was very easy with his affection, like an overgrown puppy. What he treated so casually was of monumental import to her. If they kept it simple and just had sex, there wouldn’t be any confusion when it was over. Once she had given in and slept with him again, he’d acted like the rest was a given. While she had been determined to keep it sex only, he didn’t get the concept at all. Instead, he had taken it as a personal challenge and had set about catching her off guard at every opportunity. Every time she turned around, he was molesting her person. She had thought she was dealing with their sexual relationship in a mature fashion but when she had seen him with Sabrina, she had known she was in big trouble. It had been a lot of years since the green-eyed monster had been any kind of issue for her but not long enough she didn’t immediately recognize the symptoms. That, in itself, had been the most alarming part of the earlier scene at Hal’s place. She was pissed at herself for being jealous over some twenty-one year old girl and she was pissed at Cian for making her feel that way. She hated playing the fool and that is exactly what she had become; an old fool.

  She grabbed a Corona out of the Subzero and settled onto the sofa in the den to flip channels for a while before going to bed. She wasn’t expecting Cian to even come home tonight since he had been so wrapped up with that girl. It had looked pretty obvious to her where that was heading. She finally settled on a movie to watch and flipped off the lights to watch it in the dark. A half hour into the movie, she heard the sound of Cian’s SUV pulling up in front of the house. She felt an unwanted thrill go through her body and not a little relief. If he was already home, he hadn’t had sex with Sabrina. “You need help.” She softly bitched at herself. Refusing to let him see how upset she had been over him spending his entire evening with the younger woman, she continued sipping at her beer and pretending to watch the movie. She heard him let himself in and pause at the bottom of the stairs before the sound of his footsteps nearing the den, stopped inside the doorway. He didn’t say a word, just stood there silently willing her to look at him. She felt his eyes on her like a caress against her skin. The silence built between them until Ava, realizing she wasn’t fooling him at all, turned to look at him.

  “Well, isn’t this is a surprise?” She inwardly cringed at the words and the bitchy tone coming out of her mouth but couldn’t seem to stop herself. “I assumed you would be laid up somewhere with Sabrina.” He stepped further into the room and flashed a grin.

  “You know what happens when you assume, Ava.” His voice rumbled out of his chest, low and husky. “I can’t imagine that you would care one way or the other where I was putting my dick.”

  “I don’t care.” She snapped at him, fury bringing her to her feet. “I’m going to bed.” She went to push past him but he refused to budge. “Get out of my way.”

  “No, I don’t think so.” He crowded her against the wall, his hands braced on either side of her head. His leaned down to kiss her but she turned her face away, opening her neck to his attention. She half-heartedly pushed against his chest while his lips, tongue and teeth worked on her ear, neck and shoulders. “You mad at me, Ava?”

  “No.” she sighed, immediately disgusted with th
e sound of her voice. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Why would I be mad at you?” He chuckled against her throat, working his way up to press soft kisses across her cheek to her lips.

  “So is that the story you’re going with?”

  “Yes.”

  He pressed a soft, teasing kiss against her lips, moving in closer to rub his body lightly against hers. “It didn’t bother you to see me with Sabrina?”

  “No.” she gasped when he captured her bottom lip between his teeth, gently nibbling before soothing it with his tongue. He slid his tongue into her mouth, caressing her tongue with his for a moment before pulling back.

  “You know liars go to hell, Ava.” He whispered against her mouth, his eyes boring into hers. She felt his hand on the bare skin of her stomach, sliding up under the tank top until he cupped her breast in his hand, his thumb grazing her nipple teasingly. His lips moved to her ear, his tongue circling the delicate outer shell while he continued to caress her breast. “It didn’t bother you to think about me playing with Sabrina’s hard little nipples like I’m playing with yours?” his other hand joined the first, his fingers tweaking her nipples until they stood at attention. He kissed her again, his tongue sinking deep into her mouth for a moment before he broke the kiss. He leaned his forehead against hers when his hands slid under her sleep pants to grip her ass, grinding her pelvis against the thick erection in his jeans. “It didn’t bother you to think about my hands on Sabrina’s ass?” his gaze bored into hers when one hand moved around to slide into her panties and sift through her soft curls. “How about here?” he asked as he slid his long, middle finger along her wet crease before sinking deep inside of her. Her head fell back against the wall and her eyes closed when a second finger joined the first and began a thrusting motion. “Come on Ava, tell the truth. You were jealous as hell when you thought I was off fucking Sabrina, weren’t you?” Her eyes flew open in angry shock to meet his smug, satisfied expression. His head snapped back when her hand cracked against his face. Their gazes locked, hers narrowed and angry, his going from smug to shock in a matter of seconds before his face split in a wide grin and laughter exploded from his mouth. His laughter was like waving a red flag at a bull. She tried to hit him again, but he captured her hands before she could make contact. She pushed at him, trying to get loose but he managed to hold onto her while he roared with laughter. When she brought her knee up and barely missed the family jewels, he pinned her tightly to the wall with his body. “I guess that answers that question, huh?”

  “Damn you, you smug bastard…” She yelled into his face, her rage erupting from her like lava from a volcano. “Get off me! You can’t come in here after you spent the whole evening trying to seduce that girl and think you’re going to have sex with me because she turned you down!” His laughter stopped abruptly, his dark eyes searching hers.

  “You really think I only want you because Sabrina turned me down?” he asked incredulously. Her lips formed a tight line and she refused to answer.

  “I don’t care.”

  “Obviously you do or you wouldn’t have just tried to take my head off and shove my dick up between my eyeballs.” He scoffed. His fingers gently grasped her chin in his hand, turning her face until she was looking at him. “Sabrina didn’t turn me down, Ava.”

  “What?”

  “I turned her down.”

  “Why?”

  “Why would I want a girl when I can have a woman?” he asked softly, his dark eyes completely serious. She felt the ball of tension she had been carrying inside all evening unwind. Her arms wound around his neck and pulled his lips to hers for a hot, searing kiss, his words setting her on fire. He groaned into her mouth as passion exploded between them.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Ava lay with her back pressed against Cian’s front, her head on his arm, his other arm wrapped tight around her waist. No words had passed between them since the last mind-altering orgasm had blasted through their bodies. They hadn’t even made it upstairs the first time and had somehow or another ended up having sex on the stairs. She could honestly say she had never done that before. Parts of her body that she hadn’t even been aware of ached from that ill-advised move. She knew he was awake, too, because every so often, he would run his lips over her shoulder or neck. She felt bad for how she had acted earlier and hated that she had been handling this entire situation like an immature teenage girl.

  “Ava?” His voice brought her out of her reverie. “You awake?”

  “Yeah.” She sighed.

  “You still mad at me?”

  After a moment’s hesitation, she turned to face him, their faces close together. “I wasn’t mad at you…” He eyed her skeptically causing her to giggle. “Let me rephrase that. I had no right to be mad at you.” He studied her for several seconds before shaking his head in disbelief. “What?” she asked, obviously confused by his attitude.

  “Why wouldn’t you be mad at me?” he asked curiously. “I was out with another woman tonight.” She looked down and shrugged.

  “It’s not like we’re a couple, Cian.” She responded softly. “I was out with Scott tonight…”

  “And that’s exactly why I was with Sabrina!” He vehemently stated his frustration with her apparent. “I was so pissed at you for taking off with that guy…”

  “He’s just a friend…”

  “Ask me if I give a fuck.” He interrupted her tersely. Her mouth opened in surprise before a trill of laughter escaped. His eyebrows drew down warningly at her. “I’m serious, Ava.” She controlled her laughter and raised a hand to caress the same stubbled jaw she had slapped earlier.

  “I know you are and I’m sorry.” She leaned up and placed a soft kiss on his frowning mouth. She appeared undecided for a moment, then letting out a long breath, started speaking rapidly. “Listen, Cian, I’m going to be blunt with you. It’s not that I’m not attracted to you…I mean obviously I am but…well…” He rolled his eyes.

  “Stop beating around the bush. I’m a big boy.” He deadpanned. She nodded her head and let out another breath.

  “You’re right.” She smiled. “I have not been in anything resembling a relationship, emotional or sexual, since Jameson’s father and I split several years ago.” He opened his mouth to interrupt, but she laid her hand gently across his mouth. “Let me finish or I’ll never get this out, okay?” His eyes stared into hers for an instant before he kissed her fingers and nodded his head in agreement. “I have had several brief affairs over the years and none of them in my hometown. No attachment, no repeat performances and damn sure not any exclusivity for any of the involved parties. Most of the guys were younger than me, a couple even younger than you. The age thing was never important because they were just passing through. Not one of them was even an acquaintance of my son.” His mouth opened to speak and immediately shut when she arched an eyebrow at him. “I didn’t know any of their parents and none of them were for all intents and purposes living with me at the time. Then I hook up with you in my hometown my first night back in months, thinking I would never see you again after that night but the very next day, I find out I’ve broken several of my hard and fast rules; no guys from home, no friends of my son, no children of friends and no moving anyone in with me.” He chuckled but didn’t interrupt. “Since then, I have been in a constant battle with myself to stay away from you but you wouldn’t let me. I went out with Drew trying to distract myself. It distracted me all right…you had to step in and be the big hero and since apparently I was looking for any reason to be with you again, I took full advantage. I didn’t plan on it happening again, but you’re pretty hard to resist when you put some effort into it.” He grinned smugly. “When you witnessed the scene with my dad…” She hesitated before shrugging. “To make a long story short, this entire situation makes me uncomfortable but at the same time, I can’t seem to leave you alone.” He continued to watch her expectantly.

  “Can I talk now?” he asked sardonically. She nodded. “Then let
me say I’ve had a few relationships but nothing remotely serious. I’ve dated women younger and older than me. I’ve never slept with a friend’s mom before…and may I say that completely fulfilled my MILF fantasy?” She burst out laughing and teasingly smacked him on his bulging bicep. He grinned cheekily before continuing. “I was as surprised as you when I showed up at your house and found out the woman I had slept with the previous night was Jay’s mom. Of course I wanted you again but no matter what I did, you blew me off. I’ve never had a woman act like that, especially since I…” His words came to a halt when he abruptly stopped talking. She looked at him curiously.

  “Since you what?”

  He laughed and leaned down to kiss her hard and fast. “Since I became the hot, young stud you see before you.” She snorted out a disbelieving laugh, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, I didn’t expect you to ‘reward’ me for knocking Drew around a little, but thankfully, you did. Every day since then, you’ve run hot and cold. One minute you’re acting like I’m some twelve year old boy you’ve let come sleep over at your house and the next you’re tearing my clothes off.” Both of her eyebrows shot up her forehead in alarm. He looked at her strangely until he realized what he had said and started laughing. “That came out wrong. What I meant to say was you went back and forth between treating me like some kid you barely knew to the man that spent the nights in your bed. Does that sound better?”