Melting The Ice

by Amy Leigh Napier

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Ava took a long sip of her second Stoli on the rocks and felt some of the tension melt away. Her mind felt like it was going a million miles a minute while she tried to absorb everything that had just happened. Patrick…that son of a bitch…how could he send that video to their son? What kind of person did shit like that? She knew in her head she had done nothing wrong in her relationship with Cian…that didn’t stop her from feeling like some old perverted woman now that her son knew. She had been having so much fun with Cian…why did Patrick have to turn it into something dirty? Another sip of vodka had her shaking her head in disbelief. It was more than she could take in. For all she knew, her son was outside this very minute talking Cian into leaving and strangely enough, she didn’t want him to go. She didn’t want Jameson upset with her and all she had to do to prevent that was to call a halt to this thing with Cian. Sounded simple but it was far from it. Her mind couldn’t seem to wrap itself around the idea of cutting Cian off…it had been a long time since she had felt this happy and content with a man. The age difference bothered her; probably more than it should but no matter how many times she told herself they were both adults, she couldn’t help but wonder if everyone was laughing at her behind her back. Those bitches in the restroom had made it brutally clear that not everyone wished them well as a couple. The door from the garage banging against the wall snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked up to see the man who had just been consuming her thoughts barreling into the house.

  “Ava!” He roared unnecessarily before his eyes settled on her sitting at the island with a half-full bottle of Stoli in front of her and a full glass in her hand. He stopped in front of her, his velvety brown gaze boring into hers. “Do you want me to go?” She opened her mouth to respond but couldn’t force the lie out that would solve all her problems. She couldn’t send him away. She looked away and shook her head.

  “No, I don’t want you to go…I should, but I don’t.” She answered quietly. The turbulence in her blue eyes had him shifting uncomfortably.

  “I don’t want to cause problems between you and Jay.” His deep voice came out softly. He looked at her for long seconds before a wry smile turned up the corners of his mouth. His hand came up, his long fingers sifting through the silky mass of her hair, tipping her face up so his lips could brush gently over hers. “But I want you.” He whispered against her lips, his mouth slanting across hers, his tongue sliding into her mouth for a deep, feeding kiss. Her arms encircled his hard waist while he buried both hands in her hair. “Don’t send me away.”

  “Stay with me…” She breathed into his mouth, her lips meeting his for another long kiss that quickly spun out of control.

  “Mom…” Jameson’s voice had them jerking apart in startled surprise. She felt her face heat with embarrassment while Cian quickly shifted to stand behind her to hide his obvious arousal. Jameson glared at him. “I thought we had settled this.” Before he could respond, Ava let out a long sigh.

  “Jameson…just stop, okay?” Her eyes pleaded with him for understanding. “I’m sorry you had to find out about Cian and I like this but…well, when it comes right down to it, we’re not doing anything wrong.”

  “Mom…” Jameson started to speak, but after holding his mother’s stare for long moments, he shook his head with resignation. “Whatever…it’s none of my business.” He turned and started out the door he had just entered.

  “Jameson!” A frantic Ava jumped off the stool and took off after her son. He turned to look at her quizzically. “You’re not leaving!” He laughed wryly and rolled his eyes.

  “No, I’m getting some stuff out of the car.” He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “You don’t think I would miss 4th of July on the river, do you?” He grinned broadly, his eyes meeting Cian’s with smug satisfaction. “Besides, I already invited Cian’s younger brothers to join us; all three of them.” Her jaw dropped in shock while Cian’s eyes narrowed menacingly. Jameson burst out laughing and headed out the door. She turned to look at Cian looking shell shocked.

  “Oh my God…” she muttered, reaching for the vodka.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Cian lay on his bed staring at the ceiling while Max riffled through the closet trying to decide what to wear. “Come on, mon ami, of course you will attend the party.” Max stated with his usual arrogance. “Lots of lovely ladies, food, drink…Jay and Jack even have a band. How can you even contemplate such a thing?”

  Cian glared at his best friend before returning to his consideration of the ceiling. “I’m not horny, hungry or thirsty; that’s how.” He grumbled. Max clucked his tongue.

  “Does the lovely Ava know what a pussy you are?” Max questioned with a raised eyebrow, shaking his head in mock shame.

  “Shutup, Max.” Cian growled, knowing he was only encouraging Max to say more but unable to stop himself in his foul mood. Max chuckled and disappeared into the bathroom they now shared. He had moved into the Barracks two days ago when his brothers and Max had arrived. He hadn’t wanted to leave Ava but couldn’t see any way to get around it when he knew his brothers would break their necks to notify their parents. Not that he cared if his parents knew; he was a grown man, but he didn’t want Ava to suffer any more embarrassment than she already had. Her panic at the impending arrival of his brothers had made it clear to him he was getting kicked out of her bed for the duration of their visit. Jameson seemed to be taking great delight in separating him from his mother and smirked at every opportunity. Cian had been tempted numerous times in the last forty-eight hours to wipe that smirk right off his face. The only thing stopping him was the absolute certainty that dropping the gloves with Jay would be a permanent lockout from Ava’s bed. So he was stuck in the world’s plushest frat house in the middle of a never-ending party. A few months ago, he would have been in the thick of it but he couldn’t seem to work up any enthusiasm. He had allowed Jack to drag him along with everyone else to a strip club the night before where they had been greeted like royalty. He had felt like a wet blanket. Max had goaded him continuously about Ava, but he couldn’t seem to snap out of it. He had seen her along with everyone else. She had cooked them all dinner the night before at her place but she hadn’t treated him any different than the rest of the guys. That had prompted plenty of smirks from Jameson, the Asshole. Cian didn’t blame him. If the situation were reversed, he would feel the same; didn’t stop him from wanting Ava.

  “Dude…you sick?” Jack questioned as he strode into the room, his broad-shouldered linebacker’s body displayed in a pair of plaid swim trunks and a white t-shirt, his sandy blonde hair hanging nearly to his shoulders. Cian, grabbing onto the illness excuse set up and dramatically put his head in his hands.

  “I don’t feel too hot.” He mumbled. “I think I’m running a fever.”

  “Bummer, man, you’re gonna miss a bash.” Jack opined. Jay came in behind Jack with another of his endless smirks, earning himself a glare.

  “Mom just called to remind us what happened the last time we threw a party.” Jameson snickered, Jack immediately joining in.

  “Hey, I told that chick to turn the water off when she joined me in the Jacuzzi…”

  “That’s what caused all that water damage?” Cian asked incredulously while Jay and Jack guffawed.

  “Yeah…well…she climbed in my lap and I got sidetracked.” Jack shook his head, still grinning. “The evils of women.”

  Their laughter died abruptly when Max came strutting out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his hips, drying his hair with another. He draped the towel around his neck and struck a pose with his hands on his hips, a shit-eating grin lighting his face. “Behold perfection, Gentlemen.”

  Cian couldn’t help but smile at the stunned expressions on Jameson and Jack’s faces while Max nonchalantly grabbed his clothes and strolled back into the bathroom, laughing the entire time.

  “Is he for real, Dude?” Jack asked, his eyebrows raised way up his foreh
ead.

  “Yep.” Cian put on his Nikes and snatched his keys from the nightstand along with his wallet, shoving it in his back pocket. Jameson’s eyes narrowed at him as he headed for the door. “I’m going out for a while.”

  “You’re really gonna miss the party?” Jack asked incredulously, unable to imagine why a young, single man with money out the wazoo wouldn’t want to live it up as often as possible.

  “I don’t feel like a party and the more people I’m around, the better chance I have of someone recognizing me.” He palmed his phone and met Jameson’s irritated gaze.

  “Where are you going?” Jameson’s annoyed tone had Cian bristling. He raised an eyebrow at Jameson, daring him to try and stop him.

  “I’m a big boy, Jay. I won’t get lost.” He held Jameson’s gaze for a moment longer, not willing to let anyone stop him from getting out of this madhouse. He needed some peace and quiet in a real bad way if he didn’t do anything besides drive around. He was in his rented Denali and heading for Ava’s in a matter of minutes. When he pulled up in front of the house, the only visible light was coming from her bedroom. Using the key she had given him, he let himself in the front door and headed up the stairs in search of her. The murmur of the television greeted him upon entering her suite. Figuring she had the TV on while she was getting ready to go somewhere, he was taken completely by surprise to find her lying on the bed in cotton sleep pants and a tank top. Her hair was twisted up on top of her head and she had not even a shred of makeup on her decidedly grumpy looking face. She didn’t look like she felt very well and then he saw the heating pad lying across her lower abdomen.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked with concern. She let out a scream, setting straight up in bed her eyes wide with fear until she realized it was Cian. Her hand to her breast, she fell back to the bed with a groan, her eyes closing with relief.

  “Damn it, Cian!” she snapped. “You scared the hell out of me!” He set on the bed beside her hips and looked down at her squeaky clean face.

  “Sorry, Babe; I didn’t mean to sneak in on you.” He smiled, leaning down to drop a tender kiss on her lips. “Have you missed me?” he asked softly. She smiled and nodded, meeting his lips for another lingering kiss. He felt his body stirring and tried to deepen the kiss. She pushed him back and gave him a rueful grin.

  “Dial it back, Big Guy. It’s not happening tonight.” She motioned to the heating pad and gave him a pat on the cheek. He looked at the heating pad then his gaze met hers, confusion apparent in his expression. She looked at him in disbelief before bursting out laughing. “It’s that time of the month, Sweetheart.” The light dawned and he felt his face heating with an embarrassed flush. He felt like some kid that didn’t know about the birds and the bees. He had four brothers and had never had a live-in girlfriend so he had no idea why a heating pad on her belly should send some automatic signal to him that she was on her damn period. She looked miserable and he wanted to do something but had no clue how to proceed.

  “Can I get you anything?” he questioned, feeling helpless. She smiled ruefully.

  “No, I’m good.”

  He looked unsure for a moment before kicking his shoes off and lying down behind her, gently snuggling her back to his front.

  “What are you doing?” She gasped; trying to wriggle free but he didn’t release her.

  “I’m just holding you; I promise.” He said softly, his lips against her ear. Skeptical didn’t begin to describe the look she threw over her shoulder but after a few moments, she sighed and relaxed against him.

  “You’re gonna miss the party.” She chided while his hands made lazy circles over her stomach in a soothing gesture, relaxing her even more.

  “I’m not missing anything.” He murmured, enjoying the feel of her body against him after two long days and nights of absence. His response had her squirming against him until he gently restrained her and turned her face until his chocolatey eyes were staring into hers, leaving no doubt to his sincerity. “There is nothing I would rather do than be here with you like this, okay?” After another tender kiss, he snuggled her back against him. “So do you want to watch a movie or something?” She laughed and shrugged.

  “Sure, why not?” she lay the heating pad aside and rolled out of the bed. “I’m going to the kitchen for junk food. You look through the movies.”

  He flipped through discs, figuring this was not the time for a good action flick and resigned himself to something more girly. Considering he hadn’t seen a chick flick since a high school girlfriend had bribed him with the promise of sexual favors in the backseat afterwards, he didn’t remember ever hearing about most of these movies. He picked up a movie called The Notebook that he remembered his mom gushing over and piled all of Ava’s considerable stack of pillows against the headboard and lay back to wait on her. She came through the door carrying a six pack of Coronas that she shoved in the mini fridge in her sitting area. She grabbed him a beer and herself a soda and set the tote she carried on the bed beside him. He gave her a kiss for the beer and started looking through the bag while she settled in beside him. He grabbed a bag of Barbecue chips.

  “Hand me those Dibs.” She motioned to the orange box in the bag. He looked at the box and realized it was some kind of ice cream.

  “What are these?” he asked while she opened the top and pulled out a bite size piece of chocolate and held it to his lips. He opened his mouth to accept the treat and was immediately happy he had. The hard chocolate shell melted on his tongue around the creamy vanilla ice cream and had him reaching for more. She laughed and snuggled into his side to watch the movie he had started. She let out a choked sound when she realized what she was watching.

  “The Notebook?” she asked incredulously. “You want to watch The Notebook?” He shrugged and popped another Dib into his mouth.

  “My mom always said this was a good movie.” She giggled and relaxed against him, looking forward to seeing how nonchalant he would be when it was over.

  Chapter Thirty

  “Why the hell would you want to watch something like that?” Cian asked in an angry, bewildered tone while Ava cackled like a loon. He looked at her as if he were worried about her mental health and shook his head. “That had to be the most depressing damned thing I’ve ever seen…that wasn’t a good movie! It was horrible!”

  She lay weakly against the pillows, unable to stop laughing at him. He had gotten involved in the movie and when he figured out what was going on, had been absolutely horrified that Ally had succumbed to Alzheimer’s. He was like a little boy that had discovered there was no Santa and she found it unbearably cute. Finally able to stop laughing, she lay there looking at him with a grin on her face. “You can pick the next one.”

  “I picked that one!” he practically shouted. She snickered earning herself a quelling look.

  “How about you pick a movie you like this time…something real manly with lots of spitting and scratching in it.” She teased, earning her a smack on the ass before he went back to the movie collection. After quick bathroom breaks, she situated herself beside him to watch his choice. She snickered when she saw he had chosen The Gladiator but since she was definitely down with Russell Crowe in a metal skirt, she didn’t complain. It was after midnight before Russell Crowe died a valiant death and she was half asleep on top of Cian when the credits rolled. He yawned hugely and rolled out of the bed to start cleaning up their mess. Beer bottles, Pepsi cans, potato chip bags, candy wrappers and the empty Dibs box were scattered around the bed. She half-heartedly helped before brushing her teeth and slipping under the covers. She heard Cian moving around and drifted off for a few minutes before she felt the bed dip with his weight. Her eyes fluttered open to see him in his boxer briefs, sliding under the covers and turning off the bedside lamp before pulling her into his arms and dropping a kiss on her cheek.

  “Good night, Baby.” He whispered and seemingly without any hesitation whatsoever went out like a light. She lay there for a long time, liste
ning to his deep, even breathing behind her, one heavily muscled arm under her head, the other draped over her waist. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been in the bed with a man, snuggled together to actually sleep, and perfectly content to be so. He had surprised her when he had shown up at her house. She knew all the guys had went out to a strip club the previous night and had tried really hard not to be jealous or even wonder about what Cian had been doing. It had taken everything inside of her not to interrogate him. She was quite proud of herself for refraining. Figuring he had shown up to have sex with her after a couple days without any and knowing where he’d been the night before, she had been instantly irritated at the sight of him. He had shocked her when after telling him they couldn’t have sex; he kicked his shoes off and snuggled in to watch movies with her. Poor thing, The Notebook had really upset him. Watching him being all manly, refusing to admit the movie touched his heart had been so…cute. Not that she hadn’t already been impressed with him prior to tonight; seriously, what wasn’t to like? But she had never seen the sweet, affectionate side to him before and oddly enough, that had made her own feelings toward him softer.