Chapter 7
Calum
I’d expected her to say no.
Nina had been acting a bit strange for the last two days. She’d laugh at something my mom said, or I said, and then suddenly the smile would evaporate. A harrowing expression would cross her stunning face.
I was beginning to think that she’d planned for this trip to be some sort of punishing redemption, and was determined to be miserable. Her own laughter caught her off guard. She quickly brought up her protective walls. Although it made me uneasy, I knew exactly how to draw her out of that vicious cycle of misery. It had always been so easy between us. We’d just clicked. She made me laugh and I could talk to her for hours.
Tempted to reach for her hand, I made my way down the beach. She was always so… jumpy. If I took her hand, I had a feeling she would wrench her hand out and bail. I could almost picture her running back to the house. So, determined to act sensibly, and save my pride, I shoved my hands deep into my pants pockets to restrain them
I glanced at her somber profile. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
She looked a little blank, as if I’d caught her by surprise. She pushed a strand of her silken hair behind her ear. “Just about Zoe.”
“What about her?”
“She’s having a great time here. With you and your mother.”
“She’s such a wonderful child.” My heart soared when I talked about Zoe. I wanted more with her. a deeper connection. More time. All of her time.
“How long have you lived in that NY apartment?”
“I moved there six months ago. My business was going well and it was a safer neighborhood.”
“So, is Zoe going to preschool yet, or playgroup? Sorry. I’m not really sure where little kids go first. I don’t… didn’t have kids of my own until two days ago.” I choked on a laugh.
That made her smile. “She isn’t. I was planning to put her in daycare, but then Dad stepped up and offered to watch her while I was at work. I have a babysitter/nanny, Sarah, and then there’s my dad to help out. It works out well. “
“Mhmm.” What does she like to do when you’re at work?” I wanted to create a mental picture of Zoe and Nina’s life together. So far, I knew little. And I had fallen in love with Zoe. It was hard not to. “I’d never imagined this is what it would be like to have a kid. I’m totally obsessed with her.”
She sighed and I could tell I was making her uneasy.
I should probably steer clear of emotional conversations regarding Zoe. “Tell me about your business.”
“Oh, you read the article and my interview.”
“I did. Tell me how you got started.”
She drew in a deep breath and shook some sand out of her flipflops. I waited for her, until she continued to walk by my side.
“I was studying in Canada, you remember… when we… ” she trailed off.
So much for less emotional conversations.
Everything I said brought us back to the same place: the negative ending of what had been a beautiful relationship. “I remember.” I smiled deceptively casually.
“Then I learned I was pregnant… I completed the course and came back here. I spent a lot of time working as freelance makeup artist when Zoe was small. Then a year ago, I secured a loan and created my own salon. It grew immensely fast. Mostly because I had so many clients I’d made during my year of freelance. I did very little advertising in the beginning. Then about three months ago, I started advertising. Now I’m contemplating getting a bigger space to cater to all my clients.”
I bit back the urge to pull her into my arms. “I’m really proud of you. You’ve done great specially being a single mom.”
She bit her lower lip and smiled up at me briefly.
“It’s a good thing your dad went away on vacation the day I broke into your place.”
Her laughter rang out, surprised and heartfelt. “Yeah. He owns a gun, you know?”
“Really?”
“A taser gun.”
“What?” I laughed. “He was going to tase me.”
“You bet, he’s very protective of Zoe.”
“That’s good to know.” I stared at the horizon, the sun was about to set soon, and the sinking feeling in my chest grew painful. I should’ve been there, around Zoe to protect her, to play with her. To take her to the park. Yet I’d been on the run. “I wish I’d made different choices in my past.”
I couldn’t believe I’d said that out loud. I sounded despondent, heartbroken. The emotion in my own voice shocked me.
I was stunned when her hand slid over my forearm. She stroked it. “It’s going to be okay. I’ve learned that you have to just live in the moment. Worry about today, otherwise life gets too overwhelming.”
“Does it? Get overwhelming for you?”
“Mhmm.”
She was looking up at me now. I fought the biggest fight I’d ever had to fight. I fought to keep myself from leaning down and kissing her soft mouth. I fought to stop myself from pulling her into my chest and telling her how sorry I was about the way things had ended. I wanted to comfort her, and in turn comfort myself.
I forced myself to look away from her, and my jaw clenched hard. I was still desperately in love with Nina. I’d never fallen out of love with her. I’d mourned her for three years and by some twist of fate, I’d gotten her back from the dead. My love for her had never wavered. I wanted her again. In my life. I wanted the family that missed out on. Nina and Zoe.
“I have so many questions about Zoe, and there’s this void you know. I never would’ve missed out on her life if I’d known.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Well, I can tell that at least that… you’re being truthful about.” She smirked.
That hit its mark. She was making it clear that she didn’t trust me. I did not blame her. For a while, during the last three years, I didn’t trust me either.
“I want to make up for lost time. And not just with Zoe. With you too, Nina.”
I took her hand and led her toward the waves.
“What are you doing?” she laughed, dragging her feet.
“Come on. You can’t live at the beach and not walk in the waves.”
Her laughter rang out as the waves rushed up to our ankles, and she reached down to fold her white trousers up her calves.
I leant down. The waves around her, and folded up fabric, my finger sliding over her smooth calves. By the time I stood up, I was burning with heated want for her. And the blush on her cheeks was completely destroying my resolve.
I stared at her silently, the setting sun shining on her face, illuminating the angles of her face, her high cheekbones. Her brown eyes turned almost transparent.
I waited for her to turn away, but she was as intoxicated by the moment as I was. We’d been apart for three years and we’d never had a falling out. We’d never broken up. We’d been wrenched apart. I felt that. Did she feel it, too?
The electric energy sizzled in the space between us, and I was the first to look away. Pushing my hands into the back pockets of my pants. “Since we’re here, I want to show you something.”
As soon as I said it, it hit me how suggestive it sounded. Her brows lifted in question. I couldn’t help the laugh bustling out of me. “My favorite spot.” I pointed up the length of the beach. “Over there.”
“Oh.”
Was that disappointment on her face?
Don’t flatter yourself, you’re a fugitive. A criminal. She’s a stunning, successful businesswoman who could have any man in the world.
I berated myself for putting myself in the awkward position. A few minutes later, I helped her up the stone steps to the lighthouse.
“This your favorite spot?” She asks glanced around and I unlocked the door at the boot of the lighthouse. “Wait a minute. You can go inside these things?”
“I own it, so… ”
“What?” She laughed as we made her way up the old stone winding stairc
ase. “Oh, my god. this is so amazing!”
I knew she meant it. The glass windows had been installed along the stairs, providing a view of the ocean and the beach as we made our way up. Her lips were parted in wonder, her eyes wide as she took in the interior and reached the top. An open space with a day bed and an armchair. That led onto the open balcony overlooking the ocean.
“What in the world? I never know this is what lighthouses were like on the inside.”
“It wasn’t like this. I refurbished it.”
She watched me in awe. “What made you decide to buy it?”
“There’s not much to do around here. And I liked watching this lighthouse from the boat. It was crumbling. Totally neglected. It hadn’t had a dollar spent on maintenance in years. I heard that it was going to be demolished. For the people living around here, it was an eyesore and they wanted it out of the way. I put in an offer, bought it. And refurnished it.”
“It’s no eyesore anymore.”
“Not at all.”
She was beaming and the wind rustled her hair off her face, her cheeks pink from exuberance. Her smile so stunning it transformed her face into one that would be a dream for photographers. My jaw clenched in remorse.
This is what I’d lost. My past had cost me a future with this wonderful woman. She made everything so easy, and fun. When we started dating, I knew I’d marry her someday. But I’d never thought I wouldn’t get the chance to even propose. Before I’d known, my adversaries had found me in Montreal. The warehouse explosion was supposed to kill me. And Nina had gotten caught in the crossfire.
I wish I’d told her the truth before I lost her trust and faith in me.
I wish I had told her who I was, and what I did, when she looked at me like I was the world.
It’s too late now.
A smile lingered on her face as she held the balcony railing and stared at the horizon. It was now an orange semicircle over the ocean.
I hadn’t known peace in three years. But this one girl could calm the storm of emptiness inside me. In that moment I was completely, blissfully happy.
Chapter 8
Nina
I was in serious danger of doing something very, very insane.
I placed my hands on my hands tightened over the railing, and I was crazily aware of how close Calum was. At the same time, the light above me flashed bright and curled over the lighthouse tower, spanning over the ocean waves and illuminating the beach. It was the perfect time to do something impulsive and stupid and delightful.
I turn whirled around and forced a smile. “I think we should be getting back.”
“Really?”
He sounded like he didn’t believe me.
“Yeah.” I pushed my hands into the back pockets of my cotton trousers. “Zoe must be driving your mother quite mad.”
I turned toward the door and Calum’s hand wrapped around my wrist. I spun around, my hair falling over one side of my face. My breath was deep and fast, my mouth was dry. I felt lightheaded. I almost couldn’t remember how I even got there. Calum’s nearness, his strength and his presence and his scent, was like a drug that obliterated all other rationalities away from me. All that existed was him. All I knew was him. All I wanted was him.
A shattered gasp escaped my parted lips as his fingers lifted to stroke my face. The first light brush of his fingertips burned me. It sent sharp tingles over my body, making my breasts ache.
Such was his effect on me. This potent arousal. It had always been this way.
“My mom’s absolutely crazy about Zoe. She’ll never be annoyed by anything she does.”
“But… ” The words came out a hushed whisperer.
“There’s no rush, Nina.”
The soothing calm tones. The slow shake of his head, sent warmth through me.
Even though a part of me wanted to pull away from him, a more dominant part of me fought to stay near him. Despite his lies and the past and the fact that he had chosen to pretend to be dead for three long years, I wasn’t scared of him. Even though the FBI was on his trail. Even though he was a criminal capable of God knows what, I was felt safe and protected around him. It was like I was twenty again. Madly in love, intoxicated by the strength of this strong man.
I could hear the beat of my heat, the harsh gasps of my breath. As my eyes stayed locked with Calum’s, his gaze wavered, dripping down to my mouth, just as his thumb stroked my lower lip. He pressed it down, revealing my bottom teeth, and his expression turned harsh, his eyes intense. A muscle moved in his jaw as he ground his molars, his other hand reached for my nape. And I was a willing captive in the intense heat of his gaze. He drew me closer by the nape, I stepped forward, my head fell back to stare at him. His breath escaped in a harsh rush at my obvious willingness, a smile curving his sexy, chiseled lips.
“There’s no rush.” He repeated, a moment before his mouth closed over mine.
The soft warmth of his lips consumed me. The possessive way he took control, eagerly ravaging my top and bottom lips. His tongue slid out to graze over my top lip. I moaned, my hands roving up the hard planes of his chest, wrapping around my fingers, tightening around handfuls of the crisp fabric.
A sharp moan escaped my mouth as his mouth slanted fiercely, hungrily, as if he wanted all of me at once and couldn’t wait to consume me. I matched his ardor, kissing him back with all the years’ worth of yearning that exploded inside me.
He yanked the chiffon shirt out of my pants and pulled it up over my head. Before I knew it, my bra left my body, his hands swinging over to cup my breasts. They filled his palms, overflowing. His harsh, answering grunt was an animalistic sound that tightened my pussy.
My fingers shook as I undid the buttons on his shirt. I spread his shirt apart just as he pushed me back toward the daybed by the force of his mouth. I stepped backward eagerly, clinging lips, our hands flailing over each other to rip every garment off us.
I yelped as he pushed me back and I landed on the daybed, stark naked, wearing only my flipflops. My chest rose and fell in harsh gasps as I rested my weight on my elbows, my breasts spread apart and heated by his unwavering gaze.
The bulging muscles in his shoulders flexed and contracted as he undid his belt and shoved them off.
“Calum.” A sob escaped my lips. Six feet of hard, glistening tanned muscle stood before me. His cock stiff, pointing at me in obvious greed. He wanted me. Just me. And my insides burned with the need to stretch open to fit his generous girth.
I slid forward on the daybed. He didn’t budge. His hard cock was inches from my mouth. I held his gaze and boldly clutched his cock in my right fist.
He grunted. His entire body jerking with the pressure of my fingers. Then he was scrambling over me on his hands and knees, his cock slipped out of my hand as his mouth claimed mine again.
My skin burned as his chest crushed my chest, his body sliding over every inch of ne. His thighs gliding against mine, the hair on his legs scratching my skin. His knee wedged between my legs, making me glide up at the same time the slick wetness of my pussy spread all over my clit. I whined and my body responded automatically, stimulated on. My hips churned upward, my pussy gliding over his thigh, riding it. My clit burnished just the right amount, bringing me closer to the brink.
His hands slid along my arms, his palms sliding over mine. His strong fingers tangled through and pinned me down. When he shifted, his thighs glided slowly over my pussy. I moaned in his mouth and shifted. My eyes clenched shut as my tongue tangled with his wet, delicious one. My body was on fire. I’d come any moment, and Calum was only kissing me.
My fingers tightened on his, my nails digging into his flesh. I shook like a dry leaf, savagely underneath his large, muscular body. His strong grip on my nape and back yanked me up. Sliding me body over his thighs, his mouth never leaving mine.
When his lips broke the warm contact with mine, I cried out in protest. He cupped the sides of his face, his stubble grating my sensitized palms. Even the harsh b
rush of his stubble was as erotic as the hard cock pressed to my pussy.
“I thought I’d never taste your mouth again,” he mused, sounding nothing like himself. This man was harsh, and angry. This wasn’t the Calum I knew. His need for me was boiling over, his misery to have more of me stiffening his cock into rock.
“I thought you were gone.”
His voice was shattered and broken. I gazed into his eyes, our faces barely inches apart.
He wasn’t done.
“You know how many nights I’ve spent right here… in this lighthouse… wanting you so bad I fell to my knees?”
Tears burned my eyes. “Calum… ”
His jaw clenched and he shifted, holding his cock upright and pulling me down onto it.
I cried out as the hard, unrelenting head of his cock probed the entrance to my body. An inch, another inch. Burning a hot path inside me.
“And here you are. Look at you.” The light from the top of the tower flashed across his face every second, spilling inside and illuminating our sweat-soaked, naked bodies.
“I’m going to be inside you again.”
His fingers dug into the sides of my waist and yanked me down onto his navel.
The whine escaped my chest like a wounded, feral cat. My back arched, my head fell back. I held his shoulders. My body strung taut like a bow as my pussy was lusciously stretched to its limits by his cock. I was slick and wet, coating his cock with abundant quim.
“Jesus Christ.” His fingers tightened into a handful of my short hair, pulling my face back to his.
The urgency and need in him made my heart wrench. I wanted to give him more, and take more in return. His other hand pressed on my lower back, pinning me by my hair and back. He lunged up in me and I cried out his name.
The expression on his face. I remembered that face. That almost delirious expression that marred his handsome face whenever he fucked me. It was raw and pagan and he didn’t hold back. My forehead rested against his, his hand in my hair, he thrust up inside me hard and fast. The deep pounding rhythm satiated a deep sated need in my core. At an angle, his cock buried too deep, hitting the very end of my passage, sending a dull ache shooting through me every time he lunged.
Irish Billionaire's Lost Daughter Page 4
