T is for Temptation (29 page)

“Put me down!”

Reality surfaced, and they both swung in the direction of Alex’s frantic shout.

“Oh my,” she said and fisted a hand over her mouth.

“Blast, blast, blast.”

One minute, Alex hung over the ship’s rail, suspended by Tiny’s brawny arms.

Seconds later, he vanished, dropping like a downed cumulus-riding duck.

She ran to the spot from which Alex had disappeared, gripped the wooden slat, and peered at storm-promised waves smacking foam against the ship’s hull.

“How could you do that?” She ground out, raking Tiny from head to toe. “For crying out loud, we’re not even close to the shore.”

Tee hoped the water felt warmer than it looked.

Alex’s head broke through a white-capped swell.

The expression on his face promised retribution, and his mouth curved when he spotted Tiny.

“Oh my.”

“We’ve no love for the English, lass.”

“Alex’s not English.” Jake grunted as he draped a hand on her shoulder blade. “Don’t worry about him. He’s a strong swimmer.”

“I can’t leave him in that cold water.”

“Careful, babe. Better he swim to shore than risk using, you know.”

“None of them seem to be bothered by what happened.” Tee protested, un-willing to risk Alex’s life. “I can’t leave his life to chance, Jake.”

“Okay, let’s get away from this lot first.” He inclined his head to the group clustered at the bow of the ship.

Once they reached the safety of the ship’s stern, Tee concentrated on rescuing Alex, and rather than risk any magic travel, she strengthened the ocean current pulling him towards shore. Jake’s body cradled hers, and one hand stroked her back in a soothing rhythm.

“I’m done.”

“What did you do?”

She told him.

“Are you sure it worked?”

“Yes. Sometimes, I know. Other times…”

He smelled so good. She rested the tip of her nose near the pulse beating at his throat and inhaled, drowning in the spicy patchouli aroma. All at once, she pictured tasting him, practicing that first chapter in the
Perfect Blow Job
book.

“When I went back to
Florida
, I almost convinced myself it wasn’t real, that gladiators and Viking and rose petals’d never happened.” He stared over her head at the horizon and shifted, his charcoal pools meeting hers in a direct, engaged way, as if he wanted to emphasize a point. “Now, I’m in another century heading towards the property I inherited in 2007. All of a sudden, reality seems grounded in magic. Maybe in you.”

“I, um, Jake?”

Confused and scared and hopeful and horrified all at once, she didn’t know what to say. Her lungs expanded to bursting point making her chest ache.

“I want in, Tee.”

“In?”

What? Where?

Oxygen had left the planet.

“Into your life. I don’t want a two-week affair.”

Her fingertips tingled.

“You don’t?”

Idiot, idiot. Think. Brain, work.

“Move in with me.”

She stifled a sigh and stared at the laces of his shirt.

“Pardon?”

“Let’s live together. I want to wake up next to you in the morning, hold you in my arms last thing at night.”

“Oh my.”

Rose petals tickled her cheeks.

“Is that a yes?”

The comforting smell of chocolate baking cocooned the ship.

“I thought you didn’t want a family.”

Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.

“Laird!”

Tiny’s shout punctuated a tension so palpable it fissured her every sense.

Jake’s head jerked up, breaking their gaze.

She reeled, gripping the rails so hard a splinter punctured one fingertip.

“Think about it, Tee.”

He stalked to the front of the boat, arms swinging, features tightening with every step.

She followed his movements while sucking on her pinky and tried to tamp down the disappointment flooding her soul, wearing a hole in her chest. What had he said? Good enough to sleep with, but not good enough to marry? She’d more of Tricia in her than she realized, and, with a mournful groan, she buried her face in her hands.

People lived together these days.

It was a perfectly acceptable thing.

A logical way to see if marriage could work between two people.

It made sense.

Especially after Tony.

She couldn’t do it.

Couldn’t face her parents, couldn’t tell her dad.

Had Jake lived with someone before?

Loud whistling penetrated her mind, and she spun in the sound’s direction and moaned.

Chocolate cupcakes decorated with Christmas-colored sprinkles twinkled across the raised platform housing the ship’s steering wheel. Snatching hands grabbed the morsels, stuffing them into mouths. Red, white, and green stains covered almost every man’s cheeks.

“More lass.”

The entreaty came from the stocky fellow who’d pointed her in the right direction earlier.

Jake and Tiny appeared engrossed in a discussion and unaffected by either the rose petals whipping in the wind or the men gobbling down cakes.

Land sprouted as sails billowed and the boat rode wave crests.

The sun grazed the horizon, highlighting a red-bricked castle on the top of the hill with an eerie, magical radiance. The lush jade landscape surrounding the building served as a sharp contrast to white, misty cloud cover straying from the top of the mountain to the tip of the castle rooftop.

Within minutes, the men tacked the sails in preparation for dropping anchor. The ship raced towards the rocky beach and a short pier jutting into the sea. Men threw ropes to others waiting on the jetty. With practiced efficiency, they used a rope pulley system to dock the ship and secure a wooden gangplank in place.

Jake led the men ashore.

“Tiny,” he yelled, “get my lady to land safely and wait with her.”

Deep in thought, Tee followed one of the men onto the gangplank.

A sopping wet Alex materialized in front of her.

Tiny guarded her back.

“Riding a horse is not evidence of masculinity, you idiot.”

Alex’s heated breath matched the rigid line of his jaw, the belligerent, wide-legged stance.

A fight loomed.

Inevitable.

“The laird’s witch had to help you mount your horse? Does she help you mount a woman too?” Tiny chortled. “Can you even wield a sword, pretty boy? Or does it not rise to the occasion? Mayhap you prefer the company of other pretty boys?”

“That’s it.”

Tee hopped to the left as Alex’s fists flew.

He delivered a left hook to Tiny’s jaw and followed it with an uppercut to his middle. The breath whooshed out of the giant’s mouth.

Nodding in satisfaction, Alex shoved the still-reeling Tiny off the gangplank, dusted his hands off, and swiveled to face her wearing a smug grin.

The giant disappeared below the surface and came up, arms flailing.

He bellowed, “I can’t swim, you bloody jackass.”

A white-capped wave rolled over him, and he vanished again.

Although the dock stood close to the shore, no sand proved visible beneath the choppy surface. Tee sighed.

So did Alex, a long, exasperated sigh.

“Crap.”

She nodded in sympathy.

“I’m going to have go in and get him, aren’t I?”

Another small nod.

“Crap.”

Alex raised his arms above his head and dived off the planked wood.

For long unforgiveable seconds, neither man broke the storm surge riding the island. Tee searched the navy breakers for the two men, her knuckles whitening on the wooden railing. “I see them. They’re over there. Alex has Tiny in a lifeguard’s grip.”

She spoke to herself; no one else lingered on the connecting platform. The evening sun played hide-and-seek with the stormy gray-black patches of clouds gathering in the skies. Cold drops of rain hit freckled beach, splattering exquisite circles in the sand.

Alex appeared on the shore dragging Tiny to the surf’s edge. He helped the large man to his feet. They conversed, and Tiny lifted Alex off his feet in a bear hug. The men separated, heading in opposite directions.

“We have to get you out of these wet clothes,” Tee scolded when Alex’s sodden form stopped in front of her. “You’ll catch a cold, and we can’t afford that right now. Go below deck. You’ll find dry clothes in the captain’s cabin.”

Alex dropped a kiss on her nose, and cold ocean dripped onto her cheek.

“Thanks, sweetheart, you’re a diamond.”

“What the hell are you doing?”

Jake’s sudden appearance startled her; Tee jumped.

“Nothing.” She turned away.

“Why did Alex touch you?”

“To say thank you. I conjured dry clothes for him and told him where to find them below deck.” She tapped a booted foot on the wooden flooring and folded her arms across her chest.

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Are you going to move in with me?”

Tee caught her long skirts in her hands and hopped onto the jetty.

Jake stopped her movements, his hands on her shoulders. They faced the pounding waves.

“Are you?” He gave her a little shake.

“No.”

“Why not?”

She studied the knots in the jetty’s gnarled plank.

“Blasted hell. Look at me, Tee. At least have the decency to look me in the eye and refuse me.”

Alex materialized, shrugging on the jacket she’d conjured for him earlier.

“Is that rain?” he grumbled. “How far away is this castle? Can I walk?”

No one answered, and his lawyer’s scrutiny swept their faces.

“Crap. Are you two bickering again? Christ, what in damnation is it with you guys? Take my advice. Find a secluded spot and go at it like rabbits. You’ll both feel better, and I’ll have a few moments of peace before Tiny starts at me again.”