“Teagan, neither of us is sleeping on the couch,” she tells me firmly, crossing her arms over her chest. I definitely donotnotice the way her breasts are pushed together like that.
“But…” I start, then she places a finger on my lips to silence me. Chills race down my spine at the contact.
“Come on, let’s go take that walk,” she murmurs.
* * *
It’s December, but the temps are in the high sixties, so we remove our shoes when we reach the end of the boardwalk. The air is warm, but the water is frigid. When the waves wash over our feet, Layla squeals and jumps a little, grabbing onto my arm to keep from falling. She’s fucking adorable.
“Ach, come on. It isn’t that cold.” I tease her, relishing her touch on my skin. “The Irish go skinny-dipping in water like this!”
“Then you’re all loco!” she says, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Shall we take a swim?” I suggest, wagging my eyebrows at her.
“Abso-fucking-lutely not! I’m from South Texas, remember? A day in the eighties is considered temperate!”
Chuckling, I say, “That’s a scorcher where I’m from. And we’ve no cooling units there.”
She stops in her tracks, looking at me like I’m crazy. “What? You’re not serious.”
“Aye, I am. The average high temp in the summer is what we’re walking in right now. No need to own one when we can just open the windows.”
“I can’t even imagine a world without air conditioning,” she mumbles.
Linking our hands, I give her a tug. “C’mon then, Lovely. Let’s stroll a little more.”
We walk for about ten more minutes before turning back towards the rental. I drape an arm around Layla’s shoulders, pulling her close to my side. No words are spoken, but I can physically feel the electricity chargingbetween us. All it will take is one small spark. When we reach the place where we left our shoes, we slip them on silently before ambling back up the boardwalk. Opening the door, I gesture for her to go first, but I don’t move out of the way. Her shoulder brushes against my chest as she passes, and she pauses to glance up at me, eyes dipping to my mouth for a brief second. She licks her lips, then bites down on that bottom one. The tension thickens around us. I want nothing more than to lean down, claiming that lip between my own teeth.
“Teagan…” she whispers in a pleading voice, big brown eyes full of invitation.
Then my fecking phone rings. We both inhale deeply, creating some space between us.
Clearing her throat, she says, “Go ahead and take that. I’m going to take a shower.”
Holy god.My brain is flooded with the image of Layla naked under the spray of the shower, rivulets of soapy lather and water cascading over those luscious curves. And I’m fucking jealous. When the bathroom door clicks, it brings me out of my stupor, and I answer the call without looking at the caller ID.
“What?” I growl.
“Whoa, mate. Everything alright?” Eamon asks, worry lacing his words.
“Shite. Sorry. Yeah, everything’s grand. How are you? How’s Caity?”
“Hanging in there,” he breathes out. “No change in Caity’s condition. We just got back to Mam’s. Norah is resting, so I thought I’d check in to see if everything is okay with the rental.”
“Right, yeah,” I grunt, turning my hat backwards on my head. “We got here not long ago. Just getting back in from a stroll on the beach. The place is great. Thanks again for letting us take your reservation, mate.”
“Aye, it’s no problem. Glad you and Layla could go. How’s that situation, anyway?” Eamon asks. I can hear the amusement in his voice.
Cheeky wanker.
“Oy. That’s none of your fecking business, Kennedy. Mind your own mot!”
He laughs. “Sure, yeah.”
“Actually,” I sigh heavily. “There’s nothing to report, but damn if I don’t want it to. I’m letting her call the shots though. I don’t want her to think all I want is a quick fuck from her.”
“Remember what Norah said. Layla hasn’t really dated anyone, so this is all new to her. She’s probably waiting for you to make the first move.”
