“It’s just nice to get to spend some time with you, that’s all. Your sister was always in the way before.”
Skeevy loathsome cockroach!
His hand pressed deeper into my back, forcing me closer to him. “Tell me everything about yourself.”
* * *
An hour later my nerves were strained to the max. I’d never realized how quickly the situation could snowball out of my control. I hadn’t lied when I told Craig I didn’t flirt. It wasn’t my thing. It felt discomforting in any normal situation, so to have to flirt with Angus was an effort in sheer will and nerves.
It didn’t help that I was completely aware of Craig in the background, watching the show I was putting on. I could feel his stare burning into me. I could feel him judging me.
Needing a break from the acting, I excused myself and made my way through the busy bar toward the restrooms. I’d just walked through the door to the hallway of the restrooms when it swung open behind me, and a hard grip clamped around my bicep.
I jerked in shock, looking over my shoulder to find my captor was Craig. “What—”
“Quiet,” he growled unhappily as he took a key out of his pocket and opened the locked door to the disabled toilet.
“Craig!” I yelped as he shoved me none-too-gently inside. He followed me and slammed the door shut behind us, snapping the lock in place. My heart was thudding in my chest. “What the hell are you doing?”
“What am I doing?” His eyes flashed in anger. “What the hell are you doing?”
Too tired to pretend I didn’t understand his question, I crossed my arms over my chest in defiance. “What I’m doing is none of your business!”
“I guess you made that quite clear when you disappeared last weekend.”
Guilt suffused me. “I admit I should have said good-bye.”
He snorted in derision. “Is that your apology?”
“It’s the only one you’re getting,” I snapped.
Stay out of this! I don’t need this from YOU!
Craig’s eyes narrowed speculatively. “When you told me you were going to get revenge on that arsehole out there I think I mistook just how determined you are. I mean, there aren’t many women who’ll spread their legs for revenge.”
His words cut me wide open—hurt piercing right through my chest—and in that moment I knew I’d been right in my decision to stay away from this man.
Something in my expression caused regret in his. “Rain,” he murmured, as he ran a hand through his hair. “Fuck, I didn’t mean that.”
“Let me out of here.”
“Rain—”
“Let me out of here!” I stormed toward him, all of the fury I felt toward Angus suddenly transferring to Craig.
He took hold of my arms and I struggled to release myself from his touch. “Rain—”
“Don’t touch me,” I spat, shrugging out of his hold. “Let me out of here. Now.”
“So you can go back out there to that smarmy git?” He grabbed me and hauled me against his chest, causing the breath to leap right out of me. “If you have no intention of sleeping with that arse then you are playing a dangerous game.”
“Of course you’d assume that I’d use sex to get what I wanted.” I curled my lip in disdain as I stared up into his handsome face. He was too close. Much too close. “Let me go.”
His grip tightened and I found myself spun around as he pressed my back to the door. “What else is any man supposed to think when you’re out there flirting your arse off with that guy? And here I thought you didn’t flirt.” His breath puffed against my lips.
“I only do it on special occasions,” I said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
“You need to stop,” he said. “How far are you willing to take this?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“That’s funny . . .” He pressed his hard body into mine and I sucked in a breath at the thrill that rippled over me. “Because it certainly feels like my business.”
“Craig.” I tried to plead as lust and desire fogged my brain. “Please, just leave me alone.”
“But I can’t seem to help myself,” he murmured seconds before his lips brushed gently over mine.
My mouth tingled at the soft whisper of a kiss.
Our eyes locked and we could see nothing else but each other. As my chest heaved with excitement and anticipation it brushed against his, and I felt the movement of his increased breathing against my breasts.
He stroked my hip with one hand while his other reached up to cup my face. His thumb swept along my jawline in the lightest touch, and yet that light touch might as well have been a sensual caress for the reaction it elicited in my body.
My nipples tightened as he drew his fingers down my neck and followed the sweetheart neckline of my dress. My chest rose and fell in deeper movements, pushing my cleavage farther into his touch.
I watched his face while his eyes followed his fingers as he caressed the plump rise of my breasts. Goose bumps prickled up all over my skin, drawing his gaze back to mine. The blazing heat in his blue-green eyes made me whimper, and that sound seemed to snap something inside of him.
His mouth slammed down on mine hard and furious, and I moaned as his hand cupped my right breast and squeezed gently. I gripped his T-shirt in my hands as I pressed deeper into his body and his wet, drugging kiss.
I’d always wondered what his kiss would be like and now I knew.
It was ferocious and sexual and surprisingly just what I wanted.
He left my lips to kiss his way down my throat, nuzzling my neck where I’d sprayed my perfume. “Fuck,” he groaned, sliding his hand down from my hip to my thigh. He lifted my leg, my hemline rising so he could press his erection deeper between my thighs.
Lust squeezed me tight, low in my belly, making me wet.
I’d never wanted a man more in my life.
And that scared me right out of my desire-soaked fog.
“No.” I pushed at him, jerking my leg out of his grasp. “Craig, stop.”
He slumped against me, leaning his forehead on my collarbone as he tried to catch his breath. “Rain.”
I heard the pleading in his voice and stiffened. “Let me go,” I whispered softly.
Craig’s head snapped up and he glowered at me, all the unfulfilled passion in his eyes scorching me. “Why are you running from this?”
I pushed against his chest. “Because I’m not this person. I don’t do one-night stands.”
“Maybe I’m not asking for that.” He glared at me.
I eased away from him, pushing my dress back into place. “You want me because you can’t have me.”
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t fucking tell me what I’m feeling.”
“I need to go.”
He braced his hand against the door, barring my way. “Back out to him?”
I shook my head because I couldn’t go back out to Angus like this. Craig had lipstick on his mouth, which meant mine was now smudged. “Home. Thanks to you.” Angry now, I pushed his arm away, unlocked the door, and hurried out, practically throwing myself out into the main club so he couldn’t stop me. Without looking in Angus’s direction, I fled the bar and Craig Lanaghan, at once cursing the bartender to hell and back for ruining my first night of revenge and thanking him for giving me the excuse to get out of a situation with Angus I really didn’t want to be in.
Rain
In the end I was glad to have escaped Angus mid-revenge. It was the whole flirting, seduction campaign that got to me. As much as I tried to convince myself that Darcy would understand what I was doing, the truth was I knew she wouldn’t.
Craig’s anger at my tactics and the subsequent passionate interlude in the toilet at Club 39 had nothing to do with my decision to review my current strategy.
Really.
It didn’t.
Okay, so it did. A little. I mean I was already realizing it on my own . . . Craig just nudged me over the edge.
So as I d
eterminedly tried to erase the memory of the best kiss I’d ever received in my life I opted to rethink my approach regarding Angus. I believed part of the reason it so quickly turned flirtatious with him was because of the environment we were in. A nightclub. It was all about dancing, drinking, lowering your inhibitions, and yes, sex.
Perhaps if I encountered Angus “accidentally” in a different environment I’d be able to change the course of our interactions. I knew it wouldn’t be easy because he was a sleazebag who clearly wanted to get into my knickers, but I had to try.
Darcy had told me that Angus liked to work at Black Medicine coffeehouse in Old Town. A coffeehouse was certainly more about conversation than flirtation (for the most part), so I decided it was my next step.
I wasn’t a stranger to Black Medicine. With its carved wooden furniture, delicious coffee, and quirky ambience, it was my kind of place. Most of the time I was too busy these days to do anything but drop by for a takeaway cup of coffee, but for however long it took me to get Angus’s attention, the coffeehouse would become like a second home to me.
I got there early enough to grab a table near the back of the room where I could face forward and see people entering. Two hours, two green teas, and one panini later I was still sitting watching the door. I had a book with me but I was afraid to really crack it open and get lost in it in case I missed Angus coming in for a flyby coffee. So instead I pretended to read the book, all the while staring straight over the top of the pages. If anyone were paying attention to me they’d think I was a crackpot.
For those two hours I tried to keep my focus solely on Angus, but just like it had for the last forty-eight hours plus, my mind wandered to Craig. I honestly couldn’t believe the intensity of the chemistry between us. It was off the charts! But I had to wonder . . . Craig was this incredibly sexual man. Flirtation and heat just oozed out of him. So perhaps the kind of kiss we shared was merely due to his inflated sexuality and it actually had nothing to do with a real connection between us. In that scenario, I was going to be the one who got hurt—chemistry like that and the fact that I liked being around Craig meant lust would develop into something more for me. I wasn’t the kind of girl who could have sex without letting my emotions get tangled up in it all, and as much as Craig insisted this wasn’t just about sex for him, I wasn’t sure I fully trusted that as truth.
And then of course there was the whole Angus plot. I couldn’t get involved in a messy situation with Craig or anyone just now because I couldn’t split my focus. Maybe . . . well maybe if it was with someone who I trusted wouldn’t hurt me, then yes, I could split my focus, I could make it work . . .
But Craig wasn’t that guy.
I groaned. I had to stop thinking about him.
The door to Black Medicine swung open and in stepped a tall, good-looking dark-haired man.
See! You’re thinking about Craig so much, now you’re actually hallucinating about him!
“Oh shit,” I muttered, thrusting my book right up so it hid my face. It was Craig.
Of all the coffeehouses in all the towns in all the world, he walks into mine at this very moment!
Sick joke, Life, sick joke!
I ducked my head, holding my breath, praying he was in for a coffee to go.
Two minutes later a familiar voice sounded above my head.
FUCK.
I lifted my gaze and lowered my book at the same time.
Craig stood by my table, smirking down at me. There was a hard edge in his eyes though that told me he was still mad about our last encounter. Except if anyone should be mad it was me.
“Seriously?” I moaned and slumped back in my chair.
“Nice to see you too.” He slid into the empty chair at my table.
“What are you doing?”
“Joining you.”
“No, you’re not. You’re not bloody well ruining this thing with Angus again. I’d really like it to be over with as quickly as possible but your interference keeps delaying it.”
Craig raised an eyebrow. “You’re meeting Angus here?”
I sighed. “No. But apparently he comes here quite a lot. I’m just waiting . . .”
“To ambush him with your feminine wiles again.”
I heard the bite in his tone and glowered at him. “No. Not that it’s any of your business but I’m rethinking that strategy.”
“Too late. The sleazy bastard wants to fuck you, Rain.” Craig leaned forward, the hard edge in his voice giving away to concern. “It’s dangerous to play this game with him. I think you’d better overhaul your entire strategy.”
His assertion caused a flare of panic within me because it echoed my own deeply buried concerns.
“All that matters is doing this for Darcy.”
“And keeping yourself safe. After meeting this guy . . . Rain, he’s a creep through and through. Who knows what he’s capable of.”
I stared at him, not knowing what to say, and frankly more than a little unnerved that I’d come to the coffeehouse with the intention of meeting Angus only to end up across a table from Craig. “What do you want from me?”
He settled back in his seat and lifted his mug to take a sip as he stared at me. He stared so long I was practically squirming in my chair. “I’d like to sit here and have my coffee with you. Talk to you.”
Uneasiness moved its way through me because more than anything I wanted to sit and have my green tea with him. Talk to him. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Well I’m sure enough for the both of us.” He threw me a wicked grin that caused a familiar flush of attraction inside of me.
I rolled my eyes and looked away. “Of course you are.”
“So, Rain Alexander, what was it like growing up in Inverness?”
I guffawed at the question. “If you want me to stay at this table with you, you might want to lead in with a less loaded question.”
“Loaded?” He raised an eyebrow at me. “Interesting.” When I treated him to an unhappy look he nodded. “Fine. Why Edinburgh?”
“I tried London at first. I moved there when I was eighteen. For a while I enjoyed it. Had a job in a vintage clothing store—as you can imagine that was right up my alley. I thought I fell in love but after a year together I realized I wasn’t in love with him. It was the catalyst for moving back to Scotland. I’d always intended to come back for Darcy when she was eighteen anyway. The guy didn’t want to move and it was the last in a long line of issues between us.”
“What kind of issues?”
Craig seemed genuinely interested and it occurred to me that this might be the way to put him off me. While most girls would hide their craziness until they had their hooks well and truly sunk into the object of their desire, I decided, in that moment, just to put it all out there.
“I wanted to be the center of his universe—and I wasn’t.”
He frowned. “How so?”
I shrugged. “I’m a romantic.”
“That still doesn’t explain anything.”
“A relationship . . . an epically great, romantic relationship should be a partnership, right?”
“Right,” he agreed.
“Well that’s part of it. Our relationship wasn’t. I started to realize that I was constantly compromising for him, but he never did the same for me in return. Everything was about him and what he wanted. I want to be with a man who isn’t happy if I’m not happy, and vice versa.”
“That doesn’t seem like too much to ask. That seems fair.”
I scowled. “It’s not just about that, though. I expect a guy who loves me to think of me. A lot. Surprise me, and not simply on birthdays, but just because.”
Craig shifted in his seat, his eyes narrowing. “You mean spend money on you?”
“It doesn’t have to be about money or shiny gifts.” I shook my head adamantly. “It could be about making me breakfast in bed, or taking the dog out in the morning even though it’s my turn just because he’s happy to let me have a long l
ie for a change. It’s everything and nothing, the big stuff and the little stuff.”
He was giving me this small, tender smile that increased my uneasiness. He wasn’t reacting to my honesty the way I’d hoped he would. “Anything else?”
“He should be territorial without being overly possessive because I don’t like the idea of women flirting with the man I love and I’d hope he’d feel the same way—if only to make me feel better about being the possessive type.”
His gaze turned speculative . . . and heated. “You’re the possessive type? I’d certainly like to see that.”
Where was I going wrong? This was not the way I’d expected a one-night-stander to react to my confession! I huffed and he grinned like he knew exactly what I was trying to do and he was enjoying my failure.
I attempted to relax, realizing that this stubborn man was not going anywhere anytime soon. Unless of course I made the conversation extremely awkward . . . “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Have you ever been in love?”
He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I’m not allowed to ask you about growing up in Inverness but you’re allowed to ask a question that heavy?”
I shrugged. “I could just finish my tea and go.”
Craig narrowed his eyes. “Try it and I’ll tackle you.”
I wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. “What?”
Amusement lit his eyes. “You heard me. And I’ll answer your question. No. I’ve never been in love. How many times have you been in love?” he immediately said before I could respond to his answer.
“I’m not some fickle creature who falls in and out of love easily. In fact I’ve never been in love. I’ve been close though. I don’t throw my whole heart into the relationship before really getting to know the guy, and by the time I’d gotten to know my past boyfriends they proved themselves not up to the task of loving me the way I wanted them to. And vice versa.”
Craig chuckled. “Are you trying to tell me you’re high maintenance, Rain?”
“Yes,” I answered honestly. “Not with general life stuff or daily living. I don’t nag about tidying up or having the boys around for boxing night or video game night every weekend . . . but emotionally I know I’m high maintenance.” I bit my lip at the confession, surprised I’d given away so much. What was it about him that made me feel so comfortable that I started blurting out these terribly personal pieces of information?