Chapter 004
1094 Words
Chapter 004
James’ POV
Hang on, shouldn’t we discuss what just happened? I spoke, the edge in my tone more pronounced than I’d intended.
Oliver crowded so near I could feel his breath on my face. What is there to say? I like you. Surely that’s enough? He planted a fleeting kiss on the very tip of my nose and then gently prodded me with his golf club.
I froze. A tightening squeeze gripped my chest, but I let out a forced laugh to dispel the abrupt surge of heat creeping up my neck.
Oliver grinned. “All right, let’s hit a few before dinner.” The brasserie’s not set to open for another hour, anyway. I’m starving for oysters, and you’re coming along. I never grumble about the food when you’re the one deciding.
He was right. I never do. His judgement of food was unerring, and I put my trust in it implicitly.
I clutched the club, swung viciously, and watched the ball sail straight into the bunker.
He gave a ridiculing clap, the echo lingering in the still evening air. Not bad, not at all.
I ran my hand over my head. You’re an i***t.
He smirked, set his feet, and stroked the ball directly onto the green.
Show-off.
I pretended to kick his butt. You up for a defeat?”
He lifted his eyebrows in a suggestive wag. I never lose.
I protracted my tongue, a combination of exasperation and amusement. He always managed to bring out the inner child in me, and I detested how effortlessly he could do it.
“You’ve got a distinct edge, and you know it,” I grumbled as we headed toward the hazard where my ball vanished.
Relax,” he joked, tousling my hair. Be it a win or a loss, you’re still getting a prize from me.”
I pushed him away, my cheeks flaming.
He yelled out abruptly, slipping behind me and enclosing our hands together. He kept his hand on mine far past the point it should have stayed. Position the club at an incline, and swing with a light touch. Go ahead.
I gulped down my saliva. My palms were clammy, and the humidity wasn’t to blame.
I swung. Missed. Completely.
“You’re cheating!”
He c****d a single brow. How is that cheating? I was only trying to help you.”
“Helping? That was intentional.”
What?
“That!”
“I was showing you!” What’s the problem with that?
I lost my temper. “Ugh! Hurry up and move aside, it’s your turn already.”
He pressed close, his tone a husky murmur. Don’t cry now. Hold that for later—in bed.
I slapped his head, and we burst into laughter that ricocheted across the green.
Dinner had us stuffed. By the time we arrived at the seaside cottage where we would be staying, Oliver flopped onto the bed with a groan. I’m stuffed to the gills. He pulled me right down beside him.
That was brilliant. Thanks for pulling me along. I couldn’t stop smiling. He flashed back a grin, wide and squinty-eyed, and it did something to me. As usual.
“Sing me something,” he blurted out of the blue.
I blinked. “What?”
“A song. Carry on.
“That’s random.”
“Please?” His eyes grew softer, and all of a sudden, it felt anything but random.
I sighed. For Oliver, I invariably caved. What would you like to hear?
“Anything. I simply want to hear you.
You’re absurd.
Accept the compliment.” He gave me a light punch on the arm.
“Fine, fine…” I ran my fingers over my throat and warbled a few bars of the melody that had been looping in my head for days.
After I stopped, a pause unfurled between us.
I’ve been wanting to say—
He silenced me with a kiss. No hesitation. No warning. His mouth sealed itself to mine, pressing firmly as if I could crumble at any moment, his fingers cupping my face with equal gentleness and urgency.
Again, my chest constricted, but this time the tightness was needed.
He drew me in deeper, his fingers threading to the back of my neck and urging me nearer. I tumbled into a dizzying haze, and for a fleeting instant, I surrendered, tumoring onto the mattress beside him. His mouth slid down my neck, grazing gently with little nips, his other hand clumsy as it struggled with the buttons of my shirt.
“Wait,” I breathed, laying my palm over his heart. This is happening far too quickly.
He silenced me with a second kiss even as his shirt slid halfway down. His fingers skimmed paths over my skin, every caress igniting sparks that coursed down my nerves.
I squeezed my eyes shut, terrified that if I dared open them, the moment would vanish like a dream.
“I love you,” he whispered in my ear as his hand drifted lower.
Love? My head spun. Wait—am I not supposed to be the Alpha? And Oliver… Oliver has never been this bold. What the fudge is going on?
My chest rose and fell in gasps. “I—”
A thundering throb cracked my skull in two.
“C’mon, mate, wake up!” Oliver’s voice pulled me back to the present. I batted my lashes open, startled to see him leaning beside the bed, a carrot-shaped pillow in hand.
It looks as though you’re laughing in your sleep. Proper creepy. I had to whack you with this to rouse you.”
I opened my eyes, my head spinning. The blur of the call room snapped into clear focus.
“What’s going on?” My voice broke.
You were dreaming. You looked intense.” The smirk on his face told me he’d loved every moment of my bewilderment.
“Dreaming?” I ran my hands over my eyes, the lingering shards of heat and kisses dissolving between my fingers, like water slipping through them. “What?”
“All right,” he said, pulling me from the bed. We need to head for the case conference. And get a move on, yeah? I’m dying to get out of here. Got a date tonight.” He wore an irritatingly smug grin.
That sent me wide awake.
A date. With someone else.
Deep within me, my stomach knotted, his words trailing after the last strands of my dream. Waking up, it turns out, really does suck.
- Writer
