Page 9 of Fighting With Light
As I walk her back to her villa, I know she wants me to come inside with her, but I need to remember my mission here and it’s not to sleep with the enemy, though that sounds like a lot of fun.
She slides the door open and walks in, swaying her hips as her wet dress clings to her body. I stay at the threshold and she looks over her shoulder, I’m sure expecting me to be there like a dog on a leash.
Well, I’m not that kind of dog. I like to run a little wild, but I have a feeling she might like that about me. “Night. I’ll see you tomorrow morning?” Disappointment blinks on and off her face, and she nods, the corner of her mouth tipping up.
“You are a gentleman, aren’t you, Tarzan?”
I shrug, sliding my hand through my wet hair. “What can I say, I like to take things slow.”
She hums and steps closer to me. “Somehow I don’t believe you.” Her hands slide up my damp shirt and she leans in to kiss me. Right before she meets my lips, I kiss her cheek, lingering a little longer than necessary, and then step out of her hold.
Don’t forget, Liam, don’t forget.
“Goodnight, Aelia.”
“Goodnight, Tarzan,” she sighs and closes the door.
This might be significantly more challenging than I thought it would be, but I don’t back down from challenges. I meet them head-on as I would with any rock face or enormous wave and I’ll meet this one just the same, only there is a lot more at stake.
5
Aelia
Last night was interesting.I’ve been with men who are total gentlemen, and that’s not what threw me off, but I couldphysicallyfeel Liam wanting more. I just don’t know what kind ofmorehe was looking for. Was it sex? Was it questions? I tried not to think too hard about it when he left, but I was somewhat speechless because of it. Men don’t deny me. In fact, I expected him to maul me. Iwantedhim to do a lot of things to me, but he didn’t and itthrew me off. It was disappointing, and that alone made me stop for a second. It made me ask myself a question I’ve never asked before.
What am I doing with my life?
I have spent years avoiding my father and pissing him off, but why does this one man, Liam, make me want to question it all? It’s not because I spontaneously fell in love with him. That’s just ridiculous. But the way he treated me and what I had expected from the start of the night was not what I got. I’m not here for that long. A temporary fling is all I’m looking for and I assumed he was, too.
Everything about him throws me off, but I have been up for two hours, too excited to sleep because we’re going to breakfast. It’sbreakfast.I don’t have breakfast with any man, but Liam is not just a man. I don’t know him well, but I want to.
I got dressed a solid twenty minutes ago. I don’t know why I expected him to be early. But then again, maybe he’s an early riser. I also wanted to be ready to go the moment he shows up. I decided on crochet shorts and top with a lavender color swimsuit underneath, just in case we decide to go swimming. I also didn’tmiss the way Liam looked at me in my favorite dress last night, yet he didn’t try anything.
Maybe it’s thewant, theanticipationthat seems to be growing between us.Tarzan is a little mysterious to me, and I think it makes me want him more. It’s the first time I’ve ever felt this way. I’ve never wanted to know a man for more thanmaybeforty-eight hours. Liam is that exception and I want to explore it. Every. Single. Inch of him.
A knock echoes in my villa and I force myself not to run to the back door. I don’t understand why he won’t just come to the front, but whatever. I slide the curtain and the door back and find him smiling in an open shirt, swim trunks, and bare feet. He looks like a surfer boy today, but he still feels like Tarzan, even as I take him in. He has thiswildnessto him. It’s unchecked and barely restrained. I can’t imagine what it feels like to have him unleash it on me. I don’t even mean that sexually, but when he’s surfing, I’m positive it’s flawless. Watching him scale that rock face yesterday definitely kept me in rapt attention. He’s hard to look away from.
“Good morning, princess.” His eyes flash something, but then it’s gone before I can catch it. My heart stalls a little in my chest. I’ve been called princess before because of who I am, but he doesn’t know who I really am, so it’s cute. I kind of love it, but only from him. If anyone else calls me that, I’ll threaten their balls.
“Morning, Tarzan,” I say, trying not to giggle.
He chuckles and absently rubs his glorious abs. I mean, the man is a professional athlete and his bodyshowsit. “So I know I said I would take you to breakfast, but something tells me you might like breakfast coming to you.” He looks around the corner of the villa and waves his hand.
A few staff members come around the corner with a cart full of all kinds of fruit, pastries, and other things I don’t recognize. They set the little table that sits on the small patio with plates, cups, and silverware.
“Wow, Liam,” I say, taken by surprise. No man has evertriedto treat me this way. Others do it purely to get something out of it. They didn’t do it because theywantedto, and that alone speaks volumes.
“I hope you don’t mind. If you don’t like it, we can go somewhere else.”
I shake my head and close the door behind me. The heat of the day is increasing steadily, but the salty breeze keeps it comfortable. A staff member sets up an umbrella, then they disappear. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Liam slip the man a fifty and he leaves the way he came.
“This is beautiful, thank you,” I tell him, and I mean it.
He nods and pulls my chair out for me. I sit down and reach for the coffee, pouring myself and Liam a cup.
“Thanks,” he grunts and takes a sip.
We put some food on our plates and eat in companionable silence. I want to ask him a lot of things, but my tongue feels like it’s swelling up and it’s not because I’m allergic to something. My heart feels like it’s coming out of my chest and the only reason I can come up with is because I think I’m interested in him.
