Holding Out For Skye (10 page)

“You don’t fool me!”

“Man, you’re so suspicious. So why?”

“Why what?”

“Why don’t you drink alcohol?”

“Does there have to be a reason?”

“With you?” His look said are-you-kidding-me? “Always, darling. You never do anything without a reason you believe in.”

How could he know
that about her?
Skye thought, flustered. He wasn’t going to let this go. “Don’t call me darling. Firstly, I don’t like the taste of beer.” She rolled her eyes at the look of disagreement on his face. Men. “And well, I like being in control of all my motor skills,” she finished, hoping he’d overlook that last part.

He didn’t. “One glass or two won’t make that big of a difference.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t want to test it, okay?”

“Being in control is very important to you. Why?”

Skye sighed. Yeah, he wasn’t letting this go. “I live alone. I have to take care of myself. How can I do that if I’m not in control? Can we eat now?”

The urge to protect her rose up in him again. Cian wanted to reassure her that he would always take care of her, always be there for her. From all he’d learned about her, he knew she didn’t depend on anyone but herself. It wasn’t in her nature to rely on anyone.

He strove for nonchalance. “Alright, my control-freak, let’s eat.” As he’d expected, she glowered at his new nickname for her.

When he took the other stool besides her, Skye tried not to let the close proximity affect her. His knees brushed against hers. Damn his long legs. Why was she feeling so nervous?

“You have to stop kissing me like that!” The words burst out without thinking.
Oh, shoot! Where had that come
from?

Like that?
Cian liked the sound of
that
. He merely smiled and took a huge bite of his sandwich. “Why not?”

“Because… because it keeps giving you the upper hand!”

“I like getting the upper hand.” If only she knew the power
she
had over him. She had no idea. Every time he touched her, his need for her seemed to intensify. She’d quickly become his kryptonite. One come-hither look from her and he’d be putty in her hands. The day she figured out he couldn’t resist her, he’d be in big trouble.

“Don’t I know it,” she muttered and munched on her sandwich.

“Darling, don’t be so morose. Your punches are enough to give you the upper hand.”

“Don’t call me ‘darling’. Didn’t we agree we weren’t calling each other pet names?”

“You did, love,” he stated cheerfully.

Skye only glared at him. Was it normal behavior to want to strangle your boyfriend?

Cian thought he better change the subject before he got himself booted out of her apartment. “So, let’s talk.”

“Talk about what?”

Sending a look upwards for patience, which earned him an eye-roll, he elaborated, “It’s our first date. So it’s normal to want to get to know each other.”

She snorted. “I already know you better that I want to.”

“Skye.”

“Geez, fine. What should we talk about?”

Cian let out a long-suffering sigh. “I’ll go first. You already know Nick, Thea and I grew up together, right?” At her nod, he continued, “Thea’s dad and mine are best friends. Do you know anything about my family?”

She shook her head.

“Okay. So I have two older brothers who work in my father’s investment company. My older brother’s married to his high-school sweetheart and I’m the proud uncle of two little hellions.”

Skye tried to picture him as a proud uncle. She had never seen him with children before.

He continued, “My other brother’s engaged to a sexy brunette who unfortunately saw him first.” She gave him a speaking glance at that. He grinned. “I’m the black sheep of the family.”

She snickered. “Somehow I doubt it. More like the baby of the family.”

Cian smiled at that. “So maybe my mother loves me more than them.”

Skye gave him one of her rare smiles. “Very modest, are we?” She was curious about something though. “Why didn’t you join your father’s company too?”

He shrugged. “Dad already has two sons he knows he can leave the company to, even though he encouraged us in whatever we wanted to do. My brothers had a mind for investment. I couldn’t make up mine what field I wanted to go in. Accounting and auditing seem as good a field as any.”

Skye wondered what it’d feel like to have a family like his.

“What about your family?” Cian regretted the words the moment they were out of his mouth. Hell, how could he have forgotten?

Skye went still. “I don’t have any family,” she said softly.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“How do you know?”

“I heard you and Ash talking once.”

The only time she and Ash had talked about that… he knew she’d grown up in an orphanage? Skye tried to hide her reaction from him.

But of course he saw that it bothered her. Cian reached out and squeezed her hand. “It doesn’t matter to me that you were raised in an orphanage.”

She looked at him in surprise.

“Nick and Thea wouldn’t care either.”

“Do they know?”

“Yes.”

“You shouldn’t have told them.”

“It just came up.” Cian remembered Nick trying to trick him into admitting he had feelings for Skye.

“If you don’t want to talk about it,” he started.

“No, it’s… okay.” He should know. She just didn’t want him to feel any pity for her.

“I was five years old when my mother was killed in an accident. She had been on her way home from work when her car was hit by a drunk driver.”

“I’m sorry.” He squeezed her hand again.

Skye looked at their joined hands in wonder. He touched her so easily, comforting her with a simple contact.

“Thank you. She was so beautiful, my mother. She was a great mom. I know the memory of five-year olds isn’t very reliable, but I remember how much she loved me. When she died, my world fell apart.”

Cian wanted to pull her in his arms. “Didn’t your mom have any family that could take you in?”

A self-deprecating smile touched her lips. “My mother had me out of what you’d call wedlock. My father hightailed it the moment he heard she was pregnant. My grandfather wanted her to have an abortion but she refused. So he renounced her and severed all ties with her. She was only eighteen. Just a child herself.” Skye paused, remembering. “She worked so hard to raise me, to make ends meet. She was tired all the time. But she always had time for me.”

Cian felt a surge of fury at her father and grandfather for leaving a young woman alone to fend for herself and her child. For not wanting to know the beautiful, courageous woman that child had become. He wanted to hunt them down and beat the shit out of them. But his anger wouldn’t help her, only himself. It was their loss for not wanting to know what a wonder she was. With effort, he slowly relaxed his tightened fist at his side.

Skye didn’t notice. She was lost in her memories. “My mother never told me that my father hadn’t wanted me. My grandfather refused to have anything to do with me. I found out how my father hadn’t wanted me either. So I was put in the orphanage. It wasn’t so bad.” She shrugged.

Cian couldn’t help it this time. He hugged her tightly. She held on to him even as she said, “Don’t. Don’t feel sorry for me. I was lucky. I wasn’t mistreated. The people at the orphanage were kind and took good care of all the kids there.”

Love for her swamped him as he held her tighter. He felt sorry for the child she’d been and awe at the amazing woman she’d become. And she’d been so alone. Like it or not, she had him now.

Cian couldn’t speak because she wasn’t ready for the words he wanted to say to her. So he just held her.

Skye wanted to cry and felt ridiculous for it. She never cried. Crying was a luxury she’d never been able to afford. She wasn’t about to start now. He pulled back and placed a gentle kiss on her brow. It felt like a balm to the hurt inside her that had never seemed to heal.

Cian strived to act normal. “Finish up. Our food’s getting cold.”

Skye took a deep breath and turned to her half-finished sandwich. She peeked at him and caught him watching her with a pensive look. She blushed at having been caught. He smiled and just like that the air felt lighter again.

CHAPTER NINE

In mutual agreement, they talked about simpler things. Skye learned that like her, he liked comedy and action movies. Hence, they had the same taste in movies and TV shows. He told her he had liked
Full House
as a kid because it was so funny. And of course the character he’d liked best had been Jesse Katsopolis, the playboy uncle. No surprise there.

He hated broccoli and she agreed with him. However, Cian couldn’t understand how she could love spinach, actually
love
it. Skye admitted she’d loved
Popeye
as a child. She’d thought spinach would make her strong and invincible, like
Popeye
. What could she say? She’d been a weird kid. Cian understood and pressed her hand in comfort again.

He already knew she had a partiality for blue. Skye found out he liked red, especially on girls. She rolled her eyes at that. He also liked black. They both had more or less the same taste in music.

Cian was surprised that she liked to listen to instrumental music, especially the scores of some movies. He would never have figured her for the instrumental type. Skye told him how she loved the score for the movie
Journey
2: The Mysterious Island
which had been composed by Andrew Lockington whose music she’d first heard on the TV show
Sanctuary
.

She looked so enchanting, her coffee-brown eyes lit up with excitement as she explained to him how some movies had such beautiful haunting music it just seemed to wrap around you that he wanted to kiss her again. Cian managed to control himself.

For once it seemed they just talked without bickering, even though he teased her often. It was nice. Skye discovered she liked it. Liked it a lot. Liked just sitting there talking with him.

Cian told her about his kayaking and canoeing exploits on Charles River. Skye’d never done that before and she hoped to try it one day. When she was more financially stable. She knew that he had led a more interesting life than hers and that his family was loaded, which made her a bit nervous when Skye thought about it.

She barely noticed they’d finished eating until he mentioned dessert. Then it was time to show him her bedroom, where her TV and DVD player were.

Skye wished now she had left the darn things in the living room instead of putting them in her bedroom. But she often watched movies and TV shows till late in the night and she loved spending that time in her bed. Sleeping and cozying up in bed was one of the joys of her life. Skye wondered what he would say when he saw her bedroom.

Skye washed the dishes and grabbing two plates, cut two big pieces of the chocolate cake. She stashed the rest of the cake in the fridge, then handed him his plate and led him to her bedroom. Taking a deep breath she opened the door, flipped the light on, then stepped aside to let him enter.

The moment he set foot into her room, Cian’s eyes zeroed straight to the bed. He goggled in astonishment. “Holy shit!”

This was where Skye had spent a huge chunk of her salary. The bed was like something right out of a dream. It was huge, too big for one person and canopied, with thin midnight blue shimmery drapes. The curved headboard was a dark blue with stars and moons carved in white. It was a work of art. Cian wondered where she’d found it. The bedspread was blue of course, as were the pillows.

He could instantly picture her in that ocean of blue, her hair spread out on the pillows, her eyes slumberous. He could easily see
himself
in that bed with her. The things he wanted to do to her… He mentally groaned and shook himself out of his fantasy.

“The bed… ?”

“I like to sleep,” Skye said defensively.

“Stay with me here. That’s not a bed, that’s a
lake
! I mean, where did you get it and how?”

“I bought it,” Skye replied indignantly as if he were somehow accusing her of something. “And Tyler helped me set it up.”

Who the hell
was Tyler?
Cian thought, disgruntled. “Tyler? Who’s Tyler?”

“My best buddy.”

“I thought Kiera was your best buddy.”

“Duh. Kiera’s my best friend. Ty is my best
buddy
.”

Cian rolled his eyes at her. “And that’s different how?”

Skye eyed him cautiously. She set down their plates on the small blue-colored nightstand on the left side of her bed which held a blue portable phone, answering machine and a small lamp, with a dark blue cover. “It just is. Why?”

A wave of jealousy ripped him inside. Cian had never been jealous of anyone before. He realized he didn’t care for it. “How many guys do you know?”

Skye countered his question with one of her own. “How many girls do
you
know?”

A sheepish look crossed his face. “Touché.”

“He’s just one of my closest friends.”

“And he’s been in your bedroom?”

“Duh. He helped me find this apartment and set up the bed.”

“Does he know about us yet?”

Skye gaped at him. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“It’s only been a day!” When he only looked at her, Skye said exasperatedly, “Why don’t I just put out a notice in the newspapers? Or more conveniently, announce it on Facebook?”

“Good idea,” Cian agreed, his eyes laughing at her. “That reminds me, are you
ever
going to unblock me on Facebook?” He’d sent her a friend request when she joined their team and she had blocked him instead. It’d amused the hell out of him.

“No,” Skye replied stonily.

“We’re dating now,” Cian pointed out. He wanted to laugh out loud at the look of dismay on Skye’s face.

Skye knew there was no getting out of it. He was right. “Fine.”

“You’ll have to change your relationship status from ‘
Single
’ to ‘
In A Relationship with
Cian Hunter
’,” he told her, enjoying himself immensely.

Skye winced at that. “No way. I’ll concede to just putting ‘
In a relationship
’ but that’s it.”

She imagined with a dash of horror what Ty’s reaction would be if he saw ‘
In A Relationship with Cian
Hunter
’ as her relationship status. He’d tease her so much she would have to find a hole to sink in.

Cian couldn’t resist teasing her. “That’s no good. I want my friends to know you’re my girlfriend. That’s not a lot to ask, is it?” He gave her a mournful look.

Skye looked at him uncertainly. Wait a minute… Her eyes narrowed slightly as she figured out she was being suckered. “That’s it. I’m keeping you blocked.”

Skye sent him a tetchy glare when he snorted out a laugh. She strode to the wooden cabinet right across the bed. There was barely any space between the foot of the bed and the cabinet. The bed was that huge.

The cabinet was about five feet tall and three feet wide. Skye flicked the top open, which was a two-shelf thing, the upper one holding her totally normal old-fashioned non-descript TV.

With her love of movies, Cian knew she’d enjoy his 60 inch LED HDTV. But being sensitive about her money situation and her pride, he didn’t say anything. The lower shelf held her DVD player.

Cian’s curiosity tugged at him as he wondered what the bottom part of the cabinet held. Knowing her, probably books. Skye was a certified bookworm.

His eyes swept to the window seat. He could easily picture her curled up there, reading or watching the world go by outside her window which had dark blue curtains imprinted with tiny white stars. She sure had a thing for stars. And the color blue. He made a mental note for any future gifts he would be buying her.

A few steps from her window, there was a door, which probably led to her bathroom. Her three-door closet was on the left side of the bed, next to her nightstand. There was a mirror covering the middle door.

It wasn’t a frilly room. From the get-go he’d pegged her to be a practical woman. She was just perfect, every single inch of her.

All in all, the room was cramped but neat. The bed had the king’s share of the space in it. Cian turned back to find her watching him with arms crossed, her left foot tapping in impatience.
Yep, she was just perfect
, he thought again, amused.

“Finished your inspection?” Skye demanded sarcastically.

“Yeah. I feel like I’m in the ocean. All this blue…”

“Is that a dig?”

“Merely an observation.”

Skye scowled and waved a hand towards the TV as she stomped to the bed.

Cian grinned as he put the
Underworld Awakening
DVD into the player and waited for it to load. He got the remote and turned to find her sitting on the left side of the bed, stuffing chocolate cake in her mouth.

“Can I turn off the lights?”

Skye gulped. Butterflies started in her stomach. What was it about him that had a colony of butterflies living in her belly? Sitting in the dark with him in such close proximity.
Oh god.

“Skye?” Cian relished the idea of holding her in the dark. She’d throw him out if she knew his thoughts.

“Um, yeah, okay.”

Cian’s heart softened at the nervousness in her voice. He turned off the lights, and in the bluish glow of the blank screen of the television, grabbed his plate and sat down next to her. He felt her shift a bit farther away. A wolfish smile curved his lips. Good thing she couldn’t see his face. He took a big bite of his cake and hit the Play button.

The moment the movie started, Skye became transfixed by it. He glanced at her. She had her eyes glued to the screen.

“So Kate Beckinsale’s awesome, uh?” he said just to annoy her.

“Shhhhhh!!!”

Cian finished his slice of cake and placing his empty plate on the floor, toed his shoes off and inched backwards, his back against the headboard. As they watched Selene break out of the laboratory she’d been imprisoned in, he paused the movie. Skye looked at him in question.

“Come here.” Cian patted the place beside him.

Skye’s breath caught in her throat. “I don’t think so.”

“C’mon, I won’t bite.” He held out his hand.

Skye stared at it, then at him. It all amounted to whether she trusted him or not. And trust him, she did. Even knowing he was a playboy, Skye trusted him. Besides, she could take care of herself if he tried anything.

Cian couldn’t see her expression. He held his breath and waited.

Finally, Skye slowly set her plate on the nightstand, slipped off her sneakers and taking a deep breath, took his hand. The tingles started right away. They always did whenever they touched. He gently tugged at her hand. She crept backwards until her back touched the headboard.

Cian released her hand, only to pull her against him. Again he held his breath, but Skye didn’t resist him. His heart thudded as he held her closer, her head resting against his shoulder, thankful she hadn’t pulled away. He wanted to do more than hold her. But he didn’t want to scare her away. So he put the movie back on play.

Skye wondered if he could hear her heart beating as loudly as she felt it. Their bodies were pressed so close, she could feel his warmth. It was at the same time comforting and overwhelming. She would never have thought, not in a million years that she and Cian would be like this, in the
dark
, on her
bed
. Or that she would trust him enough to let him.

The intimacy of it caused a tremble in the region of her heart.

Her body seemed to have a mind of its own as she snuggled closer to his side. Her hand hesitantly crept to his chest. Then suddenly coming to her senses, she pulled her hand back or at least tried to.

Cian had felt her touch and held still, afraid she might pull back. When she did, he caught her hand, holding it prisoner over his heart.

Skye could feel his heartbeat beneath her hand, as fast as hers. Her eyes widened in awe. It made her feel better that she wasn’t the only one affected by what was happening between them.

They didn’t speak, just lay like that, watching the movie in silence. Neither of them willing to break the atmosphere. For Cian, surprisingly, it was the best night of his life.

When the ending credits rolled on screen, he was unwilling to get up and admit that their date was over. For a moment, he didn’t move, just stayed there, loving the feel of her lying beside him. She didn’t move either. Could it be she was as reluctant as he was to end their date? Cian finally turned to face her.

And just stared.

Skye was fast asleep. No wonder he hadn’t heard a peep from her. He laughed softly to himself. He should have known better—if she’d been awake she’d have been out of the bed the moment the movie ended and sent him on his way. She must have been completely exhausted or else she would never have slept through one of her beloved
Underworld
movies. His heart rolled over in his chest.

Temptation waged a war with his conscience. Cian slowly brushed his fingers through her hair, marvelling at the silky feel. He didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay here with her and just hold her. He’d never in his life wanted to hold someone as badly as he did now. All the women he had dated and slept with, he’d never felt like this.

The right thing to do would be to wake her up so she could lock up after he left. But he didn’t want to do the right thing. Temptation won.

He turned off the TV and DVD player. Pulling the covers on them, he held her tightly beside him. He pressed his face to her hair, breathing her in; her sweet fragrance reeling him in. Oh, he was hooked alright.

Cian wondered how the hell he was supposed to sleep with her lying in his arms. What had he been thinking?

God, she fit him so perfectly, it was like she was made for him. Talk about pure torture. Nick would burst out laughing if he found out that Cian Hunter had spent the night with a woman and all he’d done was sleep.

He smiled wryly. Skye was going to give him hell when she woke up in the morning. As his eyes surprisingly started to close, he decided it would be worth it.