‘No.’
‘What, then?’
‘This.’ Jamie reached down to Alicia’s hands. Without hesitation, she put her palms in his giant ones and let him hoist her up, so they were standing face to face, their bodies flush in the intimacy of this small wooden box. They had been close like this after the earlier sauna mix up, but Alicia wasn’t going to leave now, not in a million years. Whatever was about to happen, she would be a part of it.
And boy was she was glad that she was because this was the moment that Jamie began what they’d both been waiting for. This was the moment that, their hips touching, he inclined his head towards Alicia’s, placed his lips on hers and kissed her. This was the moment that blew Alicia’s mind.
Alicia had no idea how Jamie had learned these skills from playing board games and watching TV, butsomewhere along the line, the man had learned to kiss like nobody else, his tongue doing a skilful dance against her own, his lips soft yet firm, tender yet commanding.
Alicia heard herself moan. Jamie let out a groan of his own, then the kiss rose from hungry to starving to ravenous within moments. No more sweet pecks to ease them into the main body of the kiss. Jamie devoured Alicia with his mouth, pure carnal desire driving his tongue into her warm, dark depths. The man wanted her and he had no intention of pretending otherwise. He was full of raw need, he was skilled, he was taking control and Alicia would let him. There was nothing she could fault about this kiss. Not a thing. Jamie spoke to her with his lips and his tongue; his mouth and hers understood each other. They needed the same thing.
As for his cock, it was hard now and urging against Alicia, surging wet heat right through her. She pressed firmer – wanting more of this kiss, wanting it harder, wanting it faster – reached for his face, the rough bristle of his beard against her fingers. There was still some consciousness that she was in a sauna and there was only so far that they could go before it got too risky, but Alicia wasn’t at that point yet. Right now, the risk-benefit analysis that her body was automatically doing for her was coming out as ‘worth it, carry on’. A kiss had never taken her to the edge like this, but she couldn’t go back now. This was no run of the mill kiss. It was once in a lifetime blow you away. Alicia was burning up and not only from the heat of the hot coals. Somehow, she knew that if she were naked in the snow with Jamie Butler, she would still be searing with fire for him.
Then, a blast of cool air blew into the sauna along with a voice that said, ‘Ooh, hello!’
Alicia tore her mouth from Jamie’s, her heart thundering like a juggernaut down a freeway. Standing at the sauna door was Dean, of Dean and Diana, his eyes boring into her and Jamie – back and forth – a creepy grin building on his face.
‘Hope I’m not interrupting anything.’ Dean licked his lips. It was blatantly obvious that he had interrupted something, and delight was scrawled all over his disgusting features. Alicia froze, conscious of Jamie’s hand on the small of her back, steadying her. How she loathed this man and his salacious undertones. She’d already had to fend him off once this week, and now he would be thinking that she’d kiss anybody in a sauna.
‘You’re alright.’ Jamie was clearly better at being civil to assholes than Alicia was. ‘Come in, by all means.’ He looked down at her, his gaze questioning if she was okay. She nodded. He squeezed closer to her to allow room for Dean to enter the sauna, which was a little odd, but then she realised he was doing this to hide his erection. For this, she was thankful. The last thing Dean needed was any ammunition, or he’d be asking them both to join him and his wife at their lodge.
‘Lucky, I’m not paparazzi, eh?’ Dean appeared to bloat with pride at his own joke whilst plonking down on the bench.
Alicia cringed.
‘Aye, well, lucky we’re not famous,’ Jamie retorted, and she recoiled at what must surely come next.
‘Sorry, but I have to get out of here. It’s too hot.’ It was too bad that she was exposing Jamie’s erection, but men dealt with these sorts of things all the time, didn’t they? He’d know what to do.
But Alicia’s departure wasn’t enough to stop Dean’smouth. The man had evidently never heard of letting someone else have the last word.
‘Well, one of you isn’t.’
The mere idea of the confusion that must be swimming in Jamie’s brain, thrust bile up into Alicia’s throat.Please God, have him dismiss Dean as crazy and having mistaken me for someone else.She moved to the door of the sauna.
‘Aye, famous for making whisky and that’s about it.’ Jamie’s voice rumbled right behind her. It was as if he were taking the hit for the famous comment, even if he knew it couldn’t be about him. Or did he? That could be established later.Please let Dean leave it there for now.
But no. Of course not.
‘Wish I was still young enough to snag a Hollywood starlet.’ He chuckled.
‘Jamie, I’m heading back to my lodge.’ Alicia’s smile may have looked like more of a grimace at this stage. She desperately didn’t want Dean to tell Jamie who she was. The anonymity was too nice – being simply Alicia without the labels and misconceptions.
‘I’ll come with you.’ Jamie was right behind her. For now. He wanted to get away from Dean as much as she did. But when he found out who she was, would he be making moves away from her, too?
‘Enjoy yourselves,’ Dean said, gleefully, before muttering, ‘You’ve got a wild one there.’
So close. They were so close to being out the door, but this comment clearly hit a nerve with Jamie. Alicia stopped in her tracks as his sharp tone, quite different from the one of the chilled dude she’d encountered so far, interrogated Dean.
‘Sorry? I don’t quite follow.’
‘Ach, nothing, pal. Enjoy. It’s not every man gets a supermodel on his arm, or in the sauna.’
‘Right.’ Jamie’s shoulders twitched. He clearly hadn’t a clue what Dean was talking about but was pretending that he did, although he retained the steeliness in his voice, marking the territory to Dean as not one for a fight but not one for jokes either. ‘What can I say? Some of us have it and some of us don’t.’
Thank you, Jamie. Thank you for stopping things with that line.The last thing Alicia wanted was for him to engage with Dean and it have revealed who she was. She also didn’t want him to be “that guy”, marking his territory in public. As she headed for the shower, she hoped they could both dismiss Dean as a lunatic and go back to how things were ten minutes ago.
Chapter 17
