‘Well,’ she says, gesturing around her, ‘it’s not for me to suggest…’
‘But you’re going to anyway?’ he asks, returning her smile.
‘I suppose I am. I’ve been thinking about how, with a bit of a refurb, this could be so much more. How it could be a great place for events.’
He nods, and chews his lip as he assesses. ‘You’re thinking music, author visits, that kind of thing?’
‘Yes, maybe even classes, workshops? I mean, I know you want it to be a hotel, it just… seems like an opportunity. For someone who might want to invest in a community venture that could be exactly what a place like this needs. You have Rosie nearby to work with on catering, and Moira is so well-loved here, and Bonnie Bay is so beautiful. I think more people would come and discover it, if they had a reason. And then if you did develop a hotel, say in one of the other buildings, then it would be in a village that not only has dolphins and history and the world’s best sunrises, but is a, uh, cultural hub as well.’
I silently echo the words ‘cultural hub’, and am slightly in awe of the unofficial sales pitch she’s just made.
James narrows his eyes slightly, and replies: ‘What did you say you did for a living again, Kate?’
‘Oh. Nothing much. I’m a temp office manager. Making sure people don’t run out of paperclips, that kind of thing.’
‘Right. For a wee moment there, I thought maybe you had a job selling snow to Eskimos… look, let me think it over. Haveyou mentioned any of this to Moira? You know we’ve agreed a deadline?’
‘A little bit. She liked the idea, but said she was too long in the tooth to be starting anything new. Obviously that’s nonsense, and I don’t think she’d take much persuading.’
‘In my experience with Moira,’ James replies slowly, ‘it’s impossible to persuade her of anything unless she already wants to do it. Leave it with me – and thanks for the book!’
He leaves, and this time I lock the door. She raises her eyebrows at me, and says: ‘That looks ominous. Or possibly exciting…’
She sashays away into the back, deliberately shaking her ass as she goes. I growl and chase her through, but she dodges me and runs up the stairs. By the time I have her cornered we’re in the very top room of the building, a little attic space built into the roof. It’s clean and fresh, and the porthole window showcases the sea like it’s a movie screen.
Kate tries to run again, but her heart isn’t in it. I pin her against the wall and we pick up where we left off, her blouse coming undone with a terminal pop of buttons that scatter on the floor. She sighs, presses herself into me. ‘I let you catch me,’ she whispers.
‘I know,’ I reply, my hand running up her smooth flesh, reaching her breast, my fingers tightening on her nipple in the way I know makes her crazy. She groans and claws at my T-shirt, dragging it off and throwing it aside. I lift her up, her legs wrapped around my waist, and walk her over to the red velvet couch that takes up one side of the room. I lay her down, and gaze at her – half undressed, hair wild, eyes on mine. No shame, no inhibitions, no half measures. Damn, she really is something.
I kneel down before her, sliding my hands up her trembling thighs, my fingers slipping beneath her panties and finding her ready. ‘God, Kate… you are amazing…’
She sighs as I tease her, bringing her close to the edge but never quite letting her tumble over it. I could do this all day, I think: see her eyes clouded with desire, listen to her breath hitch, practically hear her heart thundering in her heaving chest…
‘Brody, please!’ she mutters, desperately. I give her what she needs, revelling in the way she clenches and contracts around my fingers as she reaches orgasm. While she shakes in the aftermath, I get rid of my clothes, and within seconds I’m inside her. Her hands are on my shoulders, her legs on my back urging me on, and I roar as I come. I collapse down on top of her, and she laughs as she wraps me in her arms.
‘You okay?’ she asks. ‘I haven’t killed you have I?’
‘Nope. But if you had, what a way to go…’
We disentangle, and I pull her close, her head on my chest. It’s not a huge couch, and she’s basically draped all over me, her hair nestled beneath my chin, her fingers fluttering over my biceps. We lie together, silent and still. The circular window shows us the rolling waves, and the only sound is the sea, and our breath. It’s like we’re the only people left in the world, and as moments go, it is completely perfect. I smile as I hold her tight, watching gannets and guillemots soar against the blue of the sky.
‘I hate the thought of leaving,’ I surprise myself by saying.
She tenses slightly, and I worry I’ve gone too far. Said too much. Assumed that she wanted more, when maybe she was resigned to us both moving on. I immediately feel like a dick, and start to backtrack.
‘I mean, leaving Bonnie Bay. Leaving the puffins. Leaving, um, Betty?’
She laughs out loud, and drops a gentle kiss on my bare chest.
‘Brody,’ she says firmly, ‘do shut up. I hate the thought of leaving too. But we have real lives, don’t we?’
There’s a hint of uncertainty in her voice, like she’s not entirely sure what’s real any more.
‘Yeah. I guess we do. I should see my folks, and I have my job interview coming up, and if that goes well I’ll have to commit to a start date.’
‘When do you think that will be?’
Hopefully never, I think. ‘Not sure. But I said I’d stay for the summer, and I will. Moira’s getting stronger every day, but she still needs us. And this… this is all so good, isn’t it?’
