The Heart Series: Complete Boxed Set (17 page)

Wow, that was sexy.

His eyes held a wicked glint throughout, and I liked it.

The waitress interrupted our moment, slapping the bill down hard onto the table. Joel reached into his jacket to retrieve his wallet, quickly handing over the money. Shortly after, she returned with the change, discretely stuffing a napkin into his hand, and winked before walking off.

I grabbed the napkin straight off him and opened it to find her mobile number scrawled across it.

What the fuck?

I threw it down in disgust and stood up ready to charge over. Joel quickly grabbed my arm.

“Calm down, Izzy. Let me handle it, please,” he asked, pleading with his eyes for me to not make matters worse.

I nodded in agreement as we both stood up. We grabbed our coats, quickly wrapping up again in preparation for the cold journey back to the cottage.

Walking towards the door, the waitress instantly stood up straight. She pulled her top lower and grinned wildly at Joel, who now had the napkin in his hand.

The smile dropped from her face when he crumpled it up, throwing it in the bin beside her. “Thanks, but no thanks. It must have escaped your notice, but I have a girlfriend already.” He threw his arm around my shoulder and kissed my head. We both walked out laughing together.

Once outside I barely had time to react as Joel’s lips locked onto mine. I instantly wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him in tighter.

“I love you, Izzy,” he panted, between kisses.

“I know. I just might need to carry a stick in future to beat off all the women.”

He chuckled kissing me again. “You’re the only one I see. It will only ever be you.” His hands pressed against my face as his eyes stared deep into mine. I knew looking at the genuine sincerity shining back that every part of his words were true.

I curled up tight with my Kindle beside the fire. It was good to finally unwind after spending the day out sightseeing and shopping. We had definitely taken in all the delights Cornwall had to offer, I could barely move a muscle.

Joel had planned a romantic meal for this evening. He revealed his surprise earlier, and the sweet look he gave me almost made me melt. He was being the perfect gentleman, and I felt highly honoured. I knew he’d never cooked for a woman in his entire life which made it extra special that I’d be his first.

The menu was top secret and despite my several shameless attempts to seduce him, he remained tight-lipped. He did tease me with his revelation that he was making his own dessert. My level of intrigue automatically heightened at the thought of chocolate being potentially involved.

I snuggled back down, embracing the heat and sighed, until I felt Joel’s shadow towering over me. “What?” I asked, slightly confused by his lingering presence.

“I forgot to get the wine, can you get some?”

I sat up and rubbed my eyes in confusion. I stared out the window only to see the weather has taken a turn for the worse.

Ugh, I hated rain.

“Errrm no, have you seen the weather? It’s like a monsoon out there.” I scrunched my face up in obvious disgust.

Why would he even ask?

For wine of all things.

I wouldn’t even venture out for chocolate and that was saying something.

He chuckled stroking my hair. “Hardly a monsoon. Please I forgot to get it before, and it will go nice with the romantic meal.” He gave me the puppy dog eyes.

Yeah, I was not falling for that. 

I dropped back down onto the rug. “I don’t really drink wine, so it’s no bother to me if we don’t have any.” I closed my eyes, hoping it would put an end to the conversation. Despite my eyes being closed, I knew he was still standing beside me. He wasn’t giving up on his quest for wine so easily.

“Well I would go myself, but I’m the one doing the cooking.” His voice sounded slightly irritated. I popped open an eye to find him glaring down at me.

Was he actually joking?

The tone of his voice immediately incensed me. He was making me feel like a total arse for not going to get his precious wine.

What the hell?

A surge of anger coursed through me. “Fine,” I snapped, jumping up. I barged past him and grabbed my coat, yanking on my wellies. If he wanted wine, then he’d get his freaking wine.

“Thanks.” He smiled sweetly, oblivious to my anger. “Get a nice rosé. Take the money out my wallet in my jacket.”

I huffed at his words, not engaging him in any eye contact. I grabbed his wallet and charged out. I slammed the door hard without a backward glance.

Storming through the front door forty-five minutes later, I fiercely shook the droplets off my face. The warm air embraced me again reminding me of my previous relaxed state.

Joel walked through from the kitchen, wiping his hands on the tea towel. “Someone’s a little wet,” he remarked. He chuckled as his eyes took in the state of me.

“You think.” I held up my hands, exasperated by his lack of compassion. I barged by him, banging the wine down hard on the kitchen table and headed to the bathroom to grab a towel.

I ripped my coat off and hung it over the shower rail, leaving it to drip dry. I rubbed my face vigorously with the towel to inject some warmth back into it. My jeans had almost bonded to my skin. I dragged them down my legs unable to bear the sensation a moment longer.

Walking back through in just a T-shirt, I dropped down onto the rug. I was almost sitting on top of the gas fire to kick-start the circulation through my body. I ran my hands up and down my legs, rubbing life back into them as my teeth incessantly chattered with the cold.

Joel walked through with my pyjamas and frowned when he saw me curled up in a fetal position. I didn’t speak. I didn’t trust anything that came out of my mouth. I just snatched them out of his hands. His frown deepened, and for a moment, he looked like he was going to say something. Then thought better of it and silently returned to the kitchen.

Twenty minutes baking in front of the fire, I was thoroughly defrosted and back to being toasty. But my mood remained glacial. I was still pissed at being drowned in the rain for something so unimportant.

Chivalry was well and truly dead.

Joel shouted that dinner was ready. I huffed pushing myself off the floor, slowly making my way to the dinner table. My mood was diminishing my appetite by the second.

“Hungry?” he asked smiling.

“Hmmm,” was all I replied, staring down at my cutlery. I knew his eyes were locked on me, but I chose to ignore them.

He placed the steak down in front of me, which looked delicious. I felt a small pang of guilt. I knew he’d gone to the trouble of preparing this, but it wasn’t enough to snap me out of my mood.

“Tuck in,” he said smiling warmly. I didn’t reciprocate back. I picked up my cutlery and stared down at my plate, concentrating on the food as we sat eating in complete silence.

Joel stood up to go open the wine, grabbing the corkscrew from the drawer. His eyes locked on me again. “Do you want a glass?” he asked, filling up his own.

Quite frankly I’d rather drink poison.

“No, thanks.” I shook my head, spearing another potato with my fork.

“Are you sure? It tastes good. It will go nice with the steak.” His attempts at charming me just left me cold.

I glared at him and bounced up off my seat to fill a glass with water. He frowned but said nothing. I’d managed to eat the steak and Joel’s special sauce was delicious, but I was not in a complimentary mood to boost his ego. I picked at the remainder of my vegetables, using them as a distraction so I didn’t have to converse with him.

“Finished?” he asked, starting to clear away to load the dishwasher.

“Yep,” was all I could manage. I held the plate out to him and avoided his gaze.

His eyes watched me carefully, but I ignored them. “Are you ready for dessert?” He pulled out some bowls from the cupboard, retrieving the cream from the fridge.

“No, I’m good thanks.” I started chewing on my nail to distract myself. The awkward tension filling the room was enough to make me want to escape.

A frown crossed his face at my response. “But I made some brownies, and I know they are your favourite.” He looked at me wounded by my response.

It was true, I loved brownies and technically I was cutting off my nose to spite my face, but the mood I was in he could stick them where the sun didn’t shine.

Deciding I’d had enough of this evening, I stood up. “I’m going to bed,” I announced, walking towards the bedroom.

“You can’t,” he snapped after me.

I spun round in anger. “Why the hell not?” My eyes flashed in outrage. He was in no position to tell me what to do right at this very moment.

“Look, I know you’re pissed that I sent you out in the rain for the wine, but you’ll soon see why.” He moved to hug me, but I shrugged him off. I couldn’t bear him being close to me when I was this mad.

“Joel, I’m tired. I’ve had enough of your games tonight, I’m off to bed. ’Night.” I stormed off before he had the chance to speak. I needed some time by myself, hating the fact he couldn’t even allow me that luxury.

I flung open the door and gasped, stopping dead at the sight before me. Rose petals had lovingly been scattered over the bed, and in the centre he had arranged a heart. The whole room was lit with over fifty candles, giving off a gorgeous, warm, romantic glow. The vanilla aroma was so deliciously intoxicating as it filled my head. I smiled at the fact he had remembered it was my favourite scent.

He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me back into his chest. “Surprise,” he whispered in my ear.

Oh god, I was a complete and total bitch.

“So this is why you sent me to the shops, to get me out of the way?” I whispered, choked up by his romantic display of affection.

“Yeah, sorry about the rain, I wouldn’t have sent you if I’d known it would be torrential.” He softly brushed his lips against my neck. “I wanted tonight to be special.”

I turned around to face him, raising an eyebrow in surprise. “What tonight’s, the night?” I asked, searching his eyes.

His thumb gently swept over my cheek as his eyes lovingly stared into mine. “I hope so, that’s if you want to?” He frowned a little as if preparing himself for rejection.

I grabbed his face, kissing him hard on the lips. To convey all my emotion into one kiss. “Of course, I want you so bad.”

He visibly relaxed at my words and slowly walked me over to the bed. When my legs hit the side I sat down, watching in awe. He stepped back, pulling off his shirt. Just a glimpse of that gorgeous, toned, hard chest, was enough to make me lose all control. My eyes greedily took in every muscle; he was truly perfection.

He smiled gauging my approval.  “Like what you see?” His eyes pierced deep into mine, waiting for a reply.

“Always,” I breathed, biting my lip. I was just about ready to combust into flames, and he hadn’t even touched me yet.

He slowly peeled off his jeans and stood in just his boxers. My eyes took in every inch of him before resting on his gorgeous thighs. Years of playing football and hitting the gym had built them up to gladiator style proportion. All I wanted to do was run my tongue over them, spending hours kissing every inch.

I could see how turned on he was, the bulge in his pants growing increasingly bigger. My mouth grew dry in anticipation at what was about to happen.

My heart was beating outside my chest as I reminded myself over and over to breathe. I slowly started unbuttoning my pyjama top, my eyes never leaving his once, building the tension. I painstakingly reached the last button and let it fall open to reveal my bra.

His eyes dropped down, taking me all in. I watched his chest heavily rising and falling. He slowly licked his lips, and the look of hunger in his eyes sent a shiver throughout my body.

At this moment in time, I would do anything for this man. He made me feel so sexy just from the way he was staring at me. I felt my impatience growing deep inside.

I needed his hands on me now.

I quickly closed the distance between us, my pyjama top glided down my arms, dropping down to the floor. My arms wrapped around his neck, and I grabbed a handful of his silky rich hair, pulling him down onto my lips.

His fingers gently skimmed down my back. I gasped with the sensation when his hands grabbed both bum cheeks, lifting me up.

My legs instinctively wrapped around his waist, and he carried me over to the bed, gently laying me down. His fingers quickly divested me of my pyjama bottoms, leaving me exposed, lying in just my bra and knickers. My natural instinct was to instantly cover myself up, the self-conscious part of me wanting to hide. His eyes devoured every inch of my body, the look of hunger mixed with lust was enough to break me from my inhibitions.

Pushing myself up, I quickly unhooked my bra, it leisurely fell down onto my lap. His eyes left mine, resting on my small pert breasts. I flung the bra to the floor and lay back down, panting hard to drag some air through my lungs.

Joel crawled over in an exaggerated slow motion. I gasped when he lay down fully on top of me, his warm skin pressing tightly against mine. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered. His lips gently teased mine before dropping down to place tender kisses along my neck. I closed my eyes and moaned softly, enjoying his slow, sweet, feather light kisses. Each one leaving a tingling trail of sensation as he torturously made his way down to my breasts.

I bit my lip hard when he tenderly teased each nipple with his tongue. He sucked, lapped and kissed, making me groan loudly, till they became fully erect. I gasped with the torturous sensation, his touch sending me over the edge. My eyes were screwed tight in concentration, the pleasure was overwhelming. I never wanted it to end. I wanted to be locked in this state of bliss forever.

I whimpered when he left my breasts and kissed his way down, leisurely dipping his tongue deep inside my belly button.

My breathing began to grow shallow, and my skin tingled in anticipation the lower he went. He torturously ran his tongue lightly along the top of the fabric, leaving my body almost breathless. My eyes automatically sprung open in surprise the moment he stopped. I achingly willed him to continue with his sweet torture.

Pushing myself up on to my elbows, my eyes connected with his. I was instantly floored by his intense lustful stare. His eyes were filled with an intense fire, desire radiated through him as he waited for my signal to go ahead.

I gave him a smile, nodding my approval. I lay back down and closed my eyes in anticipation, waiting for him to reach the place I yearned for him the most.

His warm fingertips skimmed along my hips as his firm hands gently peeled away my underwear. I lifted my hips, gasping at the sensation as the soft, satin slowly glided down my leg.

A soft moan escaped from me when his lips brushed against the inside of my thighs. My hand dropped down to his hair, and my fingers wrapped around the silky, soft strands, guiding him to where I needed him to be. My legs automatically spread wider, allowing him more access and a smile touched my lips hearing him growl his approval.