Текст книги "Echoes of Scotland Street"
Автор книги: Samantha Young
Соавторы: Samantha Young
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CHAPTER 20
I t was surreal.
I’d never imagined I would ever be surrounded by so much beauty.
Yet there it was all around me.
The lake glistened under the unbending sun, finding pockets of shade only in the shadows cast by the surrounding mountains. Villas and hotels dotted the edges of the lake and mountainsides in bursts of white, yellows, rusts, and red in the tiles of the roofs. Cypress trees framed stunning, luxury homes on the lakeside, and the lush greens and simple, romantic Italian architecture created this Eden of peace and tranquility. Ferries crossed the lake, as did speedboats and Jet Skis in lazy leisure under the heat of the sun.
Sweat and suntan lotion shimmered on my skin, and I found a slight relief from the hot, late-July sun as a small breeze from the lake whispered over me.
The villa Joss and Braden owned on Lake Como was by the water in Menaggio. It was a four-bedroom villa with its own private pool. It wasn’t until we arrived at it that I fully grasped how loaded the Carmichaels were. And how differently the other half lived . . .
I smiled out at the water.
For a while I was getting a taste of it.
Water splashed and I looked to my left as Cole climbed out of the pool. It was an understatement to say I enjoyed the way droplets of water rolled down his rock-hard abs. We’d been here only two days and already Cole’s skin was turning a gorgeous golden brown. He smiled over at me as he dried himself off with a towel. “If you can tear yourself away from that painting, we could jump on a ferry. See the rest of the lake.”
I bit my lip, wanting to do nothing more, but I was anxious to get work done. “I only have a few days to put together a couple of pieces.”
“Why don’t you put together the bare bones and when we get home you can fill in the rest with that gorgeous imagination of yours?” He stopped where I’d set up my easel and stool. “It looks wonderful.”
“Thank you.” My eyes traveled up his stomach, taking their time until they reached his face. A small smug smile played on his lips. “Shut up.”
He laughed. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You know you’re good-looking and you’re using it to distract me.”
Cole scratched his brow, appearing to struggle not to laugh again. “All I did was ask you if you wanted to take a break.”
“And then you put those in my face.” I pointed the end of my paintbrush at his abs.
“Welcome to my world,” he said, his voice suddenly gruff. “That bikini . . .”
I glanced down at the white bikini I was wearing. It was a hot bikini. I’d spent the last two weeks shopping for clothes for this holiday and that included a couple of skimpy bikinis. I knew Cole would look good in Saran Wrap, so I was determined to feel sexy at his side.
I felt sexy in this bikini.
It was my turn to smile smugly.
Chuckling, Cole slid his hand across the back of my bare neck and gently squeezed. My hair was piled haphazardly on top of my head. Its length and thickness were a bit of a bother in warm weather. “Come exploring with me?” he said, pressing a sweet kiss to my mouth.
There really was no way to say no to that.
* * *
“Okay, we’re doing this every day,” I said, closing my eyes beneath my sunglasses against the breeze that blew over us. The ferry slowly made its way across the lake. The relief the lake breeze brought from the heat was beyond delightful.
“And you wanted to stay at the villa and paint,” Cole teased.
I opened my eyes to look at his smiling, handsome face. I imagined his green eyes were laughing at me underneath his Ray-Ban shades. “I still can’t believe you brought me to Italy for my birthday.” I gestured across the water. “We can see the Alps.”
“And?”
I shrugged, looking away, pretending to peruse the massive villa near the town of Bellagio, which was our destination. “Nothing . . . I just . . . It’s a big deal for a couple who have only been dating a few months and yet . . .” I trailed off on another shrug.
“And yet?” Cole prompted.
I glanced back at him, my heart quickening. “It feels like some kind of dream and yet at the same time . . .” The blood beneath my cheeks grew hot despite the breeze. “I don’t remember anything ever feeling more real.”
Cole was quiet, which only made my heart elevate from a quickening pace to pounding.
“Jesus, Shannon,” he finally said, his voice thick, “I wish you would say these things in private.”
Hurt and confused, I looked out at the water.
“In private.” He grabbed my hand and pulled my body toward his as he leaned down to whisper in my ear, “I can show my appreciation the way I really want to.”
Reassured, I sagged into him. “You can always give me a taste of that appreciation. I doubt the Italians will be shocked by a little PDA.”
Cole accepted that invitation . . . for the rest of the day. While we walked up the steep, cobbled steps and lanes in Bellagio, while we sauntered along the lakeside in the gardens of the Villa Melzi, and even when I spent most of my time balking at the prices of designer clothes and handbags, Cole showed me his appreciation. Holding me, kissing me, cuddling me—the guy was feeling mighty tactile. I didn’t mind a bit.
“You should have bought that dress if you liked it,” Cole said, swinging my hand playfully as we walked across the street toward the ferry dock. It was nearing the end of the afternoon and we were all Bellagio-ed out for the day.
“It cost half my monthly wage.” I shook my head. “I’d have to be head over heels in love with a dress before I’d spend that kind of money. Even then . . .”
“You don’t need it anyway,” he assured me, his eyes running the length of me. “What you’re wearing is working just fine.”
I had on a white cotton sundress over my white bikini.
He let go of my hand to brush his fingers over my shoulder. “You got a lot of color today. We better put after-sun on you when we get back.”
Always taking care of me.
I beamed at him and he blinked in surprise.
“What? What did I do?”
I shook my head, my smile turning secretive. Cole shook his head too, amused by my girlishness.
“Looks like the ferry is going to be another five or so minutes,” he said as he stopped at the end of a long line of people who were waiting on the dock. He looked over his shoulder and grinned like a little boy. “There’s an ice cream parlor.”
“Then let’s get ice cream.”
He tugged on my hand and we hurried across the street before two guys on mopeds hit us. Inside the heavenly air-conditioned ice cream parlor, I studied Cole in growing delight as he bit down on his thumb and stared at all the ice cream flavors with this studious pinch between his eyebrows.
I struggled not to laugh at his adorableness. “Having trouble choosing?”
Expression still serious, he nodded, eyes not leaving the ice cream for one second. “Do you know what you want?”
You, you, you!
I choked back the desire to yell that and throw my arms around him. “I’m thinking chocolate and caramel.”
“Hmm . . . why don’t we get a three-scoop cone?”
My lips twitched. “Okay. What would you like?” My eyes rose to the older woman behind the counter, who was smiling at Cole like she found him just as charming as I did. The endearing guy who was excited about eating ice cream on a hot day was so at odds with his looks. He was wearing a white T-shirt that showed off his muscular, tattooed arms and neck, and a pair of long shorts with flip-flops. For once he was clean-shaven, but his hair was as messy as ever. He looked less bad boy than he normally did, but still . . .
“I’m thinking lemon and lime, watermelon, and strawberry.”
“You keep your fruits.” I nudged him with my hip. “I’ll have the chocolate and caramel, the mint chocolate chip, and the double chocolate chip.”
Once we had our cones we dug into them right away, moaning at the creamy flavors that cooled us down temporarily.
“Here.” Cole tipped his cone down to me. “Try the strawberry.”
I took a lick and instantly wished I’d chosen it. “Gorgeous.” I held my cone up to him and he bent down to take a lick and ended up getting chocolate all over his nose. I giggled and gestured with my free hand for him to bend his head. As soon as he did I licked his nose, laughing while he tried to take another taste of my cone and got more around his lips rather than in his mouth.
We stood on the pavement, laughing and kissing ice cream off each other, uncaring we were acting like teenagers in public. We had such a carry-on with those cones we almost missed the ferry.
Running down the gangway, we caught up with the rest of the tourists and residents who were shuffling across the iron plank to get onto the ferry.
“I wish we could stay here forever,” I said, filled with longing.
Cole squeezed my hand in answer and I realized as I looked up at him standing next to me that I’d never been so happy in my whole entire life.
Somehow I managed to swallow the sound of my indrawn breath at that startling revelation. Dazed, I absentmindedly held out my ticket to a guy dressed in a crisp white ferry uniform.
“Inglese, yes?” he suddenly said.
I blinked up at him, distantly taking in his handsome dark looks. “Scottish.”
“Scozzese.” He grinned, his dark eyes glittering appreciatively. “All such beautiful women, yes?”
Cole’s hand tightened on mine and I was tugged none too gently into his side. The ferry worker gave Cole a taunting smile and waved us onto the ferry. I could feel the Italian’s eyes burning into my back while the hand Cole was gripping was almost numb from his fierce hold.
“You can ease up there,” I said as we took our seat in the back of the ferry. Unfortunately all the seats outside were taken, so we were trapped inside. It was like an oven.
“Fucking Italians,” Cole muttered under his breath.
“Tony’s Italian,” I reminded him. “He’s always coming on to me.”
The muscle in his jaw ticked. “Yeah, with no intention of ever trying to fuck you. If that prick could have fucked you with his eyes, he would have.”
“It’s not a big deal.” I frowned, surprised by how pissed off he was.
At my placating tone, Cole shoved his sunglasses up onto his head and glowered at me. “It’s always a big deal when a man comes on to a woman in front of the man she’s clearly with. It’s like asking for a fist in his face.”
“Which we all know you could land quite easily.” I brushed my fingers over the fist he’d made subconsciously. “But there wouldn’t be any point since a million men could come on to me and I’d still only want you.” I rubbed his hand soothingly. “It’s not like you to take these things to heart.”
It was Cole’s turn to frown as he realized the truth in my words. It wasn’t like him to get worked up over something that was really trivial at the end of the day. He looked away from me, but not before I saw the muscle in his jaw flex.
The ferry had begun moving away from the dock when Cole said so softly I almost didn’t hear him, “It’s because it was you.” He turned to meet my gaze, his heated. “What are you doing to me, Shannon?”
My breath caught.
Finally I whispered, “Exactly what you’re doing to me.”
* * *
That evening we returned to the villa to shower and dress for the evening. Joss and Braden had recommended a restaurant up in the hills of the neighboring town of Tremezzo. They knew the owners and had booked a table for us in advance. They’d also left us with the number of a taxi driver since they were few and far between in the area.
Dressed in a cool, flowing turquoise blue maxi dress that contrasted nicely against my hair, I felt that feeling of utter contentment come over me as I clasped Cole’s hand and let him lead me up the stone slab steps to the restaurant. He was dressed in a white dress shirt and black trousers—effortlessly stylish. He also smelled amazing. The restaurant was beautiful, built in the style of a Swiss chalet, and as the friendly owner led us out into the garden to a table that had the most breathtaking view of the lake, I almost felt like crying.
This place, with this man at my side, was all too good to be true.
In the romantic setting, as I watched the sun slowly lower behind the mountains, my skin prickled—and not with growing chill. The air around Cole and me was electric, and I knew he was feeling all that I’d been feeling today. Despite the headiness between us, we managed to have a fun—and thick with innuendos—conversation while we indulged in the most astounding food I’d ever eaten. Everything just tasted so much more delicious here than it did back home. The vegetables, the fruit . . . all of it was bursting with flavor.
Allowing our food to settle, we sipped at our wine and looked out over the lake.
“Thank you for bringing me here. It’s beyond anything I’ve ever experienced before.”
Cole reached for my hand. “Thank you for coming with me.”
Our eyes met and the electricity that had been sparking between us all night crackled.
“Let’s go back to the villa,” I said, the words coming out thick.
On the return trip I forced myself to try to find my equilibrium. I was likely to explode into a million different pieces if I didn’t try to control what I was feeling for Cole.
As soon as we walked into the villa, my gaze locked on the pool glittering in the moonlight outside the sitting room. “Let’s go for a swim,” I suggested, thinking it might cool me down. I half suspected it was the heat that was making me feel so discombobulated.
“A swim?” Cole sounded confused, but I was already heading into the bedroom to grab a bikini. Cole had disappeared while I changed and I was out in the pool by the time he appeared in his swim shorts, carrying two cold beers.
I smiled at him as he lowered himself into the pool. “Good thinking,” I said, taking the proffered beer.
We sipped in silence for a while, gazing up at the starry sky.
“Why are we in the pool?” Cole asked, amusement in his voice.
I swallowed hard, unable to look at him. “Because I needed to cool down before I injured either you or myself tackling you to the ground.”
“Huh. A relaxing dip in the pool or tackled by a gorgeous redhead.” He slanted me a mock-confused look. “Are you sure you understand men?”
I laughed and nudged him with my elbow.
In response Cole took the beer out of my hand and put it on the flagstone bordering the pool. “What are you doing?” I asked.
He answered me by turning to me with a determination in his gaze I recognized. My pulse started to race and I—
Cole pushed me back against the edge of the pool, his mouth devouring mine as he lifted my legs around his waist and ground his hips into me. I clung to his neck, pressing into him, kissing him back just as voraciously. Our tongues licked and tangled and tasted as the normally placid water sloshed against the sides of the pool.
Cold air covered my breasts as Cole deftly untied the string behind my neck and pulled it loose. I felt him swell against me as my nipples puckered up for him. He groaned deep in his throat moments before he bent down to suck my left nipple into his hot mouth, playing the right with his thumb. Heat began to build between my legs as he tormented me with his mouth and fingers until I was writhing against him.
The entire day had been leading toward this, and any control or patience I had was gone. I smoothed my hands down his back until I reached the waistline of his shorts and tugged.
Panting, Cole lifted his head from my chest to meet my gaze. His voice was hoarse. “I don’t have a condom.”
I smiled, my eyes bright with emotion. “We don’t need one.”
Cole froze against me, processing my words, the expression on my face, and what it all meant.
I trusted him.
He let out the gust of air he’d been holding and sank against me, his mouth slamming down on mine. If I’d thought our kiss before had been wild, it had nothing on this one. Kissing him and panting for breath at the same time, I gripped Cole tight with my legs while he quickly removed his shorts. I loosened my hold so he could take off my bikini bottoms. They floated off into the water as Cole smoothed his hands along my thighs, my hips, and around to my bottom. He lifted me easily in the water, his cock prodding against my entrance.
My inner thighs trembled and my fingers dug into Cole’s biceps with the fierceness of my anticipation.
The cry of exultation from both our lips flew up into the night sky as Cole slid inside me. Those cries, like birds, were followed by the feathers of softer, broken cries that fluttered up in their wake upon his slow, excruciatingly wonderful thrusts inside me. He teased and tortured us both.
“Cole,” I begged against his lips. “Please.”
“What do you want?” he panted. “Tell me what you want.”
I kissed him. “Harder,” I whispered, giving him everything.
His arms tightened around my waist and as he slid back inside me it was with more force than before.
“Oh God.” My head dropped back as he pumped faster and harder into me. I felt the heat inside me build toward a blaze. “I’m close.”
I barely even felt the hard edge of the pool as Cole lost the last remnants of his control and pushed me back against it so he could increase the force of his thrusts.
“Cole!” I screamed, exploding around him.
He grunted in surprise when my inner muscles clenched and unclenched around him powerfully as my orgasm rippled over me. “Shannon.” He choked out my name and tensed. A second later he groaned through gritted teeth as his hips jerked against mine.
A little while later as our senses returned, Cole pressed a sweet kiss to my lips. “Thank you,” he murmured.
I didn’t need to ask him what he was thanking me for. Instead I joked, “We’ll need to have this pool cleaned before we leave.”
His body shook against mine in the most wonderful way as his deep laughter filled the air around us.
CHAPTER 21
“W here do you think you’re going?” Ollie stared at my suitcases with a sneer.
Despite the fear snaking through my body, I jutted my chin out defiantly. “I’m leaving. We’re done. Get out of the way.”
I heard this inhuman growl, just before a blur of color streaked across my line of sight and a sudden pain slammed into my head.
Agony ripped through my right shoulder. I was dazed, and my vision kept blinking out, but I could still feel the pinching pain around my upper arms and the hot breath on my face.
Somehow I was on the floor. Ollie had me pinned there, his grip bruising my skin.
I shrieked in outrage, ignoring the throbbing ache on the left side of my head. I tried to push back against him, kicking with my legs, but my struggles were temporarily paused when he punched me in the gut.
The wind was knocked right out of me and I could do nothing but try to breathe.
Fire spread out across my cheeks from the almighty burning sting in my nose where his fist had just landed.
He pressed the right side of my face into the carpet—another kind of fire from the carpet burn streaking down my cheek. Then his weight was off me, but I took too long to realize it, turning my head to stare up at him as his foot swung into my gut.
I grunted, curling in on myself, gritting my teeth against the pain in my shoulder and the burst of pain that lit up my ribs every time he swung his boot into them.
“Mine, Shannon!” he roared. “Fucking mine!”
I felt the crack and the resultant agony, and the scream tore out of me before I could stop it.
There was nothing beyond the pain. I was barely cognizant of the crazy stuff pouring out of his mouth, about how it was us forever, only us.
It was only when I felt the cold air across my chest and the push of his hand between my legs that my survival instinct kicked in. Panic and terror rushed over me, the adrenaline kicking in, numbing the pain.
I fought. I clawed. I scratched and bit . . . but he wouldn’t get off me.
I felt him push against me. Ready to steal everything from me.
“No,” I sobbed. This wasn’t how it really ended. I had gotten away.
“You’ll never get away,” he panted in my face, his eyes turning black like a demon’s. “This is where you belong. No one wants you but me, Shannon. No one’s here but me. Not your family, not your brother. They hate you. They’ll never forgive you.” He kissed my lips gently. “But you’ll always have me.” His grip on my wrists tightened and he surged—
“No!” I cried out, my eyes slamming open in the dark.
I panted for breath as my eyes adjusted and I looked around. I was in Cole’s flat, in his bed.
“Shortcake?” his sleep-roughened voice queried from beside me.
The nightmare had been so real.
So goddamn real.
I sobbed in relief, drawing my arms up around my knees.
“What the fuck?” Cole muttered, and the bed moved as he sat up.
The light came on and he cursed again seconds before he pulled me into his arms. I fell against his chest, unable to control the sobs that felt like they were being ripped out of me.
“Shh,” he soothed, rubbing my back in comfort. “It was just a dream. You’re okay. You’re safe. You’re safe, Shannon.”
* * *
I was still feeling a little shaken as Cole returned to the bedroom carrying two mugs of tea. His hair stood up in all different directions, his lids were droopy with sleep, and he was half-naked. That was because it was only four o’clock in the morning.
But he didn’t seem to care.
He handed me a mug and climbed back into bed. He slid his free arm around my shoulders to pull me into his side while we sipped the chamomile tea I’d added to his kitchen along with a variety of other stuff a few weeks ago when he told me to make myself at home.
“A nightmare?” he said, his voice still hoarse with tiredness. “Do you get those a lot?”
“Sometimes,” I admitted. “But I haven’t had one in a while.”
I was frustrated I was having them again. Especially after our trip to Lake Como. Cole and I had reached new levels of intimacy in Italy—if anything I felt safer now than before we’d left for our trip. However, we’d returned two days ago and I’d spent most of those two days trying to shove the fact that I still hadn’t heard anything from my family out of my head despite my birthday having passed three weeks ago. And the reason I couldn’t get them out of my head was my guilt. I was so happy with Cole that it just made my remorse that much more insistent. It was plaguing me. My family was plaguing me.
“What are the dreams about?”
I sucked in a trembling breath. “Ollie’s attack. Except in the dream I don’t get away.”
The air around us crackled with Cole’s anger.
“I’m okay,” I promised.
“You’re not okay.” He put his mug down none too gently on the bedside cabinet and turned me to face him. His green eyes were more alert. Anger had bled into them. “You’re in my bed having nightmares.”
I gave him a shaky smile. “It’s not because we’re not good. You know we are. We’re so good in fact that I feel guilty all the time.”
Realization dawned. “Because of Logan.”
I nodded. “I know they told me to stay away from him, from them . . . but I thought . . . They’re my family. I thought they’d call at least.”
“Not going to lie, Shortcake. I really hope they don’t. With the exception of Logan.” He shook his head. “Why did they even bother having kids?”
I laughed bitterly. “You sound like Logan. He used to say that all the time.” I sank into Cole’s embrace and sipped on my tea. “My parents just don’t have enough love to go around. They’re not capable of it. They gave most of it to each other and we get the scraps whenever they feel like it. Logan was the only one of us they ever showed genuine interest in. Amanda and I were just a second thought.” I looked up at him, saddened by the distance in my family. “Amanda’s always hated me. I was close to Logan because we were more alike. Also, I look like Mum and Amanda doesn’t, which means my somewhat narcissistic mum spent more time with me when I was little, trying to turn me into her little duplicate. That changed when I became a teenager and started developing my own opinions and interests. Still, Amanda never really forgave me for those mother-daughter bonding moments I got and she didn’t. When I got into the clueless pattern of dating losers, Amanda loved it. It was something she could bond with my parents over.”
“I’m sorry it was like that for you,” he said softly, sincerely.
“Don’t feel sorry for me, Cole. I had my grandparents.” I grinned remembering them. “They were everything my parents were supposed to be, so I never really felt like I missed out on much. But they’re gone.” My lips quivered as my eyes filled with tears. “Logan’s gone. And for once . . . I just really want my family to care.”
“I get it,” he murmured, kissing my head. “I do. And I know it’s not the same, but you have me now. I’m not going anywhere.”
I sniffled and turned my cheek to press a kiss to his chest. “I know.”
We were quiet a moment as I sipped on my tea and attempted to calm my nerves.
“I found something that might cheer you up.”
I pulled back from him. “Oh.”
“One second.” He gently eased away and got out of bed, striding from the room. He returned a minute later holding a folded-up piece of paper in his hand. He climbed back into bed and, giving me that boyish grin of his, handed it to me.
It was a piece of cartridge paper. On it was a drawing of a comic book superheroine and a zombie. She had her hands braced on her curvy hips and she was wearing a sexy black-and-blue costume. An abundance of red wavy hair blew back from her face as she faced off against the zombie. There was a speech bubble above her: I’ll destroy you with my razor-sharp disinterest and lack of fear, slow, stupid zombie guy.
I laughed, covering my mouth in shock.
Cole tugged the drawing out of my hand. “I drew this the night after we met when we were kids. I was big into comics at the time.”
I stared at him in wonder. “You saw me as a superhero.”
He waved the paper. “Correction. A hot superhero.”
“Cole . . . you still have it?”
“Yes. And here’s the cool part.” He settled on his side, gazing at me with so much tenderness I felt full to bursting. “Jo and I were living in Cam’s apartment at that point in my life, but my mum still lived in the flat above us. We used the extra rooms in our old flat for storage. I had a lot of artwork in my old bedroom. My mum never really let up on me even after we moved out. In fact, she blamed me—said I’d turned Jo against her.”
I glowered, my blood turning instantly hot with anger. “Does Jo know that?”
“Nah. I didn’t see the point. Jo was happy and she deserved to be. I could handle Mum.”
“So she was continuing to be a bitch to you?”
“Yeah. And one day I went into the flat to pick up something, a hoodie or jacket . . . and I walked into my old bedroom and it was a wreck. Mum followed me in, looked me in the eye, nothing in her expression, and said, ‘We’ll never be even.’ She left me to go through the destruction she’d caused. She left clothes and stuff like that alone”—he curled his lip in disgust—“and she went straight for the stuff that mattered. Photographs and all my artwork.”
“All of it?” I gasped.
“Everything . . . except . . .” He lifted the comic drawing and gave me a small smile. “I found it tucked behind the radiator. It must have whipped up into the air during her frenzy and hid out there.” He shrugged, running his fingertips over it. “It felt important that it was the one thing that had escaped her. So I kept it.”
I couldn’t stop the tears that spilled down my cheeks. There was so much going on inside me. I hurt for him and what his mother had put him through. I hurt for him in a way I didn’t think was possible to hurt for another person. The thought of anyone being cruel to him tore me up inside. At the same time I was overwhelmed by the drawing and the story behind it. There was a stunning reassurance in believing that something bigger than me had always planned to give me a life as beautiful as the one I’d found with Cole Walker.
Cole sat up to brush my tears from my cheeks and he dipped his head toward mine. His lips inches from my lips, he confessed, “I love you, Shannon. I want to protect you and keep you safe. I want to be your family and to give you mine so that you never have to feel sad about anyone who is too stupid to realize they’ve let go of something so special their lives will always be a little darker for it.”
I choked back more tears, feeling too much—much too much—all of it building in my chest. I pressed my mouth against his and clung to him, pulling the calm I needed out of him. Finally, when I felt able to speak, I broke the kiss and clasped his face. I stared straight into his eyes and fought every single fear inside me. “I love you too.”
