Ian (Las Vegas Sidewinders Book 15), page 15
“Perfect,” Everly responded. “Email them to me when you’re done so I have an idea what to work on next.”
“Will do. Good night. Nice to meet you, Ian.”
“Likewise.” Ian smiled as Everly disconnected. “She’s lovely and Gracie is adorable.”
“Yeah, they’re my girls.” She turned. “I feel bad that I’ve left her alone for a whole month, but it’s happening a lot more these days because my career is taking off and hers…well, she’s a great writer and journalist, but she can’t travel much because of Gracie so she’s limited with what she can do. Whenever something local comes up, I stay home with Gracie so she can go, but usually it’s me off doing the fun stuff.”
“I guess that’s a sacrifice you make when you have a child,” he said quietly. “It’s not your responsibility.”
“I know, but I promised to help her and now it feels like I’m starting to do my own thing.”
“Isn’t Gracie’s father involved at all?”
She shook her head. “We don’t know where he is. She could go to court and find him probably, but she doesn’t really have the money for an attorney, and she’s afraid that if he starts to send money, he’ll also want to spend time with her.”
“He’s still her father, even though he’s an ass. Was he always an ass or just about the pregnancy?”
“Always.” Everly grimaced. “I tried so hard to get Margot to break things off with him, but she was in love. Right up until he told her to get rid of the baby or he was leaving.”
“And she doesn’t date?”
“Not really. A few guys, but most guys our age don’t want to take on another guy’s kid, you know?”
“She’s pretty,” he said thoughtfully. “I can’t believe she can’t find a nice guy who wouldn’t mind being a father to Gracie. I wonder if Dax would like her…”
“Don’t you dare do that to poor Isla!” She laughed, smacking him on the arm.
“I don’t think he returns her feelings, if you’re right about that. He’s never said a word to me.”
“Really?” She folded her arms across her chest. “You think he would tell you if he had a hard-on for your twin sister?”
He winced. “No, I guess not. All right, enough of that. Ready to go?”
“I was born ready.”
24
Inverness had its own charm and history, and Everly was as enthralled with it as she’d been with Edinburgh. Primeval oak forests and rugged landscapes sparked her creativity and had her daydreaming about lush moors and hillsides laden with purple heather. However, she was spectacularly distracted by the gorgeous Scot who followed her around carrying her equipment, drove her places, took her to incredible restaurants, and played tourist with her. He seemed to get a kick out of her love of old castles and when they got to the ruins of Urquhart Castle, she stood and stared for a long time before starting to take any photos.
The castle looked out onto Loch Ness, so they climbed to the top, where she could get the best view. The sun was shining, despite her wish for it to be a gloomy day, and it was one of her favorite places ever, despite the state of the ruins.
“So, what do you think?” Ian asked her. “Will we see Nessie today?”
She arched a brow. “Have you seen Nessie before?”
“Of course I have.”
She laughed. “Okay. You let me know if you see him.”
“Her.”
“What? How do you know it’s a her? It’s a monster.”
“A female monster.”
“I don’t believe you.”
He chuckled. “Well, can’t blame a lad for trying.”
“Are you telling me you charmed her out of hiding?” She was laughing.
“Maybe I did. Some women like me.”
“Now that I believe.”
“Let’s take some pictures of us together,” he suggested, sliding an arm around her neck and lifting his phone. “I think the only ones we have together are from when we did the ghost tour and then the last night the boys were in town, but those were all group shots.”
“We can take selfies.” She leaned into his shoulder and smiled as he snapped photos with both the lake and the castle in the background. What she really wanted to do was shoot pictures of him. He was so good-looking, she had a feeling he would be model-gorgeous in the photographs she’d already taken. Maybe she could get him looking to the side, from the back, or something that wouldn’t show his face, for the book. He probably wouldn’t want his face shown but he might agree to something more discreet.
“Hey, Ian…” She spoke quietly as they strolled around the grounds hand in hand.
“Hmm?” He glanced at her.
“Will you let me shoot you?”
“With a gun?” he countered, giving her an impish grin.
“With my camera, silly.”
“If you want.”
“Yeah?” Her heart skipped a beat from excitement. “Really?”
He gave her a funny look. “Sure. Why wouldn’t I?”
“I don’t know. You seem pretty modest about your looks and success and all of that, so I wasn’t sure how you’d feel doing this kind of thing.”
“In general, I wouldn’t, but for you…” He leaned over to kiss her. “All you have to do is ask. And you did.”
“Stand over there.” She pointed. “And look away, toward the water.”
He was an easy subject, following her commands without question, as if used to taking direction. He was elegant in front of a camera too, with his strong jawline, perfect profile and incredible body. She knew every inch of him now, from his rock-hard ass to his muscular thighs and flat stomach, but even in jeans and a polo shirt, there was no mistaking the perfection of his physique.
“Lean back,” she called to him. “Rest your elbows behind you on the edge of the wall.”
He moved easily, giving her a lazy smile. The bastard knew how much she was enjoying this. Hell, he probably knew how much it turned her on, though there was no way for him to know this had never happened before. She didn’t take pictures of models or even people, in general, with the exception of Gracie. This was something new, and extremely personal, because she’d always wondered if she would have the same knack with people as she did with objects and scenery. She wouldn’t know for sure until she uploaded them onto her computer, but she was good at what she did, and she had a feeling they were wonderful.
“Can I take some of you?” he asked after she’d taken at least five hundred photographs of him.
“Sure.” She laughed and struck a pose.
“No, I mean with your camera. Like you’ve been taking of me.”
She grimaced. “Oh, but I’ve been out in the wind all day and my hair is in a ponytail. I barely have any makeup on…”
“I’ve been in the wind all day and I don’t have any makeup on at all,” he countered.
“But you’re a guy and you have two inches of hair on your head. I have over a foot and it’s tangled and gnarly.”
“I don’t think it is.” He reached for her camera. “I think you’re beautiful. Please?”
It would be ridiculous of her to say no, considering how long he’d indulged her, so she grudgingly handed it over. “Please put the strap over your neck,” she said gently. “I’m super protective of Claude.”
“Claude? Your camera has a name and you chose Claude?”
“After Monet,” she said defensively. “My favorite classic artist.”
He dipped his head in acknowledgement, dropping the strap over his head and letting the camera dangle from his neck. “My apologies. I don’t think I’ve ever known a photographer that named his or her camera.”
“How many professional photographers do you know?” she asked, laughing.
She didn’t realize he was snapping photos for a few minutes and then she scowled. “Really? All this free-form stuff of me talking and moving?”
“Hey, I posed exactly the way you wanted me to, and now I’m taking photos of you the way I want to see you—very natural.”
She raised her hands in surrender. “You’re right. Sorry. Now what?”
“Shake your hair loose of the ponytail.”
She opened her mouth to protest but that wouldn’t be fair. She would delete the really bad ones, whether he liked it or not, so she slowly pulled out her ponytail holder, shaking out her hair as she did it.
“Don’t smile. Give me that look you give me when I’m about to make love to you.”
Her cheeks probably turned red, but in the sunlight he wouldn’t be able to tell and she swallowed hard, trying to channel the sex kitten that lived deep inside of her. She didn’t let her out very often, and usually only in private, but she would try for Ian. She licked her lips and thought about the night before. The way it looked when his blond head was buried between her legs, the way he made her scream his name when he got her off.
“That’s it,” he coaxed. “Toss your hair.”
She turned involuntarily, her body moving on its own, seeking out a certain naughty pleasure from doing something she’d never done before. She held up a finger, indicating he should wait, and leaned down to grab her sunglasses. Her lipstick was buried in a side pocket of her backpack, but she found the tube and painted her lips a rich red. Then she put the sunglasses on and turned to him, a come-hither look on her face as she crooked her finger at him.
“Bloody hell,” he muttered.
She heard the shutter clicking but she was in the zone, thinking about Ian and the many times they’d made love over the last week or two. How he made her feel both inside and out. How hard she was falling for him.
“Okay, Christie, we’ve got to get back to the boat.”
“Christie?” She frowned.
“Brinkley.”
She snorted. “Not hardly, but thanks. That was fun.”
“It was amazing. I can’t wait to see the shots I took of you on the computer.”
“Ditto.”
Ian hadn’t planned to take pictures of Everly, but there’d been no doubt she’d enjoyed taking pictures of him, so his thought had only been to have a little fun by turning the tables on her. Instead, it turned him on and gave him all kinds of naughty thoughts for other pictures they could take. Not sex videos or anything like that, but maybe something more intimate and a tad bit sexier. Definitely not nude. He wasn’t that kind of guy and would never ask that of any woman, much less one he was involved with, but boudoir-style photos sounded fun and he had a feeling she’d say yes. Hell, he hated having his picture taken but he’d told her yes without a second thought.
He was definitely falling in love and it wasn’t nearly as scary as he’d once thought it would be. Watching his friends and teammates do it was always a little intimidating, seeing how much of themselves they gave to another person, but now that it was happening, it felt natural. He was even beginning to understand Zaan’s devotion to a woman who, though she said she loved him, couldn’t be with him for some reason.
They had dinner in Inverness and then made their way to Tulloch Castle, where they’d been staying the last two nights. It was a hotel now, but had once been claimed by both the Bains and later the Clan Davidson. It dated back to the twelfth century and Everly had been as enchanted with the idea of sleeping in a nine-hundred-year-old castle as much as he’d imagined she would be. He was fairly enchanted as well, both with the history of his country as seen through her eyes and, quite simply, with her.
“What a wonderful day,” she said as they climbed the stairs to their room.
“I enjoyed it as well. Though I have to say I’m enjoying every day we spend together.”
“Me too.”
They got to their room and she kicked off her shoes, sprawling out on the bed. “I thought I might do a little editing tonight, but I’m tired.”
“I was thinking tomorrow we take it easy,” he said. “We’ve been on the go almost constantly. It’s calling for rain anyway, and I was thinking we could spend the day here. You could do some edits, I could catch up on email and a few things my grandfather asked me to do…and then we could spend the rest of the time in bed.”
The look she gave him made his dick hard. Well, to be fair, everything she did made him hard, but that look, the one where her eyes got a little darker and she unconsciously licked her lips, well, he’d never have to work again if he could bottle that up and sell it.
“We could go to bed now,” she said, pulling off her top.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
25
Everly woke up early and slid out of bed. Ian was still asleep but the rain had woken her and now she was wide awake. There was a chair by the window and she figured it would be the perfect time to upload her photos from the last couple of days and see what there was to see. She also needed to see the pictures she’d taken of Ian. She didn’t want to wake him, so she was quiet in the bathroom and then tiptoed to get her computer and the memory card out of her camera. She inserted it into the computer and watched the photos upload.
She worked quietly, pausing every so often to glance over at the bed where Ian was sprawled on his stomach, sleeping deeply. He was one of those people who really liked to sleep, and though he would get up if he had somewhere to be, if he didn’t, he was all about sleep. She was used to not getting a lot because of both Gracie and her freelance work. It took her on location, working odd hours, so she’d learned to adjust. As a professional athlete, Ian needed a lot more sleep. And she really liked sleeping with him. Hell, she liked him, period. It felt like he liked her too, which made her happier than she’d been in her entire life.
She pulled up the pictures she’d taken of him and began going through them one by one. She’d taken over two hundred, but there were a bunch that were blurry or just not usable and she deleted those. Then she dug in, looking for the pictures that would speak to her. She usually knew right away when a picture was going to be good, but with these, she would look at them all carefully, pick them apart with her professional photographer’s eye. She wasn’t selling these, but she might use one in the book, if it had the vibe she was looking for. If he said it was okay.
And there it was. Her breath caught as she enlarged it on her screen. He was looking away, his profile on display, one hand in his pocket, the other resting on one of the old, crumbling walls of the Urquhart Castle, the sun beginning to get a little lower in the sky. She’d been down below, shooting pictures of him on the second level. The castle wasn’t intact anymore, without a roof and only some of the walls still standing, so she’d gotten great shots from all the different angles.
This brought out not just her creative side but a romantic side she’d mostly kept hidden. She hadn’t had the luxury of fantasizing about romance, falling in love, none of it. She lived her life as someone else, as a platonic mate for Margot and a second mom to Gracie. Aside from Margot, her mother and her stepfather, no one knew who she was or who her father was. And she’d kept it that way out of necessity. Now she was going to have to make some hard decisions about telling Ian the truth.
They were just getting close, though. They’d reached a point in their relationship where she felt the pull to explore more, to see if this could be something more than a summer fling. They hadn’t talked about anything like that, but she felt it, and he did too. He’d been pretty clear that he wanted more, with his comments about how she kept holding back her emotions. For him to notice, he had to like her, care about her, want the things she wanted. Or at least want to find out if they could make it work.
“Whatcha doin?” His voice startled her and she jumped.
“Good morning.” She put her laptop aside and moved back to the bed, crawling across it and resting on top of him.
“Why didn’t you wake me?”
“You like to sleep and I’m used to surviving on five or six hours.”
“Not good for you. Your body needs time to rest and heal, even when you’re not sick or injured. Sleep is when your body rebuilds and rejuvenates.”
“I know, but it started when Gracie was born. Margot couldn’t do it all alone, and we both had to work, so I got used to it. Now it’s just a habit. I sleep eight hours once a week or so, and that’s fine.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “You wouldn’t know how to relax if it bit you on the arse, eh?”
“I don’t know about that… I feel pretty relaxed.”
“Come back to bed.”
“It’s time to get up,” she teased, licking his neck. “I was thinking about coffee, though I kind of like how you taste too.”
“Mm-hmm.” He dug his fingers into her hair. “And I like how you taste.” He nibbled her lips, teasing her with his full, sexy mouth until she forgot all about edits and photos, who her father was, or anything but him. This happened every time he touched her and no matter how intimate they’d been the last couple of weeks, her need for him only seemed to grow. She alternated between falling madly in love with him and then trying to hold back, keep her emotions in check. Times like this, she failed miserably at the latter.
“Time to try something new,” he whispered.
“Oh, yeah?” She met his gaze with curiosity. “Like what?”
“Do ye trust me, lass?”
“Of course.”
“I don’t just mean with lovemaking, but do you trust me not to hurt you, to make you feel good even if we get a little…kinky?”
She frowned slightly. “Kinky how? I mean, I’m not into anything crazy.”
“Nothing crazy,” he said, reaching over the side of the bed and pulling out a little black satchel. “Just tell me you’re willing to let me try something we haven’t done before.”
“I, um, have never done anal and I don’t think you can just jump right to it…” Her heart started to pound a little harder than usual.
He shook his head. “Nothing like that. We’d definitely have to work up to that. I’m talking about restraints.”
“Oh.” She relaxed. “You want to tie me up?”
