“You be sure to let me know if you need anything, then. I could arrange a fishing trip in the boat, if you're interested. Or a tour of the arboretum at Mr. Big's estate ...”
Amber knew immediately that she hadn't hid her transparent interest in the last quickly enough, and took another desperate slurp at the bottom of her drink with a non-committal noise before she could ask any encouraging questions about what kind of plants Mr. Big grew.
“We were just leaving,” Tony said unexpectedly from her other side.
Amber looked at him in surprise and not a little delight. He sounded ... jealous. Protective. It helped that when he stood up, he towered over them, and Jimmy actually shrunk back a little in instinctive alarm.
She gladly played along, pushing back her empty glass, then impulsively grabbing the drink umbrella as she stood up. “Thanks,” she said, officially at Jimmy, but more meaningfully at Tony.
If Tony rushed her towards to the door a little with his long legs, she couldn't say that she scampered anything less than eagerly with him.
Chapter Six
The air outside the bar felt cooler and fresher, and it was abruptly quieter as the door closed behind them. The colorful lights of the bar gave way to a thickly dark night, barely made navigable by a series of path lights.
Tony felt the angry prickle that Jimmy had inspired immediately soothe as they paused to let their eyes adjust.
“I'm sorry,” he said at once, looking down at the top of Amber's head. Her hair was sleek and touchable, and it was everything he could do not to stroke her in a too-familiar way. “I s
houldn't have presumed to tell Jimmy that we were leaving. If you wanted another drink, or to stay at the bar ...”
Amber tilted her head to look up at him, her eyes bright in the darkness. “You were my white knight,” she said, with no hint of sarcasm. “That man will not take a hint. Seriously, maybe his animal is a leech.”
“I'd put money on a rodent,” Tony said, smiling.
For an oddly long moment, they stood and just stared at each other. Tony suspected that neither of them was thinking about Jimmy.
His mate. He couldn't believe how gorgeous and curvy she was, or how comfortable he felt, just being near her. He wanted her more than he had ever wanted anything in his memory.
When he bent to kiss her, unable to resist, she didn't even hesitate, but flung eager arms around his neck and kissed him back, standing on tiptoe to reach him. She tasted like alcohol and fruit, and her mouth managed to be both pliable and firm.
“My cottage,” he offered, between kisses. He barely had the self-control not to wrestle her willingly into the fragrant tropical bushes.
“Mmm, yes!” she said, but she didn't stop kissing him, or raking fingers through his hair.
Even with her agreement, Tony found that he couldn't stop touching her or move his feet. Finally, he picked her up, and she gave a squeal of delighted laughter and wrapped her legs around his waist.
He could move then, though he recognized that he was staggering and weaving in his path. She didn't hamper him with weight, but the way she squirmed against him with her mostly naked legs drove him absolutely mad and her kisses left him dizzy. He had never realized how much having someone touch his shoulders could turn him on.
“Wait, wait!” Amber laughed against his lips, just as they turned on the path to his cottage.
“What? What is it?” His voice sounded like begging to his own ears.
“I lost my sandal!”
He put her down, carefully, sliding her down over the erection that was bulging his shorts, hands lingering at her waist.
She gave a gratifying moan of desire as her feet touched the ground, and she stood there leaning into him for a moment longer than was necessary.
“Your sandal?” Tony prompted.
“Screw the sandal,” Amber said fiercely, and then they were tangled in kisses again as Tony tried to remember where he'd put his house key.
Between digging it out and trying to claim Amber's mouth for his own, Tony managed to maneuver them into the entrance of the house and finesse the door open–which is how it stayed as they began the erotic struggle of removing each article of clothing and finding the bedroom.
“Crap,” he said suddenly, when he'd gotten her shirt off and she had thrown his across the room.
“It's not that complicated a bra,” Amber promised, big golden eyes laughing. “I can help you.”