Page 60 of One for the Road
You can’t actually think he wants to date the sad singlemother next door? You’re just an easy lay to him. A convenience.
Fuck that guy.
If I’d thought he was a wee prick back in school, it had nothing on who he’d become now.
Yeah, I might not want to date Isla. But that was all down tomyshit. The fact she was a single mother had fuck all to do with it. Her fierce love for Teddy was one of the most attractive things about her.
“Careful,” she said. “I might start to believe you enjoy rushing to my aid,DrMacabe.”
I caught her eye, and a shudder raced down my spine, like I’d just licked lemon sherbet. “I thinkboyfriendAlistair could grow addicted to coming to your aid, Isla.”
Yeah, there was a fuck-load to be attracted to.
The air was humid today and the heat from the coffee machine had left us both a little sweaty. The curls slipping from her braid had tightened into a riot of spirals around her freckled cheeks. I hated to be such a man, but it made me think of sex.Nails in my back,skin sticking in all the best places,tightening my toes so I didn’t come too soonsex.
I hadn’t been this horny since I was a teenager. In recent years, my sex drive had pretty much faded toI’ll wank in the shower if I remember.
“Why don’t we go to the medical tent?” Her sweet tone made me feel like an arsehole. I tried to shake the lewd thoughts from my mind.
“Amy’s volunteering today, anyone could walk in.” I looked pointedly to her soaked shirt. That she’d need to remove.
My gut tightened.
Maybe Ishouldtake her to the medical tent. Let Amy handle it.
But my feet didn’t stop moving, reaching the moss-eaten toilet block and holding the door open for her to enter first, making it very clear that I meant to come in with her.
On the threshold, our eyes met. Held.
Then her nostrils flared, noting the parameters of the cramped cubicle. I waited for her to object. She didn’t. Instead, she backed up, making room for me.
Fake, fake, fake.
Just for show.
The words were no good to my pounding heart.
I shut the door, intensely aware of the quiet click of the latch pushing into place. Inside, the cubicle was dark. Silent. The floorboards creaked beneath our feet, and it took my eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness. I fumbled for the light but she got there first, her fingers grazing over mine as she found the switch.
The room was dingy but clean. A bare bulb, toilet and sink next to an empty counter. I took up more than half of the cubicle, even with my back pressed to the door.
We both just stood there. The seconds stretching on endlessly.
“I should probably just head home and shower,” she finally croaked, wringing her hands.
“I need to check you aren’t burned.”
Her chest laboured, a slightly wild look entering her eyes. I didn’t know if it was the chaos of the morning, or the fresh wound Cameron had doled out. ButthisIsla was looking at me differently. Like perhaps I was in possession of a white horse, ready to fix every wrongdoing in her life.
That couldn’t have been more wrong, but for just a second, I wanted her to believe it.
“It really wasn’t that hot.” There was more than enough light to see her cheeks redden.
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
“I don’t have anything to change into. We should just—” She started toward me – toward thedoor.
I didn’t even think before ripping the jumper over my head. My T-shirt came next. The cool air pebbled my skin, and I watched her throat bob as I tossed them both onto the counter. “Now you do it.”
