Chapter 28

28

I set down my paintbrush and shake my arm out, looking over my shoulder at Theo to see how he's faring. When I started complaining about having to paint the walls last night at dinner, he immediately offered to help me. Despite my protests, here he is, slapping a deep sage green over ancient plaster walls. He pauses, feeling the heat of my gaze, and looks over at me.

"Are you ready for our date later?" he asks, dipping his brush back into the paint.

"Once I scrub this paint off, I will be." He sets his brush down and walks toward me, stalking me like I’m his prey and he’s an apex predator. I step backward, bumping into the wall.

"This paint?" Before I can protest, he dips his finger into my paint can and draws a line down my forehead and over my nose.

"Theo!"

"Isla!" he whines, mimicking me.

Red bleeds over my vision as I dunk my hands into the paint, planting them on his cheeks and dragging them down over his jaw. The shocked 'o' of his mouth makes me giggle. "No, this paint," I say, my voice as sweet as sugar as I blink up at him innocently.

"You're going to regret that," he growls, grabbing the waistband of my bike shorts and holding me still, reaching over to pick up the can of paint. My heart crashes in my chest as he manhandles me onto the drop cloth, lifting the bucket over my head. I hear the threads in my shorts pop as I wrench out of his grip, bolting out the door and across the driveway toward the castle. The crunch of his shoes on the gravel behind me has me changing course. Jack would kill me if I ran through the foyer covered in paint. I run around the side of the building and over the lawn, aiming for the shore of the loch. I kick off my flip-flops as I run, peeling off my T-shirt and diving into the water in my shorts and bra. Re-surfacing fifty feet away, I gasp for breath as I raise my head above the water, scanning the shore for Theo. I spy the paint can sitting on the edge of the firepit, but there's no sign of life anywhere. Did he come in after me? My gaze skims over the water, looking for bubbles. Nothing. Surely he can swim, right? Panic grips my chest as I turn in a circle, desperately searching for him. My heart rises to my throat as fingers wrap around my ankle and tug me beneath the surface. I kick out, connecting with something solid. I breach the surface at the same time as Theo.

"Fucking hell, Isla!" He presses his fingers to a red mark on his cheekbone.

"That's your fault. I thought you drowned!" I splash him before turning and swimming back toward shore, furious.

"Isla!"

I ignore him, not looking back until my feet can touch the bottom.

"Does that mean you were worried about me?" he asks, exploding out of the water next to me, shaking droplets from his hair. I turn away from him, but he circles my wrists with his hands, forcing me to look at him. "That you care?" he whispers, holding my gaze, pulling me closer until we're toe-to-toe.

"I'm going to stop caring if you keep being so goddamned infuriating," I spit out, trying not to notice the way his eyelashes are stuck together or the bead of water sitting in the hollow of his throat or the way his tongue slides over his lips. Goddammit.

"Don't lie. You love it."

"Theo–" he cuts me off by pressing his lips to mine, and every single thought in my brain is replaced by red-hot need. I climb him like a tree, wrapping my legs around his waist, capturing those broody features between my palms. "Why are you so fucking annoying all the time?" I breathe against his lips.

"Because I want you to have an outlet for all that emotion you keep bottled up inside," he rasps, dragging his lips down my throat.

"You want me to use you as an emotional outlet?" I ask, lifting one eyebrow. I don't think I ever expected those words to come from a man's mouth.

"Mmhmm." He bites my earlobe, making me shiver. "Tell me what you're feeling right now."

It's hard to think with his lips roaming over me like this. "Bewilderment. Annoyance. Lust."

"Use me, Isla." He captures my face between his hands, a seriousness in his eyes that isn't usually there. "I can take it, I promise."

I shake my head. "You deserve better than that."

"Do I, though?" he asks, tilting his head back, a bitter edge to his laugh.

I pull away from him, wondering how I missed this part of him. Was it hiding beneath the hard exterior, behind the jokes and teasing? "Of course you do, Theo. Everyone deserves to be cherished. To be loved."

"And what about you, Sunflower? Do you love me?"

"It's hard when you won't let me."

"Fair enough."

"So what about this date?"

"Shit. We're going to be late." He scoops me into his arms and carries me toward shore, pushing through the water like it's nothing.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there," he says, keeping me in his arms all the way up to the car.

"What should I wear?"

"We need to look like we're loaded."

"I am loaded. "

He stares at me, the corner of his mouth pulling up. "You're so normal that I forget sometimes."

" Normal?" I ask, shuddering.

"Stop. You know what I mean," he laughs.

"I'm going to make you pay for that." I grin as I crank the keys in the Mustang, revving the engine.

I walk out of my bedroom in a sundress and cardigan fifteen minutes later, my hair hanging in damp waves around my shoulders. Theo is waiting at the bottom of the stairs, wearing crisp khaki pants and a button-down shirt. The top two buttons are open, exposing a sliver of tanned skin. He looks good enough to eat. Good enough to–

"If you keep looking at me like that, our date will be in my bedroom," he says roughly.

"You look nice," I say, holding his gaze as I walk down the stairs.

"You're not so bad yourself, Sunflower." He tugs at the strap of my sundress playfully, bending to press his lips to my cheek, his hand warm on my shoulder.

"Do you want to drive or should I change shoes?" I ask, glancing down at my four-inch heels.

"I want to end the night with those shoes over my shoulders, so I'll drive." His gaze sweeps over me, appreciation gleaming in the depths of his eyes.

I cough, choking on my own saliva.

"You could at least wait to choke until later."

"Yeah?" I make a face. "Are you going to give me something to choke on?"

His fingers close around my wrist, jerking me to a stop, his other hand wrapping in my hair, tugging until my gaze locks with his. "Yes, and when I do, you will be begging for it."

"Is that a promise?"

"Don't tempt me, Isla."

"Or what?"

"I'll punish you later. "

"Looking forward to it."

Heat flares in his eyes before he turns and drags me outside, depositing me in the passenger seat of my car before carefully closing the door and rounding the hood.

"You look so fucking good in this car," he says, swallowing hard. "Not that I'm telling you something you don't already know."

"No, but it's nice to hear it. Especially from you." I angle my head, looking out the window as we pull onto the road, hiding the smile I can't seem to wipe off my face. He's probably the most annoying person I've ever met, but it's invigorating. Fun. I never know what he's going to say next, and I kind of love it.

After ten minutes of trying not to drool all over myself while I watch him shift gears, I pull his hand into my lap. He slides his palm down past the hem of my dress, pushing it up, his calluses scraping over my skin in the most delicious way. He squeezes my thigh, his pinky creeping up higher and higher. I blow out a shaky breath, trying to calm my nerves, but the heartbeat between my legs only grows stronger. I drop my head against the headrest as his fingers brush over my panties.

"Are you wet for me, Sunflower?" he murmurs, the wind wrapping his words around me. I whimper when he pulls his hand away to shift gears, my body strung tighter than a tightrope.

"Please tell me you're taking me somewhere you can fuck me and nobody can hear us."

"Not quite."

I mentally curse the curvy roads that keep Theo's hand on the gear shift as we make our way from Harris to Lewis. He looks at me as we pull off the road, turning through a large iron gate guarded by concrete lions set high on stone pillars. "We've been married two years, and we're looking for a place to raise our future children and possibly open a small boutique hotel."

"We what–?" Words evaporate from my tongue as a beautiful castle comes into view, spires reaching toward the sky.

"There used to be a five-star resort here. The owners retired and are selling the estate. I figured it would be the perfect place to come for ideas on what we can do to improve what we're working on over at Jack's, especially now that you're starting a brewery. It could be amazing, Isla."

"But we have to pretend to be somebody else?" I ask, my heart jumping to my throat when I see a man walking toward us.

"The only way we could get a tour is by acting like buyers. Just play along, wifey." His demeanor changes as he gets out of the car and greets who I assume is the realtor. He shakes the man's hand, then comes to my door and opens it for me. I take his hand, steeling my shoulders.

"Matthew, this is my wife, Isla," Theo says, introducing us.

Oh, this is going to be fun.