AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Fourteen
Ian tossed and turned beneath the covers of his narrow hotel bed, trying to blame his insomnia on the lumpy mattress. If he were a travel writer, he’d be forced to deduct a star for his lack of sleep. Unfortunately, he knew what or who was really behind his misery. Her name was Bella, and she was no doubt sleeping peacefully on the other side of the wall.
Earlier, after buying fish and chips and consuming them at a small outdoor table, he and Bella had walked up the Royal Mile and back down, peering into shops and in general enjoying the early autumn evening. The sun dropped low in the sky, painting the historic castle in golden light.
A dozen times Ian had come close to blurting it out. Sleep with me tonight. I want you in my bed. Say yes, Bella. In every instance, though, he had lost his courage at the last, or something had interrupted the moment.
Bella had insisted on walking all the way back to the hotel, a distance of three miles at least. After their return, she professed exhaustion and disappeared into her own room.
Now Ian was at the mercy of his troubled thoughts. It wasn’t only unsatisfied sexual hunger keeping him awake. The prospect of the ceremony at the castle hung over his head like a dark cloud of doom. He hated exposing himself in public. That’s what this felt like. People staring at him. Judging him. He didn’t want the award… didn’t deserve it. All he yearned for was to live his life in peace and do the work he was trained to do.
Eventually, he dozed, but he slept only in snatches. When morning finally dawned, he dragged himself about of bed and used a miserably cold shower to revive himself. Afterward, he texted Bella.
Breakfast?
She must have been in the shower, too, because she didn’t answer. Which meant he spent the next few minutes imagining her lush body naked and wet. Damnation. This trip to Edinburgh was going to drive him insane one way or another.
In the end, he decided not to wait for her. He needed space and time to think. Over unexceptional scrambled eggs, sausage links, and white-bread toast, he brooded. In his present mood, it seemed a mistake of monumental proportion that he’d insisted Bella accompany him to the ceremony. It was bad enough he had to suffer through it. Now, she would be there to witness any awkward flubs on his part. The thought made him cringe.
Bella was poised and graceful and the kind of woman who stood out in social settings. Her warm, magnolia-kissed accent. Her genuine laugh. The way she lit up when talking about a topic that interested her. It was hard to believe that no man had staked a claim.
On the other hand, she could be decidedly prickly when she wanted to be. Maybe she had kept would-be suitors at a distance.
He was finishing up a final cup of tea when the subject of his musings appeared in the dining room. She was flushed and damp and dressed in running clothes. Clearly, she had been up and out early.
“Hey,” Bella said. “How are the eggs? I’m starving.” Without waiting for an answer, she hastened over to the breakfast buffet and filled her plate.
He stared across the room at her indignantly, noting the way her running shorts hugged her heart-shaped bottom. Long, toned legs gave evidence of her dedication to exercise. The bounce of her thick, dark ponytail made him smile, despite his frustration.
When she joined him and began buttering her toast, he did his best to tamp down his volatile emotions. “You went for a run?”
She eyed him over her cup of juice and nodded. “It’s a beautiful morning. I couldn’t resist. But don’t worry. I’ll be dressed and ready in plenty of time for our appointment.”
“Did it occur to you that I might have liked to join you?”
Her small pink tongue darted out to catch a crumb at the corner of her mouth. “I’m sorry. It was a spur of the moment thing.”
He stared at her intently, cataloging each detail from her stubborn chin to her deep-as-a-mountain-lake blue eyes. “We need to talk, Bella.”
Every trace of exercise-induced color leached from her face. Her gaze darted away from his, landing on the antics of two fussy toddlers nearby. “No,” she said firmly. “I don’t believe we do.”
He reached across the table and took one of her hands in his. “Tell me the truth, Bella. When we had sex the other night, you didn’t have an orgasm, did you?”
“Ian!” Her face turned a bright crimson shade somewhere between tomato-red and all-out sunburn. “You can’t say things like that,” she hissed. “Someone will hear you.”
He lowered his voice and leaned toward her. “You’re avoiding the question.” He paused, his brain spinning. “That’s why you left my bed,” he said, only now realizing what had transpired. “And it wasn’t in the morning when you woke up and ran off. You sneaked out as soon as I fell asleep. Lord, Bella. I’m sorry. Please give me another chance. I’m not usually so selfish. My only excuse is that it had been a long time for me, and I seem to lose my head around you.”
If anything, his explanation made things worse. Bella looked hunted. Her fingers clenched the cutlery, her expression aghast. “I’m not doing this,” she said. “Get a grip, Larrimore. I’ll meet you in the lobby at a quarter ‘til.” Before he could stop her, she fled, leaving a third of her meal uneaten.
* * *
Bella was so humiliated she could barely look at her reflection in the mirror. As she used the small hotel hair dryer to tame her hair, she felt her face flush all over again. Somehow Ian had put two and two together and come up with the correct answer. Now she had a choice to make. She could fib and say the sex was great, and he had rocked her world. Or she could refuse to discuss the topic altogether. Last but not least of her options was to admit the truth, that she had sneaked away right after he fell asleep, not because she hadn’t enjoyed herself, but because she was embarrassed and unsure.
None of the alternatives were the least bit appealing. For several long minutes she considered the possibility of simply calling a cab and hightailing it to the train station. The only thing holding her back was the thought of Ian having to endure the ceremony at the castle all on his own.
He was a grown man. There was no reason in the world for her to feel sorry for him or worry about his wellbeing. Even so, she couldn’t bring herself to abandon him. Truthfully, the thought of going back to Portree without the handsome scientist made her sad. Ian was a complex and fascinating man. Being with him was stimulating in more ways than one.
When she arrived in the hotel lobby two minutes early, Ian was already waiting. He stood by the ornate fireplace, his fingers drumming restlessly on the mantel. “I’m here,” she said, smoothing her hair self-consciously. She rarely wore it down, but she wanted to see what the dress would look like without a fancy updo.
