Page 23 of A Thistle Beyond Time
“What? Why?” Jenna was nearly beside herself. She could feel her blood starting to boil.Thenerve of him, to show up here!She pushed her way through the crowd, which had formed near the entryway.
“What are you doing here?” she calmly asked, when she came face-to-face with her ex. She couldn’t believe she had her voice under such control, because the adrenaline coursing through her veins had her shaking like a leaf. Cormac was at her side in a heartbeat, and put a steadying arm around her waist.
“I heard you were having a little soiree tonight, and I assumed my invitation got lost in the mail. I didn’t want you to miss me, so here I am,” Jonathan casually announced.
“No one invited you,” Jenna responded.
“Really? I’m surprised. I’ve been invited to all the other bashes.” Jonathan raised his eyebrows as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Now that I’m here, I guess I’ll just have a little something to eat and drink, and then I’ll be on my way,” Jonathan announced, pushing his way through the door.
“No! Get out now,” Jenna barked angrily.
The crowd of big guys surrounded Jonathan instantly, and he backed up towards the door, lifting his hands in surrender. “Okay. Okay. I’m going. You’ll be seeing me around though. Don’t you worry about that, Jenna. I see you’ve got your new man candy standing guard, but I’m not afraid of him.” Glaring at Cormac he snarled, “I still owe you, dude. You’ll be hearing from me.”
Cormac started towards him, but Jenna grabbed his arm. “Just leave it. The sooner we get him out of here, the better.”
The crowd of men followed Jonathan out of the house and watched him get into his car and drive away. The group came back inside, slapping each other on the back, proud of themselves for handling the situation and muttering about kicking Jonathan’s ass.
“I’m hungry,” Dylan announced. “Let’s get something to eat.”
He was like the pied piper, followed by his entourage; they descended on the trays like a flock of starving seagulls and then headed out to the barbecue area.
“Are ye alright, lass?” Cormac remained at Jenna’s side, and she hated to admit it, but his concern was sweet.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve come to expect this kind of thing from him. I wish he’d find someone new to torture and leave me alone.”
“Dinna fash. I am here. I will protect ye.”
Despite the fact that she had been very happy to have him by her side during the commotion, she responded rather sharply. “I don’t need you or anyone else to protect me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have guests to see to.” She stormed off across the room and didn’t look back to see the look of hurt she knew would be on Cormac’s face.
Chapter 7
Shocked at her own behavior, Jenna gave herself a good talking to.Stop being so rude. What is wrong with you? Jonathan is the one you should be angry with, not Cormac.She was typically not a mean-spirited person, but she was having such a hard time controlling her mood. One minute she was calm and the next she was ready to explode – and she was afraid she was taking it all out on poor Cormac. She didn’t know how she could make it up to him, without giving him the wrong impression, but she’d try. She checked in on her guests, making sure they all had enough food and drink and then she went off in search of Cormac. She found him outside seated by the pool, lost in thought.
“Hey,” she said, as she sat down next to him.
He didn’t say anything. Instead, he continued to gaze out over the water.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me and I certainly don’t know why I keep yelling at you. You’ve done nothing but try to help and I’m grateful for that.” She tipped her head to the side, so she could get a look at his face. Receiving no response, she touched his arm and felt a head to toe rush of wanting him, which left her weak at the knees. He felt it too, she could tell by the way his head jerked up and his eyes found hers.
They were so blue. How was it possible for anyone to have eyes of such a brilliant color? She could see the hurt she had put there, and her heart ached for him. Cormac placed his hand over hers, where it rested on his arm and before she knew what she was doing, she leaned forward and softly brushed her lips over his. His response was immediate – he reeled her into his arms and kissed her back, gently at first and then more passionately. Jenna allowed herself to let go of the control she usually so carefully kept in place, throwing her arms around his neck and tangling her fingers in his silky black locks. His tongue played at the crease in her lips, asking to be let in. Lost in passion, Jenna allowed it. He tasted salty and sweet all at once and he also tasted of beer. His hands settled on the curve just above her backside, pulling her closer. Jenna didn’t resist, melding her body to his, in order to be as close as she possibly could. The sounds of the party had faded into the background and she didn’t care what other people might think of her as she placed herself fully in Cormac’s hands. Coming up for breath, they looked longingly into each other’s eyes. There was an unspoken agreement passing between them and then the spell was broken by Dylan and his friends, as they grouped together to pick up both Jenna and Cormac, and threw them into the pool.
Jenna sputtered to the surface and could barely see, with her drenched hair hanging into her eyes. Cormac came up right next to her and pulled her close, gently brushing her hair back from her face. They looked at each other and simultaneously laughed.
“Dylan! I’ll get you for this,” Jenna shouted at her cousin, although secretly, she couldn’t think of anywhere she’d rather be than in the grasp of Cormac MacBayne, whose muscular arms held her securely against him.
A tidal wave washed over them as everyone began removing shirts, shoes, and diving in beside them. Cormac’s facial expression was one of horror as he watched Jenna pulling her very tiny little dress off. He tried to stop her, but she was having none of it.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got my bathing suit on under this,” she smiled. “You might want to take that kilt off. It must be pretty heavy with all that water it’s soaking up.”
“Are ye sure, Jenna?” Cormac questioned.
“Yeah, go for it.”
Cormac unwrapped the length of plaid fabric around his waist and Jenna suddenly remembered what the appropriate attire was beneath a kilt. Absolutely nothing. He pulled his t-shirt over his head, grabbed her dress, and then swam to the side where he deposited everything. His tight backside emerged as he dove under the water and swam back to her. She was speechless to say the least, when she found herself up against a very naked Cormac MacBayne.
The rest of the crew in the pool decided they’d join in on the skinny-dipping and Jenna found that she couldn’t find a place to look, amidst the group of suddenly very naked men and women. There was plenty of laughing and splashing, but no one, other than Jenna, seemed the least bit uncomfortable.
“I’d better get out and make sure everything is going smoothly inside.” Jenna excused herself as she disengaged from Cormac’s embrace and swam to the steps. As Cormac began to follow her she shouted, “Stay where you are, Cormac. I’m fine, really.” She didn’t look back as she headed for the house. “I’m just going to get towels for everyone.”Good excuse,she thought. She needed to get away from Cormac, for long enough to distance herself from emotions that were pushing her ‘I’m-not-getting-involved’ attitude to the side, in pursuit of the lusty agenda her body had in mind.
