"You're going to run out of chocolate at this rate," Carolyn said as she leaned forward to take the offering.
Christian's hands were immediately at her h*ps to keep her from overbalancing and plunging into the water and Carolyn felt herself flush again.
Jack grinned at her embarrassed expression, and shook his head. "Nah. I'll buy another box of them while you're gone. Then I'll give you flowers, chocolate and drinks on the way back and we'll really be going steady."
Carolyn flushed again and muttered, "Thank you," then straightened and glanced around with surprise when something like a growl came from Christian.
"The buses are waiting for us," he said grimly, urging her away, his hands still at her hips.
"Have fun, wench," Jack said cheerfully and Carolyn managed a smile and wave over her shoulder before Christian dropped his hold on her waist to take her arm instead and began to move so fast she had to watch where she was going or risk falling on her face. Not that she probably would have, he was holding her arm too tightly for that.
Painfully tightly, actually, she noted with a frown. Before she could ask him to ease up, she did stumble. Christian didn't even miss a beat, but scooped her up in his arms and continued quickly to the buses.
Chapter Twelve
"I can walk," Carolyn muttered with embarrassment as they were waved past the first and second full minibuses to the third one.
"Not fast enough," he said shortly.
Carolyn scowled, but held her tongue as he carried her onto the bus. She wished she'd insisted though when she saw the curious stares they were garnering. He carried her to the only empty bench seat in the very back on the right and settled on it with her in his lap.
"Er...," Carolyn murmured, at a bit of a loss. Everyone was staring and... well, she was in his lap, for heaven's sake. It was bad enough he'd carried her on, but he could have set her on the seat. Instead, he was holding her in his lap as if she were an injured child... or a lover, she thought as his scent enveloped her now that they weren't moving. He smelled like the jungle on a rainy day, a slightly musky scent that made her forget people were staring. It also made her suddenly aware of the heat of his chest pressing along her side and his hard lap beneath her.
Biting her lip, Carolyn raised her head, her eyes widening when she met his gaze and found herself staring into eyes more silver than black. Silver. Not gray. She'd never seen anything so beautiful... or impossible.
"Your eyes," she whispered with confusion as they began to move closer, almost as if his head were lowering to hers, she thought with bemusement.
Christian stilled at once, and then shifted her to sit on the bench seat beside him. Oddly enough, while it was what she'd wanted moments ago, she now felt a pang of disappointment.
"Eat your chocolate," he growled.
"But your eyes," she said, shifting on the seat to try to see them again.
"Colored contacts," he said grimly. "Eat your chocolate."
Carolyn frowned at how snappy he was being, but settled back in her seat to unwrap her chocolate bar. The damned wrapper must have been sealed with Krazy Glue.
She couldn't seem to get the thing open, but gasped with surprise when Christian cursed and snatched it from her fumbling fingers. His face was grim, his jaw clenched as he impatiently opened it for her.
"There. Eat," he snarled, pushing it back at her. When she didn't take it right away, his gaze shifted to her face and he frowned. "What's wrong?"
"That's what I'm wondering," she said wearily. "You're snapping at me like I stole your favorite toy."
Christian glanced away, then sighed, peered back, and offered an apologetic half-smile.
"Sorry. I'm not a morning person."
Carolyn relaxed a little and took the chocolate bar, mumbling, "Jack said that was probably the case when you were scowling at us from the dock. Or maybe I said it," she added with a frown. It was hard to recall just then.
One of them had said it.
"Eat your chocolate," Christian said, every word carefully enunciated. "Your hands are shaking so bad I'm surprised you can hold it."
Carolyn shifted her attention to her hands, noting absently that they were indeed shaking. She was also all sweaty again, and her heart was racing as if she'd been running. On top of that, it was growing hard to think.
When Christian suddenly caught the hand holding the chocolate bar and pulled it toward his face, she thought he was going to take a bite himself, but instead he turned her hand and pressed his nose to the inside of her wrist. Carolyn just gaped as he inhaled deeply, and then he cursed and quickly urged the hand toward her until the chocolate touched her lips.
"Eat," Christian growled.