Tropical Holiday Tails - Zoe Chant Page 0,41

would be fine,” Caroline said. “Try not to have him back too late. Let’s say midnight?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Neal agreed. “We’ll be in the community center, I can give you the number.”

Before Caroline could call to him, James was tumbling eagerly from his room, his precious new controller already unpackaged and in his hands.

He gave her the briefest of kisses on the cheeks and was gone with Neal, but not before Caroline saw Neal slip a card to Liam, who seemed to be trying hard to blend in to the paneling near the door.

He frowned at the card as the sounds of James, chattering in excitement, and Neal faded away in the night. Finally, he held it up to Caroline.

It looked like a hotel key card.

“We didn’t really talk about what would happen,” Liam said, his voice rich with dread. “Or...where. There’s one finished cottage, back at the resort. They’ve probably gone to a lot of work…” He swallowed. “If you’d like to join me for a...nightcap?”

Was he only nervous? Caroline wondered. Well, she could appreciate the feeling. She felt like she was made of nothing but nerves. “Neutral ground?” she teased. Then, more warmly, “I’d like that.”

They wandered back to the resort hand-in-hand, and Caroline could feel the reluctance in his step and in his fingers twined with hers.

What’s gone wrong? she asked her red panda plaintively.

Her animal was utterly unconcerned.

The cottage was clearly unfinished, and had been hastily but carefully pulled together for use. Liam unlocked the door with hands that trembled, his dragon singing in his head.

He held the door for Caroline, who gave a happy intake of breath at the sight of the interior. Graham had provided flowers, to Liam’s surprise, and there was even a trail of petals through the doorless frame to the bedroom. The glass for the windows out to the front porch was noticeably missing, and the bathroom was still bare plumbing. But gauze curtains had been hung, and rugs had been laid down over rough subfloor. Rudimentary power had been wired in, and there was a bluetooth radio playing low, smooth jazz.

Liam swallowed hard.

Caroline wandered in, pausing to inspect the bottle of wine that was sitting out with wine glasses, smelling the cut flowers in the vase. Then she turned to him and sighed. “What is it, Liam? Will you tell me?”

Liam realized he was still standing in the doorway, unable to make his feet carry him inside. He was such a tangle of conflict. He wanted to sweep Caroline into his arms and...just hold her.

But he knew that the moment he touched her, she’d expect more, and he quailed at the idea of the disappointment he would serve her. None of the techniques he’d studied seemed sufficient for the situation.

Was a glass of wine a coward’s move? Liam wasn’t sure it would help. He stared at the rose petals, heaved a great sigh, and shut the door behind him.

He ignored the trail to the bedroom and went to the framework that would be sliding glass doors leading out onto the porch. The filmy curtains stirring slightly in the breeze. He paused. “Will you...sit with me a little?”

She scampered to his side, and they sat on the little wicker loveseat, carefully leaving just a little space between them.

“Do you...know what asexual is?” he asked, not sure how else to start.

She gave a sharp, subtle intake of breath that suggested she did. “I know how some people define it,” she said. Then, she turned abruptly to face him, tucking one leg underneath her. “Wait, this is why you asked me if I...liked sex. You knew I was ace?”

Liam stared at her. “You said you did. Like sex, I mean. I’m so confused.”

“I do,” she insisted. “I love to be close with someone I care about, I love that I can bring a partner to pleasure. I enjoy it, even if it’s...not how it’s all laid out in romance books.” As she spoke, she touched him, a tentative hand at his shoulder first, then a stroke down his arm, and she was leaning closer to him, and Liam couldn’t make sense of any of it.

His dragon was delighted, he was terrified.

“Wait,” he said, warring between longing to gather her into his arms and wanting to pull away. “You’re ace?” He felt dull and stupid. Nothing made sense.

She paused, searching his face. “Isn’t that what you…?” She settled back into her own space. “I think I’m missing something here.”

“I’m ace,” Liam said slowly. “I’m ace.”

She