still be around her when she refused to allow him to touch her to relieve some of the pressure of the Drall?
He poured them both a glass of white wine and handed one to her. Without a word, he went outside, cursing himself for his actions, but walking away was so much easier than fighting his need while she was near him.
A few seconds passed before the pad of her bare feet on the wood followed. A part of him was relieved, the other part tensed, ready to do what he had to do to get through this.
He sat down on one of the lounge chairs and crossed his ankles, staring at the orange spreading across the sky as the sun set on the horizon, trying to pretend she wasn’t even there, even as her presence beat on him with unrelenting persistence.
When she sat down across the deck from him and remained silent, he took the moment to admire the way the fading sun brought out the auburn highlights in her dark hair. She was absolutely breathtaking to just watch, and he wanted desperately to have her sit beside him, twine her fingers with his, and watch the lowering sun together as a couple. All he got was deafening silence and a tension so thick he could choke on it.
Rafael walked out of the house with a round tray. He quickly set both plates on the table. “Dinner is served. If that will be all, Mr. O’Connell, I’d like to retire for the night.”
“Yes. Thank you, Rafael.”
He bowed slightly, then left. And then it was just the two of them. Aidan, the ass, and Jaylin, the defensive. Another wonderful moment together.
They might as well eat, though the thought of food really wasn’t appealing right now. “Hungry?”
She sighed. “Since Rafael scared me earlier and I threw the roast beef I’d planned to make into a sandwich at him, I’m starved.”
The fact that she tried to make a joke surprised him. Maybe the night could be salvaged after all. He pulled out her chair, then rounded the table to sit on the other side. Instead of digging in as he expected her to do, she picked at her pasta with her fork, her eyes completely focused on the plate before her. He swore he heard a muffled sob come from her.
“Jaylin?”
When she lifted her head, he was stunned to see a single tear slide down her cheek. Without thought, he shot to his feet and rushed around the table to squat before her. “Baby, what’s the matter?”
Another tear followed the first one as she cupped his cheek, her hand trembling against his skin. “This is the Aidan I want here.”
His breath caught tight in his chest. “What are you saying?”
“I hated our kiss from earlier.”
He grabbed one of her hands and kissed the inside of her palm. “Me too,” he whispered against her skin, lulled by simply having the permission to touch her without her pulling away.
“I don’t like the man who brought me to this island.” She gave a sarcastic laugh. “God knows I should, because that man would be so easy to deny. His kisses would be easy to ignore. The way he looks through me would ensure nothing would happen between us. But for the life of me, Aidan, I don’t want that.”
“Me neither.”
“I don’t want that Aidan anywhere near me. If that’s the only way you can get through this, then please let’s just go home now.”
“We’re not going home, Jaylin, but I don’t want that Aidan here either. However, his presence depends on you. Are you going to willingly participate in our time here or are you constantly going to push me away?”
She drew back. “W-what are you asking?”
“I want you to completely surrender to me. No hesitation. If I want to kiss you, touch you, I want to know I can. I want to hold you…make love to you. I need to know you will no longer fight me. When you push me away, it makes the instinct worse. If you surrender to me, the Drall will calm.”
“Aidan…” She shook her head. “It doesn’t work like that. You have no idea how dangerous that is. I want you. I’m not going to deny that any longer, but nothing has changed. I won’t bond to you. If we…if we make love we’re tempting disaster. Your control could snap.”
He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear before trailing the back of his fingers down her cheek. She