Catch My Breath

The cue stick was difficult to hold thanks to my hands’ obscene levels of clamminess. I blew a wayward piece of hair away from my eyes and bent over the table again. Even though I couldn’t see him, I was keenly aware of Alastair’s eyes roaming slowly down my body.

I aimed, striking the white cue ball. It skirted and snapped against two red ones, spinning them into the corner pocket. Feeling more confident, I took another shot. By some stroke of beginner’s luck, I potted a green one and a brown one.

“Told you I was a fast learner,” I bragged.

He sidled up close, leaving me eye level with his mouth. An extremely persistent pounding noise filled my ears. Alastair bowed his head and looked down at me over the bridge of his straight nose. “Then I’ll have to teach you another game.”

I clasped the cue stick close to my legs. He cupped his hand around my hip and squeezed. Staggering backwards, I knocked into the table. It wobbled violently. Both of our pint glasses crashed to the floor, scattering shards around our feet. Several people stopped what they were doing and stared at us.

“Sorry about that,” Alastair called out. “We have a rather impassioned snooker player over here.”

Completely horrified, I apologized to Alastair and anybody else within earshot. This wasn’t normal behavior for me. But of course, being around him turned me into a nervous, twitchy mess. He pointed me to a nearby chair to sit while someone swept up the broken glass.

Un-freaking-believable.

"Are you alright?" he asked, bemused.

"I'm fine, thanks for your concern,” I grumbled. “Don’t think this is an excuse to get out of losing the game.”

When the broken glass was cleared away, I grabbed the cue stick and prepared for another shot. Alastair never had a chance. I beat him swiftly and succinctly. We negotiated a bet for the next game. Loser buys the winner a drink of their choice. The competitive juices started flowing. I wasn’t about to lose to this guy.

Four games and three pints later, it was clear I was out of my league against him. Apparently my beginner’s luck had run its course. Alastair didn’t seem to mind at all. He methodically made perfect shot after perfect shot.

“I didn’t mean to scare you off last night,” he said, leaning against the table. His statement was so out of the blue I stared at him in shock. Scare me off? I gripped my pint glass.

“You didn’t. I meant what I said.”

He clenched his jaw and rolled the cue stick between his hands. I couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or not. Pushing himself away from the table, he stood in front of me, dominating my line of sight. The pub became a vacuum.

“I find you very intriguing,” he stated.

“You do?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Do I need to have a specific reason?”

Caught in the emerald glow of his eyes, I parted my lips to allow more oxygen. Another foggy haze messed with my logic.

“I was, um, just curious. I’m pretty boring,” I stammered.

“I highly doubt that.”

“You probably say—”

He hovered his lips over mine, stopping me in mid-thought. I could practically taste him. And my God, he smelled delicious. Not of cologne but shampoo and body wash and…him. It made me dizzy. He curled his hand around my waist, pulling me closer. I put my hands on his toned abdomen to steady myself.

“Come with me.”

It wasn’t a request. Those three words sent a shudder through me. The intensity of his stare was enough to get me to move. He laced his fingers through mine, leading me out to the curb. We hopped in a cab and went back to the hotel. My heart was beating a furious tattoo. As we walked through the lobby toward the elevators a daunting scenario took shape. What if Stephanie had already returned? Then you sit in the living room like a normal functioning adult, you moron.

When the elevator arrived, I stood as far away from him as the space would allow. It wasn’t easy. That crazy gravitational pull he had was drawing me toward him, one cell at a time. Electricity buzzed between us so quickly we could have powered the building.

We both let out audible sighs walking into the hall. I was relieved to see an empty suite when I opened the door. Stephanie must have Darren running laps with all the shopping she had planned.

“What are you smiling about?” Alastair looked at me curiously.

“Oh, I was just picturing Darren trying to keep up with Stephanie and her shopping marathon through Edinburgh.”

“I haven’t known Darren very long, but he always speaks very fondly of his American friend."

“How long have you known each other?”

“His agency does the marketing campaigns for my grandfather’s company. I know a few people who work there and ended up bumping into him at an event last year.”

He moved toward me in calculated, controlled strides. That intense, undeniable pull ignited again.

“I had a lovely time with you today.” He leaned so close to me I could feel his breath on my neck. Gasping, my eyelids fluttered closed. He was beyond dangerous. He was downright lethal. “Are you always so easily led back to a hotel with a stranger?”

“Do you always invite yourself into a strange woman’s hotel room?”

“Cheeky.”

“I have a feeling people need to be on their toes when they’re around you,” I grinned.

“Some might say that. But you’re not the type to ever let your guard down, are you?”

My smile faltered a bit. Those luminous eyes of his were very observant. Too observant for my liking. He laced his fingers through mine.

“I made the mistake of letting my guard down too much once. I’ve been paying for it ever since.” I swallowed back an acrid lump.

“Don’t let the ghosts of your past haunt your future,” he whispered. The look in his eyes betrayed the little pearl of wisdom he just dispensed. It was almost as though he said it more to convince himself than me.

“Your eyes are like butterscotch.”

“What?”

“The color,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Oh. Yeah. Amber, or something like that. I always thought they were just, you know, regular brown.”

“There is nothing regular about them. Or you.” He lightly fingered my hair, tucking a strand behind my ear.

“Does this charm thing that you’ve got going for you work often?”

“Charm thing?” The corners of his mouth curled up. “I’ve had some success with it.”