That Conflicted Feeling (The Dashwood Billionaires) by Nicky Redford

Author:Nicky Redford [Redford, Nicky]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Up All Night Publishing
Published: 2023-10-04T16:00:00+00:00

18

MAX

“This is a nice sunny, sheltered spot,” says Polly as she drops onto the grass and leans back against the shed. She sets the goddamn wreath down next to her and stretches those sexy legs straight out in front.

A cheer erupts from somewhere behind us.

“Someone must have finally won the tortoise derby,” I say and sit down next to her.

“Wait till the snail race starts. That’s when things get really wild.” She pulls her knees up to her chest and examines the damage caused by the wreath. “It’s not bad at all. It’s only a bit of a scratch. It’s stopped bleeding already.”

It’s a knee. Just a knee. Just a knee with a graze on it. Knees are not hot. Knees are not body parts to lust over. So why am I having to grip the wine bottle to stop myself from stroking this particular one?

In an effort to distract my hands further, I unscrew the cap off the wine. “I can disinfect it with some of this if you like.”

She flinches and covers the wound with her hand to protect it. “Hell, no.”

I look at the bottle and shrug. “Well, it’s open now.”

“Oh, you’re not.” Polly recoils in horror.

“Oh, I am.” I take a sip and semi-choke. “This one tastes like tepid battery acid, as opposed to the chilled battery acid Gerald served us.”

Polly rests her head back on the shed, revealing the smooth front of her throat, and laughs. “Urgh. Why would you punish yourself more?”

I hand her the bottle. “You try.”

“You haven’t exactly sold it well.” She takes the bottle anyway and, without wiping the rim, puckers her lips and places her mouth right where mine just was.

She takes a small sip. “Hmm, actually not as bad on a second try.”

She passes it back.

I take another mouthful. “You know what? I think I can actually taste the gooseberries this time.”

The bottle goes back and forth, tasting a little less horrific each time. Polly laughs more with each sip. I’ve never met anyone so joyous.

The tiny window she said she saw in my heart? It eases open a little bit more with each laugh, letting in more of her light.

She places the bottle on the other side of her, next to the wreath, and shakes her head. “I can’t believe we’re sitting in a field, behind a shed, drinking bad wine before lunch.”

“When do you prefer to drink bad wine?”

“Preferably never.”

She pulls her knees up under her chin again, and I catch sight of the wreath wound on her knee.

The magic gooseberry and zucchini potion has weakened my resolve.

“Here, let me see that.” I run my middle finger gently around the edges of the red mark. My hand tingles at the touch of her skin, the blood flowing back up my arm warmer than when it left.

Polly falls silent and watches me touch her, watches my finger needlessly circle the scratch again. And then one more time. Exactly as I did with the graze on her hand outside the shop that morning.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.