Joshua turned to see Grace making her way toward them. She had retouched her makeup. That lipstick wasn't going to last. He couldn't stop the smile that formed as that thought registered. She smiled in response, totally unaware that she was drawing attention as she made her way to the two brothers.
Zac looked from Grace to Joshua and shook his head in resigned acknowledgement of the inevitable. He sighed dramatically, stacked the glasses he was carrying and then tapped Joshua's shoulder. "Give me those bottles." Deftly he hooked his fingers around the necks of three brown bottles and Joshua placed the fourth in the stack of glasses.
"See you later." Joshua murmured as he walked off to meet Grace without giving his brother another look.
"Yeah, right." Zac muttered and watched Joshua move purposefully toward Grace, take her elbow and propel her out of the room. "Next century maybe." Zac continued to mumble to no one in particular as he ambled back to the rest of the party, his hands full, balancing the precarious cargo of drinks and glasses.
"Come on." Joshua said firmly. Grace followed him. No questions asked. She held onto his hand as they threaded their way through the throng and headed for some privacy. He led the way out.
Once out of sight of other people he stopped. Slowly he pulled her back into his arms to continue where they had left off. He backed her against the old timbered walls of the upper deck. His hands braced on either side of her head, his fingers splayed against the painted wooden walls. Once again his mouth began to rove in a gentle but demented fashion across her face. Grace slid her hands and arms beneath his jacket and around his waist, tugging his shirt free. She wanted to touch his skin, the way he was touching hers. She wanted to drag her nails across his back, to palm the lower muscles of his back and to run her fingers along his spine. She had no conscious thought, just this unrelenting need to touch him. Just when she had tugged the shirt free and her hands had started to put imagination into practice, Joshua initiated the most erotic kiss Grace had ever had. As his hips pressed forward and she was made even more aware of his erection, his tongue plunged slowly in and out of her mouth, fencing with her tongue and rimming the inner edges of her lips. Totally mindless she kissed him back. Striving to echo his movements, eager to give as much pleasure as she was receiving.
A loud cough, "Excuse us?" Said a laughing voice.
Joshua leaned forward, keeping Grace within the shelter of his body and arms. He tried to shield her from the prying looks. The other couple shuffled past. He breathed deeply when they'd gone. Then he laid his forehead against hers, their eyes inches apart.
"Fuck." He whispered without any semblance of romanticism. "I don't think this is the right place."
"No." She agreed in a voice that was husky and rough with passion. In that one word she communicated the desolate frustration she felt. His green eyes were almost as dark as hers. "I can't believe I do this in public." She whispered back, totally bemused by her behaviour, "What was in that champagne?"
He stroked her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs "I'm only this public with you." He fought for some semblance of control. "Come."
"Where?" but she followed him without waiting for a reply.
The rear of the paddle steamer was deserted. There was a gentle cooling breeze and the blades of the rotating wheel were flicking a fine spray of water that caught in the wind before hitting the deck. The sun had dipped totally out of sight, but in it's wake it had left a sky of misty pink streaks and a slowly darkening evening. Grace shivered slightly and only then remembered that she had left her shawl lying on the back seat of Joshua's car. Joshua noticed the shiver, he removed his jacket and gently placed it around her shoulders. It dwarfed her, making her look strangely vulnerable. He tucked his shirt back into his trousers and smiled at her when she looked mortified.
"I think we'd better talk. Touching seems to get out of hand." Joshua joked. "If I kissed you now, I think I'd end up making love to you on the deck."
"Oh really?" She challenged with a lot more bravado then she felt.
"Easy." He retorted with all the audacity she'd have expected from him. The word was said softly, the green eyes that held hers told another story. They were blazing with a passion held tightly in check. Grace swallowed when she saw the flames and realized how he felt, tentatively she moistened dry lips.
"Don't do that." He commanded hoarsely. She looked startled. "Turn around. Looking in your eyes is tantamount to conceding."
She did so without even questioning his dictatorial order. Grace faced the open water, her hip bone pressing against the balustrade that kept her from falling into the midnight darkness below. Joshua stood behind her, his hands resting on either side of her, his body a few scant inches from hers. He slowly inhaled.
He whispered into her ear, "Tell me about you."
"Wh, what d'you want to know?"
"Anything. Childhood anecdotes, what's your favourite colour, what your dreams are, why you smell so good." That startled him. That wasn't what he meant to say, he was only thinking it. There had been no conscious command to voice that thought, how had it escaped? He moved away abruptly, "This isn't going to work." The hoarseness was back in his voice. "Come on." He said once again and smiled gently at her bemused look.
She looked like he felt. Shell shocked. Overwhelmed. Shattered. Now he knew why people in love acted so irrationally at times, their normal senses were totally screwed up. He loved this woman. Her spirit, her intelligence, everything about her.
"Let's go below deck." She jerked from him in surprised confusion. He grinned with a faint hue of regret. "Sweetheart, they are serving supper in the cabin downstairs." He chucked her under the chin and then slid an arm along her shoulder as if he had done it many times before. "Heaps of people around. Lots of light. I certainly haven't the discipline to be here alone with you and I don't think you have the hide to cope with splinters in your butt after we make out on the deck of a paddle steamer."
The cabin was just as crowded as the deck where all the dancing had been taking place, the only difference being the amount of light. It was brighter in the cabin.
Zac caught their eye and signaled them over. "Glad you could rejoin us." He ribbed facetiously, then handed Joshua a serviette, "Here, you are wearing more of her lipstick then she is." He grinned happily as his brother took the serviette and began to wipe faint traces of lipstick off his lips. Grace hadn't even noticed that she had left her mark on him. Getting warmer by the minute she tried to pull away from Joshua.
He was having none of it. He pulled her closer to him, saying, "That's what happens, little brother, when you kiss someone." Promptly he kissed Grace again, once again acquiring traces of the lipstick she wore. His arm remained possessively around her waist when he released her lips. His eyes lending her courage to ride out the scrutiny they were both receiving.
He missed the snide comment Lysette made under her breath; "Only if it's cheap lipstick."
But he heard Craig's comment, "Grace, if only Sash could see you now." He was shaking his head as he smiled in remembrance.
"Sash?" Zac asked. "Who's Sash?" He flicked a look at Craig then Grace, waiting for an answer.
"Sasha is her youngest sister." Six pairs of inquisitive eyes focussed on Craig, waiting expectantly for further enlightenment. Craig gave Grace a fleeting look, checking her reaction, waiting to see whether he could go ahead. She nodded imperceptibly.
"Sash used to hassle Grace when they were younger"
"I was a trifle bossy and a born feminist." She threw in before Craig continued.
"Sash said no man in his right mind would ever kiss Grace, because she was so bossy."
"I'd be happy to prove to Sasha otherwise." Joshua offered gallantly, his left hand stroking her cheek reverently.
"I've done that. Thanks for offering." She said automatically, then noticed the look of jealousy that flitted through the already green eyes. She had only been teasing, she hadn't meant to hurt him, Grace reached for his hand and squeezed it gently, her eyes staying with his. He smiled, slowly, as if she was the only person in the room.
Provoked, Lysette interrupted the eye contact "Joshua" She said in saccharine sweet tones that hid the astringency, "Anyone would think you were in love." She mocked acidly.
"Darling," Craig chastened, then grinned unrepentantly "He is."
"Really" Lysettesnorted before adding bitchily, "Joshua is out with a different woman everyweek."
Grace squared her shoulders and her chin came up defiantly. She tried to extricate her hand from Joshua's grip. But he held fast. Joshua, Craig, and Zac were about to dive into speech to rescue Grace, but she didn't need their help and she didn't wait for it. Very softly and pointedly phlegmatic, Grace said, "That was before me."
Luke, who'd been keenly alert all evening, watching the way his normally reserved friend was behaving, and seeing the difficulty Joshua was having in keeping his hands off his date, watched this last scene with a fair amount of interest. He whistled quietly before whispering, "Touche." She was beautiful and she wasn't intimidated by anyone. If Joshua hadn't looked so smitten with the woman, Luke would have been tempted to make a play for her. But as it was, he contented himself with silently wishing his friend success, because he knew this would not be an easy courtship. He recognised, what he considered her main failing. The woman was terribly, incredibly, blatantly independent. Too independent for Luke. Hell, she probably thought for herself. Not his type of woman at all. But he could understand why Joshua had fallen hard. She was smart, charming, and stunning.
Joshua beamed at Grace, Zac guffawed loudly and Craig nodded knowingly.
"Come on you." Joshua tugged her along, "Let's go dance."
Zac roared with laughter again, "Dance? Is that what you call it?" He challenged, "Come on Shelley, let's go dance." He winked provocatively at his date.
Shelley cuffed his shoulder. "When I know you better."
"Now's your chance." He teased as he dropped a hand on her butt. She promptly jabbed an elbow into his ribs and smiled when he scowled. Grace turned and gave Zac an innocent look and then smiled saucily at him. Once again he hooted with laughter. He would enjoy having her for a sister-in-law. But that would need Joshua to demonstrate a lot of skill in persuading her to marry him.
Once they had stepped out of the dining cabin, having eaten nothing, Joshua pulled her into his arms and kissed her hard. He broke off the kiss, breathing rapidly as he rested his forehead against hers, "I wish we could get off this damn boat and get some privacy."
"Oh yes." She said wistfully, "To do what?"
"What do you think?" He breathed into her ear before nibbling lightly at a vulnerable spot just below her earlobe. A frisson of electricity shot through her and she heard herself saying yes to the unvoiced question.
Last on, first off: Joshua and Grace were the first to leave. They were standing by the balustrade gate and as soon as the boat docked, much to the amusement of the deck hand, they got off. They were the only couple to abandon ship so early in the evening. Hand in hand Grace and Joshua marched through the park, setting a brisk pace. He had his jacket draped over her shoulders to keep her warm, for the heat of the day had disappeared and the clear moonlit sky held a touch of frost. They reached the car in less time than it had taken to walk from the car to the paddle boat earlier that evening. He drove straight to the cottage where he gave her a choice again. He needed her to be very certain.
"Are you sure?" He asked when they walked up the two steps and stood outside the door.
Grace rummaged in her small evening bag and retrieved the front door key. "Yes." She told him as she opened the door.