Snuggled with Sunny,
listening to the waves rolling on shore, was the most tranquil
environment he could imagine. But his thoughts were unsettled and
whirled like the ceiling fan overhead. He
should
crawl out of the bed, explain
what a terrible mistake this had been—even though he didn't believe
it—and haul ass back to Myrtle Beach.
Instead, he rested his cheek on top of her
head and drew in a deep breath. The smell of her strawberry shampoo
reminded him of her suckers, and a smile tugged at his mouth. How
could a woman be so sexy and adorably cute at the same time?
He laced his fingers through hers and
massaged her palm with the pad of his thumb. Her breath fanned
across his chest as she softly sighed. The pleasure he took from
doing something for her, even something as simple as massaging her
hand, was enormous.
And ridiculous.
And scary as shit.
He
thought
he was in trouble before.
Now, he
knew
it.
Every moment spent with her was like quicksand, pulling him in
deeper and deeper. And yet, here he lay, allowing himself to be
swallowed whole.
He rubbed the calluses on her hands—proof of
the hard work she put into renovating the building. And the equally
hard work required to maintain the building, as well as run the bar
on a daily basis.
Without knowing her history, he couldn’t say
for sure, but he suspected they were more alike than their current
circumstances indicated. As a boy, he spent a lot of hot, hard,
seemingly endless days working on his grandfather’s farm. Crazy as
it sounded, sometimes he missed the physical labor and the
satisfaction that came from building something from nothing. He
regularly worked out in his home gym and enjoyed the exertion, but
that wasn’t the same as using his body to fulfill a purpose.
He studied the tattoo wrapped around her
wrist. “My Latin is rusty. What does your tat say?”
She lifted her head from his shoulder and
smiled. “Never give up.”
His bark of laughter combined with a sharp
exhale of disbelief. “Are you kidding me?”
“Nope. It’s a constant reminder that’s served
me well over the years.” She rested her head back on his shoulder
and finger-combed his chest hair. “You can tell your boss he’ll
never win, and I’ve got the tattoo to prove it.”
He sighed and scooted up so he could lean
against the wall. He hated to lose this moment of post-coital
bliss, but he might as well use the opening she gave him. “Tell me
about this bar. Why are you so firm in your resolve to keep
it?”
She scooted up next to him and pulled the
sheet with her. “Can we have this conversation dressed and with
food? I haven't eaten since early last evening, and I'm
starving.”
“That's probably a good idea.” He smiled and
took another moment to admire the splendor of a mostly naked Sunny.
“I'm not sure how much talking we'd get done sitting in bed.
Naked.”
Her gaze traveled down his chest to his lap,
then back to his neck. Despite what she’d said, her thoughts were
revealed in the way her eyelids dipped as she sank her teeth into
her lower lip. As much as he liked the idea, more sex wasn't going
to fix the problem. It would only complicate things further, so he
crawled out from under the sheet and pulled on his pants.
“Can you hang out for a few minutes while I
take a shower?” she asked.
“Sure.” He leaned over to kiss her forehead
and once again found himself lost in her eyes. In the bright
sunlight, they changed from silver to a pale, pale blue. The longer
he stared, the more fascinated he became. When the expression
buried in them went from why-the-hell-are-you-staring-at-me to
crawl-back-into-bed-with-me, he took a deep breath and stepped
back.
He could easily stay in bed with Sunny for
days. But that wouldn’t settle anything, and she was hungry. “If
you're okay with me rummaging through your kitchen, I'll fix you
lunch while you shower.”
Her face lit up with a smile that turned him
inside out. “Why would I mind?” She crawled out of bed and swung
her way to the bathroom. “What girl doesn’t dream of having a man
cook for her?”
When Gavin was finally able to pull his gaze
away from her naked ass—because she shut the bathroom door and
blocked his view—he scrubbed a hand over his face, then headed to
the kitchen. He couldn’t change millions of years of genetic
coding, but he was thoroughly disgusted with the primal beast
roaring to the surface… taking great pleasure in fixing his woman
something to eat. No, he wasn’t out bludgeoning something to death
with a club, but he was still preparing her a life-sustaining meal,
and that was highly gratifying.
The Neanderthalian part of his brain may be
no larger than a speck of dust, but it recognized, the moment Sunny
called him Romeo and blasted him for his inappropriate drink
requests, his life had jumped off the track.
The larger part of his brain, the one he used
on a daily basis for logic and reasoning, was beginning to have its
doubts that he’d ever find the old track again.
***
Sunny showered and dressed, then went in
search of something more appropriate for Gavin to wear to the
beach. Taking their food outside seemed to be the best option. She
wanted to strip and lick and suck him like one of her Dum-Dums and
didn’t trust herself to behave if they stayed within the confines
of her apartment.
He and Robby were about the same height, but
whereas Robby was still boyishly thin, Gavin seriously outweighed
him in muscle. After rummaging through all of Robby’s drawers, she
settled on a large T-shirt and a pair of running shorts she thought
might work. She had no idea what size shoes Gavin wore, but hey, he
was at the beach. He could go barefoot.
She carried the shorts and T-shirt to the
kitchen, where she found Gavin looking completely at home. This was
getting out of hand and no longer felt like a one-time fling.
Especially since she’d been trying to figure out ways to keep him
around. “Are you okay with having a picnic on the beach?”
He gave her the beautiful smile that
transformed his face from harsh to handsome. “Sure.” He cut a
sandwich in half, then stacked it on a plate with two others. “Do
you have any sandwich bags?”
“Yeah, but I’ll finish this up.” She held the
clothes out to him. “I thought these might be more comfortable than
your dress clothes.”
He swallowed hard as he looked at the
clothes, and for a second, she didn’t think he would take them. His
eyes softened and his mouth curled in a smile. Reaching for the
clothes, he said, “You make it tough on a guy. How am I supposed to
go back to work after this?”
Yeah, well, if he didn’t want to go back to
work today, that was okay with her. He wouldn’t hassle her about
selling her property. And she’d have more time to explore his
body.
While Gavin changed, Sunny packed the
sandwiches into her seldom-used picnic basket. They looked and
smelled great, but sandwiches alone didn’t a picnic make. She
tossed in a bag of chips, then dug around in the fridge until she
found a bunch of grapes.
With her head stuck in the refrigerator, she
yelled, “What would you like to drink? Your choices are Pepsi and
water. Or we can go down to the bar and get something.”
She heard him coming through the living room
and glanced up in time to see the T-shirt fall over his head, then
slowly crawl down his chest and stomach. Gavin in a suit was sexy.
Gavin barefoot, wearing running shorts and a T-shirt that hugged
his broad chest and shoulders was freaking fantastic. She chewed on
her bottom lip and once again debated the merits of food versus
sex.
He leaned in close and whispered, “If you
keep looking at me like that, we’ll never get out of here.” He
reached around her for a bottle of water, then backed away.
“Where’s a blanket?”
She gulped and nodded toward the hallway. “In
the closet.” Shaking her head to get herself back in the game, she
grabbed a Pepsi, a couple bottles of water, and a handful of
Dum-Dums.
Gavin returned with the quilted blanket
flipped over his shoulder, picked up the basket, then opened the
door. “Lead the way.”
The path across the dunes took them past the
old Anticue pier, with its rusted roof, peeling paint, and missing
shutters. “I’ve heard rumors that a group of investors were going
to buy this, make the necessary repairs, and reopen it.” She
shrugged. “Far as I know, though, no one’s gone through with the
purchase.”
Gavin sighed and wrapped his arm around her
shoulder.
“What’s with the sigh? It would be great to
have that old building refurbished and reopened.”
Gavin nodded and the muscle in his jaw
jerked. “Yeah, it would. But that’s not the investor’s plan.”
“How do you…? Oh. Your boss is the one who’s
buying it.” Rather than a question, the words came out as a
nasty-sounding accusation. “Why does he want to buy all this
property, anyway?”
“He wants to build a resort.”
Relief blasted through her and exited in a
nearly hysterical laugh. “Then he’s wasting his time. And yours. We
have ordinances to prevent things like that from being built. This
is a non-issue.” Happier by the second, she pointed to a spot
between two vacant summer homes. “Is that okay?”
He opened his mouth, as if he had more to say
on the subject, but then snapped it closed and shrugged.
“Sure.”
He set the basket down before wandering along
the water’s edge while she spread the blanket on the soft sand.
Kicking at the wet sand, with his hands tucked into his pockets, he
looked like a sad little boy who’d lost his best friend, and the
urge to comfort him was overwhelming.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Not the appropriate
reaction to someone who was nothing more than a fling. Whatever was
bothering him, he’d have to deal with on his own. Resolve in place,
she unpacked the basket and waited for him to make his way back to
her.
Without saying a word, he sat across from
her, then pulled a grape from the bunch. Looking at her through the
dark fringe of his lashes, he brushed the grape against her lower
lip and said, “Open up.”
The grape was cool, his fingers warm, as she
drew them into her mouth. His breathing quickened, and her heart
raced as she stroked her tongue over his thumb and forefinger
before flicking the fruit free of his grasp.
He drew in a shuddering breath and slowly
withdrew his fingers. “Do you know how incredibly sexy you
are?”
She chewed the grape and
contemplated his question. “I like to
feel
sexy. That's why I wear the
necklaces. But I don't think of myself as
being
sexy.”
“Well, you are.” He handed her a sandwich.
“You better feed yourself. Anymore of that and your lunch will go
by the wayside… like breakfast.”
She drew in a deep breath and savored the
fragrant aroma of chicken and peppers wafting from the sandwich
bag. “This smells wonderful. What is it?”
He’d been watching her reaction and,
seemingly pleased with the response, grabbed another sandwich for
himself. He leaned back on his elbow and kicked his legs out in
front. “Chicken salad. Sort of.”
“Sort of?” She pulled off the top piece of
bread and studied the sandwich. He'd shredded leftover chicken,
added salad dressing, diced green and red peppers and onion.
Impressive. She replaced the top slice and took a bite.
Her eyes drifted shut as she savored the
flavors mingling on her tongue. “This is really good.” She opened
her eyes and took another bite. “Would you mind telling me exactly
how you made it? This would be a great, easy-to-make addition to
our menu.”
He slid a glance her way and winked. “We can
probably work something out.” After eating in silence for a few
minutes, he asked, “Where are you from, originally?”
She took a drink of her Pepsi and considered
this getting-to-know-you business. Sex was one thing. Getting to
know each other on a personal level seemed dangerous to her
emotional wellbeing.
She started things with him as a one-night
fling, which turned into a one-night-and-one-morning, scorching-hot
fling. At this point, she could still walk away and be fine.
Mostly. But what if, in the process of learning more about him, she
accidentally fell for him? As strong as her attraction to him was,
she could easily see that happening.
She decided to be cautious. She’d share a
little, but not reveal too much. “I’m from Randall, West Virginia.”
No one knew where Randall was. And, based on his blank expression,
he didn’t either. “It’s a little town halfway between Charleston
and Pittsburgh.” She pulled off a bite of sandwich and popped it
into her mouth. “What about you?”
“I was born in Virginia, but grew up outside
of New Bern.” Shadows dulled his eyes as his gaze shifted to the
ocean’s horizon. Before she could ask about the sadness she sensed
in him, he said, “Why did you leave West Virginia?”
“I wanted to live someplace warm.” Where even
if they had no heat in the house, or she was forced to sleep in the
car, she wouldn't have to worry about freezing to death. “When I
first left home, I went to Myrtle Beach. I didn't want to go any
further south because it was too far away from Robby.” She watched
a wave roll onshore and thought back. Life had never been a
cakewalk, but leaving Robby almost killed her.
“What about your parents?”
“Mom subscribed to Ed’s theory of time off
for good behavior. In her case, she only waited ten years, not
forty. And rather than taking a year off, she took a lifetime. Dad
wasn’t a bad father, and he did the best he could. But after Mom
left, everything pretty much went to shit.”