Peachy Keen (10 page)

I breathed a laugh when she paused to step into the black high heels she’d kicked off earlier. The way her legs looked in heels melted me into the couch. She pushed a hand through her hair and went on making figure eights with her lower half.

Our eyes locked as she came toward me with perfectly timed steps. When she reached me, she leaned over and dragged her fingernails down my chest all the way to my knees. My skin lit up with goosebumps. She spun and continued to roll her hips, dropping down to the floor then dancing her way back up. God, she was a natural. My eyes grew wide and I watched in disbelief as she pushed the straps of her dress over her shoulders. The purple fabric floated to her feet effortlessly. Fuck.

Georgia turned to me again, stepping out of the dress. I’d seen her naked. I’d seen her in bathing suits. But this was different. Her body, covered in a hot pink lace bra and panties, coupled with a hooded stare as she twisted in her heels seductively, made fire rage in my gut. The sparkle of her navel ring against her tight, tanned stomach made my mouth water.

I swallowed thickly, prepared to hold up my hands and stop her from going on, when she propped one high heeled foot between my legs on the loveseat. She bent to trace her leg with tantalizing fingers all the way up to her thigh and back around to her luscious ass. I stared at the way the pink lace clung to her backside when she made a slow turn and lowered herself onto my lap.

She rolled her body, making sure every part of her found a place to touch me. Her head craned back to rest on my shoulder and I took the moment to smell her hair while she wound her hips down on me. What was her shampoo, citrus? No, it was different than citrus—sweeter.

Peaches. Of course
, I thought as a smile ghosted along my lips.

 I shut my eyes and prayed I could keep from getting hard. The way she leaned against me felt natural and my instinct was to slip my hands around her bare midriff. My fingers brushed the thin lace at her waistline and I felt her flinch as she stood up.
Fuck.
My mouth opened to apologize but snapped shut as she pressed her knees into the sofa on either side of me so she could straddle me—staring at me while she continued to grind against my lower half.

Her hands roamed up and down her own sides and through her hair as she rocked her body in rhythm with the song. Georgia’s arms draped over my shoulders and she inched closer to my face, her swiveling pelvis hovering above mine.

She rolled her chest toward me and I shifted, my cock standing at full attention. My hands ached to glide up her sides to her breasts. I wet my lips just thinking about taking one of her tightened nipples into my mouth. The beat of the song built and Georgia leaned all the way back in next to nothing, giving me the same amazing view of her I’d had when I covered her body with mine the night we first met. I thought I’d die if I didn’t make contact with some erogenous flesh of hers soon.

Pulling herself upright again, she went up on her knees, sliding her body down mine before settling in my lap again as the song began to fade out. I waited for her to stand but she didn’t. And she didn’t speak. I wanted to pull back to look at her but instead my hands drifted up her back and coaxed her closer to me. She crept near enough that my breath tickled her throat. Her face dipped low and the fragrance of her perfume engulfed me, sweet and delicate, as her cheek nuzzled mine, my beard roughing up against her skin. When she sighed, I realized I’d been absently stroking her spine and petting the ends of her hair.

She never stopped grinding her hips against me. She started to work a little harder, push a little lower on me. There was no way she couldn’t feel my firm cock pressing against her. It had only been a few days, but I missed the feeling of her pussy. Maybe it was because I knew I’d never know it again. Either way, I wanted the barriers that separated us to vanish so she could slide down on my dick. I moved, pressing up into her for a moment and she met the resistance, bucking harder. Faster. I gasped, knowing she’d gone from sultry striptease to full on simulated sex. If we’d been teenagers, I’d be bragging to my friends tomorrow about the best dry-humping of my life.

The second she moaned softly against the hair at my temple, I let my tongue flick out to the tender flesh at the hollow of her throat. I felt her huff out a breath then draw in another sharply before stiffening.

“You’re really good at that,” I growled, resisting every urge I had to push whatever it was we were doing to the next level.

“I gotta go,” she whispered, peeling herself off of me.

The thick gulp I swallowed sounded in the room. I was acutely aware of the silence that surrounded us and how much it reminded me of that first night. Not even the sound of the rain permeated the room. Just heavy breathing, pounding hearts, and silent-screaming thoughts as she slipped into her dress and out the door.

10.

Paradise

Georgia

Pulling my hair to one side, my fingers quickly secured it in a braid. I caught my own eyes in the bathroom mirror and cringed at the memory of last night.
Georgia, you spectacular idiot.
I’d been scolding myself ever since I walked back to my room in the light sprinkling rain. My legs wobbled beneath me and my heart bordered on rupturing—threatening with every step to knock me dead after what could only be described as severe lapse in judgment.

Harrison showed up at the pool, I looked into those deep brown eyes, and I caved. I loved the way Harrison looked at me and I wanted nothing more than to hate it. The hours long getting to know you conversation that normally would’ve bored me to tears exhilarated me. Sharing with him, listening to him…everything with Harrison had a completely natural flow to it. It was as though I couldn’t stop it from happening. Even when he brushed my hair from my eyes…it felt like he’d done it before, as if it was a habit—or his right. At first, I couldn’t believe how easily I skipped my sure-thing date with Nate for a night with Harrison. Just another thing on the countless list of my out-of-character moves since Dani dropped me off at the airport. But in the end, feeling the authenticity of my time with Harrison, I wondered if it was really all that odd or if I just didn’t know myself the way I thought I did.

I had just ten minutes before I was supposed to be in the lobby to catch the bus for the beach excursion we’d signed up for. I looked in the mirror again and painted my lips with sheer gloss before tossing the tube in my bag with my sunscreen, a magazine, and a beach towel. I rode the elevator down and my stomach dropped when the reflective doors spread apart.

Crap.

Nate stared at me for a second before he smiled. “Hey,” he said as I stepped toward him. There was nowhere else for me to go unless I wanted to ride the elevator up and down for kicks. “What happened last night? I thought we had plans.”

I gave him a wincing smile. “Yeah. I’m sorry.”

His touch, drifting from my elbow to my chin, gave me chills. Not the good kind. He huffed, clearly annoyed but obviously still willing to give it another shot. “Tonight?”

My head began to shake before he’d even finished the single word offer. “Nate, you’re a fun guy. But I’m just not sure it’s a good idea anymore. We don’t really know each other…” My voice disintegrated and so did his charm.

Nate’s brow lifted and he folded his arms over his chest. “Seriously? You didn’t have a problem not knowing me the other night. You came here alone, Georgia. To Desire Resort. What was the plan? Meet the man of your dreams? Fall in love like your friend did?” He sneered, a smug smirk painting his mouth as his words dripped with condescension.

No. That was most definitely not the plan.  

My mouth twisted into another forced smile and I resolved not to continue the conversation past another “I’m sorry.” I skirted by Nate, who scoffed and muttered a few choice words at me—nothing I hadn’t heard before. My eyes scanned the lively lobby but I didn’t see Harrison anywhere. I couldn’t blame him for ditching me. I’d made a complete fool of myself and probably just confirmed in his mind that Danielle’s gal pal was nothing more than a grade A tramp.

The bus pulled up in the circular drive in front of the lobby and I let out a sigh. I slung my bag over my shoulder and looked up at the sea of guests waiting, taking one last glance around for him. Our eyes met and for a fleeting moment I felt the sting of tears.

Harrison made his way through the crowd with a huge smile on that handsome bearded face of his. He looked just as happy to see me as I was to see him. It seemed neither of us expected the other to show.

“Not too hungover to have an adventure, I see.” He beamed, sidling up next to me at the back of the line.

No, because I wasn’t that drunk when I tried to shred your jeans with my panties.
“Nope. Here I am. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!”

Harrison’s deep chuckle weakened my knees a little as we stepped on the bus to find seats. Watching him maneuver in the half-sized shuttle bus was pretty comical. He couldn’t stand all the way up inside and when we sat down, his arms were forced to brush mine at his side. When he settled in as best he could, he looked over at me and gave an apologetic half grin. I patted the bicep that pressed against me and smiled, once again happier at his side than anywhere else.

***

We swam in the ocean and snorkeled and saw the most unbelievably beautiful fish I could imagine, then ate lunch on the boat that took us to the last stop. The sounds of the waves crashing against the rocks that capped the strip of sand called Lover’s Beach were soothing, but not as soothing as the feeling of that sand between my toes. Harrison and I found a place close to the rocks so we could have a little shade. We’d spent the day in active mode and it was finally time to relax. I spread my towel out on the warm sand and sat to add yet another layer of sunscreen to my skin. Harrison put his towel next to mine and I saw him watching me from the corner of his eye. Earlier on the boat, when I did my second coat of sunscreen after we’d been in the water for close to an hour, I caught him ogling my stomach. He even slyly craned his neck to catch sight of my ass when I slipped my shorts back on. I didn’t say anything. My own eyes had lingered a little too long on his chest when he first took his t-shirt off at the marina. My memories of his naked body remained vivid and tormenting.

Glancing around, I zeroed in on a little cart with a striped umbrella opened over it and I gasped in delight. “You want a beer?” I asked.

Harrison’s mouth turned down for a split second before he nodded. I hopped up and quickly paid for two bottled Mexican beers, complete with lime wedges, then returned to our towels. Harrison took his with a quick thanks and I settled down on my stomach, taking a sip of the crisp liquid before pressing the bottom of the bottle into the sand to keep it upright.

“Why don’t you have a boyfriend?” I heard Harrison say from behind me. I peeked back and caught him staring at my ass yet again before he met my eyes.

“Excuse me?”

“Why don’t you have a boyfriend?” he asked again, enunciating each word with a faint grin.

“Why don’t you have a girlfriend?” I retorted smartly.

Harrison chuckled and stroked the hair at his chin. “Umm, because I’m a workaholic with commitment issues?”

I laughed. “You don’t have commitment issues, mister ‘
you can stay the night, it’s raining.’
”

He scoffed and took a long swig of beer, most likely to silence a retort. It was risky on my part, bringing up
that night
, but the words sort of just spilled out. I had that problem around him. I smirked and waited for him to give me a better answer, not considering the fact that he’d want my answer eventually.

“Okay, maybe I don’t have commitment issues just…issues.”

Here it comes.
I rolled over and propped myself up on my elbows. “All right, who was she?”

Harrison’s lips pulled up in a knowing grin. “Hmm. Her name was Meredith. I guess the quick version would be to say I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with her and it’s a damn good thing I didn’t.”

I sat up a little straighter at his confession, questions racing through my mind as I waited for him to elaborate. Spend the rest of his life with? Were they engaged? What happened? How long ago was he with her? My stomach pitched as I registered the jealousy that had slipped into my veins.

He scrubbed one hand over his face, dragging it slowly down his beard as he drew in a breath. He forced a smile. I knew this was uncomfortable territory for him but he wasn’t shutting the conversation down.

He started again, clearing his throat. “Typical story. College sweethearts. We weren’t right for each other, but it’s easy to get swept up in what other people expect of you. The end came when I realized she acted more like my supervisor than my girlfriend, so…”

A moment passed and I soaked in his words. But he’d said he thought he’d spend his life with her…I read between the lines and let another risky phrase fall from my lips. “You mean fiancée?”

Harrison’s eyes met mine meaningfully. Firmly, as though he wanted me to hear him—listen to him—when he replied. “No. I never asked her. She was never more than my girlfriend.”

The questions didn’t slow down in my head, only fueled the irrational jealousy that bubbled under the surface of my skin. I pulled my gaze away from him and started to reposition myself on my stomach again, opening my
Cosmopolitan
.

“Hey now,” Harrison piped up. “Your turn.”

I swallowed hard and crawled to the other side of my towel to sit beside him, completely covered in shade. “Why don’t I have a boyfriend?”

Clarifying the question wasn’t necessary, but I wanted to put off giving my answer as long as I could. Harrison nodded and lifted his brows, urging me to divulge the info he was now owed.

“Probably two reasons...at least.” An uncomfortable laugh cracked out of me. “When the only example of marriage you have is horrendous from the start then ends bitterly right in front of you during your formative years, you tend to take caution when it comes to relationships.”