She lies back and turns to me with a mischievous look in her eyes. “I say we play a game.”
“What kind of game?”
“It’s called massage. I lie here and you massage me ‘til I fall asleep.”
An image of her lying there naked with me rubbing oil all over her floats through my brain, and I feel myself reactimmediately to it. Shifting a little on the chair, I try to think of the right response, not the one I want to make about giving her a happy ending. “Did that drink go to your head already, lightweight?”
“I think it’s the heat.”
I grin over at her. “I’d say it’s the vodka.”
“That too.” She giggles, then closes her eyes again. “Mmm… I’m so relaxed, I’m boneless.”
“I’m definitely not without a bone,” I mutter before I can stop the words from pouring out of my dumb mouth.
Her eyes fly open, and she gasps with a huge grin on her face. “Why, Mr. Gamble, I cannot believe you’re talking about your big bone with a client.”
“I meant nothing of the sort, Ms. Chadwick,” I answer, pretending to be shocked. “But, thanks for assuming it’s big.” I smile, then add, “Accurate guess.”
Her face turns bright red, and she bursts out laughing at my stupid joke. Well, damn if that’s not a sound I’d like to hear every day for the next forty years or so.
When she stops laughing, she has a sip of her drink, then gives me a curious look. “How big? Are we talking anaconda big?”
Now it’s my turn to laugh. I give her a mock-sexy look. “It’s hard to describe. It’s kind of something you have to see to believe.”
“Well?” she asks, gesturing at my lap. “Let’s have a look then.”
We lock eyes, and there’s a whole conversation going on between us with no words. But there’s no way we should be saying any of these things. I remind myself that she’s not the love ‘em and leave ‘em type, and I’m not the forever and a day sort, so we best leave this alone.
But if we didn’t leave it alone … it could be earth-shattering fun.
Nope, bad idea. She’s got a five-year plan and you’re not in it.
Shit, I’m about to do the right thing, aren’t I? And my anaconda is going to be so disappointed. “I’d show you, but that would just ruin you for other men.”
Her face falls slightly, and I know she can tell I’m trying to back up to safer territory. “Probably best, then.”
“Yup,” I nod, suddenly overcome with frustration. Getting up, I rake a hand through my hair. “I think I’ll go for a swim.”
I walk down to the water and straight in. When I’m up to my knees, I dive under the surface and feel the ocean surround me, cooling me down, but not nearly enough. The truth is, I don’t think I can hold out much longer. And I know I don’t want to.
23
Throwing Caution (and Your Clothes) to the Wind…
Paige
I watch as Mac swims,his powerful body cutting through the sea like it’s air. My head is swimming almost as fast as he is, thinking of all kinds of naughty things I want to do with him. I want to wrap my legs around him and feel him sink his anaconda into me, and grind my hips over his lap, and … and … oh, my. I haven’t felt like this about a guy for so long, I can’t even remember who he was. It was all I could do not to jump him when he came out of the bathroom in only his shorts this morning. His chest and abs and back are a work of art, as if Da Vinci sculpted him himself. His tanned, taut skin looks as if it’s barely able to contain all those muscles that I want to lick.
I watch as he starts back to shore, his pace increasing as he moves with the tide now. When he gets close enough to stand, he rises from the water, his perfect body dripping and rippling as he walks toward me. My heart pounds in my chest. I want him. Now. More than anything I’ve ever wanted in my life. And I know he wants me too. I’m surehe does. The only thing that’s holding him back is the idea that I’m going to expect forever with him, and as wonderful as that would be, I’d rather have him for a short time than not at all.
I stand and walk to him, the sand almost too hot on my bare feet until I reach the water and plant myself in front of him. For a long, intense moment, neither of us says anything. We just stare at each other. His breath is ragged, and I know it’s as much from the heat between us as it is from his swim, because my own breath is just as choppy.
“What if I want to be ruined for other men?” I ask.
His head snaps back, but he doesn’t say anything.
“Look, I know you’ve got this idea that I’m incapable of something casual, but that’s not true. Do I want to be married someday? Yes. Sure I do. But it doesn’t have to betoday. I also want to experience life, and I think you’re the type of person who wants to experience life too.” My heart pounds and my stomach flips. I’m laying it all on the line here. I’m taking a massive risk that could absolutely wreck everything, or it could lead to the most toe-curling, incredible time of my life. “But if you don’t want toexperience lifewith me, that’s okay. If you don’t think of me that way, it’s cool. I just … thought I’d see if you might.”
