She opened one eye and peeked from under her arm. “I’m whining, aren’t I?”
“A little.”
She gave a rueful smile. “Well, can’t you whine a little, too? That would make me feel better. What is waiting to attack you when you get back?”
“I’m going to Boston at the end of the week for a customer briefing. And I have a meeting on Wednesday with the developers. But that’s all normal stuff.” He grinned when she curled her lip in disgust, obviously unimpressed. “I have a dentist appointment. Does that help?”
“No.” She ran her hand idly over her stomach. “I have an ultrasound scheduled in a few weeks and I have to drink three glasses of water before I go, and they won’t let me go to the loo until the test is done. I’ve heard it’s justagony. ”
“I have to get a crown. That’s agonizing, too,” he protested. It wasn’t something he was looking forward to.
“Aren’t you kind of young for a crown? How old are you anyway?” Mandy looked at him suspiciously, like he was forty-five and trying to hide it.
“Thirty-three. And I have a sweet tooth that gets me into trouble.” He smiled at her and adjusted the sail so they would turn around and start back to the shore. “Didn’t you notice how many cookies I ate at lunch?”
“I did make note of that.” Then she shrieked when a spray of ocean water soaked the front of her from hair to thighs. “That’s cold!”
Damien laughed as she sat up shaking herself. “It is not cold. It’s seventy-five-degree water.”
Mandy didn’t like his answer. She leaned over and tossed a handful of water in his direction before he realized what she was doing. Warm water hit his face and bare chest.
Damien blinked and shook his head so the water scattered. “Definitely warm.”
She laughed. “You idiot.”
“What? What did I do?” He leaned toward her, thinking it would be a really great idea to kiss her right now.
Mandy must have thought he was going to splash her or some other form of retribution because she quickly scooted backward. “No, don’t!”
Only her laughter cut out when she lost her balance and rocked precariously. Damien shot his arms out and grabbed her before she tumbled over the side of the boat. “Careful now.”
He settled her onto his lap, away from the edge, and took a deep breath to slow down his racing heart. She’d scared the shit out of him for a split second there.
“You rescued me,” she said, her chocolate brown eyes melting as she looked at him.
He had a funny feeling that the opposite was true. She had rescued him. As she dusted her lips over his, and her bottompressed into his thighs, her breasts firm and warm on his chest, Damien held her to him.
“It was nothing.” And if he kept telling himself that, maybe he’d believe it.
Mandy pulled back and raised her eyebrows suggestively. “Ever hooked up on a boat?”
“No.” Damien gave in to the pleasure of caressing her backside, but refrained from anything else. “And I’m not going to today either, since we’re fifty feet from shore.”
Mandy looked over her shoulder at the beach and let out a sigh. “Oh, damn. That’s really a shame.”
Her mournful expression made him laugh. “What do you want to do now? We could play water volleyball, or go for a donkey ride on the beach. No, never mind. The donkey ride doesn’t sound safe. We could go back to my room, and I could lick you all over and make you come. I’ll let you decide.”
Moistening her lips, she smiled, a slow, sensual smile. “As fond as I am of donkeys, I’ll choose the third option.”
The boat hit the sand, and they lurched to a stop. Mandy’s ass smashed into his erection. “Good choice,” he said through clenched teeth.
The plane was quiet, the sun-soaked passengers lethargic. A Julia Roberts movie was playing on the TV monitors, but Mandy hadn’t bothered to plug in her headphones. She was content to just lean on Damien’s arm, a blanket wrapped over her.
Definitely a little different than the trip down. Then she had been avoiding Damien. Now she didn’t want to let him go, knowing this was it. Their last few hours together. But they weren’t talking about that. Damien was telling her about hisapartment and the renovations he was making to it, taking down some walls to open up the space.
She was content to just listen to him, interjecting an occasional comment or thought, but mostly she just wanted to feel his nearness, the rumble in his chest as he spoke, the rise and fall of his breathing. The way he squeezed her waist to emphasize a point as he talked.
“Where will you live after the baby is born?” he asked.
