Even though I know delaying the inevitable will only make things worse, there is a part of me that would like nothing more than to put the entire matter of Daniel Hathaway behind me and forget I ever heard his name.
Melanie’s smile only grows as she nears me. “You’re early.”
“You’re beautiful.” I cup her nape and drag her to me for a kiss I’ve been waiting hours to claim. “Ready to go?”
She gazes up at me with her lip caught between her teeth. “More than ready.”
I take the book-laden tote off her shoulder and lead her out to my waiting car. When I open the Aston Martin’s passenger door for her, she peers into the backseat at the bags of fresh produce and meats I picked up on the way, then shoots me a quizzical look. “What’s all this?”
“Lunch.”
I drive us to a private airport nearby, where the small plane I’ve chartered is already fueled up with the pilot waiting for us. She doesn’t hide her surprise, nor her relief that we’ll be making the flight to my Hamptons house in something other than a helicopter.
“You didn’t do this for me, did you?”
“I did.” I kiss her again, groaning at the way my body throbs to be inside her. “Traveling by plane also shaves ten minutes off the flight, and that’s ten extra minutes I’d rather have to spend naked with you today.”
She laughs. “I can get on board with that plan.”
“Good.” I pass her a bag containing a couple loaves of warm French bread and vegetables for salads. “You take this one. I’ll grab the rest.”
An hour later, I’m flipping burgers on the big deck of the house in Sagaponack while Melanie’s got a feast set up for us on the table overlooking the beach and ocean. She carries out a big bowl of salad from the kitchen, then pours a couple of sparkling waters over ice and brings one to me at the grill.
Her kiss lands light and tender on my jaw. “This is amazing. Thank you for bringing me here again today.”
“Consider it a do-over.” Trading the bubbly water for the sexy woman standing beside me, I encircle Melanie in my arms. “I wanted to make this right.”
“It already is.” She sets her glass on the edge of the deck railing and gazes up at me, her eyes reaching inside me the way no one has ever done before. “I mean, come on. Sand, salty summer breeze off the water, a private lunch being served up by the hot, handsome man who made me come so many times yesterday I lost count? What more could I possibly want?”
I grunt, unable to curb my grin. “Just wait until you see what I’ve got in mind for dessert.”
She tips her head back and laughs, giving me a welcome excuse to run my mouth along the pretty curve of her throat. She sighs as I skim my lips and tongue down to the small hollow, a small shiver coursing through her.
My cock surges, desire already sinking its hooks into me. I groan and lift my head from the silky sweetness of her skin, giving her firm little ass a playful smack of my palm.
“Lunch,” I growl. “Before I decide to make an appetizer out of you.”
We work together to put the rest of the food on the table. It strikes me how natural it feels to have her here with me. How easy and relaxed it all feels. The way it just feels . . .right.
As we eat, I watch, amused and more than a little turned on, as she bites into her burger with complete abandon.
“Mmm,” she moans, closing her eyes for a moment. “This is so good.”
No dainty nibbles or false declarations that a few morsels are all she needs to sustain her. While Melanie is naturally elegant no matter what she’s doing, there’s something viscerally primal about the way she eats. I could study her doing the most mundane things and never get bored.
She must feel the weight of my stare because she abruptly glances over at me and pauses. “What is it?” She sets the half-eaten burger on her plate and picks up her napkin. “Do I have ketchup on my face?”
I chuckle, mutely shaking my head. “You’re perfect. Tell me about the classes you’re taking.”
She waves her hand in front of her face as she chews, then takes a drink from her glass. “I’m a semester away from finishing my MBA. That’s why I’m taking summer courses. The sooner I finish up, the sooner I can start looking for a full-time position in the city. Waiting tables at the diner pays the bills, but I’m not going to get ahead like that. Besides, I really want a career, something more challenging.”
“Like what?”
“Numbers come easily to me, so most likely I’ll start out interviewing with some of the big accounting firms.” When I purse my lips and take a drink of sparkling water, she tilts her head at me. “You don’t think it’s a good plan?”
I set the glass down and lean toward her. “I think you can do anything you set your mind to. You’re intelligent, creative, tenacious—”
“But what?”
