She gave him a half smile. “I have another confession, I’m a nerd.”
“Aren’t we all in one way or another?” He chuckled, and they started walking again.
“I guess I never put you in the nerd category. You were captain of the soccer team.” She shrugged. “The most popular guy in school. All the girls had a crush on you. You had it all together.”
He shrugged. “That was a long time ago. And someone very wise said, ‘I did not peak in high school.’”
Nimi laughed as he knew she would. “You’re right. People need room to grow. And I guess we have both changed quite a bit since then.”
They walked in silence for a bit, and as they reached the hotel, he asked casually, “You said all the girls had a crush on me. Does that mean you, too?”
“No!” She gave him a look of mock disgust. “I was too smart for that.”
He held the door for her. “And what about now?”
“Now…well…” She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m having sex with you, aren’t I?”
He leaned down and kissed her. Desire sparked as he took her mouth with his. “Not at this exact moment.”
“True. We could take care of that.” She pulled him over to the elevators. “Let’s have a day at the hotel again. I’ll rest my ankle. I don’t need my ankle for sex, do I?” She smiled playfully at him.
“We’ll work around it.”
Chapter Ten
Nimita should not be having this warm fuzzy feeling when he agreed to spend the day with her, holed up in their room—naked. She had also not planned on sharing her feelings about her father. She had never said those words out loud. Not until today.
She stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. They had settled on some beach time, so she tied her bikini top and slipped on her bottoms.
Nimita shook her head as if doing so would help her shed the warm fuzzyhappyfeeling in her body. It did not. So she did what she always did. She shoved the feelings into a small box and locked them away. Not the wisest thing, but it didn’t matter. She’d finally bit the bullet and booked her flight. Two days from now, she’d be on a plane home. And she’d never see Dave again. It didn’t matter what happened in Hawaii. It was going to stay in Hawaii. He’d have to go back to his responsibilities soon, and so would she. Might as well enjoy herself until she had to face her family.
“You okay in there?” Dave’s voice was music through the door.
“Yes.” She opened the door. His shirt was off, and he had changed into his swimming trunks. “Ready for the beach?”
“Not a chance.” His eyes were already dark with desire, and her body responded almost instantly. He pulled the string on her bikini top and let it fall. He moved closer and placed his hands on her bottom to lift her and carry her to the bed. “We can go down to the beach…later.” He laid her down on the bed and crawled over her. His body hovered mere millimeters above hers. It was sweet agony.
She arched her back so that their bodies just grazed each other and was rewarded with his skin on hers, drawing a groan from deep within him. “Later sounds perfect.”
This man was nothing like she could have ever imagined. It was like he read her mind and knew what she needed and when, almost before she did. After a couple rounds, she fell into a peaceful sleep, like nothing she could ever remember having before. She woke with his arm around her middle. She grabbed her new book and began reading, careful not to wake him.
Half an hour in, he started to fidget. He pulled her tighter and then slowly opened his eyes. She looked down at him, and her breath caught. Complete adoration, that was what she saw as he opened his eyes and found her next to him. No one had looked at her quite that way. Ever.
“Hey, you,” she said, swallowing the lump in her throat and returning the book to the bedside table. She turned to face him, resting her head on her elbow.
“Hungry?” he asked her sleepily. “We could order room service.”
“Later.” She saw his eyes drift to her book. “How did you become such a reader?” she asked. Wait, what? Why was she doing the “get to know you better” thing? No. Never mind. Too late.
He rolled over and faced her, apparently happy to answer. “My sister was sick and in the hospital a lot when she was a kid. I used to keep her company and read to her. It entertained us both.”
Nimita chuckled. “You did all the voices, I bet.”
He turned to face her, a huge grin on his face. “You know it.” He paused. “It was one of the few times she would smile and laugh. And she always,alwaysasked for one more chapter.” He sighed. “And I always read one more chapter.” He ran his fingers through her hair. “Even when she got old enough to read on her own, she insisted that I read to her whenever she was in the hospital.”
“You’re a great big brother.” Nimita’s eyes were wet with tears. She used to read to Reena. She should be reading to her niece.
Dave shrugged.
