I shivered, unable to tear my eyes from his. They scorched me to my soul, dark and heated and unlike anything I’d experienced before.
“If you want to wear the one-piece, then do it, but if you’re having second thoughts because of a trash human who doesn’t deserve you, then fuck that negativity and show us how gorgeous and confident you are in your own skin.”
I straightened my back. “You’re right.”
“Of course I am.” His fingertips grazed my hip, and I was grateful for the sweater because I was certain I was flushed from head to toe. His pupils had almost swallowed the chocolatey brown of his irises.
His desire looked so real. How was I supposed to remember that it wasn’t?
He was playing his role to perfection.
“I’ll be in the bathroom.” I snatched up the bikini and fled.
I changed slowly, needing the time to rebuild my confidence. I hated that Thad had knocked it. With my dark hair and bright eyes, I knew I looked good. Not to mention the spectacular cleavage the bikini would reveal. Coral wasn’t the only one who could rock a swimsuit.
My toiletries were set out on the vanity and I took my time to apply sunscreen. I’d brought a special one for my face since I was so pale that adding normal sunscreen tended to make me look like a ghost. This one, slightly tinted, would give me a little color.
I added a swipe of lip gloss—pink, to match the bikini—lined my eyes, and applied mascara.
There. The black eyeliner set off the blue of my eyes and the pink bikini made my complexion look like strawberries and cream rather than washed out.
I had this.
I knocked on the door to the bedroom. “Are you dressed?”
“Yeah,” Alec called back.
I opened it and stepped through. He’d stripped off his T-shirt and was wearing just the board shorts and a pair of flip flops. His chest gleamed and I wondered, not for the first time, whether he waxed. He didn’t seem the type, but it was very smooth.
“Can you sunscreen my back?” I asked, holding the bottle out.
“Sure.” He took it from me. “Turn around.”
I spun away from him and held my breath until the rough pads of his fingers brushed my skin. He started with my lower back, rubbing lotion on in circular motions, and worked his way up, pausing between my shoulders to dig his thumb into a knot just inside my shoulder blade.
My eyelids drooped, and I forced myself to pull away. “Thanks.”
“Are you sure I got you everywhere? I didn’t finish your upper back.”
“I got that part,” I assured him, and it might be true. I’d certainly tried to do my own back, but honestly, if his hands were on me for one more second, I might find myself thinking some un-friend-like thoughts.
If I burned, I burned. At least I could apply aloe to soothe it. If I melted beneath Alec’s touch and gave in to my growing desire to throw myself into his arms, the consequences would be far more severe.
“Can you take the room key card?” I asked. It wasn’t as if I had any hidden pockets in my bikini to keep it in.
He nodded, and slipped the key card into the pocket of his board shorts, then he opened the door and held it for me.
As we wandered down the hall to the elevator, he looked over at me.
“Have you ever played volleyball before?” he asked.
“No. I’m hoping it’s one of those things I can pick up as we go.” I was reasonably coordinated, even if I wasn’t what you’d call sporty. Provided someone explained the rules and the moves, I should be able to manage it easily enough.
“Traditionally, it’s only two players per team,” Alec explained as he pressed the button for the elevator. “We might play four to a team depending on how many are interested, or perhaps we’ll rotate teams each time a certain number of points are scored.”
“Okay.” Small teams were both good and bad. They meant I was less likely to get confused about what was going on, but if I was terrible, then whoever was on my team would be handicapped by my poor skill. “What are the rules?”
Alec talked through the basics as we rode the elevator down and wound our way through the resort to the beach. When wereached the sand, I kicked off my sandals and used my hand to shield my eyes as I scanned the beach for my cousins.
