She rested her hand on his. “Will it be hard to go?”
“It’ll be a hell of a lot easier if you go with me,” he said softly.
Inviting Natasha to come with him to the Jensen Family Foundation function was selfish. She had come to him this weekend for the best kind of fun, but every hour that this time-limited arrangement went on it seemed more and more like a mistake. It wasn’t enough. Even during that first kiss in her apartment, when he had her up against the table, ready to fuck her right there, he had ignored the warning lights going off inside. And last night on the beach was...intense.
Maybe he should really come clean with her, tell her that his life was about to change, that, if his father’s experience was any indication, any woman he was with would be put through the wringer, no matter how faithful he was. But they weren’t together, and he could figure out how to hold off the press just for Saturday. And then he’d leave her alone.
It was his last day with her in paradise, and he didn’t want to spend it talking about his family. Not when they could be doing other things... His dick usually provided him with the easiest distraction, and it didn’t take much of a jump to get fromlast day alone with Natashatoalone with Natasha.
Yep, that did the trick.
Hell, he’d try sex in the pool with her right now if she wanted. Just thinking about it was enough to get his cock hard.
Wait. They had hours together. Enough time for some fun foreplay of the marine-life sort. Last night on the beach had been hot, with her on his lap, that lush body up against him. The beach, the ocean, the island, her laugh, her body that was so goddamn hard to ignore, her voice—all these pieces fit together to make something more. If this had to end, he wanted to enjoy every part of her. Make her laugh. Listen as she explained the nuances of fish relationships or whatever the hell she wanted to talk about. Just be the way they were together.
Natasha met his gaze and smiled. It was a real smile, soft and intimate, and it awakened every part of him. He’d had far too many “just sex” arrangements not to recognize that this was more than just sex. It had been more from the beginning. Her smile was full of pleasure, and it was just for him. He winced as the familiar warning sirens went off:danger. From their first kiss, he had suspected he was in danger of getting attached, but in that moment, he knew with no doubt that walking away from this fling would hurt like hell. He could deal with that. What gave him pause was Natasha’s unguarded smile. Would she get hurt, too?
Still, he leaned over and ran his hand up her bare thigh again. Still, he looked into her eyes with something more than just lust.
But in a way, this was his warning to her. She could back away right now, get out from under the intensity of his gaze. She blinked up at him, her eyes wide and a little uncertain. He watched her soft, sweet throat as she swallowed. His heart pounded in his chest, but he forced himself to wait her out.
Finally, she broke the eye contact. “I’ve got another Choose Your Own Adventure idea,” she said with a grin.
Max bit back a sigh of relief. No backing out. Later he’d worry about what all of this meant, but for a few hours today, it was just the two of them.
He leaned in farther, making slow circles on her thigh. “Tell me.”
“Professor/student,” she said. “Is that a scenario that turns you on?”
He quirked a brow, nodded, and she laughed as a flush crept up her neck. Embarrassment? Arousal? Or maybe both.
Max smiled. He could definitely get into this one. “I like it. In this story, are you the professor and I’m the student, or the other way around?”
“You’re the professor, and you’re blown away by my impressive knowledge about fish behavior.” Natasha turned to him, her eyes sparkling. If there had been any trace of embarrassment when she broached the subject, it was gone now. “We talk after class about a paper you wrote about the behavior of reef sharks rereleased into the wild, and I point out some new possibilities for further studies. You’re both intrigued by my ideas and turned on.”
Max nodded slowly, intoxicated by the scent of her hair, the scent of her. Intrigued by her ideas and turned on? Hell, yes, he could do that, no role-playing involved. But she clearly had thought through this scenario in detail, and he was going to give her exactly what she wanted.
“What happens next?” he asked, his voice huskier.
“I come to your office after hours with an article about another fish with possible similar behaviors, one that you hadn’t read,” she said, her voice breathy. “It was a secondary finding in the article, easy to miss if—um, is this getting too detailed and science-y for you?”
“What? No.” Max blinked down at her. “Why would you think that?”
Natasha frowned a little. “It’s just that men tend to glaze over a little when I start talking about my research.”
“That’s your conclusion?” he asked. “A few assholes don’t pay attention when you talk, and you think all men don’t find you interesting?”
Natasha shrugged. “All people have parts that are more or less sexy.” She perused the length of his body, a smile curving on her lips. “Well, everyone except you. You’re hot, through and through.”
Max’s knee-jerk reaction to this comment was lewd, but he paused. Her comment was bothering him.
“Sorry, Natasha, but that’s not how it works. We all come as package deals. And anyone who wants to unbundle the package, just choose some of the parts, doesn’t know shit about people.” He leaned a little closer and added, “Or about you.”
She didn’t answer right away. She was probably thinking about this, coming to her own conclusions, but then she smiled. “Did I just take all the sexy out of this moment?”
“Not even close.” Max laughed. He turned around to straddle the lounge chair so he was facing her, with her legs resting on one of his. Then he reached forward and tickled her stomach.
“Stop!” she shrieked and wriggled away.
