Chapter 6
“What’s on the schedule for today?” Crystal asked when she got dressed. She slipped on a long, colorful jersey dress she would never have worn in New York, but it matched the tropical surroundings. Besides, every since they’d agreed on having sex at night and working together during the day—for the duration of the trip— two nights prior, she’d been feeling lighter. Daring. Worry free.
It made much more sense.
Why waste her time worrying about an attraction, when it could all be easily solved by a temporary fling?
“We’re meeting with the engineer later,” he said. “We have the morning free. Do you want to go to the beach?”
Crystal glanced down at her dress. “Should I change into my swimsuit?”
“We won’t need it,” he said, his voice dropping an octave.
A ball of heat rolled through her, and she raised her gaze to his. The misbehaving glint in his rich cocoa eyes turned her knees into goo. “Skinny dipping in broad daylight?”
He grabbed his sunglasses and wallet from the table. “Yes.”
What the fuck? She wasn’t like the stick-thin petite blondes he took out. “Isn’t that a bit risqué? I mean, what if they find us?” A headline with the two of them naked would certainly get the people in his office talking. God, she’d have to resign. If Brenda from Human Resources found out… this wouldn’t be good.
“No one will find us. The place is very far away. Today’s a weekday and I’ll make sure there’s no one else there.”
“Still…”
He erased the distance between them and lifted her chin. “Do you trust me?”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Of course I don’t. But I also think you’re smart, so I’ll play along.”
He caressed her cheek, his fingers tracing down her neck and causing goose bumps on her flesh. Her nipples tightened, but she didn’t pull away, instead leaning into his touch. Maybe she didn’t fully trust him as a man, or was too cynical to admit she did. Yet she believed the powerful sensations he evoked in her, and right now, that sufficed. “Have you ever considered being a school principal?”
“What? No, why?”
His eyes searched for hers. “I can see you taking over a high school in a bad part of town and whipping everyone into shape overnight.”
“Thank you,” she said, laughing inside. She hadn’t been able to whip her own mother into resembling a decent parent, what made him think she had the power to domesticate a bunch of hormone-driven teenagers? “I think you’re giving me too much credit,” she said, trying to jerk away from his embrace.
He pulled her more tightly against him, so much so, she gasped. He lowered his head, and she found herself within a breath from his lips. “No. I think you don’t give yourself enough credit.”
She swallowed. Why was he being so nice to her? He’d already screwed her, multiple times. She believed she was smart, decently experienced and could be really pretty if she made the effort. She didn’t need his approval. A pang of frustration expanded in her chest. I don’t need his approval… but I want it.
“Thanks. Maybe I’ll consider your suggestion and change careers,” she said snarkily.
He silenced her with a kiss. Slow at first, but then she linked her arms around his neck, her tongue meshing with his, their bodies molding to each other perfectly. Every part of him was hard, muscled, toned. She wanted him to throw her back in bed, or take her against the wall. Clearly, he had other plans, as he withdrew from her, and without looking her in the eye, said, “Let’s go. Vamos para praia.”
An hour later, he parked the car in the lot of a remote beach. Coconut trees that reached to the sky lined up the area where the sandy beach met the sidewalk. He turned off the engine and quickly got out of the car, opened her door and helped her out. She wasn’t used to that side of him—he’d always been a gentleman, but for the past days he seemed a lot more… invested in making things comfortable for her.
She clasped the bag where she’d stuffed a copy of her passport, some essentials and her smart phone. Wow. The place took her breath away. The clear blue sky, the sparkling green Atlantic Ocean. The waves were gentle, the tide low. She removed her sandals and carried them in her hand. He did the same with his shoes, and guided her through the beach.
She loved the sensation of digging her feet into the sand. A cool breeze whispered against her face, and she drew a long breath of nice, clean air. She looked for tourists but didn’t see any. Hell, even locals seemed to disappear the further Lucas had driven from the city.
Now, they approached an area crowded with rocks. Some were small and she could fit in her palm, and others were large, buried deep in the sand. The water hit against several of them. He removed his shorts and placed it on one of the bigger rocks. “Come.”
“Don’t you want to warm up first?” she asked. At some point she imagined he’d tell her to remove her clothes, but she expected some foreplay or any kind of warning.
“No warm-up needed.”
She shifted her weight from foot to foot, then threw her shoulders forward, telling herself to put on a brave face and suck it up. He took a dive into the water, and when he surfaced, with his hair soaked and droplets gliding down his sinful body, her heart skipped a beat or two.
Damn. The man was magnificent. She’d witnessed his lack of inhibition up close in the past two days, and shit, she was glad for it. Mother Nature had done a fine job on Lucas Grande.
