Love Me if You Dare Page 21

  “Hmm?” he murmured, now kissing her neck, clearly only half hearing her.

  “I can’t be in the water without you making a move on me,” she teased, then kissed him again.

  He arched one brow. “You complaining?”

  “Not at all,” she replied, giving him a smile. “Just starting to think you have a water fetish or something.”

  “Maybe it’s not the water,” he suggested. “Maybe it’s the bikini.” He dropped an appreciative gaze toward her cleavage. “With no offense to your mind, Tink, it’s hard to look at you in this without appreciating all those other body parts.” And he ended with one of those sexy little winks she felt between her thighs. He was the most sexual man she’d ever encountered. Or . . . maybe it was just the reactions he inspired in her that made her feel that way.

  “How exactly are you appreciating them?” she asked flirtatiously. It was so easy to be drawn in by him.

  He released her from his grasp to point to his eyes with one hand, his brain with the other.

  “Ah,” she said, tipping her head back.

  Then he pointed to his sexy mouth and added, “But I was thinking about appreciating them with this, too.”

  When he clamped his hands firmly on her hips, his fingers curling possessively over her flesh, she oozed with want for him. “Um, um . . .” she mumbled, so caught up in her own desire now that she couldn’t summon words as he gently backed her toward the edge of the pool, then lifted her up and sat her down on the tile at the edge.

  After which his fingertips dipped smoothly into the elastic of her bikini bottoms. “Let me take these off, honey,” he rasped near her ear.

  Oh my. She tingled in the whole general area where his hands were. “But . . . what if someone comes?”

  “No one’s going to come but you and me,” he assured her. Wow. She felt that between her thighs, too. Enough that she lifted from the concrete just enough to let him begin pulling her bikini down.

  Even as she continued expressing certain valid concerns like, “What if Riley shows up?”

  “I sent him in my car on some errands. Won’t be back for hours.” Now Reece was tugging the coral Lycra bottoms over her outstretched ankles and off, looping them over his wrist. And she couldn’t believe she was sitting there, naked from the waist down next to the Happy Crab’s pool.

  “Wh-what about your friends?” she persisted. This seemed ridiculously risky; she felt way too exposed.

  But as he skillfully parted her legs, his palms pressed to her inner thighs, he only whispered, “Shhh. Close your eyes. Let me make you feel good.”

  So they lay there in the sun,

  and their bodies glistened in it . . .

  J. M. Barrie, Peter and Wendy

  Chapter 17

  ONCE SHE shut her eyes as instructed, it changed things. It made her let go. Of fears. Doubts. Everything but pleasure. And what pleasure it was.

  With the sun warming her, she leaned back on her elbows and basked in the sensual joys Reece’s ministrations delivered. She ceased thinking, leaving room only for feeling, absorbing, and letting her body respond.

  Before long, though, she opened her eyes back up again, aroused to meet his gaze as he pleasured her, licking and kissing her most sensitive spot, and soon pushing two fingers up into her.

  When jagged little whimpers began erupting from her throat, she bit her lip to stifle them. But she stayed connected with that penetrating gaze of his, fully immersed in what they shared.

  Until orgasm became imminent, and that made her eyes fall shut again, made her sink deeper into herself, made her give herself over to that place of getting closer, closer—and then the sweet release. Despite her best efforts, a few whimpers of pleasure escaped her—she simply couldn’t hold it in—and she rocked against his mouth, riding out what was unquestionably one of the most powerful climaxes she’d ever experienced.

  Afterward, she lay back on the ground for a few seconds, exhausted by it—but she wanted to be close to him at the same time, so she soon eased back down into the water, sliding her arms around his neck.

  As they exchanged slow, heated kisses, their bodies coming together beneath the surface, she murmured, “I’m guessing that’s not a bottle of sunscreen in your pocket, right?”

  “No way, baby—that’s all for you,” he promised, their foreheads touching. “If you want it.”

  “Oh, I want it,” she assured him.

  And as the heat amped back up into flames, he closed his palms over her hips and turned her to face away from him in the water, and then covered her hands with his as he planted them on the edge of the pool. After that came the marvelous hardness—first, it pressed into the center of her ass, and she arched instinctively against it. And then he was slowly, surely sliding it up into her, filling her completely. She let out a low, impassioned, “Oh . . .”

  “Aw baby,” he rasped behind her. “You’re so warm, so snug.”

  And she arched even deeper now, wanting still more—and he took the hint, beginning to thrust. Yes, yes, yes—somehow she always forgot how good this felt; it was never any less than magnificent to have him plunging into her over and over.

  She wasn’t sure how long they moved like that together—only that her legs grew weak and his arm soon circled her waist, holding her up, anchoring her to him. And that every thrust stole her thoughts, leaving her only to absorb the consuming sensations. And when he came, she knew a certain wholeness, a deep satisfaction, from having taken him there. She liked making him feel good, too.

  So it was surprising to her when his first words after that were, “Aw shit.”

  She looked over her shoulder as he pulled out of her. “Kind of a mood killer,” she informed him.

  He just shook his head, ran one wet hand back through his thick hair. “I’m sorry, Tink. I just realized I forgot a condom.”

  “Oh.” The word left her high and light and slightly alarmed.

  “But you don’t have to worry,” he rushed to promise. “I’m always careful. That’s why it caught me so off guard. I don’t ever forget.” Then he narrowed his gaze on her just slightly. “Are you always careful? And God, please, tell me you’re on the pill.”

  She nodded. “I am, for health reasons. And otherwise . . . I haven’t had to be careful in quite a while. In case that adds to your assurance.”

  He looked surprised, in a way that made her feel flattered. “Really? Why not?”

  She shrugged. “Color me picky.”

  And he tilted his head. “How’d I get so lucky?”

  “Guess I’m just hot for dinosaurs and neon crab signs.”

  He let out a laugh that warmed her heart as she closed her arms back around him.

  “So,” she asked, “you really are always careful? Except for now?”

  A nod from him, too. “Cross my heart.”

  “So you really haven’t done it with anyone else in the water like this? Because seriously, you seem to have a thing for water. Or bikinis. Or whatever. But it still comes back to water. Where it’s pretty hard to use a condom.”

  And he appeared to think back through it until he finally said, “Now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve ever done it with anyone in the water before.” Then he made a slight face. “Which is almost weird considering I’ve lived at the beach my whole life.”

  And something in that pleased her immensely when she’d least expected it. She liked hearing he’d done something with her that he’d never done with anyone else. Even if—maybe especially if—it was a little surprising.

  “Guess you’d better get busy and make up for lost time on the water sex,” she teased him.

  “You volunteering to help?”

  She smiled. “Maybe.” And tried really hard not to think about leaving or this being temporary and her having no idea how it would end. Or when.

  She’d never been in a relationship anything like this one before. She’d never been with anyone so fun or carefree. She wasn’t sure she herself h
ad ever been so fun or carefree. She’d never felt so deep into anything she knew had to be short term. And she wasn’t sure how to deal with any of that—other than to just push it from her mind.

  After that, she got her bikini bottoms back on, and they soon lay next to the pool just listening to music and talking. When he went in to get drinks and snacks, he returned with Fifi, who Cami was truly starting to feel a little more friendly toward.

  “Hi, Fifi,” she said as the big iguana lumbered toward their lounge chairs.

  “I think she just smiled,” Reece said—but when Cami lifted her gaze to his handsome face, it was his grin that stole her attention. And maybe even her heart if she was honest with herself.

  “Afraid I still can’t see it,” she told him regretfully about the iguana’s smile.

  “Stick around long enough and you will eventually,” he promised her easily. Too easily. Like maybe he didn’t even realize what he’d just said. Stick around. Eventually. She found herself wishing she could. She wished she could just somehow freeze time, right now, and that nothing would have to change.

  They stayed together until the day began to wane, then Cami got bold enough to ask Reece if he’d like to walk over to the Sunset Celebration with her. They parted ways only long enough to shower and get ready, then dined on a funnel cake and ice cream at the pier. They watched Fletcher’s act and checked out what the vendors were selling, and Cami even bought another stained glass suncatcher from Tamra, this one in the shape of a cat, perhaps hoping it would make Reece’s friend finally warm up to her. But when it didn’t seem to, she let it go, reminding herself that, in the long run, whether Reece’s friends liked her didn’t really matter.

  The sun set in streaks of neon pinks and warm, mysterious purples as they walked along the shore, and when Reece casually held her hand as they strolled, she realized how much she liked it. And that she felt far more from such a simple touch than she probably should. But that ship has sailed—nothing to do but ride it now.

  When he walked her back to her room, stopping at her door and waiting as she dug out her key, he said, “I had a nice day with you, Tink.”

  His dark eyes shone warm on her and her voice came out sounding a little more girlish than usual as she said, “I had a nice day with you, too.”

  He tilted his head to one side—hair messy from the sea breeze as usual. “Want to do something tomorrow?”

  She bit her lip. “Like what?”

  “Anything you want,” he told her. “As long as it doesn’t involve me signing a contract.”

  They both laughed, and it struck her again how odd it was that the topic had become a source of amusement between them.

  She said, “Could we take out the boat? The other boat, the one named after your sister?”

  Then watched as his expression changed, drooping a little. Why did he act weird sometimes when she brought up that boat?

  “Or not,” she added quickly. “It was just a thought. It’s a pretty boat.”

  Reece swallowed visibly then, and slowly he began to nod, and to look more like his normal, easygoing self—until finally he said, “Okay. Yeah.”

  But she still winced. “Are you sure? Because we don’t have to. We could—”

  “No, I’m sure,” he cut her off. “It’s a good idea.”

  And that was when a light but clear and distinct “Mew” could be heard from inside her room.

  “Atchoo.” She quickly pretended to sneeze to cover the sound.

  But Reece arched one eyebrow in her direction, his expression practically saying, Are you serious about that sneeze? so she lowered her eyes, feeling caught.

  Then a longer, louder mewing sound met her ears, and when Reece glanced over to her window, she did, too—to see a cat’s round little face peering back at them from where it stood on the table looking out. Uh oh. The jig was up.

  When she dared peek back at Reece, his gaze had narrowed accusingly. “So—either a cat broke into your room while we were away or you’re harboring a fugitive. Which is it?”

  “I’m harboring a fugitive,” she admitted—mainly only because she was pretty sure he wouldn’t buy the other answer. She gritted her teeth slightly and gave him a please-don’t-kill-me look. “But it was for Polly. The health inspector was there—two days in a row even—and Tiger Lily is extremely well behaved. She uses her litter box like a pro and is very tidy with her food. You’ll never even know she was there.”

  He lowered his chin. “Tiger Lily?”

  “Polly was calling her Tiger when she thought she was a boy—but turns out she’s a girl, so I added the Lily part. Cute, don’t you think?”

  “Cats shed,” he replied dryly.

  “But I figured you’d want me to help your Hungry Fisherman friends—your neighbors. I was trying to do the right thing, the nice thing. And besides, Polly didn’t give me much choice.”

  “That I can believe,” he said, shifting his weight from one flip-flop to the other, “but I’m betting the health inspector is gone now. Because I’ve been hearing this incessant meowing for days and was starting to think I was losing my mind.”

  Cami bit her lip and took in another quick glimpse of the cat in the window. “I’m not proud of this,” she admitted to Reece, “but . . . I guess I got attached to her.”

  “But I have a no pets rule.”

  “But what about Fifi?”

  “Fifi doesn’t shed.”

  “No, what I mean is . . . I’ve never really had a pet before, but I’m guessing the attachment I feel to Tiger Lily is something like what you felt for Fifi that made you bring her home.”

  His look grew irritated then—like she’d hit a soft spot. Bingo! It was gratifying to see she still possessed some of her good negotiating skills, even if this was a far different thing than she’d ever negotiated before and she was coming at it from a far different angle than she was familiar with. He drew in a breath, let it back out—heavily. “Well, what’s going to become of this cat? If I let it stay, I mean.”

  Cami had no choice but to be honest with him. “I’m not sure. I’m taking that one day at a time. There’s . . . a lot I’m taking one day at a time right now.” That last part made her drop her gaze again, though. It felt like admitting weakness—toward him and what they shared, and also toward his business and the reason she’d come. Even if she was no longer sure how to deal with any of this anymore, she didn’t need to let him know that.

  But oh well—what’s one more chink in the armor?

  In fact, she wasn’t even sure she was wearing armor anymore. Maybe it had all fallen off somewhere along the way, piece by piece.

  “I promise I’ll clean up her hair or any mess she makes.” And as the words left her, it struck her that normally she’d have told him it didn’t really matter since soon his motel would be torn down anyway—but had she actually begun to doubt that now? “She’s really very clean, like I said. She’s a very nice cat. I even bought her a lavender leash.”

  At this, his eyebrows shot up. “You bought the cat a leash?”

  “Fifi’s leash kind of inspired me, I guess.”

  Now Reece just gave her a sizing-up look and shook his head as he said, “You really are a very confusing woman in ways, Tinkerbell.”

  “I’d prefer to think of it as . . . multi-faceted and complex.”

  Which made him lean his head back and let out the deep, hearty laugh she’d come to love—just before their gazes connected, something caught fire, and he gave her a deep, passionate kiss that took her breath away.

  When it was done, her lips felt a little swollen—her whole body, in fact, seemed a little lighter than it had just a minute before.

  “We’ll take out the Lisa Renee tomorrow,” he told her. “Goodnight, Tink.” And then he turned to walk away.

  And as she stood there, watching him go, it hit her. I guess I get to keep the cat in my room. Then she smiled down at the furry face still peering out through the glass, and in that moment anyway, all f
elt right with the world.

  AS bright sunlight slanted in through Reece’s bedroom window, he rolled over, somehow expecting to find Cami’s warm, naked body next to him. Only—shit—she wasn’t there. And then he remembered that they hadn’t spent the night together, and that it was probably wise. Habits like spending the night seemed like a bad idea for many reasons.

  And then he remembered what he’d agreed to do with her today. He wasn’t sure taking out the Lisa Renee was a good idea, either, but he was trying to believe it was. Maybe Riley was right—maybe making new memories on the Lisa Renee would help blot out the old. And maybe enough time had finally passed—maybe it wouldn’t take him back to that dark day. And hell—if he wasn’t ever gonna use the boat, he should sell it, honor his family’s memory by at least letting someone else enjoy it; it had been his dad’s pride and joy, after all. And if he hadn’t sold it, that must mean he wanted to keep it, use it. He hadn’t yet, much, but maybe that changed today.

  He also wasn’t sure it was a good idea to have a cat in Room 11. But something about the look in Cami’s eyes had talked him into it. Damn, she could be persuasive when she was sweet.

  Just don’t let her persuade you into anything else you don’t want to do. A cat was one thing. So was taking out a boat. Even sex had turned out to be . . . um, pretty damn great, and so far he couldn’t see a downside to the decision.

  And as long as she didn’t go back to trying to convince him to sell the Happy Crab, they’d be just fine. For . . . however long this lasted. But he wasn’t gonna think about that. Or how it would end. He honestly had no idea at this point what tomorrow held with Cami, let alone the day after, and next week sounded like an eternity away.

  The truth was—he’d spent a lot of time with her now and he was feeling pretty . . . involved. And even . . . surprisingly okay about that. And when she left, he’d miss her.

  But you’re in it now, and you’re a big boy—you can take care of yourself. So just enjoy the day and quit thinking so damn much.