The Honeymoon That Wasn't Page 7

  The waiter came and took their order and their room number. Tony asked for juice, too. Didn’t want alcohol to hinder his stamina. If he ever got a chance…

  “Okay, let’s go for a swim.” She swung her legs over and her feet hit the sand. “I can’t stand to watch a grown man sulk.”

  “Me?”

  “Ouch, this sand is hot.”

  “Race you.”

  One second a challenging look, the next she was gone. Headed for the water. Man, she was fast. He didn’t catch up until she was thigh deep, the gentle waves lapping against her and turning to foam like white frosting on a bluish green cake.

  She laughed as he plodded his way to her, and he resisted the urge to splash her in the face. Dakota, on the other hand, had no such self-control. She got him first. Taking him totally by surprise.

  He wiped his face. “Oh, it’s like that, is it?”

  Giggling like a little girl, she backed up. “Truce. Let’s call a truce.”

  “Before I get even?”

  “Come on. I said, truce.”

  “Tough.” He advanced on her.

  She turned and dove toward deeper water. Her strokes were clean and she moved at an impressive speed. He followed, and he was a pretty good swimmer himself, but not that good. Finally, he gave up and treaded water, waiting for her to come back.

  She took her time, alternating with a backstroke, gracefully cutting through the water. When she finally glided toward him, he was beat just from trying to stay afloat.

  “Hey, show-off.” He started paddling backward toward the beach. “Thought you couldn’t swim.”

  She grinned. “I may not have told the truth about that,” she said and swam past him.

  He flipped over and swam the rest of the way, too, staying fairly close on her tail. He’d probably end up having a heart attack but no way was he letting her leave him behind.

  They got to the shore and although she wasn’t out of breath, she’d obviously exerted herself. Him, he was gonna crawl to his lounge chair and slip into a coma.

  “You were right. That felt terrific.” She picked up her towel and wiped her face and then drew the towel down her arms and legs, across her chest.

  Exhilarated from her swim, she didn’t seem self-conscious now or maybe she was just too distracted to notice that a number of people were staring. Both men and women. Probably wondering if she were a model or an actress they should recognize.

  She was really that stunning, and he realized that he wasn’t that tired, after all. Sighing, he got back into position on the lounge chair, the towel again hiding his stubborn cock.

  The waiter had left their glasses of juice on a small tray attached to their armrests. It took Tony two gulps to drain his, the icy coldness welcome as he baked under the hot sun. Dakota sipped hers, her eyes closed, before slipping her sunglasses on and then leaning back on her elbows.

  Part of her left breast slipped out of the side of her top, just a small strip but enough to stir his imagination. Damn, he tried not to look. Sucked some ice out of his glass and chewed it instead. Tried to forget that her nipples stuck out, pushing against the wet top.

  “Tony?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Fine. Why?”

  “It sounded like you were groaning.”

  He crunched down on the ice. “Nah, I was just clearing my throat.”

  “Okay.” Then she stretched her arms over her head. “Can you believe this warm breeze? I think it was close to fifty when we left New York.”

  “Yeah, but look at those dark clouds headed our way.”

  She looked out at the horizon and then her lips curved in a teasing smile. “What happened to having faith?”

  Getting rid of the hard-on he was having trouble with blew faith to the back of the line. “Touché, but I still think we should head inside.”

  “Let’s stay just a little longer.”

  “You wanna see me sulk again?”

  Her smile broadened. “I’ll close my eyes.”

  “Tough broad, aren’t you?”

  “Hey, I resent that sexist remark.”

  “It’s not sexist. It’s just a—it’s not sexist.”

  Turning toward the sun again, she huffed. “I suggest you think about it.”

  “With that tone, you should’ve been a school teacher.” She already dressed like one, but he didn’t mention that.

  She started to say something but a red Frisbee landed in Tony’s lap, and he grunted, cutting her off. The aim couldn’t have been better. Damn good thing his arousal was on the downswing.

  She bolted up. “Are you okay?”

  “No.”

  A redheaded kid, early teens, ran up to them. “I’m sorry, mister. The wind caught it.”

  “No problem. Here you go.” He tossed it back. “With that breeze picking up you should probably head further down the beach where it isn’t crowded.”

  “Yeah, I guess. Sorry again.” Walking backward in the soft sand, the kid almost stumbled over another couple. “Sorry,” he said to them and ran.

  “It’s getting dangerous out here. I’m telling you, we’d better go in.” He shifted and winced. The Frisbee had left its mark.

  “You really did get hurt.” She took off her sunglasses to regard him with concerned eyes.

  “Nah, it’s okay.” Of course he may never have kids…

  “Want me to kiss it and make it better?”

  At a loss for words he stared at her. Did she have any idea what she’d just said?

  “Oops.” Laughing, she covered her mouth. The mischievous sparkle in her eyes said her words hadn’t been innocent.

  Man, was she hard to figure. “You’re making me crazy, you know that?”

  “Then my work here is done.” She slid her sunglasses back up her nose, and returned to sun worshiping.

  “Dakota?”

  “Hmm?” She turned to him without raising her head.

  “I wanna ask you something. If you don’t wanna answer, I’m sure you’ll tell me to shove it.”

  “Count on it.”

  He smiled. “Why do you dress so conservatively?”

  Her lips tightened. “I’m an attorney. You want me to dress like a stripper?”

  “Now see, there you go,” he said, shaking his head. “Getting all defensive for nothing.”

  “Well, did I criticize how you dress?”

  “I’m not criticizing.” It was getting harder to keep the impatience out of his voice. “I’m curious because it’s almost like you purposely try to look plain.” He wanted to say frumpy but thought better of it.

  “I think I look professional.”

  “Let’s say you’d packed your own bag for this trip, what would you have brought?”

  “A one-piece swimsuit because it’s much more practical for swimming, and some shorts and maybe—” She sighed. “Why is this important?”

  “Because you don’t seem like a prude but you dress like one, and I’m trying to figure you out.”

  She sighed again and briefly closed her eyes before rolling over onto her side and supporting her head with her hand. The weight of her right breast at that angle kind of rolled partway out of her top and messed with his concentration.

  She pushed her sunglasses up on her head and looked at him with frank eyes. “Mother always made Dallas and I dress demurely. Even as little girls, she wouldn’t dress us in anything cutesy. So you can imagine how strict she was with us when we were teenagers. The whole reason being, any attention we received would be for our intellect or accomplishments and not our looks.”

  “Wow! Good intention, I guess.” But he didn’t get it. “Your mom’s a good-looking woman herself, she must have had—” He stopped at the sudden wariness in her expression that told him the subject of her mother was closed.

  Instead, he let silence stretch while he thought about Dallas and how she’d been affected. She talked about family stuff and vented about her demanding mother s
ometimes, but she never mentioned anything about being told how to dress.

  And because she’d worked in construction with him, she’d worn jeans and T-shirts like the rest of them. Even when they’d gone for a drink after work, she changed to clean jeans and another T-shirt, totally in line with the bars they went to. But then, too, she had that short modeling career. Rebellion maybe?

  Almost as if she’d read his mind, Dakota finally broke the silence and said, “Like Dallas I rebelled in college, too. I didn’t want to model or anything like that. I started wearing short skirts, tight jeans and skimpy tops. Nothing horrible, I dressed just like all the other girls. And I found Mother was right.” Dakota paused, visibly swallowed. “That wasn’t the kind of attention I wanted.”

  There was more to it. A whole lot more, judging by the way she’d tensed. “Anything you want to talk about?” “No.”

  “Okay. How about them Yankees?”

  “They play basketball, right?”

  “Do you have any idea how sacrilegious that is?”

  “Football?”

  “I hope you’re kidding.”

  She laughed. “I bet I’ve been to more Yankee games than you have.”

  “No way.”

  “Care to make a wager?”

  Either she had one hell of a poker face, or she’d told the truth. Didn’t matter. He could keep staring at her all day. Her cheeks were starting to get a little pink from the sun and her gray eyes picked up the blue of the ocean and sky. Her skin would be salty from their swim and he wanted to lick it. Start from her lips and then head down to those silky-looking thighs.

  She smiled. “I really do like baseball.”

  “No way.”

  “You need to work on your vocabulary.”

  “Your dad a fan?”

  “Somewhat, but my brother is rabid over the sport.”

  “Cody?”

  “I only have one brother,” she said dryly.

  “He doesn’t seem the type.”

  “He played Little League and then some in high school, which my mother thought was a complete waste of time. But my father insisted it would be good for him and it turned out he liked it.”

  “Interesting.” He couldn’t imagine Cody Shea getting dirty. Not even as a kid.

  She gave him a smug smile. “Thought you had us all figured out, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah, kind of.”

  She gave him a thoughtful look. “You’re racking up points for honesty, by the way.”

  “Yeah? Like frequent flyer miles? After so many I get a free ride.”

  She bit her lip, obviously trying to hide a smile, and shook her head in mock disapproval.

  “Am I right?” Trying to look affronted, he reared his head back. “You don’t think I meant—Ms. Shea you surprise me.”

  “Tony, I have to say you are unique.”

  “Damn right I am.”

  “Okay, enough of that, your turn to tell me something.”

  “What kind of something?”

  “About yourself.”

  He shrugged. “No skeletons in my closet. I had a boring childhood. My pop runs an auto body shop he inherited from his pop, and my mom stayed at home to raise us kids. Two brothers, one sister, a cousin I consider a sister because she grew up with us.”

  “Are they older, younger?”

  He had no idea why that mattered but he answered, “I have one brother older than me.”

  “Are they married? Do you have nieces and nephews?”

  “Everyone but my baby sister is married and they all have a bushel of kids. I can hardly keep the names straight.” He lied. He knew each and every one of those rascals, and he hadn’t missed a single silly birthday party.

  “Do they all live in New York?”

  “My younger brother just moved to Atlanta to help my grandfather with his carpet business. My mom comes from Georgia. All that side of the family is still there.”

  “That’s so interesting. How did they meet?”

  “She was a tourist. First day in the city a cab driver scared the hell out of her, so she rented a car.”

  Dakota winced. “Oops.”

  “Yep. He towed her to the shop the next day. You know the rest.”

  “A vacation romance that lasted. How about that?” She picked up her glass of orange juice and took the last sip. “How about you? Any particular reason you haven’t gotten married?”

  “Got a good pair of running shoes.”

  “Ah.” She smiled and tipped the glass to get the last ice cube.

  Mesmerized, he stared at the slender curve of her neck, at her well-defined jaw, at the small point of her chin, at her lips, the kind he liked, slightly turned up at the corners. He didn’t know many women who were prettier when you got up close.

  She sucked on the ice, and he even liked watching her throat work. How sick was that?

  “Tony?”

  He met her eyes, sleepy and sexy, and man, he had to reach for the towel again. “Yeah?”

  “When are we having lunch?” she asked around a yawn.

  Great. He was thinking about sex, and she was thinking about food. “Tell me something first…” He kept his eyes on her as she shifted her position, her cleavage deep, and wondered if she was torturing him on purpose. “You asked why I’m here with you. I told you. Your turn.”

  She lifted one shoulder. “For the sex.”

  7

  DAKOTA KNEW HOW to keep a straight face. She did it in court all the time. But she almost lost it watching Tony’s jaw drop. Though it started working again soon enough.

  “Now you tell me. After we get out of the water?”

  She laughed, the sound shaky, thinking about what she’d just said. Thinking about the bulge he was trying to hide. “We’re on a beach. Lots of people. Kind of a deterrent, don’t you think?”

  “Now you expect me to think.”

  “Poor baby.” She was glad she had sunglasses to hide behind as she rolled onto her back again. He had an amazing chest. Just the right amount of muscle defining his pecs and abs and shoulders, unlike some of the guys at the gym who pumped up until they practically had no neck.

  “Is it getting hot, I mean like scorching out here, or is it me?”

  She turned to him again, and said, “Race you.” And then jumped up and threw off her sunglass before he could say a word.

  He was a lot quicker getting to the water this time, splashing her warm dry back as he ran up behind her. Before she could dive in, he grabbed her around the waist and they both went down laughing.

  When she tried to right herself, she found her leg wedged between his thighs, rubbing him intimately with each kick. Good thing the water retarded the impact.

  He grabbed her ankle. “Between you and the Frisbee, I’m gonna be out of commission for a year.”

  “Sorry.”

  “You could sound like you mean it.”

  She’d gotten the giggles, which sometimes happened when she got nervous. She’d actually admitted she was here for the sex. The salt air must have rusted her brain. But so what? That is what she wanted. So did he. That was obvious.

  She pressed her lips together, cleared her throat and then got a false start. She tried again, and this time without laughing, she said, “I really am sorry.”

  He grinned, his teeth really white against his tanned face, and the direct sun bringing out some golden flecks in his brown eyes. “Prove it and you’re forgiven.”

  “You’ll have to let go of my ankle first.”

  “Swear you won’t swim away.”

  “I promise.”

  “Okay.” He loosened his hold. “I’m trusting you now,” he said before totally releasing her.

  “And to show you that trust wasn’t misplaced…” She slid her hands up his chest, feeling his hard nipples beneath her palm, and then wound her arms around his neck.

  Just as their lips met a wave hit them and they stumbled apart. Tony caught her and they both swung their gazes out to sea t
o fend off any more surprises. No large swells in sight but the water had definitely gotten choppy as the clouds headed inland.

  Tony pulled her close again. The water hit them at chest level so when his hands ran down her back to cup her bottom she moved against him without fear that someone could see them. The funny thing was, she wasn’t all that concerned anyway. This whole thing was so not her but it felt incredibly free and exhilarating to be here with Tony enjoying the freedom of doing whatever she pleased. Without censure. Without worrying that one little mistake could ruin her future.

  “Look, the clouds are chasing people away,” Tony said with a jut of his chin toward the beach.

  She briefly glanced that way. Only a few sunbathers remained and some of them were packing up. “Ah, that just breaks my heart.”

  With both hands, he gently squeezed her backside. And when he slipped his fingers inside the elastic, her entire body thrummed with anticipation.

  “Of course we could always go back to the suite.” He nuzzled the side of her neck, and she closed her eyes.

  “No, let’s stay awhile.”

  “You’re the boss.”

  “I like the sound of that.” She shivered when he nipped an especially sensitive spot.

  “Sure you don’t want to go in?”

  She shook her head. She’d never admit what a high this brief walk on the wild side was. He wouldn’t understand. This was nothing for a guy like him.

  “Here comes another wave. Not too big, but brace yourself.” He ran his hands back up, encircling her with his arms and turning so that he received the brunt of the force.

  She hid her face against his chest and tasted the salt on his skin. He jerked as her tongue got close to his nipple. Laughing, she looked up at him. “Ticklish?”

  “No. You?”

  It happened so fast she didn’t know how he got his finger inside the elastic between her thighs. Dakota spread her legs a little farther apart. He found what he wanted and probed deeper, rubbing gently yet firmly, until tingling warmth surged through her blood.

  She couldn’t quite look at him. So she closed her eyes and tried not to claw his chest, tensing when he found the perfect spot to make her melt like warmed honey. She lowered one hand and explored the front of his trunks. He was hard, considering they were chest high in water that was starting to make her own skin shrivel.