Kissing is not a professional skill, she thought.
If Bradley was disappointed, Heidi couldn’t tell. The man was a closed book. Frustrated, she wished him good-night, and shuffled back to her room.
You’re being ridiculous, she scolded herself. Don’t blame him for maintaining a healthy work relationship.
She swiveled her head over her shoulder. Bradley had already left the room, presumably going to change elsewhere. She was immediately let down, and then mad at herself for being let down. Heidi couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this torn; generally, she was a woman with a plan who knew how to conduct herself and what moves to make.
But Bradley…he seemed to have messed up all her internal nobs and dials, leaving her unable to chart a safe course through choppy waters.
Tired from mental anguish, she washed her face and brushed her teeth, then tucked herself into bed, not even dallying to read or watch some TV before she fell into a tormented sleep.
Chapter 11
Bradley
Bradley awoke with a stiff neck. He had been right, sort of, that this roll-away bed would be the best money could buy. The only problem was, he didn’t quite fit in it. The bed was designed for a child staying with their parents, not a full-grown—overgrown, really—man. He groaned as he sat up, working out the kinks in his spine.
But no matter, because today was gonna be good; he could just feel it.
He was up too early, as per usual, which gave him plenty of time to go for a run with the sunrise, right along the beach path. He cranked up his music and ran fast, attempting to cancel out all thoughts of Heidi, naked in his arms. By mile three, he knew the avoidance tactic wouldn’t work; he couldn’t outrun his feelings for her.
He made his way back to the bungalow and walked in, panting, to find Heidi in silky maroon PJs, making a pot of coffee. She started, evidently hearing him enter, and whirled around, coffee pot in hand.
“Hey there, whoa!” she greeted jumpily, and spilled some of the coffee on her pajamas.
“Oh shit, sorry about that,” he said, moving across the room and grabbing a few napkins from the dinner table. “Here, let me help…”
He went to pat her down with the napkins, until he paused, thinking better of it. Slowly, awkwardly, he passed her the napkins instead.
“Er, I guess you can handle that yourself.”
“I’m good—sorry I’m still in my PJs, it was a slow morning. Generally, I work out first thing, but I had such a wonderful sleep and such good dreams, that I just thought, you know what, skip it.”
It felt like he had on a suit collar that had suddenly grown too tight; he resisted the urge to loosen an imaginary tie.
“And what did you dream?”
“Oh, uh. Nothing special.”
Once dried off, Heidi poured him a cup, and they sat down at the breakfast table, where they nibbled at the fruit bowl.
“Okay, so,” she said, licking grapefruit juice off her fingers, “what should we get up to today?”
“I dunno, I don’t actually have anything booked. Figured we could just see where the wind took us.”
“I’m down.”
“What kind of beach-goer are you?”
“Uh,” she furrowed her brows, thinking, “whatever the opposite of the sit-on-your-ass kind is.”
“Same,” he laughed. “How about we get on our suits and go check out the beach sitch?”
She agreed, and scampered back to her room to change. Bradley went to his respective corner, and pulled on a pair of colorful swim trunks, stopping to look in the mirror. He gave himself a little nod of approval.
Not bad, my dude, not bad at all, he thought with pride. Growing up in Hawaii, he had practically been born wearing a swimsuit. It fit him—and his equipment—like a glove.
He walked back out into the communal space, and twiddled his fingers, waiting for Heidi. In a few minutes, she opened the door to the bedroom, and meekly stepped into the living room. Much to Bradley’s delight, she’d forgone a cover-up, and had emerged in just a bathing suit. And what a bathing suit it was.
She wore a triangle bikini of forest green, a color that perfectly suited her complexion. It was elegant, with gold metallic accents, but also extremely revealing. He reflected that it was the first time he’d seen her show this much skin, and that it had been worth the wait; she had a flat stomach that juxtaposed beautifully with her large breasts, and hips you could rest a beer on.
Each curve of her body dripped sensuously into another curve, giving her the fluidity of a panther. He noted, with a tremble, the golden chain that she always wore round her neck. At last, he could see its termination point—pressed between her tits. It trailed a path to heaven.
“You…look…lovely,” he stammered, tripping over each word. Beautiful women didn’t often get him hot and bothered; he found that the feeling was slightly uncomfortable.
“Thanks. You…too,” she said, giving him a once-over that stopped for a millisecond too long around his crotch.
Or had he imagined that? There was no way to be sure any more.
“I skipped a cover-up,” she continued. “I figured, no one cares if you’re on a private beach.”
“Why have a private beach if you can’t make your own rules?”
She grinned back, and they walked together out the French doors, past their pool, and down towards the beach. The bungalows had evidently been designed so that the beaches were loosely sectioned off from one another; foliage and the natural land curves made it nearly impossible to see any neighbors. In the distance, the main hotel rested on a hillside. Besides that, they were alone.
Bradley pulled his phone out of his waterproof pocket, opened the Edenix app, and looked at the menu of beach items they offered—balls, Frisbees, paddles, etc. He selected a few at random, and got a message in return, saying they’d arrive at his room shortly.
“Okay, Johnny should be bringing us some toys.” He cleared his throat. “Beach toys.”
“Awesome, I can’t wait.”
Heidi looked at two lounge chairs that were already set up for their leisure on the beach, and had a towel and sunscreen resting atop them. She moved towards a chair and grabbed the sunblock, squirting a generous load into her hand. Clicking the top shut, she tossed it to Bradley.
“Here, block up.”
They applied lotion, working it into all their creases. Bradley watched her out of the corner of his eye, admiring the way she rubbed every part of her body. She swiveled around, and he hastily averted his stare.
“Can you do my back?” she asked, approaching him with the tube.
He nodded, though frankly, he wasn’t sure if he could do her back and keep it together. She seemed so relaxed, so professional. With a lump in his throat, he squeezed some lotion out of the tube and into his hand.
You can do this, he told himself sternly. It’s just sunblock. Chill.
“Just hold your hair up,” he instructed her, and she gracefully lifted the mass of auburn waves into her palm.
Bradley touched her back, tentatively, and then again, this time with a hunger. He worked the lotion up and down her spine and across her shoulders. His heart was racing, and other parts of him were throbbing.
Finished with the top portion, all he had left to do was the small of her back. Gulping, he applied the sunblock just above the line of her bikini bottom. If his hand slipped even an inch further down, he’d be inside her swimsuit, cupping her ass, squeezing it—
He pulled back with a jerk. Don’t fucking do this, he thought. Just don’t.
“You’re set,” he said, his words slightly garbled.
“Thanks, dude.” She took the lotion back from him. “Should I do you?”
Yes please. No, wait, that wasn’t the right answer. “Sure.”
She twirled her finger, indicating the he should turn around, and slowly, he did. It took her ages to apply the sunblock over the entirety of his broad back, and by the time she was finished, he was pr
operly hot and bothered. Her hands, though small compared to his own, were strong, and he liked the way she gripped his shoulders to keep him in place while she moved the lotion back and forth.
She grunted, apparently satisfied with her work.
“Looks good to me.” If there was innuendo under those words, he didn’t catch it.
If the sun-blocking might’ve devolved into something else, they’d never know, because just then, Johnny arrived with a bevy of beach items loaded onto his cart.
“Hello, Mr. Fox, nice to see you. Where shall I put the toys?”
“Oh, anywhere, Johnny. Thank you.”
“Very well. Allow me to set up the volleyball net. I’ve also brought you some snacks, on the house.”
Johnny climbed out of the cart, and went about his duties, erecting the net and so on. Heidi hefted the bag of food from the seat, and set it near the lounge chairs.
“Anything good?” Bradley asked, motioning to the food.
“Big time. Looks like some fresh muffins, a bag of raspberries and whipped cream, I think some beef jerky—”
“Yes,” Johnny interrupted, “good protein.”
Heidi raised her eyebrows at this, and shot Bradley a covert smile. He returned it happily.
The butler finished his various tasks, then waved them good-bye, reiterating that they could get in touch at any time. He drove off their beach, and out of sight.
“All right,” said Bradley, when everything appeared to be ready. “What first?”
What followed was an afternoon filled with peals of laughter that must have echoed all the way to the hotel.
First, Bradley easily bested Heidi in a round of volleyball. She cried foul; he had almost a full foot on her, height-wise. She scrambled and rallied pretty well, but there was no contest. He joked that if he lifted her onto his shoulders, they’d be unstoppable—privately, he was hoping she’d take him up on the offer. But no dice.
Everything she said was friendly and professional, but everything she did…well, he wondered if she really needed to bend over like that just to pick up a volleyball.
Then they were on to paddle tennis, at which he was so bad that Heidi had to stop playing; tears of hilarity were running down her cheeks so densely that she couldn’t see.
“Watching such a big man,” she managed to get out, “try and hit such a little ball—” she devolved once more into a fit of laughter.
She pulled herself together, and they tried to resume the game, but every time, one of them would begin to laugh, and then they were both lost in giggles. Bradley thought that this might take the prize for the most fun day of his life.
At last, Heidi—now covered in sand and sweat—suggested they take a dip. Together, they jogged into the ocean, both diving headfirst under the water. Just then, a long rip current tore through. Bradley, accustomed to the ocean’s ways, emerged quickly, and looked around for Heidi. He tilted his chin down to look beneath the waves, and found Heidi, still underneath.
Frantically, he dove back down again, grabbed her under the arms from behind, and pulled her to the surface. She emerged, sputtering.
“Are you okay?” he questioned with urgency.
She coughed up some seawater, then gave a thumbs up. They both seemed to realize that his forearms, which had swooped under her armpits during the rescue, were now perilously close to her breasts. Heidi swam away, unlocking his hold.
How is she resisting this? Doesn’t she feel it too? he wondered, amazed at her resolve.
The riptide shifted in a different direction, and they passed the rest of their time in the water with ease, splashing one another, joking, ducking beneath oncoming waves.
Finally, they agreed to return to dry land. Bradley jogged up first, grabbed a towel, and brought it down to Heidi at the ocean’s edge. She smiled gratefully and dried off, and they walked back together to their lounge chairs.
“Maybe nap time?” Heidi asked.
“We’ve earned it.
The pair dozed off for some small amount of time. Bradley again awoke first, and decided to rummage through Johnny’s food bag to set up lunch for the two of them. He arranged everything on the petite table between the lounge chairs, then dug a final hand into the bag, and came out with a bottle of wine, which he set on the table with a thud.
The noise startled Heidi awake.
“My bad,” he apologized, “you can go back to sleep.”
“No, no,” she said with a yawn. “I’m ready for food.”
She rubbed her eyes, and looked at the bounty between them.
“Yum.”
She began to nibble on some of the snacks while Bradley jimmied open the cork, sans corkscrew.
“Where’d you learn to do that?”
“Being QB at a party school means being able to open any bottle of booze, anytime, anywhere.”
She laughed at that. “Do we have glasses?”
He looked into the bag and came out empty-handed.
“It appears not. Mind just drinking from the bottle?”
“Even better,” she replied, and took the wine from his grip.
She tilted her head back and put the bottle to her lips, taking a deep gulp of the liquid. Bradley looked on in appreciation.
Somehow, without warning, day had passed into night, and the moon had risen high above the water. They remained on their lounge chairs, talking, sipping wine, laughing.
Taking an abrupt turn in the conversation, Heidi asked, “Hey, where’s your watch?”
He looked down at his wrist, and back up at her.
“Oh, I took it off so that the water wouldn’t damage it. Why?”
“No reason, I just noticed that you wear it everywhere. I was putting together some of your publicity photos the other day, and saw that you had it on in each one. But I guess it makes sense you wouldn’t want to damage a fancy watch in the ocean.”
“Actually,” he said, then paused. He hadn’t told anyone about this—but with Heidi, it felt right to have no secrets. “It’s from my mom.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. And it’s not fancy. In fact, it probably cost less than this bottle of wine. But she saved up to buy me the watch just before I went off to U of Miami. Momma said it was my little piece of Hawaii. The joke was that it ran slow, because even the watch was on island time.” He smiled at the memory. “She means the world to me, and it reminds me every day of who I am, where I come from.”
He looked up from where his fingers had been rubbing his empty wrist, and into Heidi’s eyes. Bradley noticed that they were glistening, and that she had a wide smile.
“That’s really…really lovely,” she said breathlessly. She was flushed, and he didn’t think it was from the wine. Heidi swallowed, and asked, “Do you wanna go for a midnight swim?”
“Let’s.”
They left the food and drink on the table, and walked back into the water. The moon hung overhead, illuminating the ocean. Heidi went in first this time, not with the puppy-like eagerness of before, but with the slow sensuality of a nymph. Bradley followed her out until they were waist deep.
“It’s a beautiful night,” Heidi sighed, looking into the sky.
“And not a bad day either.”
His heart racing, he turned to face her. He went to walk over the rocks on the ocean floor to close the distance between them, then clumsily tripped on a sandbar. He fell right into Heidi, his hands landing on her shoulders.
She caught him, balancing her hands on his abs to stop the fall. Bradley righted himself, and found that suddenly, they were pressed up close to one another.
Testing the waters, he slipped his hands from her shoulders, slowly past her shoulder blades, and down to the small of her back. She held his gaze and her red lips parted. He gripped her back harder, and pulled her easily through the water, until they were flush against one another, her breasts squeezed against his chest.
Without thinking, he bent down and put his mouth to hers. The kiss expanded, growing hotter
by the second. Tongues moved in and out of mouths, lips roamed. She reached a hand up to curl it firmly in his hair, and tugged him even closer. They were frantic with desire, weeks and weeks which had been building up to this one moment.
With a shaky breath, Bradley moved his hands from her back, down to her ass, and gripped both cheeks. Heidi responded by letting her mouth wander down to his neck and sucked on the thin skin. Turned on, he lifted her by the ass, and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. She brushed against his erection, and tightened the hold of her legs.
“Take me back to the bungalow,” she whispered into his ear.
With no other words needed, he carried her, still entwined around his body, out of the water and onto the sandy beach. He walked a few steps, continuing to kiss her, before he realized he couldn’t possibly make it all the way to the bungalow.
Looking into her eyes, he saw the same desperation. He lowered their conjoined bodies to the ground, placing himself on top of her. His feet dug into the sand as he watched the moonlight bathe her ecstatic face.
She arched her back, and he took the opportunity to slip a hand around and deftly untie her top. He ripped it off her and threw the fabric to the side. His mouth immediately clamped around her nipple, gently sucking at it while she gasped with pleasure. She caught hold of the waistband of his trunks, urgently pushing them briefs past his ass, until at last he could kick them off entirely.
Heidi smiled, and he grinned back. So much for professionalism.
He reached down for her bikini bottoms and found them wet to the touch. She laughed at his apparent discovery.
“We just went swimming, remember?”
“Oh, I think it’s a little more than that,” he said, smirking. He rose onto his forearms, and then to his feet. He bent down and threw her over his shoulder with ease, her ass planted firmly next to his cheek.
“Bungalow,” he said by way of explanation. “We’re not even close to done; I’m going to ruin you, but not with all this sand in the way.”
Chapter 12
Baby Surprises 7 Book Box Set Page 113