by Robyn Grady
“Take your shirt off, Veda,” he said sometime later. “Honey, lie back flat on the bed.”
Getting to his feet, he ditched the shirt and belt while taking in the picture of her doing as he’d asked. Her hair was a burnished halo. Her expression said, I want to please as much as be pleased. Leaning over her, one arm bracing his weight, he hooked three fingers into the waistband of her shorts and, little by little, tugged them down. Dropping the shorts by his feet, he studied that part of her he ached to know again.
Taking his time, he trailed a fingertip over her smooth, warm mound before tracing a teasing line down the center and between her thighs. Then, kneeling on the floor again, he caught her ankles and set her feet on the mattress. Savoring her sweet, heady scent, he used his thumbs to part and expose her further.
When he finally went down, she held his head while he stroked her with his tongue and slipped two fingers inside. It wasn’t nearly long enough before she was gripping his ears, beginning to tremble. And as he reluctantly drew away, she held out her hand.
“Where are you going?”
He showed her the foil wrap he’d retrieved from his wallet before tossing it on the bed and ditching his clothes. When he stood before her again, she sat up and immediately coiled her fingers around the base of his shaft. Ajax groaned at the rush of heat as she angled him toward her mouth and ran her tongue around the tip three times. When she gripped his thigh, Ajax closed his eyes as, shifting forward and back, he cupped and held her moving jaw.
Before he got too close to that edge, he eased away and saw to the condom. He thought about swinging her on top of him but instead went the more traditional route. As she reached to link her arms around his neck, he positioned himself on top and eased inside...a long, deliberate stroke that felt like it lasted forever. Then he covered her mouth with his, matching the rhythm of the kiss to his thrusts.
When he thought she might be close again, he murmured a warning against her lips. “I wouldn’t count on much sleep tonight.”
On the brink, she grinned as she asked, “So what about the morning?”
He wanted to answer that question but he only picked up the pace.
Now just wasn’t the time.
Nine
For as long as Ajax could remember, he was always up with the birds. And yet catching the time on his watch now—
Really? Was it after eight?
On any other day, he would be wrapping up track work and thinking ahead to checking on his foaling mares and attending to the books. But this morning he was with Veda. Although she was obviously already awake.
Ajax rubbed each eye and looked around the palatial plantation-style bedroom until his focus landed on the open door of the vast marble bathroom. Veda stood with her back to him, brushing out those gorgeous red waves. She was dressed in a romper that showed off her legs and was perfect for this setting. While relaxed, the resort was known for its luxury and pampering. Its facilities included three golf courses, a dozen spa treatment rooms, each with its own garden and plunge pool, and a massive, multi-layered swimming pool surrounded by coral-rock walls. There was plenty to do.
Right now Ajax was only interested in private pursuits.
As he pushed up on an elbow, every cell in his body told him he needed to get Veda back here in this bed. And later, when she wanted to talk about walking out on him after dinner last night, he’d happily listen.
She stopped brushing her hair midstroke and turned around. Finding his gaze, her expression stilled before a soft smile touched her lips and she headed back into the bedroom.
“Morning,” she said.
“Morning back.”
Getting ready for her to join him, he readjusted his position, sitting forward, resting his forearms on raised knees and lacing his fingers between his legs. But she crossed to the wardrobe instead, finding sandals to slip on her feet. Then she went through her open suitcase. Was she searching for sunscreen? A hat?
Or was she just filling in time?
“You’re ahead of me this morning,” he said, combing a hand through his bed hair.
“You should see the sky. So blue, it’s unreal. The water, too.”
Her tone matched his—light and easy. Which was in stark contrast to the intensity of their bedroom marathon the night before. And when she continued to fluff around in her suitcase and the silence got awkward, Ajax’s thoughts returned to the previous day when he had wondered how things would be between them this particular morning after the night before.
Yesterday she had gone from please disappear to I’m totally yours in ten minutes flat. And she had continued in that steamy vein until that woman, Charlotte whoever, had sat down with him to share an innocent chat.
Veda had a thing about his “reputation.” She didn’t trust him. Apparently not for a New York minute. He had hoped that the time they’d spent together here last night would help, but now he wasn’t getting that vibe.
As he got out of bed to pull on his pants, she wandered out onto the furnished terrace. When he joined her, he was taken aback by the view of golden sand and, farther out, turquoise water scattered with diamond drops of sunshine.
“I love the hills back home,” he said, breathing in the warm salty air. “But this is pretty darn special.”
“It’s supposed to be hot today,” she said, gazing out, too. “But I don’t feel it. I think it’ll be pretty mild.”
He studied her profile, the small straight nose, elevated chin, determined green eyes that were sparkling as much as the water. Her hands were clutching the rail like nothing and no one could pry them free.
She was right. He wasn’t feeling the heat, either. Not like last night.
Making love, he had wanted to give her more, give her everything. Physically, they had never been closer. And yet now, he was up against that wall of hers again.
He rested his hand next to hers on the rail. “What have we got planned for today?”
“I’m going to relax,” she said, closing her eyes and tipping her face more toward the warmth of the sun.
“Relaxing sounds good.”
She took in a deep breath but kept her eyes shut. “What are you going to do? I guess you need to get back. Work to do.”
He took in a group of guests relaxing on sun loungers on the beach. “I’ll stay on. Hang out.”
When she finally opened her eyes and slid him a look, he moved to cover her hand with his. But she was already turning away, heading back inside. He frowned at his bare feet for a moment, weighing things up. Did she want him to simply say, Thanks for the sex, see ya later, and walk away? That would make her evaluation of him right, but it was an empty victory if you asked him.
Inside, he found her flicking through some hotel literature. Hitching up his shoulders, he shoved both hands in his pockets and got the words out.
“I meant what I said last night, Veda. The last thing I want to do is hurt you.”
The brochure crinkled as her grip tightened. Then she shook her head slightly. “Doesn’t matter.”
“It matters.”
Her eyes met his. “Don’t you want to know why I was suddenly falling all over you yesterday?”
Well, yeah. “I was curious.”
“I was testing a theory. The one that goes, ‘girl full-on chases Ajax. Ajax gets bored and gets another girl.’ It didn’t take long.”
“Veda, that woman and I were just talking. I wasn’t bored.”
She crossed her arms. “Really?”
He hesitated.
“Look, I’ve had more exciting evenings,” he admitted, “but that had absolutely nothing to do with you.” And about that theory... “You decided to throw yourself at me so I’d get bored? Why?”
“To speed up the inevitable. To prove the theory right. Just look at your track record. You must be all about the challenge.”
He crossed over to her, took her hands and held on. “I came here to be with you. No one else.”
“For however long that lasts.”
“Well... Yeah. That’s right.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “At least you’re admitting it now.”
“Yesterday, after our drink at the bar,” he explained, “I felt on edge. If we ended up in bed again, I wasn’t sure how it would be the next day between us. I wasn’t sure how I would feel come morning. Not because I was bored, Veda.” He put it out there. “Because I haven’t felt like this about anyone before.”
She blinked several times, then pressed her lips together.
“That’s another line,” she said.
He smiled into her eyes. “Let’s just go with the flow. See where this takes us.”
“You mean despite my father despising your family, and Hux probably thinking I’m some kind of spy?”
“Don’t forget the fact that you hate the profession that I love.”
“And neither of us wants anything serious.”
That got him. Serious was an interesting word.
And best not think about that now because he could see that he might have turned this ship around.
Her lips almost twitched. “So, what’s your idea of going with the flow while we’re here?”
Squeezing her hands, he winked.
“Put on your swimsuit,” he said, “and I’ll show you.”
* * *
“Here’s something you don’t know about me,” Ajax said, while they settled into a pair of sun lounges set up in a quiet nook of the extensive pool area. “It’s my biggest secret. You’ll never guess.”
As Veda heeled off her sandals, she slid him a look. Now this could be interesting. Ajax was pretty straightforward. Openly charming. Explicitly sexy. Here for a good time, not a long time. Whether he was actually flirting with that woman last night wasn’t the point. His history of short-but-sweet was the problem.
And yet when he had knocked on her door, Veda had looked into those dreamy blue eyes and rolled over. Which could be viewed as weak or simply taking what she wanted. And, of course, she hadn’t been disappointed. Ajax had a way of bringing out the very best in her, with his hands and his tongue and his...well, everything. This morning, however, she’d been torn between wanting to jump on him again and wondering whether he was thinking she was way too easy.
And that’s how she had ended up here, making the decision to simply relax in the Barbados sunshine with Ajax and his drool-worthy body. This man was her Achilles’ heel, and ultimately, there would be a price to pay. But not today.
Not today.
He was talking about his biggest secret...
“Let’s see.” Pretending to think long and hard, she tapped her chin. “You love soppy movies?”
“Other than The Longest Ride, not a chance.”
“You’re an alien conspiracy diehard.”
“Really good guess, but no tamale.”
“You think only one game of football should be televised per week.”
He chuckled. “My secret is that I used to be afraid of water. Couldn’t swim. Not a stroke.”
Veda slid her gaze from him to the pool, then back again. “You did say used to be, right? How’d you get over it?”
“Hux had the same fear when he was a kid,” he said, flipping the lid open on the sunscreen. “Want me to do your shoulders?”
After ditching her wrap, she swept her hair to one side. Her swimsuit wasn’t anything outrageously sexy—just a semi-fitted white tankini top that fell to her navel and black bikini bottoms that pretty much covered both cheeks.
“Is Griff afraid of water, too?” she asked, turning around. “I haven’t heard Lanie ever mention it.”
“Just me and Dad,” he said as a big, hot, borderline rough hand smeared cream between her shoulder blades. “We have a huge pool at home. One summer when I was eight, he had me in there every day. It took a while but he was patient.”
Veda’s eyes drifted shut. He was using both hands now, working over her shoulders and down her arms.
Feeling a little dreamy, she asked, “So you went on to win every race at the school meets?”
“I never won a ribbon in the pool.” He was close behind her now, reaching around to rub her thighs. “But I no longer freak out at the thought of my head going under, so all good.” He made a shivering sound. “I’ll never forget the feeling, though. Total panic.”
“I can identify.”
“You needed heavy-duty swimming lessons, too?”
“Heavy-duty reading lessons.” She took a breath and let it all out. “I’m dyslexic.” When she felt his hands draw away, she turned back around. “I get letters confused,” she said. “Jumbled. Back to front.”
“Dyslexic. Right.” He nodded, then nodded again. “I mean, I’ve heard of it.”
“It set me back when I was younger, in a whole lot of ways.”
“You mean at school?”
“I didn’t understand why other kids weren’t turned off by books or writing the way I was. I didn’t get how they put letters together to make words, let alone sentences. I actually thought it was some kind of joke and I was the punch line.”
“So when did the teacher tell your parents?”
“I wasn’t diagnosed until years later.”
He rocked back. “You mean you went all the way through struggling like that?”
The sunscreen bottle lay on the lounger next to his leg. She grabbed it up and explained, “I did really well in math. Maybe it’s a compensatory thing, but my brain does way better with numbers.”
“Getting through something like that... It must be a huge inspiration for the people you coach.”
She held off squirting sunscreen into her palm. “We were talking about secrets, remember?”
“Oh. So who else knows?”
“My dad. Now you. Turn around.”
He swung his legs over to the lounger’s other side and then there was his back...bare, broad and perfectly bronzed. As she rubbed the hot, smooth slopes on either side of his neck, she imagined him working in the sun with his horses, sans shirt, jeans riding low.
“So you’re obviously over it,” he said as she continued to stroke and rub.
“You don’t get over dyslexia. But you can learn to work with it. In a lot of ways, I don’t think of it as a disability. I had to try harder at a lot of things. Some of my grades sucked. But along the way I’ve learned other stuff like keeping things clear-cut and how to delegate. I’ve honed my concentration skills and try to listen to intuition.”
His beautiful shoulders rolled back. “How did your parents react when they found out?”
Her stomach balled up before she squeezed more sunscreen into her palm. “It was after my mom died.”
He paused before asking, “Did your dad help?”
“Not like yours with the swimming.” Her father hadn’t been hands-on. “He took me to professionals.” For her dyslexia and also to help manage her grief. “He’s never been big on communication.” She rubbed Ajax’s back again, painting a big circle, then sweeping her hand up and down. “Maybe that’s where I get it from.” Maybe Drake was dyslexic, too. Sure, she saw him with books, reading. That didn’t mean it was easy.
“Veda, you’re a great communicator. I was glued to my seat listening to you on that stage yesterday.”
“Ha! You were not.”
He turned back around. “No lie.”
“Well, I’m not a natural at it. The big D held me back in a lot of ways other than schoolwork. I was socially awkward through the roof. I never felt like I fit. Some kids at school made it way worse.”
“You were bullied.”
She nodded. “Whenever I got stressed, like if I had to read in front of class, my brain would freeze. It
literally wouldn’t work. I’d get this feeling like fingers closing around my throat. No words would come out. I was completely mute.”
He leaned closer. “When was the last time it happened?”
“Not for ages. Until a little attack at Lanie’s party when she introduced me to your dad and then left us alone.”
“But Dad’s easy to talk to.”
“He is. But remember our family feud? Huge trigger. I got a few words out but by the time he left, Hux thought I was a kook. That’s the other thing. When you have this problem, which is not the same as being shy, people don’t know what to make of it. Make of you. Some wonder if you’re just too stuck-up to talk to them, or maybe your IQ must be low.” She winced. “Really not a nice place to be.”
When he took her hand and smiled, her everything, inside and out, smiled, too.
“This is what we’re going to do,” he said. “We’re going to swim out into the middle of that pool. I’m going to keep us afloat and listen while you tell me all about what’s next on the Veda Darnel Kick Ass agenda.”
Still smiling, she nodded. “I like that idea.”
Hand in hand, they waded in and then freestyled out until the water was up to his chest and she couldn’t touch the bottom. Then he wrapped his arms around her waist and twirled.
“Not feeling anxious?” she asked, holding on to his shoulders and winding her legs around his hips.
“Not in the least. Feeling good. Feeling great. And I’m listening.”
“Well, if you really want to know, large scale, I do have a dream. I don’t know when but I feel it’ll happen sometime, even if it’s when I need dentures and three naps a day. I would love to have a quiet acre or two for a rescue farm,” she said.
“What kind of animals? Because I can’t possibly guess.”
“Right. Horses. But also sheep, chickens, ducks, pigs. Actually, did you know pigs are supposed to be more intelligent than dogs?”