“I’ve thought of going short,” Kim said. “Sometimes these get in the way.”
“Gorgeous though,” Leah said.
“I wish I had the courage of either of you,” Mara said. “But enough about hair. Look out there.” She let out a little sigh and rested her cheek on her hands and Leah winced and forced herself to step fully into the water. It wasn’t that deep at least.
It wasn’t that she was afraid of the water, so much as she just didn’t know what to do in it. She felt awkward and ungainly, and then there was the whole possibility of drowning thing. Okay, maybe she was a little afraid of it.
“Whose boat is that pulling up to that dock over there?” Mara asked.
There was a long wooden walkway out into the sea that connected with a large floating dock in the crystal blue seas. It rocked slightly as a large white yacht pulled up alongside it seamlessly.
Those things must be hard to drive, Leah thought, putting a hand up to shield her eyes as she looked at the vessel, trying to see the captain.
“Look,” Kim said, pointing down, not too far from them. Two men were taking long strides out to the deck. Her heart stuttered as she recognized one of them as the scuba teacher from the lobby. His blond hair glistened in the sun, and there was something about his tall, bronzed body, that just made her body sit up and take notice. Recognize him.
Mate, her heart seemed to say.
But that was ridiculous. Where had that come from? With her job, there was no time for complications like that.
“Damn, cut me off a piece of that,” Kim said.
“Which one?” Mara asked. And Leah realized there was another man. He had short blond hair, carefully groomed into short, tufted spikes, and wore an immaculate gray suit as he followed the other man out onto the deck.
“Either,” Kim said, nearly salivating. Leah knew how she felt. Women started disembarking from the boat and she relaxed against the pool wall. It really did feel relaxing here.
“No wait,” Kim said. “I change my mind. Break me off a piece of THAT.”
Leah’s eyes flicked up to the boat again, and caught sight of a man that was getting off and checking the knots that tied the boat to the dock. He untied them and retied them, staying standing, throwing the ropes down in an expert way that just made a woman want to see how expert he was in bed.
“Damn,” Kim said. “Love it.”
The man had long, shiny blond hair tied into a low ponytail, and it blew in the Caribbean breeze as he tightened the knots and then turned to greet the men coming toward him.
The women on the dock bustled around them, gaping, and Leah became aware that her heart was threatening to beat out of her chest. All the men were distinctly different, both in style and face, but at the same time, there was something similar about all of them.
“Brothers, do you think?” Mara asked.
“Maybe,” Kim said. “Think they’d be up for a foursome?”
“Kim!” Mara said, splashing her. “Stop it! We’re here for two weeks, so you better behave yourself.”
“Like I can,” Kim said. “What can I say? I like the chase.”
“I’d like to be chased by him,” Mara said, pointing at the man in the suit, who was talking to a few of the women.
“I met him downstairs, he gave me a drink,” Leah said.
“I think he’s the hotel manager,” Mara replied.
“Right,” Kim said.
“So, do you two know each other?” Leah asked. “You seem friendly.”
“Well, we are friendly,” Mara said. “But yes we do. Kim is my cousin. I’m glad we both won the contest, whatever the odds were, because it feels like I haven’t seen her in forever.”
“It’s only been a few years, but yeah,” Kim said. “It’s nice.” She put an arm around the much smaller Mara and pulled her close and Leah couldn’t resist a smile.
“Say,” she said, getting a thoughtful look on her face. “Don’t you think they look a little like the guy who brought us up here?”
“You know, now that you mention it maybe they do,” Kim said. “Maybe they’re his sons? Maybe it’s a family run place.”
“Could be. Wonder how they all ended up on this small island.”
“Me too,” Mara said. “Or maybe they were born here.”
A knock sounded on the door to their suite, and Leah looked wide-eyed at the others. Kim however had no nerves whatsoever and jumped out of the pool to get the door.
Leah forced herself to look away from the men on the dock. Whoever they were, they weren’t for her. She was here to get away from men and their demands. She could just imagine how her phone would be beeping now, if she hadn’t silenced it. Nerves twisted in her stomach as she tried not to think about work, but then the door opened and the older man from before came in.
“I’m Sam Weston,” he said, following Kim into the living room. Leah and Mara turned to face him. They’d heard his name because his voice boomed through the open layout of the suite. “I hope you ladies are settling in nicely.”
“We are,” Leah said. “But I have a question about the welcome packets.”
He raised an eyebrow, and Leah got the feeling that he was a not a man you wanted to cross. At the same time, if you had him on your side, that was probably a very good thing.
“I have a question about the men out there,” Kim said. “Are they available?”
He walked to the edge of the deck and shielded his eyes as he looked out. Leah caught Kim looking at his taut butt. Kim just giggled at her. “Ah, yes. Those are my sons. I own the resort and they enjoy helping me run it.”
“I’ll bet they do,” Mara mumbled.
“What was that?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she said innocently, and Leah wondered what that was about.
“Anyway, if there’s anything that I can do to help with your stay, let me know.”
“Wait,” Leah said, “The welcome papers. They say the activities are mandatory. That can’t be right. I mean—”
“They are absolutely mandatory, if you want to stay at the resort,” he said firmly but pleasantly. “You do want to stay?”
“Yes but, me and the water, we don’t—”
“I assure you, the activities were selected and carefully scheduled just for your particular…situation,” he said, rubbing his chin. “You’ll enjoy them. I guarantee it.”
Her mouth gaped but she shut it, because there seemed to be no point arguing.
“And now, ladies, I’ll leave you to relax. You all have big days ahead of you tomorrow.”
Then he let himself out the door, leaving Leah feeling both frustrated and a little impressed.
Leah sighed and rested against the pool wall with closed eyes, taking in the scents of the island and letting the cool, humid breeze brush over her skin.
What was she going to do?
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING she was hungover. The girls had stayed up late, getting to know each other and talking about their experiences with men, their jobs. It’d been interesting, but far too easy to order complimentary tropical cocktails from hotel room service, and as a result, they all looked a little under the weather this morning.
“I can’t do this,” Leah said, holding a tote with her towel in one hand and a pair of goggles that had been in the welcome bag in her room in the other.
“You can and you will,” Mara said, putting an arm around her and ushering her out of their hotel room. Kim was already far ahead, nearly at the elevator. She’d found out her boat ride really was with Mr. Sexy Pants, and she couldn’t wait to “Board that thang”, as it were.
Leah was the only one dragging her feet. The only one who seemed to get the short end of the stick. The only thing that sort of comforted her about the whole situation was that she might get to meet the sexy instructor from yesterday at her scuba lessons. It was possible, right?
They took the elevator down and she hugged the other women and said goodbye as they went off in their
opposite directions. Leah went to the desk that was mentioned in her welcome packet.
“Hi, I’m Leah Maitland, I was—”
“Yes, Ms. Maitland,” said the girl at the front desk, who seemed busy and harried, sorting through papers. She handed her a wrist band. “Take this and go out to the main pool. That’s where your class is meeting.”
Group class? Leah thought. Great. Maybe she could hide her ridiculousness from sight if she just hid in a big enough group of women.
But when she got to the pool, she groaned. All the women looked svelte and athletic in their bikinis. The pool was crowded and none of them seemed to be listening to the stressed scuba instructor who was trying to get everyone’s attention.
She dropped her stuff on a nearby chair and walked down the stairs into the shallowest part of the water. But she found herself elbowed by other women trying to push to the front of the class, and she slowly found herself pushed to the back.
Fine. Whatever. She folded her arms and looked up at the teacher, who didn’t look anything like the man she’d been hoping to see.
At least he wouldn’t be here to see her embarrass herself in the pool, let alone the ocean.
And then the woman in front of Leah took a step back, bumping Leah off a ledge she didn’t know existed, into the deep end of the pool. Leah thrashed for a second before her head went under the water and she sank like a rock.
That’s it, she thought, waving her hands fruitlessly for the surface. This was officially the worst vacation ever.
She was going to drown.
She held her breath and tried to remember if she’d ever had swim lessons, when there was a large disruption in the water near her, and she felt strong arms wrap around her and bring her to the surface. Her eyes were clenched tightly shut, her goggles nowhere to be found, so she had no idea who her rescuer was, and she didn’t care.
But when they broke the surface and she gasped in deep breaths of air, coughing and spitting out water, she found herself looking into intense blue-green eyes, shining and deep like the sea.
She promptly fainted in his arms.
3
Sky checked Leah’s pulse and breathing and then sighed in relief. She’d simply fainted from the shock of it all. Damn Tammy for putting her in this group when she’d known it was a private lesson provided by the hotel. Tammy had pulled shit like this before, but it would be the last time. He gave her a glare as he walked past her with Leah in his arms.
He knew her name because he’d gone to his father immediately after the elevator incident to inquire about their “special guests”.
All his father had said was that they had won some kind of giveaway and were staying here with everything provided by the hotel. But Sky had a feeling there was more to it than that. His bear sensed it. He’d been excited to start his lesson with the mysterious woman who’d had him tossing all night in a hot sweat, for once thinking of something other than scuba, and when she hadn’t shown up on time, he’d gone looking.
Good thing, too, because she’d been flailing under the surface in the main pool, about to start drowning. His heart had gone crazy in his chest and his body had gone into action mode. It had felt like he would literally die if she died, and now that she was safe in his arms, everything felt so right.
Her curves were soft and luscious, her skin beautiful and smooth. He wanted to run a hand along her soft cheek, but he barely knew her. And besides, he was her teacher. That’d be sexual harassment.
He wondered if she would mind.
Women tended to like him, but this one was different. He sensed it but didn’t know what it was. And he wouldn’t put it past his dad to be up to something he wasn’t talking about. The old man could be sneaky when he wanted to.
Sky walked into his suite and laid Leah in a wide, cushioned hammock while he searched for something cool to give her to drink. She stirred when he released her from his arms, and something in his heart twisted at having to let her go.
She made a little frown at being apart from him, and he thought, yeah, me too.
Ten years they’d been on this island, and he’d never met anyone who interested him like she did.
She stirred and raised her head to look at him as he came toward her with a glass of his ice-cold, homemade lemonade. He handed it to her and she drank it gratefully, keeping her warm brown eyes on him and eyeing him hotly.
He felt his body respond and turned away from her to hide it. “I’m sorry about the mixup. You were supposed to have a private lesson with me, but the girl at the front desk, Tammy, got it mixed up.”
“Did she?” Leah asked. “She was quite terse with me.”
He turned back to her with a grin, having gained control of himself. “It might have been an on-purpose mistake. I think she has a crush on me.”
She smiled and his knees weakened. Damn, this woman had an effect on him. It felt like his first dive. Exhilarating, a little frightening, and the best feeling in the world. “I can see why,” she said.
His heart did a double thump. Was she flirting with him? Damn, how should he respond? He’d spent all his time focused on the water and trying not to encourage any of the tourist women flirting him, and now there was one he did want to encourage and he didn’t know how to do it.
“Um, thanks?” he said. “I was thinking, given your lack of comfort in the water, we could start our lessons here in this pool, or even the one at your place?” He tried not to check her out and failed, and his eyes (against his will, of course) roamed over her soft, luscious curves, encased in that perfect and colorful swimsuit. Her short curls were drying adorably around her face, and her lips were slightly parted, as if she were just as aware of him as he was of her.
But first things first, he needed to teach her to swim. The thought of this gorgeous creature being in danger again over something so preventable had him cracking his knuckles and focusing on what he should teach her first.
The chemistry crackling between them could wait.
At least until tonight. He grinned at the thought as he waited for her to finish her lemonade, then grabbed two water bottles out of the fridge, a couple extra towels, and led her outside to the private pool on his deck.
Then it struck him that in order to teach this delightful creature how to swim, he was going to have to touch her.
Damn, that was not going to be easy.
He walked quickly into the pool to hide his growing erection, hoping she didn’t notice.
* * *
LEAH GIGGLED as she watched her rescuer walk into the water.
He’d saved her from drowning, and then held her like she was something sumptuous that he didn’t want to let go off. She’d kept her eyes closed just to let the moment go on a bit longer.
Back at home, she had to do everything for everyone. It was wonderful to have a moment where someone was doing something for her. If he looked like he walked off an exotic perfume ad featuring ruggedly handsome tanned men with striking blue eyes, all the better.
He seemed affected by her as well, though she could barely believe it. She’d never had a lot of male attention. There hadn’t been a lot of time for it. Her boss, Ignus, was possessive and bossy and would accuse her of not taking her job seriously whenever she’d started dating someone, and she’d never found anyone she felt enough chemistry with to want to risk her job.
This man, however, might be worth risking it all for.
“What’s your name?” she asked. “I’m sorry if I didn’t hear when you told me.”
“Oh,” he said, looking surprised as he held out a hand to help her into the water. It was all shallow enough for her to stand in, to her relief. Her heart had calmed the instant he’d saved her, but now that she was looking at a pool again, she felt nervousness rising up in her.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I mentioned it,” he said. “I know you’re Leah, since I saw you on my schedule. I’m Sky, short for Skyler.”
“Interesting,” she said. “I would think Sea
would be better.”
He frowned. “Excuse me?”
She felt blood rush into her face. Why did he make her say these things? So cheesy. “Your eyes,” she said, waving her hand weakly. “More the color of the sea.”
He grinned, flashing those perfect, white teeth at her. At the flash of white, a burst of cold went through her, along with an image of snow, falling over a white covered landscape.
What was that?
“You okay?” he asked, coming forward to take her hands and steady her. But the effect was the opposite, and she felt her knees buckling at the power in his deep, reassuring voice. His voice was pure sex to her, and his touch was scraping her insides bare, washing her self control away like sand under waves at the edge of the sea.
She made the mistake of looking up into his eyes. Burning, bright blue like the clearest Caribbean sea. Hadn’t they seemed more green before? She didn’t know. She rested her hands on his arms.
He was supposed to be her swim teacher. They were supposed to be doing the activities on the itinerary. She barely knew him. They were supposed to keep things professional.
But none of that seemed to matter as she rose up on her toes and did the one thing she’d been wanting to do since the first time she saw him. She rose up on her toes and pulled him down to her and kissed him deeply.
And surprisingly, he wrapped his arms around her tight and returned the kiss.
He was so much taller than her, but he came down to meet her, wrapped his hands under her thighs, and lifted her easily against him as he stood in the pool. Just her toes dangled in the cool water, the rest of her stayed up in the air, with cool, refreshing breeze against her back and the heat of his rigid muscles against her front. Her soft breasts crushed against his firm pecs and she loved the feel of it.
She opened her lips and let him sweep in with a deft, loving tongue that somehow knew just how to stroke her into a frenzy. She met him thrust for thrust, her tongue melting against his. She let out a little moan as he went deep, and one hand moved to grab and squeeze her generous ass.
Bear-ever Yours: BBW Bear Shifter (BWWM) Romance Standalone Page 2