by Tawna Fenske
“Animal, vegetable, or mineral?” she asked.
Hell, he’d forgotten they were playing a game. He looked up at the ceiling, his mind racing, feeling around in dark corners for an object, any object. His brain swam in images, but few lent themselves to an innocent game of Twenty Questions.
He looked away from the ceiling and down at Juli, considering. Well hell, she was the one who came up with Strip Battleship, wasn’t she?
“Animal,” he told her, already regretting his choice.
“Is it bigger than a zebra?”
Alex raised an eyebrow at her. “A zebra?”
“Just as a point of reference.”
“No. It is not bigger than a zebra.”
“Is it bigger than a sheep?”
“No.”
“Bigger than a tarantula?”
“Yes. Bigger than a tarantula.”
Juli nodded, looking thoughtful. “Is it soft?”
Alex winced. “Yes.”
“Striped?”
“No.”
“Does it live on land?”
“Yes.”
“How many questions is that?”
Alex smiled. “Counting this one and the animal-vegetable-mineral one, eight.”
She frowned at him. “You don’t count that one. That’s not fair.”
Alex grinned down at her, enjoying his advantage. “Neither was using a mirror to cheat at Strip Battleship.”
“Good point.”
“You going to ask another one?”
“I’m thinking,” she said, shifting again, her curls tickling the side of his chin as she wriggled to adjust one of her pillows. He felt dizzy as he caught a breath of her shampoo and another glimpse down the front of her shirt. He looked away and checked his watch again. Where was room service? And why the hell hadn’t he been smart enough to request two separate rooms?
And for that matter, what was happening one hundred miles away with Jake and Phyllis and Cody and the pirates and all that damn cargo? He should be focusing on that. Not on Juli, no matter how soft and beautiful and—
“Is it a mammal?” Juli asked at last.
Alex considered that one. “Yes. I suppose it is.”
“Had to think about it though?”
Alex smiled. “Is that your tenth question? You’re going to have to start guessing soon.”
Juli crossed her arms over her chest. Alex felt light-headed.
“Is it a cat?” she asked finally.
“No.”
“Dog?”
“No.”
“This is hard.”
Alex closed his eyes. “Actually, you already established that it’s soft.”
She slugged him in the shoulder. “Is it furry?”
“God, no.”
“Does it have a tail?”
Alex laughed, looking down at her again. “No. No tail. Are you going to take another swing with the guessing or just burn up the rest of your questions?”
Juli met his eyes, holding them for one beat, two, three. She gave him a devilish grin and leaned against him, making her top gape open again.
Jesus, she was driving him nuts.
“Well, since you keep looking down the front of my shirt when you think I’m not paying attention, I’m going to go ahead and guess that it’s my breasts.”
Alex felt his jaw drop. He tried to respond, but no sound came out. Juli grinned and performed a triumphant fist pump.
“Score!”
Alex shook his head in disbelief. “You got that from me looking down your shirt? I would think you’d be used to that.”
“Was I right?” she asked, bouncing on the bed, looking infinitely pleased with herself. “I got it? It was really my breasts?”
“You’re taking this well, considering I just objectified and ogled you. Really, very chauvinistic of me.” Alex straightened, swinging his legs out of the bed as he moved away from her. “I should be going now. Maybe there’s another room in this place just for the night.”
Juli grabbed his sleeve and yanked him back down onto the bed beside her.
“I’ve been trying to get you to objectify and ogle me for the last hour,” she said, so close now her breath tickled his ear. “Winning the game was just an added bonus. Ogle me some more. Pretty please?”
The room felt suddenly hot. The pressure of Juli’s hand on his sleeve, her curls brushing his arm, the lemony, coconut scent of her, the delight flickering in her eyes—all of it was making Alex dizzy.
He was either going to kiss her or take a cold shower. He closed his eyes.
Cold shower, he decided. Much safer.
“It was actually just your left breast,” he admitted between clenched teeth. “Just one, not both.”
“Just the left one?”
Alex opened his eyes to see her looking even more delighted. She was still gripping his sleeve, pinning him there beside her. He could break free if he wanted, flee the room and get away. Hell, he could even sleep in the hall.
“The left is my favorite,” he conceded.
Juli smiled. “We’ve known each other less than five days and you have a favorite breast? I’m touched.”
Touched. Something about the way she said that last word made Alex’s throat go dry. He tried to ignore the buzzing in his head, the itching in his fingertips, the urge to slide his hands up her arms and make her shiver.
He looked back at her. She held fast to his sleeve and smiled.
I didn’t need a shower anyway, he thought. He leaned down, capturing her mouth with his, sinking into that soft heat.
He was rougher than he meant to be, but Juli pressed against him, spurring him on, kissing him back with the same urgency. He felt her fingers move into his hair, gripping the base of his skull, pulling him to her.
Alex moved one hand over her hip, sliding into the perfect hollow at the small of her back. Her spine curved with the pressure of his palm as she arched against him, pressing her breasts to his chest. Alex felt his pulse quicken as Juli made a soft whimpering sound in the back of her throat and began to kiss her way down his neck. Alex closed his eyes, near delirious with pleasure as her lips moved soft and warm against his throat. Every nerve in his body came screaming to life and he tightened his hold on her, making her whimper again.
Her hands surprised him, hot and hungry and eager. She moved down, gliding her fingers over his biceps, detouring down the edge of his chest, clutching him there for a moment, then slipping down his ribs, dipping low over his abdomen, lower, then lower still. Alex groaned.
The blood was pounding in his head now, hammering so loudly he thought he might go deaf. His ears were ringing as he eased her body back against the pillows, craving more of her, loving the feel of her fingers fumbling with his zipper, freeing him, grasping him tightly in her hot hand. His heart was beating wildly, loud and crazy and eager.
“Sausage,” Juli gasped, angling away from him.
Alex drew back and looked down.
“What?” he said, dizzy with her heat and the softness of her body and the pressure of her hand gripping him.
“Room service is here,” she panted. “Sausage.”
“Oh,” Alex said, trying to focus, dimly aware of the knocking at the door. “Right.”
Juli drew back further, her eyes burning into his. She didn’t blink. Was she even breathing? Alex swallowed, trying not to lunge for her again.
Juli bit her lip. “This won’t be one of those movie moments where the mood is ruined and we eat our dinner and go to bed without clawing each other’s clothes off. I want this. I want you. And I don’t care if the hotel catches fire and the entire mob shows up to gun us down. I need you to make love to me. Here. Tonight.”
“Um,” Alex said, getting dizzy all over again.
“But first, sausage,” she said, releasing him and jumping up off the bed.
“Sausage,” Alex repeated and lay back against the pillows, wondering how his life had gotten so complicated. And why he wasn’t mo
re concerned.
Chapter 17
Juli felt full. Full and happy.
“I can’t believe you just ate all of that,” Alex said, taking his eyes off the glittering black swirl of the ocean long enough to watch her.
Juli smiled and set the plate down, licking the last of the french fry grease from her fingers. Alex smiled and turned back toward the water.
They were sitting side-by-side on the second-floor balcony of their hotel suite, basking in the moonlit view of the beach with their legs stretched out straight in front of them, touching at the knee.
“You helped with some of it,” she pointed out. “I gave you the croutons off the salad.”
“Very generous of you,” he agreed. “Want the last bite of cheesecake?”
“Only if you don’t,” she said, feeling pleased when he forked the piece straight into her mouth. She chewed blissfully, aware of the solidness of his shoulder against hers, the gentle hiss of the ocean splashing up onto the beach, retreating, rushing up onto the sand again.
Juli watched the waves for a moment, intrigued by the motion, the salty smell, the soothing rush of water.
A week ago, I would have rather pierced my own nostril with a toothpick than sat on a balcony over the ocean.
A week ago, I was eating my mother’s carob meatloaf instead of passion fruit cheesecake.
A week ago, I didn’t even know this guy.
Now I belong to a pirate crew.
Juli looked over at Alex and smiled.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked, setting the plate down beside him and dusting his hands off.
Juli looked at him, considering her next words.
“What were you guys hoping to steal from Tom’s boat?” she asked finally, surprising herself with her bluntness. “That’s the only part you haven’t told me yet. If we’re laying all our cards on the table, I want to know what you were going after out there.”
Alex frowned, staring out at the ocean again. “Diamonds. Forty-eight million dollars worth of diamonds, to be exact.”
“Really?”
“Yup. We had some pretty good intelligence that told us what was on that boat. An illegal transaction, something we could intercept without getting caught. We even had a plan to fence them through a connection in Antwerp. I’m still not sure what went wrong.”
“They weren’t there?”
“Nope.”
She put a hand on his leg, feeling the heat beneath her palm.
“I’m sorry,” she said at last.
“Not your fault.”
“I know, but this isn’t how you planned it.”
Alex shrugged. “I’ll survive.”
Juli turned back to the ocean, trying to think of how to permeate the grim haze that had fallen over them. She felt sad for Alex, no doubt about it. Really, very sad.
But she still wanted to roll around naked with him.
Okay, so that made her an insensitive trollop. There it was. Even as she wanted to cradle his head in her lap and stroke his hair and tell him things would be okay, she also wanted to tear his clothes off with her teeth and lick her way down his abdomen.
Of course, they’d obviously lost their mood mojo in the last hour. Somehow, they’d gone from passionate groping to companionable, somber dinner conversation with the dark ocean crashing beneath them.
Not that there was anything wrong with that.
But really, more groping would be nice.
Juli frowned at the ocean. How to get the mood back? The women’s magazines never really addressed the proper method for jumping back on track with a derailed hookup. Maybe running her hand up his leg? Sticking her tongue in his ear?
No, maybe something sensitive. Perhaps she should gaze meaningfully into his eyes, whisper something sweet and sultry, give him her best come-hither look—
“Oh, baby! I want to rub your cheese doodle ’til my hands turn orange.”
Juli jumped, sending her fork flying off the edge of the balcony. There was another loud whoop, followed by something that sounded like yodeling. Juli frowned and looked at Alex. His expression was equally perplexed.
“You rub my doodle, baby, and I’ll give it to you so good you’ll tattoo my name on that sweet little tushy of yours.”
Juli winced, disgusted. But also curious. She craned her neck to see where the voices were coming from, baffled by sounds that reminded her of the time the raccoons got stuck in her mother’s basement.
“On the beach,” Alex whispered. “I think they’re right below us.”
“Are you serious?”
“See the shadows? Right there?”
“Where?”
Alex pointed. “Just below us. Edge of the water, over to the left.”
Juli squinted in the darkness. “Wha—is that a T-shirt that just went flying through the air?”
Alex leaned forward, peering down at the beach. “Yes. And I believe it says ‘Mustache rides, five cents.’”
“Ew.”
“Yeah, honey, tear that bra off with your teeth! Just like that, baby—oh, careful with the dentures, that’s it. You tiger! You lion! You wildebeest! Grrrr!”
“Oh, I’m gonna give it to you so good, girl. You want me to spank you like the naughty little hamster you are?”
Juli wasn’t sure whether to cover her ears or her eyes. Or both. She looked up at Alex, who looked equally repulsed and fascinated.
“How do you like your eggs, baby? Over easy or hard-boiled?”
“Give ’em to me scrambled, daddy, with a little pat of butter.”
“How about margarine?”
“I don’t even know what that means,” Juli whispered, crawling on all fours to peer through the slats of the balcony. All she could see was dark sand and the swirl of water advancing and retreating.
That was probably for the best.
“Do you think we should take notes?” Alex whispered, scooting forward to join her. “Because a lot of this is new to me.”
“I think we should be vaccinated.”
There was a disturbing cacophony of smacking, giggling, and groaning, and Juli thought for a moment she might see her Denver omelet again. She tried to focus in the darkness, straining to see something, halfway afraid she might succeed.
“This is disgusting,” Alex said.
“We should go inside.”
“Totally.”
“And lock the door.”
“I’m with you.”
Neither of them moved.
“Yeah, mama. You want a little hot salsa on that taco?”
“Ooh, daddy, guacamole too!”
Juli grimaced. “Do you think we should alert the hotel managers?”
“And say what? ‘Someone’s having really tacky sex on the beach’?”
“Well…”
“Besides, we might miss something.”
Juli scooted to the left, angling her face through the bars of the balcony, trying for at least a glimpse. She felt Alex’s shoulder warm against hers and reminded herself that this was gross and disturbing, not a turn-on. Not at all.
“This seems wrong,” Juli whispered, feeling Alex’s shoulder shake with laughter.
“You’re right,” he agreed. “We should have binoculars.”
“I’m thinking we might need a bucket of ice water in case things get out of hand down there.”
He looked at her. “You actually think it could be more out of hand?”
“I think these two have unplumbed depths of depravity.”
“It sounds like they’re doing their best to plumb them.”
Alex moved closer and she felt his breath warm on her neck. She tried not to find it erotic. Truly, this was the least erotic thing she could imagine.
Wasn’t it?
“Who’s my little bunny? Who’s my little grasshopper?”
“Right here, baby! Hop! Hop!”
“This is better than pay-per-view,” Alex whispered.
“This is so not a turn-on,” Juli w
hispered back, pretty sure that was true.
“Not even a little?”
She ignored him. “It’s like a train wreck. You want to look away, but you can’t.”
“Ahoy, matey! Firing me cannon through your porthole in one-two-three…”
“Bwaaack! Polly wants a cracker!”
“Shiver me timbers, baby!”
There was a disturbing amount of screaming, moaning, and the slap of water on the sand. Then a few moments of silence, followed by some soulful murmuring Juli was glad not to be able to hear.
She looked at Alex. Alex looked back at her.
“I don’t know what to say,” Alex said finally, sitting back on his heels and looking nonplussed.
“How can you add to that?”
He nodded sagely. “We probably shouldn’t try.”
“Best to just enjoy the memory.”
“Think there’ll be an encore?”
“I think I need a shower.”
Alex nodded again. “No kidding.”
Juli smiled at him and touched a hand to his knee. “Care to join me?”
***
Alex couldn’t believe it when Juli smiled up at him, mischief and moonlight sparkling in those blue eyes, and said those two simple words:
“Let’s go.”
“Go where?”
“Let’s take a shower,” she whispered. “Together, I mean.”
Alex swallowed. He’d been restraining himself all evening, trying not to touch her, resisting the urge to say to hell with it and have his way with her.
Why was that again?
He couldn’t remember, but he knew one thing for sure. He’d had more fun with her than he had with anyone in a long, long time. They’d laughed. They’d groped. They’d shared cheesecake. They’d eavesdropped on awkward sex together. Was a shower such a big deal at this point?
It’s not just a shower. You know that.
Alex cleared his throat. “Shower,” he repeated, just to be sure he wasn’t misunderstanding. “Together.”
“I’m from the Pacific Northwest,” she informed him, her smile widening. “We believe wholeheartedly in conserving our natural resources. Water being one.”
Alex nodded, trying to figure out whether she was serious about the shower, about the environment, or about anything.
But then she grabbed his hand and stood up, hoisting him with her.