by Chelle Bliss
“I’ve never been on a Jet Ski.”
“We must fix that. It’s a total high.”
She leans back against the headboard, holding her espresso, still staring at me warily. “You’re the boss this weekend.”
I cringe inwardly at the sound of those words rolling off her tongue. “Lauren, we need to talk.” I lean over, setting my cup on the nightstand next to her. “We need to get a few things straight.”
She places her cup next to mine before clasping her hands in front of her and eyeing me. “I’m listening.”
I adjust my body so I’m sitting near her thighs on the edge of the bed. “I brought you here under false pretenses.”
She purses her lips. “Such as?”
I exhale and scrub my hands down my face. “Did I want to have sex with you again? Yes.” I look her straight in the eyes. “But that’s not the reason I brought you here.”
“Plotting my death?” She laughs softly.
I place my hand on the blanket over her thigh. “I know I was an asshole when I made you sign the informal contract in your office. I’m not going to make you my sex slave for the weekend. I brought you here so we could get to know each other.”
“I know enough about you,” she says, glancing down at her hands before bringing her eyes back to mine.
“Will you always hate me?”
“Will you always try to steal my company?”
I glance up and blow out a heavy breath. “Did you feel that between us last night?”
She doesn’t speak and give me affirmation that she felt what I did. I know I wasn’t the only one of us who felt the spark. The slow burn that only real chemistry and attraction causes.
I realize I’m squeezing her thigh and release my grip, but I keep my hand against her, grounding her to me. “The first night we spent together, I felt it. I brought you here to see if it was real.”
“And did you feel it again?”
“I did,” I admit, and it’s not something I do easily. “Don’t feel like I’m going to demand sex. I won’t. It’s not something I would ever do. This weekend is about us.”
“I didn’t know there was an us.”
“I hope there is.”
Her eyes widen. “Why?”
The answer isn’t so easy, so I respond the only way I know how. “Has it been easy for you to find someone?”
She shakes her head, her hair skating across her bare shoulder. Her arms slide up her stomach, settling just under her breasts. Complete defensive posture. I’m getting somewhere even if she won’t admit it.
“I’ve never been able to find someone who likes me for my flaws.”
“Yeah, there are a lot.” She smirks.
“Stop.” I grin. This chick has me in knots and panting like a puppy, willing to follow her around. “I can never be myself with anyone. Women always want to be around me for my money or power.”
“Must be a hard problem to have,” she replies and rolls her eyes.
“I’m sure you have men falling at your feet because of the power you wield.”
Her arms inch higher, almost causing her breasts to spill over the blanket. “Men aren’t as turned on by a powerful woman. It’s hard to keep their man card in check when I have a higher position and make more money.”
I want to lean forward and bury my face between her breasts, but I stop myself. “Some men possibly. But a real man isn’t as concerned with power and control. There’s nothing sexier than a powerful, confident woman.”
“Is that why you like me? I think you’re using me as a pawn in the takeover.”
I rub my face again, wondering if it’s a lost cause. “I like you because I can be me. You’re not impressed by my position at Cozza or the money I have in the bank. You’re just as wealthy and powerful as I am. Maybe, hopefully sooner rather than later, you can like me for me and not what I can do for you.”
Her arms drop to her lap, and she sits up, moving closer to me. “I do like you, Antonio. If things were different, if you weren’t trying to dismantle my life’s work, we could maybe date. I don’t know…” Her voice trails off, and she closes her eyes. “It’s easy to be with you too.”
I touch her hands, cupping them in mine. “I can separate my business life from my personal. What happens in the boardroom has no bearing on how I feel outside. Right now, no matter what’s happening back in Chicago, I’m happy. I’m happy you’re with me. I’m happy we slept on the sand under the stars. I’m genuinely happy I’m sharing this time with you. Just a guy and girl on a beach for a weekend without anything else to come between us. Can we put our business life away and just enjoy this time we have together in paradise?”
Her head drops forward, and I can’t see her eyes. She’s quiet but hasn’t told me to go fuck myself yet, so I take it as a good sign. The last thing I want is to argue and have a combative conversation at every turn for the next thirty-six hours before we return to the real world.
“I can do that,” she says before looking at me. “I can play nice.”
“Will you give us a chance? A fresh start.” I hold my breath and hope she’ll agree. I want this time with her more than anything.
“I will,” she says quickly.
For now, I’ll accept the little bits of Lauren Bradley that I can get and hope that the tide will change before we step foot off the sand.
Chapter Fifteen
LAUREN
With each skip of the Jet Ski over the crest of the wave, I hold my breath and pray I don’t fly off the back. Antonio is screaming at the top of his lungs as we skid across the turbulent surface after the thunderstorm had passed.
My ass slams against the seat as we crash down, and my middle slides forward against him. “Slow down!”
“Isn’t this fun?” he asks, turning around and glancing at my face before pushing on the throttle and making the Jet Ski go faster.
“No!” I scream in his ear, making sure he hears the panic in my voice. “You’re going to kill us.”
I know I’m being dramatic, but I’m clinging to him like my very life depends on his flesh for survival. There is a reason I don’t do shit like this. It’s scary as hell, and I don’t feel in control. Maybe if I had my own, I’d be okay. But Antonio is driving like a madman, and I’m powerless to stop him.
When my fingernails start to dig into his skin, he finally slows. “You want to drive?” he asks, pushing his wet hair back and out of his eyes as I unlatch my nails from his sides.
We’ve only been outside for an hour, and his skin is already darkening underneath the Caribbean sun. Thank God, I slathered myself with sunscreen, or I’d be in a world of hurt later. My Midwestern skin isn’t used to this much sunshine especially when it’s only spring.
“Can I have my own?”
“Not yet.” He leans over, falling into the water near my feet.
All I can see is his bushy brown hair, floating above him under the surface as his arms and legs flex, moving through the water.
The top of the water shines like a thousand diamonds twinkling in the sunshine. The water is crystal clear and the most beautiful shade of turquoise I’ve ever seen. I can’t help but wish I could stay here forever. The warmth and beauty surrounding me make Chicago seem gritty and cold.
“Come in,” he says when his head finally pops out of the water.
“There might be sharks,” I tell him and glance around, but I see nothing other than a few schools of small fish nearby.
“You’ve seen too many movies, love. The water’s perfect. Take a dip, and then you can drive.”
“It’s too deep.”
I’m stalling, and he knows it. “It’s not.” He laughs and finally stands upright, and the water barely reaches his waist.
I can’t answer right away. I’m too busy gawking at his golden-bronze chest as the water beads trickle down, scattering every which way like a chip on a Plinko board as they move down toward the top of his swimsuit.
“I’m…” I swallow, and t
he sun feels hotter than it did seconds ago. The sight of his perfectly chiseled, bare chest sends my libido into overdrive.
Memories of last night come flooding back, and my body craves more of him. Will it always be this way with him? When we leave this island and return to our places as enemies in the boardroom, will I ever be able to hate him again? I’ll never be able to forget what’s underneath that perfectly polished suit. Not after this weekend.
“You need to get wet.”
His statement is innocent, but I already am. I can feel the dampness in my bikini bottom. Being pressed up against him as our bodies bounced and crashed together over the waves made everything worse. The friction was a constant reminder of what he could do to me.
I don’t respond as I fall into the water next to him, making sure to create a huge wave to splash him. He looks good wet. Hell, he looks good dry too.
When my feet touch the bottom, I bury my toes in the sand and push up. But I didn’t account for the delicateness of the string bikini I have on. I have always been a one-piece kind of girl, but Antonio insisted this was the only suit on the property. As my top half met the air, my bikini top stayed below and floated on the surface.
Blinking through the water trickling from my forehead, I know my breasts are hanging out from the look on his face. It matches mine as I gaze down at his bare chest.
“Fuck.” I try to cover my breasts with my hands, but they’re bobbing with the water and making it damn near impossible.
“Don’t.” He pulls me toward him, pressing his naked chest against mine. “There’s no one around to see anything.”
The warmth of the sun does feel great without the restriction of the tiny string holding up my breasts and digging into the skin at the base of my neck. In reality, his skin feels even better against me than the sun ever could.
He leans in and kisses me. I close my eyes and relish the feel of his mouth against mine. His hands slide downward before flattening against the small of my back. The waves splash against us, pushing us with their movement, but we never break our hold.
His kiss grows more demanding, nipping at my bottom lip. I open to him, wanting to feel his tongue sweep against mine and taste him once again. My brain goes fuzzy under the warm sun as I inhale the salt air and the scent that’s totally Antonio.
If this isn’t paradise, I don’t know what is. Everything else in the world seems nonexistent. In this moment, I wish it were. There’s something so perfect about this place, about us being together, that I’m scared to allow myself to get lost and forget what’s really happening back in reality.
I push off his chest, splashing him as I do with as much water as possible to momentarily blind him. “Let’s get going,” I say, reaching for my top and facing away from him.
He makes his way toward me as he tries to get the water out of his lungs caused by the tidal wave I sent his way. “Where are you running off to so soon? There’s no hurry, Lauren.”
I move quickly, attaching my top as I head toward the Jet Ski. “I want to drive before it’s lunchtime.” I don’t know what else to say. I’m grasping at straws, but I don’t want to lose focus on what the purpose of this weekend really is. It’s easy to get lost in the fairy tale with the tropical setting, warm sun, and almost naked Antonio next to me.
I pull myself up, unable to look at his face because I know what I’ll see. I can’t face him. Not yet. I’m a mix of emotions when it comes to Antonio. One minute I hate him, and the next I’m falling for the man. None of it is fair either. There’s no way we could have a future.
***
ANTONIO
I lean over her, placing my hands on hers on the handlebars. “Do this.” I scoot forward so our bodies are flush. “When you’re ready to slow down, just ease up like this.” My hand tightens around hers.
“I got it,” she says, wiggling her ass backward.
I swear she’s trying to drive me mad. Standing in the water with her in my arms had been perfect, but Lauren ruined the moment. She’s still too scared to give herself to me in any real capacity without her thinking there’s a booby trap around every corner.
I start the engine before gripping her around the waist. There’s something nice about being in this position with her between my legs. Or so I think until she takes off like a bat out of hell. My grip tightens as we jump the first wave, and I wonder if I’ve made the biggest mistake ever by letting her be in charge of our destiny.
I understand why she squealed every time I went over a wave and crashed down on the ocean. Unlike her, I at least knew what the hell I was doing.
Lauren screams with excitement, and I can’t help but smile behind her.
She’s experiencing the high of gliding across the surface, skipping over waves with ease and nothing in front of her except for blue ocean. It’s one of the only natural highs I can get without putting my life in peril.
“Oh my God, this is amazing!” She turns abruptly, sending water shooting out across the ocean surface like a torrential rain.
I want to tap out and get the hell off the back of this with her at the helm. Maybe I should’ve thought twice before I climbed on the back with her. I do own two Jet Skis, and it probably would’ve been wiser for her to learn on her own without me against her back.
Every time we smash down against the surface, my cock rubs just the right way along her back. I can’t stop the hard-on as I watch her breasts bounce uncontrollably. I can’t take my eyes off them as her nipple almost pops out of the side, showing me just enough to give me complete wood.
“Take me to the dock so I can get one too!” I yell in her ear, trying to get her to hear over the roar of the engine.
She glances back, not watching where she’s going and hits a wave the wrong way. We splash down into the water as the Jet Ski skids a few feet before finally dying.
I turn a few times in the water and find my way to the surface, choking on the water I hadn’t expected to fill my mouth. “Are you okay?” I ask as soon as her head breaks through the surface.
“Holy shit. That was scary.” Her eyes are wide, and she, too, chokes on the mouthful of water I’m sure she swallowed as we went under.
“Are you okay?” I ask again, suddenly panicked that she could’ve hurt herself from hitting the water as quickly as we did.
She starts to laugh through her coughing. “I’m fine. Shaking a little, but fine.”
I swim to her and wrap my arm around her waist. “Maybe we should go in for a while.”
She wipes away the water trickling into her eyes. “Why?”
“I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’m not that breakable, Antonio.”
“I know.” I feel like an asshole insinuating she’s breakable. I didn’t mean it that way. The entire weekend would be a bust if either one of us were to get injured.
She peers up at me, one eye closed to shield it from the sun. “You were right, though.”
I pull her closer, rubbing her wet breasts into my pecs. “About?”
“That was the most damn fun I’ve had in a long time.”
“The weekend’s just starting, love. I promise you’ll fall in love with the island before we leave. You’ll be begging me to bring you back here.”
With those words, she pushes away from me and starts to swim toward the shore. Damn it. Me and my big mouth. She’s so damn skittish, like a feral cat trying to escape capture.
I grab the Jet Ski, pulling it with me as I swim after her and toward the sand. She’s over twenty feet ahead of me, and there’s no way I’ll catch up to her. I’ll have to wait until we’re both on land to talk with her. Things need to be settled before this shit gets out of whack and the rest of the weekend becomes as dark as the impending afternoon storm that’s rumbling in the distance.
There’s an uncomfortable silence as we finish the lunch I’d prepped for us before we headed out for a morning in the sun. Lauren’s closed herself off and put up every wall possible to keep me at a distanc
e. Any headway I’d made earlier has vanished, but I have to find a way back. I refuse to let the rest of our time together to be like this. Silent. Cold. I want the fun, free woman who was in front of me less than an hour ago.
I push my plate to the side and lean forward, placing my hands on the table. “Are we going to talk about this?”
She dabs the corner of her mouth with the crisp linen napkin before finally looking at me. “I don’t know what this is.” She nervously fingers the unused knife on the table.
“Us, Lauren.”
“There’s no us, Antonio.”
We stare each other down.
I refuse to let the topic go. I don’t care if I have to break down her walls one by one. If need be, I’ll revert back to the terms of the contract and win her over by using her body against her.
I tap my fingertips against the tabletop, and she leans back in her chair, folding her arms in front of her. I raise an eyebrow, and she does the same, mocking me like a child.
“Up,” I command as my willingness to play nice slips.
She scrunches her nose and peers up at me as I stand. “Why?”
I hover over her and place my face closer to hers. “You signed a contract, and since you don’t seem to be enjoying me doing everything the civilized way, I’m calling in the terms.”
She shoots out of her chair, causing it to fall backward and bounce off the wooden floor. “I am enjoying this.” Her arms flail around wildly. “You’re fucking with my head, Antonio. It’s not fucking fair.” She slams her palms against my chest with so much force, she almost knocks me backward.
I grab her wrists and hold her in place. “I’m not trying to fuck with your head.”
She tries to pull away, but my hold is too strong. “Let me go.”
She’s like a bratty kid, and all I want to do is paddle her ass. “Not until we talk.”
She snarls and glares at me. “Why are you such a prick?”
“You haven’t seen that side of me, but you’re getting pretty damn close,” I growl. I never denied that I was an asshole, but I’ve been nothing but a gentleman since we stepped foot on this island. “I don’t have time for the games you’re playing.”