She sighed. "Wow...umm..." She licked her lips again. Her hand fiddled with the strap of her bikini top, drawing his eyes down her body to her tightly beaded nipples.
"Jefe," a voice called from the surf shop. Ben glanced up to see Rico waving at him.
"Boss? You own the place?"
Ben shrugged. "Co-own with a friend. Sorry I gotta get up there. I mean it, try to come tonight." He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes dilated with arousal. Pressing her, he leaned in a little closer and pitched his voice lower. "I'd really like to see you again."
"We'll see."
He placed his hand over his chest. "Damn, Chica, you sure are making me work hard here."
Celeste pushed herself up off the sand. "That's the plan." Standing, she brushed off her bathing suit. "I thought you had to get back to work," she said.
"I do." He pointed to the restaurant he planned to go to later. "That's where I'll be."
She hoisted up her beach bag and towel and slung it over her shoulder. "Thanks for the lesson. It was a lot of fun."
Grabbing the edge of her beach bag, he pulled her a step closer to him. Her eyes darkened with awareness before her breath hitched at the contact. "I haven't even begun to show you just how much fun it can be."
Her eyes widened at the implied innuendo. "I think I'm too old for that kind of fun."
What was it with women and getting older? Sexy was sexy no matter what the age and Celeste was certainly sexy. "I promise to take it nice and slow and make sure your body is completely ready before we move on to anything more advanced."
Her hand shook as she brushed her hair off her face. "That's what I'm afraid of." She laughed nervously.
"Jefe," Rico called again.
"Sorry, I've gotta run. I hope you come tonight." He dropped his arm from her bag and stepped away. His gaze flicked to her erect nipples and he smiled. Usually the women on vacation here were falling all over themselves to spend time with him, like his earlier lesson. But Celeste was unlike anyone he'd ever met. More mature than he normally was attracted to but there was just something about her. Sure she was gorgeous, confident, but there was a vulnerability that flashed in her eyes that he found very intriguing.
As he jogged up to the shop, he found himself glancing back at her. She stood rooted to the spot where he had left her. He grinned and waved. She gave him a wave back. Even from where he was standing up the beach, he could see the blush tinge her cheeks as she adjusted her bag and turned to move down the beach. Her ass swayed seductively as she walked away. He really hoped she would show up tonight.
Rico stood outside the shop with an overweight tourist. Ben grimaced when he looked at them. It looked as if someone forgot to put sunscreen on before he went in the water today. The tourist's skin glowed like a beacon. His large, red belly was blistered from the sun.
"What's up, Rico?"
"This guy wants a refund."
Ben turned to the Lobster, taking note of the surfboard in his hands. "What seems to be the problem?"
"I rented this damn board this morning and couldn't get up on it. So I took a break." Lobster man blustered at him and gestured to his burnt stomach. "Fell asleep, obviously, and now I need to get out of the sun. I didn't even get a chance to really use the damn board. There's no way I should have to pay for it."
Ben glanced down the beach, his gaze lingering on the sway of Celeste's hips as she walked. He ran his hand through his hair. Shit, it went from one extreme to the other. Turned-on to annoyed in a matter of minutes. Ahh the beauty of customer service. Pasting on his best "the customer is always right" smile, he turned back to the task at hand. "What time did you rent the board, sir?"
"Around ten this morning."
Ben glanced through the shop window at the clock on the wall. "Look, Mister..." Ben looked at Rico.
"Sullivan," Rico replied.
"Mr. Sullivan, it's two thirty now. I'm sorry, but you've had the board for four and a half hours. I can't give you a refund."
"But I didn't even use the fucking thing," the tourist spat.
"And I have no way of proving that."
"What? You think I'm lying?" The large man stepped toward him, anger pouring off his body.
Raising his hand to hold the man off, Ben sighed. Fuck, he hated this part of the job. What the hell was with some of these damned tourists? They spent all this money to stay in five-star resorts and then wanted to cheap out everywhere else. This guy was exactly the kind of prick that made the locals have such a negative opinion of tourists.
Ben schooled his face to not let his annoyance shine through. "Look. I can appreciate that you didn't get the enjoyment out of surfing that you wanted." Ben tried to placate the man.
"When you get your money back, Rick, you're buying the beers," a new man said, slinging his arm around Lobster's shoulders.
Sullivan scowled at his friend then pointed at Ben. "Dude here hasn't given me my money yet."
Dude. Ben's jaw tightened at his tone. Fucking asshole. He took a deep breath, maintaining his outward cool. "And I won't be giving you a refund," Ben told him.
"Fucking thief," the man growled as his friend pulled him away from the front of the shop.
It took everything in Ben not to punch the asshole. The way the guy watched him with that look of derision, he couldn't help but wonder if his ethnic background had something to do with the hostility. He'd been dealing with that kind of shit since he moved to the States with his mom when he was twelve. As political refugees from El Salvador, they had been happy to be allowed into the country and the racism was just something he had to deal with. His father hadn't made it out of El Salvador alive. Unfortunately Ben had a love-hate relationship with the country that had saved his life. And assholes like this guy didn't make it any better.
He glanced down at his clenched fists and forced himself to relax his hands. Stretching out his fingers, he took a deep breath. "Grab the board, Rico and stack it with the others." He rubbed the back of his neck.
Tourist season was just getting started. There would be plenty more days like this before it was over. What the hell had he been thinking telling his business partner to enjoy six weeks vacation with his new baby? This was only his first week off. Dealing with this stuff made him eager to get back to the States when usually it was the other way around.
In no mood to deal with customers, he wandered into the back room and grabbed a surfboard and slapped it down on the table. Grabbing the wax, he worked off his aggression getting the board ready to be used again. Asshole tourists. As he scrubbed the board, a picture of Celeste popped into his head. Okay so they weren't all assholes. Sliding the wax up and down, he imagined what it would feel like to have his hands on her instead. Damn he hoped she showed up tonight.
CHAPTER FOUR
The heat from the sand caressed Celeste's legs as she strolled down the beach looking for her friends. She fought the urge to look over her shoulder at Ben. The man was her every fantasy come to life. She just didn't meet guys like him back home.
Deep in thought, she almost walked right past her girlfriends sitting in their lounge chairs on the beach, sipping margaritas. She scooped up an empty chair, slid it alongside Sarah's and flopped into it. Before any of them even had a chance to speak, Celeste's hand snaked out and grabbed the margarita off the side table and took a long, slow sip of the icy drink.
"Mmm, I needed that." Now if only the drink could cool off the insatiable burn Ben started in her body, she'd be in business.
"Help yourself," Sarah said, her lips curled up in a mocking tilt. "Better?"
"Definitely." Celeste shifted in her seat to scan for a waiter so she could order her own. Flagging a man down, she signaled for another drink and turned back to her friends with a smile on her face.
"So, you had fun?" Nancy asked.
"The best. Ben said he'd teach me to surf as well." She couldn't keep the edge of excitement out of her voice, although she didn't want to think about whether
she was more excited to surf or to see Ben again.
Sarah held up her hand and shook her head. "Oh no, you're on your own if you plan on surfing. Paddle boarding was hard enough."
Celeste glanced over at Nancy hopefully.
"Dream on, sister," Nancy said then tipped her margarita to her mouth, "but you have fun with that."
"Seriously? You guys aren't even willing to give it a shot?"
"Nope, I'd rather spend my money on something useful like a new pair of earrings or shoes," Nancy said.
Sarah shifted in her seat. "Ooh, I'd love to get some of that Mexican fire opal."
Celeste groaned. "Fine, if you're dragging me to the market, I promised my nephew I'd look for one of those bullwhips for him that you see everywhere here," Celeste said and rolled her eyes. "He thinks he's the next Indiana Jones."
The waiter set Celeste's drink down beside her and Sarah smiled. "Drink up so we can go shopping."
What the hell had she been thinking going on vacation with these two? Their idea of relaxation was shopping until their feet fell off. Groaning, Celeste eyed her friends. "I just got here."
"Right and we've been waiting for you to get here, so drink up. I want to find something fabulous to wear for our first night out in Mexico." Sarah gestured with her hands for Celeste to down her drink.
Taking a deep breath, Celeste chugged back her margarita. A brain freeze knifed through her face and she gripped her eye. "Oh shit," she moaned to the sound of laughter beside her.
When the brain freeze subsided, she stood. "All right let's go."
*****
On their way to dinner, the women walked past the restaurant where Ben told her to meet him. Celeste wanted nothing more than to go inside and see him. Taking a look at the people spilling outside the door, she grimaced. Bikini-clad girls, giggling into their drinks, flaunted their gear to anyone looking. She didn't even need to ask her friends if they would be interested in checking it out. Resigned, she continued to stroll down the beach.
Outside a beach restaurant, Nancy nudged her arm and pointed at a table of three middle-aged men. Smiling, she linked her arm with Celeste and Sarah and propelled them inside.
No sooner had they sat down when one of the men came over to their table. "Ladies," he said, tipping his blond head.
Sarah sat up straighter in her seat, a smile plastered on her face. "Hi, I'm Sarah, this is Nancy and Celeste."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Tony and those are my buddies, Rick and Jeff. Would you ladies care to join us?"
No.
But before Celeste could come up with an excuse, Sarah and Nancy had risen from their seats and were shooting a look at her. Grumbling, Celeste stood up and followed her friends.
Sarah took the seat beside Tony, Nancy scooped up the seat beside the long lanky-looking guy which left Celeste sitting beside the man who had clearly spent too much time in the sun. As she sat down she could feel the heat coming off his sunburned body.
"Ouch," she said and tilted her head toward him.
"You have no idea." He stuck his hand out. "I'm Rick."
"Celeste."
Rick pounded back a shot of tequila and slid his seat closer to hers, his smarmy stare gliding over her body, lingering on her breasts. "So, Celeste, what brings you to this part of Mexico?"
"Vacation."
"Nancy and I wanted to do a spa vacation, and Celeste wanted to surf, so Sayulita seemed like the perfect answer," Sarah told them.
Jeff slapped his hand on Rick's shoulder. "Yeah, you know all about the surfing, don't you buddy?"
Rick scowled at him and downed another shot.
"You aren't much into surfing?" Celeste asked, forcing herself to make conversation. Why were her friends always drawn to these types of egotistical jerks? And it never failed that, when they went out, she ended up being stuck with the worst of the bunch.
"Fuck. I was robbed today by this fucking asshole surfer."
Celeste bristled at the aggressive tone. "Can you watch the language?"
"Sure, baby."
Baby? Christ, it was going to be a long night.
He reached for another shot glass and leaned back in his chair. When his lusty stare landed on her breasts again, she grimaced and took a sip of her newly deposited drink. This just keeps getting better. Nancy and Sarah seemed to be engaged in conversation with their two guys which left her struggling to come up with something to say to Rick.
His beefy hand cupped her knee. She pinned him with a stare. Oblivious, he slid his hand up her thigh and leaned in closer. "You want to go fuck?" His drunken voice slurred.
She gaped at him. Was this guy for real? Who the hell said that kind of thing? It took everything in her not to throw her drink in his face. Shoving his hand away from her leg, she stood and slid her chair back. "I'm sorry, but I'm suddenly not in the mood to be out. I'm going back to the hotel." She pinned the jerk with a glare. "Alone." Without waiting for her friends, she fled the restaurant. Her skin still crawled from his touch.
Sarah caught up with her at the door. "Celeste, what happened? What did he say?"
"Nothing. Don't worry about. He's drunk."
Celeste glanced back at the table. Rick looked contrite. Jeff had his palms together in front of him begging her to return. She looked back at Sarah. Why the hell would she stay here with a guy like that when she could be enjoying time with a man like Ben?
"Sorry, Sarah. You guys stay. I think I'm going to go check out that place Ben suggested." She smiled to soften the blow. "I just can't do an evening hanging with a guy like that, but you seem interested in his friend, so no need to end your night."
Sarah looked at her. "Honey, are you sure chasing after some young guy is the best idea? I don't want to see you get hurt."
She shrugged. Maybe she would make a fool out of herself, but it beat the hell out of the alternative. "I won't know if I don't at least try. Like you said earlier, I need to relax and live a little, so that's what I'm going to do."
Celeste hugged her friend. "Thanks for worrying about me, but I'm a big girl. I'll be fine. I'll meet you at the hotel later." She stepped back and raised her hand to wave at Nancy. "Have fun," she called and turned to leave the restaurant.
Outside the bar/restaurant, sexy Latin music drifted out onto the beach. Adjusting the strap of her tank top, Celeste took a deep breath, stuck her hands in the pockets of her plaid shorts and forged her way into the crowd of people. She scanned the room for Ben. Shit, everyone looked so damn young. The only wrinkles in the room were on her. Finally, she spotted Ben at a table by the wall, surrounded by his employees and a group of twenty-something girls. A blonde in a short jean skirt and bikini top leaned across the table toward Ben and topped up his beer.
Geez, maybe she should just turn around and go back to the hotel. How the hell was she going to compete with girls like that? She glanced down at her outfit. Yep, completely out of place. She didn't have nearly enough skin hanging out to fit in here.
Before she had a chance to flee, Ben's gaze landed on her. A slow, sexy smile broke across his face. He said something to the people at his table and stood. His eyes never drifted from her.
Unable to move, she stood frozen to her spot on the floor, hypnotized by his stare. Weaving his way through the bodies, he finally stopped in front of her, sweeping over her with a heated look so powerful her body tingled in its wake. The man was just too potent for his own good.
"Celeste, you look amazing," he said with a grin. "I'm glad you decided to come by." He scanned the bar behind her. "Where are your friends?"
She laughed nervously. "Oh, they're still at the other place."
"Ahh yes, the old people hangout." His eyes twinkled with amusement as he teased her about their earlier conversation. He took her hand, sending a surge of heat through her from the contact. "I think you made the right choice coming here, you're going to fit right in." He gave her hand a little tug. "Come on, let's get you a drink."
Completely aware of all t
he women ogling Ben as they made their way through the crowd, Celeste couldn't help the little bubble of excitement that zipped through her because he was with her, at least for tonight. Her eyes were drawn to his tight ass as he walked toward the bar. Damn, she could imagine how good it would feel beneath her hands, digging her fingers into it as he thrust inside her. Her nipples beaded tightly at the very thought.
She'd be an idiot to pass up the chance to be with someone like him if he wanted her even half as much as she wanted him. Shoving away the residual doubts about their age difference, she took a deep breath. No guts no glory, and she planned to make this the most glorious vacation imaginable.
At the bar, Ben ordered her a margarita and himself another Pacifico. With drinks in hand, he turned and handed Celeste hers. "You remember that girl who had the lesson before you?"
Taking a sip of her margarita, she made a noise of agreement before saying, "The one who was hoping you'd meet up with her?"
He nodded. "She's here tonight and sitting with my friends. When you showed up, I kind of told her that my girlfriend was here." His nose wrinkled in what she assumed was a chagrined look but the amusement lurking in his eyes told her he wasn't the least bit repentant for his lie.
"Oh, you did? Did you?"
He stepped closer to her. The heat from his body surrounded her and his hand dipped to rest at her waist. His fingers seared her skin through her shirt.
"I did."
She swayed toward him. "So, I guess you need me to play along?"
His hand left her hip and glided around her back as he pulled her against him. A sigh slipped past her lips at the contact. His hard, muscular thigh rubbed against her.
Damn, he felt good.
She placed her hand on his chest, enjoying the feel of muscle beneath her fingers.
"If you don't mind," he said.
Unable to speak, she nodded mutely in agreement. His nostrils flared as his stare lingered on her lips. Kiss me. She wanted to cry out the demand but left it unsaid. Too unsure of herself to take the last step. It had been too long since she'd seduced a man. She wasn't even sure she remembered how.
Sex, Sin and Surf Page 3