“Because I can’t think straight with you by my side and this deal means a lot to me. I don’t want to not focus on it because I’m trying to get into your pants.”
Practicality. That made sense to her. That she understood. “Why would this change once we go back?”
He slid his eyes off her for a moment. “Reality always changes things.”
Her shoulders sagged. Vacation Crystal with the fancy clothes and easy sex was more exciting to him than real-life Crystal. “You mean I used to dress shabbily, and you took me on as your charity case and all of a sudden I’m hot stuff?” She’d meant to sound like a smart ass, but hated the pang of self-defensiveness in her voice.
“You’ve always been hot stuff,” he said, lifting her chin so she’d stare at him. “You hid that side of you well under clothes that didn’t flatter you, and honestly, I was glad because I didn’t want to mess things up.”
“What about now?”
“We’ve messed up. If this is just some fling, let’s live it, let’s enjoy the rest of this trip and once we set foot in New York we go back to being who we were.”
What if it’s not just a fling? The words burned at the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t say them. Lucas was an expert in compartmentalizing, and she knew he wouldn’t lose sleep getting over her. A part of her deflated a bit at the realization he only found her suitable for a weekend—because she was dressed like someone else and frankly, acting like a bolder version of herself. Who would be interested in boring Crystal? A loser like Davey hadn’t. Why would a guy Lucas?
Crystal stood a little straighter. “I don’t want you to fire me when you don’t want to see me anymore. It’s not like you can send me flowers and I’ll go away,” she said matter-of-factly. A weekend of fun with him sounded irresistible, but she needed some ground rules.
His eyebrows furrowed together, and a serious expression washed over his face, almost as if her assumption offended him in a way. “Do you really think I’d do that?”
She worried her lip. A woman only really knows a man after a break-up. Or rather, the first break-up, her mother always said. Yet her mother always believed the next man would be better, and things would work out. Davey had screwed around on Crystal’s ass. At least Lucas wasn’t going to be around long—romantically—to do the same.
He angled closer to her, and her heart flipped in her chest, her body making the decision for her. Why not? Why wasn’t she entitled to some temporary sexual fun with the man who was an expert at it?
I’m not like my mother. I’m a realist. She lives in fantasyland. “Fine. The duration of this trip. I’m in.”
“You won’t regret it,” he said and swept her off her feet in a passionate kiss. God, she hoped he was right.
Chapter 6
“What’s on the schedule for today?” Crystal asked when she got dressed. She slipped on a long, colorful jersey dress she would never have worn in New York, but it matched the tropical surroundings. Besides, every since they’d agreed on having sex at night and working together during the day—for the duration of the trip— two nights prior, she’d been feeling lighter. Daring. Worry free.
It made much more sense.
Why waste her time worrying about an attraction, when it could all be easily solved by a temporary fling?
“We’re meeting with the engineer later,” he said. “We have the morning free. Do you want to go to the beach?”
Crystal glanced down at her dress. “Should I change into my swimsuit?”
“We won’t need it,” he said, his voice dropping an octave.
A ball of heat rolled through her, and she raised her gaze to his. The misbehaving glint in his rich cocoa eyes turned her knees into goo. “Skinny dipping in broad daylight?”
He grabbed his sunglasses and wallet from the table. “Yes.”
What the fuck? She wasn’t like the stick-thin petite blondes he took out. “Isn’t that a bit risqué? I mean, what if they find us?” A headline with the two of them naked would certainly get the people in his office talking. God, she’d have to resign. If Brenda from Human Resources found out… this wouldn’t be good.
“No one will find us. The place is very far away. Today’s a weekday and I’ll make sure there’s no one else there.”
“Still…”
He erased the distance between them and lifted her chin. “Do you trust me?”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Of course I don’t. But I also think you’re smart, so I’ll play along.”
He caressed her cheek, his fingers tracing down her neck and causing goose bumps on her flesh. Her nipples tightened, but she didn’t pull away, instead leaning into his touch. Maybe she didn’t fully trust him as a man, or was too cynical to admit she did. Yet she believed the powerful sensations he evoked in her, and right now, that sufficed. “Have you ever considered being a school principal?”
“What? No, why?”
His eyes searched for hers. “I can see you taking over a high school in a bad part of town and whipping everyone into shape overnight.”
“Thank you,” she said, laughing inside. She hadn’t been able to whip her own mother into resembling a decent parent, what made him think she had the power to domesticate a bunch of hormone-driven teenagers? “I think you’re giving me too much credit,” she said, trying to jerk away from his embrace.
He pulled her more tightly against him, so much so, she gasped. He lowered his head, and she found herself within a breath from his lips. “No. I think you don’t give yourself enough credit.”
She swallowed. Why was he being so nice to her? He’d already screwed her, multiple times. She believed she was smart, decently experienced and could be really pretty if she made the effort. She didn’t need his approval. A pang of frustration expanded in her chest. I don’t need his approval… but I want it.
“Thanks. Maybe I’ll consider your suggestion and change careers,” she said snarkily.
He silenced her with a kiss. Slow at first, but then she linked her arms around his neck, her tongue meshing with his, their bodies molding to each other perfectly. Every part of him was hard, muscled, toned. She wanted him to throw her back in bed, or take her against the wall. Clearly, he had other plans, as he withdrew from her, and without looking her in the eye, said, “Let’s go. Vamos para praia.”
An hour later, he parked the car in the lot of a remote beach. Coconut trees that reached to the sky lined up the area where the sandy beach met the sidewalk. He turned off the engine and quickly got out of the car, opened her door and helped her out. She wasn’t used to that side of him—he’d always been a gentleman, but for the past days he seemed a lot more… invested in making things comfortable for her.
She clasped the bag where she’d stuffed a copy of her passport, some essentials and her smart phone. Wow. The place took her breath away. The clear blue sky, the sparkling green Atlantic Ocean. The waves were gentle, the tide low. She removed her sandals and carried them in her hand. He did the same with his shoes, and guided her through the beach.
She loved the sensation of digging her feet into the sand. A cool breeze whispered against her face, and she drew a long breath of nice, clean air. She looked for tourists but didn’t see any. Hell, even locals seemed to disappear the further Lucas had driven from the city.
Now, they approached an area crowded with rocks. Some were small and she could fit in her palm, and others were large, buried deep in the sand. The water hit against several of them. He removed his shorts and placed it on one of the bigger rocks. “Come.”
“Don’t you want to warm up first?” she asked. At some point she imagined he’d tell her to remove her clothes, but she expected some foreplay or any kind of warning.
“No warm-up needed.”
She shifted her weight from foot to foot, then threw her shoulders forward, telling herself to put on a brave face and suck it up. He took a dive into the water, and when he surfaced, with his hair soaked and droplets gliding down his sinful body, her h
eart skipped a beat or two.
Damn. The man was magnificent. She’d witnessed his lack of inhibition up close in the past two days, and shit, she was glad for it. Mother Nature had done a fine job on Lucas Grande.
“I don’t see any clothes hitting the sand,” he shouted, in between strokes.
“Maybe I don’t want to get sunburnt.”
“Bullshit,” he said.
She knew somewhere in her bag she’d put the sunscreen lotion she bought at the lobby. Damn, woman. Move.
She licked her dry lips, and pulled the hem of her dress, then in one clumsy move, removed it over her head all at once, and threw it where he’d put his clothes. Without looking at him, and inwardly hoping he wasn’t looking at her, she peeled off the bra and underwear, her lingerie soon joining the mass of clothes sprawling on the rock.
She braced herself, expecting the water to be cold, but to her delight it was warm, welcoming, inviting. She emerged until her breasts were conveniently hidden, and swam up to him.
She gathered her strength and her gaze collided with his. He’d been watching her, somehow she sensed it, goose bumps raising her skin that had nothing to do with her nakedness. She parted her lips, wanting to say something to dispel the tension but didn’t manage anything other than a small groan.
“You’re beautiful,” he said.
“You aren’t too bad yourself, you know, what with the gigantic cock, twelve pack and smooth ass.”
He threw his head in a manly, hearty laugh, then angled closer to her. Too close. “Why do I have the feeling you haven’t been complimented a lot in life?” he asked, his expression growing serious, the contours of his face tightening.
She cleared her throat. Shit. She had always feared the type of compliments that made most women swoon. Davey didn’t give her over-the-top praise, which was why their relationship had been so comfortable and safe. He didn’t make her feel safe per say, but being with him and knowing she didn’t need fluffy words to believe in made her feel grounded. “I never needed them.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
She slid her eyes away from him. In the spirit of doing things that were uncharacteristic to her while on this trip, why not share a part of her she didn’t enjoy talking about? “I never met my father. My mother isn’t a bad person,” she added quickly, hating herself for how defensive she sounded.
The muscle in his jaw nodded. “Tell me about her.”
She played with the water, making soft waves ripple around her. As if she was talking about a character from a movie she’d seen too many times, Crystal said, “She’s in love with the idea of being cherished, wanted. From a young age, I remember being introduced to various men she dated. Every month she had someone she crushed on, but she was too eager. Too needy, and eventually, scared them all away.”
Lucas caught her wrist, to keep her from moving. She motioned to protest and swim away from him, but he pulled her to him, making her face him. “She made it all about her,” he said in a low voice.
Her heart pulsed at her throat. She didn’t mean to victimize herself. “That’s not what I said.”
“Isn’t it obvious? Forcing a young child to witness that kind of reckless lifestyle?” he said, anger lacing his voice. “Sorry. My father wasn’t up for any parenting awards either.”
“Your mother seems nice,” she said, remembering the few times she’d visited him in New York City and dropped by the office. Ofelia Grande made the sixties look good, with her radiant smile and witty sense of humor.
He loosened his grip on her, but she didn’t move, continued close to him, even if pretty soon she’d probably have to tread water. The misleading calm ocean had enough of a current to sway them away from the shore. “She’s a saint. She should have divorced my father a long time ago.”
“At least you had a dad,” she said. She hadn’t met his father, who had died from a heart attack three years prior. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sour this otherwise sexy skinny dipping experience.”
“You’re not. I like getting to know you better, Crystal. You’ve always been straight with me,” he said, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“That much is true. Probably one of the few,” she said honestly. A couple of times in the past she’d wondered how far she could go not to warrant a work dismissal. She had never wished for him to send her packing, but she hadn’t been able to bite her tongue from snarky comments or unsolicited advice. Her interactions with him had always given her a boost. What if their unorthodox employee/boss relationship had always carried the undertones of a lurking attraction?
“Certainly, the only one who’s not a part of my family.”
A strange sensation squeezed her throat. “Right. Well, this is my first time naked in the Atlantic Ocean, so I’d love to make this a happy event,” she said, trying a little bit too hard to change the subject, or at least avoid the intrusive thoughts flooding her mind. Thoughts that questioned their fling. What if, once they returned home, they kept seeing each other? The idea was like a far away lighthouse, blinking in the darkness. She swallowed hard.
“You’re making it a real event. That’s better.”
She smiled. “Keeping it real is definitely a compliment I can handle.”
“Thought so. Now come here.” He lowered his head, his lips capturing hers in an intense, passionate kiss. The absence of clothes sent a surge of arousal through her. “Being with you is a happy event for me.”
“Only because I’m not giving you a hard time.”
He grabbed her hand and placed it over his cock. “I beg to differ.”
He took them behind a rock. God, he was amazing… he captured her lips in his, and thrust his hands in her hair, pulling her so close. She wrapped her legs around his torso, loving the sensation of water surrounding her, whispering in her deepest places.
“You’re so fucking sexy,” he said in her ear, then nibbled it.
A current of electricity rolled down her spine, and she gasped. He outlined the V of her thighs with his hand, and she quivered, aroused and willing. They were both wet, uncaring, abandoned in exploring each other’s body.
He erased the distance between them and the rock, and thankfully it wasn’t as rough as she thought it’d be. Lucas plunged two fingers inside her, wasting no time and curling them into her G-spot. She shouted his name, pleasure blasting through her. “Lucas.”
She was barely back to her regular breathing pattern when he dipped his head and sucked her neck. She moaned, his teeth grazing her like animals branding each other in the wild. The idea compelled her to caress his hair, her fingers running through the soft damp tendrils.
When he thrust his cock inside her, she hissed. She fought the need to close her eyes and get lost in the naughty world of pleasure. Instead, she kept them open, basking in the sunshine, the clear blue sky above them. Here she was, in paradise, naked with her boss.
And there was nothing she’d change about it. Not a damn thing, even she compromised her sanity.
Chapter 7
“Erosion?” Lucas repeated.
The middle-aged engineer nodded.
“How’s that possible? Half of the bungalows are on the river style pool merging through the property,” he said, circling his fingers to make a point.
The engineer, Marcos, fixed his glasses. For a couple of hours, they had taken him around all the areas, where guests were allowed, to see if Marcos could notice anything that would justify the resort’s underwhelming profits.
“The main lobby,” Marcos pointed at the place where they’d check in, located a quarter a mile or so from the bungalows. “Two years ago, we had a really bad flood in this area. Didn’t make it to international news maybe, but caused a lot of damage. One of them was the erosion in the foundation of the building where the restaurants and reception are located.”
“How do you know for sure?”
“I checked out the area before I met you. And I talked to a few employees I know.”
“Is there a way around it?” Crystal asked, folding her arms.
Marcos shrugged. “There isn’t. My guess is that’s why the current owner has been spending more than making… because he’s trying to Band-Aid it when the best solution would be to demolish the building and rebuild it another mile more inland.”
“Sounds expensive,” Crystal said.
Marcos glanced at her. “And complicated. It can be done, though. If you decide to buy it.”
“Thanks, Marcos. You gave me a lot to think about.”
The engineer shook hands with him and Crystal, and after the payment for his consultancy, he left. Only when the man had walked out a few steps, did he turn to Crystal.“What do you think?”
She looked beautiful in front of some manicured bushes. “I think he’s smart to walk us for two hours to cash in when he probably knew the answer,” she said.
“Valid point. That said, what about the assessment?”
“Could be true. I can go research the timeline he provided, using Google translate to make sure he isn’t lying about the flood. There should be records in local newspapers.”
He nodded. He talked to his family weekly on the phone, and saw them almost once a month, but he didn’t remember hearing anything about this disaster. Perhaps because they all lived in São Paulo, and now in the Northeast. Or maybe they failed to mention it to him. Either way, he needed further information. “You’re so skeptical.”
She raised an eyebrow. “That’s why you pay me.”
“That’s why I… like you so much,” he said, and lowered his lips to hers in a quick kiss. She touched his chest, his flesh warming and searing under her caress. His body went rigid, and he intensified the claim of her mouth, his tongue stroking hers ardently. It dawned on him that it was the first time he had the urge to kiss her during a work meeting, as if it were his way to show her their connection delved deeper than simple employment.
Does it? The word rang in his ears. Did he want to continue their affair in New York? Wouldn’t be fair to her. Crystal deserved more, which meant he’d have to come clean to everyone—damn it, he was too old to sneak around with an employee.
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