Boyfriend for Hire (25 page)

“Would you do it again?” His gaze locked onto hers. The answer mattered, he didn’t know why. Didn’t care to think about it either.

“No.”

A rumble in the distance had them both glancing out to sea in time to witness a quick strike of lightning on the horizon. Families packed up their gear and headed into the nearby homes, leaving them their own private beach. Dave excused himself for a minute, pulled a key from his pocket, and unlocked the deck door. If they needed to make a mad getaway, he was ready.

“So, whose place is this?” Tawny, finished with her meal, had gone back to the railing, leaning against it as she stared off watching the storm play.

He joined her, and for a few minutes they stood silently watching together. He found Tawny’s company soothed him like the water. Sure, she riled him up, at the same time sending his libido into overdrive. Deep down under it all there was a calming sense of right when she was near. He didn’t know how to explain it, and to be honest, he wasn’t sure he wanted to look at the feeling too closely.

“Buddy of mine, met him diving a few years back, his parents left him the place when they moved to Florida for the year-round sunfest. He and his wife are in Europe for the next week. I’m sort of house-sitting. We could stay and watch the sunrise together.”

Tawny glanced to the house and then back out over the beach, seemingly caught up in the antics of a couple of gulls. He took her hand and ran his thumb over the back of hers.

“David, maybe we should talk about where we think this is going first? Set some ground rules. With our two best friends getting married, it’s not fair to them for us to screw up our friendship and make their lives miserable. I think it’s safe to say neither of us want to be the awkward ex ruining the holidays.”

He wasn’t sure why, but everything inside him skittered to a halt. Not sure if it was because he was afraid she’d ask for a commitment or afraid she wouldn’t. Her actions and words said she wasn’t looking for the bling and a promise, but she’d been raised to expect exactly that. “Sure. You start.”

“Okay. Contrary to what my mom believes, I’m not looking for the white picket fence dream. I’m not ready for 2.5 kids and a dog. If that’s what you want, and I highly doubt it, then tell me now and we can end the date and you can drive me home.”

A sharp pain shot up the back of his head, probably from how fast he’d whipped his head up to look her in the eye. He’d never heard a woman tell him if he wanted a relationship with her to pack sand. “Is this just a one-nighter, a fling, what?” His voice came out rougher than he liked.

“I’ve already learned it will take more than one night to get you out of my system. Let’s call it good friends having fun. You said I needed more fun in my life, right?”

Well hell. Talk about getting bit in the ass with your own words. “Fine, but while we’re having fun, we only have it with each other.”

“Works for me, and when the fun is gone, we call it quits. No harm, no foul, and we stay friends. No weird looks over dinners or cookouts. No quizzing our best friends on who the other is seeing now or any of that stalker crap. Right?” She ran her fingers down his chest, stopping to play with the pocket, buttons, anything except look him in the eyes.

Her words said one thing to him, but her actions spoke of a bundle of nerves as she tried to talk not only him into her game plan, but also herself. He could work with that. He backed her up into the corner of the deck. Placed a hand on each side, giving her nowhere to go.

“Darling, you’re a confirmed bachelor’s dream.” As the words left his mouth he realized the idea of no-strings-attached sex didn’t thrill him. For once he didn’t give a mental oorah or fist bump. What the hell was wrong with him? The question didn’t plague him for long. The wicked look on Tawny’s face took care of all rational thought.

Her eyes glinted with mischief. “Really? And does this confirmed playboy have any dreams of getting freaky in the sand with me?”

All the blood drained to his head. “Give me a moment.” He ran inside, ditched his shoes and socks, and grabbed the blanket out of the hall closet. He’d been accused of being stupid once or twice in his life, but never when a beautiful, sexy woman offered herself up to him.

Her shoes sat on the chair. Damn, he’d had fantasies about those heels, but he could work without them. He had plenty of material left and hello, a gorgeous lady with killer legs, soft curves, and a sweet ass. He needed to thank the makers of her dress for the way it hugged.

Leading her down the steps, he scanned the horizon, happy to note the storm was on its way out to sea instead of inland. The sky had turned a riot of colors, banking the area in shadows as the sun set. He picked a smooth spot on the far side of a little sand dune. It wasn’t much, but it would block any prying eyes from the house with the kids.

He flung the blanket out, letting it settle on its own. Now what? Never at a loss before, he stood, hands on hips, staring at the stupid blanket and wondering what his next move would be. She’d thrown him with her comments, pulled the rug and tossed it out the freaking door.

“Beautiful,” Tawny said with her voice filled with awe.

“Yes, you are.” David turned to find her staring out to sea where the sun had started its descent. With his arms wrapped around her, he bent his head and inhaled the scent of flowers and fruit.

“Clichéd much?” She leaned back into him, settling her head against his shoulder as they watched the last streaks of orange and red fade to black.

“Maybe. Doesn’t mean it isn’t true.” Nuzzling her neck, he let his hands wander down over those sweet curves until he touched silky, smooth skin. “We’re in the sand. What did you have in mind? Sand castles? Tunnels to China? Human burial?”

She turned in his arms, wrapped hers around his neck, and pulled him down for a kiss that stole his breath away. If she kept that up, he’d die a happy man.

“Let’s go swimming.”

“I didn’t bring my shorts.”

“So? It’s almost dark, no one will be able to tell if you have on boxers or shorts.” The look on his face must have given something away because her eyes widened and she dropped her gaze down. “Tell me you’re not a tighty-whitey guy? Not that it’s a problem, I just always pictured you as a boxer-brief kind of guy.”

Right now he wished he were any of the above. “No, not into nut huggers.”

“Then what’s the problem? Are you shy?” she teased as her hands went to his belt, stopping as another thought hit her. Her hand slipped around to caress his ass. “Oh, mama mia. Commando?”

“Bright girl. Knew you’d figure it out.”

“It’s pretty dark. I don’t think anyone will see.” She tugged at the belt. “Come on, Dave, live a little.”

If he had to call Brody to bail him out, he’d never live it down. But man, would it be worth it. Tugging the zipper down on Tawny’s dress, he said a little prayer that the neighbors had gone out for the night. Give it a couple more weeks and no one would be on this strip of beach. He didn’t normally have a problem with skinny-dipping, so what was holding him back now, other than the thought of being mistaken for a worm on a hook? Nah, would never happen. He was more like an eel.

Tawny?

Like she said, he wasn’t looking for the white picket deal, which didn’t mean he thought of her as an easy hook-up. She meant too much to him. He’d planned to wine and dine her, seduce her over a roaring fire before hauling her up to the king-size bed in the guest room.
Roll with the punches, Farber.
Who was he to deny this woman anything she wanted, like a moonlight swim and sex on the beach.

He slipped her dress down her arms and over her hips until it puddled at her feet. At the sight of her lacy black bra that only covered half of her breasts and the tiny scrap of material that passed as panties, he sucked in his breath and held it, afraid he’d wake up any minute from this dream.

She followed his lead, sliding his slacks down his legs. The back of her hand brushed against him.

“Are you always this
up
for swimming?”

“Not usually. I think it has more to do with this scrap of material you’re wearing.”

“Hey, this is a fifty-dollar bra, meant to lift and, ah, do things for you.”

“Yeah? Remind me to send a thank-you note, because it’s working and doing things for me all right.” He pulled her tight against him so she could feel what kind of things it was doing to him and what he wanted to do to her in return. He slanted his mouth across hers and claimed it for his own.

Tawny wrapped her long, smooth legs around his waist, positioning herself so that the tip of him hit against her clit. Several thoughts ran through his brain, but only two stuck out.

Wet. Hot.

Afraid if he tried to walk the thirty feet to the water’s edge he’d lose it before he even got started, he sank to his knees on the blanket. He rocked back to land on his butt, never losing his grip on Tawny. Seated, they were eye to eye, and she snugged closer, grinding herself against him as she closed the space between their bodies.

“Ooh, this is much better than swimming,” she murmured against his neck.

“Anything that gets you in my arms is fine with me.”

She kissed her way up his neck, across his jaw, and bit down on his lower lip. Pain and pleasure shot through him. She was primed and ready to go, the evidence soaking what little material separated them, and as easy as it might have been to plunge into her and have her right there on the beach, Dave didn’t want to rush it. His plan called for wining and dining and slow seduction. To get things back on track he ignored the ache in his groin and concentrated on Tawny’s lush lips and how they felt against his.

Lost in her arms, their mouths fused together, his pulse beat in rhythm to the pounding waves. One hand held her in place while the other lazily stroked along her spine. She was soft as silk and as fresh as the morning dew. He could stay like this for hours, except, you know, eventually the sun would rise and the vacationing families would come back out to play.

“Tawny, let’s . . . ow.” Dave jerked his body to the side to see what had caused the sudden pain in his big toe, and in the process he lost his grip on Tawny and she fell off his lap and onto the blanket. “What the hell. Something has my foot.”

He lifted his leg, trying to get his toe away from whatever, and a dark shadow flew through the air, landing with a thud on the blanket. Dave reached down, grabbed his pants, and pulled his cell phone out of the back pocket. Hitting the flashlight app, he aimed the beam onto the blanket to find a baby blue crab sitting between him and Tawny.

“Aw, it’s so cute.”

“It’s a vicious beast. You better stay back.”

“Dave, seriously. It’s like three inches wide.”

She was trying not to laugh. He could hear it in her voice and see it on her face. His toe throbbed. A quick glance with the light showed no blood, just a red mark where the creature had tried to take a hunk out of him.

“It may be little, but it has humongous claws.” It was a good thing the beast only got his toe, considering the other options he had on display. With one eye on the crab he picked his pants up, gave them a quick shake in case Big Blue had a friend, and put them on. “Give me a second and I’ll get rid of him.”

A gasp had him looking up. “What?”

“You’re not going to hurt him, are you?”

Women. “No, I’m not going to hurt the mean, toe-biting crustacean. I’m going to take him down to the water.” Dave reached down. The crab scampered toward him, snapping his claws. “Whoa, down, boy.”

“I don’t think he likes you.” Tawny laughed from her side of the blanket before shifting her position only to have Big Blue move toward her.

“I don’t think he likes either of us.” Every time one of them moved, the little guy came after them. “I think our safest bet is for each of us to take two corners and carry him to the water’s edge.”

After tossing the little bugger into the water, they grabbed Tawny’s dress and headed indoors, where he hoped to be eaten by a hot brunette.

Chapter Fifteen

T
he roaring fire chased away the chill in the air and turned the room soft and seductive. Romantic. Exactly what Tawny hoped to avoid by suggesting a playful frolic in the ocean. This was too perfect, too sweet, too much like a night of making love and not having sex.

She liked sex. It was fun and uncomplicated, when done right. When done wrong, it led to unrealistic expectations and broken hearts. She’d done the broken-heart thing a couple of times. Not the horrible, shattered into a million pieces experience, but still, she had no desire to repeat it. And not with David, who she feared had the ability to do far more damage than had been done before.

Lying on her side with the flames dancing before her, she watched the man in question as he refilled their wineglasses and fiddled around in the gourmet kitchen overlooking the water. He left his shirt off. Hallelujah. Really, men built like him should never be allowed to wear shirts. Ever. Well, okay, maybe during winter, but then only tight tees that molded to their bodies. The slacks he wore hugged his butt nicely, but ran a little too loose to showcase his spectacular thighs.

She really was a lucky woman, or would be if she remembered to guard her heart. Keep it light. Keep it fun.

“I’ve seen that look before.” David handed her a glass of wine and joined her on the soft throw on the floor. “Big Blue had it when he was coming after me.”

“Big Blue?”

“Yeah, our friend from the beach.”

She had to swallow fast not to spit the wine out at him. It was the first time she’d heard herself compared to a crab. “Maybe she thought you look tasty too. How is your toe?”

“If I say it hurts, will you kiss it and make it better?”

“Of course. Was it this one?” She pointed to a random place on his foot and watched his eyes glaze over as she leaned down to kiss the top of his toe. “Anyplace else?”

David held out his pinkie. “I think she got me here too.”

Tawny placed a gentle kiss on the tip of his finger before sucking it into her mouth. A soft moan had her looking up right before David slipped his fingers into her hair. Cupping the back of her head, he brought their mouths together. Heat that had nothing to do with the fire scorched her body. Thoughts of fun fled. Nothing this hot could be deemed as fun and games, because he wasn’t devouring her. No, the man was conducting a slow assault, firing up her nerves one by one as he kissed her like his life depended on it.