Chance of a Lifetime (Anderson Brothers) (7 page)

A door at the back of the house opened and women’s laughter drifted into the kitchen.

Will punched his shoulder to get his attention. “Hey, little brother. Use your dick. Don’t be one. You deserve happiness. So does she. Make this right, okay?”

Chapter Eleven

G
en couldn’t believe she was actually heading to the Bahamas. Chance had reluctantly agreed to go to their private island early for wedding prep after Claire’s relentless urging, but she knew he hadn’t been happy about it. He and Will discussed paperwork for an upcoming auction from seats near the back of the tiny cabin of the Anderson Enterprises jet, while Claire translated some scrolls, and Gen wondered what the hell she was going to do with her life from here.

She was surprised Walter didn’t make more of a stink about her going, but evidently, Will held some sway with him and he’d agreed. God, it pissed her off that he controlled her money and her life. She wasn’t helpless, nor was she stupid. Somehow, she needed to get her family on board with that—should have done it years ago, but the timing had never seemed right. It was always easier to just keep the status quo.

She yawned, hoping no one noticed. She’d waited last night for Chance to come to bed after he agreed to stay in Will and Claire’s guest room, but he never made an appearance. When he was nowhere to be found the next morning, Claire told her that he had borrowed Will’s motorcycle to go home to get clothes for the trip since his big brother was so much bigger and nothing fit.

Fortunately, except for Gen’s much larger chest, Claire was close to her size, so she was totally set, including a lovely silky-feeling dress for the wedding that she was told had a tropical print perfect for the island. Since all she had were the clothes she wore to skinny-dip, Claire also lent her a swimsuit, shorts, several shirts, and flip-flops.

Between the hum of the engines and the buzz of the men’s voices as they discussed transactions, her eyelids became too heavy to hold open.

C
hance jumped from his seat at the back of the plane when Gen screamed his name during touchdown.

Still sound asleep, she thrashed in her seat. “Oh, God, Chance! Help me!”

He knelt in front of her and wiped away her tears, then pulled her to him. “Right here, baby. Hang on to me. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

The engines roared as they slowed their taxi on the runway. Her breaths came in huge gulps as if she were drowning. She flinched, then wrapped her arms around him so tightly he could hardly breathe, then practically climbed his body. “Chance!” she screamed again. He held her against his chest as he waited for her to come out of the nightmare. Over her shoulder, he met his brother’s eyes.

He buried his face in her hair and inhaled, wishing things were different. That he could go back and change things. So many things.

A strong hand squeezed his shoulder. “Make this right,” Will said as he exited the plane with Claire.

How?
How the fuck was he supposed to make this right? He turned to watch his brother and his future wife disappear down the stairs to the tarmac. It was his fault Genny had fallen in the water in the first place. He could never go back and be there for her. If he could, he would. He’d lived that night a million times a year—for ten years. Always with regret.

She whimpered and clung tighter, like she was hanging on to the piling waiting to be saved. How often did she have this nightmare? he wondered. Would she have it the rest of her life?

“I’m here, Genny,” he whispered, not bothering to wipe away his own tear as it made its way down his cheek. “I’ve always been here. I always will be.”

“I knew you’d come,” she said with a sigh, and then her breathing slowed and her grip loosened.

He stroked her hair for several minutes while she slept, and eventually, her eyes fluttered open, unseeing, thank God, or she’d have witnessed him completely undone. “Hey, Gen.” He was surprised his voice was so solid. “We’re here.”

“Oh.” She sat up straight and cocked her head. “I must have dozed off.”

“You sure did, sleepyhead.” He helped her to her feet. “I have good news, though. We’re about to knock another item off your list.”

She smiled, and his skin warmed like the sun had come out. “Really?”

“Absolutely. Right now, we’re on a bigger island, but later, we’ll travel to my family’s private island by speedboat. First, though, I have strict orders from Claire to take you undergarment shopping since hers didn’t fit you.”

A furious blush crawled up her cheeks. “I can do that without your help.”

“Yes, well. You see, I have this bucket list of my own now, and this happens to be on it.”

“What? Buying me underwear?”

“No. Not getting my ass kicked by my future sister-in-law.”

She laughed and let him help her down the plane’s steps.

“Don’t let her sweet demeanor fool you. Claire’s fierce. She has to be in order to put up with Will.”

“Where are they?” She turned her face into the sea wind, listening and taking in the smells, no doubt.

“They’re running some errands, but said they’ll join us for dinner.”

Her brow furrowed. “It’s still before lunchtime.”

Placing his hand at the small of her back, he applied gentle pressure, and she followed his lead across the tarmac to where a car was waiting. “Sadly, you’re stuck with me for the day.”

“Ah. I’ll just have to make do.”

The driver, whom he’d never met before, opened the car door, and Chance guided Gen into the vintage Town Car. She took a breath and wrinkled her nose at the less-than-sparkly interior. It was posh by island cab standards.

“After some shopping, we’ll go straight to our island. I can’t believe I’ve never had you here. This should have happened long ago.”

She shook her head. “You tried. Your whole family tried. My parents thought it was too dangerous for me.”

Prickles of anger crawled up his spine and lodged at the base of his skull. His lifestyle might not be right for her, but neither was the one her family imposed upon her. She’d lived her young life like a bird in a cage. He’d always hated it. Which was why he’d insisted Walter allow her to tag along everywhere they went. He exhaled a deep breath. “Well, you’re here now.”

When the car took off, she reached in his direction and patted her way across the torn leather seat until her hand made contact with his thigh. His breath caught, muscles tensing at her touch, and she momentarily paused. Then her fingers glided up the outside of his hip to his chest, and finally his face. Her second hand joined the first as she took measure of his expressions, just like she’d done when they were younger.

She faced him on the seat, tilting her head in that questioning, curious way she had. “You never used to tense up when I touched you. It’s like I make you uncomfortable now.”

He smiled, and her fingers gently explored his dimples and the corners of his eyes, then brushed over his jaw. “Your whiskers have gotten harder. So have the angles of your face… And your muscles.”

And other parts as well…

She asked, “Why is my touch different to you now?”

He reached down and ran his palm up her bare thigh, stopping at the hem of the denim shorts she had on over a swimsuit. He smiled when she jerked. “Because of that.” Because for ten years, he’d thought of little else but her. Because he no longer took her for granted or expected her touch. It was always a surprise now. A gift. And a massive turn-on, rather than just a communication.

It was different because he loved her. Not as her big brother’s best friend, but as a man.
Make this right,
Will had told him twice. As he looked at her beautiful, brave face he wondered if finally, that might actually be possible—that things could be right. That he could show her the adventure and freedom she craved so badly and still keep her safe.

“We’re here,” the driver said in his thick accent. “Do you want me to wait?”

Chance pulled Gen’s hands from his face and kissed the inside of both palms, loving how her breath stuttered and her eyes widened. “No. We’re good from here on. Thank you.”

S
omething had changed since they boarded the plane. Gen didn’t know what it was, but Chance acted different. Maybe his brother had said something, or maybe it was what happened in the pond. The way he’d cupped her breasts in his palms. Even now, the thought of it made her nipples harden and her lower body ache. Or maybe it was simply being far enough away from Walter that allowed him to drop the decade-old wall he’d erected between them.

Whatever it was, she liked it. He was playful and teasing at the lingerie shop, describing in great detail and with obvious relish the finer points of each garment, and he was relaxed and chatty all through lunch as well. She brought one of the palms he’d kissed earlier to her flushed face and sighed as the waiter cleared their dishes.

“Ready to go knock speedboat off the list?”

Her grin must have been answer enough because in no time, they walked hand in hand down a wooden pier, her cane folded neatly in the shoulder bag Claire had lent her before boarding the plane.

He stopped and took her bag. “Here, in the Bahamas, this kind of boat is sometimes called a rumrunner, but in most places, this is called a cigarette boat…sometimes, a go-fast boat.”

“Offshore racing boat,” she said.

“Not this one. It’s smaller than the real racers and not equipped for that kind of speed, but yes. That’s the kind of boat we’re dealing with here.”

“I know this already. Why do you think speedboat made my list? Walter wouldn’t shut up about it after he came here with you and your brothers your senior year before I… Before you…”

When he spoke, his voice sounded strained. “That was a long time ago. This is a different boat.”

And she was a different person. “Is it faster?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

After strapping on a life vest, she cautiously let him guide her across the front of the boat and into the left seat. “What do you see?”

He slid in next to her. “A beautiful, sunny day, a fast boat full of gas, and a beautiful woman.”

“Seriously. What does this look like?”

“You’re seated in a Baja Outlaw. It’s primarily white with yellow and black accents. GPS is in front of you. Steering wheel, throttle, and controls are on the right, in front of me.”

“Have you done this before?”

“Many times. We’ll take it easy, though, okay?”

“Why?”

There was a pause for a moment, and she could feel his eyes on her as he spoke. “Good question. If you want to go fast, I’m up for it.”

“I’m up for anything!” she said. “Everything.”

“One order of everything coming right up.”

The motor growled to life, and after a few minutes of cruising slowly, to get out of the harbor, she assumed, Chance picked up speed. Before long they were flying, sometimes literally, over the water. The sensation of speed with the wind whipping around her and the constant roar of the motor was unlike anything she’d experienced, and she laughed. She laughed and laughed as they cut through the water, bouncing over waves so fast, she could feel her skin pull tight. She was still laughing when he slowed and the motor grumbled then went silent.

“What happened?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to take a break for a minute.”

“Are we to China yet?”

“Not yet.”

“What do you see?”

“Nothing but bright blue ocean.” He brushed his fingers across her knee and she startled. “And you. I see you, Gen.”

She held her breath as waves lapped the side of the boat, and somewhere overhead a bird screeched.

The boat rocked slightly, forcing a nervous gasp from her lips. “What are you doing?”

“Taking off my clothes. Let’s swim.”

There was a
click
—probably a life vest clasp, followed by a rustling of fabric and the unmistakable
zing
of a zipper. Like the one on his shorts.

“Naked?”

“Of course.”

“Here?”

“There’s no one around for miles. This is skinny-dipping Anderson style.”

She turned her face toward him, hoping her shock didn’t show. He’d always been so free and reckless. It shouldn’t surprise her he would do something like this, but it felt completely uneven from where she sat. “I wish I could see.”

The air shifted in front of her as he positioned himself between her and the dash, then his hands were on her shoulders. “I don’t.”

“Why?”

“Oh, Gen. If you could see, you’d be like everyone else.” His breath fanned across her lips, and it was all she could do to not lean into him and close that gap. “If you could see, you wouldn’t be here with me right now, and I wouldn’t be able to do this.”

His lips were soft and gentle. Nothing at all like the hungry, needy clashing of bodies on the bench at Columbus Circle yesterday. Heart racing, she gripped the arms of the boat’s bucket seat, headily aware he was naked and worried she’d accidentally grab a handful of heaven if she wasn’t careful.

“Relax, Gen. No one can see us. It’s just you and me. Walter will never know. I’m only going to kiss you.” Her grip on the chair loosened slightly, and he kissed her again. His movements were leisurely, and their tongues danced together as if they had all the time in the world, and with the warm sunshine and the waves gently rocking the boat, it seemed to her that maybe they did.

He’d propped his hands on her seat on either side of her head, and nothing touched but their mouths. She was so attuned to him, it was easy to know where he was. From the pressure of his palms on the cushion to the heat of his skin, she could imagine his long, lean body kneeling in front of her, and it filled her with power.

Releasing her grip on the chair, she wrapped her arms around his ribs and ran her fingers over the taut skin and powerful muscles of his back. He moaned deep in the back of his throat, and it set off a crazy chain reaction of fireworks in all the right places in her body, leaving her achy and hot. Whatever he did at that martial arts gym made his chest and torso hard as a rock with no extra anything anywhere. After scraping her nails slightly over his skin, she ran her hands across his scalp and fisted his long hair in her fingers. He let loose a growl, which set off a wave of need so strong inside her, she growled right back, arching to get closer, to get more of him.

From somewhere behind them, a phone rang, and Chance pulled away. “My God, Gen,” he rasped, breath harsh, nearly panting. “It’s a good thing number ten is taken care of, because sex with you would probably kill me outright. Kissing you is almost too much.”