Chance of a Lifetime (Anderson Brothers) (8 page)

She didn’t know whether to be flattered or disappointed. She’d made out with guys before. Several of them once she was out of her parents’ house, but never had there been a reaction like this, either from her own body or from the guy she kissed.

This was different. Like she’d always known it would be with him.

The ringing stopped, then immediately started again. “There’s only one person that persistent,” Chance said, standing up. The boat rocked as he stumbled to the back, cursing the entire way. “What?” he answered harshly. “Yeah, Michael. My cell was off for a reason: I didn’t want to be interrupted… You knew that? And so you call the fucking satellite phone on the boat? What’s on fire?” He went quiet for a moment. “Oh, you don’t like my tone? Well call me back and we can start over.” He slammed the phone down on something metal.

“Is something wrong?”

“Nah. Michael’s just being an uptight prick and we’re playing our usual games.”

A rustle of fabric followed by a
zing
of a zipper told her he’d likely put on his shorts again.

The phone rang again, and he answered it in a sickeningly sweet voice. “Michael’s doormat service. How may we meet your foot-wiping needs today?… Yeah, I’m hilarious…”

Gen relaxed back in her seat, enjoying this side of Chance she’d never seen before. She loved hearing him interact with his brothers.

“What am I doing? Well, actually, I’m right in the middle of an intense game of shuffleboard, why?…No, I’m not on the island. I’m about ten miles offshore.…Yes, it’s inconvenient. I can’t even tell you how fucking inconvenient…”

She couldn’t help but giggle.

“Oh, but yes, King Michael. Anything for you.” He didn’t slam the phone down as hard this time, but he was still a bit rough.

“We’ll have to swim later,” he said, buckles snapping as he put on his life vest.

“What happened?”

“Some mix-up with a delivery date, and evidently, a tent for the wedding is being dropped off early. Will and Claire are still on the big island, and someone has to be at our place to sign for it or they’ll take it away and Michael’s freaked they won’t get it back in time for the wedding.”

“That’s cool. No big deal,” she said, trying not to let her disappointment show.

“I’m really sorry.”

“Truly. No big deal.”

“How about you drive back?”

“Holy shit, Chance. I can’t do that.”

“Sure you can. We’re in open water. I know this place like the back of my hand. You can’t possibly wreck or damage anything, and I’ll work the throttle. You’ll just steer and I’ll tell you where to go.”

The chair squeaked as he sat in the driver’s seat. “Scoot over here and sit in my lap.”

Well, that was something she wasn’t going to pass up. Even if it meant having to drive the scary, fast boat.

Reaching toward him, she met his hand, and he helped her up and over to his seat. Careful not to fall, she lowered herself onto his lap and gasped as he pulled her back against his seriously prominent erection. He bucked his hips slightly and she squeaked, then laughed.

“Mm-hmm. No big deal, huh?”

The motor rumbled to life, and she squealed as he placed her hands on the steering wheel. “Just put your hands at ten and two and keep it straight. I’m right here.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” she said, nudging back against him. He groaned, then shifted the motor into gear, slowly gaining speed, making the wind whip her hair in all directions.

“Now turn the wheel a bit so you can feel how it responds.”

Gradually, she eased the wheel right, then left, feeling the boat tilt toward the turn. “I’m really doing it!” she said. “I’m driving.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Oh, Chance. I never…” Tears of joy dried before they even breached the edges of her eyes as they zipped over the water. The powerful boat rumbled under her feet and through the steering wheel into her hands; she relaxed against Chance’s trim, hard body.

This was who she was. This was living.

Chapter Twelve

“W
hat do you see?” Gen asked as Chance tied the boat off behind the party supply delivery company’s boat at their private pier.

What did he see
? Red.
He’d never been this pissed at Michael before. Not even when his big brother had teased him about getting braces, or when he’d sent him to go sober Will up after a bender before he’d worked things out with Claire.

This was not at all how he’d thought the day would go. He’d planned to get Gen relaxed and show her what real skinny-dipping was like. To let her float in the warm ocean, far from anyone or anything, and feel freedom for the first time.

“Chance?”

He stepped back into the boat and guided her to her feet. “I see a small, private island owned by my family. There are a dozen brightly colored buildings with thatched roofs, white sand, and clear blue water.” Leading her up onto the front deck of the boat, he held her hands while she caught her balance, then helped her to the edge of the bow and the safety of the pier. “I see a guy holding a clipboard coming toward us from a pile of poles and canvas on the beach.”

And in his mind, he saw himself delivering a well-placed kick to Michael’s perfectly shaven face for ruining his afternoon.

She pried his fingers from hers. “Loosen up.” She took his wrist and shook it until his hand was pliant and relaxed, then laced her fingers through his. “That’s better. Did my driving scare you that much? I mean, I let you take over when we got to the parking part.”

Perhaps the afternoon hadn’t been that wasted. She seemed to love driving the boat. Maybe more than she would have enjoyed skinny-dipping—but not nearly as much as he would have. He scanned her incredible body and bit back a groan.

“Mr. Anderson!” the man in a Hawaiian shirt called as he stepped onto the pier. “Thanks for meeting me. Seems there was some kind of mix-up on timing.”

He signed the paper on the clipboard. “No problem.”

“The crew will be here to set up in the morning.” His eyes roved up and down Gen’s body, and Chance’s muscles readied like they did before a match. She tilted her head as if she could tell something was up, but she said nothing.

“Well, thanks again for meeting me. Sorry for the confusion.”

As he got in his boat and pulled away from the pier, Chance realized he couldn’t blame the guy, really. Gen looked great in that loaner pink bikini top that didn’t cover even half of her,
thank you, Claire
, and cutoff blue jeans with her hair all windblown and tangled from the boat. It was
his
reaction that was troubling. This type of possessiveness was new. Hell, this whole situation was new. Over the past ten years, he’d denied himself access to her—held back by the fear he was bad for her. Now, he was completely alone on an island with her, and somehow that fear didn’t hold the weight it used to.

It didn’t hold any weight at all, in fact, as it lifted like a helium balloon and drifted away in the ocean breeze ruffling the fine hairs around her face. Maybe her stifling, cautious lifestyle was even more dangerous to her than his adventurous one.

Will’s voice pierced his thoughts.
Make this right.

“So, how about that swim Michael rudely interrupted?” he asked, leading her up the pier toward the island. “Not quite as cool as being in open water, but I can promise no attack swans.”

“Sounds good.”

He went hard…well, harder. Gen at his island…with him…naked in the sunshine. Life didn’t get better. “We’ll need some towels and suntan lotion. Follow me.”

As they hit the soft sand, she stopped. “Hey, Chance?”

“Yeah?”

She cocked her head to the side. “Remember that game we used to play?”

“Marco Polo?”

“No, challenge.”

“Was that an official game? I thought it was just us daring each other to do crazy things like eat dog food or freeze Walter’s underwear.”

“Or how about that time I challenged you to shave your legs?”

He laughed. “I didn’t know to use water and soap and used my mom’s razor dry. I had a rash for a week. Will still gives me shit for that.”

“Hey, Chance?” She took his hand in hers. “Ready for a challenge?”

“What if I refuse?”

“Then you have to answer a question truthfully.”

“What’s the challenge?”

“Kiss me.”

He dropped both bags in the sand and took her face in his hands. “Challenge accepted.”

C
hance tasted like salt and ChapStick and sunshine. Gen moaned as he fisted one hand in her hair and trailed the other down the center of her spine, then cupped her backside and pulled her tight against him. The feel of the hard ridge of his erection against her belly set her on fire. Ten years she’d been missing him. Ten long years.

He tilted her head and groaned as he deepened the kiss, taking her mouth with possessive, hungry desperation she totally understood. His hand roved up her back and down again, fingers tracing the waistline of her shorts, then sweeping up to untie her swimsuit top. Her breasts sprang free and she gasped in surprise.

“Too much?” he asked, pulling away.

“Not enough.”
Never enough.

She could feel his eyes on her, so she straightened her shoulders to give him a better view. With the tips of his fingers, he traced the underside of her breasts, then wrapped his arms around her, again covering her mouth with his.

She’d been told she had a good body. She knew her chest was larger than most because even her mother had remarked on it, but Chance had never said a thing about it one way or another. Now he didn’t have to. He was showing her as he slid his hands under the suit in the front and took her breasts in his hands, never breaking the kiss.

He pulled back slightly, hands still cupping her, thumbs roving over her nipples making her knees week. “God, Gen.”

He kissed the hollow behind her ear, then trailed his tongue down her neck to her shoulder while her fingers explored his back and shoulders.

“Suntan lotion,” he said. “We’re going to burn, and that would be bad.”

“Don’t care,” she murmured, dizzy with lust from the slow circles of his thumbs across her nipples.

“It would mean no more touching.”

She pulled away and grinned. “Suntan lotion, then.” She placed her hands over his and pushed up to plump her breasts, which based on his groan, appealed. “Then more of this.”

“Challenge accepted.” The promise in his voice caused chills to dance along her spine.

“What do you see?” She held her breath for his answer.

“My wildest dreams.”

G
en waited for Chance on the porch of the main house while he went in search of towels and suntan lotion. She’d been unhappy when he’d told her Will and Claire were not joining them until dinner. She’d hoped to ask Will some questions before she took this thing with Chance any further.

Maybe she should just ask Chance what she wanted to know—why he’d abandoned her for ten long years. What had really happened that night when he’d left her alone on the dock for so long and hadn’t followed her to the hospital.

She traced her finger on the edge of the wicker table, took in a deep breath of ocean air, and shook her head. He’d probably tell her it was because he’d promised her brother he would stay away. Or maybe he’d say he was bad for her, like he had earlier. How could someone who made her feel so alive be bad for her? There was something he wasn’t saying.

“Taa daa!” She flinched at his enthusiastic entrance. “Success. Towels, sunscreen, and a cold beverage. Can’t beat that.” His footsteps on the wooden porch stopped, and she knew he had sensed her unease. “What’s going on?”

“Why did you leave?”

The chair next to her scraped as he pulled it out from under the table. “To get sunscreen and towels…”

“For ten years.”

“Oh…” A nearby scrape indicated he’d moved his chair right next to hers. “You know the answer. I was forbidden to see you.”

“You still are.”

“Turn around.” He scooted his chair even closer.

She sat sideways and waited while he rubbed lotion between his palms, then smoothed it over her shoulders. “I’ve made lots of mistakes in my life. Some are unforgivable.” Using his thumbs, he kneaded the knots in her shoulders and she bit back a groan, fighting to concentrate on his words and not on the crazy party going on in her body because of his touch. “But I’m asking for your forgiveness nonetheless.”

His hands slid lower as he smoothed lotion across her shoulder blades.

“Even though I don’t deserve it.” Chills skittered up and down her spine as, still seated behind her, he ran his hands down the outside of her arms, then back up, distributing lotion and a heavy dose of sexual tension. After squeezing more in his palms, he traced his hands over her shoulders and across her clavicle, pulling her back against his bare chest. “Forgive me, Genny.”

She relaxed her head back on his shoulder and sighed as he rubbed lotion over the exposed skin of her chest, then moved his hands lower to her belly, teasing the waistband of her shorts, sending every nerve in her body humming. “Let me make it up to you,” he whispered, hands roaming back up her body to cup her breasts, then sliding under the suit to apply sunscreen to her sensitive skin. He pinched a nipple and her body jerked, a hiss escaping her lips as he rasped her earlobe between his teeth.

It was impossible to sit still with his hands and mouth roaming over her, setting her on fire. “Chance…” She squirmed, needing more.

Clearly he got the message, because he deftly unbuttoned her shorts, slipping the zipper open, and she bit her lip in anticipation as he toyed with the elastic top of her swimsuit bottom.

“You’ve had me hard all day, Gen. Are you wet?”

His frankness startled her. And thrilled her, causing a warm flush between her legs. None of the guys she’d kissed had ever been this forward. Maybe because she’d been tense. Maybe because they were focused on the fact that she was blind…

He slid his hand down the front of her suit, and she stiffened at the amazing sensation of his touch, which felt nothing like when she touched herself.

“Mmmm. You are,” he murmured, shifting so that his legs were on either side of her chair, making her feel surrounded by him. Cocooned and completely safe. “Relax,” he whispered, stroking his finger over her most sensitive spot, causing heat to rush through her entire body and her back to arch.

“So responsive.” He sought that point again, and she almost cried out as he pressed down and made perfect, electrifying circles with his finger until she gasped for air.

“Chance.”

“I’m right here.” He dipped his finger into her wetness and smoothed it over her, resuming that maddening pressure and speed at her core, even as he cupped her breast with his other hand and gave her neck an openmouthed kiss.

One guy had stuck his hand down her pants before, and a couple of others had groped her breasts, but none had come even remotely close to this. Those times had been awkward and sometimes pleasant, but not…this. This was magic. Like something out of those movies Sherry loved where everyone screamed and moaned a lot and came so easily—which, until this moment, she’d thought was total fantasy.

He increased the pressure and pace, and she found herself thrusting into his hand as he whispered encouraging words against her neck.

Nothing could be this good. This intense.

Not letting up at all between her legs, he pinched her nipple, and she groaned again. Then he bit down slightly on her neck and that was it.

In a moment that bordered on surreal, she tumbled over that edge into complete bliss that went on and on. Wave after wave of pleasure washed through her as she shouted who knew what and thrashed her head from side to side against his shoulder. It was an I’ve-waited-for-you-for-ten-years climax, that—had there been such a thing—would have gone in the Mother of All Orgasms Record Book.

When her body finally floated back down to earth, she relaxed completely against him and sighed. Then giggled. And giggled some more until they were both laughing. She loved the rumbly sound of his laughter as she leaned back against his chest.

“That sunscreen should come with a warning label,” she said.

“
You
should come with a warning label.” He brushed some hair from her sweaty face. “Like those blue pill ads on TV… ‘May cause prolonged erections.’”

She snorted, and they both laughed again.

“I have a challenge for you, Gen.”

“Bring it.”

“I challenge you to put this sunscreen on my back without touching anything but my back.”

“That’s a weird challenge.”

“Not really. I want to swim, and if you touch me anywhere else, we’ll be heading into that house and not coming back out for many hours.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It’s bad if you want to complete the next item on that list today. Hands please.”

She extended her hands palm-up. He placed the sunscreen in one hand and a bottle of something in the other.

She lifted the bottle up. “What’s this?”

“Spin the bottle, of course. Drink up.”