Infiltrating Your Heart (16 page)

“Ready when you are.”

“Maybe you’d like to grab a bite
before we head out. I’m getting a call from P—um, Gabriel.”

“No, thanks. We can get food
afterward.”

Patrick calls me about ten minutes
after Nadine’s arrival. She and I spent the time watching TV.

“Time to go,” I tell my friend. I
grab the remote and point it at the TV, turning it off. We both walk outside.

“I guess we should take your car,” I
tell Nadine. “You can drop me off here on your way back home.”

“Good idea. By the way, did Gabriel
tell you exactly where on the beach he was meeting you?”

I give Nadine a curious look.

“Of course.”

Patrick told me he and Gabriel would
be at the beach on the west side of the city, facing the Pacific.

When we arrive, Nadine and I carry
our own beach chairs. The sun isn’t too harsh, so we didn’t bring an umbrella.
But we did equip sunscreen. I have ideas of what I can do with it.

“So, who is he?” Nadine asks me.
We’re walking to an empty spot we can take. I look at her, who’s looking around
at the people.

“I don’t see him yet.”

Once we’re set up, Nadine grabs the
sunscreen from her bag.

“You might want to wait,” I tell her.
“Gabriel will most likely bring his brother. He’s not exactly my type, but I
admit he’s good-looking.”

“Good idea!” Nadine says. Then she
hesitates, and opens the sunscreen. “Nah. I’d rather leave that for when we
know each other better. I’m not a blatant flirt.”

I giggle. Nadine takes off her blouse
and shorts. Under that, she has a nice green bikini. I give her a look of
approval. Then I take my clothes off, too.

“Damn, girl. You look hot!”

I give a slight smile. I’m wearing a
dark blue bikini. It’s small enough to titillate without laying it on too
thick.

Pulling my glasses down (Patrick was
right: having Transitions lenses is truly handy), I recline on my seat. If
Gabriel’s here, Patrick will make sure he finds me. Maybe they haven’t got here
yet. I look around, but there’s no sign of either of them.

When Nadine’s finished putting on
sunscreen—with some help from me—I see movement to my right. I turn my head
there, seeing two figures walking in our direction. I recognize them.

“Hey, gorgeous. We just saw you right
now. I was wondering when my brother would introduce us,” Patrick tells me. I
raise my glasses to my forehead, smiling at Gabriel. His expression is
unreadable.

“Mercedes, this is my brother Patrick
Grant-O’Hara. Pat, this is Mercedes.”

“Nice to meet you,” I say to Patrick,
giving him a subtle smirk. His expression tells me he got the message.

I switch my glance back to Gabriel.
He renders me speechless. Gabriel is wearing only dark red shorts. I can’t help
checking out his ripped body. His arms look like they could lift a motorcycle.
His abs…don’t get me started, or I will swoon right here on the spot.

When I look up to Gabriel’s face, I
see that he’s smiling at me. I avert my gaze innocently, trying not to look
self-conscious.

“Who’s your friend?” Patrick asks me.
My face turns red. I’d all but forgotten about her.

“Sorry. This is Nadine Holloway.”

“My pleasure,” she tells Patrick. He
flashes a seductive smile. I’m not sure how I should take it. Is it convenient
for Patrick to flirt with Nadine?

“And you must be Gabriel. Mercedes
has told me a bit about you.”

Gabriel looks at me again. I can tell
he’s wondering what I’ve shared with my best friend.

“Should we head to the water?”
Patrick asks.

“In a moment,” I say. “I need
sunscreen.”

Patrick gives me a knowing smile.
Gabriel takes a deep breath. He watches as I grab the sunscreen bottle.

“Perhaps we should go ahead now,”
Patrick tells his brother. Gabriel looks at him, eyebrows furrowed.

“I want to join you, too,” Nadine
says. She stands up.

“I’ll stay here and wait for
Mercedes,” Gabriel says. Patrick nods at him.

“Okay.”

Patrick walks away. Nadine slides up
next to him. I’m not sure I’m okay with the idea of her getting too cozy with
Patrick. Wasn’t he after Evelyn?

Gabriel walks to the chair Nadine
vacated. He sits down on the side of it, facing me. He’s following the progress
of my hand as it moves up and down my arm, spreading sunscreen.

“You and your brother,” I say to
break the silence. “Are you two close?”

“Yes, somewhat. I say that only
because Patrick isn’t much of a social type.”

Yeah, I gathered that part for myself
already.

“So, he keeps to himself.”

“Pretty much,” Gabriel says. His eyes
are still admiring my body. I like that.

“I’m half surprised Patrick let your
friend go with him. He doesn’t usually warm up to people that fast, unless it’s
with an attractive woman.”

“Nadine is an attractive woman.”

Gabriel takes another breath,
watching as I rub the sunscreen over my chest. He swallows when my fingers
touch the tops of my breasts.

“I…I think you’re an attractive
woman, too. If you don’t mind my saying.”

I can’t help blushing at the
compliment.

“Not at all. You’re pretty handsome,
too.”

Gabriel laughs, looking relieved for
the chance to catch his breath.

“Care to give me a hand?” I ask,
holding out the sunscreen to Gabriel. He looks at it, and then at my body, then
at my eyes. His expression is dubious.

“I can’t reach my back,” I say,
turning on my belly. I reach around and undo my bikini top. I’m struggling not
to giggle. Gabriel’s red-faced with nerves.

“Sure,” he rasps. His hand grabs the
bottle, squeezing out some cream. He rubs it between his hands and then moves
to my back. When his skin touches mine, I feel as if a spark had traveled
between us. Gabriel’s fingers gently move up and down my shoulders.

“That
feels nice,” I say. I can feel Gabriel’s tension on his fingers. He struggles
to keep his touch soft. His hands caress down the side of my torso. I won’t
lie, I was about to just make Gabriel watch me, but I wanted to feel his touch.
With Nadine gone, there wasn’t anyone else I would let put sunscreen on me.

~*~
Gabriel

When Mercedes asked me to put
sunscreen on her, I all but passed out. I’ve only wondered what her skin feels
like. It looks so soft, so pleasant. I’m feeling like a freaking teenager right
now.

After rubbing the sunscreen in my
hands, I reach out and touch Mercedes’s back. Her skin feels amazingly soft,
better than I imagined. It’s this beautiful cream shade, silky as milk. I’m
itching to run my lips through every inch of Mercedes’s body.

“That feels nice,” Mercedes whispers
when my hands caress the side of her body. I swallow, pushing aside thoughts
that have no place here. One thing is certain: this woman is intoxicating to
me.

I so want to touch her sideboob,
pretending to do it by accident. But I’m not sure how Mercedes will take that.
I’m afraid she’ll think it’s a breach of trust. So I stick only to areas that
won’t get me in trouble.

“Don’t forget to go lower,” Mercedes
says when she senses that I think I’ve finished. Ha! Far from it.

“Lower?”

“Come on, I don’t want to go back
home with a burnt ass.”

Tensing up, I rub a little more
sunscreen in my hands. Then I tentatively reach down. My hands touch her butt
cheeks. I try hard not to let my nerves show, even if she can’t see me. There
are a lot of people on the beach, but I’m glad no one’s attention is on us.

I can’t believe I’m touching
Mercedes’s buttocks. God forbid Evelyn run into us now.

The thought of my fiancée makes me
stop. I sigh. Mercedes looks at me.

“That’s enough,” she says, turning
back around. She redoes the bikini strap behind her back. “Let’s join the
others before they come looking for us.”

I chuckle, standing up with Mercedes.
She’s a rather tall woman, four inches shy of six feet. Her dark brown waves
fall down a little past her shoulders. I don’t know why, but for some reason
Mercedes reminds me of Katie Holmes in her
Batman Begins
days.

As I stand there, something’s
niggling in my thoughts. Then I remember something.

“Mercedes, about our date,” I begin.
“I’m sorry I haven’t reminded you. You must think I’m rude.”

Mercedes waves her hand, dismissing
it.

“Don’t worry. I’ve been busy, too.”

“Are you still up to it?”

“Yeah. I’ll check when I have free
time and I’ll let you know, okay?”

I nod.

Mercedes and I walk to the water. We
see Patrick and Nadine having fun there. They’ve gotten along quite fast.

“You took your time,” Nadine remarks.
I turn and see Mercedes shooting her an amused, scolding look.

“Don’t get me started on you two,”
she replies. Patrick chuckles.

“Your friend is…entertaining,” he
tells Mercedes.

“I would know all about that.”

“Ha,” Nadine says.

The four of us enjoy the water for I
don’t know how much time. Mercedes looks stunning. I think being in the water
(with a bikini or not) suits her. I can’t peel my eyes away from her body. Is
there a better combo than women and water?

When Mercedes walks, I definitely
can’t look away. That little bikini of hers can barely contain her. I try hard
not to stare at any delectable part of her body for too long. She can’t think
I’m creepy.

“Listen, my brother and I want to
race on Jet Skis,” Patrick tells us. I was just covering myself with my arms as
Mercedes flings water at me. “Are you all game?”

“Yep,” Mercedes tells him. “That
sounds fun.”

“You ever been in a Jet Ski?” I ask
her.

“I was born in this city. We don’t
get to this age without learning swimming and water sports.”

Fair enough.

“Only problem is, we’ve only got two
machines,” Patrick says. “Gabriel would have brought his spare one, but we
didn’t expect company.”

“I think I’ll keep falling into the
water,” Nadine says. “So don’t count on me.”

“Nadine and I went swimming first.
Maybe you and Mercedes should have a go at the Jet Skis first, brother?”

I shoot Patrick a curious look. Is
the bastard playing Cupid on me? He looks at me innocently. If he is up to
something, he’s hiding it well.

“I like the sound of that,” Mercedes replies.
Her voice and eager look make me cave in.

“Okay. Let’s go get those machines.”

Nadine and Patrick recline on the
seats he and I brought. After I drag both of the Jet Skis to a spot on the
beach where there are fewer people, I tell Mercedes how to use hers.

“I can handle this,” she says,
mounting the thing.

“Sorry. I forgot you could use them.”

Once the engines are running, I
wonder if I should make Mercedes a bet. We’re racing, after all.

“Round one. First to get to the Seal
Rocks gets to keep their clothes on.”

Mercedes does a double-take.

“Excuse me?”

I stifle a laugh.

“Just kidding. First to get there
earns the satisfaction of winning.”

Mercedes gives me a yeah-right look.
I hold out three fingers, starting the countdown. Upon getting to zero, I dash
forward. To my left, I see Mercedes doing the same. The distance to the Seal
Rocks from our starting point is a little over a mile. I look back, but can no
longer pick out Patrick or Nadine among the now-small crowd.

I urge my Jet Ski on a little faster.
Smiling, I look toward Mercedes. She looks at ease, but it’s obvious she’s not
as skilled as I am. She’s far too concentrated to even glance at me.

Even wearing swimming goggles and a
life vest, Mercedes looks stunning. I like the way her arm muscles look
handling the wheel. She’s beautiful.

I have to look forward again to avoid
crashing into an obstacle. Thankfully, there are none in the way. And we are
far enough into the sea that there aren’t any swimmers in our way.

With a “whoop!” of victory, I’m the
first to reach the Seal Rocks. I get to the center of the largest rock
formation and then turn the Jet Ski around. Just as I do that, I see Mercedes
go past me and repeat the motion. Though she didn’t fall into the water, she’s
damp.

“I win, so I get a prize,” I joke.

“As you wish,” Mercedes says. She
pulls off her goggles and her life vest. My eyebrows furrow.

“What are you doing?”

Mercedes jumps into the water. She
then swims the short distance to my Jet Ski, climbing up on it.