The Do Over (32 page)

"So, this is where you come to escape?" I was hanging on his every word. I felt like I was getting a glimpse into his heart, learning about a part of him I had yet to discover.

"Sure." He chuckled. "Plus the fishing's awesome, and this beach has the greatest waves. The best part is that I don't have to deal with dickwads. It's fucking paradise."

"You were bullshitting me?" I stood there with my hands on hips as my lips pursed.

"Not entirely. But, come on, when do I use words like balance and serenity in a sentence?"

I sucker-girl-punched him, not that it made an impact, considering his abs were solid.

"Baby, don't be mad at me. It's all true. I come here to decompress. The last thing I need to do when I have to get away is deal with assholes." He dragged me into him as he tucked my hair behind my ears. His eyes sparkled as they trained on mine. "And I brought you here because I want to share everything I love with you."

My heart fluttered, and my body quivered at his words. His left hand came down and caressed my face as his thumb gently swept over my lower lip. I nipped at it softly. His eyes darkened with desire. When his hands cupped my face, I wrapped my arms around him as he pulled me into a deep kiss.

"You know, I have a few ideas on how I could help you decompress," I said, teasing his lip with my tongue.

He groaned into my mouth. His hands gingerly slid down my body. His thumbs swept softly over my breasts, pebbling my nipples. A shiver coursed through me, and desire pooled between my legs as a whimper escaped from my mouth.

"I always knew you were a smart and resourceful woman," he said. While catching his breath, he rested his forehead against mine.

"You haven't seen anything yet." I couldn't get enough of him.

At that moment, I was struggling to remember what it was that I needed to talk to him about because nothing else was important. He was all that mattered.

He set up the table with a tablecloth and candles. I was impressed. Dinner was simple with a variety of cheeses, breads, some fruits, and wine.
He did this all for me.
And I would bet any amount of money that he'd eaten before he'd picked me up.

He poured the wine, and then with his eyes focused on mine, we raised our glasses. "To us. I love you more than you'll ever know."

We had an enchanted evening. The stars shone brightly against the backdrop of the black sky. The silvered moon cast its reflection against the darkened ocean. The tikis and candles glowed, radiating soft amber light.

"You never cease to amaze me," I said before sipping my wine. "You're a romantic."

He reached across the table for my hand. "If being romantic is wanting to make your dreams come true, then I suppose I am."

My head was foggy and intoxicated from Liam, not from the glass of wine I was drinking. I tilted my head to the side and glanced away, trying to remember something I had to talk to him about. Whatever it was it didn't seem to matter anymore.

While Liam started packing up the table and chairs, I stood, staring out over the vast ocean, as the warm water rippled over my feet. He had insisted on doing everything himself, so I'd indulged him. Each time I looked over my shoulder, I caught him stealing glances at me. I stepped farther into the water, feeling it lap against my ankles.

Suddenly, I had a crazy idea. I glanced over my shoulder once more to see Liam looking over at me. When our eyes locked, I smiled, wrinkling my nose. He shook his head in amusement before he continued with his tasks. I threw caution to the wind and my clothes to the sand as I inched my way into the cove. When I was waist deep, I kicked and splashed around me.

"Hey, Lieutenant."

He looked up, and his jaw fell. He started stripping off his clothes as he made his way to the shore. "Baby, you've got to be the hottest, most fucking incredible woman on the planet."

"I have to tell you something, and I think I'll chicken out if I'm too close to you."

"This is your brilliant plan to keep me away? You naked in the water? Talk fast." He stood on the beach, pulling off his boxer briefs.

I laughed. I quickly summoned up my courage since the sight of him naked had me flustered. "Your key freaked me out."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm coming in." He waded over to me. "I'm sorry for freaking you out." He trailed kisses along my neck. "Tell me what's wrong," he whispered.

I leaned my head back, elongating my neck. When his stubble tickled behind my ear, I quivered at the sensation. "When you do this, I forget what I'm going to say."

As he stopped, I pouted.

"The key. Talk to me."

"What does it mean?" I wanted him to give me a quick explanation because my resolve to stay focused was coming to an abrupt end.

He leaned in and grazed my lips. "It's a key. It was there. I wanted you to sleep in."

"Come on, it has to mean more than that if you wanted me to keep it."

"Honestly, it was a spontaneous decision. It felt right. If I think about it…" He looked up and then back at me. "If it
has
to mean something, it means that I trust you."

I nodded. "I'll accept that."

As I wrapped myself around him, his hand traveled up my leg. I ran my fingers through his hair.

"Thank you for this wonderful evening…and thank you for loving me and everything that entails."

We frolicked in the water. Between splashing and laughing, we kissed and teased each other. I'd never felt so alive.

Liam carried me out of the water and then wrapped us in the tablecloth. Standing this close to him in our makeshift towel, I craved him. My longing was so intense that I could barely stand it.

"Liam, I need you to make love to me now," I murmured. My hands traced up and down his back as I rubbed myself up against him.

He kissed my forehead, and our breathing became labored.

"My wallet…is…in…the boat."

I threw on his shirt while he pulled on his boxers. The rest of our clothes were left in a jumbled heap. The short walk to the boat was eternal. I decided that I was getting on the pill as soon as possible.

After we were on the boat, he found his wallet and pulled out the coveted condom. I took it from his hands and ripped open the wrapper. His eyes were hooded as he moaned when I slipped the condom over him. I led him to the front of the boat and sat him back on the seat.

As I unbuttoned my shirt, his hands reached for my breasts. I climbed on top of him and slowly lowered myself. I stretched as he filled me. My head fell back, and I moaned in pleasure.

The boat rocked to our rhythm as we made love.

I felt the pressure mounting.

"Baby, I want to watch you."

When the convulsions started rippling through me, I gripped his shoulders, digging my nails into him. "Liam…oh…yes…yes…ahhh…love you so much," I panted in complete and total ecstasy.

He lowered me down and then began to thrust fast and hard. The pressure began building again, and then we found pleasure together.

Burying his head in my neck, he traced kisses along the shell of my ear. "I love you, baby."

"I love you, too."

Under the starlit night, we navigated back to port. My heart overflowed with love for him. I had something else to talk to him about, but I honestly couldn't remember what it was.

"Good morning, Walter," I greeted with a wave as I walked into the lobby of Madison's condo at six in the fucking morning. "And happy Thanksgiving." I smiled. It wasn't his fault that Madison was a lunatic.

Walter was a good family man. I guessed he was in his mid-forties. When Madison had decided that waiting for her in my car was no longer acceptable, I had the pleasure of getting to know him. It was part of her wax-on/wax-off bullshit. I was over trying to figure her out. It was wasted energy. I needed to focus on learning these fucking stupid lessons, so I could pass to the next level. Whoever said it got easier was a motherfucking liar.

"Good morning and happy Thanksgiving to you, Mr. Marin. Ms. Stuart will be down any moment now."

Walter gave me hope that the service in this town hadn't gone to shit. I couldn't think of a morning when he wasn't here, and each time I saw him, he was polite. I had to give it to him. He had good manners.
Madison should hire him and fire that prick Bruce.
I didn't know if Walter could mix a drink, but I had no reservations that he could bring me a fucking bottle of water.

I leaned up against the granite counter, tapping my fingers, while I waited for Madison. Making me wait was her favorite part of training. At this point, I decided I would let her think she had me under some mind-fuck trance. It was bullshit.

"You know how women are, Walter. Madison insists I be here on time, but she makes me wait." I shook my head.

As Walter snickered, the elevator doors opened. Dressed in a sports bra and running shorts, Madison walked out like she was the fucking Queen of England.

She glanced over at Walter and shot him a sweet smile. "Good morning, Walter. Happy Thanksgiving."

Then, she shot me a seething glare. This was an act I saw through. She loved the attention. I had to admit that her attitude was fun when it wasn't irritating as hell. This morning, she was being a pain in the ass.

Walter said, "Same to you, Ms. Stuart. Let me get the door for you." He rushed over and opened the door for us.

She turned to look at me. "Rick, are you taking notes?"

When she walked outside, I raced around her to open the car door for her.

She smiled, impressed. "You're such a quick learner."

I passed her fucking test. As I strutted around the car to my side, I couldn't help but feel a huge sense of accomplishment. She gave me a fucking compliment.

I settled into the driver's seat. When I looked over at her before turning on the car, she glanced in my direction.

Rubbing my chin, I decided Madison needed to be schooled in the art of treating a man with respect. "You're fucking enjoying this a little too much. And how about a 'good morning, Rick, happy Thanksgiving' to me? Where are
your
manners?"

"Rick, you're so damn cute when you get irritated. You do this little thing with your mouth that's adorable." She rolled her eyes. "I said good morning when I woke your sorry ass up. Did you forget that? You're so high maintenance. I'm going to have to cure you of that." She crossed her arms and pursed her lips.

At first, I'd thought that Madison wanted to fuck me. If it wasn't for my plan to win Daniela back, I might have. Madison had a sweet ass, and she knew how to move it. I tried not to think about her ass too much, but it was hard to ignore when she brushed it up against me. Of course, she did that accidentally—yeah right. Now, I wasn't sure what she wanted.

"Madison, for your information, I have a dick, and I like it. Why the hell are you trying to fucking cut it off?"

"I'm not doing anything of the sort. I'm working very hard on getting your dick back in commission. It's a shame that it's on the sidelines. Tell me, has anything that I've done
not
worked for you? Before you know it, that dick of yours will be fucking like there's no tomorrow." She caressed my face with her hand. "Team Rick all the way."

She had a point. All was well in the universe. For a minute there, I thought she hated men and was doing a figurative Lorena Bobbitt.

"It's driving you crazy, isn't it?" I asked.

"What is?" She lowered the visor to straighten her ponytail in the mirror.

The ponytail actually looked nice on her. I preferred women to wear their hair down, but Madison was able to pull off the look.

"You're dying to fuck me, aren't you?" I raised my eyebrow and shot her my dimpled smile.

She always denied it, but I knew the truth. She'd wanted to fuck me since the day she'd first laid eyes on me. I should've let it go, but I didn't.

I turned on the car and then pulled out of the parking lot.

"You're an asshole. Do you
really
think every woman wants to fuck you?"

"Without a doubt. Just like every man falls under your spell and wants to taste your pussy."

"I won't argue with that last part. However, if I wanted to fuck you, I would have. Obviously, I don't. Now, do you mind not being such an arrogant motherfucker? It's a turn-off."