“I’ll take the couch in the living room,” I informed her, keeping my gaze locked on the ocean. I was afraid if I looked at her, she’d see just how badly I wanted her. The two of us hooking up was a terrible idea for multiple reasons. For one, I wanted my genitalia to remain intact and I valued my life. I didn’t want to face Aiden’s wrath if he found out I’d defiled his sister. Two, I didn’t want to use her to get over Gianna. She deserved better than to be somebody’s rebound. I wasn’t in the best state of mind right now and couldn’t offer any emotional stability. It would be best if I just kept my distance.
“Don’t be silly,” she scolded. “This is your vacation.” I appreciated that she refrained from using the proper term to explain what this was meant to be. “And I just crashed it. You take the bed and I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“No way,” I countered, finally turning to face her. “I’m not letting you sleep on the couch. My mama raised me better than that.”
She straightened her spine, digging her heels in. It took all my strength not to let my eyes settle on her perky breasts and the lacy bralette peeking out from under her flowy tank and stay focused on her face. I could tell she was gearing up to be really fucking stubborn and it was turning me on.
“I’m not letting you sleep on the couch. You paid for all of this. You deserve the bed. Besides, you’re too tall for the couch.”
Shit, she had a point. Still, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t make her sleep on the couch while I luxuriated in the plush, California king-sized bed with its one thousand thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. My mother would kill me.
“None of that matters. I would never make a girl sleep on the couch when there’s a perfectly good bed available.”
“Alright,” she began with a challenging tone, her eyes narrowed on me, “how about this?” Now I was in for it. “We’re both adults. We can share the bed.” My eyes widened in surprise and I had to clamp my mouth shut so it didn’t fall open. Was she really suggesting we sleep together? In the literal sense? “This bed is huge,” she continued, motioning toward it with her hand. “I’ll take one side, you take the other.”
I swallowed back my rebuttal. I couldn’t tell her that having her in my bed, platonic relationship or not, would be far too much temptation for me. I couldn’t tell her that things would most definitely go too far if she was within arm’s reach. Outside of those facts, I didn’t have a valid argument to make. We were both adults. We should be mature enough to share this giant ass bed without making a big deal about it, but I didn’t know if I was strong enough for that.
“Okay,” I found myself saying. I was probably going to regret this. By the time the week was over, my balls would be the color of a smurf’s. “If you can live with that, so can I.”
“Deal,” she announced, reaching out her hand. I took it and tried to ignore how soft and warm her palm felt against mine. Our eyes locked and the satisfied look fell from her face. I held onto her a second longer than necessary and something vulnerable and carnal flashed in her eyes. I knew if I didn’t let go, things would quickly get out of hand, so I released her and stepped back, clearing my throat.
“Do you want to get unpacked?”
“I was actually thinking about getting my bathing suit and hitting the beach.” She stared longingly out the expanse of windows lining the back wall of the bedroom. We still had a few hours of daylight left, so there was plenty of time to enjoy the sand and sun.
“Sounds like a great idea. Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all.”
I hauled both of our suitcases into the room and we dug out our swimwear. She slipped into the bathroom to change and I quickly threw off my clothes and stepped into my board shorts. She came back wearing a flimsy, sheer, white cover-up over her floral bikini. I never understood why girls bothered with those. You could practically see right through them, a fact I wasn’t hating at the moment.
We made our way down to the water and I was pleased to see a couple of beach chairs already set up. The villas on this side of the island were spaced far enough apart to afford us a little privacy, so there wasn’t anybody else near our little section of beach. The sand was powdery soft under our feet and the water was just cool enough to be refreshing. We waded in waist deep and I fought the urge to reach for her. Instead, I headed in the opposite direction and dove under the water to cool my rapidly heating skin. I didn’t know if I was so hot because of the tropical sun, or as the result of Taylor’s close proximity.
After about an hour, we decided to head inside and get ready for dinner. I’d made reservations at one of the resort’s premier restaurants and couldn’t wait to dig into a pound of freshly caught crab legs. We took turns using the shower before Taylor commandeered the bathroom to get ready. She came out forty-five minutes later looking absolutely stunning.
Her light brown hair that faded into a dark honey blond at the tips fell around her shoulders in soft curls. Her makeup was light and natural, a hint of her freckles showing through. Bronzed skin, pink, pouty lips, and long, black lashes rounded out the look. Her simple cotton dress, a light yellow that made her skin tone pop, hugged her waist, accentuating her shapely hips and firm, round breasts. One thin spaghetti strap slipped off her shoulder, and I watched with rapt attention as she slid it back into place. She was exquisite.
I was in so much trouble.
Taylor
I studied my menu, trying to ignore the gorgeous man sitting across the table from me. He was dressed in khaki shorts and an aqua blue polo. It was simple, but he made it look like a million bucks.
Why did this feel like a date? Maybe it was because he slipped and told me how beautiful I looked when I came out of the bathroom. Or because he pulled out my chair, his fingers brushing over my bare shoulder and arm as he stepped around the table to take his own seat. Or perhaps it was the bottle of wine he’d requested that now sat perched in an ice bucket on our table.
Dalton laid his menu down and reached for the bottle of Sangria, pouring us each a glass. I grabbed mine and started sipping on it right away. I was tense. For the past eight years, I hadn’t been alone with this man, and now I’d spent the last thirteen hours with him. His mere presence had me on edge.
Once we ordered our food and the waiter took away our menus, I could no longer hide from him. I’d been using that menu as a shield and now it was gone, leaving me feeling exposed and vulnerable. I’d planned on giving him his space, but he hadn’t let me get far away from him since we arrived. He followed me out onto the beach when I tried to give him his space, and then he insisted we retain his reservation here.
I fiddled with my napkin-wrapped silverware as we waited on our appetizer. I had no idea what to say to him. We had nothing in common besides Aiden, and I really didn’t want to talk about my brother. I prayed he didn’t ask about school. I wasn’t ready to talk about that and doubted I ever would be. Gianna was a subject neither of us wanted to broach. So, I settled for the safe option.
“How’s work?” His eyes lit up a bit and my shoulders sagged with relief.
“Work’s great. We’re looking at some more environmentally friendly alternatives to several of our products. It took me a while to convince the team to invest in the research, but they’re finally coming around,” he beamed. “Consumers are becoming increasingly concerned with the environment and reducing waste. It only made sense to move us in that direction.”