Page 10 of Caffeine & Chaos

“Nadia, I have a lot of money and a very diligent publicist. My people did some poking around.” Ryan said, examining her facial expression for signs of an impending explosion.

“What exactly do you mean poking around? You’ve been investigating me?” She withdrew her hand from his and sat up in the seat, looking ready to bolt any second. Damn that ice was paper thin.

“Of course not,” he lied. Not only had his team done a cursory investigation of her, but he also had Armand follow her to El Palenque, and then again to her home after they shared that passionate moment in the washroom. “It wasn’t hard Nadia, you post pictures on Instagram and Facebook. We just did your run of the mill, totally harmless, internet creeping.” He chuckled and gave her a wide smile.

Nadia leaned back in her seat, her shoulders dropping down, indicating she accepted his explanation. She laughed, “Well I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t spent some time Googling you too.”

“So, do you ever miss it?” Ryan asked, sidestepping the subject of his wealth, and gently nudging the conversation forward. That was a close call. He needed to keep her at ease long enough to earn her trust. He knew he had to proceed with caution. While he fully intended to have Nadia in his bed when the time was right, his first priority was to coax her into spending time with him, one step at a time.

“Not even a little. Miami has ten times the sizzle New York does. And I’m not just talking about the weather.” She gave Ryan a playful wink.

She was gorgeous. The morning light was hitting her hair in just the right way, leaving a golden blonde aura around her face. He couldn’t help but imagine his fist entangled in that hair, her eyes rolling into the back of her head; fluttering open and shut with every thrust...

Nadia continued “New York is all business. People in New York live to work. Miami is vibrant, sexy, and humming with life. Plus, you know, there’s the beaches.”

Picturing Nadia’s full bust, narrow waist, and perky butt in a skimpy bikini was enough to cause his brow to sweat. Her long legs might have qualified her for the description of being athletic, but she was a little too curvaceous for that. Waiting for the right time to bed her was going to be incredibly difficult.

Her.

The light sea spray splashing against Nadia’s face and the breeze whispering through her hair was refreshing. The Pelican Skipper was a forty-five-foot power catamaran that typically served to provide guided tours around Boca Chita Key. It looked as though it could hold more than forty passengers, but they were the only people aboard. Ryan was serving as both guide and helmsman.

“I’m guessing you arranged for us to have this boat all to ourselves?” Nadia called out to Ryan from the front of the boat. She lounged on one of the bench seats, her head tilted back as she basked in the warmth of the early afternoon sun.

“A sizeable donation works wonders when you need to call in a favor,” Ryan remarked from his position at the controls beneath the canopy. Leaning casually against the railing, he gazed out over the water. The blue of his shirt complemented his sun-bronzed skin, creating a striking contrast. It dawned on Nadia that this was the first time she had seen him dressed so casually.

“It must have been very sizeable to convince the National Parks Association to close down the entire Park for the day,” Nadia remarked.

Ryan simply smiled knowingly at her. Nadia had suspected they had the entire park to themselves from the moment they arrived, noticing the suspiciously deserted parking lot outside the visitor’s center.

Knowing Ryan was watching, Nadia stretched, pushing her chest out and extending her legs. She was trying to balance a look of lazy nonchalance with seductive gracefulness, but it was hard for her to feel confident still in her jogging clothes.

When they were far enough into the bay Ryan cut the engines. Nadia opened her eyes to find him walking towards her, carrying a bottle of champagne and a couple of flute glasses. A rush of breath escaped her as he drew near. Never before had she encountered a man who could ignite such fervent desire within her simply by his presence.

“Champagne?” Ryan sat down on the bench beside her and firmly eased the cork out. A soft hiss whispered out of the bottle, indicating it was of good quality.

“It’s a one-ninety-seven Piper Heidstock. It’s very aromatic, and has a wonderful ripened fruit undertone,” he said, extending his arm, glass in hand, towards Nadia.

Nadia examined his outstretched hand; his strong yet graceful fingers were wrapped around the flute. She suppressed a shiver as she remembered how that flawless hand had felt between her thighs.

“Yes, please.” Nadia took the flute from Ryan. Their fingertips brushed briefly, and as he looked up at her, the air between them crackled with electricity. She threw her head back and took a generous gulp.

Ryan laughed, “Did you even taste it?”

She knew the etiquette of wine tasting, but the sexual tension building between them had sucked all the moisture from her mouth. She felt a pang of embarrassment from her boorish action.

“Hey, it’s hot out here and I’m thirsty.” She took a second sip, swirling the liquid around in her mouth this time, detecting a hint of ripe pear behind the lively bursting of bubbles. “It’s wonderful.” She absentmindedly traced her finger around the lip of the glass. She could hardly believe she was sitting here having a normal conversation with him.

Ryan reached over and brushed a stray blonde hair away from her face. “Yes, it is.”

Heat radiated off his chest as he leaned in towards her. The breeze lifted the smell of his natural scent and aftershave to her nostrils, and she breathed him in greedily. Her breasts grew taut beneath her sports bra. A smoldering fire formed deep within her, an ache for him that seemed to radiate from the very core of her being. Even her bones felt ablaze with desire.

Abandoning her inhibitions, Nadia slung her leg over top of his thigh and coiled it around his calf, half straddling him. She took his mouth with hers, tasting his impossibly soft lips, and the lingering flavour of the champagne. As she ran her tongue across the seam of his lips beckoning him to open, he accepted her invitation with voracious intention. So consumed by their urgent embrace, Nadia scarcely noticed his champagne flute slipping from his grasp, shattering as it hit the deck.

Nadia’s vision narrowed into pinpoints, as Ryan gripped her waist demandingly and rolled her hips, rubbing her cleft against his thigh. Her desire for him surged through her veins like a raging inferno, threatening to consume her from within. Every fiber of her being burned with an intensity that felt almost unbearable. As he slipped his hand underneath her shirt, she bit down on his bottom lip, earning a soft groan. He pushed her sports bra up, spilling her breasts excitedly from the garment.

He palmed Nadia’s buttocks and lifted her over to sit squarely on top of him. He pulled his lips from hers and took her pink tipped breast into his mouth. While kneading and massaging her other breast, he worked her nipple with his tongue.

Nadia took deep centering breaths, in a futile effort to slow herself down. Giving in to her indulgence, she allowed her head to roll back, and gave a soft moan as he flicked and fluttered against her. When he took her nipple between his teeth and gently bit down, she bucked against him, sliding down the edge of her wanton desire.

---