Page 29 of Passions & Peonies

“You mean this?” I do it again.

He pulls the collar of my suit to the side. He kisses and teases me with his tongue from behind my ear all the way down to the top of my breast. “Mmm, I like the way you taste with a dusting of salt on your skin.”

I close my eyes and arch my neck to give him more access. He repeats the same thing on the other side. I’m so glad my sunburn is mostly on my back. I feel him hard against me, and I ache to rub more closely against him.

“I wish I could feel your body against mine. Skin to skin. No barriers,” he purrs while he grazes on my chest. “Do you feel my heart pounding? I’m surprised it’s not creating waves around us.”

I run my fingers through his hair and stare into his hungry eyes. “What’s happening between us? My heart and body aches for you. I almost can’t control myself.” I lick my lips. “Kiss me.”

He brushes my lips gently with his. Our kiss is soft at first, savoring the moment. But a moan escapes from my throat, and we become more hurried and rough. He squeezes me against him like he fears I’ll escape. I can hardly breathe, but I don’t care. All I can think about is what it’d feel like to be naked against his delicious body.

Honk, honk!

Our mouths separate swiftly but not our bodies. His head drops to the curve of my neck while he pants and catches his breath. “That’s our boat. It’s time to go,” he murmurs.

“I don’t want to go.” I nip his shoulder. “But I guess it’s good timing before things got really out of hand. Not that I would’ve complained.”

He unwraps my legs from his waist. “You drive me completely insane. Go ahead of me. I need a few minutes for a certain body part to calm down. You being next to me or even in sight won’t let that happen.”

“Didn’t you know that’s my goal? To drive you nuts.” I giggle and swim backward. “You’ll be begging me to leave on Saturday.”

“Never. Now get out of here,” he says, clenching his jaw.

I’m the happiest girl in the world… at least until Saturday.

Chapter 13

Will

“Thanks for taking this incredible day away from your duties,” Lacey says. Everyone else has left the marina. Even Sky went back to the room, but Lacey stayed to help clean up and secure the boat.

“You’re welcome. Thanks for your help just now. You’re a natural. I’d love to see you again tonight, but I have to work. We’re so backed up, and I have to prepare for a big meeting on Thursday afternoon. And some new boats are being delivered tomorrow… or maybe it’s Wednesday?” I rub my eyebrows. “I can’t keep the days straight.”

“Then I’ll stop taking up so much of your time. I’ll head back to my room so you can work. I can’t wait to get this suit off and shower.”

I wrap my arm around her shoulder and hug her to my side. “I think you take pleasure in driving me batty. How am I supposed to work when I have an image of you naked in the shower?” I kiss her temple.

“Oops. Sorry.” She giggles. It’s the sweetest sound to my ears, but I prefer the moaning.

“No matter what, I’ll find time. I’m not done with you yet.”

“I hope not. You still need to test me on the Hamptons. Now go to work. Say goodbye to Josh for me.” She waves and jogs off.

I cover my chest with my hand. It aches just watching her leave. What will happen on Saturday?Love sucks, remember?

I don’t know how long I stand there, but Josh brings me back to the present. “Today better have been worth being away from the office. We have a ton of shit to do. We’ll be here late, so I hope you didn’t make plans.”

I glance at him like he’s an alien. “Who am I talking to? Have we switched bodies? I’m usually the one saying that to you.”

“Well, Lacey’s got your head so far up in the clouds, you can’t see straight. Someone has to control things around here.” He pokes fun.

We walk into the office and head to the back. I rub my hands over my face when I see the never-ending mess on my desk. It’s true, my head is in the clouds… or maybe more like up my ass. We have so much work from when we were gone, and it has continued to pile up since we got back. I drop into my chair.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Josh comments.

“Huh? What am I doing?”

“I saw how you were with Lacey today. She’s not just a week’s worth of fun to you. She’s more like a lifetime’s worth.”

---