Page 29 of Broken Rules
“So then, you think there’s a little good and a little bad in everyone.”
“I know there is.”
She wanted to ask him why he gave up. Why he stopped striving for good, letting the bad win out. But she stopped herself. What right did she have? She could only imagine the horrors of war, when he had lived them. And clearly, he continued to live it through regret. Instead she asked, “So, do you just rob anyone?”
He shook his head, his expression lightening. “Let’s just say, I deal in high-end exchanges.”
“So rich people stealing stuff from other rich people.”
“Exactly.”
“What were you going to steal from my boss?”
A little smile played at his lips. “It’s better for you, if we just gloss right over that.” He cleared his throat and gestured toward the sliding door behind them. “Do you want to head back in. I think the exhaust is getting to me.”
She smiled. “Are you sure? If we hang out for a while longer, we might see a drug deal or someone take a leak.”
“Tempting—”
“Look,” she said, pointing to a truck that just came into view, pulling a sail boat towards the beach. In between cottages, she glimpsed the gleaming wood and shiny metal. “One day, I will have one of those.”
“What would you call it?”
“Working Girl,” she said and smiled at him.
“Working Girl,” he repeated as if tasting the name. “I like that.”
She looked with longing at the sail as it disappeared from view. “One day,” she murmured again.
He smiled at her. “That’s definitely going on my list.”
She looked at him curiously. “What list?”
“My list of things you love.”
She smiled. “I truly do. I grew up sailing.” Memories of her youth flooded her heart. “My parents used to take me every weekend in the summer. We had a boat mooring in Portsmouth.” She blushed. “I used to race, you know.”
He leaned in. “Did you win any?”
She smiled. “I’ve won my share of regattas.” Her smile faltered like it always did when she remembered those days. During her senior year of high school, she was offered a sailing scholarship...but then her parents died...
She shook her head to chase her thoughts away and stood up. “Now what would you like to do?”
He set his coffee on the balcony floor before he stood. Then he met her gaze, his amber eyes held a hungry glint. He grasped the bottom of the coffee cup she held. “Have you had enough?”
Her heart started racing as a slow smile curved one side of his mouth. “Yes,” she answered.
He took her cup and set it beside his, his burning gaze never leaving hers. “I haven’t,” he rasped. Then he scooped her into his arms. She squealed as he carried her back inside and gently eased her on the bed.
She looked up at him. “I can’t think of a better way to spend my first day off in nearly two weeks, then to make love to you all day.”
His sideways smiled curled her toes. “I am going to kiss every inch of you, again and again.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Make sure you let me have a turn, because I want to taste all you.” She pressed herself against his hard length. “All of you.”
