Page 60 of Take 2
Time stretches before he responds. “When I get you on that bed, we’re not going anywhere for a long time. We should enjoy the day first. Explore a little.”
“Bold of you to assume how I’d most enjoy my day.” I loop my arm through the strap of my bag. “And what I’d most like to explore. But if you insist …”
The amount of time it takes him to follow me out of the room brings a smile to my face. He’s torturing himself, which is better than any way I could ever torment him, and I’m not entirely sure why. He’s been talking a big game, so what is this hesitation?
Whatever it is for him, formeit’s now a game so fun it might rival the moment when this bursts into wild sex.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Thebeachisaperfectly acceptable place to strip off clothing from over a bathing suit, but the air vibrates between us as I do it. One at a time, the buttons of my dress pop out of their holes, and I stare Preston down the entire time. He pretends to ignore me, but his shoulders and jaw are tense. He found the bayvery interestingwhile we ate breakfast by the water, and now his forced attention on everything that isn’t me would offend if it didn’t make me insanely giddy.
If only I had thought of this sooner. Years of being mean never really seemed to bother him but throwing myself at him does the trick. His agitation with me dials up tick for tick the more flirtatious I am. James was right. We’re going to end up having hate-sex.
Preston lays out towels, and I shrug out of the dress. “Hey.” I toss him a bottle of sunscreen, which he catches mid-turn toward me. “Get my back?” I turn away from him and pull my hair up into a ponytail—with the green scrunchie, of course.
“I know what you’re doing.” His hands land on my shoulders and rub the cream over the sides of my arms.
“I’m not being subtle about it, so I’m not surprised.”
“You’re going to pay for it later, though.” He whispers as his lips graze my ear.
“Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
His hands wrap nearly all the way around my biceps. The left stops, and he rubs the underside of my arm with his thumb. “What’s that?”
“Birth control.”
“In your arm?”
“Yep.”
“Interesting.” He finishes my back, and I turn around to find him shirtless before me.
This time, I’m not tortured by his amazing body. It’s going to be on mine later. There’s no doubt of that in my mind, so I can appreciate it now. I can appreciate ita lotas I massage sunscreen over each strong shoulder and down his spine.
“How long are we going to be able to stay here?” I ask. “I’ll be nice about it when you demand we go back to the hotel. I won’t even make you beg.”
“Is that what you think will happen?”
“I know it will.”
“For as much as you’ve claimed I’m cocky …” He turns back toward me.
I sit down and fiddle with the straps at the back of my neck.
“What are you doing?”
“When in France.” I untie my top and let it flop down under my breasts. His eyes widen slightly before he presses them closed. I undo the lower strap and put my bikini top into my bag.
Preston sits down slowly and keeps his eyes on the water. “I kind of hate you.”
“That’s a shame.” I grab the sunscreen from between us, and he looks at me while I squeeze some into my hand. The struggle on his face as he tries to keep his eyes off my chest when I apply sunscreen is almost pained enough for me to feel guilty.
He twists around and lies on his stomach, and I laugh so hard tears stream from the corners of my eyes.
“You’re being such a jerk.”
“Actually, you’re kind of being a jerk.” I lie on my stomach too, as a peace offering, though there’s still plenty of boob viewing available from his peripheral. “I can appreciate you turning me down when I was drunk, though, to be honest, I wouldn’t have been upset if we did have sex. Now your rejection is just painful.”
