Page 41 of The Playboy

“Mmm. Almost as beautiful as you.”

I pressed my lips against hers, waiting for her to pull away, and when she didn’t, I deepened the kiss, parting her mouth for my tongue. And as I tasted, I breathed in that salty beach air that was mixed with lemon—scents that, I was learning, solely belonged to her. My tongue took several more dives before I separated us.

“Am I carrying you or holding your hand while you walk down the ladder … Brooklyn?”

She smiled. “You’re going to say that every chance you get, aren’t you?”

I held out my hand. “No one gets tired of hearing their name moaned. You won’t either. Trust me.”

When she locked her fingers around mine, I took a step back until my foot hit the top rung, and I began the steep descent. As I reached the bottom, I glanced up her dress, seeing the darkness of her panties—a cave I wanted to bury my face in—and I held her waist, guiding her to the floor.

“My car is out back.”

With our fingers locked, she silently followed me through the club and past the exit, the quiet, breezy sounds of Kauai meeting my ears the moment we got outside. We were just rounding the corner of the building when a thought struck me.

“How did you get here?”

“I drove.”

I assumed it was all right to leave her vehicle here overnight. There had to be plenty of people who did that, too drunk to drive home, and they’d retrieve it the next morning.

“I’ll bring you back to your car tomorrow.”

“You’d better.”

I laughed as I walked her over to the SUV, opening the passenger door for her.

As she climbed inside, she groaned, “Of course you drive a Range Rover.”

“It’s on loan. It’s not mine.”

She settled, wrapping the seat belt around her. “Are you going to tell me you normally drive a 2006 Corolla, like me?”

I raised my brows.

“Didn’t think so.”

I closed her door and rushed to the other side, and as soon as I got in and turned on the engine, Lionel Richie began playing through the speakers.

“I’m beginning to think you were born in the wrong era.”

Her voice was different now that we were in the vehicle. It had nowhere to travel to except my ears. It wasn’t whiny or high-pitched. It was smooth, like the silkiness of her hair.

A tone I’d never grow tired of.

“I wouldn’t appreciate the music or even the watch that I’m wearing if I’d been born in a different era.” I pulled out of the lot and onto the road. “That’s not to say I don’t like current hits or Rolexes—I do. I just resonate with things that have a bit more character.” As I glanced at her, she looked so tiny in the large seat. “Are you from Kauai?”

“No.”

She had no accent that I’d picked up on, nothing that would lead me to believe she was from a specific area of the country.

“How long have you lived here?”

She moved her hair from one shoulder to the other. “Long enough to know the best place to get a tan on my days off. Which I’ll be doing tomorrow for about an hour after you take me back to my car.Mmm, I can’t wait.”

Not that I didn’t want to hear more about her in a bathing suit, but, shit, she had a hard time answering questions.

“That’s all you’re going to give me?” I stopped at the light, taking in her face, her features lit from the truck across from us and the beam of red that shone from above. Damn, my dick was already hard. “Fuck me, it’s impossible to get any information out of you.”

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