Page 69 of All I Desire

“Sit,” she whispers, and points to the edge of the bed.

I do, and she slides her dress off, revealing her gorgeous body. Her gorgeous, naked body.

“You’re not wearing anything,” I say in a hoarse voice, taking in her smooth skin, those long legs, and the fact that she’s wearing only her black heels. She’s so damned gorgeous, it’s hard to believe she’s real.

“You did all this for me?”

Nodding, she leans in and kisses me, her sugar smell mixing with the freshly laundered linens. Her hands go to my belt, then my fly, then the zipper. I’m naked within about three seconds, and when I try to grab her, she murmurs a no. Then she looks at my throbbing erection like she’s starving.

“Lunchtime,” she says, then laughs.

When she sinks to her knees, my eyes roll back in my head; I’m overcome by the absolute perfection of this woman.

* * *

“Well,I can’t say I’ve ever heard of meditating with dolphins, Mrs. Hastings.”

I try not to glance into Natalia’s eyes because she’s cracking up, and I know I shouldn’t laugh too.

“Ma, Matthew’s not going out on a kayak to commune with dolphins.”

I clear my throat. “It sure does sound interesting. How does that work, exactly?”

Natalia snort-laughs and elbows her father.

“It’s some damn fine kayaking,” Mr. Hastings says in a gruff voice. “But I’ll admit, I didn’t feel any connection to the dolphins.”

“Angus, that’s because you were trying to make dolphin sounds to attract them to us. You should have tried to be quieter.” A coy smile plays on Mrs. Hastings’ lips, and it reminds me of one of Natalia’s expressions. Mr. Hastings winks at Natalia.

We’re at the dinner table and have just polished off a tray of manicotti. Knowing my heritage, Mrs. Hastings pulled out all the stops with an Italian recipe from her father’s side of the family. Honestly, it’s the best meal I’ve eaten in years, and I was stuffed even before she trotted out the cannoli.

That doesn’t stop me from eating a couple of those, though. I’m too busy stuffing my face to contribute much to the conversation, but the Hastings family doesn’t seem to mind. They appear to have a lot to talk about.

Tonight’s dinner discussion has revolved around three things: Mr. Hastings’ colonoscopy, Natalia’s jewelry, and dolphin meditation. No lie, at first I was nervous when I sat down because Natalia’s father is so damned gruff.

But the slightly off-kilter conversation set me at ease. Well, I was a little disarmed about the talk of Mr. Hastings’ polyps, but hey, every family has its quirks, right? It sure beats sitting around with my mother and stepdad, talking about shopping and luxury resorts and who joined which country club in Palm Beach.

The Hastings family is clearly a little different, but they adore each other. I can tell by the way they look at Natalia. And since they treat her so well, I’m a fan. Plus, it’s fun to watch Nat chortle and banter with her parents. It’s a whole other side of her that I haven’t seen.

Now we’re discussing whether dolphins can, indeed, sense if people are meditating nearby. Natalia warned me about this, that her mother is a bit New Agey.

“I swear, the last time I went out, I sat in that kayak and a pod of dolphins circled me. They knew I was sending them loving vibrations,” Mrs. Hastings insists.

“They were probably hoping you’d fall in the water so they could eat you,” Nat says, scooping up the final crumbs of the cannoli by flattening her fork to the plate. “Dolphins are jerks, you know that? I saw a NatGeo special on them. They work together as a team to go in for the kill. You should count your blessings that you got out with your life, Ma.”

“Oh, silly. No. They’re magical creatures. Did you know Leilani’s thinking about doing a photoshoot with them?”

Natalia quirks a brow. “Oh, really? What’s she waiting for? An RSVP?”

I meet the mirthful eyes of Mr. Hastings. He leans back and slaps his stomach. For an old guy, he’s pretty fit, I’ll say that.

“Matthew, I’d like to show you my liquor collection in the study. C’mon.” Mr. Hastings stands.

“Just like you, taking the men out of the room right when we need to clean up,” Natalia chides. She climbs to her feet and kisses her dad’s cheek.

“Leave it. I’ll do the dishes later.”

“Yes, dear, leave it. Nat, I wanted to show you my new shoes. Come.” Mrs. Hastings, who is like a human hummingbird, gets up and steers her daughter out of the dining room.

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