The Goodbye Guy (The Men of Lakeside)

by Natasha Moore

  “Drop ’em,” she said, unable to stop the corner of her mouth from lifting.

  He hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his trunks, but before he began to lower them he glanced at her swimsuit bottoms. “You drop ’em, too.”

  So she hooked her thumbs into the sides of the bottoms and started the countdown. “Three. Two. One.”

  Laughing, they both shoved down and kicked aside, faced each other again. And that quickly, the laughter dissolved and Rachel sucked in a shaky breath. They fell onto the mattress and then they were skin to skin, lips to lips, breath to breath. Her body was awash with shivers of desire.

  His lips found her breasts and one hand slid down to cup her between her legs. She moaned in delight. His mouth nibbled but his hand didn’t move. The heel of his hand put pressure on her clit, his fingers resting over her slick flesh. His teeth nipped at her breast, sending shockwaves between her thighs.

  He bit lightly on her nipple. “Do you like that?”

  “Yes. God, yes.” She was so hot and itchy for more. She squirmed. “Please, Beckett.”

  She moaned and rocked her hips, but his hand didn’t move. He chuckled soft and low, and it made her even hotter. He pressed down harder on her mound, as if to keep her in place. “This? Do you like this?”

  She arched and closed her eyes. “Yes. Yes, I love it. But I need more.”

  “So eager.” He brushed his mouth over hers but didn’t remove his hand. “Put your arms above your head.”

  Her eyes flew open. Did she want to follow sex commands? She swept her tongue along her lips and then she raised her arms, so that her hands rested on the pillow above her head. Apparently, she did.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured. “I love your eyes but I want you to close them right now.”

  She blinked. “Okay, but there better be a big payoff coming soon.”

  He smiled, the sexy devil.

  Rachel closed her eyes. She realized she trusted Beckett with her body, with her emotions. He began to trace a finger along her skin, along her jaw, down her neck, across her collarbone, so lightly it almost tickled. But his other hand still held her hips in place, still built the anticipation of the stimulation she craved.

  When his finger reached her breast and began to circle the nipple, his other hand came alive. The fingers of that hand began to slip through her slick flesh, teasing the sensitive lips, and then one long finger slid deep into her core. She cried out at the penetration.

  He froze. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded, keeping her eyes closed. “It’s just been a long time.”

  “Hmm.” He continued to tease her with his fingers. His thumb, at least she thought it was his thumb, began to circle her clit, lightly, almost too lightly. She lifted her hips with a frantic beg for more. Harder. Deeper. But she didn’t need much more.

  He coaxed her quickly to the breaking point, and she barely recognized her voice when she chanted his name as those sensations exploded in a cliché of fireworks. She opened her eyes and reached for him.

  “Here. Come here,” she murmured.

  His eyes were dark, smoky. He dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “One more thing first.”

  Oh man. “Hurry.” She needed him around her, inside her. The orgasm was nice, more than nice, but she needed more. She needed him now.

  Beckett rummaged through a bag on the floor, found a condom packet, and ripped it open. Thank goodness, he’d the presence of mind to take care of their protection. She held out her hand. “May I?”

  He handed her the condom and stretched out beside her. She took him in her hands first because she couldn’t wait any longer to touch him. So warm. So soft. So hard. He was all of that and more, because there was power there, too. Power and strength that was more than sexual. She saw it in him every day. Power, strength, conviction, loyalty.

  And all these years she’d thought he was nothing but a jerk.

  She rolled the condom on slowly, her eyes on Beckett’s face. His head was thrown back, his eyes closed, his mouth twisted in what could be mistaken as a grimace, but she knew it was with an intense enjoyment.

  He was sprawled across the mattress. She knelt beside him and before she could wonder if it was the best thing to do when having sex with her former nemesis, she straddled him and grasped his erection. He watched her silently as she lowered herself onto him. He grabbed her hips and helped steady her. They both moaned when he was buried inside her.

  “Ride me, cowgirl?”

  Rachel burst out with a frantic giggle. The boat rocked just enough to keep her slightly off-balance, and the smile on Beckett’s face did the same. Her thighs soon were burning and he must have sensed it, because he flipped them both over, and then she was on her back and he was in the saddle.

  At first, his thrusts were long and slow, but soon he picked up the pace. She wrapped her legs around his hips and followed his rhythm. It wasn’t long before he made that not-quite-a-grimace expression again and shouted out a string of curses that somehow made her laugh.

  …

  Rachel had laughed during sex. More than once. Man, he could easily fall in love with her. It was crazy. It was not good.

  As they lay together with her draped over him, all he could feel was the rightness of them together. But it wasn’t right, it could never be right. She was going to leave him. This time he even knew ahead of time, so how could his heart betray him that way?

  “Is that a bunny in the crook of your arm?” Rachel traced it with her finger and then kissed it, as she’d done with every tattoo she’d asked him about tonight.

  “The Velveteen Rabbit. Holly begged me to get that one.” At Rachel’s blank look, he asked, “Didn’t you ever read it?”

  She pursed her lips. “I don’t remember. I don’t think so.”

  “Holly loved that story. The vintage illustration is cool.” He caught her eye and grinned. “Yes, she did also want me to get tulips and butterflies. Yes, I did say no to that request.”

  She laughed again. Kissed the bunny again. There went that traitorous heart again. “We should probably be getting back.”

  “In a minute.” She snuggled up against him and rested her head on his shoulder. “I think floating here on the water could put me to sleep.”

  Beck wrapped his arm around her and tugged her tight against him. “That’s why we should get back.”

  “I don’t want to.” Yes, that was a whine, and Beck could relate. “Not yet.”

  “Up to you. Do you want me to set the alarm on my phone just in case?”

  “No. Waking up to an alarm means it’s a work day.”

  “Tomorrow is a work day. I can set my alarm.”

  “I’ll do it,” she murmured. “In a minute.” She yawned. “Hopefully Stu won’t get here too early.”

  “I have to be at work in the morning, too, you know.”

  “Are you salvaging tomorrow?”

  “Depends on if I’m needed.”

  She snuggled up closer as if to say she needed him. But that was probably wishful thinking. No, it was stupid thinking. But the more Beck thought about it, the more he held her and inhaled her soft scent, listened to her even breathing, the more he knew that he wasn’t ready to walk away from her.

  So they had only a few days, maybe a week or two. He’d enjoy spending time with her as long as he could. And, since he knew she was leaving, he would be ready this time.

  He’d be able to smile when she said goodbye.

  …

  The phone woke Beck from a sound sleep, an old-fashioned telephone ringtone that told him it was Noah calling. Beck was wrapped around a naked Rachel, and he inhaled her soft musky scent, blocking out the ringing. One of his hands cupped her breast, her shapely ass pressed into his morning hard-on, and he wasn’t in any hurry to move. Let Noah leave a message. The phone stopped r
inging, then started again.

  Rachel groaned and then her eyes flew open. “What time is it?”

  Beck didn’t answer, but too late flashed in his mind. The sun shone through the narrow window above the berth. He grabbed for his phone. “What?”

  “Where the hell are you?” Noah demanded. “Rachel’s crew is here with their cameras ready.”

  “Shit.”

  Rachel scrambled up the stairs. She’d left her bag up there. “I can’t find my phone,” she called out. “What time is it?”

  “Is that Rachel Bradford? What the hell, Beck?” Noah lowered his voice. “Are you actually on your boat with her? Todd got here a few minutes ago and announced to everyone that he saw your Jeep parked in the marina parking lot next to Rachel’s rental. Stuart Wilson’s eyes lit up and his crew took off. I think they’re on their way to the marina.”

  “We fell asleep.”

  “I don’t want to hear it. Just…fuck.”

  “Noah?” Beck tossed his phone onto the mattress and looked up at Rachel. “He hung up.” How could Noah make him feel like the kid brother, the screw-up, in only a few words?

  “Don’t tell me. The crew’s here already?”

  Beck grabbed his trunks off the floor. “And they’ll probably be waiting to ambush us at the marina.”

  “Shit.” Rachel looked up from tugging her shorts over her candy-cane striped swimsuit bottoms. She visibly shook herself off. “Okay. Okay. We can make this work. I’m sure Stu’s in his glory. He’ll be happy.”

  “How do you want to play this?” he asked. “I’ll go along with whatever you want to do.”

  But she wasn’t listening to him. She was muttering and cursing under her breath as she dug through her bag. “I’ve never forgotten to set my alarm before.”

  He couldn’t help but grin. “Are you saying you were distracted?” He reached for her but she sidestepped his grasp.

  She pulled out a hair brush. “Yes, dammit, and that’s why we can never do this again.”

  He didn’t like the sound of that. As far as he was concerned, they were just getting started. “So, no more boat rides?”

  She stopped running her brush through her hair. “No more mind-blowing sex.”

  “I blew your mind?”

  “Don’t be cocky. I can’t lose my focus now.” She tossed the brush in her bag with more force than was necessary. “You were right the other day. This episode is my one and only chance to save my show. I can’t screw things up.”

  His stomach clenched. “So is this why you cozied up to me? Your boss wants us to have a fling, right? It’ll give more excitement to your show if you have a romance with me? Is that why we had sex?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I just told you I didn’t want to have a romance with you. I don’t want to have sex with you again. I want to do my work and get out of here.”

  He had to turn this around or he’d lose her before he ever had her. “Truth or Dare?”

  Her eyes grew large. “Now? Are you kidding me?”

  “Truth or Dare?”

  He folded his arms and waited her out until she finally said, “Dare.”

  Beck caught her defiant gaze. “I dare you to plant a big, fat kiss on me in front of the cameras when we get off the boat.”

  Rachel stared at him. “Seriously?”

  “Yep. Give it to me with enthusiasm. Over the top, so everyone can tell we’re putting it on.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “You’re crazy.”

  “Come on. It’ll work. Think about it. It’ll make a great clip for the show and then we can laugh it off. Just a joke.”

  “I don’t know. Stu doesn’t have much of a sense of humor.” She threw a gauzy cover-up over her head. Her short shorts barely peeked out beneath the hem. “I should have known better than to choose Dare.” She studied him. “Okay. But no more sex.”

  He sidled up to her. “Are you sure? That was pretty amazing sex.”

  She sighed but let him put his arms around her waist and tug her close. “I know, but I can’t afford to get distracted. And neither can you. We both have important goals to reach. If we let ourselves lose our focus, we could lose everything.”

  …

  Sure enough, the whole crew was at the marina when they tied up at the dock. When Beckett helped Rachel climb out of the Happy Holly, Glen Cho, the camera operator, started to approach. Stu called him back. Evidently, he wanted to get their full walk of shame down the dock. Beckett was right, they had to play this in a fun-loving way. No way was this going to be a walk of shame.

  No guilt. No embarrassment.

  Rachel bumped shoulders with Beckett and said, “That was fun, wasn’t it?”

  His smile looked forced. “A ball.”

  She threaded her arm through Beckett’s and laughed as they sauntered down the dock, putting on a show for the camera as promised. This was her job. When they reached the end of the dock, Rachel dropped her bag, threw her arms around Beckett’s neck, and laid one on him.

  He chuckled, all the while still kissing her. Then he surprised her by lifting her off her feet. But as their over-the-top kiss continued, something changed. Their lips parted and feelings started to get in the way—tickles in her stomach, shivers along her skin, warmth in her chest.

  Rachel pulled back before the kiss got out of hand. She didn’t need any feelings for Beckett Colburn. She flashed him a wide smile, then turned to wink at the camera. “Hi, guys. Sorry we’re late.”

  “We’ve been waiting quite a while for you,” Stu said dryly. No sense of humor.

  “Sorry. We lost track of time.” She gestured to the water behind her. “Have you gotten good footage of Lake Margaret? Isn’t she beautiful? I told Beckett I missed the lake, and he was nice enough to offer to take me out for a ride in the Happy Holly.”

  “Holly?” Stu’s tone of voice and raised brow hinted he was digging for some salacious secret. Drama.

  “Haven’t you done your homework? Holly is Beckett’s daughter.”

  Beckett stepped forward and held out his hand. “I’m Beckett Colburn. I’ve heard all about you from Rachel. Pleased to finally meet you.”

  Stu shook Beckett’s hand. “Stuart Wilson. I’m looking forward to seeing this project of yours.” He glanced at Rachel. “Shall we get started?”

  “I desperately need some coffee.”

  “I’m sending Mia to bring back coffee and donuts for the crew.”

  “Let’s go out for breakfast before we get started. Let me call Lisa and see if they have room for us.”

  Stu narrowed his eyes. “Rachel, what are you up to?”

  “The Coffee Mug was one of my first professional design projects after I got my degree. Glen can get some footage of the place and you can talk to the owners. Human interest, back to my roots stuff, right? Besides, their coffee and muffins are to die for.” Rachel made a quick call to the café and Lisa said they’d have enough room for the television crew. Her squeal of excitement probably reached the center of Lake Margaret.

  “Okay. One hour.” She gave them the address and the crew began to disperse.

  Mia hung back. The loyal assistant. “How can I help?”

  “You could have given me a heads-up you were going to surprise us this morning.”

  “I didn’t know you two were going to spend the night together on a cozy little boat.”

  “It wasn’t exactly planned.” She looked down at her cover-up, bare legs, and flip-flops. She didn’t want to think what her hair looked like. She glanced over to Beckett. How could he look so sexy in his mussed hair and swim trunks, and the only word Rachel could think of for herself was bedraggled? “We need to change first. I won’t be able to shower and dry my hair at the inn and get to The Coffee Mug in time.”

  “Come over to my place. It’s a lot closer.”

 
; Unfortunately she’d packed only the shorts, thinking she would be back at the inn that morning. “Hey, Mia. Could you run over to The Lilac Inn and grab my navy outfit and the yellow jacket for me? You know the one.” She dug the room key and car key out of her bag and handed them to her.

  “Sure thing. Where will you be?”

  Rachel gave her Beckett’s address. After Mia took off, Rachel turned to him. “Ready for the craziness to begin?”

  “Begin?” He tugged her close and kissed her hot and hard. “I think it’s already started.”

  Chapter Ten

  The Rachel Touch crew was smaller than Beck expected. There was the outgoing camera guy, Glen. The quiet sound guy, Russell. The snooty producer/director guy, Stu. And the enthusiastic but overworked assistant, Mia. They chatted over coffee with the ease of people who’d been working together for a while and actually liked one another.

  Noah met them over at The Coffee Mug, but he and Stu sat at one table and talked about apparently important Lakeside things that only the mayor could handle.

  Rachel tapped her mug against his and leaned over to whisper, “Are you okay?”

  “Sure.” Beck didn’t realize he’d been staring at Noah. Yeah, so he might be a bit jealous of his perfect older brother, but after all the years his parents held up Noah as the ideal example Beck should be following, how could he help it?

  By the time they’d had their fill of coffee and pastries, Glen had filmed every inch of the café and both Sue and Lisa got their moments in front of the camera. The coffee shop had become overrun with customers in the meantime. Word traveled fast in Lakeside.

  Not long after, Beck and Rachel met the crew over at The Salvage Station. Within moments, the camera was on Rachel. She wore navy blue leggings, tank top, and flats. Then she’d thrown on a long bright yellow jacket. Her face lit up when Stu gave her the signal to begin.

  “Hey, guys, do we have a special episode for you this week! I’m back in my old hometown of Lakeside, New York, and we’re going to be transforming this gorgeous old fire station into a neighborhood bar. Take a look at this amazing blank canvas I have to work with.” She took them on a tour of the empty building, pointing out the high ceilings and showing off the reclaimed bar and flooring. She sounded so natural. Beck began to relax.