by Leanne Banks
He hesitated, his gaze wrapping around hers and hinting at more than she’d ever believed possible from him. Lisa felt as if she’d stepped off a very high cliff. Then Brick’s expression changed, and oozing discomfort, he looked away. “Yeah. Let’s get it and go. It’s almost time for us to meet the guy who’s taking us snorkeling.” He picked up one of the tablecloths. “Is it one size fits all or what?”
Fighting a ridiculous surge of disappointment and confusion, she forced her attention to the package. “No. It needs to fit the table.” She glanced through the other packages on the table until she found the right size. “This one’s right.” She frowned and turned to Brick. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” he muttered, but he sounded irritated. “Let’s go.”
Lisa followed after him, trying to figure out what was going on inside his mind, inside his heart. During the cab ride to the ocean, she silently pondered his offer to contribute the tablecloth to her hope chest. Although she resisted attaching too much significance to it, she knew the gesture was completely at odds with his standoffish attitude toward marriage. She wanted to ask him about it, but she sensed a subtle, yet definite resistance within him.
By the time they reached the ocean, she gave up and pushed the issue to the back of her mind. Lisa could brood over Brick later while she was alone in her bed. Right now, she wanted to get a closer view of the Caribbean.
If Lisa found out, she was going to kill him, Brick thought as he watched her splendid rear end while she took another dive off the side of the boat. In approximately five minutes, the cruise ship was going bye-bye without them. He figured he could safely explain this in twenty years. He wasn’t sure he would ever be able to confess that he’d sent those duds to her. Brick would rather face a dozen misfires than Lisa’s wrath. And misfires were a blaster’s nightmare.
With her absorption in exploring a coral reef, she’d completely lost track of the time. The afternoon had gone better than he’d hoped. She’d been at ease and so had he. As time wore on and Brick quietly shelled out more money to their guide, he’d decided that the setting was too perfect to waste.
He didn’t want to take her back to the ship and the distractions it held. He also didn’t enjoy deceiving her, and he hoped like hell all this game playing would be over soon.
She popped up out of the water, wearing a huge smile on her face. “Are you coming or not?”
Brick felt a tug deep in his gut. That smile could chase away every nightmare a man could have. Grabbing his snorkel and mask, he called back, “I’m coming.” He jumped overboard into the clear, warm blue water and swam to her side. “You told me not to call you animal names, but if I didn’t know better, I’d say you had gills.”
Lisa laughed and playfully splashed him. “Stop!” Her eyes were bright with excitement. “There’s so much to see.”
“Yeah,” he agreed around a lustful grin as he treaded water. “Like green eyes and dark eyelashes and a smile bright enough to blind a man.” He dabbed a drop of water from the tip of her nose and curled his hands around her waist. “You look like some kind of sea goddess.”
Lisa looked flattered, but skeptical. “What have you been drinking?”
Brick plastered a hurt expression on his face, but more than enjoyed the natural way she rested one of her hands on his shoulder. “You doubt my sincerity?”
Lisa turned serious. “I doubt a lot of things, but never your sincerity.” She took his hand. “C’mon. I want you to see this school of fish.”
Wondering about those doubts of hers, Brick followed along. It was sheer delight to see how excited she got over each new sight.
She pulled him first this way, then that until their skin began to prune and Lisa finally realized they might have stayed too long at the fair.
She squinted her eyes at the sun. It wasn’t quite as bright as it had been, she thought. It wasn’t quite as warm either. She had no idea what time it was. She felt as if she’d barely been there an hour, but she had the sinking suspicion it had been far longer. A sliver of panic raced through her. “Brick.” His face was in the water, so she nudged him to get his attention. “How long have we been out here?”
Brick shook the water from his hair and shrugged. “I left my watch on the boat.”
He seemed incredibly calm, she noticed. “I think we’d better find out. The ship is supposed to leave at four and—”
“Hey, Johnny, what time is it?” Brick called to their guide.
The dark man held up four fingers on one hand and five on the other hand.
Lisa’s heart sank. “Oh no! He must mean four-thirty. We’ve missed the cruise ship. What are we going to do? That’s how we’re supposed to get to Miami, and my flight home leaves tomorrow afternoon. Oh, I can’t believe I did this. I feel so stupid, but snorkeling was such fun and—”
“Hold it. Hold it.” Brick cut off her desperate monologue and pulled her toward the boat. “It’s not as if we’re destitute. Let’s get back to the boat and figure out what to do. Johnny can probably help us out.”
“I still can’t believe I did this,” she repeated for the next hour. Fighting a pang of guilt, she wondered if she’d subconsciously been trying to avoid returning to the ship. She was still shuddering from being called filly.
With Brick’s reassurance and Johnny’s hotel recommendation, Lisa’s panic subsided. They arranged for their rooms, and while Brick booked flights for Miami for the following day, Lisa bought a sundress, underwear and a few toiletries to tide her over.
When she finished her shower and changed, it was time for dinner. They ate lobster on the hotel restaurant veranda and watched the sun set over the Caribbean. It was a romantic setting, made even more romantic for Lisa because Brick was there to share it with her. Despite all her attempts to make herself feel differently, she couldn’t change that. Something about the way he watched her, however, made her nervous.
He exuded a tension that had her wondering what was going on behind his violet eyes. She felt off center, as if something had changed, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. She’d wondered if he would try to manipulate her into sharing his room, but he hadn’t. Now she was dealing with a crazy mix of disappointment and relief. That was the problem with her when she was around Brick. He turned her priorities upside down, so that she didn’t know whether she was coming or going, and when she was with him, she didn’t really care. Sighing, she toyed with her dessert. “You’ve gotten quiet. Are you tired?”
He shook his head. “I’ve got something on my mind.” He watched her for a moment, then lowered his voice. “Do you want to mutilate that pie some more, or would you like to take a walk on the beach?”
She immediately put down her fork and placed her napkin beside her plate. “Definitely the beach.”
Within minutes, they were walking on the white sand. “This is wonderful,” Lisa murmured, loving the feel of the breeze on her skin. “Do you think they could use a catering director down here?”
Brick slid his hand to her back. “Probably, but Chattanooga would miss you too much.” He stopped and tilted her chin so that she would look at him. “I’d miss you too much.”
Lisa’s chest contracted. She took a shallow breath and shook her head. “You make it very hard for me to put you in the past and get on with my life,” she whispered.
His gaze turned stormy. “I don’t want you to put me in the past. I want to be in your future. I want—” He swore and turned away.
“Brick, what—?”
He sliced a hand through the air for her to wait.
She did, watching him curiously as he shoved his hands into his pockets and stared into the horizon. His white shirt billowed like a sail, contrasting with his tanned throat. Even though she felt confused and a little forlorn, his silhouette, strong and tender, affected her.
He was the man she would always want. The realization hit her so hard, it hurt. She would never love another. She wrapped her arms around herself as the chi
ll of a second realization hit her. She might never marry and have the family she wanted either.
A terrible pain shot through her. She bit her lip against the burning sensation behind her eyes and wondered why it had to be this way.
Brick finally turned around, his gaze resolute yet uneasy. “I want you to marry me.”
Chapter Twelve
Speechless, Lisa stared at him in shock.
Brick’s mouth was bone-dry and his stomach was churning so much, he prayed he wouldn’t lose his dinner. He took a few deep breaths, then reached for the antacids in his pocket. “You haven’t said anything,” he muttered in a raspy voice he hated.
Lisa blinked and shook her head. “You look as if you’re going to throw up.”
Brick scowled and popped a tablet into his mouth. “That’s a helluva thing to say to a man who’s just proposed to you.”
Lisa bit her lip and moved closer to him. She squinted her eyes. “Brick, your face looks green.”
“It is not!” Brick laced his fingers together and cracked his knuckles in frustration. “I don’t care if I’m purple or polka-dotted. Do you want to marry me or not?”
A long silence followed where Lisa looked at him warily. She cleared her throat. “Well,” she began, drawing out the word.
“Well what?” he asked through clenched teeth.
“Well…yes,” she said, her voice full of doubt. “I guess,” she added. “But you don’t sound very happy about it.”
Brick felt the tight, clenched feeling in his chest burst free. “Ah, Lisa.” He pulled her into his arms. “I’m so damn happy, I don’t think I can explain it.” And he couldn’t, he realized. Not yet. He’d felt the fear and done it anyway, but he wasn’t ready to push himself further by explaining everything to her. Right now, she was in his arms and she’d said yes. Right now, he wanted to celebrate. He held her close and inhaled the scent of her hair. It was enough to make him feel high.
“Let’s get some champagne and take it up to my room. Or your room.” He speared his fingers through her hair and lifted her mouth to his for a kiss. She tasted of sensuality and sweetness and everything he’d always craved in his life. The way she curled into him sent his heart rate flying.
Finally dragging his mouth from hers, he tried to catch his breath. “I’ve always been better at showing than telling, Lisa. Let me show you how happy I am.”
Looking dazed and fragile, Lisa closed her eyes. “I can’t believe this is happening. Are you sure?”
She opened her eyes and her gaze searched his. “Are you really, really sure?”
Her fragility and uncertainty was so precious to him that he fully intended to rid her of all her doubts. “I’m really sure.” And down underneath all his lifetime of fear, he was.
Brick lifted the glass of champagne. “To your eyes.” He took a sip, placed it on the bedside table, then leaned forward and kissed her eyelids when she fluttered them closed. Lisa had sipped down a glass and a half of champagne and was deliciously dizzy.
“To your nose,” he added, and kissed her nose.
Lisa rolled her eyes in disbelief. “My nose?”
“Are you questioning my sincerity?” he asked in a pseudostern voice.
“I—”
“To your mouth,” he interrupted, and covered her mouth with his. Lisa sighed. Her niggling sense of uneasiness seemed to evaporate when his tongue dallied with hers. She gave herself over to the sensation of his mouth making love to hers. She gave herself over to the dream that had finally come true. She felt the gentle tug of his hands on her sundress and held her breath.
Brick pulled slightly away, his eyes heavy with sensuality. “I’m not finished with your mouth.”
Lisa licked her lips, relishing his taste. “Good.”
Brick groaned and pushed the dress from her body. His gaze traveled down her neck to linger on her breasts and trail a burning path down to her belly. Lisa felt a spinning sensation in her stomach.
As if he were working at keeping things slow, he lifted his gaze back to her face. “To your eyebrows,” he said, and kissed them.
A giggle burst from her throat.
“You’re not supposed to be laughing,” he told her.
“Sorry,” she said, but giggled again when he kissed her chin.
Brick gave a long-suffering sigh and lowered his mouth to nuzzle her throat. “To pot holders,” he whispered.
Lisa’s heart clutched, the desire to laugh quickly snuffed out.
He lowered his head still farther to the upper swell of her breasts. “To your aunt’s afghan.”
Homing in on her nipple, he drew it deeply into his mouth. Lisa felt the tug all the way to her womb.
He swirled his tongue around the sensitive peak, and she arched. “To rings and babies and Christmases together.” He looked up at her, and Lisa knew this moment would be branded in her brain forever. Brick, his eyes full of love and desire, his hair mussed from her fingers, his shirt unbuttoned and pushed halfway down his arms. Promises and pleasure on his mouth. She lifted her hand to his jaw.
Brick closed his eyes and kissed her palm. “Always together.”
Then he gently pushed her down on the bed and worked on showing instead of telling. Their clothes seemed to disappear, and then it was the brush of his skin against hers. The feeling of intimacy between them was a life force in itself.
Whispering love words into her ear, he touched her as if she were spun gold. And she could almost believe he thought she was. She smothered a gasp when he skimmed his mouth across her abdomen and down to her thigh. Her skin was sensitized to his every breath.
He stroked and kissed her breasts until she was beyond restless, and Lisa found she couldn’t be only the receiver, she had to be the giver too. When she tried to nudge him onto his back, he protested.
“No,” he muttered, his hands drawn to her like magnets. “I’m not finished. I want to—”
Lisa pressed an openmouthed kiss against his neck, and he broke off on a sigh. “I want to too,” she said, rubbing her face into the soft hair of his hard chest.
Taking her turn to show tactile appreciation of every inch of his body, Lisa stroked and caressed, drawing rough sounds of pleasure from his mouth. The pounding of his heart thrummed its way into her blood, making her lose all her inhibitions. Her lips followed her hands to the sensitive places of his body, behind his ear and down to his nipples. She kissed her way across his lower abdomen and gave a husky laugh when his stomach rippled.
She went from sensual amusement to serious, however, when she kissed his rigid arousal.
Brick swore and slipped his fingers through her hair. “Oh, Lord, Lisa…”
His arousal spurring hers, she took him into her mouth.
He swore again, a litany of desire and male need that she was desperate to fulfill.
“Lisa, stop!” he managed over a wild gasp, then let out a low animal-like groan when she slowly slid her mouth from him.
Her body liquid with readiness, Lisa stared up at him. His eyes glittered with passion, his mouth swollen from kisses, he turned her deliberately onto her back. Her uneven breaths matched his; his body was slick with perspiration, as was hers. At her most basic and emotional level, she welcomed the purely male urge to mate she saw stamped on his features.
When she reached for him, he shook his head and drew her arms above her head, his fingers gently clasping her wrists. His hot gaze swept over her like a flash fire, and when he slid his fingers between her thighs, the delicious, slow-building desire she felt burst out of control.
Struggling with the ache he seemed to make worse and better at the same time, she arched up from the bed. “Brick,” she said with a gasp. “I need—” She moaned as he slid his finger inside her. “Oh, I want—” She arched again. “Brick, pleeeeease!”
“That’s what I want to do, Lisa.” He nudged her thighs apart and entered her inch by excruciating inch. Hissing through his teeth, he grimaced in pleasure. “That’s what I want to d
o,” he muttered, and stretched inside her. “Please.”
He released her wrists and she immediately reached for him, pulling him as close as possible while his slow, steady thrusts took her farther from sanity with each stroke. As if from a distance, she heard herself call out his name while a spasm of exquisite pleasure shook her, pitching her up and over. And with an exultant cry of his own, Brick came tumbling after.
Brick and Lisa overslept the next morning and nearly missed their plane to Miami. The quick flight could have been a taxi ride considering how long it lasted. After making sure their luggage had been transferred by the cruise line, they settled in for the flight to Chattanooga.
Lisa laced her fingers through Brick’s during takeoff.
He squeezed her hand. “Does flying bother you?”
She gave a wry smile. “Just takeoff and landing. I guess there’s not much that can scare someone who works with explosives for a living.”
Brick narrowed his eyes. “I wouldn’t say that,” he said in a dry, self-deprecating tone.
She looked at him curiously.
“I’ll tell you about it some other time.”
He didn’t sound as if he were looking forward to it, she thought, but tried to shake off the uneasiness that made her nerve endings bristle. “Have you thought about when you want us to announce it?”
“Announce what?”
“Our engagement.”
“Oh.” Brick glanced away and shook his head. “I hadn’t really thought about it. I figured we would decide all that later.”
“Well, since we’ve got an hour-and-a-half flight ahead of us, there’s no time like the present.”
“Now?” he asked, consternation leaking through his tone while he took in her bright gaze.
Lisa hesitated, a furrow of confusion forming between her brows. “You don’t want to discuss it?”
“No, no. It’s fine,” Brick rushed to reassure her, and shifted in his seat. His stomach began to burn. He released Lisa’s hand and smoothed his own hand over his slacks. The prospect of an entire flight spent discussing wedding plans loomed before him. It was enough to make his palms sweat. He counted to twenty-five and took a deep breath.
