by Gia Stone
The vein in Alec’s throat throbbed. He was pissed. The idea that someone was giving Brooke a hard time, made him furious. He knew he should play it cool, considering they were still getting to know each other beyond the bedroom. He didn’t want Brooke to think he was some crazed anger machine. Alec swiped the martini in front of him and swallowed every ounce. He scanned the room for the waiter and motioned for another round. His eyes met Brooke’s. Her dark brown eyes. Those eyes had been crying earlier because of some asshole. Shit, he would have loved to have been there to see it go down, including the daiquiri dumping.
“Daiquiri dumping, I like your style.” Alec raised his fresh martini glass to hers and they clinked. A bit of the drink spilled onto Brooke’s finger. Alec took her hand in his own and licked the gin from Brooke’s knuckles. Goose bumps raised along her arm. She glanced down at her shirt and Alec followed her eyes. Underneath her tight purple tank top were two big and bright headlights. The bulge in Alec’s pants swelled up. He was so aroused seeing her nipples trying to pierce through the cotton of her shirt it was beyond erotic. It was downright sinful. He reached his hand under the table and rubbed his package once, as if a reminder to steady himself and maintain control. Damn, she was gorgeous. Even after the way he worked her body every which way, she looked fantastic.
“Thank you. It felt good to do.” She rubbed her lips together. “But, now I’m out of a job, so that pretty much sucks.” Brooke sipped her drink, slower this time. She must not want to get hammered. That’s good. He liked that she was pacing herself. Martinis weren’t exactly light on the alcohol content.
“Ah, well there’ll always be another job. In fact one of my friends is looking to hire a manager in the café he just opened.” Alec raised his eyebrows at her. He hoped he wasn’t making a mistake mixing business and pleasure, but somehow it just seemed like a good idea. Like the perfect solution.
“A manager of a café, here on Cozumel?” Brooke pointed down at the table.
“Yes, it’s a brand-new café, a fusion of seafood and farm-fresh food open for lunch and dinner only.” Alec inspected Brooke’s face. She would be a good fit, as long as she didn’t do any more daiquiri dumping. And he would see to it that no one ever gave her a hard time. Ever.
“That sounds really interesting. I’d love to talk to your friend about it.” Her face lit up like a child the day before school lets out for the summer.
“Good. I’ll set up an interview. Now that we have that solved, tell me about Brooke, I want to know everything.” Alec flashed her a big grin.
“Everything?” Brooke smoothed down her skirt and fiddled with her hair. Why was she so nervous? What was she keeping from him and why?
“Cat got your tongue?” Alec nudged Brooke underneath the table with his knee.
“No, but I’d like to have your tongue right now.” She licked her lips and took a sip of her martini, staring at Alec the entire time.
The arrival of the food was not exactly perfect timing. Alec was about to rush her out of the restaurant and toss a few bills on the table. He ran his hand over the tablecloth and across the top of Brooke’s hand. Little bumps popped up along her arm. Alec smiled. She was so responsive to the slightest touch. He hadn’t even begun to tantalize her senses. It could wait, and hopefully he could wait. He was like an animal around her, wanting to ignore all manners and niceties and allow his instincts and desires to take over. Alec trailed his finger over the silver fork on the table and clutched it in his right hand.
“Wow, this looks delicious.” Brooke’s eyes widened at the sight of her salad.
The lush green leaves and bright red tomatoes panged at his stomach. He was starving. Besides the bedroom workout, he had skipped lunch in order to pick up another client at the golf course. His list was growing every day, and by the time the resort opened, he would have a well-established clientele list.
The crunch of their salads was loud. Brooke’s cheeks flushed.
The corners of Alec’s mouth went up as he took in Brooke munching down on her salad, like a rabbit. She must be really hungry. Then again, he had really worked her out. He lifted the fork to his mouth and heard the same loud crunch. They both laughed.
“Wow, are we the crunchiest eaters in this place?” Alec scanned the room. It was half-full of couples and groups all dressed impeccably. Now he kind of understood why Brooke might have felt a little out of place with her sexy little jean skirt and purple tank top. But who cared, this wasn’t a fashion show, and Brooke in a jean skirt looked ten times better than any woman in the restaurant with their cocktail dress and pearls. She was beautiful. But why was she so closed off? So guarded? What was she hiding? He hoped nothing bad. He was really beginning to care for her, and he would hate it if she turned out to be less than what he imagined. Whatever it was she was hiding, he intended to find out.
“I know, with my attire and our loud eating, I’d be surprised if we didn’t get kicked out.” Brooke laughed.
“I love the sound of your laughter. But seriously who cares what you’re wearing? Next time we come you can wear a fancy cocktail dress, and you can tell me if it changes anything for you.” Alec squeezed her hand.
Her eyes widened. Was she surprised by his suggestion of another visit to this restaurant or was it the idea of going out again with him? He needed to figure out what was going on behind those chocolate-colored eyes…that were reeling him into a place that was more memorable than his quenching thirst to be with her physically.
Chapter Six
The café was situated inside a large resort. This wasn’t exactly how Alec had described the job to Brooke earlier. Now she was a getting nervous. She tugged on the hem of her navy skirt. This was a real job in a brand-new resort. Actually, Brooke didn’t consider this a job. This had more of the connotation of a career. Could she do this? Yes, but would she get the job? Was Alec overstepping some sort of friendship by getting her an interview? Brooke patted down her hair.
With the light al fresco atmosphere and the ocean waves rolling in the background, Brooke was in awe. It was stunning. She loved everything about it. It was solar powered and all the materials to make the place had been reclaimed or made from sustainable products. Apparently the owner of the place was very green. Brooke hoped whoever it was also paid lots of green. She didn’t want to overstay her welcome at Alec’s place, and Rosa had already made it clear that she couldn’t stay at the room above the Tequila Shack as the new waitress Zoe had taken the spot.
“Hey, don’t look so nervous. This is a good thing.” Alec grinned as he swaggered in from the kitchen. His khaki pants hung snuggly to his muscular legs. Brooke eyed his bulge. He wasn’t hard. She trailed her gaze up his body. His white linen shirt had the perfect blend of business on the beach. Alec sat down at the clear table in front of Brooke and placed a manila file folder onto the granite.
Brooke forced a smile. She was trying to seem confident and capable. But insecure thoughts swirled around in her head. She pulled on her peach silk blouse. She should have worn something with more threads.
“Where’s the owner?” Brooke glanced at her phone and tapped the home button. Punctuality must not be their thing as the interview was supposed to have started ten minutes ago. She crossed her legs under the table, knocking her navy pumps together.
“Yes, about that. I have some good and bad news.” He inspected her face as if he were trying to decide on something.
Brooke raised her eyebrow and waited to hear the news.
“The owner got hung up on a business trip. That’s the bad news, so you don’t get to meet him before deciding. However, I spoke with him about you, and he wants to hire you sight unseen. Here is the information on the position, benefits, salary, expectations, the works. Pun intended. Check it out, and then you can give me your answer.” Alec pushed the folder across the table until it reached Brooke’s fingers.
She hesitated for a second before speaking. There really wasn’t a decision to be made. She had literally no
other offers on the table, and she loved the idea of being the first person to open up this café. This could be the change and opportunity she desperately needed.
“I’ll take it,” Brooke said without opening up the folder.
Alec shook his head back. “You’re not going to check out the expectations, salary, et cetera?”
“No, I want this position.” Brooke was confident she was making the right choice. Even though she didn’t really know Alec that well, she trusted him. She couldn’t imagine him offering her a bad deal.
“All right, well if that’s the case I think I should take you out to lunch to celebrate.” Alec stood and pushed back his clear chair.
“Wait, when does the café open?” Brooke asked, still sitting in her seat.
“Two weeks from today.”
“Two weeks, okay.” Brooke picked up the folder and stood.
“We’ll have a grand-opening party. I’ll need your help planning. I mean Marcos asked that I tell you that.” Alec ran his hand through his hair.
“A grand-opening party, fantastic. I love parties.” Brooke grinned.
“You do seem like the party type.” Alec winked.
Brooke wrinkled her eyebrows together. “Why is that?”
“Because you seem like you like having a good time?” He grabbed her hand. “Hey, I didn’t mean it in in a bad way. I like parties, too.” He kissed her knuckles. “Especially the kind where I’m the only guest.”
Brooke glanced down at the marble floor. Why was she so bothered if someone suggested she liked parties? She did. Obviously it was Marshall. Damn him. She wasn’t going to let him stand in the way of her new life. Things were looking up, and she was going to try her hardest to ensure she stayed on this path. The path to success.
“It’s nothing. Let’s get lunch, though it does seem a little bit early.” Brooke stood up and shook her hair over her shoulders.
“It’s going to take us a bit of time to get there, so the timing is actually spot-on.” Alec raised his eyebrows.
* * * *
Alec led Brooke down the beach to the wood-planked dock. Situated along each side of the dock were piers lined with boats of all shapes and sizes. Alec stopped in front of a yacht with the name Sonnet 108 painted across the back.
“Is this your boat?” Brooke asked.
Alec smiled with pride. He wanted her to know it was his boat, but he thought it was best to hold off on full disclosure. Letting women in had always burned him in the past. He wanted to really take things slow with Brooke. Obviously, not slow down in the bedroom. But emotionally he wasn’t ready to go all in. She had already run away once. Who was to say that she wouldn’t leave again? At least now he had her secured in a better job than the last two jobs she had.
“No, it belongs to Marcos,” Alec said and stepped onto the back of it. He reached for her hand. It was soft.
His grip was firm as he lifted her into the boat. “You must have a great business relationship for him to let you borrow it.” Brooke swiped the hair from her face.
“Something like that.” Alec untied the rope from the clete and stowed the rope in a cabinet. He took a key out from his pocket and walked over to the wheel and started up the engine. Brooke took a step back and quickly found a seat. Alec steered the boat away from the dock and other boats.
The breeze was light but still blew Brooke’s hair every which way. The boat soared high over the waves and came crashing down with a loud thud. Alec peeked his head over his shoulder. Brooke seemed unfazed by the drop they had just taken. That was a little too fast. He needed to slow it down a bit. He couldn’t help but wanting to rush to get there. Being up at the wheel away from Brooke was not how he wanted to spend his morning. Maybe on the way back he would offer to let her drive, and he could help out if necessary. He could easily see himself standing behind her with his arms wrapped over hers, like how he had done on the golf course. That seemed so far ago, now here she was on his boat. He was taking her out for lunch to celebrate her new job. Everything was going so well. There was a small flicker inside him that was concerned over her secrets. And now his secrets were building daily. Each time he used the name Marcos was a small lie.
In the distance he could make out La Isla de Mujeres. Alec wanted to take her to his favorite boat-up restaurant. He had the best cabana reserved on the beach, which made it even more private. And he definitely needed some privacy with Brooke. Ever since he saw her this morning with her navy pencil skirt on, he had wanted to push it up over her hips and take her right there in the café. But he knew better to risk his sexual attraction over her comfort in accepting the position. He could get her in a different position once the business chat was over. Now he could continue on with his desires, and La Playa restaurant was the perfect place to do it, literally.
Alec glanced over his shoulder and grinned. Brooke’s hair was whipping around her like a tornado. She gathered her locks and twisted them into a bun, holding it tight above her head. With her hair pulled back from her face he eyed her neck. It was so slender. His pants tightened at his inseam. He turned his focus to the island in front of them.
The engine slowed as Alec guided the boat next to the cement pier. Like a career skipper he grabbed the rope from the stowaway compartment and hopped out of the boat. Alec tied the rope to the metal clete and cast his eyes on Brooke. She was staring down at him. He almost had the perfect upskirt shot. Damn, she had nice legs. Muscular, tan legs. They were so smooth and soft. He craved for them to be around him. Or above her head. Yes. Above her head. He bit his lower lip.
The apex between Brooke’s thighs tingled. Whatever Alec had in store had better be the two of them alone and soon. His police officer blues were writing out warrants for her arrest, it was almost as if her arms were being held behind her back and she was being read her rights. She was so confined and yet so ready to be tangled up in Alec’s body.
“Ready?” Alec stood up and offered his hand.
“And willing.” Brooke winked.
She hoped his question was more of a promise as to what lay ahead. She wasn’t sure where they were but assumed it was the Isla de Mujeres, which isn’t too far from Cozumel. The idea of being taken to a different island for lunch was very romantic. Did Alec’s feelings for her go beyond the bedroom? Was this a step in the right direction or not? The last thing she needed right now was a broken heart. And he did have the right stuff to do just that.
A glimmer of passionate kissing with a bit of biting came across Brooke’s brain. Alec was like an illegal drug that she wanted to smuggle across the border. She could almost imagine being behind bars because of her insatiate cravings of his touch. Her eyelashes blinked, bringing her back to the present.
The firm grip of his hand over hers was comforting. This secure heaviness of an unspoken desire to protect her and keep her safe. She did like it. As she stepped onto the concrete dock he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. His tongue barely glided over hers before he released her mouth.
“Come on, I’m hungry.” Alec led her down the gray dock. The beach was lined with hammocks and white-and-blue cabanas. Some of the cabanas were open and some were tied shut.
“I’m pretty famished myself.” Brooke bit her lip. Her hunger was for something else. Alec had only given her a taste of his mouth and the fire burning inside her was about to boil over. She hoped they would be going to one of the private cabanas. Her imagination was running wild with possibilities of what and how they would do each and every thing to each other. The idea of being outside, somewhat secluded but still not entirely was a turn-on. It was a thrill she could only dream of cashing in on.
Alec picked up his pace. There was no doubt they were on the same page. He wanted her as bad as she did him.
A man dressed in a white button-down shirt with a black bow tie and matching pants approached them.
“Senor Marino?” the man asked. Beads of perspiration formed around his head.
“S
i, mucho gusto. Tienes mi cabana pronto?”
The man nodded and turned his heel to march toward the cabana farthest from the rest. It was almost on a secluded little island except for the one hundred feet between it and the next one. When they reached the entrance the man pulled back the cotton fabric door and held it open for Alec and Brooke to walk through. Inside was a mini bar made out of woven bamboo and an L-shaped couch carved from teak wood and teal-colored fabric. Beyond the couch was a king size bed covered in blue satin, placed in between two nightstands.
“Wow.” Brooke was immediately embarrassed for expressing her impressed state. She glanced down at the floor. It was a jute rug, definitely not the kind of rug she would want to be rubbing against her naked skin. No they would need to stay with the bed or couch. Or standing. That would work just as well. If only this guy would get out of here. She cast her eyes back at the two men who were carrying out a very instructional conversation in Spanish. It ended with Alec advising “venti minutos pronto.”
The curtain flapped shut followed by the rustling of the ropes being tied.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Alec’s uniformed blues were dark with desire. Like he was only offering her a drink out of hospitality.
“Yes, I am.” Brooke pulled on his belt and unbuttoned his pants. Her fingers moved with a sense of urgency. Damn she couldn’t wait any longer, and she was by no means fluent in Spanish, but she got the gist of venti minutos. She needed to work fast to make sure he was satisfied before he worked her over.
Alec pulled her waist in close to his. His eyes bore down into hers. Brooke cut her attention to Alec’s pants that looked like they were going to burst at the seams. His erection was so swollen. His cock needed to be free from the confines of clothing. Brooke intended on making that happen immediately. She tried to drop to her knees, but Alec grabbed on to the back of her neck. He slammed his tongue into her mouth and kissed her with an intensity of something stronger than desire. The difference in this kiss was monumental, like he was trying to tell her something, something that he wanted her to see and know and feel. Alec unbuttoned Brooke’s blouse and threw it on the couch. Unbuttoning it reminded her of the first time they had sex, and she was unbuttoning herself, toying with him.
