“Sure thing.”
Preston stretched out beside her in an empty beach chair that had not been there before. Had he pulled it up while she was busy feeling sorry for herself? Even more disconcerting was how in the world he’d known where she was, and why had he come?
Yet... he was here. Really and truly here.
“How did you know where I was and why did you come?” Well, she’d never been one to play games. Okay, so she’d never been one to play a lot of games and had always liked her curiosity to be satisfied.
“Lemon told me, and I came because I needed to apologize. Would have found you sooner if I hadn’t gotten in so late last night and slept like the dead until a maid knocked on my door this morning.”
“You booked a room at a resort and bought an airline ticket to Jamaica just to apologize to me?” she all but squeaked out the words. She cleared her throat. “You didn’t need to do that. A phone call or text would have worked.”
“Probably, but I felt like it was important to do this in person.” He looked at her, pulling his sunglasses off. “You are important.”
She didn’t know what to say to that, so she ogled his body instead. His flat stomach and eight-pack, down the happy trail that led to one of her favorite parts of him, and then she let her eyes travel the length of his muscular thighs. Up his arms, corded with muscles. If only he could turn around for her so she could see how well his board shorts fit in the back.
CrossFit did Preston’s body very, very good.
“You look hot in your bikini,” he said, a small smirk on his face.
She stretched, thrusting her breasts out and pointing her toes to make her legs look extra long. “Figured everyone could enjoy the view.”
“I’m certainly enjoying it.” He put his sunglasses on again and lay back in the beach chair. “Anyway, now that we’re through ogling one another, I want to apologize for anything I said or didn’t say to you the other night at my house.”
“That’s a broad apology.”
“Wanted to cover my bases since I have no fucking clue why you left.” There was an edge to his voice, the first she’d ever heard from him.
The waiter brought their drinks, and Apple took a big gulp before attempting to explain herself. “I got cold feet.”
“I would have warmed them up for you,” he said.
“I know, and that’s why they got so cold,” she replied.
He turned to her, but his eyes were shaded. It made her uncomfortable not to be able to see what he was thinking or feeling in this moment. So... she took off hers, in hopes he’d do the same..
“You could have told me that. I would have... backed off a little.”
“I chose to have sex with you.”
“While I didn’t think you felt pressured to sleep with me, I’m glad to hear it from you.”
“That was the problem,” she blurted. “You wanted me to sleep there. You wanted me to stay, but I couldn’t.”
“Why?”
“Because...” She turned her attention to the water. “I’m not that kind of girl.”
“Uh-huh. That sounds like a bullshit answer to me.”
She whipped her head around. Preston no longer had his sunglasses on and he was facing her, his feet in the sand. “It’s most of the truth.”
“I want the whole truth.”
Shaking her head, she said, “You’ll think I’m silly.”
“Better than thinking you’re an unfeeling goddess.”
“It’s rather complicated and—and I took advice I shouldn’t have.”
He arched a brow. “About making a move on me?”
“Yes.”
“Best advice anyone ever gave you.”
That made her giggle.
“There she is,” Preston said softly. “There’s the woman who eats messy Italian dinners in bed with me.”
She bit her lip. “That was a first for me.”
“Me too.”
“Look, in the past... Well, my heart has always had a difficult time separating sex from love. I’ve been burned before, and one didn’t even involve sex.”
“Are you saying that you would fall in love with me if we continued to be friends who are physically intimate with one another?”
“Pretty much.”
“I fail to see how that’s a bad thing.”
“It’s bad if the person doesn’t reciprocate or uses you as a stepping stone for what he really wants—the girl without the reputation. It’s one thing to date me, quite another to bring me home to your mother.”
His mouth thinned. “Is that why you stopped dating?”
“You noticed that?”
“I notice everything about you.” He grinned bashfully. “And I stopped dating as soon as you did, maybe sooner.”
Baffled by his admission, she couldn’t help but ask, “Why would you do that? According to Cherry, you left Sydney to have a threesome.”
He groaned. “Not that again.”
“Are you saying it didn’t happen?”
“Parts of it are true.”
“What parts?”
His cheeks heated, making the scruff on them stand out. “Well, I asked Sydney out as a favor to Brody, back when he was feeling bad about making her dates cancel on her or not ask for another one. Except Sydney and I were having such a good time that Brody got jealous. He texted me to end the date or else. I didn’t want to get in the middle of it, but I didn’t know what to do exactly. I could have told her the truth, but I figured it would be better for her to be mad at me instead of Brody. Didn’t agree with his deception, but I did pay for most of her cab ride home when I called for one. I couldn’t pay for it all, else she’d get suspicious. Good thing it’s the only cab company for miles.”
“That’s the story behind your horndog ways?”
“That and—man, this is going to sound bad—but you deserve the truth. When I was twenty-two, I dated three girls at once. They all found about each other, and shit hit the fan. Luckily, only one of them lived in Jessamine. She flips me off every time I see her. I like to think it’s her way of keeping my early twenties’ screw-ups fresh in my memories.”
“Do I know her?” she asked, trying not to laugh.
“Yeah, it’s Kerry Smith.”
“PTA president Kerry Smith?” She gasped. “She actually flips you off?”
“Oh yeah, kids in the car, husband in the car... she’s got the flipping the bird on the sly down pat. It’s like an art form.”
“I will never look at her the same way again.” She also wouldn’t look the same way at her again, because...
“I didn’t actually sleep with any of them. Too busy at work.”
“Oh, thank God. Yes, I’m being hypocritical, but since we’re being all truthful and I’ve had four of these already,” she nodded at her drink, “I would be so jealous of her if you had.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “It’s my worst trait. I get it in my head that I must compete, and then I do anything to get that woman out of your... head.”
“There was that one time when she tripped and fell on my—”
“Are you trying to make me jealous on purpose?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he drawled out.
For whatever reason, or maybe it was because Preston had flown all the way to her just to apologize for something he hadn’t done, she stood up and held out her hand. “Come back to my room with me. I need to get your mind on other things.”
His gaze dipped to her chest before coming back up to her face. “I have some ideas about what you can do.”
*
His ideas had included pleasuring her first, but she pushed him back on the bed and yanked his board shorts down.
“It’s so big and thick,” she said as his erection sprung free. “However will it fit in my mouth?”
He flashed her a sexy grin. “You give good talk, Apple.”
“Not if you’re talking, Preston.” She licked him from the tip of his cock all
the way to his balls, then back up again. “No talking except to give me directions.”
“Wrap your mouth around me, sweetheart, and lick me nice and slow.”
“I’ll do whatever you want,” she said before she followed his instructions exactly.
His hands fisted in her hair, pulling her down on him. She didn’t mind because she’d nearly torn his hair out from the roots the last time he’d put his mouth on her.
She opened her eyes and peered up at him. He was watching her from beneath his lashes. His eyes were like slits, the Lawson blue barely showing. His body shook as she pulled back, flattening her tongue on the underside of his erection.
“I liked that. Do it again,” he ordered, turning her on even more.
She nodded and re-doubled her efforts until he tried to push her away. “I have to come.”
“Okay.” She took him in her mouth again, stroking and sucking him at the same time. A few seconds later, he groaned her name as he flooded her mouth with his orgasm.
“That. Yeah. You were—wow.” He pulled her up to him and kissed her deeply, shocking her a little. “Give me a second and I’ll make you happy, too.”
“I’m not saying no, but you already have, just by showing up,” she admitted.
Cheeks flushing, he smiled and touched her cheek. “I’ll always show up for you.”
Her brows creased. “Always?”
“Mmhmm,” he said, teasing the line of her jaw with his mouth. “You think I’d fly down here to apologize to a woman I’m only friends with?”
That made sense. “Is that a special benefit of yours that I get?”
He stopped kissing her long enough to look her in the eyes. “Tell me what you know about Lawson men.”
“They have blue eyes and huge egos.”
“I’m being serious,” he warned.
She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them. He was still there, still looking at her with deep emotions written all over his face. “That when they find the one, that’s it for them.”
“Apple?”
“Yes?”
“I’ve found the one for me.”
Her mouth went dry. “What about... what will people say?”
“More concerned about what you think.” He cupped a breast and started nibbling on her neck. “More concerned with how you feel.”
The sparks of desire that she thought would be dampened by talk of always came to life, racing through her body. “You make me feel good.”
“Get ready then, sweetheart, because I’m about to make you feel even better.” He rolled on top of her, making her feel so much better that her toes curled, and she couldn’t think of a single reason why him being with her was a bad idea.
In fact, she couldn’t think at all.
Chapter Nine
The next morning, Preston woke up to Apple kissing his shoulder while her hands stroked his cock. When he attempted to move, she bit him.
“Let me take care of you,” she whispered in his ear, moving her hands faster.
How could he say no to her?
Closing his eyes, he allowed her to touch him, kiss him, and work him up so quickly that when she surprised him by taking his erection into her mouth, he almost came right then and there.
“I want to be inside of you,” he said, reaching for a condom.
She lifted her head. “Who’s going to be on top? Me or you?”
“Me.” He sat up, gently pushing her beside him as he did. “Lay on your back and spread your legs.” Rolling on the condom, he watched as she got into position and gave him a flirtatious smile.
“Like this?”
The sight of her thighs spread, her pretty little pussy all exposed, made him even harder. Lining up his erection at her snug entrance, he pushed in.
He was ready to come in an instant, but he took the time to make her orgasm first. She was so damn beautiful when she was like this. So damn giving and sweet, and... it felt so good.
Everything was so right.
Perfect.
Unexpected.
Hot.
She was simply a tempting, irresistible woman who drove him wild, and he would never get enough of being with her like this.
He surged inside of her one last time, his body shaking.
Man, he loved her, but she wasn’t ready to hear that, not yet.
One day... one day really soon, he’d tell her.
“Good morning,” she said as he took her in his arms. She felt so damn good, all warm and nude as she pressed up against him.
“I’ll say. Ready to leave the room yet?” Yesterday, they’d ordered room service and he’d only left once to get a few things from his bag, like more condoms, since they used up the two supplied by the hotel in the bedside table.
“I guess.” Her stomach rumbled. “That’s a yes from my stomach. Although room service was amazing.”
“We do know how to make eating naked in bed fun,” he agreed.
“That should be our thing, no matter what. We should always have at least one meal in bed, no clothes.”
Their thing? “Does this mean you’ve accepted that I’m here for the long haul?”
She traced a circle around his nipple. “It means that you give good talk, Preston, and I’m willing to try.”
“That’s a step in the right direction, I suppose.”
“It’s a very big deal for me. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t actually enjoy being the talk of the town.”
“So what if we end up being the talk of the town? Most the things I hear about you are favorable, and honestly, the only people who’ve felt your wrath are Lawsons.”
“I guess I’d have to eat a lot of crow if we were to end up as a couple,” she said.
“Would you be willing to do that?”
She propped herself on his chest, her silky blonde hair falling forward and spilling onto his skin. Her blue eyes were serious. “Can you handle being known as one in a long line of Apple McCoy’s lovers, even if it wasn’t true?”
He arched a brow. “Are you telling me that the rumors about your conquests are exaggerated?”
She nodded.
“I’m shocked. Shocked, I tell you, that men would lie,” he said, and she punched him in the gut. “Oof.”
“I’m being serious. It’s easy for you to tell me not to care what other people think about us being together, but I don’t think you’ve considered what people will say about you.”
“People have been saying untrue things about me for years, Apple. I fail to see how this would be any different.”
“Maybe because what they said before didn’t matter to you. Face it, being known as a horndog, or even always up for a good time, isn’t a negative thing for a man. However, for a man to decide he wants to be with one of the town’s supposedly ‘most giving’ women... that’s a hit to the ego.”
“You’re speaking from experience.”
“Remember what I said about someone taking me home to meet their mother? That never happened. They took girls like Molly home. Married them, too.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, unable to take the pain in her voice. He wondered if she even knew it was there. One of the first things he was going to do when they got back was take her home to meet his momma.
“In the end you might be, Preston, and that’s what I want you to understand.” She sat up, the sheet falling to her waist. The morning light hit her chest in all the right places. “You wanted the real me, my real thoughts... well, here they are. That’s what I think about us.”
“And what do you think about me?”
Her lips trembled. “That you’re too good to be true.”
“I don’t want to change you. The only thing I want is for you to see yourself how I see you. That’s it.” He sat up in bed and hugged her. “How many times do we have to repeat this conversation, sweetheart? I don’t give a damn about what the rest of the world thinks.”
When her arms came around him and she hugged him back, he exhaled i
n relief. “I’ll be good and not bring it up again while we’re here,” she said.
“How long are we here? I booked three days.”
She laughed. “Five days. Guess you’ll have to move into my room.”
“Good plan, Ms. McCoy. Very good plan.” He lifted her chin and kissed her lightly on the lips. “How about we just enjoy our time here?”
“I can do that... I left Anita in charge of the paper.”
“After we eat breakfast, let’s check in with the concierge and see what kind of trouble we can get into.”
She snorted. “Pretty sure I’m already in trouble.”
“Oh, really?” He lightly dug his fingers into her side, making her giggle. “Looks like someone is eating breakfast late.”
Except for him. He planned to feast on her until she screamed his name.
*
“We have a snorkeling trip available at two or parasailing at three. Which would you like to book?”
“Snorkeling,” Preston said quickly and handed over his credit card. No way was he going any higher than the third floor of the resort with just a parachute to keep him in the air.
“I took you for more of an adventure type,” Apple said.
“Thought we’d start out slow.” So slow that parasailing would never happen.
“We have plenty of time to book other things.”
The concierge smiled. “Meet your group at pier four on the south side of the resort at 1:45. There will be snacks and drinks provided. Good music, too. Bring sunscreen and towels. You can purchase underwater cameras in the gift shop.”
“Thanks,” Preston said as he signed the receipt and put his credit card back in his wallet.
“I can’t wait.” Apple took the brochure, then laced her fingers through his. “I have to warn you, I’m slightly afraid of fish.”
“All fish or certain kinds?”
“All fish. I’ll eat the suckers, but touch them or them touch me... not a fan.”
Now he felt like a jerk. She was conquering her fear while he was avoiding his at all costs. “We don’t have to go.”
“Sure we do. I’m going to overcome a fear, and we’re doing a couple thing. When I checked in, the staff said their on-site photographers take pictures of everything, except what goes on in the hotel rooms. At the end of your stay, you get to go through them and make a memory DVD or flash drive.”
Love So Right (The Lawson Brothers #7) Page 7
