Teasing Her Seal (Uniformly Hot!)

by Anne Marsh

  “I’m a good sport.” She was that and fun, too.

  She grinned at him. “I think so. But then you order me a shot to get even. A whole row of shots. The bartender is laughing, but she’s making her rent money off our tips alone and she enjoys a good joke, so she lines the shots up in front of me.”

  “What did I send you?”

  “I have four drinks to choose from. Bend Me Over, and I know you’re thinking about me, about what we could be doing. It’s not a bad offer, but it’s not my fantasy tonight.”

  “Classy of me. And the second shot?”

  “A Tender Touch. Tequila, peppermint and Tabasco. It’s not what I want. I don’t want sweet.”

  He could feel his lips tugging upward. “At least I had enough taste not to send you anything named after body parts.”

  “The third shot is Leather and Lace. Jack Daniel’s and peach schnapps. I like the bite of the first and I’ve always loved peaches.”

  He leaned in, his mouth almost brushing hers. “And do you choose any of those three?”

  She nipped his lower lip. “I drink the fourth shot, Gray. See You in the Morning.”

  Well. Hell. While he was still processing that, she up and left him.

  * * *

  MADELINE AND ASHLEY were waiting for Laney when she finally staggered out of her bungalow the next day. Okay. They were lying in wait and so what if she’d slept until almost noon? She’d been up tossing and turning all night, thanks to Gray’s fantasy bombshell, and it was her vacation, after all. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept past 6:00 a.m.

  Maddie waved her over to the bar. The bar had a roof made out of palm fronds and swings instead of seats, so you could dig your toes into the sand and knock back margaritas at the same time, which was pure genius.

  “Did you do it?” Maddie rocked forward on her swing, almost falling off. “I demand details.”

  Ashley handed her a margarita. “That’s not an I just got laid expression. That’s the I tossed and turned all night because he was a dick look.”

  “Bummer.” Maddie exhaled and nudged the basket of chips over.

  “He wasn’t a dick,” she blurted out, before her brain reasserted control over her mouth.

  “Good to know. I’d hate to have to kill somebody.” Ashley’s mouth curved up in a smile. “So why do you look as if your puppy died?”

  “I don’t think I’m cut out for this,” Laney sat down cautiously on the empty swing next to Ashley. It wobbled slightly, but didn’t dump her in the sand.

  “What makes you say that?” Ashley slurped up the last of her margarita and signaled for a new one. The girl sure could knock them back.

  “Because she didn’t have sex last night.” Maddie dug into the chip basket. “That makes at least two of us.”

  Ashley shrugged. “Me three, but I could get some if I wanted.”

  Maddie threw a chip at her. “Let’s practice our humility, shall we?”

  “It’s sex...not rocket science. If you’re interested, you tell the guy. Or, better yet, you show him. Most of them need the dots connected for them and that’s where the drinks menu comes in. You point him toward your fantasy du jour and skip the awkward stage where he’s trying to figure out what you like, and you’re trying to figure out how to politely tell him it takes more for you than a little breast groping and rub-a-dub-dub.”

  “Rub-a-dub-dub? Really?” Maddie shook her head. “I don’t think you’re going to be scoring in the man department if that’s how you see things.”

  “Their loss.” Ashley accepted her new drink from the bartender then swung back toward Laney. “Do you want to hook up with Gray?”

  “Yes,” she answered. Yes, yes, yes.

  Ashley studied her over the rim of the glass. “Men aren’t that complicated. Point. Pick. If you think he needs directions or you’d find it fun, ask him to re-create a particular drink with you. Just pretend you’re at improv class and it’s your turn with the bag of props.”

  Her new friend was oversimplifying things. Wasn’t she?

  “Think of a drink name,” Ashley went on. “Then think of Gray. If the two go together like peanut butter and chocolate, you’ve got your green light to proceed.”

  Pick a drink. She could do that. Sex on a beach? The fantasy appealed, but the practicalities of outdoor sex seemed overwhelming. Plus, sand in her girl bits? No, thank you. Up against a wall? Her inner thigh muscles screamed in advance, and she’d have sore spots the size of China from banging against the drywall.

  So what did she want?

  It wouldn’t exactly be mind-blowing to invite him back to her bungalow for a night of missionary-style sex underneath the covers. Not that comfort sex wasn’t appealing, especially with Gray, but this was her chance to try something new. To be bold and daring and take the new and exciting Laney out for a quick test-drive. After all, if the night turned awkward or embarrassing, she could simply hide in her bungalow until it was time to board the seaplane and leave. She never had to see him again.

  Groaning, Laney took a big gulp of her margarita. When had this thing with Gray suddenly become so damn complicated? He’d asked her what she wanted—and what she really wanted was to not be the person who had to come up with the night’s creative sexual agenda. What she wanted was to be taken. To not have to plan, orchestrate or otherwise tell him where to touch and how and for how long. Because she was so sick and tired of that.

  She slid Ashley an envious look. Switching places with Goth Princess for a night would be perfect. Anyone, really, other than herself. Someone sexy and confident, the kind of woman who took the man she craved and didn’t worry about her love handles or how she performed in bed. It was sex. Not a job, she reminded herself. No performance review at the end.

  “I want to be some man’s fantasy woman.” Just once. Or possibly more than once, depending on how good the sex turned out to be.

  “Amen.” Maddie licked salt off the edge of her margarita glass.

  “Correction. You want to find yourself a fantasy man because what you want comes first.”

  Ashley had a point. “I deserve a fantasy man,” she clarified. Because damn it, she did.

  “Agreed. Now tell us why.” Ashley gave her the devil’s own grin. “Because I smell a story here.”

  “It’s the usual story. Newly minted doctor meets handsome older doctor and falls for him. He invites her to move in to his swank city condo, pops the question, provides a Tiffany’s ring and sets the wedding train in full motion.” Her breath hitched in her throat but she forced herself to go on. “Then one day our heroine makes an unscheduled lunch stop at her doctor’s office and discovers he’s already made alternate lunch plans with a nurse. Plans that involve going at it on a gurney with his pants around his ankles.”

  The mental image was burned into her head. Harlan, pants unzipped, slamming into the nurse. The nurse’s ankles digging into his butt as she held on and chanted his name. It had looked uncomfortable—and neither one of them had cared. They’d been too busy having the orgasm of the century. He’d never lost control with Laney like that, never so much as suggested they sneak off and have workplace sex.

  “No one looks good in midthrust,” Maddie observed, taking another swig of her margarita.

  “After I discovered them, I may not have closed the door,” she admitted.

  Ashley’s grin got wider. “Revenge. I knew we were friends for a reason.”

  “And I may have paged the entire trauma staff to the room for a code blue.” She might as well admit the whole embarrassing truth. Rather than suck it up and retreat with her dignity intact, she’d made sure the entire hospital staff knew what had happened.

  “Caught in the act. Nice. Me, I’d have gone for something slightly more violent.” Ashley shrugged. “He’s lucky you’re so nice.”

  And that was the truth, too, wasn’t it? She was nice. The furthest thing from fantasy material you could get. She worked hard, always kept her word and didn’t
cause trouble. She’d let the hospital board convince her to resign “because things would be awkward” when she should have fought for what she wanted. And she did have a hard time asking for that. Maybe it explained the lack of excitement in her sex life, too.

  “He had his fantasy nurse,” Maddie said. “The question is—who are you going to have?”

  Gray came to mind.

  “Rebound men are dangerous. I’m not having sex just to get even with Harlan.”

  “Of course not. ” Ashley helped herself to another handful of chips. “You’re going to have sex for you.”

  Meaning what, exactly? That it wouldn’t hurt to treat herself to a rebound man if she went into it with her eyes open?

  “Gray likes you,” Ashley said with a wink. “Use him.”

  She suddenly knew how Eve felt when confronted with the apple. Okay, she’d do it. “I’ll ask him out on a date.”

  Shoot. She hadn’t sounded particularly confident, had she?

  “Is that what we’re calling it these days?” Ashley winked. “Go get ’em, tiger.”

  6

  ASHLEY PULLED GRAY aside as he slipped back into the resort. He suspected she’d been lying in wait for him, which was an interesting development. He’d just finished check-in and patrol, and the mission was on schedule. Whatever she had to tell him, it wasn’t related to the job.

  She nudged him into a laundry room. “Hot date?”

  Christ. He hoped so. It was none of Ashley’s damn business, however, but when he opened his mouth to tell her so she cut him off.

  “Good,” she said.

  He blinked at her. Say what?

  “Laney is in desperate need of a night of really hot, no-strings-attached sex.”

  He leaned back against the washer, arms crossed. “Understood, but I’d like to know why you’re telling me this.”

  “Sorry, Gray. Girl code says I keep what I know to myself.”

  “I could pull rank on you.” They both knew he wouldn’t, however. It wasn’t how he rolled. If Ashley believed what she knew could affect the mission, this conversation would already be over and he’d have the information he wanted. Which meant this was personal.

  She jabbed him in the chest again. Harder. “I work for a different branch of the government.”

  “You’re part of my team.”

  She sighed, poked him one last time and then gave up the information. “Laney’s just come out of a bad relationship. She wants to flap her wings a little, and I applaud that.”

  “I hear a but.”

  “So I want her to have fun, not get hurt.”

  He stared at her. “What do you think I’m going to do?”

  Because they were on the same page. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Laney. He wanted her to have fun, too.

  “Just be careful with her feelings, okay? She wants to have hot vacation sex and then get on the plane home. You’re her temporary man.”

  “Her temporary man,” he repeated. Okay, that was a new way of looking at things. The hot sex part he was on board with, and temporary worked for him, as well. He didn’t do relationships. Laney didn’t want one. No problem.

  “The last thing she needs is another guy getting serious about her,” Ashley added pointedly.

  “Do you see me on one knee?”

  Not that he was necessarily averse to the institution of marriage, but he’d never thought of himself and holy matrimony in the same sentence before. He didn’t have it in him to make that kind of emotional commitment to a woman.

  Ashley elbowed him. “You’d be lucky if Laney let you propose, but no, I know she’s safe from you. Her last guy was a jerk. She caught him cheating on her with a nurse three weeks before their wedding. So she doesn’t need another guy getting serious when she’s still getting over the first. All she needs is hot breakup sex.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Ruth. You’re not concerned about what I need?”

  She shrugged. “You’re a big boy, and Laney’s fantastic. I’m sure you’ll get exactly what you deserve.”

  Uh-huh. “Is that why her reservation was for two?”

  Ashley made a face. “Yeah. He made her book the honeymoon, and then he couldn’t be bothered to show up. I’m glad she came, anyway.”

  He was, too.

  * * *

  DATING WAS GOOD.

  As were casual encounters, opportunities to get to know each other and anything other than immediately ripping off his clothes and having her way with Gray’s body. Sure, the naked Gray fantasy made Laney quiver, but the reality was that she needed to get to know him better before she got naked. She hated the awkwardness of the cocktail menu hookup, of not knowing whether he’d found the setup as humorous and exciting as she had. She’d also woken up worrying that every staff member she passed knew she’d tried to order sex off the menu. God. That sounded sleazy. Or desperate. And yet it hadn’t really been any of those things, had it?

  When she’d told him the story about the shots, she’d been able to take on a different persona. Someone who knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to tease or play. She liked that person. And yet, when she’d run into him that morning—okay, after she’d stalked him and caught him by the massage cabanas, but he didn’t have to know that—she’d been tongue-tied. So much for her suave, sexy side.

  Her brain went AWOL around Gray. She’d stood too close to him, gazing into his gorgeous brown eyes and inhaling the scent that was uniquely him. That part had been good, but she’d also been at a loss for words. He hadn’t seemed in any rush, though. Instead, he’d waited for her to get to her point.

  “Look, I’d like to see you later, when you’re not working.” Yep. That was what she’d finally said. Wanna go out with me?

  He hadn’t blinked, just rolled with it. “Okay. Give me the when and the where. I’m free any time in the afternoon.”

  And so here she was, off for a little hike up to a scenic lookout point. Given that the path only went about a half a mile up, it was more of a stroll than anything, but the resort brochure claimed the views were spectacular, and it wasn’t as if she could take Gray to the movies. This was also her best chance to get to know him better since massages didn’t exactly lend themselves to intimate conversation.

  The lack of details hadn’t bothered her before, but now she’d had a night to think on it and, it turned out, sex with a stranger wasn’t in the top five of her fantasy list. In fact, it wasn’t on there at all. She was a chicken. A horny, guy-less, had-a-date-with-her-vibrator chicken.

  Ten minutes later, she was standing at the bottom of the trail. Tilting her head, she looked up. The path was definitely more hill than mountain, but the abundance of palms sprouting from either side of the dirt trail guaranteed they wouldn’t roast. Gray materialized out of the jungle, and her temperature soared. Maybe he knew a secret employee shortcut because one minute she was alone and the next he was standing there in front of her. He’d dressed for the part today, too, in boots, cargo pants and a form-fitting black T-shirt.

  “Very American commando,” she said, mentally adding a fantasy about military men to her to-do list.

  “I’m a man of hidden talents.” He braced a broad shoulder against a handy tree and assessed her clothing. She took the opportunity to stare at him one more time. He was definitely worth a second glance. Her shorts and sneakers must have passed muster because he nodded his head, turned and headed up the path.

  But she got to follow his spectacular butt, which was no hardship. He made an effort to talk to her on their way up, too, which she appreciated. He struck her as the kind of man who powered through a hike, with the goal of making it from the bottom to the top in record time. Or at least first. She’d bet he was usually the best when it came to physical competitions, while she admittedly wasn’t the most physically-fit woman on the planet.

  He didn’t seem to mind her slow chug up the hill behind him, however. He adjusted his steps to fit hers and pointed out various pieces of flora and fauna. By th
e time they neared the top, she’d admired a bright yellow allamanda, a flowery stalk of something flaming red and a particularly large bougainvillea snaking its way up the spiny trunk of a palm tree. A wild monkey peeked out of a palm, chattering madly. The mini-hike was...nice. Not sexy. Not daring or erotic. But nice. It was also a teensy, welcome step forward in her get to know Gray better before jumping his bones plan.

  As if he’d read her mind, he looked over at her, slowing his pace so she was walking beside him on the path. “You hanging in there?”

  “I am,” she said, surprised to find it was true. She wasn’t nervous anymore. Chalk one up for her.

  She was ready to do this. She really was. She was going to embark on a fun, exciting adventure with this incredibly sexy man and maybe, when it was over and she was headed back home to her new life of boring, she’d be a different person. The person she wanted to be.

  The view from the top of the hill was stunning, the impossibly blue water of the Caribbean spreading away from their island. A few small waves broke on the beach below. She could almost see the strip of sand where he’d surprised her the other day, and the darker shadows of the coral heads promised good snorkeling. Later. Right now, she had herself a man to tease. The resort had positioned a romantic daybed for two near the edge of the lookout. The whole place reeked of romance, and her heart gave a little pang.

  “So,” she said. “We’re here.”

  She dropped down onto the cushions of the seat, her butt sinking into a pillowy softness that practically demanded she drag Gray down for a kiss. Or more. After all, the daybed was definitely big enough for two. They were outdoors, but she could be talked into indulging in a little fantasy action here. Surely they could hear anyone headed up the path in time to cover up. It could totally work.

  Instead of joining her in the center, however, her big, brawny masseuse hesitated. Yep. Whatever he had to say was going to be good. Or, more likely, really, really bad.

  “Just say it,” she advised. “Don’t lead up to it.”

  He rocked back on his heels. “Wow.”

  She shrugged. “There’s no time to sugarcoat in my job.”