The Honeymoon That Wasn't

by Debbi Rawlins

  “Right here.”

  She splashed in some cream from the small silver pitcher and stirred, not once looking at him. “Do I smell banana bread?”

  “I think there’s some in that basket.” He finally got it. She was actually self-conscious. Why, he didn’t understand. She was perfect. “It’s nice to see you in something other than a suit,” he said calmly, and tried to focus on pouring himself more joe. “These puny cups are ridiculous. Two sips and that’s it.”

  “Would you like me to order you a trough?” She flipped the red linen napkin over to get to the treats and peered inside the basket.

  “That would be an improvement.” While she was busy avoiding him, he took another heart-stopping look at her long legs. He had no idea what to say next. How to put her at ease, how to calm down his heated body. He deserved a friggin’ award for being able to think at all.

  She put a slice of the banana bread on a small white plate, then pinched off a piece and brought it to her lips. She took a bite, her eyes closing briefly. “This is awesome.”

  He watched her walk to the couch, set her coffee on the end table and then sit down with the plate on her lap. His gaze went to the curves of her calves, her slim ankles, the bright red toenails.

  “I think I’ll go take that shower now,” he said abruptly, and this time he avoided her. Headed straight for the bathroom door. Before she got a load of his rising temperature.

  DAKOTA WOLFED DOWN the rest of the banana bread and then got another piece. When depressed she didn’t eat, but when she was nervous? Look out.

  Was she crazy staying here with him? She could’ve been on a flight home already. She should have been at the office an hour ago. Never had she missed a single Saturday. Everyone knew that. Where would they think she was? There’d be questions. And stares. And…

  She looked around for a clock but couldn’t find one. Her watch was on the nightstand, but it didn’t matter really. She’d call the concierge and find out when the next flight to New York was leaving.

  She hesitated, recalled the way Tony’s pecs swelled with muscle, the way the black hair got thicker as it neared his waistband. She wanted to explore every inch of him. Discover his muscular thighs. He was a laborer. Used every muscle in his body. Panicked, she searched for the phone. Why had he stopped her last night? It would have been so much easier when she was pretending to be drunk.

  God, she was a coward. But she’d hate herself either way. Better not to have to face Cody at work. Would he have questioned her parents and got them concerned?

  The phone rang just as she reached for it.

  “Hey.” It was Dallas.

  “Where are you?”

  “Still in the city.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope. How’s it going?” Dallas asked.

  “Tony registered us under your names. But as far as I know, Tom hasn’t tried to pull anything.”

  “Good. I think his wife may have reeled him in. Serena’s pretty tired of his pranks.”

  “Oh, well, it’s about time.” Where had the disappointment come from? She’d already decided to leave. “No need for us to stay then.”

  “Dakota.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t be a chicken.”

  “What are you talking about?” She couldn’t mean Tony. Dallas knew better. The lengthening silence told her otherwise. “Dal-las? What have you done?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Tom wasn’t going to sabotage you at all…was he?”

  “Look, Dakota—”

  “I’ve never interfered in your life.”

  “I’m not interfering. I asked you for a favor. You could’ve said no.”

  Dakota drew in a breath. She couldn’t argue that point.

  “I’ve gotta go,” Dallas blurted. “We leave this afternoon for Budapest. We’re taking one of those fourteen-day riverboat cruises to Amsterdam.”

  “Wow! Fourteen days?” Dakota didn’t want to fight with her sister. Especially not before she traveled. The old childhood fear that something bad might happen while away had turned into a persistent superstition.

  “Yep, after haggling with Mom over the wedding plans, a nice long vacation is exactly what we need.”

  She couldn’t imagine being away from the office that long. It would be horribly nerve-racking. “Well, you guys have fun.”

  “We will. You, too. Cut loose, okay? No one’s looking over your shoulder. And you couldn’t find a better guy than Tony.” Dallas abruptly hung up.

  Dakota smiled wryly as she replaced the receiver.

  Look who was being chicken now. Sighing, she checked the pareu knot, although it was so short, calling it a pareu was stretching it. She could tie the cover-up around her waist, which was probably how it was meant to be worn, but of course that would cause another problem.

  Maybe when they went to the beach, with all that sunshine and clean ocean air, she’d feel better. At least she wouldn’t feel so exposed on a beach with other half-dressed people.

  She wandered to the sliding glass door, which was still draped, odd considering they had an ocean view. No one’s looking over your shoulder, Dallas had said. The weekend, the situation, it was all totally perfect. If she could have e-mailed the gang at Eve’s Apple, they would have told her to go for it. Run, don’t walk. This is what she wanted. She’d told them so just a couple of nights ago. So why the hell was she vacillating?

  She found the cord for the drapes and pulled them open.

  “Was that the phone?”

  She heard Tony come up behind her but she just stared outside. At a dark sky, a gray turbulent ocean and the balcony wet from a recent rain.

  “What are you looking at?” He stood beside her, smelling of soap and the croissant he’d brought with him. To her dismay, he was also wearing a T-shirt. But at least he’d had the courtesy to wear shorts, a little too long for her to get a look at his thighs but he had great calves.

  She raised her brows at him. “What happened to the blue skies and sunshine?”

  “Oh, that.” He took a bite of the croissant. When he finished chewing, he said, “You have to believe, Dakota, have faith that everything will turn out all right.”

  “What kind of nonsense is that?”

  “Nonsense?” He snorted, and then pointed outside. “Look over there.”

  “What am I looking at?”

  “See that patch of blue?”

  “Yes.” She had no idea where he was going with this. But she loved just hearing his voice. Deep and soothing, sexy yet friendly. Maybe the playful friendliness was what made him sexy. She didn’t know but she wasn’t going to analyze further.

  “You had faith and it’s paying off.”

  “You’re nuts.”

  He smiled, ate the last bite of his croissant and then took her by the hand. “And you’re beautiful.”

  “Stop it.”

  He tugged her closer. “Like you haven’t heard that a thousand times.”

  She sighed, disappointed. She really didn’t want him to be like the other guys. The ones who couldn’t see past the package. She’d outscored all of them in law school but it never mattered. “Is that why you’re here with me?”

  “Partly.”

  “What’s the other part?”

  He frowned thoughtfully for a moment while doing those little circles on the inside of her wrist again. “I’m thinking it might be because you play hard to get.”

  Pretty damn honest of him. “I never played hard to get. Did you ever think I just wasn’t interested?”

  “Nope.”

  That startled a laugh out of her. “Are you always this sure of yourself?”

  “If I’m not, no one else will be.” He ran his hand up her arm. “Want to hear part three?”

  “Ah, there’s more.” She tried to stay cool when he grazed her shoulder and then cupped the side of her neck.

  “I know a little about you from Dallas. Now, don’t get your knickers in a twis
t,” he said, when her mouth opened in protest. “It wasn’t as if she was talking about you specifically. She was talking about herself and you just entered into the conversation.”

  “How?”

  He smiled, massaged the back of her neck. “She didn’t tell me you had a temper.”

  “I don’t.”

  “The eyes don’t lie.”

  She gave him a sugary smile, and said, “Can you guess what they’re telling you now?”

  “Ouch.”

  She laughed. She couldn’t help herself. Although the fact that he was giving her the best neck rub ever certainly went a long way toward penance.

  “As I was saying, part three, even though you’re built like a—” At the lift of her eyebrows he paused. “Like a, um—”

  “You don’t have to stop rubbing my neck while you think.”

  He nodded and went back to work, his dark brows solemnly drawn together as if he had to decide the fate of the world. He’d missed a tiny spot shaving, right where his skin creased when he smiled. Which he did a lot. She liked that. “Okay, like a goddess,” he said looking to her as if for approval.

  “Oh, brother.” She rolled her eyes.

  “You like ‘every guy’s fantasy’ better?”

  Heat stung her cheeks and she moved away from him. “Would you stop.”

  “Hey, wait, there’s more.” He caught her hand and pulled her against him. She held her breath when his arm slid around her waist, forcing them to melt together. “Despite the fact that you’re beautiful and could probably get anything you want, you have a serious career that you’ve worked hard for. And you took the time to help Nancy and Trudie and the rest of the ladies get Capshaw’s attention.”

  “I really didn’t do much.”

  “The harassment stopped. You did good. Get over it.”

  She gave him a wry smile. It was the best she could do considering how sensitive her breasts were, how achingly hard her nipples had become crushed against his chest.

  His gaze lowered to her lips, and then he dipped his head and touched her mouth with his. Softly. A whisper of a touch, while his hands explored her back, followed the curve of her spine and cupped her bottom. She moved against him, felt his hardness growing, exciting her. Empowering her. Making her bolder.

  She ran her tongue across his lips and then drew his lower one into her mouth. He let her take the lead, nibbling, tasting, exploring the inside of his mouth. Tension radiated from his body, fed her own and she fought the urge to back off. Slink to the corner. Run back to her safe, well-ordered life.

  What was wrong with her? Had it really been that long since she’d been with anyone? It wasn’t as if Tony was a threat.

  He must have sensed her withdrawal because he leaned back far enough to look at her. “Hey.”

  “Hey.”

  He touched the side of her cheek with the back of his finger, yet giving her some space. “Did you notice how much blue sky is showing now?”

  She gave him a weak smile. “The sun’s been out a couple of times, too.”

  “Is this where I tell you I told you so?”

  “A couple of times does not a sunny day make.”

  He mockingly put a hand to his chest. “She’s poetic, too. I think I’m in love.”

  She gave him a playful shove and felt his hard chest beneath her palms. Getting all heated again, she snuck a look and saw that he was still aroused. Now it was difficult to look away. Difficult to think about anything but dragging him to bed. She doubted he’d mind. And wasn’t that why she was here?

  “Look at that.” He pointed at two couples in swimsuits, carrying snorkels, and walking along the shoreline. “Fellow believers.”

  Between two fluffy white clouds, the sun peeked out, so bright this time that Dakota had to squint to look up at the sky. It was definitely clearing up. Even the ocean was turning from gray to a pretty bluish-green. Several more people emerged from the bungalows close to the water, all of them in swimsuits and carrying towels.

  “Maybe we should take advantage of the beach while the sun’s out,” she said, expecting him to balk, to grab her and kiss her and convince her to crawl back into that nice big soft bed with him. Yeah, like she needed her arm twisted.

  “Good idea.” He took a step back. “I’ll go put on my trunks.”

  She shrugged, trying not to show her disappointment. “After I slip on a pair of sandals I’ll be ready.”

  He took a few more steps backward, his gaze taking her in, devouring her as if she were a hot fudge sundae. “I can’t wait for you to baptize that suit.”

  “You’re going to wait a long time. I can’t swim.”

  “Excellent. I’ll teach you.”

  Laughing and shaking her head, she pointed to the bathroom. “Go.”

  “Can’t wait to get me in the water, huh?”

  “I’m so embarrassed you guessed.”

  He winked and disappeared.

  She couldn’t stop smiling. She’d lied. Of course she could swim. In fact, she’d been ranked number two on her college swim team. But if he wanted to teach her, hey, who was she to argue.

  6

  WELL, NOW HE KNEW. Tony grinned to himself as he hauled two lounge chairs from the attendant’s station near the pool, through the warm sand to a spot close to the water. Ms. Shea was hot for him, after all. Pretending she didn’t know how to swim. Right. He knew damn well she’d been on her college swim team. It had somehow come up in conversation with Dallas once.

  “Do you want an umbrella?” he asked her after he set his chair next to hers.

  “I put on sunscreen.”

  “Yeah, but sometimes the sun and a hangover don’t mix.”

  She wore sunglasses but he could tell she was glaring. “I don’t have a hangover, nor am I as knowledgeable about them as you seem to be.”

  “Haven’t had one myself since my college days. When are you going to take off that thing?”

  She ignored the part about getting down to her bikini. “You went to college?”

  “I’m wounded that you look so surprised.” He kicked off his deck shoes and sand flew everywhere.

  “I’m not surprised. Well, yeah, I am, but only because Dallas never said anything.”

  “So you asked about me?” He grinned at the long-suffering face she always made when he teased her. “I didn’t finish. Too boring. I left halfway into my sophomore year.”

  He pulled off his T-shirt and folded it before stowing it with his towel under his chair. He probably should have put on sunscreen since he didn’t work outside much anymore and his tan had faded. Truthfully, he was hoping they wouldn’t be out long. He had far more interesting indoor activities planned.

  Tony stretched out on the lounge chair and looked over at Dakota, anxious for her to unveil, his pulse racing like when he was a kid on Christmas morning and his parents finally brought out the big wrapped toy they always saved for last. But she was obviously in no hurry. She’d sat down but was still messing with the small bag of stuff she’d brought with her. Maybe she was even stalling.

  He still didn’t get it. How could she be so self-conscious? Was that why she dressed the way she did for work, or was that just part of the image she had of herself as an attorney? He understood the whole professional look, dress for success bit, but if the two times he saw her in work clothes were typical, then she carried it too far.

  “Over there.” Tony waited for her to look up and then motioned with his chin at a woman knee-deep in the water. “Now that’s what they call itsy-bitsy.”

  “Oh, God.”

  “What?”

  She just shook her head.

  “Yours isn’t that—” His heart thudded. “That’s not a bad thing.”

  “I don’t see you wearing a Speedo.”

  “Good point. But I’m just saying—”

  He totally forgot what he was about to say when she got up, untied the knot at her breasts and let the wrap fall. Even at the risk of being rude, he couldn’t
take his eyes off her. He didn’t know how she’d even gotten it on. A small yellow triangle took care of the bottom front and two triangles took care of the top. The rest was all her. Soft curves, pale skin and a flat belly she must have had to work hard for.

  She quickly sat back down and with a glance over her shoulder said, “At least I don’t know anyone here.” She got comfortable, stretching out her long legs, her head tilted back so that her face got full sun, her back slightly arched.

  He said nothing. With all the blood pooled in his groin, anything coming out of his mouth would probably sound juvenile. Other guys had noticed her, too, even ones with wives or girlfriends. And damned if he didn’t get that same adolescent rush as he had when he’d trumped all the school jocks and taken Jackie Ricci, the homecoming queen, to the big dance. But that was seventeen years ago and he wasn’t that same cocky kid anymore.

  “Here comes a waiter. Do you want a drink?” he asked and she made a face.

  She moistened her lips. “Maybe some plain orange juice.”

  Just watching the tip of her tongue took him to a place he shouldn’t go. Not here. “Ah. Come on. Don’t you want something with an umbrella in it?”

  She sat up and looked in the direction of the approaching waiter. “I’ll bet he’ll put one in my orange juice.”

  Tony snorted. The guy would probably do anything she wanted, unless he was gay. Even sitting up her belly was flat. Her breasts weren’t large but their size suited her slender body type perfectly. This time when he saw a couple of guys eyeing her it annoyed him.

  “You ready for a swim?” His motives weren’t entirely pure. A hard-on was starting to make him uncomfortable, and playing in the water invited all kinds of possibilities.

  “We just sat down.”

  “I’ll order our drinks, and they’ll be waiting for us when we get out.”

  “You go on ahead and I’ll wait for them.” The wrap she’d left on the lounge chair, she now gathered to her sides as she settled back again, partially hiding her body.

  He sighed and adjusted the towel to conceal the front of his trunks and stretched out again. He kind of liked it that she was modest. In his experience, women who looked as good as her went the other way. But jeez, she was beginning to cramp his style.