Dominick slowly raised my hands to his lips and kissed them. His passionate gaze wouldn’t leave mine as his mouth made a leisurely journey of each finger kissing each one in turn. Heat crept up my neck, spread to my face and chills pricked my scalp. His mouth was hot, wet and arousing. It moved to the sensitive skin on the top of my hand where he kissed longingly, his mouth lingering, his full lips parted, his hot breath warming my skin. His voice was a murmur. “You’re beautiful.”
Holy moly, Dominick was kissing my hand. This certainly was a turn of events. Here I’d been the one putting on the heavy flirtation, and now that the tables had turned, I didn’t know what to make of it. Dominick had started out as a mark, and now I was ashamed.
God, I wanted him. I wanted him as a friend, a lover, a husband. I forced all thoughts of Rhys and the wager out of my brain. My body slightly tensed and I forced myself to relax.
Dominick liked me, he did. My heart skipped in a happy dance. I gazed into his hypnotic green eyes wanting to lean over and kiss his full lips.
His mouth was on my pinkie. He continued his erotic assault of my hands. I felt naked and exposed like my heart and soul were bared. My panties grew wet, and my legs spread slightly. Dominick’s sexy green eyes stared into mine, and the look was brazen, raw and erotic. He licked his lips, and his breath hitched. He leaned in until his breath was hot on my neck. Was he going to kiss me? “Should we work on the drink?” he whispered. My lips parted slightly. If Dominick was going to kiss me, I’d let him make the first move. But he didn’t. His breathing was erratic as he took long, slow breaths. “Now?”
Abruptly, he let go of my hands. I sat straight and placed both feet flat on the floor as heat surged through my body. How would I be able to work on the drink when all I could think about was Dominick’s hands all over my sensitive skin? Tapping my feet, I bounced my knees to work some of the nervous energy out. “Whatever you say. I’m your faithful servant.” I stood up fast, feeling dizzy.
He sat back and stretched his long legs out in front of him, crossing his arms. “Will you play that Maroon 5 again?” His green eyes were laser beams as they settled on my breasts.
I turned quickly so he wouldn’t see me blush. “Sure thing. Music coming up.”
I opened the drapes and turned up the lights. As I busied myself with the sound system, I felt his hot gaze searing into my back. How had things turned around so quickly? I’d been the one throwing myself at Dominick in the name of the bet, and now here he was, kissing my fingers like he was ready to work his tongue all over me, undressing me with his eyes.
I stood at the stereo, taking deep breaths. I wanted to kiss him, I did. But things were different now. Before I’d felt confident about my conquest, now I felt embarrassed about the bet and my intention of bedding him for a free trip to Canyon Ranch. When I turned around, there was Dominick, holding my pink and black frilly apron. “For you, meu amor.” He slipped the straps over my head. He moved behind me, and his warm fingers grazed my neck when he lifted my long hair. I nearly leaned into him begging for the feel of his strong hands, hoping they would slide down my body. He secured the apron strings. “All set.”
“Oh, um, okay. Thanks.” I quickly moved to the shelves of jars. “I don’t think the guarana will work with the lemon juice. It tastes weird, and I was reading the other day that maybe it’s too strong. Something about how the Olympic committee had their doubts about the safety. We wouldn’t want to lose just because of some kind of technicality. You know how some of these committees are. They get all weirded out about what goes into formulas. And then you’ve got the FDA …” I whirled around with a jar of yerba mate clutched between my sweaty hands. Stop it, Coco. You’re babbling.
“Let me help you.” Dominick took the jar out of my hand. “What else do we need?”
“We could use pomegranate juice, but that’s so overdone. Then there’s acai. Same deal there. Every time I turn around somebody’s putting acai in their drink.” I scratched my head. “I really liked the ingredients we used the other day. Let’s try it with the yerba mate. It’s a nervous system stimulant, but it’s also high in polyphenols.”
Dominick stared at me, a small smile on his lips. “What are we waiting for?”
I took a deep breath and forced myself to concentrate. The herbal kitchen was my domain. I held my head high and removed the items we’d need from the fridge—sparkling water, green tea, organic lemons—and I got the organic honey from the pantry. “I like that we’re keeping it simple.” I handed him the lemon and removed my manual citrus juice press from the drawer. “Cut this in half and squeeze it into the blender.” We assembled all the ingredients, and finally, I added the yerba mate. We worked in tandem and Dominick was already a step ahead of me, removing the glasses from the cupboard. I added ice and gave the blender a whirl, then poured two glasses.
Dominick held his glass high. “To the winning formula.”
“Down the hatch.” The taste difference with the yerba mate was just the wonderfulness I’d been hoping for. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “I love it! What do you think?”
“I think, Ms. Coco Bennett, that we have a winner.” His smile was devilish. “Get your laptop and let’s enter.”
We sat at the farm table, and as we waited for the computer to boot up, I decided to get personal. I wanted to know everything about Dominick. “Are your mom and dad divorced?”
A haunted look crossed his face. “No.”
“It’s just that you said your mom raised Lola. Where’s your dad? Still in Brazil?”
He looked down at his lap. “My father, he … he passed away.”
“Oh, Dominick. I’m sorry.”
His smile was shaky. “It’s okay. It was a long time ago.”
“Can I ask another question?”
“Of course.”
“Oh listen to me, acting all nosy.” I cocked my head. “How come you don’t have a girlfriend?”
He barked out a laugh. “I’ve got Lola, don’t I?”
“Doesn’t she want you to date?”
“She left you those flowers didn’t she?” He swallowed hard. “She’d like it if I dated.” He looked me straight in the eye. “And, who knows? Maybe I will.”
Did he mean me? We’d only spent a little time together, on a few occasions, but already I was falling for Dominick. He was a fantastic athlete, he was competitive, and he took pride in his business. And he adored his daughter. I loved the way he beamed when Lola walked into a room like she was the most wonderful thing ever to be part of his life; like she was his best friend. My throat clenched with emotion at his overflowing pride for Lola. My heart had opened the day we’d worked on the artwork together. “Lola’s lucky to have you.”
He pointed at himself and smiled. “I’m the lucky one.”
We both glanced at the computer screen as my password prompt appeared. “Secret password and handshake, please. Our winning entry awaits.”
Dominick was an enigma. I couldn’t make heads or tails of the mixed signals he gave. First, he was refusing to come up to my house, then he was kissing my hand, then when he had the chance to kiss me, he didn’t take it. Was I just a business partner? I pinched my lips together, typed in my password and tilted the computer his way so that he could pull up the contest information.
“Here it is.” He screwed up his face. “Looks like I have to create an account.” We came up with a login and password, and we were golden. “First order of business. What are we going to name it?”
“I like Bionic Blast. It’s strong. Like a combination of technology and energy.”
He drummed his fingers on the table. “Does this mean you and Lola are vetoing my X-2C idea?”
“I love it, but somehow it sounds mechanical. Ecstasy should be all natural, and X-2C sounds weirdly robotic. What do you think of Bionic Blast?”
“I think you’re right. Bionic Blast is catchy.”
My fingers poised over the keyboard. “Bionic Blast it is.” Nex
t, I typed in the ingredients. “What about the artwork?”
“I’ll get Lola going on the logo. You two kind of liked that purple background with the jagged letters.”
“I loved it.”
“Sold.” Dominick tilted the screen his way and hit “save changes” on the entry form. “Okay, we’re set for now.” He placed his hands in his lap, and his green eyes stared into mine for long seconds. “I love you … your enthusiasm for the project.” His hands rubbed furiously on his jeans, and he looked away. “Lola told me she had fun with you. Thanks for helping.”
Wait. Had Dominick just said he loved me? No. Surely not. “You’re welcome.”
His eyes lit up. “We’re going to win. I feel it in my bones. And you know, the winnings are ten percent royalties. We’ll split the loot down the middle. Where I come from, a man’s word is gold. Shake on it?”
“How about a pinky swear?” We extended our fingers and pinky swore. “Deal!”
Dominick pulled away from me and gathered his cards. “So, I’ll see you soon. Did you want another reading?”
Rhys’s voice came unbidden to my mind. “I suppose the drink sessions don’t count. The bet was five readings.” I had just had number three. Stupid bet. The thing was, I really did want to see Dominick again, and now that we’d submitted our Bionic Blast recipe, a reading was my only excuse.
“Um, sure. Yeah.” We set our next appointment for a few days out.
When he smiled, his eyes smiled along with the rest of his handsome face. He leaned forward, and I thought he was going to kiss my cheek. My heart beat wildly, and I hoped he would kiss my mouth instead. My lips parted in anticipation. He pulled away abruptly and gave a wan smile. “So.” He cleared his throat. “See you then.”
After Dominick left, I sat on the deck overlooking the ocean, taking deep breaths. My stomach churned as I thought of the bet. If Dominick knew how I’d ended up in his life, I doubt he’d be thrilled. But what the hell? He gave such conflicting signals that I had no idea if he was interested in me or not. The man oozed sexuality, but I was beginning to wonder if something was wrong. Maybe he’d suffered a bad breakup. Maybe Rhys was right, and he was gay.
I took a few long deep, steadying breaths as I thought of the adorable Lola. Despite her aura of confidence, the sweet little Lola seemed desperate for female mentors. It couldn’t be easy having only her father to talk to. I knew what it felt like to be orphaned by a mother and my heart went out to her.
Should I play along with Rhys? Why the hell not? Nothing would come of my relationship with Dominick. Something wasn’t right with him. Such a pity because not only was he the best looking man I’d ever met, he had a magnetism and love of family that I found irresistible.
I’d amuse myself with Rhys’s wager because that’s what we did. In the beginning, I’d been confident about the bet. Now I really didn’t think I had a chance of winning.
Chapter Nineteen
Dominick
The wealthy women of La Fortuna kept me busy. But Coco was far and away my favorite client. Three weeks had passed since the first time we’d met, and I loved spending time with her working on the drink formula and performing her readings.
When I first laid eyes on Coco, I thought she was just another one of the desperate females who sought my services. I did my best to give those women what they wanted. But what some of them wanted (me) would never be in their cards.
Coco was different. I loved that she had her own business, she had the same competitive streak as I did, she loved the same music as Lola—I could dance to a little Maroon 5 myself. She even shared Lola’s favorite color. When I saw the way she connected with Lola, my heart had opened.
I marveled at the kinship I felt. She had studied all those herbs, and the way she went on about them with such enthusiasm reminded me of how passionate I felt about surfing. Sometimes I felt like people’s eyes glazed over when I went on and on about my sport, and I imagined Coco had similar experiences when talking about her holistic herbal passion.
The past few times we’d been together I had wanted to kiss her so badly. My body had been on fire with lust, my mind eager to know more about the woman who’d entranced my daughter and me.
But Coco also had a slight melancholy that made me want to protect her. I had to be careful not to hurt her. While I’d bedded muito lovely women, I had zero experience with real relationships. Here I was, thirty-five, and I’d never had even one real girlfriend. Surfing had consumed my life like a fire, and inside sometimes I still felt like that teenager who ran rampant on the tour, riding killer waves, talking smack with my surfing buddies and having hot sex when it suited me.
I was trying to find my place in this new life. The pro tour was in the past. I was a full-time father to Lola. I had a successful business. I had a new enthusiasm in the surf industry—winning the drink contest—and paramount on my mind, I had my goal of riding that monster wave at Cortes Bank.
A relationship had no part in my new life.
Coco Bennett.
She was a huge distraction, and I felt my vow of celibacy weakening.
After we had entered the drink contest, she’d had one more card reading but I didn’t know how much longer she would need my services. Although I was trying hard to rein my attraction in, it was obvious that we were into each other.
I was like a lovesick kid waiting for her to arrive for her appointments, her long black glossy hair spilling over her creamy skin, her large breasts pushed together, a push-up bra enhancing the luscious curve of her tits, her hard nipples pushing against the fabric of her form fitting dresses. And those long legs, I could barely concentrate when she crossed them. With those short dresses she always wore, I tried not to make it obvious every time my gaze strayed to her panties.
I told myself I could handle the distraction.
I would honor my vow of celibacy.
But Lola wasn’t making things easy for me.
We were surfing at Black’s Beach early Saturday morning when Lola said, “Papai, why don’t you ask Coco on a date?”
I sat on my surfboard scanning the horizon for the next set of waves. “What? Who?”
She scooted her board closer to mine. “Don’t act dumb.” She kicked me with her foot. “She’s pretty. And smart too.” She smiled. “I can tell you like her.”
“She’s a client, Lola.”
She stared at me, her brown eyes wide. “What does that matter? And why don’t you have girlfriends anymore?”
I patted the water, avoiding eye contact. “You’re all I need.” I gave my daughter a half smile.
“You need to get a life, Daddy. Isn’t that how they say it here in America?” She let out a breathy sigh. “I like it here. Better than living with grandma where she watched everything I did.” She spread her arms wide. “Things are different here. Parents trust their kids. You trust me, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then listen when I tell you to be nice to Coco. She seems sad.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because she’s always alone and it seems like all she does is work and go to her exercise classes.”
I paddled my hands in the water. “How do you know how she spends her time?”
“Because I talked to her. That’s something you could do, you know. Talk to her. Not like all those other girlfriends you always had. Grandma and I never got to spend much time with them.”
That’s because none of them lasted more than a couple of dates. “Sweetheart, you know how busy I always was on the tour.”
“Well, you’re not on the tour anymore.”
My face felt hot with embarrassment. The last thing I wanted was for Lola and my mother to have microphones thrust in their faces by reporters wanting a story about my final contest, how it had all ended or gossip about my love life. It was part of the reason we were here in California. When my mother and I had our huge fight, it was divine intervention. Lola and I had our own life now.
I turned my board, so I was facing Lola. “You and I are happy, right?”
“Yes, but I’m not going to be young forever, you know.”
I had to laugh at that. “My lindeza, you’re only twelve.” I narrowed my eyes. “How are things going with—what’s that bully’s name again?”
She looked away. “Justice.” She crossed her arms. “Fine. I’m getting pretty good with the punching bag, right?”
We had been practicing every afternoon, and she was getting too good. “Yes, you are. Just don’t get too confident. I told you—”
“Fighting’s only for emergencies. I know.”
The next set came through. A look of excitement crossed her face. “Your wave,” I said.
She positioned herself prone, paddled mightily and executed a perfect bottom turn onto the wave. I grinned wide as I watched her speed down the surf, her style fairy-like in its grace. My heart swelled with pride. Lola was a chip off the old block.
The next wave surged toward me. I lined myself up perfectly, whipped my board around, popped to my feet and rode that gorgeous right-hander. Cool water sprayed over my board as I crouched into the tube. Endorphins fired through my system as I savored the weightless feeling, my body one with the ocean. The wave opened up, and I accelerated my speed until I was on the open face. I swiveled up and down, hovering on the lip, staring out to land as though I was floating in heaven. The wave gathered speed, and I pivoted until I was at the bottom, then wound sharply back to the top until I was airborne. I reveled in the excitement of soaring over the ocean as my hand grabbed the rail of my board before smacking back down onto the precise reentry point. The feeling was almost better than a mind-blowing orgasm.
When I ended my ride, I kicked out and grabbed my board with both hands close to where Lola stood, her long blond hair plastered to her head, and spilling down her shoulders. She gave me a high-five. “Nice one!”
We paddled back out to the lineup, and I thought Lola would’ve forgotten about Coco. But I was wrong. “So, when are you going to ask her out?”
“Will you stop? How do you know she’s even interested?”
Sea of Seduction: A Single Dad Sports Romance Page 10
