Jaci Burton (18 page)

And dammit, she couldn’t stop thinking about Rick.

After her massage, she went to search for Lacey, who’d

gotten a massage at the same time. They were going to meet

up for a late lunch afterward. But she was nowhere to be

found. The woman working the front desk at the spa said

Lacey had left a message saying she was going up to her

room to take a nap.

Figured. Lacey was always either talking Ava’s ear off or

sound asleep.

She decided to go take a shower, wash the oil off from the

massage, and maybe relax and read.

She grabbed a sandwich on her way up to her room, and

after her shower, grabbed it and took a spot out on the

balcony. Such an amazing panorama of the town, and off to

the right she caught a peek of the ocean and white sand.

While she ate, she enjoyed the warm air and beautiful view

of the waving trees and the colorful town below. Such a mix of

colors, and Ava had always enjoyed people watching. She

always wondered what people were doing, where they were

going.

Maybe because watching other people go about their lives

was so much more interesting than her own. Because here

she was, sitting up in her room when she could either be out

shopping or at the beach on this beautiful day.

Hadn’t she learned anything? They had one more day here

and she was sitting on a hotel balcony when a once-in-a-

lifetime experience was just a short walk away.

So what was it going to be? Shopping or some time on the

beach?

She and Lacey had shopped yesterday. She’d even

haggled with a few of the merchants—it was expected, as

Lacey explained.

She should check out the beach.

It was time to dig her toes in the sand and live a little. She

didn’t need Lacey to hold her hand—or Rick. She could do it

by herself.

She threw on her swimsuit and cover-up, slipped into her

sandals, and made her way down the slope toward the water.

Dusky-colored rock wal s rose up on either side of her. There

was no concrete path, just sand, worn from the people who’d

come before her. She made her way through the maze of

rocks until she found the clearing.

Breathtaking. Clear blue water, mountains on the other side,

and no one was around. She stood and listened to the

crashing sound of the waves, watched them ride their way to

shore. She kicked off her sandals and moved in a few feet so

the water trickled over her toes.

It was warm, inviting. She dropped to the sand and

straightened her legs, clearing her mind.

This was so much better than sitting in her room.

She dragged the beach towel out of her bag, pul ed off her

cover-up, and lay down.

As soon as she closed her eyes, Rick’s face swam before

her. She sighed, giving up the thought of forgetting about him.

She wished he were here with her, lying on the beach with

her, folding her into his arms and kissing her. She missed

talking to him, hearing the sound of his voice, his laughter. He

seemed to understand her in ways no other man ever had.

What man had ever even bothered to listen to her before? And

he didn’t agree with everything she said just to get her in bed.

He helped her reason things out about Lacey.

But it went beyond just talking. She missed making love to

him, the way he’d awakened her body. Her senses throbbed

every time she thought about his kisses, his touch, the way

she felt when he was inside her.

How could a man affect her so deeply after only a few short

days? What was so special about him that was different than

any other guy she’d known?

He had seemed so perfect for her. They had seemed to fit

so wel together. How could she have been so wrong about

him? What he’d said to Bo just didn’t fit what she knew about

him. Was she that bad a judge of character that she hadn’t

been able to see who he real y was? Had he played her that

wel ? She was a reasonably intel igent woman who knew how

to spot a player. Or at least she thought she was.

Too much thinking. Thinking that was getting her nowhere.

She and Rick were over. Why couldn’t she just let it go?

“You could tempt a man to sin looking like that.”

Ava shot up and grabbed her cover-up, shielding her face

from the sun. A silhouette stood in the bright sunlight, a dark

shadow she couldn’t make out. She grabbed her bag, then

scrambled to her feet, hoping to hel someone else was on

this stretch of beach besides her and some stranger. What the

hel was she thinking coming out here alone?

“Ava.”

Her whole body went rigid. “Rick?” She fished into her bag

for her sunglasses, slid them on. He stood there, barefoot in

jeans and a sleeveless muscle shirt, holding his boots in his

hand. His dark sunglasses made him look reckless, sexy, like

the bad boy she figured him to be. Her legs went weak. “What

are you doing here?”

“I came here to find you, to talk to you.” He pushed his

sunglasses up on his head.

She should be angry with him—furious, in fact—not fal ing to

his feet in a gush of female libido. “Why?”

“Because what I said back in Vegas . . . I didn’t want you to

hear that.”

Her anger rushed to the surface. She preferred that to being

so damn glad to see him. “Obviously.”

“No, you don’t understand.” He grabbed her hands and

pul ed her down to sit in the sand with him. “It wasn’t what I

meant, what I felt.”

“Why did you say it?”

“Because that’s what I wanted Bo to think.”

She cocked her head to the side. “I don’t understand.”

“In order to get back into the Hel raisers I have to prove my

worthiness.”

“And treating a woman like shit is the way to do it?”

He rubbed a spot above his brow with his fingertip. “No, but

tel ing him that I cared about you puts me in a bad position.”

She didn’t know how to respond to that. Was he saying he

cared about her? “Why?”

“I’m not sure I can explain this wel .”

“Try.”

“I’ve been gone for ten years. I just came back. They want

me to be free to work for them, to ride with them. You’re not

one of the Hel raisers.”

“Oh. So if you hooked up with me, I’d be a hindrance to you

doing that.”

He nodded. “It’s a shitty excuse, I know. I didn’t expect him

to ask me about you. So I shot off that you meant nothing to

me, that you were just a fuck. They were just words said to

placate him. I didn’t expect you to be there to hear them.”

“You didn’t mean them.”

“No. I didn’t.”

“But you stil said them.”

“Yes.”

“They hurt me.”

He looked down at the sand, then swept his gaze back to

her. “I know. And I’m sorry. It was thoughtless. I was an

asshole.”

If she were smart, she wouldn’t believe him. She’d tel him

to turn around and head back to Las Vegas. That she wasn’t

interested in his explanations or excuses. That they were over.

That they never had anything to start with.

But she did believe him. He’d come al the way to Mexico to

explain to her, to apologize. What kind of man did that?

“If it would make you feel better you could throw sand at me.

”

She laughed. Damn him. “I can’t believe you’re here. You

came al the way here just to see me? You could have cal ed

me.”

“I could have. But this kind of needed to be handled face-to-

face.”

“You could have waited until I got back.”

He shifted, rubbed his hands together to wipe the sand off.

“I didn’t want to wait. Besides, I missed you.”

She looked away, stared out at the water. “Don’t say that.”

He tipped her chin, forced her gaze back to his. “Why not?”

Her eyes fil ed with tears and she hated herself—and him

—because of it. She pul ed her sunglasses off and looked at

him. “I don’t want to care about you, Rick.”

He paused, then lifted a strand of her hair and sifted it

through his fingers. “But you do.”

She wouldn’t admit it—refused to give him more

ammunition to hurt her. Until he leaned in, and before she

could object, fit his mouth over hers. The kiss was slow and

easy—he wasn’t demanding, it was more like he was testing

the waters.

God, she’d missed his mouth on hers. She sighed and

pressed into him, felt weak and ridiculous for giving in so

easily. She should have walked away. This man was trouble,

was only going to hurt her.

But he’d come al the way to Mexico to apologize. What

man did that?

Rick.

So as his lips brushed over hers, seeking, searching, al her

resolve melted and she kissed him back, her answer—a

resounding
yes
—to everything.

She was so easy. She was going to hate herself later for

this. But right now he was pul ing her onto his lap, onto his

strong thighs, and wrapping his arms around her, deepening

the kiss until she was heated al over. And it felt so good—so

right. She couldn’t muster up any reasonable objections to

why she shouldn’t be with him.

As long as she guarded her heart.

He dragged his lips across her chin, spreading hot kisses

along her throat. She felt the mad beat of her pulse against his

lips and tilted her head back, not caring that they were on the

beach where anyone could see them. No one knew her here

—she was a stranger. Even if someone did see them, it

wasn’t like she was ever coming back to this place again. And

she didn’t want this moment to end.

She shifted, rocked against him, riding his cock through the

denim of his jeans.

Rick grinned. “Out here?”

“Yes.”

“I have a better idea.”

He put his hands under her buttocks and stood, carrying her

over to a secluded cove where the water met the rocks.

“Your jeans are getting wet,” she said as he rested her back

against the cool rock and set her on her feet.

“I don’t care.” He planted his lips on hers and she soon

forgot al about his jeans, or anything else. Al she knew was

his hard cock against her sex, splintering her with pleasure

that rocked her senses.

She wanted more of it. She wanted him inside her. Now.

“Rick, please.”

He leaned back, his gaze questioning. “You want to do this

upstairs in your room?”

She shook her head. “No. Here. Now.”

His face was as fil ed with the dark, ravenous need that she

felt inside as he dug a condom out of his pocket, then took a

quick glance around, making sure they were alone.

He unzipped his pants and pul ed out his cock, and she

couldn’t resist wrapping her fingers around it. So hot, thick,

pulsing with life.

“Christ, Ava. You’re going to make me explode.”

She liked knowing she had that effect on him. She stroked

him while he tore open the condom package. He brushed her

hand away, then reached between them to pul the fabric of

her bikini aside.

The first touch of his hand against her bare flesh made her

gasp, lift up on her toes to drive against his palm. He rubbed

her sex, used her own moisture to lubricate her clit.

She’d done nothing but think about him, think about how

good the sex had been between them. That in itself had been

foreplay. And out here in the heat, with the waves crashing

against them, she was already so close to orgasm it was

embarrassing.

Rick leaned into her, his gaze hard and direct as he

watched her.

“Come on,” he said, driving his palm against her clit as his

finger slipped inside her pussy. “Let me feel you come, Ava.”

The touch of his hand against her, the way he looked at her,

coupled with their forbidden location, was al too much,

ratcheting up her excitement to a frenzied level. She gripped

his wrist, held him right where she needed. She moved

against him and her climax rushed at her like an overpowering

wave. She kept her focus on Rick, letting him see what his

touch had done to her.

His smile was devastating, the darkness in his eyes making

her throb inside.

He jerked her bikini bottom down and placed it on the rock

ledge above her head, then lifted her legs, wrapping them

around him. Ava held onto his shoulders while he guided her

onto his cock.

Sweet heaven. She pulsed around him, gripped him in a

tight vise that overwhelmed her senses. He rocked against

her, thrusting slow and easy at first, then harder, dragging his

cock over her sensitive tissues until al she could do was

squeak out breathless pants.

But no words were necessary because they spoke to each