Sea of Love (Love in Bloom: The Bradens, Book 4) Contemporary Romance (5 page)

“I CAN’T SEE how you’d expect anything else.” Kaylie wore a peach tank top and white shorts. Her blond hair cascaded in waves over her shoulders, one side tucked behind her ear. She lowered her big brown sunglasses and spoke to Lacy while looking over the rim of the frames. “I mean, you guys lusted after each other for more than a year. It’s only natural for you to end up doing the dirty on the beach.”

Lacy and her sisters sat around a small wooden table on the patio of the Bookstore Restaurant, sipping coffee and nibbling on croissants.

“I feel a little like I don’t know where we go next,” Lacy admitted.

Danica set down her coffee mug and adjusted her sunglasses against the bright morning glare. “Lacy, you’ve had one-night stands before. Does this feel like that?”

Lacy sighed. “No, definitely not. To be honest, afterward it felt kind of natural, like we’d been dating forever, but you know how that goes. I’m still in that afterglow stage. The
God, he’s too good to be true
haze.” She looked toward the beach, thinking of their incredible night together and how they’d made love into the wee hours of the morning. His every touch had been filled with a heated combination of tenderness and sheer, masculine sexuality. She felt a flush warm her cheeks and tucked the memory away.

“The real question is, what do you want from this? Women always let the guys decide, and really, it’s just as much up to us.” Danica nodded toward the beach across the street. “Weren’t you worried about being seen?” Her dark curls were secured with an elastic band at the base of her neck, and as she turned toward Lacy, a few sprang free just behind her ear.

“We were up on the dunes. I worried, but only for a second.” Lacy thought about how quickly she’d fallen into Dane’s arms and how badly she’d wanted him. She had to tamp down her desire if she was ever going to be able to evaluate what their relationship was—or could be. She was used to sizing up clients, figuring out what they wanted, where they needed to be, and then getting them there. Relationships weren’t that different from clients. The problem was, with clients she had a data sheet, a starting place. She knew their goals before they’d even met. With Dane, the data sheet was only partially complete and the goals were muddled with desire.

“He’s so nice, and a gentleman, and great at…you know…but what can really come of us when he travels all the time?” Lacy had been thinking about Dane all night. He hadn’t promised her the world or even hinted at anything more than what she knew they were—two people who were attracted to each other—but who knew where that might go. “He touched my scar,” Lacy said quietly.

“Oh, gosh. I totally forgot about that.” Danica leaned across the table and touched Lacy’s hand. “I never put two and two together on that front.”

“Wait. You went snorkeling in Nassau, so how afraid of sharks can you really be, and why should your scar matter?” Kaylie finished her coffee and sat back in her chair.

“But snorkeling was in shallow water, and you guys were all around me. To be honest, I’ve thought about it all night, and I realized that I’ve pretty much kept things within my comfort zone when it comes to open water.” Lacy touched her thigh. “I think I realize why my mom used to keep me so busy with day trips during the summers. We were always running to museums and going to the pool. We lived two hours from here. You’d think we’d have come to the beach at some point, but we never did. Even when she brought me here for an occasional weekend, we never went to the ocean.”

Danica squeezed her hand. “Lacy, whatever your mom did, she did because she loves you, and if she felt you needed to be away from the ocean, then maybe you really were afraid of sharks after the incident. It makes sense, but you’ve never tested it as an adult. Maybe you’re not really afraid of them, but you’ve been taught to think you are.”

Lacy squinted in the direction of the beach.
Am I afraid of sharks?
“I have these memories of being petrified after the incident, but I can’t remember even thinking about it much in the years since. It was so long ago.”

Danica looked at Kaylie. Kaylie slipped off her sunglasses and said softly, “Lacy, if there’s one thing I learned from Danica, it’s that sometimes we hide our fears even from ourselves.”

“I don’t even know what that means.” Lacy rubbed her temples. “Really, this is all kind of silly. We’re seeing each other today, but he hasn’t even said anything about after that.”
And I can’t stop thinking about it
.

“So…what? Then you go back to texting and an occasional video sex call?” Kaylie ran her hand through her hair and shook her head. “I don’t know how you put up with that stuff. I’d figure out what you want this weekend, and if it’s Dane, then let him know in no uncertain terms.”

“Kay, give her a break. She’s just seen him for the first time in more than a year.” Danica turned a serious gaze toward Lacy. “Lace, ignore the ultimatum advice; it rarely works. Just enjoy yourself and let things happen naturally. But if you think about things and you realize that sharks are a bigger issue—which given your history, they very well could be—then he deserves to know now rather than later.”

“Speak of the devil,” Kaylie said with a smile.

Lacy turned around and spotted Dane and Hugh at the gate of the patio. Her heart rate hastened when Dane’s eyes locked on hers—the memory of their night together translated in his heated stare.

“Hey, ladies.” Hugh waved as he pulled a chair from a neighboring table and straddled it backward. “How’s the coffee?”

Dane squeezed Lacy’s shoulder, and she thought her heart might leap from her chest. He leaned down and kissed her cheek.

“Hi, beautiful,” he whispered. “I missed you over the past hour.”

Lacy felt her cheeks flush. Now that she knew what was beneath Dane’s white shorts and tan Brave Foundation T-shirt, her fingers itched to touch him. She wrapped her hands around her mug to keep them from acting on their own.

“You guys sleep okay? I slept like a rock.” Hugh’s light yellow polo shirt stretched tight across his muscular chest. His hair looked as though it had dried in the wind, with thick waves pulled back from his handsome face, in contrast to Dane’s finger-brushed hair, the front of which hung thickly above his eyes. “Savannah, Josh, and I had a few drinks in Savannah’s room, and by the time I fell into bed, I was zonked. You should have joined us,” he said to Danica and Kaylie. “I told Blake and Chaz what we were doing.”

Danica looked down, and the blush on her cheeks told Lacy what her sister was doing the evening before.

“Chaz was so tired,” Kaylie explained. “But maybe we can catch up with you guys tonight.”

“Maybe so,” Hugh said. “I have to be in California Tuesday for a charity race. I can’t drink a lot, but we can go have some fun.” Hugh flagged down a waitress and ordered coffee. “Anyone else want a cup?”

“No, thanks,” Dane said. “Lace, Treat said we could take out his Talaria. It’s not a sailboat, but she’s a beauty. I thought we’d take a whirl around the bay.” He raised his eyebrows toward the others.

Lacy struggled to tame her excitement at spending an afternoon with Dane, and in the next moment, she worried he might want to swim in the deep sea.
That
was definitely out of her comfort zone. She touched her scar. “Sounds great. Will we be swimming?”

“Not if I can help it,” Dane said with a wink. “Any other takers?”

Lacy knew how close Dane was to his family, and she wasn’t surprised when he invited the others along, though she was a little disappointed at the idea of not having him all to herself.

“Savannah and I were going to hang out at the beach this morning. We’ll come along, if you don’t mind,” Hugh said.

“We’re going into Chatham today with Kaylie and Chaz, but thanks anyway,” Danica said.

“Sounds great,” Dane said to Hugh. He squeezed Lacy’s shoulder. “Great.” Dane looked at his watch. “Why don’t I go get things ready, and I’ll meet you guys at the dock in half an hour.”

“I’ll help.” Hugh sucked down his coffee in two quick gulps and jumped from his chair. “Nice to see you guys. We’ll see you this afternoon.”

Dane kissed Lacy’s cheek, and as she watched him walk away, she felt the heat of her sisters’ stares.

“Looks like you’re going to a boat party,” Kaylie said.

Danica leaned in close to Lacy and asked, “Did Dane say he missed you
the last hour
? I guess you had company overnight?”

Lacy felt heat rush up her cheeks again. “Okay, yes, he stayed in my room.” She sighed. “I was gonna tell you guys, but…”

“Good for you, Lace,” Kaylie said.

“I’m happy for you,” Danica said. “But you should be honest with him about your scar before you guys get any closer. Hiding things just causes trouble later.”

Any closer? I’m already waist deep
.

DANE THOUGHT IT had taken all of his restraint to walk away from Lacy’s room this morning when he really wanted to keep her in bed for another two hours. He’d been wrong. It took even more control to keep from swooping her into his arms at the Bookstore Restaurant, when she was with her sisters. Now, as he watched her walk down the dock toward the boat, he knew he should play it cool, pretend that his heart wasn’t thundering in his chest and every nerve in his body wasn’t calling out for her. If he let loose that bundle of emotions, he might never let her go again.

As she approached with a trusting smile and those gleaming blue eyes that slayed his heart, his body had a mind of its own. He jumped from the boat to the dock and hurried toward her.
The hell with making a good impression
. He took Lacy in a deep, passionate kiss, lifting her feet off the dock, his chest pressed against hers, her heart hammering in perfect timing to his. And when he drew back, he was relieved to see a wide grin on her lips.
God, you’re beautiful
.

He set her feet back down on the dock just as Hugh and Savannah came up behind them.

“What is this, the
Love Boat
?” Savannah teased. “Hi, Lacy,” she said with a wave. Savannah’s brown bikini showed through her white cover-up. She stood next to Hugh, who was wearing swim trunks and tank top. Both looked at Dane and Lacy with approving smiles. Savannah arched a brow. “Is this gonna be a make-out trip? Do Hugh and I need to find dates?”

Lacy blushed, and Dane pulled her against his side. “We have a lot of time to make up for, but I promise we’ll behave.” He winked at Lacy.

Lacy wore the same blue bikini she’d worn in Nassau—the one Dane had pictured her in until last night, when his visions of her no longer required clothing.

Dane and Hugh climbed aboard the forest-green
Talaria
, a forty-eight-foot Hinckley yacht. Dane helped Lacy aboard, and for a moment they stood gazing into each other’s eyes.

“Come on, lovebirds,” Savannah said as she grabbed Lacy’s hand and dragged her toward the bow.

Lacy looked back over her shoulder with a wide smile, and Dane felt a tug in his heart. What was it about her that was so different from the dozens of other women he’d been with over the years?

“Dude, are we gonna pilot this boat or stare?” Hugh teased. Hugh was six and a half years younger than Dane, and as the youngest of the Braden siblings, he’d picked up on all of the ribbing from his older brothers and sister, and over the years, he’d learned how to dish it out as well as take it.

Dane gave him a playful shove, and they went to work untying the ropes that tethered them to the slip. Dane piloted the boat, watching Lacy standing at the bow; her curly blond hair whipped around her, and the cover-up she wore flapped in the wind. He couldn’t wait to get farther out to sea, so he could spend some time beside her. He felt most at home on the water, and he’d imagined what it would be like to go boating with Lacy every time he’d been at sea. Now he knew that being anywhere with Lacy would make it sweeter.

Lacy took off her cover-up, and she and Savannah turned and waved at them.

“Damn, bro. She’s hot,” Hugh said.

Hugh’s tone was a little too hungry for Dane’s liking. He was used to his brother making comments about women—all women, with no regard for if they were taken or single. Hell, because of his high-profile career, Hugh had more supermodels chasing him than Josh ever did, and Josh designed the clothes they would do anything for.

He knew Hugh was harmless when it came to Lacy, but that didn’t tame his urge to stake his claim.

“Watch it,” he warned.

“Dude, really? She looks at you like you’re the main course. I wouldn’t even try.”

The main course? Really?
Dane smiled, casting another glance at Lacy, who was now passing by portside on her way to the seats in the rear of the boat. She waved, and Dane blew a kiss in her direction. Savannah was right behind her. She pretended to catch the kiss he blew and stuck her tongue out at him. Dane shook his head. Savannah could make anyone smile.

The sun shone brightly, and a nice breeze kicked off the water. He cut the engine.

“Ready to catch some rays?” Dane asked.

Hugh flashed a knowing smile. “That’s not all you’ll be catching.”

“Do you ever think of anything other than sex?” Dane pulled off his shirt and grabbed a towel.

Hugh shrugged. “I try not to.” He followed Dane out of the cockpit and down into the cabin. They came back on deck with four wineglasses and a bottle of Didier Dagueneau Silex.

Hugh poured four glasses of the white wine, handed each person one, and raised his glass. “To a perfect afternoon.”

“Nice.” Savannah picked up the bottle and squinted. “Isn’t this the wine that mountain man made?”

“Yeah,” Dane said. “Didier Dagueneau was a wine maker in the Loire Valley. He had a huge cult following for his sauvignon blanc wines. He did look like a mountain man with his big bushy hair and massive beard. Poor bastard died when his plane crashed. I believe his son took over the business.”

“That’s horrible,” Lacy said.

“That’s why I’ll never pilot a plane.” Dane winked at Lacy.

“No, you’ll just swim with the deadliest animals around.” Savannah rolled her eyes.

“I thought that was your job,” Dane teased.

“Like I haven’t heard that a hundred times,” Savannah said. “I wish someone would start a rumor that attorneys are kind, generous, beautiful people.”

“Vanny, you are all those things.” Dane lifted his glass. “To a perfect afternoon with beautiful company.” He clinked glasses with Lacy.

“Lacy was telling me that she lives near Boston,” Savannah said.

Dane had wondered when Savannah would begin to pry into their personal life.

Dane settled in beside Lacy and swung an arm around her sun-warmed shoulder. He felt her stiffen for a beat, then relax against him.

“How long are you staying on the Cape?” Savannah asked Lacy.

“Just till tomorrow. I work Monday, so…” Lacy took a sip of her wine.

“Dane’s gonna be here for a week or two, right, Dane?” Savannah pushed.

“I think what Savannah is getting at is that you and I should try to see each other since we’ll be only two hours apart.” Dane wrapped his other arm across Lacy’s chest and kissed the back of her head. “Don’t worry, Savannah. Lacy and I will be making the most of our time together.”

Dane whispered in her ear, “Savannah’s a little pushy.”

Lacy smiled. “I want to spend time with you.”

“Good.” He’d been thinking about how to ask her to stay for another day, but he didn’t want to be presumptuous, and he definitely didn’t want to put her on the spot in front of his siblings. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Hell, just go with him on his tagging mission. You’ll love it. Dane’s all slick and sexy in his wet suit, being all macho and shit.” Hugh grinned, his eyes bouncing from Lacy to Dane and back again.

“Nothing like putting them both on the spot.” Savannah gave Hugh a shove.

“What?” Hugh protested.

“I have a meeting Monday morning. I really couldn’t stay, even if I wanted to,” Lacy said. “I’m up for a promotion in a few weeks, and I’ve been working really hard to get it. I don’t want to jeopardize that.”

Damn
. “We’ll figure it out,” Dane assured her. So much for asking her to stay.

“What’s that scar from?” Savannah asked, pointing to Lacy’s thigh.

Dane felt her flinch against him and instinctively knew she needed to be rescued from the line of questioning Savannah was putting her through. He rose to his feet and headed for the cabin.

“Lacy, wanna help me get lunch together? I’ll show you the rest of the boat.”

“Sure.” Lacy followed him down the stairs.

Out of earshot of his siblings, he reached for her hands. “I’m sorry about that. They’re a little aggressive, but they mean well.”

“It’s okay. I like them a lot. They’re really nice.”

Dane touched her cheek, and all the yearning he’d been holding back came tumbling forward. He kissed her. The sweetness of the wine mixed with the heat of their bodies, and he felt Lacy respond as she sank into him, kissing him deeper, thrusting her tongue against his, then running it over his teeth, sending a pulse of need through his groin.

He pulled back, his body already raring to go. “Lace,” he whispered.

She grabbed his cheeks and pulled him into another kiss, then pushed back quickly. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s come over me.” She kissed him again. “But I can’t help making out with you.”

He took her hand and led her to the bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him.

“Dane, we can’t,” she said. “Not with them up there.”

“What kind of guy do you think I am?” He led her to the bed and sat next to her. “All I want to do is kiss you, nothing more.” He pulled her down next to him and kissed her again. His body screamed for more. She reached for his hand and brought it to her breast, her nipples already taut beneath her bikini top.

He drew his mouth from hers long enough to say, “That’s hardly fair.”

“Shut up and touch me,” she said.

He cupped her breast in his hand, kneading the soft fullness, and when that wasn’t enough, he had to taste her, just one small taste to make it through the afternoon. He brought his mouth to her breast, teasing her nipple with his tongue. She moaned in pleasure and stroked his thick length through his bathing suit.

“Lace, I’m only human,” he whispered.

Before the words had left his lips, she was locking the door, dropping her bikini to the floor, and sauntering toward him with a seductive sway to her killer hips and a hungry look in her eyes.

“So am I. I don’t know what happens to me when I’m around you, but I swear I can’t control myself. It’s like I’m addicted to your touch,” Lacy said as she ran her finger down his chest.

“I don’t have protection,” he said.
Shit.

She dropped to her knees beside the bed and took him in her hands, then in her mouth. Dane groaned, unable to think about how wrong it was that his siblings were right outside that door and he was in heaven with Lacy. She stroked him hard and fast, licking, sucking, taking him from the tip to the base, until he was worked into such a frenzy that he couldn’t hold back any longer.

He touched her cheek. “Lace, stop. Please.”

She looked up, his shaft still in her mouth, and she shook her head.

Jesus, she wants me to come
. “No, not like this.” She wasn’t just any girl. He respected Lacy, and coming in her mouth felt wrong.

She slowly drew him from her mouth, then pushed him back on the bed. Where had this sexual vixen come from? In the next breath, she was straddling him—bareback.

“I’m on the pill,” she said, riding him quick and hard.

Dane had always practiced safe sex, more out of fear of an unwanted pregnancy than anything else. At that moment, all thoughts of how risky it was to not have a condom fell away. He wanted Lacy more than he had the night before. He sat up with her legs straddling his hips, rolled her onto her back, and drove into her, hard and fast, sucking her neck, her shoulder, whatever skin he could get ahold of, and burying himself so deeply that it took only a few minutes until they were both clawing at each other with raw need, then peaking in perfect unison.

He swallowed her moans with his mouth, burying each of her pleasure-filled cries against his own.

Afterward, Dane wondered what in the hell he was doing. He didn’t want to treat Lacy like that. He wanted to pleasure every inch of her flesh, to taste and tease, until she was begging for more. He wanted to cherish her, exploring everything about her, and now, not just once, but twice, he’d taken her in less-than-appropriate places.

“I’m sorry, Lace,” he said.

“Why?”

Her eyes were so big and round, so innocent, that Dane knew she really had no idea about why he was apologizing. He took her in his arms. “Because I like you too much for these quickies.”

“That’s good to know, but after fifteen months of waiting, I’m not sorry.”

Jesus, I’m in deep trouble
.

TEN MINUTES LATER, they’d rinsed off, careful to keep their hair from getting wet, and they carried lunch up to the deck. Dane knew his siblings had heard the shower, but he knew they’d never embarrass Lacy by saying as much.

“Did you have to bake the bread?” Savannah asked with a wink.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, we did. Did you miss us?” Dane asked.

“I did, but only because I’m starved,” Hugh said.

Dane set the tray of sandwiches down on the table. Lacy smiled at Hugh as she sat beside him.

“Racing must be really exciting. How did you get into that type of career?” she asked.

Dane slid in beside her. He’d heard Hugh explain his career path more times than he could count. He watched a glimmer of excitement widen Hugh’s eyes as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“It was my dad, actually,” Hugh answered.

What?
Dane narrowed his eyes, wondering what Hugh was up to now. Hugh was a self-proclaimed thrill junkie, and that had nothing to do with their father.

Hugh continued. “I watched my brothers each make these great careers for themselves—all from nothing more than an idea, or a passion. When I was in my second year of college, I was talking to my father about what I wanted to do when I graduated. I majored in business, so I figured I’d end up behind a desk somewhere.”

“Under a desk, maybe. On top of a desk, definitely, but behind a desk?” Savannah shook her head. “No way.”

“Anyway,” Hugh said, shaking his head at Savannah’s comment. “I was home for spring break, and my father asked me what business I wanted to go into. I had no idea. None. So I told him so, and he asked me one question: Was there anything in life that brought me happiness no matter when I did it.” He shrugged. “That was it. I told him driving fast, and he said,
Then do it
.”

 “That’s the same thing Dad asked me,” Savannah said.

“Me too,” Dane added. “Hugh, why haven’t I heard this version of the story before?”