Summer on Lovers' Island (16 page)

“Where are we going?”

She let her grin grow. “Swimming.” She reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head, revealing her bathing-suit top, then laughed at the startled … and hungry … look in Josh's eyes. “Come on.”

Josh got up and pulled his shirt over his head while Lizzie unfastened her shorts and dropped them onto the blanket. Her bathing suit was modest, a halter-back top and bikini-cut panties, but they were light blue and she knew in about twenty seconds they would be translucent. If he wanted to take a risk, she was up to the challenge, and damned if it didn't feel good to cut loose again.

She let her laughter fly on the wind as she ran to the breakers. This was what she'd been missing. The part of her she'd buried beneath her grief and sadness.

“Shit!” She let out a squeal as she plunged thigh deep into the cold waves. To her delight, Josh came dashing past, barreling into the surf in a careless dive, giving her only a fleeting glimpse of his bare chest and shoulders and the swim trunks he'd worn all day.

Taking a deep breath, she took three more steps and then dove under.

She surfaced and scrubbed her hair away from her eyes and saw Josh treading water about ten feet away, droplets sparkling on his lashes and dark-blond hair. His eyes seemed bluer than ever, and the goofy smile on his face made her feel like laughing. “Graceful!” she called out, bobbing on the waves, pushing toward him in a breaststroke. She licked her lips and tasted the salt of the ocean.

“I prefer strength over grace,” he commented, and she blinked
. Yes,
she realized,
he would go for quiet power over finesse,
and the idea was incredibly exciting.

“Me, too,” she replied. And then, with an impishness she'd forgotten she possessed, she flashed him a quick smile and dove under, pushing away and kicking her feet on the top of the water, giving a saucy splash.

When she surfaced, he was calmly floating on his back several feet away, utterly unconcerned.

She burst out laughing. God, it felt good. Even better when she saw a smile curve his lips, even though he stayed floating and his eyes remained closed.

As quietly as she could, she made her way over to him, studying the still beauty of his face. And he was beautiful. The barest hint of pale stubble roughed his jaws, and his eyelashes just kissed the crests of his tanned cheeks. Whatever he did to keep himself in shape clearly worked, as strong shoulders curved into muscled arms and a broad chest. She hesitated a long moment, wondering if she dare ease her way closer, wondering whether she was being spontaneous and fun or foolish. But then … the last impulsive decision she'd made—coming to Jewell Cove—had worked out quite well. Maybe she was on a roll.

She slipped through the water, her progress silenced by the rhythmic slap of the waves on sand.

When he was close enough to touch, she held her breath, then reached out and ran a single finger down the center of his chest.

He broke the back float immediately, surprised by the contact, coming face-to-face with her in the water. The waves had pushed them closer to shore, and when Lizzie dropped her feet her tiptoes touched bottom. So did Josh's, and they stood there briefly, swaying back and forth with the force of the swells.

She closed the few feet between them, gaining better stability, and together they moved slightly toward the shore until they were only waist deep in the water. Josh's eyes drifted down, and the muscles in Lizzie's pelvis tightened automatically as she realized that he could see the shadows of her nipples through her wet bikini top. And that the breeze blowing across the water was making that view somewhat … pronounced.

And she saw his throat bob as he swallowed.

Lizzie reached for his hand, lifted it, and placed it on her breast, letting his surprise last only a moment before she moved closer and lifted her chin, placing her lips on his.

His lips were cold from the water, but his mouth was hot on the inside as his tongue swept against hers. His hand molded her breast only for a moment before his arms came around her and pulled her flush against his body.

Hot and cold, soft and hard, all at the same time. Hungry for him, starved for the connection, Lizzie looped her arms around his broad shoulders and let the water buoy her up until she linked her legs around his waist. Her pelvis rocked against the hardness of his groin, and he moaned into her mouth.

Urgency claimed them both. Lizzie was profoundly glad for his strength, not grace, as he cupped her ass in his hands, holding her against him as he walked his way out of the water. The kiss broke off, his mouth sliding away from hers, presumably so he could see where he was going. Lizzie took the opportunity to lick the salty wetness of his neck, giving a little nip when he let out a delicious curse.

He staggered his way through the loose sand to their blanket and dropped to his knees, then let her down slowly on the warm cotton.

“Liz,” he said softly.

“Risks,” she breathed, capturing his gaze with her own. “Chances.”

“I never … I mean, I wasn't prepared for … Dammit. I'm trying to say I didn't think to bring protection.”

There was risk and then there was stupidity. And yet the need he'd fed pounded through her ruthlessly. “Ways and means,” she suggested. “Nothing says we have to go all the way.” So much for not messing around with the boss … and yet his reasoning only minutes ago was conveniently sound.

She sat up, reached behind her neck, and untied her top. She shimmied it down her arms, let it drop limply on the blanket beside her, reached for his shoulders.

“God, you're beautiful.” Josh kissed her once more, then trailed his mouth down her neck, across her collarbone, and finally onto the soft flesh of her breast. She arched, pushing her nipple toward his mouth, gratified when he laved it with his tongue. Everything tightened within her and she gasped, her eyes closed, the light from the midday sun orangey red behind her lids.

“You taste good,” he said, cupping her breast in his hand, paying equal attention to each one until she felt like a spring ready to release. “So good, Lizzie. Sweet and salty.”

“Don't stop,” she ground out, tossing her head against the fabric-covered sand. When he shoved his hand beneath the damp band of her bottoms, she cried out and wished she could find a way to push closer to both his hand and his mouth. She reached down with her hand and rubbed her fingers along the length of his erection, curling her fingers around him through the trunks. Groaning, Josh pushed against her, the same rhythm he employed with his fingers as he pleasured her. Want pounded through her body, and need, and desire stole her breath. Had she ever felt this urgency before? It was beautiful and terrifying in its power.

He sat up, knelt before her, and grabbed her bottoms in both hands, slid them down her legs, and dropped them on top of her top.

She must be losing her mind. She was stark naked on a blanket in the middle of a beach and she couldn't care less.

His gaze burned into hers, and then he slid down the blanket, never looking away, silently telegraphing his intentions with his eyes.

Vulnerable. That was how she felt at this moment, as Josh indulged in the most intimate of acts. Vulnerable, and yet powerful, and incredibly feminine and sexual. All the tension and stresses of the past weeks melted away as she gave herself over to the sensations.

The orgasm hit fast and hard and she pushed against his mouth, her cries flying on the wind with the call of the birds.

The pulses were still ebbing when Josh kissed her navel, then the hollow between her breasts, ultrasensitive now, and then his swollen lips kissed hers.

“I … uh…” The circuits of her brain were clearly fried, as she couldn't put a coherent thought together.

He laughed, a low, sexy sound. And then he stood up, stripped off his trunks until he was naked as the day he was born, and ran into the sea.

It was a view she wouldn't soon forget.

He swam out a long way, then turned around and came back, riding the waves and the tide. Lizzie reached for her T-shirt and pulled it on, without the wet bikini top, and did the same with her shorts. Then she laughed at herself for feeling so naughty for going commando.

When Josh stepped out of the ocean, she could see that the cold water and physical activity had done their job in defusing the situation.

Wordlessly she got up, picked his trunks up from the blanket, and handed them over.

“Thanks,” he said, pulling them on awkwardly. They were still damp from the first swim.

“Josh, I—”

“Don't say a word,” he cautioned. “I want to remember that exactly the way it was.”

At the time she'd been caught in the moment, wrapped up in her own desire. Now she felt rather … silly.

“We're adults,” he stated. “With needs. And I find you really, really hot.”

She felt her cheeks flush, and it wasn't just because she hadn't reapplied sunscreen. “Right. And it's not like either of us is looking for a marriage proposal.”

“God no.” Josh laughed, then reached for her hand and pulled her close. “Look, no one even has to know. I heard what you said, about us working together. I respect that. We'll be one hundred percent professional at work, I promise.”

Great.
The words were right, so why did they feel wrong? Maybe because he was suggesting sneaking around? They weren't fourteen or anything.

And yet she knew she didn't want her private life to be public knowledge, whether she was fooling around with Josh Collins or not.

“Hey,” he said quietly, and he lifted her chin with a finger. “If you're not up to this, it can end here. We can go back to Jewell Cove and be like this never happened. I mean … it's not that I want that, but I understand if you do.”

More confused than ever, she pulled away and moved to tidy up their things. “Can I take some time to think about it?” she asked.

“Of course you can.”

He sat down on the blanket once more and patted the spot in front of him. “Come here.”

Hesitantly, Lizzie dropped to the blanket. Josh adjusted his position so that he was sitting behind her, and then put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back against him. “Relax,” he whispered in her ear.

She let out a breath. “I'll try.”

“You were pretty relaxed a few minutes ago.” He looped his arms around her, cuddling her close. The afternoon was waning and the heat had mellowed, along with the breeze. Lizzie wondered what it would be like to spend the whole day here, build a fire, have a clambake or something. When Josh held her like this, the world of suspensions and illness and messed-up relationships ceased to exist.

She rested her head against the hollow of his shoulder and eased the tension out of her muscles.

“Thank you, Josh. For bringing me out here today.”

“You're welcome.” He chuckled softly. “You needed it.”

She turned her head a bit. “Um, you probably did, too. And I didn't help you out much there.”

She could see his eyes and they shone at her with laughter. “You keep an open mind and you'll get the opportunity to make things even.”

“Wow. Cocky.”

“One can hope.”

She giggled, settling in even more. Damn, he was so easy to be with. She'd have to be careful to not get too close.

But for right now, his arms were strong and warm, the sun was beating down on them benevolently, and all seemed right with the world.

 

C
HAPTER
11

After a while Josh took Lizzie's hand. He didn't want to leave. The afternoon had been too perfect. “We should probably go before we miss the tide.” He was reluctant to say the words.

“Mmm,” she replied. Despite their earlier swim, he could still smell the floral scent of her shampoo as she shifted her head.

He hadn't brought her here with any expectation. If he had, he would have made sure to have brought a condom. But Lizzie was full of surprises. She was all business in the office, all professionalism and efficiency. He was starting to see that away from work she had an adventurous side … a side he couldn't help but respond to. Like he had this afternoon. All it took was one kiss, one touch of her wet, warm body next to his.…

She'd been, quite simply, incredible. He still couldn't believe he'd suggested a secret affair. That was so not his style. He'd never had a casual-sex kind of relationship in his life.

He tugged her to her feet, wishing the afternoon didn't have to end. Together they packed up the picnic basket, and he shook off the sand stuck to the blanket before folding it and putting it in the pack. It was almost like the afternoon had never happened.

Except he could still taste her.

They made their way back to the dock, and he marveled at how easy it was to be with her. He didn't feel the need to make pointless conversation, and the silence wasn't awkward, either. They could just be. He didn't feel the need to pretend or be upbeat. He stopped short, though, when he saw how far the tide had gone out. He'd tied up close to the top of the dock, which meant that right now his boat was sitting in about two inches of water and resting on wet sand.

“Oops,” Lizzie said, and he saw her raise an eyebrow.

“Looks like we're going to have to wait,” he said, feeling completely stupid. He'd misjudged either the tide or the time or perhaps a bit of both. “I'm sorry, Lizzie. It was a dumb mistake on my part. I feel like an idiot.”

When she turned around, he was surprised to see a twinkle in her eye. “You know what this means, right?”

He lifted a shoulder. He had no idea what she was getting at.

“It means we can search for treasure.”

He grinned. “You didn't actually believe all that claptrap, did you?”

“Why not?” She let her tote slide to her feet. “Did you make it up?”