Caitríona sighed with pleasure as she reclined onto her lounge seat; Sam had really been onto something when he had ordered her to take a vacation, she thought with blissful gratitude. Then when he had gone ahead and called in the big guns her mother and sister she had positively loathed him, but now, seated atop a yacht, sipping chilled pina colada, she couldn’t help sending him a silent mental salute. For all that he seemed laidback and easygoing, her brother-in-law was a true Irishman when he wanted to be; obstinate as a mule and unbending when he knew he was right. And this time, he had been right; she had needed this vacation. In the three days she had been in Hawaii, she hadn’t thought about work, or ticking clocks, or babies for more than three seconds put together!
She glanced at her wristwatch now; she couldn’t afford to stay out in the sun too long, she decided. Her fair skin tended to burn easily and she really wasn’t eager to have more freckles pop out on her face. Plus, she had chosen to use the yacht for privacy. She had never been too eager to expose her rather chubby arms and thighs on one of the numerous beaches Hawaii boasted.
She almost moaned aloud as she took yet another sip of extremely chilled drink, her eyes shut in pleasure.
A shrill voice interrupted her tranquility and Caitríona’s eyes popped open in surprise. What the hell?
“No! No! There’s just no excuse for why you were late picking me up!” the woman yelled.
Caitríona looked around; the voice couldn’t be coming from this yacht, could it? She had rented this with the assurance that she was the sole passenger, aside from two crew members and that she wouldn’t be disturbed. She hadn’t seen those controlling the yacht but she was willing to bet the skinny brunette and her tall, dark and handsome partner were not the members of crew.
“’Livia,” the man began in an exasperated tone of long suffering.
“No! No!” the brunette barked, all the veins on her neck standing out in stark relief. “You suggested this vacation and now you still can’t be bothered to make the effort to give me a good time!”
Okaaay, time to look away, Caitríona thought, her face flaming. Looking away didn’t help, she realized; she was still able to hear more of Livia’s diatribe.
“You never have time for me and this one weekend you couldn’t be bothered to stop thinking about stock figures long enough to come pick me up! I had to wait for twenty whole minutes!”
Caitríona gulped, forgetting her irritation that they had intruded on her privacy and slowly rose to her feet, fully intending to slink away downstairs.
But her tiny movement caught the attention of the couple and they both turned as one to look at her. Caitríona gulped anew, but for a completely different reason; the man was a walking billboard of pure male deliciousness. His mouth was thin but his lower lip was full and thrusting. He had a granite jaw and the kind of shoulders that made one want to lean one’s head against them. He was, at least, six-one in height with a barrel chest and narrow hips that filled out his snug shorts perfectly; his strong biceps made her heart beat just a little faster as she stared at him. He exuded controlled, silent power like a man you wouldn’t want to cross. He also had thick, slashing eyebrows that made him look all the more exotic and exciting. His wavy, salt and pepper hair rippled softly in the wind. His face was so handsome it was almost pretty, and laugh lines spread out from the corners of his eyes giving his face character. He wasn’t smiling but she was willing to bet he had a lethal smile with deep-set dimples that could tempt a nun. He had red lips, which on a guy should look weird, but on him were just insanely hot. How did a person get to be so impossibly attractive, Caitríona wondered absently? She couldn’t see his eyes because of his sunglasses but anyone could guess they would be hazardous to any woman’s heart rate; just like the rest of him.
“Who the hell are you?” the woman demanded rudely, drawing Caitríona’s attention reluctantly away from the Greek god and back to herself.
“Shouldn’t that be my line? I rented this yacht exclusively,” Caitríona offered calmly. She had shrugged into her wrap before they noticed her, which was a good deal because her thighs were mostly covered now.
“Ah. A rental,” the woman said the word so disparagingly that Caitríona winced. Interestingly, she saw the man also wince too. “Well honey, you have the wrong rental. This yacht is owned by Alec Du”
“I’m Alec,” the man interjected smoothly, coming forward, his right hand extended for a handshake, his Adam’s apple bobbing. As soon as her hand connected with his, a surprising jolt of electricity shot through his arm straight up to hers, wringing a gasp of surprise from her. Her gaze flew to his face but she couldn’t see his eyes because of his dark glasses. His jaw tightened as though he had also felt the voltage and he slowly withdrew his hand from her grasp.
“I believe there’s probably been a small error. This yacht was never for rent; perhaps they mixed up your order?” he continued smoothly as though nothing had happened.
Caitríona was beet red by now. Lord, was she so desperate that she was now responding to strangers? And with his girlfriend standing less than a feet away! “I don’t think they made a mistake,” she said quietly.
“Well, then, how do you explain your presence on what was to be a vacation for two?” the brunette sneered.
The man grabbed her hand and hauled her behind him. “I apologize for Olivia. Perhaps, we can see you back to shore and get you aboard the right yacht?” he asked.
Was it her imagination or had his eyes lingered, albeit briefly, on her cleavage? The dark glasses made it hard to tell. Her chin went up and she said defiantly, “I don’t need your help.”
“Sure you don’t. What are you gonna do? Swim back to shore?” Alec wanted to know.
Caitríona conceded his point with a slight inclination of her head and he went below, apparently to get the yacht steered in the opposite direction. To his credit, he didn’t smirk in satisfaction.
The brunette sank onto a chaise lounge on the deck, eyeing Caitríona silently until the yacht stopped. The man reappeared almost immediately, exuding boundless energy and such amazing joie de vivre that Caitríona automatically returned his grin, earning herself a piercing glare out of vivid green eyes from the brunette.
“Will you be all right now?” Alec asked, a strange light in his eyes.
“Yeah, thanks,” she said with a careless wave at the pair of them as she exited the yacht, trying not to fall in her haste to put as much distance as possible between herself and Alec.
She had absolutely no intention of getting on another yacht; she had had enough sailing for a day, she decided.
The next day, sheer boredom drove her out of her rented cabin as early as 9a.m. She wasn’t too keen to go sailing today again because some tiny voice in her mind kept telling her that she could bump into yesterday’s Greek god and she knew for a fact that she wasn’t particularly eager to see him. He did strange things to her heart rate and she was pretty sure that was not what Sam had in mind when he recommended a relaxing holiday.
Her phone rang just then and she rolled her eyes when she saw who the caller was; at this rate, she didn’t even need to check Caller ID. Ciara had seized her normal cell-phone and was now fielding all work-related calls. Her current handset was completely new, courtesy of her indefatigable sister and apparently, only Ciara had the number.
“Hello?” her sister’s bright and chirpy voice said in her ear the moment she picked the call.
“Hey you,” Caitríona said warily.
“So, how’s your vacation so far?”
“Fine.”
“Just fine?” Ciara demanded, outraged. “No hunks beating down your door yet?”
Caitríona bit her lip, ruthlessly shoving Alec from her mind. If anyone but her sister had said that, she would have thought they were mocking her and might have picked offense. She knew her face was pretty enough, but she always worried that she was too curvy and voluptuous to really attract a man.
“I’m going shopping,” Caitríona said instead to distract her sister and also herself.
“Oh, good!” Ciara said predictably. “Bring me back something,” she ordered.
The line went dead and Caitríona sighed as she dropped the phone back into her large purse. She knew Ciara meant well, but lately, she felt as though everyone was looking over her shoulder and wondering when she would get a mane; it wasn’t a terribly good feeling because she was wondering the same thing herself.
Her thoughts drifted aimlessly as she strolled unseeingly down the aisle of the first shop she wandered into. She had fully expected to be bored and sun-burned all through this vacation and it was starting to seem that way, she thought as she glared unseeingly at the aisle in front of her.
A warm chuckle jolted her out of her reverie and she jerked around in surprise to look at the tall, handsome man behind her. He was minus the sunglasses today and a shock of current shot through her when her grey gaze clashed with his impossibly green eyes. His eyes were so shockingly green she wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen it for herself, she thought as her throat closed up.
Her face burned with mortification as she sent a silent prayer up; please God, let him not notice her hardened nipples.
“Hi,” he said with a wide smile. “Thank goodness that was not flesh and blood; I know that glare would have curdled my arousal,” he said.
Caitríona stared at him in confusion and he nodded meaningfully behind her to the shelf she had been glaring absently at two seconds ago. She turned around and, for the first time, realized what shop she had walked into; she was in a sex shop! And she had been staring at the biggest vibrator she had ever seen on earth!
Her flush spread from her neck all the way up to her cheeks until her entire face was suffused in color. His eyes scanned her face and she wished desperately that the floor would open up and swallow her.
“Um, hi, Alec, is it?”
“Yes. I never got your name, though,” he said now.
“At this point, I’m not sure I should reveal it, I’m so embarrassed,” she said.
He chuckled, the sound warm and rich, and flowing over her like coffee. “Nothing to be embarrassed about; just a modern woman taking her pleasure into her hands. No pun intended.”
Caitríona’s face flamed all the more. “Sure you intended the pun,” she countered with an embarrassed grin.
“Well, whether I did or not, the thing is, there’s no judgment here. What’s your name? I didn’t get a chance to find out,” he said, his eyes burning into hers with such intensity that she almost wished they were covered with his dark glasses again.
Almost. They were such beautiful eyes; it should probably be a crime to hide them, she mused.
“Caitríona,” she supplied.
“Mm, very distinctive. Irish?”
“Yes.”
“I wondered about the red hair,” he said, reaching up casually to brush an errant strand of hair back behind her ear.
The slight touch of his fingers against her temple and cheeks sent a predictable bolt of electricity through her and her breath hitched. His green eyes flew to hers and she saw the knowledge in their depths; he felt it too!
“Caitríona? We should um, talk about this. It keeps happening. It’s not just me, is it?”
She shook her head slowly. Licked her lips nervously; then hurriedly checked the movement when his gaze fastened on the pink tip of her tongue as it darted out. His gaze darkened and when he raised his eyes to meet hers again, she read a hunger in them that made her gasp aloud in reaction.
Shakily, she reached behind her to brace herself against the shelf. Her fingers mistakenly caught a large green dildo and it toppled to the floor between them.
Alec squatted smoothly to pick it, drawing the attention of two other male shoppers. One of them winked saucily at Caitríona and she resolutely turned her back on him.
Alec returned the dildo to the shelf, and slowly placed his hands on her shoulder, turning her to face him. He surveyed her red face dispassionately and said in a soft, reassuring voice, “I was just trying to tease you a little but come on, you don’t have to be embarrassed. I mean with all the bad sex going around, if I were a woman, I would probably um, take matters into my own hands too.”
Caitríona sighed, “But I didn’t. I intended on getting souvenirs for my sister and her kids”
His brows shot up. “That’s very liberated of you. They are over eighteen though, aren’t they?”
It was too much; Caitríona dissolved in laughter. The thought of getting the twins such an object was as appalling as it was horrifying. “No, they are barely three. I wandered into the wrong shop and didn’t even notice. I was lost in my thoughts.”
“You seem to get lost a lot; like on the yacht. Think I can persuade you to wander into La Zeeza at say, 6pm today?”
Caitríona blinked. Was he really inviting her on a date? “I’m sorry, what?” she asked.
He sighed. “Would you like to have dinner with me?” he asked her.
“What about the brunette?” she asked automatically and almost bit off her tongue.
Great Caitríona, the first reasonable man to ask you on a date in years and you have to remind him he has a girlfriend, her mind sneered. Ciara didn’t get married by being a goody two shoes!
“Brunette?” he asked blankly.
“You know, atop the yacht? The one who thought you weren’t committed to showing her a good time?” she asked, putting enough emphasis on the two last words to make them dirty.
She expected him to look embarrassed but, instead, he chuckled warmly as though they were discussing nothing more important than the weather.
“You think she’s my girlfriend?” he asked incredulously.
Caitríona shrugged. Only if the skimpy bikini and jealous glare fit, she thought silently.
As though he had read her mind, Alec grinned. “There’s a lot of interesting stuff going on in that head of yours. You need to get your mind out of the gutter, though,” he told her.
“My mind was not” she began to protest hotly.
“She’s my sister,” he finished.
“Oh. Maybe my mind was a little bit in the gutter then,” she admitted in a small voice.
Alec chuckled. “You turn the most delightful shade of pink when you’re embarrassed,” he laughed. “So the eyes weren’t a dead giveaway?” he asked her now.
“I didn’t see your eyes that day,” she offered.
“But you saw hers,” he countered.
“Maybe, but I didn’t commit them to memory. I was too busy trying to save my skin from a glare that could pulverize rock!” she said bluntly.
Alec chuckled. “You’re refreshingly honest!” he noted happily as if he didn’t get to see much of that. “’Livia is the only other person who is frequently honest with me,” he told her.
More power to her, she thought silently. Suddenly, she wanted to get out of there. “It was great meeting you, Alec. I have to run.”
“Why?”
“I have stuff to do.”
“Okay, busy woman. I like that. Think you can pencil me in for 6pm?”
She chuckled, hiding the tears in her throat, “I doubt anyone pencils you in. You strike me as the sort to pencil people in.”
“You know, Livia doesn’t like you,” he said slowly.
The non sequitur gave her pause. “Yeah, the glare was kinda a dead giveaway. Made me think she was your girlfriend. I almost felt sorry for you,” she said.
He laughed. “Damn, you ladies need to get together. You would probably tear each other to shreds in seconds. She just thinks you’re all bad for me.”
“You discussed me with her?” she asked horrified.
“Didn’t need to. I must have acted like a complete idiot for a full hour after you left,” he laughed. “Staring into space, fantasizing about Well, never mind.”
Caitríona’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. Was he jerking her chain? How would a man like him be attracted to her?
She didn’t know she had spoken aloud until he flicked genuinely surprised eyes to her face and said, “Why not? Of course I am attracted to you; what man wouldn’t be? You have um, well, you could tempt a monk with that body!”
Caitríona blushed in surprised pleasure. He meant it, she realized. Wonder of wonders, he thought she was attractive!
“I don’t know you. You’re a stranger,” she protested weakly.
He grinned at her, melting her heart and certain parts of her anatomy she didn’t want to think closely about.
“What could it hurt? You’re here on vacation, aren’t you, Caitríona? Come on, it would be fun. Like you said, I’m just a stranger wild with lust for you; you don’t have to do anything except sit across from me and drink expensive wine while I eat my heart out from wanting you. It will be a holiday story to tell your friends.”
“I don’t think”
“Come on, the story of the poor sod who was half in love with you just from staring into your beautiful eyes? I think it’s one for the ages. Listen, Olivia ditched me, all right? And I really don’t want to spend my holiday crunching numbers. It would be nice to have dinner with a beautiful woman for one night. You never have to see me again. It’s just one night; just dinner,” he said, sincerity blazing from his eyes.
Famous last words, her subconscious informed her blithely.
She shushed it ruthlessly. He was a handsome stranger, nothing more. This was a holiday, so, for tonight, she could pretend she was one of those svelte, model-type, slim-figured women who attracted hot, executive type Greek gods.
She grinned up at him, squelching the inexplicable trembling within her as she said slowly, “All right Alec, we’ll have dinner.”
His grin was pure male triumph and incredibly wolfish as he said, “In that case, where do I pick you up?”