Tag had more than made up for his brief catnap after she’d rendered him temporarily out of service. She’d never rendered a man helpless before, especially not with her sexual prowess, so watching the big guy melt into sleep after she’d had her mouth on him was the most rewarding experience of her sexual history.
Boo-freaking-yah.
She’d crawled out of bed and slipped into one of the room’s thick white robes before getting a bottle of Perrier out of the fridge and taking it to their room’s balcony. Halfway through drinking it, Tag came outside behind her, took the bottle from her hand, and lifted her into his arms. He was still naked, long hair damp and wavy, and since he was carrying her, really had reminded her of Tarzan. Which was not a bad thing. Not at all.
He’d laid her on the bed and kissed her breasts, languid strokes of his tongue over her sensitized nipples while she’d dug her fingers into his blond-brown strands. Then he’d worked his fingers between her legs and found the spot that made her squirm before replacing his fingers with his tongue. She’d never known before him how good it could feel to have a man’s mouth between her legs.
After, he’d pulled her close and tucked her back to his front while she caught her breath, suffering from tiny aftershocks of pleasure shaking her to the core.
“Hope you’ll forgive me,” she’d managed, her eyes heavy from her last powerful orgasm.
“For?” he’d asked.
“Disappointing you. I just want to fall asleep and make love to you in the morning.”
“Make love. I like that.” His deep chuckle had made her smile. “Dimples. I don’t think you could possibly disappoint me.”
She’d liked it too. As much as she’d been tempted to slot Tag into the fun-for-now column, she couldn’t help noticing that every time he interacted with her, he hinted that he wasn’t going anywhere.
She was still grinning like an idiot the next day when she walked with him to the pool bar at the Crane Makai. He’d taken her to a surfing lesson that morning as promised. Mostly, she’d practiced paddling on the sand and then paddling in the water. Popping up on the board was difficult for her. Tag had done it with relatively little effort.
He was irritatingly good at everything he did. It was unfair.
Of all things, her toes hurt, having used the muscles in her feet the most to keep her balanced. She’d managed to push upright, but into more of a hunch than a stand. She’d tumbled into the waves several times. Tag pulled her to the surface and praised her on her attempts and then delivered wet, salty kisses to her lips.
Yeah. She liked surfing.
She was beginning to wonder how she’d return to life after Hawaii, as this was the most pleasant daydream of her life. Since she’d met him, she was living in a fantasyland in every imaginable way.
Queen bartender Karina greeted Rachel pleasantly enough when Tag introduced them. He pointed out where he’d be hanging out with his laptop and notebook—a chair on the far side of the pool.
“You need me, Dimples, you just yell,” he told her, and then right in front of Karina, planted a kiss on Rachel’s lips before walking to his seat.
“How long have you been dating?” Karina asked after a brief instruction on the cash register. As luck would have it, it was the same brand they had at Andromeda, so there wasn’t much of a learning curve.
“Oh. Um. I don’t know. We’re friends. Neighbors, sort of,” she said. “Or, that’s how we started. Things develop sometimes.”
Karina harrumphed, her dark eyes rolling as she wiped down the surface of the bar. Rachel watched her for a moment before deciding she wasn’t going to avoid the question bouncing around like a pink, winged elephant.
“You look at him like either you’ve dated him before or you want to. Which one is it?”
The bar towel stopped mid-swipe, and Karina’s eyes bulged. Rachel had shocked her. Tag’s ability to make bold statements had rubbed off on her. She stood waiting for an answer, not the least bit apologetic for asking.
“It’s okay,” Rachel told the other woman. “I’m not jealous. I noticed the way you look at him. I can tell it’s one of the two.”
Cheeks ruddy, Karina managed a smile of reproach. “I—we’ve never dated. I’m attracted to him. I mean how could you not be?” she mumbled.
Rachel gave a nod of agreement, remembering how she’d been confounded at her attraction to him. He was the exact opposite of what she thought was her type.
“He never saw me the same way,” Karina continued. “Not the way he looks at you. He’s got a puppy love thing going.”
Puppy love. Things between Tag and Rachel were nowhere near that innocent, but Rachel wasn’t about to expound.
They got to work, her and Karina for the first hour; then the same male bartender she’d met previously—Craig—stepped behind the bar to help. He was even more excited to hear Rachel wasn’t accepting tips since it meant he and Karina would split the cash fifty-fifty.
A few hours in, Rachel had hit her rhythm and there was no need to ask where anything was or how the flow of the bar worked.
But that didn’t mean it was easy.
She had plenty of suggestions on how to improve things after being back here for one evening. The crowd thinned around ten o’clock, and Rachel did her share of the closing duties. She found Tag right where he said he’d be, and somehow he’d looked up as if he felt her watching him.
His smile was small, but one reserved for her. She held up both hands to show she’d be done in ten minutes.
He gave her the thumbs-up and a wink that made her stomach clench.
* * *
Watching Rachel in action—and not only when he was getting some action—Tag was becoming increasingly aware this thing between them wasn’t going to end when they arrived home to Chi-town.
There was no way he was done with her, and given her reactions, he had a good idea she wasn’t done with him either.
She was fun to shower with. Fun to have sex with. Fun to talk with over dinner, to watch as she fell in the water and tried, tried, and tried again to surf. He didn’t care if she was ever good at it; he cared that she was willing to try.
She didn’t give up easily, she was a fast learner, and as he’d observed tonight watching her run the bar, she was damn good at her job.
Marketing required different skills than bartending, and yet she was adept at both. Behind the bar she was friendly and fast, and he could tell every time he’d glanced up at her that she was assessing the most efficient way things should be done.
Yet she didn’t run roughshod over Karina, even though during his observations, he’d noticed Rachel debating whether or not to move a bottle of liquor to a lower shelf. Instead, she’d stood on her toes and put it back on the high shelf where it’d gone.
He’d been counting down the hours until she was off work, unsure when the crowd would die down and give her an excuse to make a break for it, and not for reasons anyone would have guessed. Not to take her into bed.
Well, not right away.
He watched her drying a stemmed glass and reaching to hang it overhead, her tiny T-shirt lifting to bare a slice of skin at the waistband of her shorts. She pushed the back of her hand to move hair that’d fallen over her eye and caught him looking. He only smiled.
She cared about his bar issues like they were her own, and he couldn’t get over the idea of a woman sleeping with him and working with him seamlessly.
Tag’s phone vibrated on the seat of the lounger where he sat, laptop open on his legs.
His brother Reese. It was the middle of the night in Chicago.
“Hey, bro,” Tag answered. “You’re up late.”
“Sleeping is overrated. How’s Oahu?”
“Tropical.”
Reese blew out a brief laugh. Since he’d attained his life goal of CEO and met Merina, he was in the process of becoming the man Tag had always known he could be.
It felt odd to say he was proud of his older brother, since Reese had always been the one to push him, but that’s what Tag felt: proud.
“When are you coming home?” Reese asked.
“Few days.”
“Thanks for pinpointing that for me.”
“Hey, you know me.” Tag was distracted by Rachel again, this time because she’d started viciously scrubbing the bar top. Her ponytail was coming down, her arms damp, her breasts swaying as she worked a particularly stubborn spot…
“…over dinner when you get back.” There was an unnaturally long pause in the conversation before Reese said, “Hello?”
“Here.” Tag blinked and looked away from Rachel, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. “Sorry, I’m here.”
“How’s your advisor?” Reese let his tone dip to show he knew exactly what had Tag so distracted.
“She’s a terrible surfer,” he offered.
Reese let out a hearty laugh.
“I have a question for you, actually.” Tag had thought of calling sooner, but he’d been so mired in work and Rachel, he hadn’t taken the time.
“What’s that?”
“Did Mom ever give you advice? Like on women?”
“Women.”
“You were older than me. I wondered if she ever brought up girls.”
There was silence as Reese thought it through, and in that silence, Tag could feel the heaviness. Since Reese was the oldest, he had the most memories of her. “She told me to be respectful. Honest.”
Sounded like Mom.
“Why, did she ever say anything to you?” His brother’s voice had softened. They all missed her so damn much. It didn’t matter how many years had passed. She was gone and it hurt whenever they remembered her smiling face.
“She said the right one would challenge me.”
“No shit,” Reese said in agreement.
Tag had to grin. “Merina a challenge, is she?”
“If there is a button for it, she pushes it.” Reese didn’t sound upset about it, though. “Buttons no other woman bothered to locate.”
Tag was beginning to understand what that was like. Someone taking time to get to know him, to figure him out. To have new and different experiences with him.
“So being out of your element…” Tag fished even though he was giving his oldest brother a lifetime of ammo to use against him. “Not knowing what comes next…”
“Completely normal.”
When silence stretched again, Tag opted not to say more. He didn’t know what he was dealing with when it came to Rachel, not really. No sense in trying to work it out on the phone with his brother, who was thousands of miles away. Tag didn’t have the words for what was between him and the blonde currently tightening her ponytail.
“I’ll let you go. Enjoy the tropics,” Reese said.
“Will do. Thanks.”
“Oh, and, Tag?”
“Yeah.” Tag smiled at Rachel, who was heading his way, ponytail swishing behind her, short shorts showcasing legs he’d had wrapped around him on more than one occasion. Damn. He was lucky.
“We’re due for a drink. The four of us,” Reese said.
“Four?” His eyebrows closed in.
“Yeah. Bring your girl.”
“Bring…Rachel?”
“The challenger.” Reese’s laugh was low. “This I gotta see.”
Tag hung up on his brother. He really shouldn’t have brought up Mom or girls or feelings. Reese would never let it go. Of course, Tag didn’t let up when Reese went doughy around Merina, so turnabout was fair play.
“Did I hear my name?” Rachel cocked her head as she stood in front of him.
“Hey, how’d it go?” He placed the laptop on the table next to him and set his phone on top of it, hoping his question would distract her from the other question.
“Where are you ‘bringing’ me?” She sat on the lounger next to his, facing him, her elbows on her knees.
Challenging, indeed.
“Oh, uh. My brother invited us to cocktails when we get home.”
“Cocktails.” She pressed her splayed fingers to her collarbone. “With the CEO of Crane Hotels.”
“What, the guy who runs Guest and Restaurant Services doesn’t impress you any longer?”
She squinted one eye and seesawed her hand back and forth.
He reached out and took that hand. He couldn’t be this close to her and not touch her. “He’s like me.”
“No.” She shook her head and assessed him. “You’re different.”
Threading his fingers with hers, he admitted, “So are you.”
She smiled at him. “What’d you have in mind for tonight?”
“Full report on the bar over dinner. Then we’ll go back to the room and we’ll see what other tricks you have up your sleeve.”
“Tag!” She swatted him playfully. Then she peeked over her shoulder at Karina, who was bustling in circles around Craig behind the bar. “Did you know Karina likes you?”
“She…what now?” He caught Karina watching him, and her eyes widened before she looked away.
“Likes you, likes you,” Rachel continued. “I’m probably lucky I escaped with all my hair.”
Karina was pretty—dark hair, full mouth—but her demeanor was more military than soft. She was curt and abrupt, which made her a great manager, but dating potential? Even if there was a notable amount of attraction between them—and there wasn’t—her personality and Tag’s didn’t mesh.
“She’s not for me. I like women who—”
“Aren’t entangled with your work?” Rachel cut him off.
He yanked her over to his lap and caught her when she would’ve lost her balance. He tucked her close, one arm around her back, the other palming her jaw.
“You are entangled in my work, honey.”
“I’m guessing this isn’t something you normally do.”
That was true, too. He preferred the subtle blow-off. Sleeping with the people he worked with wasn’t only frowned upon, but it could also make future encounters awkward. He didn’t want to do his dates any damage, but neither did he want to continue leading them on when he knew things wouldn’t amount to anything long-term.
Looking at Rachel now made him realize he hadn’t had a single thought like that about her. Hadn’t worried she was getting the wrong idea or that he should start laying the groundwork for disentangling himself from what was rapidly becoming an “us.”
“This isn’t normal for me, Dimples,” was all he said. He palmed the back of her neck and pulled her lips to his, tasting her gently before letting her go. His eyes on hers, he watched as she studied his mouth.
“Me neither,” she whispered.
“Because you dated a guy in marketing who never treated you like he should’ve?” It was information she’d given him during their beach walk.
“Right,” she agreed, putting another soft kiss on his mouth. She reached up and stroked his beard with one finger. “He was clean-shaven with short hair and only a few inches taller than I am.”
“Sounds like a sissy,” Tag teased.
Her grin faded. “He didn’t appreciate me. I should have left sooner.”
She should have, but pointing that out wouldn’t do her any good.
“You’re out now.” He swallowed the urge to promise her she wouldn’t have to deal with any other guy like that again. Wanting to explore what was between them was one thing, making promises was another.
“Still want to work a day shift while you’re here?” he asked.
“You know, I would. I think it would give me a better idea of what you need to do to make this place a success.”
“You care, don’t you?” His heart swelled. “About this place.”
“Isn’t that why you invited me?”
Yeah, but she cared for more than that reason.
“I’m paying for dinner tonight, too.”
“I’m capable of—”
He put a finger over her plush lips.
“Shut up and enjoy it, Dimples.” Enjoy me, he wanted to say, but didn’t. He wasn’t sure what was going through her head. He wasn’t one for holding back, but this was new territory. The first time he’d suspected he liked a girl more than she liked him.
Rachel held back constantly, until she didn’t. He’d like more of her moving toward him instead of away. Even after Hawaii. A wave of certainty and nausea swept through him. Maybe it was being here that had made him sentimental, but he was sure something new was happening.
With her being the first woman in a long, long, long-ass time he was interested in moving toward, not away from, he wasn’t about to let her go.