twenty
IN HER DREAMS, Sophie sat up on the towel and tipped her sunglasses down her nose.
The tide rolled lazily over white sand, and a cool breeze stirred up the fragrance of ocean brine. The sun’s rays glistened on white-capped waves and reflected in the foamy swirls and froth churning on the surface.
King swam through the water in one graceful ripple after another.
In the dream, Sophie adjusted the top of her crimson bikini. This is wonderful. She and King alone in a beautiful place. No computer, phone, or deadlines demanding attention. Only one very serious decision for her to make—when to ask him to put on more sunscreen.
He rose out of the surf and raked his hair. Every muscle in his bronzed, powerful body flexed. He showed no exertion from his swim.
She could hardly breathe, completely mesmerized by the arousal his black trunks failed to hide. Her middle hollowed and filled with a rush of pure longing. He was chiseled male perfection. He was pleasure. And all hers.
She stood as he approached and sand caved around her toes.
His blue eyes captivated her as he grasped her hand and kissed her palm. “Sophie. We need to begin.”
She stroked his chest. “Where should we start?”
He gathered her close and brushed a kiss over her lips. “With the reports on the Ivy Gate. We have to get through them before Aiden closes the deal.”
“Nooo!” Wakefulness catapulted her out of the dream. She untangled her arms and legs from the sheets.
“Sophie,” King called to her from the top deck. “Are you up? We need to get going on these reports.”
“Yes.” Day two of her continuing nightmare of boating with King. Shit. She trudged to the bathroom.
She was doing her best to remain compassionate, but she was horny as hell. A few times, in between turning the pages, she’d caught him staring. She’d also witnessed his hard-ons. Yesterday, she’d worn beige booty shorts and a tight white cropped tee with no bra during the day, then changed into a formfitting, ultrashort sundress with a thong underneath that night, trying to gain his attention. The only things he couldn’t seem to resist were multiple showers, injuring himself, or staying buried in the report. She couldn’t take it anymore.
Sophie strangled the toothpaste tube and a huge glob poured out. As she rinsed some of it off, droplets of water spattered the mirror.
Faint shadows rimmed her eyes. Late last night, when King had insisted they start going through all of the binders for the second time, he’d appeared even more worn-out than her. He’d refused to accept that they couldn’t find anything wrong. King was obsessed. He needed a distraction. She needed him. Time to level up to her A-game.
A few minutes later, she climbed to the upper deck. A breeze ruffled the sleeves of her short crimson tunic. The semisheer fabric-and-lace cover-up showed nothing but hinted at the brevity of the matching bikini she wore underneath it.
The sun crested on the horizon of the Atlantic into a cloudless sky. Anchored off the Carolinas, the coast appeared as a thin, distant line.
King sat at the white table nestled in the green padded, U-shaped seating space in the cockpit. His white button-down and green-and-white board shorts were crisp and unwrinkled. His dark hair ruffled in the breeze.
She strolled closer, but his focus remained on an opened binder on the table as he munched on grapes from a bowl of fruit. “I’ve been rereading the construction notes from when the hotel was built seven years ago,” he said without looking up. “The amount of money the original company put into the place is staggering. High quality at every level.” He shook his head. “I can’t understand why the current owners didn’t capitalize on what they had instead of trying to change it.”
They’d discussed that point already, along with several others. No way in hell were they going down that path again. “Sometimes change is exactly what’s needed.”
He stayed engrossed in the binder. “It was a stupid decision. What was the motivation?”
“Everyone has their reasons.” Okay . . . Phase one, the grand entrance, didn’t work. Time for phase two. She sat down. “I’m a little hot.”
“It’s supposed to reach the midnineties today.” He studied the page. “Make sure you put on sunscreen.”
“That’s a really good idea.” She pulled off the cover-up. Her red jeweled charm bracelet rattled as she flung it on the open pages. “Care to help?”
He stared at the cover-up for a long moment. Then looked to her. His gaze remained just where she’d hoped. He stared at her breasts, nearly spilling out of the triangles of her bikini top.
King visibly swallowed and a flush surged from his neck, exposed by the open collar of his shirt, up to his face. “Sunscreen won’t be enough. You should really put on more clothes.”
“But I’m comfortable.” Sophie plucked a strawberry from the fruit bowl. “What about you?”
His gaze followed her hand as she brought the fruit to her mouth, took a bite, and slowly licked the juice from her lips.
A bulge formed in the front of his board shorts. He shifted in his seat. “We have work to do.”
“Don’t you want to finish breakfast?” Sophie trailed her finger through a bowl of honey-sweetened yogurt. She sucked it away with an audible pop. “You know what they say. It’s the most important meal of the day. And I love breakfast.”
Sweat glistened on his brow even though he sat in the shade. “I do too.”
Finally, they were speaking a common language. Sophie slid closer to him. She picked up a grape and held it to his mouth. “Then you should eat.”
Eyes fixed on her, he leaned in.
Just before he reached the fruit, she slipped it into her mouth. “Too slow.” The gleam in his eyes sparked a smile she couldn’t stop. She ate another grape.
King, not able to take it anymore, swooped in and dipped his tongue past her lips and swirled the fruit and its juices in her mouth. Sweetness and a heady longing for more seeped into her. She grasped hold of his collar. He grabbed hold of her nape. King devoured the soft moans she couldn’t hold back as he went deeper and kissed her harder. Each stroke into her mouth reminded Sophie of how completely he would fill her, take her, please her with his hard length.
She cupped his erection and he swelled larger in her palm. Her heart rate quickened. Once she freed him, she would be riding her way to paradise.
Groaning, he broke from the kiss. “What are you doing trying to do me?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” She pulled the string tying his shorts.
“Yeah. You’re screwing up my good intentions.” As he kissed along her jawline, he pressed his hard cock into her palm. “You said sex was no longer an option for us. Just work.”
She unbuttoned his shirt. “I changed my mind for the weekend. I want you.”
“The weekend?” Incredulity filled his tone but he kept sweeping kisses down her neck. “We could have been in bed this entire time? I’ve been going crazy trying to keep my hands off of you.” He caressed up her thigh.
So those skimpy outfits had snagged his attention. A giggle escaped.
“You think me talking down a hard-on and staying awake all night because of it is funny?”
She tried to kiss away his frown and stroked his chest. “We still have a few hours.”
“Yeah, we do.” He tugged the bikini strings loose on her hip.
Her pulse ticked up. “Wait. We’re out in the open.”
He unknotted the other side of her bikini bottoms. “Like you said, we only have a few hours.” His startling blue eyes turned silvery gray. “And I owe you payback.” He peeled away the front triangle of her bikini bottoms then glided a finger along the seam of her sex.
“Oh?” Her thighs quivered. Payback. Paying her dues. Making up for lost time. Reaping the benefits. She didn’t care what he called it as long as it involved them being naked.
King kissed Sophie and pulled her with him toward the edge of the seat. Her bikini bottoms were left behind.
He stood and she went to follow. King clutched her thighs and knelt. “Uh-uh.” He caressed up her calves, seemingly mesmerized by them. “You stay right there.”
As he followed his caress up her legs with kisses, she followed his lead and rested her legs over his shoulders. As he grasped her hips and pulled her closer, want and triumph swelled inside of her. She’d brought him to his knees.
The first flick of his tongue made her gasp. One slow dive inside of her followed by the circling of her clit made her shake. Waves of pleasure from his sensual onslaught pulled out needy sounds she’d never made before in her life.
The drone of an engine joined the slap of water against the boat.
She tried to pull away. “Someone is coming.”
“Wave.” He thrust two fingers inside of her and sucked her clit.
The rational part of her said to push him away, but desire had her holding on to him. Her head fell back. The sky seemed bluer. The rays of the sun brighter. The breeze on her heated skin was as arousing as King’s caresses. An orgasm ripped through Sophie, tossing her into abandonment. Ecstasy. Didn’t-give-a-damn-who-saw-or-heard-her surrender.
As she floated on a cloud of sexual satisfaction, she slumped back in the seat.
King licked his glistening lips and his eyes narrowed. A predator enjoying the act of owning his prey. He stood and handed her the cover-up.
She slipped it on. “Now you’re worried about modesty? What about the guys who passed by in the speedboat? If they would have come any closer, they would have heard me and known exactly what you were doing.”
He pulled her to her feet. “I don’t care about guys hearing you scream my name, because this”—he nuzzled her neck and cupped her ass—“is only for me.”
“Oh, really?” He wasn’t the only one who had a temporary claim. Sophie ripped apart the Velcro in the front of his shorts. His hard cock bumped her fingers. She traced up his length, and the need she spotted in his eyes moved pure fire through her blood. “And all of this is mine.”