Chapter 30
Roman had initially suggested they visit the beach because he needed Ava out of the house so he could implement his next surprise,
but once he saw her clad in nothing but a pink bikini, he forgot about everything else. The high-waisted bottoms laced up
the sides and emphasized her rounded hips, and the top consisted of some string and two tiny scraps of spandex that highlighted
her pert breasts. She’d braided her hair back in two neat plaits.
“You are a goddess,” he breathed.
She ducked her head like she was hiding a blush. “Not looking too bad yourself.”
“This old thing?” He glanced down at the black swim trunks he’d found in the dresser upstairs. They were a little big on him—apparently
he’d slimmed down since he’d last been here, a result of the PT regimen he was actually sticking to these days—and he knew
his abs were more defined than they’d been since... well, probably since he’d starred on a telenovela.
Thinking about Ava in that swimsuit was going to make it difficult for him to go out in public, so he cleared his throat and
gestured toward the front door. “Your chariot awaits.”
They left their phones behind, and Roman switched out his smartwatch for a waterproof one that only told time. The car drove them to Bellísima, which had a pool deck that led right onto the beach. The deck had a bar, rows of white lounge chairs with golden yellow cushions and navy-blue umbrellas branded with the resort’s logo, and an aquamarine pool shaped like a kidney bean. They claimed two lounge chairs far away from the other guests, and an attendant brought over mocktails made with coconut water, seltzer, mint, and lime.
“Drink this,” Roman said, passing one to Ava. “I won’t chance you getting dehydrated again.”
“Yes, sir,” she said with a cheeky grin that made his groin tighten. She accepted the drink and took a sip. His gaze zeroed
in on her lips where they wrapped around the end of the straw, and he forced himself to look away.
He didn’t think he was imagining the shift in her energy. She’d been cautious around him in the morning, like she expected
him to talk over her again, but she’d gradually loosened up. During the distillery tour she’d been curious and attentive,
taking in the information with genuine interest. They’d had fun during the mixology class, joking and inventing ridiculous
names for the drink, like “Telenovela Foreva” and “Jashton in Love,” and he hadn’t been able to resist giving her a teasing
glimpse of her panties in his pocket. Her face had flamed red but she didn’t appear scandalized.
Estrella had pulled him aside afterward and whispered, “I like her.”
“Me too,” he’d answered truthfully.
Ava had been quiet on the ride back, and then she’d surprised him by strolling out in that sexy pink bikini. He couldn’t have
said exactly what he’d expected her to wear, but it wasn’t that. He’d never been happier to be wrong.
Then she pulled a bottle of sunscreen from her tote and he stopped thinking altogether.
After pulling off the gauzy white cover-up she’d worn in the car, she squirted sunscreen onto her palm and began to smooth
it over her arms.
Roman froze with the glass halfway to his mouth as he watched her work the lotion onto her shoulders. After a moment, he realized
his jaw was hanging open, and he took a long pull on the paper straw.
Damn, he had to get a hold of himself. It wasn’t even like she was applying the sunscreen in a sexy way. He just found everything
she did appealing.
She moved to her legs, and when she saw him watching, her lips curved in a coy smile. Her movements slowed, becoming more
like caresses. Roman swallowed hard and took another gulp of his drink.
Then her hands went to her breasts, slipping beneath the fabric of her bikini top. With her eyes on his, she worked her fingers
over her skin, and Roman realized she was tweaking her own nipples under the pink spandex.
He groaned and tunneled his fingers through his hair, which was damp with sweat. From her or from the humidity, he wasn’t
sure. “Ava, what are you doing to me?”
“You’re right, how selfish of me.” Was it his imagination, or did he detect a breathy little purr? She drew her hands away
from her breasts and held up the sunscreen. “Want me to do your back? We don’t want you to burn.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying I’m pale?”
“I don’t need to say it.”
He choked out a laugh and stretched out on his stomach. “Do your worst.”
He’d been kidding, but there was nothing innocent about the way Ava buttered up his back. She slid her hands up and down his skin in slow strokes. Her thumbs and fingertips traced the contours of his muscles and the ridge of his spine. She tickled his sides and dug into the tension he perpetually carried in his traps. By the end, he was putty in her hands and his dick was hard as a fucking rock.
“There,” she said, easing back. “You’re ready.”
“Fuck yeah I am,” he muttered under his breath. “Give me a second, or I’m going to cause a scandal.”
She let out a husky chuckle and stretched her long body out on her lounge chair. “But you have to do me next. My back, I mean.”
God, was there anything sexier than flirty Ava? Roman didn’t think so.
He sat up, and she laughed when he immediately tossed a towel over his lap.
“You feeling okay over there?” she asked. “You seem a little... flustered.”
“Just fine,” he grumbled.
They still had a lot to talk about—he wasn’t letting her off the hook for the way she’d snapped at him after they’d made love
in the shower—but this wasn’t the time or place, and if she wanted to break some of her rules, he was game. He took the sunscreen
from her, rubbed it between his hands, and began to smooth it onto her back. It was a pleasure just to touch her, and as he
worked it over her shoulders, she let out a satisfied hum.
“You like that?” His voice came out gravelly with desire.
“Mmm. It’s nice. I never splurge on massages.”
Roman made a mental note to book spa services for them the next day.
He ran his hands all over her back, then down her legs, sliding the sunscreen over her thighs. When he got to the bikini bottoms, he dipped his fingers underneath, massaging her gorgeous butt. When her thighs parted, he was tempted to go further, to stroke her and see if she was as turned on as he was, but he stuck to the uncovered skin.
“You’re very thorough,” she murmured.
“You’re not getting burned on my watch.”
“I appreciate it.” Then she sat up, drained her glass, and jumped to her feet. “See you in the water!”
She took off, jogging down to the beach and leaving Roman staring after her with a raging boner.
He laughed. Damn, she was fun.
Since he wasn’t going anywhere for a few minutes, he sipped his drink and watched her stride into the water, her long, strong
legs cutting through the breaking waves. And when she raised her arms over her head and dove in, he waited with bated breath
until she resurfaced.
Roman was glad they’d left their phones behind but he wished he could take a picture of her as she was now, diving in and
out of the water in her pink bikini, a smile on her face, as carefree as a frolicking seal. Since he couldn’t take a picture,
he committed every detail to memory, determined not to miss a thing.
Ava bobbed back up and wiped the water from her eyes. Her head turned, like she was scanning the shore, and when she spotted
him, her face lit up and she waved. Roman could see her huge grin all the way from where he sat, and warmth suffused his chest.
He waved back, and when she relaxed into the water to float, his pulse sped up and his skin prickled like he’d caught a chill.
But how? It had to be almost a hundred degrees out.
Then it hit him. It wasn’t a chill, it was shock . Shock, because his body had realized something before his brain could interpret the feeling. The goosebump-inducing warmth
was... Fuck. It was love . He loved her.
He fucking loved Ava .
With something akin to terror, his mind raced to catalog the feelings she brought out in him. Excitement whenever her name
appeared on his phone. Longing when she went months without contacting him. Fear when he thought she was in trouble. Delight
at doing something nice for her. And determination to treat her like a queen.
There were more emotions to sort through, but this was a starting point, and when he factored in additional data—like how
he dropped everything to see her, something he’d done for literally no one who wasn’t a blood relation—all signs pointed to love.
He loved her hesitation because it made the moments when she was bold all the more electrifying. He loved her kindness, but he loved her sass and spark even more. He loved her generosity, even when she gave too much, and he especially loved when she let him swoop to her rescue like a knight in a fairytale. He loved the way she curled against him when she needed comfort, the way she read every item on a menu before making her decision, the way she crafted the most polite booty call texts ever. He loved her neat cursive, her perfect curls, and how magnificent she was when she finally let her hair get wet. He loved the way she wrapped her long legs around his hips like a snare he never wanted to escape from, the way her plush mouth sucked on his bottom lip when they kissed, the way her eyes revealed everything she was feeling, even when she thought she was hiding it. A blend of colors—brown and green, yellow and red, and deep enough to drown in—her eyes held galaxies and reflected his entire universe back to him. Everything he was and ever would be was tangled up with her.
He’d never been in love before, but he knew with soul-deep certainty that this was worlds beyond desire, and far different
than what he felt for his family. When he thought of Ava, the unparalleled sense of connection stretched out far into the
future, eternal and boundless. He wanted to be part of her life, and for her to be part of his, forever.
It wasn’t what she wanted. He knew that. But feelings changed, didn’t they? His had. When they’d met, he’d been content with one night of fun.
And now here he was, head over fucking heels in love with her.
Wasn’t it possible her feelings could change too?
From the water, Ava beckoned to him, and Roman rose to his feet. God, this woman had total control over him, and she didn’t
even realize it. More, he wanted to give her that control. He wanted to give her everything .
Setting down his glass, he walked toward the water as if there were an invisible cord pulling him to her. He didn’t fight
it, just let the feeling tug him forward, across the sand and into the breaking waves splashing over his feet. He charged
into the surf as it battered his knees and threatened to knock him over. When he reached her, the water was calmer. The words
I love you were on the tip of his tongue, but he resisted the urge to tell her what he’d discovered. He knew her well enough by now
to know it would scare her. Roman wasn’t used to holding back—when he had an idea, he acted . But Ava wasn’t like that. She’d need time to think, to process. So he would wait, even though the feeling swelled inside him like a balloon until he thought he would burst with it.
“We have to stop meeting like this,” she murmured when he approached.
“Like what?”
“In the water.” With a saucy grin, she splashed him right in the face.
“Oh, it’s like that?” He dove after her, and with a peal of laughter, she darted away like a nymph. They played for a few
minutes, laughing and splashing each other in the turquoise blue sea while the sun beat thickly down overhead, and Roman couldn’t
remember the last time he’d had this much fun. Finally, after she’d tackled him into the waves, he grabbed the waistband of
her swimsuit and yanked her over to him. She gave up the fight immediately and turned in his embrace, looping her arms over
his shoulders and locking her legs around his hips like she had that first night in the pool.
Roman was instantly hard again. He gripped her ass, his fingertips teasing her skin under the edge of pink spandex.
Around them, on the sand and in the water, people talked and played music, kids laughed and screamed, and the waves crashed.
But it felt like they were alone. Roman wanted to kiss her with every fiber of his being.
“You’re killing me, profe,” he rasped.
“Am I?” Her lips quirked in a teasing smile. “Let me check.”
And then her hand dove under the water to untie his swim trunks.
He groaned and pressed his face into her neck as her fingers reached into the clingy fabric and netting to grip him. They were both soaking wet and her hand was cool, but where their skin touched, heat flared.
They weren’t supposed to be doing this yet. Right? Wasn’t there some reason why he’d been holding back? Oh yeah, they needed
to talk first. And then he needed to tell her he loved her. But fuck, her hand felt so good caressing his cock, and her ass
felt amazing in his hands.
His fingers flexed, sliding over her wet skin and inching closer to her center.
Fuck it. They’d talk later.
He trailed his mouth along her jaw. “Ava—”
A wave crashed down, knocking them sideways and sucking them under the water. Ava was pulled from his grip. Saltwater rushed
into his mouth and nose, and he couldn’t tell which way was up. Then Roman’s feet touched sand and he propelled himself upward,
his head breaking the surface. He came up coughing and spluttering, wiping water and snot off his face. When he looked around,
he spotted Ava a few feet away, doing the same. He trudged through the water toward her, feeling a little less resistance
than before...
Ava gasped. “You’re naked!”
Roman glanced down at himself. Ah. That was why there was less drag. His swim trunks were completely gone.
“So I am,” he said, sinking lower in the water. “Well, this is a predicament.”
Ava burst into peals of laughter. “This,” she said, choking out the words between giggles, “is your payback for stealing my
pan—”
She was cut short when another wave smashed into her back and toppled her over. The current was pushing them into the breaker zone. Roman waited for her to come up, then took her arm to pull her into deeper waters.
Her hair was coming loose from its braids and she pushed it away from her face, rubbing seawater out of her eyes. When she
lowered her hands, Roman’s eyes nearly fell out of his head as he gazed at her bare breasts.
Without thinking, his hands shot out to cover them.
“Roman, what—” She let out a strangled screech when she saw why he was suddenly groping her. “My top!”
“You can’t make this shit up,” he mumbled, but she wasn’t in the mood for jokes.
“Find it!” she hissed, covering her chest with her arms.
He made a helpless gesture toward his crotch. “Between the two of us, you’re still more covered than I am. And the beach will
respond a lot better if you go out there topless than if I come out with no pants.”
“I can’t believe this is happening,” she muttered, searching the water around them.
“?Mira esto!” a high-pitched voice called somewhere to Roman’s left. He glanced over to where a trio of kids played in the
water, just in time to see a boy around Yadi’s age wave what looked like a wet pink flag.
Roman surged toward them as the boy threw Ava’s bikini top to his friend. The other kid caught it and held the pink triangles
in front of his own skinny chest, laughing. He raised his arm to throw the top to the third boy when Roman lunged through
the water and snatched it from his hand.
“Gracias,” he said, a little out of breath. “Eso es mio.”
“?Qué?” the boy asked. “?Tuyo?”
“Es de mi novia,” Roman explained with a wink, reveling in calling Ava his girlfriend, even if it was only to a bunch of children. All three boys looked past him to where Ava waited, red-faced and crouching in the water up to her neck. Roman dove underwater and swam away before they noticed he was missing something too.
He returned the top to Ava, who struggled to get the wet spandex triangles back over her breasts under the water. “Do you
think anyone saw?”
“If they did, they are very lucky.”
“Roman!” Despite her indignant tone, she smothered a laugh as he helped her with the ties.
Once she was covered, Roman wiped his face again.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
He rubbed his nose. “Fine. I just have seawater leaking out of my brain.”
“Pobrecito.” She pushed his hair back from his forehead and gave him a look of utter fondness. “I was planning to tease you
a whole lot more—turnabout is fair play, and all that—but I think we’ve beached enough for one day, don’t you?”
“More than enough. I’m totally beached out.” Roman glanced at his waterproof watch. His surprise was likely underway. If he
could get Ava to her room and keep her away from the kitchen and patio, there was a good chance it would stay a surprise.
“Can you bring me a towel and a robe from the deck?”
She nodded, but before she left, she put her hand on his chest and gave him a soft, closed-mouth kiss. “This was fun. Thank
you.”
Mi sirena , he thought, as he watched her cut through the waves to the shore. When she was in the water, she was as carefree as a mermaid,
shedding her reserve along with her clothes and leaving all her inhibitions on land.
He was so fucking lucky that she let him see this side of her.
If he hadn’t already realized he was in love with her, this would have been the moment that did it. And as much as he wanted
to announce it to the entire beach, he’d keep it to himself.
For now.