4. Cooper
4
COOPER
I played ball most of my life. I had gotten naked in locker rooms since I could remember. Being nude on a secluded beach in a far corner of the world really didn’t faze me at all.
Doing so in daylight, not even a blip.
However, getting Renée Palmer to take it all off in the surf during full sun…yeah, that was a boon. Did I want to see her naked. Hell, to the yes. She was hot. I was a full-blooded male. Of course, I wanted to see her shed some clothes and show some skin.
What I wanted more than that was to see if she would.
Which I doubted.
Not with her reputation for goodness and light and bullshit.
The woman talked a good game but when it came to playing, I doubted she knew the rules.
I put my discarded shirt on the sand, then popped the button on my jeans. I lowered the zipper and pushed them down until I could step out of them. The entire time, I kept my eyes on her. All right wearing the shades was cheating, but I figured if she saw my eyes, she’d know the truth of my contempt for her.
Yeah, I had my reasons for signing up for the app, and people might say they were mercenary, but I didn’t try to buy someone for a weekend to slum. I’m not a total hypocrite.
I kicked my pants away then let the underwear fall where they may. Then I turned. I didn’t wait to see if she was going to follow my lead. If she did, she did. If not, then I was going to be the only one living my best life over the weekend.
I guessed she already was. Hell, I could probably live comfortably off one-day of interest generated by her empire. She had no idea what it was like living on the ground as opposed to the high castle.
And yeah, the chip on my shoulder was huge. So big. I had no idea how I was going to maneuver this weekend now that I knew the identity of my date.
Coming over from the US, I had a plan. This was not part of my plan. Having to spend the weekend as the entertainment for Renée Palmer was not even on my radar of people who might be waiting on the other end of that plane ride.
The water was warm and so clear I could see my feet and legs even as I walked out of the shallows. The level rose slowly: calves, knees, thighs, and hello.
“Oh, it’s warm.”
Surprise knifed through my gut as I turned around and found Renée about twenty feet behind me. Her hands were tucked up under her opposite armpits in order to hide her breasts. From what I could tell they were pert and well-rounded. Seeing her taking the plunge, so to speak, made parts of me stand up and take notice.
“Is this the first time you’ve been in? When did you get here?” I’ll admit, I was shocked. How could anyone be here any length of time and not want to jump in and splash around? Didn’t make a damn bit of sense to me. But then, I was a common man.
Renée didn’t answer. I was glad to see she’d left her sunglasses on the beach. Her eyes were an odd shade of golden green. I hadn’t noticed that when I’d taken her seminar. But then, she’d been on stage and even the cameras that threw her image on the large screen hadn’t captured their color.
She reached me and looked up into my face. “I’ve used the pool to do laps.”
“That’s very…disciplined.”
“It’s great exercise.” She dipped a bit, so her breasts were under the waterline.
I reached out for one of her hands and wiggled my fingers at her. “Give me your hand.”
She sunk another inch or so and held out her hand. Her fingers were delicate and fragile in my larger ones. They trembled slightly in my grasp.
I pulled her up so she couldn’t hide. That free arm of hers came up to cover her body.
“No. Down. Let me see you.”
Blush filled her cheeks and went all the way down to paint her breasts in a rosy hue. And God in heaven those breasts were spectacular.
“You’re beautiful.”
I watched as she struggled to take in a breath. Doubt rose in her eyes before she cut her gaze away.
What in all the hell was that? The Renée Palmer was bold and confident. This woman before me who looked like her wasn’t acting at all like the woman who had commanded that stage telling people how to put their best selves forward and dig deep to find their personal enlightenment.
Like I initially thought. Bullshit.
But intriguing bullshit. Yeah, all right, her modesty fascinated me.
I pulled her to me, so we stood chest to chest. “Eyes on me.” Damn, was that my voice? It sounded ragged, deeper.
She turned her face upward, then she reached up and plucked my glasses off my face. “Fair is fair,” she said.
Something about her tone was low and husky, incredibly sexy. Her gaze zeroed in on mine, and refused to let go.
Snared. That’s the best way to describe it. Her eyes hooked, then reeled me in. Without another pesky thought of how much I disliked her or her public persona, I leaned down and took her mouth. That hot, sweet incredible mouth.
She moaned, filling me with her reaction. I ran a hand down the middle of her back—a gentle stroke down her spine. She shivered and moved in closer.
I trailed my mouth down her neck, eager to taste every part of her. Her skin was soft and salty from the sea spray. My cock was so fucking hard, I wanted to pick her up and set her on it. But no matter how badly I wanted that, I wasn’t going to go cave diving without suiting up.
So, I let my fingers, my hands, my mouth do the work, right there in the surf.