Chapter 38
CHAPTER 38
ABIGAIL
A thrill shot down my spine as I looked at myself in the mirror. Simon and I had come back to the hotel to change and we were meeting up to head down to the beach soon.
He’s going to be so surprised.
I smiled at my reflection and fluffed my hair, then slid my swimsuit cover-up over my head and left my room. Simon was already waiting on the tiled walkway, his dark hair a little tousled after the day and rustling in the slight sea breeze blowing up from the beach.
He had pitch black sunglasses over his eyes, a pair of bright blue swim trunks hanging from his hips, and a black muscle tee was stretching across his torso. His feet were bare and there was a relaxed smile on his lips. Honestly, he always looked good, but the way he looked right now made me want to lick him.
My insides tightened, but I hid the wave of attraction that washed over me behind a playful smile. “Look at you, Mr. Fit Guy. If I wanted to do you any favors in the competition, I’d take a picture of you right now and send it to Ashley. They wouldn’t look any further for a representative for that product.”
“I could say the same about you and Fit Gal , but I’m not going to send a picture any more than you are. I might take one though, but it’ll be for myself.”
Adrenaline shot through me as an idea took over my mind. “If you want a picture, you’re going to have to catch me first.”
I took off running without warning, my flip-flops smacking against the rough, outdoor tiles as I traversed the walkway before I hit the paved path to the beach. Out here, the air smelled briny and earthy combined, the scent of the garden mingling with that of the deep blue sea just below.
Colorful flowerbeds lined either side of the path, and in the distance, the sun was starting to sink, but it was high enough yet that we’d be able to catch some rays before the day would officially be over. I stopped short when I reached the edge of the sandy beach, but only to kick off my flip-flops.
Leaving them on the pathway, I started forward again, feeling Simon’s presence right behind me. His laughter carried on the breeze, the sound free and exhilarated. That was what made me stop right as I reached the shore instead of just running right into the water, cover-up and all.
I spun to face him, a big smile on my lips as I watched him bounding toward me. Simon wasn’t like this nearly often enough. While it hadn’t been very long since we’d reconnected, something told me that he was like this even less often now than he used to be.
With a big, easy grin on his face and absolutely not a single trace of tension on his features, he was gorgeous and he looked even younger than he was. He tossed his towel on the sand without slowing, barreling toward me like he was going to tackle me into the gentle waves.
On instinct, my hands dropped to the hem of my cover-up and I lifted it over my head, showing him the slingshot bikini I’d wound up purchasing after all. Simon slammed to a stop, his eyes going wide as he pulled his sunglasses off.
“You didn’t…” He trailed off, practically gaping at the bikini he’d suggested to me in the boutique that night. “How?”
“What?” I shrugged, doing my best to fight a smile. “I liked it before you even showed it to me.”
“Bullshit.” He laughed, but I didn’t miss the sudden husky undertone of his voice or the flames of heat flickering in his eyes as he dragged them over me. “I was right, by the way.”
“About what?”
A slow smirk spread on his lips as he stalked the last few steps closer to me. “That bikini is even hotter than the red one.”
He hooked an arm around my hips and tugged me flush against him, but he didn’t kiss me. He just rested his jaw against my temple, drinking in the ocean behind me as he held me close. I could feel his heart hammering in his chest and the bulge of him pressed against my lower belly, but he didn’t try to take things anything further.
My skin tingled at being held against him like that, his warmth enveloping me. I looped my arms loosely around his neck and rested my head against his shoulder.
We stayed just like that for a long moment before he exhaled and released me, running his palm down the length of my arm and winding our fingers together. “Want to take a walk?”
“Sure.”
Falling into step side by side, he matched his long strides to mine, the touch of his hand sending prickles of awareness through me. In the distance, the sun was starting to turn orange as it lowered closer to the horizon, but it was still warm despite the slight breeze.
Since we were walking on damp, soft sand, my feet weren’t burning. It felt nice. And there weren’t many people left on the beach at this hour, making it the perfect time for an—admittedly romantic—sunset stroll.
I smiled up at him, his profile so strong and sure under his short beard. “Ashley and Blake seemed happy about our performance here. I think it’s safe to say that Astor and Walker are in the lead at this point.”
“For sure.” He stroked his thumb along the side of my hand, his gaze on the ocean but his attention clearly on me. “It was never a question that you would be, but I have to say, you’re amazing at this job, Abi. It’s too bad you’re related to our greatest competitor because if not, I would have made you an offer you couldn’t refuse to come over to Astor instead.”
“You have some pretty great ideas yourself,” I said, unsure about whether I should add the rest of my thoughts, but in the end, I decided to take the leap. “I’ve wondered a few times why you haven’t just stepped away from Astor and Co and created your own firm. You’re the backbone of your father’s company right now. You can do everything he can, except that you’d be better and faster. If you don’t like the way he does things, why not go out on your own?”
He thought it over for a moment before he glanced at me, the expression in his eyes soft but serious. “God knows, my parents are flawed. My dad especially. I’m not blind to his faults, but it’s our family business. I’m loyal to it. I’ve considered going out on my own more than once, but whenever those thoughts come up, I shut them down fast.”
“Even if you don’t completely break ties with Astor and Co, you could partner with your father,” I suggested. “Why not create a division that has you at the head of the table?”
“Technically, I am at the head of the table at Astor and Co now. My dad just needs to feel like he’s in constant control, even if he has supposedly surrendered some of it. He would never be okay with a partnership outside of our official family brand.”
“That’s… a problem.” I narrowed my eyes as I wondered how my own family would react to something like that, but the truth was that they’d support me. “Do you really think he wouldn’t even consider it?”
“I don’t think so. I know it. I’m not disagreeing that it’s a problem, though.” Maybe eventually, it was one he’d try to solve, but on the other hand, George Astor was who he was, and while he might not be much of a father, he really was one hell of a businessman. “What about you? Would you ever go out on your own?”
“I’ve never really had any reason to consider it,” I said honestly. “Dad has handed over the reins in New York to me and he trusts me to run with it. Even when he does come in, it’s more because he’s curious and suffers from a serious case of the fear of missing out than it is about him trying to keep control.”
“Nathan always has been flipping awesome,” he murmured, his tone genuine and sincere. “You know, I really considered asking him for a job back in the day. In the end, if Dad hadn’t played the Brooks card, I may just have done it.”
“He would’ve helped you,” I said. “We would’ve been lucky to have you.”
As we walked, we came across a seaside restaurant and Simon glanced down at me. “Dinner?”
“Depends. Did you bring a wallet? Because I didn’t.”
“I’ve got mine right here.” He tapped his back pocket with his free hand. “Don’t worry. I can afford to buy you a plate of fries or something.”
I laughed. “Let’s make it an or something , and you’ve got yourself a deal.”
On an enclosed deck with wide, open windows and nautically themed décor on the walls, we found a table overlooking the bay and settled down for dinner. Simon got us a spread with every type of seafood available on the menu and we enjoyed our last night in Florida together.
“This is delicious.” I dabbed the corners of my mouth with a napkin and used my fork to point at the fish I’d just had a bite of. “I hope you don’t think this meal is going to make me take it easier on you when we get back home, though. I still think Walker and Co would’ve been lucky to have you, but since we don’t, you need to be ready to bring your best game.”
“I always bring my best game. What’s the use of playing if you’re not trying to win? Here’s a clue, it’s not to compete or to have fun. They’re lying to the younger generation about that.”
“Agreed,” I said, grinning. “It’ll be back to us competing instead of working together once we’re back on our home turf, and I have some amazing ideas for both charity functions already. I’ll absolutely be playing to win.”
He smiled. “I’ve never stopped competing, Abi. I’ve been trying to win all along.”
Unable to help myself, my eyes rolled before I gave him a pointed look. “That’s obvious with how you let Ashley flirt all over you right in front of me.”
A slight smile hooked the corners of his lips, dragging them slowly upward. “Oh, you don’t like it when she’s hitting on me?”
“To be honest, I’ve been far too busy having incredible conversations with Blake to really notice. I just thought that you might be getting annoyed with it all.”
His smile grew. “You know how I feel.”
“I really don’t, though.”
He frowned and looked out at the water.
We changed the subject. The sun went down while we talked, the sound of the waves crashing to the shore in the background. We stayed at the restaurant for a long time, no awkward silences ever falling between us.
Eventually, we made our way back to the hotel and I smiled up at him when we reached our respective doors. “Good night, Simon. Thank you for a wonderful dinner.”
“You said you really didn’t know how I feel.” He held his gaze firmly on mine, those greens blazing with heat and intensity. I would have said they were smoldering even, but there was something much softer in them as well. He reached for my hand and linked our fingertips together. “Spend the night with me, Abigail.”
When he opened his door behind him with his free hand and gently brought me with him, I followed, falling into his arms. He kicked the door shut behind us. His lips found mine, his kisses hungry and urgent.
I flattened myself against him, kissing him back with equal fervor and finally wrapping my legs around his hips when he lifted me up. Simon groaned into my mouth, carrying me to the nearest wall and pressing me against it.
Desire raced through me, flooding my panties and making my nipples ache with the need to be touched. I arched my back and kissed him harder, my tongue sweeping against his as lust overtook all sense of logic and reason.
Simon rolled his hips into me and I moaned as pleasure erupted from my core, racing to my extremities and sending shivers down my spine. Whispering curses into the kiss, he kept me balanced against the wall with his strong body, his hands dropping to the hem of my cover-up.
Tearing it off over my head, he dropped it on the floor and started tugging at the ties of the slingshot, quickly ridding me of the scraps of material that had been pretending to be a swimsuit. Fully naked and with my pulse hammering in my ears, I worked on ridding him of his shirt. A loud zzrrr raced through the air when I ripped open the velcro on his shorts.
Moments later, they dropped to the floor and I felt his hot tip pressing against my entrance. The urge to lower myself onto him was almost overwhelming. I muttered between kisses, so turned on that I could barely breathe, but I still wouldn’t risk it.
“We need a condom.”
“Yep. Fast. Bed?”
“No time.”
“Right.”
In a move that defied the bounds of what should’ve been possible, he bent over while still holding me against the wall, managing to reach his wallet in his pants and handing it over to me. I opened it, pulled out a condom, and tore it open before reaching between us.
Simon’s breathing was hard as I rolled it on some of the way. Then he took over from me, pupils dilated so much that there was almost no iris left. When it was done, he brought his lips back to mine, his kisses firm but coaxing, and he stroked his tip through my folds and thrust into me.
I held on tight, my eyes closing. I dropped my head against the wall. Simon was too good at this for me to ever fully comprehend it, but I was perfectly happy to just ride it out.