Chapter 16
Pieces
In the hotel’s fitness center, Lexi sat back and mopped her forehead of pretend sweat with the small workout towel Josh had loaned her.
She didn’t want him to think she was slacking off, but she was no workout maven, and honestly, watching him go through his fitness routine in the hotel’s gym was doing a fine job of getting her pulse racing.
Who needed cardio machines when she had Josh?
Between watching his muscles bunch and flex in the gym and experiencing those muscles for herself in bed, her heartbeats per second would stack up against the fittest person, thank you very much.
Sporting gym shorts that showed off his tree-trunk thighs and a loose tank that revealed his biceps, triceps, and pecs slicked in sweat, Josh was making it hard to keep her hands to herself.
Admiring his form had become her favorite thing to do—so much better than TV.
The only sight missing was that yummy V that dipped below his waistband, but she planned to get an up-close, personal view later when she licked his salty skin there—and a few other choice spots—and lathered him in the shower.
He released his grip on the lat pulldown and wiped his cheek on his arm. He looked over at her and smiled. “Done with your reps?”
“Um, sure. I think I’m through my entire routine now.” Liar. “How about you?”
“Almost there. How about we ride bikes after this? I’ll buy you lunch at that little taco place on the dock.”
Wasn’t it way past time for Lexi to pay for something?
It was already Tuesday, and Josh hadn’t let her use her own cash or credit card since breakfast last Sunday morning.
As she’d told Anna in a quick call, she appreciated the generosity, but guilt was catching up to her.
She wasn’t completely broke. Yes, her nest egg wasn’t large, but she was careful with her funds.
The only reason she’d followed through with this trip was because she couldn’t get her money back.
As for the airfare, she’d gone the super-economy, center-seat route.
If she got really desperate, she could always take out a loan on her credit card, though she probably wouldn’t need to go that far.
A travel and leisure magazine she’d contacted was interested in her work, and she had other potentials too.
Which reminded her … she needed to snap more photos for a mock article she planned to write for the mag so they could gauge her writing abilities.
In her phone’s photo album, she already had a few selfies of Josh and her, along with some very sexy ones of Josh in bed, on his stomach, his fine tan body against the stark white sheets, staring at her with that hungry look of his.
To remember him by, of course. The images were mostly PG with only a tiny slice of his cute man butt showing.
And he might have taken some racy poses of her too.
While there was lots of skin, nothing was exposed.
Artful nudes, he’d called them. She liked how his lens saw her—it was the same way he did, he’d said.
And another chunk of her heart had broken off.
Why was this man single?
While he’d kept his prepaid room, he’d moved most of his stuff into her suite.
They visited his room on occasion to tear up those sheets …
or test out the tub … or the sturdiness of the armchair.
“So housekeeping knows I’m still at the hotel and doesn’t report me missing,” Josh had explained with a sly grin.
“What do you say?” real-time Josh prodded from the bench he straddled, snapping her back from her pleasant daydreams. “Bikes and tacos?”
“Isn’t it my turn to pay for something?”
“I didn’t know we were taking turns,” he quipped. “Besides, I’d rather get paybacks the way I’m getting them now.” He sent her a devilish wink.
God, they’d enjoyed each other only an hour ago, and she craved him all over again, her body suddenly glowing and tingling all over. She couldn’t get enough of him. Then one word—Russia—popped into her brain. The glow dimmed, and the tingles tilted.
Counting today, she had four more days to enjoy this thing they had going.
Four.
Josh tossed his towel at her. “Hey, baby. Where’d you go?”
She loved that he noticed little things like her mind wandering. Had Conrad ever paid her that kind of attention? No, despite being engaged, he’d never really been tuned into her like Josh was.
“I’m back in the suite. With you.” She winked back.
His gray eyes smoldered like a smoky fire. He looked around and, seeming satisfied no one was listening, rumbled, “What are we doing in the suite?”
She purred, “I’m pretty sure we’re naked, and I’m on my knees in front of you, licking you like a lollipop.”
He threw his head back, hissing, “Fuuuuck!” He leveled her with an intensity that sent a thrill to her core. “Better give me that towel back. I have a growing problem these shorts can’t hide.”
She eyeballed his crotch unabashedly. “Oh, you do, don’t you?”
He smirked. “You’re not helping.”
Giggling, she jumped off the bench, away from him, and waved the towel.
“That’s gonna cost you,” he growled.
“And when are you going to collect?”
“As soon as I can stand.”
She reveled in the flirty talk, but also in his subtle sense of humor and his quick wit, even when they had nothing to do with sex. She simply loved being with him. Talking to him. Sharing jokes and laughter with him. Feeling as though she was the center of his universe.
Four days.
Hours later, they sat side by side at a picnic table on the dock, their rental bikes parked nearby. As they chowed down on the best fish tacos Lexi had ever eaten, they gazed out at the water, sparkling as though diamonds floated on its surface.
He reached over and flicked something from the corner of her mouth with his fingertip. Such a natural gesture. “What do you want to do tomorrow, baby?”
“Well, let’s see. We have three and a half more days.
” She began counting off on her fingers.
“We’ve walked around town, danced at the Warehouse, rented bikes, and eaten tacos at Flip-Flops, among other things.
I think we’ve hit the tourist nail on the head pretty well.
But I’d still like to check out the Tipsy Pelican. ”
“That Tipsy Pelican?” He jerked his head toward the dive bar farther down the dock.
“Yep. They’re hosting a band called the B-Sides this weekend that would be fun to see. I hear they’re a great dance band. You could show me more of your moves.” She gave him what she hoped was a sexy smile.
“I’m always up for showing you my moves, babe,” he chortled. “But if you really want to go, we could do that Thursday night. I’d like to take you out for a really nice dinner Friday. You know, for our last night?”
Thunk. And there it was. Reality again. Their time together was finite, and it was flying by too fast.
“I’d also like to drive up the coast,” he continued. “Why don’t I rent us a car tomorrow, and we’ll go shelling? You can add to your collection.”
“For the whole day?”
“Well, we’ll have to set aside time for the mandatories.” He gave her a knowing leer and squeezed her upper thigh.
“Mandatories?” she snorted.
“Yeah. Like watching movies. We have lots of movies to watch.”
She laughed at the inside joke. They had started out streaming The Princess Bride but hadn’t gotten past Buttercup’s kidnapping scene before their mouths were fused together and they were pulling off each other’s clothes. Same result when they tried watching Interstellar.
Still chuckling, she leaned into his shoulder.
He put down his half-eaten taco and dropped his arm over her shoulder, pulling her close to drop a kiss on her head.
She loved this feeling of sharing time and experiences with someone.
Of harboring their own private world. Of being a couple.
Even people at the hotel, like Matt the bartender or Neil the snake, acknowledged them as a couple.
One elderly woman had even pulled her aside to gush about how she “loved to see young people in love.”
Lexi felt like a couple. An intimate couple who shared bedroom secrets. It was … liberating. Exhilarating. She could definitely get used to it.
The next morning, with the “mandatories” completed to everyone’s immense satisfaction, they headed for a cherry-red Mustang convertible the rental company had delivered.
Josh carried a gigantic picnic basket he’d had the hotel pack for them, which he stowed in the trunk.
The basket was an unexpected, thoughtful surprise Lexi was dying to peek at.
“Not till I say it’s time,” he barked when she tried to lift the lid.
He opened her car door, rounded the hood, and hopped into the driver’s seat. As he got familiar with the controls, she tugged on her bikini bottoms beneath her mesh cover-up and adjusted her ball cap.
“Yo, co-pilot. My phone’s connected to the car’s audio now. Find us some cruising music,” he commanded.
She scrolled through playlists. “I don’t think I realized how bossy you are until now.”
Sliding his mirrored sunglasses down the bridge of his nose, he gave her a pointed look. “Really? You’re just now appreciating who’s in charge in bed?”
“Hmm. You have a point there. You do enjoy taking charge.” And I do appreciate it.
“Glad you noticed I have a point. Especially with the workout you’ve been giving it.” With a gleeful cackle, he shoved the glasses back into place and started the engine. Paused and side-eyed her. “Wait. I thought you loved me taking charge.” He was so earnest; she nearly burst out with a laugh.
Instead, she answered with an eye-roll. No need to boost his swagger, even if she did find it irresistible.
A cocky grin curved his sensuous mouth. “Yeah, I thought so. You love it.”
Yes, I do.