Chapter Two #6
No hope for it, Lily. Out with it. Better now than later when you really, really like him. Or worse yet . . .
“I couldn’t sleep with a man I didn’t care about . . . a lot,” she blurted.
He stared for long moments. Interminable moments for Lily.
“Fair enough,” he said finally. “I’ll just have to make you care about me. A lot.”
“Please don’t joke.” She swallowed hard. “If you don’t want to see me again, I’ll understand.” She turned toward their pile of clothes and shoes high up on the sand.
He stepped in front of her. “Who’s joking?”
She shrugged. “Most guys—”
“Is that what you expect?” he asked indignantly. “For me to bolt and take the high road if you won’t sleep with me right off the bat?”
Another shrug. “Most guys do. Show their true colors, I mean.”
His eyes flashed in the moonlight. “I’m not most guys. Like I said, I’m a patient man.”
In a blink, his irritation vanished, replaced by a slow, sensual smile that made her feel warm from the tip of her head to her toes.
“That smile works pretty well for you, doesn’t it?”
“Maybe.” He tugged her back in his arms with little effort. “I’m not about to give up, Lily. I’ve wanted you bad, ever since I stepped in the Bloom & Grow office and saw you in that little yellow sundress.”
He cuddled her tight against him. Her whole body tingled from head to toe with his arms wrapped around her, but he hadn’t mentioned falling for her. Would she just be another seduction in a long line of seductions? Would she be like all the others? Or was she just a little bigger challenge?
“I can hear those wheels turning, Lily.” The vibration of his deep voice sent little sparks across her skin.
He eased back slightly, took her left hand in his, and wrapped his arm around her waist. For a moment, she didn’t understand and then she did.
They were dancing!
In the moonlight.
On the beach.
And he hummed a little tune in her ear for accompaniment.
Her heart ached with the romance of it all.
Their dance was over way too soon, and Rhett had steered her toward their pile of clothes and shoes on the sand. Had he meant what he said or would this be Cinderella’s only night?
“Can I see you again?” he asked suddenly.
Yes, she almost squealed.
“I’d like that.”
“You said you work too much. Why don’t you take some time off and play? With me.”
“How much time?”
He grinned and pulled on his shoes and socks. “Take a week off. Come to New York with me. You’re a consultant, so you can rearrange your clients. I have business meetings up there for the next week, and I don’t want to wait seven days to see you again.”
“Really?” Her heart thudded against her ribs.
“Yes, really. With the Internet and your cell phone, your clients may never know you’re gone.”
His muscled arm snaked around her waist, and his mouth claimed hers.
This time his kiss turned hungry as he teased her lips apart.
Lily’s resistance collapsed like a cheap beach chair, and her arms slid around his neck.
Rhett palmed her cheeks and deepened the kiss forcing a tiny moan from her as she melted into him, not able to get close enough.
His kiss aroused soul-deep sensations she hadn’t expected or ever experienced, including a sudden knee-jerking panic.
She couldn’t go away with Rhett!
He’d want . . .
He’d expect . . .
She couldn’t . . .
She jerked back.
“It’s too soon,” she said breathlessly.
He pressed his lips to hers. “No worries. We’ve already discussed this,” he whispered against her lips.
Yes, we discussed it, but were you listening?
She tensed in anticipation at the feel of his lips hovering against her own, and she wanted to drown in another heart-squeezing kiss. Sheer panic-driven resolve forced her to pull back again. “Yes, but—”
Unrepentant, Rhett nibbled at her lower lip and nearly melted her hard-won restraint. “I’ll get us a suite,” he promised. “You can have your own room, and you can decide when we’re ready.”
Her knees buckled, and he pressed her close.
“You mean it?” she whispered.
“I mean it,” he said, his voice sounding gruff. “I feel different when I’m with you, Lily. Like the real me. I want to spend every minute I can with you. I know we just met, but—”
“I feel it too,” she blurted. “Like I’ve known you for years and not hours.”
Her arms went back around his neck, and she kissed him hard, needing to show him how she felt.
Thankful he understood. Threading her fingers through the hair curling at his collar, she held on tight, never wanting this kiss to end.
With a growl, he cupped her bottom and lifted her off her feet, crushing her against him as through trying to absorb her into his skin.
Only the need for oxygen eventually separated them, and he steadied her when her feet finally touched sand.
Relieved to hear his breathing sound as labored as hers, Lily stared at him wide-eyed.
“Damn,” he rasped, his voice uneven. “We fit—” He paused for another much-needed breath. “—perfectly.”
Lily’s stomach pitched like she teetered on the edge of a precipice high above the ground, yet the imminent free fall didn’t scare her.
Exhilaration stole her breath. Did falling in love feel like this?
Hank had said he fell in love with Lily’s mother at first sight and never looked back.
Strangely, Lily felt no panic at the possibility.
Maybe love at first sight was genetic—in her blood.
“You’ll come with me?” he persisted.
Not just one night?
His expression looked so tentative, her heart melted and she reached for him again. “Yes.”
He grabbed her hands and kissed each one, then brushed a light kiss across her lips. “If I’m to hold up my end of the bargain we made tonight, I better take you back now. You can’t kiss me like that again, or I’ll lose control. I need some practice to build up my stamina.”
And Lily plummeted into free fall.