Chapter 17
17
G reer was gorgeous with the tea lights bathing her skin. It was fully dark now, and her face glowed, her hair shimmered, and her skin was rosy with all the sun they’d had today. Dean wanted nothing more than to lean close and lick all the way from her cleavage to her throat, then take her lips in a long, luscious kiss.
If they’d been alone, he would have. But his mother was up on the cliff. So were his three sisters. And he’d never hear the end of it. He wouldn’t embarrass Greer, either, so he settled for saying, “Do you know how beautiful you are tonight?”
She blushed. “Thank you.”
He didn’t intend to shock her, but he wanted her to know how he felt. “I lay awake thinking of you last night. About kissing you. And so much more.”
Her blush deepened, and her lips parted. She wanted to say something, and yet the words didn’t come.
It was up to him. “I’d very much like to become more intimate with you on this vacation.” Did that sound right? Or did it just sound overzealous? He was so out of the loop on dating protocol. “I wondered if you feel the same.”
Dipping her head, she picked up her drink and sipped the pomegranate daiquiri. “This is very good.” She didn’t look at him.
He felt forced to add, “I hope what I said doesn’t upset you.”
She shook her head, then licked her lips. And he suddenly sensed the excruciating nature of the conversation. Maybe he should have let things progress naturally, and if it happened, it happened. But he’d stepped in it now, and he couldn’t stop. “You already know I’m a workaholic. When I’m home, that’s pretty much all I do. But while we’re here, I can concentrate on your pleasure.”
She bit her lip. Then finally, she met his gaze, the candlelight dancing in her eyes. “So you’d like a holiday fling?”
He wanted it so badly he could have nodded his head like a bobblehead dog. “I’d like that very much.”
She drew a deep breath, and his gaze fell involuntarily to the swell of her breasts. It was a crappy thing to do when he was suggesting they have a fling, not a relationship, and yet it was instinctive. He waited for her smackdown.
But she said nothing like it. “I’ve been feeling a guilty about my attraction to you when I’ve got this situation back at home.” She held out her hand as if her situation could sit on her palm. “I don’t know how it will all work out.”
His heart dipped, his hopes falling with it. “But didn’t you already decide you wanted to get back to your own garden in your own house?” Or maybe she’d just said that’s what she’d like to do, not what she’d actually do.
She licked her lips again, huffed out a breath as she watched the rafts bob on the water. “It’s not that simple. Conrad and I still have a lot to talk about.” She met his gaze straight on. “You see, he thinks I’ve been fooling around on him.”
The words were like a jab to his heart, and he blurted out, “That’s ridiculous.” Because he didn’t believe it? Or because he didn’t want to?
She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “Yes. I see how ridiculous the fight was. I went out with some girlfriends. We had a couple of drinks, and I got back late. He was upset. He doesn’t like me to go out with—” She stopped.
Dean pressed. “He doesn’t like you to go out with your friends?”
“No, he doesn’t.” Her breath came out in a harsh exhale. “He seems to think women get up to no good when they go out together. Like we’re watching the Chippendales dance and sticking money in their G-strings.”
He couldn’t help a laugh. Because honestly, that was ridiculous too. “And that’s not what you do?” he asked glibly. “Do the Chippendales even exist anymore?”
She smiled, and her smile was perfect for the moment. “Who knows? But I absolutely have never been to see the Chippendales.”
“And I’ve never been to a strip club.”
She took another sip of her drink, and in the tea lights, he saw a sparkle in her eyes. “I’m glad to hear that.” Then she sobered again. “He was so angry.”
His blood pumping hard, Dean asked quickly, “He’s not violent toward you, is he?”
She shook her head. “Nothing like that. I think I told you he flew to Wisconsin instead of coming here and said we’d have talk about our relationship when he got back.”
“I remember. And it sure sounds like a drop-dead moment to me.” The guy seemed like a complete ass. He didn’t like her to see her friends and when she did, he accused her of being with another man.
“He’s become jealous like this in the past. Then he apologizes.” She held her drink close to a tea light, watching the flame flicker through the glass. Then she finally said, “He says it’s because his wife’s cheating traumatized him.”
“He obviously doesn’t take responsibility for his own actions.” Yeah, the guy was an ass.
“I’m telling you all this so you understand.” She paused as if she couldn’t find the right words, her eyes suddenly on the surrounding stars. “My life is very unsettled right now. But being here in Mexico, it’s as though I don’t have all these problems waiting for me at home.” She swallowed, bit her lip again. “I’m very attracted to you. And that’s all I thought about last night.” Finally, she looked at him. “You.”
His blood sizzled through his veins. “I feel the same. Here, I don’t have responsibilities weighing me down. I look at you, such a beautiful woman, and I can want you without the other pressures on me.” Not even the issues with his daughters made him stop wanting her.
“Is that how you felt in your marriage? Pressurized?”
His head moved slightly. Maybe it was no , maybe it was I don’t know . Then he admitted the truth. “There were expectations. But really, I have to own that I put a lot of the expectations on myself. You know, get married, have kids, grow your family, bring in the bacon. And you do your best.” He paused, and she waited for him to think it through. “You think you’re doing the right thing, because you buy the nice house, pay for the good schools. But really, you’re giving in to the expectations from the job, needing to move up, to prove yourself, to be top dog. And by the time you recognize you’ve given short shrift to the family, it’s too late.” He breathed in deeply, wondering if the weight on him felt greater. Or better for having said it all aloud. “So now, I prefer to be the single, unattached workaholic.”
She looked at him with what could only have been understanding. “And that way, no one else has any expectations of you.”
“Yeah,” he said, the word drawn out on his breath.
“But you still have expectations. Your girls.”
He closed his eyes. “And those are the only expectations I can deal with.”
“Ex. Spect. Tations,” she said, almost as if the syllables were separate words. “I was married when I was younger. I thought my husband and I had it all figured out. That we’d grow our careers, buy a house.” She gazed very far in the distance or very deep inside. “But after thirteen years of marriage, my husband divorced me for his secretary, who got pregnant almost right away.” She widened her eyes and a self-derisive smirk tipped her lips. “She was fifteen years younger than him.”
Her words were like a scalpel slicing into his heart.
That’s exactly what he’d done. Waited until he was established, married a woman fifteen years younger, and had the children he desired.
He wondered if Jessica had felt as if she were just another cog in his life plan. Maybe that’s where everything had gone wrong. He thought at the time that he loved her, but maybe falling in love was just part of the plan too. And Jessica felt it.
“You must think I’m exactly like your husband. Marry a woman fifteen years younger and start the babies right away.”
She held up her glass, but before she sipped, she said, “I have to admit that when Bernice first told me, it was exactly what I thought.”
He chuckled. “Thank you, Bernice.” His sister had never known how to keep her mouth shut. It was part of her charm.
Then Greer said, “But I don’t think that way anymore. You love your girls. You truly want to work things out with them. And I believe you regret not giving them everything they needed. I don’t think ill of you.” After a sip of her daiquiri, she huffed out a breath and sat straighter. “I hope you don’t think ill of me for wanting to have a titillating, romantic, sexy holiday fling with you before I have to deal with everything back home.”
He reached out, took her hand. “I could never think anything bad about you. You’re beautiful. You’re smart. You’re competent. You’re sexy. And you’re amazing for knowing exactly what you want. Not CEO, but CFO. Because that’s what you love. I don’t want you just for your beautiful face and your delectable body.”
She put a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh. “I’m fifty-five years old. If I ever had a delectable body, I certainly don’t now.”
He curled his fingers around hers, squeezed lightly. “You have a seductive, amazing body. And I want to do so many things to make you feel good.”
She gazed at him for a long, tender moment. Until finally she said, “I want you.” After a beat, she gave him everything he needed. “I want you tonight. All night.”
“And I want you more than I’ve wanted any other woman.” Dean’s eyes were dark, even mysterious, in the flickering tea candles.
Greer’s heart soared with those words. She would deal with Conrad when she got home, but for now, she wanted this beautiful man. Wanted his lips on hers and his kisses all over her body. Wanted to feel him inside her.
But there was one more thing. “About logistics?—”
He read her mind, saying it for her. “Protection.”
“Yes.” Then she blurted out. “I’ve recently seen my doctor. And everything’s… safe.”
He drummed his fingers on the table. “I haven’t been with anyone for?—”
Holding up a hand, she said, “You don’t need to tell me. It’s not my business.”
“Then I’ll just say I’m healthy.”
She didn’t mention pregnancy. Even if she might have gotten pregnant before, she certainly couldn’t now. There was actually a kind of freedom in menopause. “Then we’re both good, and we don’t need to use anything.”
He smiled then, and any nervousness melted out of her. “I’m glad. Because I don’t want anything to come between us.” He leaned close to murmur. “I want to feel all of you on all of me.”
Blushing, she covered her mouth for a moment. Then she exhaled and whispered, “I would like that very much.” Finally, she could smile. “So neither of us is putting any expectations on the other. It’s perfect.” She suddenly glowed inside and out with how perfect it was. Especially the fact that she wouldn’t feel guilty.
At least not until she got home.
“If I could get back on that boat right now and carry you up to my room, I would.” His eyes heated in the candlelight. “But I’ll savor this moment, too, while I imagine everything I want to do to you later tonight.”
Another blushed warmed her cheeks. And it wasn’t nerves. “I’ve already thought of all the things I want you to do to me.”
His mouth quirked, and he raised one eyebrow. “Do tell.”
She felt like dancing. “I’ll save that for later.” Then she couldn’t help expressing her joy. “I feel free now. I don’t have to worry about what you want when the vacation is over and vice versa. We can just enjoy every moment.”
“People always say we should live in the now.” He raised his glass, waited until she’d raised hers. “Here’s to the now and relishing every single hot, sexy moment of it.”
The hostess returned then, saying, “If you follow me, I will take you to the buffet.”
Hand in hand, they climbed the steps to the buffet set up beneath grass canopies. Drinks, food, and dessert awaited them, the warm night air laden with mouthwatering scents. Tiki torches lit the way, and night creatures rustled in the trees surrounding the flagstone patio, joining the music of the ocean waves.
Bernice had already gone through the buffet and was returning with a full plate. “I hope you’re enjoying your beachside table.”
Dean shot his sister a mock glare. “You’re bad, Bernice, really bad.”
Bernice just laughed. “Actually, I’m very, very good.” Then, nose triumphantly in the air, she headed back to the big table on the cliff.
The buffet line moved quickly. Dean plucked two passionfruit margaritas, red salt on the rims, from the countertop, putting one on his tray and another on Greer’s.
“Dare I have another drink?” she teased. The daiquiri hadn’t been terribly strong, and she didn’t think she’d be tipsy with just one more drink, even after the margarita on the boat.
Besides, Conrad had said no margaritas in Mexico for her. And she’d be damned if she’d abide by what he said.
“We don’t have to drive. Let’s indulge.” Dean leaned close to her ear. “Easier to have my wicked way with you later.”
He was so good at making her laugh. “You don’t have to get me tipsy to have your wicked way.” She was giddy with the thought. The conversation he’d started had unnerved her at first, but all the embarrassment faded when her heart raced with a desire for so much more. A holiday’s worth of pleasure.
Without looking to see who might be watching, he kissed her ear. “Here’s to later.”
She wanted it all now. But first, there was food and the show.
Every offering on the buffet looked amazing, starting with a choice of green salad, tomatoes and mozzarella drizzled with balsamic glaze, and a combination of beets and pineapple. There was Mexican rice and scalloped potatoes, curry shrimp and chicken breasts, flank steak in a mushroom gravy, fish in a cream sauce.
“I can’t choose.” She dished a small amount of everything, wanting to taste it all.
Her stomach rumbled, and beside her, Dean smiled. “We should have had an appetizer before we got on the boat.”
She gave him a shrug of her shoulders. “I’m glad we didn’t. For all this, I want to be extra hungry.”
A gleam in his eye, he said, “I want us to be extra hungry too.” The air around them grew deliciously thick with sexual tension.
She was both nervous and excited about the night to come. Her breath quickened. Her skin flushed. And back at their table, the server whisked away their trays while they toasted with their passionfruit margaritas. “To an amazing evening,” Greer said.
Dean added, “To the most erotic night.” Talking it over seemed to have freed him, and now he could say what he wanted, to remind her, to promise her.
And part of the promise was a romantic dinner with the ocean waves serenading them.
“Everything is so delicious,” she said. Combining the tomatoes and mozzarella with the beats and pineapple, the flavors exploded in her mouth.
“You were smart, trying a spoonful of everything.” Dean had taken only the tomatoes along with scalloped potatoes and steak.
She giggled like a teenage girl. “Yes, but I think I might burst when I’m done.”
“Your portions are too small to fill you up. Try the flank steak.”
The meat was so tender it melted in her mouth, and the mushroom gravy tingled on her tastebuds. “You’re so right.” She pointed at her plate. “The fish is good too. And usually buffet chicken is tough, but this is excellent. Here, try.” She cut off a piece and put it on his plate, watching as he closed his eyes to savor. “Good?” she asked.
“Excellent, like you said. I’d share but—” He waved a hand over his plate, only potatoes left.
She winked. “If you’re really nice to me, you can have one shrimp.” Before he could say no, she added it to his plate.
“Oh, I like it,” he said, groaning. “And I will be very, very nice to you for that.”
She loved the easy flirting and the sexual tension rising in her. “It’s all so good, I could have seconds. Even if I explode.” She let her smile grow. “But I want to save room for dessert.” And everything after dessert.
They didn’t wait for the hostess to escort them. The choices were mouthwatering, cheesecake and flan, a chocolate layer cake, tiramisu, petit fours and brownies, cookies, and coffee spiked with Kahlúa. She wanted it all.
“Let’s take one of everything and share,” Dean suggested. They loaded their plates, while a server made their Kahlúa coffee.
It was all so decadent and so sexy as they shared bites off each other’s plates. If Dean liked a particular morsel, he fed her a bite, then he had her feed him whatever she liked best.
The sharing made her so ready for the night to come.
A gong clanged, and they’d been told it meant twenty minutes until the show started. Greer was only pleasantly full, not bursting the way she’d predicted, and after finishing their coffees, they headed up.
At the top of the stairs, they joined their group. “We need to get seats together,” Nana directed before rushing over to shake Dean’s arm. “Wasn’t every bite awesome and spectacular?”
His smile wide, he hugged his mother, the top of her head barely reaching his shoulder. “Absolutely.”
She pulled back to say, “Did you try those passionfruit margaritas?”
“Both Greer and I did.”
His mother tittered and lowered her voice. “I’m a little tipsy. Don’t let me fall.”
“Never.” He walked her up the stairs, following the crowd. Pathways led them up the hill through jungle foliage, the crowd thicker the higher they climbed, though the line seemed to move at a decent pace.
Among the leaves, a woman sat cross-legged, blowing on a strange instrument, creating unique and beautiful sounds.
“What’s that?” Nana whispered loudly.
The instrument seemed half flute and half piano, a keyboard the woman played while blowing into a mouthpiece. Her face painted, she wore monarch butterfly wings, and looked ethereal in the glow of the tiki torches.
“No clue,” Bernice said, hands in the air.
The seating was stadium style, and after reaching the gates, an usher directed them down near the front. Their group was large enough to take an entire row, and Greer filed in after Bernice and Ralph.
“You’ll love this.” Bernice squeezed her arm. “I’ve seen it before, but they always change up the show so you don’t see exactly the same thing twice.”
Squished onto the end beside her, Dean studied his phone. “The instrument the butterfly lady was playing is called a melodica.” He held up his phone for Greer to see.
“God, you’re good. I’m surprised you actually have reception here. And I don’t know how you even figured out what to ask.”
His smile was cheeky. “I just asked for an instrument you blow into while playing a keyboard, and there it was.”
“You’re still brilliant,” she said with a laugh.
He waggled an eyebrow and leaned in to murmur, “Later, I hope to show you exactly how amazing I truly am.”
“Promises, promises.”
He blew a warm breath against her ear, sending shivers through her. “Oh yeah. And I’m not breaking this promise.”