Chapter Ten
Breakfast was fantastic. Shane not only plays great hockey, he makes some mean-ass scrambled eggs. Even though I played it off like I’d leave it be, I plan to get that family recipe out of him before I go home.
Ugh, speaking of which, it’s so beautiful here that I don’t even want to think about leaving. Not that I should be worrying about it yet, as this is only my first full day. I have a lot of time ahead of me.
With many days to spend with Shane.
To work on a friendship, my sensible side says.
To hell with sensible for the moment. I’m in my bedroom putting on one of my sexiest bikinis. It’s a shiny purple material that really sparkles in the sun. I want to be glowing out there.
Plus, it’s payback time.
Shane’s sweats were hanging low this morning, showing off his perfect V-shape. He had on a T-shirt that kept him covered for the most part, but he did make a point to lift the hem to scratch his stomach a couple of times.
I truly think he did that to purposely show off his sculpted abs.
Like I didn’t notice them yesterday?
Of course, there were other things to look at—mainly his big, hard erection.
Oh my!
Well, now I get to prance around half naked.
Let’s see how he handles that.
Before I head out to the beach, though, I throw on a loosely knit dark blue cover-up. It’s like a little dress with cutouts. Cute in and of itself, but wait till I take it off.
I chuckle to myself as I slip on my sunglasses and finally slide open the glass door in my room. I then make my way down the little stone path to our beautiful private beach.
It’s a gorgeous day, and the turquoise blue water is breathtaking. When I step onto the sand, it’s so soft and powdery it’s like it’s not even real.
What a paradise!
Shane is already down by the water. It looks like he’s chosen two loungers under a big palapa umbrella.
He’s so thoughtful.
Thinking about how nice the shade will be on such a hot and sunny day, I realize I forgot my bottle of sunscreen.
Damn.
I’m glad we’ll have the umbrella, but hopefully Shane remembered to bring some sun protection down. I want to be covered, literally and figuratively, for if I decide to go into the ocean.
When I reach the chairs, Shane lowers his mirrored sunglasses and says, “Hey, I got here a little earlier than we agreed on. Are you okay with these loungers?”
I nod as I try not to stare at his defined abs and muscular body, glowing from whatever sun protection he’s slathered on.
“Oh yeah,” I reply at last. “These are great.”
“I grabbed towels too,” he adds.
He motions to the towel stretched out under him, as well as the one on my lounger.
Smiling, I tell him, “You are awesome. Thanks.”
“I just tried to think of everything,” he says, shrugging.
“Well, you did,” I reply. “Speaking of which, I hope you have sunscreen. I forgot mine up in the house.”
Reaching under his lounger, he pulls out a bottle. “Yep,” he says, holding it up. “I got that too.”
Hands on my hips, I declare, “Shane, you may just be the best guy I’ve ever met.”
I’m teasing, of course.
Well, maybe not totally.
Chuckling, he shakes his head and pushes his sunglasses back up into place. “I don’t know about that,” he mutters.
Aww, he’s so humble.
And do I detect a touch of a blush?
How cute.
Though maybe it’s just some color in his cheeks from the sun.
Not that he’s been out here all that long.
In any case, it’s time for my big reveal. Let’s see his reaction to my bikini.
Shane is looking over at me again, so I make a big show of wiggling my cover-up up and over my head. I then toss it casually over the top of my lounger.
Slyly—at least, I hope I’m being subtle—I glance over to see what Shane is doing.
Ha!
There’s no need to be covert, as he’s not looking at where I threw my cover-up. No, he has his sunglasses nudged down, and his gaze is clearly locked on my body.
Yes!
Mission accomplished.
His mouth is even open a little.
Until he seems to come to his senses and, pushing his sunglasses back into place, says, “Wow, Willa, that is some bikini.”
“Aww…” I finally lie down on the lounger. “Thank you.” I motion over to him and add, “Your swim trunks are pretty cool too.”
They are, as they’re black and have a pattern of little sunglasses in all kinds of different colors all over them.
“Thanks,” he says, chuckling.
I ask if I can use his sunscreen, and he passes it over to me. I take my time lathering the glossy lotion onto my legs, chest, stomach, and arms, all the while keeping a side-eye on what cute Shane is doing.
He’s watching, of course, though trying to be coy about it.
At last, I hand him back the sunscreen, which he stows under his lounger.
Finally at rest, I peer out at the waves. “The water is so pretty,” I say.
“It is,” he agrees. “I love the turquoise shade. It almost looks like the ocean is glowing.”
“Yeah, it does, for sure. What a beautiful place this is.”
Glancing over at me, he asks, “Are you happy you stayed?”
I nod. “I am. Are you?”
I’m asking if he’s glad he didn’t leave, but he misinterprets me and says, “I’m glad you stayed too.”
My heart skips a little beat at the level of sincerity in his voice. Seriously, this guy makes me sigh in all the best kinds of ways.
Yeah, my crush is growing.
I bet I’m the one blushing now. My cheeks sure do feel warm. In fact, I’m feeling a bit hot all over.
Is it the warm day?
Or is it my reaction to hot-and-sexy Shane Thoma?
I have no idea. But I’m thrilled when, after about five more minutes of sitting in silence, just lost in our thoughts—mine definitely a bit lusty—he says, “Hey, I think I’m going to go in the water. Do you want to come in with me?”
Blowing out a relieved breath, I reply, “Hell yeah.”