8. A Very Good Drink
8
A VERY GOOD DRINK
Ruby
It wasn’t entirely true what I’d told him. I could dance.
I just needed a reason to explain why I hadn’t gone into the nightclub. I couldn’t very well say I hadn’t wanted to be caught scoping out my stepdad. My excuse was a good one, especially after Jake had scared the coconut lotion off me.
Not intentionally. But still.
Now that he was here though, maybe I could get some answers. I lifted my chin. “Was that a Mayday call earlier?”
It came out direct, a little tough. A woman protecting herself. Or trying to get to the bottom of something.
He knitted his brow. “What do you mean?”
“The phone call earlier that you got at the bar,” I said as I resumed walking. Standing and looking at his ridiculously handsome face made me feel a little vulnerable. I didn’t want to feel that way right then. “Was that your save me call? Was it a girlfriend?”
Jake immediately pulled his phone from his pocket. “That was my sister. My little sister, Kylie.” He pulled up a shot of a twenty-ish girl who had his green eyes, his warm smile. “She needed my help.” A few taps and then he showed me the call list from a couple of hours ago with the name “Kylie” logged in the right timeframe.
Fine. As far as proof went, it wasn’t a hundred percent definitive and anyone could make things up, but this was pretty damn good.
Chagrined, I said, “Oh. I’m glad it was your sister.”
“She needs a tutor so she turned to me. She’s taking physics.”
“Well, physics is hard.” That was stating the obvious, but it lightened the mood.
“I have no idea how anyone can learn physics,” he said.
“Honestly, it’s kind of a miracle that anyone even knows what physics is if you think about it,” I said, a little playful once again, like we’d been at the bar.
“It is.” He swiped on his phone once more and showed me another photo. It was of him and his sister smiling, laughing, and licking ice cream near the water. The sweet photo ate away at my desire to be tough.
“That’s a nice shot,” I said.
“Thank you,” he replied. “It makes me smile whenever I look at it.”
I scanned the street ahead of us, the long stretch of this walk along the ocean back to my hotel. It was teeming with people. Women in sundresses and cute little shorts. Guys in board shorts and in Hawaiian shirts too, laughing, chatting, and savoring the warm night and the sea air.
What was the harm in walking with him after all?
I met his gaze again. “If your offer still applies, yes. You can walk me back to my hotel.”
“I would love to.”
A few paces in, I asked, “So what’s she like? Your sister?”
“She’s a hard worker. Very determined. She really wants to do well and I’m proud of her. But she’s a worrier. I’m just glad she turns to me for help when she does.”
“It is sweet,” I said.
“What about you?” he asked, his tone decidedly direct.
I arched a brow. “Do I have siblings? Or am I a worrier?”
“Sure. You can tell me if you have a brother or sister, but I was actually asking if you’ve got a man somewhere.”
I scoffed. The notion of a boyfriend was so foreign to me. “No. And no interest, to be frank. My ex was…Well, let’s just say he’s not my favorite person.”
“Makes sense he’s an ex then,” he said.
“I do have a brother though,” I said, picturing Cole shooting videos underwater the other day. “He’s pretty great.”
“Glad to hear that. And what podcast were you listening to?”
This would give more of me away, but I kind of liked getting to know him. “ Badass Babe .”
“That’s a business podcast,” he said, his eyes sparkling.
I was surprised he knew what it was. “Yes. How did you know that?”
“My sister listens to it. My other sister. Not Kylie but Kate. She’s very focused on being the best she can be at business.”
“So am I,” I said. Hell, I desperately needed to improve after the tough past year. But I didn’t want to talk about my struggles. So when we walked by a souvenir shop and my gaze caught on a tie-dyed T-shirt reading Life is Better in Flamingo Key, I shifted gears: “Best part of Flamingo Key so far?”
“You know it would be super cheesy if I said you.”
I rolled my eyes. “You are absolutely not allowed to be super cheesy.”
He hummed, taking his time. Then, after a deep exhale, he said, “I guess I would have to say walking along the water at night.”
I smiled but tried to hide it from him. “It sure is a nice walk,” I said, seconding him in my own way.
“Sure is.”
When we neared my hotel, I didn’t overanalyze. I went for it, and impulsively said, “You want to grab a drink by the pool?”
I just didn’t want the night to end.
* * *
“I know I said you weren’t allowed to be cheesy,” I said. “But this drink is definitely that.”
At the tiny bar overlooking the pool at my hotel, I lifted my huge glass. The cocktail was fruity and garish, and it smelled like everything wonderful about the island. “I don’t even care if pina coladas are cheesy. They’re just good.”
Jake tipped his beer bottle to my glass. “I’ll take your word on that.”
He paid for the drinks and set his hand on my back, guiding me through the mostly empty pool area to the lounge chairs by the beach.
When we reached the sand, I raised the glass and took a sip, hoping to tempt him with my groan of delight. “Mmm…” I wagged the glass, teasing, “You know you want it.”
“Now I do,” he said, low and smoky.
I bobbed a shoulder in a coquettish shrug. “See? I knew I could win you over.”
“It’s not the drink that’s doing that, sweetheart.”
My stomach flipped, and I wanted more of those sensations. It had been so long, and I missed this unadulterated feeling of flirting, of giving in, of just feeling good.
We picked a pair of lounge chairs as far from the pool as we could find. I indulged in another sip, murmuring my praise once again. “How can you resist pineapple and coconut?”
With a smirk, he lifted his beer bottle and took a pull. But he said nothing. So stoic.
I wasn’t. I took another sip.
“Fine. I’ll try it now,” he said.
“Finally!” I handed the glass to him. But instead of drinking, he set it down on a little table between our lounge chairs. He put his beer bottle there too. I lifted an eyebrow in question.
Then he leaned in and kissed me gently.
Yes.
Oh yes.
It was a slow, lingering, delicious kiss that made my head swim. He swept his tongue against my top lip, gently flicking it along the corner of my mouth. I parted for him, letting him taste the drink on me. Then he pulled back with an appreciative groan.
“Do you like it?” I asked.
“I might need another taste to know for sure,” he said in a rumble.
I grabbed the drink and took another sip. “Try it again.”
He patted a spot on the lounge chair next to him. “Come here.”
The thrill of kissing in the dark on the beach all alone whipped through me. I looked around, confirmed that nobody was nearby, then obeyed. I slid next to him on his lounge chair. It wasn’t really big enough for two people, but that was the point—being so deliciously close.
He cupped my cheek and kissed me again. Thorough. Deep. Confident. A man who knew what he wanted. And I was a woman who wanted him.
A woman who wanted to be kissed by him, deeply and passionately.
I moved closer, pressing against his chest.
“Yes, your drink is very, very good,” he said between kisses, then returned to my mouth.
He spent a good long time kissing me till I was boneless and extremely wet. I pressed against him, seeking contact and…Oh, that was nice. The ridge of his erection against my stomach. He was ridiculously hard, and the evidence of his arousal turned me on even more. I half wanted to invite him into my room and let him just take me all night long. But I wasn’t quite ready for that.
I was definitely ready for more than kissing though. I pushed his shoulders down, climbing over him and straddling him.
With a groan, he rumbled, “Use me, sweetheart, however you want.”
I didn’t know the man. But I didn’t need to know him. My body was leading the way tonight as I rubbed shamelessly against his erection through our clothes under the sultry sky, the stars and the inky black blanket above us, the waves harmonizing with my moans.
I pressed and rocked until I was shockingly close. I didn’t expect to be so turned on to the point where I was shaking and shuddering. Where I could feel my body wanting to fly over the cliff. But I wasn’t quite there. Panting, I breathed his name, “Jake.” It came out plaintive and needy.
He cupped the back of my head. “Want me to get you there, sweetheart?”
“I do.”
His hand slid under my sundress and into my panties. He growled when his fingers made contact. I groaned so loudly that he covered my mouth. “Be quiet for me, sweetheart.”
I nodded desperately.
“You’re perfectly wet,” he murmured as he stroked, expertly rubbing me exactly where I wanted him. Sparks flew inside me and pleasure crackled as I rocked shamelessly against his hand.
I moved faster and faster still. He stroked me in just the right way, at just the right speed, till I was groaning and panting. Desire coiled in my belly, and I could feel myself nearing the edge. I was close, so damn close. Soon, I was biting my lip, trying to keep my sounds tamped down when all I wanted was to cry out. My body tightened and my legs shook, and he never missed a beat. He read me completely, sensing my needs every step of the way. He stroked me expertly all while kissing my shoulder, my neck, the corner of my lips until I was shuddering and coming undone with my sexy stranger.
I was still seeing stars a minute later when I asked, “Do you want me to do that to you?” I was dying to touch him.
His eyes darkened with desire. “I do but not here or now. Besides, a man needs to earn it. You need to come again, maybe even a few more times, before I do.”
“You’re going to give me another orgasm tonight?” I wasn’t used to that kind of largesse. But I wanted it. Oh hell, did I want it.
“How about tomorrow?” he asked with a devilish grin.
I couldn’t hide my smile. “Oh, you really do want to see me again.”
He pulled me in for another kiss. “I do.”
I climbed off him, and after we straightened up and finished our drinks, I said goodbye. “Be sure to check your note if you haven’t already.”
“You are a mystery, Ariel.”
“And you like it.”
With a sexy nod, he said, “Seems I do.”