chided herself on thinking a mere man could be that incredibly, perfectly put together. But here he was, confirming that her imagination hadn’t exaggerated.
“Okay, get ready,” he encouraged and turned to pull the gear together from a storage container on the motor boat.
Helen just stood there, worrying her lower lip with her teeth. She didn’t have the courage to take off her clothes.
Dimitri turned around, two pairs of flippers in his hand and simply looked down at her. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
Helen had no idea how to tell him but as she looked over at him, he seemed to understand. He smiled gently and placed the flippers and mask on one of the motor boat’s chairs.
He walked over to stand only inches from her and bent down. Taking the edge of her top, he slowly pulled up. “Don’t worry, Helen. I can guarantee that you…’ he stopped when he had pulled the fabric over her head and dropped it behind him. His eyes were transfixed on her breasts, traveling down across her flat stomach. When his eyes reached the fabric of her shorts, he reached out and unsnapped them. Helen was too mesmerized by his gaze to do anything other than let him take off her shorts.
“I was going to say that I can guarantee there’s nothing you have that I haven’t seen. You know, in a doctorly kind of manner. But the truth is,” he said, his eyes hot and passionate as he looked down at her body, “you’re more beautiful than I’d even imagined.”
Helen felt a glow start to warm her so she was hotter than what the sun could possibly heat her.
As his hands moved onto her waist, she allowed him to unzip the shorts, baring her long, slender legs. She was standing in front of him in just the skimpy bikini he’d taken out yesterday, although it was the less revealing of the two. She still felt completely vulnerable.
Dimitri cleared his throat and the next thing Helen knew, he was handing her flippers, a mask and a snorkel with business-like efficiency. “We’ll dive here. Just follow me and you’ll be okay.”
Helen was confused that he wasn’t still looking at her. For a long moment, she thought he’d considered her pretty, feminine and attractive. But now, when he just turned away from her, she wasn’t sure anymore. As soon as the thoughts formed, she pushed them away. He wanted her. He’d just said she was beautiful and she needed to stop questioning her value in his eyes. She was worth more than this kind of insecurity.
Sighing heavily, Helen took the offered gear and put them on as he instructed her although she felt rather gauche and awkward. Flippers and snorkel, she realized, were not the sexiest gear around.
As soon as they entered the water, all thoughts of her figure and his perception of her fled her mind. The under water world was glorious and mysterious. She loved the fish that darted in and out of the reef, nibbling at the plants and the colorful coral that swayed with the flow of the water. It was rhythmic and magical and possibly one of the most amazing experiences of her life. And the fact that she was sharing it with Dimitri only made it so much better for her.
They swam for hours, Dimitri showing her all the different fish that were swimming around the reef as well as a couple of sea turtles who quickly swam out of sight when they saw the two of them under the water.
After several hours, the six of them gathered on the soft sandy shore and had a delicious picnic lunch. All of them spoke about the various fish and underwater life they’d seen, and all laughed at the antics of those fish and each other. It was a wonderful, relaxing afternoon, filled with camaraderie and wonder.
Once everyone else wandered off to be alone, Dimitri took Helen’s hand and pulled her along the shore line, leaving the others behind as they relaxed in the sunshine or waded in the shores of the water hand in hand.
“Where are we going?” Helen asked, loving the way his callused hands felt against her softer skin. She wondered about those calluses, since she knew he spent just as much time behind a desk or in a board room as she did. Even more so, since he worked longer hours than she ever did. There had been many nights he’d told her to go home while he continued