beach anymore, at least not for the last hour anyway. It was almost rush hour. Everyone had probably left to avoid hellacious traffic.
“Lotus,” Journey called.
Shit. He followed me.
“I wasn’t finished talking to you.”
Stepping unto the concrete slab next to the building, I kicked off my flip-flops but didn’t look directly at him. Looking at Journey was another temptation, and I had enough to resist. I didn’t need any more.
Reaching between my shoulder blades, I stretched for the long string to lower the back zipper on my wet suit. “Go away. I need to get these things off, and you need to leave. I don’t want to cry in front of you.”
“Why the hell would you cry?” he asked, his voice louder as he came closer. “I thought what I said was nice.”
I curled my fingers into fists and gave him the truth of it. “Because no one says things like you did to me anymore. Not since my father passed.” A tear fell on my cheek, warming the cool skin.
Journey moved behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders. “Well, that’s not right. They should.”
I wanted so badly to lean back into him, to have him closer.
His strong body pressed hard into mine, and he moved my arm away. “Let me help you with that zipper.”
“But I’m all sandy,” I whispered. “And you’re already clean.”
“The opposite is true,” he said, his mouth so close to my ear that his warm breath spilled into it. “The things I’ve done, I don’t want you to know. You’re far too nice for a guy like me.”
A shiver rolled through me as he tugged on the string and lowered my zipper. I stood completely still as the cooler air licked my exposed skin. Not an invitation for him to do more, but not a protest either.
“You’re admirably strong, yet so perfectly feminine,” he said, his hands gliding over my shoulders as he peeled the insulated rubber away. The firmness of his touch was a compelling contrast to the crackling heat of our connection.
He pressed closer, his hard thighs to my ass, and I leaned my head back onto his strong shoulder. Just for a moment.
“This needs to come off.” He tugged, releasing one of my arms and then the other from the wet-suit sleeves. “Knowing you’re wearing a red bikini under your suit all day has been driving me crazy.”
He lowered his head, and I felt the ends of his hair brush the sensitive skin where my neck met my shoulder. His whiskers grazed my skin, followed by his firm lips.
“Journey.” A bolt of lust struck me as he pressed his warm mouth, then his wet tongue, to my skin. My legs trembling, I rocked where I stood.
He gently turned me around, his long fingers encircling my upper arms. His expression was hungry, his eyes glittering and dark.
“Never seen a woman fill out a bikini like you do,” he said, his voice throaty and his gaze heavily lidded. “Say stop, or I’m going to have you right here, right now, against this wall.”
I didn’t say stop. Couldn’t speak a word. The vibrations of his voice made my nipples harden beneath the skimpy triangles of my top.
He walked me backward, and step by step, I retreated. I was enthralled by him, by the unrestrained desire that burned inside his hooded eyes.
My back hit the rough concrete wall, and he drew me to him by my upper arms. I brought my hands up and laid my palms on the center of his hard chest, and my body went compliantly soft. I yielded, surrendering oh-so-willingly, my resistance breaking like crashing waves against the rocks at the shore.
“Lotus,” he murmured, lowering his head.
Going up on my toes, I lifted mine.
His warm breath bathed my lips, making them tingle. Knowing how he kissed, how he tasted, I wanted nothing more than to experience that decadent rebirth again.
“My beautiful girl,” he whispered, an opening line to a ballad.
“Please,” I said softly, my heart racing in anticipation.
As his eyes drifted closed, mine did as well, but an unexpected voice made them pop open wide.
“Lotus!” Cork called.
“No.” I pushed Journey away, my head snapping in the direction of my brother’s voice. But I was too slow, my body too sluggish.
Cork stepped out from the willows and his eyes widened. “Oh.”
My body turned to ice, where it had been flames a moment before.
Quickly taking in the scene, he stopped in his tracks. “Sorry to interrupt. Saber’s on the phone.”
“Now?” Focusing on the cell