being referred to as just some guy I work with, he was pleased that she thought his moves were great. “Smith Sullivan is my cousin.”
Her eyebrows went up. “I thought you were going to name some obscure indie film actor, not one of the biggest movie stars in the world. Have you made things for Smith’s movies before?”
“A couple of times.”
He waited for her to ask what his famous cousin was like, but she seemed far more interested in his varnishing technique. He wasn’t sure anyone had ever watched his hands so carefully before. If he’d known it would be this hot to be with another maker…
No, he still wouldn’t have jumped into bed with any of them. Zara was the only one he wanted.
“I’m sure I can’t afford you,” she mused, “but on the off chance that I win the lottery, you wouldn’t consider making up one of the eyeglasses designs that I’ve envisioned in wood, would you?”
“I’d rather show you how to make it yourself.”
“Seriously?” When she looked at him as though she couldn’t believe her luck, he wanted to kiss her senseless.
So he stopped varnishing and did just that.
When he finally released her, it was so she could catch her breath while he finished with the chessboard.
A few minutes later, he asked, “Ready to swim?”
Zara surprised him by taking off at a run and heading for the long staircase that led to the small cove in front of his house. As she ran, she pulled off one piece of clothing after another, waiting until she was at the shore to take off her glasses.
Rory might have been able to catch up with her had he not been so sucker-punched by Zara’s glorious spontaneity…and by the sheer magnitude of the contrast to every other woman he’d been with.
It wasn’t just Chelsea, but all of his ex-girlfriends. Where Zara was free and wild and reckless, the women he’d been with before her had been sweet, but restrained. As though they were afraid to step too far out of the box.
It suddenly struck him that he’d been looking at the situation with Brittany all wrong. Only someone as strong as Zara could put aside the resentment and hurt of being cheated on and instead focus on a sisterly bond made as teenagers. She wasn’t being walked over, she was helping someone she loved with one of the most important days of her life.
His admiration for Zara grew by leaps and bounds.
The fact that she was naked as she splashed in the waves didn’t hurt either.
Pulling off his clothes and kicking his shoes away, he dived in and swam to her. They played chase in the water for a few minutes, before he caught her by an ankle and pulled her to him.
She was breathless and laughing as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Took you long enough.”
The only way to deal with sass like hers was to keep her mouth busy doing something else. Keeping one hand on her hip as she wound her legs around his waist, her breasts slipping and sliding against his chest, he threaded the other hand into her hair and crushed his mouth to hers.
She tasted like salt and sunshine…and joy.
Joy he’d never felt quite so keenly before.
She lifted her hips over him at the same moment that he drove into her, their kisses spiraling deeper with every thrust, every gasp of pleasure.
They were on the precipice of climax when he pulled back to look at her. Though he loved her in glasses, it was a rare treat to see directly into her hazel eyes.
They’d made love several times during the past twenty-four hours, but it wasn’t enough. He craved her in a way he’d never craved anything, or anyone, else.
“You’re not going to call me sweetheart again, are you?”
He put his hand on her cheek, caressing her soft skin as he told her the truth. “I might.”
The words were barely out of his mouth when her eyelids fluttered shut and her head fell back as she catapulted into orgasm. He buried his face in the crook of her neck as he followed her into ecstasy.
“Best wild swim ever.” They were both panting as they clung to each other in the water, and Zara’s voice was breathier than usual.
Of course he had to kiss her again, a kiss that would surely have brought them right back around to more lovemaking had she not begun to shiver in the cold water. “Come on,” he said,