Private Lessons

He lifted her chin and smiled. “Don’t worry. I won’t put you on the spot. But I do want to make it clear that if I had my way, I’d be on the other side of your door making love to you.”

Her insides jumped up the Richter scale. She couldn’t breathe. She tried to speak, but no words came out. He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. “See you in the morning.”

“O-kay.”

He turned and walked down the hall to the elevator.

Naomi’s knees wobbled so badly she could barely stand up. It took her several tries before she could get her key card to slide through the slot and open the door.

Once on the other side of safety, she all but collapsed onto the first available club chair. Her pulse raced, her chest was damp and her clit was throbbing like a tiny heartbeat.

“Oh, lawd. What have I gotten myself into?” She took several deep breaths, then checked her watch. It was nearly two a.m. Alexis might still be up. She dug in her purse for her cell phone and tapped in Alexis’s number.

She listened to the phone ring on the other end until Alexis’s voice mail came on. Naomi babbled out a message and disconnected the phone. She pushed up from the chair, went to the bathroom and began getting undressed.

The evening with Brice played over and over in her mind while she stood under the pulse of the shower, as she ran the soapy loofah over her body. The water washed away the suds but not the heat that sat in her center and spread down the inside of her thighs. She relived his smile, his laughter, his scent, the feel of his hands around her waist, his lips on hers. She closed her eyes and allowed the sensations to take over and flow through her veins.

She imagined that the pulsing water was Brice’s fingertips playing a concerto along the surface of her skin. Her eyelids fluttered. A soft moan slipped through her lips.

In the distance she heard knocking. She blinked, turned off the water and listened. There it was again. Her heart thumped. Brice? Did he really come back? She grabbed the thick robe from the hook on the door slipped it on and tugged the belt. She darted for the door then stopped a split second before pulling it open. She took a calming breath. “Yes?”

“Room service, ma’am,” came the clearly Bahamian accent.

Whatever wild imaginings she may have had about Brice being on the other side of her door sputtered away like a pin-pricked balloon. She opened the door. Her eyes widened.

“Where would you like these, ma’am?”

The young man carried in a vase filled with blooming, brilliant tropical flowers.

“Uh, you can put them on the table by the balcony.”

She stood at the open doorway thrilled down to her toes, and she couldn’t wait for the young man to leave so that she could squeal in delight.

Moments later he was walking toward the door. He bobbed his head and waited. Naomi’s brow arched in question. “Oh.” Realization struck. She hurried across the room and dug through her wallet for a tip. He left with a big, bright smile. Probably gave him too much, she thought as she shut the door and darted to the other side of the room.

She gently parted the aromatic folds of the leaves and found a card pinned to a slender green stem.

“Just in case I messed up in any way tonight, accept this as my apology. If not then just enjoy them! See you at seven.”

Naomi drew the embossed card to her chest and smiled. Then leaning forward, she inhaled the heady scent of the arrangement.

She could easily see herself with someone like Brice. If she had to write up a list of what she wanted in a man, everything about Brice would be on it. But none of that mattered. Their time together was limited and she had lied. Not to mention that they lived thousands of miles apart.

She took off her robe, tossed it on the side chair and slid naked under the cool white sheets. She turned on her side and gazed out upon the dark horizon that stretched into forever, and decided that it was too late to turn back now. She was determined to make their time together as bright and memorable as possible. It had been a while since she’d allowed herself to succumb to the charms of a man, let a man fill all those empty spaces inside of her. She hugged herself beneath the covers. What she was planning to do was deliciously dangerous.

It went against every iota of her being, and that’s what made it so tempting. For the next two weeks Dr. Naomi Clarke was going to be tucked away between the pages of a book. And Naomi Clarke, woman on vacation, was going to take her place.

Naomi read the words on the card until she committed them to memory. With reluctance she turned off the bedside lamp and wished away the hours.

Brice arrived at the hotel’s beachfront restaurant by 6:30 a.m. to make sure that the breakfast order that he’d placed before he went to sleep the prior evening was prepared and their table secure.

When he’d been on the phone with the hotel, ordering the flowers and arranging for breakfast, in the back of his mind he kept asking himself what are you doing? Better yet, why? He barely knew this woman, and yet he did. All the wooing and wining and dining wasn’t his usual M.O., especially with someone he’d probably never see again. Although the Internet, Skype and cell phones kept the world well connected, he wasn’t one for long-distance relationships. Maybe that was it, he concluded, while he was being shown to his table. The fact that it was temporary released him, and apparently Naomi, from any inhibitions.

But deep inside he knew that was only part of it. It was Naomi. Plain and simple. He couldn’t explain it, but she’d totally thrown him off balance. Never before had he allowed himself to be seduced by no more than a beautiful smile. He’d seen plenty. Great body…but he’d had his share. It was something intangible. That spark that Carl always talked about feeling when he met his wife, Theresa. Wife! He chuckled to himself. He was definitely trotting down the wrong path.

He drew in long breath of salt-drenched air, leaned back in his seat and gazed out into the horizon. The rising sun splashed orange and gold across the crystal blue waters. He would make the most of every minute that remained.

“Good morning.”

Her voice, low and rippling like the morning tide, raised the fine hairs on his arms. Get it together, brother, he cautioned himself before he dared to look at her fully. He raised his eyes and, like a dream come true, she stood in front of him. The honey color of her sundress matched the smooth tones of her skin, almost giving the illusion that she was naked. But of course that was simply his heated imagination.

He stood, and her smile competed with the sun. Without thought, he leaned toward her and kissed her softly on the lips. The sensation of her moist mouth and soft lips, combined with the slightest whiff of her scent, was like a jolt of java. It shot to his head and spread through his veins. He eased back until her image came into focus. ”‘Morning.”

Naomi’s stomach was in the middle of a backflip. “Hi,” she said on a breath that floated to him like a caress. “You weren’t waiting long, were you?”

“No, not at all.” He came closer and pulled out her chair. The weight of her breast grazed his arm as she sat down.

Naomi’s breath rushed out in a soft gasp of pleasure at the contact. Her nipples hardened with anticipation.

“Sleep well?” he asked, settling down in his seat.

“Yes, I did. Once I got the thermostat adjusted, I slept straight through.” She wouldn’t tell him that her dreams were filled with him—dreams so potent that when she awoke she fully expected him to be right there next to her in the queen-size bed. She ran her tongue across her lips. “What about you?”

Brice watched her lips move, but even for a winning lottery ticket he couldn’t tell anyone what she’d just said.

“Are you okay?”

He reached for his glass of water. “Yeah.” He chuckled lightly. “Sorry, I was…thinking about what we could do today.”

“Oh.” She smiled brightly, then reached across the table and touched his hand. “Thank you for the beautiful flowers. They are absolutely gorgeous.”

His eyes crinkled in the corners. “So, did you accept them for pure enjoyment, or restitution?”

She looked directly into his eyes. “Enjoyment.”

“That’s what I was hoping you would say.”

She propped her chin on her palm. “Why did you think you may owe me an apology?”

His eyes moved slowly over her face. “For maybe coming on a little too strong.”

“Do you honestly think that you did?” she gently probed.

“I’m going to be real honest with you. When I’m with you, for whatever reason, my good sense seems to escape me.” He gave a self-deprecating laugh and slowly shook his head. “And that’s all the confession I intend to make,” he added, shifting the serious tone to a lighter one.

Naomi lowered her gaze, unable to withstand the intensity of his eyes. She fumbled with her fork, just as the waitress approached their table with two bowls of fresh fruit, much to her relief.

“Coffee or tea?” the waitress asked.