Slippery When Wet

A rush of daring whisked through her. Taylor’s eyes opened and a slow smile spread across her face. Why shouldn’t she? It wasn’t as if anyone knew her here. She was thousands of miles from home. Going topless here was hardly outré—it was accepted. And wouldn’t it feel marvelous, she thought as the sun soaked into her bones. Wouldn’t it be amazing to be so free?

Before she could change her mind, she sat up and reached back to unhook her bikini top, shrugging so that the shoulder straps fell down to dangle against her arms. She took a deep breath, for courage. And then it was off and her breasts were swaying free.

The skies didn’t part with lightning to strike her. The nattily attired resort security guard didn’t swoop down in agitation. Basically, no one noticed.

Except her.

It was the breeze that surprised her most of all, the feel of air whispering lightly over skin unaccustomed to its touch. She felt wonderfully decadent and yet somehow at ease. The sun was like a warm kiss, making her laugh even as she resisted the urge to glance down to see if her nipples were hard. No one would notice if they were, she reminded herself, there were plenty of others around to look at. Closing her eyes, she lay back and basked in the heat.

Moments later, visions of sunburn and melanoma chasing through her head, she groped for the bottle of sunblock. Skin that hadn’t seen the sun since she’d been a toddler—if even then—needed all the protection it could get. Leaning back on one elbow, she used the other hand to rub the lotion into her breast. She wouldn’t feel bashful about touching herself, she told herself sternly. It was skin like any other on her body. She just needed to protect it, that was all. And yet the feel of her lotion-slicked palm rubbing over her nipple sent a surprising jolt through her system, making her yearn for more.

Now there was a sad statement on her nonexistent love live, if just putting sunblock on her breasts could turn her on. Of course, there really hadn’t been anyone since Bennett. She’d focused on everything but her needs for far too long, Taylor realized suddenly.

Closing her eyes and settling back, she relaxed. What a person could do with a lover in the tropics. The sunlight shone red-orange through her lids. How would it be to have a man’s hand stroking the sunblock on her body slowly, teasingly, the delicious friction of skin against skin bringing her to arousal? Her imagination painted them naked on a deserted beach, immersed in the feel of each other’s bodies. Alone but for sun and sand, they reached for abandonment and beyond. His hand slid down over her breasts, across her belly, touching her the way she hadn’t been touched in so long. The caress moved to her hips, up her thighs, slipping into the slick—

“Careful you don’t get burned there. That skin’s awfully pale,” said a voice.

A male voice. A voice that was vaguely familiar, she thought with the first glimmer of uneasiness. The red haze of the sun on her eyelids had darkened, as though someone were casting a shadow over her. She opened her eyes.

And saw Dev Carson grinning down at her.

2

EMBARRASSMENT, COMPLETE, paralyzing embarrassment. No, it was worse than embarrassment, worse than mortification. Words didn’t exist for how she felt just then.

“You’d better try some more sunblock on your face. It’s looking pretty red,” he said, not even trying to cover up the amusement in his voice. Oh, no, he was enjoying his moment fully.

It was a good thing one of them was.

Taylor reached out for her bikini top, her sarong, anything to cover up her bare breasts from his all-too-knowing eyes.

“Looking for this?” He held out her bikini top and grinned. “I don’t know, pale skin like yours, you really ought to be more careful of the sun.”

She refused to make a grab for the top. Instead she flipped over to lie on her stomach, her face flaming. What was he doing here? she thought wildly. According to the papers she’d seen, he should have been back in Baltimore long since. Maybe if she pretended she couldn’t see him, he’d go away. Except that she hadn’t put any sunblock on her back and already she could feel the sun’s heat soaking in.

And he showed no signs of leaving. Instead he crouched down by her lounger, treating her to an up close view of a truly amazing set of six-pack abs. What she could see of the rest of him looked even better. Great, she was half-naked in front of a stranger and here she was salivating over the way his biceps flowed up into the smooth spheres of his shoulders. Half of her, anyway. The other half was hoping for the sand to open up and swallow her.

Relax, Taylor, she told herself. Humiliation was rarely fatal, and if Mr. Hunka Hunka Burnin’ Love was having a bit of fun at her expense, he probably thought she had it coming. Play it cool, that was the thing to do. The beach was full of beautiful women. When the entertainment value wore off, he’d probably go about his business. “I see you decided to take my advice, Mr. Carson, and have a vacation,” she said, trying for her dry, customer relations voice, resisting the urge to ask what the hell he was still doing there.

As though he’d read her mind, he gave a slight smile. “Glynnis sweet-talked the tour company into giving me an extra week since it was only one person. You know, extenuating circumstances and all. I figured lying on the beach for a while and enjoying the—” he paused and looked her over “—scenery would be good for me.”

“And has it been?”

His grin widened. “Ask me in a little while.”

“SO YOU CAME DOWN ALONE?”

Dev nodded. “That’s why I was so pleased to see you here.” Pleased didn’t begin to cover it. When he’d first seen her walk onto the beach, long and lovely in her copper-colored sarong, he’d thought he was seeing things. Back in Baltimore, still sporting fresh wounds to his pride, he’d been irritated by her cool attitude, frustrated by the news that his insurance was next to useless, and furious that she was willing to do little or nothing to help resolve the situation. But through it all, he hadn’t been able to entirely ignore that swing of blond hair, those dark eyes, that hint of a dip in her lower lip that made that wide, tempting mouth look like she was perpetually prepared to kiss someone.

And she’d stayed on his mind.

She’d mentioned a business trip to the Caribbean, he’d remembered. Somehow, finding her sprawled on the beach had made him pretty certain that she was finishing up with a vacation of her own. As for Dev, he’d come south with one objective in mind: to find a pretty señorita to drive all memories of his failed engagement out of his mind. And if that señorita proved to be a gringo who’d refused to give him a refund, it would be all the sweeter. He’d watched her untie her sarong and wondered how she would undress for a lover. He’d seen her spread on the sunscreen and wondered how it would feel to touch her smooth skin.

And then she’d stripped off her top and his tongue had just about fallen out of his mouth. Paradoxically, some vestige of the gentleman in him had kept him focusing on her face, not her breasts, even when he’d approached. He didn’t need to cop a sly peek. He knew he’d be able to look at his leisure, and soon.

He’d already decided he was going to seduce her.

Part of him was shaking his head wryly that the one woman who wouldn’t get out of his head right now was the same woman who’d gotten under his skin in Baltimore. Then again, if it hadn’t been for her refusal, he wouldn’t be here on vacation. That didn’t mean he wasn’t still just a bit annoyed.

Now he looked at the downy hairs at the small of her back, on skin pinkening in the tropical sun. “You’re going to get yourself a burn there if you don’t get some sunscreen on. I’ll help if you like.” He picked up the bottle, bouncing it lightly against his hand to shake the lotion down.

Taylor gave him a withering look. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

“You don’t want to get burned the first day.”

She pushed her dark glasses up on her nose, taking another look at him as she did. He looked like some island native, with his skin darkened to bronze, a string of shells tied around his neck. His sun-streaked hair hung nearly to his shoulders and clearly hadn’t seen a comb in days, nor had the stubble that darkened his chin seen a razor. The only jarring note was struck by his eyes, that sea-green that glowed all the brighter against his tan. Eyes that watched her with the lively pleasure of a cat watching a mouse it was toying with.

His teeth gleamed in a smile. “I suppose you could move your lounger into the shade. I’ll help you if you want to get up.” He gave her a guileless look.

It sent her blood to simmer. “Mr. Carson,” she began.

“Dev,” he corrected her.

“Dev. I’m sure you have other things to do today.” Besides heckling me.

“I’m on vacation,” he said lightly. “I don’t have any plans at all.”

“Well good,” she said thinly. “I’m sure that will be fun for you. And while you’re doing that, I’m going into the water. Can you please hand me my top?” she asked with the studied aplomb she used for problem clients.

“Sure.”

This was it, Taylor told herself with a swallow. The moment of truth. Then she heard the Italian woman laugh and she raised her chin a fraction. She wasn’t going to make a fool of herself by trying to wriggle into the top without showing anything. She wasn’t going to hide out like some bashful girl. Dammit, they were just breasts, and he’d already gotten an eyeful. Taylor pushed herself abruptly into a sitting position.

But Dev had already turned away to watch the dive boat come in to the dock that snaked out from the beach. “Are you going diving while you’re here?”

“No,” Taylor said shortly, fumbling to untangle her bikini top and slide her arms through the shoulder straps.

“Those reefs are about the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen,” he said reflectively. “Like underwater palaces.”

“My idea of vacation is lying on the beach and doing absolutely nothing.”

With impeccable timing that she suddenly knew was entirely calculated, Dev turned back to her just as she got her top in place. It was impossible not to like him for it.

“Have you been to this area before?” he asked.

“Nope, this is my first time.”

“Then you’ve got to get out to see the reefs, at least once. Don’t you want to be able to tell your clients about it?”