Chapter Eleven
There was a God. At least, Alec hoped there was one who would give Jaya the nudge to go skinny-dipping. He tossed his shirt onto one of the lounge chairs. Watching Jaya carefully, he prayed she’d join him. Not because he wanted her to break her rules, though that was a part of it, but because he wanted her to loosen up. Yesterday she’d been fun and vibrant and flirtatious. Today she was like a whole different person. This person was cute and he enjoyed teasing her, especially when she jotted something on that ‘to do’ list of hers. But if she were more carefree he could absolve himself of any guilt about getting too close to her. It was the guilt that always killed him. That always reminded him he was just like his father.
“Can I take some guesses as to what’s on this Thirty list of yours?” He winked at her and she rewarded him with another flush. “I’ve already guessed one thing. Skinny dipping.” God, he prayed he was right about that one. He’d only caught a quick glimpse when it fell out of her purse. Getting to see that expanse of pretty brown skin would be heaven sent.
She shook her head, her thick dark hair falling over the shoulder. “No. Don’t bother. You’ll never get it right. You don’t know me well enough.”
Man, he loved a challenge. “Oh, don’t I? I know what makes you smile when you’re not thinking so hard about being serious. I know your father makes you crazy and I know that even though your sister hurt you, you’re willing to try to be there for her. And—” He exhaled. “—I know what makes you come.”
Her pretty lips parted as if she were going to say something, then she pressed them together again tightly.
“Fine. I’ll go on. I know you’ve got a steel strength that people probably under estimate. I know that it jazzes you up to make a list. You’re hyper-organized but you love super-heroes. I know that even when your world is going to shit, you suck it up and get on with it. I might have only met you earlier this week, but I know a whole lot about you, Jaya Trudeaux. I’ve been paying attention.”
She blew out a breath as she nibbled her lip. “Fine. Skinny-dipping is on the list.” She rushed to add, “But just because we’re up here at a pool and you’ve taken off your shirt, which is very distracting by the way, I am not jumping in the pool with you.”
“Why not? It’s not like I haven’t already seen you naked.”
She rolled her eyes as she looked around. “You’re not seriously going to go in, are you? I don’t think we’re supposed to be up here.” Sniffing, she added, “I’d have to build up a lot of nerve for it, and the point is to sort of have no one around.”
“C’mon now. Half the fun is the thought that you’ll get caught.” He stalked towards her, stopping short of brushing her body with his, his whole body jerking with need. “How about this—I show you how it’s done, and then you join me.” He eased away from her before he could do anything stupid. Shit. Everything from her hair to her eyes to her light jasmine scent made him ache. “I have an idea. Why don’t you add skinny-dipping to your list of ‘to do’s’ for the day.” As he walked away, he wondered how in the hell he was going to get his pants off without her noticing how massively hard he was.
She shrugged. “I know my lists probably seem stupid to you, but I never get anything done if I don’t write it down. Make it a goal. I don't know—it's like I'm paralyzed until I write it down.”
“You can do things without writing them down, you know.”
She shook her head. “Nope. I can’t even get to the grocery store unless I put it on a to-do list for the day. And of course I shop by grocery list.”
Alec barked out a laugh. “You mean to tell me you've never been to the grocery store without a list? I’d hate to see that list. No rocky road. No booze.”
Her brows drew in. “Not rocky road. Cookies and cream. That always makes my list,” she sniffed.
He grinned. “Well you can’t be too uptight if cookies and cream makes the list.”
“I'm not uptight. I'm just organized and have a plan for life.”
Alec grinned. He'd feel like his head was in a noose if he had to live like that. Kind of like now. He had too much of his father in him. Needed to be free. I just want to be free. Max's words came to him in a rush. Well, didn't the need for freedom run in the family? But he wasn’t like his brother. He kept his commitments. He just knew better than to make too many. Alec knew Westhorpe blood ran in his veins.
He wasn’t capable of long-term commitment. Then why do you expect it from your brother? He also thought about Adele's words, “You are your actions and not your legacy. You can make the choices.”
Jaya was more than her to-do lists. Maybe—No. He shook his head. He was about the fun. He wasn’t the stick-around guy. He’d proved that time and again. It didn’t matter if Jaya made him want to stick around for it. He knew the pattern. He’d eventually get bored and leave.
“Earth to Alec.” Jaya waved a hand in front of her face. “You there?”
“Um, yeah,” He smiled. “I’m here. So how about I help you with your list. Even if you won’t tell me everything that’s on it. How about you tell me one thing, and I’ll get you to cross it off. You don’t even have to tell me how long the list is.”
She inched closer to the pool. “Why would you think you’re the person to help me?”
“Because, if something made it on there, it’s probably a little rash, dangerous, or exciting. I'm the master of excitement.”
She laughed, and Alec’s heart jumped. He loved the way she laughed. It made her sound young and un-jaded. Her almond-shaped eyes vanished into creases. He couldn’t help but smile back at her.
“The master of excitement huh? Not all of my goals are exciting. Some have to do with me standing up for myself.”
“Like telling Derrick he was terrible in bed?”
Her eyes widened. “How the hell did you—”
He shook his head and tapped his temple. “Photographic memory. I saw part of your list when you dropped it downstairs.”
She covered her eyes. “You're shitting me.”
“I shit you not.”
Narrowing her eyes, she said, “Prove it.”
“Skinny-dipping of course, but to be fair, I didn’t see that one clearly. Riding the New York City subway all night, do a round-the-world trip by yourself. Of course those aren’t the most fascinating ones. A threesome, Jaya? You honestly don’t seem like the girl-on-girl-for-a-thrill kind of person, but if you are, I’m in.”
She barked out a strangled laugh. With her mouth agape and eyes bugging, it made him want to laugh. Then, she said the unexpected.
“Who said anything about girl on girl?”
That shut him up. She wanted two men tending to her? Fulfilling her every fantasy? A jealous, possessive lump coiled in his throat. Easy—you have no claim to her. Just the idea made him want to kill something, but then the image of her on a bed at the height of ecstasy made him hard. Maybe he could be the guy to give her what she wanted. He was so focused on her fantasy, he only caught the end of her next statement.
“—tending bar.”
He blinked for a moment, not understanding the question. Then his brain synapses connected. That's right, dumbass. She thinks you’re a part-time bartender. She had no idea who he was. And now he’d lied by omission. Clearing his throat, he said, “Yeah, the memory thing does come in handy.” Eager to change the subject, he added, “Well, what do we do about this list of yours? You going to let me be the master of excitement of your dreams?”