A low electric hum preceded the awning, which rose from behind them, as if by magic. Liza lifted her head to follow the navy blue canvas as it flattened out over them.
“Are you kidding me?” She laughed.
“We’re on a sun bed, Liza. Sometimes people want shade. Or rain protection.”
She sat up, straddling him, the white skirt bunched around her thighs, her hair falling back as she looked up at the awning in wonder. “That is...oh my God, so cool.”
She looked beautiful in the newly formed shadows, her hair tumbling over her shoulders, a smile of pure joy across her face, her slender body wrapped around him.
“You hiding any other tricks, Nate?”
“Well, in case there are any mosquitoes...” He pressed the second button on the panel below him, and sheer gauze netting rolled down from all four sides.
That got another sweet squeal of delight. “Amazing!”
“So are you,” he said gruffly, reaching up to pull her down against him, then eased her on her side so they were lined up on the sun bed.
For a few minutes, they stayed very still, looking at each other in the dim light, the steady drumbeat of the rain matching the one in his chest as he let himself be transfixed by her.
A breeze fluttered the netting, making her shudder.
“Are you cold?”
She shook her head. “I’m scared.”
“Of what? I promise, I swear...” He lifted one hand as if to show her how safe he was. “We can lie hear and listen to the rain. I promise, I’m good.”
She closed her eyes as if the words physically affected her. “Yes, you are. You’re so...” She searched for a word, clearly frustrated. “You’re not going to like this.”
He lifted a little from the headrest, concerned. “Tell me anyway.”
“You’re not naughty.”
He snorted softly. “Stupid word, but tell that to the rest of the world. Anyway, I earned it.”
“Well, you’re not anymore. Not with me. Not now. Not most of the time. You’re...nice.”
That made him laugh. “First time I’ve ever been called that. But I guess you bring out the nice in me.” Which was weird. “I don’t know why or how.”
She smiled. “It’s okay to be nice. And it’s okay to be...” She rolled a little closer, snuggling into him and looking up. “A little not nice, too.”
He took the cue and kissed her, slow and soft and, oh, hell, not nice. He plunged his tongue and curled it around hers, coaxing a moan from her throat.
“Nice and deep,” he whispered between breaths.
She melted into him. “Very nice.”
He stroked her side, lightly brushing her breast with his thumb. “Nice and tender.” He barely touched her but felt her harden under his thumb.
Dipping his head, he suckled her jaw and throat, kissing his way to her earlobe, licking it. “Nice and wet.”
“Ohhh.” Her sigh was pure pleasure, the sound and feel of it on his cheek making his whole body tense.
He flicked his tongue all the way down her throat and over her breastbone, suckling her skin for a taste. He filled his hands with her curves, dragging them over her hips to carefully gather her skirt, inching it up so he could touch her skin.
When his hand pressed her taut thigh, she eased her body back on top of his, as if neither one of them could resist the temptation to press against each other.
“Nice and...” He slid his hand higher and higher, their hips rolling in rhythm as he reached the dip where her cheek met her thigh. “Sweet.”
“Mmm. Nate...”
He stilled his hand. “Too nice for you?”
She looked up at him, chaos in her eyes. “I’m dying here.”
He curled his hand around her bare behind, finding the silky string of a thong, tracing the line of it right...between...her...legs. She was soft and slippery, making him hard and hot.
“Too nice,” she whispered. “So nice. Oh my God, Nate, don’t stop.”
He wouldn’t. Turning her for a better position, he looked at her all mussed from his hands, her lips pink from his kisses. Her eyes lost all their blue-green to the dark, dark promise of arousal. “Let me, Liza. Let me show you how nice I can be. Let me...”
She nodded, her breath coming so hard and fast now, she couldn’t talk. He wanted to see what pleasure did to her. He wanted to give her everything and take nothing. He didn’t stop to analyze that but caressed her and kissed her with all the tenderness and passion he had.
She let out a tiny cry, jerking once into his hand, then biting her lip as she looked at him.
“Come on, Wonder Woman,” he urged. The rain drummed harder overhead, loud enough to drown out her sweet moans of gratification, strong enough to wrap them in a cocoon of water and silk and secret, stolen kisses.
“Nate...” She shuddered again, gripping his arms, digging her fingers into his muscles as he slid his finger all the way into her, stroking the wet, warm skin, finally teasing an orgasm from her quivering, out-of-control body.
It took a minute for her to catch her breath and release her grip, long enough for him to quell his own arousal because he knew—he just knew—they weren’t going any further.
“Okay,” she finally whispered. “I’ll do it.”
Or maybe they were going further? “You will?” He couldn’t stop the smile. “I’d have been willing to wait, but...”
“I’ll work for you.”
He blinked, surprise and disappointment colliding. Then he laughed, rocking into her so she could feel how hard that disappointment was. “Probably a good time to make your salary demands, too.”
“I only have one demand.”
At her serious tone, his smile evaporated. “Yeah?”
“Well, two. Dylan can be in the children’s program at the resort.”
“Done. Easy. What else?”
“We can’t...I can’t...” She closed her eyes. “This sounds really selfish considering the pleasure you just gave me, but I’m not ready for...everything.”
He didn’t answer right away, waiting to hear if there would be a time limit on that one. There wasn’t.
“Ever?” He wanted to show restraint, and had, but if they worked together, that might be impossible.
She sighed and cupped her hand on his jaw. “I need some time to forget some things.”
“Things in your past?”
“No, yours.”
He frowned, then figured out what she meant. “Carrie?”
“I can’t fall into bed with a guy she...” She shook her head. “I have to know you for you, not the man she made up in that journal, not the guy in the media, and not what I thought you were. Who you really are. And then...”
So he had one more person to prove his worth to. “I like that plan. Start Monday. The sooner you know me, the sooner we’ll finish what we just started.”
She smiled, kissing him and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Will do, boss. Now hold me and tell me something I don’t know about you.”
He cuddled her closer, smoothing her dress and adjusting himself to let the desire abate. “Something you don’t know about me. Let me think.”
“And it can’t be anything that I’d read in the paper. A secret.”
“Okay.” He pressed a kiss on her head and confessed, “I’ve never done that before.”
She looked up at him, eyes wide. “You’re lying.”
“No, I’m not. I’ve never completely given someone...that. Not without expecting everything in return.”
She smiled slowly. “You’re right. I bring out the nice in you.”
Holding that thought, they stayed under the awning until the rain showers passed, kissing, whispering, laughing, sharing secrets and, finally, sleeping in each other’s arms until the yacht docked in Naples and they had to say good night.
Chapter Eleven
Liza put the caller on hold and looked over at Nate, lying on the sofa, one leg bent, his head propped on his arm, reading a legal document
he had resting on his chest. It would be so easy to climb over the desk that separated them and cuddle up next to him and do what they both wanted to do ever since they set up a temporary office in Acacia, the spacious beachfront villa he’d taken over for the business.
So far, they’d resisted. But…
Heat, familiar and constant and always strong, curled through her at the thought. Of course, she said the only thing she could. “Nate, it’s the county commissioner’s office on line one.”
He turned his head to smile at her. “Calling to say the agenda is finalized?”
“And to invite you to attend the meeting as an honored guest.”
“Probably to thank me for the donation of forty-six new live oak trees for the Naples Parks and Rec Department.” He rolled up, still grinning at her. “Genius idea, Wonder Woman.”
She angled her head, still not quite used to his compliments on her work, even though he’d been doling them out for almost three weeks. “Hey, you wrote the check.”
“But the gesture got us slipped into the County Commissioners’ meeting three months ahead of schedule.”
“I know county weaknesses, it’s true.” She shrugged, indicating the flashing light on the phone bank. “Take the call, do your thing, and when you’re done we can go over the access-road permits.”
He wiggled his eyebrows playfully. “The fun never ends.”
She laughed. “This is fun. Aren’t you having fun?”
He leaned closer. “There’s a beach twenty yards away, a pool in the back of this villa, and a bed the size of a small country in the master suite. All screaming for fun.”
“Hey. We have a deal.” She pointed a finger at his face.
“And I’ve been upholding my end of that deal for twenty days...and nights.”
The fact that he counted did crazy, stupid things to her insides. The wait was nearly over, and she knew it. Longing looks, purposeful touches, and a couple of smoking-hot kisses after-hours and Liza was fairly certain where this “work relationship” was headed.
And she couldn’t think of a single reason not to say yes. “Access-road permits are fun.”
“Okay,” he relented. “And then?”
And then she’d have to pick up Dylan after the children’s program ended. Sighing, she glanced at the clock on her desk. “Take the call, Nate, before they shove us clear into the June meeting.”
He didn’t move, staring so hard it felt like he could see right through to her soul. “You know that middle color in the rainbow?”
She tried to come up with a quip but failed, shaking her head instead, no clue where this was going, only that it would be...nice.
“That kind of magical mix of turquoise and emerald, not quite one, not the other, but still precious and inviting?” He almost closed the space between them, inches away now, the soapy, masculine scent of him tormenting her.
“Yeah?” she managed.
“That’s the color of your eyes.” Closer still. “I could look at them for hours.”
She closed them for a second, almost unable to take the assault when he flirted like that. Was he teasing? Was he serious? Three weeks into the job, and she still couldn’t tell. Nor could she even remember the mundane and dreary existence that was the County Clerk’s office.
Still, she dug for the professionalism he so loved to tear away. “Take the call, Nate. And remember the county commissioner is named Sandra Hutchings, and she has an inflated ego, a tiny attention span, and a fiery temper.”
“Good to know. God, I’d be lost without you.”
She laughed. “Oh, and she would like to have her picture with you in The Mimosa Times. Don’t keep her waiting.”
“I won’t.” When he turned into the hall to go to the master suite he used to take calls, he stopped and looked back at her. “No one likes to wait too long.” With a wink, he disappeared.
For a moment, she rested her chin on her hands, staring at a half-dozen stacks of papers and two neatly arranged files, all labeled and sorted and ready to be tackled. A sensation of pure satisfaction rolled over her. She loved this job. And she…loved….okay, she was pretty damn fond of her boss, too.
Taking their attraction to each other up a notch—or six—wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when. And where...and how. Oh, she knew how. She’d fantasized about how every day and night since they’d docked his yacht in Naples. First, they’d—
The soft hum of an electric golf cart and the sweet sound of Dylan’s laughter pulled her from her reverie. Having him so close by during the day was certainly a blessing...and a curse. She was never sure when he’d be cruising by on some seashell-gathering adventure or field trip to the gardens. Still, a smile she couldn’t hide broke across her face as she rose from her desk to go to the door.
Late afternoon sunshine poured in, warming her as much as the sight of the boy she loved dearly.
“Aunt Liza!” He practically tumbled out of the cart, followed by his platinum-blond best buddy, Edward Browning. Eddie’s mother, Tessa, the resort gardener, was at the wheel, climbing down with one hand on a slightly distended belly.
They’d met a few times—enough to know Tessa was the glowingest pregnant woman in history.
“We come bearing requests,” Tessa said in greeting.
“S-L-E-E-P!” Dylan spelled, jumping up and down. He wanted to go to sleep?
“O-V-E-R!” cried his little friend.
Liza laughed, mostly at their high-fiving on the spelling, coming around to greet Tessa. “What’s this about?” she asked.
Tessa’s dark eyes danced as she eyed the two boys. “They’ve cooked up an idea, but we need your permission.”
“A sleepover?” Her skepticism must have been evident because Dylan immediately jumped into a “Please, Aunt Liza” litany that Edward joined until they were both shushed. “You’ve never gone to a sleepover,” she said to Dylan.
“And I’ve never hosted one,” Tessa admitted. “But Emma’s been invited to a birthday party, so I’m down one child and these two...” She smiled at the boys, shaking her head. “They are inseparable. My husband and I don’t live far, in town, and I assure you we’ll have them in the sack by eight—”
A chorus of “awws” interrupted her.
“Or nine,” she added with a laugh. “But we’ll take care of him, I promise.”
“I’m not worried about his care, it’s just...” She put her hand on Dylan’s head. “It’s a first for him.”
“We’ll make it special.”
“Okay—”
“Woo hoo!” Dylan and Edward were jumping again, but that wasn’t enough celebration, so they started running in circles around the golf cart.
“What’s all the ruckus out here?” They all turned to see Nate standing in the doorway, trying to look stern, but a smile grew as he watched the whirling dervishes. Dylan came to an instant stop, his face brightening like he’d been handed two scoops of ice cream.
“N-A-T-E!” He tore toward Nate, arms outstretched, getting hoisted in the air upon arrival. “I’m going to my first sleepover!”
“You are?” He made a surprised face, then looked over Dylan’s shoulder to Liza, his expression changing from surprise to something else. Something that made her whole body tingle in anticipation. “Then we’ll have to...”
Have a sleepover, too?
He lowered Dylan to the ground. “Make sure you have a great time.”
Her heart tumbled around because she knew he was thinking of the great time they’d have. “And maybe I can take your Aunt Liza out for dinner,” he added.
They hadn’t had dinner since the night on the yacht, and she’d kind of ached for another night like that. But Nate had been following the rules and her lead since the day she started working for him.
“Oh, you should get a reservation at Junonia tonight,” Tessa said, referring to the resort’s fine restaurant, run by her chef husband. “Ian’s special tonight is veal chops, and they’re to die for. And s
weet potatoes right from my garden.”
“Perfect. It’s a date.” Nate ruffled Dylan’s hair, but his eyes were hot on Liza. “As soon as we finish the access-road permits.”
When he went back inside, Tessa’s smile was amused and all-knowing. Were they that obvious?
“This is perfect,” Tessa said.
“Completely,” Liza agreed, barely aware that her voice held a sigh of dreaminess to it.
“So the rumor mill is true,” Tessa mused. “There’s more than Bucks business going on in Acacia.”
Liza felt her cheeks warm. “No, no...he’s my boss.” She glanced at the closed door. “We just work together.”
Tessa laughed brightly. “That’s what I thought about Ian at one time, too. Now I love his children as my own, and we have another on the way.”
Liza drew back, surprised. “Edward and Emma are...”
“Ian’s from a previous marriage, but they’re all mine now. And this one on the way.” She rubbed her belly, and her eyes twinkled. “I’m living proof that anything is possible. In fact, here on Barefoot Bay, we’re starting to think everything is possible.”
Was it? Could normal, ordinary, not-quite-anything-special Liza Lemanski win the heart of a world-famous billionaire who’d already stolen hers? “That’s a lovely sentiment.”
“It’s true!” she insisted and leaned closer to whisper, “And it’s obvious he has feelings for you.”
“It is?” She felt like an eighth-grade girl, but the only person she had to discuss this with was her mother, who couldn’t see straight on the subject of Nathaniel Ivory. She’d practically embroidered the towels with their adjoining initials already.
Tessa started to round up the boys but took a moment to continue the girl talk. “He seems like a really nice guy in person. Nothing like his public image.”
“He is different from what you’d expect.”
“I know you’re not asking for it, but my advice? Don’t fight whatever’s in the air down here. Sometimes the most unlikely people make a great team.”
A great team. Nate called them that at least twice a day. Could they be? Right now, they were almost…quite…not anything official. But something told Liza that was about to change.