By three o’clock we were all sunned out and in need of some shade and a shower to rinse off the sweat and suntan lotion. Plus, we figured the guys would be back from their shoot by now, and though neither of us admitted it, I think we both missed them. Lord help me, it’d only been a handful of hours since I’d last seen Braydon, and I already craved more. I was thankful he’d invited me, and that I’d let my stubbornness go and followed him here.
Braydon returned to the room when I was in the shower. At first I feared it was housekeeping, but I heard his deep, sexy voice calling out for his kitten and I beamed. He was back. “In here, lover,” I called.
The bathroom door opened and a cloud of steam escaped, revealing my beautiful man standing before me in just a pair of baby blue board shorts slung low on his hips. Heaven help me. My eyes slid from his rock-hard chest to his defined abs to the fine trail of hair disappearing under the waistband of his shorts. He looked edible. And judging by the adorable smirk tugging up his full mouth, he knew it. “Care for some company?” he asked.
Without waiting for my response, Braydon’s hands found the tie holding up his trunks and gave it a tug, releasing the knot. I swallowed heavily, captivated by his beauty and breathless to see all of him revealed. Treating me to a warm chuckle that I felt vibrate against my skin, Braydon let the swim trunks fall down his legs and stepped out of them. He was already semi-erect, and I fought the urge to reach out and touch him as he entered the glass-enclosed shower built for two.
“How was your day?” he asked, taking me into his arms. I rested my head against his chest and exhaled slowly.
“Perfect. Especially now that you’re back. How did your shoot go?”
“Fine. Nothing too exciting. We were in a eucalyptus forest, though. It smelled fantastic. You would have liked it.” Braydon grabbed the body wash and began lathering up my back as I leaned against his solid chest. And soon our innocent shower time turned into something much more fun.
We made love in the shower until the water started to run cold and then escaped, giggling, teeth chattering, into the warmth of our big, fluffy bed.
We remained there for the rest of the afternoon, talking, touching, and kissing, and while most of me felt happy and complete, part of me feared this would all come to an end. Did Braydon feel these things, too?
As the afternoon sun fell away, we still had no desire to move from our warm nest. In the dim light, Braydon watched me for some time. I fought to keep my expression neutral, to ease the worry lines from my forehead, but I could tell he knew something was different. Something had changed between us. I blinked and looked down, toying with the edge of the blanket I’d pulled up to shield my naked body.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice a low, throaty rasp in the darkness.
I swallowed the nervous tension in my throat. “Fine,” I lied. “Just tired.”
A slow smile overtook his face. “I wore you out, huh?”
I nodded. “Something like that.” He didn’t need to know the truth. Hell, I didn’t even want to face it. I was falling hard for this man. This man who’d made it abundantly clear that he and I were only about the physical. And I’d agreed. I had no one but myself to blame for this beautiful mess I was in.
“Come here.” He opened his arms for me to come closer and I obeyed, nestling against his warm body.
We were all wrong for each other, but I fought to quiet my brain and just let him hold me. When he was gentle like this, it was all I could do to fold my body into his and just let him soothe me. He had a way with me that no one else did. His clean, masculine scent, the way my head nestled so perfectly under his chin with our exaggerated differences in height . . . it was all too perfect. And that scared the ever-loving shit out of me.
Strong muscles enveloped me as Braydon’s arms closed around me. We fit together too perfectly. It was impossible not to notice. My sick little brain grasped on to that fact and refused to let go.
“You feel so perfect in my arms, kitten.” I relaxed into him at his sweet admission. At least I wasn’t the only one who noticed. His large palm slid down my hip and cupped my bottom, his gentle caresses becoming less and less innocent. I felt his thick length nudge at my thigh as he hardened. “It’s crazy how badly I want you,” he whispered.
I loved knowing I affected him, even if it was just physical. I let myself sink into him, taking all I could get of my sweet nothing.
• • •
The next three days passed in much the same way. Braydon and I hung out in our room, and when he went to work Emmy and I hit the beach. My skin was developing a nice golden hue, and each day I looked forward to Braydon’s return. We hadn’t had time for sightseeing or excursions, and to my disappointment, we hadn’t even gone out for a proper dinner together. I hadn’t been able to wear any of the cute sundresses I’d brought or explore any of the resort’s many restaurants. He ordered in every meal, insisting on room service and that we eat either out on our lanai or in the living room of the suite. I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
As I sat waiting for Braydon to return from his business dinner with the photographer and designer, I became more and more wound up. Emmy had confirmed that she and Ben were at the same dinner, even though Braydon had made it sound like it’d be some dull thing he had to do for work. Why didn’t he just bring me along as a friend? Why was every little thing so difficult with him? I shared my time, my body, my apartment, everything I had, and he couldn’t share the simplest of things with me. I gave him a mile and he struggled to give me an inch. It was beyond infuriating. I was starting to feel like he was hiding me out in this hotel room, placating me with food and sex. It wasn’t nearly enough. My temper raged the more and more I sat pondering it.
By the time he arrived back at the room, I was livid, and I was ready to let him have it. I didn’t move from the couch, didn’t even look up when he entered the hotel room. The TV was off, as were the lights. I was just sitting there in the dark, stewing over this one-sided relationship I’d built up in my head.
“Ellie?” he asked, his tone unsure and worried. He crossed the room and turned on a lamp. Good. He knew something was wrong. Maybe he even regretted his actions. Yeah right, but a girl could hope.
“Is everything okay?” He sat down beside me.
No. In fact nothing was okay. I was good enough to f**k, but not good enough to even take outside. “Did you have a nice dinner?”