Docked (18 page)

His white teeth flash as he shakes his head and glances in the distance. “You think you’re so clever, don’t you, Miss Banks?”

“Well, do you accept the challenge?”

Tanner releases me and folds his arms over his chest. His muscles flex with the movement, and I can’t help but eye his beautiful build. He reaches out and brings a finger to my chin, tilting my head up to meet his gaze. “I never turn down a challenge.”

“Then it’s time to get to work.” I drop my towel and dart around him, racing back up to the beach house. His feet pound the sand behind me. The second we’re back inside the house, my mind is churning. I’m a woman on a mission. I hurry into the kitchen to search the pantry, grabbing a duster, some cleaning spray, and an apron that’s hanging from one of the hooks on the wall. My eyes light up when I see it, and I can’t resist.

“That isn’t happening, Anya,” he says sternly from behind. When I turn from the pantry, I find him staring me down, arms casually draped over his chest.

“This is one of my conditions.” I hold out the white apron.

“You didn’t say anything about conditions.”

“I’m saying something now.”

“Aprons are for cooking, not for dusting.” He eyes the duster in my other hand, arching a disapproving brow.

“Not in Anya’s fantasy world.”

A speck of amusement teases his lips, but he clears his throat and bites it back. “Is that so?”

“Yup.” I shove the apron into his abdomen. “See, in Anya’s fantasy world, rich, sexy men such as you clean the house naked. Covered in nothing but an apron.”

“Men with dusters? That’s what you fantasize about? Oh, baby, we really need to work on broadening your horizons. It’d be my pleasure to enlighten you.” He begins to prowl forward, ready to take charge, but I match his steps, moving backward until my back bumps into the pantry doorknob.

“Ah, ah,” I singsong, wiggling my finger at him. “You drop the trunks and wear the apron or no deal. I’ll remain convinced that you are incapable of handling simple, domestic tasks on your own.”

A cross between a groan and a growl vibrates in his throat and there’s a flare of resistance in his baby blues. He snatches the apron from my fist and rolls his neck, looking to the ceiling as if he’s counting to five and practicing some sort of breathing exercise. A giggle is on the verge of exploding from my chest, but I swallow it down. I don’t want to kill his cooperation.

With one swift movement, he drops his swim trunks and wraps the white apron around his waist. He’s hard beneath it, and it’s utterly distracting, but my eyes travel greedily up to his bare, sleek abdomen. He’s insanely scrumptious. I’m going to enjoy every second of this.

“Does this please you, Anya?” His voice turns silky and seductive, and my eyes flick up to his. He’s smiling down at me, well aware of what he’s doing. This same tone is the one that turned me to mush the first time I went to bed with him.

“Very much.”

“Do you mind?” He gestures to the duster.

“Be my guest.” I hand it to him and my smile widens as he turns to walk toward the living room. His ass is perfect, as is the slope of his chiseled back. This view is certainly what dreams are made of. There’s simply nothing like a strong, hard male in nothing but a scrap of white material, ready to clean house.

I sigh happily and follow him into the living room, settling into the chic cream-colored sofa. It’s plush and sophisticated, just like the décor back on the Trident Voyager, but with a touch of casual flair.

“Where shall I start?” He stops in front of the entertainment center and faces me.

“The shelves.” I point and gesture for him to spin around. He gives me a knowing smile and pivots, starting with the top shelf. He sweeps the duster over the white wood, humming to himself as he goes, and I sit back and enjoy the view. A grin is plastered to my face, my arms cradling the back of my head as I lounge back. Tanner moves on to the next shelf down. “You missed a spot.”

“Anya Banks, if you think there won’t be repercussions for this, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“Hey, this was all your idea.”

He glances over his shoulder, eyes dropping to the white string over his lower back and then up, to the duster in his hand. “
This
was not my idea.”

“Just think. You’re proving me wrong, Mr. Christensen. Wasn’t that your goal?”

“Why do I get the feeling this is somehow payback?”

“Payback? For what?” My brows lift in interest.

“For not answering all of your interview questions to your satisfaction.”

“Aha!” I sit up, placing my palms on the couch cushions. “So you admit you’re being difficult.”

“I said no such thing.”

“There you go again, being difficult.”

“This topic is closed for discussion.” He swipes at the shelf and continues downward, brushing the space above the television.

“You just blew it wide open.” I stand and stroll toward him, stopping just behind his back. I reach up on my tip toes and press a kiss to his shoulder. His skin jumps beneath my lips and he turns slightly, thick lashes drawing down as his blue eyes find my brown ones.

“There’s nothing about me—or my father, for that matter—that you can’t Google.”

“That’s a crock if I ever heard one.”

He turns to face me fully, revealing an austere expression.

“The media only tells us what they want us to know. The internet can’t tell me what your father meant to you. Or how you view his legacy. It can’t tell me about the emotions that swamped you when you heard of his death or what your fondest memory of him is. It can’t tell me about you, Tanner. It can only tell me about
Tanner William Christensen
, owner of Trident Voyager.”

“Why do you need to know those things?” he asks quietly. The playfulness is sucked from the air around us, our banter going straight with it. I watch him closely, realizing I’ve yet again opened a wound. I seem to keep reinjuring the same one, but I can’t help myself. I’m thirsty to know, and something tells me it would do him good to let it out.

“I don’t need to know them; I want to know them.”

“So you can use the information for your magazine?”

“Yes and no.”

“Well, which is it?”

It dawns on me what he must be thinking of me right now. And what likely made him turn cold on me earlier. “Tanner,” I say carefully. “You don’t think…you don’t honestly believe I’d hurt you, do you?”

“I don’t know you. I don’t know what you’d do.” His expression is so grave, so earnest, it nearly blows me back.

“I suppose that’s true.” I fall back a step, blinking as I process his words. “I’m just another girl in your bed. You must be used to women sleeping with you for your money all the time. Why would magazine writers sleeping with you for information be any different?”

“Anya, I don’t mean to insult your professionalism.”

A dismayed laugh passes over my lips, and disappointment pulls at the smile that was there just seconds ago. “Of course not. I’ve already done that myself.”

Once again, his hands snakes out and wraps around my wrist, stopping me in my tracks before I can move away. “All I mean to say is that this…this information you’re asking me for is very personal, do you understand? No one is privy to it, not even my family. To share it with a writer who might use that to her own advantage—”

“I get it.” I hold up a hand. “You’re only watching out for your best interest.”

“I truly hope you understand.”

“Of course.” I shrug, and I know I can’t help but appear insulted. Despite the practicality of it all, I’m offended by the precaution. “I guess I just thought…”

“Thought what?” His fingers loosen around my wrist and he studies me.

“Well, I hoped I’d made a better impression than that, that’s all. I’m not the type of girl to sleep around, that you already know. And I’m certainly not the type of girl to sleep with someone just so I can deceive him to get what I want. I don’t know much about the other women you’ve been with, but I’m not one of them. You said I’m a woman of integrity. When you first met me. If you meant that, you wouldn’t lump me in with thieves and liars.”

“I never called you a liar. Or a thief.”

“Well, you certainly implied it.”

“I’m only being cautious, Miss Banks.”

I glance at the clock on the wall, above Tanner’s head. “It’s after one. I better get going. I promised Lana and Brie I’d join them at the cabana.”

“Hey.” His hand suddenly cups my face and he bends to kiss me. This kiss is soft and careful, sensual to the core. A surprised whimper rushes up my throat and I melt into him, leaning into the kiss. “I’m sorry.”

“Lana can still have the review,” I pant against his mouth, my head dizzy from his change in direction. “Or I can find another angle for the feature. I’ll think of something. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. I never should’ve crossed the line. I never should’ve slept with you and blurred the—”

He cuts me off with another kiss. This one’s more heated, firmer and demanding. “Anya,” he whispers, “I said I’m sorry. And you shouldn’t be for sleeping with me. I propositioned you, not the other way around.” He gives his apron an abrupt tug and tosses it to the floor, dropping the duster along with it. With a quick heave of his arms, he lifts me off the floor and wraps my legs around him, kissing me deeply, until his tongue delves to the back of my throat.

“But I encouraged you,” I gasp, dragging in air.

“And I wanted it. Still do.” He tugs at my wet hair and starts to walk forward, bumping into the edge of the coffee table as he passes through the living room. “Now, enough. I’m going to take you on the kitchen table and then you can go spend time with your girlfriends. I’ll fuck this nonsense right out of you and we’ll forget this conversation ever took place.” His torso brushes mine and he carries me into the kitchen, ripping at my bikini. I’m damp, sandy, and sliding all over the place as he sets me on the edge of the table, but all I really register is the rush of blood, heat, and pure, luscious sensation crawling down my spine.

Tanner slides his hips between my legs and thrusts inside of me, sucking hard on my bottom lip as he drives deep. Stars explode and the room comes alive, awakening me with it. I thought I was alert before, standing in that living room, arguing with a naked, apron-clad cruise ship billionaire, but as he pounds me into the kitchen table, I realize my body is never as fully alive as it is when he’s inside of me.

“Lie down,” he orders gruffly, hammering into me. “Hands above your head. Grip the edge of the table. Now, Miss Banks.”

I let go of his shoulders and lie back against the small kitchen table, letting my hands float above my head. My fingers spread, palms searching for the edge. I locate it and clamp down, watching as he lifts my legs higher up his waist and leans forward. His arms hook under my knees and he pushes his thighs against the table to give himself leverage, sending me quick, sharp, thrusts.

“Oh, God, Tanner,” my voice shakes as my body jolts back and forth. “More. Please, more.”

“You’re learning,” he smiles down at me, his gaze distracted by the bouncing of my breasts. “To speak up about what pleases you.”

“You please me.”

“Damn right, I do.”

“Smug,” I breathe, closing my eyes to absorb the pleasure.

“Fresh.”

And we are, for the next twenty minutes, until Tanner delivers us to paradise central. As I drift down from the high, I know I’ll never forget Alvita. The luxurious, privately owned island where I learned to conquer, learned to play.

NINE

“So, let me get this straight. You can’t see anyone while you’re screwing Tanner, yet you’re heading out right now to meet Jonah for drinks?”

“And you’re coming with me.” I pull up the hem of my sweetheart neckline, making sure the girls are snug and in place.

“I’m so confused. Are you confused?” Lana drops to the edge of the bed with a pout and eyes Brie.

“Um, yeah,” Brie looks at me, all doe-eyed and innocent, “you guys lost me at Jonah.”

“Ya know,” Lana shrugs, “the guy An was with at the cabana. When Tanner showed up all ready to stake his claim.”

“Tanner was not staking his claim.” I tsk my tongue and roll my eyes playfully at Lana, leaning closer to the little vanity mirror to adjust my gold necklace.

“
Pffft
, okay,” Lana snorts.

“He wasn’t. There is none of that going on with Tanner and me.”

“Right.” Lana crosses her arms and casts a side glance to Brie. “Soooo, if Tanner started seeing someone else right now, you wouldn’t go all crazy jealous bitch on him? ‘Cause I swear, An, if you say no, I’m totally callin’ you on your bullshit.”

I laugh and spin around to face my friends. Brie is enraptured, sitting cross legged and munching on a blueberry muffin, while Lana is insistent on driving me mad. “Why is that so hard to believe? Tanner and I are just having a fling. I’ve never had one before, and you encouraged it, remember? Hell, you practically set the whole thing up! Now that I’m going with the flow, you’re trying to turn it into something serious. I don’t get you, woman.”