Ocean of Love (6 page)

“
Sinclair gets plenty of
invitations for openings of clubs and restaurants. The one over
there is unbelievable. I don’t think we need reservations,” she
shared. “Don’t you need to get back?”

He cocked his head, amused by her
suggestion. “To what? Darling, this spot seems beyond
temptation.”

“
Mr. Herndon, please
remember I’m not your darling. But to answer your question, your
family. I thought you might want to do some sightseeing. Call them
and check in.”

“
When you call me Mr.
Herndon, I feel as old as
Methusehla
. If you want me to
respond, call me Wyatt. And sorry to disappoint. I’m not married.
No children either. So you see, it’s just me. Alone. Correction.
You and me.”

“
But the woman back at
Apex? I assumed, you and her…”

Marissa wasn’t the norm in his world. He
savored watching her face turn a bright shade of pink. A woman who
was perturbed because he was unattached. He combed a hand through
his hair. This was a first.

“
Business associate. Hannah
McGuire. She’s here with her husband. She handles my financial
affairs and asset management. I’m here free and clear.”

The news that he was unencumbered plainly
annoyed his precious realtor from the set of her jaw. She actually
cared. He almost laughed out loud.

“
I expect her input on this
deal, given I’m using cash to close. What she does in her spare
time is up to her. She’s on-call 24/7 as is any person I employ.
Considering the economy, I can’t afford any mistakes. The injected
equity will enable a lower interest for the construction loan. We
have a narrow window to find, buy, and build. I came here with one
intention. I expect to have your full attention, or is that a
problem?”

He observed Marissa pull on her jacket. She
couldn’t be chilly, not in this heat.

“
There’s no problem on my
end,” she muttered. “I fully know that you’re up against difficult
odds. We’re all working toward closing. I sent your team everything
including the loan proposals. I know Sinclair keeps tight reins on
the financial aspect of your deal. Really, why did you wait until
the last minute? Beyond giving other developers a heads-up. Did you
think Apex would leak the information? I’m not one for loose
lips.”

Marissa’s strides increased, making her
skirt hike further up her thighs. She had fantastic legs and he
kept up with her pace. He imagined those legs wrapped around his
waist. A damn lovely and entertaining mental hiatus. His cock
swelled at the fantasy of Marissa on the beach, at night, with the
moon and the waves. And him pounding away furiously between her
legs.

His voice went hoarse, and he tunneled his
fingers through his hair to get a grip. “Things tend to get
complicated when my company is involved. All of a sudden property
prices are driven up, and then a bidding war ensues. Not this time.
Hannah is similar to a business veneer. So, I’ll have the plans
delivered to the restaurant. They can be emailed to a nearby
printer and couriered over.”

She side-glanced him, before walking up the
steps to the boardwalk. Coming down the other side, she stopped in
front of him. “I don’t think we operate that fast in this part of
the world. Better to shoot for having them delivered to the office
or your hotel. I’m not thinking you’ll see them by the end of
lunch.”

“
Which restaurant are we
going to? We’ll see.”

“
That one with the black
shutters. The Tap Room. If you like unusual sandwiches and salads.”
She kept her voice even though two bright spots flagged her cheeks.
Telltale signs she was less than pleased.

He phoned his office and provided them the
name and address of the restaurant. He employed smart-enough
people, proficient in tech skills to do a search on printers in the
area and figure out the logistics. He wasn’t above texting a
message to put a “rush” on the job and finishing with “OR
ELSE.”

“
Here.” She held out his
shoes. His fingers came into contact with her hand, the color rose
higher on her cheeks, and she dropped his shoes.

“
Sorry, I thought you had
them.” Marissa bent down. Their knees collided, and she
wobbled.

“
Dammit,” he swore softly,
and then without thinking, reached for her. A good thing. She
rebounded off his legs, heading down onto the concrete. He wrapped
his hands around her upper arms and pulled her toward him. Her soft
upper body heaved against his torso, her mouth close enough to make
him forget himself.

“
I’ve got you,” he
whispered. Her glasses had come off, leaving him staring into a
pair of eyes the color of the Caribbean. Light aqua, bright, and
rimmed in a dark blue.
Iridescent
eyes
, he caught himself
thinking.

“
Are you ready to rise?
I’ll help you.” he asked, only inches from her face. She glanced
down, bowing her head. He inhaled the delicate scent of
flowers.

“
I think so.” She glanced
back up at him.

“
Ready to stand? On the
count of three. One, two, and upsy-daisy.”

She started to laugh. “I’m so sorry. Please
forgive me. I haven’t heard that phrase in years.” Marissa relaxed
under his grasp, dropping her hands onto his forearms. She squeezed
her fingers around his arms. God, it was all he could do to keep
from kissing her.

“
I’ve got a couple of young
nieces. I guess it’s what their parents say when they fall and get
up.”

She inhaled. “Wyatt, I’m OK now.
Really.”

“
Then, shall we try
again?”

Chapter Five

From anger to laughter, a
kaleidoscope of emotional hues washed over Marissa. The experience
of an hour of talking, walking, and just the stress of being on
stage for a client was enough to warrant plopping down at a café
table exhausted. With so much work to do, this business lunch must
not transmute. Even with Wyatt’s fingertips pressing the small of
her back, the tingling sensation running up and down her spine, she
gritted her teeth, repeating her self-imposed directive.
Business. Lunch. Got it.

“
Eating in or out?” the
hostess asked.

Wyatt brought his hands up, and he motioned
to her in deference. The absence of his touch on her body made
thinking a whole bunch easier.

Her insides somersaulted. “Outside and
please may we have two tall glasses of water?”

“
Right away,” the hostess
retorted, snapping her fingers and barking. “Two
waters.”

She sat hiding behind her menu until Wyatt
peered over the edge.

He whispered, “Boo.” A glimmer from his
light blue irises sent a shiver over her skin.

She’d already decided and asked him, “What
are you having? Do you have a question?”

“
Come here often? Do you
know what you’re getting? Already?”

“
Yes and no. I know what I
like so ordering is easy. I don’t come down here during the
day.”

“
And what are you getting?
Or is that a secret.”

“
Grilled shrimp.” She
answered quickly. She didn’t eat much that didn’t come from the
sea. Never had much of an appetite.

“
No side. Just shrimp. I
don’t even see a menu item of grilled shrimp.”

“
Well, they do serve a
combination plate of grilled seafood. I’m ordering the shrimp. What
looks good to you? Do you eat seafood?”

“
Hmmm, not really. I enjoy
fishing just not the fishy taste. Not a fan. Had a case of food
poisoning in college after eating fish. Anyway, I lost my
predilection for seafood. Short story version. Sorry.”

She picked up her glass of water and took a
long sip. The parched feeling became less intense, even though the
sensation of fire breathing down her neck continued under Wyatt’s
gaze. He seemed to study the points of her face, making her squirm
and fidget.

Before meeting Wyatt, she enjoyed her
nickname: the Ice Princess. Now, she was nothing short of one of
the Three Stooges around him.

That icy pseudonym was well
past thawed, almost to the point of boiling. She was ready to
vaporize right in front of this man’s face.
Something
in him made
something
in her become
acutely hot and bothered. She was convinced that this
something
would not end
well. For her.

“
I think I’ll have the
sausage and penne. Comes with a side salad. Are you sure you don’t
want something else. Water and shellfish. How will you last until
tonight?”

“
I’ll manage. Eating light
keeps me from getting afternoon brain fog.”

“
Oh, yes, the midday sugar
blues. Rush for caffeine and sugar. I’m right there with you. Every
day around three or four, I’m down at the coffee spot in line. No
lie.”

She nodded. “That’s the one food item I
require. Massive doses of coffee. I bet if my blood were drawn,
it’d be a deep roast blend.”

He laughed, mischief twinkling in his eyes.
He ordered their food, specifying an extra-large portion of grilled
shrimp for her. All she could do was shake her head at Wyatt’s
effort to keep her well-fed.

“
How did you come to know
Sinclair?”

“
Over cards and drinking.
Back in college, we belonged to a gentlemen’s club, the alternative
to a fraternity or sports.”

“
He never said exactly,
only that you guys went way back. I imagined some sort of college
experience.”

“
An experience it was. We
almost got thrown out for a two-week binge during exams. I was
trying to stabilize my finances, since I wasn’t thrilled about
working a summer job. Sinclair had other demons to
battle.”

“
Did you work during the
summer?”

“
Partly. Construction. Then
I traveled. Probably acquired the bug to travel. It’s what I do.
This development gig is just the excuse.”

“
But, surely you have a
home. A place to return to when this is all done.”

“
Certainly, I’m not a
nomad. More a gypsy. I have an office, which you know
abo
ut. And
a few
of the condos in my developments I’ve set aside as home bases. I do
the homing pigeon thing. Go back, decide what to do next. Then I’m
off. Hence, no family, no pets, and no houseplants.” He took a sip
of the beer he’d ordered. “And you? What’s your story?”

“
I’ve been in Miami since
college. I work for Sinclair. I live on the beach, not far from
here. But not ocean front. Someday I hope that will
change.”

“
Any pets, houseplants …
boyfriends?” He gazed at her over the rim of his glass.

That unsettled feeling returned. A sensation
of standing on the edge of a cliff, with open space all around, and
she had a choice—to step back from the precipice or take a
leap.

“
No. Yes. No,” she said,
hoping for a slow descent.

“
I’m glad on all accounts.
I’ve got an allergy to items one and three.” He grinned at her just
as his hand moved over hers. He caressed the top of her knuckles
with his fingertips.

The brakes sounded all too loud in her head.
“Uhh, I don’t think it’s a good idea to cross boundaries. Not with
all the work we need to get done.” She couldn’t keep looking at him
and hope to sound convincing. “I get the traveling thing and
enjoying the new experience. I’m just not up for being a novelty to
you or anyone.”

“
Marissa, don’t lie. You
want the same thing I do. Why not enjoy it?
Crossing boundaries
as you say isn’t
always doomed to failure. Take a chance in life and in business.
You might be surprised. I don’t see you as some clingy woman who
needs anything from me. If I did darling, you’d be the last woman
I’d want to hook up with.” Wyatt stared at her. He finished with,
“Stunning or not.”

“
You’re not playing fair. I
can’t risk my career.”

He squeezed her fingers between his
fingertips, and then lifted her hand. He brushed his lips along the
tops of her knuckles. His breath warmed her skin. “Hey, don’t think
just because I know Sinclair that I speak about my intimate life.
Whatever you may think, I don’t kiss and tell. On any level.”

Marissa bit the inside of her cheek. “And
you make this assertion based upon the past? Other
experiences?”

A low rasp of a chuckle fell from his lips.
His warm breath spread across her hand, wrist, and arm. He took
possession of her arm by walking his fingers up the inside, along
her sensitive skin. A spring wound tighter and tighter, excuses
came and went. Except he was perfect. She wanted him.

There was no lie there, no shame in finding
him more than alluring. He rubbed his jaw on the inside of her
wrist, pressing the stubble from his face into her skin. She
crossed her legs to keep the pulsations between her legs from
driving her to the brink. Never mind leaping—she wanted to dive
into his arms.

She touched his face, grazing her fingers
along his lips. He captured one of her fingers with his warm, wet
mouth and bit down lightly on the tip below her nail. The texture
of his face under her hand and his hot tongue teasing her finger
prompted rippling spasms to unravel between her legs regardless of
how tight she clamped her knees together. It didn’t help that she
kept imagining other places he might use that part of his
mouth.