Ocean of Love (8 page)

“
Elite Courier. Your office
sent these over expressly for you, sir. Sign here.” The woman held
out a digital clipboard with a stylus.

He pressed his lips together, signed the
screen, and returned the board to the messenger. He took the
envelope and half-heartedly muttered, “If only I’d bet something
besides my damn ego.”

“
I’m more than impressed.
Not many people command such an efficient staff.”

“
More importantly, I hope
this proves I keep my word.” He held out the envelope. “I believe
these are for you. And that’s only the beginning in our lesson on
establishing your trust in me. Come, you’ve more to
learn.”

Chapter Six

Wyatt walked alongside her,
muted by lust, and fought the urge to haul her against him,
convince her that the idea of letting him fuck her was brilliant.
There was something almost tangibly tantalizing about Marissa.
Irresistible. From the moment he’d seen her bio online to meeting
her in person, he had known—
he had to
possess her
.

Damn, he wanted to disappear with her. But
no, he had to give her the damned architectural drawings to review.
He’d basically sent her in the wrong direction from his bedroom.
Instead of piling on more work for Marissa, he should have phoned
Sinclair, and had him take over the sale. To free her up so they
might explore more compelling terrain. Say, her naked body.

Hell, what he should be doing was persuading
Marissa to toss aside whatever kept her tied to a set of moral
precepts that were woefully wrong. Now, him between her legs, well
that was alright, all the way.

Her lush body called out to him, galvanizing
his cock into an iron pipe. Another close encounter with her and
he’d bust apart at every seam. He wanted Marissa with a greedy
hunger that bordered on madness.

Inside his car, her fragrance swam around
him. She pulled the seat belt across her chest, giving him a view
of one creamy breast. He coughed and forcibly cranked the shifter,
throwing his vehicle into first gear. He released the clutch. The
image of her naked flashed into his mind. He pulled away from curb
consumed by his imagination.

“
Watch out!” Marissa
grabbed his arm.

He stomped on the brakes, in time to avoid
sideswiping a pick-up truck. “Sorry, I’ll concentrate, beginning
right now if you can adjust your shirt.” He glanced over at her
before she had the chance to cover her breast. Christ, his cock
thickened inside his pants.

Her face colored as she pulled at her
collar. “If that was part of your trust lesson, I think we just
took a step backward.”

“
No, don’t say that. I
think you play dirty pool. Remember the plans. Why don’t you review
those and I’ll focus on the road.” Bullshit, his gaze traveled over
her body, stopping to study her thighs.

She hugged her baggy jacket closer. A woman
like Marissa had no reason to wear bulky clothing over her
rambunctious curves. Running along the beach with her, he’d
glimpsed her tiny waist as the wind whipped her clothes against her
body. She might try to camouflage herself in a dark, wool sack, but
he’d already memorized her standing on the sand, shoeless, with her
skirt hiked up a pair of stunning legs. Pressing against her
assured him he wasn’t wrong. Naked, she’d be a vision and an
incredible fit between his hands.

His little realtor kept herself hidden in so
many ways. She had him more than curious. If only he could get her
to open up to him. Personally. Simple questions were a good start
to discern what made her tick, and how to untie her knots of
refusal.

He kept his eyes on the road and asked, “So
what made you go into the real estate business?”

“
I’ve lived in South
Florida almost all my life, so the geography and layout of the city
is second nature. I enjoy working with people. Well, some
people.”

“
I hope I’m on the list of
positive interactions.” He casually noted her movements as she eyed
him peculiarly, smoothed her hair, and traced an imaginary line
down her neck.

“
Fishing for compliments?”
She smiled shyly.

He pressed her to tell him more. “Do you
have any plans beyond real estate?”

“
I’m going back to school
in the fall. Doing the MBA route at the University of Miami. I’m
all set.” She turned toward the window, her eyes blinking
rapidly.

He waited, but she didn’t say more. “Don’t
you know? What are you passionate about?”

His ability to discover invisible gems
heightened. She aroused him on many planes. The predator in him
wanted to mark her as his new, unclaimed territory. He retrained
his sight from her face back to the road. She kept her hair tightly
back, wore dark glasses, and dressed like his Aunt Melinda. She
attempted to hide in plain sight.

Well not anymore. She was well within his
sights. An apt, sexy target and one he wasn’t about to let go. This
was his hunt, his challenge, and this was the part that excited
him. To tease out the details, unearthing the boundaries, and
discover all aspects of his lush little treasure drove him
onward.

He admired the reflection
of Marissa in the windshield. She dreamily rubbed her hand down her
arm. He faltered in his thoughts.
His
little treasure.
His reward had always
been to savor the
pièce de
résistance
in uncovering the unknown. The
moment his investors and buyers were given the opportunity to share
his vision. Only with her, he didn’t want to share his find. That
fact began to unfold within his awareness similar to a revelation.
A world of difference, and had him gripping the steering
wheel.

“
Tell me more about you.
Besides that one-sentence history you tried to run by me earlier.
Where are you from exactly? South Florida encompasses many cities.
Which one?”

She gazed back at him as though he were
pushing his luck. He took this ruffle in her composure for evidence
he was getting closer to something secret. What would she have to
keep hidden? She liked her privacy. He’d already experienced the
fireball under her unflappable, stately veneer. That had to be what
she kept locked away. He clenched his jaw, imagining Marissa hot
and wild. What would it take to unleash her? Now, that was the big
question perplexing him down to the core.

“
What does that have to do
with business? I perceive you’re purposely taking a wrong turn here
in teaching trust.”

“
I appreciate knowing with
whom I’m working. Is there a problem?” he asked, sucking in his
amusement and hunger for an answer.

“
No, I remember this is
supposed to be trust-building.” She twisted her fingers in her lap.
“I’m sorry if I’m a little slow. I’m from South Florida, I mean Key
Biscayne to be exact. All my life barring a brief move. I became
ill and returned. Came back and enrolled in the University of
Miami. I intend to return this fall to
passionately
complete my degree.
How’s that?”

“
Okay for a paragraph. Tell
me about your family. Are you close?”

She inhaled sharply. Even with sunglasses,
he noticed her eyes watered. A sense of wanting to protect her
side-swiped him. He reached out and squeezed her shoulder. A
glowing feeling emanated from touching her.

“
Marissa—” he abruptly
stopped. Surprised, if not stunned, he continued pressing his
fingers around her shoulder, allowing the sensation to flow from
her body into him. He studied her. Was this a type of energetic
flow? AC or DC? The feeling was encompassing, and at the same time
altered from flickering to intense. This unusual connection melded
his senses, forging a conduit of synthetic pleasure as well as
heartbreak. He couldn’t explain this feeling that made him want to
comfort her.

“
Hey, hey, we don’t have to
talk about the family. I just want to get to know you. Anything
that won’t make you sad. If you need to let go about something, I’m
a good listener. No judgments. I’ve got a screwed-up existence. No
home life, only business meetings, no one to share things with.
Please, Marissa, again, I’m sorry. If you don’t want to talk, I’ll
bore you with tales of my life. Regular snooze
material.”

She kept her focus on the street ahead of
them even though her chin quivered. “My parents died when I was
young. An accident. I was raised by a foster family. I don’t have
any brothers or sisters alive. No extended family to speak of
either.” She turned to look out from the side window.

“
If it matters, I don’t
have strong ties to anyone. I can empathize being on a solo
journey.” He put aside prying into her life; digesting this was
altogether new territory.

After a moment, she turned to him. “Do you
want to use your GPS or do you want to use my smartphone?”

“
Your phone is fine,” he
said softly. He let go of her, not because he wanted to, but
because he could tell, laying a connection between them would take
more than an invitation to join him.

She fiddled with her mobile navigation app,
holding out the phone for him. Wyatt glanced down at the directions
displayed. Only blocks away. This piece of property was not part of
the South Beach glam party central. This particular site was set in
a residential part of the beach, amidst high rises and low rises. A
mixed bag of condos, hotels, homes, restaurants, and shops. Then
the road widened, and the GPS signaled they’d arrived. He pulled
into a parking lot facing the beach.

There was an expanse of beach gently sloping
toward the shoreline. The shoreline was wider than any he’d seen or
read about online. “Aha, you do have an exceptional eye. Honestly,
you’re too humble, Marissa.”

She smiled over at him with a curl forming
on her lips. “Thank you.”

He marveled at her ability, simultaneously
craving to taste her mouth as well as explore the real woman. “This
might actually be the site.”

She pointed toward the beach. “Take a look.
Just as I promised. Two older motels sitting side by side. On
either side of their lots, easements. One side a parking lot. The
other side sea oats and lots of them.”

“
Federally protected land.
Oh baby, I do love them sea oats.” He contained his hunger, barely
holding off from pulling her across the seat and claiming her
mouth.

She lifted her sunglasses to the top of her
head, off-balancing him. Her face in the direct sunlight was
exquisite. His breath lodged inside his chest, expanding into a
balloon about to burst apart. Her eyes were aqua pools with lashes
still spiky from tears. She parted her lips seductively making his
cock twitch.

“
Let’s take a look around.
Let’s leave the bag here and just go sans folders.”

Only his agreement to keeping their exchange
as strictly business forced him to get out of the car.

“
What about a camera?
Photographs are extremely helpful in remembering details. Just a
small camera; I’m not planning on a jungle safari.”

He couldn’t help crooking a finger under her
lovely chin. “Fine. One camera and you.”

It was the biting of her lip that convinced
him, get out of the car. Now.

Walking alongside her, he half-listened to
her feed him information about technical details of the land before
them. The possibility of touching her lingered in his thoughts,
making the property’s selling points fade. He reached for her arm
whenever he found the excuse, nodding to her talk, and hungry for
more contact. Skin on skin. At the rear of the building, they
stopped, and he reached out to guide her into a position where they
stood facing each other. “I’ve been rambling on, and you’ve been so
quiet. Tell me some of your thoughts.”

“
The beach isn’t combed and
beautified like the other beach site,” he remarked. “The rock
formations just beyond the shore add a layer to the view. I think I
prefer the beauty of this version.”

“
Yes. I agree. And there’s
a city requirement for upkeep. Important considering what washes up
onshore.” She shivered, and rubbed her hands up and down her
arms.

“
Would you rather return to
the car?” He moved her in closer to his body to shield her from the
wind. “Stand here.”

“
No, it’s nothing. Where
was I?”

“
City upkeep.” He stared at
her mouth, chiseling out another section of his
willpower.

“
Last year funding was
allocated from the Federal Disaster Funds maintained by FEMA for
beach restoration. This area was hard-hit and instead of spending
the money, the city waited to see what would happen during the last
hurricane season. Well, they have to use the money within
twenty-four months or return the disaster funds to the federal
government. They voted on the usage, and part of their plans
include increasing the shoreline to protect against further
erosion. This property before us is included. I have the
report.”

“
How many additional feet
will be considered structurally sound?”

“
One hundred fifty-eight
feet. Not as much as other sites but enough for the building you
want. Structurally, you’ll be well within zoning requirements.
Especially considering the property size you’ll start with upon
purchase. And there’s the additional fore-shore being dredged. The
total frontage you’ll end up with will be outstanding. I already
ran the preliminaries by a structural engineer friend.”