Playing Dirty: Windy City Kink, Book 3 (10 page)

“Sweet zombie Jesus,” she whispered. “This is incredible.”

Raff snorted with laughter. “What did you say?”

She glanced sideways at him as they stood at the low railing. “Uh…sweet zombie Jesus.”

“What the fuck?”

She grinned and shrugged. “I don’t know where I got that. But it works for me.”

“You are so fucking funny.”

She bit her lip. She figured she had a pretty good sense of humor, as in, she laughed when people made funny jokes. But she’d never considered herself funny. Delmer sure never laughed at her. She narrowed her eyes. Maybe this wasn’t a compliment. But then she remembered Raff saying how her making him laugh made him hot, and she decided she liked being funny. “Thank you. Anyway, this is amazing, Raff. Overwhelming. But I have to say, if there’s no mascara waiting for me in that fancy suite, I’m not leaving my bedroom for the rest of the weekend.”

He chuckled. “I’m not actually sure what’s there, but now I hope to Christ there’s mascara. Although…keeping you in the bedroom all weekend would be fine with me.”

“I mean alone. As in, no one sees me without mascara.” She glanced at him and saw his grin. She sipped her champagne, and the bubbles tingled all the way down her throat. “Mmm.”

“There you go, making those sexy noises again.”

She licked her lips, tasting the champagne, and then realized Raff was watching her mouth. Heat pooled low down inside her at the heat in his eyes and she shivered.

“Are you cold?”

“No.”

His chin lifted slightly. He knew exactly why she was shivering. They were both hot for each other. Resisting him all weekend was not going to be easy.

Chapter Ten

Raff woke up before the alarm he’d set on his cell phone went off. Damn time zone change was messing him up. But he and Paige had agreed last night they’d get up in good time so they could have breakfast and head to Sea World early.

They’d discovered they both liked to plan, and so last night while they drank champagne on the terrace, they’d talked about what they wanted to do. Paige had never been to San Diego, so Raff was happy to guide the planning. He wanted to do something fun and harmless, admittedly to soften her up, but he also wanted to make sure he got Paige into the bikini he’d requested be included with the things provided for her. When he’d suggested beach or pool in the afternoon, she’d been so excited about seeing the ocean. He’d already made a dinner reservation at Café Salazar and had plans for after-dinner drinks.

He threw back the duvet of the king-size bed and rolled out to go shower. Too bad he was alone in that damn big bed. He stretched as he walked naked to the bathroom, smiling ruefully.

It was going to happen. He was going to have Paige. It might not happen this weekend, but he was confident enough that he was going to have her at some point. Sure he’d said one date, but he’d stacked the deck in his favor by making the date a whole weekend. Plenty of time to show her she was perfect for him. Especially since she seemed to be playing his game.

Confident or arrogant? He reflected on that as he showered. He could almost hear Dutch telling him to cool his jets. He grinned. This was a game he hadn’t played for a while. Things usually came easily for him. He hadn’t lied when he said he liked a challenge, though. He always had, whether it was getting out of the Cobras, graduating from high school, getting good enough to defeat Dutch in the boxing ring or making a business deal. He constantly challenged himself.

It was kinda fun being challenged by a pretty little blonde with big blue-gray eyes.

A pretty little blonde who was sleeping in the next room. What was she wearing? He’d instructed the concierge to get her something to sleep in, but had left it open. Was it skimpy and sexy? The chances of that were good since the concierge was probably imagining a romantic weekend for two.

He slid his soapy hand down his chest and lower to stroke his dick. He’d been half-hard since he picked Paige up at her place last night. All their sparring on the way here had turned him on, as had drinking champagne with her while overlooking the moonlit ocean. Saying good night to her had been annoying as hell. So had lying alone in that big bed.

A little hand action would take the edge off. He leaned against the shower wall, the hot water raining down on him, his soapy hand jacking his engorged cock. Fuck, that felt good. His other hand rubbed over his chest then down to cup his aching balls. Heat sizzled through his veins, pooling in his groin. Tingles brewed at the base of his spine and he clenched his ass and thigh muscles as it built for him. He groaned, head thunking back against the tiled wall as he stroked faster, faster, then came in hard pulses, imagining Paige naked in her bed.

He leaned there for a few more moments to catch his breath then turned back into the shower spray.
Holy hell.

He dried off and as he dressed, he faintly heard a chiming noise that had to be Paige’s cell phone alarm. A moment later he heard a door closing. She was up and in her own bathroom. Was she a woman who took her time getting ready, or one with a quick routine? He’d soon find out.

He figured out how to brew coffee in the coffeemaker in the kitchen area. Room service was bringing breakfast at nine, and he needed caffeine to bridge that gap. While the coffee brewed, he opened one French door and stepped onto the terrace.

Entirely different than last night, today’s view was incredible. White sand stretched before him down to the intense blue of the Pacific Ocean, the sky above a paler blue. Palm trees glistened in the morning sun, fronds swaying gently. He was suddenly impatient for Paige to get out here and see this. She was gonna fuckin’ love it.

He returned inside to pour coffee then carried it out and sat in one of the white wicker chairs, feet propped on the railing, and absorbed the California ambience.

“There you are.”

His head jerked around at hearing Paige’s voice. She stood in the French door, looking adorable in a pair of shorts and a gray T-shirt in a thin, silky cotton. “Morning,” he said. “Come on out and check out this incredible view.”

She moved to the railing and set her hands on it, leaning forward. This pushed her cute ass out a little. His gaze dropped to bare legs, which he already knew were perfect, although the last time he’d seen them she’d had thick black tights on. This was much better.
Gotta love California.

“Amazing,” she breathed. She closed her eyes and tipped her head back, taking a deep breath of fresh ocean air. “This whole place is amazing.”

“Do you have everything you need? Mascara?” He studied her eyes. Looked gorgeous to him.

She turned and smiled. “Yep. More than everything. There’s a whole Victoria’s Secret beauty department in there. Whoever did the shopping did well. I mean, it’s not my usual brand of antiperspirant, but whatever. Not gonna complain.”

“Great. Want coffee?”

“Yes, please.”

They both moved inside and a knock at the door announced the arrival of their breakfast. Raff left Paige pouring herself a cup of coffee while he answered the door. “Out on the terrace,” he instructed the man at the door.

Moments later, their breakfast, including a small vase with a bright-orange bird of paradise flower, was arranged on the small table. Raff tipped the guy and closed the door behind him.

“I’m starving,” he said. “Dinner was a helluva long time ago.”

They feasted on ham and cheese omelets, blueberry muffins and fresh strawberries, along with glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice and more excellent coffee from a big thermal pitcher.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked Paige.

She made a face. “Honestly? Not that great.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “My mind wouldn’t shut off. I just kept thinking about everything—the limo, the plane, this hotel.” Her eyes flicked up to him and he was pretty sure she’d been thinking about him too. Excellent.

“Took me a while to get to sleep too. All alone in that big, empty bed.”

“You’re starting already.”

He grinned. “Yep. Totally admit it.”

She shook her head but smiled as she broke off a piece of her muffin.

The time at Sea World passed quickly. Raff loved Paige’s delight with everything, loved her laughter at the dolphin show, her squeals when they got sprayed with water by whales, her wrinkled nose at touching fish that became a smile when she fed it to a dolphin. They ate big burgers and fries, and waffle cones with ice cream. Her nose and cheeks got pink from the sun, despite repeated applications of sunscreen.

They returned to the hotel and changed into swimsuits, then used the private gated entrance from the cottage to the beach. They trudged through soft sand toward the water. Paige wore a loose, nearly sheer black dress that blew around her body in the ocean breeze. When she lifted her arms to remove the cover-up, he didn’t even try to pretend he wasn’t watching her.

“Nice bikini,” he murmured. But really, it was
she
who was nice, all slender curves and smooth skin. Fuck yeah.

“Victoria’s Secret,” she said looking down at herself in the little black swimsuit. “I can’t believe it fits.”

“Fits great,” he said with heartfelt appreciation. “Lie down.”

“What for?”

He held up the bottle of sunscreen. He was dying to get his hands on her. Sunscreen was a good play. And it worked. After all, she
had
to have sunscreen on her back.

“Oh. Okay.” She stretched out on her towel, folding her arms beneath her and resting her chin on her hands.

At last. He dropped to his own towel next to hers and squeezed out thick cream onto her back. He spread it over her skin with his palms, using slow strokes, up over her shoulders, back down, lower, all the way to the edge of the bikini bottom. He let his fingertips slide beneath it.

“Raff.”

He grinned. “Just making sure you’re covered. I’ll do your legs while you’re lying there.”

So he did, starting at her ankles and working his way up over smooth calves, lingering on the backs of her knees, then her thighs. He studied a small mole above one knee. He let his fingers dip daringly to the inside of one thigh, brushing oh-so close to her pussy. He sensed her body vibrating and knew she was enjoying it. Then he massaged sunscreen into the lower part of her butt cheeks not covered by the suit. Damn but his hands itched to grab those cheeks, to fill his palms with that soft feminine flesh. Her legs shifted restlessly on the towel. And his dick went fully hard imagining her under his hands completely bare. The things he could do to her…

After he’d done her legs, he laid his hands on her upper back again and gently massaged her.

“I think you did that part already,” she mumbled.

“I know. Just rubbing it in good. Also, don’t want to stop touching you.”

“Raff.”

“Can’t help it, babe. Your skin is so smooth and soft. Your body is so pretty. Wanna touch you everywhere. Make you feel good.”

She buried her face in her arms, her body going tense.

“Okay, babe?” His hands stilled.

“Yes.” Her voice was muffled. “But you have to stop, Raff.”

He withdrew his hands with one last, lingering caress over her shoulders. “I should do your front too.”

“Not gonna happen.”

He should be frustrated at her continued efforts to rebuff him, but he was having too much fun. He sat back on his towel and began rubbing sunscreen onto his chest and arms. “You gonna do my back for me?” he inquired.

“No.”

“What? You’d let me burn?”

She turned her head, her cheek on her arms, and met his eyes. “You’re making me crazy.”

“I know.” His grin widened as her gaze dropped to his hands moving over his chest and abs, and her lips parted. “That makes us even then, because you’re making me crazy too.”

Her eyelashes fluttered as she studied him with female interest.

“You’re also making me hard,” he continued. “Again.”

Her eyes flew open wide. Then she lifted her head, turned it the other way and lowered it to her arms again. “A dip in the ocean would probably help with that.”

He couldn’t stop the laugh that burst from his chest. “That wasn’t what I had in mind.”

She said nothing.

“Don’t you want to know what I
did
have in mind?”

“No.”

“I was thinking about you and me having an afternoon nap. Back at the cottage. In that big king-size bed.”

“I fail to see how a nap would help your…erection.” She still didn’t look at him.

“Well, I was speaking euphemistically. What I really meant was, I was thinking about fucking you.” He kept his voice low and gentle, leaning closer. “Fucking you slow and sweet and lazy in the middle of the afternoon.”

He heard her faint moan, saw her fingers curl into her palms.

His blood sizzled. Fuck, this was killing him. Killing them both. But he had the determination and the endurance to keep it up as long as she did.

He stretched out on his towel on his back. He wasn’t too worried about burning; his skin tanned easily and rarely burned. He closed his eyes against the bright sun and tried to relax, enjoying the warmth, the rhythmic
whoosh
of water onto shore, the faint sounds of kids playing down the beach, the coconut smell of the sunscreen. But with Paige stretched out inches away from him, wearing so little, it was all he could do to stop himself from reaching out for her and hauling her up against him.

They lay quietly for a while, but he wasn’t one to lie around and do nothing for long. He pushed up to sitting and looked out at the ocean. “I’m hot,” he said. “Let’s go in the water.”

Paige rolled to her side. His gaze dropped to her cleavage, her pose pushing her breasts together in the V of the halter top.
Sweet.
“All right,” she said. “But I bet it’s cold.”

“That’s the point.”

“I have to admit, when it comes to swimming, I’m a fan of heated swimming pools.”

He rose to his feet and put out a hand to help her up. “We can go to the pool if you want.”

“No, that’s okay. We’re at the beach. Let’s go in the ocean.”

He kept hold of her hand as they walked closer to the ocean, across flat, damp sand, close enough that foamy waves crawled up over their feet. Then he bent, slid an arm beneath her legs and picked her up.

She squealed and wriggled against him, all soft, warm curves. “Raff! What are you doing?”

He waded into the water, and, hell yeah, it was cold.

“Put me down! Raff! It’s cold.” But her arms tightened on his neck.

“Really? Want me to put you down here?”

“Raff!”

“Trust me?” he murmured, arms tightening on her.

“You know I don’t.”

“You need to trust me, Paige.”

Her breathing went shallow and her arms tightened even more around him. “Why?” she whispered.

“It’s important.” He stopped with the waves washing up to his thighs, wetting the hem of the long board shorts he wore, holding her above the water. “Do you think I’d throw you in?”

She looked up at him. The sunlight turned her eyes to clear silver-blue.

“Trust me,” he said softly. “All you have to do is tell me what you want.”

She said nothing. And he bent his head and kissed her.

She made a small sound in her throat but she kissed him back. Their mouths moved together in a long, sweet press of lips and the briefest brush of tongue. He drew back and met her eyes again. “Oh man,” he groaned. “Your mouth…”

Her pupils expanded and she drew in a long breath.

He turned and leisurely walked back toward shore, then set her down with her feet in the water, keeping an arm around her waist. “I’m gonna swim a bit. Coming?”

“No. It’s too cold.”

Yeah, and he definitely needed that. “Okay.” He released her and started to wade back out again.