stationed in San Diego had been the next best thing. He owned an apartment close to base that was within walking distance of the beach.
However, his view was nothing like this. All she had to do was walk out her back door and step onto the sand. It was right there at her door. If he lived here, he would go swimming every day.
He glanced over at her. “The view from here is beautiful.”
“I love this house and appreciate my mother for not selling it when she decided to move back to Jamaica after Dad died. She got a lot of offers for it, believe me. So have I. Mom said being here without Dad was too painful, but she knew I’d feel differently. For me, it was just the opposite. Being here and recalling all the memories of when the three of us shared this place makes me happy.”
Hearing how the loss of her parents affected her made Flipper appreciate his own parents even more. Colin and Lenora Holloway had always been their sons’ staunch supporters. Their close and loving relationships had been the reason none of their sons had had any qualms about settling down and marrying. All the marriages had worked out, seemingly made in heaven, except for his brother Liam’s.
When Bonnie had gotten pregnant, Liam had done the honorable thing by marrying her. Bonnie had always been a party girl and didn’t intend to let marriage or being a mommy slow her down. While Liam was somewhere protecting his country as a Navy SEAL, Bonnie was conveniently forgetting she had a husband.
No one, not even Liam, had been surprised when he returned from an assignment one year and she asked for a divorce. Liam had given it to her without blinking an eye. Since then, Bonnie had remarried, which had introduced another set of issues for Liam. He was constantly taking Bonnie to court to enforce visitation rights to see his daughter because the man Bonnie married didn’t like Liam coming around.
Flipper had no qualms about marriage himself, but he had too much going on right now. Namely, resisting the temptation of Swan while he continued his investigation. That was his biggest challenge. The more he was around Swan the more he liked her and the more he wanted to prove her innocence. It was hard staying objective.
“Here you are,” she said, handing him a cold bottle of beer. “I figured you would like this instead of the wine.”
He smiled. Like he had picked up on her drinking preferences, she had done the same with him. “Thanks. I’ve never been a wine man.”
She chuckled. “Neither was my dad. That’s how I knew when it was time for him to come home because Mom would have his favorite beer in the fridge.”
He opened the bottle, took a sip and noticed her watching him. He licked his lips, liking the taste of the beer, which was the brand he’d chosen the other night at Summer Moon. When he took another sip and she continued to watch him, he lifted a brow. “Is anything wrong?”
She smiled. “No, nothing is wrong. I just love to watch how you drink your beer.”
He chuckled. That was a first. No woman had ever told him that before. “And how do I drink it?”
“First there’s the way your mouth fits on the beer bottle. I find it very sensuous.”
He tried ignoring the quiver that surged through his veins at the tone in her voice. “Do you?”
“Yes. And then there’s the way you drink it like you’re enjoying every drop.”
“I am.”
“I can tell.” Then, as if she thought perhaps she’d said too much, she took a step back. “I’ll go get those crab balls for you to try.”
When she turned to leave, he reached out and touched her arm. He couldn’t help it. The air all but crackled with the sexual energy between them. “Come here a minute before you go,” he said, setting his beer bottle aside. “Although I do enjoy drinking beer, I’ve discovered I enjoy feasting on your mouth even more.”
And then he lowered his mouth to hers.
* * *
Perfect timing, Swan thought, because she needed this. She’d wanted it the moment he tilted his beer bottle to his mouth and she’d watched him do so. And now he was doing her. Showing her that he was enjoying her mouth more than he’d enjoyed the beer. Just like he’d said.
There was a certain precision and meticulousness in how he mastered the art of kissing. First, as soon as his tongue would enter her mouth, he would unerringly find her tongue, capture it with his own and begin gently sucking in a way that made the muscles between her legs tighten. Then he would do other things she didn’t have a name for. Things that made desire flow through her like sweet wine, kindling heated pleasure and burning passion within her.
He rocked his thighs against her and she felt him pressed against her. His arousal was massive. Instinctively, she moved her hips closer, wanting to feel him right there, at the juncture of her thighs.
When he finally pulled his mouth away, she released a deep, satisfied breath. Her mouth was still throbbing and there was an intense ache in her limbs. Right now, their heavy breathing was the only sound audible, and the laser-blue eyes staring down at her sent a tremor to her core.
She licked her lips when she took a step back. “Ready for a few crab balls?”
“Yes,” he said, after licking his own lips. “For now.”
He wanted her.
Flipper knew he shouldn’t, but he did. All through the delicious dinner Swan had prepared and while engaging in great conversation with her, the thought of just how much he wanted her simmered to the back of his mind. Now with dinner coming to an end, desire was inching back to the forefront. Images of her naked tried to dominate his mind, the thoughts made him shift in his chair to relieve the ache at his crotch.
“Ready for dessert, David? I made key lime pie.”
Right now, another kind of dessert was still teasing his taste buds. “Yes, I would love a slice, and dinner was amazing by the way. You’re a good cook. My mother would absolutely love you.”
Too late, he wondered why he’d said such a thing. From the look on her face, she was wondering the same thing. So he decided to clean up his mess by adding, “She admires other women who can cook.”
Swan smiled. “You don’t have to do that, David.”
“Do what?”
“Try to retract the implications of what you said so I won’t get any ideas.”
He had done that, but not for the reason she thought. He’d done so because it wasn’t right for either of them to think something was seriously developing between them. More than likely, she would hate his guts when she learned why he was really in Key West, when she discovered she was his assignment and nothing more. He couldn’t tell her the truth, but he could certainly set her straight on what the future held for them.
“And what ideas do you think I wanted to retract?”
“The ones where I would think we were starting something here, the ones that
