but if he wouldn’t acknowledge it, then she would leave it alone. “Good. I’m glad you got it.”
She watched him walk off toward his parlor. He hadn’t been in a good mood lately. But then, maybe she’d been in such an extremely good mood that she had a distorted view. In fact, come to think of it, it was pretty normal for him to be moody.
Moments later, while she worked with a customer, Swan watched as Rafe walked back through her shop and toward the front door. She decided if he did that again she would remind him of their agreement about which door he should use whenever he went in or out of his tattoo parlor.
After her customer left, she glanced at her watch. Her shop would be closing in a couple of minutes. David usually arrived early. It would be understandable if he’d gotten detained, but she hoped he hadn’t been. She was so anxious to see him.
The thought of how much she was looking forward to being with him should bother her, but for some reason it didn’t. Like she’d told Candy, Swan wasn’t expecting anything from her relationship with David. There had been no promises made, so none would be broken. The only thing she was expecting was exactly what she was getting—a good time. He was excellent company and great in bed.
It had been almost three years since William, and during that time, although she’d dated, she hadn’t allowed herself to get serious over a man. Instead she had concentrated on opening her shop and making it a success.
She had put her mind, heart and soul into Swan’s. Especially her heart, deciding that if she put it into her business, she wouldn’t run the risk of placing it elsewhere. Now it seemed there might be a risk after all and that risk had a name. David Holloway.
A part of her wanted to protect herself from another possible heartbreak by calling David and canceling any plans for tonight and then to stop sharing any time with him after that. He had given her his number so she could reach him. She could certainly come up with a plausible excuse. But did she really want to do that?
No, she didn’t.
David would be her test. If she could handle a casual affair with him, then she would ace the test with flying colors.
The door chimed and she glanced up and there he was. She watched him lock her door and put the Closed sign in place before pulling down the blinds. Then he slowly sauntered toward her wearing a pair of khaki pants and an open white shirt and holding her within the scope of those laser-blue eyes. There was his too-sexy walk and a smile that made her heart beat rapidly.
Suddenly seeing him, when she’d been thinking of him all day, took complete control of her senses. Without much effort, the man had turned the sensuality up more than a notch. He had his own barometer of hotness.
Finally moving her feet, she strolled across the floor to meet him halfway and walked straight into his arms. The moment he pressed his body to hers, she reached up and looped her arms around his neck. He responded by wrapping his arms around her waist, drawing her even closer so she fit against him.
“I missed you, Swan.”
She shouldn’t let his words affect her, but they did—to the point where she was having difficulty replying.
“I missed you, too.”
And she had, although they’d seen each other Wednesday. Even when she’d tried to convince herself that missing him to such a degree meant nothing. Now, as she stood wrapped in his arms, with her body pressed tight against his, hip to hip and thigh to thigh, she knew it meant everything.
“That’s good to know, sweetheart,” he said in a throaty voice.
Sweetheart? The endearment left her defenseless. She was trying to summon all her senses to regroup. And it wasn’t helping matters that his arousal was cradled in the apex of her thighs. Good Lord, he felt so good there.
“Ready?” she found the voice to ask him.
His gaze studied her face as if he was seeing her for the first time. As if he was trying to record her features to memory. And then a mischievous smile touched his lips. “I’m ready for whatever you have in mind, Swan.”
Shivers of desire skittered down her spine and Swan wished his words hadn’t given her ideas, but they had. Ideas that were so bold, brazen and shameless she felt her cheeks staining just thinking about them. But at that moment, she didn’t care. She could and would admit to wanting him.
She should wait until later to act on her desires. That would be the safe thing to do. But she knew she would be tortured during dinner whenever she looked at him. The way his mouth moved when he ate, or the way his hands—those hands that could turn her on just by looking at them—gripped his beer bottle. There were so many things about David Holloway that would do her in if she were to wait until later.
“You sure about that, David?”
“Positive. Do you want me to prove it?”
Did she? Yes, she did. “Where?”
“I will prove it anywhere you want. Right here in the middle of the floor if you like,” he said. “But I suggest your office.”
* * *
Flipper could tell by the way she was looking at him that she was giving his offer serious thought. He had no problems tilting the scale in his favor and he decided to do so. Lowering his head, he kissed her, trying to be gentle and finding gentleness hard to achieve. Especially when her taste made him greedy for more.
He knew she’d ceased thinking when she responded to his kiss by sinking her body farther into his embrace and tightening her arms around his neck.
Some things, he decided then and there, were just too mind-blowingly good, and kissing Swan was one of them. What they’d shared these last few days was a dimension of pleasure he hadn’t felt in a long time—or maybe ever—while devouring a woman’s mouth. And when his hands shifted from around her waist to cup her backside, he groaned at the feel of her body pressed tightly against his erection.
When he finally broke off the kiss, he buried his face in the curve of her neck and drew in a deep breath. This woman was almost too much. She looked good, tasted good and as he drew in another deep breath, he concluded that she smelled good, too.
“You want to come with me, Mr. Holloway?” she asked, stepping out of his arms.
“Yes.” The answer was quick off his lips.
She took his hand. “Then follow me.”
He had no problem following her and the minute he crossed the threshold into her office, he recalled the last time he’d been in here. Namely, when they’d shared a kiss that had nearly brought him to his knees.
“It appears dinner will have to wait.”
He glanced over at her. She had stepped out of her sandals. After locking the office door, he leaned against it and watched her undress. She was wearing a burnt-orange sundress with spaghetti straps. It looked good on her and the color of the dress seemed to highlight her hair and skin tone.
He had gotten little sleep since his friends had arrived in the Keys. But then they hadn’t come here to rest. They had left their families to come here and help him solve a sinister plan of espionage against the country they loved.
