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Thankfully, some of the tension had gone out of her voice by the time they got out to the sidewalk. He drew his brows together in what he hoped was a serious look and tried hard not to smile as he said, “I really do,” in a conspiratorial whisper. “Can I trust you to keep it just between us?”
Her eyes lit with curiosity before she shrugged and said, “That depends how good of a secret it is.”
“Oh, it’s good.” He couldn't keep his gaze from dropping to her mouth as the wild thrill from their kiss hit him all over again. “Really good.”
She trapped her lower lip in her teeth, and her eyes widened with excitement.
Oh yeah, he knew just how to get this special adventurous woman’s attention.
“Just as long as you don’t mind getting a little dirty.”
Her lips curved into a mischievous smile. “Are you kidding? I love getting dirty.”
Their eyes held for a long moment as desire sparked again, fast and hot. He hated to break the connection, but if he didn’t, his lips were going to find their way to hers, and even though he was dying to taste her again, he didn’t think that was the best way to win her over…yet.
Instead, he went for another kind of connection, by slipping her hand into his. She looked down at their hands in surprise.
Has no one ever held her hand before?
It had been a long time since Quinn had held a woman’s hand, but he liked the way her fingers fit perfectly between his. Liked it a lot, actually.
His life was so busy that when he did make time to date, it usually included dinner at a fancy restaurant, a few drinks, and then a quick stress-relieving roll between the sheets—at the woman’s house—before he made his exit at the end of the evening, swift and on his terms. Dating rarely included getting to know the women very well. Mostly because he’d never met a woman he wanted to take time to get to know.
Until Shelley.
“So,” he asked, “are you up for having a little adventure with me today?”
She studied his face for a few long moments, each of which had him holding his breath as he waited for her answer. But then, finally, she smiled up at him, turning his dark day so much brighter as she said, “Take me to your secret place, Quinn.”
Chapter Seven
THE MINUTE SHELLEY found out that Quinn was part of the Rockwell family, her stomach had taken a nosedive.
She’d spent her childhood with a father who worked too much and a mother who cared too much about her place in society for either of them to have time for a relationship with their own daughter. Her father had regarded her with the coldness of a business associate, offering a brief hug only when it was socially expected, like at her high school graduation. Her mother had been only slightly warmer, assessing Shelley’s outfit and “fixing” her wild hair each morning before the driver took her to school.
Shelley didn’t want a lifestyle—or a relationship—like her parents. Which meant that a hot island fling with Quinn Rockwell was off the table.
At least, until he'd led her outside and she began to see a playful side of him that her father and her friends’ husbands had never shown.
Thinking of the seductive glimmer that had been in his eyes when he’d made the comment about getting dirty made her smile. Yes, he was still a Rockwell, but she supposed it couldn’t hurt to give him an afternoon to try to prove her wrong about all rich men being self-absorbed and materialistic, could it? Especially considering how good he looked with his white T-shirt hugging his firm, broad chest...and how nice it felt to hold his hand.
Last night she’d been too stunned by being caught skinny-dipping at the deserted cove—and too fuzzy from the bubbly—to fully appreciate just how gorgeous he was. Or how power simply radiated out from him. Despite the fact that he was wearing casual clothes instead of a suit and that she didn’t yet know what he did for a living, she could easily imagine him presiding over a boardroom, making multimillion-dollar decisions. He’d been so strong when he’d picked her up out of the water last night, and now his hand was equally strong and unexpectedly gentle over hers as he led her through town.
Upon waking this morning and thinking about what had happened last night, he’d been a mystery to her. Now that she was with him again, she found him to be even more of a mystery than ever—the sexy, powerful man who could be so gentle with her and sweet with his mother and sister, too.
A mystery that she was more and more tempted to unravel, despite her lingering doubts about getting involved with a wealthy Rockwell. Especially when just holding his hand was doing crazy things to her insides...
