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“And afterward, we can clean up.” Her small smile widened.
“Clean up?” He leaned a little closer to her. “What would this clean-up entail?”
“Oh, you know.” Ani rested her forehead against his. “Maybe some cuddling in the ocean, followed by a long hot shower here in your villa.”
“Hmm.” He gave in and pulled her into his arms, savoring the feel of her skin on his, the smell of her tropical shampoo, the sound of her soft moans of pleasure. “This clean-up is sounding most interesting indeed.”
“Indeed.” She kissed him deeply, then pushed away from him to climb out of bed to pull on her yellow dress from the night before. “Let me run next door to my place to change and I’ll be right back.”
He rolled over onto his back, folding his arms beneath his head. “Hey, Ani?”
“Yes?” she called from the threshold to his balcony, turning back to glance at him over her shoulder.
“No fuss, eh?” Her words from the night before, and the fact she’d stripped bare for him, both figuratively and literally, meant more to him than he could say. He wanted her to stay that way—unadorned, unaffected, unafraid—whenever and wherever she wanted with him. “If it pleases you, mahbubi. You take my breath away just as you are.”
Her easy smile slipped slightly before she forced it back into place and Rehaj felt a palpable shift in her mood. Not bad, just a bit jumpy. He wasn’t sure what had caused it, but he wanted the relaxed, happy, carefree Ani back.
“Right. No problem,” she said finally, stepping out onto the balcony. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, bikini-clad and ready for fun.”
Rehaj closed his eyes after she left, unable to get the image of his Ani dressed in a few wisps of material and nothing else out of his head. It was shaping up to be a fine day. He’d get to the bottom of her strange reaction to his request too, but first…he got up and padded naked to his bathroom. First, they had castles to build and all the possibilities afterward.
* * *
“Wow! You’re really good at this,” Ani said, sitting back on her heels to admire Rehaj’s work. So far he’d constructed a passable castle and two turrets, all with only the basic tools she’d been able to find in her villa. It touched her heart more than she could express that he’d take the time to do something so simple with her. Marcus had never had time for such silly things, no time for fun at all, really. He was always too busy chasing his business dreams and the next big promotion. Any guilt he’d felt over not spending time with Ani, he’d assuage by throwing money at the problem. It wasn’t like she wasn’t grateful for all the beautiful things he’d bought her—clothes, jewels, trips, cars—but she’d wanted more. She’d wanted him, truly invested in their relationship, invested in her.
It wasn’t until later that she’d learned the real reason he wasn’t interested in hanging out with her was because he’d started an affair with a younger woman on the side.
So much for her happily ever after.
Ani sighed and moved aside as a large wave crashed on shore then rushed toward their castle. It took down one wall, but thankfully the gorgeous turrets Rehaj had made were still standing. She sat back and smiled, not missing
the way his gaze kept drifting to her teeny, weeny white and pink polka dot bikini.
The wind had picked up too since they’d come down here about two hours prior. Her hair must have looked like a mess at that point, but she’d kept her promise and not done anything more to herself than twisting her hair up into a top knot and pulling on her swimsuit. The urge to fuss with her makeup had been strong, but she’d resisted. No one had ever said they liked her just for herself before. Certainly not her mother, who’d always been too busy with her career to take much notice of either of her daughters, or her father, who’d spent the last few years so devoted to keeping their mother protected and comfortable during her bouts with anxiety that he’d had no time for anyone else.
If Rehaj liked Ani just as she was—even if it was a lie—then she’d take it for now.
She brushed the sand from her hands and straightened. The sun was shining down full force now and her skin prickled from the heat. “I’m getting hungry. Want to head back to the villa for a shower so we can grab some breakfast?”
Rehaj grinned up at her, those mirrored aviator shades back in place over his dark eyes. “I thought you’d never ask.”
They picked up their tools and towels then walked back to his villa hand in hand.
Once on the balcony, Ani took her towel and started to rub herself down to remove as much sand as possible before going inside. She’d thought she’d gotten it all, but Rehaj stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
“Wait,” he said, standing so close his breath tickled the back of her neck. “There’s a spot on your back. Let me get it.”
His fingers traced over her shoulder blades, leaving a trail of goose flesh in their wake. She’d applied sunscreen before heading down to the beach, but her skin felt so sensitive. Then again, that could be Rehaj’s lips, now trailing over the same area he’d just touched. She bit her lip to keep from crying out.
“There,” he said against her back, his breath hot on her flesh. “All better now.”
He stepped around her with a grin and she narrowed her gaze on his torso, all that toned, tanned skin just begging for her lips. She reached out and placed her palm over his thudding heart. “My turn.”
In truth, there wasn’t a speck of sand she could see on him, but that didn’t stop her from rubbing her hands over his pecs, down his taut abs, over those delicious v-shaped muscles cutting into his hips and disappearing into his aqua blue swim shorts. She leaned forward and licked one of his nipples with her tongue and he groaned low and feral.
“Do that again,” he said, the word tight with tension.
“Anything you want, baby.” This time she sucked the sensitive little nub and grazed her teeth over it gently before pulling away to blow a stream of cool air over his wet skin. “Better?”
