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Tomorrow. Allison could wait until then. Tomorrow was another chance to show Zane that she was a woman. He’d been with so many over the years, why not her? Why couldn’t she have at least one taste of him? “Right. Snorkeling.”
He pushed off from the kitchen counter and walked to the door leading out to her patio. Allison followed, tormented and enticed by everything about him. “Thanks for dinner. It was amazing.” He ran his hands through his thick hair, seeming at least a little conflicted. She took solace in that. She was at war with herself, too.
“You’re more than welcome.”
He leaned in and pecked her on the cheek. It happened so fast, she had no time to grip his arms or pull him closer or even simply wish for a real kiss. It only left her once again hungry for everything she couldn’t have.
“See you tomorrow morning.”
“Yep. Got it.” She watched as he disappeared down the beach, into the darkness. It hurt to see him go without leaving her more, but she’d felt this way about Zane forever. The yearning might never go away. It might always be an unanswered question. Still, she really wished he would finally get up enough nerve to be the one to break their never-ending standoff. Her heart couldn’t take much more.
Four
Zane woke with the sun and too many thoughts rolling around in his head. He was excited by the prospect of spending the day with Allison. Snorkeling with a friend sounded fun, and “fun” was something he so rarely had. But last night had been a close call from his side of things. He’d wanted to kiss Allison so badly that he’d volunteered to clean her kitchen—not his favorite activity.
What was keeping him from going for what he wanted? He’d never felt shy about it in the past. His greatest fear was Scott finding out, even though in all likelihood, Zane and Allison could do whatever they wanted without fear of repercussions. But guilt would crush him alive. Betrayal was at the top of Zane’s to-not-do list. He needed trust in his life. He’d learned that the hard way when he was a teenager and his life fell apart. Everything he’d ever counted on—the stability of his family and, more important, his parents’ marriage—was upended. He realized then just how badly he needed to be able to trust in something or someone. But that was a two-way street—if he couldn’t be trustworthy in return, what was he doing with his life? Giving in to his desire for Allison would give Scott every reason in the world to feel betrayed. He’d never breached their friendship like that and he didn’t want to start now.
He was assuming a lot, though. Just because Allison had once kissed him didn’t mean she still wanted that from him. She’d taken that phone call last night and seemed eager to distance herself. She’d said it was about work, but Zane wasn’t convinced. Why duck into the other room and close the door behind her? She was an executive recruiter, not an undercover FBI agent. She obviously had some new guy after her, which should come as absolutely no surprise. Or perhaps she was doing the pursuing. He could imagine that, too.
Get a grip, Zane. Get a damn grip.Allison was his friend. Last night, they’d had a friendly dinner. Today, they were going on an adventure. This was meant to be fun. It was meant to be platonic. Nothing more.
He slathered on sunscreen, got dressed in his swim trunks and headed over to Allison’s cottage. She was hanging out on her patio, again on the phone. He waved at her and, although she returned the gesture, she quickly shot up out of her chaise, plugging a finger in her free ear and hustling back into the house. Perhaps it was work again. He hadn’t realized Allison was quite so driven, but it would certainly be in line with her personality. Then again, there was the chance that it was a guy. Definitely a plausible explanation. He hung out next to her pool while she finished her call, taking deep breaths and admiring the gentle lap of the water on the sand.
“Hey. Sorry,” Allison said, reappearing from inside the house. She was wearing her sarong again and through the thin fabric, it was apparent she was wearing that same maddening bikini.
He prayed for strength. So much strength. “Everything okay? It wasn’t Scott giving you a hard time again, was it?”
She unleashed her electric smile, which calmed him, but sent a noticeable thrill through him, as well. “No. Although, he did call again last night. He keeps telling me to watch the forecast. And to watch out for you.”
Zane directed his sights skyward. “It’s another beautiful day in paradise. And I think we demonstrated last night that there’s no need to worry about anything else.”
She nodded. “Right? He needs to get a hobby.”
“I could call him and tell him to get to work, but I promised myself I wouldn’t turn on my phone once while I’m here.” Zane deliberately delivered a pointed glance. “Maybe you should try the same thing.”
She looked at her phone and hesitated. “You know, I think that’s a great idea. I will do that. I’ve already talked to my partner today, and honestly, I think it’ll be good for Scott to not be able to reach either of us for a few days. Let him wonder what’s going on.” She bounced her eyebrows playfully.
Zane felt a distinct tug from his stomach. He didn’t want Scott worrying, but there was likely no avoiding that, with or without phone contact with his sister. “We ready to head out?”
“Yes. My uncle had someone drop off the snorkel gear for us about an hour ago.” She grabbed two mesh drawstring bags that were sitting on the patio tile next to the French doors. “I just need help getting sunscreen on my back before we get in the water. And I’m guessing you do, too.”
Indeed, that had been the one place Zane hadn’t been able to reach on his own. He considered accepting the reality of a sunburn, but skin cancer was no joke. “Yep.”
He followed Allison into her cottage, where she had a bottle of SPF 50 on the kitchen counter. “I’ll do you first. Turn around.”
Zane swallowed hard at the notion of either of themdoingthe other, but followed Allison’s directive. He heard the squishy sounds as she rubbed the lotion between her hands, and even though he knew it was coming, he winced when she touched him.
“Still cold?” she asked as she began to spread the silky liquid over his back and shoulders.
“No. No. It feels great.” He closed his eyes to attempt to ward off how damn good it felt to have her touch him. This was what he’d wanted, if only for an instant, that night that she’d kissed him. They’d been fully clothed then. Not now. Instead, they not only had too much bare skin between them, they also had privacy, solitude and an entire sunny day stretching out in front of them. He tried to quiet his mind, but that only put the physical sensations at center stage. Her hands were pure magic as she worked the lotion into his shoulders, then down his spine until she reached his waist. He heard her pour more into her hands, then she swiped the velvety cream in circles at the small of his back.
“You’re good to go,” she said, handing him the bottle. “Now me.”
He turned, only to see that she’d taken off her sarong and tossed it aside. And now he was confronted with her in that tiny black bikini. She did a one-eighty, putting her back to him, gathering her hair with both hands and holding it atop her head. He tried to think of a chaste and asexual way to go about this, but it was impossible. Every fiber of his being wanted to untie her top, kiss her neck, take her hand and lead her into the bedroom. Hopefully this would be as trying as today got, so he went ahead and got to work.
The first touch on her shoulders felt innocent enough. Sure, her skin was impossibly soft and even more shimmery with the lotion on it, but he could take it. The second touch across the center of her back prompted a definite ratcheting of tension in his body. The tie of her bathing suit was right there, millimeters from his fingertips, and everything about her was so damn inviting. The third touch, however, against her lower back, all the way down to the top of her bathing suit bottoms... Well, that felt as sexual as anything Zane had done since yesterday when he’d had to pleasure himself in search of some relief.
“Don’t miss a spot,” she said, looking back over her shoulder.
