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An hour later, we headed inside to dry off and dress for lunch. Dale carried my dress to his cabin, my hand in his other. When he led me to the bathroom and started the shower, I stood there watching. Keeping his eyes locked with mine, Dale removed his shorts.
Not daring to drop my gaze, I kept my focus on his eyes. But my cheeks heated with the idea of looking. Stepping toward me, Dale rubbed his hands over my shoulders as he pushed the straps of my swimwear down my arms. His eyes stayed locked with mine, even when my swimsuit was around my waist. His hand slid across my scar as it lowered. Despite how hot I felt at this moment, I shivered.
Dale's eyes didn't move from mine. The brown pushed out a little from the pupil, but that was the only change. His hands moved on, pushing the swimmers down to my thighs. Skimming his touch back to my waist as I stepped out of my swimwear.
Shifting us under the warm water, Dale stood there running his hands through my hair. His fingers massaging and rinsing us clean of the salt sea.
"Have you ever been to the hairdresser?"
"Yes. When I got out of the hospital, and once since I moved here."
"How did you cut your hair before that?"
"They had a mobile hairdresser who came into the house."
With my body pressed to the sultry nakedness of Dale Hearn, I couldn't summon the dejection of my past.
"What is your natural hair color?"
"Strawberry blonde. I used to keep it shorter; no longer than my shoulders. It grew the months I was in the hospital, and I started to like it long."
Dale's lips twitched, his eyes glittering. "I like your hair long. I also like it auburn, it suits your determination."
Avoiding his eyes, I sucked in a breath. Big mistake looking down. Dale's glorious nakedness was standing thick and hard. Water cascaded down Dale's olive skin. The flow along the contours of Dale's body, highlighting his muscular definition. "God, you're gorgeous!"
"Vera, you're supposed to say that to my face, not staring at my erection." The appendage in question twitched. It's single eye staring straight up at me from where it rested near his belly button. "Vera?" With tenderness, Dale lifted my face to meet his eyes again. "You've seen one before, right?"
My eyes blinked wide at his cheeky grin. Of course, I'd seen a dick before. Even if I hadn't seen Malcolm's, I'd seen Dale's last night, in my kitchen. The memory of last night came flooding back, and I felt my entire body heat all over.
"I'm clean!" All but throwing myself from the shower, I snatched a towel from the rack and wrapping it around me. At the bed, I stared down at my underwear and dress. What was wrong with me? Getting naked with a virtual stranger and showering with him.
"Vera?" Dale came up behind me but didn't touch me. "Is everything alright?"
"I'd like to get dressed in private, please?"
Raising a brow, Dale looked around. The sarcasm of that look wasn't lost on me as he all but pointed out there was no private space in the room.
Biting my lip, my eyes went to the door, forcing myself to breathe his scent and calm down. "Please, Dale? I just need a moment to compose myself."
Tucking his towel tight around his waist, Dale nodded, his eyes tender as he stepped out of the cabin. Exhaling dramatically, I dressed then opened the door for Dale. "Thank you. I'll wait above."
Bowing his head, Dale closed the door. There wasn't an ounce of anger coming from him, nothing harmful about my reaction. If anything, Dale seemed ashamed. Understanding the feeling of having done something wrong when you hadn't, I hated to do it to someone else.
Weighed down with guilt, I trudged upstairs and sunk onto the lounge next to Jeremy. Taking one look at me, Jeremy put his arm around my shoulder, lowering his mouth to my ear. "Don't look so forlorn. You've done nothing wrong. He knows you need time, and he'll give you what you need." Picking up a bottle of water, he took a mouthful.
"Oh, cause I think I need mind-blowing sex. Knowing that comes with a commitment of marriage is rather daunting."
Jeremy spat his drink all over himself.
Chapter 15
Lunch was at a little port town further down the coast. We walked into the seaside village, everyone hand-in-hand with their date. Stopping at a seafood restaurant, we ate our lunch out on the deck overlooking the sea. After our meal, we continued into the village to shop at some of the little shops.
Before heading back to the boat, Bob dragged us all to a little family-run Dutch ice creamery. Heidi and Juliet refused to eat any when the salesman offered them to sample a few flavors. I wasn't so restrained. After testing my fourth flavor, and moaning at how nice it tasted, I ordered a double scoop in a waffle cone. Turning around, I found everyone smirking at me. "What?"
"Like ice cream, do you?" Jeremy teased with a waggle of his brow.
My face grew warm. "It's a very nice ice cream."
