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“Maybe. How about the others?”
“You’re right. How did you know?” The slight lines around his eyes softened, his grin giving him a boyish appearance, especially with the way the wind tousled his hair.
“A girl never tells her secrets.” I tried to back away, but he grabbed both arms, dragging me onto my toes and against him.
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll be forced to remind you who’s boss.”
“Oh, yeah? And just how are you going to do that?”
He rolled his eyes, the slight playfulness so unexpected I was taken aback. When he smacked my bottom quickly with three harsh cracks of his hand, I yelped then laughed.
“No fair!”
“You know life isn’t fair,” he growled. God, the sound could evoke the passion deep inside like nothing else he did.
Except for his intense kisses, which were to die for. As if tempting him further, I involuntarily dragged my tongue around my mouth.
“Sad but true. Fine. You’re not only a heartbreaker but an insufferable man as well. I caught you listening to some of Buffett’s music one day, ‘Son of a Son of a Sailor’ to be exact. I asked you why you liked it so much and you told me you were born to sail on the ocean.”
He looked away, half laughing. “Living life in the wrong era. I was always meant to be a pirate, a plunderer.”
While his words made me laugh, they were truthful.“When we were talking about the contest I won all those years ago, you told me all about your favorite book. Don’t you remember?”
“I wish I could.” There was so much sadness in his eyes that I was thrown for a few seconds. I looked away, fearful I was invading his privacy for some crazy reason. “Blue is obvious because I told you that your eyes were cobalt and beautiful. You told me from that day forward it would be your favorite color. Fast cars started a long time ago. I remember the day you wrecked your beloved Trans Am and Daddy had to come to your rescue.”
He laughed. “I can’t believe you remembered that.”
“How could I forget? I was given a lecture for a full thirty minutes on the dangers of driving too fast. He made me promise to always wear my seatbelt and to never exceed the speed limit.”
After taking a deep breath and holding it, he cupped my face. “Did it work?”
“Hell, no.” We both laughed and it felt good, natural, but the tension remained.
“And the food?”
“Let’s see. I guessed on the steak because of the day you took me to Wendy’s. Do you remember?”
“Vaguely. Refresh my memory.” He kept his hold, lowering his head.
“One day I bugged you to take me to McDonald’s. You refused, telling me it was crap food but that you’d take me to Wendy’s instead. I fell in love with their chimken sandwich as I liked to call it that very day. It’s still my favorite.” His lips were so close I was breathless, praying he would kiss me.
“Chimken is still for peasants, sweetheart.”
“That’s okay. Maybe I like being a peasant.” I wrapped my fingers around his shirt, tilting my head slightly. My breathing was as rapid as my pulse, my mind spinning with the desire racing through it. He had such a powerful effect on me that breathing was becoming difficult.
“Don’t do this,” he said sternly.
“Do what?”
“Don’t fucking fall in love with me, baby, cause I ain’t a good man. Not good enough for you.”
“Yes, you are. You’re all I’ve ever wanted. All I will ever need. Don’t you know that by now?”
He shook his head slowly, still hovering his lips over mine. “Goddamn it, Delaney. I won’t live without you. I’ll burn in hell for this, but I will never let you go.”
As he captured my mouth, crushing me against the railing with his full weight, I realized he’d made me the happiest woman in the world.
I loved him.
