Heat coiled low in her belly, swirling around her like a living thing. It shocked her, this instantaneous chemistry she felt with Ben. She’d never been interested in two men at one time. It wasn’t in her nature to be multiflirtatious. Once she settled on a man, she was wholly focused on him and him alone until it was over. And she’d settled on Alex. He was going to be her vacation fling. So what was up with all this sexual friction between her and Ben?
“I guess you’ll just have to use your imagination then.”
The look he gave her melted her to the floor of the restaurant. “I have a pretty damn good imagination, Victoria.”
His voice had gone low and deep. A whisper, a dare. Or was it an offer? She didn’t know what to make of him. He was friendly, and nonthreatening, but also obviously attracted to her. And she’d be lying to herself if she said she wasn’t attracted to him. But she was also very much attracted to his roommate, which put her in a deep quandary.
“You know, I really like Alex.”
He leaned back, his coffee cupped between his hands. “So do I.”
“Then what are we doing here, Ben?”
The waitress brought their food. Ben looked at Tori. “We’re having breakfast, Victoria.”
Somehow she didn’t think it was that simple. But she was hungry and she didn’t want to dissect something that was probably nothing more than a simple flirtation. She flirted a lot as part of her job. Anything to get a contract signed for one of her players, and being a woman sometimes had its advantages.
Ben obviously liked women, and she certainly liked men. It wasn’t like they’d run off to have a quick fuck while Alex was busy in the water.
Ben was right. They were just having breakfast. And they had chemistry. Big deal. Nothing was going to come of it, so she should relax and enjoy his company.
The problem was this odd attraction she had to him. That was going to have to be tucked away and forgotten about.
Funny thing about attraction, though. It was there now, and she knew damn well it wasn’t going away because she willed it to.
Chapter Six
After a fantastic breakfast, Victoria and Ben made their way back to the beach. Alex was out of the water and talking to some of the other competitors. He wore his board shorts and a wet suit on top. And looked incredible.
He spied them and made his way over.
He pulled Tori into his arms and gave her a hard kiss that stole her breath and made her pulse race in all the right ways, reaffirming everything she’d thought about at breakfast.
“Where’d you two run off to?” he asked.
“Breakfast,” Ben said. “I took Victoria to Café Haleiwa.”
Alex grinned. “Awesome place.” He looked at her. “Did you like it?”
“I did.” She turned to Ben. “Thank you again for breakfast. I was about to drop on the beach, I was so hungry.”
“You’re welcome. I need to go do some promotional work, so I’ll catch you two later.”
He walked away as if what had passed between them earlier had been nothing. And maybe it was nothing. Maybe she’d been the one who was making more of it than it was. Ben might be one of those guys who flirted with every woman, single, married or whatever. She decided to ignore it.
Alex put his arm around her. “Did you get a chance to watch me surf?”
She grinned. “I did. My heart was in my throat the entire time.”
“Yeah? It’s not that bad. Waves weren’t charging this morning. Wait till they get big.”
She laughed. “That’s what Ben said. I think you surfers are crazy for taking those risks.”
“We know what we’re doing. Trust me. We might take risks, but we’re not stupid. At least most of us.”
“That’s so comforting.”
“Awww, you’re worried about me. I like that.”
She laid her hand on his stomach, still so awed by the rock-hard muscle she felt there. “So what’s on your agenda the rest of the day?”
“I’ve got a break for a few hours while the rest of the group runs practice heats. I’ll be up again later this afternoon. Then there’s a get-together tonight on the beach for the official kickoff of the competition, which starts tomorrow. After that I’ll be kind of busy.”
She traced her finger over his wet suit. “Then we should take advantage of what little free time you have left.”
“I like the way you think.”
His eyes gleamed hot and desire shot through her. He took her hand and tugged her along the beach toward the hotel. Her mind was already awhirl in thoughts of what they would do once they got there.
When she was working, she was always knee-deep in deals and players and focusing on work. She rarely relaxed and she was always on, putting on the face of a hotshot sports agent. And while she made good money and lived a great life, she didn’t get a lot of downtime. When she did, she liked to let go.
Alex was her let-go moment, and she was so glad they’d found each other, because he was young, hot and a year’s worth of tension and anxiety dissolved when she was with him.