True to his word, Eli was watching from the shade a short distance away. "If you need any help rubbing on suntan lotion, I'm your man for the job. I'm very gentle. And good with my hands." His tone was full of teasing and flirting.
"I'm sure you are." I laughed, knowing exactly what he was hinting at. "I think I can reach my front myself." I was evil. "I might need your help with my back."
He frowned, making a comical look of exaggerated disappointment.
I sat and lotioned my legs and arms. Then flipped suddenly onto my stomach and lay facedown on my towel before untying my bikini strings and spreading them out beside me.
I felt a shadow come over me.
"That's it?" Eli said in a husky voice. "I thought you were going to sunbathe topless?"
"I am." I was having too much fun teasing him.
"All steak, no sizzle."
I glanced up at him. "You're blocking my light."
He laughed again. "Well, this is boring." He paused. "Unless you want an uneven tan, eventually you're going to have to flip over. Until then, I'm going for a swim."
"There's always spray-on bronzer," I said drowsily in the relaxing heat. What was it about sunbathing that was so sublime and stress relieving? He was going to have to work harder than that to seduce me again. Playing hard to get was part of the game and heightened the eventual thrill of victory. The hunt was half the fun. For both of us.
He sighed and kicked off his shorts, leaving them in a pile next to me. I didn't look up as I settled in contentedly for a good bake.
I heard him walk off. It wasn't until I heard the splash of his footsteps in the water that I leaned up on an elbow and turned over my shoulder to watch him walk into the surf. I had expected to see him in his briefs. But he was buck naked.
My eyes popped open. Damn. Score one for him. I had a hard time pulling my gaze away from his broad shoulders and firm butt cheeks. I knew how wonderfully grab-able they were.
The sun kissed his skin and hair, haloing him and emphasizing every line of his well-built physique. The muscles of his back rippled as he pointed his arms and dove into the surf.
I could have looked at him all day, gazing at him like a lovestruck teenager. But though the lust I felt for him was strong enough to make me clench my legs to silence the need, my heart had begun to want his. Which was the most dangerous thing of all.
I tried to reassure myself this was a temporary reaction, the result of bonding over surviving a storm together and rescuing an endangered turtle. That it was a vacation romance and nothing more. There's nothing so easy as the romance and adventure of a summer beach fling where there's no commitment and no time to discover each other's flaws. But I wasn't fooling myself. We'd seen each other at our most vulnerable. If that didn't bring out the flaws, what would?
Eli was athletically built, with the triangle frame of a swimmer. His strokes cut through the water smoothly. But weren't you supposed to use the buddy system when swimming in the ocean? Couldn't an undertow suddenly sweep him away? I had an obligation to watch him, didn't I? For his own safety? Though what I would do if an undertow took him, I wasn't sure. Clearly, he was a much better swimmer than I was.
I rolled over and sat up, just watching him with what had to have been a sappy, smitten-by-love expression. Wondering how I'd come to be stranded on this tropical isle vacation with him.
He turned and swam toward shore. I waved to him and leaned back on my elbows, settling in to enjoy the view. My heart raced. My breasts budded in anticipation.
When he got near enough to shore, he stood in the waist-deep water and slowly came toward me, revealing his lower body inch by inch in a kind of marine striptease—waist, hips, the definition of his lower abs, his erect dick. My breath caught as he ran his hands through and shook the water from his hair.
He hit the beach and walked directly to me until he stood over me, casting me in shadow.
"I thought you were going for a swim?" I should have rolled onto my stomach when he first headed toward shore. My budded breasts gave away my desire. But so did his erection. We were even.
My bikini top lay limply on the towel behind me. I made no move for it. I put on a casual expression and tried not to gape as he stood over me, soaking wet, and smelling like sand, salt, and sea.
"You're dripping on my blanket." I met his eye.
"You always have some complaint." His gaze slid to my naked breasts.
"Short swim." It was hard not to gawk and harder to speak with my mouth so dry. He was exceedingly beautiful to look at. "How was the water?"
"Refreshing."
I smiled seductively, or at least tried to. "Then why'd you come back so soon?"
"Because your topless sunbathing just got a whole lot more interesting. I came back when you flipped over, like I promised I would." He knelt beside me and took my breasts in his cool hands, caressing my budded nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. "These need lotion before they burn. Let me help you with that."
I nodded to a can of spray-on sunscreen next to me. "Sure. Give them a coat."