Dante sat on the edge of his seat, almost daring her to come closer. She did, moving her hands to her hips.
“Babe, you have the body of a woman. The girls who are going to be under twenty-one all have the body of a boy.”
The flattering
words did have an effect on her. She moved closer toward him. Dante’s hands snaked out and wrapped around her, drawing her close to him. “The party doesn’t end for a while. We’ll go out when it ends.”
“And if he doesn’t show?”
“He’s not old enough to drink. This is the only place under-aged teens can go and hang out besides the rooftops.”
How many summers had she come here and hung out with her cousins and drank on the rooftops? During the day the kids hung out on the beach or under the pier, usually drinking. Occasionally they took out a parent’s boat and spent the night drinking. Harley raised an eyebrow while she looked at him. Dante’s New York City accent did not strike her as the Villa San Juan vacationer. “How do you know so much about Villa San Juan?”
He answered with a lopsided smile. “You’re not the only person who’s been here before.”
The tips of his fingers gracefully massaged the back of her thighs. A moan escaped her throat. “You come here often?”
Dante leaned back, his lips pressed together with a tight smile. “I come here a lot, at least I have in the last twenty-four hours.” The pad of his thumbs caressed the V at the top of her legs.
A blush touched her cheekbones. “Can you think about anything else?”
“Sure.”
“Like what?”
“Well, I’m trying to figure out what kind of moan I want you to make next.”
Harley cleared her throat and crossed her arms back across her chest. “What?”
“Do I want to make you moan from a series of love making?” He leaned forward; his hand wrapped around her behind and kissed her stomach. The warmth of his mouth melted her insides. “Do I want to make you moan from a nice massage,” he rubbed her lower back, “or do I want to make you moan from feeding you something delicious.”
“You want to go out to eat?”
“I’m supposed to be asking you out on a date.”
“A date?” Harley repeated, allowing Dante to link his hands with both of hers. Still seated, they were still almost eye level. Their hands clutched together by her thighs. She couldn’t mistake the feel of the cold band and his ring finger. Why did he still have it on? Why was she suddenly aware of her ring sitting in her pocket? She hadn’t kept it on but she did not leave it out of her sight.
“I know asking you out on a date is a bit backwards considering we’ve already had the wedding.”
“And the honeymoon,” Harley added, squeezing his hand and wiggling her eyebrows.
Dante squeezed a bit harder, “The honeymoon is not over but we do need to come up for air.”
Harley rolled her eyes. “The honeymoon is over,” she said flatly and explained. “This isn’t even a real marriage.” She let go of his hands to wave her right one between the two of them. “We are on an assignment.”
“Tallahassee Police puts you on assignment?” he asked with a cocked brow as he rose to his feet. His height loomed over her but she wasn’t intimidated, more like infatuated. “I have to give them credit. Pretty nifty for a crime scene photographer.”
Her heart lurched in her stomach. Tell him the truth, that niggling voice urged her. If she opened up with him, he could do the same, right?
“I didn’t think so,” he answered.
Her eyes focused on the growing beard. Bits of salt and pepper sprinkled around the chin area. A part of her loved the rugged look and wanted to run her fingers through it. But she remained in control, trying not to get lost with sexual desire. Dante’s hand reached for her cheek with one hand and tipped her chin bringing her gaze to his. Harley clasped his left hand and fingered the band. “Why are you even wearing this ring?”
“Membership has its privileges, I’ll tell you about it over dinner.” Playfully Dante swatted her butt. “Let’s have a normal date like two normal married adults, rings and no weapons. We’ll even end our date with a kiss at the door.”
Harley pressed her lips together. “I’ve had kisses at the door before. What will be different this time?”
“Because in case I haven’t made it clear, you may have had other men’s lips on yours,” Dante inhaled deeply and his jaw line twitched, “but after me feasting on them, you’ll never want another.”