“So, I hope you don’t mind if I get a little personal. You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, but I am curious. What does your love life look like?” he took a big swallow of the champagne and held his champagne flute in his fingertips firmly.
She bit at her lower lip and lowered her thick eyelashes bashfully for a moment before looking back up at him with her dark brown eyes. Seeing her teeth pressed against her soft full lower lip made him wish that it was his teeth biting at her lower lip, and he had to take a deep breath and make himself think of anything else.
“Oh, no, that’s okay. I don’t mind.” She grinned at him and reached her fingers up to tuck her shoulder-length hair behind her ear. “I am newly single. I was in a relationship with a really nice guy, but he got a job on the west coast in San Francisco, and I didn’t want to move. I had just started with you, and I love this job. I wanted to stay here and he had to leave, so we broke up, but we’re still friends. He’s a really good guy. If he was here, we’d still be together, but we knew it wouldn’t work out to try for a long distance thing, so he left and we broke up and that’s it. So, I guess I’m single.” She uncrossed her legs slowly and crossed them in the other direction, making the material of her dress shift and revealing a little more of the skin on her thigh.
He felt his groin tighten and his heart begin to beat faster. She was one of the sexiest women he had ever known, and having her so close to him so often, trying not to stare at her when she dressed so beautifully, trying not to pay too much attention to the way she moved and spoke and laughed, had been difficult. It seemed that trying to ignore it all only made it stand out more.
“Well, that’s refreshing to hear,” he answered, keeping his voice level. “It’s nice to hear someone talk about their ex in a positive way. It’s not often I hear anyone talk about their ex without hating them. That says a lot about not only your choice in a partner, but about you as a person. It’s refreshing.” He gave her a nod and then chuckled and leaned forward. He couldn’t help one flirtatious little comment. She was too damn delicious.
“I’m glad to hear that you’re single,” he added with a wink and a smile.
She looked closer at him then and leaned forward, running her fingers slowly over her thighs toward her knees as she neared him, and he felt himself begin to grow hard with need.
“Why is that?” she asked, her coy expression barely covering something much hungrier beneath her smile.
He stopped himself from saying anything too overt, and rubbed his hands over his own thighs, hoping to draw tension away from the bulge he felt forming between his legs. “Oh, well, you know, if we wind up working late on some nights, then there won’t be anyone at home worried about where you are or what
you’re doing.”
She gave her head a shake and ran her fingers through her hair, giving him a wide smile as she slowly crossed her legs back the other way. “I’m a big girl. I don’t answer to anyone, except you, I guess.” She wanted to flirt more with him. She wanted to leave her chair and go to him and see what it was like to kiss him, but she didn’t know if he was teasing and playing or if he would really take her up on it, and she wasn’t about to jeopardize her job if he wasn’t serious about their flirting. “I do whatever I want to,” she added, her eyes locked on his.
“I’m so glad to hear that. I certainly hope that you do,” he answered with another wink as he asked for a second bottle of champagne for them.
They talked back and forth after that for the duration of the flight, sharing stories about their families, their years growing up, and they left the business talk out of it. Eva felt as if she was making a good friend rather than shooting the breeze with her boss. Derrick felt the same way. He told her that he hadn’t felt that open and close with anyone in a long time, and it was good to have someone to talk to about simple things. He discovered that he enjoyed it.
Chapter4
The plane landed, and a limousine was waiting to take them to the expansive cottage on the beach that she had rented for them. It was nearly engulfed in tropical growth from palm trees of varying sizes and shapes to bushes, vines, and an unending multitude of flowers that scented the air sweetly.
They walked through the cottage together, looking at all of it. There were two bedrooms that adjoined, each with a walk-out door to a shared balcony that overlooked the palm tree-covered beach just off the steps leading down from the balcony, to the sea that spread clear to the horizon before them. There was a private bar near the kitchen, where Derrick poured himself a scotch and another glass of champagne for Eva.
They wandered out to the deck and discovered there was an outdoor hot tub there in the area between their two rooms. She raised her eyebrows and smiled at the sight of it, giving him a sidelong glance.
“Well, I’ll definitely be getting into the hot tub later,” she said with a somewhat naughty grin. The champagne was freeing what little inhibition she had left.
His lips parted for a moment as his eyes widened, and his voice grew slightly hoarse. “I’m already looking forward to seeing that.” He knew he shouldn’t flirt quite so shamelessly with her, but she was beyond irresistible to him, and it came as naturally to him as breathing. He did want to see her get into the hot tub, and just the thought of it made his thighs and groin warm.
“Well, shall we get refreshed and go see if we can find Parker?” she asked, giving him her sweet smile again.
He nodded. “I think that’s a brilliant idea,” he answered, giving her a nod as he walked back into his room. He needed a cold shower to wash away the desire for her that had been gripping him since they had left New York.
A short while later, they met up in the living room of the cottage, and he commented briefly on how pretty her sundress was. It was a lemon yellow with spaghetti straps, and it only barely covered her curves. Her long legs were lean and toned, and she wore strappy sandals on her feet. He felt his body tighten again and tried to focus on the task at hand.
“So, Parker… where are we going?” he asked, his mind completely distracted.
She saw the effect that her choice of wardrobe had had on him, and she was totally pleased with herself. She smiled at him and walked to the door. “Not far from here. I think he’s out on his yacht right now.”
Eva was right. Parker Bennett was out on his yacht with a small group of gorgeous women, all of them wearing tiny bikinis and drinking just about everything that the bar had in stock. They were all paying very close attention to Parker, who was enjoying every second of it, and who was happy to see Derrick and Eva.
He invited them to go out sailing and to stay for a seafood dinner and drinks. They agreed happily. The rest of the day was spent out on the cobalt and turquoise blue waters of the sea around the island, drinking, relaxing, sailing, and flirting more and more heavily with each other. Parker had begun to flirt a little with Eva, telling Derrick how beautiful she was, and Derrick had pulled her close to him and wrapped his arm around her, agreeing with Parker. Parker had seemed to get the message and had staved off of the flirting with Eva, turning all of his attention back to the bevy of women who were fawning all over him.
Eva had loved the feel of Derrick pulling her close and growing protective over her. It felt like she was his, and she relished that feeling. She hadn’t ever felt the sense of security and need that it brought to her, and she only knew that she hoped there would be more of it.
Derrick, once he had put his arm around her, did not want to let her go, and he kept her close to him the rest of the day, though he didn’t indulge in what he really wanted with her—to feel her against him and to taste her kiss. He let those thoughts go every time they crossed his mind.
After a day of fun and food and a considerable amount of champagne, the deal was finally signed by Parker, and the yacht returned to port. Derrick and Eva made their way back to the cottage, and he stopped at the bar in the kitchen to pour more champagne for them.
“We need to celebrate! This deal happened because of you! You’re amazing. You’re one of the most amazing women I’ve ever known,” he said honestly, his voice serious and soft as he gazed at her, trying not to stare too hard.