One Bossy Dare

What’s really going on?

Destiny sighs. “Well, I didn’t know either, but Kate and Uncle Troy—”

“Uncle Troy?” Cole repeats, his face tightening into a scowl.

Destiny blinks. “He’s known me since before I was born, right?”

“Right.” Cole nods heavily.

“Anyway, a couple people on the team said they saw dolphins this morning on a boat ride, and I wanted to go see them. But Kate got sunburned, so she couldn’t come. She said I had to find you, or I couldn’t go to the marina, so I’ve been stumbling around here looking for like half an hour! So, can we go see the dolphins? Please?”

Cole sighs. “Katelyn Storm needs a raise.”

I laugh. “What? You don’t compensate her for nanny duties?” I whisper. I place the brew pipe and ladder back in the pocket of my sundress and stand. “Come on, I’ll take you. Let’s go see some dolphins.”

“Really?” Destiny claps her hands.

“Yep.” I’m almost as excited as she is.

Cole gives me a look I can’t decipher. So many emotions that don’t match his words when he says, “Are you still going to let your dad tag along?”

“Hell yes! This is the best day ever,” Destiny says.

I smile, slightly more at ease as Cole returns it.

“I love dolphins. They’re just big sea puppies,” the girl says excitedly.

“Is there an animal you don’t love?” Cole grumps.

“Um, the ones I’m allergic to?” Destiny says pointedly. “They make me sneeze. Not a big fan of the creepy crawlies with a thousand legs either...”

“You love all sea animals,” he corrects.

Destiny grins. “Yeah. I heard there’s a few rare starfish somewhere around here, too. Can we see them?”

“Not sure. That might require snorkling, Dess. We’ll see how you do on the boat.” Cole gives her a serious look.

“Okay. Sure.” Destiny smiles sheepishly as she links her arm through mine. “What was that thing you had anyway?”

“What thing?” I laugh at the random question.

“I saw you put a pipe in your pocket, but like, a weird one. Were you smoking?” She whispers, pushing her small face to my ear. “I won’t tell Dad if it’s some weird mini bong but...you don’t look like a stoner.”

This girl. I burst out laughing.

At least she’s too young to know about crack pipes.

“It’s a new kind of brew pipe. It makes coffee.”

“Coffee? No way!” Laughing, she gives me a glance like she isn’t sure she believes me, but it’s all in good spirits as she whispers outside Cole’s earshot again. “Whew. Here I thought you were trying to get Dad to lighten up and relax. But you were getting him hooked on the hard stuff. He’s already an espresso fiend.”

“I’m no fiend of any kind, young lady,” Cole throws back.

But the look he gives me over his shoulder says we both know that’s a blatant lie.

To me, he’s a fallen angel, and soon he’ll claim my body and soul.

12

Caffeine Headache (Cole)

Goddamn, I’m an idiot.

I lost my fucking head.

I take a deep breath, trying to hold it together on the catamaran as it scours the water in search of dolphin pods.

How could I do anything but lose my shit?

She had that adorably ridiculous brew pipe.

Then her adorably ridiculous story about how she fell in love with coffee.

Then the ridiculously not adorable way she straddled me, my hands roaming her ass, my lips mauling hers like a man possessed.

Hand to God, I never had a prayer.

It’s almost worse now that she’s traded her island dress for this black-and-white polka dot bikini. I can see her tits and ass threatening to spill out of that flimsy fabric every time she moves.

I almost want it to happen.

It’s not safe for work—not safe for life—if this torturous trip can even be called work anymore, much less living.

If Destiny hadn’t found us, I wouldn’t have stopped.

If we weren’t in public and my daughter hadn’t been looking for me—

Fuck.

That kiss was searing, forbidden, and not nearly long enough.

In my head, it never ended. I can still taste Eliza Angelo.

That’s why I ignore the girls laughing on the other side of the boat. They let out ear-splitting screams every time we spot a pod of dolphins.

I need space.

That’s why I’m happy to be alone, gripping the boat railing like I want to break it and trying to pull enough blood into my arms to deflate the hard-on from hell.

I know I should stop dicking off and be grateful.

I’m damn lucky my daughter didn’t catch us mid-act. I’m sure she didn’t, otherwise she never would’ve let this go for an evening on the water.

And what if she had?

How would I have ever answered the ten thousand embarrassing questions she would’ve blasted at me like an entire firing squad?

I swallow, groaning as the wind beats me in the face.

Even if I avoided a total disaster, I haven’t truly escaped shit.

I have to talk to Eliza about what happened, preferably without a teen audience.