Chapter Eight
~ Reba ~
I didn’t love my job, but I’d never had a more boring day. Every hour had seemed to drag by with no end. At least, Niles and Ardith were out of the house again, and not expected back until long after my shift ended. I wasn’t sure where he was—probably skulking around in hell—but she had some all-day planning for a charity function she was chairing.
“I’m not coming to dinner tonight,” I’d told Kinley while we’d cleaned one of the upstairs bedrooms. It was a guest suite, and not Mars’ or one of the other family member’s rooms. No one went into Mars’ domain, ever, since he kept it locked up like Fort Knox. I’d really like to see the inside of it, though.
With him there with me.
On top of me—
Holy crap, Reba!
“Sneaking out to see Mars?” she’d asked.
“What?” I’d gasped.
“Geez, girl. We all know. He’s been after you, and you look at him like he’s caramel drizzled ice cream but you’re on a diet. We all knew you’d cave, and it’s about time.
“But…I…shit.”
“It’s not like it’s against the rules, and you’ve been living like a nun. Get busy and ride that ride. Hard.”
“Kinley!” I’d whisper-yelled.
“Oh, hush. You know you want to.”
She was not wrong, and now, as I sat beside Mars on the way to his secret beach spot, it was all I could think of.
“What are you thinking about so hard over there?” he half-laughed.
“Things.”
Very inappropriate things.
“Want to share?”
“Nope,” I replied, popping the P hard when I said it. Smirking, I glanced over at him. My teeth sank into my lip. Damn, looking at him was a mistake. He’d already put on board shorts and a tee before this outing, throwing a bag in the back of his BMW that I assumed was a change of clothes.
I couldn’t help staring at his muscular legs, and the way his shirt hugged his torso, practically pointing neon arrows at his cut body. I avoided the danger zone in between. He wasn’t wearing jeans, and that bathing suit wouldn’t disguise his arousal. I both wanted to know…and didn’t.
Okay, mostly, I did, but I forced myself to behave.
“You look beautiful, by the way. Did I tell you that?”
“Thank you.” I watched as he turned down a tree-lined gravel lane south of town. It was almost invisible from the main road—unless you knew it was there, I guessed. We bumped along, jostling more than was probably acceptable for his fancy sports car, until we emerged into an open area with an expanse of gravel-covered lot and beach, the open lake beyond it. Off to the side was a wood structure of some sort, maybe for changing, but there wasn’t a soul in sight.
“No lifeguards, even,” I murmured.
“No, but I checked, and it’s green-flag swimming, so we’ll be safe enough.” He parked, and we got out of the car, Mars frowning at me when I didn’t wait for him to open my door. He grabbed a blanket and cooler from the back, along with our bags.
“Let me carry something,” I protested.
“Nah, I got it. You can spread out the blanket when we get there, though.”
“Okay. How do you even know about this place?”
“Ian’s dad owns it. He owns property all over Cherish Cove and the surrounding areas. His family and the guys and I come here a lot.”