Only With You (The Connor Family 4)

“Val, look at me,” he said softly. “Are you regretting what happened in there?”

“No, but I can’t believe I completely forgot we were not alone. I’m just ashamed.”

“Don’t be. It was my fault. I completely forgot about... anyone else on the boat, honestly. I never lose myself this way.”

I was now rubbing sunscreen on my arms and shoulders.

“I’ll rub it on your back,” he offered, but I hesitated. “I’m not going to try anything, Val. Not today. We’re not alone. We learned our lesson.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Well, I certainly did. But I’m not sure about you.”

“Are you doubting me?”

“Yes.” Feeling sassy, I added, “I really do.”

He laughed, looking at me incredulously. “Try me.”

He held out his palm for me to pour cream on it, and after I scrutinized him for a beat, I poured a generous amount, then turned my back to him. He cheated, of course, and didn’t simply spread it on my back. Instead, he slipped his fingers under the clasp around my neck, then along the sides of my boobs.

“Think that part will be in the sun?” I teased. My voice was strained, and I was getting more aroused by the second. Especially because having his hands on me made it impossible not to think about how those fingers had felt between my legs. He’d set me on fire with his mouth, but those fingers... they’d been my undoing.

“Can’t be too careful.” After a few seconds, he confessed, “I can’t stop touching you. But that’s exactly what got us in trouble before.”

I turned to face him, afraid that he’d be too tempted to seduce me otherwise. I was turned on as hell again. I knew it, and by the sharp intake of breath when he looked down at my erect nipples, he knew it too.

“You were right.” His voice was a little gruff, as if he was fighting against letting out sexier sounds, like a growl, or a groan.

“About?”

“When I’m around you, I don’t seem to remember we’re not alone. But I will do my best. Want anything more to drink? I can make you a cocktail.”

“Sounds good.”

“Any particular requests?”

“Nah, I’ll drink anything.”

He returned a few minutes later with a Mai Tai. We lay side by side, soaking up the sun.

“Yum... this is delicious. And it’s not easy to make.”

“I worked as a bartender during college.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“I also had a gig as a fitness instructor. Anything to pay the bills. I had a scholarship, but it only covered a fraction of the costs.”

“Wow. Well, this is delicious. It was one of those cocktails I always asked Landon to make.” At his questioning glance, I added, “My parents owned a pub. Landon and I ran it after their car crash.”

“Must have been hard.”

“It was. But you know all about it.”

“It’s a bit easier for me. When the girls came to live with me, I was older than you were, and already had a successful career, so at least that aspect was stable. And my mother spent half her time in LA.”

“Well, Landon and I were running around like crazy, trying to keep the pub and the kids afloat. Sometimes it felt like one little mishap would bring on disaster.”

“But you were still dreaming about your fragrance business, weren’t you?”