Ultimate Romance Collection. Rebecca Winters
watched as she pulled in another deep breath before a smile touched her lips. “I’m fine, Godpop 1. How are you?”
Knowing who she was talking to on the phone was like a pail of cold water drenching Flipper. He was quickly reminded why he’d been sent to Key West. His admiral would have him court-martialed if he knew what Flipper had just done with his goddaughter. If the man had any idea how many times Flipper had kissed her already and how each time he’d wished they had gone even further...
She turned off the speaker so he heard only one side of the conversation, and from the sound of her voice, he knew she was happy about receiving the call.
Feeling a tightness in his crotch from his still-aroused body, he got up from the chair and walked to the window. If she could have this sort of effect on him just from a kiss, he didn’t want to think about what would happen if he were to make love to her. Just the thought of easing his body into hers had his stomach churning and caused an ache low in his gut.
Knowing he needed to think of something else, he glanced up into the sky. It was a beautiful day. Monday was Memorial Day and he wondered if Swan had made any plans to celebrate. He’d heard there would be a parade and unlike some places in the States, where stores remained open on Memorial Day, the laid-back businesses in the Keys closed up for one big party.
He liked the Keys. When he retired from being a SEAL, he could see himself moving here to live out the rest of his days. The island was surrounded by the ocean and they didn’t call him Flipper for nothing. He loved water. Being in it and being a part of it. Living this close to the sea would certainly be a plus for him. But then there was the question of how he would deal with Swan if he chose to retire here. Even if he could prove she was not guilty of espionage, there was always that possibility she would hate his guts regardless of the outcome, because he had not been truthful with her.
“Sorry about that, David.”
He turned, not caring that she could see his still-hard erection. It was something he couldn’t hide even if he had tried. Was she sorry they’d been interrupted or was she regretting that they’d kissed in the first place? He hoped it was the former because he doubted he could ever regret kissing her. “I take it that was one of your godfathers?” he asked, knowing it had been.
She was staring at him below the waist, but after his question, her gaze slowly moved upward to his face. “Ah, yes, that was one of my godfathers. The other two will be calling sometime today as well. It always works out that they all call within twenty-four hours of each other.”
He nodded and slowly walked back over to his chair to sit down. “I know you’re busy so let’s look at the designs.”
Had he just seen a flash of disappointment in her eyes? Did she want them to continue what they’d been doing before she’d gotten that call? Didn’t she know how close they’d both been to going off the edge and falling into waters too deep to swim out of? Even for him, a SEAL master swimmer.
Somehow they got through the next half hour looking at earring designs. Just as each one of the necklaces were different, he wanted the earrings to be different as well and reflect each one of his sisters-in-law’s personalities.
When he was satisfied with his choices, he stood, convinced he needed to rush back to the hotel and take a cold shower. Sitting beside Swan and inhaling her scent without touching her was one of the most difficult things he’d had to do in a long time.
She was so female that the maleness in him couldn’t help responding to everything about her. A part of him felt drugged by her scent and the intense physical awareness of her. Even now, desire was racing through his bloodstream.
“I owe you additional monies, right?” he asked. A couple of the designs he’d selected cost more than what she’d originally estimated.
“Yes. I’ll let you know the difference after I finish designing them, when you pick up everything.”
He hadn’t missed the fact that when he stood her gaze had immediately latched on to his crotch once again. Was she still hoping to see him with a hard-on? If that was true, then she wasn’t disappointed. He could get aroused just from looking at her.
And why did she choose that moment to lick her lips? She had no idea that seeing her do such a thing sent the pulse beating in his throat and desire hammering against his ribs.
On unstable legs and with an erection the size of which should be outlawed, he moved around her desk and looked at her. “Yesterday I asked you to go to dinner with me again, but you never gave me an answer.”
He figured that seeing how aroused he was, she probably wouldn’t give him an answer now either. She surprised him when she said, “Yes, we can dine together this evening.”
He nodded. “Okay, you get to pick the place.”
She took a slip of paper off her desk, wrote something on it and handed it to him. He looked at it and he must have stared at it too long, because she said, “It’s my address, David. I’m inviting you to dine with me this evening at my home.”
He broke eye contact with her to glance back down at the paper she’d given him. He looked back at her while trying to downplay the heat rumbling around in his gut.
“Do you need me to bring anything?” he asked her.
“No, just yourself.”
* * *
Swan glanced around her home and felt the knots beginning to twist in her stomach. She hoped she hadn’t made a mistake inviting David here.
Today marked a week since they’d met and if she was going to continue to see him while he was on the island, she couldn’t take advantage of his thoughtfulness and expect him to invite her out without ever returning the kindness. However, more than anything else, she needed to keep things in perspective. She needed to remember he was someone she could have a good time with and that’s it.
She didn’t want anything more than that.
One day, she would be ready to explore her options and consider a future with a man, but that time wasn’t now. She liked being single and responsible only for herself.
She knew from Candy that a serious relationship was hard work. And on top of all that hard work, you could assume you had the right person in your life only to discover you didn’t. By then, you would have opened yourself up to hurt and pain in the worst possible way.
The thought that a man had caused her best friend that kind of agony bothered Swan whenever she thought about it. Candy loved Key West as much as Swan did, and for a man to be the reason she had moved away was disheartening.
Swan tried telling herself that not all men were like Candy’s ex, Don, or like William. On days when Swan wanted to think all men were dogs, all she had to do was remember her dad.
Andrew Jamison was the yardstick she used to measure a good man. She’d watched how he had treated her mother, had seen the vibrant and sincere love between them. She had not only seen it, but she’d felt it as well. Both her parents had been demonstrative individuals and Swan had often interrupted them sharing a passionate kiss or embrace.
She still felt it here, within the walls of her house and in the very floor she walked on. All the love that had surrounded her while growing up was in this house she now called home.
She was glad her mother hadn’t sold it after her father died, when Leigh had made the decision to move back home to Jamaica. Instead, she had kept the house, knowing one day Swan would want to return. It was almost too spacious for one person but Swan knew she would never sell it or move away. This house had everything she needed.
She could see the water from any room, and at night, whenever she slept with the window open, the scent of the ocean would calm her.
Her favorite room in the house was her parents’ old bedroom, even though she had not moved into it. It had floor-to-ceiling windows and a balcony she liked sitting on while enjoying her coffee each morning. A couple of years ago, she’d