“I don’t like the idea of you working on guys like that. I mean, it doesn’t seem safe. Some might try to take advantage of the situation and...”
Kelly gave an unladylike snort. “I don’t do happy endings, Rafe. I’m a professional, but not that kind.”
He sighed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply that you were. It’s just that— Oh hell, I give up.”
“Let’s get you back into that relaxed state,” she said as her hands slid down his back again. She liked that he was slightly possessive and didn’t want her touching other men. Usually, she didn’t go for that type of guy, but with Rafe it was damn sexy.
* * *
Relaxed? Not likely. Rafe squeezed his eyes shut.
Why did he feel so protective toward this woman? The idea that Kelly touched other men in this way—it turned his gut.
What is wrong with you?
And how many times had he asked himself that question since he’d arrived at Last Resort? He didn’t want to admit it, but he knew exactly what was wrong with him. He had it bad for Mimi’s sister—in the worst possible way. In fact, he had it in a way that he’d never had before. This innate interest in her and need to take care of her was something completely new to him.
Sweet and so gorgeous, Kelly took his breath away. He had never believed in the ideal woman. The sexy woman, the fun woman, the marrying woman, even the nurturing woman, but Kelly filled all those categories and more. When he’d opened his eyes and saw her bright pink toenail polish, he’d nearly jumped off the massage table.
Strong, smooth hands pummeled and pushed his body. His cock was so hard that it hurt. Slim fingers worked the muscles in his upper right thigh and hip.
“Wow, you have a lot of tension here,” she said as she used her elbow to press effectively into his flesh.
No joke. If she could see his pelvis, she’d run for the hills. Tent nothing—he had a battleship underneath, ready to go to war with those precious hands of hers.
“Time to turn over.” She held up the sheet to give him some privacy. He couldn’t do it.
Ripping the sheet from her hands, he tightened it around himself as he rolled awkwardly off the table. Scooping up his shorts with one hand, he ran for the door. It was a full-on strategic retreat. He was not here to seduce Mimi’s sister. And yet, if he let her put her hands on him one more time, then that was exactly what would happen.
“Rafe?”
He couldn’t look back.
“Uh, I think I left the coffeemaker on in my room,” he said as he threw open the door.
Her soft, hesitant laugh caught him as he double-timed it out of the building.
She knew as well as he did that there were no coffeemakers in the rooms.
Standing under the cold spray of the shower in his room, Rafe tried to calm himself down, but it was impossible. He made the water warmer and grasped his cock.
Memories of Kelly flashed through his brain. Kelly on her surfboard, so free and happy. Kelly in her sexy pink yoga clothes. Kelly with that flat, tanned stomach under her knotted T-shirt. The woman was driving him mad with wanting her, and she was absolutely clueless.
When he started to imagine that sweet voice of hers begging him to make love to her, it was more than he could take. He came so hard he had to brace himself against the shower wall.
Gasping for breath, he let the water sluice down his body, rinsing away his need for her. He had to do something about this before it got any worse.
Maybe I should find somewhere else to stay? After all, what would she think of him if he dared to act on his urges? He had gone there to spend time with her sister.
Rafe rejected the idea of leaving, though, the moment it occurred to him. No way, wasn’t going to happen, he told himself. He didn’t want to be away from her. So even if he couldn’t—or rather, shouldn’t—have her, he’d still spend as much time with her as possible. She might drive his body wild, but she was a balm for his soul. The previous night had been the first without nightmares in years. He’d been so consumed with thoughts about her before he fell asleep that she’d filled his dreams.
“Rafe?” Hell, she was in his room.
“In the shower,” he called out to her. “Just a minute.”
He doused himself in freezing cold water to dampen the fire raging in his blood. Twisting off the knob, he sucked in a breath and wrapped a towel around his waist.
Just as he went from the bathroom into the bedroom, Kelly was setting an envelope on his pillow.
“Oh.” Her eyes flashed wide, and he watched as her gaze traveled from his chest all the way down to his toes and back up to his face. “I—”
Obviously, he affected her as much as she did him. Grim satisfaction surged through him. Her demeanor was exactly the sign Rafe needed—well, once he settled matters with Mimi. And he couldn’t rush at Kelly like he wanted to. This would take time. She was special, and he didn’t want to screw it up by coming across like some horny teenager.
“Sorry, I couldn’t hear you,” he told her, and gave her his best smile.
“That’s—” she swallowed hard “—okay. I wanted to see if you’d be my date, well, not actually a date, maybe escort. No, no, that isn’t right, either.” She looked in one direction then another as if flustered.
“I’m happy to go wherever you need me to.”
“I was hoping that it might be nice for you to meet some of the ex-pats who live here,” she said. “What I was trying to say is that we could go together to this party that one of my sponsors is throwing tonight. I want to show my face so that they don’t forget about me.”
No one could ever forget her, of that he was certain.
He couldn’t tell her no, and in fact, he didn’t want to.
“What do I need to wear?”
“It’s always casual around here. Jeans or shorts and a shirt would be great. It starts at eight, but we don’t need to get there until about nine. That’s when the band plays.” She turned and all but bounced from the room.
Band, that meant the possibility of dancing. Rafe smiled slowly. He didn’t mind that one bit. Even with his bum leg he might be able to do a slow dance or three.
Thoughts of holding her close appealed to him.
“And lunch is ready when you are,” she announced, stopping at the doorway to face him. She was fiddling with her hair and at one point she slapped her hands together. The fidgeting was provocative and inviting. He wanted to catch her hands in his and pull her close to him right then.
Never in his life had he wanted a woman so much. It was the universe messing with his head. If he played the gentleman like he’d planned to, he might never taste her lips or—
No. That wasn’t likely.
He kept his hands fisted at his sides and the towel in place. She gave him another one of those shy, sexy smiles and escaped into sand and sunshine.
Pressing flesh with Kelly was definitely intriguing, but he had a code he lived by. If he could possibly avoid it, he wouldn’t hurt her or Mimi.
He needed a solution and fast.
Picking up his cell phone, Rafe prayed that he could reach Mimi in time.
5
THE CALIFORNIA TAN girls surrounded Rafe like an impenetrable wall of bikini-clad