What the hell? Does he think we are having sex on the beach?
What next?
“Do you have to wreck it?” I cough. “That was supposed to be a romantic moment.”
He smiles at me choking while he casually cuts into his toast.
“What are you smiling at?” I ask. God knows what’s going through that devious mind of his.
“Nothing.” He smiles to himself.
“What is that look?”
“Popping all your cherries is very high priority on my agenda, that’s all.”
I stare at him. “Well, you certainly popped the main one in a spectacular fashion.”
He smiles as he bites the food from his fork. “I haven’t even started yet, Pock.”
I stare at him, my mind a clusterfuck of emotions.
Popping cherries is Brock Marx’s language of love.
What the hell have I gotten myself into here?
“Here?” I ask as I point to the sand beneath us and look around Bondi Beach.
“Yeah, here’s good,” Brock says.
We spread our things out, and then he falls onto his towel. “Time to take that dress off, Tully Pocket.” He taps my towel laid out next to him, and he throws me a cheeky smile.
I smirk. “Have you been waiting all morning just to see me in a bikini?”
“You bet I have,” he replies without hesitation.
My stomach dances with nerves. God, no pressure. I exhale heavily and lift my dress over my shoulders, and he lies back and puts his hands behind his head to appreciate the show.
I feel like a circus act, and I’m quite sure he thinks he is getting more to look at than he actually is. Does he even remember what I look like? I glance down at him nervously, just as his hungry eyes decide to drink in every inch of my near-naked body. Time seems to stand still as I wait for him to say something.
“You’re more beautiful than I remember, Pock,” he says softly. He pats the sand next to him, and I slowly sit down, and then lie on my back. He leans up on his elbow over me, turning onto his side.
His hand goes to my hip bone, and he pulls my body to fit snug up against his. “Why were you nervous doing that?” he asks quietly.
“You make me nervous.”
“Why?”
I shrug. “You’re so much more experienced than I am.”
He frowns down at me and tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. “Does it bother you?”
“A little,” I whisper.
“Why?”
My eyes hold his. How the hell did we get onto this conversation already?
“I’ve only ever slept with one person, and then….” My voice trails off.
“And then what?”
“And then you.”
His face falls slightly. “I hate that I did that to you in the gym.”
Shocked that he acknowledged it, my stupid eyes fill with tears, and I blink them away in hope that he doesn’t see.
“Hey,” he whispers as he pulls me closer. “Was it really that bad?”
I smile and shake my head. “No, it was… it was just out of character for me, and I know that you do that kind of thing all the time.”
He watches me for a moment but doesn’t say anything, because he knows it’s true. What is there to say?
He puts his head down onto his towel for a moment, his thoughts loud but undecipherable. “Where do you see this going, Tull?” He frowns up at the sky, deep in thought. “I don’t want you to ever feel like that again.”
“What? You mean us?” I ask.
He nods as he turns his head to look at my face again.
“Well, as the boss of us…” He rolls his eyes with a smirk. “I would like us to be… friends.”
He smiles softly.
“With a mutual respect for one another,” I add.
“Who fuck?” he adds, pushing his luck.
I giggle. “You really need to work on your romantic date material.”
He chuckles. “Without a doubt.”
“I don’t know about the fucking.”
His face falls serious. “Why not?”
I frown as I look out over the water. “I don’t like the idea of being one of many.”
He frowns.
“But then, I don’t want to be your girlfriend or anything.” I shrug. “It’s hard to explain.”
“Try,” he says as watches me intently, his large hand splaying over my stomach.
“Well, I know we have an expiration date, and it’s not like I’m planning a future with you or anything. You’re not the kind of guy that will settle down and I’m not the kind of girl who would force you to.”
“I like that about you.” He kisses my cheek softly. “But…?”
My stomach clenches at the feel of his big, beautiful lips against my skin. “But, I’m really, really attracted to you.”
“And I’m really attracted to you,” he whispers against my face.
“And you confuse me,” I admit.
His hand goes to my jaw and he brings my face to his. “Why?”
Suddenly, we are the only two people on the beach. Nobody else exists again.
“Because you’re the kind of man who doesn’t hang out with girls like me. I have to wonder what I could offer you that nobody else can. I’m inexperienced, and I don’t know how to do any of the things you probably like to do.”
He smiles softly as his lips drop to mine, he kisses me, and my breath catches.
He rubs my stomach with his open hand. “The only woman on my mind is you. Have been for a few weeks.”
I smile softly up at him.
“And I want you to be comfortable with this.” He frowns as he turns and glances across the beach. “When you told me that I made you feel dirty…” He clenches his jaw, clearly remembering that dreaded day, and his eyes come back to mine. “I didn’t like it.”
I wrap my arms around his big shoulders.
“So… how about we kiss and do things that make you feel…” he tilts his head to the side, “clean.”
“I feel like I’m negotiating a cleaning contract.”
He rolls on top of me and pins my hands over my head. “You are. And as the operations manager, it is my duty to inform you that you need to undertake an intensive training regime. Starting today. You need to learn the cleaning protocol.”
I giggle up at him. “I’m the boss, remember? I set the protocol.”
His eyes dance with mischief as he looks down at me. “The boss of us, not the boss of operations. Physical contact is my domain.”
I smile goofily.
“You ready to start your training, Pock?”
I kiss him softly on the lips and he releases me from his grip, allowing me to wrap my arms around him. He buries his head into the curve of my neck. “You know we are on a public beach, right?” I whisper.
“Tully. The first lesson you need to learn is that I don’t give a fuck where we are. I’ll touch you when I want, wherever I want.” He kisses on the lips again and grips my jaw. “Got that?”
I smile shyly. What the hell did I just agree to?
It’s 5:00 p. m. and we are in a cocktail bar at the beach. We’re still in our beach clothes, the two of us relaxed and very touchy with one another. I feel better after our little talk this morning. He knows how I feel now, and he seemed okay with it.
“Do you want to dance?” he asks suddenly.
My eyes widen in excitement. “Really?”
He smiles sexily and takes my hand to lead me to the dance floor where he puts his large arounds around me and pulls me close. The song “Girl Like You” by Maroon 5 is playing. I love this song, and it seems funny that this is the song we should have our first dance to.
I’m beaming up at him. “You can dance?”
“Maybe it’s time to try new things.” He smirks down at me.
“Such as?”
It doesn’t seem real being here with such a gorgeous man. All day I’ve felt women’s eyes lingering on him. He doesn’t seem to notice, though, and I know he’s had this kind of female attention all of his life.
We kiss again and again, and he holds me tight. “I’ll make a deal with you, Tully Pocket,” he whispers.
“What?” I breathe.
His dark hair is hanging over his eyes as he looks down at me.
“While we see each other, whether that be for a week or for a month, I promise not to see anybody else.”
My eyes search his and I immediately stop dancing. “Why would you do that when we both know it’s going to end anyway?”
“Because I want to spend time with you in every way.”
“You mean sexually?”
“Yes.”