dibs (15 page)

The realization hit me that he was talking about the damn dolphin. Mac had said nothing.

“Hold on,” he said, taking off. “Your guy is getting too deep without a life jacket.”

I spun around. Mac was still swimming. Franticly so.

We idled next to him. When he squinted up at us, a look of sheer terror was in his face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked desperately.

Something else flitted across his face.

“Are you ok?” he panted, trying to catch his breath.

I nodded. “Yeah. I’m ok.”

“Hold on to the side while I steer us back.”

Mac kept arms distance from the Jet Ski. Before we went too far, the dolphin dove beautifully next to us, swimming with us once again. Mac’s blue eyes, even more radiant than the water surrounding him, sparkled as he stared up at me.

“Thank you,” I mouthed to him.

He shook his head. “No. Thank you,” he mouthed as he swam back to where my two friends were freaking out.

***

Feeling absolutely gross and gritty as we walked back to the boat, we held hands laughing about our day. The sun seemed hotter than normal. My skin was a nice combination of sweat, sand and sunscreen. All I wanted was a shower.

Yet, as disgusting as I felt on the outside, there was a different feeling navigating my body on the inside. For years, I’d lived with the fears…the anxieties. Never once did I honestly trust Bryan with anything—physical or emotional. And he never helped me fight them or face them. But in a matter of days, I’d grown to trust a man I didn’t even know. A man that a million girls wanted and could have. Yet, we strolled, hand in hand, down the beach on an exotic island with time not in our favor. I’d relinquished what little control I had to him. Unequivocally, one of the hardest things I’ve ever done…but in this moment it was so worth it.

“I have some not so good news,” he said, kissing my knuckles as we walked.

“OK.” My heart found the most disjointed rhythm with those words.

“I know that uh…this is sorta crazy. The time we are spending together. But, I’m enjoying it and,” he paused as my stomach churned. “Tomorrow, we…the wedding party have an event on the island that we have to go to.” He exhaled shaking his head. “I’m sorry.”

“Mac,” I whispered rubbing his arm. “We all need a dose of crazy in our lives on occasion. Tomorrow will be your day,” I teased.

The thought of him spending the day with Larissa didn’t thrill me, but in six days I was never going to see him again. He could be with her after that and I would never know.

“I suppose.” He nodded. “So, you’ll be ok…I mean like find something to do?”

“Or someone else, since you’ll be with Ms. Bubbly.”

His grip tightened on my wrist as he yanked me around.

“I think we will take a hard pass on that,” he laughed, but it didn’t touch his eyes.

“Oh come on now. Fair is fair,” I joked.

This poor man didn’t know what to think of me. Surely he didn’t think I’d find another man. Did another man exist?

His Adam’s apple bobbed out and back in. Seeing a serious Thor was unfamiliar. The only other time was with Greg Brady…or Luke.

Bringing my knuckles to his mouth, he brushed a kiss over them and exhaled. “Let me see if I can get out of it.”

“Mac!” I shouted. Then in a normal voice, “Wait, what is your full name?”

He tilted his head.

“What?”

I crossed my arms. “Full name, now!” I snapped my fingers.

“Mac McAllister.”

“Thank you. Listen to me, Mac McAllister.” My finger jetted up to within an inch from his nose. “You will go with this girl. You will be miserable. You will miss me. And you will find me the moment you are done. Am I clear?”

Before I could pull it away, he bit my finger! Bit. It.

“Ow!” I yelled.

“You’re lucky that’s not your ass. Next time your finger is in my face, it will be your ass. I’ll spank you good.”

For the love of Christ. My entire body quivered. I was instantly wet with the threat. With wide eyes and measured steps he swaggered toward me.

“Am I clear?” he asked in a not so joking tone.

The tide must have come in because a wave of water washed over my feet as I continued to back step into the sea.

“Your threats don’t scare me,” I retorted, biting my lip, now ankle deep.

Following his tight-lipped smile, he shook his head. “Let me make this clear. I appreciate you supporting me going tomorrow. I will make sure I have a miserable time. I am sure I will miss you. And I will find you the moment I’m done.” He cocked his head to the other side. “With that said, while we are on this trip there will be no other man touching you and there will no other woman touching me. Got it?”

I eagerly nodded.

“Lastly. It’s not a threat, baby. I will spank you—not only for the finger in my face but for you walking away from me right now.”

Licking my lips, I only had seconds to make up my mind. There was no way in hell I was going down without a fight. So I did the only mature thing a forty-year-old woman would do. With my foot, I flicked water at him.

He froze. A slight twitch of a smile flickered in the corner of his mouth. I did it again.

“What’s your full name?” he asked.

“Samantha Williams,” I said, splashing him again and giggling.

“Thank you. Samantha Williams. You are going to get an ass whoopin.”

My upper teeth bit down on my lower lip trying to fight my smile. I’d never been spanked by anyone other than my father.

“Mr. McAllister,” I growled, a couple of octaves lower, mimicking him. “I told you…I’M NOT SCARED!” I bent quickly and with both hands threw a ton of water at him and took off running for the ship, which was only maybe a hundred more yards.

I ran out of the water but stayed in the wet sand where my feet could grip better. My arms pumped franticly trying to help my legs. But my uncontrollable laughter inevitably slowed me down. I hadn’t sprinted like this in years…but I did run…like Forrest Fucking Gump. I just wasn’t sure if he did too.

The salt water in my eyes detoured me momentarily. Just the idea that she thought she could outrun me made me adore her even more than I already did. Watching her, giving her a bit of a head start…was so stinking cute. About a football field lay between the ship and us. Fortunately, I carried the sling bag that had our stuff in it.
Our
stuff
.
Our Passports. She wasn’t getting on without me.

By the time I reached her, she was giggling uncontrollably. This thrilled me. There was a part of me that wanted her to think she got away from me. That she could out run me. There was another part of me that wanted to catch her, spank her ass, then lay her down and fuck her. All of me wanted that actually. This was new ground for me. To have a relationship for almost two weeks would be monumental if I could just not fuck it up.

Snaking my arm around her waist, I heaved her up to my shoulder like a caveman. Her entire body shook with laughter, and I couldn’t help laughing too. We were close to the line boarding the ship, but I didn’t care. I lit up her ass with a smack.

“Mac!”

“Sam…this is only a preview of what is to come.”

I lit her ass up a second time.

Her fist pounded my back, and I chuckled.

“You can’t do this, Mac. I am a grown woman.”

“Let’s get one thing straight, lady. I’m a grown man who can do whatever I want. And baby, I want you.”

Not another word came out of her mouth as her body went lax.

After my shower, I threw on my swimsuit, threw a piece of gum in my mouth and quickly grabbed a towel when the cabin door opened.

“S’up?” Blake asked, falling face first on the sofa.

“You alright?”

“The girl wears me out,” he moaned into the cushions.

I chuckled. “Juls?”

“Dude. She can out fuck me!”

When I walked past him, I patted his back. “Poor guy. I’m outta here.”

“You seeing Sam again?” he asked, propping his head up with his hand.

“Yep.”

I knew what was coming, and I didn’t want to hear it, so I opened the door.

“You’re breaking your own rule, man.”

“I know, Blake. I know my rules. I don’t need you fucking pointing them out.”

“Have you fucked her more than once? That’s the telltale sign, buddy.”

I froze halfway out the door. “Come on B. I know what we can have and what we can’t. I don’t need you reminding me. Have you told Juls?”

“Fuck no. If I tell her, it’s like telling Sam. I wouldn’t do that to you. You know you’re gonna hurt her.”

Blood simmered in my veins with his words. Reality was even worse. With all the force I had, I slammed the door with me still inside, resting my forehead against it.

“She and I both know what this is, Blake. We live in different places. We haven’t shared much. It will be over when the cruise is over.”

Even as I said the words, there was a gnawing in my gut that it was a lie. I’d never wanted to be around a woman so much in my life. I thought about her every moment of every day.

“Seriously, Blake. Do you really think I’m falling for her?”

He stroked down his goatee then nodded once. “You panicked when the dolphin took her out.”

My mouth twisted when I massaged my temples. “Buddy. You’d have done the same for Juls.”

“No, I’d have laughed had the dolphin taken her out. The look on your face.”

I shook my head. “They are different people, B. You don’t understand.”

Falling onto the bed, he chuckled. “There are 1000 other women on this cruise. Why don’t you find one?”

I could count the number of fights he and I had over the years on one hand. I could also feel my teeth bare as my icy glare took aim at him.

“Whatever, Mac. I’ve just never seen you like this before. Remember why we are here?”

“Kyle and Lily.”

“That’s right. Kyle. He knew what he was doing too, he broke the rule and now here we are.”

“You’re wrong. That’s not gonna happen” That’s all I had to say. Truthfully, I wanted to believe my words.

Blake kept quiet. He knew me. Very well. As I pulled the door closed behind me, I heard him say, “Six days, Mac.”

Those words echoed in my head like a fucking mantra. There was a part of me that wanted to get lost at sea with her. She made me laugh. She made me smile…I was falling hard for her. I didn’t have a choice; I was going to have to tell her goodbye.

Up by the adult pool, Sam sat on the side with her legs dangling in the water. Her hair blew beautifully off her neck. She hadn’t noticed me yet, so I stayed in the shadow watching her. There was something so peaceful about the way she swished her legs through the water. So unlike the first few days of the trip…now she seemed less anxious. Calm. Vulnerable.

I’d pushed her beyond her comfort zone all along with full intentions of helping her. Surprised that she so easily submitted to letting things go. It amazed me how neglected married women were. What a piece of shit her ex must be to not have tried to help alleviate her fears. With some encouragement and pushing…four God damn days is all it took!

Suddenly a smile swept over her face.

“Why the smile?” I asked, creeping out from the shadows.

“I heard you…knew you were there.”

“You’re lying. I didn’t make a sound.”

Finally she threw a glance my way. “I knew.”

With the moonlight shining down on her, she seemed softer, settled.

“You seem…subdued,” I said, sitting next to her. A soapy scent lingered between us after our showers.

“Do I?”

“Tell me what you’re thinking,” I asked, and rolled my eyes where she couldn’t see. Who the hell asks that?

“I was thinking about the next six days.”

My heart stalled for a moment. I wasn’t ready to give her up. I wouldn’t before I was forced to.

“What about ‘em?”

“Tomorrow you have your…thing. So then we are down to five.”

“That’s right,” I agreed.

“So, I can’t believe I’m saying this, Mac. In fact, I sort of want to punch myself in the face before the words come out.”

A snicker rumbled in my throat at her level of cuteness.

Then she bounced off the side of the pool and pushed herself into the water, walking away from me. Every cell in my body wanted to go to her, wanted to take her in my arms and make whatever unease she was feeling go away. I wanted her to trust in me to do that for her.

Yet, I knew as my eyes followed her, I had nothing to give her. After these six days, I had to go back to my life and business. But also a part of me wondered what she was willing to give. If I was able, I’d take anything she threw my way.

“OK,” she said, spinning around, her hands skimming over the top of the water.

“OK,” I mimicked, smiling at her.

Her finger jetted up at me. “Don’t make fun of me or I’ll kick your ass.”

Surrendering to her threat as my body shook with laughter, I held both hands out to the side.

“I know you referenced Nevada once before. Is that where you’re from?”

“Yes.”

She nodded and her chest expanded with the breath she took.

“I’m from that area as well.”

Noted that she didn’t say that state as well.

“So. I was thinking if something worked out, maybe if the distance wasn’t too much, and if you wanted, which it is totally fine if you don’t.”

She stopped and stared at me as if she was waiting for an answer.

“Sam. I’m not sure if there was a question in that statement.”

I slid off the wall and into the water. Slowly, I swaggered toward her.

“You’re a smart man, Mac, surely you can figure it out.”

Though she back stepped away from me, my stride was longer.

“I am a smart man, Sam. But I’d prefer to watch you choke on your words.” My smile widened as her eyes narrowed.

“Whatever…” she said, splashing me. I zoomed in for the kill, grabbing her and taking her under water.

She shot up and gasped for breath. “I can’t believe you just did that.”

“I like you wet, sweetheart.”

“Mac!” she exclaimed, wiping her eyes as I lugged her body next to mine.

“What are you wanting to say, Sam…spit it out!” I nuzzled my nose into her wet strands. “If I’ll fuck you again? If I’ll taste that sweet pussy again? Because the answer is yes, I’d love to.” What the living hell was I saying?