Romancing the Alpha: An Action-Adventure Romance Boxed Set (66 page)

She heard one of the men call out something, but his words were swept away from her. When she glanced back, Jackson was gesturing for her to keep her head down, and she leaned back against the hard, white surface of the boat. Toshi was turning a crank, and before she realized what was happening, their sails were up, one behind the other, and the boat pitched as they caught the wind. She grappled desperately for the rope dangling nearby, terrified for one horrible moment that she was about to pitch headfirst into the sea, but as soon as she steadied herself, she couldn’t do anything but laugh.

And she suddenly realized why so many adventures started with ships.

Her last day and a half had been exciting—there was no doubt about that. But this was different. This was…
magnificent.
She’d never experienced anything like it in her entire life. She felt like she was soaring over the sea, like the whole world was just waiting for her to explore it.

Her hair was whipping around her more violently now, and she caught it and twisted it into a knot as she threw another glance back at the others. The big Russian guy was still at the wheel, and Toshi and Roth appeared to be tying up some things. Leo and Jackson stood together, talking and looking out across the water, and it startled her how perfect he looked out here. This was his element. This was where he was
meant
to be, out here taking on the world.

But it wasn’t just him—it was all of these men she’d just met. There was an ease in the way they all worked together—a familiarity and a mutual respect. It warmed her to see it, and at the same time, it reminded her once again that she was an outsider in this group, that she’d inserted herself into something where she didn’t belong. She was the opposite of these men.

Jackson argued to keep you here
, she reminded herself.

As if he heard her thoughts, he turned and looked at her. Her breath caught when their gazes met. Even here, twenty feet away, she could see the way his eyes shone, and she knew that every bit of joy she’d experienced when gazing out across the sea was shared by him, too.

She doesn’t belong out here.

That’s what Jackson kept telling himself, anyway. Charlie belonged somewhere comfortable, somewhere safe. And yet no matter how many times he repeated that fact to himself, he couldn’t stop staring at the way the sun made her hair shine like burnt gold, or how the wind danced around her like it wanted to keep her here forever. Right now she was stretched out on her back beneath the sail, basking like a cat in the sun. Every once in a while she’d shift and stretch, arching that soft, curvy body toward the sails. It reminded him of the way she used to arch beneath him, lifting her body to let him go harder and deeper inside of her.

A low laugh sounded behind him. “I knew it, old boy.”

He turned. It was Leo, a can of that cheap Croatian beer in his hand and a smirk on his face.

“I knew she still had you by the balls,” Leo said. “I just didn’t realize how bad it was.”

Jackson swung his elbow at his friend, but Leo dodged it.

“Hey, I never said I blamed you,” he said. “I’m just saying that a lot of things make sense now that I’ve seen her.”

Jackson forced himself to take a swig of his own drink before he responded. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Leo leaned his elbows on the rail beside him. “Exactly what I said. And there’s no point in denying it, old boy. You might as well be walking around with your cock out pointing right at her.”

This time Leo wasn’t as quick with the dodge. Jackson’s hand hit his beer, sending it flying over the rail and into the dark turquoise water rushing past them. But Leo only laughed.

“There’s no shame in going a little soft around a woman,” he said.

Easy for him to say.
Leo wasn’t the one getting the stink eye from Roth. Jackson glanced over his shoulder, but their leader had gone below.

“Have they found anything yet?” he asked Leo. “In the atlas, I mean?”

Leo shrugged. “Nothing conclusive yet. But Alexei’s down there looking at it right now. If anyone can find anything, he can. Roth thinks we should continue on to Vis in the meantime. Sloane is meeting us there.”

Jackson nodded. Sloane—the only female member of the Set—had been sent ahead to pursue a few special lines of inquiry. Considering how this expedition was shaping up, Jackson would feel more comfortable when everyone was back together again.

Everyone except Tav
, he corrected in his head. With every passing hour, he was more and more convinced that their missing member had been the one to betray them.

He turned and glanced behind them. It was a warm, beautiful day, and this stretch of the Adriatic was full of ships—not just sailing yachts like the one they were on, but also fishing vessels and huge, luxury catamarans. Since they’d left Split, he’d been looking for any sign that they were being followed, but so far, he hadn’t seen anything suspicious. That made him nervous. At least if they had a tail, he’d know exactly where the enemy was. Instead, it felt like they were just waiting for their opponents to strike.

“Can I give you a tip, old boy?” Leo said.

“Hm?”

“We’ll have a little downtime as we figure out what our next step should be. Enjoy it while you can.” Leo threw his thumb toward the other end of the boat, where Charlie had propped herself up on her elbows to gaze out at the approaching coastline.

Instantly, all thoughts of their possible pursuers fell right out of his head.
You’re in trouble
, he told himself as he watched that gorgeous hair fly around her face. Once, he’d thought he could forget about her. That his cock could learn to have other tastes. He was wrong.

“I intend to,” he heard himself tell Leo. No, this time he wouldn’t let her slip away. He didn’t think his body would give him any other choice.

He didn’t realize how utterly fucked he was until, sometime later, they were anchored in a quiet little cove on the coast of the island of Vis. They’d let Roth disembark at the main port—at a charming little town which shared its name with the island—before retreating to this bay, where they were a little more hidden. Roth would call them when he and Sloane had made contact, and they’d proceed from there.

In the meantime, Alexei was still studying the atlas down below, while Toshi insisted they should take the opportunity to go swimming.

Normally, Jackson would have shot down such an idea, especially considering the uncertainty of their current expedition, but then he saw Charlie’s face. Her eyes had lit up at Toshi’s words, and he’d found himself instantly more excited about his younger teammate’s suggestion.

“What do you think?” Jackson asked Charlie as Toshi cannonballed off the side of the boat. “Care to join?”

Her cheeks turned pink—though that might have just been evidence of the several hours she’d just spent basking beneath the sun. She looked so fucking delicious that it was all he could do not to pull her into his arms.

She doesn’t belong here
, he told himself again. But once more, it was impossible to completely convince himself that the sun-kissed creature in front of him was born to be anywhere else. His chest ached. Once, she’d spoken so openly with him about her dreams of seeing the world. But she’d always been so careful, so afraid to do anything risky or reckless, that he’d thought those things would always stay dreams. It was partially why he’d agreed to let her come—he was convinced that she’d quickly realize her mistake and run home again, and this time he wouldn’t have to be the bad guy.

But he’d never imagined how she’d come alive in this environment, like a late blossom finally unfurling and revealing its breathtaking colors to the sky. And just when he’d thought he couldn’t want her any more than he already did, he realized he was wrong.

“I don’t have a suit,” she told him, and he remembered he’d asked her a question.

“Neither do I,” he said, his voice a touch lower and rougher than he intended. He wanted to peel that silly over-sized dress off of her so the sun could caress her beautiful body from head to toe. He wanted to pull her naked body against his and remind her of everything they still had left between them.

But he wouldn’t push it. He didn’t want to scare her away.

“I’m going to swim in my boxers,” he told her. “I’m assuming you have something under that dress you could wear as well.”

Her blush deepened, and for a moment he feared he’d been too forward, but then she smiled.

“I guess I might never have the chance to swim in the Adriatic again,” she said. “There’s no point in wasting it.”

And before his eyes, she reached down and pulled her dress off over her head.

Her body was even more beautiful than he remembered—perfectly imperfect, a collection of soft curves unlike anything he’d seen before or since. She was wearing a white bra and a pair of white panties with tiny pink polka dots. Another man might have hoped for something skimpy and lacy, but all he could think about was how innocently erotic her underwear would look once it was wet. Hot need pulsed through him, and he glanced around, suddenly remembering they weren’t alone on this boat. He didn’t want anyone else to see her like this—she was his. Those little polka-dotted panties were his. Those sharp little nipples that already poked against the cotton of her bra were his as well. He’d shared a lot of things with his teammates, but he’d never share her.

He stripped down quickly, not even bothering to care that his appreciation for her was probably plain for all to see. As he was kicking his pants aside, she flashed him a grin that set his blood on fire and jumped off the side of the boat into the water below.

But he wasn’t about to let her have all the fun by herself. As soon as her head popped up again, he launched himself in right after her.

Before he even came up for air, he was reaching for her beneath the water. His fingers brushed against her legs, then her waist, before he finally found her arms. As his head emerged again, he heard her laughing, and she easily slipped out of his grip, twisting away from him across the gentle water of the bay. She was a siren, teasing him and drawing him to his own doom.

He went after her, remembering the first time he’d ever seen her. He’d been at a beer festival in Atlanta, and he’d caught sight of her through the crowd—a goddess in a little pink sundress with her hair falling loose around her shoulders. He’d been drawn to her through the sea of people, and he’d followed that hair through the crowds like a man possessed.

He was possessed now. She led him around the side of the boat, away from where Toshi was doing his laps across the mouth of the bay. When he finally caught her, she didn’t attempt to slip out of his grip a second time.

Beneath the water, his hands glided down her sides. Her legs kicked down below, making small circles to keep herself afloat, and every time they brushed against his, he felt a jolt of hot desire move through his system. Her hair floated in the water between them, licking his bare chest and sliding across his shoulders. Wet, it was the color of dark amber.

Her back was to him. He moved his head forward until his mouth was just next to her ear, and he felt a shiver move through her as his breath hit her skin. She might have lingering feelings of anger or bitterness toward him after the way he’d left her—and rightfully so, even he had to admit—but her body seemed as drawn to his as his was to hers.

“Do you remember our first date?” he murmured to her.

Another shiver. He felt this one through the pads of his fingers against her skin.

“Of course I remember,” she said. And then, “I remember a lot of things.”

He could hear the longing in her voice—but he could hear the hesitation, too. This was a bad idea. They both knew it. He’d known he couldn’t have his cake and eat it too, and he’d forced himself to make that choice nine months ago. But now that she was in front of him again, he had no idea how he’d ever possessed that much self-control.

“You were so nervous,” he said, recalling the shy, bright-eyed girl he’d met for dinner that night. “And you kept telling me over and over again that you never dated guys like me.”

“I didn’t,” she insisted. “And I was completely freaking out.”

“And it was utterly charming,” he continued. He turned his face so that his nose brushed against her hair. “I’ve never been with anyone like you, either. Before or after.”

He felt her body stiffen at the word
after
, but she didn’t say anything. And she didn’t try to move away.

He guessed what she might be remembering now: how, after that delightfully awkward first meal, he hadn’t had nearly enough of her and invited her for a walk. How, as the last rays of the day were disappearing behind the trees, she’d let him kiss her. He’d kissed plenty of women in his time, but nothing had ever stunned him quite like that first kiss with Charlie. One touch of her lips and he’d known that he’d never taste anything like her ever again. It was a rush unlike anything he’d ever experienced—and at that point, he’d already done more wild, reckless things than most people did in their lifetime.

But she must have felt it, too, because she’d invited him back to her place—all the while anxiously pointing out that she’d never done anything like that before. He’d believed her. The truth was written in every glance, in every touch, in every kiss. She was sweetness and fire; innocence and hunger. One moment nervous, the next devouring him with a passion that drew him right to the edge. They’d made love well into the night—and he’d always considered it
making love
with her, when normally he thought of it as
fucking
—and he’d spent hours exploring her body, experiencing every inch of her with his eyes and fingers and mouth until he could have sworn he’d branded every part of her in his memory forever. He’d never wanted anyone like that before.

He still wanted her like that
now.

He dropped his head slightly, lowering his mouth to her shoulder. She gave a little gasp when his lips brushed her wet skin, and that sound was like a trigger. He pulled her back fully against him, letting his mouth come down on her shoulder a second time. Letting it linger.