Seaside Seduction (2 page)

“You could say that.”

Her already large eyes widened even more, and she blinked. “That’s amazing. How did you get into that line of work?”

No woman had ever expressed interest in my career before. Selena was full of pleasant surprises that went beyond her looks. “I studied aeronautical engineering in college.”

“A smart man who is a smooth talker is always trouble. Especially if he looks like you.” Her gaze roamed over me from head to toe, making lusty heat pulse through my veins. Her eyes lingered the longest on my chest, making me feel confident my regular weight workouts were paying off.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t get me started. I’m sure you don’t need me to say you look like a Greek statue.”

I struggled to bite back a grin.

“I can see your ego ate that up real fast.”

I shrugged. “Even men like to be appreciated, especially by beautiful women.”

She squinted into the glare. The rosy pink mask of sunburn on her cheeks burned a little brighter, making her delicate facial features, framed by wet masses of dark hair, look even more enchanting. All at once, she jerked her shoulders back. “Nothing about this day makes any sense to me. I don’t remember a single thing about what happened. Not the swimming, the rescue—even how I ended up on this beach.”

Her unease bothered me, and I felt compelled to smooth it away. “All I can tell you is its January twenty fifth, and you almost drowned out in that water. The trauma of what you’ve been through would be enough to scramble anyone’s brains for a little while. I’m sure your memory will come back in a few minutes.”

“I hope so.” She leaned on her hands, locking her elbows and looked around, her lips pursed in puzzlement. “Where am I? This doesn’t look like San Diego. There aren’t any big boulders like this on our beaches.”

“We’re in San Jose del Cabo. It’s just a few miles from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; the southernmost part of the Baja California peninsula. Are you from San Diego?”

She shaded her eyes with a hand. “No, but that’s where I live now and teach at an elementary school. I was born and raised in Mexico, and I’ve travelled all over the state of Sonora, but this place doesn’t look the least bit familiar. I have no idea how I got here. I can imagine riding my motorcycle down here, but not now—it’s not even a school break. I should be in class with my students now.” She brushed her fingers over the worry lines that marred the smooth skin on her forehead.

“Maybe you took some sort of leave?” I rubbed her bronzed upper arm to soothe her and noticed it was ridged nicely with muscle. I recognized a fellow swimmer when I saw one, or in this case touched one. Despite the supple muscle, her skin still felt soft and feminine against the pads of my fingers.

“Not that I can remember.”

“Hmm.” I forced myself to refocus on solving her mysterious situation.
She probably took a long swim this morning and somehow got caught in a current.
Waves broke over sea-darkened granite boulders jutting out of the water all around the shore and dark storm clouds piled high on the horizon. The water conditions were rougher than usual, and I’d encountered my share of hazards during morning swims.

“Those toned arms and the swimsuit would lead me to believe you were out for a training swim. Did you swim a lot in San Diego?”

A smile pinched up the corners of her lips. “Actually I did—but more in the pool than the ocean. I was always scared big Whitey might take a bite out of me if I ventured out beyond where I could see the bottom.” She brushed some sand off of one arm and adjusted her swimsuit top.

My gaze drifted over her sleek, yet muscled thighs, her smooth, slightly rounded stomach and the mounds of her breasts.
I’d like to take a bite of you, too.

I cleared my throat and willed the rogue thoughts to dissipate. But instead they advanced to toe nibbling and tonguing my way toward the delicious wetness between her thighs.

“Whales outnumber sharks this time of the year. Maybe you figured you’d be safe, decided on an ocean swim and bumped your head on a rock.”

“But look at all those white caps—there’s no way I’d venture out in that surf.” Her voice shook and her lower lip trembled.

“Maybe you were wading and a current swept you off your feet.”

“That seems more likely.” Her amber eyes studied me for a long time. “I like that you care enough to help me try to remember.”

I longed to trace the contours of her shapely mouth with my finger and to soothe away her worry with a kiss. I was accustomed to women throwing themselves at me and playing frivolous games to gain my attention. The boredom I felt in their company prompted me to seek a quick escape. Selena’s vulnerability and honest and upfront way of expressing herself made me want to know more about her. “Well, it bothers me to see you so distressed. Hopefully, once you rehydrate and get out of the sun, you’ll remember something. Perhaps you were staying at a hotel nearby?”

She looked up and down the beach. Her nipples stood tantalizingly erect in the breeze, pressing their chilled shapes against the yellow swimsuit top.

I pulled my roaming gaze back up to her face.

She pursed her lips and her dark, wing-shaped eyebrows drew in toward each other. “Nothing around here looks the least bit familiar. It feels like everything that happened recently got vacuumed from my brain.”

Disarmed by the sensual lines of her physique, I felt foolish. My distracted speech was contributing to rather than solving the problem.

“I’m sorry—I know my question about the hotel didn’t make much sense. You’ll have to forgive me—I haven’t met too many women with amnesia.”

A smile curled up the corner of her plump lips. The glitter in her eyes that accompanied it struck me as flirtatious and my heart rate raced in response. “Now that’s a line I haven’t heard before.”

The delight drained from her face so suddenly; I wondered if she felt uncomfortable with the intimate turn to our conversation.

Her gaze focused on something far down the beach. “I’ve already been too much trouble for you. I’m sure if I sit here for a little while, I’ll remember how I got here.”

Rescuing a drowning woman with memory problems hadn’t been on my work agenda, but still…the thought of spending more time with Selena energized me more than morning coffee, and I wasn’t the type of man who abandoned helpless women.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I won’t leave you out on this beach with no place to go. Why don’t you come to my house? I can get you a cold drink, and then we’ll call a doctor.”

“I can’t go into your house—you’re a complete stranger.” Her eyes narrowed and she craned her neck to look up the beach and then the opposite way, probably hoping to spot other passersby who looked like a safer bet.

I reached for her arm. “Stop worrying so much and let me help you get up.”

I urged her to her feet and reached for her hand, which felt soft and pliable in mine. Her fingernails were painted a brilliant watermelon, which exaggerated her tan. A current of heat raced up my arm, nearly knocking the wind out of me. I clenched my jaw and willed myself to get a grip.

“I promise you have nothing to worry about. My maid, Felicita, is in the house with me most of the time so we’ll have a chaperone. Does that help?”

“I don’t need you to hold my hand.” She pulled her hand free and looked up at me through a curtain of long dark lashes.

“Just lean on me if you feel unsteady—my house is the olive green and stone one over there.” I pointed to my mansion across the sand. My home and several others were intermittently spaced around the pink-orange rocky granite boulders that lined the beach. Jagged rocky mountain peaks, decorated with cactus and desert shrubs, stood like a majestic backdrop beyond the homes.

Her exotic eyes widened as she stared at my house. “You live there?”

For some reason, her astonishment bothered me.
Does she find it shocking I’m financially successful or is she just in awe of the house?
“Whenever I’m not in Tucson. Now are you ready?”

“Almost. Your house looks amazing, and I’ve never seen such a wide stretch of beach before. You must be able to walk for miles around here.”

“Most mornings I run several miles on this beach. There aren’t many people here. I love the solitude.”

“Just wait a second. I want to brush off some of this sand.” She turned and looked over her shoulder. Sand coated the back of her body like breadcrumbs on a fish filet.

I found myself unable to blink as she raised the fabric covering the rounds of her buttocks. Her delicious, shapely flesh bounced as she brushed at clinging grains.
Lucky suckers.

Once she finished the task, she leaned into me, allowing me to support most of her body weight. “Okay, I’m ready. So you own a house in Tucson, too?”

I liked the pressure of her soft curves at my side, the tickle of her hair brushing over my skin in the breeze. My insides smoldered in delight. I wondered how I’d focus on work with Selena around. “Yes. My main residence and corporate headquarters are in Tucson, but I escape down here whenever I can.”

Selena frowned. “Do you always pick up strange women on the beach?”

I smiled, hoping to put her more at ease. “Only when they’re drowning. To be honest, I usually work longer days here than I do at my office. Modern technology makes it pretty easy to work twenty-four/seven anywhere. I have a hard time prying myself away from the phone and computer even on the best beach days.”

Her rosy lips looked so tantalizing, puffed up in a pout. “I obviously messed up your schedule then. I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t be. I didn’t tell you about my schedule to make you feel guilty—I was just trying to prove to you that I’m not some reckless Don Juan.”
Although if she happens to be craving some hot sex, I’m definitely up for it.

As lewd thoughts raced through my brain, I wondered if I should warn the woman to run for her life.
For all you know, she might be married.
I reined in my impulses. Despite the heady attraction I felt for her; I was genuinely worried about Selena’s plight. The woman intrigued me. She was such a contradiction—beautiful, vulnerable, with an apparent inclination to do off-the-wall things.
She thinks she might have straddled a motorcycle and taken off down here?

“Please watch your step—the stairs are steep." After closing the wrought iron gate behind us, I supported her back in case she slipped.

She arched away from my touch. "I'm fine, really. You don’t need to worry so much."

I walked beside her across my wide stretch of stone-paved patio, accented by palms, pink and orange bougainvillea, and a sparkling granite-bottom pool and hot tub. “So how far back do you remember?”

Her lower lip trembled, and a tear slid from the corners of her exotic golden brown eyes. She clutched the wet hair that cascaded over the feminine line of her shoulders with trembling hands. “I’m not sure.”

A pang of guilt lurched inside my chest. Instead of easing her distress, I was exacerbating it. I longed to comfort her with a touch, but I knew I didn’t dare. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Don’t worry—it’s not your fault.” She scratched her head and stopped in front of the sliding door. “The weird thing is that I remember everything up to a point, but I think I’ve lost at least a day and maybe even a couple of weeks.”

I willed myself not to brush her tears away, wondering why I felt so protective toward this woman I’d just met. I slid open the door that led into my living room.

Her wet feet slid across the tile like they were gliding over ice. She stopped walking and crossed her arms over her chest as she noticed the pool of water gathering at her feet. “Your house is so beautiful, and I’m making such a mess.”

I imagined untying the bikini and drying every inch of her voluptuous body off with a towel. “Don’t worry, I can remedy that problem rather quickly.”
Talk about a Freudian slip.
My face reddened.

Thankfully, Felicita strode into the room before I could tie myself up in worse knots. She gazed at me with one brow raised.

“You didn’t tell me you were expecting a visitor.”

I pulled my shoulder blades back and held my head higher, adopting a rigid stance I hoped would convince her and I that this Selena situation was all about playing the hero and doing the right thing. I couldn’t have this motherly woman, who had cared for me for years, thinking Selena was some floozy I’d picked up on the beach. I wanted to see her as someone special—the way I was already seeing her.

“I’m sorry, Felicita. Selena’s visit is a bit unexpected. She just suffered an unfortunate accident and nearly drowned. Could you please bring towels and bathrobes from my closet?”

“Yes, of course, sir, I’ll be right back.” She gave me a curt nod, did an about face and briskly strode from the room.

“Do you want to tell me what you remember?”

“Sure. I know I grew up in Hermosillo with three older brothers and graduated from the University of Texas. Now I teach third grade at Costa Verde Elementary in San Diego. It’s just how I ended up down here that I don’t remember.”

“Hmm.” I swept my gaze away from Selena’s nipples that stood out like pert peaks against her bikini top in the air-conditioned room.

Selena looked down and blushed, crossing her arms over her chest and angling her body away from me. “This whole situation is so awkward. I don’t have any identification or any money. How am I going to get home?” Her voice shook with distress.

“Don’t worry, money’s not a problem. I’ll make sure you see a doctor and will book you on a flight home when the time’s right.” I stepped toward her and touched the side of her head. “Do you hurt at all? I didn’t notice any signs of a wound when I was resuscitating you.”

“Resuscitating? You did mouth to mouth on me?” She brushed a hand over the pleasing contours of her lips.

I forced myself to glance away from their mesmerizing allure. “I did. And you almost vomited the whole ocean on me, too,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

Felicita stepped back in the room. “Here you go, sir.” She handed me towels and robes.