His expression blanked, ruining the lines of his normally open face. Bad topic. Noted.
“I have a job that requires me to be familiar with both parachutes and hostile territory. Anything more specific than that is unfortunately not something I’m at liberty to discuss. Let’s just say I’m on leave, and in two weeks, I’m going to disappear into my job again. There’s not much room in my life for a woman who needs a man underfoot.”
It was a statement and a challenge all rolled up in possibilities. He was saying he wasn’t long-term-relationship material and she better not expect him to be. Since she had zero interest in having a man stick around, that sounded like heaven to her.
And now of course he’d piqued her curiosity about what he did for a living. It wasn’t hard to connect the dots. The rounded scars on his upper forearm looked like bullet wounds, and the four-inch-long badly healed gash she’d noted below his spectacular pecs said he regularly mixed it up with danger. Like he’d said on the boat. Military probably, but he could be for hire. Hot, either way. Her interest shot into the red zone.
“Can I be brutally honest, Charlie?” His nod was quick and sharp. “That’s the hottest thing a man has ever said to me. I like my men a lot of places, but underfoot is not one of them. If we’ve got two weeks, let’s make it count.”
He swept her with a once-over that curled her toes. “A thrill seeker and a pragmatist? You’re on your way to receiving the first ever Perfect Woman award.”
The tension dissolved as she jerked her head toward the horizon and set off down the beach again. A man who was going to disappear in two weeks hit all the right notes on Audra’s playlist. She had little time for anything serious and, frankly, a marked lack of interest in abandoning her independence. And for what? A man who thought sex gave him permission to run her life?
He followed, catching up easily. “So you swim with dolphins a lot?”
“Every day. They’re amazing creatures, funny, smart. Each one has its own personality, which you wouldn’t think would be true, but they’re very similar to dogs in that respect. Have you ever gotten up close with one?”
He shook his head. “No, but swimming with dolphins is on my list. Parasailing was number one. Which turned out to be so great I’m doing it again, after I’ve done the other stuff. That’s my two-week plan. Sleep a lot, drink a lot of beer, and hit the things on my to-do list.”
What a fantastic coincidence. Isaac had to go back to Miami in a couple of days, but she had two weeks left of her break and then it was back to work. Which she looked forward to, but she’d been in college for almost eight years. Blowing off steam with a hot man before committing to the grind again felt like an unexpected gift she couldn’t wait to unwrap.
Assuming the vibe she’d picked up from him proved to be along those lines, of course.
“That’s an easy one then,” she told him. “There’s a pod of dolphins that hangs out around Ilhota Rosa. It’s one of the reasons I picked this resort, because I’ve been here before and hoped to see them again. Come with me. Tomorrow. Isaac doesn’t care anything about dolphins, and he’d be happy spending the day by the pool.”
Only a slight exaggeration. At best, dolphins bored him, but he’d been listening to her talk about them probably since he could remember. She’d gotten her first job with Dolphin Adventures out of Miami Beach at sixteen and never looked back.
This time, it was Charlie who halted, turning to her in the moonlight. “Are you volunteering to help me check items off my list? Because I’m very okay with that.”
Items plural? As in the whole list? Seemed as if she and Charlie’s vibes were totally in sync. “I’ve never been anyone’s checklist girl. Curious to see what else is on your agenda now. You know, before I agree to be your tour guide.”
Since one had been parasailing, something she’d loved since she was Isaac’s age, and another was apparently dolphins—also known as her field of expertise—odds were good the whole list mirrored her interests pretty well.
But then, who cared when the list holder was this great man she’d stumbled across? Basket weaving had appeal if she got to do it while in the company of Charlie with no last name.
“Well,” he murmured, his gaze homing in on her mouth. “There’s this one thing that was recently added to my list that I’m hoping you’ll like well enough to hang around.”
And then he curled his thumb and forefinger around her chin, tipping it up to bring her lips to his in a sweet kiss that unwound inside her as light and airy as cotton candy.