His Millionaire Maid(14)

And then there was Brooke, one year her senior and superior to her in every way that mattered to her dad. Brooke was a straight-A student, class president, captain of the debating team, and she never cursed, drank, smoked, or cut class. Or, if she did, she was way better at hiding it than Nina. Her father doted on Brooke, and when he adopted her and gave her the Beaumont surname, to Nina it felt as if he’d finally gotten the daughter he’d always wanted.

With Brooke set to marry the son of a senator, Nina was more than happy to fade into the background, hoping even to skip the event, which had been billed the party of the decade. Lavish society weddings were so not her, especially with the memory of her two-faced ex-boyfriend still fresh in her mind.

“I really don’t want to go,” she said to Joe.

“But they’re your family. You have to.”

“Humph. You don’t know my family.”

“What’s so special about your family?”

Trepidation danced down her spine. She wasn’t ready to confess to Joe she was a Beaumont. She felt bad lying to him, but she’d feel even worse if she told him the truth and saw his attitude toward her alter. People always treated her differently, once they knew who she was and how much money she had.

“They’re difficult,” she said. “And not just my dad, but also my stepmom and my stepsister.”

“You mentioned earlier your mom passed away.” He offered a sympathetic look. “How long ago was that again?”

“She died when I was thirteen. Dad remarried two years later.”

“Can’t have been easy for you. But you’re no cakewalk either.” His voice held a teasing smile. “I’d say you gave as much as you got.”

“Or more,” Nina admitted.

“Families aren’t always easy, are they?”

Minutes later, Joe pulled off the road and parked the truck in a small clearing. She followed him through the scrub until they came to a rocky cove, where glistening dark rocks tumbled down to a deep cerulean ocean.

“Oh, it’s beautiful!” she exclaimed, gazing down at the seawater that swirled and crashed against the boulders.

“I used to come here all the time when I was a teenager. When the winter storms hit it’s amazing to see the waves crashing against the cliffs.”

“Look over there.” Nina pointed farther below at a ledge of rock jutting out high over the water. Three teenage boys stood on the platform, and as she watched, one of them leaped off the edge, whooping as he disappeared. “Are they insane?”

“I’ve done that plenty of times,” Joe assured her. “It’s safe as long as the sea’s not too rough. Come on, let’s take a closer look.”

As he led her down to the ledge, the two other boys jumped off, too, hollering and cackling. When they reached the rock platform, Nina peeped over the edge. Wow, the ocean was a long way down, at least thirty feet or more. Below, the three teenagers swam for the water’s edge, whooping and high-fiving.

Nina turned back to Joe. “Well? Are you game?”

“What?” he said before comprehension dawned on his face. “Oh… No, I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“I only brought you here for the view. I haven’t jumped off that cliff in ages.”

“Okay, old man. I’ll go on my own.” She started kicking off her Crocs.

Joe stared at her. “You’re serious?”

“If those boys can do it, so can I.” She rolled off her black leggings, pausing when she caught Joe’s eye. “What? I’m not taking everything off, and besides, it’s not as if you haven’t seen the full buffet already.”

He muttered something under his breath. It might have been a curse word. She turned away from him and edged toward the precipice. Her heart revved in her chest. She was nervous about the jump, but she wanted to have some fun. Needed some pure, mindless joy in her life. If Joe didn’t want to make out with her, then jumping off a cliff was the next best thing. She shuffled forward, filling her lungs with the fresh, briny air as her body tingled with excitement.

“Wait,” Joe ordered. There was a faint clink of a belt being unbuckled, and when she turned she almost swooned at the sight of Joe standing in just his black boxer briefs, his jeans, T-shirt, and shoes discarded.

Oh, oh, oh. She couldn’t focus on anything except his abs, his arms, his waist. That package snugly encased in tight black cotton. Good God, she needed oxygen.

He plucked at her T-shirt. “Take that off, too. You’ll need something dry to wear afterward.”

She nodded, wordless, and obeyed. When she was stripped down to bra and panties, Joe appeared to have a hard time looking elsewhere, too.

He swallowed hard, and then he took her hand and nodded down at the ocean below. “We’ll jump on three. Ready?”

She nodded again. The feel of his fingers wrapped around hers and the tickle of his arm against hers sent the adrenaline soaring. Holding hands with Joe felt even more exciting than jumping off this cliff.

“One, two, three!”

She didn’t stop shrieking as they plummeted down. Her senses were assaulted by the rushing wind, the feel of Joe’s body falling with her, and her own weightlessness. They plunged into the ocean, and cold water seized her. Bubbles filled her vision before she kicked her way to the surface, popping up at the same time as Joe.

She let out a few whoops of exhilaration. “That was awesome!”

Joe wore a big grin on his face. “Yeah. I’m surprised I can still hear.”

She splashed some water at him and laughed. “Admit it. You enjoyed it, too.”

“I did.” Moving closer, he wrapped his arms around her. “You’re a very bad influence on me.”

His chest pressed up against her breasts, and suddenly there was a lot more to get excited about. But just then a wave slapped into them, dragging them under for a few seconds.

“Let’s get out before we freeze to death,” Joe said when they reemerged.

He kept beside her as they swam toward the rocks and scrambled out of the water.

Nina stood shivering on the damp rocks, not regretting one moment of the experience.

“Those teenagers aren’t far away,” Joe said. “They’re not going to move while you’re showing all that.” With a lazy smile he dropped his gaze to her chest, and she saw that her white bra was now practically transparent and her nipples had pebbled from the cold.

She swallowed. The heat in Joe’s look made her nipples even harder and achy for his touch.

She drew in a breath and waved at the teenagers. “Hiya, boys!” They gawped and waved timidly back, looking skinny and raw compared to the alpha male next to her. But when she turned back to Joe, he was already heading up to the rock platform, so she fell in behind him.

Watching Joe’s ass clad in wet boxer briefs was no hardship at all. All too soon, they arrived back at their clothes, where Joe dressed with brisk efficiency. She would have liked to linger for a while, maybe watch the sun set, but it was obvious Joe was eager to get back to the inn. He’d already spent more time than he’d bargained taking her out for a drive, so she couldn’t complain.

They drove back to town in companionable silence.

“Thanks for taking me there,” she said when they entered the Comet Inn. “I really enjoyed myself.”

“I’m glad. Hartley’s full of hidden gems like that. You just have to know where they are.”

“Maybe you could show me another one next Monday.”

Joe paused and gave her a sharp, assessing look. She didn’t care for that look—it always seemed to conclude in some deficiency on her part.

“Or any other Monday would do, too,” she added, trying to force a response from him.

“You’re planning on sticking around, then?”

Oh, yes, she’d been right about that look of his. She propped one hand on her hip as she faced him fully. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“You have a wedding in San Francisco in three weeks.”

“What are you implying?”

Joe pushed his fingers through his salt-stiffened hair. “I’m not implying anything, but look at it from my point of view. You might be pissed off with your dad, but he wants you at your sister’s wedding. Add to that the fact you’re not used to small-town living and you’re not exactly thrilled with your job here, and, well…I’d be a fool to assume you’d stick out your probation period.”

His cool, dispassionate reasoning made her clench her fists. “I’m not a quitter. I might have to go to my stepsister’s wedding, but it’s just one weekend. It’s not going to change my plan. I’ll be back.”

But that was impossible, she realized with a pang. She had to be in San Francisco before Brooke’s wedding. With her vacation time used up, she’d have to return to her job at Beaumont, Inc. She was returning, wasn’t she? This whole working-as-a-maid thing was strictly temporary. But if she told Joe that, why would he keep her on?

“You’re sure?” he said. “One weekend in the big city might remind you of everything you’ve been missing.”

“I said I’ll be back,” she reiterated through gritted teeth.

“Why? Because of…this?” He waggled his finger. “This thing between us?”