The Playboy's Proposition(25)

Bella sucked in her breath at the beauty of the building and the lush  green foliage. She looked at Michael. "I must have misunderstood. I  thought you were looking at a condominium."

"The condo's on Seven Mile beach. This one would be for personal use." The driver pulled to a stop and they got out.

Bella looked up at the size of the mansion. "It's lovely from the outside."

"Let's take a look inside," he said and unlocked the front door. Cool marble floors and upscale island decor greeted them.

"Very nice," she said.

He took her hand in his and wandered through the house. All the modern  necessities and wants anyone could imagine were included in the home  along with several views designed to make a mere mortal drool, even at  night.

They stood on a deck for a moment and Bella drank in the gentle sound of  the ocean against the sand. "Oh, I think we'd better leave right away,"  she said.

"Why?"

"Because I don't know how anyone could leave after staying here five minutes," she said.

He laughed and tugged her hand. "Let's go upstairs."

Reluctantly leaving the deck, she climbed the stairs and looked at the  hallways of bedrooms, another deck and finally the master suite. She  followed him inside, glancing up to see the stars in the skylights which  featured blinds for closing. A floor-to-ceiling window which revealed a  fantastic view of the sea and the sky sat opposite the large bed. She  walked through the sliding-glass door on to yet another deck with an  awning, chairs and table and Jacuzzi.                       
       
           



       

"Ohhhh, this is so good it's bad," she said.

"You like it?" he asked, pulling her against him as he looked out at the ocean.

"Who wouldn't?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Relaxing has never been my forte," he said. "I've received  solicitations like this before, but I ignored them. Who has time for  trips to the Cayman Islands?"

She saw a lostness in his eyes and her stomach twisted. "Has it ever occurred to you to take a vacation?"

"I've taken vacations. Mountain climbing, scuba diving … "

"No, I mean a real vacation where you actually relax," she said. "Maybe  even, heaven forbid, sleep late and ditch your workout for one whole  day."

His lips twitched. "Not really."

"Why doesn't that surprise me? I wonder what it would take to get you to sleep late," she said.

His eyes darkened. "Try and find out."





After a night of lovemaking, she felt him stir in the morning.  Determined to keep him from getting out of bed, she rolled on top of  him, still half-asleep. "Nuh-uh," she said. "You're not going  anywhere."She opened her eyes to find his sleepy eyes staring back at  hers. "How are you going to keep me here?"

"One way or another," she said and pressed her mouth against his for a long kiss.

His hands skimmed over her buttocks. "You're cute when you're slee-"

She wiggled lower, sliding on to his hardness, taking the words from his mouth. "Ohhhh," he said.

She began to ride, forcing her eyes to open so she could see the ecstasy  on his face. He wrapped his hands about her hips again, guiding her,  distracting her. She was supposed to be in control, but he took it from  her.

Soon, her pleasure splintered from her and she squeezed him tight within  her. His gasps of pleasure fed hers and she climaxed just as the sun  peeked through the horizon.

Seconds, minutes, hours later, Michael slid his leg over her. "Lord, woman, what time is it?"

"I don't know and I don't care," she said.

He chuckled, nuzzling her head. He shifted her slightly then swore.  "It's eight-thirty. Do you know the last time I slept this late?"

"Not last weekend," she said.

"That's true," he said, rising. "The last time I slept this late, I was thirteen and sick with strep throat."

She waved her hand upward and he caught it. "What do you want?"

"To feel your forehead to make sure you don't have strep throat," she said.

He chuckled and lifted her hand to his mouth instead. "No strep throat.  What do you want for breakfast? There's staff downstairs waiting for our  order."

She sighed. "Sometimes, I want no staff," she said. "I'm good with a bagel."

"We'll do that next visit. What do you want this time?"

"Scrambled eggs, blueberry pancakes and crisp bacon," she said.

"That's a little more than a bagel," he said.

"Yeah, well if they're dying to fix breakfast … " she said and suddenly  felt guilty. "Scratch that," she said. "I'm okay with toast."

"Liar," he said. "Bella wants pancakes. Bella will have pancakes."

Crap, she thought. She'd better not get used to this.

After breakfast, she and Michael explored the house then changed into  swimsuits to sun on the private beach. Michael wasn't the type to sit  still, so he read for a while then dragged her into the water.

She stared at her feet next to his, marveling at how clear the water  was. Tiny fishes swam between their legs. "Omigosh, this is amazing."

"Look farther out," he said, pointing to where the water was deeper.

She spotted larger, multicolored fish and a dolphin jumping. "It's so calm and clear you don't even need to snorkel."

"One of the reasons I like it here," he said.

"How often have you been?" she asked.

"Just a couple times. Always business," he said. He tugged her deeper into the water and dunked her.

She gasped as she returned to the surface. "Why did you do that?" she  asked, swatting at his muscular chest. She may as well have been a fly.

"You looked like you needed to get wet all over," he said, grinning as he pulled her against him.

"How about a warning next time?" she demanded, wrapping her legs around  his waist because it seemed like the natural thing to do.

He shook his head, his dark eyes glinting in the sun like black  diamonds. "Too much fun taking you by surprise," he said and took her  mouth before she could protest.                       
       
           



       

With the water and Michael's arms surrounding her, she felt herself  sinking under his spell. What a magical moment to be with him. Away from  everything but each other.

Seconds later, she felt her bathing-suit top slip from her body. "What-"

Michael grinned like a demon and moved away from her.

"You," she accused, going after him, but he was faster. "Michael," she called. "Give me back my swimsuit."

"In a while," he said. "Since we have a private beach, you can go topless."

"Some other time," she said, swimming toward him.

"I dare you," he said.

She stopped and groaned. "Oh, don't say that."

"Ah, so you can't turn down a dare, either," he said, reminding her of  how she'd challenged him to help paint the community center.

"That was different. You got to keep your clothes on."

"And burn my hands," he said.

"True," she muttered, still reluctant. She met his gaze, for once nearly  carefree and she realized she would do just about anything for him to  stay that way instead of tortured and mired in guilt.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. I can do this, she told  herself. I can do this. She opened her eyes and walked forward, biting  her lip as her upper body broke the surface of the water. Even though  Michael had seen her naked too many times to count, this just felt  different.

She couldn't quite meet his gaze. "Never let it be said-"

He swooped her into his arms, his chest covering hers as he carried her into deeper water. "I really didn't think you'd do it."

She gawked at him. "You dared me. What am I supposed to do?"

"Remind me to never let you around any other men who like to make dares," he said gruffly.

She looked at him. "I'm selective," she said.

"Keep it that way," he said.





Thirteen



T hey returned to Atlanta on Saturday in time for Bella to attend the  wedding of a college friend. The trip to Grand Cayman had been amazing.  She'd never seen Michael in a fun mode before. It lifted her heart and  made her want to see more of that from him.

As they returned home, however, she saw him pulling into himself more  and more. They parted ways at the private airport. He tucked her into  his limo and she returned to her apartment.Dressing for the wedding,  Bella couldn't help wondering about her own future. What did Michael  want from her? She couldn't believe he wanted marriage, yet she knew he  didn't want her to be involved with any other man.

She drove to the church where her old friend CeCe was married then went  to a country club for the reception. She smiled as CeCe danced first  with her new husband and then her father. A bite of nostalgia prodded  her at the memory of her own father, whom she'd never known, and her  mother, who had died.