His honesty turned into curiosity. “So, what do you tell her?”
“That I don’t pick and choose what I love about her. I love all of her.” She spoke the words that came so simply to her. “Despite her lack of sense of humor.”
“Are you and Haley a couple?”
“No.” Nadia specifically blamed the last rum runner she’d had for the saucy wink she gave him. “I like men the way I liked my bath water—hot.” Smashing a hand over her mouth, she almost tumbled backward into the bathwater. Luckily for her, Dante ran forward and held her upright.
“I don’t think it’s safe to leave you alone with a tub full of water.”
Nadia gave him a pfft. “I would be fine if you quit distracting me.”
“How am I distracting you?”
Unconsciously, Nadia splayed her hands over his chest while she noticed him trying to assess how drunk she was. “I’m s-o-b-e-r,” she spelled the words out to him rather slowly.
“From where I’m standing, it doesn’t seem that way to me.”
The alcohol made her brave enough to keep saying the things she had been wanting to tell him. “You’re just being overcritical of me, which you’ve been since you met me.”
“I haven’t been critical of you,” he said, taking no offense.
“Ah … Then it’s your persona.”
Okay … now he was offended.
“What persona?”
“Condescending. You come across as being very condescending.” Nadia shrugged, supposing it came with the job.
And now he was past offended.
“I do not.”
She couldn’t help but feel as if the tables had turned from when they were in her cabin and he was calling her dramatic. Rightfully so.
“You do. You’re doing it now.”
“Right now, I’m annoyed,” he clarified the difference in a warning tone.
“Yeah, I get that from you, too. I was just being nice not to say so.” She crossed her arms, the action causing her breasts to lift higher. “And if I’m annoying you so much, why don’t you leave so I can take my bath?”
Dante took a cooling breath. “I’m not annoyed at you. I’m annoyed at myself, so it doesn’t matter if I’m here or in the lounge.”
She slowly dropped her arms back to her sides, taking in his sudden change. “Why are you annoyed at yourself?”
“Because, right now”—his next cooling breath came out rather shakily—“the only thing I can think about is you finishing unbuttoning my shirt.”
“Um …” Nadia licked her suddenly dry lips. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
Meeting her eyes, he gave a long pause for her to say something else. When she didn’t, he turned to leave.
“Don’t go.” Nadia couldn’t understand where her plea had come from, or why she reached out to grab his arm. “I must have hit my head when you pushed me into your car.”
Turning back, he swept his gaze down at her again. “Why?”
“Because I don’t know why I said that,” she lied, knowing it was, but she couldn’t keep her mind up with what her body was telling her.
“Want me to give you a clue?”
A thrill rushed up her spine when his fingers went to the top button of the shirt she was wearing. At the movement, his knuckles grazed her nipple behind the swim top underneath. Sucking in a deep breath, she waited breathlessly for him to give her another clue.
Cool air from the vent above raised goose bumps on her skin, or was it Dante’s touch? With her heart racing, Nadia curled her fingers under the opening of his shirt. The firmness of his flesh sparked an arousal, which would normally mortify her that she was being so handsy with a man she had just met the day before.
Of course, Nadia was no virgin. At thirty years old, she had even experienced a one-night stand or two when the need had hit, but this felt like anything but. This felt like the start of a beautiful beginning or a disastrous ending. Which one it was, she wouldn’t be sure until she was on the other side of it.
She had never felt anything like this with someone. The people whom she had dated or slept with, she couldn’t say she had felt much for them. It was like all her emotions and feelings were reserved for the children at Moonbeam. But now, here on this yacht, with him, it was like they were all directed and focused on this man. Was it because she was far away from Kansas City and couldn’t focus on the kids right now? Most importantly, was she brave enough to find out?
His masculine scent enticed her to say yes, as there was nothing soft or boyish about Dante. The musk he was putting off was pure, unadulterated, viral man that was as heady as three rum runners.
About to give in to temptation … her hands slipped away, and she took a step back, pulling the plug on the attraction that was getting out of hand. “My water is getting cold.”