“I see.” He considered her. This guy might give off the bad boy vibe, but she’d never had a man listen the way he did, even in the few interactions they’d had. What other man would take care of her sloppy drunk self and stay until she woke up to ensure she was okay? None of the ones she’d dated.
If that wasn’t depressing, Kendall didn’t know what was.
Alex stroked her hip almost idly, still watching her closely. “Sex is still off the table.”
“What?”
“Yeah.” He nodded, almost as if talking to himself. “You’ve got to learn to walk before you start running. You’ll still regret it if we have sex now.”
She drew herself up. It would have worked a lot better if she wasn’t standing in her bare feet and only about as tall as his shoulder. Kendall didn’t care. She stoked the flicker of irritation, using it to shield something like hurt in her chest. “Alex, you’re really cool.”
“Thanks.”
“But don’t think for a second that you get to decide what I am and am not ready for. I’m an adult. If I regret something, I’ll own that, but you don’t get to make that call.”
“Fair.” He grinned. “Okay, how about a counterproposal?”
She narrowed her eyes, mock-glaring at him even as she tried not to smile. “I’ll consider making a counter-counterproposal once I hear your proposed terms.”
He stroked her hip again, letting his fingers play against her skin just above the ties of her swimsuit. “Let me make you feel good again. Just that.”
Her body zinged in response. She nodded a little too fast. “Deal.”
Alex’s chuckle vibrated through her. “Sweetheart, you’re shit at bargaining.”
“Am I?” She let him back her toward the bed. “Because I’m pretty sure I have an outstanding orgasm in my near future, so who’s the real winner?”
“Me,” he said seriously. And then he lifted her up and moved them both onto the bed. Kendall had exactly two seconds of Oh god, I shouldn’t be doing this and then Alex’s weight settled down on top of her and she nearly moaned. Forget sex, she was starved for human contact. If she wasn’t careful, she could fall asleep just like this, with this man anchoring her to earth. Alex leveraged himself up a little and took in her expression. “What are you thinking?”
“That you’re the sexiest gravity blanket in existence.”
He laughed. A full, deep laugh that rolled through her like a bell tolling. “That would be some side hustle.”
“You could make a fortune.” She reached up, feeling tentative all of a sudden, and touched the buttons on the front of his Hawaiian shirt. “Can I?”
“Go for it.”
She undid them quickly despite her shaking hands. It took a little maneuvering to get the shirt off him completely, but then Alex settled fully against her, so much of his skin against so much of hers. This time, she couldn’t hold back a moan. Mortification heated her cheeks and spread across her chest. No way he missed the way she’d gone beet red, but Alex just laid a series of gentle kisses along her jaw and down her neck. “You don’t take care of yourself.”
“I…” Her breath hitched when he nibbled on the spot where her neck met her shoulder. “Sure I do.”
“Nope.” He traced down the line of her bikini top with his mouth but bypassed her breasts to kiss down her stomach. “Maybe you take care of your body, but you hold yourself apart. It hurts you.”
His words struck far too close to home. She propped herself up on her elbows. “I signed up for orgasms, not for therapy.”
“You might consider it.”
“A therapist?” She blinked. “Are you licensed?”
“No, but I’m the next best thing.” Alex settled between her thighs and looked at her with those intense blue eyes. “I’m a bartender.”
“I… see.” Except she didn’t see. Not at all. What was his game? If he just wanted to have sex with her, he had a strange way of going about it. He certainly couldn’t want more. The man was on a single’s party cruise for god’s sake. No one in their right mind would book this trip if they wanted something serious.
What was she even thinking?
She’d just gone from zero to sixty in the space of thirty seconds. What she really wanted was for Alex to do what he promised and make her feel good. That was it. Anything more was out of the question. Her life just didn’t have room for another person. She’d tried that—more than once—and it never worked out, usually because her work required so much of her that there was nothing left over for her partner. So she’d stopped trying. Really, it was better that way. She was happier alone.
Mostly.
Kendall cleared her throat. “If you want to have this conversation, I’d rather not have it when you’re right there.” His shoulders kept her legs spread and his face was so, so close to the apex of her thighs.