“That’s quite remarkable,” she told him. “I assure you, if I ran forty-seven marathons, I’d sure as hell be hanging up those medals. The only thing I run for is the coffee pot first thing in the morning.”
Luke eased back up and went back to his lunch. “Running is therapeutic for me.”
“I’m ashamed to admit, I don’t work out.” She took another sip of her tea and grabbed her fork. “I try to offset that by eating somewhat healthy.”
“Your body is just fine.”
She glanced across the table to see his eyes firmly on hers. There went those butterflies once again. How could she have schoolgirl giddiness and very adult fantasies all rolled together?
Anticipation. That was the only explanation. She had no clue what was going to happen here and that level of the unknown might be just as thrilling as anything else.
“Speaking of bodies, our massages are scheduled soon.” Kelly sat her cloth napkin on the table and eased her chair back as she came to her feet. “I’m going to go rinse off in the shower to make sure all the sand and sunscreen are off.”
He sat back in his seat, looking all relaxed and sexy. “I don’t really need—”
Kelly held up her hands. “Stop right there. You are getting a massage. You will love it and you will thank me afterward. End of discussion.”
His lips quirked. “Yes, ma’am.”
Oh, she could get used to those words coming out of his mouth. She nodded her silent thanks and turned to head to the shower. Although she could have invited him to join her, she rather liked this sexual tension and naughty flirting. She also wanted him to make the next move. Kelly had laid out her feelings. Luke knew full well where she stood, so the ball was in his court.
But, that didn’t mean he held all the power here.
Kelly made her way into her bathroom and stripped down as she stepped into the large open shower with the rain head. She fully intended to hold tight on the reins of control during this trip. However, she couldn’t let her heart get involved, not with knowing Luke was cut from the same cloth as her father. Both workaholics with no time for anything else.
When Kelly entered into a serious relationship, she wouldn’t settle for less than being first in her partner’s life.
But, she wasn’t going to turn down a fling with the one man she’d been fantasizing about for years. This was the chance she’d been waiting on.
Nine
Luke didn’t do massages. He didn’t do facials or pedicures, or any other spa, self-care nonsense. How did people make time for this? His mode of relaxing was running, and that was when his work schedule all
owed.
He felt like he was on display here. Nobody had warned him he’d be bare-ass naked with only a thin towel covering his backside.
Kelly lay on the table next to him on the beach. Which, thankfully, provided a delicious distraction from his cringe-worthy state of undress. And he grudgingly conceded that the sound of the ocean waves in the background did have some of the tension leaving his body...or at least some of his work tension.
The sexual frustration was practically exploding all around him because, every now and then, Kelly would let out the softest moan and his entire body would tighten with a need he shouldn’t have for his assistant. He had to think of something else, anything else, before he embarrassed himself when he turned over to lay on his back. That towel wasn’t going to be able to conceal anything.
Kelly might have told him not to discuss work, but that wouldn’t stop him from thinking about it and all the ways he could potentially jumpstart Wingate.
That would definitely keep his hormones in check because there was nothing about this situation that was enticing. He carried the weight around everywhere, desperately seeking the answers to bring the company into the next phase of their future projections.
He sighed. Their loyal employees were counting on him; his brothers and aunt were, too. Granted, his family was also involved and everyone was working like never before to make this black cloud disappear. But with Luke being VP of New Product Development, he shouldered the majority of the responsibility.
Ava had taken him in when his parents had died and there was a large part of him that felt obligated to take this burden from her. She’d been through so much and she deserved to be cared for, to be protected from all of this.
The masseuse dug into that crook between his neck and his shoulder, and Luke nearly moaned himself. As much as he’d been against getting a massage, those hands were magical.
An instant image of Kelly running her hands all over his body instantly popped into his mind. He wouldn’t mind giving her a rubdown as well.
Damn it. He was supposed to be concentrating on anything other than Kelly and that body she kept displaying.
She was more than just sexy curves, though. That did not even begin to scratch the surface of what this woman was made of. He’d always known how intelligent and astute she was, and to that end, he never went into a meeting without her. Heck, his assistant was like the second half of his brain. If there was something he didn’t think of, he knew she would. Many times she was already ahead of him and he’d never had to ask her to do anything twice.
But it wasn’t until yesterday that he discovered just how persistent, demanding, and strong-willed she could be. All of that combined was too damn sexy and he was having a difficult time resisting her.