I grinned back. "To vacation," I agreed. We both took a sip.
He looked out to the sea, his blue eyes seeming to search the waves for something. "I was lying when I said I was just a little scared of heights. I'm terrified of them," he said.
I looked at him, unsure if he was telling the truth. "We didn't have to go parasailing, you know."
He laughed. "I've gotten used to them," he said. "Not only do I fly everywhere, I spend a lot of time in Dubai, and the tower they put me in is the highest in the world. As long as I don't go too close to the windows, I'm okay."
I sipped the wine again. "Dubai? Where is that?"
"It's part of an oil-rich state in the Middle East," he explained. Then he smiled and looked at me. "But I'm no Wikipedia page on the subject. What are you afraid of?"
"Me?" I asked. The sudden question threw me off. I'm afraid of dying alone, came my immediate thought, but there was no way I could say that. It wasn't even quite true, but the last man I had been with had taken advantage of me, and I was still feeling vulnerable. So I said the next best thing. "I'm afraid there's no decent men left in this world."
Owen smiled. "All the good ones are either taken or gay," he said.
I leaned in a little closer. "So which one are you?" I asked.
"Indecent," he said without a moment's hesitation. I looked down, seeing if he meant what I thought he meant. "Made you look," he said.
I slapped his chest without thinking, the hardness of his muscles once again taking me by surprise. He must work out every day, I thought. He knew what I had felt just then, and immediately his eyes were on me, on my body. He looked at me with a hunger in his eyes.
"So," I said, trying to break him out of it. "I should probably get back to the resort. My family probably thinks I wandered off into the ocean by now."
"That's already been taken care of. Jack has let your family know that you wandered off with me," he said.
I blushed and looked down at my feet. They knew my reputation all too well and were probably already making assumptions. "Great," I said. "We might as well take our time then."
"My thinking exactly," he said. "I saw you looking at my house earlier. Would you like a tour?"
I hesitated. The place had been huge, and I had wanted to check it out, but now I wavered. My inner voice popped up again. Go! Check out the billionaire's mansion! You're on vacation, and besides, when are you going to get another chance like this?
My inner voice was right. It was a vacation. I wasn't about to fall in love like I always seemed to do, and even if I did, my vacation was going to be over tomorrow anyway.
"I'd love a tour," I said. I could feel my smile beaming, but I still don't think it was as big as his was.
Chapter 6
He opened the huge oak door to his house and ushered me inside. I stood at the entrance for a moment, not wanting to track sand all over, but he just kicked his sandals off near the wall and walked right in. I followed suit.
I knew that Jack had been staying here when he met Emma, and that he had stopped sleeping here to stay in her cabana house by the beach. I'm sure if Emma had known what he was giving up to be with her, she would have insisted on living here instead.
Owen took me on the grand tour, showing me the kitchen, the living room, the dining room, and the backyard where he hosted parties. A beautiful gazebo stood in one corner, and I thought about how much I'd like to have a gazebo like that in my backyard someday.
An open door revealed some stairs leading downward. "What's down there?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Nothing really. Just where I hang out when it's just me and close friends."
I waited. "Well, can I see it?"
He looked at me quizzically. "You want to see my Man Cave?"
I laughed. "Of course I want to see your Man Cave."
I walked down the wooden stairs. The light from the basement stairwell only reached slightly into the room, so I had to squint in order to see. Owen switched a switch and the room lit up.
A tattered, comfortable looking, leather couch sat in front of a big screen TV. One of every video game system made since the Super Nintendo was hooked up, with controllers and games neatly filed in drawers on either side of the entertainment center. An old pinball machine whirred to life in the corner. Neon signs flickered on over a wooden bar with every kind of liquor I could think of.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"It's... a Man Cave, alright," I said.
He walked behind the bar, immediately picking up a washcloth and a glass. "What can I get you, young lady?" he inquired.
"Were you a bartender in a past life?" I quipped, taking a seat on one of the stools. "I'll take a Malibu on the rocks."
"A good vacation choice," he said. "I play bartender every chance I get. Someday, when I retire, I'm going to open up a bar."
"Bars are too much trouble," I said. "You have to get a liquor license, jump through all sorts of hoops, and then you have to make the place chic."
"Too true. Would you like a splash of pineapple juice?" he asked, pouring a drink for himself as well.
"That sounds delicious." He set the drink down in front of me and I took a sip. "When I retire, I want to open a bed and breakfast. Just a few rooms, I'll cook up eggs and pancakes every morning, my husband can gossip with the guests..."
"So this is a group thing, huh? You're going to drag your future husband into this scheme of yours as well?" he asked, a teasing tone to his voice.
I shrugged and took another drink. "It's my fantasy, so yes, he's into the scheme."
"What other fantasies do you have?" he wondered, leaning in.
Danger! Danger, Kaylee! I thought. The comment was clearly sexual in nature, and if I spent all day talking about my fantasies, he'd have me right where he wanted me...
I tossed the rest of the drink back. "Pour me another, barkeep, and don't skimp on the pineapple juice," I said. Another drink was poured for me, quick as could be. I reached into my pocket and opened up my wallet, fishing out a dollar bill. I slid it across the table toward him. "Don't spend it all in one place."
He grabbed the pocket of his shirt and opened it toward me, leaning in. I picked the dollar back up and tucked it in the open space. As I stuffed the bill in, I felt his muscular chest again, but I didn't pull my hand away.
"What kind of fantasies can a man like you have, anyway? What can a billion of these not buy?" I asked, moving the dollar bill against his chest more.
His eyes flickered, a flash of sadness behind them for just a moment. "I'm still a human being, you know. One with wants and needs. Do you really want to know what I want the most?"
I leaned in closer. "Tell me."
He pulled away. Was it something I said? I thought. I didn't know what I had done to offend him, to make him pull back, but then he walked around the bar, and sat down at the stool next to me. His voice got even lower as he leaned in conspiratorially.
"Jack and I were supposed to hang out last year at his vacation. Even though he brought his secretary, it was supposed to be kind of a bachelor party that we'd never have, because we both knew that we'd never find someone who could look past all this," he said as he waved his hand in the air, as if this Man Cave were the measure of his wealth.
"But, after I didn't see him the entire trip, we shared a flight back to New York. He had met someone, and he wouldn't shut up about her." His voice got lower, as if he were ashamed. "How witty she was. How fantastic in bed she was. When I found out that she hadn't even known about his money, you can't even imagine how jealous I was. When I met Emma, I was immediately attracted to her." The tone of his voice betrayed the fact that it was more than just an attraction.
It was a startling confession. The suave billionaire must have known that the way to a woman's heart was not to basically confess their unrequited love for their younger sister, but he had done just that.
"But Jack had never been happier, so I kept my distance. Oh, we spoke, and of course I flirted with her, but it was painful. She has no idea of course." He looked at me, and his eyes conveyed an unspoken And I'd like to keep it that way.
I nodded, unwilling to interrupt him. "But, I found out that Emma had a big sister. One who was somehow even more beautiful and just as witty. One who was having just as much problem finding happiness as her little sister had. One who I was finally going to meet at a wedding."
He sighed, taking the dollar bill out of his shirt pocket and throwing it on the floor, looking at it with disgust. "If I could have one thing, one fantasy, it would be a time machine, so I could go back in time before you had me pegged as an a**hole billionaire. I'd let you fall for me like I've already fallen for you."
I'm his fantasy, I realized. I was speechless, but there was no need to let words do the talking. In the back of my mind, the cautious voice in my head was telling me that he might be making all this up just to get in my panties, but that voice was quickly drowned out. I looked into his blue windows of the soul, and knew that he was being completely genuine.
I leaned in and pressed my lips against his. As my tongue darted into his mouth, I could taste the coconut liquor on his lips, and I drank him in. He returned the kiss eagerly, wrapping his hands around my back and bringing me in closer. I pulled him into me, his skin smooth on my fingers. We broke from the kiss and I marveled at his huge pecs and abs, eying him hungrily. I knew he was looking at me the same way, and it turned me on.
My hands found their way to his chest, my nails running up and down his body immediately. He shuddered, obviously in shock that his fantasy was about to come true. My t-shirt was next, and with one deft motion, he untied the back of my bikini top as well. He didn't remove it, but rather allowed it to hang loosely for a moment. I smiled at him, putting my hands over my small br**sts for a moment before peeling off the bikini top.
It was at that moment that his lust hit a breaking point. He stood up from the bar stool, lifting me up like I was weightless. I wrapped my legs around him and he held me up. My hair fell into his face, getting in the way of our kisses as our bodies pressed together. I began to grind against him, pushing my body into his even more, as he walked over to the couch. He set me down gently, then kissed the length of my neck, drinking in my body. He kissed each of my br**sts for just a few moments, my n**ples hardening as soon as they felt his tongue against them. Then he continued moving down.
I felt a momentary pang of panic as he unbuttoned my jean shorts, but it passed as soon as I looked into his eyes. I saw nothing but honest love emanating from him, and I wanted him to continue. I needed him.
He worked the jean shorts down my long legs before untying my bikini bottoms. Those, too, were off my legs in a heartbeat. He began to kiss up my legs, past my knees, working toward my thighs...
I knew where he was going, and I knew my own body better than he did. After all the walking, the parasailing, and the alcohol, I wasn't at my freshest. I grabbed him by the hair, but he kept moving up. "Owen, you don't have to... to..." I stopped as his tongue met my labia, unable to speak any longer.