“I didn't know what kind of sandwich you would want,” he told me as he pulled out more sandwiches than we could possibly eat. “So I got turkey, PB&J, and ham. Condiments are all on the side.”
“I'm a PB&J kind of girl, but turkey is a good second,” I said choosing one of the plastic wrapped sandwiches. “This looks wonderful. Thank you.”
“You are very welcome. I guess that means more ham and cheese sandwiches for me,” he replied with a grin. He picked a ham sandwich up and immediately squirted four packets of mustard onto the bread. I raised my eyebrows and gave the sandwich a sidewise look. It was a lot of mustard.
He shrugged. “What? I like mustard.”
I laughed, and I dug into my peanut butter and jelly with gusto.
“So, I told you about my brother and father,” Aiden said after a moment of quiet. “What about your family? You said you have a sister?”
I swallowed the last bite of my sandwich and reached for the bag of chips. “My parents, Lou and Mina, were high-school sweethearts. My sister, Louisa, just started college. It's a three hour drive, so I haven't seen much of her since she left home.”
“Your parents are Lou and Mina,” he repeated, enunciating their names carefully. “And they have two daughters named Louisa and Lena?”
“Yup.” I nodded slowly. We had gotten plenty of grief through our lives on the similarity of all our names. “They wanted to name our dog Lucina, but Louisa and I decided to name her Casey.”
Aiden laughed, taking out another sandwich and again applying a ridiculous amount of mustard. “You close with your parents?”
I shrugged. “I guess. They live just outside Chicago, so I try and see them when I can. Work keeps me pretty busy, though.”
He nodded. His work must keep him busy as well. He pulled out another sandwich, drenching it with mustard before digging in.
“What about you? What does your dad think of you working for Travel, Inc.?” I asked, taking a handful of chips.
He chewed slowly before finally swallowing. “It's complicated.” His tone of voice told me that it wasn't really something he wanted to discuss.
“Oh.” I chewed on my lip for a moment, trying to think of something that he would want to talk about. His dad was definitely a sore subject with him. “What's your favorite place that you've gone to for work? Besides here, I mean.”
“This is definitely one of my favorite places,” Aiden replied, his shoulders relaxing and the easy smile coming back to the corners of his eyes.
“Las Vegas? Tokyo?” I watched as he shook his head. Where would a man as handsome and charming as Aiden want to go? “Ibiza?”
“Ibiza was amazing and a constant party,” Aiden said. He grinned. “But my favorite would have to be the Grand Canyon.”
“The Grand Canyon?” I was a little surprised. I had expected a something flashy and full of excitement, not a giant hole in the ground.
“I liked the way it made me feel,” he explained. His eyes went distant as he remembered. “All my problems were so small and inconsequential there. You can feel the eons there, and it just puts everything into perspective. Plus, the stars at night are absolutely breathtaking.”
“I've never been there,” I said with a shrug. “The pictures look amazing, though.”
“The pictures don't do it justice.” His hazel focus came back to me. “I'll take you there someday.”
A flutter went through my stomach at the casual reference to us seeing one another after this trip.
“I'd like that,” I replied honestly. “I really, really would.”
He grinned and moved to kiss me. His kiss tasted faintly of mustard, but I still thought it was wonderful. I treasured that mustard kiss like it was gold.
“You'd have to find the time off from being a lawyer to come with me,” he said when we broke apart. “I would want to show you all of it.”
Cold ice settled in the pit of my stomach. Guilt threatened to overtake my happiness. “Oh, yeah. Right.”
I knew I needed to tell him. I knew I should just blurt out the words, “I'm not a lawyer!” but nothing came out. This was so perfect. He wanted to take me to his favorite place in the world. Telling him now would only ruin things. Plus, we were out on the middle of the ocean in a boat. I hated the idea of driving back in silence. It could wait until later.
He brushed hair from my face and back behind my ear. I loved that he did that. It made me feel cherished. “You are so beautiful.”
I looked up, my guilt melted by the heat in his eyes. Want made his gaze burn and set my soul aflame. He kissed me again, this time slower and with more purpose. His tongue infused raw desire straight into my mouth. He reached for my shirt, lifting it easily up over my head.
I moaned his name against his kiss as the shirt cleared. “I thought we were fishing...” I murmured as his hands caressed the fabric of my swim top, my nipples hardening and responding to his touch.
He nibbled on my shoulder, sending heat straight down my spine and to my core. “I can stop if you want...”
“No, no, no... don't stop,” I gasped as he used put his mouth to the delicate skin of my neck and sucked. He smiled against my skin. I bit my lip and looked out across the water. There wasn't a soul for miles, but the idea of doing it out in broad daylight had a delicious naughtiness to it.
He released the tension of his kiss, causing my skin to sting. I hoped he hadn't left too much of a hickey, especially since I couldn't get away with wearing a turtleneck in the Caribbean. He blew on the now incredibly sensitive skin, chuckling as I shivered and goosebumps raced down my arms. It almost hurt when he kissed the spot again, trailing his tongue down the curve of my shoulder and distracting me while he untied my top.
My cute swimsuit fell away before I had a chance to press it up. I didn't fight him as he untied the back string and left me completely exposed in front of him. We were alone out on the water and I had no reason to stop. Just the opposite, in fact.
His hand cupped my bare flesh and he instinctively groaned with pleasure. The sound of his want drove me wild. Unbearable need was heating my core like a furnace and only he could put out my flames. The fact that he was now using his fingers to turn my nipple into a hard pebble only fed the fire.
I shimmied out of my shorts and bottoms as he used both hands and mouth on me. He palmed and pinched while sucking and kissing my shoulders and neck. Aiden had found a spot just along my jaw line that was making my thighs moist.