He comes up behind me and slides his hands around my waist. “That’s Wizard Island. And that tiny one over there…” He points a finger, and my eyes follow the direction.
“Where?” I squint.
“Right over there.” He gestures with his finger again.
My eyes pick up on something, but it’s not very clear. “I can just about see it,” I tell him.
“That’s Phantom Ship.”
“Sounds spooky,” I say.
Then, I make a ghost noise, and he chuckles. I feel it rumble against my back.
“Why’s it called that?” I ask.
“Because people say it resembles a ghost ship.”
I slide my hands over his, linking our fingers, and lean my head back onto his shoulder. I turn my face to him and press a kiss to his neck.
“Are you happy?” he asks me, staring down into my eyes.
“Very. Are you?”
“I’ve got the hottest girl in the world in my arms, and her ass is currently pressed up against my cock. I’d say I’m extremely happy.”
“You’re such a charmer.” I giggle.
“And don’t you just know it?” He laughs, kissing my forehead. “Come on, let’s eat. I’m starving.”
I kick my flip-flops off and sit down. Vaughn sits beside me, opens the basket, and gets the sandwiches out that we made earlier—turkey and mayo.
Yum.
Then, he pulls out a bottle of wine and a plastic glass from the side of the basket.
“When did you sneak that in?” I ask.
“I put it in when you were in the bathroom. I just forgot to tell you. Thought you might like a drink.”
“Aren’t you having one?”
“I’m driving.” He gives me a duh look.
“I know you’re driving, smart-ass, but you can have a glass, can’t you?”
“I only brought the one glass.”
“Then, I’ll share mine with you.”
He pours the wine out, and I take a sip and then hand it to him.
“Thanks for bringing me here,” I say before taking a bite of my sandwich. “It really is beautiful. And kind of romantic if you think about it.”
“I’m a romantic kind of guy.” He grins.
“Can you ever be serious for just a minute?” I nudge his thigh with my foot.
He stares right into my eyes. “Like I told you, I’m serious about you.”
Butterflies swoop into my stomach, going nuts. “I’m kind of serious about you, too, West.”
We eat and drink—well, I do most of the drinking—and we talk about everything and laugh. I laugh so much when I’m with him.
I think humor is such an attractive quality in a man, and Vaughn has it in spades. That, and a gorgeous face and smoking-hot body.
I’m a lucky, lucky girl.
I’m just nibbling on a strawberry when I remember something that I’ve always wanted to ask him. “West, can I ask you something?”
“Is it dirty or kinky?”
“No.” I giggle.
“Sounds boring to me, but go on then. I’m listening.”
I shake my head at him, my lips curved into a smile. “Why didn’t you have me fired when I stabbed you?”
He furrows his brow. “Why would I have?”
“Because you had Millie fired for incompetency. I stabbed you in one of your balls. Seems kind of worse than being incompetent. Even though she is incompetent.”
“Who’s Millie?”
“The girl who did the job before me.” I put the rest of the strawberry in my mouth and chew.
“Oh, her. I had her fired because she kept hitting on me.”
“Oh.” I swallow it down. “Well, it makes sense. She always did seem to like the men I did.” Even if she did see Vaughn first, it doesn’t count because I don’t like her.
“Do I smell a history there between you two?”
“I just don’t like her. She’s crap at her job. And she slept with my ex after I dumped him.”
“Ah. Well, Pins, I wouldn’t have fired you for an accident even if it hurt like a motherfucker. And you intrigued me. I liked your fire. And you made me a cock warmer, so…”
“Oh my God! It wasn’t a cock warmer! It was—”
He cuts my words off with a soft kiss.
His lips part from mine, his thumb brushing gently over my mouth. My eyes flutter open to his warm stare on mine.
“It wasn’t a cock warmer,” I utter softly.
“Sure it wasn’t, Pins.” He winks.
“Kind of ironic that you fired her for hitting on you, and then you ended up sleeping with me.”
“It’s different.”
“How?”
“Because, first off, she was seriously inappropriate. You never behaved that way with me.”
“True.”
“And, secondly, I wanted to fuck you the moment I laid eyes on you.”
I hold back a smile. “You were quite standoffish when I first met you.”
“Because I wanted to fuck you, and I knew I couldn’t, hence the hard-on when you stabbed me.”
“I knew you had an erection!” I exclaim. “And you were all, ‘I didn’t have a boner. You’re not my type,’” I say, mimicking his voice.
“What was I supposed to say? Oh, yeah, I got a boner while you were on your knees in front of me because I couldn’t stop imagining you sucking my cock. I’m sure that would have gone down really well.”