“I am. I wish we could stay like this for the entire weekend.” I rest my head on his chest, forming circles with my fingers around his navel.
“Pippa.” His tone is so serious all of a sudden that my heart leaps in my chest.
“Yes?” I whisper.
“I like spending time with you, but I have to be honest. I don’t know what I can give you.”
“Why don’t we find out together?”
He takes my hand in his, kissing my palm. “I don’t know where this will go, and I’m well aware that in less than two months I’ll be back in Boston, but while I’m here, I want us to explore this.”
“Excellent.” I ignore the way my heart clenches at the mention of his departure. I’m not afraid of giving him my body; I’m afraid of giving him my heart. Lifting my head, I glance at him, taking in his strikingly beautiful features. “I’ll put on my explorer glasses and join you.”
He hoists me up closer to him, planting a kiss on my neck. “You’re so fun to be around. It’s addictive.”
“I’m banking on it.”
I raise one arm above my head, stretching like a cat, and Eric runs his fingers over my underarm.
“Not there.” My words come out on a screech.
He grins like the little devil he is. “So you tickle easily. This is very important information.”
“Why?”
“I can use it as a persuasion technique.”
I stand up, eyeing him suspiciously as he follows my lead. “Keep your hands where I can see them. I don’t trust them.”
He lifts his hands, chuckling. “You seemed to trust them all right earlier.”
“Different circumstances,” I fire back. “Tickling me is out of the question. Now, an orgasm? You can give me one of those at any time.”
“Noted.”
“So, since we’re here, why don’t we get on with that snorkeling thing?” I suggest. “Unless, of course, you want to discuss the possibilities of more orgasms. No pressure or anything.”
Stepping in front of me, he pushes a strand of hair behind my ear. “No can do. If I see you come one more time, I will lose it. There’s only so much restraint I can have around you.”
“Snorkeling it is, then.” I look in the distance, at what appears to be a cave. “I think that’s a cave there. Do you want to explore it?”
&
nbsp; Eric frowns, touching his jaw. “No. Here’s a secret. I don’t like caves. They’re dark, creepy, and scare the shit out of me.”
“Wow… I wouldn’t have thought anything could scare you. You’re so tall and big.”
“Many things scare me. Closed places, snakes, losing the people I love.” His smile falters when he utters the last part. “I’m just a mere mortal.”
“I’ve never met someone who wears his heart on his sleeve the way you do.” Pointing to the water, I add, “No cave, then. Let’s snorkel.”
It’s when we head to the ladder again that I remember we did away with the glasses during our passionate kiss.
“Oh, no,” I groan, looking around the boat. Eric seems to realize what I’m looking for, because he joins me in my search.
“The currents carried them away. I don’t see them anywhere.”
“Oh, plastic in the ocean. That was irresponsible of us,” I say.