Dirty Secrets

Frosted Vanilla Yum

"Auntie Jess, can I make my own sand sculpture?"

"Grace, you sit right here where I can see you. Here's a bucket, a shovel, and..." I handed my niece a small plastic rake as the words died in my mouth.

Leo was walking toward us on the sand.

My heart began to race. How had he known I'd be here? Why was I so breathless? Why did he look so sinfully hot?

Today, thankfully, Leo was wearing a shirt—an old, thin gray T-shirt and blue surf shorts, which did nothing to hide his muscular body. Brawny, burly, beefy—he looked like a soldier coming to defend the shores of Palmira.

Or to capture my heart. Again.

He hauled a tackle box in one hand and a bucket filled with tools in the other. A collapsible cooler was slung over his shoulder. Grinning, he walked closer. I could hear the blood rush in my ears and felt a little dizzy.

I hated how I couldn't get the previous night's potent kisses out of my mind. Goosebumps formed on my arms, and I shivered, recalling how his fingers had felt on my face, my neck, lower. Thank God we'd been interrupted by that phone call, because I could have easily ended up in bed with him. Which was where the fantasy probably would have ended.

Every time I thought about sex with him, I also thought about my condition. Would I be able to relax enough to actually have sex ever again?

Illogically, his suggestion to "take things slow" nagged at me. I knew it was ridiculous, but I couldn't help feeling rejected. I'd all but thrown myself at him, and he'd backed off. Why? He certainly hadn't been slow when we were younger.

Leo stopped in front of us, and I looked up and frowned. But his gorgeous smile made a grin burst through. I couldn't help myself. He was too handsome and obviously happy to see me. The urge was strong to reach out and stroke the muscles in his legs.

He grinned back. "Hi, Jess. Who's this?"

I adjusted my sunglasses, making sure they were firmly on the bridge of my nose so he wouldn't notice how I was checking him out. "This is my niece, Grace. She's Nicole's daughter. Grace is with me for the morning because it's a school holiday."

Grace stopped digging in the sand with her shovel and squinted up at Leo. "Is he a friend of yours, Auntie Jess?"

I cleared my throat. "Ah. Yes. This is Leo. He is a friend."

Leo laughed. "A friend? Hmm. That's a start."

He walked to his sand station and stripped off his shirt, treating me—again—to the sight of his rippling back muscles. How I wanted to run my hands over his skin, massage him with suntan lotion and... I exhaled, stopping myself from going down that fantasy path. Where did it end exactly?

Had he been annoyed last night at how I'd insisted on handling the guest's problem myself? That'd be silly. If he was the kind of guy who wanted to insert his male "expertise" into my career, he'd have to change his attitude. The last thing I wanted was a man like Nicole's husband.