Rescue Me(26)

"Not anytime soon, I'm afraid. Things seem to be going from bad to worse. I had things going really well for a good while, but lately..." He trailed off, reclining in his seat. Meredith leaned in, letting her chest fall forward.

Cole stared straight at her breasts, and she knew it was painfully obvious that she wasn't wearing a bra either. Her nipples tightened as he continued his journey up her thigh, her breath becoming raspy. She couldn't believe they were doing this.

When the tips of his fingers brushed against the very top of her inner thigh, she gave a little start, knocking her wine glass over. Directly into Cole's lap.

He jerked back and Meredith clapped her hands over her mouth, mortified.

"I'm so sorry," she said, grabbing a napkin and dabbing at his lap. She stopped when her hand came into contact with the hardness of his erection. She couldn't stop the smile of triumph from spreading across her lips as she realized he was just as turned on as she was.

"Meredith!" Brandon said in disbelief. "I think he can clean it up himself." Mercifully, he couldn't see for himself the condition Cole was in.

She dropped the napkin and laughed at the absurdity of the situation. "I'm sorry. I know it's not funny."

Cole met her eyes, and the barest hint of a smile let her know he was amused by the whole thing.

"Looks like I may have to skip out on dessert," he said, cleaning himself as best he could, but the damage had been done. There was no way he could sit comfortably through the rest of the meal.

Brandon apologized profusely for her, almost to the point of irritation.

"Dude, it's fine, really. I've enjoyed it all. Thank you both very much for a very entertaining dinner." He stood, giving Meredith a wink. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"We have a sailing lesson if you recall."

She smiled in pleasure. "Oh yes, how could I forget that you so graciously offered to make space for another lesson with me?"

He said goodbye and was gone and she sat back down to find Brandon staring hard at her. "Is there something I should know?"

"Know?" she asked innocently. It seemed she was getting better at playing it off.

"Between you and Cole," he said pointedly.

Or not.

When she didn't say anything, Brandon placed his hand over hers and squeezed it gently. "I'm just looking out for you."

"You're always looking out for me," she said, more irritably than she'd intended.

"Look, you don't know Cole the way I do, but he's bad news. I just want you to be careful. He's an excellent instructor and a great friend, but when it comes to women let's just say you need to stay away."

***





Meredith threw her head back, letting the salty sea air run over her face and through her hair. She looked over the edge of the railing where she was standing at the stern of Cole's boat and laughed out loud. It was invigorating. They'd been out on the water for at least an hour, and she could see how someone could become addicted to a life at sea. Cole had told her how much he loved it, and it was evident every time she looked at him. He was just as jubilant as she was.

"Come on, it's your turn," he called to her over the rush of wind.

He was going to let her steer the boat for the first time today. After all the lessons he thought she was ready. She ran over to where he stood at the helm and returned his infectious grin.

"Okay, just like I told you before. No sudden moves." She stepped in front of him, and he came in close behind her, positioning her hands on the massive wheel and helped her guide it in the direction they were headed. "Just take it easy." They steered together for a few moments and she luxuriated in the feel of his strong body pressed against her back. She was certain it wasn't necessary for them to be this close, but she was soaking up every second of it.

She had debated with herself the night before over what Brandon had said. Why did he think Cole was such bad news? After a while, she'd realized she didn't care. She was only going to be here another week and then she'd return to her regular life, boring and monotonous. Why shouldn't she indulge a little bit? It wasn't like she expected anything to come of it. They lived totally different lives thousands of miles apart. And she was okay with that. She wanted to live in the moment. The here and now. And right here, right now, a sexy and inspiring man was with her and she intended to take full advantage of it.

He let go of the wheel and stepped back, leaving her to command the boat all on her own. She missed the feel of his body, but it was momentarily forgotten as the thrill of captaining a boat all by herself overtook her.

He came around to the side of her and leaned casually against the railing, watching her with an intense expression on his face. She looked at him wide-eyed and smiled so hugely that she felt her face might split open. He laughed as he watched her, seeming to take as much joy in watching her as she was from commanding the vessel.

They hit a large wave and the wheel flew from her hands, spinning too fast. Thrown off balance, she tried to grab for it, terrified of what she may have done, but Cole was there instantly, pulling it back into place, not missing a beat. She worried about what he'd say. She'd screwed up on her first try. But when he reached out for her, she saw nothing in his face except pleasure.