Red Shoes and A Diary. Mia Zachary
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outfit. The silk blouse clung to her skin and her linen walking shorts felt too thick and heavy. She swallowed the last mouthful of cola from her crystal tumbler and set it on the rail.
Angling her head from side to side, she searched the crowd for her sister. Julie was the Cayo Sueño entertainment director. She and Mom had saved up to surprise Meghan with this much-needed holiday. Mom had even told her not to behave herself.
The memory made her smile. She had absolutely no intention of being a good girl. A week on Dream Key was exactly what she needed to start her new life and she wasn’t going to waste a single moment. Tilting her face toward the Florida sun, she imagined the humid air smelled hot, spicy and a little dangerous.
That’s going to be me—hot, spicy and dangerous.
Uptight. Cold. Boring. Rob’s words echoed nastily in her mind. He’d flung the insults at her the day she’d found the crotchless panties. She’d never in her life worn crotchless panties.
How dumb could one person be? When Rob had told her he was working late, she’d believed him. When he’d said he had to go out of town on business, she’d still believed him. And the whole time he’d been boinking that silicone-enhanced blonde at the office. He hadn’t even bothered to deny he was cheating, and that hurt worse than the affair itself.
Rob blamed Meghan for the affair, accusing her of being too inexperienced and withdrawn to satisfy him. He’d found a “real” woman who was sexy and adventurous and sophisticated—all of the things that she wasn’t. All of the things she couldn’t be—except in her secret diary.
The betrayal had left her emotionally shattered and totally unsure of her appeal as a woman. She’d known something was missing in their relationship. When they’d had sex, part of her had held back from fully giving and accepting pleasure— Meghan shoved the memory aside, determined to move on. The past couldn’t be undone, no matter how hard she wished.
What she needed was an affair of her own. The kind of no-strings, no-regrets sexual encounter she had only written and dreamed about. This week, she was finally going to live a little, have fun, go wild. She was going to be a Sex Goddess in Training. Once she found the right guy—
An elbow knocked into her ribs again. She huffed out an impatient sigh, expecting to see the hairy little gnome again. She whirled to confront him, tilting her head down as she spoke.
“Listen. I don’t want to have sex….” The words faded into silence. She blinked several times as her cheeks started to flame. Definitely not the gnome. Slowly, she pulled her focus up from the button fly of a pair of well-worn jeans.
Her gaze continued up, way up, past a slim waist to a broad chest covered by a blue-and-yellow floral shirt. She looked beyond muscular arms to a set of wide shoulders until her eyes found the ruggedly handsome face. Seeing the sable hair tousled over his forehead, her fingers itched to test the silkiness of those unruly strands. It looked like he hadn’t shaved his short, dark whiskers in days.
Omigod. A tiny gold hoop sparkled in his left earlobe!
The modern-day pirate arched one eyebrow. That’s when she noticed a thin groove that ended at his hairline. Startled, she dropped her gaze to his mouth. Big mistake. He had a wide mouth with full, totally kissable lips. They parted in a dazzling display of even, white teeth. The friendly-yet-sexy grin sent a wave of lust rushing though her.
He was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Tall, dark and fabulous, this bad boy had walked straight out of her erotic fantasies. She saw her own gaping reflection in the mirrored sunglasses hiding his eyes and closed her mouth.
“Didn’t know it was that kind of resort. Usually I have to ask before I get rejected.”
The rough timbre of his voice sent a shiver down her spine. Who would be crazy enough to reject him? Meghan pushed her eyeglasses back onto her nose. This guy was just too incredible to be real.
“Um, I thought you were someone else.”
His smile widened in amusement…and interest? “You mean, you do want to have sex?”
“Not with the gnome. I mean— Oh, never mind.” His rumbling chuckle turned her on even more.
Now would be a great time for a dignified exit, but she was frozen in place. No, not frozen. This guy was too hot. She continued to stare at her fantasy come to life. Faced with the reality of seducing a stranger, she wasn’t sure she could go through with it. Then he smiled again, radiating dark sensuality and a dangerous allure.
What Sex Goddess in Training could resist?
2
He is everything I ever wanted in a man, all that I’ve dreamed of. When I see him, there is a primitive recognition. Ours eyes meet, our souls collide.
“YOU’RE NOT what I expected.”
“Pardon?” Meghan blinked and focused on the pirate instead of her runaway pheromones.
“Um, I meant you’re kind of overdressed for a beachside resort.” His mouth curved into an odd smile. “Nice shoes.”
She glanced down at the high-heeled white sandals that went with her walking shorts. “I guess I haven’t gotten into vacation mode yet.”
With a tip of his head, he indicated the crowd of people around them. “This is some party, huh?”
“It just got a lot better.” Was she flirting? She was flirting. Cool.
His smile widened at the inadvertent compliment and he stood a little taller, if that were possible. “I was thinking the same thing.”
Meghan dropped her gaze, not believing him. This guy was sending out signals that had her completely off-balance. She fidgeted, twirling the gold bracelet around her wrist. “So, do you come here often?”
“Never been to this resort before, but I spend a lot of time in Key West.”
“What do you do?”
“I’m a broker.”
She glanced at his shirt. A blind man could see that bold, gaudy pattern a mile away. “Forgive the observation, but it’s hard to picture you calling orders down to the trading floor.”
“Working vacations are always casual. What about you?”
Someone jostled him from behind. As he turned to look, he took an unconscious step toward her. His right hand bumped her breast and a shock of awareness zinged along her nerve endings. She gasped and he swung around, looking at her curiously.
Wow. If she reacted like this to an accidental fondle, she wasn’t sure she could handle a deliberate one. Reeling from the thrill of his unexpected touch, it took a second to remember his question.
“Oh, um. For the past few years I’ve been working as a paralegal.”
“That’s a legal assistant, right?”
“Yes. I did most of the work for a trial, like filing documents with the court, interviewing witnesses and preparing evidence.” Meghan realized she was babbling. She smoothed a damp palm over her hair and cleared her throat. “Anyway, I’m starting at University of Miami Law this fall.”
“So you’re going to be an attorney.” The corners of his mouth angled into a smirk. “Did you hear they’re using lawyers in lab experiments now? Apparently there are some things even rats won’t do.”
“Gee, I never heard that one before.” She rolled her eyes and laughed along with him. “I’m going into civil law, not criminal. I want to do mediation and binding arbitration.”
“I guess this is your last vacation for a while.” He tipped his beer bottle toward her in salute. “Here’s hoping it’s a memorable one.”
She felt another wave of heat, and not just in her cheeks. His voice was low and smooth, as sensuous as the rasp of bodies sliding over satin sheets… The sound of laughter