Chapter Twelve
They drove up Highway 1 to the Beach House Hotel. Flynn pulled in front of the sprawling building, put the car in park and pocketed the keys, then hopped out. He was around to her side of the car and opening her door before she could reach for the handle. Pulling her from the low-slung car, Flynn reached behind her, and grabbed their bags. He handed them off to the attendant as he tossed him the keys and, with her on his arm, strode into the hotel like he owned the place. The open-air concept lovely in its subtle opulence.
In minutes they were shown to a beach-view suite. The bellhop brought in their bags and opened the slider to the terrace as he explained the many amenities the establishment had to offer. The cool ocean air blew the translucent gauzy curtains into the room. Izzy stepped out, inhaling the fresh cleanness of the salt-tinged air. It was a spectacular view. Blue ocean as far as the eye could see, lazy waves crashing against the white sand beach below.
She felt Flynn’s presence behind her. He pulled her back into his arms and she stood with her back to him and together they stared at the sparkly blue Pacific. The way the sun hit the tips of the waves as they built reminded her of the fireflies back east. There had been many Chastain family trips back east. As the nanny, Izzy’s mom was always required to accompany the family. Mrs. Chastain had allowed Izzy to tag along because she and Alex were like two peas in a pod growing up. Inseparable up to the very last minute.
Izzy shook her head. Mrs. Chastain treated her mother like a beast of burden on those trips. But momma never minded. Now Izzy knew why. She was willing to endure the humiliation to be close to the man she loved until her dying breath.
Izzy knew she should be happy right here in this minute, but sadness moved through her. In so many ways, she felt like she was following in her mother’s footsteps. Madly attracted to a powerful man from a distinguished family, who gladly took what she was offering. Then what? When he was done, would Flynn cast her aside, like her father had her mother? That’s exactly what would happen, but Izzy was smarter than her mother. She knew the score up front. This amazing man would never commit to a woman who stripped, past, present or future. Regardless of her motives. She had to be okay with that. She was okay with it because she was fine with the bikini clad cocktail server role. It was no big deal really. Guys could look all they wanted. But she drew the line at touching. The stripping part? The only reason she agreed to do it was to get information on Alex, but the moment she saw Flynn, her motives switched from grudging acceptance straight into fully engaged. She wanted to seduce Flynn. For herself, not Andre or her sister.
It was also, she supposed, her subconscious way of flipping her father off. Yeah it was fucked-up stuff, but there it was.
“You like?” he asked.
How could she not? “It’s beautiful.”
“One of my favorite views.”
“You’ve been here before?” Ugh, why did she sound like a jealous girlfriend?
“Several times.”
She stiffened. Is this where he brought all of his conquests? No wonder he walked with such authority through the place.
He laughed and turned her around. “Weddings, Pink. And I always went stag.”
Feeling ridiculous, she let out a long breath and looked up at him for a serious moment. “I need to get something off my chest.”
He wagged his brows and shot back, “You can get your chest off on me any time.”
While she loved their back-and-forth repartee, she was trying to be serious for a minute. He didn’t understand that this wasn’t easy for her and he needed to. Being with him like this, when she’d never even been on a date before. “Seriously, Flynn, I’m confused and a little afraid.”
“I think I’ve been pretty straightforward, Pink. You have absolutely no reason to be afraid of me.” He pulled her close and inhaled the scent of her. “I would never hurt you.”
“Not intentionally.”
She pushed out of his embrace and turned to face the less scary waves. “I’ve known you less than twenty-four hours and I’ve done more with you than I have with any man in my life, probably more than I ever will. After the crazy sex, you cooked breakfast for me, bought me a phone, then we decided to become fuck buddies. I go to your house, and next thing I know, we’re here in a very expensive hotel suite on the beach to have sex.” She shrugged and turned around to find his blue eyes intently watching her. “It’s too much, too fast. I feel like it’s blowing me off course.”
“Do you want me to take you home?”
Not on your life. Though if she were as smart as she thought she was, she should be running back over the foothills. “Yes—no! I don’t know! I just…I feel like my plans are taking a backseat to my lust-induced infatuation with you and it scares me. Because what if I get so caught up in you I lose sight of what I need to do?”
“What do you need to do?”
“Find my sister. Survive.”
“There’s nothing you personally can do about your sister until you go back to work. I’ve got calls out and my people are gathering information. As soon as I have something concrete, I can help you. As far as surviving, you’re doing that right now, here with me. Take this time to recharge your batteries.”
She put her hand on her hip and cocked a knee. “You call what we do recharging? I’ll need a week to recuperate if tonight is anything like last night!”
A smile cracked his lips. “Look, I admit this is all a lot and a lot fast. If it makes you feel less stressed, this is a first for me, too. I’ve never actually slept with a woman or had a morning after of any kind with anyone I’ve been intimate with. In that respect you popped my cherry, too.” He tousled her pink bangs. “I’ve never been interested in a woman long enough to go a second round, much less four. So ease up on yourself. I’m right there with you in the 'too much too fast’ feeling.”
Warmth fizzed through her. Maybe there was hope for them after they found Alex. Pressing her head into his chest, Izzy stood quietly contemplative. When she looked up at this man who twisted her up inside like a pretzel, she bit her bottom lip to keep her breath in check. Flynn’s deep blue eyes reflected the churning ocean behind her. Dangerously beautiful.
“I want to strip you down, bend you over this railing and plow into you right now,” he said so softly she thought she might have misheard. But the firm set of his full lips and the way his mesmerizing eyes swept across her parted lips told her she’d heard him exactly as he intended.
Her nipples pebbled as she envisioned him doing just that. Running her fingers through her hair, she cocked her head to the side and smiled. “I think I might like that.”
She about came right where she was standing when his pupils dilated and his nostrils flared like he was a big hungry jungle cat who had just locked in on its prey.
The thought of standing out here under the late afternoon sun as the waves crashed before her and the sexiest man on the planet rocked her world was beyond scandalous. Barely able to regulate her breath, Izzy turned on her heels toward the balustrade railing and looked to either side of their deck. The curtains were drawn on the rooms to either side. The beach below bustled with a fair amount of beachgoers, but they were focused on themselves, not the hotel goings-on, so they were relatively secluded.
As she turned back around to face him, she slid her hands along the railing and raised a knee, trailing the wedge sole of her shoe along the balustrade behind her. The wind tossed her short hair around her face, and the seagulls screeched off in the distance. “I’m not wearing any panties,” she confessed. Watching the passion imprint on his handsome face, passion for her, knocked the breath from her lungs. Never had she dreamed of being desired the way Flynn desired her.
The same could be said for her. She’d spent the last decade consciously keeping men out of her life equation, clueless that this kind of attraction existed.