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An Excerpt From: KEY WEST
© Copyright LACEY ALEAXANDER, 2004.
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave, Inc.
“What can I do for you, beautiful?”
Carrie Marsh pushed a ringlet of hair from her face and
made eye contact with the cute, tan guy who’d just addressed her from
behind the counter. The sun beat down relentlessly, but something compelled
her to lift her sunglasses and take a better look. He had a smile that
could melt an iceberg, although his ocean blue eyes made her think he fit
much better with his current surroundings than with anything cold. Both of
his ears were pierced with small silver hoops, and to her surprise, she
found that sexy. His light brown locks were streaked with gold, no doubt a
result of tropical living, and the messy hair made him look like the
proverbial beach boy.
No, she thought, make that beach god. The mere
act of meeting his gaze turned her fluttery between her thighs. Definitely
not her normal reaction to a guy, so that instantly qualified him for god
status in her book.
“I…have these tickets,” she said, lowering her glasses
back over her eyes and digging the vouchers from her purse, “but they were
part of a vacation package, and if possible, I’d like to trade them in for
something else.”
The beach god took the tickets from her, his fingers
brushing lightly over hers, sending another surprising skitter of awareness
tingling up her arm and down into her breasts, which suddenly felt a little
heavier than they had a moment before. He had great hands, she thought.
Large, as tan as the rest of him, and…it was insane, but just that brief
touch left her feeling as if he’d know exactly what to do with those hands
when it came to sex.
He raised his eyebrows and offered a small grin. “You
don’t want to go on the sunset wine and cheese cruise? The Sea Wind is a
great boat.”
When was the last time a mere smile ran
through her like little rivers of pleasure? She couldn’t remember. In fact,
at the moment, she couldn’t remember much about anything. She was
too busy taking in his tan, muscular arms and the broad shoulders that
threatened to bust through his t-shirt. A sexy tattoo—some sort of Celtic
knot design—banded his upper arm. And, as much as she enjoyed looking at
the top half of him, she couldn’t help being sorry the kiosk he stood
behind prevented her from seeing his bottom half, as well.
Only when he raised his eyebrows did she realize she
hadn’t answered him. And while, once upon a time, the sunset wine and
cheese cruise had sounded spectacular to Carrie, now such a romantic
excursion was the last thing on her mind. The cruise was clearly for
couples and she was no longer part of one. “I’m…here by myself, so I don’t
need two tickets to the same cruise. And besides, I think I’m in the mood
for something a little different.” It seemed the easiest way to say, Nothing
moonlit and romantic, please.
“Different, huh?” He gave his head a sexy tilt. “How
about the Party Barge? It’s a sunset cruise, too, but a whole different
atmosphere. Loud music, lots of people looking for fun, and all the rum
punch you can drink.”
Yesterday, Carrie would have turned her nose up at “the
Party Barge” in a heartbeat. Today, though…well, even if it sounded a
little wilder than her usual fare, she was tempted.
“And if you want to go tonight, you even get me.”
CLOSE WINDOW
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