“Sure, I’ll come to dinner with you. It sounds like fun. I’ll let my friends know after the game is over,” Ari agreed.
They played volleyball for another hour before Ari had to go jump in the water. She was burning up and had a bad feeling she’d sweated off most of her sunblock. She could feel a bit of an ache in her shoulders. She’d probably pay all week for her impromptu beach visit. She didn’t care – It would be worth it because she was having a lot of fun.
After introducing the girls to her friends and letting them know exactly where she was going, she hopped in the car with the women and enjoyed the breeze blowing through her hair as they made their way to the harbor.
When they pulled up to the marina and approached the boat, Ari was stunned. She’d expected a large vessel, since the girls had talked about a massage room, but she wasn’t expecting what was floating in the water before her. The massive thing seemed to take up the entire dock.
“Hurry. We’re really late. My brother hates it when we keep him waiting,” Lia said.
“Is he going to have a problem with you inviting a stranger onboard?” Ari asked, suddenly nervous. She wasn’t used to hanging around people with the kind of money it took to own a boat like the one she was boarding.
“He won’t mind at all,” Rachel said as if she were privy to her own inside joke.
The three of them climbed onboard, then turned around and watched as the crew pulled in the plank, and the boat began moving.
“I guess we were the last to arrive. Rafe’s going to kill us,” Rachel said, though she didn’t seem too worried.
Ari turned toward the girl, her body suddenly stiff as the boat began moving out into the water. She could still make it back to shore if she jumped now.
“What is your brother’s name?” Ari asked, her voice barely audible over the sound of the motor.
“Rafe Palazzo. Do you know him?”
Chapter Eighteen
Ari began to feel light headed as she forced herself to inhale large breaths of air. She turned to look over the rail she was leaning against as the large vessel moved further and further from land, trying to gauge the swimming distance. She was seriously contemplating jumping when she heard him speak.
“I see you girls are late, as usual. We’ve been waiting on you for an hour, now.”
“Oh, Rafe. We were playing a very intense game of volleyball. Plus, we met a new friend and had to bring her along,” Rachel said.
Ari couldn’t move. She in no way wanted to turn around and see his face. She hadn’t seen him since that night almost two weeks ago. If she could force herself to move, she really would abandon ship. What had she gotten herself into?
“Welcome aboard…” Rafe began saying, when he suddenly stopped. Ari could sense he’d figured out who she was. Maybe he recognized the stiff set to her shoulders. Everything in her told her to just jump and get it over with, but she managed to plaster a fake smile on her face and stiffly turn around to meet Rafe’s eyes.
Everyone was silent as their eyes clashed – his narrowing, hers widening. Time had done nothing to lessen the man’s incredible appeal. In a suit he was gorgeous. In the skin tight polo and attractive shorts, he was devastating.
“Ari. What a coincidence that my sisters happened to run into you today,” Rafe said after a few tense moments of utter silence.
“This is your Ari,” Lia gasped way too over-dramatically. Rafe sent a glance in her direction, leaving no doubt to any of them that he wasn’t fooled.
“I’m not his Ari.” She finally found her voice and sent an incredulous stare at both Lia and Rachel before turning to face Rafe.
“That’s to be determined,” Rafe said as he took her arm. “You didn’t protect your skin. We need to get ointment on it right away or you’ll be miserable by the time you lay down tonight.”
He led her away, leaving his sisters behind. They were around a corner before Ari thought to protest and began tugging her arm. The pressure caused a burning sensation absorbing into her skin. She really had gotten too much sun. She also realized she was walking next to him in only her skimpy bikini top and shorts. She must have dropped her bag back on the deck. She felt far too exposed.
Reality hit her like a slap in the face. The girls had said his Ari. That means he’d said something about her. She started putting the pieces together and realized them finding her on the beach must not have been a coincidence. Why did she have to be so naïve? Of course she wasn’t just going to meet great people who wanted to whisk her away for a moonlit dinner on a great boat.
“You can release me anytime,” Ari said as she tugged again, ignoring the searing pain of his touch, too irritated by the turn of events to keep her tone light.
“I don’t think so. I saw the look on your face at the railing. I think you may be stupid enough to actually jump overboard just to avoid me.”
Ari knew they were way too far from shore now for her to swim back. She wasn’t suicidal – just desperate to get away from Rafe. She really hoped his meddling sisters had extra clothes onboard the boat.
“I won’t deny how the thought crossed my mind once I realized this was your boat. However, I realize we’re too far out now for me to do that now. The gentlemanly thing for you to do would be to turn the boat around and drop me off back at the dock,” she said in her haughtiest voice.
Rafe stopped and backed her against the wall, his chest pressing against her tender br**sts as his eyes devoured her face.
“Since when have I ever claimed to be a gentleman, Ari?” he asked with a seductive smile.
“I refuse to play games with you, Mr. Palazzo.” She paused as a new thought occurred. What if it hadn’t been his sisters meddling, but he’d actually sent them. “Did you send your sisters out to bring me here?”
“No. I would rather keep you far away from my family. However, I can’t say I’m disappointed to see you. I’ve been thinking about our night together. I would love a repeat performance. By the quickening of your breath, and the way your ni**les are hardening against my chest, I’d say you wouldn’t mind another opportunity, yourself,” he said with utmost confidence.
Ari hated how right he was. She’d been dreaming about Rafe for months, and the dreams had only become more erotic since she’d actually been with him. She’d like nothing more than for him to sink deep inside her again. She just wasn’t prepared to deal with the self-loathing when he treated her like a whore afterward.