Wild And Willing

Of course, tonight’s adventure would be just as fleeting as that offer would probably turn out to be.

Mia just wasn’t the kind of woman to live on the edge, and sooner or later she was going to have to resign herself to that. She was going to leave Seth far behind once they hit dry land.

Right after she stole one more kiss.

SETH WAITED as long as he could to approach her. He’d tried calling his brother umpteen times to discuss the boat problems but got no answer. He’d checked and double-checked the engines, hoping he overlooked some glitch in the mechanics he could fix after all.

Now, he couldn’t put off spending a few more minutes with her before his uncle arrived. He was supposed to be showing her a good time tonight. Instead he’d spent the entire night running from her.

He regarded Mia sprawled out along the cushions at the back of the boat. She lay on one side, propped on an elbow and looking out over the moonlit water.

Her resemblance to Carmen had faded since she’d lost her flower and she no longer flaunted her very appealing self in front of him. Now, her long hair trailed down over her shoulders and snaked around her body at intriguing intervals.

She gave the impression of a sea nymph washed up out of the water, and Seth suddenly envisioned exactly what he wanted painted on that blank wall below deck. Her. Irrepressible Mia Quentin, possibly clad in nothing but red lace.

He’d barely recovered from that most recent assault on his senses. He was lucky he hadn’t gone into cardiac arrest at that little stunt.

He’d dated his share of beautiful women. But they all sort of blended together in his memory now, a chain of failed relationships with women who’d been all wrong for him, women who left citing the same catalog of his shortcomings.

Of course, the possibility loomed that he sucked at relationships and that every one of those women had been right. Given his high rate of failure, that seemed fairly likely.

But maybe, just maybe, he’d made a mistake in choosing the kinds of women to get involved with. One day, instead of finding women who were as cynical about dating as him, he would be with someone more passionate, someone who hadn’t lost her sense of optimism for romance.

Someone like Mia.

The idea teased the edges of his brain, tempting him with a mental picture every bit as enticing as the one of Mia in red lace. He’d been running from her because he didn’t get involved with any woman lightly. But what if he initiated something more committed with Mia? Would she go for a relationship, or was she such a wild child that one-night encounters and pirate abductions were more her speed?

Too bad he’d started the night off by lying to her about his ties to the Gasparilla fest. Would she resent his evasion of the truth? Or would she be all the more tempted to give up her wild child ways if she knew his bottom line?

The thought grated.

“Are you going to join me, Blackbeard, or am I going to have to stargaze by myself all night?” Mia twisted on the cushions to glance back at him, her smile beckoning him.

Damn it. He wanted her. Wanted more from her than just this night. But telling her who he was might irrevocably shift their relationship into the same territory that always got him into trouble with women. He never knew if they wanted him for himself.

“Come on, Chandler. I promise I won’t bite.” Mia sat up and patted the vacated space beside her. “This time, anyway.”

Seth weighed his options as he moved closer. Edgy from wanting this woman, he couldn’t afford to make rash decisions based on sexual attraction. He would feel out the situation a bit, maybe get a handle on how receptive she would be to exploring things a little more slowly.

Mia folded her arms and propped her feet on the low rail ringing the edge of the deck. “I don’t suppose you came over here for one last kiss?”

He slid into place beside her, wondering how he could ever move slowly, even if he could convince her they should take their time. “That depends. What if I didn’t want this to be the last kiss, but the first of many more?”

She lifted one delicate brow in surprise. “I think I made it perfectly clear I was willing to engage in the sensual activities of your choice tonight.” She started to smile, but midway up, her lips did a U-turn, curving into a definite frown. “But don’t you think your uncle will be arriving soon?”

It took him a minute to recover from thinking about the sensual activity of his choice. “That’s not what I meant. I was thinking more along the lines of one kiss tonight, and another kiss tomorrow. Maybe a few more next weekend.”

Her frown downgraded to an outright scowl. He wouldn’t have thought the woman who had practically jumped him two hours ago could all but recoil in horror from him now.

“Are you implying we should see each other again?”

“Don’t you think that’s a more natural progression after a few shared kisses than fast forwarding straight to sheet tangling?”

“No!” She blurted the word, but blushed in its aftermath. “I mean, maybe for some people that’s a reasonable way to go about things, but I’m not in the market for a relationship right now.”

Didn’t women always want to be in a relationship? Seth had never encountered any problems selling women on monogamy before. But then, he’d never met a woman as wild and willing as Mia.

The idea that she would turn him down niggled the competitive streak in him. His stubborn refusal to lose had cemented his rise to the top of his profession.

And damn it, he didn’t want her trying out all that wild and willing energy on anyone but him.

“Why not? You have more pirates to run off with next week?”

She hugged her knees to her body, green eyes fixed at a point far out in the water. “I have to get back to real life next week. That means no more pirates, pleasure cruises or undulating. I’ve got a business to run, a dysfunctional family to manage and about ten doctors’ appointments to drag my grandparents to. Besides, even if Grandpa didn’t go into a downward health spiral every time a man came near me, I would be too mired in work to sneak in any kisses next weekend.” She tipped her head sideways to glance at him. “Thanks for offering though. It helps soothe my stinging feminine pride a bit to think you might have been interested if we’d had more time.”