In Over His Head

Chapter 17

Naples was exhausting.

They had stopped in at several importers to meet and greet, ate squished in the corner of a crowded street cafe, whirlwind toured the Spanish Quarter, and were now in a car, slowly winding towards the water to get back on Ariadne for the rest of the afternoon. None of the streets met in a straight line, the amount of traffic was intense, and Sharla hated it. It was worse than London at rush hour.

"Reminds me of Camaguey in Cuba, just bigger," Kevin murmured as they rounded a corner to a five street square intersection, mopeds, and small cars beeping and weaving everywhere. "A cacophony of streets all higgledy-piggledy and disorganised on purpose."

"I've never been," Sharla replied, amused at his crisp British accent spouting the word higgledy-piggledy.

"Not long now," Don said brightly as he laid his hand on the horn and gestured at a tiny delivery truck to get out of the way. That person was stuck behind cars trying to turn a corner. It looked futile.

The familiar ringtone of I'm Gonna Be echoed out from Kevin's phone, and he picked up a call from Mo. At least he wouldn't be stressing out too much with a call from her, if it had been London's Calling, it would have been James, which meant earldom business.

Sharla slid down on the plush leather seats, closing her eyes. A hand reached out and threaded through hers, a short squeeze, and then disappeared. Despite how tired she was, a zing of energy pulsed through her entire body. He was here, with her, and so attentive, even when he was neck-deep in something else.

All day he had held her hand, snuck kisses along alleyways pressed against the wall, and in a half-hidden corner of a crowded cafe where they had sipped from tiny cans of San Pellegrino, wolfed down slices of thin-crust pizza and out-of-this-world lemon cannoli. He'd been eyeballing her like a starving man when she was eating her cannoli, and then had whispered how much he wanted her mouth on his cock when she had finished, as she was wiping smears of cream off her lips. That led to them kissing passionately while his hand travelled up her thigh up underneath the skirt of her dress, teasing her. Hidden from view, he had then gone further, teasing her centre with gentle strokes of his fingers while she came undone, trying not to attract attention to them.

She was so turned on and frustrated, she was ready to jump him the moment they were alone. Which wouldn't be anytime soon.

Could this be something more than just Mediterranean-fueled lust? Could she let herself go there? She was distracted from further thought as the car lurched forward and Don careened through a roundabout with a statue in the middle.

"The water is just there," Don gestured and Sharla craned up to see flashes of the marina they had docked at earlier that day.

"Bloody Hell! Fine, fine. Let me chat with him and we'll figure it out."

Kevin ended the call and sighed, rubbing his forehead tiredly.

"Who was that?" Sharla asked.

"We've had a water leak at the main house. Mo's handled it, but apparently, the workers need my signature. Barlerystook's a Grade 2 listed property so we have to get dispensation to make alterations to the structure," he said.

"Surely you can do that electronically?"

"One would think. Mo has authority, but the workers aren't budging," he replied and let out a huge sigh. "Doesn't matter right now, we can deal with that later. Right now, I would like to—"

He stopped, leaned over, and quickly kissed her. Sharla leaned into it, and he groaned, gathered her up and kissed her again, this time lingered, his lips insistent against hers, teasing hers open. Arousal flared up low in her belly as his hands wound around her.

"I want to get you back onboard so we can be alone, and do very naughty things with you," he murmured against her mouth. One of his hands travelled lower onto her backside.

"You do, do you," she replied softly. "Like?"

The rumbling chuckle in response sent another flare up her body. "I want to lick whipped cream off your beautiful breasts, and make love on the back deck while the sun sets."

Their eyes met, his studying hers. He couldn't even sound crass when he swore. It was unbelievably attractive that he could be so forward with her, but unnerving at the same time. He ran fingers down through her hair, feathering over the tips of her ears as he did. "Are you embarrassed, Shar? Your ears are turning red."

"No," she squeaked. "Just—"

"We're here!" Don said cheerfully, as the car jolted to a stop. Sharla looked up around her with a start. They were in front of the yacht where it was docked already. She hadn't even registered; so caught up in him. Another deep, soft laugh rumbled from Kevin and he let her go to step out of the car, calm and collected as if he hadn't just whispered sexy thoughts into her ear.

"Come on then," he said, his voice husky and full of promise, then turned to Don and crisply said "Thank you Don, we'll won't be needing the car again today."

She followed him, rumpled and discombobulated. How did he do that? Be ridiculously sexy and bad boy hot in one moment, and then put together like the most proper of gentlemen in the next. He bounded on board, said a cheery hello to the crew, and disappeared up the stairs before she had stepped across.

"He's in a good mood," Theresa said as she met Sharla on the deck. "Good day?"

"Yeah," Sharla replied evasively, knowing full well her face was heating up with the mere mention of Kevin's mood. There was a reason for it. He'd all but told her what he wanted to do later. That would put a bounce into any man's step.

Work first, and then play, even though she was eager to pounce on him and do all the things he had whispered in her ear. She wanted to get her notes squared away.

"I think I'll pop up and get some summary done," Sharla said and rummaged in her bag, giving Theresa the bottle of wine hidden at the bottom. "Got a lot to get through."

Theresa nodded quickly, eyeing the label with raised eyebrows. "Nice bottle, this is. Tea?"

"Coffee please. A big one." Sharla rolled her shoulders. She needed it after their hectic day.

She was just settling into a spreadsheet and her hastily written notes in her wrinkled travel journal when Kevin swung into the office, reached over, and gently tapped the lid closed.

"Go get that sexy red bikini on, pack a bag with whatever women take with them when they swim, and meet me at the stern in fifteen minutes," he said into her ear, his hand sliding down her back, hot and firm.

"What are you doing? We have numbers to—"

"Just do it, Shar," he replied, and she swore his eyes twinkled. He was smiling ear to ear, his hair a mess, his dress shirt half-undone. She couldn't say no.

"Alright, Alright!" He pulled her up out of her chair, twirled her, and she laughed, falling into his arms, where he proceeded to kiss her breathless, bending her backwards.

"You're in a good mood," she remarked as she headed towards the door.

He pulled her in again, looking down into her face. She braced on his chest to look back. "You make me feel like I could slay dragons, Shar." His eyes searched hers. It felt like he was saying something else with that ridiculous statement, and she was lost for words as his eyes went from dancing to serious.

"Dragons, Kev?" she replied softly.

"Dragons, monsters, whatever," he said and kissed her one more time before letting her go and striding up the hallway. "Fifteen minutes, Shar! Time's wasting!"