“I don’t know.”
“And you won’t know until you try.” Will lowered her leg and collected the dishes. “You turn on the charm and that man doesn’t stand a chance. Remember, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.” With a wicked grin she added, “You might as well be under him when he goes.”
Less than a week. That’s how long it took Sid Navarro to drive him up a wall. When not insulting him or making him look like a talentless chump, she was setting him on fire with a body that could fuel a man’s fantasies for decades. Half the time he wanted to throttle her, and the other he longed to drag her into the back room and have wild sex on the office desk.
The woman was a menace. Challenging him at every turn. Turning him on without any effort whatsoever. And somewhere in the back of his mind, he liked it. Another indication he’d gone completely freaking whacko.
“Look up, son, before you hurt yourself,” came a voice from Lucas’s left. His eyes shot up in time to see the tree less than a foot in front of him.
That damn woman.
He glanced over and spotted Artie sitting on a bench next to a mountain of a man. Lucas sighed and moved around to the front of the bench.
“Thanks for that,” he said, gesturing toward the tree. “I was distracted.”
“I’d say you were. What’s got your tail in a twist?” Artie asked. Before Lucas could answer, the old lawyer added, “You remember Randy Navarro?”
“Sure.” Lucas extended a hand and took the opportunity to avoid Artie’s first question. “How’s it going?”
Randy took the offered hand with an easier grip than expected for a guy with arms the size of Lucas’s thighs. “It’s good,” he said with a genuine smile. “I hear you’re working with my sister?”
So much for avoiding the subject. “Yeah. She’s helping out while Dad recovers.”
“That heart attack stuff is no joke,” Randy said. “Our dad had the same thing, but didn’t make it. I was relieved when I heard Tom had pulled through.”
Sid had never mentioned her dad died of a heart attack. “We were relieved too. He’s coming home tomorrow, but recovery will take another five weeks or so. You run a gym, right?”
“I do,” Randy said with a nod. “Island Fitness. You looking for a place to work out?”
“I’ve been keeping up my running, but missing the free weights I have at home,” Lucas said. “You offer any kind of temporary membership?”
“We could work something out. Where are you running?”
Strange question on an island so small. Lucas shrugged. “Around the village is about the only option, isn’t it?”
Randy shook his head. “Sid runs along the beach next to Highway 12. You should run up there with her.”
“Sid runs?” He was learning all kinds of things about his little coworker today.
“Every morning like clockwork.” Randy pointed east. “Show up at mile marker ten at seven fifteen in the morning and you’ll catch her. No sense in running alone if you don’t have to.”
Running with Sid gave Lucas an idea. Maybe it was time for another one of their challenges. Only this time, he’d be the one to come out on top.
CHAPTER TEN
At seven the next morning, Sid stood on the sand next to Highway 12, performing her usual warm-up stretches. Thankfully, tourists who typically visited the island didn’t start their sunbathing this early, which meant a clear beach for ten miles.
She could do five miles up and back before the first umbrella pierced the sand.
Sid was pulling her left heel up to her ass when someone jogged by her, throwing sand against her knees. The runner turned around a few feet away and yelled, “Come on, short shit. Try to keep up.”
Oh, it was
She dug her feet into the sand until she’d caught up to Lucas. He was setting a slow pace that would take her twice as long to make her ten miles.
“What are you doing here?” she asked between huffs.
“I’d think that’s obvious. I’m running.”
Smart ass. She chose to remain silent. They ran for another ten yards before he spoke again.
“You ready for our next challenge?”
She dodged a piece of driftwood, then glanced his way. “What challenge?”
He turned around and started jogging backwards. “We could go for a distance race, but this strip is too short for that.”
The full strip would be twenty miles up and back. What kind of marathons did this freak run?
“I’m here to exercise,” she said, annoyed that he’d invaded her private time, and forgetting any talk from the night before of making him see his maker. “Shut up and run or find another beach.”
Sid pulled away, leaving him jogging backward behind her. Seconds later he was beside her again. They continued on in silence another fifty yards. She couldn’t help but notice Lucas was barely breathing heavy. Jerk.
She picked up the pace. He did the same. Another fifty yards and she kicked it up a notch. He stayed even, but to her satisfaction was huffing more than before. They held steady another fifty yards before he started to pull ahead.
Not about to be beat, Sid caught up, then took the lead again. He devoured the ground between them, pushing her harder. They were both in a steady sprint when Sid found another gear and started pulling away. He didn’t catch up immediately this time and she felt a wave of triumph.
Until she felt strong arms wrap around her middle and yank her off the ground. In her surprise, Sid kicked out, tangling their legs and she could feel them both going down. Lucas spun her around and the next thing she knew, her back hit the ground. Hard.
Half a second later, Lucas landed half on top of her, but managed to send most of his weight to the side, assumedly to keep from crushing her beneath him.
Will’s words echoed in her brain.
What the hell had just happened? Sid would have leapt off the sand except the ground had knocked the wind out of her, making it difficult to breathe, let alone move. And then there was the issue of the large, virile, sexy man on top of her. Lifting her lids for the first time since coming to an abrupt stop, Sid looked up into searching hazel eyes, half covered by a wet lock of dark hair dangling over his brow.
“Are you all right?” he asked, concern etched in his voice. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Though her brain was screaming, Sid’s mouth had stopped working. Which was good since her brain was screaming things like
Her ponytail must have come loose because a long strand of hair covered the right side of her face. Lucas swept it back, tucking it behind her ear. His eyes met hers and time stopped. She licked her lips, causing his eyes to drop to her mouth.
One warm fingertip slid across her bottom lip and she considered tasting him the way he’d tasted her at Opal’s. Too bad they didn’t have any meringue with them. Tracing the outline of her face, Lucas said two words.
“So beautiful.”
A tear threatened in the corner of her eye, and her heart beat so fast she thought she might be the next to have a heart attack. Surely Lucas could hear it. Or feel it, he was so close. His face drew down, then tilted to the left, but he pulled back before their lips could touch.
He leaned in again, this time tilting to the right. With no idea what to do next, Sid held her breath, praying
