Bachelor CEO (McDaniels #1)

Chapter Seven

“It’s a wicked full moon, isn’t it,”

Chase said as he walked down to the dock. Unlike last weekend, Miranda didn’t jump. She’d heard him coming.

Part of her had thought to flee, but that idea flickered out quickly. Deep down, she’d hoped he would come. Her intuition and her desire had wished for him, and here he was, as if she’d conjured him up.

He dropped to the planking beside her and kicked off his leather shoes before dangling his feet over the water. “No wonder we couldn’t sleep. It’s gorgeous out here. Even better than earlier.”

The full moon illuminated the sky and the water, creating a river of light.

“We should take the boat out,”

Chase suggested.

When he said that, Miranda’s pulse quickened. She hadn’t really thought this plan through. Heck, she hadn’t been thinking at all, but acting more on impulse, which was why she was out here wearing shorts and a T-shirt. “Sitting on the dock is fine.”

“No, come on. Indulge me.”

He reached into his short pockets and withdrew a key fob. “This is one of my favorite things and not something I share with most people.”

That swayed her and she decided to take a risk. “Okay.”

This time they headed south, toward the middle of the lake and the big island. She could see the lights of the resort’s boathouse in the distance.

“The big island creates a wonderful illusion,”

Chase told her. “It looks as if it’s a shoreline in itself, making the lake appear smaller than it really is. Most of the lake is behind the island.”

“I feel miles from anywhere,”

she commented, glancing around. The runabout didn’t have headlights, only the bow and stern safety lights. Far off, near the eastern shore, another boat had dropped anchor.

“They’re probably fishing,”

Chase said. He killed the motor and let their craft drift.

“You aren’t going to lower the anchor?”

“This is the deepest part of the lake, fifty-three feet. And unlike a river, there’s no current. We’ll just see where the wind takes us. We’re far enough out that we’re not in any danger, and other boats can see our lights.”

Chase turned to her, shifting his legs into the center aisle. “I love being out on the water at night. I can’t really even tell you why. I just do.”

Silence descended as he let the magical ambience carry him away. Miranda’s eyes had grown accustomed to the moonlight and she simply sat and listened.

Waves lapped against the fiberglass hull with a gentle thuwump. She could hear whip-poor-wills calling. Somewhere an owl hooted, the sound carrying across the water. The boat rocked gently, a soothing motion. Tension drained from her.

“Wow,”

she said. “I see what you mean.”

“I’m glad. Boating’s got to call you. While they like it, no one else in my family loves being on the water as much as I do. My grandfather won’t get in a boat at all if he can help it.”

“Really?”

Miranda’s legs tangled with his in the space between the seats as she faced him.

“He loves to look at the water, but he’s petrified of being out on it. He’ll have to get on the ferry tomorrow to go to dinner. That shows how important you are to him.”

“Was he always like that?”

“No. He was in a sailboat accident when he was in his twenties. No one got hurt, but he was finished with boating.”

“Yet your family has all these boats.”

Chase took her hand and ran his thumb over her sensitive palm. “He made sure we weren’t afraid. Although none of us like small planes.”

“Because of your parents.”

“My dad loved to fly. But he made a basic beginner’s mistake, and it cost him and my mother their lives. They never should have been out in that weather, even though he was certified for instruments and—”

“Shh.”

Miranda freed her right hand and reached forward to put a finger on his lips. “It’s too beautiful out here for regrets or sorrow.”

“It is,”

he whispered, his breath hot on her fingertip. She started to pull away, but Chase wrapped his hand around her wrist. “I like the way that felt.”

He replaced her finger. “See?”

His lips were soft, and she shivered as a wave of desire washed over her.

A bass boat cruised by, about thirty feet away, and the runabout rocked as the wake reached it. Chase used the opportunity to kiss Miranda’s fingertips. He slid his mouth up to her knuckle, using his tongue to encircle the digit in a gentle caress.

His gaze locked on to hers, and like a moth drawn to a flame, she couldn’t pull away. Heat flared in every pore.

“I want to kiss you,” he said.

She wanted nothing more. What could one kiss hurt?

Everything she’d worked for.

But his sensual suckling of her fingers had her quivering, and when Chase’s lips moved to hers she couldn’t resist indulging in the sweetness of his kiss.

She lost track of time as the kiss swept her away. Then coolness descended as Chase moved to start the engine, and Miranda realized they’d drifted close to one of the tiny, uninhabited islands, a piece of ground probably not even a sixth of an acre in size. Chase eased the boat away from the danger of running aground.

“Want to drive?”

“Is it safe?”

she asked, ignoring the immediate Yes! inside her head.

“So long as you don’t turn the wheel too sharply, it’s like driving a car. Just head toward those lights. That’s our dock.”

They changed seats and Miranda gripped the steering wheel. “It’s not going to jump out of your hands,”

Chase chided. She forced her fingers to loosen. He leaned over her shoulder. “That’s the throttle. Press forward to go faster. Pull back to ease up.”

The top of the throttle was about the size of a bar of soap and fit perfectly under her palm. She eased the lever forward and the boat picked up speed. As they cut through the water she couldn’t help herself. “I’m driving!”

she shouted.

He laughed. “You are. Turn left. Gently. Not too fast.”

Miranda did, and the boat turned. She drove for about five minutes, until they came close to the Lone Pine docks. “Put it in neutral,”

Chase instructed.

He again took the driver’s seat, steering the boat in. He hopped out and tied up, and then reached to help Miranda.

She placed her hand in his, as she’d been doing all day. But when she set foot on the dock, he pulled her to him, into an embrace. His arms tightened around her.

“Fun?”

he asked, raising one hand to brush away a loose tendril of hair.

“I had the best time,”

she replied. Her body trembled from the excitement of driving the boat and the giddy pleasure of being pressed up against Chase’s body. “The lake was wonderful. Thank you. You were—”

His impatient kiss swallowed the rest of her words, which probably weren’t important, anyway. She leaned into him and the passion flaring between them spoke for itself.

This was what she wanted. She desired him as much as he desired her. His kiss changed tempo, but he didn’t break contact. Instead, what had been urgent softened. He touched her jaw with his free hand. He seemed intent on exploration, on making sure the moment stretched. Almost as if he was memorizing the taste and texture of her lips.

“So perfect,”

he murmured, the hand on her back guiding her still closer.

She had no idea how her legs managed to hold her weight. Her knees felt like jelly. She clung to Chase, molding herself to the hard planes of his hips and chest. The soft hairs of his legs tickled her thighs. She could sense every inch of him—especially that part revealing exactly what kissing her did to him.

Then his lips left hers, and he eased back and touched the edge of her mouth with the pad of his thumb, a gentle caress.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

Miranda froze. It was as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over her head. Her shoulders stiffened and she cringed. How many times had she heard those words? “I’m sorry”

had been Manuel’s only response after using her.

Hearing the words I’m terribly sorry hadn’t brought her parents back.

I’m sorry was like but. The words following were never good and never said anything that really helped. I’m sorry was simply a way to ease a person’s guilt, a way for him to make himself feel better.

She’d put herself out there with Chase, taken a chance, and here came the rejection. She steeled herself, waiting for the rest.

“You rattle me. I want you. I’ve never pretended otherwise. But I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I didn’t come down here to seduce you.”

Anger and shame bubbled forth as he tarnished what had been a beautiful moment. Miranda hated herself. She’d given in when she shouldn’t have. She had to salvage some of her pride, especially when she had read more into the night than he’d intended.

“Look. You told me you wanted me. I’m not some dumb virgin without a clue. I’m not trying to trap you. The kiss was nice, until you went and made a mere kiss more than it was.”

She stepped away from him.

“That’s why I stopped. I got carried away. I don’t want you to think I’m trying to take advantage of you, especially given our work situation. I’m returning at the end of my sabbatical, and when I do, I’ll be CEO.”

Her eyebrows knit together. “A year is a long time. You could change your mind.”

“Won’t happen. My grandfather promised to make me CEO when I get back. He’s a man of his word.”

Miranda wrapped her arms protectively around her torso. The night air felt cold, or perhaps the chill came from once again going too far with the wrong man.

“Okay,”

Chase said when the silence stretched. “Tell me how it plays out. Wait, let me guess. We ignore it. Pretend it didn’t happen?”

He smiled then, obviously trying to diffuse the tension with humor.

“I don’t think that works anymore. A bad idea on my part,”

she conceded.

“Whew. Because that wasn’t just a notch-on-my-belt kiss. You have to understand that.”

“Oh.”

Learning the kiss had affected Chase softened her toward him.

“Look,”

he said in a low voice. “There’s something between us.”

“I know.”

She dropped her gaze. Chase had turned her emotions into quicksand. “You’re leaving.”

“Yes. But maybe that’s for the best. Perhaps we should get the physical stuff out of our systems. After a year apart, we’ll have moved on and be able to work together without distraction. I’ll come back and you’ll step aside and all will be well.”

“You make it sound so simple.”

Then again, guys did think with their libido.

“It can be. I stopped, not because I didn’t want to make love to you, but because I wanted both of us to be on the same page before we did. If we make love, I don’t want regrets.”

“I agree,”

she conceded. “You know, sometimes I wish I hadn’t taken this job.”

He laughed. “No you don’t. It’s just that you don’t let yourself go. Maybe this weekend you could.”

Miranda wanted nothing more than to say yes and let herself experience everything a man with a body like his could offer.

“It’s probably time for bed.”

She stifled a yawn. “Let me sleep on this.”

“I’ll walk you up.”

Chase saw her to the stairs that led to her room above the kitchen. Minutes later, she crawled into bed and lay staring up at the ceiling.

Chase made her long for things best left unknown. Yet he was a gentleman. If he’d been a cad, he wouldn’t have stopped. That he had was some comfort.

Each kiss, however, made her want more. Kissing wasn’t enough. She was in danger of forgetting a fundamental truth: you can’t have it all. And with Chase determined to be CEO, she never would.