Key West Lacey Alexander (sad books to read .txt) 📖

get this show on the road—or the water, I should say, but I’ll be back, okay?”

She didn’t know how to reply, hoping he didn’t feel obligated. “I’ll be fine on my own if you’re busy.”

He ignored her answer, grinning before he left. “And hey, this time I know you can’t run away from me.”

Still in shock as she watched his fine male form walk away, Carrie fell into the line of people selecting snorkel gear from piles. Scott stood nearby describing to everyone how the mask should seal to your face and that the fins should be comfortable but snug enough that they didn’t slip off. She’d found items that fit and was about to make a getaway to another part of the boat when Scott squinted at her, slowly tilting his head. “Hey, you were on the Party Barge last night,” he said with an admiring smile.

She gave a small nod. “Guilty as charged.”

He laughed and spoke easily. “It was a good time.” Then he turned to help a young teenage boy with his flippers.

Carrie strolled away, amazed at how truly easygoing the people here were, that what she’d done last night was perhaps not the unthinkable spectacle in Key West that it would have been at home.

Finding a seat between an older couple and a young family, she tried to make pleasant conversation with the woman next to her as the catamaran maneuvered slowly out into the open water. Even as they chatted about the island, though, Carrie’s heart reeled. Already, seeing Chris again had sparked so many emotions.

Emotions she should be having for Jon, she thought, if life made any sense. But the truth was, Jon had barely crossed her mind since the moment she’d met Chris. And if things continued on their current path, if Chris still wanted to get together with her for some sort of wild vacation affair—well, she wasn’t sure she’d have the strength to say no. Three orgasms yesterday were clearly not enough to get her lust for the guy out of her system, since already her pussy was aching with the very thought of him. She could still see herself, writhing on him last evening, being so very hot, so very dirty, so very different than she’d ever been before. And God help her, the moment the guy showed up in her life once more, she wanted to be hot and dirty with him again.

As Key West shrunk into the distance behind the boat, Chris stepped onto the deck, followed by the rest of the crew. “Hi, I’m Chris, the captain of the Conch Fury,” he said loudly enough for everyone to hear. “Beside me here is Scott, Shay, and Jake. We’re all here to help you enjoy your snorkeling trip, so if you need help with anything, grab one of us. In a few minutes, Shay and Jake will hand out refreshments, but first we’re gonna talk about exactly how to snorkel.”

From there, he described proper snorkeling procedure while the petite, pretty Shay demonstrated the proper way to put on the mask and how the flippers should fit. After that, he talked about the coral reef. “One touch of your hand or foot can stop hundreds of years of growth. And if that’s not enough incentive, some of it is way sharper than it looks and will cut you on contact. Any questions?”

As a few snorkelers-to-be spoke up, Carrie was captivated by how wonderful Chris was with people, how very in-his-element he seemed here on the water. Until a few minutes ago, she’d envisioned him as an hourly worker on the sightseeing cruises—it had never occurred to her that he might own his own boat. Not that it mattered, but in her mind, it took him from sexy beach bum to sexy beach entrepreneur, a designation which made him even more attractive. Having been daring and ambitious enough to start her own bookstore a couple of years ago, she knew it took guts and fortitude and a big belief in yourself to place your financial future in your own hands and no one else’s.

“Soda?”

She looked up to find the girl he’d introduced as Shay pulling a wheeled cooler behind her. Shay’s blonde hair was cut in stylish shoulder-length layers and she wore a simple yellow bikini that became her thin build. Her nipples protruded through the bikini top in hard, sexy points.

“Yes, thanks.”

“Just reach in and get whatever you like.”

As she bent over to look in the cooler, she noticed Shay’s tattoos—a butterfly at her hip and a vine that circled one ankle. Like Chris, she sported a dark island tan.

It was only after she’d taken her drink and watched Shay move on that she realized she’d become slightly aroused—by Shay’s mere presence. She’d been ultra-aware of the other girl’s body, her round, medium-sized breasts, her thin, shapely thighs, even her heart-shaped lips. Of course—thank God—it wasn’t only women turning her on. Every good-looking guy she’d come into contact with since yesterday had made her breasts tingle and her pussy ache. Of course, it was all Chris’s fault—she couldn’t deny the knowledge that, somehow, all of this hypersexual awareness she was experiencing led back to him.

Just then, the guy Chris had introduced as Jake stepped up to her with a bold smile. He wore his longish golden hair in a ponytail and was as tan as his co-workers. “Got your fins and mask?”

God, even this boy—who couldn’t have been a day over twenty-one—was affecting her the same way, making her want to look at him, touch his soft tan arms, stomach.

Snap out of it. “Um, yes.”

He gave her a thumbs-up. “Great. Just checking to make sure everybody’s good to go.” Then he moved onto the woman next to her, asking the same question.

Carrie let out a sigh. What the hell was going on with her? Was it Key West—the freedom and lack of censure that seemed to exist here? Or was it somehow Chris? Had meeting him somehow triggered something