“Izzy,” he greeted me warmly, opening the door. Barefoot, he had on a pair of low slung khaki shorts and a blue t-shirt that made his eyes pop. His hair looked tousled and windblown; it was all I could do to keep my hands to myself and not run my fingers through it. He dipped his head and kissed me demurely on the cheek as I stepped inside.
I had expected the little beach cabana to be empty, but instead, it looked like a paper tornado had hit. Sitting sedately in the center of the wreckage was a petite, adorable, redhead. She had her hair cut in a pixie-cut style that made her sexy and cute at the same time. She wore running shorts and a tank-top that accented her fairy-like body. I was really, really glad Noah had warned me about her. If he hadn't, I would have been incredibly jealous. Even as it was, the green-eyed monster in my stomach wasn't terribly happy about the situation.
“Hi!” the girl chirped, hopping to her feet and holding out her hand. “You must be Izzy.”
Her handshake was firm and professional. She grinned, her green eyes sparkling. Her smile was infectious.
“Hi,” I replied, “and you must be Noah's assistant.”
“Yup, I'm Beth. It's nice to finally meet the woman who has made Noah stop answering my phone calls.” She turned to give Noah a teasing glare. He laughed and held up his hands.
“You guys look really busy,” I said, eyeing the piles of paper scattered across the table, floor, and chairs. Two laptops sat open on the table, and even their keyboards had paper on them. I tried to see what was written on the papers without looking like I was, but Beth was already busy picking them up.
“Yeah, but I'll take this view over my cubicle any day of the week,” she said, gesturing to the ocean out the window. Her arms were full of papers, but she had most of the ones near me picked up before I even had a chance to help. “I should convince Noah to go to his friends' parties more often.”
I went to hand her the last piece of paper near my feet; it looked like a map of the island, but Beth had it in her pile before I could get a good look. Maybe Noah was looking at a house to flip? There were several hurricane-damaged properties in the area that he could renovate and sell to a wealthy businessman for a nice sum of profit.
“How about you take the rest of the day off, Beth?” Noah asked, his eyes fixed on me. I bit my lip as he looked tellingly at the hem of my skirt. A warmth spread in my stomach and headed south. “Go enjoy the island a little bit.”
Beth set her stack of papers on the table. She grinned at him, her hands busy picking up the various files scattered on the chairs and adding them to her stack. “You don't have to tell me twice. I'm out of here as soon as I get this put away.”
Noah put his hand on my shoulder, his touch adding to the warmth in my lower section. He put his mouth near my ear. “Let's go outside and let Beth finish in here,” he said, his words causing my hair to tickle my neck and sending sexual currents straight down my spine. I nodded and followed him happily outside onto the porch.
He leaned nonchalantly against the wall. I loved the way his shirt hugged his broad shoulders, then tapered into his waist. He looked good, and he knew it.
“What would you like to do today?” I asked as his blue eyes watched my every move with a slight smile. He looked me up and down, obviously liking what he saw and stoking the fire growing in my belly.
I went to the wall beside him, pressing my shoulder blades into the wood. He shrugged. “I didn't have any plans.”
He pushed himself off the wall and placed his arms on either side of me, pinning me in place. My breath caught a little bit. He smelled like clean sunshine and soap with just a hint of something masculine that drove my feminine parts into a frenzy. He came in slowly, taking his time as his mouth covered mine. His tongue probed gently at my lips until I let him in. I heard a low moan that I realized was mine. The man could kiss.
“How's that for doing something today?” Noah asked, his voice low and rough. I wanted him so bad.
“Wow. That sounds good,” I gasped. I was already halfway to the bedroom in my head when I heard a thud followed by an “Ouch!” from inside. “I think the room is currently occupied, though.”
He chuckled and kissed me again. I wondered if I would be able to walk after this, because he was melting all my bones into liquid desire. He pulled back again, giving me enough space to breathe but still keeping me pinned against the wall.
“Where's she staying anyway?” I asked, desperately trying to gather my wits together. He scattered them so effortlessly that it was difficult. “I happen to know there isn't a pull-out sofa in there.”
His mouth twitched in a smile and he kissed my forehead. His eyes were glowing with desire and making my thoughts scatter again. I loved that look. “The main house is practically empty. Owen went home after the party, Jack met a girl on the island, and his secretary is leaving this afternoon.”
“Jack brought his secretary?” I asked. “I didn't see her at the party.”
“That's because she wasn't invited.” The note of disdain in his voice made it evident he didn't think too highly of the secretary. “The party was just for the boys.”
“Oh,” I said with a nod. Then I processed the first part of his statement. “Jack met a girl?”
“Inquisitive, aren't we?” he teased, nuzzling my hair. He laughed softly, anticipating my next questions. “She's a tourist. He wouldn't shut up about her. I saw him for all of five minutes before he dashed off to see her again.”
“Is that so?” I murmured. I loved the way his lips felt as he nibbled down my neck.
“Oh, Noah, Emma's so perfect! She's so pretty and smart and sexy and...” Noah said, raising his voice several octaves to sound like a girl. I giggled. “It was actually kind of cute, but in a sickeningly sweet kind of way.”
“What's the secretary think about that?” I tipped my head to give him better access to my neck. “I'm guessing she wasn't here to work.”
“She threw a vase at my head this morning when I went in the house,” he said. I pushed his shoulders back so I could look at him, feeling a worried expression shaping my face. He smiled at my concern. “She thought I was Jack.” He must have seen the concern in my face, so he followed up with, “Don't worry, she missed.”
I punched his shoulder lightly, glaring at him through my eyelashes. He chuckled again and kissed the tip of my nose. “Good. I'd have to go beat her up if she had hit you. Poor girl, getting dumped on vacation.”