Page 144 of The Prize

“I’m turning it off for the rest of the day.” With a slide of a finger over his screen it was off and he placed it back onto the glass table.

“I hope it wasn’t bad news.”

“It’s fine. Come grab some rays.” He patted the sunbed beside his. “We have time.”

“I love it when the sun is out.”

He laughed. “It’s always out in Cali.”

Lying facedown on my towel, I got comfortable and unclipped my bikini top and threw it over to him. “Look what you won. Lucky thing.”

“Don’t mind me while I lick your top.” He grinned.

I rolled onto my back and smiled, and it was one of those grins that showed that everything was just as it should be. “We might need to pour that tea over your head to cool you down, buddy.”

“Buddy?” His admiring gaze swept over me as he reached for the tube of sunblock and squeezed a white blob between my breasts. “Just doing my bit for prevention.” His fingers paid special attention to my nipples, causing them to perk. “You can thank me later for my forethought.”

His massage was a reminder of how amazing his touch felt, both arousing and comforting, and my body ached with a need that would never be quenched by this incredible man.

My body stiffened as a thought gate-crashed my mind. What if Tobias had brought me to Malibu to live because lulling me with his affection and keeping me busy at his museum was all an elaborate ruse to ensure his work as Icon continued?

Don’t do this to yourself. Not today. Not ever.

Still, if I allowed myself to consider the possibility of it, I had to admit the dark fact that I’d never be any wiser. That trip he’d taken to New York to take care of his grandmother’s home in Manhattan had been without me because he’d wanted to explore her personal items and he’d expressed he didn’t want me to get bored even though I’d offered to help. I’d been kept busy at The Wilder Museum with our new exhibit of artifacts from the Mayan civilization, a passion project for both of us.

These were irrational thoughts and probably stirred by wedding day nerves. That’s all this was, I reassured myself, the normal kind of jitters you’d expect from the imminent commitment I was about to throw myself into headfirst.

“Relax,” he cooed. “The house is shielded. I made sure of that when I purchased the property.”

“Paradise.” I tried to let go and almost purred as he caressed me in rhythmic circles.

“I want to buy you something. Name it.”

“I don’t need anything.” I popped an eye open. “Have you seen this place?”

“Jewelry?”

“I have your mom’s necklace. I love it and never want to take it off.”

That made him smile. “Ring?”

I raised my left hand to show off my blinding diamond. “Hello.”

“Are you really happy? You have no regrets, right? I know how much you loved your job in London.”

“I’m in heaven, Tobias. This is nirvana.”

“You’re my reason to breathe.”

My heart melted all over again.

His hands slipped to my stomach and he worked his circular motion there, and I tried not to sulk at my near miss of bliss when a ringtone disturbed the quiet. Raising my head off the lounger, I glanced over at Tobias’s pained expression.

“I’ll get it.” I pushed myself up. “You relax.”

“Sure.” He raised his hands in defeat. “Otherwise you’ll be wondering who called you. I want your thoughts to be only on me for the rest of the evening. As selfish as that sounds.”

I reached for a towel, wrapped it around myself and returned to the house, closing the sliding glass door behind me so as not to disturb Tobias. There, on my laptop screen, was a missed call from Huntly Pierre.