Sweet Temptation by Cora Reilly

His hand slipped under my shirt. I looked around.
“Nobody can see us here.”
“I know,” I said. Then I stood and took a step back. “But I was thinking of
trying out the beach…”
Cassio got up. “You’ll have sand everywhere.”
I took another step back and pulled my shirt over my head. “Maybe I’ll like
the additional friction, old man.”
Cassio’s smile turned wolfish. “I think I need to dunk you in the ocean first
to punish you for your insolence.”
I backed away, down the stairs, and Cassio stalked me like a hunter after his
prey. “Run, little girl, run.”
“I’m not—” He lunged for me but with a choked screech, I jumped back,
whirled around, and dashed away. My feet sunk into the soft sand and the cool
evening breeze whipped at my hair. I threw a glance over my shoulder, finding
Cassio taking off his shoes, shirt, and pants. Rolling my eyes, I dropped my bra
and called, “You’ll never catch up with me, old man!”
He was surprisingly fast. Hell, he was faster than any man of his height and
muscle mass had any business of being. All the damn workouts were paying off,
it seemed.
Giggling, I popped open the button of my shorts. Unfortunately, I couldn’t
stop because Cassio was hot on my heels, and so I almost stumbled in my
attempt to shove off my shorts while running. Only in my panties, I sped up even
more, trying to run up the dunes and away from the ocean.
“Gotcha,” Cassio growled a moment before his arms wrapped around my
middle and he lifted me off the ground. He pressed a hot kiss against my neck
then bit down, causing me to gasp. Despite my struggling, he carried me over to
the ocean’s edge. “This will be very cold. Fortunately, I know the perfect way to
get you warm again.”
“Cassio, don’t you dare!” I warned but he stepped into the waves. The cold
spray hit my calves. “Cassio!”
He threw me into the water. Shock at the freezing cold of the Atlantic zapped
through my body. I burst through the water surface with a gasp, drawing in a
sharp breath as my body struggled to get used to the cold.
Cassio looked as if he was taking a dip in the Caribbean and not the Atlantic.
He didn’t even have goose bumps!
I glared at him, but at the same time couldn’t help but grin. Maybe I had
surprised him, but he surprised me too. When I’d first seen him in the foyer of
my parents’ home, looking so terribly poised and in control, I’d wondered how
we’d ever work. We were still different in many aspects of our personalities, but
we both made small adjustments for the other. Marriage was giving and taking,
and despite Cassio’s need to control everything, he, too had given to make this
work.
“How about getting you warm now?” He pressed close to me, pulling me
against his wonderfully warm body. His mouth claimed my throat once more.