The Secret's in the Telling 5

The kiss spun on and on, and Stephanie's mind went cloudy, forgetting everything else except Carlos—the sensation of him, his smell, his taste, his smooth hardness against her skin. As her mouth opened to him, her arms went around his neck and she rose up on her toes to meet his passion. When his hands stroked down over her ass and lifted, she wrapped her legs around his waist and there was that exquisite pleasure again, the feeling of his granite length against her most intimate parts.

With a groan Carlos ripped his lips from hers and their eyes locked, his obsidian and opaque, hers midnight and glowing in the reflection of the sun off the water.

His eyes moved past Stephanie and emptied of emotion. "Ashley. I didn't notice you there."

Still wrapped around Carlos, Stephanie turned her head, her cheek against his, her foggy mind struggling to comprehend. "Oh," she said, remembering and wondering what the hell was going on and why he was kissing her right in front of the girlfriend.

"Babe, this is Ashley, the head lifeguard," Carlos said, bland and blank. "Ashley, Stephanie Plum." He turned his back on Ashley, moved into the shade of the umbrella and sat down in Stephanie's beach chair with Stephanie on his lap straddling him. He cuddled her to his chest, leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

From the corner of her eye Stephanie saw Ashley turn and flounce away, sand squirting up from her heels with each step. She leaned her head back and willed Carlos to open his eyes, pushing on his shoulders to create some space between them. "What the hell was that?" she demanded.

"I'm sorry, Babe." Carlos's expression was contrite and his eyes opened to reveal melted chocolate. "I needed to get rid of Ashley. She's been a real pain in the ass."

"You mean you just used me to dump your girlfriend?" Stephanie asked, aghast.

"Girlfriend?" Carlos barked out a laugh. "You thought Ashley was my girlfriend?"

"I saw you together on the beach the first day we were here. Just the way she touched you, hung all over you, yeah, it sure looked like you were together."

"I just met her that day, the same day I met you. She's never been anything to me except an annoyance." Carlos thought back to the scene in the locker room, now more than ever thankful he'd found the strength to tear himself away from Ashley. Maybe now that she thought he was with Stephanie she'd leave him alone.

Stephanie rolled herself back and swung a leg around to get her feet underneath her so she could arise from Carlos's lap. She wasn't sure whether to be angry or pleased that he'd kissed her that way to get rid of an unwanted bimbo. On the one hand he'd used her and she should be pissed at him. On the other hand, he'd been kissing her every night at the restaurant, and that had nothing to do with Ashley.

Carlos watched Stephanie's expressive face, understanding her dilemma. "Babe," he said, "I said I'm sorry. And I didn't do anything I don't want to do every time I see you."

Stephanie's electric blue eyes grabbed hold of his mahogany ones and read the sincerity there. "Okay," she said, and reached for her beach bag. "Now, I need some sunscreen on my back."

oOo

Carlos's second break was from one-thirty to two, and he and Stephanie walked up on the boardwalk hand in hand to get some lunch.

"Are you doing anything tonight, Babe?" Carlos asked as they sat down at an empty table in the small food court with their platters of Chinese.

"Mmmm." Stephanie moaned at the first bite of moo shu pork. Carlos couldn't tear his eyes away from her lips as her tongue peeped out to lick off a dab of plum sauce. He couldn't help himself. He reached over and curved his fingers under her chin so he could stroke the wetness from her lips with his thumb. He was hard as a rock and wondered what the hell he was going to do about this obsession with Stephanie Plum.

Stephanie took hold of his hand and brought his fingers to her lips for a light kiss before releasing them. "Since none of us have to work the dinner shift tonight, we're going up on the boards, maybe to Jenkinson's. Lenny's coming down right after work to spend the night, so there'll be four of us to go on rides."

Carlos nodded. It was Julio's night off, so maybe he'd want to go up on the boardwalk. Julio was so much better since the incident with Stephanie. And every time he worked at the restaurant he had a story about her on the way home, his affection obvious. Apparently Carlos wasn't the only one who found Stephanie irresistible.

As they walked back onto the sand at two o'clock, Stephanie said, "I'm going to need to leave in a while to meet Mary Lou and Tina. Their shift is over at three. So thanks for getting the umbrella for me to use."

"De nada, Babe." Carlos hesitated, then went on, "I'll get an umbrella every Wednesday, so you can just come here and use it any time you want."

By this time they'd reached the lifeguard stand. Carlos took Stephanie by the shoulders, turning her to face him. "I'm glad you came today." His mouth covered hers, the kiss almost unbearably tender.

"Me, too," she answered, her hands cupping his face. He tucked a curl behind her ear, feathered a quick kiss across her brow and climbed back up his tower, beautifully defined muscles rippling as he moved.

Stephanie sighed and moved back into the shade of the umbrella.

oOo

"So how was the beach?" Mary Lou asked as she, Stephanie and Tina started back toward their apartment. "It was really hot. Did you go in the water?"

"Just for a minute. It's still pretty chilly."

"Did you have lunch?"

"Yeah, Chinese."

"Down at the Fifth Street food court?"

Stephanie suddenly realized her mistake. Crap, she thought, why did I even mention Chinese? But she was already blushing and she knew Mary Lou would get the truth out of her. "Yeah," she admitted.

Mary Lou's hazel eyes were piercing. "Did you see Carlos?"

"Yeah." Stephanie gave in and fessed up. "I had lunch with him."

"And…" Mary Lou made a rolling motion with her hand.

"He was working."

"And…" That gesture again. God, this girl is good, Stephanie thought. She's going to be the best Burg mom ever.

"And he got a beach umbrella set up beside his stand so I could have some shade. He had a couple of breaks and we talked and ate lunch, and that was it."

"Steph—" Mary Lou began, but Stephanie cut her off.

"Lou, he's a really nice guy, and he's the hottest freaking thing on the beach. So if I want to hang out with him I will. You're not my mom, so stop acting like her."

Mary Lou looked chastened. "Sorry, Steph, but you know I'm just trying to look out for you like a best friend should."

"I know, Lou. Thanks. Now let's go home and get showered and get you all prettied up for Lenny."

Mary Lou grinned, and they hurried home.

TBC