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She’d been at the park
for a few hours enjoying the attractions. Her cell rang as
she dodged a small child and his rapidly melting ice cream
cone. “Hello?”
“Afternoon, gorgeous.”
Landi stepped to the side
and smiled at Dimitri’s voice. “Hey, yourself. How’re you
doing?”
“I’m better now. Where
are you?”
“I’m by the Coconut Bay
Café. How about you?”
“On my way to you.”
Sensual shivers spread
throughout her despite the warmth of the day. Dimitri had
this way of sounding so damn sexy when he talked. “I’ll be
waiting,” she said softly before disconnecting the call.
Landi sat down on the edge of a bench and watched the steady
flow of people before her.
As if the entire park
shifted from normal to slow-motion, her gaze landed upon
Dimitri Melonakos advancing toward her. Her breath caught in
her throat, her heart skipped a few beats, and the juncture
between her legs grew damp with longing. The man strode with
an inherent confidence that drew many appreciative stares.
His black hair caught the
breeze and bounced with each powerful step he took. A
dark-blue shirt conformed to his impressive torso; his
biceps strained against the sleeves. He had on light blue
jeans that hugged powerful thighs. Though he exuded power,
Dimitri had a lazy smile on his face when he stopped before
her.
Landi stood to meet him
and enjoyed the envious looks some women sent her as his
arms closed around her. He smelled fresh and crisp.
“Kalispera, Landi,” he
whispered as he kissed her lightly.
The amount of passion
that rocketed through her weakened her knees. Her arms
wrapped around his waist as she kissed him back. A
frustrated moan slipped from her lips when he put some space
between them.
“How are you, baby?”
“I’m fine,” she said,
dropping her arms from around his trim waist. Her eyes
dropped to his chest and she smiled. “Nice shirt.”
“Thanks. One of my faves.”
The shirt had a marbled
look to it with the head of a Great White Shark across it.
The animal looked like it was breaking through the fabric.
“Very fitting,” she
commented as he took her hand. Landi recalled his Team had
taken its nickname from that of a prehistoric shark, one
thought to be the largest and deadliest carnivorous creature
of the oceans. It tripled the size of today’s Great White;
in fact, experts thought it to be the Great White’s
ancestor.
He smiled down at her.
“You look beautiful, Landi. And so hot!”
She ducked her head to
hide her reddening cheeks. Only Dimitri could make her
blush like a schoolgirl. “Thank you,” she muttered, glad he
thought so. In the back of her mind, she knew she’d wanted
to impress him.
As if he sensed she was
uncomfortable, he questioned, “Where’d you want to go?”
Tucking a wayward curl
behind her ear, Landi tipped her head up. “Have you eaten?”
“Not since 0530.”
Her brows furrowed.
“When’d you leave this morning?”
His lips brushed hers.
“Much sooner than I wanted to.”
That damn blush and
tingly feeling swept her body. “Do you want to eat here?”
she asked, pointing toward the Coconut Bay Café.
“Here’s just fine.”
Hand in hand, they walked
to the restaurant and had a nice lunch. Afterward, they went
next door into the Shark Encounter. As the sharks swam
overtop of them, Landi looked on in awe and wonder.
“They truly are so
graceful,” she said as Dimitri stepped away from her a bit
to allow a little boy to run between them.
“They are. Almost enough
so that you forget what amazing predators they are. There’s
an eerie ghost-like quality to them.”
Leaning against the
railing, Landi nodded. “Still, they are beautiful.”
“No argument.”
Dimitri wrapped his arm
around her waist and they continued on. Her gaze traveled
over multitudes of sand tiger, black tip, whitetip, and
bonnethead sharks. Even though they’d been safe, Landi still
felt better once the warm California sun touched her skin.
The sharks had this power about them that made her nervous.
The couple attended the
Dolphin Interaction Program; and as her fingers moved across
a dolphin’s back, Landi felt totally at peace. Being with
Dimitri gave her that. They watched the dolphin show while
holding hands. As they left their seats, Dimitri gazed down
at her and queried, “Where to now?”
“Polar bears.”
“As milady commands.”
Copyright © Aliyah
Burke, 2009.
All Rights Reserved. |
