ROMANCE: CLEAN ROMANCE: Summer Splash! (Sweet Inspirational Contemporary Romance) (New Adult Clean Fantasy Short Stories) by Michelle Woodward Page B

notch.
                  “Why Mici,” she answered, running a hand along the smooth top of the baby Grand, “I’ll bet you say that to all the girls.”  Was this truly coming out of her mouth?  Where had she worked up the gumbos ?
                  Mici, however, did not think there was anything that was strange about her words at all.  In fact, the smile lurking about the corners of his mouth deepened, and he looked her directly in the eyes. “No,” he told her, the syllable licking her from tip to toe, “Just the ones who appreciate the classical mixed with the badass.”
                  She had to chuckle at that one, but Mici wasn’t done.  “When can I see you again, ballerina girl?”
                  Mackie did not know what compelled her to suggest the first place her sick, twisted little mind conjured, but apparently, all the filters were off tonight.
                  “Tomorrow night at nine,” she told him, scooping up her purse and turning around to leave.  “The Jacuzzi.  We’ll go for a midnight swim.”
                  Mici’s eyes widened just a touch, just enough to be barely perceptible.  “You’ve got it, ballerina,” he said to her retreating back as she waltzed out of the lounge.
    *              *              *
                  “You’ve been dancing since you were six ?  That’s insane.  I didn’t even get into juggling before I was ten, and that’s only because I was the laziest lay about you ever met in your entire life.”
                  After dinner, Adam had suggested a stroll around the Lido Deck.  She had just finished telling him about the strict discipline of ballet.
                  “All those rules and you didn’t go insane?”
                  “If you asked anyone at the American Ballet Company, they’d tell you I’m pretty insane for taking this cruise job.”
                  “Why’s that?”
                  “Let’s say I’ll be walking into the company with a… reputation .”
                  “Oh, I see.”  Adam was thoughtful for a moment.  The wild wind picked up his sandy hair and mussed it, whipping it against the sides of his face, rumpling it in a most appealing manner.  Tomorrow, they would be in the Caribbean, and the winds would be tamer, sultrier. Mackie shivered slightly, and whether it was because of the wind or the promise of tomorrow, she could not tell.  Having noticed this, Adam took a step until he was directly at her side, and wrapped an arm around her bare shoulders.  One of his fingers brushed against the delicate strapping of her dress, and Mackie smiled.
                  “What would they say at the company,” Adam said slowly, pressing her to his side, feeling the length of her body against his, turning her just a little so that he could nuzzle the sensitive area between her collarbone and chin, “If they saw you with me right now?”
                  Mackie shuddered a tiny bit at the feeling of his lips and face against the contours of her neck.  “Ohhh, I’d be a bad girl.  So very bad.”
                  “Well, you know what they say.”  Adam turned her slowly so that they were facing one another.
                  Mackie tilted her chin up to him, feeling the flat of his abdomen against her palms where she was touching him.  “What’s that?”
                  “Go hard or go home.”  And then he kissed her.
                  They pressed their bodies against each other, relishing the sensations rushing through them.  She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders, pressing her chest onto his until she tasted his groan against her lips.  He was long and beautifully sculpted, just like she had imagined, and when he wrapped his arms