"Only with you." Curls danced in front of her eyes as she pulled him back for another kiss. "I'm not lying. If I'm on fire, it's because you found the fuse."
"That sounds like a bad song lyric. I think you've been exposed to Dave the Gringo's music too long, we'd better get you inside and away from his influence." He kissed her, not wanting to step away from the tree but knowing they were pushing the limits by staying here too long. Something stirred deep in his chest with her words, with the kiss, with this entire scenario.
She laughed against his mouth before dropping her legs from around him and sliding down his chest. He felt like the entire world would know what they'd been doing in the bushes. He laughed to himself as he stuffed her panties in his pocket. He had never had sex against a palm tree before and definitely never within yards of a group of people. Exhilaration hammered through his heart.
She smoothed hair from his eyes. "You look like you've been having sex on the beach."
"So do you." He turned them into an impromptu dance on the sand, his mouth clinging to hers in a slow kiss, while he held her close.
"You're too good to be true," she whispered. "I can't believe you're real."
"Like you said...it's all an illusion." Regret flashed in her eyes, darkened them in the moonlight, before she looked away.
Maybe it was, but then again maybe it wasn't.
He flattened his palms over her shoulders and wondered at the glimpse of pain he'd seen. Anonymity had its pros...and cons.
"Your place or mine?" he asked.
"Mine. Want to race?" When she met his gaze again, the pain had been replaced with desire.
"Hey, Luke!" Savannah shouted from behind them. "I thought you'd disappeared."
Scared of losing the intimacy, he framed Alyssa's face and held her gaze. "We've been spotted. One drink to be sociable and then we'll go, okay?"
Concern shadowed her eyes, but she nodded.
He remembered then why she'd said she'd come to the island alone...cheating fiancé getting married in a few days. She'd probably been bluffing about the weeklong affair, had been being impulsive for the sake of forgetting, but now they'd crossed a line and self-doubt flickered in the depths of her blue eyes.
He kissed her and reminded her through actions rather than words that she was the most desirable woman he'd ever met. Maybe they were both playing pretend while in paradise before retreating to their normal lives. So what? He'd only gotten a taste and a glimpse of the woman in his arms and he wanted to spend every minute of the next several days savoring her.
* * *
Chapter Three
"Wow, he must have really missed you," Savannah said from a foot away. "I'd been beginning to think he was gay. I guess he's not."
Alyssa smiled against Luke's lips. Damn, the man knew how to kiss. She doubted she'd be able to put one foot in front of the other, especially after being pushed up against the tree and holding onto him for dear life with her thighs.
"No, he's definitely not gay," she said, reluctantly pulling away to look at the tall woman standing next to them. Fragile confidence quaked beneath Savannah's up and down perusal of her. She extended a hand and hoped it didn't tremble. "I'm Alyssa."
"Savannah. I hear you're the secret girlfriend. How exciting for you two...are you married or something?"
Taken aback by the direct line of questioning, she paused to think of a story. She'd forgotten that little bit of information about Luke using her as an excuse.
"She's not married." He snagged her hand and started walking toward the rowdy group. "My family is a bit overwhelming, as you saw, and I didn't want them scaring her away. It wouldn't be the first time they've ruined a relationship for me."
Although he smiled, she detected a glimmer of truth in his lie. Unlinking her fingers from his, she looped her arm around his waist and smiled up at him. "No one could scare me away."
He returned her smile, his eyes still heavy with sexual afterglow and lips swollen from the intensity of their kiss.
She nearly tripped on the sand, thighs quivering from exertion. Her body ached to be stretched out on a mattress. Naked. With him on top of her. Full skin-on-skin contact.
If this is what insanity feels like, then I never want to be sane again. She laughed at the thought.
Before she could protest, they were seated at a table with Savannah and Bill. The elevated dance floor over the sand rocked with the crowd swaying on top of it. Rosie reigned over the bar with a perpetual golden grin while Dave the Gringo sang some Eagles' tunes that had the crowd up and moving. His impressive one-man-band set-up churned out the songs with a pulsating quality that obviously improved with rum intake.
Luke skimmed his hand along her shoulder before walking toward the bar to grab them drinks. She enjoyed watching him walk, once again thinking he had a body that called for much more exploring.
"How long have you two being going out?" Bill asked, his shaggy brown hair and days' worth of stubble giving him a beach bum appearance that fit right in on the island. "He's good at keeping a secret. His brothers were really pushy about setting him up but he kept his mouth shut...and behaved himself. Don't worry. He didn't budge."
"And some of us tried pretty hard to sway him, but he didn't give us a thought." Savannah smiled, looking much more approachable than she'd assumed earlier in the day. Despite the model looks, her smile communicated goodwill. "He said you're territorial...I don't want you to worry."
She laughed at that and leaned back in the chair. "Territorial, huh? I guess so. Before Luke, I had a cheating fiancé who slept with everyone in sight. I guess that has had an effect."
"Seriously? How long were you engaged?" Savannah leaned forward on the table, her brown eyes full of curiosity.
"Eight years. You know what he told me? That he'd never been faithful, not even a full week of our entire relationship." Why she felt like telling every stranger she met her story, she had no idea. Yet here she was yakking away. She brushed her hands over her still trembling thighs and wished she were back in her cabana.
"Now you have Luke. I tried to seduce him a few times but he couldn't have been less interested. I admit it sort of wounded my ego, but now that I've met you, I get it." Savannah smiled and smoothed her long black hair behind her ears.
"She did hit on him a lot, though." Bill glared at the back of Savannah's head.
"You two aren't a couple?" she asked Bill who rolled his eyes as an answer.
"We're friends." Savannah patted his hand without looking in his direction. "We're here with a diving club from Dallas. We came in a few days ago. Do you dive?"
"No, but I've always wanted to learn." Again she thought of all the things she'd put off during the last few years of her life. She'd basically spent her entire 20's in a holding pattern.
She looked over the crowd in search of Luke who bantered with Rosie, drinks in his hands. When he started walking back to the table, his gaze met hers and he smiled. A wave of satisfaction rushed through her. She didn't regret sex against a palm tree or being impulsive with him at all. Sitting here in the moonlight with strangers felt more right than anything had in recent memory. She had no past, could be anything or anyone she wanted to be, and no one would expect anything different.
Why couldn't she feel like this all of the time? She loved her job, her friends, her cat, and her condo...so aside from latitude, what was different?
She pulled her gaze from Luke's and glanced toward the ocean. White caps broke against the reef hidden by dark water. Waves caressed the shore. Sarong covered women swayed with short-clad men on an elevated wooden floor surrounded by tiki torches. Dave the Gringo switched from Eagles' music to classic Jimmy Buffet. A few guests sang along, including Savannah and Bill.
"You look relaxed." Luke put the drinks on the table before claiming his chair.
"I am." She leaned forward and kissed him, uncaring about any onlookers. If she only had a few days to claim the right of kissing him whenever she wanted, then she would
take every opportunity to do so.
"Anything about our story I should know?" he asked against her lips.
She laughed without moving away. "I hear I'm territorial."
"Jealous freak." He winked, his hand moving to her knee. "Let's get out of here after this drink, deal?"
She reached for Rosie's special concoction and gulped it down. To hell if she looked too eager to get him alone again. He did the same. They met each other's gaze and laughed at their actions.
"How long have you two been together?" Savannah scooted her chair closer, eyes observant. "You act like a pair of newlyweds."
"Not that long—"
"A year—"
They spoke over each other.
She looked at him over her shoulder and nodded for him to take the lead. After all, he'd insisted on taking charge earlier in the night and this was his lie. Her mind inevitably returned to him holding her against the tree with his hands gripping her wrists and body pinning her against the trunk. Immediate heat flooded her veins as she watched him smile at Savannah, dimples slicing into his cheeks.
Despite herself, she wondered what he did for a living to ooze such confidence and charm. Not that she'd ask, that would break the rules she'd imposed.
"Seems like a lifetime but in a good way." He snagged her hand and squeezed. "She picked me up at a bar, wanted a fling, but our one night stand hasn't ended yet."
"Yeah, I keep wondering when he'll finally go away but he keeps coming back for more, even bribes me with little treasures," she added.
He locked his gaze on hers. "I know a good thing when I find it."
"A man of action," she said, unable to look away.
"Determined." His hand beneath the table slid beneath the hem of her dress and skimmed her inner thigh.
"I think we need to go. I travelled overnight to get here, should probably get to bed." She linked her ankle behind his, opening her thighs another inch.
"And your family doesn't know about her?" Bill asked. He'd also scooted his chair closer to their side of the table, eyes full of curiosity. "I'm surprised. They seemed so riveted on your personal life."
"Exactly." He glanced at Bill, squeezed her knee, and sighed. "We're gonna go. We'll probably see you all tomorrow sometime."
She didn't need any more encouragement than that. She stood in one fluid moment and smiled at Savannah before Luke grabbed her hand.
She didn't know who pulled whom toward the cabanas. They both were equally eager to resume what they'd started on the beach. Laughing, he winked at her over his shoulder as they weaved past the tables and other resort guests.
They stumbled up the two steps of her cabana, mouths fused in a kiss as she fumbled for the keycard. His hands yanked at the straps of her dress when she finally pushed open the door.
If she'd known it felt this good being bad, she'd have abandoned the good girl persona years ago. She ached to touch him, to have him completely naked. She yanked at his shirt while he nibbled along her collarbone and pushed the dress down her torso.
Tripping over discarded clothes they made their way to the bed. A tangled mass of limbs they rolled to the center of the mattress. He squeezed her breasts, his thumbs circling the nipples until hard while his mouth played havoc with her neck.
She couldn't stop touching the sculpted muscles of his chest, her eyes feasting on the breadth of his body against hers.
Wanton. Until now she hadn't really understood the meaning of that word, but that's what slammed into her consciousness. She was acting like a wild, wanton version of herself and she loved it. She bit his shoulder, grabbed his ass, arched her hips toward his, and flattened the soles of her feet on the backs of his calves.
The man had the body of a God.
His mouth claimed hers as he thrust inside her with the force of a man staking out his territory. Tongues moved in rhythm with every stroke of his hips. She wrapped every limb around him, needing him as close as possible.
The orgasm began somewhere in her toes, shuddered through her body like a tsunami of pleasure, and erupted with a moan of ecstasy. Her nails sunk into his shoulders. Her head rolled back on the pillow as she gasped for breath and felt his release slam into her. He buried his face in her hair while he moaned her name.
Wrapped together, they both gasped for breath and allowed their heart rates to return to a steady beat. The room was silent except for the sounds of their rapid breathing.
When he finally rolled to the side and stared at the ceiling, she closed her eyes and smiled. She'd been holding back more than dreams all of these years. She hadn't known she was capable of passion like that.
"Damn, you're intense," he said with a slight laugh.
"I am, aren't I?" She liked that idea.
He rolled onto his side and put one hand on her breast. "Look at me, Alyssa."
She opened her eyes and grinned. Black hair fell across his forehead, dimples slashing into his face with his smile, and naked body stretched along side hers, he was spectacular. "You should always be naked. I'm serious. You should never hide that body with clothes."
He laughed and shook his head. "No one has ever said that to me before, I'm not sure what to say back. That's a first. I'm never speechless."
"Yeah, well, I never have sex with strangers yet here we are." She traced the line of his bicep. "You're amazing."
"We're not strangers anymore, not really." He kissed her neck before nibbling her ear. "We had a date, talked, danced, fucked against a palm tree...and again...and I'm pretty sure we'll be doing it again soon...not strangers."
She grinned at his logic and wrapped her fingers in his hair. "The first night's almost over, we have six more days of this."
"You're going to wreck me." He slid a finger across her lips, his gaze on hers. "I feel like a horny teenager. It's like I've lost control."
"Control is overrated." She snagged his finger and held it against her chest. "Tell me something?"
"Right now I'd tell you anything so be careful what you ask."
She wanted to know why he'd reject a woman who could be a supermodel and who openly admitted coming onto him. Why her, is what she wanted to know but was too afraid to ask. That would reveal her self-doubt and ruin the moment. Old voices drummed in her head that she wasn't good enough to be picked first; they whispered that she'd always be someone's consolation prize.
"Why does your family want to set you up so badly?" she asked instead.
He moaned and hugged a pillow under his head before meeting her gaze again. "I'm the oldest of three, they've all gotten married and have kids now. They think I'm lonely."
"Are you?" She twisted onto her side and mirrored his position with the pillow.
The engagement ring fell between them. She winced. She'd not only forgotten about it, she'd made love with another man on top of it. Well, if that didn't say 'closure', she didn't know what did.
He picked it up and studied it from side to side before looking at her. "What's this?"
She grabbed it from him, embarrassment flooding her nervous system. "I brought it down so I could throw it in the ocean on New Year's Eve. I don't want it anymore and didn't want to pawn it off only to curse some other woman with a tainted ring."
He raised his eyebrows and whistled. "You should be thankful that you didn't get married. He's someone else's problem now and it sounds like he is definitely a jerk."
"He's the last person I want to talk about." She twisted around to put the ring on the bedside table, hating that her past crept between them and ruined a mind-blowing evening.
"Do you miss being engaged?"
She laughed, much to her surprise, and pushed him onto his back. With arms folded on his chest, she looked down at him. "Do I look like I miss being engaged?"
He slid his hands up her arms. "Not really."
"Have you ever been engaged?"
"Nope. I'm not the marrying kind." His eyes darkened, smile faded, but he didn't look away. "Rosie was right when she labeled me anti-lov
e, Alyssa. I don't believe it exists. It's good this is what it is—a weeklong fling where we part ways after having one helluva great time. We'll always think of each other and smile, no bitterness. Are you having second thoughts?"
She took her time looking at him from head to toe, lingering on all parts in between, before meeting his gaze. "The only thing I'm having second thoughts about is room service. I've worked up an appetite."
He framed her face between his hands and stared into her eyes. "You're so beautiful."
His simple words stirred her heart. She didn't want to feel anything for someone who was temporary. Her heart had been broken enough, she didn't want to open it even a little bit for someone she'd never see again in a week. Her body was one thing. Fun in the sun. But her heart was off limits. She rolled to the side and made a production of looking for the room service menu while he walked into the bathroom.
Space, they both suddenly needed breathing room. Sighing, she glanced over her shoulder to the closed door. Anti-love, huh? Good. So was she. Sex—mind-blowing-earth-shattering-sex—would be enough. More than enough.
She rifled through a drawer for the short robe she'd brought and wrapped it around herself. Again she looked at the door. The problem was that, yes, she did miss being engaged. She missed the feeling of being in a couple despite her bravado about how freaking fantastic it was to be single. Someone unworthy of her love had destroyed her ideals and everything in her screamed in agony over the death of that dream.
She rubbed a hand over her face, sat down on the edge of the bed, and opened the room service menu. She had a week with a gorgeous man who brought out her wild side.
More than enough.
* * *
He tossed water on his face before resting his palms against the sink and taking a deep breath. His heartbeat had accelerated on the beach and he hadn't been able to slow it down since that first kiss. He rubbed the center of his chest with a closed fist and squeezed his eyes closed. Either he was having a heart attack, an anxiety attack or...he opened his eyes and looked at his reflection.
"Not happening," he whispered. "Get yourself under control."