He groaned and through half-lidded eyes glanced past the stage where the performers were now in full-on fuck. There, on the other side of the crowd, his gaze met that of the man from the restaurant. Like Cade, he wasn’t watching the show. At least not the one on stage. He was staring right at Avery.
A chill slid down Cade’s spine.
Avery pulled away from his throat. “Cade.”
He looked her way. Her eyes were glazed behind the glasses all but falling off her face. Her hair was a sexy mess around her familiar features. The tips of her nipples pressed like sharp little points against the bodice of her dress, teasing him to touch them. To lick them. To suck them deep in his mouth.
“Now,” she rasped. “I want you right now.”
Cade’s entire body tightened with a renewed burst of lust. One he only just contained. “Oh, Ava. You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say that. But not here. I want you all to myself.”
As if his words had suddenly jolted her from the sexual haze fogging her mind, she froze, then looked around. Her eyes grew wide. “Oh. I…”
He wasn’t losing this moment. He wasn’t losing this chance. “Come on.” He grabbed her arm, turned her so she was in front of him, and forced her to walk into the crowd. But he kept his front plastered to her back. Wasn’t giving her the chance to get away. “Stay with me.”
She swallowed hard and nodded. Her hand closed over his at her waist. The other gripped his at her side. He maneuvered her through writhing couples, past a threesome going at it near the wall, and steered her toward the doorway. Her sweet little ass bounced against his rock hard cock, making it that much harder to walk.
“I’ve never—” Her eyes locked on the threesome. “Oh my God.”
“Stay with me,” he said again into her ear.
She nodded once more and kept moving, but he could tell he was losing her. She was thinking again. He needed to get her brain back off-line and remind her what she’d wanted only seconds ago. What she needed.
Him. Only him.
He shoved the door open with his shoulder and dragged her out into the hall. As soon as it snapped closed, he pulled her around, pushed her back up against the wall, then lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her hard and deep.
She opened on contact, reached for his shoulders, and moaned against his tongue. He bent his legs, lifted one of hers, and wrapped it around his hip and rubbed his aching erection against her mound. Her fingers dug into his skin, a groan echoed from her chest, and then she pulled him closer, drawing him right back into the abyss.
She hitched herself higher so he could press against her most sensitive spot. Kissed him again and again as if starved for his touch.
He needed her. Couldn’t wait. He dragged his lips from her mouth to her jaw and finally to her ear. “Ava.”
“Yes. Yes. God, yes. Cade…”
Warmth bloomed in his chest. Spread through every cell. He wanted her moaning his name like that beneath him. On that giant bed in their room. Naked. Where he could taste and sample and lick every inch of her skin. Not here in this dark hallway where anyone could walk by and see them.
It took every ounce of willpower he had to draw himself away. “Bed. I want you in a bed.”
“Oh yes.”
His pulse roared in his ears. He jerked away from her, grasped her, and pulled. “Come on.”
They rounded the corner almost at a jog. He spotted an exit door, and relief whipped through him. He wouldn’t have to drag her back through the dance club.
He shoved the door open and drew her out into the warm evening breeze. His fingers tightened around hers as he pulled her along behind him down the path.
“Cade, wait…”
Wait? No way. He had to get her to their room before either of them figured out a reason to stop this. “We’re almost there.”
He turned a corner. A palm frond slapped him in the face. He swatted it away and caught sight of Avery at his back. Her hand was against her forehead. Her eyes closed as she stumbled along behind. She was thinking again, dammit. He was losing her.
Pulse racing, he slowed his pace, turned, and kissed her quickly. “We’re almost there.”
“I…I don’t feel so well.”
“Don’t worry, princess. In a minute I’m going to make you feel better than ever.”
They turned another corner, and his pulse leapt when he caught sight of their hut. He dragged her onto the front porch, stopped in front of their door and fumbled with his wristband so he could wave it in front of the sensor.
Avery sagged against the door. “No,” she mumbled. “I…I feel lightheaded.”
“It was probably the music and smoke in the club. Stay with me, Ava.” He kissed her again while he waved his wristband over the sensor.
She groaned and lifted her mouth to his. The sensor turned green. He turned the handle and pushed the door open with his foot, then reached for her.
“Cade,” she mumbled against his lips, winding her arms around his neck, kissing him back with an intensity that lit him on fire.
He loved the way she tasted. Loved the way she said his name. Maneuvering her into the room, he tugged the glasses from her face, tossed them on the entry table, and kicked the door closed. “Come here.”
He clasped his hands around her ass, lifted until her legs opened and slid around his waist, loved the way she sighed in pleasure. Her tongue flicked against his as he carried her into the suite. She kissed him again and again while he laid her out on the bed, while her fingers found the buttons on his shirt, while he fumbled to help her get it off.
“God, Ava. I need to be inside you.”
“Mm… Yes…” She lifted her hips to rub against him, closed her eyes as he tugged the skirt of her dress up.
“I want you naked, princess, but I don’t think I can wait.”
She sighed again. Pushed the shirt off his shoulders with force, ripping the last few buttons off in the process. Metal clinked against the floor, rolled, and finally stopped with a clack against the wall.
He chuckled, leaned down, and kissed her again. Reveled in the soft wetness against his tongue, in the warmth between her thighs. His hands found the fabric at her hips, and he tucked his fingers underneath and dragged her panties down her thighs.
He broke the kiss, eased back, and looked down. Then groaned. A tiny strip of blond hair covered her sex. The rest of her was open, wet, and his for the taking.
“Ava…” He lowered his lips to hers again. Kissed her deep. Sliding his fingers across her abdomen, he inched his way down to her sex. She groaned into his mouth, closed her hand over his nape. His fingers slid between her folds. She was so wet. So slick and ready for him.
He stroked her wetness down around her opening, back up and over her clit, kissed her again and again. She moaned. Her legs fell open. Her hand squeezed his nape and then let go. Her arm fell against the mattress with a thud. Reaching for the button at his waistband to free his throbbing erection, he realized she was no longer kissing him back.
He drew away and looked down. Her head was tipped to the side, her eyes closed, her body limp beneath him.
“Ava?”
She didn’t answer.
Bracing one hand on the mattress, he used the other to jostle her shoulder. “Avery? Don’t even think about falling asleep on me right now.”
He shook her again and got no response.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. Avery?”
Nothing. The woman was totally out.
“Holy, son of a…” A groan built in his throat and exploded from his lips. He dropped his forehead against her shoulder and tried to kill the raging need rushing through his veins. It didn’t work.
Of all the stupid, dumbass, bad luck…
She’d had too much to drink. His mind ran back over the day as he dragged air into his blazing lungs, and he tried to count how many she’d had. Champagne when they’d arrived, beer in the suite, champagne again after he’d seen her dres
sed to the nines, wine at dinner, then God only knew how many of those fuzzy pink drinks in the bar she’d sucked back when he’d stepped out to take that call from Aegis.
The woman obviously couldn’t handle her alcohol. And he had the worst fucking timing on the planet.
He lifted his head and shook her one last time, hoping maybe she was just faking it. Though why he’d ever hope for that, he didn’t know. The grunt and snore that followed told him loud and clear that she was out for the night.
Frustrated, he dropped onto his side next to her, then rolled to his back and stared at the vaulted ceiling and bamboo fan turning lazily above. His cock ached for relief, while his mind ran back to the scene in that club. Though he’d never been into the whole BDSM scene, the way Avery had ground her sweet little ass against him as she’d watched, the way she’d all but forced him to touch her had been the most erotic thing he’d ever experienced. He wanted to feel her do that again. Wanted her begging for him, the way he felt like begging right now.
He turned and looked at her. Her face was tipped his way, her eyelids tightly closed, her mouth open in the sexiest little “O”. He rolled to his side and stroked his finger over the soft skin of her cheek and felt his heart clench.
Shit. No other woman was going to do it for him. Not after tonight. Yeah, that scene at the club had aroused him, but it was her he wanted. She was the only one he’d ever wanted. He’d just let the world get in the way of what he knew in his heart was right. But no more. After tonight, he was confident whatever had started between them years ago wasn’t finished. And if he had anything to say about it, it wasn’t going to be over for a very long time.
He leaned in and kissed her, then reluctantly drew away. “Sleep, princess. We’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow. This isn’t over. It isn’t even close to being over.”
CHAPTER SIX
Avery woke to the sound of rushing water.
She rolled to her side, then groaned at the pain stabbing her skull like a thousand tiny knives.
With extreme effort, she dragged her eyes opened, blinking into the bright sunlight streaming through the open patio door. Beyond, waves lapped gently at the sandy beach and birds cawing echoed on the warm, salty breeze.
She rested a hand against her throbbing head and shifted up in bed. Holy hell, she had the biggest hangover she’d had in years. How much did she drink last night? She remembered champagne at check-in, the beer in the suite, then a glass of wine at dinner, and a cosmo or two at the dance club. A handful of drinks over the course of eight hours shouldn’t affect her like this, especially since she hadn’t finished all of them. Unless the drinks had been really strong and she hadn’t realized how much—
The bathroom door opened, and Cade stepped out in a wave of steam. “Look who’s finally awake.”
Everything in her body warmed and tightened, and all thought slid from her brain. He was wearing only a low-slung towel around his lean hips and was drying his hair with another. And Holy God…every inch of him was toned and muscular. She’d figured as much—what she’d felt when she’d kissed him had been hard and lean—but seeing those sculpted pecs, the carved abdomen, and that dark line of hair that disappeared like an arrow beneath the towel—
“Ava? You okay?”
Her gaze jerked back to his face, and when she realized she’d been all but salivating, her cheeks heated. “What? Yes. I’m fine.”
Liar. Her body was on fire, and a dull ache was growing between her thighs every moment he stood there, practically naked in front of her.
Concern darkened his features. “Are you sure? You look flushed. You’re not going to pass out on me again, are you?”
Pass out? “I—?”
He moved past her, around the bar, and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. Coming back to stand near the edge of the bed, he handed it to her. “Drink. You need fluids.”
She took the water, purposely avoiding his touch in the process. What was wrong with her? Her pulse was pounding, and all she could think about was ripping that towel off his hips.
Slowly, she lifted the bottle to her lips and sipped.
“Better,” he said. His mouth curled in that sexy half smile of his. “Don’t want a repeat of last night. The first part, yes absolutely, the last part, no.”
“What happened last night?” Confusion clouded Avery’s mind. She remembered that awkward moment in the suite yesterday, then going to dinner—which had been strained and tense until that kiss. Her cheeks warmed all over when she remembered the way he’d taken charge in that restaurant. How he’d tasted. What he’d felt like. Looking quickly away from his knowing eyes, she glanced down at the bed, then gasped when she realized she was naked and the sheet was bunched around her waist, leaving her breasts totally bare to his view.
She jerked the sheet up to her chest, jostling the bottle and sprinkling water over herself in the process. “Why am I naked?”
Cade chuckled. The bed dipped when he sat next to her. Completely off-balance, Avery jerked her legs away from him so she wouldn’t have to feel his heat permeating her skin through the thin cotton. “Relax. I’ve seen it all before, remember?”
“No,” she snapped, eyes wide. “I don’t remember. What the hell happened last night?”
His brow quirked in obvious amusement. “You really don’t know? Wow, you did drink a lot yesterday.”
Her cheeks literally burned. Frantic, she searched her mind. What was she missing? What had happened after that kiss?
Think, dammit.
“I remember dinner, going to the dance club, talking to the bartender, and then…nothing.” She drew a complete blank. As if time just stopped at that moment.
“I’m gonna try not to be hurt you can’t remember climbing all over me.”
Her gaze jerked his direction. “I did what?”
He chuckled again, leaned in, and kissed her cheek. “Trust me, it was good. Really, really good.”
He rose from the bed before she could tell him to back off and disappeared into the bathroom again, but this time he didn’t close the door. Alone, Avery’s pulse raced, and holding the sheet tight to her breasts, she scanned the room again, desperate for any clue as to what had gone down last night. Her gaze stopped on his slacks tossed carelessly over the corner of the bed and his shirt lying in a heap on the floor.
Her eyes grew wide, and her stomach flipped over. Groaning, she pressed her fingers against her closed eyes. “Please, please, please tell me we didn’t sleep together.”
More laughter from the bathroom. “Now I really am hurt. When you ripped the buttons off my shirt…that was probably my favorite part.”
Avery groaned louder, slinked down in the bed, and pulled the sheet over her head. She wanted to die. She wanted to dig a hole in the ground and hide for the next year. Not because she’d done those things, but because she’d done them with Cade. And because it meant if she’d let her guard down so easily, she couldn’t trust herself. And dammit, she hated that right now every cell in her body was vibrating with excitement over just the thought of having a go at him all over again.
“It wasn’t that bad,” he said from somewhere close.
“Go away,” Avery managed. “I need to be alone right now.”
The bed dipped at her side. She tried to scoot farther away, but he caught her leg with his hand. Heat burned into her flesh between the thin cotton separating them. He tugged on the sheet over her head. “Ava, come out from under there.”
“No.”
She tried to hold the sheet in place, but he jerked it out of her grip. Through strands of messy hair, she peered at him and held her breath. Dammit, he was too…familiar. Too new at the same time. Just inhaling his unique male scent reminded her of all the good times they’d shared together. And looking at him now…years older, more muscular, more rugged, more…everything…she had an uncontrollable urge to get to know the new him. To find out what was different.
“Nothing happened, Avery.”
&
nbsp; She stared into his eyes, searching for a lie. Humor no longer shone in his eyes, and that goofy smile he’d been sporting since the moment she woke up was long gone. “Don’t tease me right now.”
“I’m not. While it’s true you did climb all over me in that club, and you did rip the last few buttons off my shirt when we got back here, when we reached the bed, you passed out.” He scratched the back of his head, looking the slightest bit…sheepish…just like he had the first night they’d spent together, when they’d both been virgins fumbling in the dark together. And God, but that was sexy. Her blood warmed again. “Kinda put a dent in my ego, to be honest. Can definitely say that’s never happened to me before.”
Her heart kicked over, and she swallowed, but pushed aside the emotion threatening and focused on the here and now. “I…I climbed all over you in the dance club?”
He ran his tongue over his bottom lip and looked her way, and the heat brewing in his eyes shot a zing of electricity straight to her sex. “In the back room. When you were watching that show.”
Avery’s mind skipped. Memories tried to piece themselves together, couldn’t quite make the right fit. And then she caught a glimpse of the woman strung up on stage. Of the man thrusting into her from behind. Of the crowd, watching…
“Oh my God…”
“I’ve never really been into the whole voyeur thing,” he said in a low voice. A sexy voice. An I-want-you-ten-ways-to-Sunday voice. “But watching you watching that…” His gaze slid down to her breasts, where she knew her nipples were pebbled hard against the sheet. “…that was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Avery’s entire body felt electrically charged, as if she would explode at the slightest touch. And the way he was still resting his hand on her shin, like he didn’t want to let her get away, was so damn sexy. She swallowed hard, afraid to ask the question but needing to know the answer. “And even after that, we didn’t… I mean, we came back here and…?”
One side of his smile curled again. “No. But not because I didn’t want to. As you can see, I still want to.”