Temptation Island (29 page)

Feminine power surged through her at his guttural groan and the way he arched against her hand, silently begging for more.  He’d better hold on tight, because he was about to get a whole lot more.

Some feline urge to bite him tugged at her and Carm gave in to it, biting his lower lip with her teeth before she lowered between his legs to her knees.  His sharp intake of breath and vicious curse fueled her on.

In one fluid motion Carm dropped to her knees before him and took his thick head in her mouth.  Marek jerked, his hips jutting toward her as his hands streaked up and dove into her hair.  She stroked him with her tongue, created a warm wet suction over him with her mouth. 

His hands fisted in her hair and he growled, “
Oui
baby, just like dat. 
Fuck
.”  Followed by another groan.

Carm peaked up at him as she sucked him in her mouth.  His head was thrown back, his eyes closed in ecstacy.  His jaw was clenched tight.  Just the way she wanted him.

Moist heat flared between her thighs as she stroked his erection.  She wanted him, wanted the feel of him full and large inside her. 

But she wanted to make him beg first.

Slipping her hands up his rock hard thighs, Carm tugged his pants and underwear a little over his hips until his testicles were free.  Then she massaged them with one hand as she sucked him with her mouth.

It didn’t take long before Marek was pressing upward, flexing his hips toward her and breathing hard.  Between pants he swore in French.  When his hands gripped her head hard and he tugged on her hair, Carm glanced up to see his green eyes hot with desire.  “Fuck me now,
cheri
.  Ride me hard.”

Carm stilled and flicked her tongue over his head.  As it pulsed she demanded, “Be a good boy, Marek and say please.”

Something dangerous flared in his eyes, smoldering and lethal.  “Fuck me now,
please
.” He ground out and yanked gently on her hair. 

Carm gave him one last flick with her tongue and began to stand.  Marek gripped her hip hard with a hand and jerked her onto his lap.  He went wild on her then, his mouth plundering hers as he roughly pushed her legs apart to straddle him.  Pushing her skirt aside, his hand streaked up her smooth thigh to rip her underwear away.

Before he reached her Carm lifted and came down fully on his penis, filling herself with his sheer size.  “I’m not wearing underwear.”  His growl was primal and raw and made her ears ring.

His desire surrounded her, his need pulsed heavy on the air around them.  Both of his hands gripped her hips and he pushed into her, long and hard.

Carm rode him, rocking against him in a pace dictated by the hunger clawing at her.  She came fast and hard, the orgasm bursting from her core with lightning speed, shocking her with its intensity.  The echo of her scream hung on the air and her body convulsed with delicious aftershocks.

Marek gripped the back of her neck with a hand, his glittering eyes locked with hers, glowing with his lust for her.  His fingers tangled in her hair and he pushed hard into her.  With his eyes boring into hers Marek’s body went rigid and he came.  Carm felt him swell inside her, felt the mighty force of his orgasm.

Then he crushed her tight against him and held her to his chest, his powerful body surrounding her.  His steely arms clamped around her back and she could feel the strong, rapid beat of his heart.  He inhaled and his breath shuddered around her.  He cradled her head against his neck and Carm felt the erratic race of his pulse.  “I think. . .I’m not. .sure. . I’ve never come like that before.”  He panted against her neck.

It was exactly the reaction she wanted from him.  Exactly what she wanted to hear.

She rocked his world.

Hers had shaken too, but she didn’t want to dwell on that.  Her goal was to make him realize he couldn’t live without her.  Carm couldn’t do that if she became all twitterpated on him.  Not now.  Tonight she’d mull it over, but for now she needed to remain focused.

Which was pretty damned hard to do when her orgasm had scattered her mind to the four winds. 
Whew-boy
.

Planting a soft kiss along his jaw Carm pushed out of his grasp and climbed off him.  His hands trailed down her body like he was reluctant to stop touching her. 

Before he could ask her questions about what had just happened Carm flashed him a bright smile, winked and waggled her fingers at him as she headed out the door to the bathroom.  It did her heart good to see his eyes follow her every step of the way.

He was waiting for her when she came out of the downstairs bathroom.  Carm slid her eyes over him and grinned.  He’d tidied up.

The deep blue silk shirt he wore was unbuttoned to the muscular groove between his pecs, giving teasing glimpses of his hard chest.  The jeans she’d undone were buttoned back up and hung loose over his hips straight down to his feet.  The frayed ends covered the tops of his cheap navy blue flip flops and the Rolex on his wrist flashed silver. His hair curled around his head, the blond ringed tips shimmering under the hallway lights.  And his icy moss eyes watched her behind heavy lids and thick lashes.

Damn if she didn’t want him again.  She’d just had him, rode him like a rodeo queen in his office chair and she felt desire for him begin to tingle along her spine again.  It boggled her mind.  She never imagined it would be like this.  That her thirst would be so insatiable when she’d finally found someone worth giving herself to. 

Truth was, if he told her to spread ‘em, she’d flop down right there on the wood floor and comply.  She was shameless, a budding nympho.  And she loved it.

Carm grinned wickedly and laughed when Marek’s head cocked in question.  Shaking her head she walked past him and headed toward the door.  It validated her whole belief system.  She’d known deep down that if she waited for the right someone it would be like this.  Hot, wonderful, scrumptious.  And fulfilling because she was in love.

Marek muttered something she couldn’t make out behind her and hurried to catch up.  Reaching her side he snaked out an arm and grabbed her hand.  She tugged on it to test him and felt like doing a happy dance when he gripped her hand tight and wouldn’t let go. 

Her laughter followed them down the hall.  When Marek grumbled and demanded she tell him what was so damned funny she just laughed harder.  She tried to tug her hand away again and almost snorted like a little pig when he scowled and yanked her hand back.

Oh, it felt good.  She felt good.  All because Marek had taken hold of her hand and wouldn’t let go.  Even when he stopped to lock his front door, he held tight to her hand and turned the key in the lock with the other.  He kept glaring at her and scowling when she laughed and refused to share the joke, but that was all right with her.  His bluster was all for show, his hot scowls a farce. 

Carm knew his secret.  She knew the truth and it warmed her very soul. 

The fact was that any man who wanted to hold her hand after a nasty, sweaty bout of sex was a man on the verge of falling in love.  And Marek had a death grip on her hand.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Marek glared down into his drink and sniffed.  He wasn’t about to chance another mushroom episode.  Who knew what mess he’d end up in then.  He had enough of messes to deal with as it was.  Enough problems.  And his biggest one was making her way back from the bathroom toward him right now.

He watched Carm weave her way between the small rattan tables and scowled.  There was something different about her tonight.  He’d noticed it the moment she’d burst through the door to his office before she’d given him the best orgasm of his life. 

She reminded him of the night on the beach at St. Kitts.  That night she’d been like a moon goddess, the knowledge of the world at her fingertips.  But it had been a brief moment and had passed shortly after it had arrived.

Now it was back.

Feminine confidence practically dripped off of her, turning the heads of the men she passed by.  He wanted to bash their heads together for even looking in his woman’s direction.  Jealousy was a foreign emotion to Marek and he found it uncomfortable.  For the first time in his life he felt possessive over a woman.

A growl of warning clawed at his throat when a man stopped Carm and offered to buy her a drink.  He couldn’t blame the guy for trying; she was absolutely stunning tonight in her halter dress with the big splash of flowers on it and her silky hair smooth around her beautiful face.

But she was his, and if that man so much as offered her a glass of water he’d have to break his neck.

Marek unclenched his tight muscles and relaxed back into his chair when Carm politely untangled from the guy and continued toward him.  Seductive swing and feminine sashay.  Her walk spoke to something inside him, a part of him that wanted to sit up and howl like a wolf.  Then beat her over the head with his club and drag her back to his cave.

Carm was his woman, his wife. 

Still unsure about what exactly happened in his office, he knew one thing for certain: she wasn’t getting away.  She was staying with him even if he did have to bash her over the head with a club like some Neanderthal.  That’s how she made him feel inside.  Carm stripped his humanity down to basics until he was thinking and feeling in two word sentences and wanting to beat his fists on his chest.

It was damned appalling and unsettling.

The band started playing on stage, a new band from over on St. Thomas.  None of the guys in his band had felt much like playing directly after the passing of Big Bubba so Luke—Bubba’s nephew and new owner—had hired this young group of Rastafarian wannabes for the night.  The drummer even wore a Jamaican colored knit hat over his shoulderlength dreads.

He’d bet money the kid was a college drop-out from the mainland come down to the islands for some “real life experience”.  Some fun and sun and a few quick screws with the native girls. 
Well, good luck with that kid. 
He lifted his drink in silent toast to the horny days of youth.

Finally assured his drink was clean and mushroom free Marek lifted the rum and coke to his lips and took a pull as Carm sank down in the seat next to him.  The look she gave him warmed his insides more than Pusser’s rum.  His brow shot up over the rim of his glass at her saucy wink and grin. 
What has gotten into her?

“So bad boy, are you going to dance with me tonight or what?  I want to see you shake your booty.”  Carm teased as she picked up her pina colada and took a sip through the red straw.

“You’ve seen me shake my booty plenty lately, sweetheart.  Just to a different kind of dancing.  And we were naked.  Personally I prefer that type of dancing.”  Marek drawled in reply.

The woman was tying him in knots.  Her smile heated a few degrees at his comment and her long, slim fingers reached across the table to play with the oyster shell ring on his ring finger. Rotating it slowly, Carm fiddled with it as she murmured, “You’re a mighty fine mattress dancer, Marek.  No doubt about it, but I want to see how you move with your clothes
on
.”

His eyes watched her fingers manipulate the little band and felt his equilibrium shift, felt her drawing him in.  The woman was seductive as hell when she wanted to be.  And he was powerless to stop her.

Everything faded into the background, the jarring noise became a distant buzz.  The vivid pink, purple and teal walls, the smell of fried plantains, the florescent glare from the overhead lights and the room crowded with bodies crammed together all shrunk away. Everything disappeared but for the bright blue of Carmen’s eyes, the scent of vanilla and coconut spice on her skin, and the feel of her slender hand warm on his.

Marek Stokes was a goner.

In that one moment, with the sound of Maxi Priest rolling live off the stage, the bar humming with a jumble of voices, the rattan fans whirling overhead, Marek fell.  Right over the cliff, down the long, terrifying drop into the crystal blue waters of love.

It flowed over him, cool and refreshing.  Renewing him, energizing him in that split second.  His heart stopped beating, lodged hard in his chest, then burst to life again as love rushed through his veins with the force of a tidal wave.

Marek lurched out of his chair and grabbed Carm’s hand.  Her protests followed him as he led her out the door into the breezy, salty night air.  Gulping air like a fish out of water he pulled Carm around the side of the building, his head reeling from the fall. 

Carm finally gained his attention by digging in her heels and pulling hard against him.  Her demand snapped hot off her tongue.  “Marek, what the hell has gotten into you?  Take me back in there now.  If you don’t want to dance with me, fine.  I’ll find someone who will.”

“No you won’t, sugar.  I’m the only man you’ll be dancing with.”  Marek snarled as he spun on her and pinned her against the cool stone wall of the club.  Plastering his body to hers, he gripped her hands and yanked them over her head.  “Do you get that, cupcake?  Or do I need to write that down for you?  You dance with me and only me from here on out. 
Oui
?”  Hot possessiveness darted through him, making him reckless.

Her eyes went round in the dim light and she worried her lower lip with her teeth.  Instead of cowering and consenting, however, the contrary woman fueled the fire by retorting, “You don’t own me, Marek.  I can dance with whomever I choose.  I don’t know what’s gotten in you tonight to make you act so barbaric, but I’m not digging it.  Let go of my hands now so I can return inside.”

For a hard, tense moment he stared into her indignant gaze while he sucked air into lungs that had gone tight and pinched.  Carm tilted her chin at a stubborn angle and waited defiantly for him to release hold of her hands.  Admiration and respect for her battled against the instinct to cart her off over his shoulder.  Every fiber in his being screamed for him to take her home and make crazy love to her until she begged for him to end the sweet torture.  But as he glared into her hot eyes full of passion and fire and felt the determination in her, admiration slowly won out. 

Carmen was a strong woman who wouldn’t be bullied or walked on.  She stood up for herself and didn’t take crap from anyone.  Even from him.

And he loved her all the more for it.

Dropping her hands, Marek lifted his to his hair and linked his fingers on his head.  Taking a step back and giving them both some space he swore quietly under his breath.  No doubt about it, loving her was going to make him insane.

Carm huffed out a breath and asked softly, “What has gotten into you tonight, Marek?”

He gazed at her with love and admiration and replied on a shaky breath, “You, Carmen.  You are what’s gotten into me.”

Her head jerked up and her blue eyes searched his in the low light.  The music pounded through cracks in the wall, muffled and heavy with base.  As he waited for her reaction his lungs seized up and he couldn’t breath.

“Good.  Now can we go back inside?”

What the---?
  That’s all she was going to say?  Air rushed out on a
whoosh
as he released the breath he was holding
.  Merde
the woman was tangling him up inside. 

With his gut churning Marek took another step back and swept his hand toward the front of the building. “After you, sugar.”  No way was he going to let her see how she affected him.  If she wanted to play it cool, well then so would he.  Even if his world had just collapsed at his feet.

Carm’s sweet, round ass came into his line of vision and a territorial growl crawled up his throat.  He battled it back with a hard swallow.  The giant red hisbiscus flowers on her skirt seemed to come alive as she shimmied past, the fabric riding and whispering across her lush behind. 

Desire lodged like a hot ball in the pit of his stomach.  Sweeping his eyes over the splashy fabric to the indent of her waist they roamed upward to settle where the thin material ended below her shoulder blades.  The upper portion of her back and shoulders were exposed and bare in the silvery shimmer of light.

              Landon had said it perfectly the other day, “Love was a real bitch.”  Damned if he wasn’t right. Once it got ahold of a man there was no controlling it.  It was like handing the steering wheel over to the person in the passenger seat of your car.  You were still technically driving but had no control over the destination or detours.

And Marek was always in control.

At least he had been until a blond haired blue-eyed bombshell had come strutting into his life.  Everything had blown all to hell then.  Every damned thing he enjoyed doing before she came along paled in comparison to being with her, holding her.  His easygoing, relaxed, unrushed life had been picked up and dumped upside down on its head.

Darting a long arm out over her shoulder Marek gripped the handle to the scarred wooden door and pulled it open for her.  His blood boiled at the naughty grin she shot him over her shoulder as she sauntered on back into the club.

Fate had better have a bloody good reason for tormenting him like this.

The woman didn’t give him a chance to sit down.  Nope, she marched right out to the dance floor and spun around, waited for him to catch up.  He had no problems dancing.  Enjoyed it more than most guys.  But not when he wanted to take her home and do a different kind of dancing.

Carm lifted a slender arm and crooked a finger at him, that sultry goddess look back in her eyes.  How a woman could look like that, act like that, when she’d barely given up her virginity and was new to the ways of men and women was beyond him.  But then again, Carm was no ordinary woman.

Muttering absent hellos to locals he passed, Marek kept his eyes focused on the vision before him in the sexy halter dress.  She beckoned him like a Siren, weaving her mystical female spell around him.  And just like the thousands of men lured in by those enchanting creatures he came, let her reel him in.

Then she was in his arms, the heat of her lush body burning into him.  With a feline turn of her lips she draped her arms over his shoulders and tangled her fingers in the back of his hair.  Leaning close to his ear she whispered, her breath scalding his skin.  “Looks like Landon found a new woman.  Who’s this one?”

Huh
?  So wrapped up in her he’d been he’d had no idea Landon had slipped in.  Gripping her hips to hold her close, Marek lifted his head and scanned the room.  He quickly found Landon on the dance floor with a short, curvy woman of Puerto Rican decent.  Her long black hair fell in a mass of waves down her back to the small of her tiny waist.

The couple stood near the bamboo stage, next to the gigantic fern that hid the old, beat up speaker.  One of those ferns had been placed on each end of the stage to camoflouge the unsightly things.   When Landon spun the tiny woman in the lavender sundress Marek recognized her side profile.

“That’s Esmeralda Sanchez, sugar.  Her family runs and owns a restaurant here in town.  Awesome chimichangas.  Like I said before, Carm, the guy has a woman or two on every damned island.”  Marek used to envy Landon that.  But as he held Carm in his arms and rocked to the rhythmn of the music he didn’t envy him one bit.  It scared him and humbled him to realize he had all the woman he needed right there in his arms.

With her heeled sandals Carm was almost eye level with his own height of six three.  She barely had to lift her gaze to meet his when he shifted his eyes back to her.  He liked that, liked the way she fit against him.  He’d always had a weakness for tall, curvy women.  And this one in his arms was all that and more.

Suddenly the air sparked with chemistry around them as the music transitioned into a bluesy number with sax and a heavy, pulsing beat.  Carm melted against him in response to the seductive number and ran her teeth over her ripe bottom lip.  Secrets glittered in her eyes as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to the thick pulse at the base of his throat.