Seducing Sam (23 page)

“You are, Alan” the voluptuous
woman he was towing behind him by her hand said.  “All the time. 
Everywhere
.”

“That’s different.”  Alan looked Sam
up and down.  “Jesus, you better hide that boner you’re getting before someone
notices.”

Sam flipped him the bird.

The pretty woman came up beside
Alan, leaning her cheek on his arm and curling her other hand around his
forearm.  “Leave Sam alone, you big bully.”

Carly recognised her now from the
photos Sam had on his wall.  This was his cousin Sophie, married to Alan, one
of his friends and ex-housemate.  He’d had great fun regaling the fall of Alan
‘The Chick Chaser’ Willow for his generously curved cousin, Sophie.  Not that
he’d added the generously-curved part; Carly had seen it for herself.

“Now, Soph, the big jerk can take
care of himself.”  Alan grinned down at Sophie.  “I’m the one needing taking
care of.”

“Pull the other one, its got bells
on it.”

“Really?  Is that a new sex toy?” 
Alan’s eyes gleamed.  “Can I have a look?”

Ignoring him, Sophie moved forward
to give Sam a hug.  “Hey, Sam.  Enjoying the surf?”

“It’s great.”  Placing a hand at
Carly’s back, Sam drew her forward.  “This is Carly.”

“I’ve heard about you.”  Sophie
smiled, her eyes sparkling with pleasure as she held her hand out.  “I’m
Sophie.”

Shaking her hand, Carly smiled. 
“I’ve seen your books on Sam’s shelf.”

Surprised, Sophie cast Sam a look.

“Whoa,” Alan said.  “Doing some
research, mate?”

“I don’t read them,” Sam replied,
adding hastily, “I’m sure they’re great.  They hit the best seller lists often,
but not my thing.  I buy them because I’m proud of you, Sophie.”  To Alan, he
added, “I don’t need research, I do well enough on my own.”

“He does,” Carly agreed before realising
she’d actually said it out loud, and slapped her hand over her mouth in
mortification.

Sam grinned widely.  “That’s my
girl.”

Sophie winced.  “Ewww.”

“Carly can’t help it, Soph,” Alan
said to her.  “She only has Sam to go by, whereas you have your own hunk of
burnin’ love to please you.  An experienced, almost-too-hot-to-handle hunk. 
Lucky chick.”

“I am so sorry,” Carly apologised
to Sophie.  “That just fell out.”

“Hey, I can handle the sex talk.”
Sophie laughed. ‘But Sam’s my cousin, so – ewww.”

“Don’t worry, you can’t offend
Sophie.”  Sam tugged Carly against him.  “She writes erotic romance, so she’s
delved into all kinds of depravity.”

“With me,” Alan added.

“It’s not depravity,” Sophie
retorted.

“Nope, not all,” Alan agreed.  “Or
at least, not all of it.”  At his wife’s expression, he amended, “We do the
depraved stuff, you don’t write about it.”  At her arched brow, he said, “Or
you do write about it.”  Her other eyebrow went up.  “Come on, Soph, confess. 
We do the down and dirty all in the name of research.”  He smoothed his hand
down his chest and grinned.  “The things I do for you, my hot little honey
pot.”

“Please,” said Sam, “she’s my
cousin.  Let me emulate her – ewww.”

“Emulate?” Alan snorted.  “Now
you’re spitting out big words like Mike.”

“Mike isn’t a big word.”

“Smart arses get tasered.”

“I thought that was handcuffed.”

Alan leered.  “I save that for
Soph.”

Carly laughed, enjoying the
banter.

“Putting Alan’s depravity aside,”
Sophie said, “We’re sitting at the tables under the trees over there with Mike,
Maddy, Tim and Cindy.  Join us?”

“Sure.”  Sam looked at Carly. 
“Unless…?”

“I’d love to.”  She wanted to meet
more of his friends, because going by Alan and Sophie, they looked to be a fun
crowd.

Retrieving her beach bag, she held
on to Sam’s hand as he led her through the crowd.

To her amazement, she saw Maddy,
the RN she sometimes worked with from the Golden Link Nursing Association. 
Maddy waved to her and introduced her to the cold-eyed, tall, muscular man
sitting beside her.  “This is my husband, Mike.”

Mike smiled at her, but it didn’t
clear the tough, hard, ‘don’t-piss-me-off’ air about him.  Knowing how nice
Maddy was, Carly wondered how on earth she got on with him.  It soon became
clear, however, that Mike loved his wife.  He hovered near her, ensuring her
glass was always full and she was protected from the sun.

“Jesus,” Alan commented.  “What a
maternal hen.”

Mike just grunted.

“His romantic side makes my heart
beat faster.”  Tim, the lean man introduced by Alan as the resident vet who had
his thermometer up every poor furry bastard’s backside, fluttered his
eyelashes. He wore board shorts and a t-shirt on which was written
I’m A Sex
Machine Operated By A Sexpert!

“And here I thought it was me who
made your heart beat faster.” Cindy wriggled her toes and sighed blissfully as
the sun dappled them through the tree leaves.  “When did you switch teams?”

Now there was a woman who embraced
her curves.  Her hair was piled on her head in a messy, sexy bun, she had a fine
gold chain around her neck, a gold bracelet on her arm, a gold chain around her
ankle, and her bikini was gold-coloured.  Leaning back on her elbows, her head
tipped back, she cast her husband a sultry glance. 

Tim grinned wolfishly at her. 
“Oh, baby, I could never switch teams when you’re around.”  He pointed to his
t-shirt.  “This says why.”

The afternoon seemed to speed
past.  Carly felt right at home with Sam’s friends, laughing and chatting,
enjoying the time.  Not once did she feel out of place, one because the other
women were plus-sized and didn’t seem to worry about what anyone thought, and
two, because the men didn’t care, either.  In fact, each in his own unique way
was utterly devoted to his wife, which endeared them all to her.

It warmed her even more that Sam
seemed just as devoted to her, sitting beside her, his hand never far from
touching her, whether it was to idly trace across her back or simply brush down
her arm.  He laughed with his friends, talked seriously depending on the topic,
but not once did she feel as though he wasn’t aware of her.

By the time they were in the car
and heading back home, evening was falling and she felt both tired and happy.

Sam had dialled the radio into a
country station and was happily humming along to a sad country song.  The ocean
was calm; the waves no longer surging as the day gradually drew to a close.  It
was so peaceful.

“All right?” Sam reached out to
touch her shoulder.

Smiling, she nodded.  “I like your
friends.”

“They liked you, too.  They’re a
good mob.”  He flashed her a grin.  “There are a couple more, you’ll meet them
soon.”

“Are they all married?”

“Yep. I’m the only single one
left.”

“Poor baby,” she teased.  “Do you
feel left out?”

“Not with you by my side.”

Pleasure swept through her. 
“That’s so sweet, Sam.”

“I mean it.” 

There was something in his voice,
a light in his eyes when he glanced at her, that had her heart picking up
pace.  Surely it wasn’t what she thought?

Carly gave a nervous laugh. 
“Isn’t it a little too soon to be saying that?”

“I don’t think so.”  He steered
the car into the traffic on the main road home.

“You don’t know me well enough.  I
could be – be…”

“Mmmm?”  His gaze stayed on the
road, though she had no doubt he was listening to every word because that’s
just what Sam did, he listened.

People laughed at his
forgetfulness, but when needed, and where it really counted, he was as sharp as
a whip.  She knew him enough to recognise that now.

Amazingly, she knew a lot about
him in such a short time.  A lot of good, heart-warming things that made her
feel cherished.  Made her want it to last forever. 

Made her heart skip a beat at the
realisation.

Too soon.  Too quick
.

“You were saying?” Sam queried.

“Oh.  I was saying…I’ve
forgotten.”

He laughed.  “Isn’t that my line?”

Relieved to change the subject,
she laughed as well.  “It’s catching.”

“They say married couples become
alike over time.”

“In the case of Mike and Maddy,
that might be a bad thing.”

“Trust me, that couple are so in
love you’d think Cupid was related to them.”  Flicking on the indicator, Sam
turned onto their street.  “Ah, home sweet home.”

The evening breeze came through
the window, the scent of the gardens filling the air. As Sam pulled into her
driveway, Carly sighed in pleasure.  “I’m so glad Ed and I shifted here.”

“Not as much as I am.”

There it was again, that
undercurrent of something more in the timbre of his deep voice.  Looking at him
she saw that he’d unclipped his seat belt and turned fully in his seat to face
her, one forearm resting on the steering, the other on the headrest of his
seat.

In the gloom of the evening she could
only catch glimpses of his face, but what she saw had her heart racing a little
faster.

“Glad to hear it.”  She managed a
little laugh.

Leaning forward, he whispered,
“Come here.”

As always, she was unable to
resist.  Unclipping the seat belt, she slid it free and obeyed, about to brace
her hand on the seat but instead catching hold of his broad shoulder.

His skin was warm beneath her
hand, silky, sun-kissed.  Muscle moved beneath in a graceful slide.  It was
enough to make her sigh and lean right into the kiss.

God, could Sam kiss.  Gentle and
teasing at first, seeking, and then growing more demanding, taking control so
easily, so expertly.  When she opened willingly to him, he swept inside,
filling her with his taste, his clean, ocean-tinged scent filling her senses.

Sam
.

One big hand slid around to cup
her nape, the gesture tender, caring, but with that hint of firmness that
always thrilled her to her soul.

She could do this with him
forever.

Breaking the kiss, Sam looked down
at her.  “Carly, I’m falling for you.”

Not daring to believe he could
really be meaning what she thought, she smiled.  “Luckily you’re sitting down,
then.”

His eyes behind the glasses were
grave.  “I’m not joking, Carly.  I’ve never felt like this with another woman.”

His words had her heart
stuttering, warmth sweeping through her, but still she was scared to take that
step.  “Sam, this is too soon.”

“Not for me.”

“We’ve only known each other a
short time.”  She was such a fool not to grab this with both hands, but caution
pricked at her.

“I know what I want.  I’ve always
known.”  He leaned his forehead against hers in typical Sam fashion.  “I want
you.”

“You have me.”

“Forever.”

She swallowed.  Delight coursed
through her, but still…

“Tell me what you’re thinking, Carly,”
he urged softly.  “Do you not care for me?”

“Oh, Sam, I do.  I’ve never met a
man like you before.  You make me happy, but…”

“But?”

She swallowed again.

“Just tell me, honey.  I’m not
going to yell, I’m not going to get angry.  I promise I’m not going to slam out
of the car with my feelings all hurt.”  His usual reassuring smile wasn’t
present, but his calmness seemed to fill the car, seeping into her, quietening
her erratic heartbeat so that she could think properly.

Giving her confidence to speak
truthfully.

“Sam, I won’t lie to you.  You
make me feel things I’ve never felt before.  My heart skips a beat when you’re
nearby.  You make me laugh.  You make me feel beautiful.”

“You are beautiful.”  Not once did
his gaze waver.

Biting her lip, she glanced to the
side.

“Look at me.”  Such a quiet order
that she couldn’t refuse.  “Tell me what troubles you.”

“Oh, Sam.”  She sighed.  “You have
no idea of the power you have over me.”

“I don’t wield power, honey.  I’m
just me.”

Reaching up, she cupped his cheek
in her hand, feeling the strong contours of his face before sliding her hand
around to slip her fingers through the silky hair that spilled around his
shoulders.

She studied his face, the street
light picking out the shadows, the sun-kissed skin, the strong lines of his
nose and jaw.  Such a handsome face.

“You’re such a beautiful soul,
Sam,” she murmured.

Silently, he waited, his gaze
intense.

“And…”  She took a deep breath. 
“And you have the power to tear me apart.”

No answer, just that patient,
watchful waiting.

“You just…” With a sigh, she
continued softly, “Jonathon might have hurt me, Sam, but you could destroy me.”

When she said nothing further,
just simply looked at him, he asked her, equally as softly, “And you think I
would do that to you?”

“If we part ways it will happen,
whether you mean it to or not.”

“We won’t part ways.”

“How can you be so sure of that?”

“I know what I want, and what I
want, I get and keep.  I want you, Carly, and I’ll keep you.  Once we commit,
there’s no going back for me, not ever.”

“That’s now-”

“Forever.”

“How can you be so sure of me,
then?”

His smile was just the briefest
curve of his lips.  “Because I know you.”

“It’s only been a short time.  You
can’t know me that well.”

“Really?  I’ve seen you with my
friends, your friends, on your own.  I’ve even seen you in a snit.  You work
hard, you have loyalty, and honey, most telling of all…”

“Yes?”

“Most telling of all, how could I
have any power to destroy you if you don’t feel something more than just
attraction?”

How could she even argue that? 
Staring up at him, a tremor went through her.  This was too fast, too quick. 
Too deep, too emotional, too
heavy
.  She didn’t do things quickly, she
didn’t jump into things, she was careful, more so since Jonathon.