Sweet but Sexy Boxed Set (2 page)

Chapter Two

He held open the back door of the bar and they stepped onto the beach. The night breeze picked up her long hair and teased her bare shoulders with dark silky strands. She didn’t make a habit of leaving bars with strange men, but this guy was different. Sure he was attractive, but it was more than just his sinfully tempting looks. It was like he didn’t belong at the bar watching drunken women dance any more than she did. One look at his clothes made it obvious he was out of his element. Just like she was.

Of course, there was more to her story, too. The part about leaving town in a day or so was true. In about twenty-eight hours, she would round up her friends and pour them onto a commuter flight out of the tiny Key West airport. Risking a glance at the man next to her in the moonlight, twenty-six hours seemed like a very short time. Jackie
’s fingers found Mitchell’s in the dim light and curled around his.

“
It makes me feel reckless,” she said. “The moon, the warm night air, the ocean….” She trailed off. The thought of spending the night with the mysterious dark-haired stranger sent shivers over her flesh. Did he feel the tremor pass through her hand?

“
You love the water?” he asked.

“
Yep. I grew up with it.”

“
Around here?”

“
Nope, but here is nice.”

He stopped walking and let go of her hand. He stepped close to her and cupped her face with both hands.
“Here is nice.”

A second before it happened, she decided to go with it. Jackie closed her eyes and allowed herself to just feel, not think. His lips were soft, teasing. His hands played with the loose hair falling over her shoulders. Fingertips brushed her collarbones. She swayed closer to him and reached up to pull his head down to hers so she could deepen the kiss. She breathed in his rich deep scent.

Maybe it was the sand and the moon and the warm tropical air that left her panting. Maybe it was his kiss. She had never been left so breathless by just a kiss. Mitchell pulled back for a second and searched her face with an unspoken question. He breathed heavily. A question mark hung over them like the stars in the far away night sky. The answer was
yes
.

It was dark. They were alone on the beach. She didn
’t even have to look around to know no one would see them. No one would even care. There was no reason why she should deny her body’s powerful reaction to this man. Mitchell leaned down and kissed her mouth hungrily, urgently. Maybe her knees buckled of their own free will. She knelt on the sand, drawing him down over her.

When her back flattened against the sand, she knew there was no going back. She didn
’t want to stop. His mouth found hers again and then, suddenly, she heard and felt the explosion of fireworks.

Real fireworks. Mitchell
’s lips stilled and he pulled back an inch or two, a dazed expression on his face.

“
I’m good, but I can’t compete with
actual
fireworks,” he murmured in her ear. He rolled off her and propped himself up on one elbow next to her. His grin was eighty percent disappointed chagrin and maybe twenty percent boyish enjoyment of the fireworks. It was one hundred percent irresistible.

Spectators shouted, ran, laughed, and raced across the sand to find a good viewing spot. Jackie pulled her knees up and sat watching the fireworks explode, fall slowly, and then dip into the Gulf of Mexico. A huge crowd gathered around them and she heard grunts of approval, drunken laughter, scattered applause, and some off-key singing from someone who only knew about fifteen words to the same rockabilly song.

“Must be midnight,” Mitchell said.

“
Does this happen every night?”

“
Nope. But this is a festival weekend. Christmas season parties starting to fire up.”

“
How can you tell?” Jackie asked. “Seems like it’s a nonstop party all the time here.”

“
It is, but sometimes there’s a little extra excitement,” he said. His voice deepened as he added the part about the extra excitement, and he leaned over to plant a playful kiss on Jackie’s knee. Jackie slipped her hand in his, anxious to reestablish their physical connection, and they watched the rest of the fireworks and crowd spectacle in silence. What would happen when the crowd dispersed and the sand was theirs alone? Would they pick up where they left off? Those fireworks couldn’t go on forever, and she still felt the incredible heat of what sparked between them before the show began.

Jackie studied his face as he watched the glow in the sky. Who was this guy? The fiery reds and smooth blue and whites played across his face and deepened the mystery until she found herself wanting to know more about Mitchell than she would learn in one hot night on the sand.

****

Mitchell wasn
’t sure what made the sand tremble beneath him. Sure, there was a raucous crowd and ear-splitting fireworks. But the beautiful woman next to him made his heart race. Her delicate cheek bones caught the light of the fireworks and her huge smile radiated across full lips he already knew were kissable. Long brown hair tumbled over her shoulders. He figured he was to blame for the tangled curls and the sand clinging to her bare shoulders. It was impossible to feel bad about it, though, when he remembered the feel of her skin under his hands and lips.

Jackie glanced over and caught him looking at her. The corners of her mouth turned up just enough to let him know she didn
’t mind. His heart skipped when she looked at him. He had known her less than an hour but spent the better half of the hour before watching her from across the bar. He saw her two friends leave with guys who bought them drinks, but she had stayed. He’d watched her make friendly conversation with the bartender and smile to herself. He had lurked in the shadows, watching her before he decided to approach before it was too late. Just seeing her took the chill off the mood which had iced him in since his plane left Chicago.

Asking her to leave the bar with him was following the strict advice of his Chief Financial Officer. Take a weekend off, Hal said. Have some fun. Crack a smile. It won
’t hurt you. When Hal gave him that advice, though, Mitchell didn’t necessarily think an island romance was on the table. Now things were starting to look different.

Maybe his CFO was right. If Hal could see Jackie right now, he
’d be encouraging Mitchell to have his lawyers draw up an ironclad pre-nup. Cascading hair, ocean blue eyes, smooth fair skin, long legs, and breasts that promised hidden curves where a man could lose himself. And it had all been right there for the taking until the show in the sky had crackled into life.

Those fireworks can
’t last forever.

Chapter Three

The fireworks’ grand finale rocked the sand and Jackie’s fingers tightened around Mitchell’s. His free hand casually rested on her knee, but the look on his face was anything but casual. Predatory was more like it.

The fireworks
’ final sizzle wafted over the water and the crowd drifted away. Jackie noticed the cool night air for the first time and shivered. It made Mitchell’s warm body even more tempting. Now, they were almost alone again. What would happen?

“
Hey, Jackie! There you are.”

Jackie barely had time to run her fingers through her tangled hair and steal a quick guilty look at Mitchell before two women flopped down on the sand and stretched out. They weren
’t alone. Two guys who looked like island natives came up right behind them and one of them handed fruity looking drinks in plastic cups to their companions.

“
Wondered where you went,” one of the new arrivals said. Her words came out a little breathless and slurred. Her hot pink top almost covered her midriff and she was barefoot. She had spiky blond hair and wore seriously short shorts. Jackie looked her friend over. The outfit was a nice change from the gray walls and gray life they endured in their office building in Chicago. She suspected Leah might have a wild side to her, and it looked like she was dialing it up. This was turning out to be one heck of an evening for all of them.

“
I’ve been enjoying the fireworks,” said Jackie.

“
And not alone,” Leah said. Her state of drunkenness made her even more direct than usual. Leah opened her mouth to say something, but she stopped and looked intently at Mitchell. “Hey,” she said, “you look familiar.”

The other woman had her face half buried in her electric pink drink, but this caught her attention. At thirty, Teri was the oldest and most sensible of the accounting staff, but she had the body of a teenager and a free spirit. She looked at Mitchell and then turned her gaze immediately to Jackie. Her face was as frozen as the concoction in her cup. Even in the darkness, Jackie could see there was something very odd about her expression. The air crackled with excitement, something transferred physically through the thick darkness between Jackie, Teri, and Leah.

There was no doubt Mitchell noticed it, too. He looked closely at Jackie’s friends and his hand tightened over hers. The guys who appeared to be with Teri and Leah sprawled on the sand drinking out of 16 oz. cans. They weren’t likely to notice anything unusual. They probably didn’t notice the fireworks, either.

“
Oh my god, you’re…” Leah began.

“
Drunk, Leah,” Teri said quickly. “You’re sloppy drunk, and we’ve still got some dancing to do before the night’s over.” She stood up as emphatically as a person can who is barefoot and wearing an orange hibiscus in her hair. “We should go.”

Only about thirty seconds had elapsed and Jackie realized she hadn
’t even introduced her friends to Mitchell. Not that she knew much about him except how kissable he was. Not exactly the kind of thing you mention in an introduction.

“
This is Mitchell,” Jackie said, gesturing toward Mitchell. He jumped up and extended his hand, but Teri already had Leah on her feet, pulling her toward the row of brightly lit bars.

“
Have fun!” she called over her shoulder. “See you back at the room later.”

And they were gone with the guys who had followed them there. Only a few stragglers remained far away on the beach. Jackie and Mitchell were alone again on the dark sand.

“Your friends seem…nice,” Mitchell said.

“
I think they’re adapting to the island lifestyle just a little too well,” Jackie said.

Jackie glanced over at Mitchell to see how he felt about the sudden decamping of her friends. He
did
look like he should be the hero in a romantic movie. With strong shoulders and defined biceps, she didn’t doubt he could throw her over his shoulder and haul her off to do unspeakable things to her body while she begged him not to stop. It was dangerous, but she was feeling dangerous. The crowd was almost gone now, lured by the appeal of two more hours before last call and loud music pouring out the doors of bars crowded with overheated and underdressed bodies.

Mitchell sat down close to Jackie and ran a finger across her collarbone and down her upper arm.

“We’re alone again,” he said.

Jackie laughed.
“As alone as we can be on a public beach.”

He kissed her, his heat and scent lighting up her senses. Although mostly worn-off, a hint of soap and expensive cologne lingered on his skin.

“No one is paying attention to us,” he whispered. “They’re busy doing whatever they want.”

He kissed her again, longer, each kiss creating widening circles of desire within her. She pulled away, breaking the tension for a moment.

“Is that what people do here?”

He drew back slightly and grinned.
“Ignore other people?”

She thumped him lightly on the chest.
“No, do whatever they want.”

“
I believe I mentioned that you can make up your own rules in Key West. I’m doing exactly what I want right now.” He explored her ear and neck with his lips. The sensation traveled across her skin making her lean into him for more.

She closed her eyes and used her other senses. His touch intoxicated her and erased any sensible, practical thoughts. Wanting Mitchell was the only thing on her mind.

“How about you?” Mitchell asked.

“
Me?”

“
Are you doing exactly what you want right now?”

Jackie considered the question. For the past year, her desires were as buttoned up as her conservative wardrobe and ledger sheets. But now, she was discovering the thrill of wanting and being wanted. Just because.

There was no one in sight now. Jackie lay back on the beach, not caring that her hair tangled with the grains of white sand. Mitchell stretched out next to her, the heat of his body standing out in stark contrast to the quiet cool night.

A boat horn sounded in the harbor, honking over and over.

“
Jingle Bells
,” Mitchell said, chuckling softly next to her ear.

“
What?”

“
The boat,” he said. “Some drunk fool is trying to play
Jingle Bells
on his boat horn.”

“
I love this place,” she said.

She heard his breath in her ear like the soft waves crashing across the dark beach.

“Not as much as you’re going to.”