Simply Irresistible (Crescent Cove Book 2)

by Marlie May

  “Time for bed, kiddo,” Ken said from the background. The TV went silent. “Say goodnight to your mom.” He carried the phone down the hall to the spare room where he handed it to Arie after she’d climbed into bed.

  “Prayers.” Arie pressed her face so close to the camera, we had a decent view of her nose and one eyeball. “I’m hugging you, Mommy.”

  Cara pressed the phone to her chest, then held it out again. “Did you feel my hug, too?”

  “Sorta.” Arie flopped onto her pillow.

  “Prayers, then.” Cara’s voice broke, her throat choked off with emotion. After a deep breath, she began, “Now I lay me down to sleep.”

  Arie chimed in with her. “Pray the Lord, my soul to keep.”

  “In the morning, when I rise, I pray the Lord, my soul to prize.”

  Now that Cara and I were together, I’d be a true stepdad to Arie, not just a temporary fill-in. I’d never thought much about children since Lainie had wanted to wait. But Arie was an awesome kid. Maybe she’d want to go camping or snowshoeing. We could take her sledding and skiing and read her books every night. I’d always wanted to try my hand at coaching soccer, and if Arie wanted to play, I’d be there, rooting for her each time she kicked the ball toward the goal.

  Arie’s mouth stretched with a yawn, and her eyes slid closed before opening again. “Sing, Mommy.”

  She glanced at me, and color rose into her beautiful cheeks. This woman had seen me through more highs and lows than I could count. Through each failure and success. I’d never be able to repay her for her friendship. Her love. We’d shared everything while growing up. She couldn’t feel embarrassed singing a song for Arie in front of me, could she?

  “Sing, Mommy.” Arie’s eyelids fluttered. She’d propped the phone on the pillow beside her, where we could still see her little face.

  The words rose from Cara, wavering on her tongue. “Fluffy bunny, fluffy bunny. Hopping in the morning.” She swallowed and glanced at me.

  Rising onto my palms, I shifted around and laid my head on her lap. I tipped my head back to watch her.

  She stroked my hair, wrapped the strands around her fingers. “Fluffy bunny, fluffy bunny. Twitches her nose in a warning.” She blinked fast.

  Raw emotion split my heart in two.

  Arie’s yawn came through the phone line.

  “Fluffy bunny, fluffy bunny,” Cara sang, clearer, truer. “Snuggling warm in her burrow. Fluffy bunny, fluffy bunny. Hopping into the sunshine tomorrow.”

  Ken lifted the phone and turned it so we could see his face. “There you go,” he whispered. “One sleeping kid.” He carried the conversation out into the hall, the door clicking closed behind him. “Appreciate that. Singing’s one thing I just can’t get right. Kid cringes when I hit the high notes.”

  “I miss you, Dad,” Cara said with a weepy chuckle.

  Ken’s voice deepened. “Miss you, too. Can’t wait to see you in a few days, and you can tell me all about Costa Rica.” He reached up and rubbed his fist on his chest. “I’m glad you left Arie with me. It…well, it’s not a duty at all. It’s meant more than anything to have this time with my granddaughter. Barbie, too. She loves that kid more than anything.” He cleared his throat. Coughed. “But I imagine you’ve got things to do, so I’m going to say goodbye.”

  “Love you, Daddy.”

  “Love you, too, dearling.”

  The camera winked out.

  She dropped the phone and rubbed her face. Sniffing, she gave me a warbling smile. “I miss my daughter.”

  Rising up onto my knees, I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. “You’re the absolute best.”

  Cara

  Waking early the next morning, I nestled into Roan, his heart thumping in my ear.

  We hadn’t emerged from our room last night, preferring to stay locked up inside. Room service had been happy to oblige, bringing us snacks and desserts on demand. Who would’ve thought chocolate ice cream could be so…delectable?

  While my need for Roan was somewhat satisfied, I was convinced it would never fully go away. This wasn’t about possession. Him being mine. Me being his. It was about merging into one. Showing him how much he meant to me with my kisses and my arms, and my sighs when he touched me.

  If he woke this moment, rolled me onto my back and nibbled my neck, I’d welcome him into my body all over again.

  Speaking of welcome. Nothing was better than waking up beside a hot guy, with interesting things happening underneath the covers.

  Pretending I still slept, I held in my grin and stretched. I really needed to do something to ease my muscles. Maybe take some pain reliever. Or…Yes. The hot springs would do nicely.

  Later.

  Roan kissed my shoulder. Sliding his fingertips up my back, he braided them into my hair. He inhaled like he sniffed a strand. A soft huff eased from his lungs.

  “Our last day here,” he said.

  So much for him thinking I was asleep. I rose onto my palms, smiling. We kissed.

  “What do you want to do to make today special?” I asked.

  “Stay in bed?”

  I chuckled. Not a bad idea, but we could do that back home. “We’ve hiked, ziplined, floated down a river with crocs, and toured a butterfly sanctuary. Not sure we can top all that.”

  “Why don’t we stay here today? Everything we need is at Baldi.”

  “You’re all I need.”

  He kissed the tip of my nose. “We’ll start with breakfast, then hit the swim-up bar, and round out the day watching the moon rise while lounging in our own private pool. And, for the last part of the day, I have a surprise.”

  Roan and surprises were my favorite things in the world. “Tell me.”

  “Nope. But I think you’re going to like it.”

  He sat up on the side of the bed, and I hugged him from behind. “If it involves you and me, I know I will.”

  For dinner, we ate at a small open-air restaurant across the street from the resort. A true Tica establishment that consisted of a broad counter where we placed our order, a grill behind it where an old woman and her teenage grandsons worked, and wooden picnic tables with an extra-wide awning overhead. The sun heated the air.

  As an appetizer, we had our choice of smoothies: mango, pineapple or papaya. And for the main course, we ate a Costa Rican staple, rice and beans with vegetables, served with either fish or chicken on the side. We both chose chicken.

  After, we returned to the resort and paused on the bridge crossing the main pool. By now, the moon had risen, and Roan’s surprise awaited me. Anticipation had been eating me alive all day. Was the surprise a Costa Rican activity like when we’d gone sledding? Would we dance to local music under the moonlight? Or sample every dessert on the restaurant menu?

  “Tell me now,” I said.

  “Damn, you’re persistent.” He kissed me, and I decided I’d drag him back to the room. We had a few more things to explore. “Before I share, I’d love to lounge one more time in the pools.”

  Not much beat the relaxation found in the pools.

  We had to leave early tomorrow morning for the airport. We’d arrive home in Maine late in the afternoon and would go to Dad’s to get Arie after that. But tonight, was ours.

  After changing into our bathing suits, we left the room.

  Roan took my hand in the hall and pulled me to a stop. Color filled his face. “You trust me?”

  “Completely.” I frowned but had a hard time reading his expression. Embarrassed? No, nervous. “Does this involve your surprise?” When he leaned forward and nibbled my neck, I was ready to head back to the room to discover what he had in mind. “Roan.” His name came out in a gasp. “Let’s…”

  A smile curled his lips. “No tempting me into delivering yet.” Tugging me down the hall to the elevator, he sent me a steamy look over his shoulder. “Maybe the entire evening is your surprise.”

  There went those tingles again, spiking through my body. “I do love surprises.”

/>   He winked. “Honey, we’re just beginning.” Leaving the hotel, he led me up a trail we hadn’t traveled, winding among bamboo and vines draping through a lattice overhead.

  “Have you been using your GPS to find new locations?” I asked as we splashed through a cave with murky green light spilling from bulbs overhead. We trooped under a small waterfall and arrived at a round pool about twelve feet across. Water gushed from a stone statue on the opposite side, keeping the pool one-hundred-and-one degrees, per the sign by the stairs.

  Once the tourists left for the day, we’d found it easy to locate unoccupied pools.

  Dropping our towels on a bench, we climbed in and sat on stone seats. My sore muscles soaked up the heat.

  “This is fabulous. Can we stay here forever?” I submerged to my shoulders. Jets pulsed water across the bottom of the pool, tickling my legs.

  “It’s going to be hard to return home tomorrow, isn’t it?” He played with the ponytail I’d fixed high on my head.

  “Maybe we can come back to Costa Rica again someday?”

  “We’ll bring Arie.”

  “She’ll love the wildlife. Especially the bugs.”

  I liked the thought of us coming here together. While we’d started out pretending, we were a real family, now.

  I closed my eyes and tipped back to rest on the surround. Lethargy ruled.

  Roan’s fingertips tickled up my thigh. Delicious. And, hmm, the kisses trailing along my neck weren’t too shoddy, either. I parted my lips and sighed when his hands skimmed along the back of my waist to shift my hips forward. I rubbed his back, making broad circles. Teased the hair at his neck.

  He untied my bathing suit top and let it float free.

  Gulping, I opened my eyes and grabbed it, clutching it to my chest. Not that a bunched-up bit of fabric did much to preserve my modesty. “What if somebody walks by?”

  He lifted his head and blinked at me, water droplets glistening like diamonds on his lashes. “Just leave that to me. I’ll listen and let you know if I hear a thing. Sit back, close your eyes, and enjoy. Tonight, is for you.” His lips caressed the fullness at the top of my breast, moving to the other side. I clung to his shoulders while he teased my lips open. He pulled back in my embrace. “You like this, don’t you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What if I do this?” He slid his hand down my belly to cup me through my bikini bottoms.

  Fire blazed through me, centering in that very spot. I scooted my hips to the edge of my seat in reply. While his fingers shifted my swimsuit to the side and he explored, his thumb began that luscious rhythm he knew made me go numb. I slumped back, my eyes rolling back in my head.

  The pleasure he gave me was heightened by my worry that someone would walk through the falls and see us. Though, I worried even more they’d arrive before Roan finished. After all, I was essentially naked.

  “Lift your hips so we can take these off.” He tugged my bottoms down to my ankles, then parted my legs. My bikini bottoms floated away, but who cared? Because, his fingers. His fingers.

  “We can’t.” We had to.

  “Relax. We’re alone.” His thumb dipped inside me.

  Arching my spine, I moaned from the throbbing sensation.

  “I love when you do that because I know it’s for me.” He delved deeper. Rubbed harder.

  Shit, I was going to…And people were going to see…And if I didn’t get him inside me, I’d…Bolting forward, I scrambled for my top floating nearby and dove across the pool to retrieve my bottoms from where they’d plastered themselves across the front of the drain.

  Roan chuckled. “Where you going? We were just getting started.”

  I was on the brink, so overheated that one more rub would make me explode. I’d scream, and the world would hear.

  Dressed, I climbed from the tub and stood, hands on my hips, staring down at Roan. His pout brought out my giggle. “Race you to the room.” I snatched my towel and ran for the waterfall. My bare feet thumped on the trail. Behind me, Roan gained on me fast. I wasn’t exactly giving this run my best effort. I really didn’t want to get away.

  “If I catch you, I can have my way with you, right?” His words stroked my back.

  I grinned, my body humming in anticipation already.

  We reached the hotel and took the elevator to our floor.

  He backed me against the far wall of the elevator, his mouth heavy on mine. His hands tugged at the knot I’d made at my waist with my towel. “Take it off.”

  “Soon.” The second we entered our room.

  The elevator dinged and we rushed down the hall to our room, where I slipped the key card into the lock. Roan wrapped his arms around me from behind and nibbled that sweet spot where my shoulder met my neck. Scrumptious. I tilted my head to give him free rein.

  I darted inside the second the door swung open and spun to face him. “I win the race.”

  He caught me in the hallway outside the bathroom and pulled me against his chest. His wet-cold bathing suit hit my belly, making me gasp. My butt hit the wall when he pressed forward.

  He scrambled with the bikini knot at my neck. “This. Fuck. Take it off.” His groan made my heart thump faster, feeding my urgency.

  I yanked the strings over my head and hauled it over my hips. My bottoms went along with it.

  “Perfect.” Roan stepped back to look his fill. His eyes darkened. With his hands braced beside my head, he kissed me, his lips pressing hard, his tongue delving deep.

  I returned his fever while jerking down his swimsuit. The sensation of our damp flesh coming together made my inhibitions fly to the moon.

  His mouth moved to my neck, my breasts, while his hands stroked me everywhere else.

  “Here. Now,” I said.

  Lifting his head, he stared at me with pupils dilated. He shook his head, and his expression cleared. “Wait, wait, wait. You almost missed out on my big surprise.”

  “I’m surprised,” I shouted. I was ready to burst. He needed to…

  Leaving me gasping, he sauntered across the room to the desk. In the dim light, I checked out his backside while he moved. Firm muscles. Long legs. A birthmark on his butt I’d need to look at later.

  Lifting his backpack, he pulled out a cluster of material. He turned, and his erection jutted toward me. His grin widened as he tossed the silky clump across the room. The material separated and fluttered down like silky streamers, onto the bed.

  I crossed the room and lifted them, letting them dangle from my fingertips. “Scarves. What do we do with these?” Although, I was getting some exciting ideas.

  “You trust me?”

  I tilted my head, studying his face. “More than anything.”

  “How do you feel about a blindfold among friends?”

  I lifted one, two, three, four, no, five. “This is a lot of blindfolds.”

  “I was thinking about the bedposts, too.”

  Four bedposts. Four scarves for my arms and legs. Plus, one to cover my eyes. Warmth unfurled below my waist. “Yes.”

  “Ever since I tied my scarf on your face when we went sledding, I’ve dreamt about you lying naked on a bed, blindfolded. Pinning you in place with the others, so I could…”

  “You contemplated tying me up when we went sledding?” Was that actually my voice? It sounded…breathy. Strung out thin with desire.

  “Too kinky?”

  I walked over to where he leaned against the wall. Sliding my fingertip down his length, I studied his dark eyes.

  “Yes or no?” he asked.

  “Yes. Now.”

  “All in due time.” He scooped me up in his arms and strode to the bed. “Damn, but I love you.” Laying me gently on my back, he held my gaze while lifting one of the scarves. I trembled, but it wasn’t from fear. Other than the fear I’d be done before he began his erotic seduction. “Ready?” he whispered.

  I bit my lower lip and nodded.

  The first scarf slid across my eyes. He tied it low on the back of
my neck. Now, I could only hear. Taste. Feel. Every sensation was heightened.

  “If this scares you, you tell me,” he said. “And I’ll stop.” He looped a scarf around my ankle and lifted my leg to set it to one side. He kissed the inside of my calf. “I want to love you. Every inch of you.” The silk tickled my other leg. My wrist. He lifted my arms, one at a time, and laid them beside my head. Then secured me to the posts.

  “I, uh…” My voice was husky, filled with need. “I don’t think I’ll be able to wait long for you.” If the buzzing between my legs was anything to go by, I’d come apart in seconds.

  “We’ve got plenty of time,” he said. “All night, in fact.”

  The bed creaked when he shifted off it, and his steps padding around to my feet. The footsteps stopped and nothing but his heavy breathing filled the air. “Fuck. I’m going to come just looking at you.”

  “Better not.”

  He chuckled, the sound like kisses on my lower back. “You’re coming first. Maybe more than once.” He crawled up between my legs, the hairs on his legs scratchy on my sensitive skin. The friction made me throb. Leaning forward, he exhaled on one breast, then the other.

  My nipples hardened. “Touch me.”

  “Like this?” His tongue teased the tip of one breast.

  I gasped and arched my back. “Yes.”

  “And this?” The moist heat of his mouth enfolded my nipple, sucking in a pulsing rhythm. He nibbled the end with his teeth.

  Lightning arced to my groin. “I…I.”

  I sensed his head lifting. “Stop?”

  “No!”

  His low laugh thrilled me. “Do you like this?” His hands cupped my breasts, kneading, tugging.

  “Yes.” I lifted my hips, straining to rub my skin against his.

  His mouth and tongue traveled across my breasts. Moist. Hot. He glided along the lines of my ribs. He paused at my belly button, then continued to kiss to my hips. My sides. The tops of my thighs.

  If my hands had been free, I would’ve stroked his hair. His shoulders. Held tight. Screamed. And yanked him up onto me. Demanded he take me now. But I couldn’t, because the power was all his. Which made the fire inside me spiral higher. Because, shit, he was kissing my inner thigh. I whimpered. Sobbed.