Key West

by Lacey Alexander

  After a few more pronounced thrusts, she leaned her head back and sobbed with wild pleasure, and he watched her mouth, her eyes, felt her ass clench around his finger, her pussy tighten even more around his cock.

  “That’s right, angel,” he said more softly. “Come. Come hard. Don’t stop. Keep coming.”

  He kept thrusting his finger, fucking her deep, holding the same hot rhythm, never letting it fall off. She continued to howl her satiation, her cries like nothing he’d ever heard from her before—and would never hear from her again—but at least he’d made her feel it, at least he’d given her a pleasure that deep.

  When finally her cries turned to whimpers, she opened her eyes to pull him into a kiss, and that was what pushed him over the edge. “Oh God, me, too,” he said, then felt the assaulting bliss as he spurt his seed up into her, pulling her down, hard, hard, hard, on his throbbing cock. “Yes, yes,” he whispered as the pleasure stretched long and draining, as his cock finally emptied itself completely in her sweet pussy.

  She fell against him in a huge hug; he held her warm and tight and knew in that moment without fail that this was what life was about.

  Moments later, he carried her naked up onto the beach, laying her down on the blanket and wrapping them both up in it to peer at the newly risen crescent moon, looking like a bright smile in the dark sky.

  They exchanged slow, sweet kisses.

  He said, “Stay.”

  She blinked up at him. “What?”

  “Don’t go back. Stay.”

  He heard her sigh. “But I have a life there. A business. I’ve worked hard to build my business.”

  “So start a new business here.”

  Carrie was at once amazed, touched, and frightened. She knew she’d fallen in love with him, and she knew they’d just had the sexual liaison of a lifetime, but she’d only known Chris for a week. She had no idea how many girls he might have gotten this involved with, how many times he might have made such a request.

  Deep inside, she knew this wasn’t an everyday thing for him, though, just as it wasn’t for her. In fact, she was forced to recall his story about the one girl he’d loved who hadn’t loved him back, and he wondered if maybe it was possible he felt exactly as she did now—but even so, there was so much at stake.

  Her beloved bookstore. She’d built it from nothing into a thriving business in a time when most independent stores failed. How could she possible abandon what she’d worked so hard for in exchange for what, honestly, was an uncertain life? What would she do here? How would she make a living? How long would their romance last?

  It was all too quick, too fast. She’d let go, surrendered herself, her beliefs, her heart—but with the understanding that this was temporary. How could she let go of her entire existence completely?

  She gazed into Chris’s eyes, turned dark by moonlight. “How would you feel if I asked you to give up your business and come to Maryland?”

  He flinched and she knew the question had hit home. “Not great,” he admitted, “but…Key West is a lot more fun than Maryland.”

  “And Maryland is where I’ve worked just as hard as you to establish a business I love.”

  He sighed, glanced down, softly kissed her breast. “You’re right. I understand about your business. I know what a huge part of you it becomes, how it means everything.”

  She leaned her forehead against his, and could scarcely believe she was turning him down. “Maybe I’m passing up something wonderful, Chris, I don’t know. But I can’t stay.” She gave her head a slight shake and worked to hold back the tears that threatened. She’d worried so much about leaving Key West with a broken heart, but she’d never dreamed it would be her decision that would break it.

  * * * * *

  He woke the next morning in her hotel room, in her arms, after another night of mind-blowing sex. Like at the beach, they’d started out soft and slow and ended up rough and raging. He’d been tempted to ask her one more time to stay, but had resisted. He’d known from the start that she was a woman on vacation, a woman on the rebound from a tragically broken engagement, and that this was her chance to cut loose for once in her life. It hadn’t been meant to turn into love, but for him, it had, and it only meant he’d have to get over her and find a way to guard his heart a little closer from now on.

  They ordered a room service breakfast and ate on the balcony. She acted cheerful, so he tried to, as well. He found himself wishing it were twenty-four hours earlier, that yesterday was starting over with brunch at Blue Heaven and that they’d have their day at the beach all over again.

  “I can drive you to the airport,” he said across the table.

  She shook her head. “I made arrangements to ride with Amy and Cole. They’re flying back today, too, from Miami, and our flights leave at almost the same time.”

  He couldn’t help being disappointed. He’d looked forward to the three hour drive up the Keys as a chance to say goodbye. “When do you leave?”

  She’d already dressed in light summer pants and a matching top—something Carrie the Angel would wear. She checked her watch. “In about an hour.”

  He nodded, not quite knowing what to do or say. Maybe they’d said it all already.

  After eating, she walked to the balcony railing and gazed out on the ocean. He followed and let his arms circle her from behind. Without warning, she turned in his arms and kissed him hard and desperate, then peered up into his eyes. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

  He only nodded. I love you.

  Last chance. Last call for telling her the thing that might make her stay.

  But he still didn’t say it. Memories of a rejection that had scarred him held the words inside. Besides, if she didn’t want to stay, three little words weren’t going to change anything.

  When it was time for her to go, he walked her down to the lobby, waited as she checked out, then pulled her rolling suitcase out to the breezeway where Cole and Amy had just driven up in their rental car.

  “Guess this is it,” he said, holding her in a loose embrace.

  “Yeah, guess so.”

  He sank his mouth down on hers in what he intended to be a short kiss goodbye, but which lengthened with the knowledge that it would be their last—and he hoped like hell it was reminding her of all the incredible passion they’d shared.

  When it finally ended, she bit her slightly swollen lip and gazed up at him. Neither one said goodbye. She finally broke the gaze and climbed in the car. They looked at each other through the window until Cole pulled away.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Carrie tried to return to the bookstore the next morning with a happy heart. And indeed, it was good to pick up Dickens from the cat-sitter, and good to see all her beloved books, as well as the historic old building that held them—but inside she was sad.

  What didn’t help was having her mother call first thing at nine a.m. to check on her. Of course, she’d expected the concern—when her mom had last seen her, she’d been fleeing from the heartbreak of a ruined wedding. There was no way her mother could know the much more brutal heartbreak assaulting her now.

  The second time the phone rang, it was Jon. “Babe, it’s me.”

  Just hearing his voice made something wither inside her. “What do you want?”

  “To apologize. To make things up to you somehow. I’m begging you, Carrie, give me another chance.”

  She simply sighed. She didn’t need this right now, too. “Jon, it’s too late.”

  “It’s never too late, babe,” he said, sounding like a sappy love song.

  How could she get through to him? How could she explain that she really wasn’t all that upset about what he’d done anymore because her time away had made her realize how little she cared about him. “Jon, I accept your apology, okay? Truly, I do. But it’s time for us both to move on.”

  “Move on to what, Carrie? We’ve been in each other’s lives so long, I don’t know how to exist without you.”

  Sh
e understood what he meant—at first, she’d thought she’d never get by without him; they’d seemed like such permanent fixtures in each other’s world given their ten-year history. Now, she thought she might miss the habit of his friendship—but that was all. “You’ll exist fine, Jon. Trust me. We’ll both exist just fine.”

  It took awhile, but she finally got off the phone, hoping she’d convinced him that she wasn’t interested in rekindling their relationship. The truth was, it was hard to imagine having a relationship with anyone but Chris at the moment, and she had a feeling it might be a long time before she dove back into the dating pool.

  Two book sales and a cup of coffee later, the phone rang again, and this time it was Diana. “I’m coming home,” she said.

  “What for?”

  “Because you sound awful. Clearly, I was wrong to talk you into going on vacation without him.”

  “Oh, Diana, you’ve got it all wrong. Vacation was…wonderful. In fact, I…met a guy. A really hot, perfect guy who changed the way I look at life.”

  Her sister paused slightly. “And he broke your heart now, too? My God, what’s his name and how do I find him? I’ll kill him.”

  Carrie couldn’t help laughing, even amid her depression. “You don’t understand. He actually asked me to stay. And I said no.”

  “Oh.” Diana sighed. “So you weren’t…in love with him or anything serious?”

  “No, that’s not it. I was in love with him, am in love with him.”

  “Then why on earth did you say no?”

  “Because of the bookstore.”

  “Forgive me, Carrie, but that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. I’m coming home. I’ll take off work, get a flight and be there tomorrow, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

  * * * * *

  True to her word, and against Carrie’s will, Diana showed up the next day. And Liz, too! Diana had called their older sister in New Orleans and declared a sisterly emergency.

  “You’re both out of your minds,” she told them over a bottle of wine at her apartment late on the evening of their arrival. “I’ll be fine if you’ll just give me, say, a day or two to recover.”

  Diana took a sip of her Chardonnay. “Just what did you mean when you told me on the phone that he’d changed the way you looked at life?”

  How much should she tell her sisters? Oh, what the hell. Diana would understand, and if Liz was as wild over her new man as she’d sounded at the wedding, maybe she would, as well. “He…opened my mind about sex. He made me experience things I never could have, or would have, with anyone else. I found desires inside myself I never even knew were there. And everything about our week together was so exciting—and also tender somehow—that, well, I just feel changed, that’s all.” She glanced specifically at Diana. “Like I’m no longer the little angel I used to be.”

  Diana smiled, and Liz said, “That sounds a lot like what happened with me and Jack. And look how that ended up—he’s my dream guy, he loves me, and we’re getting married.”

  “You’re just sour on love,” Diana said, pointing at her, “because of this Jon fiasco. You quit believing in the happy ending.”

  Carrie shook her head. “That’s not it. I’m so over Jon. I’m completely in love with Chris.”

  Diana’s voice went dry. “And you’re giving him up for a bookstore.”

  Carrie sighed. “Maybe you can’t understand because you’ve never built a whole business on your own, but it’s important to me.”

  “More important than life-long happiness and hot sex?”

  Okay, so the bookstore argument was starting to sound a little crazy, even to Carrie. She took a deep breath. “Maybe it’s about risk. About giving up everything and being afraid it won’t work out. About being afraid I’ll end up with nothing, not even my store.”

  Diana looked at Liz. “Would you say you risked anything to have your relationship with Jack?”

  Liz tilted her head and Carrie saw the new light that had shone in her sister’s eyes ever since hooking up with her private eye. “Well, I’d say you always risk something when you commit to someone. You risk your heart.”

  “Exactly,” Diana said. “I put myself at risk with Marc, too. And I almost blew it by not letting him know how I felt in time. I’m just lucky things worked out the way they did, and that he was willing to take a chance on me.”

  “Don’t get me wrong—I admire you guys for being brave and taking a chance on relationships, but…” Wow, this just hit her. “Maybe this fiasco with Jon has had a bigger effect on me than I thought. I’m not sorry it happened exactly, but…right now, more than ever, I’ve seen how quickly things can change, how the rug can be pulled out from under you, that nothing is totally dependable. And maybe it feels important to me to hang on to the few things in my life that are dependable—like my store, and Mom and Dad.”

  “But if you think back,” Diana imparted, “how dependable was Jon really? It took ten years for him to propose, for heaven’s sake, and you two certainly did your fair share of bickering. Have you seen any reason to doubt Chris?”

  Carrie only sighed. “How many times do I have to remind you—I’ve only known him a week.”

  “That’s about how long it took for me and Jack to know we wanted to be together forever,” Liz said.

  Diana tilted her head. “Same for me and Marc. Think about it, Carrie. Don’t be so quick to pass up something that might never come your way again.”

  The three sisters stayed up talking long into the night and by the time they’d drained their third bottle of wine, Diana was telling them just how wild she and Marc had gotten together—and with other people, too! Carrie nearly fell out of her chair, since some of Diana’s stories made hers seem weak in comparison. They also urged Liz to share, and Carrie was stunned to discover just how much her mature, staid, older sister had loosened up with her sexy P.I. After taking a deep breath, and encouraged by their stories—and the wine—Carrie finally took the plunge, too, telling her sisters about The Garden of Ecstasy, about her adventurous boat rides and hot tub encounter. They were all giggling by the time it was through—clearly all the Marsh sisters had been indulging themselves sexually in the past few months.

  Her sisters pointed out that for them, those indulgences had led to impending wedding bells, as both of them were engaged now. Liz was planning a classic wedding at a picturesque church just around the corner from their parents’ house, saying Jack was ready and willing to bring the party north, so long as they made their way back to the French Quarter as soon as the honeymoon ended. Diana, conversely, was planning a huge, extravagant blowout at the Venetian in Las Vegas, where the couple would depart the reception in a gondola.

  “And what if you married Chris?” Diana asked, eyebrows raised. “What would your dream wedding be?”

  Carrie could only roll her eyes. “Marry Chris? I’m not marrying Chris. I just left Chris behind, if you recall.”

  “Humor me.”

  Carrie sighed, and tried to envision what her sister asked. “Well, given that I just saw a big, traditional wedding go to waste… I think if Chris and I got married, I’d be happy to do it on the beach at sunset, or on his boat, with just a few close friends and family.”

  Diana and Liz both smiled. “Sounds nice,” Diana said.

  * * * * *

  “I told you. Didn’t I tell you?”

  Chris looked up with a start at Shay. He’d been staring off into space, behind the bar at the Lazy Lizard, thinking about Carrie, reminding himself why he’d spent the last few years being so careful with his heart. Fuck, this hurt even worse than he remembered. Love sucked, and it was a trap he wouldn’t fall into again. “You told me what?”

  “That things would change because of her. That you’d change.”

  Damn, she had. Of course, at the time, she’d predicted things would change because he and Carrie would stay together, not because they were apart. Even so, he guessed the effect on Shay was the same—in
the days since Carrie had gone, he hadn’t been himself. He knew he’d been no fun at all, barely speaking, never joking, and as for fooling around with Shay, well—having sex with anyone but Carrie was the last thing on his mind. Knowing Shay as he did—that she wasn’t nearly as strong and brash on the inside as the out—he suspected she needed sex more than he could quite understand, that it probably made her feel cared for. “Sorry, Shay,” he said earnestly. “I don’t mean to be an ass, but I probably won’t be in the mood to party with you for a while.”

  Shay slammed her empty drink tray lightly on the bar. “You idiot. I don’t really give a fuck whether or not you want to party. And for your information, I’ve kind of hooked up with Jake now—exclusively.”

  He blinked, stunned. He’d never known Shay to hook up with anyone exclusively. “Really? You and Jake?”

  She sighed. “Yes, me and Jake. He’s really…sweet to me.”

  Wow. Shay had a boyfriend. Who was sweet. And she liked that. He couldn’t quite absorb it, thinking—just when you think you know somebody…

  “Anyway,” she went on, “I don’t care about your party schedule. I just…wish you were happy.”

  He let out a long sigh. “Me, too. And I’m sure I will be again, eventually. I just don’t know when.” Although as of right now, he couldn’t imagine being happy—truly happy, deep down inside—ever again, without his angel.

  * * * * *

  A week after Diana and Liz’s whirlwind visit home, Carrie still felt stuck between a rock and a hard place. A very hard place. Memories of Chris’s hot, sexy cock boring into her made her tremble whenever they came to mind. Even as she stood in the bookstore on an average Tuesday morning ringing up a gardening book for a sweet old lady, her pussy tingled with thoughts of how well he’d fucked her, how much she missed everything about him—his kisses, his smile, his playful sweetness. His touches, his commanding shaft—in her mouth, between her breasts, buried deep in her cunt.