Ultimate Heroes Collection

by Various Authors

  Tom didn’t join in the wordplay. By the looks of his starstruck expression as he glanced at Tara he was only too pleased to see the back of them. ‘No worries. We’ll be fine.’

  ‘Great.’ Judd pushed away from the table and helped her up, for which she was grateful considering her knees wobbled. It could’ve been the cocktail, but she knew better. Her skin prickled with awareness, reacting to his proximity and leaving a rippling sensation in its wake.

  ‘Though I think you two should swap tables. This one over here seems much better.’

  ‘We’re okay right here …’ Tara’s words died on her lips as Judd pushed the screen back, revealing the table covered in a staggering array of mouth-watering tapas. ‘Wow. That’s some feast.’

  Abby smiled. ‘It’s a thank-you for all the hard work you two have done. So thanks, guys, it’s been a blast working with you. Go ahead, enjoy. There’s champagne in the bucket and we’ve left strict instructions with the bar staff to keep it coming for as long as you want it. Though we do have to work tomorrow, kiddies.’ She waggled her finger at them and they laughed.

  ‘Great, I’m starving,’ Tom said, holding Tara’s chair out for her, his hungry gaze wavering between her and the food as if unsure which was the tastier delicacy.

  Tara stood in a fluid, lithe movement and leaned over to give Abby and Judd a hug. ‘Thanks for this. The crew on most of the shoots I’ve done don’t give a flying fig about anyone other than themselves. This is really thoughtful of you.’

  ‘You’re welcome,’ Judd said, his smile genuine while his gaze strayed to the door.

  An anticipatory tingle raced down Abby’s spine as she inched towards him, giving him a gentle nudge with her hip.

  ‘Right, we better get to work. See you guys in the morning,’ she said, barely managing a casual wave at the other couple while trying not to trip in her haste to follow Judd.

  They’d just made it outside when he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close.

  ‘Take a look at the sky. Do those look like storm clouds to you?’

  Abby cast a quick glance skyward, noting a billion stars scattered against a midnight sky without a cloud in sight.

  ‘Oh, yeah, definitely. Looks as if it’s going to rain and rain all night.’

  His lips curved into a deliciously wicked smile. ‘All night, huh?’

  She nodded, suddenly mesmerised by the glimpse of tanned skin in the V of his shirt. It looked good enough to taste and all she needed to do was lean forward a fraction and …

  ‘Then it’s definitely time for that rain check.’

  His husky murmur made her look up and she shivered, hypnotised by the intent behind his stare. Green flecks mixed with gold, both sparkling in the muted light from several flame-lit torches along the pathway, drawing her deeper into the mesmerising hazel depths.

  ‘Let’s hurry,’ she said, planting a quick, teasing kiss on his lips, the contact all too brief as she craved to lose herself in his hot, steamy kisses all night long.

  Judd didn’t need to be asked twice.

  He’d planned this evening to the nth degree since his phone call that afternoon and nothing would go wrong. He’d make sure of it.

  Taking hold of her hand, loving that it felt so damn right, he said, ‘I’ve got a surprise for you.’

  ‘I just bet you do.’

  He laughed as she looked up at him from beneath her lashes, a mischievous smirk playing about her glossed mouth.

  ‘Come on. My room this time.’

  He tried not to hurry, but like this afternoon they could barely restrain from breaking into a run in their haste to obtain privacy.

  Abby’s sweet laughter washed over him as he stabbed at the elevator button so hard it zinged, and he waited till the mirrored doors slid silently shut before silencing her with a kiss. He hadn’t meant to touch her till they reached his room but his resistance was at an all-time low and all she had to do was glance in his direction and he lost it.

  ‘Hey, they have cameras in these things,’ she murmured, breaking the kiss to nibble along his jaw, dipping her tongue inside his collar, the merest flicker of her tongue against his skin making his hard-on twitch.

  ‘You’re right.’

  He gritted his teeth, knowing he should stop her exploring him with her tongue, all too aware there wasn’t one damn thing he could do about it as his body tensed with every teasing flicker against his damp skin.

  Thankfully, the doors slid open with a loud zing and he slid his arm around her waist, all but dragging her the short distance to his room, sliding his room key into the slot at the speed of light and ushering her inside.

  ‘Wow.’

  She stopped dead, her beautiful blue eyes wide as saucers as she took in the scene before them. ‘You like it?’

  Nodding, she turned to face him, her smile lighting the room better than the countless candles covering every surface. ‘It’s incredible. Did you do all this?’

  More than pleased with her reaction, he shook his head. ‘The resort lent a hand. I wanted to go all out tonight. Make it a night to remember.’

  The kind of night he wanted to repeat over and over with her, if she’d let him.

  Tugging her further into the room, he said, ‘There’s more.’

  He had the pleasure of seeing her mouth open in a small, adorable O, the surprise turning her eyes a sparkling sapphire.

  ‘You remembered?’

  Her voice came out on a wistful sigh as she squeezed his hand tight.

  ‘Yeah, pretty hard to forget the night you told me your idea of a perfect date,’ he murmured, tracing her lips with a fingertip, remembering very clearly being parked in his beat-up Mustang at the end of her street backing onto a park after the grad dance, torn between wanting to repeat the mind-blowing kiss they’d shared earlier that night and hightailing it out of town.

  Abby, his buddy, he could handle.

  Abby, with stars in her eyes and romantic ideals dripping from her lips, had scared the hell out of him.

  ‘I can’t believe you remembered.’

  An unfathomable expression flickered in her eyes for a moment before it disappeared as she reached up to cup his cheek.

  ‘All this—’ Abby’s gesture took in the candles, the hot pink gerberas scattered around the bed, the strawberry sundaes, the chilled Kahlua on ice and the handmade truffle chocolates ‘—is fabulous but you’re all I need to make this a night to remember.’

  He’d roughed it in the wilds of Africa, he’d faced an angry elephant, he’d even been attacked by a cheetah once, but nothing made him feel so out of his depth as Abby’s blatant adoration at that moment.

  He’d wanted to make tonight special before divulging the truth to her. He’d wanted to make it an unforgettable night. But seeing the honesty in her eyes blew him away and he suddenly realised he was playing with fire.

  This was Abby, the girl who’d befriended the town joke, who’d stood up for him when other kids had teased him about his dad, who’d done countless small things to make his life in Pier Point bearable.

  Would she buy his sudden turnaround?

  Would she want him in her life beyond this week?

  As more than a friend?

  ‘Saying stuff like that can go to a guy’s head,’ he said, his hand covering hers and effectively pinning it to his chest where his heart bucked like a wild animal.

  ‘I’m counting on it.’

  She slid her hand out from under his, fiddling with the top button of his shirt, not taking her eyes off his.

  The button gave with a decisive pop and she laughed. ‘Oops, looks like I’ve ruined this shirt.’

  ‘Then you better take it off.’

  The spark in her eyes lit his fuse in a big way, sending the blood pounding through his veins until he couldn’t think of anything but her fingers toying with him, everywhere.

  ‘Need some help?’

  ‘I think I’ve got it.’

  Her hands went crazy as she
wrenched his shirt open, sending buttons flying and scattering on the marble tiles with several pings and he moaned as she leaned forward and planted her lips against his bare chest.

  If he could have any wish it would start like this, with the woman he wanted so much it hurt undressing him with eager fingers and bedroom eyes.

  He’d fantasised about this moment every waking second for the last few hours, needing to assuage his hunger for her with a drive that bordered on obsession.

  Considering they’d already had sex, it should’ve taken the edge off. Instead, his hunger grew every time he’d glimpsed her smile while they’d worked, with every coy glance she’d sent him and now, with her exploring his chest like a woman who couldn’t get enough, he was ready to explode.

  ‘I’ll go easier on the pants,’ she murmured, her hands flitting around the waistband of his trousers, driving him crazy in the process.

  Whatever happened to seducing her, of taking it nice and slow and making this more than memorable?

  Damned if he knew and damned if he cared.

  Her eager response was all that mattered now, that and the fact that the woman of his dreams seemed to want him as much as he wanted her.

  ‘Shall I?’

  Her tentative, whispered question, combined with her fingertips lightly skimming the sensitive skin of his waist, had him picturing icebergs and blizzards before he totally lost it.

  ‘Go ahead, sweetheart.’

  He drew in a sharp breath as she fiddled with the belt buckle, the tinkle of metal unfastening, the rasp of leather and the smooth slide of a zip turning him on more than he thought possible.

  When her fingers slid inside the waistband of his boxers and brushed his erection, he groaned, reaching for her blindly. In response, she leaned forward and ran her tongue along his collarbone, sending his libido skyrocketing and the last of his good intentions to take things slow flying out the window on the balmy tropical breeze.

  She wanted him. He wanted her.

  There was plenty of time for taking it slow later. Right now, blinded by insatiable lust, he had no other option but to satisfy the hunger raging through his body. Fast.

  He dipped his head and kissed her, plundering her mouth with the desperation of a parched man finally slaking his thirst.

  Abby moaned, her soft sounds exciting him further as she pressed her hips against him. God, he ached for her, eager to bury himself in her warmth, frantic to pleasure them both till they lay spent and gasping for air.

  ‘Help me out of this,’ she murmured, struggling to locate the zipper on her dress.

  ‘Allow me,’ he said, tugging it with so much force it almost came apart in his hand.

  ‘That’s better.’

  She stared directly into his eyes as she shimmied out of the dress, allowing it to pool around her ankles in a sliver of red silk.

  He broke the stare, unable to keep his eyes off the heart-stopping sight of the woman who meant the world to him standing in front of him wearing nothing but a skimpy pair of white lace knickers, a pair of seriously hot red shoes and a sexy smile.

  ‘Shoes off?’

  She wiggled her toes, all too aware of the power she had over him, and he growled, pulling her into his arms and nuzzling her neck.

  ‘The shoes stay but you can lose these.’

  Before she could utter a word, he’d ripped her panties off, and she laughed, a purely joyous sound that rippled over him in a seductive wave.

  ‘At the rate we’re going we’ll have to buy each other a whole new wardrobe come morning.’

  Her hand insinuated its way between their bodies, grasping his penis through the cotton and stroking along the length till he was forced to release his grip on her butt and lose the boxers in record time.

  ‘You know I had visions of you draping your body in gerbera petals, eating strawberries off your breasts and drinking Kahlua out of your navel?’

  She smiled and pushed him back onto the bed, straddling him in a heartbeat.

  ‘I’m all for romance and foreplay, but how about we save that stuff for later? Right now I want you, Calloway. Real bad.’

  Unable to keep the smug grin off his face, Judd ran his hands up her torso, starting at her waist and gliding upwards over smooth skin, circling her breasts, delighting in the tortured look that flickered across her face when he lightly skimmed her nipples with his palms.

  ‘How bad?’

  In response, she thrust her breasts into his hands, and he chuckled, tweaking her nipples, rubbing them, loving the soft, panting sounds she made as she leaned forward towards his mouth.

  ‘This bad.’

  She brushed a nipple over his lips and he obligingly enclosed the hardened peak with his mouth, sucking it until she writhed on top of him, taking him closer to the edge with each squirm.

  ‘Protection. Now.’

  He barely registered her demands as she settled over him, her slick entrance gliding over the tip of his erect penis in a slow, tantalising brush with ecstasy.

  ‘Oh, man,’ he muttered, reaching over to the bedside table and sheathing himself quickly, almost losing it completely when she slid down a fraction in an attempt to give him some room to manoeuvre, the slight movement brushing her liquid heat over him again.

  ‘Definitely all man,’ she said, inching her way down slowly, enclosing him, taking in every inch of him while wearing nothing but a confident smile and those horny red shoes.

  ‘Oh, yeah.’

  He grasped her waist, his hands fitting perfectly into her soft curves, content to let her set the pace while he tried to make this incredible experience last longer than a few minutes.

  However, Abby had other ideas and she increased her tempo, tilting her hips forward, brushing her breasts across his chest, draping her silky hair smelling of frangipanis and ocean breeze across his face, driving him to the brink of losing control in a heartbeat.

  ‘Judd… Oh, Judd…’

  Closing her eyes, she arched back at the precise moment he climaxed, his pleasure heightened by her orgasm a second later as she cried out his name one last time before collapsing forward and smothering him in a welcome armful of warm, satisfied woman.

  ‘Abby, sweetheart,’ he murmured, cradling her close, smoothing her hair back from her face, wondering if she found their incredible connection as unique and mind-blowing as he did.

  She was the most important woman in the world to him as a friend and now.

  As her eyes fluttered open and a coy smile curved her lips upwards, the realization of how much she meant to him slammed into him with the force of a tropical cyclone.

  He loved her.

  More than a friend, more than he’d ever loved anyone before.

  But he didn’t do love. He didn’t know how.

  His whole life to date had been shaped by his burning desire to be free. However, he had a new burning desire and she was staring at him with a quizzical expression in her beautiful blue eyes.

  ‘What’s the funny look about?’ She cupped his cheek, tracing the curve of his jaw with a tender hand.

  It would’ve been the perfect time to tell her how he felt, how she made him feel. But he hadn’t told her the truth about staying in Sydney yet and he didn’t want to complicate matters until he’d come clean. Once she’d learned the truth, accepted his change of heart, maybe she’d welcome the truth about his feelings, too?

  He could only hope. But for now he intended to make the most of the night with one incredibly sexy woman.

  ‘Funny look, huh?’

  Capturing her hand, he brought it to his mouth, nibbling her fingertips before drawing her index finger into his mouth and sucking it, enjoying the look of sheer sensual shock that flashed across her face.

  ‘Must be because I’m thinking about begging you to never take those shoes off ever again,’ he said, joining in her laughter as she lowered her mouth to his, their kiss a slow melding of lips and tongues that notched up the heat between them all over again.


  ‘Play your cards right tonight and you never know what might happen.’

  Judd mentally crossed his fingers, hoping that come morning, she remembered how great they were tonight when he revealed his plans to her.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  FOR a smart businesswoman, Abby could be pretty dumb at times.

  ‘Whatever we do on the island stays on the island. ‘

  Had she really said that a few days ago? Had she been delusional at the time? Considering how Judd made her feel whenever he glanced at her, let alone touched her, probably.

  It had seemed so simple at the time. Have a little island fling, enjoy sensational sex with a guy she knew almost as well as she knew herself and head back to the mainland at the end of the week, heart intact.

  Unfortunately, her heart had other ideas and while she’d never let him know how she really felt, having him in her life as a friend would be a constant reminder of her foolishness.

  Clutching the sheet, she wriggled onto her side, trying not to disturb Judd as she contemplated fleeing before he woke or staying for a few more precious moments.

  Gazing at his sleeping form, she marvelled at how boyish he looked: long lashes curved against his cheeks, mouth relaxed into a semi-smile, dark flop of hair falling over his forehead. If it weren’t for the laughter-lines fanning out from the outer corners of his eyes, she could’ve sworn he looked exactly how he had back in high school.

  However, he wasn’t a boy anymore and the man he’d turned out to be wasn’t quite what she expected.

  And how.

  Last night had been amazing, even better than the first time they’d made love, yet she knew it had also been the biggest mistake she’d ever made.

  The first time she hadn’t been in love with him, and while it had been an incredible experience, she hadn’t connected as they had last night where Judd making love to her repeatedly had sent her body and soul soaring to heaven. Before her common sense had kicked in this morning and plummeted her back down to earth with a thud.

  They could never go back to how things had been between them.

  Last night changed everything and it scared her beyond belief.