A Stranger's Touch

by Tori Carrington

  He was not sure why he lied to her. Maybe because he didn’t trust the source the information had come from. But once Mr. Jones had learned he was a member with large amounts of cash, the snobbish man had all too willingly told Quinn about a dark-haired woman Brad had met at the resort a time or two in the past few months. No, he didn’t know the woman’s name. No, he couldn’t even give an accurate description, for both times the woman had been wearing a wide-brimmed hat and large sunglasses. All he could share was that, on those two occasions, Mr. Wheeler hadn’t set foot outside his suite the entire night.

  Dulcy relaxed again, turning her head to stare out at the lush resort grounds. Quinn skimmed her soft blond hair with the back of his knuckles, merely the lightest of touches. Not hard enough so that she’d notice, but enough to satisfy some of the desire that had been with him ever since he’d met the woman next to him. She shivered.

  “Are you cold?” Temperatures dipped low at night in the desert.

  She shook her head.

  “Have you eaten?”

  She shook her head again.

  “Me, neither. Why don’t I go catch a shower while you order us up something from room service?”

  She glanced up at him, opening her mouth as if to say something, then snapping it shut again.

  Quinn rested his hand against her shoulder, finding the material had dropped again and left him with skin-on-skin contact. The simple touch seemed to set his nerve endings on fire, shooting flames straight to his groin.

  “Don’t worry, Dulc. We’ll find him.”

  That, he was sure of. But what they would find Brad doing was something he wouldn’t even guess at.

  THE TENSION WAS SO THICK in the room she could have tripped over it. Dulcy pushed her asparagus around her delicate china plate, peeking at where Quinn sat across the table from her. How was it that one man could be so sexy? So completely irresistible? Especially since he was the last man on earth she should desire.

  She tugged at her robe, wishing she had thought to put something on. But she had been so preoccupied with what Quinn had told her out on the balcony, it had taken all her powers of concentration to order up food from the kitchen. It had taken even more willpower to ignore that Quinn had left the connecting doors open, allowing the sound of the shower to waft into her room.

  Even now he wore nothing but a snug pair of faded jeans, leaving his sculpted abs open to her perusal, his skin enticing her more than the food on her plate.

  She abruptly pushed from the table, causing the clattering of silverware. “I’m suddenly not very hungry. I think I’m going to go for a swim instead,” she murmured. “You know, before I turn in.”

  Quinn narrowed his gaze on her, the surprise on his face evident. “I thought you hadn’t eaten.”

  She smiled. “I haven’t. But my appetite isn’t what it used to be lately.” At least, not for what the kitchen had offered up.

  He wiped his mouth with the white linen napkin, then draped it across his plate. A plate he’d cleaned down to the last drop of cranberry sauce that had been dribbled over the thinly sliced beef.

  Then again, a man like him was probably used to being in the same room as a female who wanted him so badly she could scream. She imagined he’d never lacked for companionship. But it had to take great restraint to ignore the strong current that seemed to tangle the two of them together whenever they were less than ten feet apart.

  Dulcy started for the bedroom.

  Quinn’s quiet voice stopped her. “What time do you want to head back in the morning?”

  She swallowed hard. “I was, um, thinking it might be better if I took a cab,” she said. “Or perhaps Mr. Jones would be willing to see to my transportation back into town. You don’t have to wait for me.”

  That damnable grin tugged at his mouth. “I see.”

  She pulled the sash tighter around her waist. “I don’t think I’m going to get much sleep, so I thought, you know, that I’d head back early.” Very early. Say, three o’clock. Or maybe even sooner, depending on how well she could keep her hormones in check.

  He casually pushed from the table and stood. “I thought you wanted us to work together.”

  The way he said “together” made her nipples harden beneath the soft Turkish terry cloth. She shrugged and turned away. “This club was my last lead. Unless you can think of anything else, I think our short-lived partnership has reached the end.”

  “Shame.”

  Yes, “shameful” about summed up how she was feeling now. She gestured toward the connecting doors. “Well, then…good night.”

  His gaze languidly raked her from bare feet to forehead. “Good night.”

  Dulcy thought she couldn’t have run out of the room faster had the floor been on fire.

  Fifteen minutes later she stood beside the long, kidney-shaped pool. A dip of her toe told her the water was kept at just the right temperature. There had been few suits in the cabana in her size. The black bikini that hugged her curves wouldn’t have been her first choice, but it would do the job. Besides, there was no one in the pool to notice what she was barely wearing.

  She slowly stepped into the water, her goal to do as many laps as it took to chase the very provocative Quinn Landis from her head. Or at least exhaust herself until the thought of doing anything more than dropping into her bed, alone, was impossible.

  She dove into the cool water and began swimming the length. Never in her life had she felt so…mesmerized by a man. So obsessed with the thought of having sex with him. Of feeling him between her legs, his hands branding her flesh. Sure, she’d wanted men before. But usually she wanted them most powerfully while they were kissing. With Quinn, she felt breathless and needy just thinking about him. She quivered with a lust the others couldn’t have elicited with ten hours of foreplay. And he didn’t even have to touch her.

  She realized her frenzied pace would result in a side cramp so she evened out her strokes. Concentrating on her swimming also kept her too busy to compare her attraction to Quinn to the lack of any true fire between her and Brad.

  That wasn’t fair. She and Brad had never really been intimate. No hot and bothered necking as they said goodbye at her apartment door. No casual touches that left her wanting more.

  She crushed her eyes closed, seeking the end of the pool with her outstretched fingers, rather than visually. But when she should have touched cold concrete, she brushed against skin instead.

  Dulcy caught herself up short, swallowing a mouthful of pool water as she treaded water and stared at the man who had thrown her world into a tailspin a few days ago.

  “I thought a swim sounded like a good idea,” Quinn said.

  Dulcy nearly didn’t hear him over the thud of her heartbeat. Instantly her mind was filled with images related to everything but swimming. She smoothed her wet hair from her face, envisioning gyrating pelvises, jutting breasts, spread legs. Looking at Quinn now somehow made her think of the strippers from the night before. Their sexual prowess. Their completely uninhibited nature. Their skill at knowing how to evoke the reaction they wanted with a simple shake of their bottom, a peek of forbidden flesh.

  The complete opposite to how she’d spent the first thirty years of her life and would likely spend the next thirty.

  Funny, but being this close to Quinn made her rethink all that. Especially considering she wore a suit that was just as revealing as the costumes the strippers had worn.

  His dark eyes caught and held on something at water level. Dulcy looked down to find her nipples bunched and hard and very visible through the thin black material of her top. She shivered, and goose bumps immediately appeared across her bare skin. She slowed her kicking so that she sank a little lower in the water. Quinn’s grin told her he knew what she was up to, and that it didn’t make one iota of difference.

  She turned in the water to continue her lap, then pushed off the side of the pool near Quinn’s waist. She didn’t know what she expected. For him to stop her? Join her? But
she was surprised that when she returned to the spot where she’d left him, he was still there, his gaze glued to her body.

  She pushed from the side again and quickly swam in the other direction, ignoring the burning of her lungs.

  There was something uniquely erotic about sliding through the water, knowing he was watching her. Her back seemed to arch farther, her bottom breaking the water, offering him a view that pretended to be innocent but was anything but. And when she reached the opposite side of the pool, she slid over onto her back, her sensitive breasts jutting from the water. She, of course, pretended not to notice. At least, until she met his gaze from across the pool and knew that he was aware of what she was doing. And that he was open to doing anything she wanted. As much or as little.

  He dove into the water and began swimming for her. Dulcy’s breath caught in her throat. This end of the pool was shallower. She put her feet down and stood, the water coming to just below her breasts as she watched Quinn. At midpoint, he dove beneath the surface. Dulcy anxiously tried to follow his progress, but the dim lights in the trees surrounding the pool area reflected off the small waves, making her effort impossible.

  Something pressed against the crotch of her bikini bottoms. She gasped and looked down, realizing it was Quinn’s mouth. His fingers grasped her hips and his teeth nibbled at the bud just beneath the wet material. Then he broke the water’s surface and shook his head, sending his loose hair in every direction. Dulcy’s knees threatened to give out from under her.

  So much for allowing her to set the pace.

  “You look incredible in this suit,” he murmured, pressing his mouth to her bare stomach, then dragging his tongue across the length of it.

  Dulcy hadn’t thought she looked incredible in the suit when she put it on and stood staring at herself in the cabana mirror, but Quinn’s quiet statement made her feel incredible.

  Now he stood so that she had to look up to see into his face. Her breath came in quick, quiet gasps, bringing the tips of her nipples in contact with the hard, wet expanse of his chest every time she took a breath. She held his gaze as steadily as he held hers.

  “Damn it, Dulcy,” he said hoarsely, his eyes black in the shadows. “I don’t know if this is a good idea, but damn if I can stop myself.”

  She hadn’t even been aware of his moving until she felt a finger work its way under the elastic of her suit, seeking the area he had nipped moments before. Dulcy grabbed his arms for balance as he flicked the tight button of her desire, the movement of water making her feel weak. Dear Lord, she was on the verge of losing it and they hadn’t even done anything yet.

  He caught her pulsing flesh between thumb and forefinger and squeezed. Dulcy collapsed against him, pressing her cheek against his damp chest. She flicked her tongue out, licking the beads of moisture from his skin as he worked his fingers along the length of her aperture. She felt hot where her body touched his, cold where the night air brushed against her damp skin. The combination was heady and exciting, as was the very public place in which they were conducting their underwater activities. While trees shielded the pool, she knew that if she had seen the pool from her balcony, others could see it as well. And while she couldn’t see anyone, it didn’t mean that someone wasn’t this instant watching them.

  Quinn crouched down and drew her legs around his hips. She crossed her ankles behind him, reveling in the feel of his erection pulsating against her swollen flesh. Dear Lord, but he felt so very, very good. Lowering his head, he worked his index finger inside the scrap of material covering her right nipple, then tilted the distended flesh up and out of it. She made a move to protest, but then his hot mouth covered the aching tip and her protest came out a quiet moan. She ran her fingers through his damp hair as he hungrily laved her breast and then he thrust his manhood between her legs.

  The water sloshed around their waists as Dulcy frantically worked her hand between them, seeking the long, hard, throbbing organ that could bring her so much pleasure. Finally her fingertips were inside the front of his swim trunks and were touching the knob of his arousal. He gently bit down on her nipple, and she cried out.

  Quinn chuckled and leaned his forehead against hers. “Unless you want Mr. Jones bearing down on us, you might want to be quiet.”

  She restlessly licked her lips, eyeing his mouth with rapt attention. “He’s probably already in the bushes with his binoculars.”

  He slowly curved his hands over her bottom and brought her more fully against him, trapping her hand between them. “I’d laugh, but I’m afraid you’re right.”

  She drew back and smiled at him. “Well, we wouldn’t want to disappoint him, would we?”

  Quinn’s jaw tightened, giving him an almost savage appearance. Then his mouth was crushing hers, devouring it. Dulcy gave as good as she got, sliding her tongue along his, afraid she might never get enough of his taste, his feel, his essence. She tilted her hips so that she moved against his length. He quietly groaned, further fueling her need. Covertly, she worked his erection free from his trunks, then directed the tip inside the elastic of her bikini bottoms. When the hot, throbbing end contacted with her flesh, she shuddered, climaxing immediately.

  Moments later, she was spent, gasping for breath against his shoulder. Quinn kissed the top of her head, then her exposed neck, nudging her hand from between them even as he inserted his own. Dulcy instantly snapped upright as he thrust forward, until she sandwiched the thick length of his arousal in her heated flesh. Reignited flames licked over her damp body. She grasped his shoulders to balance herself, then drew her own hips back, seeking to have him inside her. Deep inside her.

  Quinn gripped her hips. “Don’t.” He pressed his lips against her temple, his breathing ragged. “I don’t have…anything on me.”

  Condoms. Dulcy bit down hard on her bottom lip. Equal parts fear and disappointment rushed through her veins. Fear that she’d forgotten about protection. Disappointment that the renewed fire within her had no hope of being extinguished.

  Quinn rested the tip of his erection against her entrance. Dulcy tensed, half wishing his self-control would snap and he’d enter her. Then he thrust forward again, along her flesh, leaving her breathless and wanting him inside her even more than before. Desire spiraled within her, leaving her shivering uncontrollably as she rocked him. Just when she was afraid she’d never be satisfied, a climax crashed over her, Quinn’s low groan only intensifying it as he grasped her bottom and held her tight against his arousal.

  His mouth sought and found her ear. “I want you. Now.”

  10

  QUINN DREW HIS HAND DOWN the length of Dulcy’s leg, then back up again. When he’d awakened with the sun slanting across the stark white sheets he’d been momentarily disoriented. Then he glimpsed the naked woman lying with her blond head toward the end of the bed, her feet next to his head, and he knew exactly where he was…and exactly what he’d been doing all night long after leaving the pool and returning to their suites. He drew his fingertips up her inner thigh to find the dripping enclave at the top. Dulcy moaned something and automatically arched her bottom into his touch. As he caressed her silken flesh, he was amazed that even in sleep she was the most responsive woman he’d ever known.

  He glanced down to find the top sheet draped across his hips, his erection pressing against the lightweight fabric. They were in his suite, but that’s not where they had begun. He couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was about Dulcy Ferris, but even knowing who she was, he couldn’t get enough of her. One minute he would be experiencing the most fantastic orgasm of his life, the next he’d want her twice as much.

  The smell of her sex, their sex, filled his nose and he groaned, cupping her swollen flesh. Her hips ground against his palm, and he couldn’t resist dipping a finger into her slick wetness. Her low moan made him want to cover her body with his and start all over again.

  The only problem was that they were no longer under cover of night, when following up on Brad’s whereabout
s were limited, and it was all too easy to let passions burn out of control. The ringing telephone on the nightstand next to him served as an unwelcome reminder of that.

  Dulcy’s head snapped up and she peered at him from beneath a tangle of blond curls, her hazel eyes unfocused. Quinn quickly snatched up the receiver. “Landis.”

  Even before he could remove his hand from where it rested between Dulcy’s legs, she was up and out of the bed, taking the top sheet with her. Quinn ignored that that left him completely uncovered. He’d never been ashamed of his nudity before; he certainly wasn’t going to start now, even with Dulcy staring at his erection with wide eyes.

  Mr. Jones spoke nonstop into his ear. “Hold up, man. Take a breath. Who’s doing what?”

  “Mrs. Wheeler is on the line for you, sir.”

  Quinn grimaced.

  “What?” Dulcy asked. “What is it?”

  She was making a mess out of trying to wrap the sheet around herself and searching the floor for anything she could put on. Only, they’d left the little they’d been wearing the night before in her room.

  “Beatrix is on the line.”

  Dulcy’s eyes bulged again. But strippers weren’t the reason this time around.

  “Quinn, where in the hell are you?” Brad’s mother practically screamed over the line.

  “You’re the one who called me, Beatrix, so clearly you know.”

  A long-suffering sigh. “You know what I mean. What are you doing lollygagging about when my son is still missing.”

  “I’m looking for your son.”

  “At the club?”

  “Yes.”

  Dulcy tossed the bedspread over his nude form. While he didn’t seem to have a problem talking to Beatrix sans clothes, Dulcy apparently had a problem with him doing so. He watched her shuffle through the connecting door to her suite, her actions jerky and anxious. He frowned, then rasped a hand over his unshaven face.

  “Brad had a golf appointment here on Sunday with a few buddies. He never made it.”