by L. L. James
Curiousity captured, Carm slid down his body and helped him sit up. She pulled off his shirt, revealing his bronzed torso. In that position they were eye level. Feeling his hands creeping up her sides toward her breasts, she wrapped her arms around his tense back and pushed against him.
The feel of his hot skin against her breasts was almost her undoing. A moan escaped her when he ran his hands up her back to her shoulders and gripped her, tilting her back to kiss the hollow of her throat. Murmuring in French, he rained open mouthed kisses up her neck and over her jaw until he captured her mouth in a fevered kiss.
Carm raced her hands over his defined shoulders and scraped her nails down his back. Marek growled into her mouth at her bold gesture and pulled back. “No more games.” He commanded. “You know me. Maybe not the little details, but you know me. Who I am inside.”
He nudged her gently when she began to shake her head. “Look at me. I’m a complicated man, Carmen, with a shaded past. I won’t deny it. But none of that matters. What matters is what’s between us right now.”
She looked deep into his eyes, her heart hammering in her chest and asked, “What is between us? Tell me. I can’t be just another woman for you. I won’t do that to myself.”
Marek grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled, forcing her back to arch and thrusting her full breast toward him. His hot mouth lowered to her ripe breast and his tongue flickered over her pale pink nipple. When she moaned deep and long, Marek answered, “Fate, cheri. That’s what’s between us. And you could never be just another woman. You are the only woman. I can’t see anyone or anything past you and it scares the hell out of me.”
She felt him lift her off his lap as her head spun from his revelation. He’d said so much in so few words but he wasn’t giving her time to soak it in. Marek shifted her and laid her on the bed and yanked off her boxers before she had time to protest. His eyes raked over her and locked on the blond thatch of curls between her thighs. Letting out a shaky breath, he breathed, “You are a goddess, cheri. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful.”
He started to lower down to the bed, but she stopped him. “I want to see you, Marek. Take off your shorts.”
The ache between her legs intensified as he slid his hands over his hips beneath his waistband and began to slide them down. The anticipation sent chills down her spine and her eyes stayed locked on his strong, corded forearms as they flexed just above the bulge in his shorts.
The sound of a door slamming downstairs made both of them jump. Carm let out a startled scream and he swore viciously. He yanked his hands out of his pants and strode for the door.
Just as Carm scrambled off the bed to find her clothes a voice called from downstairs, “Hey, Marek! Bro, where are you? You were supposed to meet me at Big Bubba’s over a half hour ago, man. Now you’ve made me have to come lookin’ for you and I’m missing out on the wet t-shirt contest. Brenda was in it, man, and you know she’s got those amazing knockers.”
Carm clutched Marek’s gray t-shirt to her chest as he stalked to the door. Stopping, he turned and strode angrily back toward her and pulled her to him. Crushing his mouth down on hers in a kiss of raw hunger that ended as quickly as it began, Marek growled, “We’re going to finish this. You’re mine now. You can’t change your mind. Don’t you dare change your mind.”
Leaving her standing in the middle of the room dazed and bemused, her body screaming for release, Marek stomped to the door and flung it open and disappeared down the hall.
In a voice promising painful retribution, he yelled, “Landon, you asshole. Haven’t you heard of the fucking phone?”
Fourteen
Marek knew what it felt like to want to kill a man. Sitting next to Landon in his small truck with the extended cab, Marek seethed with unspent desire. Landon maneuvered his white truck down the pencil thin drive and kept silent. An unusual event for him, for sure. Usually the man was full of bullshit, but right now he kept to himself.
Landon probably knew he’d die if he opened his mouth and was solely concerned with self-preservation. When Marek had tromped to the landing without a shirt on and with steam barreling out of his ears, his friend had busted into a fit of laughter. Oh, he’d known what he’d interrupted and didn’t feel the slightest bit remorseful. The bastard.
Marek scrubbed his hands over his face and pushed them up into his disheveled hair. He cracked a small half smile when he thought what Carm’s hands had done to his curls. Not that it was ever all that tamed, but she’d done a fine job of messing his hair up.
Damn, he wanted to go back home to her. If this excursion into town wasn’t so critical he would have thrown Landon out on his ass. But, the fact was that Marek had to grab this opportunity to speak with one of his old associates about the attack on Carm’s room.
Now, more than ever, he wanted to find those responsible for terrifying her. He would devote himself to it until he did.
One of the phone calls he’d made earlier had been to his managers, handing over the reins of the business for a short duration. He had complete faith in the competency of his employees and knew they could handle most everything. Not even for a minute would he waver from finding the assholes that threatened Carm. No one threatened his woman.
Just the thought of the terror in her voice during her frantic call to him sent fury blazing through him. His fists clenched hard, turning his knuckles white from tension. He’d never felt so scared before in his life as he had the moment he’d heard her broken voice.
His knees had almost given out on him when she’d walked down the hall at his parents’ place and he’d seen she was safe. The rush of relief had left him lightheaded and shaky. At the time he’d been too concerned with her to be worried about what it all meant, but after tonight he was afraid he knew.
And he didn’t like it. Not one fucking bit.
Landon finally spoke into the quiet cab, his voice a mixture of humor and apology. “Hey man, sorry about the piss poor timing. Nothing like a good case of blue balls to put a man in a fightin’ mood, right, bro? Yeah, I hate that. Glad to see you and the wife making nice, though. You guys admitted to each other you’re in love, yet?”
Marek turned icy eyes on his friend and snapped a nasty obscenity. He was getting kind of used to the idea of Carmen being his wife, but the use of the L-word made his gut clench tight and his ears ring. No way was he in love with her. He couldn’t be, refused to be. Marek would never give his soul to any other person, never let another have the power to devastate him.
“You do realize I’m going to have to kill you, man.” He sliced the pilot a look.
Landon smirked and chuckled, and whipped the Ranger onto the main road. “Yeah, I got that, dude, but you’ll have to kill me later. Hey, and don’t take it out on me that love’s got a firm hold on your balls and isn’t letting go. I’ve been there, done that, and know it’s hell. That’s why I ain’t ever going there again.” Landon shot him a look of understanding and continued, “But it isn’t all bad, bro. Sometimes it’s freakin’ awesome. Why are you fighting accepting that fate brought Carm down here for you because she’s your soul mate?”
Marek’s lungs constricted, making it hard for him to breathe. All the talk of love and soul mates was giving him a panic attack. “Landon, you are one of the only people who knows everything about my past. You know exactly what love did to my mother, the way it crumpled her to bits when my father stole her soul. He left her broken and alone, pregnant with his child after she’d given him everything. It took her years to recover, man. Merde, if it wasn’t for Steven coming along when he had she might never have recovered.” Marek shook his head and muttered, “I won’t let that happen to me. I won’t risk everything like that.”
His friend wiped a thumb at the side of his mouth and sighed. Making his way down the windy pavement to Road Town, Landon fiddled with his puka shell necklace. Then he glanced at Marek, his usually lazy eyes filled with wisdom. “I always hate to state the obvious, bro, but it look
s like I’m gonna have to. Your dad was an asshole. Case closed. He took advantage of a seventeen-year-old girl, promised her the moon and the stars, and left her high and dry. You’re not seventeen and neither is Carmen, and I highly doubt she’s the type to up and bail. Trust me, I know that type. I’ve had that type and she ain’t it. I’m not saying that there isn’t some risk involved, but what you have waiting back at your place is special, dude. Why the hell would you let something like that slip through your fingers? I’ve never known you to be a coward, man.”
Sighing, Marek scowled at Landon. He was right. Damn, he hated when he was right. The pilot looked like a beach bum, with his surfer shorts, dreadlocks and deep tan, but the asshole was sharp. Astute as hell, too. And never afraid to speak his mind. He made a good point that Marek wasn’t a coward. Never had been one before, so why should he be one now? But was he in love?
Carmen made him feel alive inside. He loved her confidence, her heart, her loyalty, and dedication to those she loved. And he adored that he could tease her, goad her, and she gave as good as she got. He wasn’t certain he was in love with her, but he loved many things about her.
She never backed down from him and never wavered. Her belief in herself and her self-worth was admirable. Though it frustrated the hell out of him because he needed to touch her so desperately, the fact that she was waiting for someone worthy of her love and devotion floored him.
That thought lead to another and he swore out loud.
The truth hit him. Right in the solar plexus.
Carmen had been about to give herself to him before Landon had pounded on the door. It could only mean one thing: she was in love with him.
Marek sat up straighter in his seat and muttered under his breath, “Holy hell.” His heart started pounding madly in his chest and his head started spinning. Taking deep breaths to calm the sudden adrenaline rush, he grinned like a madman and leaned his head back against the headrest.
Carmen might not know it yet, but she loved him. Damn, that realization made him feel good. Made him giddy as a school girl. Hell, he even felt like giggling. Not that he was in love with her back or anything, but it sat just fine knowing she loved him. Sat mighty fine, indeed.
All he had to do was make her realize she loved him and convince her to stay in Tortola with him. He wasn’t letting her walk away now. Terrified or not, ready to give his everything or not, he wasn’t letting her walk out of his life. He was smart enough to recognize that women like Carm didn’t come along everyday, much less fall in love with him. And he was selfish, too. He wanted her love all to himself.
Marek’s joyful laugh filled the cabin and he looked over at Landon. His friend’s eyes were still serious, but his mouth curved up in a grin showing off his dimples. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. “Sometimes you are the dumbest man, bro. You know that? True love isn’t something to run from and be terrified about. It’s something to embrace with everything you have if fate and God bring it your way. Glad to see the light’s finally clicked on upstairs, dude.”
Marek punched him lightly in the arm. “You sure you were a Coast Guard pilot, man, and not a relationship therapist? You’re damned deep for a man who hauls cargo from one island to another.”
“Yeah, I have my moments.”
Marek’s gaze turned serious but the smile remained, “Yeah, you do. I know it’s been hard for you. And I know you don’t like to talk about your past, so thanks for the talk. I know this must hit pretty close to home.”
Landon flashed an over-bright smile and shrugged again, “Hey, no problem, bro. Some people get the real thing, some don’t. I thought I had it once but wasn’t clever enough to see it for what it really was, and I got burned. No biggie. I’m perfectly content with my life as it is anyway, man. I’ve got my bungalow by the beach, my chopper, and my many women friends. Life is pretty damned sweet.”
Marek knew that was all a load of crap but nodded and let it drop. There were some things Landon just wouldn’t talk about. His past mainly. Once, a few years back they’d drunk themselves stupid and had spent the night confiding secrets. It was the one and only time Landon had ever spoken of it.
Changing the direction of the topic, Marek cleared his throat and asked as they entered the outskirts of Road Town, “So, Dr. Harper, how does a man go about convincing a woman that she’s madly in love with him?”
Landon snorted and shook his head, sending his dreads dancing. “Dude, he romances her. Tells her what’s in his heart. Women go crazy for that shit. It sucks for us men, but is necessary in the wooing of women, or so I’m told. Man, love can be a real bitch, can’t it?”
As Landon pulled into a dim side street and rolled to a stop, Marek agreed, “Oui, a real bitch. I’d rather have my balls clamped in a vise than spill my heart and innermost thoughts to a woman. Come to think of it, talking about my feelings is more painful than clamping my balls in a vise.”
As Landon climbed out of the vehicle, he replied dryly, “Well, bro, you’ll just have to hope Carmen massages the ache away when you’re done. Now, quit being a sissy girl and let’s go do some business.”
Deciding that his friend was right, Marek hopped out of the truck and slammed the door behind him. Something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye as he made his way toward the tailgate. Stopping to look, Marek cocked his head and demanded, “What the hell did that to your board, man? Looks like you had a run-in with the rocks or a shark.”
Landon rounded the back of the truck and scratched his head, a grimace crossing his tanned face. “I was over at Josiah’s Bay this morning. The tides were right, you should have seen the swells. You’d have loved it. Anyway, I got to hot-doggin’ a little too much and crumpled that part of the board on a rock. I wasn’t watching where I was going and got too close to shore. Scraped the hell out of my ribs too when I ate it.”
Knowing Landon as well as he did, Marek grinned and asked, “Was she worth it?”
“Oh, yeah. Great breasts and an ass that’d make your mouth water. We’ve got a date tomorrow.” Landon wiggled his brows suggestively and laughed.
Somehow that news didn’t surprise Marek in the least. Women were forever throwing themselves at the pilot and he was always catching them. He managed to escape before they got him tangled in their nets though. What was more amazing was that they usually remained friendly toward Landon after the interlude.
Shaking his head over that perplexing fact, Marek started walking toward the ramshackle dive tucked down the poorly lit street. Little more than a dilapidated block of concrete, the bar was the local favorite for some of the island’s more notorious residents. He did a final check of his appearance as he waited for Landon to reach his side.
Before he’d hopped in the truck with Landon, he’d run back to his room and changed into a grungy pair of jeans with holes worn in the knees and the left back pocket ripped partially off, and a faded black t-shirt. His running shoes were almost as worn as his jeans. He wanted nothing to stand out on him and had even nixed his Rolex, leaving it on his dresser.
Though he knew the man he was going to talk to and had done business with him many times in the past, Marek was still prepared for anything. Times had changed and he wasn’t the quick-fingered thief or drug runner he used to be. Those days were long gone, but the instincts remained.
Flexing his hands and squeezing them into tight fists, Marek rolled his powerful shoulders like a boxer preparing for a fight. He glanced over at Landon and nodded. The man never dressed up and tonight was no exception, which was a good thing. His friend wouldn’t draw attention. His outfit of threadbare tropical printed shirt and weathered cargo pants fit the bill perfectly.
Ready to go get some answers, Marek tipped his head in the direction of the bar and murmured, “Ready for action, man? I’ve got a feeling about this robbery of Carm’s and the stalker on St. Kitts, and Carillos should know something. Let’s go find out.”
He and Landon strode down the dark sidewalk to the
beat-up metal door. Pulling it open, he motioned Landon inside and then followed after. The pungent aroma of stale cigarette ashes, booze, and cheap perfume hit them both at the same time as they stepped into a narrow entryway.
“Merde, smells like someone puked in here.” Marek wrinkled his nose and stepped around a suspicious looking wet spot on the dingy red carpet.
Landon moved around it and followed him through the archway whispering, “Bro, I think there’s more than just puke on this floor, smells like piss too.”
And to think as a kid he’d hung around this place, picking up and dropping off packages. It made his skin crawl now to think of it. Thank God those days were over.
Adjusting his eyes to the low light, Marek scanned the cramped room looking for the man he’d come to meet. His eyes took in the garish neon lights blinking behind the bar, the dusty bottles of liquor stacked haphazardly beneath them, and the number of lowlifes drowning their sorrows with cheap booze. Five total were scattered around the room.
Locating his man in a dark corner bellied up to a booth with one hand firmly on the bottle of rum while he used the other to down shots, Marek pushed his way past a table full of drunken locals and didn’t stop until he reached his destination.
He hid his disgust as he stopped in front of the balding, greasy looking man. The rank odor emanating from him turned Marek’s stomach but he hid his reaction. Carillos, as fat, ugly, and disgusting as he may be, was a very connected man. He knew all the ins and outs of what went on around Tortola. Usually knew what went on in the whole West Indies.
Marek coughed to gain his attention. Carillos lifted his red, puffy eyes from the bottle of rum and brought them into focus. As recognition slowly donned, his swollen face split into a grin revealing rotting front teeth. “Well, I be damned. If it ain’t Slippery Stokes all growed up. I heard you was back on the island, mi amigo.”