After Him: An Enemies-To-Lovers Romance (Virgin Island Series Book 1)

by L. L. James

  Her shoulders had received some sun that morning while snorkeling and had developed a nice soft gold hue. She liked the way the halter sundress bared her shoulders and back and flowed down to a loose skirt that fluttered at her ankles. Maria had picked a fantastic dress.

  She had applied her make-up soft and sultry, bringing out the blue in her eyes and shading her lips a soft berry red. Her hair hung loose and fell straight to her shoulders in an off-center part. Bracelets jangled at her wrists and an oyster shell necklace dotted with green and brown beads circled her neck.

  The look was seductive, soft, and feminine.

  Carm studied her shape in the mirror and grinned at her reflection. She wasn’t skinny, didn’t have bones jarring out from every angle. Her tall frame packed a punch, from her large chest to her ripe hips, and down to the tips of her delicate toes. She was healthy, voluptuous, and fit. And she loved her curves, was proud of every dip and flare of her hourglass figure.

  Running her hands over the flair of her hips, she eyed her deep cleavage and did a little shimmy. Her full breasts jiggled but held in place. Satisfied they wouldn’t fall out of the plunging vee of the halter at some inopportune time, she reached for her tan, strappy sandals and slipped them on.

  Marek was taking her dancing.

  As she passed Sunny sleeping on top of a bombe chest in the hall, her fuzzy orange tail hanging off the side, Carm slipped her purse strap over her shoulder and grinned. She had a date.

  Before she’d gone upstairs to change, she had made her nightly call to Kate. It had surprised her and made her feel a bit guilty to realize the rush and urgency she’d felt to get back to Kate had faded a little. Not that she didn’t want to get back, because she did. She loved Kate and wanted to be there for her. But she was beginning to wish that she could stay longer as everything progressed between her and Marek. She didn’t want to run back home while they were in the thick of discovering their feelings for each other. She needed to stay for a while longer yet.

  Actually, Carm was beginning to feel almost grateful to the ingrates who’d stolen her passport and raided her room. They’d paved the way for her to find the love of her life. Maybe she should be thanking them.

  No, wait. They stole her Victoria’s Secret lingerie. For that atrocity they’d never hear those words from her. Sickos.

  She’d come to the conclusion that it had been some stupid kids playing tricks on the local tourist population. Some kids not much different than Marek had once been looking to make a few bucks selling passports.

  Whatever it was, she wasn’t worried about it any longer.

  Thinking about passports, she frowned over the information Kate had given her earlier. Oh, she knew her sister had the best intentions at heart and didn’t have the first clue what was really happening down here, so Carm had listened and hid her disappointment.

  Apparently all she needed to get off the British Virgin Islands and back into the United States was a valid copy of her birth certificate and her driver’s license. She had her license on her and Kate had scrounged around in her filing cabinet drawer in her computer desk until she’d found Carb’s birth certificate. As soon as Kate got the address she was going to have it overnighted to her.

  That was all great and good, but she wasn’t ready to leave. There was still too much left unsaid between her and Marek. She was still getting up the nerve to tell him she loved him, for goodness sake. No way was she going to bail now. Nope, she was riding this pony all the way to the barn.

  The low heels of Carm’s sandals clicked against the hardwood floors as she walked down the hall to Marek’s office. It amazed her how in such a short time his plantation house had started to feel like home to her. Every nook and cranny charmed her and had her wishing quietly that it would soon be her home as well.

  She was holding on to her patience, trying not to corner Marek into confessing his feelings. No doubt if she did that he’d run away as fast as he could. But she decided there was no harm in testing him a little. Just enough to see if his feelings for her were close to the surface.

  His low, rich voice carried through the French doors. The bamboo shades were drawn down but he hadn’t latched the doors and his deep voice spilled out into the hallway. “Oui. Why don’t you go ahead and pull up the documents and have them ready.”

  What documents? Carm tipped her head to the side and listened. She had a feeling in the pit of her stomach she knew what documents he was talking about.

  “Carmen and I really haven’t had much time to talk about it, Albert. I don’t know what she wants to do. She hasn’t mentioned an annulment or divorce, but like I said, we haven’t had much of a chance to talk about it.” A thick pause and a long sigh. “I don’t know what I want. Just draw up the documents, please. I’ll let you know in a few days what I decide. Merci. Au revoir.”

  Well, at least Marek hadn’t said he wanted out. That was something. Logically she knew he was doing the right thing, having the documents in place and ready in case they needed them. But another part of Carm, the part of her that loved him, was hurt and saddened by the fact he wanted them typed up in the first place. It just went to show her that she really didn’t know him all that well.

  Self pity tried to climb its way into her mind and she shook it off. “I will not feel sorry for myself simply because the man I love is unsure about his feelings for me. I’ll just have to help him become sure. He loves me—he just doesn’t know it yet.” Carm’s stomach clenched as disappointment tried to grab hold. “Stop sniveling, girl. Get a hold of yourself. You hate whiny, insecure women, remember?”

  Yeah, she remembered. That did the trick too. She felt her spine stiffen and her resolve settle back in place. She absolutely would not turn into a clinging, weak-minded, simpering mess. And just because she’d been a virgin until last night most definitely did not mean she was needy and unsure.

  Being in love and vulnerable did not mean she had to be stupid as well. She was an intelligent, confident, self-assured woman. She could certainly figure out a way to accomplish what she set out to do without having her I.Q. and her dignity crumble to the ground.

  And she was going to do it, starting now.

  Reaching under the skirt of her dress and pulling down her panties, Carm slid them off over her sandals and tossed them in the planter behind her. Let them see how Marek handled her now.

  She pushed open the double doors and strutted into his office, a sultry smile on her face, and her hips swaying in a seductive dance. She took great delight in seeing Marek’s eyes go wide with surprise and the breath he sucked in hitch in his chest.

  She’d caught him off-guard and before he could regain his balance she sashayed around the large mahogany desk and spun his chair around to face her. He was going to have his world rocked. Right now.

  Marek started to say something but it got muffled as her lips came down hot on his and her hands got busy undoing his fly. Pushing the worn denim away, Carm streaked a hand inside the waistband of his underwear. “Mmm, you’re already hard, Marek.” She whispered against his mouth.

  Before he could respond, she gripped his large, thick shaft in her hand and squeezed gently. His eyes went glassy at that and a groan tore from his lips. Watching his eyes glaze over, Carm freed him from his underwear and stroked the hot length of his erection. Glancing at his plump head and thick shaft, she went hot and pulsing and wet with need. Leaning in, she licked the seam of his lips and flicked her thumb over the head of his cock.

  Feminine power surged through her at his guttural groan, and at the way Marek arched against her hand, silently begging for more. He’d better hold on tight, because he was about to get a whole lot more.

  Some feline urge to bite him tugged at her, and Carm gave in to it, biting his lower lip with her teeth before she lowered between his legs to her knees in front of him. His sharp intake of breath and vicious curse fueled her on. She wanted only one thing.

  In one fluid motion, she took his thick head in her mouth.
He jerked, his hips jutting toward her as his hands streaked up and dove into her hair. She stroked him with her tongue, created a warm, wet suction over him with her mouth.

  Marek’s hands fisted in her hair and he growled, “Oui, baby, just like that. Fuck,” followed by another groan.

  She peaked up at him as she sucked him in her mouth. His head was thrown back, his eyes closed in ecstasy. His jaw was clenched tight. He looked just the way she wanted him.

  Blazing heat flared between her thighs as she sucked his cock. She wanted him, wanted the feel of him heavy and large inside her. Oh, how she wanted it.

  But she wanted to make him beg first.

  Slipping her hands up his rock hard thighs, Carm tugged his pants and underwear a little over his hips until his testicles were free. She reached for them gently and massaged them with one hand, holding his shaft with her other as she sucked him off.

  It didn’t take long before Marek was pressing upward, flexing his hips toward her and breathing hard. Between pants he swore in French. When his hands gripped her head hard and he tugged on her hair, Carm glanced up to see his green eyes glazed over with desire. “Fuck me now, cheri. Ride me hard.” He demanded.

  She stilled and flicked her tongue over his swollen, straining head. As it pulsed, she demanded, “Be a good boy, Marek, and say please.”

  Something dangerous flared in his eyes, smoldering and lethal. “Fuck me now, please.” He ground out and yanked gently on her hair.

  Carm gave him one last flick with her tongue and began to stand. He gripped her hips hard with a hand and jerked her onto his lap. Marek went wild on her then, his mouth plundering hers as he roughly pushed her legs apart, helping her straddle him. Pushing her skirt aside, his strong hand streaked up her smooth thigh to rip her underwear away.

  Before he reached her center, Carm shifted and came down fully on his cock, filling and stretching with his sheer size. “I’m not wearing underwear.” She whispered. His responding growl was primal and raw and made her quiver slightly in anticipation.

  Marek’s desire surrounded her, his need pulsed heavy on the air around them. Both of his hands gripped her hips and he pushed into her, long and hard.

  She rode him, rocking against him in a pace dictated by the hunger clawing at her. She came fast and hard, the orgasm bursting from her core with lightning speed, shocking her with its intensity. The echo of her scream hung on the air and her body convulsed with delicious aftershocks.

  Marek gripped the back of her neck with a hand, his glittering eyes locked with hers, glowing with his lust for her. His fingers tangled in her hair and he pushed hard into her. With his eyes boring into hers, his body went rigid and he came. She felt him swell inside her, felt the mighty force of his orgasm.

  After, he crushed her tight against him and held her to his chest, his powerful body surrounding her. His steely arms clamped around her back and she could feel the strong, rapid beat of his heart. He inhaled and his breath shuddered around her. He cradled her head against his neck and she felt the erratic race of his pulse. “I think . . . I’m not . . . sure . . . I’ve never come like that before.” He panted against her neck.

  It was exactly the reaction Carm wanted from him. Exactly what she wanted to hear.

  She’d rocked his world.

  Hers had shaken too, but she didn’t want to dwell on that. Not now. Her goal was to make Marek realize that he couldn’t live without her. She couldn’t do that if she became all spun up about him. Not now. Later she’d mull everything over, but for now she needed to remain focused.

  Which was pretty damned hard to do when her orgasm had scattered her mind to the four winds. Holy shit.

  Planting a soft kiss along his jaw, she pushed out of his grasp and climbed off him. His hands trailed down her body like he was reluctant to stop touching her.

  Before he could ask her questions about what had just happened, Carm flashed him a bright smile, winked, and waggled her fingers at him as she headed out the door to the bathroom. It did her heart good to see his eyes follow her every step of the way.

  He was waiting for her when she came out of the downstairs bathroom. She slid her eyes over him and grinned. Marek had tidied up.

  The deep blue silk shirt he wore was unbuttoned to the muscular groove between his pecs, giving teasing glimpses of his hard chest. The jeans she’d undone were buttoned back up and hung loose over his hips straight down to his feet. The frayed ends covered the tops of his cheap navy blue flip flops and the Rolex on his wrist flashed silver. His hair curled around his head, the blond ringed tips shimmering under the hallway lights. And his icy moss eyes watched her behind heavy lids and thick lashes.

  Damn if Carm didn’t want Marek again. She’d just had him, rode him like a rodeo queen in his office chair—and yet she felt desire for him begin to tingle along her spine once again. It boggled her mind. She’d never imagined it would be like this. That her thirst would be so insatiable when she’d finally found someone worth giving herself to.

  Truth was, if he told her to spread it, she’d flop down right there on the wood floor and comply. She was shameless, a budding nympho. And she loved it.

  Carm grinned wickedly and laughed when his head cocked to the side in question. Shaking her head, she walked past him and headed toward the door. It validated her whole belief system. She’d known deep down that if she waited for the right someone it would be like this. Hot, wonderful, scrumptious. And fulfilling because she was in love.

  Marek muttered something she couldn’t make out behind her and hurried to catch up. Reaching her side, he snaked out an arm and grabbed her hand. She tugged on it to test him and felt like celebrating when he gripped her hand tight and wouldn’t let go.

  Her laughter followed them down the hall. When Marek grumbled and demanded she tell him what was so damned funny, Carm just laughed harder. She tried to tug her hand away again and almost snorted with laughter when he scowled and yanked her hand back.

  Oh, it felt good. She felt good. All because Marek had taken hold of her hand and wouldn’t let go. Even when he stopped to lock his front door, he held tight to her hand and turned the key in the lock with the other. The man kept glaring at her and scowling when she laughed and refused to share the joke, but that was all right with her. His bluster was all for show, his hot scowls a farce.

  She knew his secret. She knew the truth and it warmed her very soul.

  Fact was, any man who wanted to hold her hand after a nasty, sweaty bout of sex was a man on the verge of falling in love.

  And Marek had a death grip on her hand.

  Twenty

  Marek glared down into his drink and sniffed. He wasn’t about to chance another mushroom episode. Who knew what mess he’d end up in then. He had enough messes to deal with, as it was. Enough problems. And his biggest one was making her way back from the bathroom toward him right now.

  He watched Carm weave her way between the small rattan tables and scowled. There was something different about her tonight. He’d noticed it the moment she’d burst through the door to his office before she’d given him the best orgasm of his life.

  She reminded him of the night on the beach at St. Kitts. That night she’d been like a moon goddess, the knowledge of the world at her fingertips. But it had been a brief moment and had passed shortly after it had arrived.

  Now it was back.

  Feminine confidence practically dripped off of her, turning the heads of the men she passed by. He wanted to bash their heads together for even looking in his woman’s direction. Jealousy was a foreign emotion to him and he found it uncomfortable. For the first time in his life he felt possessive over a woman.

  A growl of warning clawed at his throat when a man stopped Carm and offered to buy her a drink. He couldn’t blame the guy for trying—she was absolutely stunning tonight in her halter dress with the big splash of flowers on it and her silky hair smooth around her beautiful face.

  But she was his, and if that man so much as o
ffered her a glass of water he’d have to break his neck.

  Marek unclenched his tight muscles and relaxed back into his chair when Carm politely untangled from the guy and continued toward him. Seductive swing and feminine sashay. Her walk spoke to something inside Marek, a part of him that wanted to sit up and howl like a wolf. And then beat her over the head with his club and drag her back to his cave.

  Carm was his woman, his wife.

  Still unsure about what exactly had happened back in his office, he knew one thing for certain: Carm wasn’t getting away. She was staying with him, even if he did have to bash her over the head with a club like some caveman. That’s how she made him feel inside. She stripped his humanity down to basics until he was thinking and feeling in two word sentences and wanting to beat his fists on his chest.

  It was damned appalling and unsettling.

  The band started playing on stage, a new band from over on St. Thomas. None of the guys in his band had felt much like playing directly after the passing of Big Bubba, so Luke—Bubba’s nephew and the bar’s new owner—had hired this young group of Rastafarian wannabes for the night. The drummer even wore a Jamaican colored knit hat over his shoulderlength dreads.

  Marek would bet money the kid was a college drop-out from the U.S. mainland come down to the islands for some “real life experience”. Some fun and sun and a few quick screws with the native girls. Good luck with that kid. He lifted his drink in silent toast to the horny days of youth.

  Finally assured his drink was clean and mushroom free, Marek lifted the rum and coke to his lips and took a pull as Carm sank down in the seat next to him. The look she gave him warmed his insides more than the rum. His brow shot up over the rim of his glass at her saucy wink and grin. What has gotten into her?

  “So bad boy, are you going to dance with me tonight or what? I want to see you shake your booty.” Carm teased as she picked up her drink and took a sip through the red straw.