Caitríona went to laugh again, but something in his expression stopped her; he meant every word, she realized, gulping in surprise.
“You’re so full of blarney,” she said instead as she slowly sank into the seat. This man would get her into trouble; he kept saying such perfect things that could go to a girl’s head.
Alec slid silently behind the wheel of the powerful BMW and slowly pulled the car into traffic, seemingly oblivious of Caitríona’s eyes fastened on him in amazement. She couldn’t believe a man like him was attracted to her; sure, she was pretty enough, but still, he was hard and muscular and so handsome it was enough to make a body weep. How could he want her?
She watched him until his lips quirked and he said in a low mocking voice, “Do I have something on my face?”
Immediately, she wrenched her gaze away and directed it to the road, causing Alec to chuckle harder.
At the restaurant, Alec was so smoothly urbane and sophisticated, Caitríona began to feel a little gauche. He complimented the manager on the ambience of the restaurant, wringing a flush of pleasure from the man; he graciously insisted on seating her himself with such care and delicate attention as though she were made of fine porcelain; he mostly deferred to her choice of dinner and made her feel as though she were knowledgeable and sophisticated too; and when the meal arrived, his manners were impeccable.
Caitríona also discovered that for all his sophistication, he was so incredibly and refreshingly down to earth. He made her laugh with his off-the-beaten-path sense of humor, and after she had unselfconsciously thrown her head back in a full-bellied laugh for the umpteenth time, she relaxed so completely and forgot to feel self-conscious anymore.
“So, Caitríona, tell me, why a holiday? Any particular reason?”
Her eyes darkened as she recalled how she had flipped at work and lost her cool, how she had become jaded and lost interest in the job she loved. “Doctor’s orders.”
“One of those, huh? Well, a toast to the good doctor,” he said, raising his glass. “I would never have met you otherwise.”
She clinked her glass with his and slowly raised it to her lips, her gaze fastened on his.
“What do you mean?”
“Tell me about yourself, Caitríona,” he invited. “What do you do?”
Ciara’s stern warnings about gigolos at holiday resorts looking for vulnerable young women to latch onto rushed to her mind. She resolutely pushed them aside. Alec didn’t look like a gigolo at all.
Carefully, she said, “I’m in business.”
“Aren’t we all,” he said conversationally. But he didn’t press further and she relaxed. A gigolo would have, wouldn’t he?
Dinner was delicious and she said so with her mouth full, laughing at herself as a bit of sauce dribbled onto her chin.
Alec watched her quietly as she desperately tried to lick her lips with her tongue. His eyes darkened as he watched her and then slowly, he reached out and flicked the sauce off her chin with one long, slim finger. His gaze holding hers, he slowly carried the finger to his lips and his own tongue flicked out and slowly licked the sauce from it.
It was the single most erotic thing she had ever seen, she realized, her breath hitching as her gaze clung helplessly to his. He slowly withdrew his finger from his mouth and her eyes fastened helplessly on his wet red lips, her nipples tightening beneath her dress as desire coursed through her.
“You taste good,” he said slowly.
Caitríona felt a low growl emit from her throat in reaction; she had never growled in all her life. She licked her lip, her grey eyes darkening with desire as all her focus narrowed on the handsome man seated across from her. The restaurant, the customers, the waiters and everything else faded away slowly until all she could see was the larger than life man in front of her who made her feel like a veritable siren. Desire roared through her and she would have moaned aloud but her throat was too dry.
“Let’s get out of here,” Alec said slowly, his gaze still fastened with hers.
As though in a trance, Caitríona sprung to her feet; Alec tossed some bills onto the table and grabbed her hand. He hustled her out of the restaurant and straight toward his car, almost running in his haste. Caitríona was in as much of a hurry as he was.
He opened her side of the car for her, she slid in and he raced around to his side, intent on starting the car. But Caitríona slid right across the car and straight into his laps, straddling him as she bent her head and took his lips in a wildly erotic kiss.
Alec groaned, his hands exploring every inch of her body as he began to kiss her for all he was worth. “I want to fuck you. I need to fuck you, Caitríona. Do you understand? It’s all I have been able to think about since I saw you on that damn yacht. I’ve had a constant hard-on since then,” he moaned into her neck as his hands deftly pushed her gown up to her waist, exposing the rounded cheeks of her buttocks to his hands.
He kneaded the flesh, squeezing, caressing and stroking. His lips fastened onto her nipples, sucking her through the material of her dress.
Caitríona arched her back, offering him her lips as he licked and laved at her nipple. His hands were very busy, working between both of them to release his fly. In seconds, his turgid arousal sprang free and he deftly pushed her panties to one side.
As he pushed up and into her, Caitríona felt herself adrift on a sea of sensation. She clung to him, gasping as he began to move, thrusting in and out of her. Caitríona panted anew as he began to thrust in and out of her, filling her tight, wet core with his big, fat, dripping penis. He was not wearing a condom, she noted with distinct unconcern.
Oh, how she wanted this, she realized, moving instinctively to match his rhythm. Alec slapped her ass again, wringing a startled moan out of her as pain and pleasure collided in unfamiliar waves. He was so huge she felt stretched to the utmost.
“Caitríona, you are so tight. So fucking tight! I love your pussy,” Alec ground out in her ear.
“I love what you are doing,” Caitríona panted, frantically rubbing at her clitoris as he shoved into her almost savagely.
“Yes baby, I have wanted to do this from the first moment I met you,” he groaned reaching up and splaying her against his chest while his hands tightened about her hips as he held her in place.
Caitríona moaned, tossed about in mindless pleasure as the new posture rubbed him against her G-spot again and again and again.
All her being centered on the mounting tension between her thighs, she felt herself drifting higher and higher until she was moaning and groaning, screaming his name as wave after wave of sensation crashed through her. Fine tremors shook her from the crown of her head to the sole of her feet, leaving her sated, spent, and weak as a rag doll. Alec stilled, watching her as different expressions chased across her face in the thrall of her pleasure. When she was finally sated, he resumed pounding, his face thrown back in pleasure, his teeth gritted.
An intense shudder shook his powerful frame and he continued to slam into her deliciously, his hands tightening on her firm, fleshy thighs. Soon, he was screaming her name as he came powerfully; pouring his seed into her tight, wet, willing passage until he was drained completely.
Caitríona slowly detangled herself from his arms, belated embarrassment making her flush as she scrambled onto her side of the car. She had practically mowed the man down in his own car, flattening him to his seat with her enormous weight. Lord, what if he had only made love to her to be polite?
Caitríona’s eyes widened in dismay, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have”
He cut off her words with a tender, passionate kiss. Then his eyes met hers and he said, “If that’s your pathetic attempt to get out of spending tonight with me, guess again. I can’t get enough of you.”
Caitríona’s words died in her throat. He seemed sincere, she realized.
“I want to make love to you with lots of light and champagne and roses. I want to kiss every inch of your skin until you’re begging me to
not let you die of pleasure.”
Caitríona’s breath caught in her throat; the mental imagery was so erotic she could feel herself getting turned on again. But he wanted lights?
She shook her head, “I don’t want”
“Lights?” he asked, guessing correctly. She looked at him in surprise. How had he known?
“You are so voluptuous, it isn’t funny; I have been on slow boil since I caught a glimpse of you in that dress that accentuates all your curves. I want to touch your breasts and run my lips between your hips; I want to lick the back of your knees and see if it tickles you and I want to suck your breasts hard! I want to see every inch of you because you’re the sexiest woman I have ever met. I love having some flesh to hold onto, Caitríona. Call me weird, but not every man wants skin and bones in his bed.”
Caitríona gulped. Well, how did one argue with that?
CHAPTER FOUR
Caitríona stretched as she came awake, a wide smile on her face. She had had the most amazing of nights, she thought. Alec was the most passionate and generous of lovers; he had made her feel that her pleasure mattered greatly to him and that in itself was so intoxicating and arousing she had managed to orgasm four times in a single night, coming apart with trembling sighing pleasure in his arms. She had told him so much personal stuff, as had he; unlike most men, he actually listened.
No wonder she was so exhausted, she thought with a happy giggle as she looked over at Alec’s side of the bed, expecting to see him sleeping. She frowned when she saw that his side of the bed was empty with nothing more than rumpled sheets and an indented pillow to show he had been there.
Slowly, she leaned up on an elbow to look around the room; it was sparsely decorated, as most rentals were, but it somehow managed to be breathtakingly beautiful.
She went into the bathroom and hurriedly brushed her teeth and then ran her wet fingers through her tangled mass of hair, straightening it out some. She laughed, hugging memories of their lovemaking to herself even as she admitted to herself that she was halfway in love with the man. Who wouldn’t be? He was so amazing.
She heard sounds in the direction of the kitchen and with a wide grin, she shrugged into a robe and traipsed towards in that direction.
“Alec? Is that you?” she called, her face split with a wide grin.
Her smile died when she saw the brunette from the yacht sitting at the table eating a breakfast of toast and scrambled eggs. She was dressed in an oversized t-shirt and bum shorts.
“Hey,” Caitríona said hesitantly.
“Hi,” the brunette said cheerfully. “If it isn’t the lady from the yacht. Lost again?”
Caitríona’s chin went up defiantly as she stared the other woman down. “Hardly. Alec and I ”
“Yes, I got in late enough last night to hear for myself what you two were up to,” the brunette interrupted with that bright smile still plastered all over her face. The smile was so brittle it was a wonder her face didn’t crack.
“I didn’t realize you were here. I hope we didn’t”
“Oh, no need to apologize. We’re all on holiday, right? Everyone has a holiday fling every now and then,” she assured smoothly, her green eyes sparkling with an indecipherable light.
Caitríona licked her lips. The woman somehow managed to make last night, as magical as it had been, sound so cheap and tawdry. She glared resentfully at Olivia’s back as she carried her breakfast dishes to the sink and began to rinse them out.
“It wasn’t just a fling,” she said crossly to Olivia’s back.
“Well, what else could it have been? You’re married and”
“I’m not!” Caitríona denied hotly.
Olivia froze, her hands immersed in the water in the sink. Then slowly, she turned on one heel and faced Caitríona, her green eyes wide and distressed.
“You’re not?”
Caitríona shook her head, wondering why Olivia was acting so weird.
Olivia’s full lips trembled, her green eyes glittering with unshed tears.
“Then how could he?”
Fear clutched at Caitríona’s heart as an ugly premonition shot through her that she was about to learn something truly horrible about Alec.
“How could he what?”
“I thought you were just having fun and I despised you for it. But I know he was just Well, how do I say this?”
“Just say it! What is it?”
“Alec’s married,” Olivia said simply. “I’m sorry.”
The words slammed into Caitríona like a sledgehammer and her eyes shut in dismay as she digested this bit of news. He couldn’t be married! No! She wasn’t making any claims on him, she told herself desperately, but the thought that she had helped him cheat on his wife made her want to hurl.
Her gaze flew to Olivia’s and she surprised a satisfied look in the other woman’s eyes. Suspicion filtered through her. Olivia had never liked her and she would have every reason to tell such a cruel lie. “Alec is not married! You’re lying!”
“Wait here,” she said simply.
She disappeared into the bedroom Caitríona had just exited and Caitríona followed her immediately. She saw Olivia rifle through Alec’s bedside drawer and pull out a sheaf of photographs. She extended them to Caitríona with a pitying look on her face. Shakily, Caitríona looked down at the pictures in her hands. A younger Alec grinned up at her, wearing a wedding tuxedo with his arm around a smiling woman who was dressed in a mermaid-style wedding gown.
Caitríona shook her head disbelievingly. The next picture showed the couple locked in a kiss before a minister; there was no doubt! He was married! The next picture showed the exchange of rings!
Disbelievingly, she looked up at Olivia and the other woman held up her right hand. A chain dangled from it and at the end of the chain was a wedding ring. It was the same ring Alec had on in the picture.
“He’s married?” Caitríona whispered.
“Yes, to Sophie,” Olivia confirmed sympathetically, solicitously coming around and leading the other woman to sit on the bed. She took the pictures and returned them to the drawer.
“Do they ” Caitríona tried; her throat was dry and parched. She licked her lips and tried again. “Do they have kids?”
“Not yet. Apparently, Alec doesn’t want kids,” she said slowly.
“He didn’t mention it,” she said wonderingly. How could she have been so wrong about him? How could she have read him wrong?
“Honey, most men conveniently forget they are married when they want to cheat,” Olivia said gently.
Caitríona shut her eyes, feeling her heart shattering into a million pieces in her chest. How could she have been so impossibly stupid?
“Could I have some privacy, please?” she said, looking up at Olivia, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
With a nod, Olivia turned and quietly departed from the room.
Caitríona buried her head in her hands, tears seeping from the corners of her eyes as she recalled the way she had virtually thrown herself at the bastard like a lovesick idiot and then she had actually told him she had never met anyone as amazing as him. No wonder he had just grinned smugly and continued to make love to her without a word; he must have thought she was a desperate fool.
Anger surged through her and she sprung to her feet. She grabbed her sandals and purse and dashed out of the room. A thought occurred and she ran back into the bedroom, scribbled a note hastily on a sheet of paper and pinned it to the pillow. There! He couldn’t possibly miss that.
She heard Olivia moving around in the kitchen and she stealthily made her way to the front door, jerked it open and ran out of the cabin.
She had had enough of Hawaii, she decided dry-eyed as she walked toward her cabin; it wasn’t far from Alec’s. She still had over a week for her holiday, but if she had to stay one more day in Hawaii, with the possibility of running into that bastard, she would lose her mind. The thought of somehow running into Alec was so distressing she
hastened her steps automatically, anxious to put as much distance between them as possible.
By the time she reached her little rented cabin, she was running and out of breath, with tears coursing down her cheeks. She impatiently dashed them away as she moved around the room, rapidly throwing her clothes and cosmetics into her bags. In less than five minutes, she was done. She called for a taxi and also called the airport to book and hold.
Ten minutes later, as the taxi slid toward the airport, Caitríona wondered if she would ever be able to step foot in Hawaii, as long as she lived, again.
***
Alec Durante whistled to himself as he returned to his cabin later, carrying takeout bags. Last night had been more than a little wild. Caitríona had been so passionate, he had been surprised when he didn’t see actual scorch marks on her body.
He started with surprise when he saw Olivia rummaging through the drawers in the kitchen; his sister had avoided him like the plague for days now, especially since she’d met Jorge, her holiday fling. What was she doing here?
“Hey Olivia, what’s going on?”
“Alec. I came to have breakfast and then I had to remain until you got back coz I don’t have a key to lock up with.”
“That’s great, but you didn’t have to wait behind. Caitríona’s in the bedroom.”
“Who?” she asked with sham innocence, her green eyes wide in her slim face.
“The lady from the yacht,” he said.
“Oh, her? She left,” she said and turned to lick some peanut butter from a spoon in her hand.
His heart clutched in his chest. “What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. She just up and left. Said something about needing to go,” she said.
Alec dashed into the bedroom, unable to believe Caitríona had left like that without so much as a goodbye, especially since he had been so looking forward to breakfast in bed with her. She had seemed to like him as much as he liked her. What happened in the space of time he was away, he wondered as he stared around the empty bedroom.
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