Good luck? Willing to have you trail after me… The woman made him sound like a pet. A grin spread across his face as he thought of the dangerous beauty in the bathroom. At least he didn’t have to worry about being bored anymore.
Chapter Two
Temptation Party
The steady pounding of the rain drifted to her slumbering mind, waking her. For a moment Michaela simply lay there, within the warm confines of the sheets and comforter that cocooned her. Then in slow degrees the call of the summer storm slipped beneath the haziness that clouded her consciousness to truly wake her.
She groaned as she sat up. It was raining, which meant she wasn’t going to enjoy the sunrise as she’d planned. She pulled aside the comforter and had just placed one foot on the floor when the alarm starting ringing. She silenced it before it got past the third note. “Why bother?” she said to herself as she stepped from the bed. She always woke before the alarm went off, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop setting it.
Michaela stepped from the bedroom and started toward the kitchen. She was halfway there when she realised that her normal cup of morning cup of coffee didn’t sound particularly appealing. The rain was calling to her and she loved the sound of its whispered words. She turned and headed off to the porch. The covering allowed her to the stand outside without getting pelted by the falling drops. On a sunny day it was her little piece of heaven.
Maybe it was because she stood so far away from home, or maybe it was a result of her free time, but it wasn’t until that moment that she noticed just how beautiful the sky could be in the middle of a summer storm.
“Lovely isn’t it?”
She didn’t bother turning around at the sound of Donovan’s alluring voice. She simply leaned back and allowed his strong arms to envelope her.
“Yes.”
“Hmm, no coffee?”
There was just the slightest hint of amusement in his voice. He knew her well enough to know that she always started the morning with a hot cup. “Guess not.”
His arms moved over her torso, one tightening around her waist, while the other slid down her front. “Is everything okay?”
She shook her head no. “Just didn’t feel the need for it,” she said in reply as she looked up at the grey sky.
He laughed softly. “I must not have done something right last night. Hmmm?”
Unbridled memories of the night before came crashing down on her like a surf of pleasure and her body heated at the thoughts. As far as she was concerned, Donovan had done everything right. Their lovemaking had been intense and satisfying, physically and emotionally. Still, she desired him. The truth was she was a glutton for his touch. “Maybe not,” she said as she snuggled deeper into his embrace.
“Not only do you wake up early, but you don’t need coffee. I guess I’m going to have to work harder.”
She turned in his arms to look at him. Donovan was naked from the waist up. He was an artwork of bone and muscle depicting the limitless beauty of a strong man. Her eyes drank in the sight of him. She slowly lifted her gaze, taking note of the many hard planes that made up his muscular body, stopping when she reached his face. A fire shone in his gaze and the heat there made her body burn for the pleasure she knew he could give her. “Donovan?”
“Come on, Jameson. Let’s go back to bed.”
He took her hand, slipping her fingers into his much larger ones. She nodded her head in agreement, knowing that she would follow him to the ends of the earth as long as there was a ghost of a chance he’d continue looking at her that way, as though she was the only woman he’d ever desire.
Fingers intertwined, she silently followed him as he led her back to their shared bedroom. Once they were over the threshold he pulled her into his arms. As he enfolded her in his embrace a sense of comfort, that could only be compared to returning home filled her. This feeling was the ultimate discovery—no scientific breakthrough could outdo it.
She allowed herself to be led to the bed and pushed onto it. There was just enough light in the room to cast shadows upon Donovan’s face, highlighting the sharp angles and soft curves of his features, making him appear even more handsome than normal.
“God, Jameson,” he said softly.
She looked up at him, watching his gaze roam over her figure before settling on her mouth. Leaping elephants settled in her belly as the intent in those eyes almost undid her. Then his mouth was on hers, moving across her lips, coaxing them to part. Her arms lifted to drape around his neck just as his tongue thrust forward. She rubbed her body against his, rocking her pelvis against the insistent bulge there.
A tidal wave of desire threatened to throw her control overboard. Knowing that getting what she needed was the surest cure to the hunger that plagued her, Michaela broke off the kiss to whisper against Donovan’s mouth, “Donovan, I need you.” Please, love me.
He groaned something in response that her lust starved brain wasn’t able to decipher, but the meaning behind his words was loud and clear. She wasn’t the only one who craved the intimacy that could be found within one another’s arms.
His mouth was back on hers, this time hotter and more forceful than before. She drowned in the emotion in his kiss, in his touch as his hands moved over her body, stripping her of the nightgown she wore until she was totally bare beneath him.
He licked, nipped, and suckled her nipple until the bud felt painfully swollen. It was so sensitive every swipe of his tongue seemed to go straight to the heart of her. “Donovan…”
“Hmm.” He released the tip only to capture the left one.
Needing to be as close as physically possible to him, Jameson ran her hands down every inch of naked skin she could touch. “Donovan, I can’t wait any longer,” she admitted as her nails dug into his muscular back. He lifted his head for a moment, just long enough to flash her a smirk. She was so far gone she was willing to overlook the satisfaction in his gaze.
As long as he touched her, made wave after wave of pleasure crash over, she’d turn her head away from any and all transgressions.
Maybe not all of them…
Just as she was rethinking her decision Donovan moved down her body and placed his mouth on her. Hot and wet, his touch singed her, heating her already fiery blood. “God, yes,” she moaned as her fingers clutched the sheets. Liquid heat skirted across her skin, making her break out in a pleasure induced sweat when he licked her, running his tongue down the swollen lips of her sex. Then he lifted his head and parted her sheath, and slid two fingers deep within her channel.
Sweat beaded her upper lip as she rode them, trying desperately to find satisfaction. God! She could feel her every muscle tightening, getting ready to feel the unique pleasure that was part pain that only came from an orgasm.
“Just like that, sweetheart. Come for me.”
She was so close, so damn close she could almost feel the release, but as good as Donovan’s fingers felt she knew there was something better. “Please, I need…I need you inside me.”
“Damn, Jameson,” he groaned. And then he was on top, body moulded to hers, limbs intertwined. She didn’t remember him getting naked, but he was suddenly nude before her, cock hard and poised in one hand. He looked down with passion in his eyes. “Ready?”
God, yes. She lifted her hips and waited for his joining thrust.
It never came.
Michaela woke with a groan of dismay. It took her a moment to realise that she was not in a cabin, but a hotel and Donovan was not in her bed. It was all a dream.
Best foreplay ever and it was all in my mind. Damn!
She’d lived long enough to have her fair share of wet dreams, but she’d never once experienced anything remotely similar to the fantasy about Donovan. The episode was so vivid, so detailed, she half-expected him to walk into her room and carry on where the dream had left off.
Damn. It.
With growl of frustration she flopped back onto the bed and placed one arm over her closed eyes. “This is not good.
” She was only around the man for two days and she was already having hot, wickedly sexy dreams about him. Worse of all, the fantasies weren’t just about sex. No, there was an emotional undercurrent there that made her fearful.
Donovan was hot. There was no if, ands, or buts about it, so she could understand why her sex-starved brain had latched onto him. The question was why was she dreaming about loving him?
“Why him?”
It didn’t escape her notice that for once there was a question that she didn’t immediately know the answer to.
* * * *
Donovan Kelly woke with the kind of stark clarity that could only be attributed to years of training. One minute he was asleep and then the next his eyes were wide open and his mind was processing the tiny scuffles that drifted to him from Jameson’s bedroom.
He’d waited for this moment. For the last two days, she’d been quiet as a mouse. It was obvious to him that she was trying to get him to lower his guard. Nice try, he thought as he listened to the sound of movement. The brilliant researcher was trying to move around her hotel room without alerting him. He figured she planned on sneaking out next. She wasn’t going to get far, but he had to give her points for trying.
He figured he had anywhere from five to ten minutes before Jameson attempted to leave her room.
With a grin he pulled aside the covers and stood beside the bed. One hand idly scratched his belly as he considered how long his shower should take and what to wear. This job was different from his usual assignments in many ways. Normally, he only had to worry about choosing from the many black suits he owned. Most employers wanted him to look, as well as act, the part of a bodyguard. Jameson, however, did not want some suited guy following her around as she went sightseeing up and down the streets of Sydney.
Donovan had just decided on a simple blue long sleeve shirt and jeans when the sound of a door closing softly caught his attention. “Damn,” he cursed as he strode across the room and flung his door open. “Where do you think you’re going?”
Slowly, as though every motion was painful, Jameson pivoted on her platform heels to stare at him in surprise. Her eyes widened as she looked him over and then with a sigh she closed her eyes and licked her lips. When the sooty fan of her lashes lifted, her gaze was cool, but Donovan glimpsed the heat in her eyes before she shuttered off her emotions.
Michaela Jameson might not like him, but she was attracted to him.
He could deal with that. Maybe even use it to his advantage. Dressed in only his underwear, Donovan was well aware of the fact that he was providing the young researcher with a whole lot of skin to look over. One hand purposely moved down his naked stomach gliding over the tight muscles before hooking a thumb into the waistband of his boxer briefs. “Where are you going?”
Wet, bright and pink, her tongue appeared again, sliding over her bottom lip, leaving it shiny with moisture. “I was just going to the beach.” She lifted the large bag that had been slung over her shoulder and coughed. “Bondi beach, specifically. I was hoping to catch the sunrise.”
“Want some company?”
Her gaze roamed over his barely clothed figure. “I don’t think you’re dressed properly.”
He flashed her a grin as his eyes took in the high heels she wore. Donovan had always been a sucker for a pretty woman in sexy shoes. “I could say the same thing about you.” She rolled her eyes and dug into the big purse she held to pull out a pair of flip-flops. “Give me five minutes and I’ll be ready,” he said with a chuckle.
She sighed in exasperation. “Five?” she asked. Judging by her stance, she was itching to get out of the hotel and onto the beach. He couldn’t blame her. Bondi was famous for good reason. It was beautiful. A native to Sydney he’d been there on many occasions. He could only imagine how she felt. “Two minutes, one hundred and sixty seconds and we’ll be on our way.”
“Okay. Not one second more.” The curt words drifted to Donovan just as he turned away. His smile was wide and bright as he strode back to his room. Michaela Jameson might appear to be a hard ass, but there was a woman underneath all those smart remarks and he was determined to bring her to the surface.
She came to Australia in order to relax and have fun and he was going to make sure that she did just that. The woman needed to let loose.
Donovan dressed quickly, grabbed his stuff, and stepped from the room. He found her leaning beside the door, her bag at her feet. “Not quite two minutes, but impressive nonetheless,” she said before moving away from the door and striding away. He watched her curvy figure, wondering how he was going to get through the three weeks without doing something stupid.
Like pull her to him and kiss her until the hunger within was appeased.
Jameson was hell on a man’s ego, but that was one of the things he liked about her. Donovan had been exposed to one too many simpering women. When they found out what he did for a living they started looking at him as though he was a superhero they expected to save them from their everyday lives. He’d only known her for a short period of time, but he was well aware of the fact that Jameson was an independent woman. Her natural tendency to do things alone and according to her own schedule was what made having a bodyguard so difficult for her. She didn’t like having him at her side, following her around, and occasionally overriding her decisions for her own safety. Jameson was no damsel in distress and if she did have a problem, she’d figure out the solution on her own.
Without once asking for his help. He found that incredibly attractive.
The beach wasn’t that far away from their hotel so they made it there in what seemed like record time. The low roar of the ocean grew in degree as they got closer to the beach.
The sun had yet to awaken. The sky was dark, a deep blue colour and dotted with an endless supply of bright stars. Nervous excitement came off the woman beside him in waves. Donovan found her energy difficult to ignore. Despite the fact that he’d been to the famous beach many times, he found his blood was rushing.
Jameson flashed him a warm smile and doubled her pace. He slowed his own down, awed by the first honest smile she’d given him. Rich mocha skin, large doe eyes, and plump lips, Jameson was a pretty woman without even trying. When she smiled she became a true beauty.
“Definitely needs to smile more,” he muttered to himself as he quickened his pace to catch up with her. He never did reach her. Michaela was standing at the edge of the beach, her naked feet already covered by sudsy waves. In one hand she held her shoes, the other was raised high above her head as she laughed at the cool feel of the water. Before he could tell her otherwise, she walked further into the sea.
That was the beginning of a beautiful morning spent on the beach. It was amazing just how easily time passed by as they relaxed, enjoying the rising sun, and increasing warmth of the Australian spring morning. By midmorning, the beach was heavily packed and Donovan was getting irritated with the number of men who kept coming up to Jameson.
As far as he was concerned his annoyance was justified. As Jameson’s bodyguard he was supposed to keep her safe and that meant staying by her side. The continuous array of men hitting on her just made his job more difficult as he was forced to watch their every move.
He wasn’t jealous by the attention they were showing her.
“Come on, I think its way past time for breakfast. How about we get brunch?” he asked.
Jameson glanced longingly at the ocean before turning to follow him. “Okay.”
The lack of enthusiasm made him smile. She was definitely reluctant to see the beach go. “We can always come back.”
“So you say, but you’re not my first bodyguard. I know better than to get my hopes up.”
He looked at her in surprise. No one mentioned that she needed protection before. It would explain why she was so adamant about not requiring a bodyguard. He’d met enough individuals with bad experiences to know the invasion of privacy that having someone follow you day in and day out was only acceptable under two co
nditions: one, when the guard was no more than a shadow and two, when the threat was real.
Jameson already made it clear that she didn’t believe the letters would amount to anything, which led him to believe that the last bodyguard she had interfered with her daily routine.
“Look I’m sorry for—” His words were cut off when a Frisbee flew between them to land several feet away. He stared at it in surprise for a moment, but when he saw Jameson moving to pick it up, he shook his head and went to retrieve it.
He kept his gaze on Jameson the whole time and a few yards from her he saw two men searching the beach. He guessed they were the owners of the Frisbee and called out to them as he held out the toy. They jogged over with smiles on their faces.
Donovan reached Jameson before they did. He held out the Frisbee. “Here you go,” he said.
Both males were brunet, good looking with bright smiles. Several yards behind them stood a small mixed sex group. They were calling out two names and telling the individuals to hurry up. Donovan guessed the guys were named Rob and Kyle. He disliked them on sight.
“Hi,” one of them said.
“Thanks for getting us our Frisbee.”
“You’re welcome,” Jameson answered before he could open his mouth. He really didn’t like them.
“So how are you enjoying our beach?” At the wide-eyed look on Jameson’s face, the taller of the brunets clarified this statement. “Uh, I’m guessing by your accent that you’re an American visiting.”
Jameson giggled, actually giggled. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll be here for three weeks. I just arrived so I’ve got a lot of sightseeing to do.”
“Cool, my name is Kyle,” the taller brunet said as he held out his hand. “What have you done so far?”
She glanced at Donovan in irritation. “My name is Michaela. And so far we’ve done nothing. Just this beach.”
Sun, Surf and Sex on a Beach Page 2