by Melody Anne
This place was the type of paradise she’d always dreamed of coming to. It was surrounded by water, warm air, and low lighting. Fish were jumping in the lagoon and the moon was full as it shone down on them. But even though this was a dream come true, Jenna couldn’t seem to see anything except for Carter. She couldn’t feel anything except for his fingers gripping hers.
Her skin heated as they reached the villa. She wanted their clothes gone, the doors shut, and his body meshing with hers. She wanted to forget everything but him and this magical night. When he turned to look down at her, his eyes hungry, his muscles taut, she knew he was thinking the same thoughts. She loved how much he wanted her.
Carter practically burst through the front door of the villa, the lighting inside dim and romantic, roses on the counter, petals strewn about, soft music coming through the speakers. He’d set up a seduction, though she didn’t need him to. For this week, at least, she was his whenever he wanted her.
Jenna noted that the balcony doors were open, the pale green curtains gently blowing in the warm breeze, giving a spectacular view of the ocean beyond. The villa was perfect, not too large to seem overwhelming, and not too small to feel cramped. She barely noted the furnishings.
“Want a tour, or do you want to see the bedroom first?” he asked in a smoky voice.
Before she was able to say anything, he leaned down and nuzzled her neck, his hands gliding down her arms and around her back to pull her tightly against him so she could feel his arousal.
“Damn, I love the smell of your hair,” he growled.
Oh, how she loved to hear his voice almost out of control with wanting. They’d made love on her kitchen counter just hours before, but it was like they hadn’t touched each other in days, the hunger was so strong.
He inhaled her scent, and then his lips trailed along her neck before he sucked the skin there while his hands massaged her sensitive behind. She moaned as he slipped his hands inside her loose pants and explored her body.
“And I love the scent of your skin,” he sighed as he licked her shoulder before nibbling on it.
His hands raised and then he was cupping her tender breasts, his palms gliding over her covered nipples, making her pant with longing.
“Carter,” she moaned, wanting the clothes to be removed. He held her so tightly, though, that she couldn’t wiggle free to start doing just that.
“You have perfect breasts,” he rumbled as his lips trailed down her shirt and he found her nipple, biting it through her clothing. Wetness saturated her as she longed for their skin to be slipping against each other’s.
“And I really love the secrets you hide below,” he told her, his hand trailing down her quivering stomach and slipping inside her pants again to go straight for her burning core, his fingers finding it hot and wet.
He groaned in pleasure.
“Take me to bed, Carter,” she begged.
He backed her toward what she assumed was the bedroom as his fingers lifted and began undoing the buttons of her top. She sighed when the warm breeze touched her barely there bra. But the bra was quickly undone and flung aside.
Before she could even blink, he’d removed her pants and panties in a quick tug, using his foot to push them off and away. He was then lifting her naked body against his as he pressed their mouths together and kissed her with so much passion she was surely scorched.
She whimpered when he released her, pushing her backward so she sat on the bed. But the whimper turned into a sigh as he quickly stripped off his clothes, his magnificent erection pointing out to her. She dropped to her knees and gripped him hard in her hand, needing a taste of him.
Her mouth enclosed his pulsing hardness and his groan rumbled through her as she took him deep and sucked hard, her flesh hot and aching, his body tasting like the finest caviar.
She opened her throat, her wet mouth making him slick and causing him to slide deeper and deeper. She wanted him inside her body, but she didn’t want to release him from her mouth either. She wanted all of him.
“Enough,” he growled.
He lifted her up, their bodies entwined as he flung them onto the bed, their limbs tangling as he tugged her hair and kissed her breathless. His thickness rested against her thigh and she reached down to hold him in her hand, moving her fist up and down him as his kiss grew more ardent.
She loved knowing how much he wanted her, needed her. She loved knowing that it was her making him come undone just as he was making her lose control. She couldn’t get close enough to him, couldn’t curb the cravings only he could inspire.
Carter pushed her onto her back, quickly covering her with his hard body. She wrapped her legs around him and sighed as she thrust her hips up, needing them to join together. He kissed her hard before pushing her legs away and moving down her body.
“No. I want you inside me,” she demanded, grabbing his hair and tugging hard.
He chuckled against her breast, his hot breath against her nipple nearly making her come. He moved away, ignoring the grip of her fingers as he licked his way down her stomach until he found her hot center.
Pushing her thighs farther apart, his mouth connected with her hot core and he licked and nibbled at her throbbing skin until she was thrashing beneath him, completely out of control, willing to do anything he wanted.
His hot tongue smoothed across her wet core before he sucked on her swollen flesh and pushed his fingers inside. She exploded with a sob at the intensity of the feeling flowing through her. He sucked on her longer, his fingers easily gliding in and out of her wetness.
“You taste so good, baby,” he groaned as he licked her some more before making his way back up her scorching body.
“I want you inside me,” she moaned again as he aligned himself with her. She once again wrapped her legs around him and pressed her hips upward, feeling his thickness on the outside of her core. It was too much and yet not enough. She needed them to be one.
The feel of his hot skin against hers, the rush of his breath whispering against her lips, the strength of his legs pinning her down—it was all so good. Then, without warning, he thrust forward, his thickness buried deep inside her slick heat. She let out a gasp of relief and pleasure as he stretched her tender walls.
“Yes, more,” she demanded as she pulled back to make him move. His dark eyes flashed before he began taking her with speed and ferocity. He tugged on her hair as he turned her head, capturing her mouth and owning her completely.
She was his.
He was hers.
And still it wasn’t enough. Her fingernails scratched up and down his back as she met him thrust for thrust, her passion building ever higher. He ripped his lips away and sucked on her neck as he moaned in pleasure.
“I want deeper,” he demanded.
He pulled from her and she whimpered at the separation.
But then he was turning her around, lifting her hips so her ass was high in the air. She gripped the pillow in front of her and her body was shoved forward when he slammed inside her again.
The first tremblings of her orgasm ripped through her at that single deep thrust. She pushed back into him, wiggling her hips, taking him deeper than he’d ever been before.
“I’m coming,” she cried before biting the pillow.
His hand slipped beneath her body and his expert fingers tweaked her nipple hard as he pounded in and out of her, orgasms ripping through her once, twice, and a third time as she gripped him harder and harder.
She cried out in pleasure so intense she was afraid she’d pass out. But the louder she cried, the harder he pounded against her. When his body shuddered and she felt the hot spurts of his come pour into her, she fell against the mattress, unable to hold herself up on her knees.
He shifted behind her and pulled her close, cradling her exhausted body against his scorching one. Words wouldn’t be able to describe how amazing that had been. She feared she wouldn’t be able to speak for hours.
“I can’t get enough of y
ou,” he said, his voice almost reverent.
That gave her a sense of peace unlike anything she’d ever felt before. He needed her. She could rest now. Closing her eyes, she drifted off.
ten
Their trip had been perfect. They hadn’t seen much of the warm sun, as neither of them had been able to drag themselves from the cabin for more than an hour at a time. Carter had ordered in room service, not even wanting to go out to eat. It would take too long to get Jenna back to the cabin, where he could sink deep inside her.
When it was time to go, he’d wanted to talk her into staying longer, but he’d already extended the trip to three nights. What was he doing? He couldn’t get too attached. He knew he’d be leaving. Sex was just sex, he tried to justify to himself.
But the moment they’d gotten back to the inn, everything had changed. He’d felt her pull away, and though this was what he wanted, too, he was pissed about it. Unreasonably, unjustifiably pissed. He wasn’t ready to go yet, and as long as he stayed in Sterling, they could enjoy each other.
He was planning on having a talk with her about her behavior as he came down the grand staircase of the inn. It truly was a shame that he had to tear the building down to make way for his all-inclusive resort, but it had to be done. Even with the history of the place, it couldn’t make the kind of money he would make with one of his luxury spas.
Still, the railings were exquisite and the ornamental work throughout was becoming something lost in the modern age. He shook his head. Sentimentality got a person nowhere.
He rounded the corner into the kitchen, in a bear of a mood, when he was stopped in his tracks. Jenna had low music playing as her hips swayed and she cut something up on the counter.
Her voice rang out gently as she sang the lyrics to a sensual song, her hips swaying deeper with every thrust. Her feet began moving in a voluptuous motion, from side to side, and then she raised her arms and her whole body was twisting.
It was the sexiest thing he’d ever witnessed—far spicier than any striptease he’d ever watched. As her arms raised, her lower back appeared and he found himself needing to lick it.
Stepping lightly into the room, he went to his knees, his lips at her back before he’d consciously thought about it. She stopped as her body stiffened for a brief moment, and then she sighed as he ran his hands up her skirt and touched her ass while kissing her lower back. The panties she was wearing barely covered anything, much to his pleasure.
“What are you doing?” she gasped.
He stopped kissing her long enough to answer. “I came to talk to you,” he answered in between kisses.
“Talk about what?” she asked breathily.
“I can’t exactly remember,” he told her before sucking her sweet skin.
“I have to cook,” she said, only the barest of protests in her voice.
“You can fix food any time,” he told her, feeling almost desperate to take her, own her, show her she didn’t need anything but him—not even food. It was foolish, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself.
“There are things I need to do,” she tried one more time, but the low moan escaping her showed how much she didn’t want to deny him.
“Please,” he said as he kissed her back one more time.
Never before had he begged anyone. But he couldn’t feel remorse over doing so with her as he kissed her again and felt her melt into him. He turned her around, his face at her belly. And then he did the oddest thing. He turned his head and rested it against the firm, smooth skin of her stomach, lifting her shirt so he could feel her. He wrapped his arms around her and just rested there, kneeling at her feet.
And he felt utter contentment.
She said nothing else as her fingers wound into his hair. It was such a perfect moment, he didn’t want it to end. But all too soon, he knew it had to. With great reluctance, he rose to his feet.
He still wasn’t willing to let her go, not yet. He leaned into the counter and tugged her into his arms, taking her lips in a sweet kiss that had her cheeks flushing.
“Mmm,” she mumbled after he pulled away, and she rested her head against his chest. His heart was thundering. She seemed to take comfort in that fact. “I guess cooking could wait.”
They both knew he was only there a couple more days and this sort of intimacy wasn’t what either of them needed, but even knowing that, he couldn’t seem to pull away from her. He would when he was ready, he assured himself.
The problem was that he didn’t know when—or even if—he would ever be ready.
That thought made him move. “I need coffee,” he said as he pulled out of her arms. First he was begging her and then he was pulling away. They were both putting up walls, but that had to be for the best. He was frustrated as the thoughts rushed through his brain.
He didn’t look into her face, too afraid of what he’d see if he did. He grabbed a cup, filled it, and took a drink of the bitter liquid. He preferred a bit of cream in it, but he was punishing himself for his lack of control.
“Martin Whitman is throwing his Christmas party in a couple days and I’m going. I’m sure Michael has told you about it,” she said, her voice seeming a little hollow.
He’d done that to her and he wanted to comfort her, but he wasn’t sure that was the right thing to do. He saw the look in her eyes, saw what this affair was doing to her. If he were a good man, he’d walk away now, before they got in any deeper.
But instead of saying no thank you, the words that came out weren’t what he wanted.
“Yes, I’m looking forward to it,” he said, still not facing her.
“We don’t have to go together,” she told him, her voice stronger.
Instantly he was irritated. Did she want to go as a single woman to see who was eligible? She was his, dammit, and the people of Sterling were going to know it. As soon as he had that thought, he knew it was wrong.
He wasn’t going to be there much longer, and she would date other guys. The thought tugged on his gut in a way that no woman had been able to do before. He pushed it out of his mind.
“Of course we’ll go together. It might snow,” he told her.
“We might as well save gas,” she said, with a false laugh that had his teeth gritting together.
Carter had to get out of there. “I need to bring in some wood.”
He knew he was acting ridiculous, but he couldn’t seem to stop. Instead, he marched to the large barn, where a huge pile of wood was waiting to be split. Though he hadn’t done that in many years, he spent the next three hours breaking his back chopping the stuff. He wanted to make sure she would be okay . . .
But it didn’t really matter, did it? Though she wasn’t aware of the situation yet, it was finished. The inn wasn’t going to be hers for much longer. When she found out, she was going to hate him, really hate him.
Maybe that was for the best. He should tell her what was going on. But he couldn’t. He needed these final days together. Once she found out what he’d done, they would be over for sure.
He’d give himself the closure he needed this time around.
eleven
On her hands and knees, scrubbing the floors, her face covered in grime, Jenna groaned when the front doorbell rang. She sat up and remained still, hoping whoever it was would simply go away. She wasn’t up for visitors.
Carter was out with Michael, and she was trying to work her frustrations out by cleaning the monstrous-size house. It wasn’t helping. If only she could blank her mind, she might be in a much better place. The bell rang again. Dang, her visitor was persistent.
Climbing to her feet, she brushed back her messy hair and moved to the front door. Whoever it was would have to take her as she was. She hadn’t been the one to invite them over. With a scowl on her face, she wrenched the door open.
“Jenna, love, good to see you,” Bethel said as she leaned forward and gave Jenna a hug. Eileen and Maggie quickly followed.
It wasn’t the sight of the meddlesome three that had h
er eyes rounding. It was the giant man standing behind them with the crooked smile, short blond hair, and dark green eyes. Realizing she was staring, she ripped her gaze away and focused on Bethel. There was something vaguely familiar about him, but she couldn’t quite place him.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
The three women practically pushed her aside as they moved into the house, Eileen pulling the large man with her. When the door shut, she turned back to the women, who were removing their coats.
“We promised you a handyman. We’ve come to deliver,” Eileen said as she pushed the man forward. He gave Eileen a patient smile before turning toward Jenna.
“Chaz Stratton,” he said, holding out his hand. “I was about ten years ahead of you in school, so you probably don’t remember me.”
Jenna lifted her hand, his large grip engulfing her small fingers. He held on for a few seconds more than necessary while grinning at her. The name rang a bell, but she still couldn’t place him. Probably because he was older and she’d only had eyes for Carter about the time she might have noticed him. She turned her suspicious eyes toward the three ladies wearing innocent expressions before she turned back to him.
“I can’t remember a lot of my time here, it’s been so long since I’ve been home,” she began. “What kind of construction experience do you have?”
Jenna wasn’t offering anyone a seat. She was a bit irritated by the surprise visit. Here was this man who looked like he could be on the cover of a magazine, and she was standing in front of him in stained jeans, an old college sweatshirt, and grime covering her from head to toe.
It wasn’t that she was looking for a man to be Carter’s replacement when he left, but he would be leaving. There was no doubt about it. And Montana had a lot of cold nights. She smiled at the handyman and looked at him a bit more closely.
Jenna was disappointed when she didn’t feel that little spark of attraction that might lead to other things. It was only because she was so hung up on Carter, though. And soon, that wasn’t going to be a problem. She pushed Carter to the back of her mind as she focused on Chaz. He’d been speaking, but she had missed the first part of whatever he’d been talking about.