No More Playas

by Brenda Jackson

  The vanilla-scented candles in the room continued to flicker, providing a degree of light that was purely sensuous. She watched as his fingers slowly began working at the spaghetti straps on her sundress, pulling them down her shoulders and finally removing the garment completely from her body. After removing her bra and panties, he kissed the mounds of her breasts, tormenting them the same way he had tormented her mouth earlier, and causing an ache to build up between her legs.

  “What about your clothes?” she asked as she tugged his T-shirt from the waistband of his shorts. She gave him a gentle push back onto the bed. “The last time we were in bed together, you treated me to my pleasure. Now it’s time for me to treat you to yours.”

  Asia’s hands pulled his shirt over his head, tossed it aside and then went to the waistband of his shorts and unbuttoned them. He lifted his hips for her to remove both them and his briefs. Her gaze immediately dropped to the area below his waist, and the only words she could think to say were, “Oh, my.” He was hard, huge, hefty.

  She returned her gaze to his face and as he watched her, she lowered her head to his nipple, taking it into her mouth, licking it with her tongue, while letting her hand drift lower, down his belly, and taking him into her hand. He jerked against her palm, said something that sounded a lot like, “holy shit,” while she ran the pad of her thumb over the sensitive head of his staff.

  When she let go of his nipple and moved her mouth lower, and worked her way down toward his belly and began circling his navel with her tongue, Lance knew what she intended to do next, but there was no time. He wanted her now. He needed to get inside of her fast. He reached out, grabbed her around the waist and switched their positions, placing her on her back beneath him. “My pleasure will always come from treating you to yours, baby,” he whispered, taking her mouth again in one hell of an erotic kiss.

  After freeing her mouth, he whispered, “Look at me, Asia.”

  She did, held his gaze.

  “I’ve dreamed of making love to you so many times, prayed one day that I would. I love you. Every damn thing about you,” he said in a hoarse voice. “You are perfect.”

  He begin easing inside of her, while holding her gaze, almost losing control when his staff came into contact with her hot, wet center. She began making arousing little sounds deep in her throat as he went deeper and he felt her muscles tighten, pulling him in. And he continued to sink into her heat, feeling her lift her hips for him. And when he had gone all the way, connecting with her in a way he had never connected to another woman, a feeling of urgency slammed into him, jerking his body into movement. The slow pace he had intended was suddenly forgotten and he gasped, bucked his body, feeling pushed over the limit.

  He threw his head back and released a primal cry when he began thrusting into her. And when she started moaning, groaning, begging him for release, he gave her what she wanted as he continued to slide in and out of her, deep and fast.

  “More, Lance.”

  She raised her hips to him, arched her back, locked her ankles around his waist while he thrust urgently inside of her, giving her what they both wanted. His passion. His love. More.

  A scream tore from her lips at the same time his body exploded, his entire being shook, splintering into a multitude of sensations, ecstasy of the most prolific kind. But he didn’t stop. He continued to push forward, needing to give her everything that was him. And she took it. Milking him with her muscles, grabbing his butt tight in her hands to make sure he didn’t go anywhere before she got it all.

  She screamed again . . . and again, and he lowered his mouth to kiss her. Not to quiet her but needing the feel of his tongue thrusting inside her mouth the same way his staff was thrusting inside her body. And then it happened again, this orgasm more explosive than the first. The only thing he could think about other than the sensuous feelings shaking him to the core was that the woman he loved more than life itself was finally his.

  At some point during the night, Lance awakened to find the power was still out. He also noticed that he was alone in the bed. He glanced across the room and saw Asia, wearing his T-shirt and standing at the window looking out, gazing at the moon-lit ocean. The raining had stopped and the musky scents of sea and sex hung in the air. He thought the two were one hell of a combination.

  He closed his eyes, remembering the exact moment he had slid into Asia’s body, hopelessly and helplessly falling even more in love with her. Last night had been a huge turning point in their relationship, but he knew there were things they hadn’t yet discussed. Things they needed to lay to rest.

  “What are you thinking about, sweetheart?” he asked her quietly. He watched as she slowly turned away from the window to meet his gaze.

  “Sean.”

  He hated thinking it, but knowing the woman he had just made love to, shared at least three to four orgasms with, was thinking of another man didn’t sit too well with him. Not bothering to put on any clothes, he slid out of bed and slowly crossed the room and pulled her into his arms and kissed her lips.

  “Talk to me. Tell me why you’re thinking of him,” he said, trying to keep any sign of jealousy from his voice.

  “I’m going to hurt him, Lance. When I tell him about us.”

  He noted her voice was raspy and hoarse. Probably from screaming so much, he thought. “If you had you married him, without truly loving him, you would have eventually hurt him anyway.”

  “Yes, but he’s been such a good friend.”

  He skimmed the tip of his thumb along her jawline. “And if he truly cares for you, he will accept your decision and continue to be a good friend.”

  A soft smile touched the corners of Asia’s lips. “I hope so, Lance. I know you don’t like him but—”

  He pulled her to him, wrapped his arms around her waist. “He was my competition, Asia. No, I didn’t like him, but I never saw him as a threat.”

  “You didn’t?”

  “No. I was determined that no matter what it took, I was getting you back. Even if it meant kidnap. But I didn’t have to go that far, since you made things easy for me by coming here.”

  She frowned up at him. “And from what I gather, you had help.”

  He chuckled. “Hey, can I help it if others thought we made a fantastic pair and wanted to get us together?” He then added, “But on a serious note, Melissa and Claire were concerned about you. About us. They love you and wanted you to be happy.”

  “And they thought I’d be happy with you, with the reputation you had?”

  “Only because they saw something you refused to see. My love for you. And I’m glad they did. My life would be nothing without you in it, baby.” He leaned down and kissed her again, needing the intimate contact of their lips. Slowly he released her mouth.

  “I don’t think I like the idea of you leaving my side to think about another man,” he said, backing her toward the bed. When they reached it, he gave her a little push and together they tumbled onto the mattress.

  “Umm, what do you prefer that I think about?” she asked, after he had tugged the T-shirt over her head, leaving her naked.

  “Ways you can scream again. You’re getting pretty good at it.”

  Asia laughed. “Sex. Is that all you think about?”

  He shook his head. “No. At the moment I’m thinking about how soon I can make you my wife.”

  She went still and met his gaze. “Are you asking me to marry you?”

  “Yes. I want to marry you, Asia. As soon as we can arrange things.”

  “Oh, Lance,” she breathed quietly. “I want to marry you, too. But I have to talk to Sean first. I can’t accept your marriage proposal until I’ve told him about us. It wouldn’t be right, and I owe him that much. It’s bad enough that you and I have slept together.”

  “There’s nothing bad about what we did. You aren’t wearing his engagement ring. Claire said he took it back.”

  Asia raised her eyes to the ceiling. “Claire was wrong. Sean merely gave me time to
think things through until New Year’s Eve. He believes there is a possibility that we still might work things out and marry in April.”

  Lance cupped her jaw. “Then that’s his problem, because the only man you’re marrying is me. Here. On this island.”

  She smiled at his arrogance. “I’d love to get married to you on this island, but don’t you think we’d need to clear it with the owner first? From what I hear this place is constantly in hot demand. I can definitely understand why after spending time here. It’s beautiful.”

  “I think so, too, but I never realized how beautiful it was until I spent time here with you. For that reason, I think I’m going to keep it.”

  She quirked a brow, trying to follow his conversation. “Keep what?”

  “This island. Especially since you like it so much. I was thinking of selling it after Tiger Woods made me such a fantastic offer.”

  She considered his words as she stared at him and watched his dark eyes twinkle with sexy humor. She then remembered the little information that Melissa had provided about the person who owned Paradise. “Are you telling me that you own this island?”

  He grinned wryly. “Yes, I guess that’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

  Mildly exasperated, she wondered how he could have kept something like that from her. “You, Lance Montgomery, are impossible.”

  He shook his head, smiling. “No, I am the man who loves you and plans to marry you and make you happy for the rest of my life.”

  “And I plan on doing the same for you.”

  He leaned over and kissed her lips. “You can start by agreeing to spend Christmas with me. It’s a tradition now that Carrie’s back home with us that we spend Christmas in Gary with my father. I want my family to meet you.”

  “And I’d like to meet them. Since I spent Thanksgiving with my mom and Claire in South Carolina, spending Christmas with you and your family won’t be a problem.”

  He smiled. Very pleased. “Now that all of that is out of the way, I think it’s time to turn my attention to other things.”

  “Such as?”

  His hand drifted to the area between her legs. “Making you scream.”

  31

  Connor and Carrie

  Connor glanced over at Carrie. They had been sitting in the rental car for almost an hour, watching the house where Carrie’s mother was supposed to be living. After arriving in Los Angeles earlier that morning, they had checked into a hotel, rented a car, and then met with Stuart Miller. He had been keeping tabs on Edwina Montgomery for the past week, and according to him, the house across the street was her place of residence.

  “You okay?” he finally asked Carrie, not standing the silence any longer.

  “No, Connor, I’m not.”

  He nodded. She didn’t need to elaborate. She hadn’t been very talkative since finding out the identity of the person who’d sent her those letters trying to blackmail her. Several days ago, he had noticed the dark shadows under her eyes, which meant she hadn’t been getting much sleep. He had tried remedying that by talking her into staying over to his place a couple of nights. After wearing her out by making love, she hadn’t had any choice but to sleep soundly. But on one of those nights she had awakened in a sweat and with tears swimming in her eyes. While she had sobbed against his chest, she had kept asking him over and over, “How could your own mother do such a thing?”

  Finding out that her mother was the one behind the extortion attempt had rattled her something awful. He inwardly shuddered, thinking that for the life of him, he couldn’t imagine such a thing. Good mothers protected their kids, not used them for profit.

  Connor pushed back the car seat to stretch his legs. He glanced around, thinking that this wasn’t the best of neighborhoods. More than once a group of teens, who gave the appearance they were looking for trouble, had walked by, eyeing the car’s hubcaps and tires. But after looking Connor in the face, they must have figured the hubcaps and tires weren’t worth it if it meant tangling with a mean-looking bastard like him.

  A cab pulling up caught their attention, and a woman quickly got out. “I think that’s her,” Connor said quietly as they watched the woman let herself inside the house.

  Carrie shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I really don’t remember much about her, and what I do remember is foggy. For years I tried forgetting she existed and pretty much had. I guess she decided to show me.”

  Connor heard the sadness in Carrie’s voice as well as deep disappointment. He reached out and skimmed the tip of his finger on her cheek, loving the feel of her soft skin. “Don’t worry, babe. Evidently she doesn’t know the seriousness of what she’s trying to do. I’m sure the mention of jail time will be a deterrent, and she’ll go back to whatever rock she crawled from under.”

  Carrie smiled, a little more relaxed than she had been a few moments ago. “I hope it will be that easy.”

  “And if it’s not, we will deal with it, okay?”

  She sighed deeply before saying, “Okay.”

  He checked his watch. “We might as well go get this over with.”

  Carrie took a deep breath and knocked on the door. She had asked Connor to let her handle things by doing all the talking. After all, it was her mother they were dealing with.

  The door snatched open. “Go away! I’m not buying nothing!”

  The woman blinked as she stared at Carrie. Carrie stared back at her, and she hoped she wasn’t seeing an older version of how she would look in another thirty years. It was evident from the harshness of her mother’s features that she’d had a rough life. But then, too many men, booze, and drugs were known to do it to you. Her earlier visions of her mother were as a beautiful woman who wouldn’t hesitate to use that beauty to get what she wanted. Carrie couldn’t even start to count the number of relationships she remembered her mother being involved in when she’d been too young to care or understand.

  “Well, if it isn’t my long-lost daughter,” the woman sneered, recognizing Carrie. She moved her gaze from Carrie to Connor. “And who might you be?” The smile on her lips was plastered.

  “My name doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that I’m with her,” Connor said in an irritated tone of voice.

  The woman shrugged and leaned in the doorway. “Whatever. So why are the two of you here?”

  Carrie met her mother’s nonchalant gaze. “I know what you’re trying to do, and it won’t work. You’re not getting a penny out of me, and if you keep it up, I’m taking everything to the police.”

  The woman’s eyes narrowed. “You have nothing on me; can’t prove a thing. Even if you did, what good will it do to turn me over to the cops? Being behind bars won’t stop those photos from getting posted, trust me. I’m sure your brothers will get a kick out of—”

  “Leave my brothers out of this!” Carrie snapped.

  “Protective, aren’t you? Hey, that’s good. But I won’t leave them out of this. You adore them, and you will pay me whatever amount I want for them not to find out about you and Simon.”

  “You act like I wanted him to touch me. I was only eight years old. You exposed me to a pedophile, and I will never forgive you for doing that.”

  Edwina Montgomery tossed her gray, stringy, streaked hair over her shoulder. “Simon had been my man, and I refuse to believe you didn’t want him coming into your room all those times. I can’t believe he’d been taking those pictures and had actually kept them over the years. Now I’m going to cash in. You owe me.”

  Connor had heard enough. Although he had promised Carrie he would let her handle things, he refused to listen to another minute of this bullshit. The woman had one hell of a sick mind if she blamed an innocent eight-year-old for sleeping with a rusty- ass thirty-something-year-old man.

  “Come on, Carrie,” Connor said, angered beyond belief. “Let’s get out of here before I forget this woman gave birth to you, which is probably the only decent thing she’s ever done in her entire life.”

  “Now you look
here, son,” the woman snarled at Connor.

  “No, you look here,” Connor snarled back, taking a step forward, getting into the woman’s face. “And I am not your son, thank God. If you send Carrie another piece of correspondence, I will contact the authorities. It will make me extremely happy to see your ass locked up and rotting in jail.”

  Connor grabbed Carrie’s hand had turned to leave when the woman called after them. “Go ahead and have me locked up. I don’t give a damn. The police will have to find me first—since I’m extremely good at hiding when I want to get lost—and then it will be too late, Carrie. Listen to lover boy if you want, but I’ll make sure your brothers know the truth about you. Don’t pay me that money, and I’ll make sure they know about that Web site as well as sending those pictures to the newspapers for them to have a field day with them. Take your chances if you want. It will be your loss. Just imagine what your brothers will think of you then, their precious baby sister. Mail the money to that post office box no later than New Year’s Eve midnight like I said, or you’ll be sorry.” She then slammed the door.

  Back at the hotel, Connor paced the room, cursing. He stopped his pacing. “Tell me I heard you wrong and you aren’t going to pay that woman a damn dime.”

  Carrie flinched at his harsh words but kept packing. She knew he didn’t like her decision, but it was something she had to do. She had the money, although it would nearly completely wipe out her savings. “Connor, try to understand that—”

  “I’m not going to try and understand, dammit. You’re letting her manipulate you into doing whatever she wants. You were the one who was the victim. Why are you letting her do this to you?”

  Carrie closed her luggage and glanced over at him. “Because if I don’t give her what she wants, she will do as she says she will do, and I can’t let that happen. My brothers are professionals. They are known worldwide for the work they do. I can’t let what my mother plans to do shatter their lives.”