by Cathryn Fox
He pulled out and dropped beside her on the bed. “Are you okay?” he asked while stroking the curve of her ass in a soothing manner.
“I’m better than okay,” she reassured him. “I had no idea how good that could be.” After a moment of silence she asked, “How do you always know what I need?”
Instead of answering, he brushed gentle fingers over her cheeks. “You’re beautiful when you come.”
“You think so?”
“Yes. I should make you come every day,” he said.
She gave him a playful grin. “At least twice,” she said.
Ethan brushed her hair away from her face as they fell into easy conversation. “So, what do you want to do today?”
“Well, I was planning on having a late lunch with Lauren and Abby. If I don’t show up, they’re going to think I’ve abandoned them. And since coming to this island was my idea, I’d better get going,” she said. “After that I have the hydrotherapy room booked for a long, hot, sea salt bath. I can use a nice sensual soak after what we just did,” she said, grinning.
He delighted in how comfortable they were together, how easily they fell into conversation after passionately charged sex. “Will I see you tonight?”
She touched his cheek. “Whether you want to or not.”
He grinned like the village idiot, feeling so damn juvenile. “Oh, I want to, but you already know that.”
“So, what are you going to do this afternoon?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I guess it’s time to work on the deck.” “Deck?”
“Yeah, it’s some makeshift project Malik gave me when I first got here. Something to help me reenter the workforce, I guess, because it’ll be a cold day in hell before my superior officers come pounding on my door again.” He grabbed the blankets and hauled them up, noting the strange sense of relief washing over him. It hadn’t occurred to him until lately just how disgruntled he’d become with all the red tape and bureaucratic bullshit. “I’ve had a pile of building materials sitting at the back of my cabana for months. I haven’t felt like touching it. I think I’ll get started on it today, though.”
Dani touched his hands and gave him a playful wink. “I always knew you were good with your hands.” She snuggled in tighter. “So, where did you learn carpentry work?”
“My grandfather.”
“I thought you came from a line of military men.”
“I do. That’s what Grandpa did in the military.” Ethan chuckled and added, “My mom made sure I learned how to wield a hammer. She said the one thing she hates is a man who is useless around the house.”
“Same here.” Dani grinned. “Where do your parents live?”
“Mom and Dad call Florida home now. But they’ve lived all over. How about you?”
“My mom, dad and baby brother are all in Chicago. Not far from me.” After a moment she added, “You know, Ethan, in my line of work we’re always looking for good carpenters. Of course, I’d have to see your finished product first before I could recommend you,” she said playfully.
“Why, you…” he covered her lips with his.
After a long, thorough kiss, Dani stole another glance at the clock. “I’d better get going or the girls are going to think I’ve been eaten by the big bad wolf.”
Ethan cocked his head and gave her a wicked grin. “Oh, but you have, my sweet Dani, you have. Numerous times.”
Dani laughed out loud and threw the covers back. “On that note…”
Ethan sat up in the bed and watched her get ready, enjoying the view of a naked Dani strolling around the cabana. A short while later he showered, dressed and made his way back to his place, which he hadn’t seen the inside of in a days. After grabbing a bite to eat he fastened his carpenter’s belt and stepped outside to the waiting stack of lumber. He laid his cane to the side, filled his tool apron with deck screws and began sorting the wood.
Time flew by as he cut and tacked together the frame. It occurred to him how good it felt to be doing physical work again. It also occurred to him how much he liked working with his hands, and how much he’d missed it. For the first time in months he felt his restlessness ebbing away, felt the tension ease from his body.
After wiping his brow with the back of his hand, he measured the lumber while his thoughts raced to Dani. His sweet, wonderful Dani who’d be leaving the island in a little over a week, with both of them going their own separate ways.
He paused to consider things further. Shit. How the fuck was he going to walk away from this—this crazy, amazing thing between them? How the fuck was he going to walk away from her? A woman who’d given him back everything he’d lost.
Every time they’d made love, Dani had given him back his control. Of course he always ended up losing it again the minute he sank into her damp heat. But it wasn’t totally horrible. Not at all. In fact it felt exhilarating with her. It felt safe. And it didn’t make him feel like less of a man.
Dani had never once looked at him as broken, and he didn’t see a trace of pity in her eyes when he’d shed his pants and exposed his injury. All he saw was dark desire. She looked at him like he was a man, a man who could give her exactly what she needed. The powerful, virile man he used to be.
Still was, in fact.
He recalled Dani’s words the first night they were together: Just once I want to experience the pleasure of submission. That one night of wild fantasy sex had turned into many. The way she looked at him with such need and the way she put herself completely in his hands had warmed his darkest corners.
But how did Dani feel? Sure, they were having fun together, but that didn’t mean she wanted anything permanent. Maybe when her vacation was up she’d be eager to get home, back to life as she knew it, taking only erotic memories with her.
Ethan grabbed a two-by-six and carried it to the circular saw. He knew what had happened between Dani and him wasn’t magic and had nothing to do with any elixir. Although he wasn’t a believer in destiny, he was beginning to think that maybe everything did happen for a reason. If he hadn’t gotten shot, he never would have been sent to the island and he never would have met Dani. Something told him she was far more important than any control he’d ever had.
He nodded. What the fuck was happening to him? He was beginning to sound like the medicine man. And speaking of…
“Hello, Ethan.”
Ethan watched Malik come toward him. “How’s it going?” “I see you’ve decided to build the deck.”
Ethan shook his head. “Yeah, I figured it wasn’t going to assemble itself.”
Getting right to the point, Malik smiled and held his hands out, feeling the air around the two of them. “Your tension is gone, Ethan.”
“I’m doing okay.” When Malik glanced at Ethan’s cane, Ethan propped his deck board on the ground and leaned on it. “Listen, I know I’ve given you a hard time the last couple of months, and I’m sorry about that. I know you were just trying to help me.”
“How are you managing the pain?”
“It’s better and I’m getting stronger.” Of course, chasing Dani around helped with the strength building, and also helped him focus on something besides the pain.
Malik’s smile widened. “Then I think you might be ready for this now.” He reached into his pocket and held out a government-issue envelope.
“What is it?”
Malik didn’t speak. After dropping the two-by-six, Ethan brushed sawdust from his hands and then ripped open the manila envelope.
His stomach tightened as he scanned the words.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” he murmured under his breath. As he scanned the paper again, his surprise segued to confusion. He glanced at Malik. “I don’t understand.”
“What’s to understand? Your expertise is needed, and I’m signing your release papers. You can go back overseas, Ethan. A desk job for now, and then eventually into battle.”
“So I’m free to go?”
“Like the letter says, you can leave tonight
if you’d like. You see, Ethan, your superiors haven’t written you off like you believed. And you’re here because they care.”
Working to mask his conflicting emotions, Ethan folded the paper and shoved it into his back pocket. He picked up a deck board and carried it to the frame.
Malik folded his hands and studied him. “Isn’t this what you wanted and have been waiting for? Isn’t this the future you’ve strived for?”
“Yeah. I guess so,” he replied, turning his attention back to his project.
Malik turned around to leave, but before he walked away, he said, “Your destiny is in your hands, Ethan.”
Ethan glanced at the screw he’d just taken out of his tool belt and suspected the medicine man was right. He was definitely screwed.
In the span of a few short days, he had learned that the one thing he thought he always wanted wasn’t the same thing as what he really needed.
8
After showering and pulling on a bright yellow sundress, Danielle hurried to meet her friends.
“Well, well, look who’s all giggly and glowing,” Lauren said as Danielle hurried through the restaurant toward them. Danielle pulled out a chair and glanced at the salad and ice tea in front of her.
“You were running late, so we ordered you a Caesar salad, hold the anchovies,” Abby said, her blue eyes twinkling, a gorgeous gleam to her sun-kissed skin. Danielle also took note of the shine on Lauren’s skin and wondered what, or who, had put it there.
She momentarily turned her attention back to her lunch. “You two are the best.” Her stomach was grumbling, so Danielle grabbed a fork and dug in. “Mmmm, delicious.”
The three fell into easy conversation, talking about the resort, its luxurious facilities and all it had to offer. Danielle ate her salad, ripped into the fresh bread and washed it all down with her ice tea. As her friends continued to talk, her mind wandered to Ethan and all the wonderful intimate things they’d been doing together.
After a long while, she glanced up at her friends, who were staring at her in wide-eyed anticipation. She dropped her napkin, wondering whether she was exhibiting some telltale sign that she’d been having the best sex of her life. “What?”
“You’re smiling,” Lauren said. “I am?”
“Yeah, you are, and we want to know what you’re smiling about and what you’ve been up to for the past few days,” Abby piped in.
She gave a casual shrug. “Well, I met a guy.”
“No shit,” Lauren said. “We want details, girlfriend. Details. Tell us all about this fabulous sea god who’s been keeping you captive inside your cabana.”
Chuckling, Danielle glanced around to make sure no one besides her friends could hear her. “I think there is something very magical about this island’s springwater. My deepest desires have come true.”
Abby leaned forward. “Oh, yeah? Do tell.”
She gave a long, contented sigh, reflecting on the sexy little games she’d been playing with Ethan and how quickly they had moved from strangers to lovers. She’d never shared herself with anyone the way she’d shared herself with him. And the way he took charge of pleasing her made her pussy ache and moisten just from thinking about it.
“He’s very…creative, I’ll tell you that.”
“Creative?” both women asked at once.
She arched a brow. “Yeah, creative.”
Lauren pitched her voice low. “But the real question is, has he had his wicked way with you?” Danielle suspected her friends knew her well enough to know what she really wanted from a man, even though she’d never come right out and told them.
“He knows what I want, Lauren,” she rushed out. “He really, really knows me. I’ve never, ever been so sexually satisfied in my life.” She shivered. “The things that man can do with a vine.”
Truthfully, he was everything she’d ever wanted in a man. She loved his commanding attitude, his attention to detail, his protectiveness and the way he always touched her like her pleasures were paramount.
Lauren blew a breath. “Oh, boy.”
“What is it?” Danielle asked. “You’ve got it bad for this guy.”
She smiled as she thought about Ethan and how good they were together. Deep down she knew she’d never find with any other man what she’d found with him. Since he was a skilled soldier and a commander in the military, Danielle expected dominance from him, but what she hadn’t expected was the underlying tenderness he showed her. It was that tenderness, and the way he took painstaking care of her needs, that touched her so.
She drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. She certainly hadn’t anticipated this turn of events during her vacation and knew there was no sense in hiding the truth. Her friends knew her too well for that.
“Okay, so he’s great and I want to keep him around longer.” Which, as her friends knew, was something she’d never ever wanted before.
When her friends grew quiet, mulling over that bit of information, she continued. “I hadn’t planned on anything more than a good fuck with a virile warrior. I guess I got more than I bargained for.”
Abby reached out and grabbed her hand. “So go tell him. Be honest and tell him exactly how you feel.”
“You think?” Danielle glanced at Lauren.
Lauren, being the more practical of her two friends when it came to relationships, frowned and shook her head. “I think you should remember that you both lead very different lives, Danielle, and when this vacation is over, the affair will be over, too. Just keep it about sex. Great sex, by the sounds of things.” Lauren stood and hustled Danielle out of her chair and pointed her toward the door. “What I think you need to do is go, have a good time and fuck him out of your system once and for all.”
Danielle turned back around to look at her friends. “But I haven’t heard what you two have been up to.” She glanced at Abby. “Abby, are you enjoying your vacation?”
Abby nodded, but Danielle didn’t miss the gleam in her eyes. She wondered who had put it there. “I’m fine. Now, go. Tell him how you feel. We’ll talk soon. I promise.”
With those two very different, nonnegotiable pieces of advice, Danielle rushed from the restaurant and made her way to Ethan’s cabana. As she walked the footpath, she spotted Ryan Thomas nestled between the trees at the back of his cabana, sprawled out on a hammock. On closer inspection, she noticed a pink Chicago Bears hat on his head. It looked suspiciously similar to Lauren’s favorite ball cap. How interesting…
Deciding to investigate later, she rushed to find Ethan. She found him at the back of his cabana, bent over a stack of wood, a drill in his hand. As she took a moment to watch him screw down a deck board, it occurred to her that her warrior was strong and virile, yet the most tender man she’d ever come across.
He reached for another board, his muscles flexing with the movement. Her body stirred to life. Dayum. She had to admit, there was something very sexy about a shirtless guy in a pair of work boots. Unbridled need rose to the surface. He looked good enough to eat. Perhaps that’s exactly what she’d do. A sexy bedroom sound rose from her throat, gaining his attention.
When he glanced up at her, his face lit up. “Hey, babe.” He walked over to her and pulled her in tight, like touching her was the most natural thing in the world. His lips found hers, and he kissed her with intimate recognition.
He inched back and cupped her face with gentle hands. His eyes were so full of want, her knees liquefied. “I thought you had the hydrotherapy room booked this afternoon.”
Her heart pounded in her chest as she explored her desire for him. He brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. Lust exploded through her senses and her pussy clenched, needing to feel him inside her.
“I do, but I thought you might like to join me.”
Intrigue registered in his eyes. “Oh, yeah? What do you have in mind?”
“Well, since you’re all hot and sweaty, I thought you could use a nice, long, sensual soak.” She grabbed his shirt and tossed it to him. After he
pulled it on, she laced her fingers through his. “It’s time for me to take care of you.” And for her to give him back everything he’d given her.
A few minutes later, they found themselves alone in the hydrotherapy room. She glanced at the state-of-the-art tub, a tub big enough for two, she mused. On a small metal rack next to the tub, the jars of edible body butter sparked her imagination.
When she turned back to Ethan, his eyes were brimming with lust. Deciding to tease him, Danielle walked over to the tub and bent over it to give him a good view of her ass.
As she set the plug and filled the tub with hot water, she heard a low growl coming from behind her. Before she had a chance to stand up, she felt Ethan lift her sundress and push against her ass cheeks, pinning her body to the cool porcelain. His hands spanned her waist and came around to play with her nipples.
He gathered her breasts into his palms and whispered, “Perfect fit.”
Physically aware of the way he was stimulating her senses, she grew slick with need but struggled to keep her focus. She turned on the powerful jets and filled the tub with sea salts.
Wiggling slightly, hoping to drive him as mad as he was driving her, she glanced at Ethan over her shoulder. “Grab a bottle of aromatherapy oil on the shelf beside you.”
Growling in reluctance, Ethan stepped back and glanced at the small bottles. “What scent?” he asked, his voice ragged, his cock pressing so hard against his jeans, it had to be causing him pain.
Danielle sat on the edge of the tub and watched him move, her pussy clenching and throbbing with desire to feel him between her legs again. “How about lilac?”
He grabbed the bottle and handed it to her. She poured a generous amount into the tub, turned off the running water and inhaled the sensual scent. When she turned back to face Ethan, she came face to face with his crotch.
Yummy!
She reached out and stroked the length of his cock through his jeans. With his body shaking, he fisted her hair and groaned. “Goddamn, girl, I need to fuck you again.”