Breathing ragged, sweat chilling his overheated skin, he fell forward, catching himself on his forearms and resting his head on her breasts. His feet were still flat on the floor, but with the way his damn legs trembled, he didn’t think he’d be able to lift his weight off her for…oh, never. Her heart hammered under his ear and he smiled sleepily at the sound.
“Can you move?” Libby finally said. “I need water.”
Oh, shit. She didn’t sound content. More like annoyed. Had he done something wrong? He wracked his lust-addled brain for any hint that he’d screwed up. She’d said yes, and he knew she’d come at least twice before he’d lost himself in his own pleasure and quit counting. Maybe she’d been faking…but he didn’t think so. Nobody could fake the involuntary muscle spasms that had squeezed his cock so hard that he’d been unable to hold back his own orgasm.
“Yeah. Sorry.” He willed his still trembling muscles to work and straightened, realizing too late that he was still inside her. He hissed as their bodies dislodged and she let out a soft moan.
Son of a bitch, he was already getting hard again. He watched Libby walk toward the master bath until the door closed behind her, then sat down on the bed and made himself comfortable with a pillow behind his back. With a mix of wonder and disgust at himself, he stared down his body at his cock, which was definitely up for a round two.
That woman. Christ, he must be a glutton for punishment because he just couldn’t get enough.
When the door opened again, she stood silhouetted by the bathroom lights, wrapped up in a short robe that looked silky to the touch. He wanted to take that soft tie off the robe and wind it around her wrists. Or, hell, she could even tie him up with it. Actually, that thought was far too appealing and he covered himself with his hands to hide his instant reaction.
Unmoving, she stared at him from the doorway for a long time.
Jude winced at the expression on her face. “Are you gonna pull out the ‘this was mistake’ line and kick me back to the couch?”
She rolled her bottom lip through her teeth, but then shook her head. “No, not this time. We’re both adults now. We should be able to carry on a physical affair.”
“A physical affair,” he echoed. Was she saying…? No way. She couldn’t be. He must have misunderstood or something. Then again, there wasn’t much in her statement to misunderstand. “Uh, lemme make sure I’m hearing you right. Just for the sake of clarity. You want to keep having sex?”
“We may be here for a while. It’s logical as long as we keep emotions out of it.”
Jude blinked. This was too good to be true. “No emotions?”
“None,” she agreed and moved to sit on the end of the bed. “Just sex. There’s no denying the chemistry we have in bed, so why not exploit it? At very least, it’s a nice distraction.”
Nice distraction. Those oh so logical words tweaked something a little too close to his heart for comfort, so he did what he always did when something hurt: he grinned. “Well, hell. What kind of a man would I be if I said no to that deal?”
Chapter Fifteen
No news. Save for the incessant calls from Kenneth Burke for updates to give Pruitt, nothing much was happening.
Jude sighed, pocketed his phone, and continued pacing the house. Part of him—Libby would say the insane part of him—almost wished something would happen with K-Bar already. Even with their mutually satisfying nights together, the days were beginning to seem endless and sitting around the house waiting for an anvil to drop on their heads was starting to grate on his nerves. Libby’s, too, if he had to guess by the way she’d gone all neat-freak on him. The woman had spent almost every waking moment scrubbing, mopping, and dusting and last night he’d noticed the effects of all that hard work in her chapped hands and ragged fingernails. He kept expecting her to run out of things to clean, but she always managed to find something else, so this morning, he’d suggested she relax and read another book. That had not gone over well. She’d thrown it in his face that she wouldn’t have to clean everyday if he didn’t make such a mess all of the time.
“What mess?” he’d demanded incredulously, pulled off the basketball shorts he liked to sleep in, and tossed them aside while he rooted around in his drawer for a pair of board shorts for his morning swim. “The place is cleaner now than when we arrived.”
“Your mess!” She scooped up his shorts and stuffed them in the hamper along with her nightshirt. She looked gorgeous standing there in her bra and panties and nothing else, but he was too annoyed to act on his cock’s interest.
“I don’t make a mess.”
“Uh, yes, you do. You take off your clothes and leave them where they land.”
Okay, she got him there. “I pick them up eventually.”
“Eventually’s not soon enough!” She snatched a sock from the floor by the end of the bed and thrust it at him. “I purposely left this laying on the floor, waiting to see if you’d pick it up.”
Outrage burned through him as he slammed the dresser drawer shut and spun to face her. “You tested me?”
“Uh-huh. And you failed miserably.”
“No shit. I didn’t see it there.”
“That’s the problem. You never see any of it. Know how long this sock has been there? Hm? Three days, Jude. Three. Days.” She threw the sock into the hamper with everything else. “And that’s not even the half of it. You have no clue how to run the dishwasher. You leave toothpaste in the sink. You—”
“All right, since you’re Ms. Spic-and-Span herself.” He motioned toward the en suite. “You wanna tell me why you have every hair product known to mankind scattered on the bathroom counter?”
“Because that’s where they belong!”
“But my shave kit belongs under the sink?”
“Yes!”
That had sparked another round of bickering, which ended with her shoving him out of the bedroom and shutting herself in to organize their socks by type and color or some shit. Jude left her alone to go for his morning swim, but two hours later, he was all but climbing the walls. When he realized he’d just completed his fifth lap around the living room furniture, he stopped and shook his head.
Something had to change. Like, right now. They needed a break, some kind of release valve, or they were going to end up driving each other into straightjackets.
Drive.
Now there was an idea. Technically, they should stay in the house, but fuck it. This wasn’t witness protection. Since he’d heard nothing from nobody about anything for three long days, a drive wouldn’t hurt. And…maybe a picnic somewhere remote and quiet, away from the constant crowd of tourists on Key West. Someplace where the only possible threat to Libby would be a sunburn.
Yeah, he liked this idea. He took a moment to let a plan solidify in his mind, then pulled out his phone again. He knew just the place.
…
Libby had to admit it felt incredible to be out of that house and among the bustle of civilization again. As Jude navigated the rented convertible through traffic, the hotels alongside the road gave way to condos and then to non-touristy commercial and residential properties. Finally, civilization surrendered to marshlands and she started to fidget as paranoia gnawed at the back of her brain.
“Where are we going?” He’d said they were only going for a drive around the island, but the car seemed to be pointed away from Key West.
Jude glanced over the tops of his sunglasses with that panty-melting smile of his, but gave no other answer. He just stepped on the gas and turned up the radio as Bob Marley told them not to worry about a thing. The convertible cleared the edge of the island and nothing but water and sky and miles of highway stretched before them. Wind whipped her hair into a frizzy mess, but suddenly she didn’t care.
Beautiful.
No, wait. With the sun dancing over the calm, crystalline ocean’s surface, “beautiful” didn’t even come close to describing it. Stunning was a better word. Gorgeous. Breathtaking.
Libby
lifted her face to the sky, the sun warm on her cheeks, and inhaled the salt-rich air. Her lungs expanded for what felt like the first time in her life. It was like flying and she had the strangest urge to unbuckle, stand up, and embrace the heady sensation of freedom with her entire being.
“Do it.”
She whipped around in her seat to stare at Jude. “What?”
“You want to stand up, do it.”
“No! Are you crazy?”
“Depends on your definition.” He grinned again. “And I know you have a wild and crazy woman buried in there somewhere. I get a peek at her every night, remember?”
The back of her neck burned at the reminder. “That’s different.”
“How? C’mon, unleash her again for me,” he cajoled in a soft, seductive voice she almost couldn’t hear over the wind. “You don’t have to wait until sex to let it all go.”
Oh, was she ever temped, except…She hadn’t done anything wild or reckless since he left and wasn’t about to start now just because he was back in her life for a short time. “It’s dangerous.”
“Life’s no fun without a little danger. C’mon, Libs. Double dog dare you.”
“You didn’t just say that.”
“Triple,” he challenged.
She stared at him in utter disbelief. “Are you five?”
“Is that a no? Okay, then I will.” He lifted his hands off the steering wheel, gripped the windshield and hoisted himself up. Libby’s heart lurched and she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for impact. Horns blared from passing cars, but the convertible didn’t smack into anything or drift into oncoming traffic or jump over the concrete side of the bridge and land in the ocean. After a moment, she peeled one eye open. Then the other.
Holy shit. Jude was holding the wheel steady with his legs.
She released a pent up breath. “You’ve done this before.”
“A few times.” He held out a hand. “C’mon. Just for a second. Let yourself enjoy the moment, Libs.”
Enjoy the moment. When was the last time she’d let herself enjoy anything? Aside from sex with him, she honestly couldn’t remember. Her life in D.C. revolved around work and more work. Deep down, she knew the stress of it all, the burden she carried to right wrongs day in and day out, was crushing her.
Oh, God. Was insanity contagious? Had to be because she was actually going to do this ridiculous stunt.
“Okay.” She gulped down her fear, unbuckled her seatbelt before she could think better of it, and set her hand in Jude’s. He hauled her up and guided her hands to hang on to the windshield, then dropped back into the driver’s seat. With a twist of the radio’s knob, he sent Bob Marley’s words of wisdom soaring.
“Wait, wait, wait. What are you doing?”
“Driving.” He stopped her with a hand on her arm as she tried to sit down. “Let it go!”
Wind tore the breath from her lungs and ripped tears from her eyes. She stared in wonder at the Overseas Highway stretching before them, at the ocean, lit with sparks of sunlight, expanding forever on each side of the bridge. On the horizon to the east, she spotted a sailboat cruising toward Key West. To the west, a school of fish jumped into the air, their scales flashing silver before they disappeared under the surface again. It was…wonderful.
Laughter bubbled up from somewhere deep inside of her and she lifted her arms, let her head fall back, and sang out Bob Marley’s lyrics to the sky.
And for the moment, she believed them. Everything was going to be all right.
Chapter Sixteen
Jude jumped aboard the small fishing boat called the Gladys Marie and smiled up at Libby, who stood on the dock with an expression of doubt on her face.
“That thing can’t possibly be safe.”
“Sure it is.” He thumped a hand on the boat’s railing. “Old Gladys is as sturdy as…uh…” He couldn’t think of anything reassuring to compare it to and said, “Well, she’s sturdy.”
“Maybe so.” Libby eyed the platinum blond kid with the nose ring that was to be their captain. “But I’m more worried about him. Is he even old enough to drive this thing?”
“I’m twenty-one,” the kid protested.
Jude shrugged. “See, he’s a responsible adult.”
Libby snorted but finally relented and grasped his hand. He helped her aboard.
“Where are we going?” she asked for the hundredth time as she sat next to him in the bow.
“On an adventure.”
She rolled her lower lip through her teeth. “So I should be worried.”
“You’ll like it. Promise.”
She made a noncommittal sound, dragged her bag onto her lap, and hunted around inside for a moment. She brought out a bottle of SPF 50 sunscreen.
Go figure.
Jude laughed and watched her slather it on, part of him wishing he were the coconut-scented goo she spread so liberally all over her body. She sent him a sidelong glance. “Don’t look.”
He grinned. “Make me.”
“God, you’re such a child.” With an exasperated exhale, she lifted the edges of her swimsuit top and rubbed the stuff on her breasts.
Oh, hell. It took everything he had in him not to groan and he couldn’t help but wonder if the sunscreen tasted as good as it smelled. Was she trying to torture him? Knowing her, probably.
“You need to put some on, too,” she said in a won’t-take-no-for-an-answer tone and held the tube out to him. So, naturally, he had to brush it aside. At this point, poking at her had gone beyond an amusing pastime and into compulsion territory, but he got the feeling she enjoyed their bickering as much as he did.
“I’ll be fine.”
She sniffed, snapped the tube shut, and dropped it into her bag. “Don’t you come whining to me when you’re burned to a crisp, buddy. I’ll just laugh and do my I-told-you-so dance.”
“Now that’s something I’d pay to see. Does it involve a pole?”
She punched him in the shoulder. Hard. “You’re an ass.”
Satisfied with the outcome of the conversation, he lifted his face to the sun and inhaled the salty air. The ocean was as flat as a sheet of blue glass today, the only waves the ones coming off the boat as she skimmed across the water toward their destination. He stole a glance at Libby. She sat beside him with her eyes closed, her face also raised to the sun and wind. When she smiled, he did, too. She loved this. Sure, she’d cut off her own tongue with nail clippers before she admitted to it, but she was just as taken with the colors and sounds and flavors of the Keys as he was.
He couldn’t wait to see what her reaction would be to the afternoon he had planned and all but bounced in his seat with impatience. No doubt she was going to bitch and moan—and he couldn’t wait for the argumental gymnastics to follow—but he was also sure she was going to relish every second of it. At least he hoped so. He wanted to see her relax, wanted her to forget for a little while why they were in this tropical paradise. An escape for them both.
Fuck, his nerves were jangling around under his skin like obnoxious church bells.
Unable to stay seated any longer, he got up and paced the length of the boat, rubbing the ring in his shorts pocket like some kind of fucking magic lamp. He stopped and forced himself to remove his hand from the pocket and zip it up so he wouldn’t be tempted again. Libby gave him a quizzical look at the sound of the zipper, but went back to enjoying the ride without a word of question.
Hah. The lawyer was speechless. Had to be a first.
Temptation to provoke her again niggled at him, just so he could watch the flush of debate fill her cheeks. She was beautiful when she went into full lawyer-mode. Then again, he thought as she leaned over the railing, her hair loose and dancing around her face like rays of sunlight, she was always beautiful.
Nerves again. He rubbed his hands together, told himself to chill the fuck out. It wasn’t like he was proposing a second time. She’d probably laugh and kick him in the balls if he tried something that asinine. Still…he wan
ted everything perfect. Worry-free. And, yeah, maybe a little romantic.
Maybe he’d just check in with the captain one last time to make sure everything was all set.
…
When the boat slowed and coasted toward one of the little islands they had been circling for the last half hour, Libby sent a questioning glance Jude’s way. He merely grinned back.
She rolled her eyes. That man. His grin really shouldn’t set off rabbles of butterflies in her stomach.
The boat coasted toward a dock that looked half as sturdy as they one they’d left an hour ago. Jude stood at the bow and leaned out, grabbing a hold of a rope to help guide them in. After tying them with a skillful knot, he turned and reached down a hand to help her up and out.
“Ladies first.”
How gentlemanly. Funny thing—he was a gentleman. Two weeks ago, she never would have thought so. But he’d given her a flower every day. He’d found a new copy of her ruined book. He had run out into public half-naked just to keep an overgrown lizard from giving her nightmares. What was all of that if not gentlemanly?
Libby waited on the dock for him to grab his pack and disembark. The captain unloaded a huge surfboard and one long paddle from the back of the boat, then jumped in behind the wheel again and gave a wave. Jude untied the boat, pushed it away from the dock, and waved back.
“Whoa, wait,” Libby said, panic rising. “Where is he going?”
“Home.” He took her hand and led her toward the beach.
“He’s leaving us out here?”
“We have another ride.”
“What other ride? No, never mind. I don’t want to know the answer just yet. I have a feeling I’m not going to like it. I—oh.” She stopped short and stared at the beach, as white as freshly fallen snow. Someone had laid out a green blanket underneath an umbrella the same shade of tropical blue as the sky. On the blanket sat a picnic basket and a metal ice bucket sweating in the heat.
Wilde Nights in Paradise Page 11