Tempting Escape

by Heather McVey

  * * * *

  Shelly reluctantly opened her eyes to the seductive aroma of strong coffee. The morning sun was flooding through the patio doors. Rolling over, she hauled the bedclothes over her head and buried her face in the soft feather pillow.

  "Oh no you don't, sleepyhead. I've cooked breakfast."

  It was a moment before she realized where she was. When she did, she shrank inside. Images of the night came flooding back to haunt her. They had made love six times at least. She had even allowed Guy to tie her to the bed. Was she embarrassed? Hell, yes.

  Bravely, she pulled down the covers. Hoping her face wasn't as red as she imagined, she asked, “What time is it?"

  Guy squinted at the illuminated dial of his clock radio. “It's after ten."

  Shelly let out an indignant squeal, aimed at herself. “I never sleep that late!” Guy looked so fresh and wide-awake that it was sickening.

  "You seemed pretty tired, so I thought it best to just let you sleep while I went for a jog."

  She blushed. He was the reason she was tired in the first place. The man had well and truly worn her out. What was worse, she wasn't complaining. In fact, she was actually looking forward to round two.

  He sat on the corner of the bed and placed a heaped food tray over her lap. “I didn't know what you liked, so I made a little of everything."

  Shelly picked up her spoon and started picking at a chocolate chip muffin. “I shouldn't eat this,” she muttered. “I don't exercise like you do, and every time we're together, you feed me. Are you trying to turn me into a blimp? There are limits to how much a person should eat in one day, muffins excluded. Do you eat like this all the time? No, you can't, you wouldn't fit into those flashy leather pants of yours if you did."

  Guy tried to look indignant as he grabbed the opening to bring the subject away from his mission of fattening Shelly up. Privately, he felt she could do with a little. “Flashy? My leather pants are not flashy."

  Shelly gave him a “yeah, right” look.

  "They're just cool."

  Shelly shook her head. “No, they're figure-hugging, dangerous, and shiny. That's flashy.” She pointed at him with her spoon. “You're a show-off, Guy Pearson."

  He chuckled. Shelly loved that she could make him laugh.

  "Well, they are the love of my life. Admit it, you just love to see me in them."

  "Absolutely not,” she denied. “I tried leather once, and it's not an experience worth repeating. There's no room to move.” She shrugged. “You won't get me in a pair again, that's for sure."

  "Spoilsport. You'd look great in leather."

  Her tone was condescending, but she couldn't help smiling. “You, mister, have a one track mind."

  He leered at her mischievously. “When it comes to you, definitely. How do you take yours?"

  "How do I take my what?"

  He chortled and stroked the hair from her eyes. “Your coffee, of course."

  "Oh. White, with no sugar."

  "You're sweet enough, right?” He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. “I certainly think you are."

  Shelly ignored the shivers that rocked her insides. “What? Sweet?"

  He kissed her again. “Mmm ... Yes, almost irresistibly so."

  "Watch and not spill that coffee,” she warned.

  "Eh, right.” He straightened up.

  "Aren't you working today?"

  He lifted his cup to his mouth and drank deeply before saying in a casual tone. “I was supposed to be, but Mark, that's the other diving instructor, can take care of it. He owes me a few favors."

  Shelly paled. “If you're sure you won't get in trouble."

  "I won't,” Guy studied her. “Are you upset? You and Ted were supposed to go diving today. Is that it?"

  Listlessly, she nodded. “I suppose when you just mentioned the diving, it sank in, that's all."

  He picked up one of her slender hands. “Are you regretting that he's gone?"

  Her light green eyes flashed at him. “No ... no, it's just strange. I don't know how to explain it."

  "For the first time in your life you don't know where or with whom you're going and it's quite frightening,” he said softly.

  "Exactly, that's it.” She nodded, grateful that he understood. “Ever since I was a teenager, I've always had Ted."

  "And now you don't,” he finished helpfully.

  "And now I don't."

  While Shelly polished off her muffin, they ate for a few moments in silence. Then Guy said matter-of-factly around a mouthful of toast, “You lied, you know."

  Her coffee cup wavered dangerously. “I did?"

  He nodded. “You told me once that you looked terrible in the mornings."

  Shelly flushed and rubbed a hand through her tousled hair. She definitely was no Mona Lisa first thing, that was for sure.

  He growled. “When in actual fact, you look tasty enough to eat."

  Her eyes laughed up at him. Her hand reached out to the crotch of his jeans and gently kneaded. “Why don't you eat me then?"

  He laughed, delighted with her. “Your wish is my command, ma'am. I think I'll start with your fingers, they've got chocolate on them."

  Taking her hand in his, he sucked the sweet, sticky mess from her fingertips.

  Shelly moaned low in her throat. Ribbons of pleasure spread through her body as his tongue slid the entire length of her fingers while his teeth gently nipped her flesh.

  One by one, he slowly cleaned them all. And when he was done, he bent over her and captured her lips with his.

  His kiss was fiercely demanding. Shelly pulled back, breathless. “God, Guy, please fuck me, before I explode."

  Guy couldn't remember ever getting undressed quite as fast as he did that day. Within seconds, he'd flung belt, pants, T-shirt, and underclothes into a pile.

  They spent the morning and most of the afternoon in bed. Nibbling on the cold breakfast, sometimes drinking reheated coffee, talking, laughing, and then making love some more in the sun-drenched room.

  Chapter 14

  At precisely noon the following day, Shelly walked up the plank of The Sea Galley, a small modern ship used by the hotel to take groups of twenty or so tourists out for the day. Guy was already there, waiting for her on deck, a group of giggling females competing for his attention.

  "Hi,” Shelly said with a friendly grin as he took her hand and helped her aboard. She wouldn't let the women see that she wanted to drown the lot of them.

  Guy smiled. She looked wonderful in a blue and white striped top and pressed white shorts. Her long shapely legs were still fantastically pale, despite all the time she'd spent in the sun.

  His smile was enough to tunnel through huge snowdrifts. As much as Shelly had warned herself not to be affected by it, she was. Her knees quivered and her pussy clenched.

  Guy took her arm and helped her on deck. “I've missed you."

  His touch gave its usual shock to her nervous system. Shelly too, had missed him more than she could say, and they had only been parted for a night. And what a night it had been, too. She didn't think that she had ever experienced such a restless one. She had missed his big body in bed, the feel of his arm, heavy yet comforting, around her. She had to be careful, all right. There was no denying the man had stirred something deep within her. Thoughts of him had kept her awake for hours. Later, she'd been furious with herself for caring so much.

  The little tourist guide ticked the paper on his clipboard as the last tourists, a young couple, obviously just newly wed, came aboard giggling. “Right then, that's everyone. We will be sailing today for about an hour. Then we will make a stop-over in a shallow bay, where games will be played and prizes can be won.” A cheer went up from the tourists. The guide smiled. “Then we will return to the ship when you've all worked up an appetite and partake of the seafood buffet before heading back to Male, around nine."

  Shelly dipped her fingers through the rail, into the crystal clear water as the agile ship, w
ith another cheer from the tourists, who seemed like a lively bunch, set off. She looked at Guy. She couldn't know that the sparkle in her eyes, or the blush of her cheeks did funny things to his nerves. “I've never done anything like this before, it sounds like fun."

  A faint, reminiscent smile touched his lips. “It is."

  Shelly pulled her eyes away from his lips.

  "Usually, they take you snorkeling on a reef. Then, in deeper water, we dive for bottles of champagne. It's fun. They sink pretty damn fast, let me tell you.” Shelly smiled at the thought. “Then we come back to the ship, drink a little and dine beneath the stars."

  "It sounds very romantic."

  Guy teased, “Oh it is. In fact, I'd like to get romantic with you."

  "I can imagine what your idea of romantic leads to."

  He grinned good-naturedly. “Do you mind awfully much?"

  She could feel her lips curving in the kind of smile that she'd never worn before the days she'd spent with Guy. “Do you know something? I believe I don't."

  The glitter in his narrowed blue eyes was hard and hungry, and Shelly absolutely loved it. Her smile deepened.

  His eyes focused once again on the turquoise sea, and he said sternly, “You're a minx."

  "Yes,” Shelly replied with a combination of surprise and pleasure. “I am."

  They laughed, and it felt good. Shelly had never had a relationship like this with a man. She didn't need to be on her guard as she usually was, and they had so much in common. He made her laugh as no one else ever had. Guy was her friend, and it renewed Shelly's faith in the opposite sex to know that men like him still existed in the world. Their friendship, at a time perhaps when she needed it the most, reassured her. But the undeniable attraction between them still frightened her. Not for the first time, she wondered if she would be able to let him go?

  In an attempt to shake off some of her more obtrusive feelings, she leaned forward, away from him. The more distance she put between them, the better, or so she thought. But all she got for her pains was a view up the leg of his shorts her mother wouldn't have approved of and which did nothing for her blood pressure.

  Frustrated, she dragged her eyes away from his shorts and brushed the hair impatiently back from her forehead.

  His grin was lazy and did further damage to her blood pressure. “You turn me on when you do that, you know?"

  That did it; his words were the last straw that broke the camel's back. She stood up and walked towards the ship's bar.

  "Where are you going?” he asked, and she could hear the amusement in his voice.

  "To get a cold drink."

  From somewhere behind her, she heard his unmistakable gravelly voice. “Didn't know I got you that hot. Interesting."

  No, it wasn't interesting at all. Terrifying, yes, but interesting no, Shelly thought as she gulped down a glass of chilled lemonade. She couldn't do this again. She just couldn't. These intimate dates were definitely a mistake. Plus, to add to her growing fears, this didn't feel like any other relationships she'd had. In less than a week, it felt more. Oh God.

  * * * *

  Shortly before dusk, Guy frowned as Shelly flung her top on over her bikini. He openly scowled as her shorts covered up her bottom half. He would have been quite content if he could have watched her in her bikini all day. She had a figure to die for. More than once, he had caught the envious gazes from the other men aboard, as they too appraised her slim, yet shapely figure. He'd found a great pleasure in knowing that she was with him. He had shown her off a little; he couldn't help himself.

  Shelly adjusted the waistband of her shorts. Her gaze focused on Guy's lips. Damn, but there was just no getting away from the fact that the man made her horny. “Are you coming? I'm starving,” she said.

  Guy nodded. In that second, as she stood so boldly on deck, so small and yet so determined, he thought her the most beautiful vision he'd ever seen. Closing his eyes, all he could taste or smell was Shelly. Never before had he been so aware of another human being. She set him on edge, made him feel emotions he'd never known existed.

  The Sea Galley hostess, a wizened little Chinese woman with quick intelligent eyes and more wrinkles than Shelly had ever seen, seated them right away as soon as they reached the candlelit tables on deck. With a brisk smile, she handed them paper-thin menus before scurrying off to seat the newlyweds.

  Shelly looked through the menu and ordered a shrimp salad, followed by some risotto and a glass of white wine. Guy echoed her choice.

  The sea breeze had made her ravenous and she sighed as she tasted the salad.

  Guy quirked an eyebrow. “That good, huh?"

  Shelly made a show of closing her eyes and nodding vigorously. “It's delicious. I haven't had this much fun in ages."

  Guy slowly ate a shrimp. He had never had so much fun. It just felt so right somehow when he was with her. He would like to take things further between them, but he sensed that she wasn't ready. He feared that he had a very real chance of driving her away for good if he was too hasty.

  "Mmm.” Shelly sipped at her wine. “I only have a few days left. Can we do this again?"

  "I suppose so, if you like,” Guy muttered. He didn't want to think of her going, hated the way the thought twisted his gut.

  "Perhaps next time, I'll get a bottle of champagne. You got three,” she exclaimed excitedly.

  "If you're nice to me, you can have one of mine."

  The heated look on his face took her breath.

  Shelly stretched, arching the muscles in her back that had gone stiff after a day spent swimming in the sea. “No thanks, I want to get my own. I want to set it on my mantelpiece at home, so that I can always remember this place, and how I won it."

  Guy rearranged the silverware around his plate setting a couple times. He really didn't like the idea of her going. He had come to like the bossy, little independent miss.

  "If you won't be nice to me,” he leaned across the table and took her hand, “will you at least let me be nice to you?"

  Shelly cast a droll look at him. “That depends on what your idea of being nice consists of."

  "Oh, I think you'll like it,” he said huskily. “Since there are far more entertaining things to do with a tongue than merely talk, I want to bathe you with mine."

  Shelly spluttered into her wine glass. “You want to give me a tongue bath?"

  "That's right,” Guy breathed. “I want to run it over your breasts and through the hollow of your throat. I want to lick your bellybutton and slide it across your toes.” His gaze dropped down to the approximate area of her lap. “I want to smear it across your anus, and other more moist places."

  For an instant, Shelly was dumbstruck, then amused, then very horny.

  She cocked a brow at him. “And if I should refuse your request?"

  He growled and captured her fingers. He raised her hand to his lips and licked it. “Then I shall just take it!"

  Shelly said boldly, delighting him, “Careful, I'll hold you to that."

  Happy and blissfully content, she spread her hands wide towards the heavens. It was that wonderful in-between time that she loved. The sky was a dusky navy blue. Across it, three tiny stars sparkled like pinpricks. It wasn't yet night, but no longer day.

  "I'm not tired at all, I could stay here forever. It's heavenly."

  The reckless look that was so dangerously attractive came over Guy's face. “Unfortunately, we can't stay here all night but we could go dancing later. If you like."

  Shelly looked at the peaceful sea before her. Her insides were not peaceful at all. She shouldn't go on another date with him, she knew. Guy's eyes held hers and she saw something unidentifiable flicker there and she was lost.

  She must have made a sound consistent of consent for he nodded and said, “I'll pick you up around nine, we can have a drink first at Scrumpy Jack's."

  "Is that before or after the tongue bath?” she asked wittily.

  Guy placed his glass on the table and l
ooked at her. “After, once I've washed you with my mouth and after I've buried my cock in you."

  Her clit throbbing, Shelly smiled. “Sounds good, it's a date.” Hell, she was saying that a lot lately, wasn't she?

  Chapter 15

  At eleven that evening after hours of lovemaking and a quick burger from a takeaway, Guy and Shelly entered The Globe. The nightclub was crowded, dark, and very exclusive. Shelly, who'd never really been one for clubs, timidly looked around, feeling like a fish out of water. Then she started worrying, although she wasn't at all sure why.

  Guy pressed his hand to the middle of her spine. For a moment, she took comfort in his familiar strength. He steered her through a throng of dancing couples across the room to a small corner table.

  "Here.” He handed her a glass of champagne from the ice bucket placed to his left when she was seated.

  She smiled sheepishly up at him, took the glass and held the dainty stem in a death grip. “Thanks,” she tossed out, tapping her index finger against her bottom lip. “Mind you, I don't know if I dare have anything too potent. Truth is, I feel kind of awkward here,” she admitted. “I'd prefer to fade into the background, mingle among the draperies, or better, just disappear."

  Guy's returning smile was encouraging. “No one would know it to look at you."

  Shelly had trouble believing that. Her smile felt strained, and her stomach protested violently.

  A small, balding man strolled past them, pausing when he obviously recognized Guy. A second later, he took the seat to Shelly's right and beamed from one to the other of them. “I say, Guy, chance meeting you in here. Knowing you as I do, I suppose you're here for the diving. Who's your lovely lady friend?"

  Guy replied politely, “This is Shelly."

  "Nice to meet you, Shelly.” He offered her a pudgy hand. “I'm Ronald Dalton. You know, the oil tycoon."

  Shelly blanched. “Not the Ronald Dalton, of Dalton Oil and Real Estates?"

  The older man's breast swelled with pride. “The very same.” He smiled. “You've made a real catch tonight, girlie—"