“That does seem legit.”
“I won’t accept it as an answer.” Mandy folded her arms across her chest. “We need to turn his no into yes, or Fiona will turn her attention back to me.”
“Let it go, you two.” Beck scowled at both his sisters and then gave Jami a resigned look.
Jami gulped her drink and couldn’t meet Beck’s gaze. Was Beck telling her they were having a fling or that she was number one on his dating list. She fidgeted with the pink party umbrella stuck in the pineapple wedge on the side of her glass. One false move and Elaine and Mandy’s attention would be riveted on her, and she was confident her eyes would betray her secret.
CHAPTER 15
M andy and Elaine cackled like a pair of matchmaking aunties on the porch, and Beck groaned.
His two sisters were too much like Fiona, not that he’d ever say it to their faces.
“All right, you two, I’m done with your little brother abuse.” Beck laughed and winked to take any sting out of his words, and he threw an extra smile to Jami. She had a quizzical look in her eyes, and Beck wasn’t sure he wanted to know what she was thinking.
Elaine popped to her feet. “Which way are you headed?”
Beck knew it didn’t matter what he responded. It was clear Elaine was going with him. He extended his arm out, and she locked her arm through the crook of his elbow.
Beck glanced back at Jami as Mandy launched into some story about her divorce. Jami’s expression was neutral, but Beck saw her shoulder twitch as if she was itching to get up. Beck wished it was to join him, but after the exposé of his previous dating life, he wasn’t so sure Jami would give him the time of day.
Elaine matched his stride, and Beck took a calming breath. This was likely going to test his patience.
“Are you having a good time?” Elaine’s tone was oddly smooth.
“I’m having a perfectly lovely time. Thank you for asking. Now, out with it. What do you want?”
“Nothing. How can you say that? I’m genuinely interested in helping you avoid the wrath of Fiona. Besides, you’ve been acting funny lately. Are you currently seeing someone?”
“There is no one waiting for me at home. I’m in the middle of relocating my business if you hadn’t noticed. I haven’t been on a date in months.”
“What about one of the Barrett sisters? They’re all pretty, and there’s a lot of them to choose from.”
Oh-ho. Elaine was on a fishing expedition. Something had beeped on her radar. She wasn’t going to get shit out of him. “Isn’t that incestuous?”
“Puh-lease. We’re so not related to the Barretts.” Elaine laughed and continued as if she hadn’t heard Beck’s groan. “I would think Sam is more your type. I’m trying to imagine you with Jo. I think you two would be pistols at dawn in the space of a week.”
Beck visualized Jami’s wet hair streaming down her back and her thin, damp cover-up clinging to her breasts. Yes, one of the Barrett sisters gave him a serious hard-on, and it wasn’t Jo or Sam.
“Enough, dear sister.” Beck disentangled his arm, spun her around and pushed off in the opposite direction.
“I’m only trying to help.” Elaine propped her hand on her hip, and her eyebrow shot up.
“Thank you. I’m a grown-up now. I can find a date on my own.”
Elaine laughed again and blew him a kiss before she started humming a tropical song and swaying her hips as she moseyed along the path back to the pool.
Beck shook his head but laughed. Elaine was incorrigible, but lovable all the same. He was being treated exactly like a brother. And for the first time, he didn’t feel like a half-relation. He was fully Fiona’s child, and he shared that burden with all his siblings.
Maybe this wedding and the enforced fraternization wasn’t such a bad thing after all. In an odd sort of way, he felt loved by all of the teasing and harassment from Mandy and Elaine.
As he entered his beachside cottage, Beck checked his watch. He had enough time to head out for a run and clean up for dinner. After a quick change of clothes, he loped down the path toward the golf course that ultimately made a wide loop around the greens and ended up on the beaches in front of the resort’s main high rise building.
As he ran, his legs moved automatically, and the soft shush-shush of his feet hitting the ground filled his ears.
A jumble of images of Jami flashed through his mind. Jami’s wild joy as she jumped over the waterfall. Her easy smile as she came up for air after flying off the Jet Ski and cartwheeling over the ocean. And the shadowy outline of her full mouth as he’d pleasured her on the hammock.
The late day heat and the heavy moisture in the air was a challenge to plow through, but Beck pushed until his breath came hard between his lips. His blood pulsed in his ears, and his adrenaline seemed to roar within him.
He churned through the dry sandy beach. When he looked up, he huffed an extra breath. He’d overshot the pathway back to his bungalow.
Beck darted up the next pathway and circled back. He eased to a trot and then a walk. He checked his watch for time and mileage, and when he glanced up, there she was.
Jami’s hair was wet and slicked back from her forehead. She had a towel wrapped around her waist, and only a skimpy, black ruffled bikini top. Water dripped from her hair down her shoulders, and one lone rivulet careened down between her breasts.
Beck’s lower lip dropped.
Jami said his name. It was only a simple word, but it held a universe of meaning. As if he alone knew the answers. As if he was the only person on the island. As if she couldn’t breathe without him. Beck melted.
Neither moved. A breeze burrowed down the path from the beach, and Jami’s towel flapped around her lithe thighs.
Beck extended his hand and waited. A tentative smile slowly curved on Jami’s lips, and her eyes crinkled in the corners. She slipped her fingers into his palm. Her touch was soft, assured.
With a glance in each direction, Beck keyed open the gate and pulled Jami through it to his bungalow. No one had seen them. He wasn’t ashamed. He just wasn’t ready for their secret to be front page family news.
The gate clicked shut behind them, and the world disappeared. Only the coral orange last streaks of sunlight penetrated the thick palm fronds shielding the bungalow. One lingering ray glinted on the blue and green glass tiles on the walls, and a shattering rainbow of colors danced in the air.
Jami was illuminated like a mystical sea nymph rising from the ocean’s depths. Another droplet fell from Jami’s hair, traced a path along the black edge of her bikini top and the generous swell beneath it.
With a gentle finger, Beck traversed the same trail the droplet had traveled. Jami quivered and leaned her head back with her eyes only half-open.
“That feels oh-so good. Don’t stop.”
“Are you sure? I am the enemy.” Beck nibbled on her earlobe and teased a kiss behind her ear.
“Don’t worry. This is my secret plan to destroy the competition and win the deal.” Jami’s hands slid down his back and gripped his ass. His cock was hard and tight against his shorts.
“I think you’d have to seduce one of the commissioners for that.” Beck traced hot kisses along her collarbone.
“They’re all over seventy, I think.” Jami’s voice was breathy, faint, but still laughing.
“You’d really make their day.” Beck moaned as Jami grazed one hip into his groin.
Jami laughed as Beck ran his tongue along the line of her top while his thumbs rubbed small circles over the firm tips of her nipples. “I think I like this game better.”
“We might have a win-win scenario here.” He squeezed and stroked the nubs until they were tight little knots. He pushed the fabric aside and gazed at the soft white skin and darker areolas. He bent and flicked his tongue across the tip.
Jami inhaled and slipped her hands beneath the waist of his shorts and cradled a handful of his ass cheek.
“I like the way you negotiate.” Jami ran her t
ongue along her lips. “I think you might need to up the ante.”
“How about this?” With his mouth, he suckled her breasts while one hand untied the bow behind her neck and then the one at the small of her back. The fabric drifted to the tile in a small black puddle, unheeded. He showered kisses down the center of her belly and licked tiny swirls around her navel, dipping in for a teasing taste.
Jami arched her hips near his face, and Beck’s erection ached. He stood and then scooped her into his arms. Her skin was heated, and she seemed to melt into him.
They tumbled through the French doors and sprawled onto the bed in a tangle of arms, legs, and lips. Jami shoved Beck’s shorts down his hips and encircled his engorged cock with a soft palm. Beck closed his eyes as fire and electricity shot through him. She stroked and rubbed the silky skin of his shaft until she bent and licked a lazy circle around the head of his cock.
Beck’s eyes fluttered open. Her brown hair formed a curtain on one side. She glanced up at him with a wicked, questioning gaze as she slid his length into her mouth. He moaned and wove his fingers through her hair. She sucked as she slowly pulled back and then let her tongue weave whorls of pleasure as she played with his arousal.
His need grew, and his muscles tightened. Jami was perfection. He wanted to slide inside her and pound out his desire. But not yet.
“Now it’s your turn.” Beck pulled back.
Jami looked up, and her eyes were darkened as she blinked slowly. Beck rolled Jami onto her back as he kissed and massaged her breasts. He moved and claimed her mouth. They tasted, teased, and bit and played. With a last tug on her lower lip, Beck eased down her lush body in a string of kisses.
Jami dug her fingers into his hair as Beck slid between her legs and moaned as he cupped her mound. He pressed the heel of his hand against her fullness and let his thumb graze the tight center of her need. He bent his head, suckled her outer lips, and flicked his tongue along her clit. Jami’s hips thrust up as his tongue slid down. Beck licked and sucked until Jami cried out with need as she twisted the sheet into her fist. Beck raised up, and Jami protested until his mouth silenced hers.
With one last, long caress, Beck shifted away from Jami and whispered, “Wait right here.”
She protested, but understanding filled her eyes when he returned with a small, square packet. A sensual smile played at the corners of her mouth, and her eyes were heavy-lidded with her desire. She reached her hand to him.
He explored and teased. He flicked his tongue wickedly across the pebbled tips of her nipples, and then closed his mouth and suckled and nipped. Jami ground her hips into his.
He kissed her until the world spun around them and the air disappeared from the universe, then he plunged into her. Jami bucked against his thrust, and sensation splintered through his flesh.
She cried out his name as they matched their rhythm. They moved as one. Jami’s need tightened around him and then pulsed in an endless ripple. Jami trembled and her muscles clenched in a melting release.
Beck arched and for an infinite second, his heart stilled, and his need gathered. He called out Jami’s name, thrust hard, and his orgasm blazed through him.
He closed his eyes, and molten fire poured through his veins, penetrating his deepest cells. Every inch of his skin blazed with the heat, and his senses spun. Jami had matched him thrust for thrust and flaming desire and need. It was magnificent.
Jami’s breath came in fitful gasps, and Beck cracked his eyes open. Jami touched his cheek and then pulled his mouth close to hers. They kissed until their passion stirred once more and then brought them to the brink.
THE MOON CREPT over the tips of the treetops as Jami and Beck floated in the sweet, warm waters of the plunge pool. With their hands entwined and silky strands of Jami’s hair tickling his shoulder, Beck reveled in the pure contentment and relaxation that wove through his every muscle and nerve ending.
Jami hummed under her breath, and Beck lazily studied her luscious breasts as they dipped in and out of the water. He almost turned to caress and suck on a succulent nipple, but as he turned, his stomach growled. Jami gurgled with laughter until her own belly responded with a grumpy rumble.
“I think we missed dinner.”
“I wonder if anyone noticed?” Jami kicked her feet, and a cascade of bubbles erupted.
“Or assumed that we were together?”
“I hope not.”
“Not having second thoughts?” Beck studied Jami and marveled at her smooth, moon-glowing skin glistening in the silver light.
Jami stood, and with water cascading down her naked body, she ran a hand along his chest, down his abdomen, and then caressed his cock. “Hardly.” She chuckled when his unit sprang to life at the instant of her touch. “I like having this as our secret getaway. It’s sexier.”
“Is it too late for room service?”
Beck leered down at her. “What did you have in mind? I’m a full menu kind of guy.”
Jami leaned down to claim a kiss, but Beck cupped a hand on one breast and locked his lips on the other. Jami laughed, but it turned to a low moan. “You are an island enchantress.”
“Are you my sex god from the sea?” Jami splashed water at Beck and swirled through the water until she backed into the wall of the pool.
“Try me.” Beck cradled her hips in his hands, kneeled, and lowered his mouth to the dark triangle nestled between her lush thighs. He cupped a handful of water and drizzled it across her hot feminine need, and ran his tongue along the same path. Jami shivered, and she dug her hands into his hair.
As he played with the cool water and his hot mouth against her flesh, Beck marveled at her body. She was strong but lush. Giving, but demanding. They were equal in every way. His heart lurched, and he looked up at the moon.
Jami opened her eyes and followed his gaze up to the glowing orb high in the velvety night sky. She whispered his name, and it seemed to float along the water. With silvery water glistening on her skin, she rose and wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.
Beck cradled her close. He was never going to let her go.
CHAPTER 16
The gate clicked behind the server as Beck held back the curtain for Jami. She emerged from the bungalow in a white towel snugged around her body, and her eyes lit up at the feast of seafood, fruit, and fresh vegetables.
Beck held a chair for Jami as she slid into it with an appreciative sigh. Jami’s hair was piled carelessly on the top of her head, and the column of her neck seemed like it needed kissing, at least in Beck’s opinion. She was strong and confident, and soft and delectable. Beck extended his leg under the marble-topped table and rubbed up against Jami’s smooth calf. She paused with an almond poised at her lips and threw him a suggestive smile.
With their voices low to keep from carrying through the night air, they talked of everything and nothing as they feasted, and the moon soared higher into the tropical night sky.
“So why does Caitlynne keep throwing that Eric douchebag at you?” Beck speared a coral and cream-colored shrimp and popped it in his mouth. He waited to see if he’d get a reaction.
“Why do you ask?” Jami didn’t look up from her examination of the fruit platter. “And, thank you for noticing that he’s an ass.”
“You’re welcome.” Beck scooped up another shrimp. “But what about your stepmother? What’s her game?”
Jami nibbled on a strawberry and then wrinkled her nose. “Perhaps she feels better about herself whenever she’s tearing down others.”
“I’m guessing it’s a power game.”
“She does want all the attention on her and the twins. She hates it that Dad has adult children he still cares about. She nitpicks constantly. Sometimes I think my dad believes some of the garbage she spews.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“I still feel like I have to prove myself every day to him.”
“So if you don’t close the Anderton property, you’re feeling like y
ou failed him?”
“Maybe.”
“That’s messed up. You don’t seriously think your father will despise you over this one business deal, do you?”
“No.” Jami’s voice wavered, unconvincing.
“Now it makes sense.” It clicked in Beck’s mind.
“What does?”
“Caitlynne has sniffed out your tender underbelly. She’s figured out that she can use your need for your father’s approval against you. No wonder she’s always trotting out snarky comments about your former fiancé.”
“Doesn’t everyone seek out the respect of their parents?” Jami cleared her throat. “He is a tough customer to please.”
“Somehow, your father has you convinced that his approval equals your self-worth.”
“You make me sound pathetic and insecure.”
“I think you’re amazing.” Beck pointed his fork at Jami. “You are strong, you’re kind, and you rock at your job.”
Jami grinned. “I’ll take the compliment.”
“We all have strengths and weaknesses. It’s not a crime to be less than perfect.”
“What’s your weakness?”
“Well, not me.” Beck made a face. “I’m practically perfect.”
Jami chuckled. “I think I’ll go with what your sisters said. You’re afraid of commitment.”
“What guy isn’t?”
“Lots of normal guys get married every day, and it isn’t a big deal. You’re thirty-five, and it doesn’t sound like you’ve even come close.”
“I’ve had lots of girlfriends.” His voice sounded defensive even to his own ears.
“Have you ever lived with anyone?”
“No.”
“Dated for longer than six months?”
“Once. For seven.”
“You’re not conflicted about your sexuality?”
“No. Thank you for asking.”
“It’s a fair question.”
Tropical Tryst: 25 All New and Exclusive Sexy Reads Page 109