Actually, Carm was beginning to feel almost grateful to the ingrates who’d stolen her passport and raided her room. They’d paved the way for her to find the love of her life. Maybe she should be thanking them.
No, wait. They stole her Victoria’s Secret lingerie. For that atrocity they’d never hear those words from her. Sickos.
She’d come to the conclusion that it had been some stupid kids playing tricks on the local tourist population. Some kids not much different that Marek had once been looking to make a few bucks selling passports.
Whatever it was, she wasn’t worried about it any longer.
Thinking about passports, Carm frowned over the information Kate had given her earlier. Oh, she knew Kate had her best intentions at heart and didn’t have the first clue what was really happening down here so she’d listened and hid her disappointment.
Apparentley all she needed to get off the B.V.I’s and back into the country was a valid copy of her birth certificate and her driver’s license. She had her license on her and Kate had scrounged around in her filing cabinet in her computer desk until she’d found her birth certificate. As soon as Carm gave her the address she was going to have it overnighted to her.
That was all great and good, but Carm wasn’t ready to leave. There was still too much left unsaid between her and Marek. She was still getting up the nerve to tell him she loved him, for goodness sake. No way was she going to bail now. Huh-uh, she was riding this pony all the way to the barn.
The heels of her sandals clicked against the hardwood floors as she walked down the hall to Marek’s office. It amazed her how in such a short time his plantation house had started to feel like home to her. Every nook and cranny charmed her and had her wishing quietly that it would soon be her home as well.
She was holding on to her patience, trying not to corner Marek into confessing his feelings. No doubt if she did that he’d run away as fast as he could. But she decided there was no harm in testing him a little. Just enough to see if his feelings for her were close to the surface.
Marek’s low, rich voice carried through the French doors. The bamboo shades were drawn down but he hadn’t latched the doors and his deep voice spilled out into the hallway. “Oui. Why don’t you go ahead and pull up the documents and have them ready.”
What documents? Carm tipped her head to the side and listened. She had a feeling in the pit of her stomach she knew what documents he was talking about.
“Carmen and I really haven’t had much time to talk about it, Albert. I don’t know what she wants to do. She hasn’t mentioned an annulment or divorce, but like I said, we haven’t had much of a chance to talk about it.” A thick pause and a long sigh. “I don’t know what I want, Albert. Just draw up the documents, please. I’ll let you know in a few days what I decide. Merci. Au revoir, Albert.”
Well, at least he didn’t say he wanted out. That was something. Logically she knew he was doing the right thing, having the documents in place and ready in case they need them. But another part of her, the part of her that loved him was hurt and saddened by the fact he wanted them typed up in the first place. It just went to show her she really didn’t know him all that well.
Self pity tried to climb its way into her mind and Carm shook it off. “I will not feel sorry for myself simply because the man I love is unsure about his feelings for me. I’ll just have to help him become sure. He loves me he just doesn’t know it yet.” Her stomach clenched as disappointment tried to grab hold. “Stop sniveling, girl. Get a hold of yourself. You hate whiny, insecure women, remember?”
Yeah, she remembered. That did the trick too. Carm felt her spine stiffen and her resolve settle back in place. She absolutely would not turn into a clinging, weak-minded, simpering mess. And just because she’d been a virgin until last night most definitely did not mean she was needy and unsure.
Being in love and vulnerable did not mean she had to be stupid as well. She was an intelligent, confident, self-assured woman. She could certainly figure out a way to accomplish what she set out to do with having her I.Q. and her dignity crumble to the ground.
And she was going to do it, starting now. Reaching under the skirt of her dress and pulling down her panties, Carm slid them off over her sandals and tossed them in the planter behind her. Let’s see how Marek handles her now.
Carm pushed open the double doors and strutted into the office, a sultry smile on her face and her hips swaying in a seductive dance. She took great delight in seeing Marek’s eyes go wide with surprise and the breath he sucked in hitch in his chest.
She’d caught him off-guard and before he could regain his balance Carm sashayed around the large mahogany desk and spun his chair around to face her. Marek was going to have his world rocked. Right now.
He started to say something but it got muffled as her lips came down hot on his and her hands got busy undoing his fly. Pushing the worn denim away, Carm streaked a hand inside the waistband of his underwear. “Mmm, you’re hard, Marek.” She whispered against his mouth.
Before he could respond, Carm gripped his large, thick shaft in her hand and squeezed. His eyes went glassy at that and a groan tore from his lips. Watching his eyes glaze over, Carm stroked the hot length of his erection and freed him from his underwear. When his plump head and thick shaft sprang free, Carm licked the seam of his lips and flicked her thumb over his head.
Feminine power surged through her at his guttural groan and the way he arched against her hand, silently begging for more. He’d better hold on tight, because he was about to get a whole lot more.
Some feline urge to bite him tugged at her and Carm gave in to it, biting his lower lip with her teeth before she lowered between his legs to her knees. His sharp intake of breath and vicious curse fueled her on.
In one fluid motion Carm dropped to her knees before him and took his thick head in her mouth. Marek jerked, his hips jutting toward her as his hands streaked up and dove into her hair. She stroked him with her tongue, created a warm wet suction over him with her mouth.
His hands fisted in her hair and he growled, “Oui baby, just like dat. Fuck.” Followed by another groan.
Carm peaked up at him as she sucked him in her mouth. His head was thrown back, his eyes closed in ecstacy. His jaw was clenched tight. Just the way she wanted him.
Moist heat flared between her thighs as she stroked his erection. She wanted him, wanted the feel of him full and large inside her.
But she wanted to make him beg first.
Slipping her hands up his rock hard thighs, Carm tugged his pants and underwear a little over his hips until his testicles were free. Then she massaged them with one hand as she sucked him with her mouth.
It didn’t take long before Marek was pressing upward, flexing his hips toward her and breathing hard. Between pants he swore in French. When his hands gripped her head hard and he tugged on her hair, Carm glanced up to see his green eyes hot with desire. “Fuck me now, cheri. Ride me hard.”
Carm stilled and flicked her tongue over his head. As it pulsed she demanded, “Be a good boy, Marek and say please.”
Something dangerous flared in his eyes, smoldering and lethal. “Fuck me now, please.” He ground out and yanked gently on her hair.
Carm gave him one last flick with her tongue and began to stand. Marek gripped her hip hard with a hand and jerked her onto his lap. He went wild on her then, his mouth plundering hers as he roughly pushed her legs apart to straddle him. Pushing her skirt aside, his hand streaked up her smooth thigh to rip her underwear away.
Before he reached her Carm lifted and came down fully on his penis, filling herself with his sheer size. “I’m not wearing underwear.” His growl was primal and raw and made her ears ring.
His desire surrounded her, his need pulsed heavy on the air around them. Both of his hands gripped her hips and he pushed into her, long and hard.
Carm rode him, rocking against him in a pace dictated by the hunger clawing at her. She came fast and hard, the orga
sm bursting from her core with lightning speed, shocking her with its intensity. The echo of her scream hung on the air and her body convulsed with delicious aftershocks.
Marek gripped the back of her neck with a hand, his glittering eyes locked with hers, glowing with his lust for her. His fingers tangled in her hair and he pushed hard into her. With his eyes boring into hers Marek’s body went rigid and he came. Carm felt him swell inside her, felt the mighty force of his orgasm.
Then he crushed her tight against him and held her to his chest, his powerful body surrounding her. His steely arms clamped around her back and she could feel the strong, rapid beat of his heart. He inhaled and his breath shuddered around her. He cradled her head against his neck and Carm felt the erratic race of his pulse. “I think. . .I’m not. .sure. . I’ve never come like that before.” He panted against her neck.
It was exactly the reaction she wanted from him. Exactly what she wanted to hear.
She rocked his world.
Hers had shaken too, but she didn’t want to dwell on that. Her goal was to make him realize he couldn’t live without her. Carm couldn’t do that if she became all twitterpated on him. Not now. Tonight she’d mull it over, but for now she needed to remain focused.
Which was pretty damned hard to do when her orgasm had scattered her mind to the four winds. Whew-boy.
Planting a soft kiss along his jaw Carm pushed out of his grasp and climbed off him. His hands trailed down her body like he was reluctant to stop touching her.
Before he could ask her questions about what had just happened Carm flashed him a bright smile, winked and waggled her fingers at him as she headed out the door to the bathroom. It did her heart good to see his eyes follow her every step of the way.
He was waiting for her when she came out of the downstairs bathroom. Carm slid her eyes over him and grinned. He’d tidied up.
The deep blue silk shirt he wore was unbuttoned to the muscular groove between his pecs, giving teasing glimpses of his hard chest. The jeans she’d undone were buttoned back up and hung loose over his hips straight down to his feet. The frayed ends covered the tops of his cheap navy blue flip flops and the Rolex on his wrist flashed silver. His hair curled around his head, the blond ringed tips shimmering under the hallway lights. And his icy moss eyes watched her behind heavy lids and thick lashes.
Damn if she didn’t want him again. She’d just had him, rode him like a rodeo queen in his office chair and she felt desire for him begin to tingle along her spine again. It boggled her mind. She never imagined it would be like this. That her thirst would be so insatiable when she’d finally found someone worth giving herself to.
Truth was, if he told her to spread ‘em, she’d flop down right there on the wood floor and comply. She was shameless, a budding nympho. And she loved it.
Carm grinned wickedly and laughed when Marek’s head cocked in question. Shaking her head she walked past him and headed toward the door. It validated her whole belief system. She’d known deep down that if she waited for the right someone it would be like this. Hot, wonderful, scrumptious. And fulfilling because she was in love.
Marek muttered something she couldn’t make out behind her and hurried to catch up. Reaching her side he snaked out an arm and grabbed her hand. She tugged on it to test him and felt like doing a happy dance when he gripped her hand tight and wouldn’t let go.
Her laughter followed them down the hall. When Marek grumbled and demanded she tell him what was so damned funny she just laughed harder. She tried to tug her hand away again and almost snorted like a little pig when he scowled and yanked her hand back.
Oh, it felt good. She felt good. All because Marek had taken hold of her hand and wouldn’t let go. Even when he stopped to lock his front door, he held tight to her hand and turned the key in the lock with the other. He kept glaring at her and scowling when she laughed and refused to share the joke, but that was all right with her. His bluster was all for show, his hot scowls a farce.
Carm knew his secret. She knew the truth and it warmed her very soul.
The fact was that any man who wanted to hold her hand after a nasty, sweaty bout of sex was a man on the verge of falling in love. And Marek had a death grip on her hand.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Marek glared down into his drink and sniffed. He wasn’t about to chance another mushroom episode. Who knew what mess he’d end up in then. He had enough of messes to deal with as it was. Enough problems. And his biggest one was making her way back from the bathroom toward him right now.
He watched Carm weave her way between the small rattan tables and scowled. There was something different about her tonight. He’d noticed it the moment she’d burst through the door to his office before she’d given him the best orgasm of his life.
She reminded him of the night on the beach at St. Kitts. That night she’d been like a moon goddess, the knowledge of the world at her fingertips. But it had been a brief moment and had passed shortly after it had arrived.
Now it was back.
Feminine confidence practically dripped off of her, turning the heads of the men she passed by. He wanted to bash their heads together for even looking in his woman’s direction. Jealousy was a foreign emotion to Marek and he found it uncomfortable. For the first time in his life he felt possessive over a woman.
A growl of warning clawed at his throat when a man stopped Carm and offered to buy her a drink. He couldn’t blame the guy for trying; she was absolutely stunning tonight in her halter dress with the big splash of flowers on it and her silky hair smooth around her beautiful face.
But she was his, and if that man so much as offered her a glass of water he’d have to break his neck.
Marek unclenched his tight muscles and relaxed back into his chair when Carm politely untangled from the guy and continued toward him. Seductive swing and feminine sashay. Her walk spoke to something inside him, a part of him that wanted to sit up and howl like a wolf. Then beat her over the head with his club and drag her back to his cave.
Carm was his woman, his wife.
Still unsure about what exactly happened in his office, he knew one thing for certain: she wasn’t getting away. She was staying with him even if he did have to bash her over the head with a club like some Neanderthal. That’s how she made him feel inside. Carm stripped his humanity down to basics until he was thinking and feeling in two word sentences and wanting to beat his fists on his chest.
It was damned appalling and unsettling.
The band started playing on stage, a new band from over on St. Thomas. None of the guys in his band had felt much like playing directly after the passing of Big Bubba so Luke—Bubba’s nephew and new owner—had hired this young group of Rastafarian wannabes for the night. The drummer even wore a Jamaican colored knit hat over his shoulderlength dreads.
He’d bet money the kid was a college drop-out from the mainland come down to the islands for some “real life experience”. Some fun and sun and a few quick screws with the native girls. Well, good luck with that kid. He lifted his drink in silent toast to the horny days of youth.
Finally assured his drink was clean and mushroom free Marek lifted the rum and coke to his lips and took a pull as Carm sank down in the seat next to him. The look she gave him warmed his insides more than Pusser’s rum. His brow shot up over the rim of his glass at her saucy wink and grin. What has gotten into her?
“So bad boy, are you going to dance with me tonight or what? I want to see you shake your booty.” Carm teased as she picked up her pina colada and took a sip through the red straw.
“You’ve seen me shake my booty plenty lately, sweetheart. Just to a different kind of dancing. And we were naked. Personally I prefer that type of dancing.” Marek drawled in reply.
The woman was tying him in knots. Her smile heated a few degrees at his comment and her long, slim fingers reached across the table to play with the oyster shell ring on his ring finger. Rotating it slowly, Carm fiddled with it as she murmured, “Yo
u’re a mighty fine mattress dancer, Marek. No doubt about it, but I want to see how you move with your clothes on.”
His eyes watched her fingers manipulate the little band and felt his equilibrium shift, felt her drawing him in. The woman was seductive as hell when she wanted to be. And he was powerless to stop her.
Everything faded into the background, the jarring noise became a distant buzz. The vivid pink, purple and teal walls, the smell of fried plantains, the florescent glare from the overhead lights and the room crowded with bodies crammed together all shrunk away. Everything disappeared but for the bright blue of Carmen’s eyes, the scent of vanilla and coconut spice on her skin, and the feel of her slender hand warm on his.
Marek Stokes was a goner.
In that one moment, with the sound of Maxi Priest rolling live off the stage, the bar humming with a jumble of voices, the rattan fans whirling overhead, Marek fell. Right over the cliff, down the long, terrifying drop into the crystal blue waters of love.
It flowed over him, cool and refreshing. Renewing him, energizing him in that split second. His heart stopped beating, lodged hard in his chest, then burst to life again as love rushed through his veins with the force of a tidal wave.
Marek lurched out of his chair and grabbed Carm’s hand. Her protests followed him as he led her out the door into the breezy, salty night air. Gulping air like a fish out of water he pulled Carm around the side of the building, his head reeling from the fall.
Carm finally gained his attention by digging in her heels and pulling hard against him. Her demand snapped hot off her tongue. “Marek, what the hell has gotten into you? Take me back in there now. If you don’t want to dance with me, fine. I’ll find someone who will.”
Temptation Island Page 21