by Maddie James
When her back flattened against the sand, she knew there was no going back. She didn’t want to stop. His mouth found hers again and then, suddenly, she heard and felt the explosion of fireworks.
Real fireworks. Mitchell’s lips stilled and he pulled back an inch or two, a dazed expression on his face.
“I’m good, but I can’t compete with actual fireworks,” he murmured in her ear. He rolled off her and propped himself up on one elbow next to her. His grin was eighty percent disappointed chagrin and maybe twenty percent boyish enjoyment of the fireworks. It was one hundred percent irresistible.
Spectators shouted, ran, laughed, and raced across the sand to find a good viewing spot. Jackie pulled her knees up and sat watching the fireworks explode, fall slowly, and then dip into the Gulf of Mexico. A huge crowd gathered around them and she heard grunts of approval, drunken laughter, scattered applause, and some off-key singing from someone who only knew about fifteen words to the same rockabilly song.
“Must be midnight,” Mitchell said.
“Does this happen every night?”
“Nope. But this is a festival weekend. Christmas season parties starting to fire up.”
“How can you tell?” Jackie asked. “Seems like it’s a nonstop party all the time here.”
“It is, but sometimes there’s a little extra excitement,” he said. His voice deepened as he added the part about the extra excitement, and he leaned over to plant a playful kiss on Jackie’s knee. Jackie slipped her hand in his, anxious to reestablish their physical connection, and they watched the rest of the fireworks and crowd spectacle in silence. What would happen when the crowd dispersed and the sand was theirs alone? Would they pick up where they left off? Those fireworks couldn’t go on forever, and she still felt the incredible heat of what sparked between them before the show began.
Jackie studied his face as he watched the glow in the sky. Who was this guy? The fiery reds and smooth blue and whites played across his face and deepened the mystery until she found herself wanting to know more about Mitchell than she would learn in one hot night on the sand.
****
Mitchell wasn’t sure what made the sand tremble beneath him. Sure, there was a raucous crowd and ear-splitting fireworks. But the beautiful woman next to him made his heart race. Her delicate cheek bones caught the light of the fireworks and her huge smile radiated across full lips he already knew were kissable. Long brown hair tumbled over her shoulders. He figured he was to blame for the tangled curls and the sand clinging to her bare shoulders. It was impossible to feel bad about it, though, when he remembered the feel of her skin under his hands and lips.
Jackie glanced over and caught him looking at her. The corners of her mouth turned up just enough to let him know she didn’t mind. His heart skipped when she looked at him. He had known her less than an hour but spent the better half of the hour before watching her from across the bar. He saw her two friends leave with guys who bought them drinks, but she had stayed. He’d watched her make friendly conversation with the bartender and smile to herself. He had lurked in the shadows, watching her before he decided to approach before it was too late. Just seeing her took the chill off the mood which had iced him in since his plane left Chicago.
Asking her to leave the bar with him was following the strict advice of his Chief Financial Officer. Take a weekend off, Hal said. Have some fun. Crack a smile. It won’t hurt you. When Hal gave him that advice, though, Mitchell didn’t necessarily think an island romance was on the table. Now things were starting to look different.
Maybe his CFO was right. If Hal could see Jackie right now, he’d be encouraging Mitchell to have his lawyers draw up an ironclad pre-nup. Cascading hair, ocean blue eyes, smooth fair skin, long legs, and breasts that promised hidden curves where a man could lose himself. And it had all been right there for the taking until the show in the sky had crackled into life.
Those fireworks can’t last forever.
Chapter Three
The fireworks’ grand finale rocked the sand and Jackie’s fingers tightened around Mitchell’s. His free hand casually rested on her knee, but the look on his face was anything but casual. Predatory was more like it.
The fireworks’ final sizzle wafted over the water and the crowd drifted away. Jackie noticed the cool night air for the first time and shivered. It made Mitchell’s warm body even more tempting. Now, they were almost alone again. What would happen?
“Hey, Jackie! There you are.”
Jackie barely had time to run her fingers through her tangled hair and steal a quick guilty look at Mitchell before two women flopped down on the sand and stretched out. They weren’t alone. Two guys who looked like island natives came up right behind them and one of them handed fruity looking drinks in plastic cups to their companions.
“Wondered where you went,” one of the new arrivals said. Her words came out a little breathless and slurred. Her hot pink top almost covered her midriff and she was barefoot. She had spiky blond hair and wore seriously short shorts. Jackie looked her friend over. The outfit was a nice change from the gray walls and gray life they endured in their office building in Chicago. She suspected Leah might have a wild side to her, and it looked like she was dialing it up. This was turning out to be one heck of an evening for all of them.
“I’ve been enjoying the fireworks,” said Jackie.
“And not alone,” Leah said. Her state of drunkenness made her even more direct than usual. Leah opened her mouth to say something, but she stopped and looked intently at Mitchell. “Hey,” she said, “you look familiar.”
The other woman had her face half buried in her electric pink drink, but this caught her attention. At thirty, Teri was the oldest and most sensible of the accounting staff, but she had the body of a teenager and a free spirit. She looked at Mitchell and then turned her gaze immediately to Jackie. Her face was as frozen as the concoction in her cup. Even in the darkness, Jackie could see there was something very odd about her expression. The air crackled with excitement, something transferred physically through the thick darkness between Jackie, Teri, and Leah.
There was no doubt Mitchell noticed it, too. He looked closely at Jackie’s friends and his hand tightened over hers. The guys who appeared to be with Teri and Leah sprawled on the sand drinking out of 16 oz. cans. They weren’t likely to notice anything unusual. They probably didn’t notice the fireworks, either.
“Oh my god, you’re…” Leah began.
“Drunk, Leah,” Teri said quickly. “You’re sloppy drunk, and we’ve still got some dancing to do before the night’s over.” She stood up as emphatically as a person can who is barefoot and wearing an orange hibiscus in her hair. “We should go.”
Only about thirty seconds had elapsed and Jackie realized she hadn’t even introduced her friends to Mitchell. Not that she knew much about him except how kissable he was. Not exactly the kind of thing you mention in an introduction.
“This is Mitchell,” Jackie said, gesturing toward Mitchell. He jumped up and extended his hand, but Teri already had Leah on her feet, pulling her toward the row of brightly lit bars.
“Have fun!” she called over her shoulder. “See you back at the room later.”
And they were gone with the guys who had followed them there. Only a few stragglers remained far away on the beach. Jackie and Mitchell were alone again on the dark sand.
“Your friends seem…nice,” Mitchell said.
“I think they’re adapting to the island lifestyle just a little too well,” Jackie said.
Jackie glanced over at Mitchell to see how he felt about the sudden decamping of her friends. He did look like he should be the hero in a romantic movie. With strong shoulders and defined biceps, she didn’t doubt he could throw her over his shoulder and haul her off to do unspeakable things to her body while she begged him not to stop. It was dangerous, but she was feeling dangerous. The crowd was almost gone now, lured by the appeal of two more hours before last call and loud music pouring
out the doors of bars crowded with overheated and underdressed bodies.
Mitchell sat down close to Jackie and ran a finger across her collarbone and down her upper arm.
“We’re alone again,” he said.
Jackie laughed. “As alone as we can be on a public beach.”
He kissed her, his heat and scent lighting up her senses. Although mostly worn-off, a hint of soap and expensive cologne lingered on his skin.
“No one is paying attention to us,” he whispered. “They’re busy doing whatever they want.”
He kissed her again, longer, each kiss creating widening circles of desire within her. She pulled away, breaking the tension for a moment.
“Is that what people do here?”
He drew back slightly and grinned. “Ignore other people?”
She thumped him lightly on the chest. “No, do whatever they want.”
“I believe I mentioned that you can make up your own rules in Key West. I’m doing exactly what I want right now.” He explored her ear and neck with his lips. The sensation traveled across her skin making her lean into him for more.
She closed her eyes and used her other senses. His touch intoxicated her and erased any sensible, practical thoughts. Wanting Mitchell was the only thing on her mind.
“How about you?” Mitchell asked.
“Me?”
“Are you doing exactly what you want right now?”
Jackie considered the question. For the past year, her desires were as buttoned up as her conservative wardrobe and ledger sheets. But now, she was discovering the thrill of wanting and being wanted. Just because.
There was no one in sight now. Jackie lay back on the beach, not caring that her hair tangled with the grains of white sand. Mitchell stretched out next to her, the heat of his body standing out in stark contrast to the quiet cool night.
A boat horn sounded in the harbor, honking over and over.
“Jingle Bells,” Mitchell said, chuckling softly next to her ear.
“What?”
“The boat,” he said. “Some drunk fool is trying to play Jingle Bells on his boat horn.”
“I love this place,” she said.
She heard his breath in her ear like the soft waves crashing across the dark beach.
“Not as much as you’re going to.”
Chapter Four
As he walked her home to the beat of the bands from the bars and the lapping of the waves on the beach, Mitchell couldn’t take his eyes off Jackie. One look at her in the bar and he knew he had to touch her, even if it was only a brush of his hand across her shoulder. One touch, and he wanted to take her away from her lonely seat by the bar and see if the island magic would work for him.
A one night stand was all he was after. His trusted financial officer, Hal, had told him to have some fun. Relax a little. Have a fling. There were plenty of women in Key West who were ready to help him forget his problems and unwind. The dancing girl on the bar had probably helped more than a few guys forget their day jobs. Leaving with Jackie was different. She didn’t need to dance on the bar to get one hundred percent of his attention.
Walking next to her now, her head just reaching his shoulder, Mitchell felt a little shock of surprise. He didn’t want to rush her back to her hotel and file her away as a mindless, but incredible, fling.
He wanted something more.
He surprised himself. Since the great Lisa disaster, he had not wanted anything more from any woman than simple satisfaction. And then distance. But now…
He slowed his pace and looked carefully at Jackie. She didn’t look dangerous. Unless you counted every sexy inch of skin and hair that could add up to trouble. But it might be worth it.
“When do you leave?” he asked.
Jackie glanced up and he caught her expression in the teasing glow of a flickering streetlight. Her beauty made him catch his breath. Her upraised eyebrows, creamy white skin, and deep blue eyes were so close to him right now. He wanted to stop walking and claim her lips again before they got to her hotel.
Somehow, he knew once he deposited her at the door to the hotel room she said she was sharing with friends, the spell would be broken. There would be no glass slipper and no trail to follow. He had to know when she was leaving on her ship.
“Leave?” she asked. Maybe it was the lamplight, but he saw confusion on her face.
“Your cruise ship.”
“Oh.”
“You do have a schedule, don’t you?”
“Of course.” She pushed her hair behind her ears. “I’m just a little flustered. We leave the day after tomorrow.”
“Maybe it sounds crazy, but I don’t want this night to end,” he said, pulling her close and into the shadows of a southern oak.
****
Jackie tried telling herself it was physical, just a fling. She was vulnerable to temptation, on a sultry island, under the influence of several partially worn off margaritas. She tried telling herself she would forget about him, or remember him as just one awesome one night stand on a certain stretch of beach somewhere near the edge of the world.
Walking next to him on the way back to her hotel, though, everything felt right. And wrong. Her hand fit in his and she thought of how her cheek rested so easily in the hollow of his throat when he held her. It couldn’t be that simple. Could it?
Loud music exploded just around the corner, but it felt like they were the only ones on the dark street.
“It doesn’t have to end,” she said. “I mean, not really. We could get a drink, maybe some coffee?”
“Dancing?” he asked.
Jackie laughed and shook her head. “I get plenty of that with my day job.”
Guilt gave her a little internal shake. Telling lies to a stranger in a bar didn’t seem so wrong. Now, though, after what happened between them, it didn’t feel right to lie to him about her life.
“Maybe you could tell me something about yourself over a drink,” she blurted out.
Mitchell backed her up against the trunk of the tree and kissed her on the mouth. It was almost primal, the way his powerful body pressed her against the unyielding tree.
“Maybe you already know everything you need to know about me,” he said.
Jackie trembled at the power of his kiss. She wanted more, and her emotions were giving her the green light. Unfortunately, a little voice inside her head that existed only to keep her out of trouble was starting to insist on being heard. It told her maybe she had taken enough risks for one night.
She playfully pushed Mitchell back just a little. “True,” she said, “looks like I know just about everything except maybe your Zodiac sign and the name of your first pet.”
“Taurus,” he said quietly. “Rocky.”
Great. Taurus sounds stubborn and Rocky sounds just scary. Maybe now was a good time to head for the suite at the Hyatt where she hoped her girlfriends were sober and waiting up for her. Judging from their companions during the fireworks, it was a gamble whether she’d find anyone home when she got back to her hotel room. Still, it was a safer bet than letting herself wade in any deeper with this dangerously sexy man who had nicely tailored shirts, one of which was draped over her bare shoulders. She hated to think about giving it back.
“It’s late. Maybe you should walk me home after all.”
Mitchell raked her with a searching look and toyed with a chunk of her hair. His dark green eyes looked almost black in the dim light and the set of his mouth suggested he had no intention of surrendering easily. With his powerful build and expensive clothes, Jackie guessed he was a man who usually got what he wanted. And what did this man of mystery want?
He answered her question with a single word.
“Reluctantly,” he said.
****
Mitchell pushed the button for the fourteenth floor and rode the elevator in silence with Jackie. It shattered the rules of one night stands, but he decided to see her to her door. Even if her door was on the upper floor of the Hyatt. He’d
stayed at this hotel only once in his life. On his honeymoon. The mere thought of Lisa sucked the heat out of the tropical night with efficient cruelty.
How many women had used him for his money and his name? Lisa wasn’t the only one, she had just gotten the farthest. And he was still paying for it. Was there any chance that Jackie…he glanced over at her. Ridiculous. She didn’t even know his last name, hadn’t asked. Besides, she looked almost shy standing next to him in the elevator. There was nothing calculating about her. But there was a good reason why he didn’t want to invest any more than he already had. He didn’t always see what was right in front of his face. A lesson learned the hard way.
They weren’t alone. The other couple in the elevator pushed the button for the twelfth floor. Mitchell steeled himself and put on his business persona as he planned a smooth exit from this one-night stand. He would walk her to the door of her room, say goodbye, and leave. He’d go to his brother’s house as planned. This night would exist in his memory as a satisfying one-night stand. With fireworks.
It was simple. It happened all the time here in Key West. Just not to him. His emotions were usually firmly in check. He was always in charge. This was a trait that earned him a reputation as a ruthless machine in business, but it also kept him out of dangerous situations. Like beautiful temptresses he met in bars.
This had to end. Now.
He was here to clear his head and make some serious decisions about his Chicago office. He didn’t need distractions with legs like hers.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened at the fourteenth floor. He put a hand at the small of Jackie’s back and steered her down the hall. It was only fifty steps, forty steps, only thirty now.
She dug her keycard out of her small purse and paused before putting it in the slot. Neither one of them knew what to do. Kiss goodnight? Say goodbye?
Their eyes met and held.
“Goodnight,” she said as she sliced her key through the slot, opened the door, and disappeared inside.