Caribbean Christmas

by Jenna Bayley-Burke

  He had as much reason to be wary of her intentions as she had of his, but everything seemed to dissolve by the second bottle of the Ramseys’ delicious champagne. She tipped back her glass and let the bubbles dance down her throat.

  “This place belongs in heaven.”

  Della smiled wide, as if life had remained simple, charmed even. “Anguilla is heaven, honey. Why do you think we live here?”

  “I’m not even going to argue with you.” She slipped off the barstool, finding her legs a little looser than she expected as she carried her plate to the giant sinks. She knew Joe followed right behind her, though she didn’t see him until she turned around.

  “Then maybe you should move back home.” Della snapped a towel her way. “Your dad would love it. And he could use—”

  “Dutch would love for you to visit more often,” Joe’s rich baritone rolled through her like music. He stood so close heat arced between them.

  “I think I will.” She looked up at his pale-blue eyes, so light against his tanned face they seemed impossibly bright. And beautiful. Did he want to see more of her as well?

  Della snapped her fingers, breaking the spell. “Where is Doug? We need another bottle of champagne for a toast.”

  She wasn’t sure more champagne was a good idea, but it wasn’t as if she had to drive anywhere, or be up early tomorrow. And she felt like celebrating. She’d never felt as at home as she did here, surrounded by people who’d known her forever and wanted nothing more than to be with her.

  Joe’s warm hand on the small of her back as they returned to their stools set off her libido like a string of firecrackers. Having a few days on the island with him watching her every move sounded better all the time.

  “I know,” Doug said as he opened the bottle with barely a pop. “You can sell your string bikinis at the marketplace here the way you do in Miami. Then we can keep you with us full-time.”

  She laughed, loving that they wanted her to stay. “What is it my father has told you I do?”

  “Make bikinis for the beach bums in Miami. He showed pictures. Nothing to them.” Doug waggled his gray brows.

  She wondered which pictures her dad had shared, and when. “I made crocheted swimwear, but I recently sold the brand. Now my designs will be mass produced and distributed by the company I signed things over to.”

  Doug and Della exchanged a glance and she felt Joe pulling away from her. She wanted to turn and bring him closer, figure out his reaction, but before she could move Doug lifted her off her feet in an embrace.

  “That’s our girl. Congratulations.” He spun her around before passing her off to the hug train.

  Making the deal had been worth a girl’s night out with her friends, but this level of excitement hadn’t been on offer. Even her roommate and partner Holly hadn’t been this thrilled. But then, Holly had been the one to broker the deal. Hard to get too worked up about something that made more work for you.

  “Dutch was so modest. He never mentioned you were a big-deal fashion designer.” Della’s attention was back to the orders coming in, reminding Saskia that she’d only meant to stay a short while, not half the night. “I can’t wait to tell Declan his bride is famous.”

  Joe coughed and sputtered behind her. “Bride?”

  Saskia sidled up next to him and placed a hand on his strong shoulder. “Yes, I am betrothed to Declan Ramsey, have been since before I was even born. But he ended our engagement over multiplication tables.” The muscle beneath her hand relaxed so she gave him a squeeze. “He’d fallen in love with Desiree George. I was relieved. The wedding planning was getting to be too much pressure.”

  Doug winked at her. “He was a fool to let you get away. But he’s still available if you are.”

  “Oh no, are you trying to line up another babysitter for me? I’m having enough trouble trying to convince this one I can handle myself.”

  Doug shook his head. “Dec has a resort on Puerto Rico. He plans on coming home once the Estate is fully operational.”

  “Declan is part of the company behind the Estate? I knew it was all locals, but I hadn’t realized. My father has a way of leaving out juicy details.”

  Doug stood taller, pride in his son shining through his words. “He had a vision for Anguilla, where the people would have ownership in the resort instead of some large company getting rich off the hard work of others. It’s taking him longer than he’d like, but things were out of his control.”

  She wanted to ask for more details, but just then someone in the kitchen shouted “Out of snapper!” and the rest of the team echoed it in a resounding chorus. Della tapped her touch screen and lights went on over the window the food was placed in. Waiters appeared almost instantly, haggling over whose customer got the last serving of fish.

  In the commotion, Joe took her hand and they said quick goodbyes as they left the bustling restaurant.

  “I can’t go to sleep before I’ve been in the ocean. Drop me off before you head up the hill, will you?” Saskia gave a languid stretch that pressed her breasts against the thin silk of the scarf she called a dress.

  If he got any sleep tonight it would be a miracle. Every time he blinked, he kept imagining undoing the simple knot holding the dress on her shoulder and finding she wore nothing beneath it. He had a semi and he was simply driving a girl home.

  “Here? At Blowing Point? It’s a dock, not a beach.” She gave his arm a playful swat that should not have turned him on. Damn it.

  “On any other island I might agree with you. But I grew up on this beach. It’s sandy and clean and calm, and the place I would race down to every morning for a splash before my folks snatched me up to head to work.”

  He parked the truck to the north of the ferry dock and followed Saskia down to the small stretch of beach he’d found her on earlier. Only the moon and stars lit their way, making the deserted sweep of sand seem even more private.

  With everything so dim, it was as if the world was in grayscale, an old black-and-white movie of a beautiful woman taking unhurried steps along the sandy shore. Like it was happening to someone else, someone who didn’t need to remember this woman was the only child of the man he respected most in the world.

  “Are you going to join me, or do you only like to watch?” Saskia untied the knot on her shoulder with slow precision.

  He cleared his throat. “I don’t think it’s safe for you to be out here alone.”

  “I live in Miami. I can handle myself. Besides, Anguilla is known for the lack of crime. And I’ve been swimming since I could walk.”

  She slipped out of her sandals and he watched her toes curl into the fine sand. Then her dress fell atop her bare feet and he closed his eyes, not sure he was strong enough to look up without his mood turning feral. Maybe the full moon had turned him into some kind of werewolf, because mating was all his mind could think of, and his body primed in wait.

  “This watching my every move thing you have going on is starting to feel a little voyeuristic, don’t you think? Is that your kink?”

  It took everything in him not to growl when he opened his eyes to see her standing before him, hand on her trim waist and a sexy tilt to her hip. Her tight body was on display in a bandeau bikini top and nothing but a few tiny crocheted flowers and string for bottoms.

  “See, when you look at me like that, I’m not convinced you’re worried about me swimming alone at all.” She winked and turned towards the water, confirming that there was in fact next to nothing covering her from behind.

  The pulse in his painfully hard cock echoed in his ears. He wished they were standing on the edge of the frigid North Sea, instead of the sensual sand of the Caribbean. Following her into the warm water would lead him nowhere good.

  And yet his polo wound up on the sand beside her dress, his sandals next to hers and his shorts didn’t even make it to the water’s edge.

  Chapter Six

  Excitement ran through her like an electric current as Joe purposefully walked past he
r, the defined muscles of his bare ass flexing with each stride. Maybe Anguilla really was heaven.

  He waded until the water was thigh deep and then leapt forward, skimming the surface and disappearing beneath the lapping waves. He surfaced a few yards out, water playing with his honed chest.

  “It gets deep much faster than I thought.” She stepped toward him, swiping her feet from side to side in the sting-ray shuffle she’d learned as a child. She wasn’t about to let the wildlife ruin what could be a very provocative evening.

  “I’m on my knees.” His voice seemed deeper and yet lighter, as if the reserve had melted away and exposed more of him.

  She grinned. “This is where I learned to swim, because it is so shallow.” She made her way to him, her desire for his touch growing with each measured step.

  “What else did you learn on this island, Sass?”

  “The basics of a happy life. The older you get, the more complicated things become. Here things were simple. Do what makes you happy.”

  “If only we could stay kids, right?” His smile seemed a little sad, wistful even, as she stopped in front of him.

  “I’ve come back around to that same way of thinking. If something doesn’t make you happy, it’s not worth your time.”

  He scoffed. “That’s not very practical. People need jobs so they can support themselves. There are things that need to be done that no one enjoys. It’s a good principle, but not realistic.”

  “Really, this from a self-professed beach bum? What have you done today that you didn’t want to do?” She stood before him, the water tickling between her thighs.

  “I’ve kept my hands off you, for one.” The moonlight set his strong features in shadow as he trailed his gaze from her face down her body, his nostrils flaring as he licked his lips. He raised one hand from the water and traced around her navel. She sucked in a breath as he toyed with her belly-button ring, sending ribbons of pleasure deep within her.

  “Were you waiting for permission? Is that your kink? You want to be told what to do?” She squeezed her inner muscles together as heat flushed there. She had a list of things he could do to her, and if he made her wait too long they’d turn into demands.

  “You are awfully interested in my kinks. Are you fishing for me to ask what yours are?”

  She felt the water move before his hands grasped her thighs. He looked up at her with an intensity that made her stomach flip and her womb clench. His wet palms slid up her body and he gripped her hips, his thumbs strumming the three ties of her thong. Each pass vibrated the crocheted flowers ever so slightly, turning her on even more.

  “Or are you trying to figure out just what to do to drive me wild?”

  “I’m encouraging you to do what makes you happy, whatever that might be.” She placed her hands on his shoulders to steady herself, the rush of arousal making her want to fall into the water on top of him. But she wasn’t confident enough that he wasn’t teasing her. This intense connection they had made everything feel as if more was happening between them than physical attraction.

  He shook his head but didn’t release her. “Show me how to make you happy, schatje.”

  It would be her pleasure. On instinct, she scanned the deserted beach just in case. Finding no one, she decided to go for broke. Reaching her arms behind herself, she unhooked the bandeau. She held it up with one hand and watched his expression as his chest rose and fell on a ragged breath.

  And with that, she knew he wasn’t playing a game. He wanted her. The knowledge sent power coursing through her veins, heightening her arousal and boldness. Moving her arms slowly, she slid the top into her bikini ties so it wouldn’t float out to sea. Her fingers brushed against his as she secured it, but he didn’t release her.

  His grip tightened as she stood and pulled her shoulders back, letting the moonlight dance across her bare skin. She often wished she had more to fill out a top, but she had to admit that what she had going on looked damned good right now. He leaned closer, his hot breath teasing her like a caress. His hands, warm from the water, slipped up her torso to her rib cage. He ran his thumbs around her areolas until her nipples puckered into tight peaks.

  “I didn’t expect these.” He flicked her nipple rings with his thumbnails and a flash of sharp pleasure rushed through her body. She gripped his shoulders to steady herself. “Do you have any more for me to find?”

  She shook her head, too afraid if she opened her mouth to speak she’d beg him to do something, anything to build this delicious sensation. He flicked the rings again and she dug her fingers into the hard muscles beneath his smooth skin. Maybe she would beg.

  “What do they feel like?” His words were a graveled whisper as he leaned closer, his mouth right there. “Do you only feel them here?”

  He lightly touched one ring with his thumb, lifting it up and down, up and down.

  “Or does everything lead back here?”

  He skimmed his other hand down her body and pressed his thumb directly on the juncture of her thighs, right over her clit. The pressure felt like both a relief and a build-up of more to come.

  She gasped as he stroked the petals of a crocheted flower. She yearned to know what to do next to have him put his mouth on her. She didn’t care where, so long as it was soon.

  “These are so small they barely even cover your slit. Did you think of me when you put them on?”

  “Yes.” No point in trying to hide now, not with one of his hands on her breast and the other managing to massage her clit even while it stayed hidden.

  “Because you wanted me to take them off you?” He started untying one side without waiting for her response.

  Though his hands moved quickly, it seemed like forever until he peeled one side from her body, leaving the side where she’d attached the bandeau connected as he pushed her suit under the water. She was completely bare, and her suit wouldn’t even float away. Perfect.

  “How long have you been thinking about being with me like this?” He toyed with her belly ring again and little sparks of pleasure arced through her body.

  “Since you walked into the shop without a shirt on. You looked like sex and I wanted you right then.” The admission seemed too honest, but before she could try and take it back, he took her ass in both hands and squeezed, hard.

  “I got hard following you up the hill in those damned too-short cutoffs. Your legs go on forever and this ass is…” He groaned, seeming unable to finish his thought, and his fingers kneaded her flesh.

  Desire swirled low in her belly. She’d never realized how sensitive her butt could be until she watched Joe enjoying touching it so much. She spread her legs wider, wishing with each pass of his fingers he’d slip between her cheeks and do something about the heat blooming between her legs.

  He stopped and looked into her eyes, a wicked smile darkening his features. Then he leaned to one side and stared at her ass as he smacked it, hard.

  She gasped, pulling her stomach in tight as he smoothed his calloused palm against her stinging flesh. When his hand left her again, she closed her eyes and heard the slap before she felt the burn.

  “Your pussy clenches when I spank you.” His low baritone rumbled through her as he calmed her flaming skin. “I want to slap your ass when I am buried inside you, let your pussy squeeze my cock until I come. Would you like that?”

  The image seared into her mind, her inner muscles pulsing in preparation. She nodded, wanting him to fill her as soon as humanly possible.

  “Look at me, schatje.” When she opened her eyes, he continued. “I’m not going to take you here. You need release too much to decide anything right now.”

  She squeezed his shoulders. “No. I want you. I know it.” The desperation in her voice sounded like it came from another person.

  “You need to come. Right now you’ll do anything for it.”

  He was right. She couldn’t argue. And when he dipped his head and covered her navel with his mouth, she couldn’t have formed words if she’d w
anted to. His mouth played with the sensitive flesh, toying with her belly ring. The nips and kisses had her squirming, but when he took the ring in his teeth and tugged ever so slightly, her legs almost gave out. If she didn’t need her hands on his shoulders to stay upright, she might have placed one between her legs to ease the ache.

  He covered her breasts in his large hands and squeezed, her nipple rings pressing against his roughened palms. With one last tug on her belly ring, he licked a path up between her breasts. He looked up at her, his breathing heavy as he pinched her nipples and pulled until he could press his fingers behind the rings.

  “It is so sexy that you’re pierced.” He rolled the tight buds and lightning bolts of pleasure and pain arced towards her core in perfect harmony. “The rings look so damn hot, and I know I can play your body without having to be gentle. I can give you what you need without holding back.”

  And he didn’t hesitate as he covered one nipple with the wet suction of his mouth. He sucked hard, pulling the bud deep into his heat so he could flutter and tug, driving her so crazy she had to press her thighs together and rock her hips, searching for something to ease the pressure.

  When he released her nipple to the warm night air in favor of its untasted twin, she took his hand before it reached her breast and placed it between her legs. He didn’t pause in giving her what she craved, his fingers slipping across her slick flesh and threading within her. She moaned and rocked, pressing his thumb against her clit.

  She raced towards release, was nearly there when he had the nerve to remove his hand and mouth at the same time. She whimpered at the loss of his touch, the delay of her climax.

  “I want to taste you when you come.”

  Oh, yes, please. He ran a hand up her leg, lifting her thigh out of the water and over his shoulder. She clutched his head for balance and his hands grabbed her ass, anchoring her in place.