Body Heat

by Adrianne Byrd

  She stiffened. “So what? I’m just another notch on your bedpost, or better yet, your desk?”

  Hylan huffed out a long exasperated breath. “Woman, will you stop? You’re thinking too much. “There’s nothing wrong with just living in the moment. Just enjoy whatever this is we’re feeling while we feel it.”

  It sounded good, but Nikki wasn’t sure what it was she was feeling. What part of it was fantasy and what part of it was real?

  “You’re doing it again.”

  She looked up with questioning eyes.

  “You’re thinking too much.” His head descended and chanced stealing a kiss. His risk paid off when his lips brushed against hers. Just like all the other times before, his mind spun as if he’d taken a hit from some illegal drug.

  Nikki’s wall of resistance crumbled without much of a fight. What she was doing was dangerous—and yet, she couldn’t stop herself. She loved his lips. They were soft and full and had a way of making her feel complete. He lifted his large masculine hands and massaged the back of her neck. Her heart started skipping again and all those wonderful butterflies began fluttering again.

  Hylan scooped her up and carried her back over to the old wooden desk without ever breaking their kiss. He eased her back like he’d been playing this part for their entire lifetime.

  A familiar heat rushed through Nikki. She needed him—right then and there. He ripped the towel from her body as if it offended him and then covered her body with his own. She shook uncontrollably as Hylan’s mouth moved to light other fires across her body. In no time, she was anxious for their bodies to join. She remembered vividly how it felt to have him stroking deep within her. However, Hylan didn’t seem to be in any rush. He let his mouth and hands perform their own brand of black magic, so much so that she could feel a fresh wave of tears slide from her eyes.

  When he finally slid into the space between her legs, Nikki’s curvy hips lifted in greeting and then met each thrust pound for pound.

  “You feel so good,” he praised, rocking smooth and steady.

  Nikki wanted to answer but there were no words to describe what he was doing to her. Besides, it took everything she had just to keep drawing oxygen into her body. But she tried to express in her eyes what her mouth failed to do. He smiled down at her as if her message had been received. More tears surfaced and rolled down the corners of her eyes, but he was right there to kiss them away.

  “Does this feel like a mistake to you, baby?”

  Nikki shook her head.

  “Tell me, baby. Was this a mistake?”

  “N-no.”

  His smile broadened and strokes quickened.

  Then she felt it, that wonderful sensation that blossomed from the center of her body and then spread out until every atom in her body tingled and vibrated. Suddenly the blood rushing through her head sounded like a freight train. Her submissive whimpers and sighs morphed quickly into higher octaves of pleasure. Then his name burst from her lips in a final scream of ecstasy.

  Hylan’s lusty growl followed close behind. His body trembled and shook for a while as her inner muscles kept tightening and then released him during her aftershocks. When he finally collapsed down next to her, he gathered her close so he could cocoon her with his body heat.

  “I don’t ever want to hear you say that this was a mistake again,” he whispered and pressed a kiss against her forehead.

  Nikki smiled as her eyelids grew heavy. It wasn’t a mistake, she recited in her head. It wasn’t a mistake. Just before she drifted off to sleep, she almost believed it.

  Chapter 12

  “Well, Lord shut my mouth!”

  Hylan and Nikki’s eyes sprung open a second before their heads jerked up from the old wooden desk. A red-faced Mahina turned her back and fanned herself to give them time to collect themselves.

  “My goodness. I guess I should have knocked.”

  Nikki and Hylan scrambled off the desk and grabbed their towels.

  “Thank God you came over,” Nikki panted in a squeaky high voice. “We didn’t know how long we were going to be down here.”

  “Yeah,” Hylan said, wrapping his towel snugly around his hips. “Looks like we really owe you one.”

  “Looks to me like you two found something to occupy your time.”

  He laughed. “We made do.”

  Nikki smacked him in the arm and gave him a glare that told him to behave.

  Hylan continued laughing. “You know all this abuse I’ve been getting down here has got to stop.”

  She only rolled her eyes and marched toward the door. “Thanks again, Mahina.” Nikki dipped her embarrassed head low as she passed by Mahina and headed toward the door.

  “Yep. You’re a life saver,” he added. He was bold enough to give her a kiss on the cheek before exiting the basement.

  “Lord. Lord. Lord,” she said and shook her head.

  Nikki raced up the basement stairs and had every intention of bounding up the main staircase as well, but then came to a screeching halt when she saw a foyer filled with people.

  “I finally found them,” Mahina shouted as she came up the stairs.

  Hylan walked into the foyer behind Nikki and was equally stunned to see that they had company. “Aunt Addie,” he said as he recognized the short, silver-haired woman in front of the pack.

  A roomful of eyes widened and raked over Nikki and Hylan. Then there was a series of snickers before a full-blown explosion of laughter.

  “Did we catch you two at a bad time?” Addie asked, pushing her thin, wire-rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose.

  “What are you all doing here?” Hylan asked.

  Nikki took a few steps back and hid behind Hylan’s large frame.

  Aunt Addie’s face scrunched up into a frown. “Well, word got to me that you’ve been here on this island for the past 48 hours and didn’t have the decency to come by and see me.”

  A few uncles and cousins bobbed their heads in agreement.

  “It’s bad enough that you’d run off and got married without inviting a single family member to the wedding. Not that we don’t just adore Nikki,” she hastily added. “I gotta hand it to you for picking out such an angel. Why all the work she does down at the church has endeared her to a lot folks around here.”

  Hylan glanced back at his wife. “Yeah. It seems her good works have no ending.”

  “Thanks, Aunt Addie,” Nikki chirped from behind Hylan’s muscled forearm.

  “Why none of us would’ve ever believed that you would pick out such a nice, stable woman with her head screwed on after watching you parade a dozen hoochie mommas around here that probably didn’t know the difference between a pot and a skillet.”

  Hylan laughed at his stable wife. “Sorry about that. I didn’t know that the family was on hoochie momma watch.”

  “Well,” Aunt Addie said, straightening her hunched shoulders the best she could. “I know your momma would be proud.”

  Hylan’s gaze fell away at the mention of his mother, but a second later he flashed a smile. “I apologize, Aunt Addie. I wasn’t trying to avoid you.” He stepped forward as if he was going to give the woman a hug, but Nikki quickly wrapped an arm around his waist to keep him just where he was, shielding her from view—specifically from Hylan’s Uncle Edrian. No doubt back in his heyday, his uncle was as much a playboy as his nephew, but clearly he hadn’t gotten the memo that his shenanigans had put him solidly in the “dirty old man” column.

  Hylan picked up on the hint and stayed put. “It’s just that it’s been a little crazy around here since I got back. You know, the storm and the roads being closed.”

  “Uh-huh,” Aunt Addie said, unimpressed with the flimsy excuse.

  Momma Mahina finally rode into the rescue. “How about we all go into the kitchen and give these two some time to get dressed?”

  Nikki sighed in relief, seeing how they all seemed content to just let her and Hylan stand there in towels while they conducted their family reunion. �
��Thank you, Mahina.”

  “Since you cooked breakfast for Lathan and me yesterday, I’ll return the favor,” Mahina said, shuffling off.

  “Well, I can help you with that,” Addie said. “We can just make a big buffet for everyone.”

  That announcement solicited a few more volunteers to help.

  “This isn’t over, young man,” Aunt Addie said, waving her finger. “You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.” Again her gaze shifted to Nikki. “But I’m glad you came home. You have a helluva woman right there.”

  Nikki groaned as the weight of her lies grew heavier.

  “You don’t have to tell me that,” Hylan said, turning and swinging his arm around his wife. “She’s the salt of the earth.” He gave her a hard squeeze and watched her struggle not to cry out.

  Hylan and Nikki watched the herd of people shuffle toward the kitchen. When they were alone, his arm fell from her shoulders.

  “I’m so sorry,” Nikki said, feebly.

  His brows arched upward. “Really?” He dipped his finger down the front of her towel and peeked down. “’Cuz I can think of a few ways you can repay me.”

  Playfully, she smacked his hand away. “Again? So soon? You’re kidding me.”

  “We both have to the hit the showers again anyway.”

  Nikki giggled at the devilish grin that slithered across his full lips.

  “My God. You’re insatiable.”

  “Hmm. I seem to recall you telling me that on our wedding night.”

  Her expression twisted in confusion.

  “What?” he asked, looking insulted. “You’re not the only one with a creative imagination in this family.”

  Nikki laughed and then emitted a startled cry when he bent down and scooped her up in his arms and carried her up the stairs.

  A week later, the roads were all clear, the skies were blue and Nicole Jamison was still masquerading as Hylan Dawson’s wife. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that the new lovers simply couldn’t get enough of each other. Both knew that continuing the lie was wrong, but things had gotten so complicated that neither could see a way out without causing a lot of hurt and pain. So for the time being there was just an unspoken understanding that they were in this thing together. When Hylan left to return to Atlanta, she would leave too, only she would be heading home to New York. Down the road when Hylan returned to the island he’d simply say that things hadn’t worked out and that they’d divorced. Problem solved.

  Meanwhile, Hylan had to admit that he was actually having the vacation of a lifetime. For the first time in his life, he was with a woman who actually enjoyed the physical activities that the island had to offer. His and Nikki’s days were filled with hiking, swimming, scuba diving, Jet Skiing and everything else in between.

  In the past, his dates were of the high-maintenance variety who rarely did anything other than lie on the beach, sip colorful drinks and hit the sack. But Nikki, he discovered, had a fierce competitive side. Whether it was swimming, volley ball or Jet Ski racing, the woman gave a hundred and ten percent.

  She always lost.

  But it wasn’t for lack of trying.

  Nikki also had a few more talents—she was an excellent dancer and could play the piano, guitar and the ukulele. Who plays the ukulele? Then Nikki told him about the endless lessons she had coerced her parents into enrolling her in. She never finished any of them, but she managed to learn enough to get by.

  While she seemed ashamed for never having finished any of these pursuits, Hylan had to admit that he was impressed that she even tried. “How do you know whether you’ll truly like something unless you try?”

  “I never really thought about it like that,” she admitted, over dinner at the Rainforest Hideaway.

  “That’s called living in the moment,” he said, winking. “Besides, the best time to do all that stuff is when you’re a kid.”

  She laughed and shook her head. “I wish my father would’ve seen it that way.”

  Hylan was starting not to like her father. Clearly, her father’s disapproval weighed heavily on Nikki.

  “He always said that I lacked focus and discipline.” She cracked open a crab leg and pulled out the succulent meat with her fingers.

  “And what do you think?” he asked, reaching for his beer.

  Nikki shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s right.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Her head came up. “You don’t?”

  “Nope.” He smiled. “It’s your life. No one can decide what’s best for you other than you. So what, you’ve fallen on your ass a few times. You’re supposed to.”

  “I am?”

  Hylan bobbed his head and loved seeing a new light flicker in her eyes. “How else are you going to learn what not to do next time? All the great successes have fallen on their asses at one time or another. The secret has always been getting back up.”

  Nikki thrust out her chin, her heart inspired by Hylan’s words. “You know what? I think I have a play I need to finish.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  Nikki wasted no time pounding away on the keyboard. With a newfound energy and Hylan’s moral support, her fingers could barely keep up with the words spilling out of her head. Hylan slid easily into the role of cooking her breakfast, lunch and dinner and serving it up to her on a tray at her desk. When she finally started printing pages, he was honored that she wanted him to read it and give her some honest feedback.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, worried that her newfound confidence was too fragile to accept honest criticism.

  “Yes, yes. I’m sure.” She rushed to pull up a chair for him. “Now sit down.”

  He quickly plopped down and took a look at the freshly printed pages. But after a few seconds, he looked into Nikki’s eager eyes. “Are you just going to sit there and watch me read?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  He quirked a smile. “It might be a little distracting don’t you think?”

  Nikki’s smile curled upside down. “I just want to make sure that you laugh in the right spots.”

  He leveled her with a look that said, “Are you for real?”

  “All right. All right. I’ll turn around.” She huffed, crossed her arms and swiveled her chair around. “Better?”

  Hylan laughed. “Better.” He eased back in his chair and immediately began to read. Within seconds, he was laughing.

  Nikki twisted her chair around. “You laughed. Which part did you think was funny?”

  Hylan glanced back and twirled his finger, indicating for her to turn back around.

  “But—”

  “No buts. Turn around. I can’t read with you watching me.”

  “You know what? I’ll just go downstairs and wait until you’re finished.”

  He shrugged. “Okay.”

  She stood there as if she’d expected him to tell her to stay. When that didn’t happen, she had no choice but to leave. Still holding out hope, she poked out her bottom lip and dragged her feet.

  Hylan just snickered and shook his head at her pitiful performance. “Um—”

  “Yes?” Nikki pivoted with hope gleaming in her eyes.

  “Make sure you close the door behind you,” he said. “I want to make sure I give this my full attention.”

  She stood there, blinking at him.

  “Thanks,” he added, smiling. Nikki turned back toward the door, but he caught how her bottom lip poked out even farther. When she finally reached the door and started to close it, he gave her a quick little wave.

  Nikki closed the door, but then pressed her ear against it to check whether she could hear anything. Seconds later, she heard Hylan’s laughter rumble through the door. She smiled to herself and then sat down on the floor and continued to listen.

  An hour later, Hylan turned the last page of Nikki’s script and roared at the final scene. He could honestly say that it was the best thing he’d read in some time. The woman was indeed talented. Surely with the right b
acking, the play actually had a reasonable chance of being a success—as long as she didn’t act in it. He immediately wondered if he could talk a few of the other Kappa brothers into investing in the production.

  He reached into his pants pockets and retrieved his cell phone. He punched in Taariq’s number and held the phone, waiting for a connection. It came as no surprise when he reached Taariq’s voice mail. “Yo, T, it’s me. Give me a call out at my vacay when you get this message. Thanks.” He hung up and then called out to Nikki. “You can come in now,” he said, knowing full well that she’d planted herself outside the door.

  Sure enough, Nikki came rushing into the room. “So did you like it? You can tell me. I can take it.”

  Hylan laughed. “You know full well that I liked it. I’m sure you heard me laughing through the door.”

  Nikki jumped and danced around like a football player who had just crossed the goal line. And before he knew it, she was leaping into his arms and smothering him with kisses.

  Chapter 13

  Hylan knew just how to celebrate Nikki completing her play. He packed them a good lunch and then headed out onto one of the estate’s many hidden trails. The hiking adventure wasn’t for the faint of heart. The rough terrain could be a challenge for even the most experienced hikers. At this point, Hylan knew that Nikki could, in fact, keep up.

  And he was right.

  Glancing back over his shoulder, he caught glimpses of the broad smile on Nikki’s face as she drank in the trail’s unfolding beauty. He couldn’t imagine anyone not being swept away by the rain forest’s gigantic ferns, exotic birds and gorgeous flowers with colors that spanned the rainbow. This had to be what the Garden of Eden looked like.

  “I don’t think I’ve been on this trail before.”

  “I’m not surprised. It’s one of my secret treasures.”

  “It’s beautiful out here,” Nikki said in awe.

  “You haven’t seen nothin’ yet.” He reached back for her hand and then braided their fingers so that they could walk the remaining distance together. After rounding a couple more bends, there was the unmistakable sound of rushing water.