Fake Engagement, Real Temptation (Passion and Protection)

by Joya Ryan

  She changed into her cute pineapple tank top and cut-off shorts like they were part of a uniform. Time to put Operation Blake as Fake Boyfriend into full gear. At least, that’s what Blake had called it last night. She liked that he was on her team, helping her with a mission.

  Thinking of it as a mission made it easier to remember it was fake. That the goal was to make Kevin jealous and Carrie feel better. So the fact that Blake was sinfully attractive and strong, his chest like two slabs of granite, wasn’t the point.

  And now, with them on the beach with the rest of the group—including dear Kevin and Wendy—and Blake standing in a tight white T-shirt, camo shorts, and aviator sunglasses, she couldn’t help but wish he was her guide. But now she knew why he did so well for himself. The man booked out several months in advance, traveled all over to trek every kind of mountain and plain the world had to offer, and judging by his cut abs teasing through the thin cotton shirt, she could see why many women wanted to “scout around” with him. He was strong and capable, and if she stared long enough, she could see the outline of his chiseled chest through his shirt. Maybe they’d hit some kind of water and he’d get soaked, making those abs even more visible.

  She shook her head. This was no time for inappropriate thoughts of her brother’s best friend—

  A gross smooching sound came from Kevin and Wendy.

  “This is going to be so epic,” Kevin said between loud smacks of the woman’s lips.

  Gross.

  Kevin had put on more man-bracelets and his lean frame still hung the unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt like curtains around him. He’d put on a fedora and trendy sunglasses, and Carrie wondered how she had gotten involved with him in the first place.

  Oh right. He was creative and dramatic and told her she was pretty in a “catalog” way. Which apparently wasn’t good enough. But Kevin had had a way of playing on her insecurities and making her feel lucky to be in his presence. But the woman who’d won a place on his arm was the five-foot-ten slim model wearing the world’s tiniest shorts and bikini top. So that was the difference between catalog vs. magazine beauty.

  She glanced down at her tank top. Remembered how excited she’d been when she bought it for this trip. How cute she’d thought it was. And that was it. Carrie was cute. With a butt and breasts that were just on the other side of “too big” for her frame, no matter how hard she tried to work out. Not a butt that could wear shorty-shorts with her ass cheeks hanging out like Wendy.

  “Mmmm, maybe we should skip the hike and I climb you instead,” Kevin said to Wendy, extra loudly. Clearly wanting Carrie to hear him. He’d never spoken to her like that. And now she was forced to watch her ex paw another woman.

  She turned away, and Blake was right there.

  “My offer to deck him still stands,” he whispered.

  She smiled up at him. “That’s tempting.”

  She glanced over her shoulder. Kevin was looking at her. How much of a game was this for him? He was a dramatic brat, after all. But then, his eyes still fixed on Carrie, he swooped down and grossly tongued Wendy’s mouth like a horny teenager with no grace. Yeah, this was definitely tit for tat.

  Game on, asshole.

  “You know, I took an acting class in high school,” Blake said, clearly seeing what Carrie was seeing, and thankfully he knew it was time for them to shine. Rather, outshine Kevin and Wendy.

  “Did you really?” she asked.

  Blake shrugged. “Well, I made out with cheerleaders under the bleachers while the drama kids practiced Macbeth in the gym.”

  Carrie laughed.

  But when she heard Kevin cooing and telling Wendy how hot she was in between pecks on the mouth, Carrie thought she’d wretch.

  Before she knew what was happening, Blake wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, taking her mouth with his in one long, hard kiss.

  She gasped against the minty taste and persistent press of his lips.

  “Make it look good, little girl,” he said, and swooped back in.

  Carrie heard Kevin kissing Wendy more urgently. So Carrie wrapped her arms around Blake and pulled him closer. His hands slid down to her ass, and she tunneled her tongue into his mouth, deepening the kiss.

  Yeah, get a good look, Kevin. I can play this game, too…

  Her mind was churning out hate for Kevin, but everything went fuzzy when warmth pooled in her belly and slowly spread out toward the tips of her fingers and toes. She was trying to make this look good, better than whatever slobbery monstrosity was happening with Kevin and Wendy. But instead, her brain slowly churned out sparks of pleasure and her blood pumped hotter.

  Blake met her tongue with his. A slow, deliberate dance that started deep and ended softly.

  When the guide said something about heading out, Carrie reluctantly pulled back and looked at Blake.

  He smiled at her, then nodded over her shoulder. She turned to see Kevin, his arms crossed, looking huffy and annoyed.

  “Looks like our first mission was a success,” Blake whispered.

  She nodded. A little dazed, a lot happy, majorly confused. Why wasn’t blood getting to her brain? She couldn’t think straight. She could only focus on Blake’s mouth, feel the lingering tingles on her backside where he’d squeezed.

  “He’s still watching,” Blake said lowly. “You all right?”

  She again nodded slowly. Trying to do mental math of the last time she’d been kissed…much less kissed like that.

  “Want to hear a secret?” Blake whispered in her ear, standing right in front of her so she was eye level with his impressive chest, yet angling her just enough so that her profile was facing Kevin.

  “What?” she asked, trying to find her wit, but she was pretty certain Blake had just kissed it out of her.

  “I love pineapples,” Blake said, and leaned down to place the softest kiss on her upper lip.

  She breathed in the mint of his breath and spice of his shirt and forgot everything except for the fact that his stealthy finger came up to graze the little pineapple that was directly over her nipple.

  “And I’m craving them real bad right now.” He gave her a slight pinch that sent a zing of pleasure straight to her core. Kevin made an annoyed sound, clearly seeing the show, and Blake smiled.

  This is fake.

  He’s helping me put on a show.

  Just like I asked him to do.

  She kept mentally chanting these truths over and over, until the humming between her legs stopped.

  “Let’s head out!” the guide said, and Carrie snapped to attention. She’d never been so taken over with PDA before, and apparently, no one really cared, since this was a romantic vacation after all. But when Blake held her hand and started leading her behind the guide to follow, she caught a glimpse of Kevin staring at where Blake’s and her fingers intertwined. And if she wasn’t mistaken, the eccentric artist didn’t look too “chill” about it.

  She clutched Blake tight and smiled wide.

  …

  Good Christ, Blake was going to lose his damn mind.

  Carrie’s golden hair was down, the thick curls ending at her middle back. Her shorts hugged her amazing ass, and the way the pineapple-encased cleavage bounced with every stride she took made him harder and harder.

  And they weren’t going to have sex. Or do anything that wasn’t deemed “for the sake of show.”

  Because this was a fake relationship.

  Which he currently had to sell to piss off Kevin and make Carrie happy. Because despite the fucked-upness of this situation, he couldn’t handle that sad look she got whenever she glanced toward the douche or his side piece.

  Nope, Blake couldn’t deal with that.

  Problem was that fake kiss had felt way too good.

  Which meant anything he told Carrie’s brother would need to be carefully explained.

  That’s a funny way of saying you’ll lie to him.

  But he’d have to. Lane would deck him for even thinking of Carrie like t
his, let alone actually kissing her, fake or not.

  I went with her to keep her safe.

  Okay.

  I stood by her when she ran into her ex.

  Good man.

  I kissed her so her ex wouldn’t—

  There would come the fist to his face.

  Yeah, not saying anything like that.

  This would be fine. It would all be fine. The fake relationship would be over as soon as they left the island. And in the meantime, he wouldn’t stare at that perfect mouth or that perfect smile.

  “Well everyone, here is a great place to stop and look around. The pineapple plant!” the guide said. “Now you can wander and take one pineapple. The maze is right through there”—he pointed—“and you can exit at any time. But since we have a lot more to see, let’s meet here in about half an hour.”

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  “Remember to hydrate,” the guide called out cheerfully as they all scattered.

  Douche and Side Piece were giggling, and when Kevin made eye contact with Blake, he silently dared the idiot to step at him. Instead, the asshole caught Carrie’s attention and tossed her a smile. The fucker was playing with her. Rubbing it in her face that he was happy with the woman he’d cheated on her with.

  Kevin kept his eyes on Carrie while he basically felt up the other woman.

  Blake needed to get her out of there, away from the idiot before he caused more damage. Because every time Kevin looked at her or even spoke, she tensed. She was trying so hard to put on a brave face, and Blake would support that braveness however he could.

  And if the name of the game was One-Up the Asshole, then Blake and Carrie were going to win.

  “Come on, little girl, let’s go enjoy some pineapples.”

  He scooped her up and tossed her over his shoulder. She gasped in shock, and he smacked her butt as he hustled through the forest. All of which Kevin saw. Good.

  Get a good look at us ditching your ass, douchebag, he thought as he wound Carrie farther and farther through the pineapple maze, until they had some privacy.

  “This is gorgeous,” she said when he set her down, and she looked up at all the amazing-smelling trees.

  “You are gorgeous,” he said, and stepped toward her until her back hit the trunk. But she didn’t meet his eyes. Didn’t say anything. “What’s on your mind?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “Gorgeous is a word saved for acres of pineapple trees and women like Wendy.”

  Blake scoffed. But she seemed serious. He couldn’t blame her. She was handling this incredibly well; hanging out with her ex and his new woman had to be God awful. But did she really not see that a woman like Wendy was so painfully predictable it wasn’t even funny?

  “Wendy has nothing on you,” he said.

  Carrie laughed in his face. “Oh please! I have eyes. I can see, well, everything, since she doesn’t seem to have clothing on, ever.”

  He smiled. “Wendy is the kind of woman that puts on a bikini because it’s all she has to offer. You are the whole package and way sexier.”

  “Uh-huh,” she said. Looked at her pineapple shirt. “No one is around, so we don’t have to pretend right now.”

  “Oh, I think we do,” he said, cupping her hips and pressing his front against hers. “See, the way I figure it, we have to rejoin the group in a few minutes. We should come back looking tousled and like we’ve just had a grand time in the maze.”

  She stared at his mouth. “For the sake of keeping up our ruse,” she said.

  He nodded. “Of course.”

  “W-what do you suggest?” she asked breathlessly.

  He shrugged a shoulder and trailed his fingers along the band of her shorts. “Well, I think I need to press you hard against this tree”—he did just that— “so that you get a little of the bark on your shirt. Maybe a few scratches on the backs of your thighs.” He kicked her legs apart with his.

  “Oh,” she moaned. “What would that show?”

  “It would show…” He rocked against her again, thrusting his hips the way he would if he were really inside her, taking her against this tree like he wanted to. But two pairs of shorts and a set of rules were in his way.

  Jesus, what am I doing?

  He had to pull back. This was fake but feeling pretty damn real at the moment, and he should pull back before he forgot this was only for show.

  But when she licked her lips and moved her legs, coaxing him closer, like she was into it, any rational thought Blake had disappeared.

  She wanted to know what this would look like?

  “It shows that I was fucking you hard against this tree,” he whispered.

  He was hitting her clit, he could tell, and that was too close, but every time he pressed and moved, she gasped and clung to him tighter.

  “Show me,” she said.

  “You should run your fingers through my hair,” he said, and she instantly grabbed on.

  “Like this?” she asked.

  “Harder,” he said.

  A rustle of trees and Kevin’s voice rang out. He and his woman were close. Good.

  “You should call out my name,” Blake said lowly to Carrie.

  “Blake,” she said softly.

  “Louder,” he ordered. He moved just enough to grab the back of her knee in one hand, making the tree shake, certain that wherever Kevin was he would get the idea of what they were doing.

  “Blake,” she said louder, and judging by the way Kevin scoffed on the other side of the maze wall, he’d heard them. Success.

  This is fake, he told himself again. Just for show.

  That was why he kept grinding against her. Using his body to mimic what he wished his cock was doing. This was just a means to an end. To put on a show. It didn’t matter that he was hard.

  “Sell it,” Blake whispered against Carrie’s ear. “He’s listening. Make him know what he’s missing.”

  “Yes!” she said louder.

  Blake moved again, hoping she didn’t notice or care that it was his hard-on that was pressing against her center. Just a means to an end. Getting turned on was just an occupational hazard.

  “I still can’t hear you, little girl,” he said.

  Her hands wove into his hair harder. This felt almost real. Like she was really turned on, really close to coming, really wanting him. When her fingernails dug into his scalp, he couldn’t hold back. He kissed her hard, cupping the back of her thigh and grinding faster against her.

  She broke away to yell against his mouth, “Oh my God, Blake! Yes!”

  She was an amazing actress, because if he didn’t know better, he’d think she was really coming. But he needed to get control because fake or not, he was really about to go off in his shorts like a damn teenager. His body was shaking from the need.

  But he slowly unlocked her leg from around his hips and she adjusted her shorts. He turned quickly to adjust himself, though he was certain there was no hiding the raging problem in his shorts.

  “That was… I just…” She was searching for words, her cheeks heated. But the rustle of the tree close by made it apparent that Kevin was still close. Probably listening. Blake put a finger to his lips and nodded in the direction of Kevin. Carrie silently nodded in understanding.

  “So you came hard, baby?” Blake said with a wink, making sure it was loud enough Kevin could hear. Carrie played along.

  “Yes, I did. Very hard.”

  He grinned, but it fell fast. Something in her expression seemed so…real.

  “Well we better get back,” he said and took her hand, leading the way.

  Kevin and Side Piece had beaten them back to entrance, and they didn’t look like they’d had half the fun he’d had with Carrie.

  Loser.

  Blake looked at Carrie. Her hair was a mess, her shorts wrinkled, her tank top a little off. He handed her a pineapple he’d grabbed on the way out.

  “I warned you that I love these,” he said, and winked.

  She smiled and to
ok it, that lovely blush returning to her cheeks.

  Kevin was staring them down, and Carrie just continued to smile. Blake liked to think he put that smile on her face. Being her fake boyfriend wasn’t so bad. But when he saw how puffy her lips were from kissing, a twinge of pride hit him.

  Suck on that, douchebag. Oh wait, you can’t, but I just did.

  Okay, so his inner thoughts were a little childish, but he didn’t care. Carrie was a prize, and he’d sure as hell make sure she felt it and that Kevin never got near her again.

  With that, they all set out to finish the couples hike.

  Chapter Six

  Carrie stared straight ahead in a daze.

  I can’t believe I came…

  Honest to goodness, actually had an orgasm.

  And Blake had given it to her.

  Did he know? She didn’t think he did. She didn’t know what to fake, though. To fake it for Kevin, or to continue the ruse and fake it for Blake, because if he knew she’d actually climaxed, what did that mean for them?

  Was this real?

  No, the pleasure was real, but they were in a fake relationship. So she’d keep that secret to herself for now and hope that Blake didn’t know.

  Blake was chatting with the guide. When he found out Blake did a similar job in Colorado, the guy started talking his ear off.

  “I think that’s the first time we’ve gone on a hike together,” Kevin said, coming up beside Carrie. They’d just finished the couples hike and were heading toward the resort.

  She stopped and looked at him. She really wanted to point out that they would have hiked together if he had married her and they were on their honeymoon right now, but whatever.

  Instead, she stuck to her plan of maintaining a strong front and getting the power back. Kevin wouldn’t break her.

  “Well, walking through downtown Denver to the gallery kind of counts as a hike,” she joked.

  “Yeah, well, we can still have those walks,” he said.

  She frowned. “What?”

  He shrugged, clearly losing his high. Oh yeah, he was high all the time. Marijuana was legal in Colorado, and Kevin took full advantage, saying he needed it for creativity. Or just to be a stoner. Not her problem anymore. But he never went long without it and had a knack for finding it anywhere.