He chuckled wearily, then said, “I’m sorry for being such an ass. Old habits die hard. You know, I told myself that coming here was for Carys’s benefit but I needed it, too. Somehow, all this has forced me to take a hard look at myself. It hasn’t been pretty.”
Lindy could relate. She’d been doing a fair amount of that herself. “Caribbean magic,” she said with a quirk of her mouth. She risked adding, “I’m glad you’re staying.”
He met her gaze and the heat between them kindled again. There was something about this man that did weird things to her insides in a way that no man had ever managed. He clearly wasn’t her type but maybe that was the point.
“Thanks for not giving up,” he said with a small smile that was much too sexy for a man who was supposed to be eating crow.
She nodded, not trusting her mouth at the moment. She wasn’t sure how to handle this reversal or the ever-present and growing attraction she felt for Gabe Weston. If the situation were different and he wasn’t a single father with a singularly awesome kid, Lindy wouldn’t have wasted a second in getting him out of his clothes and into her bed. But that wasn’t the reality, so she was left to play it by ear in a game where her rules didn’t apply.
Gabe saved her from too much thought on that score by redirecting the conversation to safer ground.
“What was your business in St. Thomas?”
Grateful for the distraction, Lindy answered quickly, “I met a producer friend of mine who’s shooting his latest action flick there. I was hoping to persuade him to lodge here at Larimar but it was too late. They’d already secured lodging and they weren’t going to budge. So, basically I failed in the one task my sister had given me.”
“Why is it so important to get more people here? Is the resort in trouble?”
She hesitated, not sure if she ought to share her family’s personal struggles, but there was something about Gabe that made her want to lay her head on his shoulder and allow him to help bear the burden. She swallowed, knowing the feeling was irrational and that she ought to be evasive but she just couldn’t. “Larimar is in trouble with the IRS. We owe gobs of back taxes because my grandfather didn’t pay any for years. If we don’t pay off the bill within the structured payment plan, my family is going to lose Larimar. That would kill my grandfather. He’s got dementia and it’s getting worse. If we let Larimar go, it’ll put the final nail in that coffin and we just can’t let that happen. So, yes, although my primary concern was for Carys if you left, I also had other reasons for wanting you to stay. Larimar, unlike the Worchester—which is owned by a big corporation that really doesn’t need your money—is owned by the same people you shared a table with the other night.”
He smiled at that. “Persuasive argument.”
“I try.”
“So, what’s your plan B?”
She scowled. “Ugh. Now you sound like Lora. I didn’t have a plan B, per se, but I’m still working on it.”
He looked reluctant to offer advice on her situation, and she didn’t want him to feel obligated to, either. She waved away his concern. “Listen, we’ll get it figured out. My sister Lora is a beast when it comes to business management. Between all of us Bells, we should manage to find a solution.” She reached out and cupped his jaw impulsively but the minute her hand connected with his skin, she knew it’d been a mistake. She withdrew as if scalded and started to apologize but Gabe simply captured her hand in his and drew her slowly closer.
“Since we’re being honest...I have something to tell you,” he said, his thumb rubbing a slow, lazy but sensual pattern on the sensitive skin of her wrist. “Something I’ve been struggling with personally.”
With him touching her in such a manner, she found it hard to breathe. “Such as?”
“It’s you. And me. That kiss the other night...” he said, causing her breath to catch in her chest at the memory. “It awoke something in me that I would’ve preferred stayed dead to the world.”
She didn’t know what to say; she’d felt something, too. “I understand,” she murmured. “It’s complicated.”
“Not really.” He chuckled with dark humor, regarding her with a stare that went straight through her. “I’m a man who has been stifling any and all sexual urges since the day his wife died for the sake of his daughter. And it was working until I met you. Now, after that kiss, all I can think of is how I want to do it again. Do you have any idea how hard it was to keep from climbing into that bed beside you last night? You were passed out cold and I still wanted to feel your body against mine. That’s reprehensible! I’m not that guy, but with you, it’s hard to remember that simple fact and I’m ashamed of where my thoughts go every time I see you. Just two minutes ago I was telling myself to keep my hands to myself but here I am...touching you and not the least bit sorry.”
She blinked against his impassioned admission and her breathing quickened in response as her own gaze zeroed in on his mouth. She wanted him like a fat kid wanted cake. He was right; it wasn’t complicated at all.
“Say something,” he demanded.
“I can’t.” She licked her lips, suddenly helpless with the overwhelming awareness that they were two consenting adults locked away in a bungalow with an hour to themselves. “There’s nothing I could say that would make this any better. I want you, too,” she whispered, knowing that probably wasn’t going to make things any less difficult to manage.
“Damn,” he murmured, his eyes darkening as he clasped her to him. “I was hoping you weren’t going to say that.”
Her breath hitched in her throat at the openly lustful look in Gabe’s eyes. She should say something to put a stop to this, but she was already trembling, desperately wanting to feel him against her, inside her. She was swamped by feelings that were wild and inescapable; it was all she could do to hang on for dear life and wait for the ride to end.
Gabe’s arms went around her, cupping her rear and pulling her to him. She gasped at his firm grip, thrilling at the feeling of being manhandled. Gone was the conservative businessman who’d arrived on the first day looking stiff as hardened concrete; he was replaced by a man who was dedicated to satisfying his desire to touch and consume.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
HIS MOUTH TRAVELED everywhere; the column of her neck, the valley of her breasts, her lips, earlobes and down her belly.
He pushed her against the kitchen counter and she braced herself with her elbows as he jerked her sarong off to reveal her bikini bottoms. His growl of appreciation at the dainty scrap of material caused goose bumps to erupt up and down her body. He eased the fabric free from her hips and gazed at her most private of places.
“Open your legs for me, gorgeous,” he instructed softly and she did, slowly, feeling as vulnerable as she’d ever felt with another person. It wasn’t as if she’d never done this with another man; it was the way Gabe was admiring her body as though she’d cornered the market on female perfection. His stare devoured her and she could barely breathe from the way her heart was hammering.
His hands returned to her rear and cupped her cheeks to bring her to his mouth. His tongue delved into her hot folds on a seek-and-destroy mission, one he was determined to accomplish. She groaned as his mouth and tongue worked with the expertise of a man who knew his way around a woman’s body and understood what to do to make her quake. Her knees felt ready to buckle as he gently but persistently worked the sensitive nub hidden within her very center until her toes were curling and her legs stiffened as an orgasm came barreling down her nerve endings, obliterating everything. “Gabe!” she gasped, threading her fingers through his hair, ready to collapse. “Oh! That’s it!”
She shuddered and Gabe withdrew with a wolfish, almost feral expression. Before she could say a word, he’d lifted her into his arms to carry her to the bedroom. It was sweet and chivalrous, yet intensely sexy, given that she could smell her o
wn musk on his skin and it was driving her wild.
“Do you know how many times I’ve dreamed of doing this very thing?” he murmured, nuzzling her neck. “Too many to count.”
Lindy closed her eyes and he gently laid her across the bed. She started to untie her bikini top but he stopped her, saying, “Let me.” He proceeded as if unwrapping a highly anticipated Christmas present, putting off the final reveal of her breasts until the last possible second. When she was finally free from the top, he leaned back and exhaled low and soft. Lindy lifted herself on her elbows and grinned. “See something you like?” she teased, knowing she had great breasts. They were small but perfectly pert and round, just right for squeezing and kissing.
“You have no idea,” he groaned, moving to push her down with his body. He cradled her head as he moved his mouth over hers, leisurely but hungrily tasting her, and Lindy could feel the insistent press of his erection against her pelvis. The pressure was intoxicating and she moaned from the anticipation. He raised himself and slipped a nipple into his mouth, tugging and teasing with his tongue against the hardened tip. She arched, allowing him better access, and he responded by sucking the entire areola into his greedy mouth.
“So beautiful,” he murmured against her skin in awe. “Your skin is like a soft peach.”
Lindy smiled but didn’t have time to respond properly for Gabe had moved to her other breast, laving it with the same attention as the first, and she was too busy drowning in the sensations that were spiraling from the tips of her nipples and pooling lower. Soon she was writhing, begging to feel him inside her. “Gabe,” she pleaded, wrapping her long legs around his torso and drawing him closer. “I need you now! Please tell me you have protection!”
Gabe groaned and disentangled himself to stumble to his dresser drawer and yank it open. “I didn’t imagine I’d need to use them but a buddy of mine insisted that I come prepared and I stuffed them into my carry bag,” he said with mild embarrassment. His hands shook as he fumbled around, cursing when he didn’t immediately find what he was searching for. When he exclaimed softly she grinned. He flashed the condom package and tossed it to the bed while he shucked his shorts. She took the opportunity to get a good look at his equipment and was delighted to find Gabe had been hiding an impressive package behind those boring khaki Dockers. “Gabe, I never would’ve guessed,” she teased, causing him to blush as he slid the condom on. “If things don’t work out in business, I know another industry in L.A. that would love to have you.”
“Not in a million years,” he said, coming over to her with a dark grin. “I’m a one-woman kind of guy.”
“I like that,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck and drawing him to her. “Now show me what you can do with that bad boy.”
“My pleasure.”
Lindy’s breath caught as Gabe’s erection pressed against her opening and slid inside. She clung to him as he pushed until he was seated to the hilt, his forehead resting against hers as he fought for control. She sensed a difference in him and gently directed his mouth to hers. Something told her he hadn’t been with anyone since his wife and it humbled her beyond anything she’d ever known that he’d chosen her to take that step with. She kissed him deeply, sucking his tongue into her mouth, reminding him that he was here with her now, and nothing else mattered. For better or worse, this moment belonged to them and no one else.
Gabe withdrew only to bury his erection again deep inside. He whispered her name as he began to build a rhythm and sweat had begun to bead their bodies in the balmy heat. Lindy moved with him, matching him stroke for stroke, urging him on as they careened toward that magical moment, demanding from each other’s bodies every sensation, every groan.
And then it happened.
Lindy stiffened as Gabe continued to rub and pound at a particularly good spot and every muscle tightened in a delicious contraction that had her gasping, panting, almost unabashedly squealing his name as a starburst of insane pleasure exploded throughout her body. She clamped down with her internal muscles and suddenly Gabe shouted to the ceiling and his eyelids squeezed shut as he found his own orgasm, and judging by the way he was shuddering, it was huge.
One final spastic thrust later, Gabe rolled off Lindy and collapsed beside her, his breathing as harsh as her own. They lay there, stunned and still rocking against the waves of pleasure coursing through them, and Lindy knew with a certainty that she’d be willing to bet her life upon that this was no average experience, for either of them.
This was big.
This was epic.
This was...bad timing.
* * *
GABE’S HEART WAS pounding so hard he thought it might jump from his chest and land on the hardwood floor. If he’d been in worse shape he would’ve been worried about having a heart attack. Feelings he’d shut down for a long time came rushing to the surface, and to his horror, tears sprang to his eyes. He squeezed his eyelids to prevent the moisture from seeping out but it was too late. The slow, inevitable slide of tears oozed from his eyes and he choked back the emotion that followed. Suddenly, he felt Lindy’s touch on his chest and he opened his eyes to see Lindy staring at him with understanding.
“I’m sorry. I’ve ruined it, haven’t I?” he asked in a chagrined tone, but she simply shook her head, surprising him with her empathy. He swallowed and wiped at his eyes, embarrassed. “I don’t usually cry after sex. It’s just that...”
“You haven’t had sex with anyone since your wife died,” she supplied with a soft, knowing look in her eyes.
He affirmed her supposition with a nod. “I just couldn’t bring myself to look at anyone like that after she died. It felt like cheating even though she was gone.”
“You don’t have to apologize,” Lindy said, moving to lay her head on his softly furred chest. She threaded her fingers through the crinkly hairs. “You loved her and you were grieving. That’s only natural.”
Gabe quieted and then admitted, “I wasn’t always the best husband. I think after she died, anytime I started to feel any kind of attraction toward someone, I shut it down because the guilt was more than I could bear. In the end, it was just easier to ignore that part of my life and bury myself in work.”
“I think your wife would’ve wanted you to be happy, right?”
“Yes. She was the most giving person I’d ever met.”
“Well, then what held you back? What really held you back?”
“Carys,” he answered, sighing. “I didn’t want her to think I was trying to replace her mother with someone else so I just made sure there was never anyone else to contend with. In a way, it was easier because it was just Carys and me. But it was lonely, too.” He tightened his arms around Lindy, loving the feel of her against him, but it troubled him. Just because they’d made love didn’t mean anything had changed. In fact, likely it made things worse. “Lindy...” he started, but she must’ve sensed where he was going with this because she sat up and smiled, putting her finger against his lips.
“I know.”
“You know?”
“Yes. I’m a smart girl,” she quipped with a teasing smile that was a little sad around the edges. “You’re worried about my influence on Carys because I don’t fit the mold of what you deem appropriate for her. I get it. I’m an actress. I live in L.A. My lifestyle isn’t exactly kid-friendly. Trust me, I get it.”
“Does that hurt your feelings?” he asked, worried.
“I’m not going to lie—yeah a little, but I can’t get too hurt about it. You make valid points. I’m not sure I’d want me around my kid, either.” She chuckled, then sighed. “How about this...finish out your stay here and then when you go we’ll both have wonderful memories and go our separate ways. I’ll do my best to display nothing but appropriate behavior for Carys, and in the meantime, I’ll help you to mend your relationship with her. Sound like a deal?�
�
“What about us?” he asked, his gaze trailing to her glorious bare breasts, already aching to touch her again. “I’m not sure I can stay away now that I’ve had a taste.”
Her gaze darkened and fresh desire pounded through his veins as she murmured, “We’ll just have to be discreet. You can do that, can’t you?” Lindy brushed a teasing kiss across his mouth and he barely held back the impulse to pin her to the bed again. “Just say yes,” she instructed softly and he nodded like a good boy hoping for a treat. He followed with a firm kiss against her lips, taking her tongue into his mouth to tangle with his own.
“No kissing, no touching in public,” he said, punctuating the rules with another kiss. “No indication that we’re seeing each other privately.”
“Sounds good,” she responded, climbing on top of him, positioning her hot heat right above his quickly awakening manhood. “How much time do we have before the hour is up?” she asked, breathlessly.
“Long enough,” he growled, rising up to meet her with his mouth.
She wrapped her legs around him and pressed her breasts against his chest, murmuring, “Well then, let’s see how good you are with time management.”
“Challenge accepted,” he said, moving to flip her onto her back, causing her to giggle. But soon her laughter turned to moans, followed by high-pitched cries, and by the end, he had scratches on his back to go with his satisfied smile.
Discretion...he wasn’t sure how this was going to work out, but he’d be a liar if he said he wasn’t interested in finding out.
Lindy was like a drug in his system and he wasn’t ready to detox.
The only thing that worried him was...would he ever be ready to let her go? He’d have to be. Lindy wasn’t offering forever. For that matter, he hadn’t offered it, either.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
LINDY LEFT GABE’S bungalow, her mind moving in slow, lazy circles from sexual satisfaction, but soon enough questions began to ruin all those feel-good feelings.
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