Caribbean Crush (Under the Caribbean Sun)

by Jenna Bayley-Burke

“Proost.” Falco tossed back his drink, his dark gaze scanning the crowd. “Tonight, we hit the clubs. Your dad has me terrified of being snared by an island woman. I need an accommodating tourist.”

  “He does seem to be driving that point home, doesn’t he? It’s odd since he never pays any mind to who we take out at home.” He caught a glimpse of Kristin’s dress, a slinky plum number that touched her everywhere he wanted to. Bridesmaids usually had the worst outfits, but he figured if you were standing up for a fashion designer the quality must improve.

  “Sebastian is worried you’ll move here like your brothers, I’ll bet.”

  Kristin and Janny danced together, the synchronicity like they’d choreographed it. Maybe they moonlighted as go-go dancers. His shoulders tensed, not liking the idea at all.

  “Tonnis? You can’t move here. Have you seen the roads? There’s no place to drive a decent sports car, let alone race. Besides, your brothers have turned into old men. They’re probably watching reality television in bed every night while their wives are in curlers.”

  Antonnis laughed until he started to cough, the image much preferable to how he figured his brothers actually spent their nights. Falco pounded him on the back and the bartender brought them both another clear drink. He sipped it and the heat flooded through him. He had no idea what went into the reception’s signature cocktail, but to his palate the coconut-flavored Caribbean Crush had to be pure alcohol. Women had theirs served as martinis, while men had it poured into a rocks glass.

  “I bet we could bail and no one would know.” Falco took off his tuxedo jacket and tossed it on top of the pile on a nearby table. “I’d give anything to get out of this get-up.”

  Antonnis nodded as he rolled up his shirt sleeves. “You can flee, but I have to stay.”

  “Where would I go? I’ve never been to this rock before, and all you Prinsens have shown me is shacks and houses. No restaurants, clubs, hotels. I’m feeling quite neglected.”

  “Poor you.” He pulled his shirt from his tuxedo pants and unbuttoned it.

  “What are you doing?”

  “We’re going to dance with the beauties provided to us.”

  Falco went to work on his shirt. “I see. We’re going to get kicked out of the wedding reception. Good plan.”

  He winked at his best friend. “Let’s give Anguilla something to talk about.”

  He ate up the powdered sand with long strides and wrapped Kristin in his arms before she had a chance to protest. He caught her terrified glance at Janny, but the sharp-tongued tart had been twirled away by Falco. He owed him one.

  “What are you doing?” Kristin faced him, her body writhing with pure sexual energy. Especially in that dress. He slid his hands along her sides, unable to detect the slightest hint of underwear. He instantly went hard in his slacks.

  “Isn’t it polite to dance at weddings?” With his hand on her hip, he pulled her closer, aligning their lower bodies.

  “There is nothing polite about what you’re doing.” She gave him a challenging grin, her warm-brown eyes twinkling with mischief.

  “I meant what I said last night.”

  “As did I. I’m not interested in reliving the past.” She placed a hand on his shoulder and tilted her head toward Falco, who’d just twirled Janny into the arms of a dark man without a shirt and selected a blonder mark. “Your friend, what’s his angle?”

  “Why? Are you thinking of setting him up with Janny?” Kristin froze, just for a moment. He wouldn’t have noticed it but for his hand on her hip.

  “She’d never, you can pass that along to him if you’d like. Neither of us have any patience for Dutch men.” She tried for a haughty glare but didn’t really have it in her. Kristin was the type who was nice to everyone, which was one of the things he’d always admired about her.

  He leaned closer and hummed in her ear. “I can remember a time when you were very patient. Painfully slow.”

  Her sharp intake of breath had him grinning. Let her remember the time she’d tied his hands with her bikini top and played with his cock for what felt like days. Best birthday present ever.

  She looked up at him, her face flushed and eyes sparkling. Heat seared down his body. If she kept looking at him like that the heat would weld their bodies together. Maybe there wasn’t a downside.

  “We need to take a walk.” Antonnis needed to find a secluded spot, because what he wanted to do to her right now wasn’t fit for public places. Though, if that were her thing, he’d be game. He’d do anything to let this fire between them blaze.

  “Can I cut in?” They both froze at Janny’s words, Kristin looking wide-eyed and caught red-handed. The dark-skinned man she’d been dancing with led Kristen away from him and deeper into the fray. Tonnis felt her loss like a sucker punch.

  Tonnis paused and then began to sway with the pulsing beat. Maybe the way past Kristin’s defenses was through her best friend.

  “Leave her alone, Prinsen.” She spat his last name like it was poisonous. “You’ve hurt her enough.”

  “Janny, I never meant to hurt her.” Even when they were younger, Janny hadn’t been his biggest fan. He’d always assumed it was because when he came to town he monopolized Kristin’s attention. But they weren’t adolescents anymore.

  “You used her, and I’m not going to stand by while you do it again. Leave her be.”

  “I can’t let her think she was nothing to me. Won’t knowing how much she meant to me make her feel better about our time together?”

  She shook her head, dark ringlets swaying with the motion. “I don’t trust you.”

  “Warranted.”

  Janny stilled, her pale-blue eyes boring into him. “You admit what you did was wrong?”

  “Completely. Hurting Kristin was bad form. I was young and stupid and need to make her realize I cherished our past, even if we have no future.”

  “I doesn’t matter to me if you’re a sociopath or genuinely sorry.” Her mocha complexion made her light-colored eyes glow. “But trying to make yourself feel better for hurting her will only hurt her again. You see that, right?”

  He shook his head as he caught sight of Kristin finding a chair next to the giggling bride. “She deserves to know that what we had was special, even if we were too young to act on it. Whatever happens after that is up to her.”

  “I’m fine.” Kristin hoped she didn’t sound as tipsy as she felt. Janny needed to get to the hospital for her shift, but Kristin wasn’t ready to leave the party yet. She locked gazes with her best friend. “Sass and Johannes reserved rooms for all the wedding guests. I’ll stay here at the hotel tonight. See how the tourists live.”

  “How will you get home tomorrow? I’m on until Monday morning.” She didn’t sound convinced about the plan.

  “I’ll take my bike or get a ride. I always manage.” She wasn’t going to let slip that Antonnis had her bike loaded into his brother’s truck. Any mention of a Prinsen and Janny was likely to pull best-friend rank and run her back home.

  But she wasn’t a child, and her best friend left without protest. Locals didn’t hit the clubs at the resorts that tourists favored, so finding a place to dance and laugh and enjoy her friends and neighbors was a rare treat. She didn’t want to miss a moment of it. She sang along with the band and danced with everyone.

  When the sky took on a lovely shade of lavender, the sun slipping low until all that remained was a purple haze, the tiki torches were lit and the band started playing slower songs. Many took it as their cue to clear out, and she knew she should make her way up to the hotel. She couldn’t slow dance alone.

  The music stopped abruptly, everyone turning to look at the stage that had been dragged down for the occasion. Johannes held the microphone and waved at the dwindling crowd. Saskia stepped beside him, her bouquet in hand. The photographer moved to take a picture, no doubt getting a better idea of who Joe and Sass really were.

  They’d been wedding perfect before, but now that Johannes wore only his tuxedo
pants with a garter around his brawny biceps, and Sass had changed into a short white number she’d designed herself, they were perfect for each other.

  “Thanks everyone for coming to share the day with us. We’re going to keep dancing for a while, but since it’s getting late we wanted to make an announcement.”

  Sass pulled her long red hair over one shoulder and pointed her bouquet at the crowd. Joe tipped the microphone her way. “We know it’s tradition for the bride to toss the bouquet and the groom to toss the garter to see who gets married next. But by the sparkle of the diamond on Holly’s hand, we can all guess who that’s going to be. So…”

  She tossed the bouquet down to Holly’s waiting arms and Joe slingshot the garter at Harm’s head. Kristin couldn’t hold in the laugh.

  Sass took the microphone in hand. “And, Harm, sweetheart, that’s as close to a blessing as you’re going to get. You don’t deserve her, but you love her, and that’s enough for me.”

  The crowd erupted with applause, pushing toward both of the happy couples. Kristin edged away, back to the table where she’d left her shoes and clutch. She hadn’t even had a chance to sit when she felt Tonnis behind her.

  The electricity of his presence, the heat of his body, brought her to awareness though they weren’t even touching. She wet her parched lips, tasting the coconut of the cocktail she’d been sipping all night. The sexual force field emanating from him rocked her like no drink ever had.

  “You can’t be leaving yet.” He moved behind her, holding his body away as he slid his fingertips over her bare arms.

  Desire clawed at her, her mind recalling all the ways his fingers had roamed her skin. She’d been so inexperienced all those years ago when they’d first given in to their attraction that foreplay had been their main event. As time went on and they explored, they’d maintained that focus on drawing out pleasure.

  He splayed his hand against her belly, pulling her back against the intense heat of his body, the hard length of his erection. With his other hand, he pulled her hair to one side and pressed his lips to the crook of her neck.

  Her inner muscles clenched, reminding her that he’d ruined her for other men. She’d tried on other relationships, but they’d all made her uncomfortable, made her long for the intense arousal only Antonnis had ever inspired. She’d never found a man she could lose herself in, no matter how much she’d tried. It had become so frustrating she didn’t even bother with it anymore.

  She swallowed, knowing she couldn’t let it go on. Especially since her nipples had tightened, the pearled tips pressing into the think silk of her dress. She had to stop it, but she was having a hard time finding the motivation to walk away.

  Would it be so bad, really? She’d shattered before because she’d expected him to be her happily ever after. Would being with him bring that hurt back, or allow it to finally heal once and for all?

  “Walk with me, liefje.” His warm breath sent a shiver of delight through her body, her hormones priming in anticipation.

  “I’m going to my room.” She tried to move away, but he’d pinned her between his body and the table.

  “I’ve been thinking of nothing else but you since yesterday.” The slight prickle of his stubble on her shoulder heightened her awareness.

  “Do you want me to comment on your attention span? Because you also forgot I existed for five years.” She loathed the pain in her voice and tried to wriggle free, but he only held her tighter.

  “I never forgot you.” His clipped accent deepened as he whispered in her ear. “I still dream of you. At first the only times I didn’t were when I couldn’t sleep because I was wondering what you were doing. We were so young, and I couldn’t see being responsible for myself, let alone someone else. I was wrong to let it end without making sure you knew how much I adored you. I thought you knew.”

  She shook her head, her heavy eyes aching with tears she would not let fall. She tried to hold onto the pain she’d wallowed in all those years ago, the anguish that had ripped her apart. But with time the scar had faded, and the sincerity of his words had healed whatever had been left of it.

  “I want you to remember us the way I do. I lived for those summers with you. I think the only way I managed to stay out of therapy was because you were such a good listener. You took all my crazy family drama and freed me of it. You were my best friend. And I wanted to talk to you so many times, but I thought that if I did you wouldn’t move on. Or that you had moved on and I’d ruin it for you.”

  Once upon a time, she’d known him better than anyone, and she could still feel the difference between when he was putting on a show and speaking from his heart. She leaned her head back and blinked at the starry night sky. There were a million snarky arguments she could make, but she let them all go. He was sorry, and that was all she’d ever wanted him to acknowledge.

  “Let me make it up to you, make love to you until you remember how good we were together. Let’s rewrite the ending to our affair. I’ll leave it in your hands. You decide how we go out.”

  She sucked in a breath of the salty sea air, trying to calm her nerves. “You’ll still be the one to end things. You’re leaving in a few days. It hardly seems worth it.” Except that it did very much. Her mind had a highlight reel of their naughtiest times together looping through her mind. No one had ever made her feel so wanted, so sensual, so alive. She clenched her inner muscles and pressed her thighs together.

  “Are you saying you don’t wonder what it would be like after all this time? What if we’d remained friends and were looking forward to seeing each other again with heady anticipation. Wondering if it would still be as hot and wild and safe.”

  “Safe?” The word danced around her mind. She’d never thought to tag their relationship that way, but he was right. And that’s what was missing from her relationships since. He’d been her friend first, and had never judged her for her inexperience or curiosity or need to take things to the edge.

  He rubbed his head against hers, nestling his nose in her hair and taking a deep breath. “I always felt safe with you. Maybe my meaning is getting lost in translation. There were things between us that I’ve never shared with anyone else. Even now, when I’m laying myself bare to you, I know it’s for your ears alone. I know you, Kristin. You would never hurt me, which is why it destroys me to think I caused you any pain.”

  “You don’t need to feel guilty. I believe you. It’s wind through the sails, water under the bridge.” She swallowed down the yearning to invite him back to her room. He was the embodiment of temptation, awakening every primal urge she’d buried under frustration and disappointment.

  “We should dance.” A handful of couples swayed to the ballads the band crooned. Moonlight cast a pale glow on the scene.

  “I’m danced out.” She pressed her hand to the back of his and removed his possessive hold on her belly.

  “Can I take you home?” He took a step back, giving her just enough room to collect her things.

  “I’m staying at the hotel. I think we’ve both had too much to drink to drive, or make rational decisions.” She stepped to the side and then turned to face him. With darkness weaving around them, he seemed less the confident businessman he’d become and more the boy she’d fallen in love with all those years ago.

  “My room or yours?” He held out his hand, open and waiting for her.

  Maybe it was the Caribbean Crush cocktail, or the crush she still harbored for the guy he used to be, or that she hadn’t had a man-made orgasm since…well, since the last few he’d tossed her way.

  Kristin lifted her chin and met his heated gaze. “Mine.”

  Chapter Five

  The elevator door closed and he turned to face her. Raw vulnerability flickered in her dark eyes. He closed the distance between them, not wanting to give her a chance to change her mind.

  Baring his soul to her had made him desperate. Like a spring stretched too far and finally released, he pushed her against the mirrored wall, ending
all questions as he crashed his mouth down on hers. The memory of being this desperate for Kristin resonated deep inside, feelings long buried surfacing. No one kissed him like she did.

  The bitter taste of her regret and the fear of her rejection of his explanations faded with the heat of their kiss. She wove her hand in his hair and anchored him to her, hesitation gone as she deepened their connection. The confidence in her kiss turned him on more than he could remember being, and the firm strokes of her lips and teasing of her talented tongue had him so hard he wondered if he should take her in the elevator. The thrill might be enough to catch her up to the urgent need rushing through him.

  After a quick release he’d be able to enjoy her properly, pleasure her until she screamed his name. With his cock this hard and his desire for her so intense, he considered grinding against her just so he could ease the ache. He couldn’t let her down by finding his release before she’d been sated. She deserved better, she deserved his best.

  The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Kristin kissed her way to his ear. “Do you remember the hotel in St. Martin?” Her warm, breathy whisper heated his libido to the point of burning. “How I got you to my room?”

  She slid her hand between them, circling his cock and squeezing it through the loose material of his tuxedo pants.

  He cursed as she stepped forward and led him out of the elevator. He stayed close, every tug on him threatening to undo the tenuous grip he had on his control. Who was he kidding? It was her grip that controlled him.

  At the door, she released him long enough to pull the key card from her clutch and open the door. She tossed her bag inside before turning to seize him once more.

  He flung his tuxedo jacket into the dim room, calculating how many steps it would take to get her onto the giant bed looming in the distance. He took a step toward her, but she placed her free hand on his bare chest.

  “This is just sex, Tonnis.” She tortured her bottom lip with her perfect teeth. “I don’t want you to break me like one of your promises. You’re leaving in a couple of days, and this is just…just an echo of what we used to be.”