Sydney Harbour Hospital: Lexi's Secret

by MELANIE MILBURNE

  Come out or hide.

  How was she going to explain being in his bedroom? Why, oh, why hadn’t she thought about the possibility of him returning? He had probably only stepped off the yacht for a few minutes. It was going to take quite some talking to get herself out of this sticky situation. She could just imagine the conclusions he would jump to. There was only one thing to do …

  She chose to hide.

  There was a row of tall cupboards on one side of the master bedroom. The first one she opened was filled with drawers that weren’t big enough to hide her things so she quickly opened the next one. She stuffed her shopping bags below some of Sam’s wet-weather gear, closing the door as softly as she could. Her heart was still galloping as she opened another closet. It had more hanging space and was just big enough for her to squeeze in amongst Sam’s casual shirts. But while it was an excellent hiding place, she decided against closing the door completely as the lock was a one-way affair. While she wouldn’t go as far as describing herself as claustrophobic, the thought of spending the next hour or two—or longer—locked inside a dark cupboard didn’t hold much appeal, so instead she hooked the tip of her index finger around the edge to keep the door ajar.

  Lexi heard Sam move about above deck. She pictured him doing maintenance like the other men she’d seen. Scrubbing the decks or fixing the stay ropes or some such thing. He probably wouldn’t stay long. It was coming on for six p.m. He’d probably leave in a half an hour, tops. Maybe even fifteen minutes. Ten if there was someone watching over her.

  Sam frowned as he released the mooring ropes. Did he really have it so bad that he could smell Lexi’s perfume wherever he went? He breathed in again, deeper this time. No, he was imagining it. All he could smell was the briny ocean, which was exactly what he needed right now. This was where he could forget about yesterday’s failure. He had the rest of the weekend to be alone out on the harbour, to sail, to fish, to think, to find that inner calm he badly needed right now.

  He started the engine and motored out of the marina, giving a wave to one of the young lads who’d helped him rig up a new sail the other day.

  He had just enough time before sundown to get to his favourite hideaway. He could already taste that first refreshing sip of beer.

  OK. Lexi tried to talk herself out of panic when she felt the yacht moving away from the marina. He was probably just taking it out for a test run. That’s what yacht owners did sometimes. They didn’t always go out for the whole weekend. He would come back and she could slip away without him noticing. It’d be a piece of cake. He would never know he’d had a stowaway on board.

  After a while she lost track of time. How far was he going for pity’s sake? New Zealand? The Cook Islands? She was hungry, so hungry her stomach was making noises not unlike the growl of the yacht’s engine.

  Finally, after what seemed like hours, the movement stopped. There was the mechanical sound of an anchor being released and then silence all but for the gentle slip-slap of water and the mewling cry of a seagull passing overhead.

  Lexi’s finger was aching from being curled around the cupboard door for so long. Her need for the bathroom had long overtaken her need for food. She would have crossed her legs if there had been room.

  Sam’s footsteps sounded again, closer this time. Lexi held her breath, her heart beating so hard and fast it was like a roaring in her ears.

  She heard the sound of clothes being removed, and then—heaven help her bladder—the sound of the shower running. After the longest three minutes of her life she heard Sam towel himself dry and then open the cupboard with the drawers inside.

  Beads of perspiration were trickling between Lexi’s breasts. Her breathing was now so ragged she felt like her lungs were going to collapse. She looked down at the sliver of light coming through the gap where her finger was keeping the door ajar. She very carefully and very slowly brought her finger out of sight, holding her breath as she closed the cupboard with a soft click. She fought against the panic of being locked in a confined space.

  It was dark.

  Very, very dark.

  Another cupboard opened further along the wall and she heard the rustle of fabric and then a slide of a zipper. Lexi knew what was next. He had just put on his jeans, now he would come looking for a shirt. There was no point in cowering in the dark in the hope he wouldn’t see her. Of course he would see her. She would have to brazen it out and think of a very good excuse, like in about two seconds flat, for why she was in his shirt cupboard.

  Sam opened the cupboard door and reared back in shock, a swear word slipping out before he could stop it. ‘What the freaking hell are you doing?’ he asked.

  Lexi stepped out of the cupboard with a yellow shirt in one hand and a blue one in the other. ‘I’m thinking the blue,’ she said, holding it up against his shoulder, her head tilted on one side musingly. ‘It goes better with your eyes. Yellow is so not your colour. It washes you out. Makes you look anaemic.’

  Sam was still trying to get his heart rate under control. He really wondered for a moment if he was suffering a hallucination. But, no, it was Lexi in the flesh all right, every gorgeous inch of her, on his boat, alone with him. A hint of devilry made his mouth kick up at the corners. She was alone with him for the rest of the weekend. ‘I hope you’ve packed a toothbrush because I’m not turning back to take you home,’ he said.

  ‘You have to take me home,’ she said dropping the shirts, her sassy facade slipping. ‘You have to turn back right now. Right this instant. I had no idea you were planning to sail to Tahiti or wherever it is you’ve taken me.’

  Sam gave a soft chuckle. ‘Tahiti sounds nice,’ he said. ‘I’ve never been there—have you?’

  Lexi pushed past him to the en suite. She turned and glared at him before she went in. ‘Do you mind giving me a little privacy?’

  He folded his arms across his naked chest, jeans-clad legs slightly apart. ‘Don’t mind me,’ he said. ‘I’ve heard it all before.’

  She narrowed her eyes to paper-thin slits. ‘I hate you, do you realise that? I positively loathe you.’

  ‘Probably a good thing considering you’re engaged to someone else and we’re stuck on this boat together until tomorrow evening at sundown,’ he said.

  Lexi’s eyes went wide in horror. ‘You’re kidnapping me?’

  ‘I’m not asking for a ransom so, no, I’m not kidnapping you,’ he said. ‘You invited yourself on board so you’ll have to obey the captain. That’s me, if you haven’t already figured it out.’

  Lexi flung herself into the en suite and snapped the lock into place. She wanted to drum her fists on the door and scream like a banshee. If anyone found out she was on Sam’s yacht for the weekend her life would be over. She would never live it down. The gossip would be unbearable.

  No one needs to find out.

  The traitorous thought slipped into her mind like a curl of smoke under a door. She had her mobile phone with her. She could text her sisters to say she was away for the weekend with a friend. She didn’t have to say which friend. She didn’t have to say it was her worst enemy. Hopefully they wouldn’t put two and two together. Evie and Bella both knew she was trying to keep her distance from their father. They would assume she was staying out of town or something to avoid him.

  Lexi came out of the en suite to find Sam had gone on deck. She made her way up to the bridge where he was standing looking towards the west, where the sun was sinking. The sky was a rich palette of red and ochre and gold. A flock of fruit bats flew past on their way to feed on the native trees and shrubs of the bushland on the shore about fifty metres away. It was a picturesque spot and the tranquillity after the hectic pace of the city earlier was not lost on Lexi. She breathed in deep, salty breaths and the scent of eucalypts that had spent all day being warmed by the sun.

  Sam turned to look at her. ‘Would you like a drink?’ he asked.

  Lexi folded her arms crossly. ‘I suppose you always keep champagne on ice in case you get lu
cky.’

  His eyes smouldered as they held hers. ‘Always.’

  Lexi glared at him defensively. ‘I was doing an inspection. I happened to be in the area and saw your boat so I decided to have a look around.’

  ‘Did it pass muster?’ he asked with a teasing glint, ‘or do you think the closet is too small?’

  She tightened her mouth. ‘You could definitely do with some more hanging space.’

  He bent to pick up a loose rope, coiling it expertly in his hands as he continued to look at her. ‘I think we both know you weren’t really doing an inspection,’ he said. ‘You must have known I was about. The boat wasn’t locked up. You were having a little snoop and then you heard me come back on board so you went into hiding.’

  She threw him a petulant look. ‘I wasn’t hiding.’

  He elevated one dark eyebrow. ‘What were you doing?’ he asked. ‘Colour co-ordinating my shirts?’

  Lexi brushed some hair back off her too-hot face. ‘It was a knee-jerk reaction,’ she said. ‘I didn’t know who was coming. It might have been a robber or a vandal or … or something …’

  ‘Or a kidnapper.’ A lazy smile played around the corners of his mouth.

  Lexi bit her lip. ‘Did you mean it when you said you won’t take me back home until tomorrow evening?’

  He stepped over a guy rope and came to stand closer to her. ‘This is the first free weekend I’ve had in months,’ he said. ‘I wanted to spend it out on the water. Commune with nature. Relax, chill, unwind.’

  ‘I’m sure you’d much rather be alone so if you just set me off somewhere I’ll catch a cab back,’ Lexi said.

  Sam laughed. ‘You see any cabs along this part of the coast?’ he asked.

  Lexi looked at the coastal reserve that fringed the shore for miles along the headland, and frowned. She swung her gaze back to Sam’s amused one. ‘You have no right to keep me here against my will. I bet you’re doing this on purpose to ruin my reputation. That’s what this is about, isn’t it?’

  ‘No,’ he said, taking her by the upper arms and bringing her flush against his rock-hard chest. ‘This is what it’s about.’ And then he covered her mouth with the blazing fire of his.

  It was an earth-moving kiss. Lexi felt her legs weaken like overcooked spaghetti as his mouth crushed hers in a deeply passionate assault on her senses. His tongue was a sensual sword that divided her lips to receive him. There was no denying him access. She had no willpower. No self-control. No determination. All she had was red-hot need. So hot it was burning from the soles of her feet, running up her legs, racing up her spine like a flame following a pathway of spilt gasoline. His tongue tangled with hers, teasing it into a sexy dance, taming it with the commanding thrust of his. She whimpered against his lips, her need for him so consuming she was almost sobbing with it. Her feminine folds were heavy with longing, the walls of her womanhood moist with the heat of hungry, rapacious desire.

  Sam’s grizzled jaw grazed the soft skin around her mouth as he shifted position. He cupped her face with his hands, his tongue snaking around hers in an erotic tangle that sent a rush of heat over her skin.

  ‘I want you so badly,’ he said against her swollen lips. ‘I’ve never wanted anyone more than I want you right now.’

  Lexi could feel the potent power of his erection against her belly. She could feel her body responding to his just as it had in the past. There was no need for words even if she could have found her voice. She let her body communicate all the pent-up longing she felt. She pushed herself against him, her breasts tight and sensitive, and her feminine mound contracting with a pulse of longing so strong she felt her legs sway beneath her.

  Sam’s hands gripped her hips, holding her against him, the friction of his arousal a torment to her senses. She welcomed the heat of him, rubbing against him shamelessly to assuage the ache that consumed her.

  He slipped a warm hand beneath her top, pushing her bra aside to tease her nipple with the broad pad of his thumb. It was exquisite torture to feel him reclaim her flesh with the blistering heat of his touch. She gave a soft cry as he replaced his thumb with his mouth, his tongue swirling and stroking before he sucked on her with just the right amount of pressure.

  She threw back her head in wanton abandon, arching her spine to give him greater access to her breasts. He moved from one breast to the other and back again, ramping up her desire until it was an all-consuming wave that threatened to sweep her away completely.

  Lexi placed her hands on his chest, her mouth teasing his with little kittenish bites. Right now she was not the Lexi who was engaged to Matthew Brentwood. She had turned into a wild tigress of a woman eager to mate with her alpha male. Her body was Sam’s and Sam’s alone. It responded to his with a fervour that was unmatched by anything else in her experience.

  Sam’s mouth took control of the kiss, one of his hands in the small of her back while the other worked on removing the rest of her clothes. Lexi stepped away from the soft pile of her garments, her mouth still locked on the fire of his. She felt the warm brush of his fingers against the hot wet heart of her. Her flesh was so responsive she knew it was too late to call an end to this madness. She felt the overwhelming pull of release deep within her body, all the nerves singing along the tight wires of her muscles as every sensation gathered to that one intimate point. One more stroke of his fingers and she plunged into the abyss, her body shaking with the tremors that rolled through her like the waves against the shore.

  Sam held her as she came back from paradise but she could see his body was in urgent need of its own release.

  ‘Condom,’ he groaned against her mouth. ‘I need to get a condom.’

  Lexi was momentarily jolted out of the sensory spell. She suddenly felt the enormity of what she was doing. Sex was not just about physical needs being satisfied, or at least it wasn’t for her. Her hands stalled in their exploration of his chest, her gaze lowered, her teeth sinking into her lip.

  Sam lifted her chin to lock her gaze with his. ‘You’re not comfortable with taking this any further?’ he asked. ‘We don’t have to. I understand. I really do.’

  Lexi looked into the darkness of his desire-lit eyes and felt herself drowning. ‘It’s been such a long time,’ she said. ‘I’m not sure I can satisfy you the way I did before …’

  He brushed her mouth with his, softly. ‘Tell me to stop and I’ll stop,’ he said.

  She cupped his face with her hands, her eyes dropping to his mouth. ‘I don’t want you to stop,’ she said, surprised at how much she meant it.

  He carried her below deck to his bedroom, placing her gently on the mattress. He looked down at her as she covered herself with her hands, as if she was embarrassed at being naked in front of him. ‘You still OK with this?’ he asked.

  ‘Don’t mind me,’ she said. ‘I’m just having a fat day.’

  Sam smiled. That was what he loved about Lexi, the way she said the opposite of what he was expecting. He reached for a condom and applied it before joining her on the bed. He anchored his weight on his forearms, careful not to crush her. He couldn’t help thinking of the first time he had made love to her. It had been rough and fast, over within seconds for both of them. He had hurt her. She had reluctantly admitted that. It tormented him to think he had done that to her. He should have prepared her young body with gentle handling, making sure her tender flesh could accommodate him. He would make up for it this time. He would worship her body the way he should have done the first time.

  He started by kissing her mouth in a soft caress that gradually deepened. Her tongue met his and danced with it in a rhythm that was as old as time, a sacred rhythm that spoke of human connection at its most elemental.

  Something shifted in his chest as he felt her arms come up around his neck, her fingers delving into his hair as her soft mouth responded to the gentle pressure of his. It was like a slip of a gear, a stumble of the heart that he hadn’t been expecting.

  She grew impatient beneath him, lifti
ng her slim hips, searching for him. Sam worked hard to control his urge to fill her. He had never had a problem with anyone else. Control came easily to him, but not with Lexi. He felt the magnetic pull of her core. He smelt the feminine fragrance of her, the sexy salt and musk that stirred his senses into overload.

  He went back to her breasts with his mouth, teasing her with his lips and tongue until she whimpered and clawed at him. He continued down her body, dipping his tongue in the shallow cave of her belly button before going to her feminine folds. She was wet and swollen, like a precious hothouse flower, fragrant and heady, luscious and exotic.

  He teased her apart with his tongue, taking his time, delighting in the cries she tried to suppress, relishing the way her back lifted off the bed as she convulsed.

  Sam watched as her breasts rose and fell as she came back down to earth, her blue eyes looking almost shocked at how she had responded. He kissed her inner thigh and worked his way back up her body, taking his time, making sure she was ready for him to possess her.

  ‘Please …’ Her voice was a thready sound, an edge of desperation in it. ‘Oh, Sam, please …’

  Sam positioned himself, intending to string out the pleasure a little longer, but Lexi clearly had other ideas. She lifted her hips and he suddenly had nowhere to go but inside her. He surged in with a deep groan of pleasure as her tight body gripped him. He felt the ripples of her flesh, the intimate grasp of her massaging him until he was hovering on the precipitous edge of his control. He increased his pace, delighting in her slippery warmth as she wrapped her legs around his hips. Her supple body thrilled him, the way she had no inhibitions, the way she was so generous with her touch and caresses. Her mouth was soft but demanding, her tongue teasing and playful as it tangoed with his. He was getting closer and closer to the point of no return. It was a force building within him that was so powerful he could feel it roaring through his veins like a bullet train.

  He pulled back from the brink to caress her with his fingers, to make sure she was with him when he finally fell. She gasped out loud as he played with her. He knew her body like he knew his own. He knew exactly what pressure and pace she liked, what she needed in order to be fulfilled. He felt the moment when she lost control; he felt the tight spasm of her body around him, milking him of his essence. He lost himself in her, falling, falling, falling into that blessed whirlpool of absolute, ultimate pleasure.