by Jan Springer
Flavor seduced her taste buds.
“I think I’ve died and gone to heaven,” she said between the delicious bites of the expensive delicacy.
He threw her an amused grin. A sexy grin that made her insides quiver with excitement. With suddenly shaky hands she lifted the mug to her lips and took a quick gulp of the sweet liquid. “You make hot chocolate exactly the way my husband’s mother used to make it. Smooth, sweet, a dash of whipping cream in the milk, tiny white marshmallows and a generous helping of wine. Absolutely fabulous.”
He didn’t say anything, but by the way his eyes crinkled slightly at the sides, she knew he loved her compliment. She slid another cracker into her mouth and turned to look at the increasingly dark sky. Suddenly a flash of light streaked across the sky.
“Quick! Falling star! Make a wish!” Emily shouted. Scrunching her eyes tight, she made a wish. When she opened them, she found Chance’s dark blue gaze upon her face.
“What did you wish for?” he whispered, looking both amused as well as curious.
“I can’t tell you. It won’t come true.”
“Oh come on. Give me a hint.”
Okay she could give him a hint. Maybe she could learn more about him too.
“True love,” she admitted, and noted surprise wash through his eyes.
“True love?”
“Yes. True love.”
He shrugged his shoulders, looked out across the dark sky and the rolling white-crested waves. “I thought you’d wish for something different.”
“Oh? Like?”
“I don’t know. Something more practical, I guess.”
“What would be more practical than true love? Don’t you believe in it?” She held her breath as she waited for his answer.
“I do. What’s your interpretation of it?”
She shrugged, quite surprised he’d ask a question like that. She took a delicate sip of her hot chocolate and savored the tart sweetness for a moment. “I don’t know. What do you think it should mean?”
“I never thought about it. I kind of figured if you fall in love, everything just kind of fits right.”
“Well…I think a relationship should be based on honesty. Trust. No secrets. No sweet lies.”
Chance nodded. “Sweet lies. Like the boat.”
“That’s right. My uncle Jeb named her Sweet Lies to remind him not to trust another woman. You want to hear the story?”
His lips twitched in obvious amusement.
“Sure.”
“He fell deeply in love once. The woman was the sweetest most innocent creature he’d ever laid eyes on. She was perfect in every way. Too perfect it turned out. She told him she loved him and wanted to marry him. Apparently there was a problem.”
“She was already married.” Chance grinned.
“Hey, I’m telling the story.”
“Okay.”
“She was already married.”
“Told you,” he chuckled.
“My uncle found out through a friend that the woman’s husband worked on some oil rig in Alaska. He confronted her and she admitted it. She admitted she didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth. Uncle Jeb cut off any further chance of relationship right then and there because he figured if she lied to him once, she’d do it again.”
“Sometimes people tell lies to protect other people,” he said quietly.
“And to protect themselves,” Emily replied. “There’s never any good in keeping secrets and telling lies because they eventually come into the open and hurt twice as much.”
Chance remained silent for a long time. Maybe he was thinking over what she’d said? Maybe he had some secrets in his past? Lies that had caught up with him?
“The island is coming up,” he said, his comment breaking into her thoughts.
He eased back the throttle to slow down Sweet Lies. A moment later he slid the boat expertly alongside the wharf and she quickly jumped out and secured the lines.
A few minutes later they’d gathered the food and were heading up the stairs when he pointed out to sea. “I don’t want to scare you, but it looks like we’ve got company.”
Emily immediately saw the dark silhouette of a boat anchored about a half mile offshore. An uneasiness slithered along the entire length of her spine. “It might simply be a fisherman.”
“Or it could be someone else Skip hired to spy on us. Let’s get inside.”
She followed Chance as he cautiously strode through the semi-darkness up the steep rock staircase that led to her home perched at the top of the cliffs. Every few seconds he threw glances at the mysterious boat. She had half a mind to send Skip a scorching phone call, chastising him for not trusting her.
Emily frowned at the thought. She shouldn’t be mad at him. She had to tell him she couldn’t marry him. Although by now Chad might have already relayed that message if he’d seen what Chance had been doing to her on the beach.
Skip had every right to know she wasn’t in love with him and probably never would be.
Any normal, sane woman would be lucky to get Skip. He truly was a nice guy. Just not the guy for her. She was an oddball. She’d proven it by giving up a lucrative career in journalism to come back home to eke out a modest living slinging seaweed, all alone most of the time, on a rusty old fishing boat in the middle of a dangerous ocean. She wouldn’t give it up for the world.
That thought smashed into her brain like a bullet. Wasn’t that exactly what she was doing? Giving up the way of life she loved to move to the city, get married and have babies with a man she did not love?
Chance had been right this afternoon. She wasn’t pursuing a dream. She was settling. There was a heck of a big difference between the two. God, why had she been so stupid that she hadn’t seen it herself?
Goodness. She had gotten herself into one heck of a pickle, hadn’t she? Teenagers breaking into her home, spying on her and a sexy stranger who made her forget her fiancé. What in the world was going to happen next?
* * * * *
From his bedroom window Chance stared out at the mysterious boat as it drifted in and out of the white mist out on the ocean. The muscles around his mouth tightened from the frown he’d toted since the conversation about sweet lies.
He had told Emily his share of lies and up until tonight he’d thought they had been to protect her. Now he wondered if maybe he’d been protecting himself too. He didn’t want her to know the hell he’d been through these past few years. He didn’t want to see the guilt push aside the happiness gleaming in her eyes. Guilt because she hadn’t been able to help him. The overwhelming anger she’d feel at the bastards who had ruined their life together. Telling her the truth would only shatter the tranquility she’d created for herself here on Shipwreck Island, and if he didn’t get what he came for and soon, then all his lies just might bubble up to the surface as she had suggested and blow up in his face.
He listened to the croaking of the water pipes as Emily finished her shower and then allowed his thoughts to wander back to that boat which was still there. Wearily he pressed his fingers to massage away the throbbing pain in his temples. Once they’d gotten into the house, he’d quickly made his excuses, telling her that he was beat and wanted to turn in early.
He’d read the disappointment and surprise flare in her eyes and it had taken everything to keep himself from pulling her into his arms and picking up where they’d left on that beach, but her safety was now his top priority. He also figured the sooner he went to bed, the sooner she would too, allowing him to make that phone call to Daniel. Maybe his brother could put out feelers to check out the guy who Chance suspected might be following him yesterday. And what about that kid, Chad?
The kid appeared sincere. He’d told them Skip had asked him to make sure Emily got home safely the other night and to keep an eye on them today. Why had Skip hired a kid? Why not a professional? Someone who wouldn’t be easily detected. Luckily the kid had shown up when he did because if he hadn’t…
Chance inhaled softly at the memory of kissing Emily and going down on her. It had been years since he’d been with her. The softness of her body pressed against him had totally thrown him off balance. Flattened snugly against his chest, the softness of her breasts made him bold. For a little while today he’d held heaven in his arms and then that gangly teenager had puttered around in his boat.
Just like the other night. If the kid hadn’t found the laptop, then Chance would have it by now and disappeared before giving Emily a memory of a stranger who stepped into her life and would probably wreck it if he wasn’t careful.
Instead he sat on his bed, waiting. Waiting for her to go to bed so he could search her room. Once again he peered out the window at the boat that bobbed against the dark horizon. Who the hell was out there?
* * * * *
Emily’s dream exploded and her heart pounded frantically against her chest as she saw Chance standing naked in the bedroom doorway. He watched her with lust-filled eyes while he leisurely stroked the length of his long cock.
“I’ve wanted you from the minute I laid eyes on you,” he whispered, his blue eyes drugging her as he walked toward her. The heat of his body splashed around her like a seductive blanket as he lay down on the bed beside her.
“You’re so beautiful.”
She shivered at his words. Trembled as he reached for her, his hot hands settling against her upper arms, leaning in to kiss her. His mouth melted over hers like fire, the heat spreading through her like lightning, igniting every nerve and fiber, sparking all her senses into overload. His tongue parted her lips and plunged into her mouth, bringing a surge of sexual hunger thrashing into her brain. Her tongue pressed against his, boldly mating with him and the pleasure rocked her to her very core.
She cried out in protest as his mouth slipped away from her lips, and his kisses drifted down her neck like erotic butterfly wings, over her collar bone and along the outside curve of her left breast.
“Oh please, suck my nipples!” she hissed. Arching her body, she whimpered as his mouth touched her, drawing her aching nipple between his moist lips. She loved the way his powerful sucks destroyed her self-control. He moved to her other breast, taking her there until her breast felt swollen and hard. She whimpered as his hands moved between her legs, parting her thighs.
Oh yes. There. Right there. Touch me. Fuck me. And then his body was coming down on top of hers. She gasped as his thick swollen cock head speared into her wet vagina and she welcomed the stretch, loved the way he groaned as he thrust into her.
Emily came awake on a moan and fully alert as if she’d never been asleep. Her arousal vanished and her senses were picking up something in the air. Instantly she knew she wasn’t alone. Someone was moving about in her room. Fear forced her to tense as a dark shadow moved in front of her window. In a split second she recognized the silent profile of Chance.
“Good God, you scared me half to death! What are you doing here?”
The sound of her whisper brought him instantly to attention. He drew away from the window, strode to the foot of her bed and gazed down at her. In the moonlight she noticed he was grinning but the laughter didn’t reach his eyes. Eyes filled with lust.
“Caught again,” his voice sounded dark and sensual.
She found herself scanning his broad chest, wide shoulders and his lean hips, realizing he was still fully dressed.
“Haven’t you gone to bed yet?”
“No,” he said hoarsely. “Thought I heard a noise, so I decided to look for the mace.”
“Do you think someone’s here?”
Alarm slithered through her and she made an attempt to get out of bed, but his gruff voice stopped her.
“Don’t get up! I’m sure it’s nothing. Just the wind.”
“The mace is over here.” She pointed to the night table beside her bed.
Chance didn’t reach for it. Instead he headed for the portrait on the wall. “So this your wedding picture. Steve wasn’t a bad-looking character when he wore a tuxedo, was he?”
“He was quite a dashing groom,” she admitted.
Although they had eloped in Vegas, she’d insisted he wear a tuxedo and she buy a wedding dress at one of the local stores.
“The bride in this picture is absolutely breathtaking. I wonder who she could be?” he teased.
When he turned in the semi-darkness and his smile widened into that irresistible crooked grin and her breath backed up in her lungs. The realization hit her like a thunderbolt. Chance stood directly beside the portrait of Steve and had an almost identical smile to Steve’s.
Could this be why she was so drawn to Chance? Because of his smile? Because sometimes he reminded her of Steve?
Something deep inside her suddenly screamed at her that she should know Chance Donovan. Yet all she had to go on were these déjà vu feelings that crept over her once in a while and the overwhelming feelings of attraction that sizzled between them.
“Why did you really sneak into my house the other night?” she found herself asking.
“I told you—”
“That was bullshit and you know it. My brother-in-law Daniel sent you, didn’t he? You’re here because he thinks I’m in some sort of danger and you were supposed to keep a close eye on me and that’s why he told you where my emergency key was.”
He shook his head. “I should let you get back to sleep.”
“Why can’t you just tell me?” Desperation made her whip her blankets aside and swing her legs out of bed. Suddenly she wanted answers and she wanted them very bad.
“I’ve been patient, Chance. God knows I’ve been patient.”
“Are you referring to what happened on the beach today?”
Her cheeks flushed with heat. He was talking about going down on her.
“Don’t try to change the subject.”
“Then you’d better crawl right back under those sheets, Emily, and let me leave.”
He drew his gaze from her face, down the length of her neck and lower. She followed his gaze and realized the first three buttons on her nightgown were open, revealing the top curves of her breasts. Plus her hem was hiked up around her hips, showing him her bare thighs and panties.
In the moonlight she saw him swallow. Felt his heated stare on her and her heart thundered. In a flash, her sexual instincts kicked in. Big-time.
He wanted her. Now. Tonight.
She wanted him too. Big-time.
“Why did you really come into my bedroom tonight, Chance? Guys don’t usually go around looking for protection from mace,” she whispered, knowing full well her question was an invitation to him.
He shook his head as if denying her offer and made a move to the door.
“I should go.”
“Don’t go,” she whispered. He just kept on walking and her hopes plummeted. Hopes of having him in bed with her. Of him making love to her.
“At least let me return the favor you did for me on the beach today.”
He stopped and swore beneath his breath.
“I’m sure you must be throbbing,” she prodded. “Needing relief. Just as I am.”
She sounded desperate. Her voice thick and husky. She didn’t want to appear desperate. Especially if he didn’t want her.
“Don’t push me, Emily. Just go back to bed.” There was a warning underlying his rough voice. A warning she knew she should heed. But she couldn’t.
He stepped through the doorway.
She tensed.
“No strings, Chance.” Okay, now she was really being an idiot. She couldn’t sleep with a man and have no emotions afterward, could she? No, not with this one.
She held her breath as he stopped.
He didn’t turn around as he spoke.
“Be careful, Emily. I don’t want to hurt you.”
And there it was. Her out. He would hurt her. She knew it just as she knew he would turn around and come back into her room, and that’s exactly what he did. Turned around, stepped back into her room and c
losed the door behind him.
“I won’t ask any more questions,” she promised. At least not tonight, she added silently.
He stood stiff for a moment. She could hear his uneven breathing as he stared at her. Could feel the way he was fighting his self-control. Could feel him losing the fight.
Reaching down, she lifted the hem of her nightgown. Lifted the garment over her head and off.
Chance inhaled roughly and swore.
“I don’t have protection.”
“I do,” she answered.
He looked surprised.
“I bought a box. In town today.”
Her body ached as he moved toward her and dark hunger swept through her as she inhaled his scent. He smelled lightly of the ocean air and sweat. He smelled so good. He always smelled so good.
“You won’t be sorry in the morning?” he asked as one of his hands settled on her bare waist and he drew her against him.
“Sore, maybe, but sorry, never.” Oh my! Had she just said that?
His warm breath breezed against her mouth as he tilted her chin up with his forefinger. In anticipation, she slid her hands beneath his arms, bringing them up to splay against his shoulders.
“Sore, can be easily arranged.”
Oh God.
He lowered his head and took her mouth like a man possessed. She literally saw stars when he crushed her lips beneath his with such a bruising force. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and his moan of satisfaction curled through her as she moved hers against his.
Their tongues dueled, got reacquainted from their time on the beach, making her feel so wonderfully hot. Just like her dream. But was she still dreaming? She found herself wondering that as she melted into his hard length.
As he kissed her, her body shuddered. She could clearly feel his erection pressed against her lower abdomen. His mouth intoxicated her and his erotic groans unleashed all her pent-up lust for him. While he kissed her, she forced her hands from his broad shoulders, dipping down to his waist and then to the front of his jeans. She worked the button there, her hands trembling as it popped open and she pulled on the zipper. Trembling at the sound of the zipper lowering, her fingers touched his hot skin, making him inhale sharply into her mouth.
