"He chased after your boyfriend?"
Caryn could understand Tom's reaction. She'd never, ever expected Corey to do what he'd done.
"Yeah, and it looked like Jasper enjoyed being chased."
"Why do you say that?"
"Looking back over my relationship, all the times Jasper and Corey were together, there was something there lurking below the surface. Conversations I thought were innocent, but with hindsight I wonder now if they hadn't been flirting with each other. Jasper confessed to me he'd been attracted to Corey from the time we started dating. Basically, our whole relationship was a big fat lie because the only reason he kept dating me was to get to know Corey. God, he even slept with me. How horrible is that? This is why I don't like people who lie. If he'd been truthful with not only himself but with me, we would've all been saved from heartache. Although, really, I’m the only who suffered any sort of heartache."
The crux of it all: both of them seemed really happy together. So while it still made her cringe in humiliation, she wasn't going to begrudge her brother his happiness. She just wished it had happened with someone else and not her boyfriend.
"Relationships suck."
"You’re preaching to the choir. But,” she shrugged, dislodging Tom’s arm from her shoulder, “it is what it is, and they're happy. They moved in together before I left on my trip. And, well, here I am"—she leaned a little closer to him—"with you."
“Do you still love Jasper?”
“No. Definitely not. Now I’m not even sure I was in love with him. We’d been dating so long, I figured the natural step for us was marriage. Of course, now I know why we were dating so long.”
Tom's arms closed around her and he kissed the top of her head. “I need to tell you something.”
Disappointment lanced through her. She'd killed the mood. With her declaration of her past, she'd killed the sexy times she wanted to happen between her and Tom. He was about to tell her he was leaving.
For so long she'd been numb, no feeling of any sort, not even when she'd seen the Statue of Liberty or the majesty of the Grand Canyon. And while the gambling and bright lights of Vegas had been fun, these last few days in Barefoot Bay had been wonderful. As clichéd as it sounded, everything seemed brighter. Like her life was about to turn the corner, and maybe it had been until she'd mentioned Corey and Jasper.
“Can it wait?” she asked.
“I, uh, yeah, I suppose it can.”
“Good.”
Trying to recapture the mood from the beach, she leaned against Tom and wrapped her own arms around him, the steady thump, thump, thump of his heartbeat beneath her ear a comforting sound.
Caryn closed her eyes and hissed out a long breath.
"Feel better?" Tom murmured.
"Yes and no. I'm glad I told you, but in some respects I wish I hadn't."
"Why?"
Oh God, now she'd done it. How did she say, “Well, telling you killed the mood and I really want to sleep with you.”
"All you have to do is ask."
Shit. It didn't take being a rocket scientist to know her face was as bright red as the label on a Coke bottle. What could she do but woman up? "I said that out loud, didn't I?"
"Yes, and I don't mind that you did at all." Tom laughed and fell back on the bed, taking her with him. Sprawled out on top of him, she couldn't miss the fact that her words hadn't cooled his ardor at all.
Feeling empowered, she wiggled her hips against his hardness, his groan a welcoming sound.
"So how about it, Mr. Tom Jones?"
He squeezed her ass and this time she groaned loudly.
"How about what?"
"We go the full monty, and if you were wearing a hat, I'd say you could leave it on." She giggled.
"Now that I can get on board with."
Caryn's giggles turned to moans as Tom's hand cupped the back of her neck and pulled her close to him so he could kiss her. There was nothing sweet about this kiss. It was carnal and showed her exactly what he wanted. The two of them naked. Right here. Right now. It wasn't something she planned on arguing with him about. She was in full agreement.
In a flurry of hands, the sounds of zippers, and grumbles of frustration that they weren’t removing their clothes fast enough echoed around the room. It didn't make the process any easier with both of them wanting to continually kiss the other person.
Caryn couldn't get enough of Tom's lips on hers. She let out a moan of delight when those same lips closed over her nipple. Her fingers threaded through his hair to keep his head in place over her breast. His hand was busy massaging her other breast, and she squirmed as delicious heat stole through her. She released her grip on Tom's hair and ran her hands over his broad shoulders and down his muscled back then changing their direction and skating across his taut stomach. His flesh rippled beneath her fingertips. Slowly, she tracked her hand down until she found what she was looking for. With one finger she traced his long length. This time it was Tom who moaned against her breast.
Never had she had this all-consuming need to be possessed by someone as she did right now with Tom. Taking the time to get to know each other's bodies seemed like a good idea, but it was the last thing she wanted. All she wanted was for him to thrust into her.
"I need you inside me now, Tom. I can't wait." To emphasize her need, she shifted her body so that her pussy aligned with his hard cock.
A rush of warm air blew across her sensitized nipple, followed by the slow slide of his tongue as it swirled around her areola. Her back arched and she dug her heels into the soft mattress.
"Don't you know?" he whispered against her breast and ran his hand down her stomach until his fingers hovered over her short curls. "When working on a masterpiece, the best results come from taking your time."
Caryn couldn't answer as he once again captured her lips and plunged one finger inside of her slick folds and massaged her clit with his thumb. Nothing could prepare her for the way her body responded to Tom's touch. Her blood thrummed its own little mantra. The word yes over and over echoed through her veins, louder and louder with every thrust of his finger and circular motion of his thumb, until the word burst out of her as her inner muscles clenched. A climax, stronger than anything she'd ever experienced before, consumed her like a wildfire consumes drought-stricken forests.
She didn't have time to catch her breath before she heard the sound of foil being ripped open and then Tom's hard length was pushing inside of her. Her hands wrapped around his back, ensuring his firmly muscled chest stayed pressed against her breasts. Once he was fully seated inside her, he held still.
"You feel so good," she murmured as she pressed kisses all over his face.
"Baby, good is too mild a word to express what it feels like to be inside of you."
Caryn wanted to ask what word would, but thoughts escaped her as Tom started moving. She’d thought his fingers were magic, but his hard cock moving in and out of her transcended the sensations bubbling inside of her. All thought transferred to the place where she and Tom were joined. Her hips moved in time with him. Their movements smooth and synchronized, like they'd made love a thousand times instead of this being their first time.
Her hands gripped his ass to hold him close and she ground her hips against his. Another hot wave of intense pleasure started brewing in her toes, creeping over her ankles, up her calf muscles, through her thigh muscles until converging in her core and expanding through the rest of her body and she cried out his name as her second climax engulfed her.
Tom thrust faster, his muscles tensing so tightly she expected to feel them snap beneath her fingers. Then he shouted out her name as his own orgasm shook through him, sweeping her along on a ride she never wanted to end.
10
A sigh of contentment whispered out of Tom as he tightened his hold around Caryn while she snuggled in closer to him. He should feel bad about not telling Caryn who he truly was. He should've told her his true identity before he'd made love to her. B
ut he could tell she was embarrassed and upset with her confession and he didn't want to make her feel any worse.
Not that he thought she was in any way at fault with what had happened to her. It would absolutely suck if a girl he'd been dating for a while suddenly turned around and told him she was in love with his sister—that is, if he had a sister. He honestly couldn't imagine how devastating it would've been for Caryn to go through that. Not to mention having to see both of them at family functions.
He gazed down at Caryn as she slept, his heart swelling with the need to protect her. To be by her side whenever she had to face her brother and ex.
No way could he be with Caryn. The thought was absurd considering she lived in Australia and he lived and worked in the States. But his heart was telling him differently.
No, he couldn’t be falling for Caryn. It was too soon. Who fell for a person they’d known for such a short time? Lust was screwing with him.
But what if it were real?
He couldn’t deny he was finally opening his heart to someone who looked at him as a real person, not as a television personality or as someone who could fund an expensive lifestyle. The past week with Caryn had been a step out of time. A step out of the reality that was his life. He had no idea if the truth would change how she acted around him, knowing he had a successful television show. That he attended award shows. That he worked practically year round. And he still had no idea what Caryn did.
"Hey, you're looking very serious." Her husky words washed over him, reigniting the flame of desire simmering inside of him. Even lost in his thoughts, he'd been conscious of the luscious body lying beside him.
They'd had one intense conversation tonight and he didn't want to have another one, but he had to put his mind at ease.
"Can I ask you something?" He stroked a hand down her soft, silky hair, wrapping a skein of it around his finger.
"If it involves you and me repeating what we did a little while ago, I'm all for it."
"Not quite." He chuckled and shifted on the bed so that he lay facing her. "I know you said you're a businesswoman and are between jobs. What did you used to do? I want to know everything about you."
A sigh rippled through her. "Really? It's not that exciting."
Her reluctance to share a fairly innocuous part of herself baffled him. Was she hiding something from him like he was hiding his true identity from her? Maybe he was being catfished like Aaron had cautioned. Was her name really Caryn Stapleton? Was the story she told tonight about her brother and former boyfriend even real?
If he could sit across from her and keep an integral part of himself from her, it was entirely possible she could be doing the same to him.
God, he was thinking too much. He had a beautiful woman in his arms. Whatever was happening between them was nothing but a holiday fling. Nothing serious could come of it, and his earlier thought that he was falling for her was a leftover high from the incredible lovemaking they'd shared.
Sex. Not lovemaking.
"I ran a pretty successful fashion accessory Internet company. I got a ridiculously insane offer from an international conglomerate to buy my company. The interest came at the time when everything in my life was going to hell in a handbasket. So I accepted it and here I am. Free to do whatever I like for the rest of my life."
Now that sounded almost too good to be true. He knew Caryn was twenty-six. Starting a business so successful that it hit the radar of a big company was not impossible in this day and age of electronic media and the incessant need of everyone in the world to have everything now. But the aura of a successful person didn't surround her. If anything, her aura was that of a woman who needed protection from the world.
And since when did he consider himself a man from the 1950s whose idea of life was the woman safe at home in the kitchen and him out in the big, bad world providing for her?
Never.
He'd never thought that way about any woman in his life. He could imagine what she'd think if he said as much to her. He'd be kicked out of this bed quicker than he could say hello.
The silence had stretched between them since her declaration. An uncomfortable silence, and he needed to say something. What though, when he had reservations that she was actually telling him the truth?
God, he hated Aaron for even planting the tiny little seed of doubt sprouting in his mind. Why shouldn't he believe everything Caryn told him? Just because he wasn't entirely truthful didn't mean he had the right to paint her with the same brush.
If anything, he was the one who needed to be upfront with her, and he didn’t really like himself for the fact that he wasn't. His hesitation to reveal who he was would seem childish to his friends. But he honestly enjoyed knowing that anything Caryn was feeling toward him was not tainted with the allure of fame. A rare feeling. He hadn’t been this relaxed with a woman since his television show hit the big time. It was a heady feeling.
"That's amazing. How did you get started with your business?"
"The usual way, I guess. Started off making cute flower crowns for my cousin's daughter and it kinda snowballed from there. Her friends all wanted one and then their friends. Before I knew it, what started out as a hobby became a successful business venture."
"I'm sure it wasn't as easy as that."
"No, but timing helps." Caryn moved away from him and he sensed the subject of her business and her success didn't sit comfortably with her. Why?
Tom opened his mouth to ask more questions, only to close it just as quickly when he saw her yawn. Regardless of the fact that she'd pulled away from him, he reached out and curved an arm around her, pulling her closer so that he was spooning her.
"It's late," he murmured. "We should sleep." His hand had another idea though, and it crept over the delectable curve of her hip before dipping along her stomach.
She wiggled her ass against his growing erection. "I suppose, but I have a better idea." Her hand closed around his cock and he groaned against her ear.
"I like the way you think."
Rays of gold filtered through the room when Tom opened his eyes again. He stretched and smiled when his leg came in contact with a silky smooth one. Twisting so he lay on his side, he watched Caryn as she slept on her stomach, one arm tucked under the pillow, her black hair stark against the white of the bedsheets. She looked more beautiful now than when she’d been in the throes of passion. The compulsion to lean over and stroke his tongue down her spine welled up inside of him.
As though sensing his perusal, Caryn stirred and rolled over to face him, a sleepy, sexy smile breaking out over her face.
He gave into the urge to forge a connection with her; he reached out and traced a finger over the curve of her cheek. "Good morning, beautiful."
"Morning."
Tom cupped the back of her head and gave her a gentle kiss. "Wanna take a walk on the beach?"
"Sure. Did you want to go back to your villa and change and we can meet back here in about thirty minutes?"
"Perfect." He pulled her close for another kiss, this one deeper than the one he gave her moments ago. He trailed his lips down her throat while he palmed her breast. It would be so easy to push her on her back and slide right into her.
"This is not getting ready to go for a walk."
"The walk can wait."
"I supposed we can do a little warming up before we start walking.”
Tom let out a little yelp of surprise as Caryn pushed against his chest so that he ended up on his back, like what he'd imagined doing to her. His hands landed on her hips when she straddled him; his erection nudged her belly.
Oh yeah, he wouldn't mind waking up like this on a regular basis with Caryn.
Whether he was thinking with his dick or clarity had arrived with morning, all he knew was, he didn't care what she'd done in the past. He’d tried to deny his growing feelings the previous evening, but it was a total waste of time. All he cared about was here and now. And here and now was this bed with Caryn about to roll
a condom on him. Here and now he was falling in love with her, and it was useless to deny it any longer.
Whistling, Tom walked up the path to his villa. He was feeling pretty damn good. After making love again, they fell asleep and their early morning walk was now going to be a lunchtime stroll.
"It's about damn time you turned up. Where the hell have you been?"
Tom stopped. Standing by his front door was Aaron, his agent.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he countered.
"Two things: Sienna fucking Fairley. And we’ve got a new endorsement offer I need to talk to you about. They need an answer ASAP."
Tom groaned as it hit him that his plans with Caryn had been blown to smithereens with Aaron's appearance. There was no way he could blow off his agent, no matter how tempting it was. Walking the beach Caryn was definitely more appealing than dealing with Aaron and discussing business deals. Although whatever this company was proposing had to be pretty good for him to come all this way to Barefoot Bay.
"Come in and we can talk about it. And I’m sure whatever Sienna has done can't be as bad as you're making it out to be,” Tom said.
"Disappearing from a film set. Yeah, sure, that's not bad at all."
Tom opened the door and stepped back so Aaron could enter. "Take a seat. I just need to make to send a quick message."
Sending a text was an easy way out. He really should call her. But he also knew Caryn would probably ask questions and he wasn't quite ready to get into long explanations about who Aaron was and the role he played in his life. When it came to telling Caryn the whole truth about himself, he wanted to do it to her face and not over the phone. It was the least he could do.
11
I'm really sorry. Something unexpected has come up. I'm going to have to cancel our walk. We'll do something tonight. Be in touch later. <3 Tom.
Caryn tried not to read too much into the love heart emoji before Tom's name and not too much into his message either. Unfortunately, her mind tossed the word unexpectedly around her brain like a ship rolling in high seas.
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