Who Needs Mistletoe?

by Kate Hoffmann

  “It’s not a cyclone,” Sophie said. “I’d be worried if it was. A cyclone would blow the cottage down around us.”

  “If I hadn’t been so anxious to work on Christmas Eve, you’d be at home, safe and sound, enjoying the holiday like you should be, instead of stuck on this island.”

  “It is Christmas Eve, isn’t it?” Sophie murmured. She turned to him and smiled. “Merry Christmas, Trey.”

  Her hair blew around her face and Trey smoothed his hands over her temples so he could look into her eyes. “I wanted to forget it was Christmas,” he said. “I didn’t have anywhere to be this year. No one to buy gifts for. I thought if I kept busy, I wouldn’t realize I was all alone. But I’m glad I’m here with you.”

  “Maybe we should sing some carols,” Sophie suggested. “Do you know ‘Good King Wenceslas’?”

  Trey chuckled. “It just doesn’t seem right. There’s no snow.”

  “But there’s been plenty of rain. The only difference is a few degrees in temperature.” She paused. “I know what we can do.” Sophie reached for the knot in her pareu and untied it, then let the breeze blow the fabric from her body. She kicked off her sandals and ran to the edge of the water, then turned to face him. “Come on.”

  Trey watched her for a long moment, his gaze raking her naked body. Then, with a groan, he stripped off his shorts, slipped out of his shoes, and ran after her. As he passed, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the water, both of them falling head-first into the surf.

  Sophie screamed and splashed water at him, but he yanked her into his arms and kissed her long and hard. Their bodies seemed to fit together so perfectly, her breasts pressed against his chest, her legs tangled around his.

  He nuzzled her neck, biting her gently as they played. Sophie leaned back in the water and Trey cupped her breast in his hand, his thumb teasing at her nipple. This was paradise, she thought to herself. When she’d wished for a lover, she could never have expected this man.

  Sophie kicked away from him, swimming a few strokes then turning to tread water. But he wasn’t watching her. Trey’s gaze was fixed on the horizon. “Sophie, look.” He pointed and she followed his arm to a spot not far offshore. The white sails of a boat were clearly visible against the sunset. Trey turned and looked at her. “The flare gun. I’ll go back and get the flare gun.”

  He spun around and ran out of the water and onto the beach. But before he could get his shorts back on, Sophie called to him. “Don’t,” she shouted.

  He turned to face her, tugging on his khakis over his damp skin. “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t want you to signal them.”

  “Sophie, I’m not going to put you in danger. There’s a storm coming up. We’re here alone. The least they could do would be to radio someone and let them know we’re safe.”

  “The waves are getting pretty high,” she said. “I don’t think they’ll risk coming through the reef. And the sun is almost down. They wouldn’t be able to get back out. We’d be putting them in danger.”

  “They could call for a boat,” he said. “Isn’t there a coast guard around here?”

  “Anyone sent to rescue us would have to deal with the weather, too.” She glanced over at him. “We’ll be all right for the night. They’ll find us in the morning.” Sophie stared into his eyes and she saw the indecision there. But there was more. A genuine concern for her safety. He cared about her, enough to put an end to their time together.

  “No,” he said.

  “Yes.” She held out her hand and motioned to him as he slowly walked to the water’s edge, the waves swirling around his feet. “I want to spend the night with you. I don’t want to be anywhere but here.”

  He waded through the water to where she stood and picked her up, wrapping her legs around his waist. Then he kissed her, his hands tangling in her damp hair, molding her mouth to his.

  “All right,” he murmured, his lips warm against hers.

  She needed this night, Sophie told herself. After that, she’d be able to let him go without any regret. Just this one night.

  B Y THE TIME THEY GOT BACK to the cottage, they could hear thunder in the distance. The wind had shifted direction and was blowing across the lagoon toward the plane. The pilot-side float had been grounded on the sand, and the plane sat at an odd angle.

  “Should we try to tie it down again?” Trey asked.

  Sophie stared across the lagoon, squinting into the diminishing light. “There’s nothing we can do now,” she murmured. “Except hope that the wind doesn’t get too high.”

  The plane probably wasn’t worth a whole lot, Trey thought to himself. He suspected that Sophie and her father had sold the most valuable of their assets first, leaving her with something that was held together with chewing gum and duct tape. He probably ought to be grateful they’d had a problem with the engine when and where they did. Hell, they would have been in a lot more trouble had a wing or the propeller fallen off.

  “Don’t worry,” he said.

  “If it flips, we’ll never be able to get it off this island,” she said.

  “It’ll be fine,” he said, reassured that money could solve any problem. If he had to send a boat over and find a mechanic to take the plane apart piece by piece and haul it back to Tahiti, he’d do that for Sophie.

  Trey wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. In truth, there wasn’t much that he wouldn’t do for her, if she asked.

  “Maybe it would be better if we couldn’t get it off the island,” she murmured. “Then it would finally be over. The insurance would pay for the plane. My father’s business would be done and we could move back to the States.”

  “Is that what you want?” Trey asked.

  She shrugged and slipped out of his embrace. “Yes.” She paused and turned to face him. “No.”

  “If you could have anything you want, any wish, what would it be?” he asked.

  “It won’t do me any good to wish,” she said, climbing the front steps of the cottage. “Wishing can’t make it happen.”

  He stared up at her, studying her enigmatic expression. “Humor me. If you could snap your fingers and have whatever you want. Three wishes.”

  Sophie leaned against a vine-covered post and stared out at the lagoon. “I’d wish my father would go to a doctor and get his eyes fixed. And then, I’d wish the business was making money again. And finally, I’d wish my mother would come back.”

  “Nothing for yourself?” Trey asked.

  “All those things are for me,” she said. She shrugged, her smile fading slightly. “What about you?”

  “I’d wish…I had a big, soft bed here on this island. With clean sheets and down pillows.”

  “And?”

  “And a bathtub big enough for two with an endless supply of hot water and bubbles.”

  “That’s two,” she said. “What’s the third?”

  “You. In the bathtub first and then the bed.”

  Sophie stared at him for a long time, her gaze flitting over his face. Trey could already imagine the scene his three wishes might create. A bath, a bed and Sophie was a fantasy he hoped might come true. He’d make it come true.

  Trey felt the first drops of rain on his skin and he looked up at the sky and closed his eyes. It seemed as though they’d spent a lifetime on this island and yet, in so many ways, they were still strangers. He wanted to touch the real Sophie, the lighthearted, silly woman that he sometimes saw, not the indifferent, slightly cynical girl that he was faced with now.

  She was so guarded at times, so careful of her emotions that Trey wondered if he’d ever truly know her. He knew she had an incredible inner strength and she was fiercely loyal to those she loved. He knew her parents’ divorce had left her with deep scars, making her unable to trust her own feelings.

  They’d been intimate, but only with their bodies. He wanted to know this woman, to feel what was in her heart and soul and to touch her the
re, as well. But how was that possible in just a single day and night?

  Trey drew a deep breath and opened his eyes to find her still staring at him.

  She held out her hand. “Come in out of the rain,” Sophie coaxed.

  “Come into the rain,” he countered, holding out his hand.

  Sophie turned and walked in the open door of the cottage. Trey knew if he went to her, she’d surrender. He’d run his hands over her shoulders and toss aside her pareu and they’d pleasure each other the way they had since the moment the plane had gone down.

  But sex with Sophie wouldn’t get him what he wanted. It wasn’t just passing pleasure. He needed to know this relationship actually meant something to her, that they weren’t simply satisfying a physical craving, but, perhaps, connecting in a deeper way.

  Slowly, he climbed the steps, his desire overwhelming his resolve. At least, when he was inside her, he could claim a part of her that no one else could. In those moments before they dissolved into orgasm, the walls fell and she was his completely.

  Trey cursed softly, stopping just outside the front door. Once he touched her, there was no going back. She stood at one of the windows, staring out at the rain, her face illuminated by the late-evening light. Her beauty took his breath away and Trey wondered at the stroke of luck that had put him here on this island with her.

  He slowly walked across the room and slipped his hands around her waist, gently turning her around and backing her up against the wall. His fingers tangled in her hair as his mouth met hers. Sophie moaned, going pliant in his arms. They couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other for long.

  Was it just unbridled lust or did he need to reassure himself that she still wanted him? So many times in the past, the passion he’d felt for a woman faded too quickly. It had always been replaced by the pragmatic notion that love wasn’t worth the trouble.

  Hell, he didn’t even know what love was. He wouldn’t know it if it dropped out of the sky and hit him on the head. But this was certainly a lot more than just lust, Trey thought, his lips tracing a path from her jaw to the sweet curve of her neck.

  His palms were warm on her naked skin and he found the knot in her pareu. With practiced ease, Trey tossed aside the filmy fabric and it drifted to the floor. She held her breath as he cupped her breast in his hand, rubbing his thumb over her nipple until it peaked.

  Bracing his hands on either side of her head, he pinned her body against the wall with his. Another kiss, this one more intense and demanding, brought a moan from Sophie’s throat and the silent question he asked was answered. She did want him as much as he wanted her.

  She tore at his shorts, hastily unzipping them before shoving them down over his hips. The instant his shaft made contact with her body, Trey knew any thought of stopping would be futile. But he wanted more than just pleasure. Unfortunately, he didn’t know just exactly what that was.

  Trey hooked his finger beneath her chin and turned her toward the light from the window, his eyes fixed on hers. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he groaned.

  He grabbed her waist and pulled her up, wrapping her legs around his hips and using the wall for support. His shaft was hot and hard between them, the length of his erection rubbing along the damp slit between her legs. Pleasure knotted inside him with every stroke and he struggled to keep himself from release. Sophie arched back, pushing against him with each stroke as her need built.

  Trey ached to lose himself inside her, to feel her heat as he came. But neither one of them wanted to pause to retrieve a condom and he wasn’t even sure where the last one was. The force that had brought them together was too strong for them to deny or to stop.

  He probed at her entrance and Sophie shifted above him. For one breathtaking moment, he slipped inside her, then cursed softly. “We shouldn’t,” he murmured, swallowing hard. “Should we?”

  Sophie shook her head, her breath coming in short gasps, her hair tickling his chest. “I don’t want you to stop.”

  “I have some control, but not that much,” he said, his voice raw with need. “And not with you.”

  She moved again and he was inside her and it felt like heaven. But suddenly, reality set in. This woman had stolen the last ounce of his self-control. When he was with her, all he could think of was this, the feel of their bodies joined as one.

  Drawing a deep breath, he slowly pulled out, then set Sophie back on her feet. If he expected anything more than sex between them, then the sex would have to stop, at least temporarily. The next time he was intimate with Sophie, Trey wanted it to mean something.

  “What’s wrong?” she murmured, her lips pressed against his chest.

  “Nothing. We just shouldn’t do this without a condom.” He pulled his shorts back up over his hips and forced a smile, the height of his desire still plainly evident.

  “Are you going to go get one?” she asked, her eyes wide.

  “Right.” Trey nodded. “I’ll…go get one.”

  He walked toward the door, wincing slightly as the zipper from his shorts rubbed against his erection. When he got outside, the last light from the day had nearly faded. The sky was a deep blue and the first stars twinkled through the clouds. The rain had stopped for the moment and the air was fresh with the smell of the island.

  Trey leaned back against the weather-worn siding next to the door and closed his eyes. Things were moving far too fast. Emotions he’d kept so closely in check were threatening to break through his usual indifference.

  Somehow, this place had worked a kind of magic on him. Civilization, and the real world, seemed miles and miles away. And for the first time in his adult life, Trey was able to live unencumbered by the expectations of others.

  Here, on Suaneva, he was able to be himself. And he was beginning to like the guy he’d found.

  6

  S OPHIE LEANED BACK AGAINST the wood-paneled wall and sighed. The rain had begun again, the soft hiss of raindrops filling the room, the sound amplified by the tin roof. The sun had set and the last traces of light were leaving the sky. In another few minutes, it would be impossible to see.

  Trey had walked out a while ago and hadn’t come back. She thought about going after him, wondering why he wasn’t interested in finishing what they’d begun, but Sophie didn’t want to hear the answer. They’d almost done something they could have both been sorry for later. And yet, Sophie was sorry now.

  Since their sunset stroll on the beach, something had changed between them. What had begun as a physical relationship was quickly turning into something more. She’d grown desperate to feel him inside her, without anything between them, and not just because it brought physical pleasure. She had wanted him to bury himself deep during his release so that they could share something they hadn’t yet experienced, something that would be theirs alone.

  It was foolish, Sophie knew. She’d never allowed such an emotional attachment to any other man. But her feelings had somehow become tangled up in all of this and she couldn’t help herself. For just a little while, she wanted to believe what she and Trey had was more than just sex.

  Ever since her parents’ divorce, Sophie’s heart had been left nearly paralyzed. It still beat every day, but she’d been unable to feel anything deeper than mild affection for anyone. She couldn’t trust herself with emotions that might end up wounding her even more deeply.

  Yet the moment she and Trey had faced possible death, the moment they’d stumbled out of the plane and into each other’s arms, she’d felt her heart begin to come alive again. Sophie had tried to tell herself it was just the adrenaline rush of landing safely. But the adrenaline had worn off long ago and she realized she was falling for her fellow castaway.

  Sophie drew a ragged breath and moaned softly. Sexual attraction and mutual desire had somehow transformed into trust and affection. And though it was dangerous to even explore such emotions, perhaps it might be worth the risk. Maybe this was just a first step, a way for her to find herself. How m
uch could he possibly hurt her in such a short time? She was stronger now and more able to recover. Why not take a chance?

  Reaching up, Sophie touched her lips, still bruised from his kiss. No man had ever made her feel this way. Every moment with Trey was like a carnival ride, a mixture of thrills and fear and exhilaration. She wanted to get off, yet she felt compelled to stay for just a little longer, to see what wonderful experience might be next.

  “That’s the problem,” Sophie murmured to herself. “Knowing when to get off.”

  She bent down and picked up her pareu, then wrapped it around her naked body and knotted it under her arm. When she reached the door, she stepped out onto the porch. Trey was bent over the fire he’d built earlier, trying to coax a flame to life while shielding it from the rain.

  Sophie wrapped her arms around the porch post and watched him, wondering what he was thinking. “It’s raining too hard,” she called. “It won’t last.”

  He glanced over his shoulder. “If it’s big enough, I can keep it going,” he said. “Besides, your father is going to know something is wrong by now. He might send out a search plane. If they see the fire, it may give him cause to hope.”

  Sophie smiled, grateful that he understood her father’s worries. But she suspected he was working on the fire to avoid talking to her. “In the dark, they could miss the island by miles. They’re not likely to see a fire that small.”

  “Then I’ll make it bigger,” he snapped. Trey grabbed another branch and tossed it onto the feeble flames, the muscles across his back tight, his fists clenched.

  He was angry, Sophie mused. They had let their desire get the better of them, both of them enjoying the feel of each other without a barrier between them. But they’d stopped in time. And it wasn’t as if she were trying to trap him with some surprise pregnancy. “You don’t have to take it out on me,” she replied. “What’s your problem?”

  He straightened, as if he were about to turn around and face her. But then, he must have thought better of it, as he continued to stare into the fire. “I don’t have a problem.”