Hot Christmas Nights

by Rachel Bailey

  They’d stared in awe as shoals of silver fish had darted past them, their eyes widening as they discovered the array of colorful fish that frequented these waters. She’d pointed to giant clams. With his heart in his mouth, he’d pointed to a turtle. They’d seen starfish and stingrays and the wonder of it all stretched through her eyes now.

  He stared at her and heat radiated through his chest, his fingers started to tingle. None of it could compete with the face of the woman beside him—with her wonder, her relish and her gratitude.

  He loved her.

  She reached out and rested her hand on his shoulder, squeezed it briefly through his Lycra stinger suit. They both wore them as protection from marine stingers and jellyfish, not to mention sunburn. “Thank you for this holiday, Josh. I will never forget that you did this for me.”

  He wanted this—the closeness between them, the sense that they occupied their own little world—to last beyond this week at Trinity Beach. He wanted to take it home with them and build on it.

  She adjusted her mask back over her eyes and with a thumbs-up set to exploring more of the wonderland spread out before them.

  He followed her, his mind racing. He’d finally found the one girl in Belltrees he’d risk it all for—but it’d be the biggest risk of his life. His heart pounded a hard tattoo in his chest. If he told her how he felt, she’d run away faster than a gazelle from a lion.

  Very slowly he shook his head. A full frontal assault wouldn’t work. If he wanted to prove to Erin how good they could be together, he’d need to employ less overt tactics to slip beneath her guard. He’d need to woo her carefully. He’d need to seduce her every sense, while not raising a single alarm on her radar. If he failed…

  His hands clenched to fists. Failing didn’t bear thinking about.

  They explored the underwater world of the Great Barrier Reef until lunchtime, and then ate lobster salad while sitting on the white sands of Green Island. The rested for a lazy hour as a warm summer breeze danced across their skin and then set about exploring the island—a beautiful coral cay with white beaches and a unique island rainforest. Before either of them was ready to leave, it was time for the forty-five minute catamaran ride back to Cairns.

  From her seat beside him, Erin stared out at the emerald waters that surrounded them. “This place is perfect.” She huffed out a sigh of pure contentment. “Maybe we should’ve become marine vets instead.”

  It warmed him from the ground up that she included him in those alternative life plans. “This place is amazing, but I love Belltrees too.”

  She turned with a smile that almost stopped his heart. He saw a glimpse of the girl he’d had a crush on eight years ago.

  “Me too.” A smile danced in her eyes. “Besides, I expect marine vets have few opportunities to find themselves arm-deep in a cow. And, as we both know, that’d be a very great loss.”

  He laughed. These few days away had done wonders for her. They’d put a bloom back into her cheeks, a sparkle in her eyes and had dislodged some of that invisible weight from her shoulders.

  The holiday had been good for him too. It had shown him what he wanted—really wanted. It had given him the opportunity to go after it without distractions. Tonight they’d ring in the New Year.

  A new year and a new beginning.

  The day had been one of the most magical Erin had ever experienced. That evening she sat at a table on the beach and ate succulent seafood, fresh salad and tropical fruit pavlova, all washed down with a crisp champagne. The other diners at their table were young, single and determined to have fun. There was a lot of laughter as they traded holiday stories.

  But even with all of that going on, Erin was constantly aware of Josh beside her. His warmth, charm and his easy laughter drew people to him and she couldn’t help but bask in the reflected glow. Nor could she help being aware of the flex and play of his muscles whenever he moved on his seat or the way the light from the lamps strung about the tables caught the sun-kissed tips of his hair.

  She shook herself. Of course she admired him. He was her best friend and a good man to boot.

  Whenever he grinned at her to share a silent joke, though, it warmed up parts of her a best friend had no right warming up.

  She rolled her shoulders. It was just a false effect created by the balmy starlit beach and the freely flowing champagne. This place oozed so much romance it should come with a government health warning.

  Thank God they’d had the sex talk earlier in the week, because… She shifted on her chair. No, because. She and Josh were on the same page. She didn’t need to worry about anything.

  Still, when the band started playing funky reggae beach music and Josh asked her to dance, she couldn’t prevent her heart from tripping or her breath from quickening. The frank appreciation in his eyes as they stepped onto the dance floor—in their flip-flops no less—had heat blooming along the surface of her skin.

  “I love you in that dress.”

  His voice sounded husky and inscrutable, and all the fine hairs on her arms lifted. They started to dance, not touching, the beat of the music light and fun. He wore the electric blue shirt with a pair of black cargo shorts. She gestured to the shirt and had to swallow before she could speak. “I’ve said it before, but you look great in that.”

  He looked great period.

  He pretended to preen and she laughed and gestured at her yellow halter neck dress. “I feel like a different person from the one who wore this on our second night here.”

  “Different in a good way?”

  “Definitely!”

  The gleam in his eyes made her pulse pound harder. He leaned in close, swamping her with heat and a clean male musk. Her mouth went dry in an instant. Yet he still didn’t touch her—not even to take her hand and twirl her around.

  One corner of his mouth hooked up. She tried not to let her attention linger there. “I’ve had a great time on our holiday, Erin. I’m glad you have too.”

  He held her gaze and his eyes darkened. For one tension-fraught moment she thought he meant to dip his head and capture her lips with his own.

  No! That couldn’t happen and—

  With a smile, he eased back. Her heart pounded against her ribs, the pulse in her throat fluttering like a wild thing. She cursed her overactive imagination. Of course he hadn’t been about to kiss her.

  They danced to three songs. He didn’t touch her. Not once.

  That’s a good thing.

  He danced with the other women at the table. A shuffle of something dark and awkward squirmed through her. She tried to smother it with common sense, and made herself dance with the other guys at the table.

  Eventually she moved into the shadows of the nearby palm trees to catch her breath.

  “Hey.”

  She spun around at the whisper in her ear.

  Josh.

  She glanced back at the dance floor. “I thought you were out there shaking your groove.”

  “I was, but it’s nearly midnight.”

  “And that’s when you turn into a pumpkin?”

  His grin gleamed white in the moonlight. “There’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

  “Which is?”

  He took her hand and her heart started pounding too hard and too fast. He led her down to the shoreline and still holding her hand, he slipped an arm about her waist and twirled her around slowly and gently and oh-so-gloriously. “I’ve always wanted to dance on the water’s edge.”

  She couldn’t resist his smile. The band struck up Auld Lang Syne and Josh sang it softly as he held her close and they danced on the sand with the water gently lapping at their toes. Erin closed her eyes and trusted him to lead them, relishing the sudden sensation of weightlessness that took hold of her.

  And all the while he sang the song as if it was meant just for him and her.

  Old friends.

  Perfect.

  Noise suddenly exploded all around them and she opened her eyes to find color and light
erupting across the sky. Their steps faltered to a halt. They stood side-by-side and watched. “I wish I could be hipster cool when it comes to fireworks,” she whispered, “but I’m not. I love them as much now as I did when I was a kid.”

  The low rumble of his laugh vibrated across her skin.

  He trailed his fingers up her spine as if he were tracking a path through all of the glorious colors in the sky. “Beautiful,” he murmured.

  She wanted to agree, but her throat had closed over at his touch. Her nipples puckered to aching life. A pulse started up deep inside her. When she glanced across at him he was looking at her and not the night sky.

  He thought she was beautiful?

  He moved to stand in front of her, running his hands along her bare shoulders and down her arms. He raised gooseflesh wherever he touched. “Your skin is so soft,” he whispered.

  Need roared through her. Behind his head fireworks continued to color the sky.

  And then the night went dark as his head descended towards hers, blocking out everything bar the heat and scent of him.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The moment Josh’s lips touched hers, fireworks exploded behind Erin’s eyelids, rocketing through her with a force that shocked her. She had to dig her fingers into his shoulders to stay upright, dizzy with need and heat and desire as his lips plundered hers with a greed that made her soul sing.

  Josh kissed the way he worked—with firm and efficient thoroughness… as if there was nothing he’d rather be doing. His single-minded focus swept her up in maelstrom of sensation she had no desire to resist. She reveled in the intoxicating sensation of having never felt this alive, in the inexorable hunger that took hold of her.

  Her lips opened to his and their tongues danced the way their feet had danced just a few moments earlier. It made her feel free and weightless, as if she’d been sprinkled with fairy dust.

  The longer they kissed, and the deeper their kisses, the surer she became of her balance. The hand in the small of her back urged her closer. Without thought or hesitation, she pressed against him, wrapping an arm around his neck and plunging the other into the thickness of his hair, relishing the solid maleness of him.

  His groan of need as she anchored herself to him sent a thrill coursing through her.

  “I want to crawl inside your skin,” he rasped against her lips, the scrape of his voice building the ache of need inside her.

  His teeth grazed her ear and her breasts grew heavy, straining towards him. She could barely breathe when he started pressing blistering hot kisses to her neck and throat.

  His lips claimed hers again all demanding possession, and the sureness of his touch seduced her utterly. She whimpered when she lifted her head.

  “I want to take you back to my room.” His voice was ragged. ‘I want to make love to you, Erin.’

  She couldn’t deny the heat that had built between them.

  She couldn’t deny that she wanted it as much as he did.

  She struggled for breath. “Two things,” she managed to get out. “Condoms?”

  He held up a finger. “Tick.” He held up a second finger and his gaze was so intense she thought she might combust. “And two…?”

  “If…” She gulped. “If we do this…”

  “If?” He ran a finger down the center of her chest, stopping in the space between her breasts. Gently gathering the material of her dress in his hand, he pulled it tight until her peaked nipples stood out against the silk in all of their aching need. “If?” he whispered again.

  They both knew it was a case of when not if.

  His head dipped towards one erect nipple. She stiffened. “No!”

  He stilled, meeting her gaze. He pushed a strand of hair back behind her ear, the gesture so tender it made her eyes burn. “Are you afraid someone will see?”

  She shook her head, mesmerized by the shadowed planes of his face—the way they seemed to turn him into a beautiful stranger. He brushed a thumb across one hard nub and she arched towards him, unable to fight her body’s need.

  “If you…if you kiss me there I’m afraid we won’t make it back to your room.”

  Without another word, he took her hand and led her back towards the resort.

  The moment the door to his room closed behind them, he backed her up against it, and through the thin silk of her dress, took her nipple into his mouth and suckled. A moan tore from the back of her throat as desire arrowed straight to her core.

  He undid the tie at her neck and drew it down to reveal her naked breasts. Buttons popped as she pulled his shirt over his head, her hands reveling in the sculpted hardness of his body.

  He weighed her breasts in his hands. “Utter perfection,” he whispered, staring at them reverently.

  She dipped her fingers beneath the waistband of his shorts. When he sucked in a breath, a streak of purely feminine satisfaction slid through her.

  He kissed her again. She lost herself to it, and to the feel of his warm male flesh against her nakedness.

  He lifted his head, panting. “You said there were two things.”

  Had she? “I can’t think when you kiss me like that.”

  “To hell with thinking,” he growled. “We’ll think tomorrow.”

  Her blood surged through her veins, her body aching with a greedy, insistent hunger. “Tomorrow,” she agreed, pulling his head down to hers. “Kiss me, Josh.”

  He kissed her like a starving man as they fell into each other.

  Erin crept back to her room as the first rays of the sun were slipping over the horizon.

  What had she done?

  What had they done?

  What had they been thinking?

  Hauling off her dress, she rolled it into a ball and flung it into the corner of the room. Stumbling into the shower, she stood under the stinging spray. Please God! Please God! Please God! Don’t let them have wrecked everything.

  Nausea swirled through her at the thought of losing Josh’s friendship, of losing him. How could she have been so stupid? Her chest cramped and her heart started to pound too hard, making it difficult to draw breath. With a supreme effort she forced herself to swallow, to relax her shoulders. They could get over this. They could salvage their friendship.

  They had to.

  She soaped herself savagely, angry with her body for betraying something so precious to her. For what—a few moments of bliss?

  It’d been more than a few moments.

  And the bliss had been complete.

  Don’t think like that! She needed to get things on an even footing with Josh again—get things back to normal. She had to save their friendship.

  She rinsed off the suds and then turned the taps off with a fierce twist of her fingers. Grabbing a towel she rubbed it across her frozen body until she was pink, though she barely felt it.

  She could recall in minute detail, though, the feel of Josh’s fingers trailing over her naked flesh.

  Every cell fired to life at the memory.

  She gritted her teeth. It might be best if she and Josh didn’t clap eyes on each other today.

  She needed some time away, needed to gain some perspective, needed to find the words that would put them back together rather than tear them apart.

  Her absence would tell him all he needed to know. It’d help him find the right words too.

  Tomorrow they’d work on getting back to normal.

  Wrapping herself in a towel, she picked up the phone and dialed the concierge. She was glad when it was Mr. Levido’s voice that greeted her. “Mr. Levido, I’d like to hire a car.”

  “For when, Ms. Timms?”

  “Today.”

  “What time?”

  “As soon as it can be arranged.”

  “There’ll be a car waiting for you in fifteen minutes.”

  “Thank you.”

  Hanging up, she raced to pull on some clothes and tug a comb through her hair.

  This would be for the best.

  Josh woke slowly. As
he stretched, a sense of wellbeing flooded his body. Last night with Erin had been amazing. Without opening his eyes, he turned to gather her into his arms only to find her side of the bed empty. With a heart that started to thud, he sat up, glanced about the room…listened intently.

  Not a single sound.

  A tic started up in his jaw. Flinging back the covers, he strode through to the living room. He checked the bathroom and then every surface. No Erin. No note—not even a few scribbled lines.

  She was running scared.

  He dropped to the sofa, head in his hands, shoulders sagging as he tried to breathe through the pain cramping his chest. Hadn’t he sworn to take things slow?

  His lips twisted. That plan had flown out the window the moment his lips had touched Erin’s.

  He lifted his head. If Erin had fled from him, then that meant she was out there somewhere stressing.

  His lips firmed. Fine. Plan B. If she wanted to stress he’d give her something to really stress about. He’d tell her he loved her.

  Erin readied to exit the cable car as it pulled into the depot. She’d spent two-and-a-half hours on the Cairns Skyway overlooking grand rainforests, tumbling waterfalls and sweeping vistas, but she’d barely taken any of it in. All she’d been able to think about was Josh and the mess they’d made of things.

  And how fantastically brilliant he was in bed.

  Don’t think about that.

  “Erin.”

  She froze half in and half out of the cable car. Josh lounged against the wall nearby looking impossibly tempting. His gaze skewered her to the spot.

  “Don’t get out.”

  He moved towards her with such a look of intent she found herself retreating backwards and pressing herself into the furthest corner of the car. In one fluid motion he was beside her, deliberately crowding her, and her treacherous body started to sing.

  He held up two tickets. “I thought we’d go round again.”

  She finally snapped back to herself. “I don’t want to around again.”

  But it was too late. The cable car had started moving.

  She folded her arms and glared at the view. “Mr. Levido told you where you could find me?”