Caribbean Casanova (13 page)

“So they can tear me in two again. I can’t see why I’m not racing back for more. Doesn’t everyone want to be a toy for two people who hate each other to fight over?”

“They don’t hate each other.”

“You do know we’re talking about Harm and Sass, right?”

“If he hated her he wouldn’t bother, and if she hated him she wouldn’t care what he thought.”

“You might be right about how he feels, but Sass genuinely can’t stand him. I’ve heard about how awful he is every day for the last few months.” She wrapped her arms around her middle, the crochet overlay of her dress imprinting on her arms and palms. Saskia had spent days working out the design, promising to work some kind of magic with the pattern that would make it flattering on a curvier frame.

Holly couldn’t forget that eagerness, nor could she turn her back on the way Sass got flustered in business meetings. They were better together than they were individually. Who to choose was such a no brainer, it gave her a headache that she struggled with the choice.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts. “Harm was hard on all of us growing up, very parental after our mother died. He expected a lot and called us out whenever we disappointed him. Antonnis and I love him for it, but it never worked with Sass. I’m trying to get him to meet her where she lives, to see that she succeeded in spite of doing things differently.”

“No offense, but you haven’t made much progress in the last three months.”

He gave a sad laugh. “It was better until she got petty about the models. She wouldn’t believe that he wouldn’t do anything to throw off the photo shoot.”

“He’s been beyond helpful. I can’t reckon the man I spent the week with and the guy the rest of the island sees are the same person.”

“Everyone on the island loves Harm. He’s like a genie in a lamp. Whenever he learns someone needs something, he finds a way to get it to them.”

She arched a brow. “You don’t have to sugar coat. I know about the Caribbean Casanova nickname and how he had a trio of models so jealous they ruined an entire day of shooting for the lingerie catalog.”

He actually laughed. “I’ll tell you what I told Sass. I don’t know what Janny’s agenda was in badmouthing us to her. We barely even know her. I don’t know why either of you would buy into idle gossip.”

“Because we have a business to protect.”

“And was Harm anything like Janny said? Am I? I’m sure she’ll give you plenty of excuses, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

“I’m not looking for excuses. There isn’t even a choice to make. I’m not derailing three years of work for three days of…friendship.”

Joe squinted at the waning light and shrugged his bare shoulders. Odd how seeing Harm without a shirt sent her pulse racing and though Joe was equally as stunning, he did nothing for her.

“Any advice on how to get off this island with the least amount of fireworks? I don’t want to set those two off again.”

“My advice? Trust what you feel.”

She felt sick. Curl-up-in bed-with-the-TV-remote-and-tissues sick. A-weekend-in-pajamas-eating-nothing-but-tubs-of-ice-cream sick. The only cure was getting off this island and back to a place where she had control over her fate.

“Joe, will you take me to St. Maarten? I want to get the first flight out.”

Chapter Nineteen

After hours of searching for Holly on the beaches, in restaurants, clubs, even a few hotels, Harm had given in to reality and returned home. No one was there, just him and the dark. The kids he’d asked to model had given up the ghost, his brother and the brat had run off, and apparently so had Holly. Nothing of her remained in the guest room downstairs except for the scent of honeysuckle.

He’d considered sleeping in her bed but deemed that too pathetic. He might be hurting, but he wouldn’t degrade himself for a woman too weak to stand up to her friend. Holly should have told Sassy to go to hell.

Instead she’d given in, as if her time with him had been just to distract him from the models at the shoot. A cold shudder wracked his body. Had he been played? She ought to give up fashion and go into acting, because he’d never seen this one coming.

The familiar scent of honeysuckle rose towards him again as he shuffled to his bedroom. Of course, he’d had her on every available surface there the night before. He paused at the darkened door and thought about the empty beds down the hall. He’d set up bedrooms for his entire family, though they were barely used. He should leave the rumpled sheets and tossed pillows for his housekeeper.

No, this was his room, and he’d be damned before he was run out of it by a memory. Besides, his glass doors were open. The last time he hadn’t closed them for the night he’d been woken by a pair of Brown Boobies, and not the fun kind. The sharp-beaked birds had been grunting and doing who knows what on his bedroom floor.

The memory of having to evict the unwanted guests lightened his ire as he crossed the room and closed the doors to the balcony. Holly’s scent swirled around him and he opened the doors again. Maybe by morning the room would air out and her perfume would be as gone as she was.

He turned back to the crumpled mess they’d left the bed in and his chest tightened, squeezing and constricting until he had to press a hand against the ache. He’d been dropped like rubbish before, but he’d seen that coming.

This? Hurt.

He choked down the pain and shucked off his shorts. Tomorrow he’d find Holly. He had to know if she’d played him, or simply found him not worth it. He didn’t know which option he’d prefer.

He tugged back the mound of linens and froze, his entire body tensing at the sight. Holly wore nothing but her honeyed skin, curled up on his bed. She rubbed her face with one hand and tugged the sheet from his hand to cover her body.

“Did I fall asleep?” She sat up, tucking the sheet over her lush breasts.

His lip quirked, with her sitting and him standing, every part of him grew aware of the positioning. His mind swirled as she pushed her hair off her face and looked up at him as if his cock weren’t rising to the occasion. He’d never realized the low-frame bed held such possibilities.

“I thought if I was naked, you’d be too distracted to yell.” The please-don’t-be-mad grin tugged at his heart.

“Seems to be working.” He tucked a few wayward strands of her dark hair behind her ear. “I’ve been looking for you for hours.”

“I never left. I went up to the roof to think.” She held his gaze, her eyes dark in the dim light.

“So you came to my bed to apologize, naked.”

She lowered her brows and shook her head. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I refuse to be a pawn in your battle with my best friend. If you don’t care enough about Joe and me to stop the fighting, the least you can do is leave me out if it, and never do it in front of me again.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but then realized Sassy could be easily ignored. He could tune her out like the other bleating goats on the island. Besides, that’s not what bothered him about Holly’s disappearance. “You left me. You walked away without a word.”

She glanced down, her dark lashes fanning over her cheeks. “I planned on leaving.”

His heart seized in his chest, knowing her presence was still tenuous, fleeting. “And yet you’re in my bed, naked.”

She reached out and wrapped her hand around his bare thigh. “We’re good in bed.”

He didn’t fight the grin. “We’re exceptional in bed, but if that’s all we were, you’d already be screaming my name.”

“I’m so scared, Harm. And I don’t do scared.” Her breath caught on her words, like she fought back tears. “I always make the smart choice, even when it’s risky. But we’re not smart.”

“Sweetheart, we’re fucking brilliant.” He tilted her chin up to look at him, her big brown eyes brimming with tears. “We’ll figure this out.”

“But you’ve never done this before. I’m fracturing my life on something that could bore you next week.”

“Not a chance.” He knew she didn’t believe him, and she wouldn’t. Not tonight. Not next week. Probably not even next year. “Magic-pussy phenomenon, remember?”

Her cheeks lifted in a grin and she slapped his thigh, making his cock jump. “Don’t make a joke. I’m being serious here.”

“I thought you liked jokes when things got too heavy. I can’t make you believe me. It’s like driving on blind curves, having to trust the road doesn’t end around the bend.”

“That’s not reassuring.”

“Perhaps I should stick to making jokes and not analogies.”

“I came here to ask you to come to New York with me, so we can figure out how we are together away from you battling my best friend and business partner.” She reached for him again, putting her hand on his hip this time, tracing the cut of muscle from his abs to his cock.

“No.” He grit his teeth, mesmerized by the movements of her hand.

“No?” She wrapped her slim fingers around the base of his cock and squeezed.

“Yes to anything your hands want. No to running away. This is our home.”

“It’s your home. I have a loft in New York.” She skimmed her fingers up his shaft, working the pads of her fingers over his foreskin to the fat heat of his cock.

“You’ve moved to Anguilla. Tax purposes or not, you bought a condo. Stay. Preferably in my bed.”

“Since I can’t seem to get mine out of customs, I’ll take you up on that while I’m here. But I will go back eventually.”

“And you want me to come?”

“Not now.” She squeezed his cock and his abs tensed, his torso curling at the pressure. “With me.”

“You’re a minx.”

She leaned closer, her breath teasing the head of his erection. “You want to come with me, don’t you?”

“Always.”

Epilogue

“I need a zip and a clasp and then I’m off to get Saskia wedding ready.” Holly pulled her hair over her shoulder, presenting her back to Harm. She looked down, hoping to hide the grin.

He moved behind her, placing a large hand on the curve of her hip as he tugged at the zipper. He stilled about an inch up, then slid both hands inside her dress and around her waist.

“Sweetheart, what have you done?” He kissed the nape of her neck and sparks of sensation floated down throughout her body. He slid one hand over her bare hip, the other up her body to cup her breast. “What is this?”

“A petal so I don’t nip out when you give me the let’s-go-home-now look.” She brought her head up to rest it against his.

“No underwear to a wedding? I love this side of you.” He splayed his large hand over her belly.

“You love every side of me that ends up naked. It’s the magic-pussy phenomenon.”

His laugh rolled through her. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table and sighed. Before she got in last night they hadn’t been together in a week. He’d been out with his brothers and she’d fallen asleep before he returned. As much as she enjoyed waking to his warm body wrapped around hers, she needed more.

These last months with him had turned her into a raving sensualist and she needed a fix. But she wanted more than a quickie. Letting Harm know she wasn’t wearing anything beneath her dress would have him armed and dangerous by the time they made it home tonight.

“When do you have to be up at Dutch’s place?”

“Five minutes ago. I think I’m defaulting to island time.” She shimmied her hips and his erection pressed into her backside. “I just wanted to make sure neither of us volunteers to close down the reception.”

The soft cotton of his long-sleeve tee slid against her skin as he brought both hands up to her breasts and squeezed. Watching him fondle her beneath the pale-blue crocheted dress bordered on the obscene. “Are you wearing a condom?”

She shook her head, trying to hold on to her plan when what she really wanted to do was rip off his shirt, knock him back on the bed and ride him until they were both screaming. But that was not on the agenda, not with his brother down the hall and his father downstairs.

“Did you have your period last week?”

That question worked better than a cold shower. “No. Zipper.”

“Did you take a test?” He moved his hands to her back, locking her into the dress with exacting precision.

“Harm, we talked about this. I do not have regular cycles, especially when I am running a business and coordinating a wedding. Not to mention our trip to Alaska next month. It’s stress.”

“The condom broke.” He wrapped his hands around her middle and tucked his chin onto her shoulder, the stubble scratching her skin.

“Your condom. Which was the one and only time you were in charge of birth control.” She tried to shrug him off, but he held her firm. “You need to shave.”

“I will. After you take a test.”

“Not today. Today is all about Saskia and Joe and wedding details. I’ll deal with it when I’m back in New York next week.”

“Deal with it?” He straightened, his dark eyes narrowed and accusatory.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this. Don’t give it another thought.” She held up the silver chain. “Did you see the Dutch tile she gave us as bridesmaid gifts? A sailboat, very clever.” She spread the chain around her neck, but instead of fastening it for her, Harm walked away. Fat lot of help he was anyway.