Perfect for the Beach (27 page)

Trey filled her glass, then poured the remnants of the bottle into his. As he sat back down, his eyes held hers. His fingers fiddled with the glass’s stem, and Jenna thought he might make some sort of corny toast. But he didn’t.

She sipped the wine, savoring the flavor on her tongue. “Thank you for dinner.”

“Wasn’t that better than acting like enemies?”

“Mmm-hmm,” Jenna answered truthfully. She hadn’t felt as awkward as she’d imagined she would, sitting and dining with him. But that didn’t change the reality of their situation.

She sipped more wine. Braced herself. “Now, about the separation papers—”

“Eh eh eh.” Trey pushed his plastic chair back and got to his feet. “I have something else for you.”

“Oh, Trey. I honestly couldn’t eat another bite.”

“Sit tight,” he told her.

Jenna watched Trey disappear inside the house, wondering what on earth he was up to now. Her stomach fluttered with that thought. She tried to take her mind off the matter by listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, but that only made her remember the times she and Trey had scurried across the sand buck naked in the middle of the night to have a dip in the ocean beneath a moonlit sky.

For God’s sake, stop thinking about it!
Jenna lifted her wineglass and took another sip—more like a gulp, really. Everything about this night reminded her of her first night as Trey Arnold’s wife. They had dined at this very table, enjoying this exact same meal of chicken marsala and wild rice. But instead of wine, they’d had champagne to celebrate their new union. The memory was completely unnerving, considering she wanted to end the marriage.

Just as Trey’s friendliness was a bit unnerving. She had expected anger, and ego, but she’d gotten neither. The calm before the storm? For a guy who hadn’t once called her after she’d left, she couldn’t understand why he’d want to prolong anything between them now.

Jenna stopped thinking when Trey returned carrying two small CorningWare bowls. He placed them on the table, and Jenna could see that one bowl contained strawberries while the other held melted chocolate.

The very treat they’d enjoyed just before feasting on each other on their wedding night.

Jenna’s heart pounded like it was about to explode. How could she have been so blind? Of course everything had reminded her of her wedding night—Trey had set this all up.

Should she be touched that he remembered, or slap him silly for resorting to this type of emotional torture? He had to know she didn’t want to take this trip down memory lane. Not to a night that had been filled with so much promise—promise that had turned to wrenching heartbreak.

Jenna hastily pushed her chair back and stood. “If you don’t want to talk tonight, then let’s set up a time tomorrow. All you have to do is sign on the dotted line and I’ll be on my way.”

“Where are you going?”

In her haste to move away from him, Jenna’s foot hit the chair’s leg. She lost her balance, tumbling backward. Trey reached for her, easily securing an arm around her waist, pulling her fully to her feet.

God, but he smelled wonderful. And there was something about being in his arms that felt so right. Her nipples hardened as they pressed against his solid chest, and the lustful thought that there were too many clothes between them passed through her mind.

Trey didn’t let her go. Instead, he closed his eyes, leaned forward, and pressed his nose against her hair. He inhaled deeply, causing a shiver of delight to tickle Jenna’s forehead.

Jenna closed her eyes and curled her fingers around Trey’s biceps. Oh, how she could lose herself in this man. It would be so easy. It would be so …

Wrong.

Opening her eyes, Jenna squirmed to escape Trey’s arms. He didn’t fight her; he let her go. But suddenly she felt cold where a moment ago she had been warm.

Why was this so hard? “Trey, I think you’ve gotten the wrong idea.”

He reached for her, took her arm in his hand. Turning it palm up, he ran the pad of his thumb back and forth over the inside of her wrist. “I know why you’re here.”

His touch was electric. Distracting. “No, I don’t think you do.”

“You say you want to end our marriage.” “Yes. Yes, that’s right. So why … why are you touching me … like this?”

“You don’t like it? You used to.”

Of course she liked it! But she could hardly think with the sexual sensations raging within her. She should have been more prepared for this. Thought of some way to protect herself from these feelings. Sex was the one area where she and Trey were always on.

“If you don’t like that, then maybe you’ll like this.” Trey released her arm and reached behind him. From the bowl on the table, he lifted a fat strawberry. He dipped it in chocolate, then brought the piece of fruit to her mouth.

“Open,” he said softly.

Without even a token protest, Jenna parted her lips. Trey put the strawberry into her mouth, skimmed it over her tongue. She sank her teeth into it, and a burst of delicious flavors filled her mouth, damn near making her weak in the knees. Her absolute favorite food was chocolate, seconded by strawberry. The combination was deliciously sinful.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Jenna chewed, swallowed. “I see you remember what I like.”

“I remember a lot of things.
Everything.”

Trey’s voice dropped several octaves, resonating with pure lust. It hadn’t been so long that Jenna no longer recognized the sexual signals between them.

He wanted her. In his bed.

Jenna couldn’t allow that to happen. “This is wrong, Trey. Completely off course.”

“Because you want a divorce?”

“Y-yes.”

Trey ate the last morsel of the strawberry, watching Jenna as he did. The fire in her eyes spoke the exact opposite of what she said. It was why he’d known that he had to see her, to gauge for himself if there was still anything between them.

And there was.

“What if I don’t want one?” he asked.

Jenna’s breath oozed out of her in a rush. “Please—don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”

“You want me to make it easy for you to leave me?”

“You and I both know that we don’t have a marriage. Not a real one, anyway.”

And that was something Trey wanted to change. He and Jenna hadn’t had a real marriage because he had been a different person when they’d said their vows, one who’d been afraid to show her how he felt. But if she gave him tonight, that’s exactly what he was going to do—show her what was in his heart.

“I understand why you might think that,” Trey said. “That’s why we need to talk, sweetheart.”

“Trey—”

“Shh.” He placed a finger over her lips to silence her. “I let you walk away two years ago. Didn’t fight for what I wanted. I don’t plan to make the same mistake twice.”

Jenna could hardly believe her ears. How could he now say that he wanted her when he’d so easily let her leave? This had to be about ego, about the chase that guys loved so much. She couldn’t give him the power to hurt her again. “It’s too late.”

Trey paused before saying, “If that’s true, then spending one night with me won’t change that.”

Jenna’s heart went berserk. “Spend the night?”

“It’s already late. Ruby’s out having fun. You may as well stay here with me.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“We’ll talk—talk about everything. And in the morning, if you still want to walk away, I’ll let you go. But this time you’ll know exactly what you’re walking away from. You’ll know exactly what’s in my heart.” Trey shrugged. “If it’s not what you want, then at least this time we’ll have said a proper good-bye.”

“This is about sex.” She was crazy, but the thought excited her.

“I’m not going to lie. I want you. Hell, you know I can’t be in the same room with you and not want you.”

His words made her body throb. There was a part of her—a very big part—that wanted Trey, too. Hell, more than a part. Wanting Trey had been as second nature as breathing.

Trey dipped another strawberry in chocolate. But this time, when Jenna opened her mouth for it, he didn’t give it to her. He stroked it across her bottom lip.

A groan rumbled deep in Trey’s chest, and the next moment he was lowering his head to hers. He flicked his tongue out and ran it across her lower lip, slowly lapping up the chocolate.

Jenna stood motionless, not even daring to breathe. Trey had done the exact same thing on their wedding night, not only licking the chocolate from her mouth, but from other parts of her body, as well. Now, all of her senses were alive and screaming for more intimate contact. But Trey didn’t kiss her, only left her longing.

“You want more?” he asked.

“More … strawberry?” Jenna managed lamely.

“Uh-huh,” Trey said, a gleam in his eyes.

Not trusting her voice, Jenna nodded.

Trey didn’t coat this one in gooey chocolate. Jenna soon found out why. Because this time Trey touched the strawberry against her skin, right at the apex of the
V
in her shirt. Slowly, he trailed the fruit upward, over the mound of one breast, along the column of her neck, and finally bringing it to her mouth. The touch of the fruit was as erotic as his hand, leaving a path of delicious sensations in its wake.

“Is there someone else?” he asked.

“What?” Jenna asked, then realized the meaning of Trey’s question.

“Is there another man in your life? Is that why you want to leave me?”

The hint of vulnerability in Trey’s tone surprised her almost as much as his question did. “That’s what you think this is about?”

“Isn’t it?”

“No.” Jenna met Trey’s gaze, then glanced away. The intense look in his eyes was unsettling. “This isn’t about another man.”

“No one’s waiting for you back in Buffalo?”

She should tell him yes, make it that much easier for him to let her go. But she found herself saying, “No. There hasn’t been anyone since you.”

His lips curled in a satisfied smile. “I’ve waited for you, too. Waited for my wife.”

His lips came down on hers then—hard—as if he wanted to brand her with his own special blend of heat and passion. He claimed her mouth with deep sweeps of his tongue while his hands roamed over her back like they belonged there.

“God, I want you,” he rasped.

Jenna moaned into his mouth as her arms crept around his neck.

“If you’re going to leave me, at least give me tonight.” Trey’s hands gripped her butt. “Give me this.”

Trey moved his mouth to her ear. “One last night, Jenna. One last night together before you move on with your life.”

Chapter Four

It wasn’t a demand. It was an urgent plea. One that had Jenna’s body tingling with an age-old desire.

And when Trey’s hot tongue flicked over her ear, Jenna cried out. His grip tightened around her as her knees buckled, preventing her from collapsing into a quivering heap on the floor.

“I know, sweetheart. I know how much you love it when I do that.” He dipped his tongue into her ear. “When I do this.” He pulled on the lobe with his teeth.

“Oh, Trey. Don’t stop. Please,
don’t stop.”

“Tell me you want me.”

“I want you.”

Trey slipped a hand between Jenna’s legs and covered her mound through her shorts. “You don’t know how much I’ve missed this. So many nights I’ve dreamed about touching you again. Fantasized about tasting you.”

White-hot heat shot through Jenna like an electrical current. She tightened her hands around Trey’s neck and opened her mouth wide to accept his tongue. His tongue tangling with hers, he urged her body backward until she was pressed against the glass door.

Lord, this wasn’t enough. She wanted more of him. All of him.

Slipping her hands under his shirt, Jenna flattened her palms against his chest. The feel of his solid pecs made her want to sink her teeth into his flesh.

Trey gyrated his groin against her, and Jenna felt his erection hard and hot against her lower belly. She reached for it, stroking the length of him through his jeans.