Playing Hooky (Teach Me Tonight) (3 page)

Her
imagination nodded obediently.

Molly
rubbed little circles into her clit with the vibrator, shuddering as sensation
swamped her, her fingers growing slick as she stroked the hot, aching flesh. In
her mind, Jack had a wicked smirk on his face, letting her watch as he slid
into her, a thick, hard inch at a time.

So
hot. So good.

Her
imagination drove her higher as she pictured him fucking her, hard and deep and
slow, getting as lost in her as she was in him, muscles rippling, hands tensed
on her thighs, stretching her with every decadent stroke.

Against
orders, Fantasy Jack opened his mouth to speak.

“Come
for me, Molly.”

Helpless
to resist, she did, swamped with shame and delight as his name left her lips in
an audible cry.

That’s
it, Molly Callahan. That’s all you get. Now move on.

Panting,
Molly switched off the vibrator and savored the spasms of pleasure that
continues to wrack her from head to toe, trying not to think about the fact
that a few minutes with her imagination was better than the best sexual
encounters she’d ever had.

Sighing,
Molly pushed herself out of bed.

JACK
WOKE WITH THE determination to implement the plan he’d decided on last night, when
he’d finally gotten to sleep after a cold shower and a couple of shots of
tequila. He’d watched Molly disappear into a bungalow at the end of the pier
and deliberately picked the bungalow furthest from hers. There was no way he
was going to let Molly Callahan invade his thoughts or his space, so Jack
planned to do what he did best – bury himself in work.

Easier
said than done when even his dreams betrayed him.

He
lay in bed, aching and frustrated, wondering if her nipples were pink or coral,
as they’d been in his dream, and groaning softly as the rest of it came back to
him – a naked Molly, rising from the surf like Aphrodite, droplets glistening
on her skin, delicate fingers sliding down to stroke her bare pussy for his
pleasure, his name on her lips as her head fell back in ecstasy.

We’re
here to work,
he
reminded his unruly flesh, but recognized the futility of ignoring it as he
clasped his hand around the heavy shaft and started to stroke.

It
didn’t take long, just the memory of Molly’s full lips parting as he pinned her
to the bench on the yacht, and the heat of her pussy against his thigh, even
through several layers of cloth. His brain took the memory a step further, and
then they were both naked and she was hot, wet, begging softly for him to fill
her, fuck her, make her scream.

Jack
came hard, shuddering with pleasure as his seed spilled over his hand and onto
his torso. He lay there for a moment, panting.

It
just wasn’t fair.

Maybe
if I’m lucky, I won’t see her today.

Even
as he thought it, he knew the odds of avoiding her were slim to none. He just
wasn’t that lucky.

AFTER
A BREAKFAST OF papaya and yogurt and the best coffee she’d ever had at the
little hotel café overlooking the water, Molly stretched happily and wondered
what she’d do today, thrilled as reality set in.

Anything
I damn well please.

Maybe
she’d explore the resort, check out the day spa, and then spend the rest of the
day on the beach. She’d thrown a gauzy cover-up over her new bikini and knotted
a colorful shawl around her hips to serve as a skirt so that she wouldn’t have
to go back to her bungalow to change. With her beach bag over her shoulder, she
crossed the lobby, following the signs to the day spa, but as she came around
the corner –

“Oof.”

They
collided hard enough to knock the wind out of her, and his duffel bag crashed
to the ground with a clank.

What
is he carrying in there, crowbars?

Jack
glared at her, but reached out a hand to help her up from where she’d landed on
her ass. Molly ignored him and stood, rubbing one bruised curve.

“Would
you watch where you’re going?” she snapped.

“You’re
the one who came barreling around the corner. You could have damaged my tools.”

He
hefted the heavy bag, scowling.

“I
did not barrel,” she sniffed, “And I certainly didn’t damage your so-called
tools.”

She
had to force herself not to look down at the one tool she was most interested
in, the one that had been pressed against her just yesterday. As usual, he
looked good enough to eat, though his clothes were rumpled – just a shirt over
a pair of long swim trunks. He’d shaved, and Molly squelched the sudden urge to
trace his jawline with her tongue.

He’s
your best friend’s brother. Be nice. Just not
too
nice.

Molly
closed her eyes and prayed for patience.

“Where
are you off to?” she asked brightly, hoping he couldn’t see how badly he
rattled her with just his presence.

He
was silent, scrutinizing her, and Molly flushed, uncomfortable.

“Fine,
I know you’re not happy to see me here, but I’m really not trying to get in
your way. It just seems silly to not make civil conversation when – ”

“There’s
a waterfall on the other side of the island. One of the locals spotted some odd
looking rocks at the base,” he admitted.

“I
thought the island was uninhabited?” asked Molly.

“It
is, mostly. The Luveku Ika abandoned the site a hundred years ago, but there’s
a small fishing village on the west side of the island.”

Molly
nodded.

“Bree
told me about your mermaid people. It sounds fascinating,” she said, “Well,
good luck with it. I’m going to go exploring and then lie out and worship the
sun for the rest of the day.”

“That
sounds relaxing.”

Molly
felt like cheering when his lips quirked in a tiny smile.

“Bree
thinks I should seduce one of the cabana boys,” she laughed.

Jack’s
expression didn’t change, but suddenly, the moment felt awkward. She swallowed
a gulp as his fingers brushed hers when he handed back her fallen beach bag.

“Have
fun,” he said tightly, and stepped around her before disappearing down the
hall.

“That
could have been worse,” Molly muttered to herself and then sighed and headed in
the opposite direction.

THE
“ODD ROCKS” AT the base of the waterfall weren’t hard to spot, and Jack felt
the usual spike of adrenaline that accompanied a find as he tossed his shirt
and waded in waist-deep for a closer look, bracing himself against the cool
water and the spray from above.

The
waterfall gushed over a two-story cliff with a shallow, crystal pool at the
bottom that drained off into a creek that gurgled into the underbrush away from
the clearing. The tangle of trees and vines creating a canopy overhead, letting
in dappled sunlight.

Jack
took a deep, happy breath. This was his element – out in Nature, uncovering the
past with his bare hands. He could stay here forever.

That
might be better for everyone
,
he thought, wincing as he remembered his conversation with Molly an hour ago.

It
wasn’t her fault that she tied him in knots. She’d probably saved for years to
take this vacation. The least he could do was not ruin it with his own
impossible attraction to the woman. He spent so much time by himself that he
often felt out of place with others, but that didn’t mean that he had to be a
total jerk just because Bree had it in her head that they’d be good together.

Jack
knelt down in the thundering spray and pushed the algae off one rough-hewn
corner, feeling a flutter of excitement. These weren’t just rocks – they were
tablets,
heavily carved with writing and figures
.
Excited, he started
scooping the wet sand back from the base of the smallest of the three.

Luveku
Ika
, a
mysterious tribe who worshiped a merman god, for lack of a better term. Their
artifacts were few, and though Jack had seen some of their carvings in the
past, this was a major find that could illuminate a lost tribe to the world.

After
a half an hour of scooping, Jack had made some progress. The tablets were heavy
- two of them would require assistance, but the third one had broken in pieces
years ago, and Jack managed to unearth one small slab from where it protruded
from the sandy bottom of the pond and drag it to the shore. The glyphs were
remarkably preserved, and excitement filled Jack as he thought about the
months, if not years it would take to decipher and properly catalog the find.

Jack
touched the hieroglyph of a fish tail with reverent fingers, and felt an odd
pang of regret. More often than not, his research was done in solitude, and
though he’d receive plenty of accolades for his work down the road, the find
still felt a little hollow – there was no one to share it with.

His
sigh sounded loud even with the noise of the jungle moving in the background. As
he sat back on the bank, Jack drank deeply from a flask and wondered what Molly
was doing. She’d probably finished exploring the resort and was lying on the
beach.

He
frowned as he pictured her flirting with the staff – someone tanned and
muscular, of course, who would make her laugh, and whose eyes would linger on
her perfect tits when he thought she wasn’t looking. It was impossible to miss
the appreciative glances she’d gotten as she checked in yesterday.

Suddenly,
the tablets didn’t seem so important.

They’ve
been here a hundred years or so. They’re not going anywhere.

Lunch
and a swim sounded good. He needed help with the other tablets, and more eyes
to see what other secrets the clearing was hiding. Jack hoisted his bag and
started back along the path. He was only thirty minutes from the resort
property line, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d already been gone for
far too long.

BETWEEN
HER STUDENTS, HER friends, and the massive Callahan family, Molly wasn’t used
to being alone, and despite her thrill at being completely on her own for a
couple of weeks, she still couldn’t resist making friends as she went along. By
the time she’d explored every inch of the resort property, from the spa to the
grotto to the nature trails, she knew most of the staff by name.

Now
she sat on a chaise facing the beach, blushing slightly as she tugged off her
cover-up. The dark-eyed young waiter who delivered her drink order didn’t
comment, but Molly couldn’t miss the way his eyes darted down admiringly before
he walked back toward the resort.

It’s
just skin
, she
thought to herself, trying to bolster her confidence, but the truth was that
she’d
never
worn a bikini this skimpy – a hot pink number that tied two
triangles together between her breasts and behind her back, and bottoms that
weren’t quite a thong, but left little to the imagination.

The
suit made her feel sexy, which was rare for Molly, so after a couple of minutes
of self-consciousness, she shrugged off the discomfort and reached for the
sunscreen. She’d slathered every inch she could reach and was just thinking
about tracking down some cute, muscled beach hand to do her back, when a pair
of dripping, golden legs appeared in her frame of vision.

He’d
obviously been swimming, and Molly’s mouth went dry as he stood over her like an
avenging sea god, his face a thundercloud.

“What
the hell are you wearing?” he demanded.

Molly
looked down at herself. The suit was revealing, but there wasn’t anything
indecent about it. Besides –

“I
don’t see how my choice of beach attire is any of your business, Jack.”

Trying
to ignore the way his eyes scorched her from head to toe, lingering on her
breasts, her waist, her thighs, Molly took a long swig of her strawberry
daiquiri and flopped onto her stomach, settling in. She wondered if the choked
sound he made was irritation, or his reaction to the sight of her
partially-bare ass.

“I
thought you were working.”

“I’m
taking a break.”

He
sounded surly.

Molly
had nothing to say to that, but Jack still hadn’t moved, and her skin felt
tight as she wondered what he thought of her stretched out in just a few scraps
of spandex.

“Your
mother would have a fit if she saw you in that.”

“Good
thing she isn’t here, then. When did you become such a prude?” Molly demanded,
watching a muscle tic in his jaw, “Now if it isn’t too much to ask, all I want
to do is lie here, get a little buzzed off of fruity drinks with umbrellas in them,
and entice one of those hot cabana boys to spend twenty minutes rubbing
sunscreen into my back.”

Molly
waggled the tube and scowled at him before turning her face away and settling
her cheek against the towel, hoping he’d take the hint and scram. It was bad
enough she had to share her island with him when he seemed determined to spoil
every moment, but he didn’t have to stand so close, all muscled and hot and
smelling of sand and sun and forbidden fruit.