Private Paradise (18 page)

She let Sam take her glass and set it next to
his on the low table, tipped her face up to meet his lips, and
didn't resist as he scooped her up into his arms to carry her back
to the bedroom.

###

Carla woke the next morning and was
immediately aware of Sam's warm, muscular body tucked snugly behind
hers. She'd fallen asleep this way, her back pressed tight against
his chest, his arm firmly around her waist as though he was afraid
she'd try to escape.

God, this was good. Dangerously so. Yes, the
sex with Sam was amazing, orders of magnitude beyond anything she'd
ever experienced.

But this...his warm skin pressed against
hers, the way his big body curled around her as though he was
protecting her even in sleep... She had a flash of waking up like
this every morning, rolling over in his arms to meet his sleepy
blue gaze full of love and desire...

She nipped the fantasy in the bud, knowing in
her gut he might feel one out of two of those emotions, and it sure
as hell wasn't love.

Despite her acceptance of reality, she felt
the sting of tears behind her eyelids. She closed her eyes, tucked
herself even more securely into his embrace and allowed herself a
single moment to wish that things could somehow be different.

She knew the moment he came awake, could feel
it in the slight shift of his breathing and the tension in the arm
around her waist. She sighed as Sam's fingers flexed against her
stomach in a soft caress, felt a rush of heat as Sam shifted
against her so his cock brushed against the curve of her ass.

“
Good morning,” he murmured, and her
breath hitched at the feel of his mouth, open and hot against the
skin of her shoulder.

His hand shifted up to cover one breast, and
she gave a soft moan as he circled and pinched her nipples.
Everything about him turned her on, from the big hand on her
breasts to the heat of his mouth against her shoulder and neck, his
hair-roughened thighs brushing against hers as he slid one leg
between hers.

Her pussy was already drenched by the time
his hand slid from her breasts to press against her sex. He parted
her lips, slid his fingers on either side of her clit, up and down
in a teasing caress.

“
God I love how wet you get for me,” he
murmured, sliding his fingers lower, drawing another rush of
moisture from her as she arched her ass against the heat of his
throbbing cock.

“
Please, Sam,” she said, her body so
tight with desire she was afraid she was going to snap any second.
She tried to turn to face him but he held her still.

“
No, stay just like this.”

She turned her face in the pillow, a shudder
of anticipation rippling through her as she heard the soft ripping
sound, felt the brush of his hand against her ass as he rolled on a
condom. He reached down, and she raised her top knee at his urging
as she arched her back to receive him.

Though she was so wet the skin of her inner
thighs was slick, she let out a sharp whimper as the thick head of
his cock pressed inside.

He held himself there, no more than a couple
inches inside. “You're sore, aren't you, baby?” he asked as he
rained soft, soothing kisses along her shoulders.

“
A little,” she whispered. “I'm not
used to...” She lost her train of thought as his fingers stroked
over her clit. Despite the discomfort she felt her body clench
tight around him, like it was trying to pull him deeper.

“
You're not used to having someone fuck
you all day and all night?” he said with a teasing flick of his
tongue against her earlobe.

She let out a soft, helpless laugh.
“Something like that.” Her laugh melted into a moan as his fingers
continued to lavish attention on her clit.

“
Then I'll just have to make it my
goal,” he said, rocking himself a little bit deeper as he gave her
neck a love bite that sent a jolt of heat straight to her pussy,
“to make sure that getting fucked long and hard, over and over
again, becomes part of your regular routine.”

Carla moaned and arched herself more firmly
against him, trying to take him deeper even as her body stung at
the thick invasion. Her heart thudded faster in her chest as she
wondered what it would be like, to have him fuck her like this
every day, every night.

She had serious doubts she'd be able to
survive it.

“
For now, we'll take it nice”―a soft
grunt escaped his throat as he rocked even deeper―“and
slow.”

Finally, he was buried to the hilt, so deep
she could feel the press of his balls against the curve of her ass.
Carla felt stretched tight, dancing on the knife's edge of pleasure
and pain as he held himself within her slick grip.

Sam didn't move just held himself deep
inside, as his fingers between her legs pulled the knot of desire
tighter. His harsh breath against her neck and the thudding of his
heart against her back were the only signs that he wasn't in
complete control of himself.

“
Christ, your pussy feel so good,” he
panted. “Every time I do this”―he took her clit gently between his
thumb and forefinger and gave it a gentle pull, almost like he was
milking her―“your pussy clenches around my cock, almost like it's
trying to suck me deeper.”

Carla gave a harsh moan as her body did
exactly that, tightening around him until he felt impossibly big.
He pulled at her again, and this time it was too much. Any
awareness of discomfort disappeared on a shudder of need and she
needed nothing more in that moment than the slick thrust and drag
of him moving inside her.

She rocked her hips back on him and reached
back to grip his ass to urge him on. Sam, as always, knew exactly
what she needed. Rolling her fully to her stomach, he urged her
onto her elbows, knees spread wide and tucked under her as he knelt
behind her.

As he slid himself slowly, deeply back
inside, she heard him whisper something she couldn't quite make
out, but she thought maybe it was “beautiful.”

And then she didn't care because he was
moving, thrusting heavily in and out as she stifled her moans
against the pillow. She felt her body tightening, rippling around
him as her orgasm loomed closer and closer. Sam's hand reached down
and around, found her clit with his long, strong fingers. One
stroke sent her flying over the edge, her body shaking with the
force of it.

“
God I love feeling you come around my
cock,” Sam panted, as he stroked her through the last
ripple.

Then his hips were pumping, fast and hard.
The sound of his hips slapping against her ass, his harsh groans
filled the room. He held her hips in a tight grip as his body
stiffened, and they both collapsed, panting to the mattress.

Carla lay there in his arms, listening to his
breathing quiet and his heartbeat slow as his hand stroked lazily
up and down her back, in no hurry to leave the bed.

But eventually Sam got up, used the bathroom,
then left her with a quick kiss on her cheek and padded out to the
kitchen.

Carla pulled on her robe and followed. When
she got out to the main room, she saw Sam's broad back and
shoulders silhouetted against a window. He'd thrown open the storm
shudders on the front of the villa, allowing buttery morning
sunlight to stream in.

“
Looks like it's over.”

Carla opened her mouth to agree, but the
words got stuck in her throat as a stab of pain hit her, so sharp
it stole her breath and made her knees shake. The storm was indeed
over.

And now, so were they.

###

By that afternoon, Holley Cay was already
bustling with activity. With the weather all clear, most of the
staff returned to get to work on the cleanup as Carla, Sam, and
Chris, who had come from the sister resort on his cabin cruiser,
assessed the damage left by the storm.

“
It will take a few days to get
electricity back on line,” Carla said as she read through the
detailed notes she'd taken as they walked the property. They were
seated around a table on the main restaurant's patio, taking
advantage of the sunlight before they were relegated to reading by
candlelight. “Contractors won't be able to make much progress until
that happens.”

“
We can use that time to get estimates
and get the insurance paperwork together,” Sam said.

“
Right,” Carla said with a brief smile
and a nod in his direction, not quite meeting his eyes in the
process.

Under the table, Sam's hands gripped the seat
of his chair. He was afraid if he let go he'd leap out of his seat,
grab Carla's chin and force her to fucking look at him for the
first time since they'd left the little villa that morning.

“
Sam, I didn't realize you'd gotten
interested in the operations side,” Chris said. Though his smile
was friendly enough, Sam didn't miss the way Chris’s gaze darted
suspiciously between Carla and himself. “Something told me the two
of you would make a good team.”

Carla's hand froze in the middle of the note
she was making. Her gaze lifted from the paper and she leveled a
hard stare at him.

Sam couldn't resist the opportunity to taunt
her. “Oh, you wouldn't believe how well we worked together in the
last twenty-four hours. You could even say we found a great balance
of give and take, a perfect rhythm, if you will.” As he spoke, he
brought one hand to the table top, idly stroking the smooth wooden
surface with slow circles of his fingers.

He felt a jolt of satisfaction as Carla's
eyes locked on his hand He smiled at the telltale blush rising in
her cheeks, the slight softening in her mouth and the way her
eyelids drooped just a little as the memories flooded her as surely
as they flooded him.

Sam knew that despite the fact she'd closed
herself off so completely the second they stepped outside the villa
that she might as well be wearing a full suit of armor, there was
no way Carla had been able to shut off the obvious passion she felt
for him as completely as she wanted him to think.

And now, thank God, he had his proof. Now all
he had to do was find that chink in her armor and crack it wide
open once and for all.

When Chris excused himself to make a phone
call, Carla stood abruptly and said, “I should go check on their
progress in the kitchen,” and hurried off.

Sam followed, stopping just inches behind
Carla's stiff back which was clad in a t-shirt she'd retrieved from
her place. “Looks like everything is still fine here,” Sam said
over her shoulder. Earlier, the kitchen staff had cleared out and
inventoried the cost of the spoiled food, and they were in the
process of making the list of goods that would need to be
restocked.

Carla turned, that bright, fixed smile Sam
had come to so detest his first week stretched tightly across her
face. “You know Sam, I've been so grateful for your help―”

He took a step closer, forcing her to back
farther into the corner outside the kitchen door. “Don't tell me
that's all you're grateful for, baby.”

The smile disappeared in a tight line. “With
Chris here to help me with everything, there's no reason for you to
be involved. You've had a rough couple of days―”

“
And nights,” Sam said, repeating the
step retreat routine. He knew he sounded like some cheesy soap
opera lothario, but he couldn't help himself. It was too much fun
watching Carla's cheeks light up with color, her dark eyes
narrowing and snapping with life.

“
I need some space Sam,” she said,
dropping all pretense of politeness. “It will be a lot easier for
me to get this done without you breathing down my neck. So why
don't you go rest up or something and Chris will tell you when we
need you.”

Sam bit back an angry retort and tried not to
take offense. Carla was wary of him, and with good reason. He
couldn't expect her to open up and give in, no matter how
mindblowingly good they'd been together. “It's not my style to sit
around with my thumb up my ass doing nothing when there's work to
be done. Besides, the employee dorm was one of the buildings that
was hardest hit. If I want to rest at all in the next few weeks,
I'm going to have to find another space to stay.”

Carla jumped as the kitchen door swung open
and she gave a brief smile and nod over his shoulder to whoever it
was. She turned her focus back to him. “I'm sure we'll be able to
find a guest room that will work. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need
to find out where we are on gathering the belongings of the guests
who were forced to evacuate.”

When she would have brushed by, Sam caught
her by the arm and gently, but firmly, pushed her back into the
corner. Bracing his hands on either side of her head, he leaned in
close and said, “I was figuring I could just come stay with
you.”

The kitchen door swung open again. Carla
planted her hands against his chest and tried to shove him aside.
“Will you please stop?” she hissed out between clenched teeth.
“These people work for me, Sam. I can't have them seeing us like
this.”

“
Would it really be the end of the
world if people knew we were involved?” Sam said back, not
bothering to soften his voice.

“
Shut up!” she whispered harshly. She
looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was listening. Satisfied
they were alone for the moment, she locked on him with a calm,
steady stare. “Listen, I didn't want to be so harsh about this, but
since you're not taking a hint I guess I have to be. There is
nothing between us Sam. We are not involved. We are not lovers. We
are not anything but coworkers.”

Even though Sam had been fully expecting
something like this from her, it didn't mean the words didn't
sting. Hell, they would have been devastating if he thought they
were true. Still he couldn't resist firing his own salvo. “It sure
as hell didn't feel like nothing when you were coming so hard
around my cock it felt like it was trapped in a vice.”