Private Paradise (19 page)

“
Will you please keep your voice down?”
she said with another thump to his chest. She closed her eyes and
took a deep breath, gathering her composure. She opened her eyes,
and this time they held no anger, no heat, nothing but pure
determination. “I won't deny there's a certain... attraction
between us. And I won't deny that what happened between us
satisfied my curiosity once and for all about what it might be like
to have actual intercourse with you.”

Sam couldn't hold back a chuckle at the
clinical way she described the bed shaking, gut wrenching screaming
pleasure they'd shared.

“
And it was, good, great even,” she
said in a rush. “But bottom line, we were two people stuck in a
storm, with nothing better to do than each other. As meaningless as
scratching an itch.” She tilted her chin up and drew herself to her
full height, her gaze all business as it met his. “And now that the
itch has been scratched, it's over. Are we clear?”

“
Crystal,” Sam bit out, and moved aside
so she could pass.

He shook his head, his gaze narrowing on the
swing of her world class ass covered by her khaki shorts as she
stalked away. Inside he felt the familiar burn he used to get when
he was gearing up for a mission. The adrenaline rush accompanied by
a sense of almost otherworldly calm as his plan of attack came
together in his head.

Carla didn't know it, but she'd just laid
down a gauntlet in front of a man who never walked away from a
dare. From a man determined to win this, the battle for her heart.
The battle of his life.

He didn't even realize he was grinning in
anticipation until he heard Chris say, “I don't know what the fuck
you're smiling about. We've got at least a million in repairs and
we’ll lose half that in revenue while we're closed. I hope to hell
Carla's up to dealing with it.”

“
She's up to it,” Sam assured him. When
it came to managing the business, getting the repairs completed on
time for the high season and on or under budget, there was no doubt
Carla would get it done.

But when it came to denying what she had with
Sam? The poor woman had no idea who she was messing with.

By the time Carla returned to her place she
was exhausted. Physically from the hours spent poring over the
damage to Holley Cay. But mostly emotionally, some from having to
face the reality of the damage the storm had inflicted, but mostly
from that conversation with Sam.

It had taken every bit of resolve to look him
in the eye and tell him that what they had, what they had shared
was nothing. That he was nothing. To not give into temptation and
throw herself into his arms, knowing he would welcome her
there.

But for how long? How long before he gets
bored and wants to move on? He might be a little gentler about it
this time around but it’s guaranteed to hurt even more. It was that
thought alone that forced the words from her mouth that would tell
him in no uncertain terms that there was no way what had started
during the storm could continue.

The confrontation had left her drained,
feeling like a deflated balloon, and she'd wandered through the
rest of the day in a haze of anxiety as she and Chris prioritized
which repairs to attack first.

Chris had gone back to the other resort about
an hour ago. Even though it was just after 8 pm, all Carla wanted
was a hot shower and to collapse into bed and sleep. The flashlight
in her right hand illuminated her way down the hallway to her
bedroom. She kicked off her shoes and started over to the bookshelf
to grab a hurricane lamp and matches when the edge of her
flashlight beam caught on a dark, hulking form in the armchair
across from her bed.

Carla jumped and fumbled with the flashlight
at the sound of a match striking. Then the room was lit by the
mellow glow of another hurricane lamp, revealing the presence
waiting for her in the corner.

Though her heart was beating about a thousand
miles an hour, she wasn't completely surprised to see Sam sitting
in the chair, one foot resting on the opposite knee as he sat back
in the chair as though he didn't have a care in the world.

As though he hadn't been waiting in the dark
for God knew how long to ambush her.

Fear quickly morphed to anger. “What the hell
do you think you're doing? You scared the hell out of me.”

“
After our little conversation I
figured if I wanted to see you I'd have to take matters into my own
hands.”

The lamplight illuminated Sam's face and she
saw that it was in complete juxtaposition to his body's relaxed
posture. His brows were pulled low over his eyes, his jaw granite
hard. And now that she got a closer look at his shoulders bunched
under the fabric of his dark t-shirt, she could almost see the
waves of anger emanating off of him.

He pushed out of the chair, took a menacing
step forward, the hurricane lamp in one hand.

Carla reflexively took a step back. “What do
you want Sam?”

“
You know exactly what I want. You
think you can convince me what we did didn't mean a damn thing,
that you don't want to do this anymore, but we both know that's not
true, don't we?

She backed up another step. A few more and
her knees would hit the back of her four poster bed.

Right where he wanted her.

She swallowed hard as he set the lamp on her
dresser, felt a rush of blood to her cheeks as his eyes skimmed
over her with a predatory heat.

“
It's okay,” he said. He tossed
something on the bed behind her and yanked her to him. Though her
body was tense, she didn't try to push him away. “You don't have to
say it out loud if you don't want to.” He bent his head but instead
of covering her mouth with his, he opened his mouth over the spot
where her pulse was thrumming double time, flicking it with his
tongue, softly nipping it with his teeth.

Though every shred of common sense screamed
at her to shove him away, she was frozen in his hold, helpless
against her body's swift, intense response to his touch. The light
scrape of his teeth sent a rush of wet heat between her legs,
pulled her nipples so tight and sensitive her satin bra might as
well have been made of sandpaper.

“
Your heart is beating so fast,” he
whispered against her throat as he covered her left breast with his
hand so he could feel the steady throb. “Your nipples are already
hard.” He stroked one with his thumb through the fabric of her
dress and she whimpered as the touch went straight to her
core.

He slid his hand down between her legs. Her
legs trembled as he cupped her sex, pressing against her with the
heel of his hand.

He groaned when her wetness soaked through
the double layers of fabric covering her. “You're so wet already
and I've barely even touched you. How can you try to act like you
don't want this?”

She didn't say anything, but a shudder
rippled through her as he ground the heel of his hand against her.
Once, twice. Carla moaned, her fingers digging into his shoulder
for balance as her muscles went taut, on the verge of coming
against his hand.

“
Oh no, not yet,” Sam muttered and
withdrew his hand. Before she could react he'd whisked her shirt
over her head and popped the button on her shorts before shoving
them to her ankles. He took a moment to admire her, and she felt
her breasts swell against the the satin cups of her bra.

“
Take them off.”

She felt a spurt of defiance at his
domineering tone. She narrowed her eyes and threw her shoulders
back. “You want me naked you can do it yourself.”

“
My pleasure.” Sam stepped closer.
Carla kept her eyes locked on the center of his chest as he reached
around to unhook her bra, her breath frozen in her chest, her heart
hammering against her ribs as every cell sizzled with
anticipation.

One strap, then two, slid down her shoulders
and caught on her elbows. She knew she should try to stop him, but
something inside her, something wild, knew she'd pushed him.

And God help her but she wanted to see how
far he would go. As much as she knew she was treading in dangerous
waters, she wanted to experience this. Wanted to see him pushed to
the brink and know it was because of her. Wanted to experience this
side of Sam before she let him go.

He brought his hands up to cover her, and
their groans mingled as her warm, heavy breasts filled his hands.
He bent his head to lick and tease her nipples, making her sigh and
moan as the deep pulls sent sharp pleasure straight to her core. He
sank to his knees as his mouth traveled down, hot and open against
her belly, stopping when it hit the waistband of her panties.

Carla's fingers threaded through his hair as
he hooked his thumbs in the elastic over her hips and slid the
panties down her legs. His hands slid around to cup her ass and
pull her close, but instead of burying his tongue in the lush folds
of her pussy, like she wanted, he pressed a hard kiss right above
the little patch of black curls at the top of her mound.

“
Lay back,” he said as he stood,
pushing her back as he did until her knees hit the back of the
bed.

She licked her lips and felt a nervous
tightening in her stomach. Was she really going to let him do
this?

Then the nervousness was gone, chased away by
another charge of defiance. If Sam thought he could charge in here
and take over, he had another think coming. He might be ready to
hit her with everything he had, but Carla was going to give as good
as she got, and no way was she admitting defeat.

Her common sense tried to make one last
stand, screaming at her that she was crazy, that she should get off
this bed immediately, get dressed and kick Sam's ass out of
here.

But one look at Sam, looming over the foot of
her bed like some kind of beast about to claim his mate, chased it
away.

Part of her―the part that wasn't soaking wet
with need and aching have him bury his cock inside her―was a little
scared. Okay, a lot scared. Sam was angry, maybe even a little hurt
by what she’d said and now he wanted to exact his revenge.

But instinctively, she knew Sam wasn't
capable of hurting her―not physically anyway. As for the
other...she'd managed to keep her heart locked away from him up
until now, hadn't she?

Hadn't she?

Even if the answer was no, her body had taken
over, and right now it was telling her in no uncertain terms that
whatever Sam had planned for her, it was worth the risk.

Carla pushed herself to the middle of the bed
and propped herself up on her elbows. She planted one foot flat on
the bedspread and bent her knee slightly. His eyes moved over her
like a blue flame, leaving prickles of heat in their wake.

He toed off his shoes but didn't take off any
other clothing. He crawled up over her, the fabric of his shirt
abrading the hard tips of her breasts, his pants making a rustling
sound as they blushed over her legs.

There was something a little dirty about
being naked while he still had his clothes on, she thought as he
slid his hand up the underside of her arm, flattening it to the
mattress as he twined his fingers with hers. One muscled thigh
parted her knees and she couldn't stop herself from rolling her
hips to rub her pussy against the hardness. But it was a poor
substitute for what she really wanted, which was throbbing
insistently against her belly, straining against the fly of his
pants.

His breath caught as she leaned up to kiss
the hollow of his throat, bared by the open collar of his shirt.
“This can only be for tonight,” she whispered, as much to herself
as to him. “After tonight, we have to be over.”

“
We'll see,” he said, his voice
strained.

Carla felt him tug on her arm and a strange
ripping sound. Her eyes flew open and she realized Sam had secured
her right wrist to the top right post of her four poster bed.
Before she had time to react, Sam had her left wrist in his
grip.

Her gaze locked on the set of bindings
dangling from his free hand.

“
What are those?” she asked stupidly,
unable to keep the nervous tremor out of her voice as her eyes met
his. In his eyes she could see the calculated glint under the blunt
desire.

She tugged at her wrist, but the cuff held
tight on both ends.

“
You know damned well what they
are.”

Her stomach did a little flip as she wondered
when Sam had come across the array of “pleasure packs” Holley Cay
provided, upon request, to the more adventurous guests.

Considering everything else that was
available, Carla thought with a little shiver, she wondered if the
restraints were the only thing Sam had availed himself of.

“
And you know exactly what I thought
when I saw them.”

Her nostrils flared and she tried to yank her
free wrist from his grip as he pulled it up toward the opposite bed
post. As fit as she was, it was pathetically easy for him to pin
her wrist to secure the other cuff.

“
Oh really? What's that?” she snapped
and tried to summon a withering look as she rocked her hips up,
hard this time as she tried to buck him off.

“
I was thinking about how fun it would
be for me to tie you to the bed and fuck you all night. Just like
you're thinking now.”

“
I've never wanted to be tied up.” she
said, her voice breathless.

“
Liar.” He breathed hard as he
struggled to get her legs secure. She flailed her legs, felt a
burst of satisfaction when she heard him grunt in pain after her
foot connected with his stomach. Still, within seconds, she was
securely bound, spread-eagled and naked on the bed.