Temptation Island (20 page)

She watched his quick intake of breath and smiled over the way his stomach quivered.  Licking his full bottom lip Marek answered, his voice husky and rough.  “I’m a breast man
, cheri
.  That’s what turns me on the most. A pair of hot, delicious tits. Now take off your shirt, I want to see yours.”

Carm swatted his hands away as he tried to tear her shirt off and laughed.  My, he was impatient.  She couldn’t really blame him though.  She was feeling rather needy herself.

Marek growled in warning but let his hands drop to her bare thighs.  His large hands felt warm and slightly rough against her tender skin.  She caught a sigh before it escaped and gripped the hem of her shirt and lifted it over her head.

“Fuck yeah.  That’s what I’m talking about.”  Marek said on a low groan.  Carm hadn’t put on a bra after she’d showered and watched Marek’s response to her bare breasts.  His hands gripped hard on her thighs and his erection surged to life, flexing hard against her crotch.

Carm felt her nipples tingle and looked down to find them puckered tight under the scrutiny of his heated gaze.  Lust ran hot in her blood at the raw desire in his eyes. 

Shaking out of the trance, Carm asked another question, determined to learn what she could about Marek.  “Next question.  No, keep your hands to yourself.  Don’t touch.  That’s not part of the game yet.  Why were you a pick pocket as a child and what other bad things did you do?”

Marek swore under his breath and kept his eyes firm on Carm’s breasts when he ground out, “When I worked at dat resort I broke into rooms and stole money and other shit and picked pockets.  I used most of da money ta pay bills.  Oh, yeah.  Move like dat again.  Damn dat feels incredible.”

Carm stopped moving.  “Explain, Marek.”

“
Merde. 
Alright.  It was rough as a kid.  I know she did da best she could, but it was still tight.  So I supplemented da inflow of household cash with stealing.  Worked too until I was eighteen.”  Marek finished in a tight voice.

Curiousity captured, Carm slid down Marek’s body and helped him sit up.  She pulled off his shirt revealing his bronzed torso.  In that position they were eye level. Feeling his hands creeping up her sides toward her breasts Carm wrapped her arms around his tense back and pushed against him. 

The feel of his hot skin against her breasts was almost her undoing.  A moan escaped her when Marek ran his hands up her back to her shoulders and gripped her, tilting her back to kiss the hollow of her throat.  Murmuring in French he rained open mouthed kisses up her neck, over her jaw until he captured her mouth in a fevered kiss.

Carm raced her hands over his defined shoulders and scraped her nails down his back.  Marek growled into her mouth at her bold gesture and pulled back.  “No more games, Carmen.”  He commanded.  “You know me, Carmen.  Maybe not da little details, but you know
me
. Who I am inside.”

He shook her gently when she began to shake her head.  “Look at me.  I’m a complicated man, Carmen, with a shaded past.  I won’t deny it.  But none of dat matters.  What matters is what’s between us right now.”

Carm looked deep into his eyes, her heart hammering in her chest and asked, “What is between us, Marek?  Tell me.  I can’t be just another woman for you.  I won’t do that to myself.”

Marek grabbed a fistful of Carm’s hair and pulled, forcing her back to arch and thrusting her full breast toward him.  His hot mouth lowered to her ripe breast and his tongue flickered over her pale pink nipple.  When she moaned deep and long, Marek answered, “Fate,
cheri
.  Dat’s what’s between us.  And you could never be just another woman, Carmen. You are da
only
woman.  I can’t see anyone or anything past you and it scares da hell out of me.”

Carm felt him lift her off his lap as her head spun from his revelation.  He’d said so much in so few words but he wasn’t giving her time to soak it in.  Marek shifted her and laid her on the bed and yanked off her boxers before she had time to protest.  His eyes raked over her and locked on the blond thatch of curls between her thighs.  Letting out a shaky breath Marek said, “You are a goddess,
cheri
.  I’ve never seen anything more beautiful.”

He started to lower down to the bed, but she stopped him.  “I want to see you, Marek.  Take off your shorts.”

The ache between her legs intensified as Marek slid his hands over his hips beneath his waistband and began to slide them down.  The anticipation sent chills down her spine and her eyes stayed locked on his strong, corded forearms as they flexed just above the bulge in his shorts.

The sound of a door slamming downstairs made both of them jump. Carm let out a startled scream and Marek swore viciously, yanked his hands out of his pants and strode for the door.

Just as Carm scrambled off the bed to find her clothes a voice called from downstairs, “Hey, Marek!  Bro, where are you?  You were supposed to meet me at Big Bubbas over a half hour ago, man.  Now you’ve made me have to come lookin’ for you and I’m missing out on the wet t-shirt contest.  Brenda was in it, man and you know she’s got those amazing knockers.”

Carm clutched his grey t-shirt to her chest as Marek stalked to the door.  Stopping he turned and strode angrily back toward her and pulled her to him.  Crushing his mouth down on hers in a kiss of raw hunger that ended as quickly as it began, Marek growled, “We’re going to finish this. You’re mine now. You can’t change your mind, cupcake.  Don’t you dare change your mind.”

Leaving Carm standing in the middle of the room dazed and bemused, her body screaming for release, Marek stomped to the door and flung it open and disappeared down the hall.

In a voice promising painful retribution he yelled, “Landon, you asshole. Haven’t you heard of the fucking phone?”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Marek knew now what it felt like to want to kill a man.  Sitting next to Landon in his small pick-up with the extended cab, Marek seethed with unfulfilled desire.  Landon maneuvered his white pick-up down the pencil thin drive and kept silent.  An unusual event for him, for sure.  Usually the man was full of bullshit, but right now he kept to himself.

He probably knew he’d die if he opened his mouth and was solely concerned with self-preservation.  When Marek had tromped to the landing without a shirt on and steam barreling out of his ears, Landon had busted into a fit of laughter.  Oh, he’d known what he’d interrupted and didn’t feel the slightest bit remorseful.  The bastard.

Marek scrubbed his hands over his face and pushed them up into his disheveled hair.  He cracked a small half smile when he thought that Carm’s hands had done that to his curls.  Not that it was ever all that tamed, but she’d done a fine job of messing it up.

Damn he wanted to go back home to her.  If this excursion into town wasn’t so critical he would have thrown Landon out on his ass.  But, the fact was that Marek had to grab this opportunity to speak with one of his old associates about the attack on Carm’s room.

Now, more than ever, he wanted to find those responsible for terrifying her.  He would devote himself to it until he did. 

One of the phone calls he’d made earlier had been to his managers handing over the reins of the business for a short duration.  He had complete faith in the competency of his employees and knew they could handle most everything.  Not even for a minute would Marek waver from finding the assholes that threatened her.  No one threatened his woman.

Just the thought of the terror in her voice during her frantic call to him sent fury blazing through him.  His fists clenched hard, turning his knuckles white from tension.  He’d never felt so scared before in his life as he had the moment he’d heard Carm’s broken voice.

His knees had almost given out on him when she’d walked down the hall at his parents’ place and he’d seen she was safe.  The rush of relief had left him lightheaded and shaky.  At the time he’d been too concerned with her to be worried about what it all meant, but after tonight he was afraid he knew.

And he didn’t like it.  Not one fucking bit.

Landon finally spoke into the quiet cab, his voice a mixture of humor and apology, “Hey man, sorry about the piss poor timing.  Nothing like a good case of blue balls to put a man in a fightin’ mood, right Bro?  Yeah, I hate that.  Glad to see you and the wife making nice though.  You guys admitted to each other you’re in love, yet?”

Marek turned icy eyes on Landon and snapped a nasty obscenity.  He was getting kind of used to the idea of Carmen being his wife, but the use of the L-word made his gut clench tight and his ears ring.  No way was he in love with her.  He couldn’t be, refused to be.  Marek would never give his soul to any other person; let another have the power to devastate him.

“You do realize I’m going to have to kill you, mon.”

Landon smirked and chuckled, whipped the Ranger onto the main road.  “Yeah, I got that dude, but you’ll have to kill me later.  Hey, and don’t take it out on me that love’s got a firm hold on your balls and isn’t letting go.  I’ve been there, done that, and know it’s hell.  That’s why I ain’t ever going there again.”  Landon shot Marek a look of understanding and continued, “But it isn’t all bad, Bro. Sometimes is freakin’ awesome.  Why are you fighting accepting that Fate brought Carm down here for you because she’s your soul mate?”

Marek’s lungs constricted, making it hard for him to breath.  All the talk of love and soul mates was giving him a panic attack.  “Landon, you are one of the only people who knows everything about my past.  You know exactly what love did to my mother, the way it crumpled her to bits when my father stole her soul.  He left her broken and alone, pregnant with his child after she’d given him everything.  It took her years to recover, mon. 
Merde
, if it wasn’t for Steven coming along when he had she might never have.”  Marek shook his head and muttered, “I won’t let that happen to me.  I won’t risk everything like that.”

Landon wiped a thumb at the side of his mouth and sighed.  Making his way down the windy pavement to Road Town, Landon fiddled with his puka shell necklace.  Then he glanced at Marek, his usually lazy eyes filled with wisdom.  “I always hate to state the obvious Bro, but it looks like I’m gonna have to.  Your dad was an asshole, Marek.  Case closed.  He took advantage of a seventeen year old girl, promised her the moon and the stars and left her high and dry.  You’re not seventeen and neither is Carmen and I highly doubt she’s the type to up and bail.  Trust me, I know that type.  I’ve had that type and she ain’t it.  I’m not saying that there isn’t some risk involved, but what you have waiting back at your place is special, dude.  Why the hell would you let something like that slip through your fingers?  I’ve never known you to be a coward, man.”

Sighing, Marek scowled at Landon.  He was right.  Damn he hated when he was right.  Landon looked like a beach bum, with his surfer shorts, dreadlocks and deep tan, but the asshole was sharp.  Astute as hell too.  And never afraid to speak his mind.  He made a good point, Marek wasn’t a coward.  Never had been one before, so why should he be one now?  But was he in love?

Carmen made him feel alive inside.  He loved her confidence, her heart, her loyalty and dedication to those she loved.  And he adored that he could tease her, goad her and she gave as good as she got. He wasn’t certain he was
in
love with her, but he loved many things
about
her.

Carmen never backed down from him and never wavered.  Her belief in herself and her self-worth was admirable.  Though it frustrated the hell out of him because he needed to touch her so desperately, the fact that she was waiting for someone worthy of her love and devotion floored him.  That thought lead to another and he swore out loud.

The truth hit him.  Right in the solar plexus.

Carmen had been about to give herself to him before Landon pounded on the door.  It could only mean one thing: she was in love with him.

Marek sat up straighter in his seat and muttered under his breath, “Holy hell.”  His heart started pounding madly in his chest and his head started spinning.  Taking deep breaths to calm the sudden adrenaline rush, Marek grinned like a madman and leaned his head back against the headrest.

Carmen might not know it yet, but she loved him.  Damn that realization made him feel good.  Made him giddy as a school girl.  Hell, he even felt like giggling.  Not that he was in love with her or anything, but it sat just fine knowing
she
loved
him
.  Sat mighty fine indeed.

All he had to do was make her realize she loved him and convince her to stay on Tortola with him.  He wasn’t letting her walk away now.  Terrified or not, ready to give his everything or not, he wasn’t letting her walk out of his life.  He was smart enough to recognize that women like her didn’t come along everyday, much less fall in love with him.  And he was selfish too.  He wanted her love all to himself.

Marek’s joyful laugh filled the cabin and he looked over at Landon.  Landon’s eyes were still serious, but his mouth curved up in a grin showing off his dimples.  He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.  “Sometimes you are the dumbest man, Bro.  You know that?  True love isn’t something to run from and be terrified about.  It’s something to embrace with everything you have if Fate and God bring it your way.  Glad to see the light’s finally clicked on upstairs, dude.”