Anonymity (5 page)

He hardened
at the slightest physical contact; doubtful he'd be able to be a gentleman much longer. Her body was made for a man's hands with curves he ached to touch. She radiated heat that burned through the clothes separating their bodies as they walked side-by-side down along the water's edge. Shoes dangled from their fingertips as they allowed warm waves to caress their ankles.

Screw it.
He only had six more days before returning to his tidy well-constructed life. He stopped, pulled her against him, lifted her up and kissed her.

Hand at the nape of her neck, he pulled back a fraction to look into her eyes. "
Are you sure you want this, that you want me? Tell me now before I let myself go."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, eyes bright with desire. "I've never been as sure about anything as I am about you right now."

He smiled against her mouth, loving that she was entwined around him like an exotic vine. "You're one intense lady, do you realize that? It's like you're on fire."

"It's an illusion
, I'm a fraud," she whispered against his lips.

"I don't think so. Neither of
us has anything to gain or lose."

"Stop talking."
She kissed him with passion that drove him over the brink of control.

They needed to get someplace—anyplace—private.
Now.

Not breaking the kiss, he dropped her gently to her feet.
Kissing, touching, laughing, they stumbled down the beach toward the resort. A crowd had assembled on the beach in front of the bar where Dave the One Man Band presided. The group of scuba divers played beach volleyball amidst it all. Maneuvering through them would be a challenge, especially with Savannah overly curious about Alyssa.

"Locals come out for Dave," he said when she simply stared at the transformation from tranquil paradise to party central. "Come here." He dragged her into the gardens surrounding Ramon's Village and pressed her back against a tree. "Feeling adventurous?"

"What do you think?" She pushed her hands beneath his shirt.

His mouth ravaged hers while his hands slid beneath her dress and squeezed her ass.
One hand moved up the front of her dress, teased her breast beneath the fabric, while the other inched her panties aside. He felt like a man hell bent to touch her skin.

"Not very romantic, I'll make up for it later.
I need to have you."

"
I'm not complaining. I want this just as badly as you do." She bit his neck while her fingers fumbled with his zipper. Her hands slid inside his waistband before closing around his erection.

God,
he'd never wanted anyone like this. It's like he would die without being inside of her. Urgency pulsated through his veins.

He fumbled with the condom he'd stuffed into his back pocket while he kissed her neck and reveled in her hands moving up and down on him.
He lifted her up until they were eye level, her feet off the ground and linking behind his waist. Her hair fell across her eyes when she laughed and lifted her hands over her head to grab the tree at her back.

"You're the sexiest woman I've ever met." He pulled one of the straps of her dress down and squeezed the heavy breast he'd been salivating over since seeing her sitting at the bar. His thumb toyed with her nipple.

He thrust inside of her and felt the velvety tightness envelope him. He grabbed her wrists and held them against the trunk of the tree. She ground her tongue into this mouth.

This was sex, animalistic, raw, intense, passionate, no-holding-back sex.

Closing his eyes, he surrendered to the sensations...the palm tree hard against his knees as he ground his hips against hers, her tongue driving him insane, his mouth on her neck, her breasts pressing against his chest, her heels grinding into his ass, 80s rock music blaring from behind them, people laughing only fifty feet away, ocean lapping against the shore, scent of flowers mixing with barbecue, breeze tossing the palms above them, and the feel of her thighs squeezing him tight.

He hadn't let himself go like this in years, maybe ever.

They came together, both moaning into each other's mouths, eyes wide open, connected in the moment. They laughed against each other's lips, neither pulling apart.

She curled her fingers into his hair. "I want more."

"Insatiable...I like it." His teeth gently tugged her lower lip.

"Best.
Vacation. Ever." She kissed him with each word.

"On fire, I'm telling you." He
dropped her wrists and smoothed his hands over her breasts. "You're like an inferno."

"Only with you." Curls danced in front of her eyes
as she pulled him back for another kiss. "I'm not lying. If I'm on fire, it's because you found the fuse."

"That sounds like a bad song lyric. I think you've been exposed to Dave the Gringo's music too long, we'd better get you inside and away from his influence." He kissed her, not wanting to step away from the tree but knowing they were pushing the limits by staying here too long. Something stirred deep in his chest with her words, with the kiss, with this entire scenario.

She laughed against his mouth before dropping her legs from around him and sliding down his chest. He felt like the entire world would know what they'd been doing in the bushes. He laughed to himself as he stuffed her panties in his pocket. He had never had sex against a palm tree before and definitely never within yards of a group of people. Exhilaration hammered through his heart.

She smoothed hair from his eyes. "You look like you've been having se
x on the beach."

"So do you." He turned them into an impromptu dance on the sand, his mouth clinging to hers in a slow kiss, while he held her close.

"You're too good to be true," she whispered. "I can't believe you're real."

"Like you said...it's all an illusion." Regret flashed in her eyes, darkened them in the moonlight, before she looked away.

Maybe it was, but then again maybe it wasn't.

He flattened his palms over her shoulders and wondered at the glimpse of pain he'd seen. Anonymity had its pros...and cons.

"Your place or mine?" he asked.

"Mine. Want to race?" When she met his gaze again, the pain had been replaced with desire.

"Hey, Luke!" Savannah shouted from behind them. "I thought you'd disappeared."

Scared of losing the intimacy, he framed Alyssa's face and held her gaze. "We've been spotted. One drink to be sociable and then we'll go, okay?"

Concern shadowed her eyes, but she nodded.

He remembered then why she'd said she'd come to the island alone...cheating fiancé getting married in a few days. She'd probably been bluffing about the weeklong affair, had been being impulsive for the sake of forgetting, but now they'd crossed a line and self-doubt flickered in the depths of her blue eyes.

He kissed her and reminded her through actions rather than words that she was the most desirable woman he'd ever met. Maybe they were
both playing pretend while in paradise before retreating to their normal lives. So what? He'd only gotten a taste and a glimpse of the woman in his arms and he wanted to spend every minute of the next several days savoring her.

* * *

Chapter Three

"Wow, he must have really missed you," Savannah said from a foot away. "I'd been beginning to think he was gay. I guess he's not."

Alyssa smiled against Luke's lips. Damn, the man knew how to kiss. She doubted she'd be able to put one foot in front of the other, especially after being pushed up against the tree and holding onto him for dear life with her thighs.

"No, he's definitely not gay," she said, reluctantly pulling away to look at the tall woman standing next to them. Fragile confidence quaked beneath Savannah's up and down perusal of her. She extended a hand and hoped it didn't tremble. "I'm Alyssa."

"Savannah. I hear you're the secret girlfriend. How exciting for you two...are you married or something?"

Taken aback by the direct line of questioning, she paused to think of a story. She'd forgotten that little bit of information about Luke using her as an excuse.

"She's not married." He snagged her hand and started walking toward the rowdy group. "My family is a bit overwhelming, as you saw, and I didn't want them scaring her away. It wouldn't be the first time they've ruined a relationship for me."

Although he smiled, she detected a g
limmer of truth in his lie. Unlinking her fingers from his, she looped her arm around his waist and smiled up at him. "No one could scare me away."

He returned her smile, his eyes still he
avy with sexual afterglow and lips swollen from the intensity of their kiss.

She nearly tripped on the sand, thighs quivering from exertion. Her body ached to be stretched out on a mattress. Naked. With him on top of her. Full skin-on-skin contact.

If this is what insanity feels like, then I never want to be sane again.
She laughed at the thought.

Before she could protest, they were seated at a table with Savannah and Bill. The elevated dance floor over the sand rocked with the crowd swaying on top of it. Rosie reigned over the bar with a perpetual golden grin while Dave the Gringo sang some Eagles' tunes that had the crowd up and moving. His impressive one-man-band set-up churned out the songs with a pulsating quality that obviously improved with rum intake.

Luke skimmed his hand along her shoulder before walking toward the bar to grab them drinks. She enjoyed watching him walk, once again thinking he had a body that called for much more exploring.

"How long have you two being going out?" Bill asked, his shaggy brown hair and days' worth of stubble giving him a beach bum appearance that fit right in on the island. "He's good at keeping a secret. His brothers were really pushy about setting him up but he kept his mouth shut...and behaved himself. Don't worry. He didn't budge."

"And some of us tried pretty hard to sway him, but he didn't give us a thought." Savannah smiled, looking much more approachable than she'd assumed earlier in the day. Despite the model looks, her smile communicated goodwill. "He said you're territorial...I don't want you to worry."

She laughed at that and leaned back in the chair. "Territorial, huh? I guess so. Before Luke, I had a cheating
fiancé who slept with everyone in sight. I guess that has had an effect."

"Seriously? How long were you engaged?" Savannah leaned forward on the table, her brown eyes full of curiosity.

"Eight years. You know what he told me? That he'd never been faithful, not even a full week of our entire relationship." Why she felt like telling every stranger she met her story, she had no idea. Yet here she was yakking away. She brushed her hands over her still trembling thighs and wished she were back in her cabana.

"Now you have Luke. I tried to seduce him a few times but he couldn't have been less interested. I admit it sort of wounded my ego, but now that I've met you, I get it." Savannah smiled and smoothed her long black hair behind her ears.

"She did hit on him a lot, though." Bill glared at the back of Savannah's head.

"You two aren't a couple?" she asked Bill who rolled his eyes as an answer.

"We're friends." Savannah patted his hand without looking in his direction. "We're here with a diving club from Dallas. We came in a few days ago. Do you dive?"

"No, but I've always wanted
to learn." Again she thought of all the things she'd put off during the last few years of her life. She'd basically spent her entire 20's in a holding pattern.

She looked over the crowd in search of Luke who
bantered with Rosie, drinks in his hands. When he started walking back to the table, his gaze met hers and he smiled. A wave of satisfaction rushed through her. She didn't regret sex against a palm tree or being impulsive with him at all. Sitting here in the moonlight with strangers felt more right than anything had in recent memory. She had no past, could be anything or anyone she wanted to be, and no one would expect anything different.

Why couldn't she feel like this all of the time? She loved her job, her friends, her cat,
and her condo...so aside from latitude, what was different?

She pulled her gaze from Luke's and glanced toward the ocean. White caps broke against the reef hidden by dark water. Waves caressed the shore. Sarong covered women swayed with short-clad men on an el
evated wooden floor surrounded by tiki torches. Dave the Gringo switched from Eagles' music to classic Jimmy Buffet. A few guests sang along, including Savannah and Bill.

"You look relaxed." Luke put the drinks on the table before claiming his chair.

"I am." She leaned forward and kissed him, uncaring about any onlookers. If she only had a few days to claim the right of kissing him whenever she wanted, then she would take every opportunity to do so.

"
Anything about our story I should know?" he asked against her lips.