She didn’t know how much more she could stand. She couldn’t remember ever wanting someone this much. And he was making sure she was brought to a fever pitch.
When he lifted his head, he looked down at her with hooded eyes, his face a mask of desire. “Now, baby?”
“Yes.” She wanted to be joined to him, to know him in the most elemental way possible. “I need you.”
“Yes,” he muttered. “Oh, yeah.” His hands went to her bikini top. He made short work of loosening it, then followed its descent with his mouth, sucking first on one breast, then the other.
She leaned against the wall behind her for support, but her relief was short-lived.
He straightened before her and slipped his hands beneath the band of her bikini panties, sliding her last piece of clothing off her in one fluid motion.
He got rid of his swim trunks then, and she allowed herself a moment to gaze at him. He was big, aroused and ready for her.
She licked dry lips and he half groaned, half laughed. She watched as he reached over to the entry table for the knapsack that he’d dropped there earlier. Reaching in, he pulled out a foil packet.
“Let me,” she said, just because she itched to touch him.
He stopped in mid-motion and looked up.
“Let me,” she repeated, taking the packet from him.
“Honey—”
She pressed a finger to his lips, not giving him a chance to say more. Then she slowly rolled the protection onto him.
He sucked in a breath.
“There,” she said, looking up at him through her lashes, continuing to stroke him. “Done, but not done.”
“Oh, we’re not done, all right.” He took a step toward her, backing her into the wall again. “Now where were we?”
A giggle escaped her and she took a step sideways, then another, inching away from him. “Don’t you remember?”
He followed her progress. “It’s coming back to me.”
She laughed again before turning and making a run for it, dodging his arm as he tried to grab her.
He caught up with her at her bedroom, tumbling her backward onto the bed and coming down on top of her. They sank onto the mattress together and she was blissfully aware of every inch of him.
“Oh, baby,” he muttered, “I’ve got to have you.”
“Yes,” she said breathlessly.
And then he was there, probing, stretching her, causing them both to expel a breath when he was inside her. They began to move and set up a rhythm.
It was good, so good. She moaned. “Oh, yes.”
“Kayla,” he breathed, his face tense with pleasure. “Ah, honey.”
She met his thrusts, riding the building pressure until their bodies were damp and sweaty, and still she clung to him.
And then, all at once, she went tumbling over the edge, calling his name as she spiraled into a universe of pure sensation.
He gave a hoarse groan, strained, thrust and seemed to follow her into a realm of exploding stars as he collapsed on top of her.
Nine
Kayla woke up the next morning feeling blissfully used, deliciously achy and thoroughly loved. Only the last gave her pause.
Love?
Sitting up, she looked over at Noah, still asleep, sprawled across most of the bed, the sheet riding low on his chest.
Yes, she loved Noah. Not because he’d just given her the best night of her life, though that element definitely couldn’t be dismissed lightly. Rather, he’d scaled the ramparts even as she’d been manning the fortress of her heart. Underneath the surface of the carefree-playboy image was a guy who continued to surprise and challenge her. He was fantastically smart, teasingly funny and touchingly thoughtful.
That last quality had been on display when she’d run into Bentley Mathison. She’d been feeling vulnerable and weepy, and Noah had been right there to lend comfort and support.
She watched now as he stirred, his lashes flickering as he shifted.
“Hi,” she said when he opened his eyes. It seemed like such an insignificant thing to say when her heart felt full to bursting with momentous news: I love you.
He smiled slowly and reached for her. “Hi yourself.”
Laughing, she attempted to wiggle away even as he pulled her down next to him and proceeded to kiss her thoroughly.
Coming up for air, she glanced over at the alarm clock on the night table. Eleven. “We’re sleeping the day away,” she protested.
“Really?” he growled against her neck. “I can’t think of a better way to spend it.”
It wasn’t until much later that they got out of bed.
While Noah showered and shaved, she padded into the living room area of the hotel suite in a bathrobe, intent on getting herself some orange juice from the small refrigerator there. She was feeling ravenously hungry.
Passing a console table on the way to the fridge, she glanced down and noticed a couple of legal-sized envelopes. Her eyes skimmed the writing on the top one: it was marked private and addressed to Noah from the registrar of companies in the Cayman Islands.
She paused, her pulse picking up. Despite herself, she inched aside the top-most envelope with her finger and read the writing on the one beneath it: it was addressed to Noah from a law firm on Grand Cayman.
Her mind raced back to what Ed had said to her about rumors of a mysterious offshore company connected to Noah. A story like that could practically guarantee you the job you want.
The private letters beckoned and mocked her.
She jumped when the phone rang. She picked it up from the console table next to her. “Hello?”
A tinkling laugh sounded at the other end. “Well, well. I’d heard the rumor but, I confess, I wasn’t quite sure I believed it.”
Kayla recognized the voice instantly. “What do you want, Sybil?”
She knew her voice sounded brusque, but she didn’t care. The puffy little cloud she’d been walking on since waking up was suddenly seeming less buoyant and she couldn’t help feeling annoyed at Sybil’s intrusion.
“Now, now,” Sybil responded, “no need to get touchy.”
Kayla guessed that Sybil had called the front desk and asked for Noah Whittaker’s room. What rotten luck that she just happened to be the one picking up.
“I called,” Sybil continued, “only to confirm what I’d heard through the grapevine—you and our adorable Noah are having a romantic interlude in a tropical paradise. How delightful!” At Kayla’s stony silence, Sybil laughed. “I don’t want to intrude. I wish you only the best, Kayla dear.” Her voice lowered confidingly. “But then I’m sure you’re in good hands. Noah has a reputation as a fantastic lover.”