Heart's Paradise (7 page)

“No, it’s too quiet to sleep. I’m used to the sounds of traffic.”

The din of the island’s nighttime tropical creatures sounded louder than any traffic she’d ever heard. At home, she often fell asleep to the quieter sounds of crickets and owls.

“Might be fun to share some ghost stories, seeing as we’re on a deserted island,” he continued.

She heard him shift on the fronds. She looked over to find him lying on his side, propped on his elbow, staring down to her.

“Come on, you don’t go to bed this early, do you?” he asked.

Actually, she did many nights. She’d always been a morning person. Pre-dawn was her favorite time of day. The world was brand new, the forest awakening, and everything was perfect.

“I’m an early riser,” she said, wiggling farther away from him until the wall dug into her side. “Though I have a feeling I won’t get much sleep tonight,” she mumbled.

“Why’s that, angel?” he purred.

She realized her mistake. “What I mean,” she corrected, “is the night is cooling off. We’ll most likely be shivering in a couple of hours.” Even at eighty degrees, being almost naked and on the damp sand would suck out their body heat.

“Not if we huddle together for warmth.”

Phoebe didn’t at all like how squirmy she suddenly felt. His scent filled her head—the last traces of sunblock mixed with the heady aroma of clean sweat.
How unfair, he could at least have the decency to stink after working all day in the sun.

The shelter became a cage. She stared out its opening, fighting claustrophobia. “I doubt if huddling will be necessary.”

“I can think of all kinds of other ways to keep warm.” His voice dropped an octave. “Would you like to hear my ideas?”

Her mind played with what those ideas might be. In vivid detail she recalled what his tongue could do. The way he’d used it to tease, tickle, and lick her to orgasm.

“No,” was all she managed to say, squeezing her thighs together. “Goodnight, Jonathon.”

He chuckled then fell silent, and she said a little prayer of gratitude. Phoebe shut her eyes, hoping sleep would come fast. She heard him settle onto his back.

“Are you married? I didn’t see a ring or a tan line from one on your finger, but I should’ve asked before now.”

She blinked at his question in the darkness. If she lied and said yes, would he still try to seduce her? She half-feared the answer. “No, are you?” she replied.

“You know, I’m not sure anymore.” He yawned. “The tabloids have so much to say on my love life, maybe I am.”

She frowned, and turned her back to him. Before long she heard his deep breaths of sleep, and she relaxed for the first time since meeting him on the island. The constant tempo of the ocean waves lulled her until at last she drifted off to sleep.

It seemed only minutes later when she awoke to the sound of raindrops pelting their shelter. A light
tat tat tat
which picked up pace. The scent of rain filled the hut. Monsoon season was over, but as Phoebe sat up, the clouds opened up, dumping rain down in sheets. The fire vanished, and the odor of soot mixed with wet sand and the ocean.

“Damn.” Jonathon sat up. Rain spilled between the weaving of palm fronds, wetting them both.

Phoebe pulled her knees to her chest, soaked and shivering. “Somehow I knew this would happen,” she grumbled.

“I wish you’d have warned me. I thought the weather stayed pleasant in the Maldives. We’re past the rainy season.” Lightning flashed, filling the interior. Jonathon hugged his arms around himself.

The worst she’d expected had been a few warm showers, not a stormy downpour. Her hair stuck to her forehead, and water streamed into her eyes and off the tip of her nose. Another flash of lightning showed a huddled Jonathon looking as miserable as she felt. The wetter she got, the deeper the chill seeped until it settled in her bones. Wind gusted into the hut, spraying mist in her face.

A lightning bolt exploded above them. Phoebe screamed. Arms closed around her as thunder shattered the night and her eardrums. Jonathon hugged her tight as another bolt crashed somewhere nearby. She grabbed hold of him, clutching and cringing with every flash of light and clap of thunder.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Jonathon said against her ear, rocking her back and forth. She felt like a child in his arms, but she wasn’t willing to let go of his strength as the storm picked up intensity. “Now, this isn’t so bad, eh? Sort of romantic.” But even he flinched with the next lightning strike. Above the rain and wind she heard the waves battering the shoreline.

She thought of Sarah as terror swelled in her heart.

Chapter 5

The hut rattled, and Jonathon held his breath, waiting for the wind to whip it off of them. Damn, he’d never ridden out a storm like this in such a feeble shelter. He hugged Phoebe tight; she trembled in his arms, reflecting his own anxiety. He felt helpless as another bolt crashed someplace close. He held her tighter, wanting to somehow protect her from the worst of the storm. They were in serious danger. Being in the middle of an electric storm without adequate cover spelled disaster. And a boat couldn’t make it to them while the squall raged.

“It’ll pass soon,” he said above the sound of rain, surf, and wind. He could only hope he was right.

Phoebe nodded. She felt small in his arms. The perfect mix of softness, toned muscle, and warmth. Her damp skin was silky smooth, and her hair held the faint scent of peaches and saltwater. He inhaled deeper, adrenaline suddenly mixed with desire. He rubbed her upper arm and closed his eyes, remembering how close he’d come to kissing her before she’d fled his touch. She had full lips, the perfect mouth to kiss. The perfect body to wrap around his while they made love.

He was hard, and he fought the temptation to seek out her lips and indulge in one quick taste. Something to help dull the fear of the lightning, wind, and ravaging waves threatening to pummel the island to bits. At only a few feet above sea level, the land seemed too fragile to withstand such a ferocious onslaught.

Jonathon kept his lips to himself, and the fury finally waned as the storm sought another island to harass. He let out a pent-up breath as the rain eased up and the wind died down. The ocean still beat the shoreline, the roaring sound filling the void the rest of the storm had left behind. They were safe though. Thank God they were safe.

“I hope we don’t have many of those,” he muttered against the crown of Phoebe’s head.

She nodded, but didn’t try to move away. The desire he’d felt earlier flamed into dizzying lust. He bit his bottom lip as her hand drifted down, settling on the top of his thigh. An innocent touch as she shifted in his arms. One not meant to stoke the fire in his blood and make his cock throb.

“I’m still cold,” she said, trembling, her voice husky. “Do you mind if we stay like this a bit longer?”

He bit his lip harder.
She has no idea what she’s doing to me.
“As long as you want, angel.”

She moved again, trying to snuggle closer, but when she lifted her hand from his thigh, the side of it brushed his hard cock. She sucked in a breath as he hissed through his teeth.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, leaning away. “I didn’t mean… I mean, I didn’t know…”

“Oh God, angel, don’t be sorry.”

He cupped the back of her head and brought her mouth to his. Phoebe tensed, and the gentleman he always tried to be told him to back off. But he was beyond listening. He parted her lips, and his tongue coaxed her mouth open. She met him, wrapping her arms around his neck, her tongue mating with his. He groaned and tugged her over until she straddled his thighs. He couldn’t get enough of her flavor, and the kiss turned sloppy and greedy. He grabbed her ass, pulling her tight to his erection, and she rubbed against him.

His hands slipped around, and he palmed her heavy breasts, rubbing her pert nipples through the thin cotton of her bra. She whimpered, and he pinched them lightly. Jonathon felt the world slip away as he came undone.
Tell me to stop, angel. If you don’t want this, please tell me to stop now.
“Phoebe, God, Phoebe,” came out instead.

He pushed her back, following as she lay on the wet sand. One thought drove him as he knelt between her legs, spread her wide, and buried his face in the juncture of her thighs. He had to taste her pussy. Her panties were in the way. Impatient, he shoved the crotch of them aside with his thumb. The first sweet taste was heaven, and he thrust his tongue deep within her inner lips. Phoebe bucked into his mouth, panting, and making high-pitched sounds that drove him on. He rubbed her clit with the broad of his tongue, circling his head, and within moments he was rewarded with her sharp cry as her pussy contracted in orgasm.

His balls tightened, and he reached down and pulled out his cock. He wanted nothing more than to bury deep inside her soaked pussy. Feel her grip him tight as he pumped hard and fast until he lost his soul to her. Phoebe’s fingers roamed over his chest then down his stomach. He squeezed his eyes shut as her fingertips brushed the end of his dick. Her touch seemed tentative, shy, as she lightly circled his glans.

Jonathon caught her hand. “Will you do something for me?” he asked. “I want nothing more than to be inside of you, angel…”
But I’ll lose it as soon as I push inside of that sweet tight spot of yours.

“What do you want me to do?” she whispered hoarsely.

In exquisite torture she opened her legs once more in invitation. Flashes of lightning from the faraway storm showed her parted mouth, arched back, and supple ready form beneath him. The perfume of her arousal filled his head, leaving him in a fog of lust that strangled his good intentions.

God, if only she knew she’d pushed him to breaking.

He moved her hand to his shaft, wrapping her fingers around his girth. He guided her in short up and down strokes.

“Make me come fast,” he said through his teeth. Because otherwise he might throw common sense out the door and risk unprotected sex. He braced over her on his knees and one hand, the other covering hers while she worked him closer and closer…

“Hold tighter… Like that… Oh, fuck yes.” He shuddered as his hot cum spilled over their hands. “You’re perfect, angel. Absolutely perfect.” He laced his fingers through hers and brought her hand to his lips, kissing her palm.

“You really don’t know who I am, do you?”

Phoebe’s question drifted between them, and it took several moments to make sense of it. And then it made no sense. He stared toward her face, wishing he could see her better.

“Have we met before?” he asked. The nagging notion he
did
know her taunted his mind. “What’s your last name?”

“It doesn’t matter.” She pulled her hand free of his and crawled away, out into the darkness.

Jonathon groaned and fell onto his back, staring into the nothingness above his head. The nip of the air cooled his skin and gooseflesh broke out over his arms and legs.

“Damn it.” He sat up, wondering over the mystery which made up Phoebe.

He stared into the thickening black beyond the hut. Dawn was approaching. The animals had already started changing shifts as a new set of voices drowned out the few lingering calls of night birds. He felt agitated, so he rose and left the shelter.

Off to the east side of the island, through the filter of the breaking clouds, first glimpses of sunrise kissed the sky.

“We’ll be hard pressed to find dry wood for a fire,” Phoebe said from nearby. “Everything got drenched.”

Jonathon wanted to say something about what had happened between them. Something clever and charming that would shake the awkwardness.

“Come daybreak I’ll scope out the beach, see if anything useful washed ashore.” He rubbed his hand over his damp hair, knocking sand from his scalp. He was off kilter, his usual easy way with words eluded him.

“I’m going to make a couple of lobster traps today.” Phoebe hugged her arms around herself, but the air had already started to grow warm. Muggy, it promised a sticky day ahead. “And look for sea urchins, I might find some in the shallows. We’ll have to eat whatever we find raw until the wood and tinder dries out.”

Jonathon grinned. “Sushi? First class dining, and they said this would be a challenge, eh?”

She refused to look at him, and it didn’t sit well in his gut. He should’ve left her alone, the last thing he wanted to do was make it impossible for the two of them to work together. Twenty-four days left, and if they hoped to make it through they had to be comfortable with one another.

Good going, genius.
Horniness had gotten the best of him, but was it really a surprise? How many times had his dick done his thinking in his life? Phoebe deserved better from him, and until he figured out exactly who she was, he’d keep his hands to himself.

The last of the cloud cover broke, throwing early dawn’s colorful light over them. To make up for the previous rough night, Mother Nature had decided to give them one hell of a show. Light pinks and lavender touched the tops of the palm trees, and the white sands caught the color, shimmering pink here, orange and lavender there. Admittedly, Jonathon was a city boy. He loved the constant activity, the conveniences, and even the smell of hot pavement on a blistering Texas day.

But here, in this moment, he wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else. It seemed they stood on a different planet. A strange and wonderful planet where only the two of them lived. A passenger jet crossed overhead, its faint buzz the only evidence they weren’t alone in the world.

“This is incredible,” he mumbled.

“It’s my favorite time of day,” Phoebe said. “Nothing can compare to the woods at dawn.”

The romance of the moment wasn’t lost on him, and he gazed down to his companion. She stared over the Indian Ocean. Her damp, mussed hair caught the dawn, throwing in glinting shades of copper and bronze in the dark chestnut color. She’d taken it out of its braid, and the soft waves hung down between her shoulder blades. He itched to stroke it, feel its silky texture between his fingers. The memory of the night stirred his blood. Already his silent vow to keep his hands to himself battled with the desire to touch her. Kiss her. Feel her soft curves against his body.