Sunset Tryst (5 page)

“You should come for a visit. We can show you the sights,”
she said when he pulled his thumb from between her lips.

Evan uncrossed his ankles, bent his left leg and rested his
forearm on top of his knee. “I might just have to do that,” he answered.

The deep bass of his voice made the quiet heat spiral faster
inside her.

“Or,” Garrett tossed out. “You could hang out with us while
we’re down here.”

Evan threw him a look. “You’re not headed back?”

“No,” she said, speaking for Garrett. “Remember I said the
fun in sun happens later? We planned our vacation around this convention. We’re
here for another week.”

“Well, not here,” Garrett added. “We’re staying about a half
hour down the coast. Inlet Beach. One of the perks of having a great year and
working for an awesome pharmaceutical company is getting to stay at my boss’s
beachfront home.”

“Nice. But I don’t think I can. I’m due to leave the day
after tomorrow.”

“You’re leaving?” Riley tried to hide the disgruntlement
lacing her voice, but she knew she was doing a lousy job of it.

Evan traced her knee with a lazy finger as if it was
something he’d been doing for ages. When she glanced over to Garrett, he met
her gaze but didn’t say anything.

“Yeah. I’m headed back to Texas. Today was my last day
filling in at the bar.”

“Texas?” She felt as if a lead weight had plopped itself
right inside her stomach.

“It’s where I’m from. My brother and I are starting up a
small general contracting firm next month. I told him I’d be there this week to
find a new place to live and help him look for a small office for our
headquarters. We’ve talked about doing this for, hell, years. He was just
recently laid off, so it seemed like the perfect time to go for it.”

Going for it. Riley certainly understood that.

Still, she tried not to analyze for very long the stark
disappointment spinning through her that they weren’t going to have any more
time with him. “I wish you didn’t have to go,” she said, quieter. “I mean, I
know that sounds silly. I guess I was just hoping…” She took a deep breath and
let it out on a sigh. “I guess I was hoping you’d stay. Here, with us.”

He stopped toying with her knee and slid his palm higher up
her thigh. “And then what?”

She shrugged gently. “I’m not sure.” Her gaze slipped to
Garrett’s. “One step at a time, right?”

He leaned over and kissed the arch of her outstretched foot.
“That’s the only way to go.”

Evan closed the to-go box and took the shrimp container from
her hands, setting them both on the nightstand beside the bed. Heat poured from
his stare as he shifted his big body closer to hers. “Convince me,” he said.

Her stomach tingled at the sensuality dripping from those
two little words. “What?”

The corner of his lip lifted, and she knew right then she
was a goner.

“I’ve got a little wiggle room in when I leave. Nothing’s
written in stone,” Evan said. “Convince me to stay.”

Garrett Watson knew his wife well. He knew her nuances, her
peccadilloes, just as well as she knew his. Her emotions, no matter what they
were, never failed to set the tone for his own. If she was happy, so was he. If
she was sad or upset, he hurt as if there was a knife shoved handle-deep
through the center of his gut. And when she was turned-on, well, there was no
stopping him or his libido until he gave her everything she needed.

Despite the rigorous activities of the past hour, Riley
Watson was turned on now.

He knew by the telltale seductive droop of her eyelids and
by the teasing way she bit at her lower lip. He could tell by the way she
subtly shifted her hips and from the slight hitch in her shallow breath that,
right here, right now, she wanted Evan.

Any other ordinary man might have little green horns of
jealousy spearing through his forehead while he seethed and growled out shouts
of
Mine, mine, mine!
if another man looked at his woman the way Evan was
staring at Riley now. But Garrett wasn’t your typical guy. He never had been.
Seeing Evan want his woman just as much as he did made him burn with a heady
mix of pride and love, instead of slogging him down with hatred and suspicion.

And the same went for Riley. Shards of jealousy—or even
anger—might tear regular guys to shreds at the way she was giving the heated
once-over just as good as she was getting it. But if there was one thing he
loved doing above everything else, it was making sure his wife’s life was
filled to overflowing with pleasure. It didn’t matter to him in what form that
pleasure came, as long as the end result was her being happy and sated.

He wasn’t just feeding her a line of bullshit when he told
her she had enough love inside her heart for two, and Garrett knew from
firsthand experience that life was way too unpredictable not to grab onto its
mysterious little opportunities and hold on tight. He was ready to ride out any
and all waves that rushed up to them, to see where each new chance led them.
Doing that and having Riley by his side were all that mattered to him. It was
all he ever wanted.

He had a choice as to whether he wanted to live his life to
the fullest or just be alive. The former held much more appeal, it had for
years now.

As Riley moved to straddle Evan’s lap, Garrett let the warm
wave of change flow over him. The unknown was exciting as hell and revved him
up more than little else ever could. Except for his wife, that was. She got him
going no matter what it was she was doing.

He could watch her do something so mundane, something so
simple as run a comb through her damp hair after a shower, and want her more
than he wanted his next breath.

Or he could watch her run her hands up Evan’s chest like she
was now and marvel at how unbelievably sexy, how mesmerizing she truly was.

“Stay. Please,” she whispered to Evan, then she slowly
kissed him.

Garrett’s insides flipped as he watched the two of them, but
not due to any kind of jealousy on his part. They flipped because he knew
exactly how that felt, having her lips softly nibble at his, having her tongue
slide inside against his own. It felt like heaven.

It felt like home.

Evan kissed her in return, gripping handfuls of her
terrycloth robe to pull her in closer. Riley let out an easy sigh as she crept her
hands up further to grab onto the other man’s shoulders.

Goddamn. Watching her like this… In a word, she was
gorgeous.

It hadn’t been that long since he’d been balls-deep inside
her, but his body didn’t seem to care about the lengths of time or the like. He
was hardening all over again. He was hardening for her—
because
of her.

He was dying to join in so he could touch her, but Lord help
him, he wanted to watch too. He wanted to see her like he’d never been able to
see her before.

And from his vantage point at the end of the bed, he could
see it all—the slide of her lips over Evan’s becoming more heated, more
frantic. Their hands seeking, their breaths stuttering. In between one of those
fitful breaths, Evan made quick work of the knot on the robe’s sash and when he
dipped his hands inside, it was Garrett who growled, simply because he knew
precisely what it was like to touch her like that.

But when Riley scooted back along Evan’s legs, when she let
her hands drift down to yank on first the button and then the fly of his pants,
that was when Evan let loose a growl of his own. The guy had gone commando and
his cock was right there, right at her lips. Garrett knew her hot breath was
enough to make Evan want to come, but it was her delectable mouth that was actually
going to make it happen.

Evan’s eyes drifted shut as her lips closed around his stiff
dick. He worked his jaw, blindly reaching for her to wrap her hair around his
hand. He set the pace slow, and Garrett knew he wanted to draw this out for as
long as possible. There was nothing more amazing than having Riley’s mouth
wrapped around you as she worked her magic, that was for damn sure. Garrett
could practically feel her on him now—the hot glide of her tongue, the gentle
suction of her lips.

Fuck it.

With a flick of his fingers, he unbuttoned his own pants and
shoved his hand inside. A quick date with Pamela Handerson and her five sisters
was a poor substitute for Riley’s mouth, but it was going to have to do for
now. He fisted himself and stroked, keeping time with the lead Evan had on her.

“Jesus,” Evan said, opening his eyes and pinning Garrett
with a stare.

“Exactly,” Garrett answered in return.

The other man dug his heels into the mattress when Riley
added her hand to the mix. Evan hissed, scrunching his abs and holding her hair
more firmly as she pumped him faster and faster.

“Ah God. Ah
hell
,” Evan bit out.

Yeah, that about summed it up. Being inside Riley’s luscious
mouth felt like both heaven and hell. Heaven because, well, it was Riley. Hell
because of the pure erotic torture she put you through in those precious
moments before you blew apart.

Which, if Garrett wasn’t mistaken, was going to be any
second now—for both of them.

All it took for Evan was a bit more concentration on the
head of his cock. All it took for Garrett was hearing Riley groan as Evan
stiffened and came all over her sweet lips and hand.

Garrett flopped onto his back, working out the last of the
tingles shooting through his own dick while still watching them. Evan drew her
up his body with his hand still in her hair, and kissed the hell out of her
when their mouths met. After a moment, she broke away and glanced back at him.
A coy yet happy smile played on her lips, spearing Garrett right in the heart.

“I think that was pretty convincing,” Evan said, catching
his breath and letting go of her hair so it fell in loose curls over her
shoulders.

“So you’ll stay?” Riley asked. There was no mistaking the
hope lacing her quiet voice.

Before Evan had the chance to answer, Garrett hopped off the
bed and headed for the bathroom. He grabbed two towels and made his way back to
the bed, tossing one to Evan. He caught it in midair one-handed, settling his
stare on Garrett.

“This is what you both want?”

Being that this was the second time Evan had asked the same
question—once in the bar and once now—it made Garrett wonder a little as to
what kind of tumultuous secrets might lay hidden in his past. His need for
reassurance was gallant as shit, but it also spoke of something more.

They had time for that part, though. The getting to know
each other, the spending the week in each other’s company part. They had time
to see if maybe, just maybe, they might somehow all fit together.

But Garrett could tell that, right now, Evan was looking for
some sort of confirmation. Hearing Riley’s plea wasn’t good enough and Garrett
had to hand it to the guy. There was nothing wrong with being a hundred percent
certain on something as important and potentially life-changing as this.

“I’m in, all the way. She’s never steered me wrong, not
once. If this is what she wants, then this is what I’ll do my damnedest to give
her.”

Evan’s gaze slid to Riley. He didn’t say anything, not right
away. Instead he gently caressed her cheek. The expression he wore was riddled
with questions. With emotion. He wanted this too, Garrett could tell. But there
was definitely more to that haunted look on his face. There was definitely more
to his story than he let on.

“I’ll work it out,” Evan finally said. “I’ll stay.”

Riley laid out a huge smile for both of them, and Garrett’s
heart flipped once again. Christ, he loved seeing her so happy. But then he
glanced at Evan. Heartbreak—or maybe that was regret—flashed in his eyes. Riley
didn’t catch the look, she was too busy smiling at Garrett for her to see it,
but he didn’t miss it.

Oh yeah, there was way more to this man’s story, and Garrett
had a feeling that by the end of the week he was going to have either one
deliriously content woman on his hands—their hands—or he was going to be
spending a lot of time picking up the pieces of his wife’s broken heart.

The eastbound drive down Highway 98 between Destin and
Panama City Beach was boring as hell. Pines lined the north and south lanes in
acres-deep rows of identical trees, each side speckled here and there with
small businesses and the occasional Wal-Mart, Publix or Winn-Dixie strip mall.
Garrett tuned the radio in their rental car to a mellow XM Radio station while
Riley stared out the passenger window, strumming her fingers on her thigh in
time to the music.

She’d been quiet this morning, more so since Evan had left
to head back to his place to pack up a few things to bring to the beach house.
He promised to meet them in Inlet Beach no later than 10:00 a.m. They’d go
shopping for groceries after he arrived, then spend the rest of the day
settling in and lazing on the perfect white-sand beach.

Garrett steered the rental SUV past the intersection where
98 met 30A and flipped on his turn signal. Inlet Beach didn’t take up a large
amount of real estate, and most of the housing along its coast was modest yet
comfortable. All except one house situated toward the far end of the beach’s
territory. Like many other homes in the panhandle area, the stark-white stucco
home was tall and skinny. It had three floors, each measuring about
fifteen-hundred square feet. There was a lot of opulence running up and down
the Emerald Coast, and this home fit in with a few of those on the higher end.
He’d heard from several salespeople who’d been lucky enough to spend time here
that the amenities inside this particular home were what set it apart from many
of the others dotting the nearby beaches.

Garrett turned down the sand driveway and pulled into the
open garage of his boss’s home. The place was more of an investment property
for the old guy, a treat he could dangle in front of his salesmen’s noses as a
prize to be fought over. This year Garrett had come out the winner—and for him,
the award lent new meaning to the phrase
To the victor go the spoils
.

“Open, just like he said it would be.” Garrett shoved the
SUV’s gearshift into park. “The keys should be inside.”

“Oh wow. It’s bigger than I thought it’d be. And the water…
It’s so close.”

It was. They were right on the fricking beach. They could
step out the back door and land ankle-deep in warm sugar sand.

Fuck
yeah
.

God, he was so ready for this week. For some time off. He’d
busted his ass all year and was more than stoked to collect on his reward. But
for him to be able to share his prize with Riley, and hell, Evan too? Yeah, it
did his heart and mind some good. His body, no doubt, would be appreciative as
well.

Time to get the party started.

She hopped out of the rental and made her way inside the
house before he even had the chance to open the driver’s side door. He caught
up to where she stood quickly enough, stopping dead in his tracks next to her.
Black marble floors and countertops filled the luxurious kitchen, along with a
hell of a lot of cherry wood cabinets and high-end, stainless steel appliances.

“Damn,” he said.

“It’s gorgeous. Garrett, if the rest of the house is like
this…”

He smiled at her as she took off, running through the
kitchen to the back sliding door on the other side of the bottom level’s great
room. She flung it open and pounced out onto the back deck.

Garrett rushed up to the door, stopping at the edge to
simply watch her. She gazed toward the Gulf, taking in the morning waves
lapping in and out along their slice of the private beach. Her dark-brown eyes
were wide and they crinkled a bit at the corners as a heavenly smile formed on
her lips.

“It’s perfect.” She sucked in a long, deep breath, held it
and then let it out on a relaxed sigh. “And it’s all ours for the next seven
days.”

He stepped outside, slid up behind her and wrapped his arms
around her waist. He kissed her lightly on the neck and said, “And we won’t let
a moment of it go to waste.”

“No,” she said, laying her head back on his shoulder. “We
won’t.” She returned his kiss by brushing her lips across his jaw. “Let’s go
check out the rest of the place.”

The
rest
of the place was just as luxurious as the
lower level, which was filled to the brim with oversized leather furniture,
cherry tables and a marble-faced fireplace he couldn’t wait to put to good use.
The second floor housed three guest bedrooms, each lavishly spacious, and all
of them decked out in rich, vibrant beach colors. But it was when they reached
the top floor that they both started grinning like fools.

The master suite took up the entire upper level. The bedroom
itself screamed luxury, complete with a king-sized four-poster bed,
coordinating his-and-hers dressers and a loveseat and settee grouping arranged
in front of the outside wall—which was made up entirely of sliding glass doors
leading out to the top deck. To the left of the bedroom was an attached private
office with an L-shaped mahogany desk/credenza combo. It was a sweet and
efficient setup, but working on anything other than his wife this week was sure
as hell the furthest thing from Garrett’s mind.

As Riley entered the double-doored bathroom off to the
right, Garrett couldn’t help but laugh a little at the way she
oohed
and
ahhed
. He’d be hard pressed to call the amenities inside the huge space
anything other than off-the-charts-crazy ostentatious. Marble sinks and
countertops abutted a lighted mirrored wall. A private area held the toilet and
an accompanying bidet. A glass-walled shower—with dual rainfall
showerheads—stood in one corner while an oversized, jetted tub took up the
other. A sheer pane of glass ran the length of the wall above the tub,
separating the bathroom from the bedroom physically, yet connecting them
visually. One flick of the switch next to the window and the glass frosted over
and became opaque for privacy.

Holy extravagance, Batman.

“Oh my God, that’s so amazing,” Riley mused. “But…where’s
the faucet?” she asked, searching around the tub.

He knew what she had in mind just by the sly and sexy tone
with which she drew out the question. The tub was big enough for three with
plenty of splashing room to spare.

Hell yeah, he could see the three of them in there. All wet
and slick from the suds Riley’s bath gel and the half-dozen jets would create.
If only he could figure out how to fill the damn thing, they’d be set. There
were handles labeled hot and cold, but no spigot for the water.

When he cranked on the cold tap, a gurgle from the ceiling
snagged his attention. An instant later, a solid stream poured from a hole
dead-center above the tub.

“The spigot is in the ceiling?” Riley laughed, looking
deliciously awestruck.

“Now that’s impressive,” Garrett added. No doubt about it,
his boss had some amazingly good taste.

“Nice place.”

Garrett snapped his head around to find Evan leaning against
the door frame with his arms crossed lazily over his chest.

“The door was open,” Evan said. “I took the chance you two
would be up here.”

Riley’s smile grew as she grabbed Evan by the hand and drew
him farther into the room. “Isn’t it great?”

She came to stand between him and Evan, sliding her hand
into Garrett’s to hold onto them both. She laughed again, eyeing the water as
it splashed into the tub. But from where they stood, all Garrett could see was
the huge bed through the fancy-assed window separating the two rooms.

Christ, he couldn’t wait to get her on there. To lay her
back on all those pillows propped against the headboard. To take her, to share
her. To—

“It is,” Evan said.

“Did you see the beach? It’s private, just for us.”

She beamed as she spoke, and hell, there went his chest
doing that flippy thing again. She was so excited about this vacation, and
about Evan. Not that she’d come right out to say so, but Garrett could tell. He
could always tell…

“No.” Evan shook his head, smiling down at her. “I just
looked through the house.”

“Oh, come here then. You have to see this.” She dragged him
out of the bathroom and to the wall of sliding doors, yanking one side open and
pulling him out on the deck with her.

Late spring in the Panhandle was about as perfect as it got.
Garrett loved this time of year down here. Warm temperatures during the day,
cooler nights and none of that ungodly humidity that typically suffocated the
area during the brutal summer months.

True to form, a warm breeze swept across the wide expanse of
the deck. Evan and Riley stood at the railing looking out at the waves in the
Gulf while Garrett sat in one of the cushy seats surrounding a hammered-out
copper gas fire pit.

Oh yeah, a guy certainly could get used to a place like
this.

“This is nothing like home,” she said, sliding her gaze over
her shoulder and back toward Garrett. “It’s so open here. And spacious.”

“Ouch. I felt that.” Garrett rubbed a spot on his chest that
didn’t really hurt, smiling all the while.

“Uh oh,” Evan said.

Riley blew out a soft chuckle. “Definitely
uh oh
.
He’s been teasing me with hints that we’ll move out of our tiny one-bedroom
apartment and into a real house for over a year now. I like giving him hell
about it every now and then. You know, just to make sure he hasn’t forgotten.”

“Oh, I haven’t. All in due time, babe. We’ll get there.”

“A home of your own, huh?” Evan asked.

She sighed and went back to staring out at the Gulf. “Yeah.
With a real backyard.” With a slight tilt to her lips, she nudged Evan with her
elbow. “Anyway, aren’t you going to miss it here? It’s like a little slice of
paradise.”

Evan leaned his forearms against the railing. “Views like
this, definitely. The rest… Not so much.”

“The rest?”

“Yeah,” he said but didn’t elaborate. Instead, he craned his
neck to glance back at Garrett. “You know what they say about Inlet Beach?”

“What?”

“That it has some of the best shark fishing around.”

Riley pushed back from the railing, her eyes narrowing on
Evan. “Sharks? Like
da-dum, da-dum, da-dum-da-dum-da-dum
?
Jaws
sharks?”

Evan laughed at her theme song imitation and turned around
to lean his butt against the banister. “Well, that was a great white, which you
don’t see too much around here. But there are several other species, like bull
sharks, that you can catch and keep. Or release. Whichever.” He tossed a
furtive glance toward Garrett. “It gets the adrenaline pumping, that’s for
sure.”

“I’ve never gone shark fishing.”

“I’ve got some connections. It wouldn’t take much to borrow
my buddy’s boat. We could make a day out of it.”

Riley held up a hand. “Wait. You want to go out there,” she
said, swinging her hand around to hitch her thumb toward the Gulf. “W
ay
out there, and try to catch a shark? On purpose?”

Evan shrugged. “Yeah. It’s the sport of it.”

“I’m game,” Garrett added.

“Oh God,” she said, flouncing on the seat next to him.
“Really?”

He just smiled at her. “How well do you know me?”

She groaned, but a tiny smile grew on her lips nonetheless.
“Too well. I should’ve known you’d want to do something crazy like
shark
fishing
.”

“What’s crazy is doing it at night,” Evan chimed in.

Garrett tossed out an enthusiastic “Yes!” just as Riley
popped up and gripped his arm with a more emphatic “No!”

He was having a hell of a time hiding his laughter. “Oh come
on, babe. Think about it. The three of us out on the water with the bright moon
overhead. The sky will be gorgeous. You know it will be.”

“There are stars at home. I don’t need to go out on a boat
in the middle of nowhere to see them.”

Evan cut in. “I can guarantee the stars at home have nothing
on the ones you’ll see thirty miles out in the Gulf.”

“Thirty
miles
?”

“We’ll be there to protect you,” Garrett teased. “No way
would we let some wimpy shark get the better of any of us.”

“Absolutely,” Evan added. “Besides, half the time they take
off and snap the line anyway. Chances of actually reeling one in run more to
the slim side of things. It’s just the idea that you
might
catch one
that makes the entire trip worthwhile.”

“If I do this,” she said. “If I go with you, you guys will
owe me. Big time. Like for-the-rest-of-the-week big time.”

Garrett didn’t know about Evan, but he could totally get
behind that trade-off—no matter if they went shark fishing or not.

“I think that’s fair. And who knows,” Evan said, coming up
to sit beside her. “Owing you might turn out to be a way more exciting
experience.”

Damn straight, it would be. Garrett didn’t have a single
doubt that being up to their eyeballs in hock to Riley could quickly become the
highlight of their entire week and he, for one, couldn’t wait to begin working
off his debt.

Evan Tucker sat there staring at the beautiful woman next to
him, wondering what the fuck he was getting himself into. Again.

And he wasn’t just talking about the shark fishing.

He was like a moth to Riley’s flame. She was so drop-dead
sexy, and there was no denying her independence or her intelligence. Three
absolute turn-ons for him, and she cornered the market on each one.

Hell.

Not just hell, but fucking hell. Because he knew how lost in
this he could get. How lost in her. And Garrett. Ah God.

He’d be the first to admit that he wasn’t finished licking
his wounds, not by a long shot. Leaving town, for him, had been the best—okay,
maybe the easiest—solution he could come up with. It was the only way to clear
his head—and his heart—of the last half-year’s misery.

He’d been this close to freeing himself. Then whammy…