Done With Love (13 page)

Last night had been better than any teenage memory I had of us together. So much better. And because of how great sex with him had been, and how much I wanted to do it again, I had the sudden, unshakable urge to
run.
To get out of there as fast as I could before he woke up. My head pounded, my heart raced, and in the back of my mind I wondered if this really was a sex hangover.

A sex-over—was such a thing possible? How the hell had I convinced myself sleeping with him would be okay? After a sweet, delectable taste like last night, was it even possible to quit, cold turkey? I was worried about it.
You are a freaking mess, that’s what
.

Sliding from the bed, I stole a glance at his face, angelic in sleep. The man should wear a sign on his forehead:
Proceed with caution.
Not only was his body a temptation I had no strength in denying, he also did things like fly across the ocean to make sure his ex-girlfriend was okay on her nervous-breakdown vacation. It was heroic
—the beast.

I made it to the end of the bed, and he didn’t stir. Feeling as if I’d just escaped a firing squad, I leaped from the mattress and raced across the room to the bathroom, shutting myself in.

One bite of the forbidden fruit and all hell had broken loose inside.
Just great.

Bracing my hands against the bathroom counter, I stared at my flushed cheeks in the bathroom mirror. My hair was a tangled mess. I looked like a woman who’d had lots of hot sex with an off-limits guy.

You JUST left your fiancé!
Didn’t this make me some kind of slut?
Oh God, what if he thinks I’m a slut?

I shook my head. Leo wasn’t like that. But one thing was certain, Leo was off-limits. I didn’t trust myself around him. If any other man had followed me to the Caribbean, I wouldn’t have slept with him, not after what I’d just gone through. But Leo? I’d barely been able to keep my clothes on.

I yanked the bathroom door open, annoyed with myself, with Leo, with this island. He lay on his side in the bed of rumpled sheets, his sculpted back toward me. And after all the mental butt-kicking I’d been doing, I still wanted to get back in bed with him.
You are out of control, that’s what.

Before I made that mistake, I padded quietly across the room to where my phone rested on the nightstand. I picked it up then hurried through the patio doors and out into the fresh air. Sucking in a deep breath, I whispered, “Get it together.”

I didn’t stop to enjoy the sunrise, but paced with my phone in hand to tap out a message to Gen:
You should
not
have let Leo come.

I reread the message and then deleted it.

I started again:
Letting Leo come here was a mistake.

It sounded more like an admission of guilt. She’d know something was up after reading it. Then she’d tell Catherine and Roxanna. And then they’d all know I’d slept with Leo. They’d lecture me about jumping in to bed with him so soon. They’d worry about my “fragile” heart.

I deleted the message and tossed my phone onto a lounge chair. I stalked over to the pool.

“What was I thinking?” I muttered, lowering myself to sit on the ledge. I dangled my feet in the warm water.

I sat there, agonizing over how to handle the mess I’d made. It wasn’t as if I could walk around like nothing had happened…

Or, can I?
Really, if we didn’t talk about it, then it wouldn’t be an issue.
Right
?

Yes, that’s exactly what I’d do. Pretend like it never happened. There wasn’t time to dwell on the crazy, hot sex we’d had anyway. I was here to
relax
and
recuperate,
not have lots of hot, complicated sex.

Pushing off the ledge, I sank into the pool and let the water close over me. Gripping my nightgown in my hands and holding it down so it wouldn’t float up around me, I looked up at the blue sky through the rippling, clear water. When I broke the surface of the water, Leo stepped out onto the patio. He didn’t look sleepy. How long had he been awake? Had he seen me pacing the patio, talking to myself? I was destined to embarrass myself in front of him over and over, it seemed.

“Something on your mind?” His gaze focused on my nightgown, floating over my waist in the water.

I grabbed it again and held it against my legs under water. This was the moment to begin the denial game. He’d just have to play along, because no way in hell would I ever acknowledge what had happened. Twice.

I shook my head. “Nope…nothing. Why?”

Dumb question. His smile was more of an amused smirk. “No reason.”

Instead of walking away as I hoped he would, he lowered himself into the pool and took a step toward me. I took a step back, but he kept coming until we were toe to toe.

He brushed a finger down the front of the dark blue nightgown clinging to my skin. “This is a strange thing to wear in the pool, don’t you think?”

My erect nipples pressed against the satin nightgown as evidence to my arousal. There was no point in denying it. I swatted his hand away and let go of the nightgown so I could use my hands to propel myself away from him. The water made my escape sluggish.

“I didn’t feel like looking for a swimsuit.” I took another step back.

Leo followed, his stride stronger, bigger, and he easily closed the distance between us.

“I’m not complaining.” He smoothed his hand down to my lower back, down over my butt so he could cup it in his hand.

“Leo, we’re not doing that…again.” My gaze danced around the pool.
No one will see us.

Which was beside the point. This couldn’t happen. Again. For the third time. My skin tingled at the memories, my body already taught with anticipation.

“Why not?” He pulled me against him. His erection pressed against my belly.

“Because,” I said, nearly panting. “Last night was a mistake.”

“Was it?” His gaze burned holes into my resolve.

“It can’t ever happen again.” I didn’t sound certain.

His fingers caressed my leg near the seam of my panties, and I’d be wet even if we weren’t in the pool. His finger slid under the material to caress me, and I couldn’t bite back the moan. With his mouth against my ear, he whispered, “Are you sure? Not even just once more?”

I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. My God, he was an animal. And even though I shook my head, weak in his arms, his finger kept sliding against me, and I was lost. There was no way I could walk away now. He lifted me easily in his hands to set me on the edge of the pool, and with his gaze hot on mine, he slid my panties off and dropped them in the water where they slowly sank to the bottom of the pool.

“Hold on, Lexie.” He lifted my hips so he could press his mouth against me, and I sucked in a ragged breath. I could barely hold myself up. His tongue licked against me, then slid inside me. I threw my head back and gazed into the bright, hot sun. “Does this feel like a mistake?”

“No,” I whispered as my body trembled. What this felt like was hot, wild sex. That’s what. And I liked it. A lot. Too much.

“Because it’s not,” he said simply.

He picked me up and slid me back into the water against him. His erection was free now, and I wrapped my legs around him so he could slide inside of my slick, hot warmth. I would have pushed myself onto him, so I could feel him harder, faster, but the water fought against me, making the movements torturously slow.

“Look at me,” he demanded, his voice deep, his words thick as he rocked me against him, the pace excruciating.

I grit my teeth in frustration even as I opened my eyes to look into his as he’d demanded.

“Nothing that feels this good is a mistake, Princess.”

“Okay,” I moaned and rested my head against his shoulder.

He grasped my hips to grind himself into me. When the orgasm came, sanity was long gone. There was no way I could let go, not when he insisted on doing things like this to my body. I didn’t care to think about what was right or wrong, or complicated or not, any longer. For the moment, I would wrap my arms around his neck and hold on.

He pressed his lips to mine, teasing them apart with his tongue. “Don’t overthink things, Princess. Just feel.”

Just feel.
He was right. We were in the Caribbean. We were two adults, satisfying a natural hunger—a need, really. Maybe it was only complicated if I made it complicated. I leaned back; my arms twined around his neck, and looked him in the eyes. “Just sex.”

The corners of his lips twitched. “If you say so.”

I nodded. “I do.”

“Right.” He leaned in to kiss me again, but I shook my head.

“I mean it.” Except I didn’t really sound like I meant it. So I added, “Because…what happens in the Caribbean stays in the Caribbean.”

Now he wore a full-blown smile. “Isn’t that for Vegas?”

“Whatever, Mr. Know It All. I’m sure there’s some kind of similar rule about the Caribbean.” I dropped my legs from around his waist and pressed my finger to his chest. “I’m sure of it.”

“I won’t say anything if you don’t say anything,” he said, and I glared at him.

“What do you mean? You don’t want anyone to know about us?” I pinched my eyelids shut.
Jeez,
I sounded bipolar.

“No,
you
don’t want anyone knowing about us, so if that’s what you want, it’s what I want.”

“Oh. Right.”

He tugged me to him, our bodies sliding against each other in the water. “So, what happens in the Caribbean—”

“
Okay.”
I rolled my eyes, a smile on my lips I didn’t even try to bite down. “We’re on the same page now.”

“How many more days are we here?” He nibbled my earlobe, and I sucked in a breath.

“Two.”

“Good. We’re not leaving the villa.” His fingers caressed my legs just under my butt.

Who was I to argue?

“Are you going to tell me what’s on your mind?” Leo asked, throwing me a sideways glance that was sexy as hell.

We were back in Nebraska, and I was in a bad mood because of it. Nebraska was cold. Also, it meant there would be no more cuddling in Leo’s arms, like we’d done the last three days. No more mind-blowing sex. Because I’d been the one to make up the dumb rule about leaving the sex in the Caribbean. I hated that rule, and I hated Nebraska.

“Nothing is on my mind.” I turned to stare out the window at the cold, dreary view as it passed by.

“Lex, I know that look. What’s up?”

In the parking lot of my apartment, he turned off the engine. I stared at the three story building and didn’t want to go inside. I missed the smell of the ocean on the warm breeze, the soft, fine sand between my toes, the way the sun had soothed every nerve in my body—
Leo’s smile as he rose from the pool.

“I just don’t want to be back, that’s all.”

The last day on the island I’d learned Gerard lost the election—Deborah’s live interview hadn’t won them the sympathy votes they’d hoped for. She would blame me. I had no doubt there would be a confrontation in the future. It wouldn’t end well, not with her determined to ruin me.

“Want me to turn around?” Leo asked. It was hard to tell by his tone if he joked or not.

“If only it was that simple.” I sighed and pushed the passenger door open. “Looks like it’s going to snow. We better get inside.”

He wouldn’t let me carry anything but my carryon and my purse. Of course he was able to lift the biggest suitcase up the stairs with only one arm. My heart pounded as I stared at my apartment door after I unlocked it. I didn’t want to go in alone. I wanted Leo to come inside with me.

I whirled around and ran into his chest. Backing up, I stood against the door and licked my lips. They were dry. “Uh, thanks. For the ride.”

“Yes.” He touched his fingers to my cheek before brushing a lock of hair behind my ear. “The ride. That was nice.”

My cheeks were on
fire.

“Home,” I clarified quickly. “For the ride home. Thanks.”

“I knew what ride you were talking about,” he teased, the corners of his eyes crinkled with laughter. He set his hand against the door above my head, his smile contagious. And just like that, the tension eased from my shoulders. I wasn’t worried about anything, couldn’t think about anything but how amazing he smelled. “So, I guess this is it, huh?”

“I told you, what happens—”

“In the Caribbean, stays in the Caribbean,” he finished. He leaned down to whisper in my ear, “Does that mean you’re not interested in sleepovers?”

My body warmed at the idea, but I shook my head. “No. We’re pretending like nothing happened. Remember?”

He pressed a soft kiss to my neck, and I shivered. “No,
you
are pretending like nothing happened. I’m just fine knowing it did.”

Damn him for being so irresistible. “
Mm
,” was all I could manage.

“Does that mean I can’t kiss you…on the mouth?”

My head tilted to the side, giving him free reign to do whatever he wanted to my neck. “No mouth kissing.”

God, I wanted him to kiss me. I clutched my purse straps with both hands, not trusting what I’d do with them if they were free. My eyes widened when his hand slipped under the waistband of my grey leggings, his fingers rubbing against my panties.