Stranded Temptation: A Flaming Romance Read online

  “What?” she said, “you don’t think I can’t swim on my own?” She kicked farther from him.

  “I never said that,” he answered. “I’ve just never done it in the ocean and now would be a great time.”

  “We just did it,” she replied. “How are you ready so soon?” She laughed as he chased her out.

  “Depends on my stimulus,” he said. “I got a strong one now, baby.” She read the lust in his eyes and a shudder raced through her. She’d never had sex in the ocean either and wondered if they’d both drown before climaxing. She giggled at the thought.

  Max reached out for her. He looked over her shoulder and whispered in her ear, “Don’t move and stay quiet.” She started to say why but he shushed her and turned her shoulders around.

  Not ten feet from them, a dolphin floated, watching them. It probably wasn’t used to people being in the water in this part of the world. It dove under and Kara and Max sucked in breaths and went under to see where it went.

  Under the water, they saw a small pod swimming around. The one had been brave enough to approach and now he brought back his buddies. They swam circles around Kara and Max, every once in a while lifting into the air as if to say, Nana nana boo boo, humans can’t do this.

  They were probably adult dolphins, but they seemed like children laughing and splashing around. Kara held a hand out. They swam closer to inspect what her fingers were but didn’t get close enough for her to touch them.

  The pod took off, encircling them again and when Kara reached out, the tips of her fingers brushed their skin. “They’re so smooth,” she said to Max when they came up for air. Chirping and squeaking, they communicated with each other, and in a flash, they were gone.

  “Wait,” Kara cried out, “where are you going?”

  Max laughed at her. “They don’t speak English, love. These are Latin American dolphins. They only speak Spanish.”

  Kara turned and splashed him. “Very funny.” Under the water, something bumped against her leg. “Oh, they’re back.” She started to reach out, but Max grabbed her wrist and yanked it to her body.

  “Don’t move,” he said.

  “It’s okay, Max. They—”

  “Are not dolphins,” he cut in.

  Kara frowned. “If not dolphins, then wha—”

  All the years of watching Jaws reruns on cable came roaring to the front of her thought. She sucked in a breath and started to thrash in his arms.

  “No, Kara,” he said. “Don’t flail around. You’ll look like a skinny injured seal and they’ll want you for lunch, in the bad way.”

  Kara clung to Max, her brain in such a panic she couldn’t even scream. Max held her to him. “Put your arms around my neck and legs around my waist.”

  If she wasn’t scared shitless, she would’ve accused him of trying to get some again. He loped his arms back in a stroke and kicked his feet in wide swaths, moving them toward the shore.

  “I thought you said don’t move,” she stuttered. “Why are you moving? You’ll attract its attention.”

  “We already have its attention, love,” he replied. “I’m making us look big and not like a snack.” Max kept his eye on the dorsal fin sticking above water. As long as it kept a distance, they’d be all right.

  “I can kick it if it gets too close,” Kara said. “Or punch it.”

  Max almost laughed. There was the Kara he was used to. Her fear had abated enough to where her strength and courage had returned. She was a fighter.

  “Really,” she continued, “I can. I got a great side kick to the face. I’ll send its nose into its stomach.” She’d just practiced an hour of these kicks the other day in the gym. That was the night her trainer decided to help her by hiding under the table. God, she’d never forget that.

  “Let’s hold off on that, love,” Max said between breaths. “It’s not attacking, and we’re close to the rocks.” A second after he finished speaking, Max’s body jerked and they both went under. Kara let go and floated to the surface. Max pushed her away. “Swim for the rocks, Kara!”

  She treaded water, trying to figure out what happened. “What—”

  He pushed on her and started into a freestyle stroke. “My leg dragged against a rock and it’s bleeding. As soon as the shark smells it, it’ll be on a rampage. Go!”

  Making sure Max was with her, she pumped her legs and arms as fast as she could, not caring how much she splashed or moved around. They weren’t far from the boulders, but sharks were one of the fastest predators in the water.

  She glanced back and didn’t see the triangular fin above the water. Her heart fluttered with fear. If she remembered the movies correctly, when Jaws disappeared under the water, he was getting ready to come up with his mouth open, ready to swallow the boat.

  “Kara, don’t stop.” Max’s voice snapped her from her terror. Then the thought flew across her mind that Max would be the one zeroed in on, where the blood trail ended.

  Barely giving herself time to suck in a breath, she slid under the surface to spot the shark coming toward them, its body bending side to side with speed. Her eyes burned from the salty water, but she’d rather die from the salt in her eyes than let a shark attack kill Max. She grabbed onto a rough boulder beside her, similar to the one Max probably scratched his leg on. To get to Max, the shark would have to swim between her rock and another. That would bring it within feet of her, within feet of Max.

  Hiking her knee up and resting her leg against the rock’s curved surface, she waited for seconds for the deadly creature to reach them. Giving extra time for the drag of water, Kara snapped out her leg, the whole time praying for this to work, pushing with her entire body against the rock, and her heel missed the shark’s the eye. Fuck! Still, she did hit the side fin with her leg sending it floundering, hopefully stunned.

  Her arm jerked back, dragging her closer to shore. The maddest she’d ever seen him, Max pulled her along until they nestled in between boulders where only small fish could navigate.

  As soon as she broke the water’s plane, she hollered, “Don’t yell at me,” not even giving him the opportunity to say anything. His red as hell face got into hers and they stood inches apart, heaving for air. Her eyes dared him to reprimand her for saving his life. Fuck the weak woman myth. She was a fighter and would go down in a blaze of fire before she gave up.

  Saying nothing, Max put his arm around her waist and they headed back to camp. When he grabbed a couple water bottles, she stared at him in confusion. He reminded her of the salt on her skin.

  “It’s best to get the stuff off, or it might irritate you through the night. We’ll only use a couple bottles so we don’t waste more than necessary. Even though we have a large supply, we don’t really know when rescue will show.”

  Using less water than anticipated, Max rinsed and dried them both with the beach towels she’d packed. He never said anything about what almost happened, and she was fine with that. Her brain and emotions were taxed and raw.

  Lying on the makeshift bed, she patted the space next to her and yawned. “Come here, big guy.” The moment he lay down, she curled her leg over him and sighed.

  “Go to sleep, baby,” he whispered. She sighed again and fell asleep with one hand on his chest.

  Strange emotions crowded Max’s mind. No other moment had ever felt so right in his life. Her body in his arms and her soft breath on his neck brought peace into his heart.

  He looked down at her face and smiled. She’d been in the sun for one day, and already her skin glowed gold. Freckles he’d never seen before appeared on the bridge of her nose. Beautiful. His gut clenched, and he admitted to himself that he didn’t want to stop being with her once they left the island.

  No other woman had ever made him so content before. No other woman had made his heart run rampant. Fuckin’ A. He was turning into an emotional sissy. He closed his eyes, and his hold on her tightened. It didn’t matter what the strange feelings made him. He wasn’t letting her go. When he finally dr
ifted off to sleep, only one thought filled his mind: to keep her with him. Forever.

  When warm, moist lips wrapped around Max’s cock, he became instantly awake. No way in hell was he dreaming that. His eyes opened to the sun peeking over the horizon and Kara sucking his cock. Fuck yes! If there had ever been a perfect way to wake up, this was it. Her golden tresses blocked his view, so he fisted the silken mass and pulled it away from her face. One of her hands gripped the base of his dick while she lavished his cock with slow sucks.

  “Jesus, baby. You’re fucking amazing.” He clenched his teeth. He tried to keep himself from looking like an immature teenager by coming too quickly.

  Her gaze met his, and he jerked his hips, pushing his stiff cock further down her throat. She winked and tightened her suction. All he could think of was the sleek, wet pull of her mouth and the loving flicks of her tongue on his shaft. Quick thrusts in and out of her mouth had him seeing double. Her jerk-suck-jerk-suck motions made him crazy.

  He tightened his hold on her hair. “Fuck, Kara. I’m coming.” He tried to pull out of her mouth, but she just winked at him again and sucked harder on his cock. Sensation rushed through him and electricity shot down his body to his shaft. He tensed, panted, and jerked in her mouth as he came. Entranced, he watched her swallow his semen without missing a beat. He took rough breaths and tried to calm his racing heart. She licked his cock clean, until not a single drop of his essence remained.

  Satisfaction filled him when he watched her crawl toward him. He pulled her on top of him and kissed her. Hard. He wanted her to know she belonged to him. Wanted the world to know there’d be no other man for her but him. When he thought of spending more time with her, he remembered a crucial detail. It was Kara’s birthday. Of all the stupid things he’d ever done, this one took the cake. He wanted to kick his own ass. There had to be some way for him to redeem himself. While she snuggled into his arms, his thoughts ran rampant over ways to fix her special day.

  His mind went through all the things he knew he’d left inside the plane and what he had on the island. A plan started to formulate.

  He trailed a finger lightly down her cheek. “Sweetheart?”

  “Hmm?” Her eyes were closed, and she looked ready to go back to sleep.

  It was now or never. He needed to make something happen, so she knew her birthday hadn’t been forgotten.

  “I have to go back to the plane. Just want to make sure the location device I triggered is still on. I’ll be back soon. In the meantime, just relax. Go for a swim.”

  She snorted at him. “I’m never getting into water again unless it’s a pool. Hell no.”

  He laughed and threaded his fingers into her hair, kissing her.

  15

  Kara wondered what was taking Max so long to come back from the plane. She wasn’t sure how long he’d been gone, but it had been awhile already. Her mind strayed back to the time they’d spent together. She smiled. Talk about a sex god. He’d given her exactly what she’d been missing—so much hot sex her skin was still blazing.

  What scared her were the soft emotions filling her heart. It wasn’t in her nature to have sex without emotions, but she’d thought this time she’d be able to handle it. It was clear she’d developed feelings for Max. And while she’d already been in lust with him, her heart told her things were much more complicated now.

  The camera dangled from a thick rubber band around her wrist. Maybe she’d gone a little picture crazy, having taken shots of Max sleeping while he held her in his arms. There was also a shot of him right when he walked out of the water. Droplets clung to his skin, and his golden tan glowed to perfection.

  After she donned a tank top and shorts, she pulled out her emergency chocolate. Nerves had made her desperate for the sweets. Thinking of a long-term relationship with Max gave her more than nerves. It gave her full-blown panic. And why the hell was she thinking of being with Max after they were rescued? Because she realized Max was really a human inside a lonely, workaholic shell. He was sweet, nice, and fan-fucking-tastic when it came to sex. She wanted him for herself, dammit!

  “What are you doing?” Frozen over her mental dilemma, she didn’t notice Max approaching.

  She screeched, jumped, and dropped the chocolate from her hand. She groaned while peering down at the sand-covered truffle.

  “Darn it! Don’t ever do that again. Do you know how precious one of those little gems is? I can live off those things. Well, that and chocolate cake, but there’s no cake here, so they’re all I have.”

  When she pouted, he laughed. She looked into his mischievous gray eyes. Her throat dried up and lust flared to life.

  His eyes darkened, and he used one hand to help her to her feet. “Later. I promise. Right now, I have something I want you to see.”

  “Okay,” she replied. “How’s the scratch on your leg?”

  He scoffed. “You mean the rub of skin that bled enough to send a shark racing toward us?”

  She swallowed hard remembering yesterday. “Yeah, that scratch.”

  “It’s fine. Can barely tell where it is.”

  If they made it off this island alive, she’d do whatever the divine force wanted. Even if that included Max. Especially if it included Max.

  With their hands entwined, they walked into the trees and after a few minutes, a stream came into view. Her eyes widened when she took in the beauty of the scene. Crystal clear water cascaded over jagged rocks. It traveled down into a lazy river that turned into a small pool and then back into a river. Mother Nature was truly an artist.

  She stared at the clear water in awe. “Oh, Max. This is beautiful.”

  “Yeah, I know. But that’s not what I brought you here for. It’s for that.” When he turned her to face the side of the pool, her breath hitched, and warmth flooded her chest.

  One of the blankets from the plane lay on the soft grass. On the blanket sat several small paper plates with various delights. There was one that had fruit they’d picked, cut up, and was ready to eat. Another held a mound of trail mix, and a third had some wrapped muffins. In the center sat a single wrapped cupcake. Her heart melted in her chest. How in the world was she going to let him go after this?

  A knot the size of a baseball formed in her throat and made it nearly impossible to speak. “What’s this?”

  He turned toward her and used one hand to pull her into him. He curled his other hand around her neck and caressed her jaw with his thumb.

  He brushed his lips over hers. “Happy birthday, baby. I’m sorry you’re missing out on your cruise because of me.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, hard. Tears filled her eyes. She held back from crying all over him. If her father saw her, he’d have a full-grown cow, because his daughter did not cry.

  Max’s steely arms held her tightly to him, and happiness enveloped her. She needed to stop weaving fairy tales in her brain. He was just being nice.

  She pulled back and gave him a smile. One she hoped didn’t show the rollercoaster of emotions running rampant inside her.

  “Thank you. This is so awesome.” She grinned and blew a raspberry. “Besides, who needs a cruise when we are already in paradise?” Remembering the camera, she pulled it off her wrist and clicked off shots of Max, the spread, and the cupcake. He pulled the camera from her hand, hauled her into his arms, and took a picture of them both while he kissed her head. She was not going to cry. No way.

  They sat on the blanket, and she went straight for the fruit. Papayas, mangoes, and pineapples. Yum.

  “Okay, Max. This has been driving me insane since forever, so I have to ask. How the hell do you stay so tanned all the time? I was starting to resemble the bride of Dracula, and you look like you just came back from the beach every day. How do you do that?”

  He laughed outright at her curiosity. She smiled at how nosy she sounded. He leaned back on a tree trunk and popped trail mix into his mouth. She clicked another shot of him.

  “You do know we
have a track on the top of the building, right?”

  “Yeah. So?” Of course, she knew there was a track, not that she ever used it. Who the hell did?

  “I run in the mornings, or in the afternoon. Whenever I have time or if I need to work out a problem with a contract.”

  “That still doesn’t explain your tan. You’re all golden brown like a pancake. Damn. Now I want pancakes.”

  He laughed at her again. “I don’t run fully clothed. I only wear running shorts.”

  Her eyes widened. Oh lord! Did he mean she’d been missing out on him running half naked on the rooftop of their building? That sucked big time. She pictured him running around the track, his skin glistening with perspiration, and all those muscles contracting with each step. “Oh, okay.”

  He grabbed a pack of matches that had been lying on the blanket. “Now it’s time for you to make a wish.” He lit one and brought it near her lips.

  Their gazes met and held. Should she? Oh, what the hell. She closed her eyes and wished for more than a quick fling with Max. Then she opened them and blew out the match. When her eyes lifted to look at him, the camera clicked. They sat staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

  16

  The emotions flowing through Max were more than he’d ever experienced before. He’d almost lost her twice in a short amount of time. One from falling out of the sky, the second from monsters in the ocean. He would keep her safe from here on out. Even after they were rescued, he would keep her protected whether she wanted it or not.

  A smile came to his lips thinking about her feisty little tantrum on the rocks, telling him not to scold her for saving him from becoming chum. Apparently, she didn’t handle reprimands very well.

  “What are you smiling about?” she asked as they sat next to the stream with the picnic foods scattered.

  “Nothing,” he replied. He held out his hand to her. “Let’s take a hike around the island. We might find something interesting.”