Tropical Heat Read online

  He exhaled. “Brittany got sick. I didn’t want to leave her in that condition.”

  There wasn’t much she could say, when he’d shown how kind and thoughtful he was. She settled for, “You seem to have a lot of loyalty to Brittany.”

  Jesse rubbed a hand through his hair. “Truth is, I felt guilty.”

  “Guilty, why?”

  “Because I was kind of having a good time with Brittany. Until I met you.”

  Her mood lightened even further. Sydney took a sip of her drink while she pondered what Jesse had said. He hadn’t dumped her for Brittany. He’d dumped Brittany for her. Still, she had to be sure of what he meant. “Define a good time.”

  “Not what you’d think.”

  “You don’t know what I think.”

  “Sure I do, it’s written on your face.”

  He was probably right. She’d been told before she had a terrible poker face. Everything she felt was written there for everyone to see. “Fine, maybe I think the obvious, but you still haven’t answered my question.”

  His gaze wandered to where Ethan and his group of hard partiers were still partying hard. “We were only hanging out. Really.”

  “As in sleeping-together hanging out?” There. She’d asked the question. Put it out there.

  “No, as in having just having a good time together.” He jerked his chin in the direction of the partiers. “Like they’re doing.”

  “But you were in the shower when I arrived.”

  He nodded. “I know. I was. And I know what it looked like. But nothing was going on.”

  Though a million questions crowded her mind, Sydney stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.

  “Brittany spilled one of those sticky fruity drinks on me. So I went back to my room to shower. I thought it would be a good idea if we ate something, so we were going to go to the buffet afterward.”

  “She was reading the room service menu when I walked in,” Sydney pointed out.

  Jesse’s gaze met hers and held it. “Maybe she had plans I didn’t know about.” He reached for her hands. “But my plans were to go to dinner and take it easy on the drinks for the rest of the night. Much as I hate to admit it, I can’t keep up with Ethan and his gang anymore.”

  Sydney turned to look at the partiers. Not that she needed to. She could hear them from where she sat. “Not many people could.”

  “Well, it turns out Brittany can. Because after she was sick, she went right back out to party some more.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. And by the time I got back to our room, you were sound asleep. I didn’t want to wake you. I knew it looked bad, but I figured I tell you about it in the morning, but you wouldn’t listen.”

  He was right. She’d assumed the worst. “I didn’t want to listen in case the truth was something I didn’t want to hear. I’ve spent a lot of my life being dumped for someone prettier, more available… I don’t know, name a reason, I’ve probably heard it. And meeting you was so unexpected. I didn’t want to get my hopes up again.” Oh, she’d said far too much there. She should shut her mouth. Instead, she looked up at him. “Do you know what I mean?”

  Jesse let go of her hand to take a swig of his own drink. “I do know what you mean. Guys get dumped too. But we’ve just met, really. We should give ourselves a chance to discover what it’s going to be like between us.”

  She wanted to explore their budding new relationship very much. But if it didn’t work out… “I don’t know. Maybe we shouldn’t.”

  Jesse’s eyes widened. “Why not? We just spent the past few minutes spilling our guts to each other.”

  How to put it into words. “Because if it doesn’t work out, we’re stuck together for the rest of the week. And that could be really awkward.”

  He considered her point for a moment. “True. It would be awkward. We’d both probably be searching for somewhere else to crash. But I’m here to watch my best friend marry my ex-fiancée, so I can do awkward if I have to.” He let that thought sink in. “And I’m willing to risk a little more awkward to see if things work out with you.”

  It was hardly the most romantic declaration she’d heard, but his sincerity touched her heart.

  “Question is,” he continued, “are you willing to risk a little awkwardness for me?”

  “Yes!” The answer sprang from her lips. “Yes, I am. Let’s be awkward together.”

  “Okay.”

  “Just promise me Brittany is a thing of the past.”

  He turned slightly, giving Brittany an appraising look. “It would seem Brittany’s found a new white knight.”

  Sydney followed his gaze to where Brittany was still standing with Ethan. Josh and Lucas were blatantly missing. “A white knight who due to get married in a couple of days.”

  “Yeah. I noticed that, too.”

  “If his fiancée were here…”

  “He wouldn’t be doing any of that.”

  “And if she knew he was hanging out with another woman?”

  “I can’t speak for her, but the Gracie I knew wouldn’t be getting married in two days if she could see what was happening now.”

  “But you can see.”

  He tore his gaze away and looked back at her. “I know. But if I tell Gracie, she’ll think I’m trying to interfere. She’ll believe I’m trying to break up her marriage because I’m mad she chose Ethan over me. Even if that’s not exactly what happened.”

  “I don’t know how Ethan can behave like that knowing you’re watching.”

  “Me neither. And so are Josh and Lucas.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t want to get married.”

  “To be honest. I don’t know.”

  “Was he always like this?”

  “Yeah, pretty much.”

  “And Gracie?”

  “Well, I think it was more of an opposites-attract kind of thing.”

  “Opposites attract, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they should marry.”

  He cast another glance Ethan’s way. “Maybe not. It’s not really for me to say.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to try and talk to Ethan. When he’s sober.”

  Sydney watched Ethan for a moment. “And when exactly will that be?”

  “I’m going to talk to Ethan when he’s soberest.”

  “Good luck with that.”

  “Well, I’m going to need it, but thanks.” He glanced around at the party still going full swing. “In the meantime, it’s a lovely night and we shouldn’t waste it.”

  “So the competition is off again.”

  Her comment seemed to take him totally by surprise. “Was it ever back on?”

  She didn’t want to tell him about the thoughts she’d been entertaining. Instead, she said, “Well, I thought maybe Brittany…”

  “You thought wrong.” He leaned in to brush his lips against hers. Even that brief touch brought that telltale tingle. The sensation she hadn’t felt with either Haden or Thomas. Drawing away, he said, “The competition is most definitely off. Let’s not mention it again.”

  “Okay,” she agreed. “Let’s not.”

  Jesse held out his hand. “Dance?”

  The music had changed tempo, slowing to a ballad. “It’s a slow dance.”

  He stood, his hand still outstretched. “Even better.”

  Sydney stood as well and they walked out onto the sand together, neither of them glancing again in Ethan’s direction.

  Jesse pulled her close, close enough to feel every inch of his muscular body against her. Together, they swayed to the music. A light wind picked up off the water, fluttering their clothing as they moved. It was as if she was caressed by both Jesse and the wind. It caressed her hair, as if he were running his hands through it. It blew over her body as though it was his touch. Her senses heightened, taking it all in. The scent of fragrant tropical flowers wafted through the air.

  The music changed again, the tempo picking up, but Jesse held her
tightly against him as if he were afraid to let her go. His hands moved from her waist to her hips.

  She wasn’t a great dancer, but with Jesse, every movement felt natural. She followed his lead. She wasn’t wearing her fancy dress like she had last night. He was still in his cargo shorts and another of his endless white t-shirts. They were dancing on wet sand, not a ballroom floor, but it all felt magical. As if the night and the stars had conspired to give her a good time.

  Their hips pressed together, they moved to the music. Jesse bent his head to give her another kiss. His lips barely brushed hers, but she felt his touch through her entire body. She realized after a moment they’d stopped moving. The music and the dancing went on around them. People had to be looking.

  Jesse seemed to realize that at the same time. He raised his head and she felt the keen absence of his lips.

  He glanced back at the drama going on all around them. “Why don’t we get out of here for a while?”

  Sydney took in the rowdy beach party, including the gang of Ethan and his posse. There didn’t seem like anywhere on the resort they could go where things wouldn’t be loud and rowdy. “Where would we go?”

  A mischievous smile lit up his face. “I have an idea. Stay here for a minute. I’ll be right back.”

  With that, he was gone across the hard-packed sand and heading for the hotel building.

  A raucous round of applause went up in response to something someone at Ethan’s table had said. Yes, getting away from the endless party scene at the resort sounded like a good idea. She wondered what Jesse had in mind.

  He was back a few minutes later, smiling broadly. In his hand he held two tickets. He held out his arm. “If you would accompany me, madam.”

  She laughed at his old-time speech, but took his arm anyway. “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.”

  He led the way to another path that ran alongside the beach. When they emerged from the trees, they were farther along the beach. This section of the shore was quieter, wilder. A wooden dock jutted out into the ocean. The catamaran moored there moved gently up and down with the waves. The sun was beginning to set, giving the entire world a rosy hue. The view was breathtaking, but it didn’t require a ticket.

  They walked out onto the sand, heading toward the dock. As they reached the dock, a man wearing a captain’s hat emerged from the boat. He checked their tickets and ushered them aboard.

  “It’s a quiet night,” he said. “You’re our only passengers.”

  Sydney looked up at Jesse. “We’re going on a boat ride?”

  “A sunset cruise,” the captain supplied. “The champagne is chilling and we’re about to cast off.”

  Sydney turned to Jesse. “You rented a boat just for us?”

  “Well, it kind of—”

  “Just for you milady,” the captain interjected. After a quick bow, he ushered them to their seats.

  Another crew member emerged to offer them a glass of champagne. Then the catamaran began to move smoothly away from the dock.

  With nothing to impede their view, the ocean spread out before them. The setting sun perched on the horizon, casting golden rays across the water. As the boat sailed west, it appeared they were sailing straight into the sunset.

  Warmth from the sun’s rays washed over them, tempered only by the cooling air. It looked like they were sailing into a gilded world, as if some magician had waved a wand and turned everything to gold. The effect was magical.

  Sydney turned to Jesse. “Wow, this is beautiful. Thank you.”

  He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. “Better than sitting at the beach bash watching everyone party?”

  She thought of Ethan and his posse and Brittany. “Much better.”

  The dark ridge of the island stretched out behind them now. They could see the lights from the Tiki torches on the beach. A row of palm trees blocked their view of the resort, but even those now looked like dark shadows waving in the light breeze.

  Sydney sipped her champagne, letting the bubbles tingle on her tongue. She couldn’t have imagined a more enchanted night.

  Another crew member appeared with a tray of snacks. He swiftly topped off their champagne and disappeared. The catamaran sailed toward the sunset, further into the golden world.

  The sun lay squashed against the horizon now, becoming redder and bathing everything in a rosy glow. Its warmth diminished slightly, the air becoming slightly chillier. Jesse drew her closer. She leaned into his warmth, letting his larger body block the cool air blowing in off the water. She took another sip of champagne. She lowered her glass, and when she glanced back up, his face was lit by the setting sun, giving him that burnished glow as well. He smiled before lowering his head to kiss her.

  He’d had a sip of champagne as well. She could tell by the bubbles still dissipating on his tongue. He kissed her softly at first, a feather-light brush of his lips. Then the kiss deepened, becoming something more. Something yearning, something searching, as if he intended to discover all of her secrets in one kiss.

  She kissed him back, intent on discovering his secrets as well. Their tongues tangled together, mingling with the bite of champagne. His warm mouth contrasted with the cool air, a rush of sensation more potent than the wine. She’d been kissed before, but never like this. It was as if he could put all his sensuality into one act. There wasn’t much else they could do here on the boat in front of the captain and crew, but that kiss promised so much more. Images of the two of them tangled in sweaty sheets raced through her mind.

  A crew member surfaced to top off their champagne. He gave a short chuckle and disappeared with the bottle. They drew apart long enough to laugh.

  Sydney looked back at the crew member’s departing back. “I think we’ve scandalized the crew.”

  “I’m sure they’ve seen worse.”

  “Really, do you think people—”

  “I’m sure they do.”

  The sun had sunk below the horizon, but the sky was still alight with crimson rays. The catamaran’s deck lay in shadow now, giving them a blanket of privacy.

  “Anyway”—Jesse brushed her mouth again, teasing her lower lip—“it’s starting to get dark. They won’t be able to see anything.”

  His mouth covered hers before she could object.

  Their tongues tangled together. She ringed her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer together. She felt the warmth of his hand as it traveled up under her tank top until it met the lacy barrier of her bra. Not to be deterred, his long fingers slid beneath the material to brush her nipple. She moaned against his mouth and he pulled away long enough to give her a sly smile. As if he’d been caught doing something naughty and had no intention of stopping. His eyes gleamed in the darkness as he waited for her to say something, perhaps to say no. But she didn’t want to say no. She didn’t want him to stop. She glanced behind her, finding the deck empty. The boat still sailed. Nothing but ocean lay between them and the dying rays of the sun. No one to see. They couldn’t really do what she thought he intended for them to do here, could they?

  He raised an eyebrow in question. She tipped her chin to meet his mouth.

  Their tongues tangled together once again. His questing fingers slid further under her bra to tease her other nipple. She pulled her mouth away and ran a line of scorching kisses along the line of his jaw and down to the crook of his neck.

  His fingers continued their exploration, mapping the contours of her body, moving down over her ribcage, stopping only when they met the waistband of her trousers. He gave her another questioning look. In answer, she ran her hands beneath his t-shirt, up over the hard muscles of his back.

  He raised his head, taking a quick survey of the deck and finding it still quiet. Then his hand slid beneath the waistband of her trousers. She gasped quietly as he found the waistband of her lace panties and slid beneath that as well.

  The brush of his hand set every nerve on fire as he found her most sensitive spot. A quiet m
oan escaped her lips, bringing a smile to his face. She bit her lip to keep quiet as his fingers stroked her. Desire stirred deep within her. Part of her was appalled to be making such a blatant display, even if no crew members were actually on the deck. A more desperate part of her wanted him to continue.

  “Don’t worry,” he whispered, his head close to hers. “I’ll keep an eye out.”

  Her eyes drifted shut and her attention narrowed to the motion of his fingers. Dimly, she was aware of the night air cooling, rushing over their bodies, and the sun’s warmth dissipating. She concentrated on the heat he created within her. Her body felt wound tight as a coil. She reached out, running her hand down over the front of his cargo shorts and heard his groan of desire. Could they really do this here? Her body insisted they could.

  His fingers quickened at her touch, ramping her desire higher. She felt poised on a precipice. If anyone emerged from the cabin now, she’d felt like she’d die. She heard her own harsh breaths over the rush of the breeze. Jesse’s breathing turned ragged as her hand gripped him through the cloth. She arched against the pressure of his fingers, demanding more, and he obliged.

  Her tension shattered as waves of pleasure washed over her. She bit down hard on her lip to keep the sounds of her satisfaction from escaping. She opened her eyes to see Jesse staring down at her. He seemed happy to have pleased her.

  She desperately wanted to return the favor. Her hand strayed to the belt on his cargo shorts. He sucked in his breath to give her more room. She eased the belt open and slid her hand beneath. He uttered a loud groan at her touch.

  “Shh.” She moved her hand against his heated skin and he clamped his jaw shut against making any further noise and giving them away. She turned her head to check that they were still alone.

  Light flashed, momentarily blinding her.

  The lights on the boat had come on.

  Uttering a harsh sound of frustration, Jesse pulled away from her and rearranged his cargo shorts.

  He looked up at the small white lights that followed the line of the sails and gave them a vicious glance.

  Darkness had fallen while they’d been … occupied and the safety lights on the boat had come on. Unfortunately, it lit up the deck for all to see.