And she did just that. We got our seats and listened to the speakers, one of whom was Valencia, and we had our lunch. I had mahi mahi, and she had something with sweet potatoes and coconut milk that smelled wonderful. I was just finishing up a conversation with an old mentor of mine and heading back to Mona at our table when my wrist was grabbed. I was pulled through a louvered door into a hallway.
“At last,” Valencia said. “I finally got you alone.” She pushed me against the wall and pressed her body against mine. She went to kiss me, and I turned my head.
“Stop, please, Valencia. I have a girlfriend.”
“You think I don’t know she’s here as camouflage? I have sources, very high sources, with the best information, and you do not have a girlfriend. Not at all. I think you’re playing a game with me so that I want you more. And it’s working.” She began unbuttoning my shirt.
“I know you had the impression last time we met that something could happen between us—but it can’t. I’m in love with my girlfriend.”
She laughed and it was a harsh bark that I did not expect from her.
And then, my avenging angel flung open the door. “Get the hell off of him.” Mona grabbed Valencia by the shoulder and yanked her back. “No means no, lady.” She stood in front of me, blocking Valencia from reaching me with her own body, like a shield. “He told you he had a girlfriend. He told you he was in love with me. You don’t believe him? You think he made me up for some nefarious reason? I’ve known him since I was nineteen, since I roomed with his sister in college. And I was in love with him then, even though he was taken. This thing between us has been building for years. Years. He’s my soulmate and I am his. You should have listened to him, but even more, you should have not needed any reasons why he wasn’t interested in you. He said no. If you come after him again, I will forget that I believe in peace and love.” She loomed over Valencia who looked completely shocked and had no words. “He’s too polite to tell you to buzz off but I’m not. Buzz off.”
Valencia huffed and stalked away. Mona turned around, her face still filled with the heat of her fury.
“Holy hell, Mona. You are amazing. You are—”
She silenced me with her mouth.
She took my breath away, her lips so soft, yet demanding. Pressing into me, her slim, taut body fit perfectly against mine, and her hands cupped my jaw. Heat flared between us immediately, and I ran my hands down the silken skin of her back, hot and smooth, only the narrow ties of her top between her flesh and my hands.
She turned her head and gave me her neck. I kissed it and licked a line down it before biting her, gently on her arched tendon. She moaned and then pulled back, one hand on my chest. “Wait. She was watching.”
“What?” I stopped devouring her, confused.
“Valencia. She didn’t believe us. She was watching to see what happened.”
Understanding sunk a pit in my stomach. “That’s why you kissed me?” It was the first time she kissed me. And it was fake.
I grasped her arms and held her off of me.
“Wait.” She looked confused. I didn’t know why. I was the one who had been fooling myself.
“Don’t worry about it. Thanks for the assist.” I couldn’t keep the bitterness from my voice.
I turned away just wanting to get away.
“Wait!” She hooked her hand around my bicep to hold me. Great. Manhandled by two women in the same night. I didn’t want the one who wanted me, and the one who I wanted, didn’t want me back.
“What, Mona? What is it?” I knew I had no reason to be angry at her. She’d done everything right, and yet, I still was.
She was looking up at me with such a question in her eyes. Fear maybe. A little bit of wonder. She slid her hand up my arm and smoothed it over my shoulder before cupping it around my neck, and stretching up, just that little bit—she was so tall—to kiss me again.
This time, it was slow, soft, and tender. I gasped and she nibbled my lower lip. This time I pressed her up against the wall, taking the kiss deeper, hotter. This time, she was a revelation in my arms, no longer a force of nature like a hurricane whirling around making noise, but more like the delicate blossom of a beautiful tropical flower, opening up, showing the deep colors of her innermost heart.
I kissed her and she let me in. Her soft whimper nearly undid me. “Take me to your room,” she whispered, and I didn’t stop to question her.
Chapter Nine: Mona
We didn’t bother going back to the luncheon, nor to the sailing tour of the island. My hand tucked in his, he led me back to our suite. When we got there, he closed the door and stopped.
He turned to me. “Wait. Are you sure about this? I didn’t bring you here for this, Mona. I swear.”
Was I sure? I wanted him so badly. There had been something in me that had wanted to come with him just for this. There was something in me that regretted not having sex with him back in that ridiculous honeymoon suite, and now I had the chance to fix that. “Why not ask yourself? Are you sure about it?”
He looked surprised at that. “Oh, I’m sure.” He looked me up and down. “You obviously don’t know what you look like in that skimpy outfit. But you didn’t answer the question. Are you sure? Do you want this?”
“Jack.” My voice was no-nonsense. “When a woman says take me to your room, she means yes.” I reached behind my back and untied the knot there. Then I reached behind my neck and untied that one too. My skimpy top fell to the ground. “Yes. I want this.”
He let out a breath and pulled me into him, kissing me like I wanted to be kissed. With one hand he pulled me in, holding me so I could feel his erection, and the other hand rose to cup my breast, caressing me, rolling the stiff point with his nimble fingers.
“Come on,” he said against my lips, and then slipped his hand into mine. He shut his bedroom door behind us and trapped me against it with his arms, his kiss hungry, driving me nuts. He hiked my skirt up my thigh. “I like this,” he murmured against my neck. “You look like you’re wearing flames, like you’re made of fire. Is that why I’ve been burning for you, Mona?”
His hand on my thigh was burning me up. “You’re so hot, Jack. You sent me that picture, and I can’t stop thinking about it. Let me see you.” I fumbled at his shirt buttons.
“Oh, you liked that did you? I hoped you would.” He practically tore his shirt off and dropped it to the floor.
“Oh yes, but this is better.” I needed to touch him, his broad shoulders and muscular chest felt alive and strong under my fingers. I kissed his collarbone and his pecs, and unfastened the button of his pants. “This is . . . a lot.”
“You’re telling me.” He flicked the fastening on my skirt, and it fell in a puddle on the floor. Then, he let out a shaky breath. “You are more beautiful than I ever imagined you.”
He grasped my hips with both hands so he could press me up against his bulging erection. I wrapped my leg around him and ground into him, the friction right where I wanted it.
He groaned. “These legs, Mona, damn. So long, and sexy. I want . . .” his words faded off, and instead, he picked me up by my ass. I wrapped my legs and arms around him as he carried me towards the luxurious king size bed. He laid me down, and stared at me, standing at the edge, looking like he was fighting against his own wild nature, like he wanted to eat me up, to conquer me and keep me.