Temptation Island (3 page)

Closing her eyes and stretching her bare arms overhead, Carm yawned.  The long day was quickly catching up with her, making her mind feel slow and fuzzy. 

Sinking further into relaxation, Carm put her arms down and listened to the sound of birds chirping and water lapping in the distance. So tranquil and calm, it sounded far better than the sound machine she listened to at night back home. 

Floating softly on the wave of fatigue, Carm’s tired mind slowly registered a voice outside.  A deep male voice with a hint of local accent.  Not full blown like the few others she had heard, but subtle, with a hint of something else.  Carm couldn’t make out the words, but the low pitch and cadence of the voice sounded as soothing to her as the ocean waves.

The voice continued below her second floor window.  Carm smiled slightly as she realized whoever was out there must be having a conversation with the lazy, fat grey cat in the hammock.  Most likely he was trying to convince it to give it up so he could take up residence. 

The man laughed low and sexy, the kind that rumbled deep in a man’s chest.  Feeling her stomach clench in response to the sensual sound Carm jerked awake.  Eyes open wide, Carm stared at the white painted tin ceiling.  She must have been further dozed off than she realized to have such a response to a lone male voice.

Carm sat up, curiosity to see the face of the man that belonged to the voice overriding her need for a quick nap.  Wiping her palms on the thighs of her fuschia linen pants, Carm stood up and strode to the window. 

Looking out Carm felt disappointed to find the area empty.  The cat still lay curled up in the hammock, but his attention seemed to be caught on something around the corner at the front of the house.  Grey—that’s what she dubbed the kitty—meowed and stretched one large paw out in front of it.

Leaning further out the window, Carm still couldn’t see where the man had gone.  A bit let down, Carm was about to go back inside when she heard the voice again.

“You want some of this, don’t you Noomba?
Oui
?  It’s your lucky day mon.”

So that’s what the mixture of accent was.  French and Caribbean and a hint of American. Very exotic.

Very, very sexy.

Carm mentally willed the man into view.  A man with that great a voice had to be gorgeous.  No way would God be cruel enough to give a homely man that kind of voice. 

Running her hands through her loose hair, Carm held it in a ponytail at the base of her neck with one hand and waited. 

Come on guy.  Just one little peak, that’s all.  Just enough to see if the rest of you matches that voice.
 

“I’m coming mon, I’m in a bit of a pickle and don’t want to drop this gourmet food of yours. 
Merde
.  Got my pants caught in the rosebush. Ok, I’m loose mon.”

Carm felt her pulse speed up at those words. 
Come on, come on. 

Movement came from the front of the house and Carm melted back, having no wish to be seen hanging halfway out a second floor window with her large breasts on display.  They stood out well enough on their own.  She certainly didn’t need to help them along.

The man finally came into view around the corner and Carm felt a flush of heat creep up her face and her heart lurch deep in her chest.  Cold, tingling prickles of awareness broke out at the back of her neck.

Curly, medium brown hair with blonde streaks hid the man’s face from view, but the rest of him resided in plain sight.  And from what she saw made her mouth water.

The man was gorgeous.  Drool-worthy gorgeous.

Tall and lean, he wore only a light button-up cotton shirt in pale lavendar and lightweight cream trousers rolled up at the hem.  The shirt was unbuttoned almost halfway down his chest giving Carm a fantastic view of his sculpted muscles from her vantage point.  Beautifully smooth and tan.  It made her palms itch to touch the sun-kissed flesh.

The man had the most gorgeous skin tone she’d ever seen.  Deeply golden, his skin looked fantastic against the cool lavendar of his shirt.  Even his calves exposed by the rolled cuffs and his bare feet were tan and sexy. 

By the look of his curly hair and dark tan the man had a hint of islander in him. In Carm’s mind it only added to his appeal, making him more exotic and gorgeous than his voice already had.
 

If that was possible.  His voice was the stuff dreams were made of, and not the innocent, sweet ones either.  More like the hot, sweaty and naked type.

Not that Carm had ever been hot, sweaty, and naked with a man before, but hearing that sexy accent practically burned naughty images in her mind.  Adding the body she gazed at out the window to the voice, and
voila! 
It was a recipe for one hunky, luscious concoction.  Definitely worthy of steamy dreams. 

Wanting to spy on the man further Carm leaned slowly back out the window and looked down.  He was still there, but now he sat swinging companionably with the cat in the hammock.  The way he sat with his feet dangling, toes touching the ground, slowly rocking them both back and forth made Carm’s insides melt.  Every move the man made was sensual.  From his strong, long fingered hand that rhythmically stroked Grey’s fur to his tanned toes pushing into the green grass.

Carm caught herself fanning her face with her hand and laughed silently at herself.  Just because she was still a virgin at twenty-four certainly didn’t mean she was immune to a potently sexual male.  And it most certainly didn’t mean she was naïve or completely inexperienced. 

Carm was definitely experienced enough to start a hot little fantasy about those dark hands stroking a certain part of her body.  She just bet he could make her purr too.

Below, Mr. Gorgeous shifted positions, exposing more of his tanned chest to Carm’s view.  From up above she could clearly see the hard planes of his flat stomach and deep curve of his pecs.  She could also make out a slight bulge in the vee of his trousers that made her face heat further and her breath hitch in her throat.

Is it hot in here?  I think it’s hot in here.  Need a fan.  No, a bucket of ice.  Yeah, ice. Whew-boy.

Reluctantly Carm dragged her gaze back up his lean torso to his broad shoulders and up to his curly hair.  Darned if he didn’t still hold his face from her view by looking down at Grey.  Carm was dying to see his face.  She knew, absolutely knew, that he would have a face to match the voice and body.

Probably has gorgeous lashes framing bedroom eyes.  Something equally irresistible like that.

It appeared that for now she’d have to settle for studying his hair.  It looked springy and thick the way it curled wildly around his head down to his collar.  Carm imagined it would probably be pretty long wet and combed out straight, but dry it curled in a soft frame around his head.  The ends bent into an almost solid blond ring that contrasted with the medium brown of the rest of it.  Carm wondered if it felt soft and silky or coarse.  She hoped it was soft. 

I have never been so obsessed with a man’s hair before.  In fact, I don’t know that I’ve ever been that obsessed with my own hair.  Ok, that’s a lie.  I obsess over my straight strands daily.

Focused intently on Sexy Man’s hair Carm startled when he moved.  Gasping softly, Carm shrunk back from the window as he stood up and strode to the front porch. Heck, even the man’s walk was sexy.  All confident and loose.

Retrieving Grey’s dinner, he turned around and swaggered back.  Carm almost swallowed her tongue when he bent over to place the plate of fish on the ground and flashed his backside.  Touching the back of her hand to her forehead Carm feigned a silent swoon at the sight of his gorgeous derrier displayed for her viewing pleasure.

Grey stood in the hammock, stretched lazily and yawned big.  As if he was used to the royal treatment, the cat took its’ time hopping down from the hammock and sauntered over to rub against Sex God’s bare legs before sniffing delicately at the fish.

“Spoiled, aren’t you now Noomba?  Get fed a little too well around here,
oui
?  Oh well, I like to pamper my girls.”

I like the sound of that.  You can pamper me anytime, gorgeous.

Dream man gave the cat one last pet and stood up.  “See you around Noomba.  Enjoy the tuna.”

He says “da” instead of “the”. Sigh.

Carm felt strangely bereft as she watched him walk to the front of the inn and out of sight.  Staring after him for a moment Carm frowned then turned her gaze to Grey.  The cat was currently picking very delicately at the fish.

“Lucky cat.  Got a man at her beck-and-call.”

A bit saddened by the loss of her visual feast, Carm turned from the window and headed over to the bathroom to take that shower.  Only now the shower wasn’t to wash away the day’s grime, it was to cool her overheated libido.

Stripping down, Carm turned on the water and climbed inside the tiny shower stall while the water was still chilly.  Letting the water cool her warm skin, Carm  chuckled at her behavior. 

It
was
true that the last thing she needed was to fall in love on this little trip.  But, she’d never said a word about an affair.  Not that she’d ever had an affair, but whew-boy!  She might just have to consider it if she ever ran into cutest-rear-in-the-world guy again.

Big Bubba’s was a sight to behold.  Carm couldn’t take it all in fast enough as she made her way to an empty table at the front of the club.  The din of laughter and voices nearly made Carm’s ears ring. 

Carm had never seen so many people packed into one place before.  They were all crammed together like sardines in a can.  One would think that it was the only place in town to get a good drink and something to eat on a Friday night. 

Pushing her way past a young couple busy in locking lips Carm sighed in relief as she sat down at the small wooden table by the stage.  Getting to it had been a feat all its own.  She’d had to elbow and push against the crush to land the last available table in the joint.

Blowing out a breath, Carm raked her hands through her loose hair and surveyed the room.  Glancing around she realized that it wasn’t really all that hard to tell the locals from the tourists.  Most of the tourists had a slightly red cast to their skin from overexposure to the sun and Tommy Bahama clothing, while the locals looked casually hip in their light, loose clothing.  They didn’t try to look “island”, they just were.  The tourists on the other hand tried too hard to achieve that casual Caribbean chic look.

Carm glanced down at her own outfit, glad she didn’t fit into the obvious tourist camp.  She thought she looked pretty neutral with her soft pink tank top, worn denim skirt and tan sandals.  At least she wasn’t wearing a white t-shirt with
I DID A VIRGIN . . island
painted over her boobs like the big-haired brunette three tables over. 

Thank God for small miracles.

Not that her breasts didn’t draw enough attention on their own, because they did.  When a gal stood five-ten, had lots of curves and sported full D’s up top, she made a statement.  Or at least
they
did. 

And tonight
they
were making a subtle but sexy statement playing peak-a-boo with the square neck of her top.  Just the right amount of cleavage showed.  An I-know-I’m-good-and-don’t-need-to-flaunt-it-amount, not an I’m-a-tramp-look-at-me amount.

Carm bit her bottom lip and glanced over to the bar.  The whole place had that tropical island feel to it with wicker tables, coconut candle holders, rattan ceiling fans and bright colored walls.  Reggae music played in the background from wall speakers.  The noise from the throng of customers all but smothered the feel-good music however, so Carm lifted the paper menu that was stuffed between two bamboo salt shakers and began to read.

Rum this, more rum that.  Carm had never seen so many drinks made from one type of liquor.  Not that Carm had anything against rum.  She’d just never had a whole lot of experience with it either.  No more than a few innocent visits with that one legged pirate and his faithful parrot.

Carm should have realized rum would be the liquor of choice considering that she resided on an island that’s livelihood once depended on the exportation of the stuff.  And the coffee company that currently held so much importance in her sister’s life had been, at one time, a sugar cane/rum plantation itself.

Taking stock of her choices one last time Carm glanced up in time to see a waitress in a hot pink blouse make her way through the crowded room to her.  Taking a moment to admire the splash of color and sweet looking flower she’d placed behind one ear, Carm placed the menu back between the bamboo shakers. 

“Allo der.  My name is Dara.  What can I get for ya now?”

Carm smiled and asked, “I think I’ll just take a platter of fried sweet plantains, actually.  Oh, and I think a Coconut Breezer sounds tame enough for starters, would you agree?”

Dara tossed her head back and laughed, revealing the slim column of her throat.  “Sure an dat be a good one ta start.  Be sure ta try da Hurricane if ya like da Breeza.”

“I will.  Thanks.  I heard there’s live music here tonight, is that true?”

Dara lifted a slender hand, swept it over the direction of the stage and nodded, “Sure an da band be playin’ tonight.  Dey be on soon.  Dem boys is gorgeous.  Ya don’ wanna miss dem.”