Temptation Island (30 page)

White hot need shot straight to his groan, instantly making him hard and ready.  The moist tip of her tongue slipped between her lips and scorched his skin as she tasted him.  “Mmm, you taste good, Marek.  Good enough to eat.”  She whispered intimately for only him to hear, tossing his earlier words back at him.  The memory of her down between his legs with her mouth hot around him, tasting him, flashed through his mind and nearly buckled his knees.

Locking them hard against the heady rush of desire, Marek gripped the fabric low on her hips in fists and pulled her hard against him.  As the beat throbbed around them, heavy and slow, Carm pushed against his erection and murmured, “I want you, Marek.  Right here, right now.”  The heat of it poured headlong over him and straight down his straining arousal. 
Merde
the woman was a seductress.

Marek squeezed his eyes shut tight and took deep breaths.  His chest expanded on the intake of oxygen as he tried to control his need for her.  They were in a club for crying out loud.  And he wanted nothing more than to pull her to the ground, climb on top of her, and bury himself between her sweet thighs.

Carm thought Marek looked like he wanted to throw her down and climb on top of her.  Hitching up a degree, her blood heated at the thought.  Wouldn’t it be wild and barbaric?  To be wanted so passionately? 

A question had been burning in the back of her mind, begging to be answered.  Leaning in close enough to whisper hotly against his ear and nibble along his delicious lobe, Carm asked, “Why are you still wearing your ring, Marek?  Why haven’t you taken it off?”

His hands her hips tighter and saw his jaw tick and flex.  Tension coiled so tight in him that Carm thought one well-placed touch and he was going to unravel and snap like a bullwhip.  And how wonderful was that? 

As she was about to pry further Marek inhaled deep and said on a long sigh, “Maybe I forgot.  Or maybe I kind of like it there, sugar.  Why do you still wear yours?”

Oh, she’d been waiting for him to ask her this
.  You fell right into my trap, bucko.  Let’s see what you think of this. 

Carm rubbed against his bulging erection and pulled back to look Marek directly in his beautiful pale green eyes.  “I still wear it, honey, because you are in love with me.  It’d be a shame to throw all that away.  And I’m enjoying being called Mrs. Stokes.  Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

Marek snapped like a rubber band pulled too tight and groaned.  Then he swore in French.  Making out no more than the occasional
merde
, Carm grinned to herself and let her head turn to rest on his shoulder.  Better he know what her intentions were now so that he could get used to them.  She wasn’t going anywhere.

He shocked her with his next words.  Warm lips kissed the top of her head then she heard though her hair muffled it, “I like the way it sounds too, Mrs. Stokes.  Glad we’re in agreement on that.  Maybe we should forget this whole divorce/annulment deal altogether.”

A stampede of wild horses had nothing on the furious race of her heartbeat.  Carm swore it pounded louder than the heavy base from on the stage.  What was he getting at?  Does he want to stay married too? 
Oh.  My.  Giddy.  Aunt.  My yoga instructor always talked about the power of positive thinking; has it finally paid off?  Is he saying what I think he’s saying?

Landon must really practice the fine art of piss poor timing because before Carm could respond he swung his date on over, interrupting their heated conversation.  With that lazy sensuality of his, Landon kissed Carm on the cheek.  He grinned quit and lethal at the warning growl that snarled from Marek.

Oh, he had the worst timing in the world, not doubt about it.  But, how could any woman hold out against the twinkle in his eye and that devasting smile of his? Carm wondered.  Those dimples were to die for and for all his lazy charm to prove the contrary, intelligence glimmered in his eyes.  He wasn’t fooling her.  He’d interrupted on purpose.

Trying to work up a good mad, Carm failed miserably and laughed at the blatantly fake innocent expression on his face.  The guy was a ladykiller for sure. 

Something was different about him.  Realizing what it was Carm blurted out just as Marek started snarling, “Your beads are gone.  You cut your facial hair.”  He certainly had.  Landon had shaved it all off and now sported a smooth-as-a-baby’s-bottom shave.  It looked good on him.

“Thanks for noticing, darlin’.  I had the need for a change.  Glad you like it.  Wanna feel?”  Landon leaned in closer, his eyes twinkling with mischief.  Laughing despite herself, and well, charmed, Carm began to shake her head.  When Marek shot out a hand and plastered it against Landon’s chest and shoved him back with a crude suggestion, her laugh turned into a snort.  Marek was acting positively possessive. 
Now wasn’t that sweet?

“Go away, Landon.  Hi, Esmeralda. 
Como esta
?”  At her quiet reply Marek responded, “
Muey bien.
  Great.  Wonderful.
 
Now get the hell out of here, Landon, before I forget you’re my best friend and beat you to a bloody pulp.”

Instantly all playfulness and laziness dropped from his face like a curtain and Landon’s voice turned serious.  “Dude, I have some news we need to discuss.  I ran into one of the detectives we spoke with this evening and he had a few things to say.  Why don’t we go outside?”

Carm knew the moment between her and Marek was lost.  She felt him slip away before he even moved an inch.  His mind had shifted gears and his eyes grew cold and shrewd.  Giving a terse nod, Marek let go of her hips, grabbed her hand and started to pull her from the dance floor.

Here we go again.  Dragging me out of the bar like I can’t manage on my own.  Not this time. 
With a firm yank Carm pulled her hand from Marek’s and squared her shoulders.  At his glare of warning, Carm smiled sweetly and drawled as he tried to grip her hand again, “I’ve been walking for quite some time now,
sugar
.  I think I can manage all by my lonesome self.”

Giving in, Marek placed a large palm against the small of her back instead. 
Well, I guess that’s a compromise.  At least he’s not dragging me like some Neanderthal.  This feels slightly more dignified.

Stepping outside into the salty breeze, they watched as Landon came out of the bar alone.  He saw the question on their faces and shrugged, “She wanted to stay.  I left her in the very capable hands of the bartender.  She’ll be fine.  So long as her
padre
doesn’t find out she’s three sheets to the wind and making out with tourist on the stool seat next to her.  Somehow I don’t think he’d be too keen on that.”

Carm held up a hand.  “Wait a minute.  You mean to tell us that she came here tonight with you but she’s in there right now making out with some yahoo she’s never met before?”

Landon personified the
shit-eatin’ grin
and rubbed a hand across his smooth chin.  “She’s a social creature, darlin’.  A real people person.”

“Apparently.”  Her reply was dry as toast.

Marek cut in, “I hate to break up your little social tea party, but you need to tell me what you heard, Landon.”  He looked to Carm and stated, “We’ll finish our conversation later.  We’ve got some things to talk over,
cheri
.”

Landon shrugged his shoulders again inside his tie-dyed t-shirt and motioned toward the parking lot.  “I’m going to head on home after this.”

Curious about what they needed to talk about and unaware Marek had even spoken to a detective Carm asked, “Does this have something to do with the break-in?  Did you find who stole my passport?”

Rounding the side of the flat-topped, green painted building they came up short when Marek’s jeep came into view.  For a moment they all stared open-mouthed with shock.  A sick, sinking feeling poured into the pit of Carm’s stomach as she stared at the sight before her. 

The break-in obviously wasn’t a singular anomaly.  Marek’s jeep window had been shattered and his headlights smashed and beaten in.  A few good dents waffled the hood and side doors.

While they’d been inside dancing someone had been out here vandalizing Marek’s property.

Carm looked from Marek to Landon, then back to Marek.  Anger began to burn bright inside at being left in dark.  These boys knew something they weren’t telling her. It’s time they received a lesson in sharing from the teacher.

“Alright boys, I think there’s something you need to tell me.  I’m going to give you until the count of five and if you don’t start sharing information I’m going to kick you both square in the balls.  Is that understood?”  Both men glanced at her warily and reluctantly nodded.  The sincerity in her voice must have gotten through.  “Good.  Now share.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

She was still mulling over the information as she sat curled up on the large leather sofa with Sunny warm and snuggly on her lap.  Landon had left after the recap and Marek stood staring out the front windows at the inky black expanse of night.

“So, what Landon was saying is that the authorities on St. Kitts want the two of you to do some recon work for them in his helicopter?  Is that right?  Fly around the island, take some photos and whatnot.”

“Correct.  Since Landon’s chopper is unmarked in any way the men wouldn’t be suspicious.”  Marek stated with his back still to her.

But, what about here?  What were the authorities going to do about these bozos? 
“I understand that they would like you to get as much information as possible for them, but what about the jerks here?  They’re stealing and vandalizing everything.”

Marek sighed and turned to face Carm.  His eyes held a serious note she hadn’t really seen before.  As he walked over to the couch and sat down facing her, his face betrayed little emotion.  Something odd had come over him tonight and it still vibrated around him, alive and strong.  At the same time she felt intrigued, a liberal helping of caution rode right along side it.

“Don’t worry yourself over this, Carm.  I’ve seen this sort of thing time and again and it will be taken care of shortly.”

Petting Sunny to disguise her budding frustration, Carm replied, “But you didn’t even go to the police tonight.  How can anything be resolved if you don’t go to the cops?”

A large, tanned hand came to rest on the back of the sofa as Marek stretched and settled into the plush cushions.  If he felt irritation—or any emotion for that matter—he hid it well.  Heavy lidded green eyes remained focused on her and a shadow beard was beginning to darken his strong jaw.  Disheveled, relaxed and sexy as all get out was how he appeared to Carm.  And it was distracting her from her thoughts.

At length he answered, “I’ll go down to the station first thing in the morning, sugar.  Like I said, don’t worry about this.  Though the note they sent you was over the top and had me concerened at first, there’s nothing going on here more than scare tactics.  No doubt they’re harassing us here to keep us off St. Kitts so they can finish their harvesting.  They’re bullying us, Carm, nothing more.”

Carm tipped her head to the side and studied Marek.  “You sound awfully sure of that, Marek.  Has this sort of thing happened to you before?”

Sunny rolled on her lap, let out a protest at being disturbed and reached out an orange striped paw.  Yawning and stretching, the cat wiggled and settled again in a tidy ball with a soft meow.  Carm stroked her soft, dense fur and waited for Marek to respond.

Must have hit a nerve.  Look at how he’s contemplating what to say.  Probably wondering how much he can tell without freaking me out. 

“I’ve told you about my past, Carmen.  You know I did things, and was in an environment that was less than wholesome.  Let’s just say that I’ve seen this happen to people on more than one occasion.”  Marek finished, his tone brooking no questions.

A thought occurred to her.  “Were you ever involved in the vandalizing and thieving?  I saw that wince, Marek Stokes.  You were, weren’t you?”  Carm demanded as she sat up straighter, dislodging a protesting Sunny.

Marek scrubbed a hand over his face and pressed two fingers over the bridge of his nose.  He sighed and dropped his hand, looked Carm straight in the eye.  “Yes, Carmen.  I was.  It was a long time ago.  I’ve done things I’m not proud of, alright?  I was a stupid, troubled kid.  Let’s leave it at that.”

Which lead Carm to another thought.  “Why were you so troubled, Marek?  What happened to make the young boy I saw in those pictures turn to such a lifestyle?”

Oh, I’ve definitely struck a nerve.  Look how tense he is now.
Before he could shrug her off and stand up, Carm reached out a hand with a pleading look in her eyes, “Please, Marek.  I want to understand.  I need to know what it was like for you.”

Sparks lit in his pale green eyes and he scoffed, “Why, sugar?  So you can dissect my every motive?  Rationalize it away?  Maybe if my mother did something horrible then it would explain my behavior. 
Oui
?  Is that it?”

Carm knew she was on to something.  And like a hound dog hot on a scent she kept at him.  “Marek, please.  Is it because of your father?  You’ve never mentioned anything about him.  Did he do something?”