The Royal Affair (The Palmera Royals) (9 page)

Back by the chopper, Marina watched him, and the flush of guilt snagged at his conscience. Damn it, he had promised Suzie he would never leave her again. Guilt had done that. Three long, lonely years where he’d put his life on hold, which was as it should be. He’d do anything for Suzie, but there had been days
and nights
when he yearned for an ordinary moment. When he remembered Marina. He remembered the feel of her beneath him. Her body touching his.

His eyes closed, body warmed by the last of the setting sun. He wanted the warmth of her against his. Desperately needed it. Now, he craved her.

He flicked his eyes open, quickly dialed his engineer and discussed the problem. The answer was just as he expected. A couple of hours wait, that was all.

Jonas glanced westward. The sun lowered by the second. A couple of hours and it would be dark. After checking his phone had enough coverage, he called Emerald, turning from Marina’s inspection just as his sister answered his call. “Can’t talk long, sis, but something’s come up.”

“Interesting.”

He ignored her snooping comment. “Just phoning to let you know we won’t get back tonight. Is Suzie there?”

“She’s still at the after-school care program. I’m about to go pick her and Lizzie up.”

Jonas made the mistake of turning back toward Marina, who offered him a wave. “Great. Fine. Fabulous.”

“Brother, you’re rambling.”

“I’m…”

“Relax, Suzie is fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely. It’s time for you to play, Jonas.”

He went to reply, but before the words even formed in his brain, Emerald cut the call.

Play
. With Marina? A woman whose life was as far removed from his as the moon was from earth. He’d vowed never to get involved with any woman again. With no ready answer, he stomped down the hillside and headed across the stream.

Play?
It sounded fun. He glanced toward a waiting Marina. It sounded right. Tonight, he wanted to play hooky. Then it happened. His footfall shifted precariously over a loosened river stone, and the next thing he knew, he’d landed backside first into the stream.

“Jonas!” Marina scrambled down the riverbank as he stomped, soaking wet, to the river’s edge. Concern marked her beautiful face. “Is everything okay?”

“Sure. Just thought I’d take a bath with my clothes on.” His boots squelched with each step he took, his sodden jeans chafing. “I managed to let Emerald know we’re delayed, and the engineer confirmed what I thought. We’ll need to batten down.”

“So what do we do now?”

Jonas had a pretty darn good idea. But he knew too it was a bad idea…bad, but fun, something he wasn’t sure he could resist anymore.

Chapter Nine

Nestled among native bush, the cabin was a simple one-room affair without a bathroom or running water.

Jonas dumped their gear in front of the potbelly fireplace. “Sorry it’s so basic, but at least we’ll be warm. There’s plenty of dry wood,” he said, pointing toward the wood stacked to one side.

A sudden wave of disappointment stirred in Marina’s chest. A fireplace so they wouldn’t be cold. They wouldn’t need to seek heat from each other.

“We’ve got a bit of food left. It’s not five-star, but…”

“Jonas, stop apologizing. I don’t care that it’s a cabin, or remote.” Her gaze circled the tiny wooden shanty. “It’s cute.”

“You’re used to better.”

“I’m also human. Don’t
you
put me on a royal pedestal. You never did before.” He’d just made love to her, that was all.

“It’s what you are.”

“I’m also simply Marina Palmera.” The woman who’d once given her heart to him, and he didn’t even know it.

“Okay, okay, I get it,” he surrendered. “You wanna play reality, well, baby, this cabin is as real as it gets. How about you search through what food is left and I’ll get the fire going.”

So that was exactly what she did. It was a strange few moments. Jonas began to whistle, and though slightly off tune, it still instigated a convivial mood, until she turned round. “What are you doing?”

Jonas stood with his back to her, facing the now roaring fire, and had begun to strip. His jacket and shirt had already hit the ground.

He shot her a glance over his shoulder, eyes sparkling. “Getting naked.”

“What for?”

“A few minutes ago, I took a bath in the river. It’s a tad cold wearing sopping wet clothes, Princess.”

“But you’ve got nothing else to put on.”

“You don’t want me prancing about buck-naked, then?”

“I…” Oh God. “You’ve got to…to cover yourself.”

“Not what you used to say.”

“That, Jonas Wilder, was a long time ago.”

He tossed his boots into the growing pile on the floor. Then his socks. She squeezed her eyes shut only to open them instantly, because closing them in no way eradicated the vision of the naked man standing barely three feet away from her.

The slide of his jeans zipper resonated around their small cabin, and Marina snapped her lips together, grabbing their picnic blanket as Jonas hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his jeans. “Here.” She shoved the blanket in his direction. “You might need it.”

“I don’t.”

“Yes, you do. I
insist
.”

He took the blanket from her, but not before offering her one of his far too sexy and wicked smiles. “Spoilsport.”

With him stripped, but thankfully at least covered from the waist down in the blanket, Marina tried to busy herself with unloading their picnic basket, taking an inordinate interest in its contents, which included an assortment of fruit along with half a loaf of French bread, cheeses and some barbecued chicken.

She set out the food on the rickety wooden table, adding the plastic goblets and wine. She stood back and eyed her efforts with a satisfied smile.

“Fit for a king, or a princess.” Jonas came up to stand behind her.

A shiver tingled down her spine. Every part of her was drawn to him, wanted to lean back into him and have him wrap his arms around her and hold her close.

Her breathing slowed, and she glanced surreptitiously sideways, observing the throb of the pulse in his throat, remembering a time so long ago when she had licked it. She also remembered what that moment had led to.

She swallowed hard, desperate to wish the memory away. She failed. Lips dry, she swiped the tip of her tongue over them.

“Very tempting,” he said.

Her nipples hardened. She wanted to look down but dared not in case Jonas realized what was going on. His mouth curled so sexily, she wanted to kiss the corners, taste him, and then kiss him some more.

“Delicious. Just love that pâté.” He swiped the tip of his tongue along his lips.

The moment shattered. Delicious. Tempting.
He meant the food, silly! Not you!
Lest he witness her disappointment, she shifted away from him, and, dusting off the two chairs, she took a seat as quickly as possible, uncertain her shaking limbs would hold her upright much longer. How stupid! So fanciful. So wishful.

Well, he is naked under that blanket!

Obviously not realizing she’d been fantasizing about jumping his bones, Jonas sat opposite her and talked amiably, while she tried to answer with words that actually made sense and keep her voice modulated.

Outside, the sun had at last begun to set, shards of a pinkish golden glow peering through the cabin’s one window. Meal over, Jonas cleaned up the plates in a bowl of water he’d retrieved from the river, and she took one of the spare cloth napkins and dried them. Just like a regular couple, she mused—except they weren’t anything.

Friends? She wasn’t even sure she could be
just
friends with Jonas. That would be too hard.

Dishes done, he drank the last of his wine and placed the empty glass in the bowl of water. He scooped up their torch and waved it about the room. “Houston, we have a problem.”

“Pardon?”

He nodded toward the bed. “There’s only one bed, and it’s a single.” She followed his line of vision as he stepped over to the bed and held the torch aloft. “If you’re five foot two, it’s perfect. Naked, I’m six four. The mattress is a bit on the thin side.” He prodded it for emphasis. “Sure is going to be an interesting night.” He set down the torch. “So how about we get all cozy?” He reached for the sleeping bag and held it out to her. “Yours, I presume?”

Cozy. Naked. “But you’ve only got that thin blanket.”

“Hey, I’m tough, don’t worry about me.”

She did, which right now was really annoying because it meant that she couldn’t go to bed with the only warmth they had—the sleeping bag—while he wore that picnic blanket.

“I insist.” She unraveled the sleeping bag and unzipped it. “We can use it as a blanket.”

He gave her a questioning look. “You sure?”

No, she wasn’t, but she’d offered now, no sense retreating.

“I’ll put the blanket over the mattress.”

“The blanket. But that means you’ll be…” Marina snapped her eyes closed tight, adding her hands over her eyelids for good measure, only to hear a throaty chuckle from Jonas.

“Chicken.”

“Simply protecting your modesty.” But she couldn’t resist. She peered through her fingers.

Oh boy!

Heat surged through her to all places north and south. She snapped her eyes closed again. The bed creaked. “Are you covered?” she asked.

“Why? You wanna look?”

Absolutely.
The air around them crackled, held in abeyance by need versus want.

“You can open your eyes, Princess, I’m quite decent.”

Marina opened her eyes and dropped her hands to her sides.

He shot her his best smile. “Disappointed?”

“In your dreams, Wilder.”

“Looks like we’ve got a roll-together kinda mattress.”

“And don’t try those puppy-dog eyes on me either. It won’t work.”

“Used to.”

Her smile faded. “That was before I wised up, so you better be on your best behavior, otherwise you’ll find the cold hard floor as your bed companion.”

He offered her a mock salute. “Do you think you were a female version of Attila the Hun in a previous life?”

“Could be.” Marina stood with her arms folded across her middle, foot tapping and offering an exaggerated sigh. She waited until he shifted to the far side of the bed.

He patted the mattress. “Having second thoughts, Princess? There’s always the floor, if
you
prefer.”

Her gaze slipped to the scuffed floor.

“Mind you, there’s no knowing what bugs and rodents have trotted across it lately.”

“Rats!”

That was all it took for her to tug off her boots and socks. Within several heartbeats, she lay rigidly in the bed. She could have sworn she could hear Jonas’s heart dancing a frantic beat.

She gripped the edge of the sleeping bag with whitened fingers. “They don’t climb, do they?”

“Who?

She shot him a don’t-play-games-with-me glare, and seemingly her body inched closer to him by the second. “Rats.”

“They’ve got four legs. Could be good for climbing.”

Marina searched Jonas’s face for any hint of humor.

There was none. Not one little bit.

A shiver rippled through her, and she tugged the blanket so that it tucked under her chin. “Were you lying? Because if you were, I’ll…”

His eyes were wide with innocence, expression neutral. “Not necessarily.”

“Wilder.”

Rolling onto his side, he propped himself up on his elbow. “Rats are all through the bush, but we haven’t seen any since we’ve been here, so I figure we’ll be fine.”

Suitably mollified, she asked, “Do you have enough room?”

“Now you mention it, I’m not sure. Maybe…”

Chapter Ten

Heat radiated off her, caressing his nakedness, testing his willpower to hell and back. The only part of her that was naked was her feet, and already his were twined with hers.

This was definitely going to be a long night.

“Ready for some shut-eye?” he asked.

She nodded, and Jonas reached across her and extinguished the torch, bringing his body in contact with hers again.

Good move, Wilder.

Marina, however, was all rigid. He eased back. “Don’t fret, I’ve got my Gentleman Manners in place.”

“Good night, Jonas.”

“Night, sweetheart, sweet dreams.” Dropping back down, he turned his back to her. Sleep? Who the hell was he kidding? Purgatory was a good word for where he was right now.

Hands tucked beneath his head, he lay wide awake for what seemed like hours, ruminating on his promise to be a gentleman. What a dumb-ass thing to do. For some reason, his mother came to mind, which was dead weird since he was having carnal thoughts about the woman lying next to him. But Grace Wilder was right there, her sweet, chiding voice ringing in his ear.

His mother had a thing about sayings and could always be relied on to come up with something appropriate for the moment—unfortunately, he didn’t want to be reminded of anything appropriate right now.

“Promises are like babies, easy to make but hard to deliver.”
Sheesh, that wasn’t the only thing around here that was hard. He’d been hard for more time than he reckoned was humanly possible. This definitely wasn’t what he’d planned, but then he hadn’t planned on…well, wanting Marina either. He hadn’t planned on ever wanting her again.

Yep. He sure was a jerk to suggest this trip, because he’d promised not to take action, and right now he wanted Marina real bad. He wanted to feel her against him, her lips, then fill her. Hell, he’d never felt this way, well, not since they’d been in San Torrevna. Even thinking about why he’d left her four years ago couldn’t douse the desire charging through him.

“Love is keeping the promise.”

Oh, Ma!
Why was it that mothers taunted you at the most inappropriate times!

Love! Who the heck was talking about love? He wouldn’t do love, not again.

So just because you haven’t confessed love, it doesn’t make it right to break your promise.

The swirl of frustration churned in his gut and every place south. Jonas wasn’t sure how much more control he had. Instead, he concentrated on his daughter. Suzie deserved to have him full-time, not a father infatuated with someone whose life could never be part of his, or hers. Suzie would save him from making a bloody fool of himself.

It was the tickle that woke him, a soft feathering of fingers caressing him.

Marina?

He distinctly remembered turning away from her last night. Now he lay facing her, and she snuggled up to him, and those fingers… Hell, he could withstand anything but that. He gritted his teeth. Bloody promises!

Her eyes were shuttered; the curve of her lashes created a shadow on her pale skin. Even in sleep, she did her best to undo his willpower. He tried to ease away, but with the wall at his back, he was cornered.

So lie back and enjoy it.

Her fluttery sigh washed against his throat. Determination steely, Jonas arched away. Marina edged even closer.

Definitely screwed.

He couldn’t escape. Couldn’t resist. He wrapped her in his embrace, drawing her so close that she touched the length of him, hip to hip, her breasts pressing against his bare chest. Even with her clothes on, he could feel her aroused nipples. He longed to suck them, taste them.

His mouth found hers, supple, willing. He’d come home.

He kissed her. Tasted her. And kissed her some more. He kissed her eyes, her cheeks, the sweet gentle curve of her throat, reveling in her delicious fragrance.

Still, she continued her teasing exploration, not once opening her eyes. Nor did she pull back.

This was heaven and hell all rolled into one.

He cupped her head, fingers threading through her hair and, drawing her closer, he grazed his tongue along the seam of her lips, teasing them open. “You definitely taste as I remember.” He nuzzled her lips, tugging at her bottom lip gently.

Her fingers ceased their caress.

Don’t stop. Don’t stop,
his brain screamed, his body joining in with a silent plea. Then she shifted closer.

Oh yeah.

And those wondrous fingers began once more, inching up his torso, abrading his nipples. She reached around his neck, fingers sliding through his hair. “Very yummy.” Her voice was a sleepy rasp. Sex-fueled.

“You’re so right, baby.”

“Mmm.” She wiggled against him. “Hold me, Jonas.”

He held her just as she asked, but the trouble was he wanted to touch every part of her, fill her—all at the same time. He didn’t think he could halt or was sure he wanted to.

Lifting her shirt, he trailed his fingers down her back, feeling each vertebra. She shivered against him and hooked her leg over his so that her core nestled against his arousal.

He was so gone! “Bloody clothes.”

“So take them off.”

Hallelujah! Reaching between them, he fumbled with the buttons on her shirt.

“Hurry.”

“Going as fast as I can. Damned buttons. Who the hell invented them anyways?”

The last button snapped from the shirt. Her bra quickly followed.

“Sweet heaven.” He’d reached paradise. As the burgeoning daylight offered a hint of dawn with its golden dappled light, he wrapped his mouth over one engorged bud.

Thank God! Jonas wanted to see Marina. All of her. Her reactions. The look in her eyes when he suckled one breast, then the other. He wanted to witness the flood of desire he remembered from so long ago.

He hadn’t thought to see it again. Had refused to even want it. But now? Now he wanted it all. Tossing the sleeping bag back, he glanced down at Marina. “You look beautiful, Princess.”

This moment. This time. This was what it had all come down to. Now, with Jonas.

Marina’s eyes remained shut, the wash of emotions careering through her overwhelming. She’d waited so long to feel this way again, feel him truly next to her. Tiny shivers started first, tickling her spine, moving along each nerve to the tips of her fingers and down to her toes and then slowly, exponentially, the tingles grew, bursting into such passion and joy, she had no way of controlling it. She wanted this moment forever.

“Oh, Jonas.” Her lashes lifted, and she gazed up at him. “It feels so…”

“Good,” he finished for her.

She snuggled closer, the past obliterated. But for this exploration, she closed her eyes again. She wanted to feel him without sight, only touch. “I once heard,” she said as she traced the contour of his skull, sliding down across his forehead, “that blind people can see more with their fingers.”

“As long as your fingers touch me all over, I won’t complain.”

“Good, because that’s what exactly what I intend to do.”

He sighed. “Feel free, then, baby.”

She touched her fingers to his lips. “I remember”—she slid her thumb along his bottom lip—“how your lips kissed mine.”

“Kissed you all over.”

His breathing labored, harder, faster. She smiled. “Problem?”

“This is way too slow, baby.”

“Tough, it’s my way or the highway.” However, she knew exactly what he meant. There was so much more of Jonas she wanted to explore again. She traced the outline of his brows, the sharp angles of his jaw and down to the tip of his chin, noted the tiny scar on his jawline. That was new. Her fingernail scraped gently over the scar. “Who hurt you?”

“A bear.”

“Jonas.” She giggled, pulling back slightly as she eyed him from beneath the hair that had fallen across her eyes. “You’re a big liar. Bears indeed. Even this princess knows there are no bears in your little island paradise.”

“Okay, okay, cut myself shaving.”

Her laughter bubbled up, unrepentant. “What else is new?”

“That, sweetheart, is up to you to find out.”

“I intend to.” Keeping her eyes closed, she continued her exploration, fingers trailing down his throat until they came to a V at his clavicle. She leaned forward and slid her tongue over the indent, sliding down even farther to where his ribs began.

She licked along one rib, then another and another. “Hmm, you taste good.”

“I remember how you tasted.”

Marina’s skin prickled all over, hot and cold at the same time, expectation running rampant. Her hand reached his aroused penis, sliding up and down the length, her thumb grazing its head.

“Much more of your tender loving care, Princess, and there’s no turning back.”

“Did I say I wanted to?” She wondered how he would respond.

“Seems to me we have a slight hiccup.”

Marina’s throat thickened. “You don’t want…”

“Hell yeah, sure I do, but you got a whole lotta clothes on still.”

Realization brought instant relief. Hands against him, she pushed back slightly. “Well, now that is a definite problem.” She would linger over this little problem and make him suffer a bit longer, heighten the expectation. “How I see it, Wilder, is that you have two choices.”

“That many, huh?”

“You could take them off me.”

“Sounds like a great idea.” He reached for the zipper of her jeans, but she clamped a hand over his just as his thumb flicked at the button clasp. “Oh no, not yet. There’s another choice.”

He groaned raggedly. “Not sure I can wait that long.”

“Tut-tut, no staying power, that’s your problem.”

The muscles in his neck were taut, perspiration dotting his brow. She was definitely enjoying this.

“Okay, Princess, I’ll play. The second option is?”

She offered him a sexy smile, exhaling long and slow and knowing full well that her warm breath teased along his jawline, because those already taut muscles pulsed even more erratically, and the pulse in his throat beat a rapid tattoo. She should take pity on him, really. She knew intimately that urgent need. Felt it in
real-time
right now. “Or, I could do it for you.”

He frowned. “Do what?”

“Oh dear. Are you confused, sweetie?” she chided with a trill of laughter. She thrust her hips forward. “How about you watch, and I’ll take them off?”

Without waiting for his answer, she scooted from the bed. Chilly early morning air enveloped her as she stood on the icy wooden floor. Instinctively, she wanted to cover her bare breasts, but resisted, the wide-eyed burning desire flooding Jonas’s gaze at that moment worth goose bumps and cold toes. Worth everything.

With his attention fixed on her, she reached for the waistband of her jeans, unsnapping the button. “Shall I go on?”

“Oh yeah.”

She fingered the zipper tab, pulling at it slowly, slower still. The zipper slid right down, and, hooking her fingers through the belt loops, she slid the jeans down her legs and kicked them off. She took a step toward the bed.

“Ah, excuse me?” he asked.

She stilled.

“You haven’t quite finished, Princess. That scrap of lace and silk covering your delectable backside is still there, but option two, I believe, was you were going to take
all
your clothes off.”

“And you call me a spoilsport.” The panties joined her jeans, and she slipped into bed beside Jonas.

She snuggled up to him. “Satisfied?”

Jonas exhaled. Every muscle beneath her fingertips was taut to the point of snapping. “Nearly.” He wrapped an arm over her, trailing his fingers over her bare breast. “I think you’ve had this game your own way far too long.” His big hands grasped her around the waist and drew her beneath him. He offered a satisfied smile. “Now you’re exactly where I want you to be.”

“Couldn’t agree more.”

Reaching between them, Jonas rubbed his thumb over her clitoris.

Oh, heaven.

“Enjoying it?” he asked.

“Delicious.”

“Delicious, hmm. Does that mean you’re good enough to eat?” He didn’t wait for her answer but shifted to nestle between her parted thighs. His tongue laved over her moistness, tasting her while his thumb continued to play across her aroused bud. Her body tensed, tingles shimmying along her nerve endings as each wave of pleasure rippled. There was a pounding in her ears.

Yes. Yes. Yes. She wanted this. Forever. Blood surged through her veins, every muscle in her body tensing as Jonas cupped her bottom, levering her closer to his thirsty tongue, readying her for the ultimate pleasure.

Her body bucked, wanton, wanting more, all of it, as spasms took hold. “Jonas. Oh, Jonas.”

“That’s it, sweetheart. Go with it. Let me pleasure you.”

Let him? She’d died and gone to heaven in that moment of pleasure incarnate. A moment she never wanted to end.

The tips of her toes stretched, her feet arching as the final rush charged through her from her core to her feet and shot right back up to the roots of her hair. Every inch of her felt
this
wondrous moment.

She couldn’t speak, couldn’t form a single syllable as she sank back onto the tattered mattress, the moment of completion overpowering every thought or word. For all she cared, it could have been the most expensive mattress offered at the Savoy in London, because all that mattered was this moment. The here and now.

But moments ticked on, and Marina became aware Jonas had moved up the bed so that he was now level with her. He leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose. “How was that for an entrée?”

She stared up in to the darkest eyes, molten chocolate. And she loved chocolate. “Pretty darn good.”

“Only good. Hmm. Guess I’ll have to try harder.”

She slipped her hand between them, fingers curling around his penis once more. “You’re already pretty darn hard, Wilder.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Taking his weight on his elbows, he threaded his fingers through her hair and took her mouth, grazing along her neck, trailing butterfly-soft kisses on her jaw. “So beautiful.”

Definitely heaven.

Kisses. More kisses. He sought one nipple, suckling until its peak felt as if it would burst, and then shifted to the other. She reached for him again, nestling the tip of him to her core.