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  Instead of immediately answering, Sean took a few long steps toward her, backing her into the edge of the changing table.

  “Do you hear that noise when we speak?” he asked as he slid the glass from her hand and set it down on the table behind them.

  “Th-The echo?” she asked as her knees started to quake with anticipation.

  “That’s right.” He dropped his voice several levels until his husky whisper teased her. “And even when I talk like this, every sound, every breath, still bounces off the cabana and pool deck walls.”

  She nodded slowly. “What does that have to do with my fantasy?”

  He leaned forward even closer and as he pressed a gentle kiss on her lips, she heard a click behind her. Suddenly the room around her erupted with soft moans.

  Her moans.

  But not ones that escaped her lips at that moment, they came from a music player plugged into speakers on the dressing table.

  “Sound,” he said softly, against her ear. His hot breath burned along her neck and set off fireworks in her head.

  “What is this?” she asked, unable to keep herself from pressing a hand against his bare chest, stroking her fingers along the muscle there.

  “Us. Last night during your massage.”

  “You recorded us making love?” she asked and her eyes went wide. “That was why you wanted to me to give in completely.”

  He nodded, but stopped touching her. He seemed to be waiting. “You aren’t angry, are you?”

  Immediately, she shook her head. Anger was the last thing on her mind. Hearing her own cries of pleasure turned her on, not off.

  “No, I’m not angry at all.” She took his hand and placed it on her hip. Immediately, his warm fingers flexed against her skin. She arched closer by instinct.

  “Good, because I want you to hear how great we are together,” he whispered as his hands came up to the tie on her sarong. Slowly, he slid the knot loose and dropped the sheer black fabric into a pool at her feet. “I want you to hear it while you feel it.”

  Leah drew in a long breath and realized it was the first one she’d taken it what seemed like a long time. It was too hard to remember a little thing like breathing when Sean was looking at her that way. And when her own soft cries were echoing in the small room around them.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Don’t say anything.” He tangled his fingers through her hair and tilted her head up for a deep kiss. “Just feel and listen.”

  As he traced his tongue along her lips, Leah let out a low moan, right in time with the moan that echoed from the stereo. Hearing the duet of one moment of pleasure mixing with this moment of the same had Leah’s toes curling and her blood rushing in a heat wave to her taut nipples, her weeping pussy.

  As another cry cut through the air, Leah shut her eyes. When she’d made that sound, had Sean been gliding his tongue over her nipples, or sliding his fingers deep inside her? When she’d whispered out the “yes” that reverberated off the walls now, had she been looking into his eyes or thrashing her head from side to side as she tried to hold back her orgasm as long as possible?

  Sean kissed her and her memories were replaced with reality. Step by step, he guided her to the middle of the room where they dropped down on the makeshift bed he’d created on the floor. The sounds from the stereo became a backdrop, the sighs and moans only increasing Leah’s heart rate as she pressed kiss after kiss along the muscular slope of Sean’s neck and the curves of his shoulders.

  He returned her caresses in kind, reaching around to cup her rear-end and pull her up against him as he nibbled her earlobe, then slowly trailed kisses along her collarbone.

  Leah arched up beneath his mouth, unable to contain a new cry of pleasure that ricocheted around the room, chasing the sound of a recorded exclamation. She bit her lip to keep another cry in when Sean’s hands moved away from her behind and up her back, finding new places where her body longed for his touch.

  Finally, his fingers reached the knot that bound her halter-top behind her neck. In a few short movements, the suit fell forward to reveal her breasts. With a sigh, she leaned forward to brush her nipples against his chest. The friction of his wiry chest hair against the sensitive tips was delightful torture. Leah gave up trying to contain her moans, though she took some pride in the fact that she elicited a few from Sean in the process.

  He wrestled the rest of her bikini top off and threw it against the door where it crumpled into a silky pile. Dipping his head, he caught one of her nipples between his lips and sucked. Leah dug her nails into his back as pure pleasure pulsed through her.

  She was so wrapped up in the sensation of him laving her breasts that she didn’t realize he’d slid his hand down to her leg until his fingers glided up her inner thigh. Then all her attention and pleasure was focused on his hands as they moved far too slowly up and up, closer and closer to where her desire made her wet and ready.

  Finally, he reached her center, pushed aside the damp bikini bottom and slid one thick finger inside of her. She let out a sigh of relief.

  He moved inside her, stroking her to the edge of completion, but never quite letting her release all the tension and desire that had built up over the long day. Leah sobbed out her need, filling the room with new sounds of pleasure that nearly drowned out the ones Sean had secretly recorded the previous night.

  “I can’t take this anymore,” she whispered as she clutched at his arms, his hips, trying to get a hold of anything that would bring him closer. Bring him inside of her and let her feel him in every way possible.

  Sean didn’t answer, but pulled away to shuck off his swim trunks. When he dropped down on the mattress, he lowered her back onto the pillows as he kissed her, then draped both her legs over his shoulders, leaving her totally open to him, and totally unable to control the movement and pace he’d use to make love to her.

  Leah squirmed to get closer, but her position didn’t allow her to rise up much more than a few inches, not close enough to touch the erection he kept just out of her reach.

  He smiled at her struggle, then seemed to come to the decision that his games had gone on long enough. With a flick of his wrist, he had her swim bottom off and lowered himself against her. She gasped as the thick head of his cock bumped her slick opening. The tension of waiting for him to slide into her was intense. Her legs trembled as she strained up in wanton demand.

  He used both hands to spread her wide. A whisper of air brushed over her clit and she moaned, thrashing her head to the side. Then his cock glided forward and he slammed into her all the way to the hilt.

  Leah tried to hold back, but she screamed as her body unfolded to accept Sean’s invasion. Her legs tightened on his shoulders and her body flexed around his erection. He shut his eyes, panting as he obviously worked to maintain control before he shifted within her.

  When he didn’t move, she gripped him with her internal muscles, massaging him until he let out a cry and pulled back, then thrust hard into her a second time. Leah moaned her approval and lifted herself up as far as she could to meet the next thrust.

  Sean gasped to catch his breath as he eased his initial hard, demanding pace to a more measured one.

  “I-I want this to last,” he explained on a groan. “I want to be inside you all night long.”

  “Yes,” she encouraged as she arched her back.

  He bent his head to suckle her nipple and the tugging spread straight to her tingling clit like his lips were there along with his hard cock.

  “You feel so good,” she groaned. “How can you make me feel this way so quickly and easily?”

  “I know you, Leah.” He paused to thrust forward and lick her nipple at the same time. “I know what you need.”

  She shivered at the power of those words. The meaning touched her deeply and she couldn’t hold back the powerful orgasm that rolled through her like an express train.

  Bucking uncontrollably against his hips, she screamed against his should
er. “Come with me,” she begged. “Now, please!”

  Sean’s face contorted in a mask of pleasure and his thrusts increased, driving her orgasm even further as he spilled hot seed deep in her body.

  As he continued to lean over her, they locked eyes. When her panting breaths had returned to normal, Leah reached up and cupped the back of Sean’s head. With gentle pressure, she pulled him down until her legs were wrapped high around his waist and he was pressed against her body to body. Then she kissed him, deeply, gently. A kiss she hoped would tell him with touch what she was too afraid to say with words.

  That she still loved him. To be honest, she’d never stopped loving him. Those feelings were why she’d never found anyone else to date. Why she’d thrown herself into work.

  She still loved Sean.

  As he pulled away from the kiss, Leah’s eyes stung with tears. She turned her face so he wouldn’t see as he rolled over to lie beside her. Gathering her up close to his chest, he sighed with a contentment she couldn’t share no matter how fulfilled making love left her feeling. Loving Sean didn’t set her free. It imprisoned her.

  But she was going to take these moments while she had them. She only had a few days left on the island and then she could go home and try to pretend like her week in paradise hadn’t changed her irrevocably.

  “Wow,” he murmured.

  “Wow is right,” she said in what she hoped was a light tone. She reached out to trace little circles on Sean’s chest. “That was incredible. But then, we were always great together.”

  “I’m glad you remember that.” He paused and when he spoke again his voice was unsure, not his usual confident tone. “Sometimes I worry all you remember about our relationship is the end. The bad times.”

  Leah propped herself up on her elbow so she could look Sean in the eye. “No, of course not. I admit, I do think about what drove us apart and what kind of hell breaking up was. But I also think about the good times.”

  “What do you remember?” He pushed a lock of hair away from her eyes, then let his hand trail down her cheek slowly. She couldn’t help but turn into the gentle, loving touch.

  “Hmmm.” She paused to consider the flood of good memories. “I remember the first time we met.”

  Sean laughed. “You were reading a book while you were walking through the library and we smashed headlong into each other.”

  “And I landed right on your chest.” She winked. “It was that moment I knew I had to get you into my bed. Any man with that kind of chest…” To accentuate her words, she tickled her fingernails across his muscled stomach.

  Sean shut his eyes with a hiss of breath. “Hey now, we’re having a conversation. None of that distraction.”

  Leah stuck her tongue out playfully. “Okay, well what do you remember?”

  “I remember our first date.” His smile softened. “You dragged me to some poetry reading in that little café near the Student Union.”

  “Dragged you?” Leah swatted at him playfully. “That was Marina Willis reading that night. She’s gone on to become one of the most well-known and critically acclaimed poets of our time, I’ll have you know.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Well, I’m sorry, but that woman droned on for over an hour. And all I could do was stare at your mouth.”

  She cocked her head. “My mouth?”

  “Yes. I was thinking how good it looked and how much I wanted to kiss you.”

  Her heart melted a little as she leaned up to press a soft kiss against his lips. “Well, you got your wish that night, didn’t you?”

  “I did indeed.” Sean rubbed a hand down her bare arm. “And I didn’t sleep all night wondering when I’d see you again and how soon I could call you.”

  “Really?” She laughed. “I did the same thing.”

  “We were happy together for a long time.” He was serious now, staring down into her eyes with a pleading look. A pointed look that pinned her where she lay and forced her to remember things she’d tried so hard to forget.

  “Yes.” She sighed. “We were happy together.”

  There was a long pause, then Sean said, “We could be happy again.”

  She started at his bold statement. Could he be right? Could they overcome the pains of the past? It was too overwhelming to think that could be true. And it only set her up for unending heartache if it couldn’t. She wasn’t able to face that kind of pain a second time.

  It would break her.

  With a shiver, she leaned up to distract him with a kiss. Within a few moments, the kiss grew heated and the serious conversation they’d been having slipped away. Sean shifted over her, sliding her body beneath his in an easy motion.

  His hands came into her hair, pulling her closer. Just as her ability for all rational thought left her mind, she flashed to a question. The one that had been haunting her, unspoken, since her arrival. Since Sean’s first unexpected kiss in his office. Since he had sworn to make all her hidden fantasies come true.

  Could there really be a second chance for first love?

  Chapter Ten

  “Son of a bitch.”

  Sean winced as one of his sore muscles screamed out in protest when he turned too far to the left.

  Across the room, Will looked up from his desk with wickedly innocent smile. “Everything okay?”

  No. Things were not okay. Things were far from okay. Instead of being down on the pool deck with Leah, he was up here in his stupid office, trying to manage a problem that shouldn’t have existed in the first place.

  “Sure. Great,” he ground out as he rubbed his cricked neck. He had to remember to make a more comfortable bed the next time he seduced Leah on the floor. The thin mattress had done nothing to prevent the muscle pains he felt now.

  But the night with Leah had been worth each and every ache and creaking bone. God, he got hard just thinking about it.

  “So you’re swearing for what reason?” Will pressed, typing away at his computer with a maddeningly calm look on his face.

  “I’m a little sore, that’s all.” Sean clicked on his email icon and got an error message. “Fuck.”

  “Sore, eh? I wonder what that could be from? Hmmm.” Will placed a finger on his lower lip and tilted his head to the side. Sean glared at him.

  “Enough smart ass. I just got too much exercise,” he snapped as he commanded the computer to restart and waited for the data to reload.

  “I see.” Will stood up and stretched before he strolled over to the file cabinet and began flipping through the hanging files. “Do you think your exercise regime is going to require closing the mezzanine level pool again?”

  “I never exercise in the same place twice.” Sean glared at his best friend, but then he sighed heavily. “Look, I realize having Leah here is interfering with business, but-”

  “She’s important to you.” Will nodded. “I know that. But I also know you worked your ass off to build this place. The last thing you want is for it all to fall apart. I have to tell you, man, we’re in some real trouble here. If the rumors are true and The Alexander Midler Corporation is pulling its backing, this resort is going to struggle. All the expansion on the North side of the island will have to be postponed. I guess that wouldn’t be so bad in itself, but several travel magazines have already done write-ups on the new features ‘coming soon’. Other investors could see the halt as a weakness and we could lose even more money and support. It’s a vicious cycle.”

  Sean rubbed his eyes. He knew the consequences if Midler pulled out, but hearing them out loud made them even more real. The pressure made him snap.

  “I get that, Will. God damn it, that’s why I came straight up here last night after I walked Leah back to her villa. It’s why I canceled my plans to spend the day with her, even though I don’t have much time left before she returns to the mainland. I take this business seriously.”

  Will stared at him in shocked silence. “I’m not suggesting anything different. I know you’re working just as hard, if not harder, t
han anyone else.”

  “Have you had any luck reaching Midler?” Sean asked as he tried to shake off his grumpy mood. It wasn’t right to take out his frustrations on Will. Business or personal.

  “Not yet.” His friend sighed. “Sean, I think he’s avoiding my calls.”

  Sean shut his eyes and released his breath in a whoosh. “Damn. So it really may be true. For some reason, Midler doesn’t want to do business with us anymore. What the hell are we going to do?”

  There was a long pause as Will shut the file cabinet and sank back into his chair. For a moment, his friend’s age showed in his eyes and that vulnerability scared Sean. His partner was the face of the island because he was always able to hide his emotions, to present a calm and collected front. It took a lot to shake him like he was now.

  “I really don’t know.” Will sighed. “I’ll call some other contacts, but no one we know has the kind of liquid capital Midler does. Not in this economy.”

  Sean wrinkled his brow. “Do you want me to make some of those calls? You look just as tired as I am.”

  “Thanks, but no.” Will shook his head and suddenly the worried expression was gone, replaced by the façade he usually showed to the world. “I’m the figure head of this island. I made the contacts, I ought to be the one following up. Anything different might give off the impression that we’re desperate.”

  Sean shrugged one shoulder slightly.

  Will smiled. “Yeah, I know, we are desperate. But if you could finish up with those financials, that would be a big help for me.”

  “Yup, almost done.” Sean turned back to his computer with renewed focus.

  “After you’re done with that…” Will paused and his hesitation made Sean look up. His friend was looking at him with a smile. “Why do you go spend some time with Leah? These last few days mean so much to you.”

  Sean locked eyes with his partner. “No, man. Look, I’m sorry I was being such an ass. I’ll have dinner with Leah later. If I have to put off my ‘fantasy’ for tonight, I’m sure she’ll come to grips with it. I could arrange for a beauty treatment for her or something.”