Carly Phillips - Secret Fantasy

She was more relaxed than she ought to be considering the intent way Doug studied her, yet she had no second thoughts about being with him, no hesitation or doubts that he was a good man.

“Are you ready to head back?”

She shook her head. “Are we in a rush? Because you wouldn’t want me riding drunk would you?”

He laughed but she caught a hint of something that resembled anxiety in his. “I didn’t realize one glass of wine over a two-hour dinner would hit you hard.”

“Can I tell you a secret?” She folded her hands in front of her and leaned forward in her seat, then crooked her finger, indicating he should do the same.

He closed the distance, only a small table corner separating them, but before he could respond the waiter stopped by their table. “Excuse me, folks.”

“Yes,” Doug said through clenched teeth.

Well, at least he wasn’t any happier with the intrusion than she was.

“I have a message from the main resort. There’s a storm moving in faster than expected. The horses are in the stable and safe here but you’ll have to take a car back. It’s waiting out front, ready when you are.”

“Thank you,” Doug said. The waiter nodded and left them alone.

A storm. Juliette inhaled. Her fear of storms was juvenile and unreasonable, the result of a childhood foolishness that had left eight-year-old Juliette and Gillian stranded in a tree house in their backyard long after it was safe to be outdoors. Fear of being yelled at had been greater than their fear of rain, and by the time the girls realized the severity of the storm, thunder and lightning prevented their easy return. Her father had found them, finally, but not before lightning had struck a tree branch nearby and Juliette’s fear of storms had been permanently instilled. Their parents’ punishment had seemed mild in comparison.

Doug turned to face her. “See? We get a ride back. No drinking and riding issues at all.”

She forced a smile and pushed her fear of storms away for now, in favor of Doug and more pressing concerns. “But there are other issues.”

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense.”

She inclined her head. “It’s not the wine that’s hitting me hard but…” She drew in a deep breath for courage and strengthened the resolve she’d been developing throughout dinner.

She’d come so far in letting herself go. Another woman might not think so, but from her change in clothing to her outward flirting and the tingling awareness in her body, Juliette knew she’d taken great strides. Problem was, she hadn’t gone as far as she would have liked, and she didn’t want to have regrets when her time here was through.

Now that he’d given her not just a simple glimpse into his life but an overt revelation of childhood pain, she was comfortable with the man and knew she was ready. Ready to take that next step-the one Doug the gentleman had been obviously avoiding. Out of fear of offending her? She didn’t know but it was time to find out.

He reached out and covered her hand. “But what?”

“It’s you. You make me light-headed and dizzy. You affect me. And I was about to tell you I’m not ready to go home if it means leaving you standing at my doorstep again.” She’d said it. Juliette let out a huge breath of air and waited.

Doug coughed, a sound that resembled a strangled groan and looked into her expectant gaze. The man who was attracted to her warred with the reporter who’d promised himself he wouldn’t use her sexually to accomplish his goal. But, he reminded himself, he was also on this island to make her wishes come true. If he turned her away, he’d be crushing both her fantasy and her need to feel desired by that one special man. The man he’d set himself up to be. And the man who wanted her as much as she wanted him. Weighing the circumstances, he knew he could convince himself that being with her-at her request-wouldn’t be using her for information.

But it was a thin argument. So he’d make damn sure she knew how badly he wanted her and make sure she enjoyed their intimacy. However, as he’d promised himself earlier, sleeping with her couldn’t, wouldn’t, happen.

He brushed his thumb back and forth over her soft skin before turning her palm up and grasping her hand in his. He rose, pulling her to her feet. “We should get going now, but we’ll talk in the car on the way back.”

She nodded.

He’d counted on a driver being a buffer for the sexual tension reverberating between them. Except the resort hadn’t sent a shuttle van or a car as he’d expected. They’d sent a limousine, something he’d never have thought necessary on this small island resort. But, he realized, the limo, like the resort’s owner, catered to people’s fantasies. Recalling Merrilee questioning him about happily ever after, he knew the woman was a romantic. And what was more romantic than a limousine ride when necessary? The concept went all the way back to high school senior proms, he thought wryly.

This limo came complete with a shaded partition obliterating the driver’s view of the passengers-and whatever behavior they chose to indulge in. And from the bright gleam in Juliette’s eyes, the possibilities hadn’t escaped her notice either.

But then she glanced at the darkening sky, thick now with gray clouds overhead. She shivered, a tremor shaking her hard. “Storms scare me,” she whispered.

He raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Old childhood fear. It’s silly, I know.” She squinted, studying the gray sky again.

“It wasn’t supposed to roll in until later tonight.”

She shrugged. “It happens.” She climbed into the car and he followed.

The driver closed the door behind them and the rain began to fall-leaving Doug alone with a woman who looked like she’d jump into his lap at the first clap of thunder.

A woman he desired. Badly.

THUNDER CRACKLED overhead. Juliette clenched her hands tight in her lap. Lord, she was embarrassed. How could she seduce the man if she was too afraid to move? And she had no doubts she wanted to seduce Doug. None at all.

Without warning, his large hand covered hers. “Relax.” He eased her hand out of its fist until her fingertips splayed-not across her thigh-but his. As a way to distract her, it worked. His leg was hard and strong beneath the rough denim and his powerful muscles flexed at her touch. She let out a slow exhale.

“You missed that last flash of lightning.”

She met his amused gaze. “I had better things to think about.”

He laughed. “That was the point.”

A rumbling of thunder took her off guard. She tensed, curling her fingers around his leg. “Did you know if you count the seconds between the flash of light and the noise you can tell how far away the center of the storm is?”

“Truth or old wives’ tale?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” Regardless, she’d stayed awake many nights focusing on the equation. “But thanks to you I’ve got something else to think about-at least during this storm.” She lowered her voice, conveying a deliberate hint of mischief combined with desire.

His eyes darkened to a deep blue hue. “Whatever you’ve got in mind, will it keep you from being afraid?”

She nodded and shifted so she was facing him, then placed her hands on his shoulders. “I’ll be way too preoccupied to even think about the weather.” Juliette knew she was finding bravery in the darkened car, courage in his physical and emotional strength.

“Then by all means let’s keep you distracted.” His husky voice sent awareness shooting through her veins.

The storm, her nerves and overwhelming need had her trembling. With shaking hands, she moved her fingers to the buttons on his shirt. Two buttons were already opened and her fingers brushed the coarse hair on his chest. He sucked in a breath of air and when he let it out, the sound came out a ragged groan. One Juliette felt deep in her belly and lower, in the pulsing place between her legs.

Power. He’d just proven she possessed the power to affect a man physically, something she’d seriously doubted. Doug might not realize the importance of her discovery but she’d never forget this gift, this moment or this man.

She slipped the tiny white button through the buttonhole and repeated the motion with the next, then the next. All the while his heated breath whispered against her cheek and she inhaled his seductive, masculine scent with each intake of air. And a tiny moan of need escaped her throat.

Doug leaned his head back against the seat and shut his eyes tight. She was killing him by degrees-her delicate, hesitant touches, her wide-eyed stare, and her ability to put fear aside and get lost in her gentle exploration of him. He was fulfilling her fantasy and giving her back the heady power of awareness and desire, but he was also discovering he had needs of his own.

He opened his eyes when, as if she’d read his mind, she parted his shirt, pushing the garment off his shoulders, baring his chest to her gaze. Her hands tangled in his chest hair, her fingertips brushed his nipples and her lips caressed his sensitized flesh until he shook with unrestrained need.

Lightning flashed in the sky and thunder crashed around them. By the formula she’d explained earlier, they were now in the center of the raging storm. But Juliette was too consumed, creating a storm of her own, to notice. And he was too lost in her fragrant scent and the incredible sensation she created in his body to point it out. Getting lost himself wasn’t what he’d had in mind when he’d set out to ease her fear and soothe her nerves. His heart galloped faster than the horse he’d ridden earlier and desire pulsed deep inside. Strung tight, he was the one that needed calming now and he wouldn’t find the relief he sought if she continued her sensual moves.

With her damp tongue, she licked a path up his chest, lingering on his neck, and pausing when she reached his ear. “I’m distracted,” she whispered in a soft voice with husky undertones.

“I’m sure you are.” He placed his hands safely at his sides. For one thing, he’d promised himself he wouldn’t get involved this way and for another she was doing a fine job of distracting herself from her fear of storms.

She didn’t need his hands on her body, or his mouth on her lips…He clenched his teeth at the erotic, arousing, tempting possibilities.

“Am I distracting you?” She bit down lightly on his earlobe, sending him soaring to even greater heights of heaven and hell.

“We’re here, folks.” The driver’s voice sounded from the intercom system in the car. “Juliette’s stop is first.”

Somehow Doug was aware enough to realize the driver hadn’t given away Juliette’s last name. He’d protected her anonymity, a reminder to Doug of where he was and what he was doing. Or shouldn’t be doing, he thought wryly. The return to the resort had come just in time.

The car came to a stop but the driver didn’t get out to help them from the car. He was obviously giving Doug and Juliette a chance to talk. A chance Doug had forgotten about earlier in favor of helping her through her fear and enjoying her gentle but heated touches.

“I guess this is it,” Doug said.

She lifted his shirt back onto his shoulders, a mischievous grin on her lips. “It doesn’t have to be. Remember what I said before. I don’t want to go inside and leave you standing at my doorstep again.” Her words were strong but the tremor in her voice revealed her vulnerability.

“You wouldn’t be leaving me on your doorstep this time. I’d be in a dry car.” He spoke lightly, feeling anything but.

No matter how much she desired him, she’d run the other way if she knew he was the man who’d broken the story about her ex-fiancé’s partner. He wanted to give her her fantasy, but he needed to respect himself more.

He started to close his shirt buttons, needing the distraction, but she swatted his hands away and handled the chore herself-forcing him to watch her bent head as she worked, letting him drink in the sight and scent of the riotous head of curls she’d freed earlier.

She finished and rested her hands in her lap. “A real gentleman would walk me to my door. And once he got there, would he really want to let me go in alone?”

Yes. No. What he wanted didn’t matter and Doug knew damn well he was no gentleman.

Another flash lit up the dark sky. Her wide, bright eyes shone with hope, asking him not to let her down. Thunder immediately followed and Doug knew he was doomed. No way would he send her inside to face the rest of the storm and the rest of the night alone. He wondered if fate was laughing as it prevented him from doing the noble thing. Doug had never considered himself honorable yet when it came to Juliette, he didn’t recognize the man he’d become.