The sun had begun to sink below the horizon when Captain Jim brought them back to the dock. They were slightly sunburned and windblown, and pleasantly buzzed from the wine in the excellent picnic basket. Maggie Thornton had outdone herself.
“Hope you all had a good time,” the old man said as he parked the boat neatly in its slip. Kyle leaped down to help secure the ropes.
“I sure did,” he said. Then he looked up at Pepper. “Thank you for another great day.”
“You’re welcome. Glad you enjoyed it.” She gave her hand to Kyle so he could help her off the boat.
“You should take your man to the Lighthouse for dinner,” Captain Jim told her.
“I’m not sure we’re fit company for a public place right now,” Kyle laughed, indicating their somewhat bedraggled state.
“You are for that place,” Captain Jim told him. “Lots of boaters go there after a day out on the bay.”
“Then thanks for the suggestion. And thanks again for the trip.”
He kept his fingers linked with Pepper’s as they walked to the end of the dock.
“We don’t have to go to dinner if you’d rather not,” he told her.
“You really should see the Lighthouse. And of course I want to have dinner with my fiancé.” She stressed the last word.
He lifted her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss over her knuckles. The gesture made her blood heat and the beat of her pulse accelerate. It amazed her what this man could do to her body with such a simple action. She wondered if when they got back to Hibiscus House, they would have a repeat of the night before. Come Monday, Kyle would be gone and she’d be left to pick up the pieces of this charade. Was it so terrible to want as much as she could get before then?
“Then let’s do it.”
The Lighthouse was exactly what its name implied—an old lighthouse, out on a spit of land that poked into Hibiscus Bay.
“When it was taken out of service,” Pepper told Kyle as she pulled into the parking area, “a couple bought it and renovated it. Their living quarters are on the top floor, but the lower floor is a small restaurant. They added on a big porch to increase seating, including storm windows that can be lowered when the weather isn’t so good.”
It was a very romantic place, with candles in hurricane lamps on the tables providing most of the light and soft music playing through speakers set high up near the ceiling. Pepper loved the place, but this was the first time she’d come here with a man she actually had romantic thoughts about. And wasn’t that such a sad commentary on her life.
No! I have a goal!
She wanted Hibiscus House running at the level she dreamed of. She had an ever-growing list of amenities that she added to all the time. She wanted spa tubs in all the bathrooms. She wanted to enclose the side porch so people could take their tea and pastries or wine and cheese out there if the day turned unseasonably cool. She wanted bigger and better ovens for baking. She wanted…all kinds of things. When she’d made the place a destination spot on every list of bed-and-breakfasts, then she’d think about romance. Besides, this particular romance would be over come Monday.
She noticed Kyle glancing around, taking it all in.
“The owners have done a great job with this,” he commented. “Too often people try the conversion from utility to romance and fail miserably.”
She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Oh? Have you been to a lot of places like this?” She paused. “For romance?”
Kyle grinned. “Not every converted facility has romance in mind.”
“So then how many would you say?”
He shrugged. “A fair number. I run across them in my travels.”
Okay, maybe I can get a little more information from him now.
“You travel a lot, then?”
“For business. So.” He lifted the menu, subtly changing the direction of the conversation. “What do you recommend?”
The food was excellent, as always. They chatted in a relaxed manner, discussing everything from books to movies to television to sports. At the end of the meal, Pepper realized she knew little more about Kyle Montgomery than when she’d started. The books he read and the sports teams he followed didn’t give her any clue as to what he was doing in Bayview. She puzzled over it on the way home then put it out of her mind at Kyle’s first words when they walked into Hibiscus House.
“I think I’m ready for a shower.” His gaze on her was hot and hungry. “How about joining me.”
Pepper checked the downstairs. There wasn’t anyone hanging out in the little salon or on the porch. No one to see her climb the stairs with him. Her body sent her major signals.
“Yes,” she whispered. “That would be nice.”
When her parents remodeled the place they’d made sure each bathroom was as luxurious as possible at the time, including installing oversized showers with rain showerheads. Pepper seemed all thumbs as she jerked off her clothes, hardly a sexy striptease, but she was anxious to be naked with Kyle. To see him naked again. As he pulled off his own clothes and tossed them to the side, she could not take her eyes away from his gorgeous nudity. It seemed only seconds and then they were out of their clothes. Kyle tested the water and, when he was satisfied with the temperature, he took her hand and led her into the shower with him.
He was as magnificent in his nakedness as Pepper remembered from the previous night. Broad-shouldered muscular body, lean hips, flat stomach. The man was seriously ripped. But it was his arousal, thick and swollen, that drew her attention. Without realizing it, she licked her lips.
Kyle’s chuckle was low and lusty. “Look all you want.”
Remembering the way it had felt the night before, she reached out and closed her fingers around it, stroking the soft skin and feeling the steel hardness beneath it. Kyle groaned and clamped his fingers gently around her wrist.
“I should have said look, don’t touch. Damn, Pepper. You see what you do to me? Let’s not rush things.”
She licked her lips again and nodded. What would he think if she told him she’d never made love—had sex, Pepper; but this isn’t just sex—in a shower before?
He cupped her breasts in his large, warm palms, squeezing them gently then catching her sensitive nipples between thumbs and forefingers. He locked his gaze with hers, desire swirling in the dark-chocolate pools of his eyes as he teased and toyed with her hardened buds. When he bent his head and pulled one pebbled tip into his mouth, sucking deeply, she felt the tug all the way to her core. The pulse between her thighs thundered in response, and she pressed her legs together to contain it.
How did this man have such power over her? From the first unplanned kiss yesterday morning to the incredible night in his bed to this very moment, her body responded with an intensity so unfamiliar to her.
He’s leaving Monday. This is only an interlude. Enjoy it but don’t expect more.
Then her brain shut off as she gave herself over to sensation. The throbbing in her core spread throughout her body, sensitizing every nerve, every pulse point. Kyle lowered one hand, coasting his fingertips over her belly button and the slight curve of her tummy. The faint brush of his hand over the curls covering her mound sent more sparks flying.
But then he slipped one finger between the folds of her sex, finding the little bundle of nerves and rubbing it with the tip of his finger.
“Ohhhhhh.” The sound whispered from her on an exhalation, and she had to grab his upper arms to steady herself.
Kyle lifted his other hand from the breast it cradled and moved it to her chin, tilting her head up to him. With the water pouring down on them in a soft rain shower effect, he traced the seam of her mouth, licking the surface of each lip before nudging them open with the tip of his tongue.
His tongue was a flame, heating her inside and out, meeting the fire rising up from her core as he stroked her and caressed her. With one finger deep inside her, he found her little nub of nerves and flesh with his thumb. It was so sensitive from his attention to it that his touch set off another chain of tiny spasms deep inside her core. Her inner muscles clenched down hard on his finger, rocking back and forth on it. When he added a second finger, stretching her, the spasms increased.
Pepper was lost in a wave of sensuality, every part of her on fire from the dual assault of his tongue and his hand. She dug her nails into his biceps to keep herself from falling as the coil of need low and deep in her body began to unwind. He tasted so good, felt so good, she didn’t want it ever to end. Yet she wanted to reach that crest he was driving her toward.
She had no idea how long they stood there. Time ceased to exist while he played her body as if it was an erotic instrument. He teased her, brought her to the edge then backed off, over and over. Finally, when she was ready to beg, he added yet another finger, pressed down hard on the nub, sucked her tongue deep into his mouth, and took her over the edge.
She trembled against him as the spasms rocked her, water sluicing down on her, every part of her body shuddering in response. At last, the tremors subsided, leaving her weak and trembling. Kyle broke the kiss, feathering his lips across her cheek. Then he slid his hand from her body and pulled her against him, holding her tight. Even in her euphoric state, she was acutely conscious of the hard, swollen thickness of his arousal pressing against her.
“We didn’t take care of you,” she whispered.
“We will.” He nipped her lower lip. “After.”
“After what?”
“After our shower.”
He lifted the bottle of body wash from its alcove in the shower wall, poured a generous amount into his hands, and worked it into a rich lather. His hands coasted over her still-quivering body, paying careful attention to each and every part. Kneeling on the tile, he carefully applied lather to her ankles, her knees, her thighs. He touched the curve of her thighs and her hips and slid over the gentle swell of her calves. Rising, he applied the bubbles along the curve of her bottom and up her spine. Over her shoulders and down to her breasts, until he’d touched every inch of her body.
“My turn,” he told her, handing her the bottle.
Pepper wasn’t sure she could stand by herself long enough to do him justice, but she drew a deep breath and poured the liquid soap into her cupped palms. His body was a work of art, all hard. He must work out, she thought. His hands were too soft to be doing manual labor.
She was mesmerized by the beauty of him, touching him everywhere. When she spread the lather over the tight curve of his buttocks, his cheeks clenched then forcibly relaxed. Scraping her fingernails lightly over his nipples when she soaped his chest, she was rewarded with a sharp intake of his breath. But her touching his shaft rising proudly from his body made him blow out a breath and grab her wrists.
“I’m too close,” he told her in a raw voice. “Wrap those graceful fingers around me and I might embarrass myself.”
“But—”
“Let’s rinse and dry off. I can’t wait much longer to be inside you.”
It seemed to Pepper it took mere seconds to accomplish that, and then they were on the bed, her body stretched out beneath his, her legs wide to accommodate him. Slipping his hands beneath her bottom, he lifted her to him and slowly, steadily entered her. She gasped at the fullness of the intrusion, her body responding by coating him with her liquid. She lifted her hips, allowing her to take him deeper. He filled every inch of her, lightly scraping the sensitive nerves and hitting that very sweet spot no one else had somehow ever been able to find.
Then he was moving back and forth, in and out, ratcheting up the tempo in steady increments until she lost all sense of who and what and where she was. All that existed was this man and the incredible way he made her feel. Then she was flying, over the cliff and into velvet space, her body shuddering with his as he filled her over and over and over. Spasms shook her, tremors rippled through her, and she clenched down on him over and over and over.
At last, she collapsed, her head on the soft pillow beneath it, her body limp and spent. Kyle bowed his head, still struggling for breath, his heart beating against hers. Then he gave her a long, slow kiss before easing himself from her body and moving to dispose of the condom.
Pepper knew she should get up and go to her room right now. Taking the chance of being caught two nights in a row was pushing her luck too much. But when he curled his body around hers, pulled her into him, and slid one arm around so his hand could cup her breast, she couldn’t find it within herself to get up.
For a little while, she told herself. Just for a very little while. But her eyes closed, and her spent body fell into a deep slumber.
*****
Kyle woke to an empty bed, already missing the warmth of Pepper’s body and the feel of her nestled into him. He knew she’d probably gotten up while it was still dark to get ready for breakfast. He smiled as he remembered the soft feel of her, the touch of her lips on his, the feel of her luscious breasts in his hands. And, most of all, her wet warmth when he buried himself inside her.
He had two more days here and already he hated the thought of leaving. The last thing he’d expected when he took this trip was to find a woman he could fall in love with. Could? He was already more than halfway there. But what good did it do? They lived worlds apart. She would never move to Dallas, and he certainly could not see himself living in Bayview. Maybe spending some weekends here, but Pepper was obsessed with Hibiscus House, so prying her loose was most likely impossible.
He tried to study it the way he saw other problems, weighing pros and cons. The trouble was, with other problems, he was not emotionally involved. He’d thought he was. He’d thought he was in love with the business, that it fulfilled all his emotional needs. When he wanted sex, he had his choice of any number of women. Yet, when he thought about it now, it shocked him to see how cold and calculating that was.
He had never believed in the concept of love at first sight, except maybe for his parents. It didn’t seem logical to him. People met, and if they were attracted to each other, had similar interests and enjoyed everything from barbecue to sex, there was a real basis for a relationship. But not this, where his heart was engaged almost from the beginning. Where he was so besotted with a woman he hated to ever let her out of his sight.
He dreaded the thought of Pepper’s reaction if she ever learned the underlying cause of his trip here. He’d be out on his rear so fast he’d leave skid marks on the floor. She was an incredible woman, smart and funny and feisty and giving. But no matter how she might feel about him, she’d never forgive him for what she’d see as an attempt to trick her. A betrayal.
Damn.
How had he gotten himself in this situation, anyway?
Well, he had two more days to figure it out, and he didn’t plan to waste any of it. He was a very smart man. Surely he could come up with something. Sometime today or tomorrow he’d find a way to explain the situation and hope she didn’t throw him out.
He glanced at his watch and realized it was almost ten o’clock. Good lord. Between the day on the water and the incredible sex, he’d worn out his body. He had no idea how Pepper was able to handle it, but he knew she’d be downstairs cleaning up after breakfast and tending to her guests. He hoped Cilla had shown up to help her.
Pushing himself out of bed, he took a quick shower, shaved, and pulled on jeans and a polo shirt. Slapping on a little aftershave, he opened his door and headed downstairs. The first floor was very quiet. That must mean breakfast was over and the guests had left for their day’s adventures. He hoped whatever the muffin of the day was Pepper had saved a couple for him.
When he walked into the kitchen, he saw Pepper and Cilla sitting on stools at the island counter. They were hunched over a laptop, probably researching new ideas for Hibiscus House. Pepper was a fanatic about the place.
“Morning, ladies.” He reached for Pepper. “And an extra good morning to you, darlin’.”
She lifted her head, an expression on her face that froze his blood.
Uh-oh!
He lowered his head and tried to place a soft kiss on her lips, but she turned her head away. Now, he really had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He didn’t want to ask what was wrong. Maybe he could prolong it as long as possible.
“No kisses?” He tried to make a joke of it. “Okay, how about an espresso?”
“We’re through serving,” Pepper snapped. “Roger.”
Kyle froze. How the hell had his cover been blown? Then he looked at the laptop and a sick feeling bubbled up in his stomach.
“That’s right.” Cilla’s voice was as cold as Pepper’s. “We got curious about you, Roger Kyle Montgomery. You sure didn’t seem like the kind of guy to hang out in Bayview at Hibiscus House for a four-day weekend with no plans and no woman on your arm. I was worried about my friend, Pepper, who seems to have developed feelings for you, although I have no idea in hell why.”
“Because I was s sucker,” Pepper muttered.
“I googled Kyle Montgomery,” Cilla went on, “and guess what came up. Yup, you know it. You should quit using your middle name on anything that can be made public. You were so easy to find.”
“No wonder you were so quick to fall in with my plan.” Pepper’s voice had icicles dripping from it. “It gave you a good cover, although I don’t know for what. Hibiscus House has no relationship to any of your existing properties. No glitz, no metropolitan glamour.”
“But then,” Cilla said, “I thought about the possibility of a new Montgomery division. Bed-and-breakfasts. But what, I wondered, had brought us to your attention in the first place?”
“So, I started going through all the back registrations,” Pepper told him. “Lo and behold, five months ago we had another Montgomery couple from Dallas. I figure they’re your parents, right? But they were so low-key I thought they were nothing more than a nice older couple enjoying a holiday. Did it take all this time for them to convince you to come down here? This type of facility isn’t even in your wheelhouse.”
Kyle could not seem to unstick his tongue from the roof of his mouth. He hadn’t felt this sick since he’d had the flu last year, only this was worse. His heart was involved, and right now, it hurt so badly he was afraid it might stop beating.
“I can explain everything,” he began, “if you’ll just—”
“Oh, I’m sure you can.” Cilla looked as if she wanted to cut his broken heart right out of his body. “But nothing you can say will be sufficient to explain this betrayal.”
“Okay, I know how you feel, but—”
“But nothing. I’ve prepared your bill and run your credit card. You need to pack and get yourself out of here right now.”
“I hear you, Pepper. If you’ll give me fifteen minutes of your time to talk to you, then, if you still want me to, I’ll pack and get out of here.”
Pepper glanced at Cilla who studied Kyle for a long moment then nodded.
“Okay. Fifteen minutes. Cilla’s keeping time.”
He gestured toward the back door. “Can we go outside? Maybe down by the water?”
For a moment, he thought she was going to insist they do it right here, but then she nodded. Okay, he had fifteen minutes to try and convince her how he felt about her and see if he could repair all this damage.
He followed her out the back door, across the rear lawn, and down to the water’s edge where she had lawn chairs set up for guests to use. He hoped they could sit down, but the moment they reached the chairs, Pepper turned and faced him and crossed her arms across her chest.
“Okay, talk.”
He explained about his parents, about wanting to open a new division, although he was beginning to think the whole thing was nothing more than a ruse to get him down here to meet Pepper. About his promise to keep this under the radar until he evaluated the situation.
“But my game plan got a big kink it in right away.” He rubbed his jaw. “I wasn’t prepared for you.”
“Really?” She glared at him. “You must have been so excited when I introduced you as my fiancé. The perfect cover. Tell me, was being with me all part of the game, too? Because you were very realistic.”
“Pepper, no.” He spread his hands. “My game plan went out the window the moment you jumped on me and kissed me. I never believed in love at first sight.” He tried on a little smile. “Or first kiss. But I fell for you like the proverbial ton of bricks.”
“If you fell so hard for me, how come you didn’t tell me right away what was going on?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “You’ve had plenty of opportunity.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t know how. I was so blindsided by you I was knocked off balance.”
“You know how much this place means to me,” she cried. “What was your plan? To steal it out from under me? Oh, wait.” Her face lost all its color. “I can’t sell it anyway. My parents still own it. That’s how this started, right? My mama can’t keep her nose out of my business. She thinks if they sell Hibiscus House, I’ll get married and, as she puts it, live life. She doesn’t know that I am living life.”
“Pepper, please.” He took a step toward her, but she took a step back at the same time.
“Hibiscus House is everything to me. I have plans for it, way more than my parents ever thought of. How could you even dream of taking it away from me? You think because you have all that money you can ride roughshod over people? You made a fool of me, Kyle. And that hurts more than anything.”
“I was…. I had…. I’m not…. I’m sorry.” He didn’t know what else to say. “I’ll do anything to make this up to you. Forget Hibiscus House. It’s you I fell in love with.”
“You love me so much you want to take this away from me?”
“That was before everything happened,” he cried. “Please. Pepper.”
“This is too much for me to process right now. You’d better leave. Just…just…go.”
She turned and ran back to the building, but not before he saw the tears in her eyes.
Kyle had never felt this low in his life. The one good thing to come out of this was maybe when his parents saw how their plan blew up, they’d quit meddling in his personal life.
With a very heavy heart, he trudged back to the B&B to get his belongings. But if Pepper thought they were done, she had another think coming.