UP In Flames: Body Heat / Caught in the Act

“Our stuff?”

“Our...respective underthings.”

Adam, having resisted her as long as he could, drew her close in the circle of his arms. “Why’d you leave me this morning?”

Mel toyed with the hair on his chest, avoiding his gaze. “I woke early so I decided to do some...stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” Already it was hard for him to carry on a conversation. She was soft and sweet and he knew her body well, knew how easily, how hotly, she responded to him. She’d combed her hair and made use of his toothpaste; he could smell the minty flavor on her breath. Her skin, sun-warmed and glowing, felt silky soft beneath his hands.

“I washed out our clothes, like I said. And I tidied up the shack in case we need to go in. The air smells rainy to me.” She peeked at him, then away. “I also explored a little down the beach. A lot more of the same, except there’s a mango tree there that has—”

Adam cut her off, his mood quickly changing when he thought of all the things that could have happened to her. “You took off down the beach without me?”

She looked surprised by his accusing tone. “So?”

Without even realizing it, he gripped her upper arms. “Mel, the sun’s just coming up.”

“There was enough light for me to see.”

He wanted to shake her. “What would you have done if you’d run into another snake? Or a swarm of those damn beetles? What if you’d fallen and hit your head, or stepped on something sharp?”

She pulled away and stared at him. “I’m a big girl, Adam. I can take care of myself.”

“Ha! Big girls don’t go running screaming down the beach because of a little cockroach—”

“A swarm of huge cockroaches!”

“—and they aren’t afraid to stick so much as a big toe in the ocean.” He no sooner said it and saw her face blanch than he felt disgust for himself. Her fear of the water was real, if exaggerated, and he’d found it endearing, not something to ridicule her over. But he could tell by her quivering lip and rigid stance that he’d crossed the line.

He sighed. “Mel...”

She bit her lip to still it, and her hands fisted. After two deep breaths she very calmly, very coldly, said, “I am a coward and I freely admit it. I’m afraid of the water, or rather, things lurking in the water. But I can damn well carry my own weight here. I’m not the pampered little girl you remember. I do all the things normal women do, like go to college, work—even break engagements!”

“I didn’t mean—”

That stubborn, adorable chin of hers lifted and she cut him off. “I cleaned out the shack so we can inhabit it, and yes, I did run into a few snakes. While I don’t like them, I am quite capable of shooing them off with a long stick.”

“Honey...”

“I also collected enough fruit for our breakfast and I got a dozen pricks on my fingers from my efforts.” She thrust her hands in front of his face, glaring.

Smiling inside, Adam took her fingers and examined the small scratches. “Blackberry bushes?”

“And some of that stupid grass. It’s as sharp as needles.”

“You didn’t need to do all that, babe. And I’m sorry I said anything about the water.”

She jerked her hands away in renewed pique. “The point is, if I choose to go exploring, I will. I don’t need your permission or your protection.” Then she sneered, “Or are you going to lie some more about wild boars?”

“You read my Key to the Keys?”

She thumped him on the chest with one small fist. “I’m not an idiot, damn it! I don’t need to read your dumb guidebook to know there aren’t any wild boars here.”

She was so adorable in her anger, and he was naked and hard. It was difficult to take part in the conversation when all he really wanted to do was lay her down and slide into her body again. Last night he’d tried to make her see how different she was from any other woman he’d been with. Sheer physical gratification couldn’t compare with the deep, primal possessiveness he felt with her. But he knew by the look on her face she hadn’t understood. She thought she was just one more woman in a long line of conquests. And this morning, being in a saner frame of mind, he wasn’t about to tell her no other woman had mattered, not when he always pretended they were her. That was a little too heavy to lay on a woman after only one night.

“Mel, I don’t want you wandering off alone because it isn’t safe, boar or no boar. I have no idea what kinds of snakes are on the island, if they’re poisonous or not. The shack looks ready to collapse, so until we can decide if it’s safe enough to be in, I don’t want either of us wandering off alone. Okay?”

His cajoling tone and apologetic expression must have gotten to her. “You’re expressing yourself much better this time around, Stone.”

He grinned. She obviously didn’t know how badly it scared him to think of her getting hurt. “I’m naked, horny as hell, and you’re running around in this sexy little outfit, looking good enough to be breakfast. How do you expect me to act?”

Her mouth opened and closed twice, then she looked down and started toying with his chest hair again. He liked her like this, all sweet and innocent and shy. His hands slid over her hips, appreciating the feel of her firm softness beneath the slippery material.

“I looked at you this morning.”

Adam froze while kissing her neck. “Is that right?”

She nodded, bumping his chin. “You’re very...sexy, too.”

Grinning from ear to ear, he put one finger beneath her chin and lifted her face so he could see her eyes. “Am I hearing this right? You took advantage of my exhaustion to sate your curiosity on my poor body?”

A blush exploded on her cheeks and her long lashes drifted down to hide her expression, but she smiled. “Yes. And I enjoyed myself, too. You...affect me, Adam. Once I woke up and saw you, it was impossible to go back to sleep. I had to find something to do so I wouldn’t attack you, but I knew you needed your rest after hurting your head.”

“My head is fine, feeling better by the second.” He kissed her long and deep, his tongue tasting her, enticing her. “You should have wakened me,” he growled between nibbling on her lips.

“You’re awake now.”

“And you’re overdressed.” One small tug, and her halter dropped to her waist.

This time was no less frantic than the night before, and afterward, as they both lay sated and hot and damp from their exertions and the rising humidity, Adam frowned. He couldn’t quite reconcile the way she made him feel, complete but still hungry, at peace but still turbulent. He’d always known there was something there, an irresistible chemistry that drew him in, but he’d thought it all one-sided. Now, seeing her naked beside him, panting for breath, her scream of pleasure at the time of her climax still ringing in his ears, he realized how wrong he’d been. She’d moved with him, kept pace with him, every step of the way.

Yet she’d been a virgin.

Laying a hand on her damp belly, relishing the fact that she still trembled, he said, “Tell me about yourself, Mel. What you’ve been up to.”

She cocked one pale blue eye open to peer at him, and groaned. “I think you’ve killed me.”

He laughed. “With pleasure.” Leaning down to kiss her, he added, “You’re one demanding little lady.”

“You’d make me blush if I had the strength.”

“You want me to show you exactly how much strength you still have?” He drifted his fingers down her belly.

Melanie caught his wrist and moaned. “No, I’ll talk.”

“Good. Start with this idiot fiancé of yours.”

“He’s not my fiancé, not anymore, and he’s also not an idiot. In fact, he’s very intelligent, successful—pretty special, really.” She sighed, then tilted her head to the side to smile at him. “Jerry Marshall is actually considered quite a catch. He’s not as tall as you, but he’s handsome. Hair as black as my own, great teeth.”