Formula for Passion

“Now, Jasper.”

“Not yet.”

He ignored her pleas and continued his quest by caressing her shoulders, then her bare back, then lowered to the contours of her hips, one inch at a time. A ribbon of desire coiled through Courtney, so she didn’t object when he slid her maxi dress higher and higher until it was at her waist and he could slip his hand between her thighs and cup her intimately.

There were no second thoughts because she was warm and welcomed his hand. And when he rotated his palm across her mound and pushed the tiny fabric that was her thong aside, Courtney let out a whimper of consent.

He slid his fingers between her damp folds and began rubbing light circles around the nub. He watched Courtney’s eyes dilate as she struggled for control. His thumb continued stroking. She was flushed and he could feel the heat coming off her in droves. Oh, yes...she was oh so damp down there. He thrust his finger farther inside her until she began to tremble.

“Yes! Yes!” Oh, dear God. The man had a way with his hands.

“Yes, baby.” The urge to bury himself inside her was overwhelming, but he wanted her to come. He wanted to see the look on her face when she did, to know that she enjoyed his ministrations. He could only imagine how good it would feel once he was inside her. He thrust his tongue deep inside her mouth, kissing her feverishly, all the while his fingers delved deeper and deeper inside her. Only when her inner muscles clenched around him and she screamed out his name did he finally relent.

“Are you ready for me, baby?” Jasper nuzzled her neck and ear.

Courtney answered him by grappling with his belt buckle and zipper. “We need a condom.”

Jasper helped her by pulling his pants and briefs to his ankles and removing a condom from his pocket, while Courtney discarded her thong.

“Did you know this was going to happen?” she asked, looking up at him as he sheathed himself.

Jasper grinned mischievously. “I only hoped.”

One hard, muscular thigh moved between her legs to spread her wide, and the erection she’d felt all night as they danced was now pressed against the opening of her womanhood. She welcomed it. He worked his hardness back and forth over her aroused flesh, causing delicious sensations to whirl through Courtney from the crown of her head to the tips of her toes.

“Now!” Courtney urged. She was teetering on the edge and she needed him inside her. He nudged the tip inside, slow at first, and then he sank into her in one slow, powerful glide. Courtney felt every hot, hard and powerful inch of him. When he was sure her inner muscles had stretched to receive him, Jasper began withdrawing and reentering at a steady rhythm, going deeper and deeper. And as he stroked he covered her body, breasts and lips with hot, desperate kisses. He muttered short phrases. “Courtney! You feel. So wet. And. So good.”

She urged him on by rocking her hips. The impact caused her to reach another shattering orgasm. “Jasper!” she cried, lifting the top half of her body and clutching him to her. A moment later, she shattered as tremors racked her body.

His tempo increased and she felt him reach his climax seconds after hers. He shuddered against her and fell atop her, then withdrew and rolled to his side.

They were both looking up at the ceiling of the gazebo. “Wow!” Jasper murmured as he pulled her closer in the darkness. “That was incredible. You’re amazing, Courtney.”

“You weren’t too bad yourself.” She was in awe of what they had just shared. Courtney stretched languidly, and her last thought was that Jasper might be dangerous to her well-being.

Chapter 3

The next morning, Courtney was startled to find herself naked in a king-size bed with a muscled arm across her naked body. Whose room was this?

The last thing she remembered was drinking shots of Patrón, dancing all night long and making love with Jasper in the gazebo outside. What had gotten into her? She’d thought she’d stopped being so reckless after her two-day marriage to Chaise. Sure, she liked her freedom and this had been wonderful, but it had also been utterly stupid. Anyone could have seen her out there and taken photos and sent them to the press! She was supposed to be the image of Adams Cosmetics. She’d come down here on business, so how would her family feel if she’d been caught in flagrante delicto?

Well, what was done was done, and she had to move forward. Somehow she had to extricate herself from the situation as gently as possible. Courtney tried to rise from the bed, but that only prompted Jasper to stir beside her.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Jasper said as Courtney turned over to face him.

“Morning,” she replied, stifling a yawn with the back of her hand. “I assume you carried me back here?”

Jasper nodded. “I believe I wore you out last night,” he said as he stretched. When he moved, the sheets moved with him and revealed a long expanse of hairless, muscled chest. A vivid memory of running her hands across it came to mind.

“Likewise, it was a very enjoyable evening.” And she had the sore muscles to prove it. “But how can you afford this place?” She motioned around the room as she sat up, clutching the sheet to her bosom.

Jasper shrugged, watching her feeble attempt to cover herself up. He’d seen, tasted and touched everything she had. “I know a few people at the resort that owe me some favors.” He kind of liked the fact that Courtney thought him some poor slob who couldn’t afford an expensive room like this. Perhaps he would get a chance to see the real Courtney.

“Well, aren’t you the man?” Courtney said, smiling as she threw the covers back. “I have a busy day ahead, so I’m going to get going.” She made a move to leave, but Jasper pulled her down until she was flat on her back. He didn’t allow her to utter another word. Instead, his large hands took her face and held it gently. He stared at her for several long moments before he planted a tantalizing kiss on her, coaxing a response from her. She kissed him back, lingering and savoring each moment.

When he finally lifted his head, Courtney was out of breath. “Wow” was all she could mutter. Her memory of last night was somewhat fuzzy, thanks to the liquor, but she was fully awake and alert now, and Jasper was an excellent kisser.

“Did you think I would let you go that easily?” Jasper asked, moving from her lips to nibble and lick on her ear. He’d been immediately attracted to her spunk and her vitality and wasn’t ready for that to end. Courtney wiggled underneath him, trying to move away, but Jasper pulled her into his arms until she was above him. He circled one hand around her neck and pulled those rosy lips of hers back on his.

“That was not supposed to happen,” Courtney said afterward, falling back on the pillows. She couldn’t move because she was completely depleted. Jasper wasn’t just an excellent kisser; he was also a good lover. He was very giving and ensured that she was thoroughly satisfied before his own needs were fulfilled. He’d immediately squelched her feeble protests of leaving with one kiss. Then he’d made love to her until she had no thoughts of leaving his bed.

“You thought you’d make a quick exit and take the walk of shame back to your room, didn’t you?” he asked, turning around to face her with his head resting on his chin.

Courtney couldn’t resist laughing at Jasper’s bluntness. “Uh...something like that.”

“Well, I’m not going to make it that easy for you, Courtney,” Jasper said evenly. “I think you and I both know how combustible our union was just now and how hard that is to come by.”

Jasper was right. Courtney couldn’t recall her climaxes being quite that explosive before, and if the shout that Jasper gave as he came was any indication, it had been the same for him. But so what? What else did they have in common outside the bedroom?

“I can read what’s going on in your mind,” Jasper said, interrupting her thoughts.

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? And what was I thinking?”

“You were thinking that we have nothing in common other than great sex. So I’m going to offer you a proposition. Stay with me on Punta Cana and find out. No strings attached. And at the end of your trip, we both go our separate ways.” It had been a long time since someone had intrigued him like Courtney, and he wasn’t ready for that to end just yet.

“You want me to stay here in a no-strings-attached fling?” Courtney asked. “Wow, you do think highly of yourself.”

“Don’t act like it’s just me,” Jasper said. “I know you felt it too. We have a connection of sorts, and I’m just saying we should enjoy it for as long as you’re here. Why should we deprive ourselves?” He dazzled her with his perfect white smile.

Courtney stared at Jasper. Here was her fantasy man live in the flesh. Should she go for it? Then her mind came back to Ethan’s comment that she was there for work. But then again, she had said she would have fun on this trip, and Jasper was offering her exactly what she said she wanted.

“I need to think about it.” Courtney slid off the bed and headed toward the bathroom but stopped in her tracks. “Of course, if you want to join me in the shower to try and convince me otherwise, I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”

“Absolutely!” Jasper hopped off the bed and followed her into the bathroom.

Hours later, once Courtney had returned to her hotel room, she decided to call her best friend, Tea. They’d met seven years ago when Adams Cosmetics had hired Tea’s public-relations firm for one of Courtney’s earlier campaigns for Adams Cosmetics. The two women had hit it off instantly and been friends ever since. Because Tea was a couple of years older than Courtney, she helped keep Courtney grounded whenever she got the itch to do something crazy.

Courtney had always wondered where she got her wanderlusting free spirit from. Her father and Kayla were hotheaded workaholics devoted to Adams Cosmetics, while Shane and her mother were more cerebral and creative. Shane had been developing products for AC since he was twenty-five, and their mother was a talented artist. Some of her artwork had been featured in AC campaigns.

Although Courtney loved her family and shared a bond with each of her siblings, she always considered herself somewhat of a rebel. She hated to conform, but that was exactly what had happened when she’d agreed to be AC’s spokesmodel ten years ago. Little did she know how much freedom she would be giving up, but now Jasper was offering her a taste of living on the edge. It secretly thrilled Courtney, but she needed some advice. What better person than her BFF, Tea?

Courtney glanced at her watch from her hotel-room terrace, and then used her iPhone to dial Tea’s work number in Atlanta.

“Tea Santiago.”

“Tea, it’s Courtney.” Courtney slid open the glass doors and sat on one of the terrace lounge chairs, facing the Atlantic. The day was warm, and Courtney was soaking in some of the fresh air and cool ocean breeze.

“Hey, girlfriend, how’s DR treating you?” Tea asked.