In that precious moment, Gibb wanted to change everything about his life and find a whole new way of being.
11
“Y
OUR
TURN
,” Gibb said after his heart rate slowed and he was breathing normally again. “I’ve been fantasizing about doing this to you from the minute we left Bosque de Los Dioses.”
Too overwhelmed by what she’d done to him, Sophia could not speak. She looked up to find Gibb’s eyes on hers. It was clear that he did not think any less of her for her boldness, and in fact, he looked immensely happy.
He rolled her over onto her back on the mossy earth. She went breathless, staring at his washboard abs. Fascinated, Sophia could not look away. He put any athlete to shame.
He was glorious, all biceps and triceps and gluts and hamstrings. She couldn’t ever remember having such a well-built lover and she would never forget him.
And his face...
Right now, he was staring at her with those stormy gray eyes that sent goose bumps fleeing up her arm and sweet shivers slivering down her spine.
His jaw was chiseled, his cheekbones sharp, his sandy hair cut in a short, no-nonsense style—all business, this one—nothing frivolous about him.
The setting was magical. Ghost orchids bloomed around them, filling the air with their rich scent. The golden sun had disappeared. Time stretched out before them, languid and endless. She forgot all about getting off the island. Why would she ever want to leave paradise?
He lowered his head and kissed her slowly, gently. She closed her eyes, inhaled him, savored each delicious taste. A minute later, he pulled back and smiled down at her so tender, so genuine, that emotion blocked her throat.
“Gibb,” she said. “We have to talk.”
“Yes, I need to know everything. Likes, dislikes, how much pressure, how—”
She put an index finger to his lips. “Shh.”
He said nothing, just stared deeply into her eyes.
“Listen.” Sophia paused, not sure how to phrase what she had to say.
“All ears, Amelia.”
She couldn’t help smiling. There was just something about him that made her want to smile all the time. “We need to set up some ground rules here.”
“I might have given the impression I’m a sophisticated guy,” he said, “but when it comes to sex, the basics work for me. I don’t need anything kinky.” He wriggled his eyebrows. “That is unless there’s something you want to try.”
“I’m not talking about those kinds of ground rules,” she said.
He cocked his head. “I’m not really following you.”
She made a little X over his heart. “I’m talking about emotional ground rules.”
“Oh.” His eyes clouded. “Those ground rules.”
Sophia gathered her courage. She liked Gibb, probably more than she had any right to like him, but this had to be said. If they didn’t get this straight right up front, she was so afraid she would get lost in the passion. She’d spent her life waiting for this ground-shaking feeling and now that it was here, she was terrified of where it might—or might not—lead. That was the scary part, the not knowing where she stood.
“I’m listening,” he prompted.
“We don’t know what will happen once we go back to our regular lives.”
“What do you want to have happen?”
Happily-ever-after
cried her heart, but she was too timid to say that. They hardly knew each other, although forced proximity had accelerated their relationship. They were so different. They came from completely different worlds. Was passion enough? For the first time, she understood what Josie had been trying to tell her when she said there were other things of value in a loving relationship beyond passion.
“I don’t want to get hurt,” she whispered.
A look that she couldn’t read passed over his eyes. He nodded. “I understand. I want to keep things light, too. We can do that. You’re right. Good idea to set ground rules. We can relieve some tension and enjoy our time together.”
“Yes,” she said, even though she wanted him to say, “Forget it, let’s jump headfirst into this thing.” She knew that was utterly unrealistic. If she was smart, she’d call a stop to this right now, but she wanted him so much.
Pathetic.
Still, wasn’t one night of intense passion better than nothing at all?
“I just didn’t want you to confuse fun for something else,” she said in a scratchy voice.
“No worries. I’m a big boy.”
“That’s good.”
“Okay.” He dropped his lips to her throat. “Now where were we? Oh, yes, let’s get you out of those clothes.”
She’d never been particularly modest, but suddenly, she felt shy as his fingers slipped around her back to unhook her bra.
Her breasts bounced free.
Gibb was eyeing them lustily, the heat of his gaze caused her nipples to pucker.
Embarrassed, she crossed her arms over her chest. “My brothers used to call me
Tortita.
”
“What does that mean?”
“Pancake.”
He laughed.
She pretended to be affronted. “You don’t have to agree with them.”
“On the contrary, I disagree with them heartily.” He lowered his eyelashes and murmured, “Perfect.”
Overwhelmed by the hungry look on his face, she closed her eyes.
He cupped her face in both his hands and then he stopped. She wanted to open her eyes, to see what was going on, but she didn’t want to meet his gaze. Too worried about the emotion she might spot in his eyes.
She could feel his breath on her cheeks. He said nothing. Neither did she. A minute ticked by. Sounds of the jungle at night heightened the tension.
Do something! Kiss me. Touch me. Anything.
Finally, she could stand the suspense no longer and cautiously opened one eye.
Gibb was looking at her as if she were a precious treasure he’d found on the beach. His lips landed on hers, a searing brand.
She sighed, threaded her fingers through his hair.
He stroked her chin and the gesture was so tender Sophia felt the urge to burst into tears. Hormones, she told herself. That’s all it was. She could not afford to love this guy. They had no future together.
Because no matter how much Gibb wanted her sexually, he really didn’t want her for happily ever after. She knew this, even if he did not. She was too content for a goal-driven man like him. He needed someone as rich as he was, someone who understood how to navigate his world.
That most decidedly was not her. She might be half American by birth, but she was pure Costa Rican by nature. She loved her life. Wanted for nothing.
Except for passionate love.
Which she had right this minute. So what if it couldn’t last?
She thought he was quivering, and then realized that it was she, shaking so hard the thick, humid air seemed to ripple.
He burned hot kisses from her throat to her breasts, his beard stubble rubbing her skin in a wholly erotic rasp. He was smooth and accomplished, no doubt about it. He knew exactly where to linger, tease and cajole. His hand went to the snap of her denim shorts.
She whimpered his name.
He slid the zipper down.
She stopped breathing.
“Raise your hips,” he instructed.
She obeyed.
He slipped her shorts and underwear off of her in one smooth motion, leaving her exposed and trembling.
“Mmm,” he growled low in his throat. “You smell so good.”
He began a slow slide from the tender flesh of her breasts on down to where she most wanted him to go. He trailed silent kisses over her rib cage to her taut, flat belly, and then veered down to lick the warm, damp patch of skin between her legs.
Sophia came unglued.
“Ah,” he said. “You like that.”
“Yes,” she gasped.
He paused there, driving her mad with need. Her muscles tensed and then every nerve ending in her body started tingling as she tried to anticipate his next move.
Gibb surprised her by reaching up to skim his fingers over her face, outlining the plane of her cheeks with the pads of his fingertips like a blind man learning Braille. With incredible lightness, he stroked the base of his palm over her collarbone.
“Sophia,” he breathed.
She smiled.
His hand trailed back to the triangle of hair and he stared deeply into her eyes. She was so ready for him.
“Please,” she said softly.
Slowly, he stroked and teased her, and she rode the flow of emotions, embracing the swell of pleasure and desire and discovery. His warmth enveloped her and she experienced a sense of safety with him that she’d rarely felt before. He lifted her to a place she’d never known existed.
She moaned and pushed her pelvis against his hand, arching her back in the soft jungle carpet. She drifted on the edge of a dark peak, engulfed by the feel of him, the dampness of the night, the smell of ghost orchids, the music of his breathing and the sight of his gorgeous, muscular body. Sophia wanted him too much. The passion was consuming her. She’d slipped too far.
A bittersweet thought seized her. As wonderful as this moment was, it could not last. She closed her eyes, determined to ignore the sadness. Besides, this was all she needed, this brief slice of delight.
He cradled his head against her thigh. He ran one hand down and then up the opposite leg, before tickling higher on the returning stroke.
“Your touch,” she whispered. “Unbelievable.”
She shuddered as his lips skipped over the last firm curve of her thigh, stopping just short of her core. Her body was on fire for him.
Gibb moved his head closer, slightly touching his lips to her intimate folds. He showered her there with rich, tender kisses.
Her senses swam with each movement he made.
He curved his palm over her soft mound and, reaching the spot where her skin began to part, he stroked her gently. His hot mouth found her willing center. She curled her fingers into her palms, cried out in the darkness.
His tongue did wicked, wicked things that sent her pulse spiking and just when he had her writhing and breathless, he retreated.
“No, no,” she said. “Don’t you dare tease me!”
He laughed.
She reached down and gripped his shoulders for support.
“You taste so good,” he murmured and went back to what he was doing and she exhaled a big sigh. He put his tongue to her most sensitive spot and it was like switching on a light in a darkened room.
“Yes, yes,” she cried. “You know exactly where and how to touch me. How do you know that?”
“You’re very responsive,” he said. “Your body tells me what to do.”
He kissed and caressed her, cupping his hands around her buttocks to lift her higher. His warm breath sent a humming sensation vibrating up through her body.
Automatically, she arched against his mouth. “Don’t stop, don’t stop,” she chanted.
Gibb kept it up, giving her everything she craved.
Moaning loudly, she tensed, feeling the sweet pressure building inside her. His tongue obliterated everything. She could do nothing except focus on that one sensitive spot.
Unbearable. How sweet his seductive torture was. She thrashed against him.
Gradually, he released her, but kept his tongue playing across her soft skin. He toyed with her until she cried out his name over and over. He owned every inch of her body. She was his, in the palm of his hand. She would do anything he asked.
She made a strangled noise. Close. She was so very close.
“Hold on, baby. The wait will be worth it,” he promised.
And then it happened, uncontrollable spasms gripped her body and she shattered against the most amazing mouth in the whole wide world.
* * *
S
OPHIA
WAS
NAKED
,
bristling with sexuality, her veins fire and fervor, muscles melted soft, tendons stretched loose, body sore and liquid.
Who knew a man could do such incredible things with a tongue? Gibb had fallen asleep beside her, his legs intertwined with hers. She curled her toes and smiled into the darkness.
She and Gibb were as much a part of nature as the night birds and creatures prowling the underbrush. She let out a long, slow breath, felt her body relax. Many people would be terrified not knowing what lurked in the shadows, but Sophia had been raised in a tropical forest. The sounds and smells were as comforting to her as a lullaby.
Home.
The rustling did not scare her. No, what really concerned her was the man beside her. Gibb was from a completely different kind of jungle. One that was not as easy to predict as hers.
She turned her head, flipping her hair up from behind her back where it pulled and basked in his body heat. Nothing could have prepared her for the depth of emotions tightening her stomach. It had been so easy to get caught up in the vortex of their attraction, but once ensnared, how hard was it going to be to get out of this unscathed?
Sex was just sex. Right?
That’s what people tried to tell you and maybe sometimes it was, but when you had this kind of chemistry with another person...well...it was as if her heart had split open wide and the sun was pouring both into her and out of her, bathing everything in an impossibly bright light.
She closed her eyes, swallowed past the lump in her throat. It was too bad she hadn’t felt anything like this for Emilio. He was a good man, a great friend and probably even a competent lover.
Or so she’d assumed, until Gibb.
Now, nothing or no one could ever compare to him.
Terrifying, that what she’d just experienced was the pinnacle of her love life. After Gibb, every other man would pale in comparison.
She reached up to touch Gibb’s face in the darkness. Traced his nose with her index finger, such a masculine nose, straight and commanding. He was so vibrant, so virile. Why couldn’t he have been a normal man with a normal job? Not a billionaire so far out of her reach it was laughable.
That was enough regret. She had to change her thinking. Even though this had been the hottest sexual encounter of her life, she could not romanticize it. No more imagining far-flung places, no more dreaming about what it would be like to wake beside him every morning. Most likely it wouldn’t be all that great anyway. He was a workaholic. No doubt he was up before dawn, spent an hour at the gym before a limo picked him up to whisk him off for a sixteen-hour day at the office.