Kate Hoffmann - Who Needs Mistletoe?

“I think the oysters are working,” she said, a tiny smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “Either that, or you’re too charming for your own good.”

He should have put aside his doubts right then and pulled her into his arms. But instead, her words brought his past crashing back to the present. How many times had he heard that? Peter Shelton the Third was all charm and no substance. “Do you really think this is just a game?” Trey asked, his mood darkening suddenly. “That I’m just interested in the chase?”

“I-I don’t know what to think. I think maybe you’re used to getting what you want from women.”

“And you don’t get what you want from men?”

Sophie shook her head. “Not usually.” She picked another oyster out of the tin and held it out to him. Trey shook his head. “At least, not until now.”

The rest of the meal passed in more subdued conversation, Trey’s mind occupied by the admissions spoken between them. He may be good at sex and even better at seduction. But it was the other stuff he needed now. He wished he were better at the whole romance thing.

For the first time in his life, he wasn’t quite sure what to do. How could he get Sophie to look at him as more than just the man who satisfied her sexual needs? A man only interested in the chase?

S OPHIE GUZZLED THE LASTof the bottled water, hoping that it would ease the tiny hangover she’d gotten from the wine. Trey had found an old coffee tin in the cottage and had used it to collect rainwater to refill their bottles before the night set in.

He truly seemed to be enjoying their exercise in survival. He’d made a hammock, started a fire, cooked dinner and was now replenishing their supply of drinking water. Sophie had to admit she could have been stuck on this island with a far less useful guy than Trey Shelton.

And far less sexy, as well. Dressed only in his ragged shorts, Trey might have looked a bit disreputable to some. But Sophie couldn’t take her eyes off him. His skin had been burnished by a day of Polynesian sun filtered through the cloud cover, and the thin sheen of sweat on his torso only highlighted the muscles of his shoulders and back.

Sophie drew a ragged breath as she let her gaze drop to his butt. It wasn’t difficult to imagine what would happen between them that night. What else was there to do in the dark but continue the seduction that had begun the moment the plane landed?

She wondered if there might come a point when his touch didn’t cause her to respond so intensely. He seemed to know what she needed even before she did. And when he set out to bring her pleasure, Sophie could do nothing but be swept up in the moment.

Brushing the cracker crumbs off her fingertips, Sophie stood. Right now, she wanted to be kissed by him. And after that, touched. She didn’t want to wait until dark. She needed to look into his eyes when they made love and know that he needed her as much as she needed him.

Slowly, she descended the steps, wincing at the residual pain from the jellyfish sting and the tingles that shot up her other leg from a foot that had fallen asleep. But as she took the last step, her leg wobbled and she tumbled face forward onto the sandy ground.

Trey turned and quickly crossed to where she was lying. He bent down and helped her to her feet, holding firm until she regained her balance. “Are you determined to kill yourself?”

“My foot was asleep,” she murmured.

“And you’ve had too much wine. I should have replenished our water supply a lot earlier.” He held tight to her elbow. “Maybe we should take a walk. Get you some fresh air.”

The suggestion struck Sophie as silly. They were practically living outside. How could she get any more air than she already had? A giggle bubbled from her lips and she covered her mouth as a hiccup escaped, as well.

He turned his back to her. “Hop on.”

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to the beach. To watch the sunset.”

“How romantic,” she said with a sarcastic edge. “But I think it’s going to start raining again. Look at those clouds.”

“Yeah, well, it’s about time we do something romantic, don’t you think?”

Sophie blinked, surprised by his words. Though romance might be nice for a couple that was actually in a relationship, she and Trey were just having sex. A lot of sex. Romance should have nothing at all to do with it.

“Come on,” Trey insisted. “Hop on. We’re going to miss the sunset and we’ll have to walk back in the dark.”

“I can walk,” she murmured. Sophie slipped into her flip-flops and started off in the direction of the beach, limping on her sore foot and tugging at her pareu as she circled the cottage.

He hurried up beside her and took her hand in his, lacing his fingers through hers. “We’re not running a race here,” he said. “We can stroll. Or I can stroll and you can continue to limp along.”

The whole idea of romance frightened her, Sophie admitted to herself. With romance came expectations. And then disappointments. And regrets and recriminations. She wasn’t good at romance. She never had been.

Why couldn’t they just concentrate on what they were both good at-sex? It was so much simpler. She didn’t need to think about other things when they were together. She only needed to respond to his touch.

“All right,” she muttered. “I’ll take that ride.”

He bent down and Sophie hopped on his back, her legs straddling his waist, her arms wrapped around his neck. As he walked, she rested her chin on his shoulder.

“Tell me, if you were home right now, what would you be doing?” she asked.

“Home? Home has always been a rather vague concept for me. I usually don’t stay in one place too long.”

“You don’t have a home?” Sophie asked.

“Sometimes I live in hotels. Or stay with friends. Sometimes, if I’m in Europe, I rent a house. Lately, I’ve been living in the Shelton in Manhattan. And if it was dinnertime, I’d probably be watching a ball game and eating something from room service.” He paused. “At least here, I’ve got a plan, a purpose. I like that.”

“You’re better suited for island life than I am,” she murmured, pressing a kiss to the nape of his neck.

“I’m going to find a spot for my resort and I’m going to get it built,” he said. “It’s funny. I was waiting around for something in my life to change. And now it has, thanks to you.”

“I didn’t have anything to do with it,” Sophie said.

“I think landing on this island was the best thing in the world for me,” Trey said. “It woke me up. Made me realize that life was just passing me by.”

Sophie had been feeling that same way for years, as if the world was spinning so fast and she was standing still. Exciting things were happening to everyone but her. But crash-landing on Suaneva hadn’t made things any clearer to her. Instead, it made everything more confusing.

“I’ve been waiting, too. For my father to stop being so stubborn, for my mother to decide to come back home, for me to get a life of my own.”

“Aren’t we supposed to know what we want by now?”

“Maybe there’s something wrong with us,” Sophie said.

“Or maybe it’s just the opposite,” he said.

She thought about his comment for a long moment. Was he saying there was something “right” about them? Or was he saying that they shouldn’t know what they wanted? Sophie opened her mouth to ask, but then snapped it shut. She really didn’t want to know the answer.

By the time they reached the beach, the sun was hanging low on the horizon. To the south the clouds were building, the reflection of the sun creating a riot of pink and orange and purple.