Kate Hoffmann - Who Needs Mistletoe?

Sophie leaned against a vine-covered post and stared out at the lagoon. “I’d wish my father would go to a doctor and get his eyes fixed. And then, I’d wish the business was making money again. And finally, I’d wish my mother would come back.”

“Nothing for yourself?” Trey asked.

“All those things are for me,” she said. She shrugged, her smile fading slightly. “What about you?”

“I’d wish…I had a big, soft bed here on this island. With clean sheets and down pillows.”

“And?”

“And a bathtub big enough for two with an endless supply of hot water and bubbles.”

“That’s two,” she said. “What’s the third?”

“You. In the bathtub first and then the bed.”

Sophie stared at him for a long time, her gaze flitting over his face. Trey could already imagine the scene his three wishes might create. A bath, a bed and Sophie was a fantasy he hoped might come true. He’d make it come true.

Trey felt the first drops of rain on his skin and he looked up at the sky and closed his eyes. It seemed as though they’d spent a lifetime on this island and yet, in so many ways, they were still strangers. He wanted to touch the real Sophie, the lighthearted, silly woman that he sometimes saw, not the indifferent, slightly cynical girl that he was faced with now.

She was so guarded at times, so careful of her emotions that Trey wondered if he’d ever truly know her. He knew she had an incredible inner strength and she was fiercely loyal to those she loved. He knew her parents’ divorce had left her with deep scars, making her unable to trust her own feelings.

They’d been intimate, but only with their bodies. He wanted to know this woman, to feel what was in her heart and soul and to touch her there, as well. But how was that possible in just a single day and night?

Trey drew a deep breath and opened his eyes to find her still staring at him.

She held out her hand. “Come in out of the rain,” Sophie coaxed.

“Come into the rain,” he countered, holding out his hand.

Sophie turned and walked in the open door of the cottage. Trey knew if he went to her, she’d surrender. He’d run his hands over her shoulders and toss aside her pareu and they’d pleasure each other the way they had since the moment the plane had gone down.

But sex with Sophie wouldn’t get him what he wanted. It wasn’t just passing pleasure. He needed to know this relationship actually meant something to her, that they weren’t simply satisfying a physical craving, but, perhaps, connecting in a deeper way.

Slowly, he climbed the steps, his desire overwhelming his resolve. At least, when he was inside her, he could claim a part of her that no one else could. In those moments before they dissolved into orgasm, the walls fell and she was his completely.

Trey cursed softly, stopping just outside the front door. Once he touched her, there was no going back. She stood at one of the windows, staring out at the rain, her face illuminated by the late-evening light. Her beauty took his breath away and Trey wondered at the stroke of luck that had put him here on this island with her.

He slowly walked across the room and slipped his hands around her waist, gently turning her around and backing her up against the wall. His fingers tangled in her hair as his mouth met hers. Sophie moaned, going pliant in his arms. They couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other for long.

Was it just unbridled lust or did he need to reassure himself that she still wanted him? So many times in the past, the passion he’d felt for a woman faded too quickly. It had always been replaced by the pragmatic notion that love wasn’t worth the trouble.

Hell, he didn’t even know what love was. He wouldn’t know it if it dropped out of the sky and hit him on the head. But this was certainly a lot more than just lust, Trey thought, his lips tracing a path from her jaw to the sweet curve of her neck.

His palms were warm on her naked skin and he found the knot in her pareu. With practiced ease, Trey tossed aside the filmy fabric and it drifted to the floor. She held her breath as he cupped her breast in his hand, rubbing his thumb over her nipple until it peaked.

Bracing his hands on either side of her head, he pinned her body against the wall with his. Another kiss, this one more intense and demanding, brought a moan from Sophie’s throat and the silent question he asked was answered. She did want him as much as he wanted her.

She tore at his shorts, hastily unzipping them before shoving them down over his hips. The instant his shaft made contact with her body, Trey knew any thought of stopping would be futile. But he wanted more than just pleasure. Unfortunately, he didn’t know just exactly what that was.

Trey hooked his finger beneath her chin and turned her toward the light from the window, his eyes fixed on hers. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he groaned.

He grabbed her waist and pulled her up, wrapping her legs around his hips and using the wall for support. His shaft was hot and hard between them, the length of his erection rubbing along the damp slit between her legs. Pleasure knotted inside him with every stroke and he struggled to keep himself from release. Sophie arched back, pushing against him with each stroke as her need built.

Trey ached to lose himself inside her, to feel her heat as he came. But neither one of them wanted to pause to retrieve a condom and he wasn’t even sure where the last one was. The force that had brought them together was too strong for them to deny or to stop.

He probed at her entrance and Sophie shifted above him. For one breathtaking moment, he slipped inside her, then cursed softly. “We shouldn’t,” he murmured, swallowing hard. “Should we?”

Sophie shook her head, her breath coming in short gasps, her hair tickling his chest. “I don’t want you to stop.”

“I have some control, but not that much,” he said, his voice raw with need. “And not with you.”

She moved again and he was inside her and it felt like heaven. But suddenly, reality set in. This woman had stolen the last ounce of his self-control. When he was with her, all he could think of was this, the feel of their bodies joined as one.

Drawing a deep breath, he slowly pulled out, then set Sophie back on her feet. If he expected anything more than sex between them, then the sex would have to stop, at least temporarily. The next time he was intimate with Sophie, Trey wanted it to mean something.

“What’s wrong?” she murmured, her lips pressed against his chest.

“Nothing. We just shouldn’t do this without a condom.” He pulled his shorts back up over his hips and forced a smile, the height of his desire still plainly evident.

“Are you going to go get one?” she asked, her eyes wide.

“Right.” Trey nodded. “I’ll…go get one.”

He walked toward the door, wincing slightly as the zipper from his shorts rubbed against his erection. When he got outside, the last light from the day had nearly faded. The sky was a deep blue and the first stars twinkled through the clouds. The rain had stopped for the moment and the air was fresh with the smell of the island.

Trey leaned back against the weather-worn siding next to the door and closed his eyes. Things were moving far too fast. Emotions he’d kept so closely in check were threatening to break through his usual indifference.

Somehow, this place had worked a kind of magic on him. Civilization, and the real world, seemed miles and miles away. And for the first time in his adult life, Trey was able to live unencumbered by the expectations of others.

Here, on Suaneva, he was able to be himself. And he was beginning to like the guy he’d found.