Sheryl Lister - All of Me

Damian went back to the deck, gripped the railing and gulped in a lungful of crisp ocean air. The startling depth of his desire for Karen had thrown him for a loop. How could he want a woman so much? And in such a short time. He could still smell her intoxicating perfume, feel her silky skin beneath his fingers and taste the sweetness of her kiss in his mouth. As much as he wanted to take Karen up on her offer, he needed to step back and gain some perspective. His mind said things were moving too fast, but his body argued they weren’t moving fast enough. Even now his heart hadn’t returned to a normal pace, and his erection throbbed with desire. Damian was tempted to go back and knock on her door. He hadn’t accepted her invitation tonight, one, because he felt it was too soon, and two, he didn’t have any protection. Troy and Kyle mentioned they had left him some condoms, and he made a mental note to check his bag when he returned to his room.

He remembered he needed to sign up for the tour in Jamaica and glanced down at his watch. Leaving the deck, he retraced his steps and searched out the tour desk, hoping it hadn’t closed. Luckily it hadn’t, and there were three spaces available for the eleven o’clock tour. He was too wound up to sleep and made his way to the piano bar, where an up-and-coming artist was playing. Damian claimed a stool at the circular bar, signaled the bartender and ordered a Coke.

“Thanks,” he said, accepting the glass. Although his body had calmed considerably, his mind continued to race with thoughts of Karen.

“Excuse me. Is this seat taken?”

His head came up. A woman stood next to him wearing a white low-cut skintight bodysuit and offering a come-hither smile.

“Be my guest.” He gestured to the stool, then went back to his drink.

She slid onto the stool, purposely leaning close enough to brush her breasts against his arm.

Damian pretended not to notice. He didn’t want to give the woman any indication he might be interested. She tried making small talk, and he remained courteous, but after a few minutes began to think he should have gone to his room.

“So, does that empty left hand mean you’re not married?”

He stared down at his hand. He’d finally stopped wearing his ring a year ago, and the tan line had faded completely, as if nothing had ever been there. “No, I’m not.”

She scooted closer. “Are you looking to be?”

“No.”

“Are you sure? A handsome guy like you looks like he should be married.” Her hand skimmed his thigh, sliding upward. He clamped his hand down on hers and jumped from the stool. “I think I’m going to call it a night.”

Her gaze raked over him. “Want some company?”

“No, thanks. Enjoy the cruise.” He turned on his heel and strode out of the lounge. Damian scrubbed a hand down his face. While he didn’t mind an assertive woman, overaggressiveness turned him off. He hadn’t gone far when a hand touched his shoulder.

He groaned inwardly, thinking the woman had followed him. Glancing over his shoulder, he was relieved to see his friends.

“Well, well. For somebody who didn’t want to come on this cruise, you sure have been busy,” Kyle said.

“What’s up?”

Troy folded his arms across his chest. “That’s what we want to know about you. We haven’t seen you all day.”

Kyle laughed. “My man D has jumped back into the game at full speed. I saw the woman in the catsuit. Hot! Curves for days. She basically handed herself to you on a platter.”

“I wasn’t interested.”

“Is that because you’re more interested in the woman you were dancing with earlier?” Troy asked.

“Damn, were you guys following me around or something?”

Troy shook his head. “No. We went looking for some fun and just happened to see you while we were dancing. She’s the same woman you were staring at the first day?”

He nodded. “We’re spending the day together in Jamaica tomorrow, then going to Monte’s performance tomorrow night.”

“I guess you didn’t need our help after all,” Kyle said with a laugh. He lowered his voice. “Those condoms are in the small inner pocket of your duffel bag...in case you were wondering.”

Yeah, he had wondered. “Are you guys going into Jamaica?”

“Yeah,” Kyle answered. “You think you can tear yourself away from your new friend long enough to hang with your old friends once we get to the Bahamas?”

He really wanted to spend as much time with Karen as possible since they had limited time together. However, even though they worked together, he had neglected his friendship with Kyle and Troy, and they did pay for the cruise. “Yeah, man.”

They said their goodbyes, and Damian continued to his room. Once there, he showered and crawled into bed. An hour later, he lay awake with thoughts of Karen filling his head. Where was she from? What did she do? Did she feel the chemistry between them as strongly as he did? He planned to get the answers to those questions and more. Turning over, he made himself comfortable and closed his eyes. Morning couldn’t come soon enough.

* * *

Karen untangled herself from the sheets and groaned. Another dream. Her pulse raced, and her breathing came in short gasps. It was the second one she’d had tonight, and seemed so real she would swear Damian lay beside her with his lips pressed against the hollow of her neck. She hadn’t been able to get his kisses out of her mind, or the feel of his hands sliding over her bare back and hips.

Scooting off the bed, she went into the bathroom and splashed some water on her face in an effort to cool off. She walked back into the room, opened the curtain slightly and leaned against the door frame. The sun had already begun its ascent, breaking through the early gray morning with streaks of red, orange and pink. Her mind lingered over every detail since she had met Damian, from their flirting at the pool and the uncertainty in his voice when he asked her out, to his solicitous manner during the concert and the possessive way he’d held her while his mouth plundered hers.

She wanted him. Bad. So much that she had invited him into her room last night, something she would never do with a man she’d just met. Maybe the effects of the alcohol she’d consumed had lowered her inhibitions. No. It was the man, plain and simple. But he hadn’t accepted her invitation, and Karen wondered why, when he clearly seemed to be as into her as she was into him, not to mention the huge erection she’d felt pressed against her belly.

Maybe she had read more into what was happening between them, or maybe he thought her too aggressive. She sighed softly. Whatever the case, she needed to apologize. She didn’t want Damian to think she made a habit of inviting strange men into her room.

Pushing away from the sliding glass door, Karen went to get ready for breakfast. She dug out her black swimsuit. The sexy cutout one-piece had crisscrossing straps across the back, but aside from that, left her back and sides bare, and tied at the hips. She put it on and slipped into a black crochet cover-up. Grabbing her tote, she added her waterproof camera, a change of clothes, towel, comb, brush and wallet, then sat on a chair to fasten the straps on her flat sandals. She picked up the tote and room key and left.

Karen searched the dining room for Damian and spotted him waving. She started in his direction, then halted her steps when he came toward her wearing a black tank exposing his strong muscular shoulders and arms, black swim trunks and sandals. An involuntary moan slipped from her lips. The man exuded masculinity in waves. It would be harder than she thought to keep her desire under control. As she came closer, his gaze traveled over her, stopped at her breasts and then slid lower, just below her stomach. His eyes darkened with desire, sending a rush of heat directly to her core.