A gust of rain-soaked wind at my back pushed me through the heavy teak doors into the hotel lobby. I stood, dripping onto the carpet, feeling as dispirited as I ever had in my life.
Iâd made a gamble and lost. Flying to Jamaica in the eye of a storm, Iâd hoped to find the part of me Iâd left behind a year ago.
So many regrets swirled inside my head. Iâd waited too long to come back. Iâd been a cowardâafraid to grab for the brass ring when it had hung within my grasp.
âMiss Smith, you need a towel?â
I glanced at the desk clerk, whose dark solemn face told me he knew how unhappy I was. Okay, now I could add looking pathetic to my list of woes. âThanks, Bob,â I said, twisting my lips into a parody of a smile.
He passed me a stack of towels, and I began to rub my sodden hair. My clothes were beyond hopeâmy jeans and short T-shirt clung to my skin.
âDa hurricane party jusâ started,â he said, his tone gentle. âYou can get yourself a rum toddy at da bar. Warm you to yer bones.â
I started to shake my head, wanting only to flee to my room and lick my wounds in private, and then thought better of it. Iâd spent a wad of hard-earned cash to get here in the middle of a stormâwhy not live a little? Or at least get really, really drunk. âHowâd you get so smart, Bob?â
âSeen a lot in my years,â he said, pointing to his old, rheumy eyes.
âI canât believe you remembered me,â I murmured. âI was only here for five days, and you must have met thousands of guests in your time.â Although I hadnât forgotten him, either. I hadnât forgotten a single moment of my previous visit.
âKnew youâd be back.â He gave me a wink. âDonât give up just yet.â
I gave him another false smile and headed toward the bar, automatically smoothing back my wet hair, although I really didnât care what I looked like. The one person who mattered wouldnât be there.
Gray daylight spilled into the lobby through the small ice-block windows high up under the eaves, but it didnât reach very far inside the bar because of the boarded up windows. I hesitated until my sight adjusted. The interior was as dark as a cavern, the bar lit only by a line of hurricane lamps because the electricity had gone out.
I hadnât stepped three feet inside the room when a hand snagged my wrist. I closed my eyes, a sweet trembling starting deep inside my core.
âHello, Janie.â That voiceâa deep, rusty baritoneâelicited a delicious shiver.
âMarcusâ¦â I whispered, leaning back against him and allowing him to surround me with his brawny arms. âI thoughtââ
âThat I wasnât coming?â He snorted, his breath warming my cheek.
âItâs been a year,â I said softly. âA lot could have happened since then. I thought youâd changed your mind.â I didnât tell him that Iâd cried when Iâd found his small office near the wharf boarded up.
âHow could I miss your birthday?â His lips glanced against my cheek.
I turned in his arms and reached up to slide mine around his neck. His dreadlocks were longer than theyâd been, but his warm gray eyes and beautiful, broad face were the same. I leaned closer as his lush, juicy lips met mine. This was what Iâd returned forâhis arms enfolding me, holding me so tightly I felt cherished.
His head rotated, drawing my lips along with his, and I opened, sighing as his tongue slid inside to caress mine. He tasted of rum and mint. And his lips were incredibly soft, suctioned to mine, tugging until I felt it all the way to my pussy and clenched my thighs tightly.
The man could kiss! Or was it just usâtogetherâthat made this so damn good? So special.
Was I reading too much into the fact he was here? Weâd agreed not to call, not to exchange letters. Marcus had kissed me that last day of my vacation just before I boarded my plane to return home. Heâd said to think about us. If I didnât come back, heâd understand.
Iâd arrived on the island shattered after being dumped by my fiancé days before my birthday. Marcus had healed my pride with his sweet loving and rich laughter. When Iâd gotten home, Iâd almost convinced myself that heâd been right about waiting. That our short time had simply been what I needed at that moment. That Iâd wanted to latch on to the possibility of a new love to fill my drowning heart. That maybe, heâd only been a vacation fling.
However, the closer my next birthday drew, the more urgent grew the feeling inside me that I had to see him again. I had to know whether he still had feelings for me, because time hadnât dimmed my memory of what weâd shared.
The sound of a voice clearing behind him brought me back. I opened my eyes and looked beyond Marcusâs shoulder to another set of familiar broad shoulders, a head of curly blond hair and a pair of pale piercing eyes.
I stiffened and drew back from Marcusâs embrace. âHello, Cade,â I said, my voice tightening.
Marcusâs friend and business partner gave me a small lopsided smile. The smile did nothing to soften the brutal contours of his handsome face. His pale blue gaze held mine for a long moment.