Island Pleasures, Page 2

  “Carly,” he whispered, rolling up the file.

  She suddenly stared in his direction.

  He slapped the file against his hip, smiling when her jaw dropped and alarm filled her face. Something electric and searing settled in his groin. He went to stalk his prey.

  Oh, shit.

  She ran her damp palms over her lap. What were the odds not only an old classmate would be working for the resort, but an ex-lover as well? Well, more like a one-night stand when it came to Quinn Alfasi, the reserved, half-Irish, half-Moroccan hunk who’d made her horny for most of her senior year at LVU.

  “Earth to Cassidy.” Woody waved his hand in front of her face.

  “Sorry, I thought I saw someone I knew. It’s such a small world.” She struggled to think of an excuse to leave before Quinn ruined everything.

  “You can say that again.” Woody took a long pull of his beer and beamed at her.

  “Too bad Carly couldn’t be here. You remember my sister, right?” She admired the way the sun bounced off his hair, displaying the burgundy strands and drawing attention to his magnetic, bronzed face. “Speaking of which, I should give her a call to say I’ve arrived. She tends to worry, especially with me so far away.”

  His brow knitted. “She’s probably concerned about you vacationing alone so soon after your divorce.”

  “Divorce?”

  She turned to find Quinn staring at her with blinding green eyes. Her legs turned to Jell-O.

  “My man! You’ll never guess who I ran into.” Woody slapped him on the back. “Cassidy, do you remember Quinn Alfasi? He was my roommate at LVU. Now he makes sure the resort runs in tip top shape. Wasn’t your sister good friends with him?”

  Her heart jumped into her throat. “Ah, I think so.”

  “The resemblance is remarkable. Good to see you again, Cassidy. How long has it been?” Quinn held out his hand.

  Here goes. Giving him a cheery smile, she met his stare straight on and lifted her chin, refusing to cower.

  He curved his hand around hers and peered down at her chest.

  Gritting her teeth, she resisted the urge to snap her fingers in front of his face. The Quinn she once knew would have never done such a thing. But his appreciative, rather lusty expression indicated times had changed.

  Two can play at this game. She captured his wrist, noting the rapid beat of his pulse. Hmm…interesting. She squeezed. Come on, let me go. He didn’t.

  He lifted their linked fingers to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. His eyes glittered in defiance, his warm breath rushing over her, making her stomach clench.

  “It’s been years,” she whispered, tugging.

  He released her and fiddled with his shirt collar. “Six years to be exact.”

  She zoned in on his movements, noting the dusting of black hair rising from the opening of his shirt. Once she had run her tongue across his—

  “I can’t believe it’s been that long.” Woody said, breaking the moment.

  “What a strange coincidence, seeing you again and here of all places.” she said, grabbing a napkin and blotting away the sweat on her upper lip.

  “Here, use this,” Quinn offered her an ivory handkerchief. When she didn’t take it, he waved it in front of her face. “It won’t bite.”

  But will you? He’d been more of a nibbler. She snatched the linen square. His thumb brushed her. She flinched, hiding her reaction to his touch behind the crisp, white cloth. Needing support, she rested her hand over Woody’s. Something sounding like a growl came from Quinn. She chose to ignore it.

  Woody lifted a small glass. “A toast to new beginnings, and to Cassidy, in the hopes she finds love again.”

  She took the shot the bartender set in front of her and smiled in thanks.

  “New beginnings, Cassidy? Last I heard you were married. Joining the single ranks again, like your sister? Or is she with someone special?” Quinn asked.

  His presumptuous questions annoyed her. Was he searching for answers, interested if she was single, or wanted to throw her failing marriage in her face? Her temper grew on behalf of her sister, who had made the heartbreaking decision to separate from her husband of three years and start divorce proceedings.

  Woody frowned. “Cassidy is getting over a painful divorce. She came here to recover. I’m glad she has familiar faces around to ease her.”

  Quinn’s piercing glare turned darker. “Carly wasn’t into commitment back in college. Does she still play the field?”

  She gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to stick her tongue out at the lout. “She dates.”

  Quinn laid his palm on her back. She leaned forward, his touch a hot brand. “Problem?”

  She curled her hand into a fist to quell the urge to slap the smirk off his face. “No, just jet lagged from my trip.” She climbed off the stool and gulped her shot. The sweet tasting alcohol landed in her belly and helped calm her fast-beating heart. She dropped the handkerchief on the bar. “I’m going to my room and take a nap.”

  “There’s a barbeque on the beach tonight. You should come. I’ll be there.” Woody waggled his eyebrows, making her laugh.

  “Maybe,” she murmured, glancing at Quinn from the corner of her eye.

  Woody spoke close to her ear. “It would be great to catch up and hear how you and Carly are doing.”

  “I’ll have to see. I don’t want to be up too late, right Woody?” she asked, patting his chest and grinning up at him.

  He nudged her hip. “The best time to go to the beach is early morning.”

  “What are you two talking about?” Quinn’s voice grew hard and he slapped his leg with the folder he held.

  Why was he carrying a folder out by the pool? All business.

  “We have a paddle board lesson tomorrow,” Woody said with a pleased smile.

  Her cell rang. “I better answer this.” She slipped from between the two men. “Woody, if we don’t hook up tonight, I’ll see you tomorrow morning at nine at the bar.” She lifted her phone to her ear and darted away.

  Chatting with the real Cassidy on her way out of the area, she caught Quinn watching her with a heated stare that went straight to her core.

  She has the same walk and terrific ass wiggle she had in college.

  He charted Carly’s movement, the boxy sundress downplaying her curves. No matter how hard she tried to hide her body, or acted like her sister, she couldn’t diminish her perkiness and sunny disposition. He was going to have fun breaking her down and having her spill her secrets, all of them….

  “The one time I didn’t need you as my wingman,” Woody said in a disgruntled voice.

  “You never complained about us tag teaming a woman before. Why’s Carly different from all the rest?”

  “Don’t you mean Cassidy?”

  “You were talking to Carly Kimball, undercover writer for Chit-Chat Weekly. She’s using her sister’s name as an alias in order to find dirt on Jagger and that 1Night Stand dating service.” He slapped his palm with the folder and set it on the bar. “Check out her file. She went pretty far with her deception.”

  Woody released a low whistle, flipping the pages. “Carly has quite the imagination. Wonder if she’d get off on having two men. We can—”

  “Stop right there.” Quinn held up his palm, running his tongue over his dry lips. “What we do together every once in a while with a female guest is something we won’t be doing with Carly. Even if I wanted to, which I don’t, it would give her ammunition for her sleazy article.”

  Woody lifted a brow. “You never got over her, have you? That’s why you’re snarling at me. I don’t mind sharing, as you well know.”

  A vision of his best friend and his ex-lover rolling around sweaty and naked on a bed made his head pound along with the need to punch something.

  Quinn flinched when Woody’s hand landed on his shoulder. “I have a headache. I’m going home to lie down before tonight’s barbeque for all the new guests.”

  “I’m meeting wit
h the staff about the event in ten minutes. Hopefully it won’t be a late night for me since I have an early morning lesson tomorrow.”

  The pounding in Quinn’s head amplified. He swallowed a groan when he thought of another pounding—no, throbbing—in a different area altogether. Maybe he’d take a long, hot shower and relieve his stress with a bar of soap and his hand.

  “You should join us tomorrow. Maybe Carly will come clean. Then you can find out why she dumped your ass before graduation.” The bantering tone in Woody’s voice had vanished.

  “I might hold you to that.” Quinn grabbed the folder and headed back to his office.

  His friend had been right about one thing. He still ached for the woman who’d waltzed in and turned his controlled and settled life upside down…again.

  Chapter Four

  A school of neon yellow fish swam by. Such beautiful fish! She circled around in amazement and kicked up sand in the clear blue water. She had survived her first stand-up paddling with minimal scrapes and now celebrated by wading in the breathtaking ocean.

  Woody shot past her on his board, howling in glee. Despite his patience and skill teaching her, his mannerisms had changed. He still acted goofy and flirty, but caught her off guard several times with intrusive questions. Like Quinn’s yesterday.

  She stared off into the horizon. Seeing Quinn again had resurrected a whole slew of memories she didn’t want to acknowledge. She’d also made the mistake of telling Cass about their reintroduction. Her sister freaked out and insisted she return home on the first plane available. Carly had to promise she wouldn’t get caught and would be careful while she spied in order to get off the phone. She’d begin right after her lesson.

  “You better slap some lotion on. The sun can be brutal around this time.” Woody glided over to her, pushing his board ahead of him. Water coasted down his throat and muscular chest. She was a sucker for a nice set of abs on a man. This man had that and then some.

  She batted a fly away from her face and winced. “I’ll end up freckling even worse.”

  “I love a woman who wears freckles well, like you.”

  “Thanks,” she said, splashing water on her shoulders. “After we’re done here, I may take a trip into town later and visit, Burn…Town? Damn, I can’t think of the name.”

  “Cockburn Town,” he announced in a deadpan voice.

  “Cockburn? You’re teasing me!” She burst out laughing.

  “Not at all. It’s our capital city. A few other islands have their own Cockburn as well. I guess the name is popular. Lots of cocks here in the Turks.” His lips twitched.

  “And the biggest one is next to me.” She paddled toward shore and attempted to stand.

  When her legs buckled, Woody caught her and held her steady. “Careful, your muscles aren’t used to this kind of exercise.”

  She stared at him, but he only smiled back, showing no signs of pretense. The vivid color of his eyes matched the clear sky above.

  He winked. “Cockburn isn’t Vegas, but it’s a fun place to visit. You can find great souvenirs there for Carly and your friends.”

  Her stomach dropped. Had she slipped up and volunteered where she lived? Also his constant mentions of her sister’s name and the barrage of questions worried her.

  “Is the sun getting to you? You’re shaking.” He draped an arm across her shoulder. “Maybe you should sit under the umbrella for a spell. I brought a cooler with drinks and some snacks.”

  She’d had only coffee this morning, too edgy to eat anything, expecting Quinn to surface again.

  “I am a little hungry.” She allowed him to guide her onto the beach then stopped in her tracks when she caught sight of a man dressed in dark swim trunks standing near their umbrella.

  Speak of the devil. Quinn looked like a woman’s wet dream. Curly dark hair dotted his chest and traveled into the waistband of his swimsuit. His biceps and pecs were on display in all their brawny and toned glory.

  Can a man get arms like that from having too much sex? I’m really stretching, coming up with ridiculous reasons for Quinn looking fabulous and edible.

  The men slapped hands. She moved forward, adjusting the straps of her navy, one-piece bathing suit.

  “Hello, Cassidy. I found these on the blanket. Are they yours?” Quinn stressed her—Cass’s name—and held out her sunglasses.

  “Yes, thanks.” She grasped them, but he held on, leaning close to her.

  “Surprised I’m here?” he whispered.

  She searched his face for any signs he suspected her ruse, but his pleasant expression gave nothing away. “Glad you could take time out of your busy schedule to join us, bro.” Woody bent down in front of the cooler.

  She accepted a bottle of chilled water from him, keeping an eye on Quinn, waiting for him to strike in some manner. When she dropped to sit on the blanket, he joined her, pulling in his knees and resting his arms on them. She drank in silence, appreciating the sight of his upper torso glistening under a fine coating of sweat. She rolled the bottle across her forehead and then took a sip.

  “Hot?” His mouth skimmed her ear as she took a long swig.

  She swallowed too fast and choked. Quinn gave her back a swift pat. He kept his palm there until she shrugged it off. If he kept touching her in such an easy manner, she’d combust.

  Woody lounged on his back, propped on his elbows, on her other side “When’s the last time you hung out on the beach, Quinn? It must have been over a month.” He glanced up at her. “Our friend is all work and no play. Mr. Castillo relies on him for everything. If our boss needs information about an employee or guest, he’s right there to deliver.”

  She finished her water and played with the label, trying to remain calm. How much had Quinn figured out?

  “Yes, I know everything. I’m all seeing,” he joked in a husky tone and shifted closer to her.

  “And you know so much about me, All Powerful Seeing Eye.” She refused to back down from his taunting voice.

  “Seeing as we didn’t hang out together in college, unlike Carly and I, how would I know anything about you? Speaking of your sister, I thought she was a pretty standup person, but she proved me wrong. She never said goodbye and didn’t even gift us with her presence at graduation.” His body became rigid, his voice biting.

  She’d been horrible cutting off all ties, but there had been a reason. A big reason.

  “Woody!”

  Three women near the water waved in their direction. Woody sat up and slicked his hair back. “If you two will excuse me, my adoring fans await.” He stood, dusted off his bathing trunks, and strolled away.

  Quinn sat in unyielding silence. She tapped her thumbs one over the other. His presence at her side after all these years made her twitchy.

  “I don’t remember you fidgeting so much in college,” he remarked, his voice friendlier.

  “You love talking about the good old days, as if we were close buddies. Carly’s the one you were friends with. I can’t tell you the number of times she mentioned your name or how great a guy you were.”

  He dropped his hand on the blanket near her hip and stroked the edge of her swimsuit with his pinkie. “Not surprising. Most of the women on campus couldn’t stop talking about me.” His wide smile reached his eyes.

  She choked back her laugh and, without thinking, bumped her shoulder with his. He swept a strand of hair sticking to her cheek aside. She stared at him, undone by the casual, intimate action. As her heart drummed in her chest, he lifted his hand and drifted it down her throat and her arm, finally laying it on her leg.

  “What happened between us?” he asked, his smile replaced by a range of emotions she couldn’t decipher.

  “You mean between you and Carly?” she asked, fixing her gaze on the sunlight dancing on the turquoise waters.

  “Yes. She didn’t tell you why she didn’t say good-bye to me and never got in touch after graduation?”

  She closed her eyes, his sorrow striking a chord in her. The l
east she could do was be honest with him about the night they shared and why she’d left him without a word.

  “There’s a reason why my sister and I didn’t walk at graduation, never to be heard from again.” She inhaled and blinked away the dampness forming in her eyes. “She never told you how sick our mom was?”

  “She told me your mother had been ill, but she wouldn’t go into any details. I didn’t want to pressure her.”

  She opened her eyes and stared out at the water. “Mom suffered from breast cancer. By the time Cas, ah Carly, and I went to college, she had become worse. We didn’t want to leave her. But since LVU offered us scholarships, Mom insisted we go. She said we couldn’t refuse the opportunity of a lifetime. We accepted to make her happy.” She wiped her mouth and sniffed. “Senior year, Mom really deteriorated. When we went home for spring break, we could see she didn’t have much time left.”

  “I remember when you came back. You lost weight and were too quiet and not your normal self,” he said, rubbing his thumb across the inside of her wrist.

  “You mean Carly, not me,” she corrected him. “The night after finals ended was supposed to be my last hurrah before graduation a week later.” She inhaled a ragged breath and faced him. “Carly told me how much she loved being with you that night. You took your friendship to the next level, and it was everything she’d wished for her first time. She left so early in the morning without saying good-bye because our dad called to tell us Mom passed away. We packed up, rented a car, and drove home.”

  A sob left her. She started to stand when he ran his thumb across her cheek. Unnerved, she found it hard not to break down in tears.

  “I’m so sorry. I wish I’d known. Why didn’t she return any of my calls or my emails? I had no idea I was her first lover! Hell, I even wrote her letters and mailed them, hoping she’d think they were romantic.” He scanned her face and she darted her gaze away.