Paradise Revival Part 15
"Ditto. How about a little splash and play in the water?"
Her body craved the cool relief. Tony stood and hauled her up beside him, with one fluid motion pulling the sundress from her body. He grabbed her hands and ran for the waves. Morgan laughed loudly when he dove in with a belly flop.
They swam out a few yards, enjoying the refreshingly cool ocean water. Then they stepped onto the beach and grabbed their clothes.
"I suppose we need to go back to the house," he said, his voice tinged with regret.
"I guess so." Although the thought of living on the beach naked for the rest of their lives held more than a little appeal at the moment.
She turned to head back but his hand on her wrist stopped her. When she paused he pulled her into his arms and crushed her mouth with his, tangling his tongue with hers in a pa.s.sion loaded kiss that spoke volumes without words.
"I know," she said, not certain if what they felt was the same thing, but knowing that they'd each experienced something monumental here on the beach. For her, it was an emotional renewal, a connection she never thought she'd feel with a man again.
For him, she wasn't certain, and was too afraid of finding out the answer to even think about asking.
Chapter Eleven.
Tony paced his bedroom, knowing he'd have to go out there sooner or later. Morgan was waiting for him so they could head back to the resort.
Maybe spending all this time having s.e.x with Morgan was scrambling his brain, but the longer he spent here, the closer he came to doing exactly what he swore he'd never do.
Get involved. Seriously, emotionally involved. How could he be so stupid? Morgan was a woman, just like any other. He'd never had any trouble f.u.c.king and forgetting one before.
No, he thought, running his hands through his hair. He was wrong. That was the problem. Morgan wasn't like any of the other women he'd known before. And that's why she'd wormed her way into his heart.
s.h.i.t . He didn't need this, didn't want it, and frankly, wouldn't have it. He did not want to have these G.o.dd.a.m.n feelings for her. Feelings led to attachment, attachment led to relationships and relationships were disastrous.
He'd simply gotten too close too fast with Morgan. He'd felt sorry for her when he'd seen her scars, and when she asked him to help he'd gotten all that juicy s.e.x mixed up with emotion.
All she wanted from him was s.e.x. All he could give her was s.e.x.
Problem solved, right?
She'd never indicated she felt anything for him other than pure and simple l.u.s.t.
So, what the h.e.l.l was he worried about?
Ignoring the urge to hide in his room a little longer, he opened the door and searched for her, finding her outside near the pool.
She faced the ocean, the bright sunlight glinting off her red hair. She wore another one of those slinky sundresses that drove him mad with the urge to rip it right off her. Her well-shaped legs peeked out the bottom of the dress, the wind whipping it up every now and then to show off a well-toned thigh.
d.a.m.n if just the sight of her didn't get him hard.
She turned when he stepped onto the veranda, and smiled at him.
"You ready?" she asked, sweeping the blowing hair away from her face.
h.e.l.l yeah he was ready. For more s.e.x, not a trek to the resort. "Sure, let's go."
They hopped in the golf cart and Morgan maneuvered through the still wet trail, although the sun had mostly dried everything up. Now it was just blistering hot outside. He wore shorts and a tank top and even those felt like too many clothes. Wandering around the house naked with Morgan had spoiled him.
In more ways than just clothing.
She was quiet the entire trip. Then again, so was he. He knew what he was thinking about, but what about her?
"Something on your mind?" he finally asked.
She shook her head. "No. Just thinking about what I need to do at the resort."
"I'll try to stay out of your way."
"Nonsense." She turned to look at him, her gaze warm and inviting. "You're still here to do an article, and you've only seen one event."
Oh great, more s.e.x events. So much for his decision to keep his distance from her. The two of them stuck together and forced to watch another erotic show wasn't going to help at all.
"What are you showing me today?" he asked, hoping it was something he found distasteful, like...like...well, h.e.l.l. He really couldn't think of a single s.e.xual act he wouldn't like.
"What do you want to see?" Her voice had gone all low and gravelly, the sound heading straight to his crotch and waking his p.e.n.i.s from its exhausted slumber. s.h.i.t.
"Doesn't matter to me," he replied with a shrug, trying to appear cool and detached. Yeah right, like that was possible sitting next to a woman who smelled like sunshine and tropical flowers.
She frowned, then resumed driving without another word. When they arrived at the resort, she slipped out of the cart and headed right for her office. Tony trailed along as far as the lobby, then figured Morgan had a million things to do so he might as well look around a bit, maybe interview some of the support staff.
He found Morgan's a.s.sistant, Tara, in the lounge on a break. Wow. How had he missed seeing this woman? Mid-twenties, long raven hair streaming straight down her back, pet.i.te figure and the most gorgeous eyes he'd ever seen. A golden amber, they shimmered when she smiled. He introduced himself.
"Oh, you're the reporter that's interviewing Morgan this week?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yeah. Listen, do you have a few minutes? I'd like to ask you some questions."
She glanced down at her watch and then back at him. "I've got a few, sure. "
They sat at one of the lounge tables. "What can I help you with?" she asked.
"Are you from the islands?"
She laughed, a lilting, joyful laugh that brightened her entire face. "Hardly. I was born
and raised in California, went to college at UC Berkeley and majored in marketing."
"So how did you get hooked up here?"
"I wanted travel and adventure. I started out marketing for a travel agency, which
meant I got to visit vacation resorts. Since I had a few customers who were interested in more erotic vacation spots, I took the opportunity to tour several. When I came across Paradise I fell in love and never left."
"Fell in love with a guy?"
There was that laugh again. "G.o.d, no. That's the last thing I want. I'm career
building. I mean I fell in love with the resort and Morgan was nice enough to hire me on as her a.s.sistant. Some day I'd love to own a place like this."
"Why?"
Her brows knit together. "Why, what?"
"Why would you want to own a place like this?"
"What's wrong with Paradise? It's open and free and I live a carefree existence far
removed from the typical trappings of society. But you have to have a certain personality type to live in a place like this. It's not for those who crave shopping malls and movie theaters and all the amenities of the big city."
"And you don't miss any of those things?"
"Nah. I've got everything I need right here."
"What about men?" Tony found it hard to believe an attractive woman in her
twenties wouldn't be more into the social scene than her career.
"They're a nuisance. Use 'em and lose 'em is my motto."
Then it was his turn to laugh. Tara's motto sounded vaguely familiar.
"Oh h.e.l.l, there I go shooting my mouth off again." She sighed and clasped her
hands in her lap, smoothing imaginary wrinkles from her flowery sundress.
d.a.m.n, she had nice legs. Funny, though, sitting here with a beautiful woman like Tara didn't hit his s.e.x b.u.t.tons one bit. Obviously, Morgan had exhausted him. "No problem. I just wanted to get a feel for some of the staff here, figure out what makes people want to work at a place like this."
"You mean because of all the s.e.x?"
"Partly."
"That's easy. You have to be s.e.xually adventurous to work at Paradise. As well as
open minded." Her eyes narrowed for a few seconds before she added, "There are a lot of people with ridiculous provincial views on s.e.xuality. One of the reasons I stay here. Anything goes."
"And do you partake of the s.e.xual adventures here?"
A warm hand rested on his shoulder and he turned around quickly to find Morgan frowning down at him. "That's a bit of a personal question, don't you think?"
He smiled up at her. "Just doing my job."
Morgan turned her gaze to Tara. "I've gone through those contracts. They're on
your desk to finalize."
Tara nodded and stood. "Nice to meet you, Tony," she said, then shook his hand with fervor before running off toward the offices.
Morgan took the seat Tara vacated. "Don't hit on my staff," she said, her
displeasure clearly noted in the frown on her face.
"I wasn't hitting on your staff," he defended. "I was asking her some questions about living and working at the resort."
"Well, I don't appreciate you doing that without my knowledge. In the future, check
with me first."
For some reason her irritation amused him. "Why? Are you jealous?"
Her eyes widened and she immediately shot back a retort. "Of course not! Why
would I be jealous?"