“I headed an import business until four years ago, when I took over the family company. It wasn’t really on my radar, but…my mother died unexpectedly and my father needed help.” Of course, this was only the abbreviated version of his father’s path to ruthless ambition. Alex’s parents started Echelon Media thirty-five years ago, and with a few failed businesses already under their belt, they worked their asses off to make it successful. Eventually, they expanded and gained momentum, even adding print media to their holdings. Then, right after his mother died, the company almost fell victim to a hostile takeover. Losing his wife and then nearly his company had lit a fire in Devin Sr. to buy up everything they could to ensure Echelon’s legacy…regardless of the constant strain on Alex to keep up. “My father wasn’t dealing well with his grief, so he basically put me at the helm and watched to see if I’d sink or swim.”
“Kind of the way you learned to swim?” Nicola’s voice was gentle.
“Yeah. Kind of like that.”
The waiter arrived with their drinks, so they both stopped talking. Nicola picked up her margarita and took a sip, then she laid her hand down on the table inches from Alex’s. He stared at it. Her nails were unpolished, but still long enough to taper to five perfect points. He watched as she bit her lower lip and released it again. Beneath her dress, he could see her nipples straining against the fabric. Had they been that hard before? No—he definitely would have noticed. He felt the blood in his extremities rushing toward the center of his body, creating an unmistakable heat there that only one thing could possibly quell.
Her.
God, he wanted her, and he wanted her right fucking now.
Nicola’s eyes met his and didn’t waver.
An electric jolt shot through Alex’s body. Then she lifted her fingers and lightly trailed them along the top of his hand. He shivered.
“I was just wondering,” she said, lowering her voice as she leaned in toward him. “If you felt like getting out of here.”
He was on his feet and signaling the waiter for the bill before the last word was out of her mouth.
OUTSIDE THE RESTAURANT there were a few people lingering at the entrance as they chatted or smoked a cigarette. Nicola still couldn’t believe she’d been as forward as she had been two minutes ago, but any possible regrets she might have paled in comparison to the urgency she felt to be alone with this man. To put her mouth on that spot right under his jaw she’d been watching all night, to take those fingers she’d finally gotten the nerve to touch and put them on the part of her that was already aching for him.
And he hadn’t even touched her yet.
“Over here,” Nicola said, taking Alex’s hand and pulling him around the side of the building toward the beach. He happily obeyed, falling in step beside her as they hurried along the wooden walkway until their feet hit sand. Once on the beach she tugged him up the shore a ways until they were concealed from view of the restaurant by a stand of palm trees. By that time they were both breathing hard, and it was only partly because of their brisk walk.
Alex turned to face her. It was almost dark out, but still light enough for Nicola to see her own eyes mirrored back to her. He reached out and brushed his hand against her cheek. Just a simple touch, but to Nicola it felt electric.
“I’ve been wanting to do that since the moment I saw you on the road,” Alex said softly. “And so much more.”
His hand slid to the back of her head, tangling into her hair. Nicola’s pulse raced with the anticipation of the unknown. Would his kiss alight her as much as his touch had?
Alex tipped her face upward and brought his mouth down on hers.
Oh, yes.
A helpless little moan escaped Nicola’s throat as she felt his tongue find hers. Slowly, their kiss deepened until it wasn’t enough anymore. Nicola wrapped her arms around Alex’s hips and pressed into them, feeling his cock stiffen. The rush of wetness she felt made her own feelings obvious. She wanted nothing more than to back up into a tree, have Alex lift her up and fuck her against it right then and there, but was she really doing this?
Quickly, before her brain got so addled by lust that she reached the point of no return, she ticked through all the reasons this was a bad idea.
He was a visitor to the island, which ruled out any possibility of a relationship.
But she didn’t necessarily want one. In fact, given her current situation, that was probably a bonus.
She’d never been a one-nighter kind of girl, and she’d certainly never slept with a guy within an hour of their first date.
But she’d never been overcome by such an intense craving for a man before.
She didn’t have a condom.
Okay, so that one was ironclad. But maybe he did.
Her hands were inside his shorts—on top of his boxers, grabbing his beautiful ass. Meanwhile, one of his hands had found its way inside the top of her dress. She arched her back as he held her tightly by the waist with one arm and scooped her breast from its bra cup with his other hand.
“Fucking beautiful,” he whispered hoarsely before taking her nipple into his mouth. Nicola moaned, desire pumping through every cell of her body.
But then Alex released her breast and kissed her again, still passionately but with more control. When he pulled away, Nicola could just make out his face in the moonlight.
“You’re in charge,” Alex said to her. “I won’t make you cross any lines you’re not comfortable with. No guilt, no regrets, okay? Just me. If you want me.”
Nicola tightened her grip on him. “I do—oh, God, I do. Not…not everything right now, but soon. Right now I just want to feel your tongue on me. All over me.”
“Your wish is my command.” Alex smiled, making Nicola’s insides melt.
Quite simply, this was a fantasy come true. The sound of the waves lapping gently on the shore reminded her that she was on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. And this gorgeous man was looking at her like he wanted to devour her, like nothing else in the world existed except the two of them. And it didn’t, even though Nicola knew they could be discovered at any second. She hardly cared—all she cared about was the intoxicating smell of Alex’s skin, his hands in her hair, his body pressed to hers…
Alex ran his hands down her sides, and when he got to the bottom of her dress he ran them back up again, this time sliding them against her skin.
“Back,” he whispered, and she obeyed, bending her knees until she was sitting on the sand. He pushed her gently until she was lying down, then he slowly moved the straps of her dress down her shoulders and pulled her bra down. His mouth was on her, teasing and flicking her nipples until she wanted to scream.
“That feels…so good,” she said between breaths. “But I need more.”
“All in time, I promise. First, I want to discover every inch of you.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?” He took her hand and pressed it to his still-clothed cock, which felt about twice as big—if that was possible—as it had the last time she’d felt it. “I’m doing just great. Right now I want to feel you come.”
Hearing those words from his mouth caused a new wave of heat to sweep through her body. “Please,” she moaned, moving his hand to her pussy. “Lick me here.”
His hand slid inside her panties,