A Weekend Temptation Read online

  “Where are we?” she asked.

  He lifted an arm and made a sweeping gesture from the jungle on one side to the ocean on the other. “Stanfield Cay, my private island.”

  A Land Rover pulled up, crunching over the gravel road before it stopped on the cement runway. Holding her elbow, Joel helped her into the car while his driver loaded their luggage. Joel took every opportunity to touch her, and her body responded with a dazzling heat that had nothing to do with the summery, island climate.

  “You even have a driver here, in the middle of nowhere? If you didn’t race cars for fun, I’d say you couldn’t drive, Joel,” she teased.

  He smiled as he poured her a glass of wine from the car’s custom fridge. “What can I say? Racing’s in my blood. In his youth, my father won the Targa Florio, an Italian car race.”

  “Racing’s expensive. I thought you were a self-made man.”

  “Pretty much. My father raced with corporate sponsor money before he met my mother and gave up his dangerous hobby to pursue a safe, business career.”

  “I didn’t know Stanfield International was your father’s business. I thought you started it from scratch.”

  “In a way. When my father died, his company almost died along with him. I brought it back to life.”

  “What happened to your mother?”

  He paused. His eyes darkened for a moment. “We’re not here to talk about my mother or my past. We’re here so I can explore your body, every beautiful satin inch of it.” He pressed her hand to his mouth, making her heart thud, her knees weak.

  She wasn’t ready for her reaction or to let go and make love with him. She was too annoyed that he’d shut her out, and his solid fortress of protection was back in place.

  Why was she getting ticked? She rubbed at the tension in her jaw. She wasn’t here to get close to him. She knew she’d never penetrate his emotional armor. She should be glad, because if he let her in, the danger of falling in love would be so much greater.

  A moment later, the car turned and headed up a dirt and gravel road. Ava grunted as the car bumped over the numerous gaping potholes. The moon broke free from its cloud and shined through the front windshield. She could see thick, dark vegetation on either side of them.

  When the car finally stopped in the middle of nowhere, Joel turned his attention to her. “If this is too primitive for you, we’ll head for Saint Thomas in the morning.” He opened his door, and a balmy breeze rushed in to mingle with the air conditioning. “This is my favorite place. I wanted you to see it.”

  Joel slid out, took her arm, and led her over a sandy path. She was in the middle of paradise, soaking it all in, staring at the sky overhead. She’d never noticed the stars in the city. Too many lights competed and too many people demanded attention. Out here, constellations were one of the main attractions. Stars flashed like tiny diamonds flickering against a midnight canvas. The moon gave off more than enough light for her to see Joel’s definition of primitive and hers weren’t the same.

  The island manor house had a porch that encircled the massive structure and a thatch-grass roof that blended into the landscape as if it were artist drawn. It was so beautiful, she knew some architect celebrated his creation.

  With Joel’s hand burning possessively against her lower back, he led her into the resort-like structure. While the driver unloaded the car, Joel showed her his retreat.

  The shiny teak flooring made the space warm and alive, as did the original artwork placed on every wall. Every window she passed had its own priceless view of either jungle or vast ocean.

  Joel led her through the foyer to the wide, vaulted great room with a marble fireplace so big they could waltz inside it. A wheaten couch faced the hearth.

  Ava’s jaw dropped as he led her out to the terrace. The blazing moon highlighted the gentle crest of the waves rolling onto the shore.

  “No wonder this is your favorite place,” she said. “If I owned it, I’d never leave.” Back in the city Ava had loved to stare at the serene river flowing below their office window. This view was even better.

  “As much as I love it here, I start missing the action.”

  “Yeah, you always do need to be challenged. Tragic character flaw.” She flashed a teasing smile.

  The next stop on his tour was a brief walk through an open kitchen with every amenity known to a five star chef.

  “This is not primitive. You had me expecting a small rustic cottage. Not a showplace with a granite kitchen.”

  “If I decided to cook, I’d want all the comforts of home.”

  Joel, cook? Did he even know how? Yet another reminder of how different she and Joel were. Even if Joel wasn’t the emotionless, secretive man her father had been he still wasn’t right for her. He didn’t live in her regular world. He’d created a world so above hers, she’d never fit in. And he didn’t want her to. He only wanted her for a sexual excursion, so he could go back to New York, to his million-dollar penthouse powerhouse life, where he would marry some model-debutant.

  The tour continued. After passing ten bedrooms, all with their own bathrooms, Joel showed her the most impressive room of all, his master bedroom.

  Decadent—the only word that could describe the enormous square room that housed a majestic, mahogany king-sized bed that screamed excess. And the suite’s marble bathroom was opulent temptation with its seductive, jetted tub for two. Oh my.

  They would be sharing it before the week was over.

  Joel came in behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders.

  She froze. “I…I’m not ready for—”

  “I don’t expect you to tear off your clothes and jump into my bed this minute. We just got here. I plan to take the time to seduce you, slowly, until you melt in my arms. I want to spoil you. It’s late. For our first time, I want you wide-awake and willing.”

  Ava leaned in the bathroom doorway and watched Joel work in the bedroom. He opened her suitcase, where it sat on the floor. His shirt strained as he bent to retrieve her folded clothing. The play of his back muscles and arms made her swallow hard.

  They’d sat close during the flight. He’d laid his arm over her shoulder. His scent had tantalized her and charged her hunger. Tension built in her muscles, especially the ones low in her pelvis. She sensed he’d give her unimaginable pleasure. But it had been forever since she’d had a lover and fear wouldn’t leave her, so she’d done the cowardly thing and given herself a reprieve. One more night.

  “I never pictured you like this, waiting on me. I thought no matter where you go you had an entourage of servants,” she said.

  “With me, anything is possible.” He walked to a nearby closet and hung her navy sweater before he faced her. “But out here, I like my staff bare. They come once a day to deliver food and clean. I choose to be more self-sufficient on Stanfield Cay because I like the privacy of my island. This place is a thousand years away from New York. And there are fewer sharks out here.”

  He sounded like that was the island’s only flaw, the fact there were no sharks. Joel liked sharks and challenges. He didn’t experience fear the way other men did. Nothing about Joel was like other men, which made him danger personified. She shivered in spite of the fact his island palace was the perfect temperature.

  “How many times in the past year have you come here?” Had he and Claudia been here recently?

  “Once, twice maybe.”

  “Oh.” She tried to keep the bitterness from her tone but failed.

  “Claudia hasn’t been to Stanfield Cay. You’re the only woman I’ve brought here.” His eyes met hers for three solid heartbeats. Then he went back to his task.

  She smiled and relaxed her shoulders. She warned herself not to feel special because she was the only woman he’d brought to this wonderful hideaway. Joel was still a billionaire playboy. Of course he’d know just what she’d wanted to hear because he could read her. Because he knew women.

  Still, if Joel said she was the only woman he’d brought he
re, she was the only woman. He didn’t need to lie to get a woman into his bed. She remembered screening his calls.

  After their clothing was put away, Ava followed him onto the terrace to listen to the warm wind whisper through the palm trees. He stood behind her as she leaned against the iron railing.

  “You own an island, an entire island,” she whispered just above the breeze.

  Over her shoulder, he nodded still watching the view. Before now she hadn’t known Stanfield Cay existed. There were no pictures of it in his office, but it made sense why he’d bought it. The island fit him. It was as secluded as he was. If ever there was a metaphor for Joel, this getaway was it.

  If she was crazy enough to want to learn about Joel, to live in his world, Stanfield Cay was where to begin. But she didn’t want to, because that would be dangerous.

  Unfortunately, she was curious. Surely there was a way she could learn a little about him while keeping some distance.

  “You’ve been here only two times in the last twelve months? This is too beautiful a place to waste.”

  He nodded. “You’re right.”

  He took her hand in his. Hot sensation zapped through her, making her body thrum and her heart speed. Then he tugged her back into the bedroom, not bothering to close the glass door. His bed loomed in the center, daring her to quit being scared.

  He stood facing her with his back to the terrace, his gaze sinking into hers. He stepped closer until their bodies almost touched. His mouth hovered over her lips while she held her breath and waited for him to claim her. With unblinking eyes, she watched his slow descent, until he finally feathered a kiss over her lips. It felt so perfect she moaned and opened for him in invitation. He tasted strong and masculine and completely intoxicating. He kissed like a man who had owned her body for a lifetime.

  As his mouth plundered, one hand held the back of her neck, while the other burned into her lower back, pressing her against his hard length.

  He kissed her until her breasts ached and her nipples hardened into his solid chest, until heat pooled low and deep in her pelvis. Until she could feel his erection jutting into her belly.

  He ended the kiss only when air became vital. Then Joel moved her hair off her neck, and kissed and nibbled the sensitive pulse point until she arched into him. Waves of heat shot down her body, covering her skin. “Oh...” The dazzling spikes of pleasure were like nothing she’d ever felt.

  His arms encircled her waist as he lifted her off her feet and carried her to his bed, where he laid her onto the soft mattress. But he didn’t join her. Instead, he stood like a granite statue at the foot. Her heart tumbled. Her limbs were heavy, her skin hot and tingly. She ached for him like she’d ached for no other man.

  Was he going to join her?

  Should she ask?

  He whispered, “You want me, but you’re tired, at the same time.”

  It had been a long twenty-four hours, and she hadn’t slept for days, weighing the decision whether to come be with him or not. But after his commanding kiss, the sheer hot perfection of it, she wanted him more than she wanted sleep. More than she wanted anything.

  He must have seen the disappointment in her eyes because he said, “I want you, but I want you awake and alive the first time we make love.”

  Her cheeks heated. She was alive enough to want him but too nervous to plead. It would happen when he decided it would.

  “It’s been a long trip. Tonight, you sleep here, alone. Tomorrow, we explore the island and each other. I’ll wake you when breakfast arrives in the morning.”

  That was it? This was how the first day of her sexual exploration with Joel Stanfield would end? She groaned in frustration. No way would she sleep after he’d awakened her body and turned it to liquid fire.

  But her ears rang from the jet’s engine noise, and her eyelids dropped like metal weights were tied to them. To her surprise, as soon as her head hit the pillow, sleep swallowed her.

  Chapter Five

  “Wake up, sleepy head, it’s nine thirty.” A deep voice rumbled into Ava’s dreams.

  She pulled a pillow over her face.

  The pillow was yanked off, along with her warm covers.

  “Hey!” Vacation was about sleeping late and having no schedule, wasn’t it?

  “C’mon, breakfast is ready. We need to eat while it’s hot.”

  Joel didn’t wait for her to dress, just grabbed her hand and hauled her out of bed. He led her to a small round table set on the beach. Palm trees rustled on either side, standing like totem poles shading their table. Heavenly azure water lapped the shore line. White sand stretched out for miles in either direction.

  She inhaled the clean ocean air and tasted the salt on her lips. She didn’t hear taxi horns, or her condo’s trash truck, or the pounding bass of her neighbor’s techno band. The only sounds were the soft buzz of the hut’s generator and the island’s only neighbor, a lone brown pelican lurking at the water’s edge, fluffing his feathers.

  The postcard view made Ava decide she could do island life. She might be a life-long city girl, but being here, eating breakfast on the beach with a chiseled god of a man, was paradise on earth. Yes, she could get used to traveling via luxury jet, vacationing on a private island, and having a staff deliver breakfast or whatever else she could dream up.

  But this wasn’t something she could afford to get used to. This was a temporary excursion to enjoy and file away under dreamy once-in-a-lifetime memories.

  She squinted into the sunshine and saw a long, weathered, gray dock off the left side of the beach. In the distance, a small powerboat cut through the water, creating a large white wake, carrying Joel’s discreet staff away, leaving them alone.

  Butterflies collided against her stomach lining. Today was the day she would give herself to Joel. She would be his. After twelve months of wanting, she would have him in the most intimate, possessive way.

  Joel cleared his throat and held the chair for her. He’d been waiting, a few seconds longer than normal. She rushed to sit. When she did, he laid her napkin on her lap. Five star service, as far as she was concerned.

  He settled into his chair, and as he poured her orange juice, she zeroed in on his long, bronze fingers. What would those fingers be doing to her body after breakfast?

  “Coffee?” he asked.

  She nodded, and he filled another cup. She was surprised to see the steam rising from it. The coffee was still hot? His staff must live close, otherwise the coffee would have cooled by now.

  She blew into her cup, then took a tentative sip. Yum. The coffee was her favorite blend, a sweet caramel. He remembered.

  She grabbed her fork and looked down at her plate, heaping with everything she loved—pancakes, eggs, bacon, and a sinful chocolate crepe with raspberry sauce.

  “Syrup?”

  At her nod, he poured until she raised a hand.

  “Only you could arrange five-star service out here in the middle of island no-where.” She cut her pancake.

  “Even though we’re in the middle of nowhere, there’s nothing I can’t give you. Just say the word.”

  “Snorkel gear?” She’d always wanted to learn to snorkel. If she wasn’t mistaken, the plan was to explore the island then each other.

  Or did she have it backward?

  “Yes, both snorkeling and diving gear were delivered this morning to the storage building in back of the hut. I got your wet suit and fin sizes when I unpacked your clothing.” He salted his eggs then shoveled a bite into his mouth.

  Just like in the city, when Joel wanted something to happen it happened. Say snorkeling, and with a snap of his regal fingers, gear was delivered.

  She told herself she woke up in heaven. The food tasted delicious, the scenery was postcard perfect, the man across from her was hot and anticipating her needs. There was no reason to worry about the love making. She ignored the over-active butterflies flipping through her stomach.

  “Drink up. If you still need more caffeine, I’ll
have it delivered,” he said. Again reminding her he was here to satisfy her.

  And Joel was a virile man who could do anything, even make an inexperienced woman forget her fears.

  “You okay? You’re shaking.”

  Should she tell him she wasn’t like his usual lover? He’d given her the perfect opportunity. She opened her mouth and considered what to say. But, the right words wouldn’t come.

  It wasn’t like she was virgin. It had just been a while…on purpose. Her first lover had been on prom night. Talk about uncomfortable. Then she’d dated her second lover, Jason, in college, for six months before becoming intimate. She’d thought their relationship had a future. Their lovemaking had been pleasurable but obviously not pleasurable enough for him. He left her for a woman who was more passionate in bed. Afterward she’d felt lacking and frigid.

  That was part of the reason she wanted Joel as a lover. She knew he was experienced, and when he kissed her, she forgot to worry if she was enough. What she felt in his arms drove away fears and doubts.

  What if she told him her dismal sexual past and he didn’t want her anymore? She should keep quiet. She’d come all this way, and she didn’t want to go home without being his lover.

  “Caffeine withdrawal,” she lied.

  “Among other things?” he asked, his deep voice going lower, smoother, until her stomach dipped. “Has it been a while since you’ve taken a lover?”

  She nodded and bit her lip.

  “I’m honored you chose to come then. We’ll go slowly. Sometimes slow is the most satisfying.” His dark eyes sank into hers and held on.

  When his gaze inched down her face, she couldn’t breathe. When it zeroed in on her lower lip, her muscles tightened. She’d never felt desire’s pull or a man’s compelling magnetism like this before. She was aware of his every movement, and the background faded away.

  This dynamic man was all that mattered. If she was an artist, he would be the one she’d want to capture on a canvas, wearing his aqua blue swim trunks and nothing else. His bare chest was dark, lightly sprinkled with hair and rippled with hard, defined muscle. She itched to explore him.