style="font-size:15px;"> THE SNICK OF a key card in the door woke Issy, pulling her out of a very steamy dream starring J. B. Larocque.
She kept her eyes closed for several seconds, trying to hang on to the amazing feelings coursing through her, moaning softly with frustration as they faded. That J.B. featured in her dream was hardly surprising. Although she’d spent the past couple of days on the beach with Sapphie, the evenings had been spent alone with J.B. after her friend and Taylor had disappeared. Both nights had ended with hot, thrilling kisses that even now aroused her.
The lock clicked again, followed by muttered curses. She should get up to help but she wanted desperately to go back to sleep and rekindle the dream that had become...interesting.
Sapphie finally managed to work the key card and crept in, holding her sandals.
“I wasn’t expecting you back until morning.” Issy sat up, leaning on one elbow.
“It is morning.” Sapphie pointed her shoes at the floor-to-ceiling windows where the sun was peaking over the horizon. “And a beautiful one, too.”
“True, but it’s still early. Yesterday and the day before, you got back in time for us to make the last call for breakfast in the restaurant. Is everything okay?”
Her friend flopped onto the bed and yawned. “It’s great, but I must be aging. I need some sleep.” She grinned. “Give hockey players their due—they are the fittest athletes. They have amazing stamina.”
Issy fought the color that rose in her cheeks. She really didn’t need further fuel for her fantasies. She’d seen enough of J.B.’s body to know that he was in prime physical condition. Her palms tingled at the memory of running her hands over the firm muscles in his arms and back. Her nipples tightened, as if they were still pressed to the solid wall of his chest.
“That’s TMI.” Issy hoped her friend would put the husky note in her voice down to her having just woken up.
Sapphie laughed. “That’s exactly the kind of information you need. If you’re going to break your sexual drought, you should do it with the best. J. B. Larocque is perfect. Far better than that other idiot you slept with.”
The problem with best friends was that they knew all your secrets. Like the fact that Issy had only had sex once before, in college, and it had been an unmitigated disaster.
She’d fancied herself in love with the skinny, studious guy who’d sat in front of her in English. He’d been the complete opposite of the hulky, square-jawed jocks who attended reluctantly to fulfill their scholarship criteria. She’d been thrilled when he’d started paying attention to her.
Until the night the jerk had spiked her drink.
Her only consolation was that he’d barely got inside her before he’d come.
Luckily, there hadn’t been an unwanted pregnancy. Still, the whole miserable experience had soured her on men. She’d buried herself in her courses and focused on getting top grades.
“I haven’t made up my mind whether I’m going to—” Issy twirled her finger in the air “—you know.”
Scorching-hot kisses were one thing. Going further was something else altogether. And not just because J.B. had probably slept with hundreds of gorgeous, confident women who were probably wonderful in bed.
“I figured you were dithering when there wasn’t a Do Not Disturb sign on the door.” Sapphie sighed heavily. “This is a great opportunity. You get an amazing night with a superstud like J.B., then you won’t have to see him again. He won’t want more than a fling, either, so it’s a win-win.”
Issy ignored the twinge beneath her breastbone. She didn’t want, nor was she ready for, a relationship right now. Once she got her promotion to head of department, and her future was stable and secure, then she’d think about settling down. Besides, as nice as he was, and as much as he turned her on, J. B. Larocque would not be the right man for her to have a relationship with.
Still, one night was very tempting. “Sounds too good to be true.”
“What could go wrong?” At Issy’s raised eyebrow, Sapphie shook her head. “You’re not Rosabelle. Or our parents. Besides, there’s this wonderful invention called contraception.”
“Funny. I’ve been on the pill since college.”
“Then you’re okay, because J.B. won’t want a child to interfere with his career. Nothing bad will happen because neither of you will let it.”
“I suppose so.” Could she take the risk? Should she?
“You know you want to,” Sapphie said gently. “It’s now or never—we leave tomorrow. I don’t want you to regret a missed opportunity.”
Issy was thirty years old and had never enjoyed anything like that. How many more chances would come her way? Surely, if she was very careful...
“All right.” Issy nodded. “I do want to and I will. Tonight.”
“About time.” Sapphie clapped delightedly.
Anticipation began to fizz through Issy’s veins. “What if he doesn’t want to?”
“Trust me, the man is desperate for you.”
She smiled. “As long as he doesn’t run away from me screaming.”
“Puh-lease. He could’ve spent his vacation with any woman on the island. He’s chosen to be with you.”
“What if I’m not good enough? I’m not exactly experienced and he...is.”
Sapphie’s expression softened. “One of the benefits of his experience is that he’ll understand you’re not and he’ll make sure it’s great for you. He’ll definitely make you forget what happened before.”
“He’d have to be a magician.”
Her friend winked. “From what I’ve heard, he has amazing hands and a...”
“Please don’t mention his magic wand.” Issy rolled her eyes.
They both laughed.
Sapphie yawned again. “Now, I really need some sleep. Especially if I’m going to help you prepare for your big night.”
Issy wished she had her friend’s confidence. “What you mean is you want to make sure you’re ready for one more all-nighter with Taylor.”
“That goes without saying. I plan to enjoy every moment.”
Issy bit her lip. “It doesn’t bother you that it’s only a holiday fling?”
Sapphie shrugged. “It’s what we both want. I’m sure I’ll see him again—probably at a hockey game—but neither of us wants commitment. Would it be nice to hook up again? Of course. Will I be upset if it doesn’t happen? Disappointed, but nothing more.”
“And he feels the same?”
“Sure. We’ve both been up-front about it
