when he thought he couldn’t hold on a moment longer, she came apart beneath him with a keening cry. As she pulsed around him, J.B. finally let go and claimed his own release.
Before he could collapse on top of her, he rolled and pulled her with him into his arms. Her head rested against his heaving chest as he rasped in oxygen.
“Wow.” Bella’s voice was unsteady but awestruck. “That was pretty amazing.”
“Yeah.” J.B. grinned wearily. “Any more amazing and you’d have killed me.”
She giggled. “Mag certainly lived up to his promise.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
They lay silently for a few minutes while their bodies cooled and their breathing steadied. Her fingers traced a meandering path across his chest and stomach. He twirled a lock of her hair around one finger. Despite the reasons for being in Antigua earlier than planned, he couldn’t complain. Otherwise he’d have missed Bella. And this.
He was half-asleep when she said softly, “J.B.?”
“Hmm?”
“Do you think we’ll be able to do that again before I leave?”
He laughed. That was his Bella—always keeping him off balance. “Give me half an hour and I’ll see what I...and Mag...can do.”
* * *
ISSY DIDN’T WANT to open her eyes.
From the bright light filtering through her closed lids, she knew it was morning but she didn’t want to break the wonderful spell. Or leave the cocoon of J.B.’s arms.
She’d never spent the night with a man. Never woken up with a man in her bed. She probably wouldn’t again for a long time. It was a moment to savor because all too soon reality would intrude. For now, though, she was content to snuggle closer to J.B. and enjoy it.
They fit together perfectly. He was curled around her, every inch of him pressed against her back and legs. His knees curved into the back of hers. His hand cradled her breast. His even breathing stirred the tiny hairs at the back of her neck. Definitely the best way to start the day.
Issy found it hard to believe how amazing the night before had been and how special J.B. had made her feel. Everything she’d read about in romance novels but never thought could happen in real life. Not for her. Certainly not with a guy like J.B. A successful, professional athlete; a charming lady-killer.
His consideration and understanding had been as unexpected as the responses he’d managed to elicit from her. Although she didn’t have much to compare him with, he’d more than lived up to anything she could have imagined. Who knew it really was possible to make love three times in one night?
Issy stifled a giggle. She felt deliciously wanton and a teensy bit proud. After all, she’d made sure that J.B. had enjoyed himself as much as she had.
He’d recovered surprisingly quickly after that first time. Then he’d carried her into the bathroom. Under the rainfall shower, he’d carefully washed her from head to toe. The memory of his skilled hands, slippery with soap, turning a simple task into an erotic adventure, sent heat flooding through her. She’d probably never be able to take a shower again, or smell cherry-blossom soap, without recalling her unbelievably intense climax.
Then J.B. had handed her the fragrant bar and encouraged her to do the same to him. Uncertain at first, but with increasing surety as his unbridled response to her touch made her heady with confidence, she’d lathered his incredible body. His smooth, caramel-colored skin, the ripped muscles of his back, his broad chest that tapered to a well-defined six-pack. His powerful legs, with thighs and calves so firm they could have been carved out of stone. His ridiculously sexy feet.
Once they were rinsed clean, the exploration had begun again, teasing and tasting with their hands and mouths, until they’d both been so turned on they could hardly stand.
A satisfied smile curved Issy’s lips. Recovery for both of them hadn’t been nearly as fast as the first time. Exhausted, they’d slept for a few hours.
The third time had been slower, softer. Although neither of them had voiced it out loud, they’d known time was running out. They’d moved to the balcony where, on cushions they’d taken from the room’s sofa, they’d made achingly sweet love beneath the slowly lightening sky.
Tears pricked her eyes. If only...
A beeping sound alerted her to a text. Raising her head slightly, she saw it was from Sapphie.
We need to pack. Shuttle leaves at 12. You have one hour. Make the most of it!
And there it was—the reality she’d dreaded. Like the clock chiming midnight for Cinderella, the message signaled the end of Issy’s night and with it the fairy-tale world she’d been living in. Even though she’d known it was only for one night, the thought that she probably wouldn’t experience anything so wonderful again for a long time, if ever, was hard to take.
As the last remnants of her afterglow faded, so did Issy’s confidence. She began to feel awkward and a little foolish. However she dressed it up and in spite of the exotic setting, she and J.B. had still only had a one-night stand. Was she really so different from her family?
Stop! She wouldn’t beat herself up and she wouldn’t allow herself regrets. The night, the experience, had been too special to be spoiled by recriminations.
Even so, suddenly she wasn’t as comfortable sharing her bed with J.B. She shifted slightly, trying to ease away from him before he woke up. But he stirred behind her, pulling her tighter against him. He brushed a kiss against her neck, below her ear. His second kiss was a little lower. His third at the curve of her shoulder.
With each kiss, Issy’s pulse jumped. How was it possible that he could still coax a response from her so easily? She’d have thought that he’d wrung every last bit out of her.
Clearly not.
“Hello, beautiful.” His husky voice sent a delicious shiver though her.
“Good morning,” she said with false brightness as she started to move away again.
He wouldn’t let her. “Not so fast.”
His erection pressed against her bottom.
She swallowed hard. “I see Mag is an early riser.”
“Honey, with you around, he never sleeps.”
The urge to wriggle against him, to reposition her body so he could easily slip inside, almost overwhelmed her. She reveled briefly in his hardness against her, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that it would be a mistake. It certainly wouldn’t change anything.
Issy pushed out of his embrace and sat up. “Our time’s up. Sapphie will be coming back to the room shortly.”
J.B. propped himself on one elbow. “Shortly, as in she’s outside the door, or do we have a few minutes to welcome the new day properly?”
She could lie—tell him Sapphie was nearby—but she didn’t want to. Not when she could create one last precious
