19. Caro

My chest heaved as Knox stared at me, and when he licked his lips, I wondered if I'd made a colossal mistake. Bitten off more than I could chew, quite literally. He moved his leg, and holy crap, that bulge in his wetsuit this afternoon hadn't been the whole thing.

"Get. Them. Off," he repeated.

"For the record, I've never done anything like this before."

And I still wasn't certain why I was doing it now, other than the lure of Knox's godlike body and the ache between my legs that wouldn't go away no matter how hard my fingers tried.

Knox dragged his shirt over his head, and I fought to swallow the lump in my throat. He had muscles on muscles, and those beautiful brown eyes darkened and glittered as he raked his gaze over me. The man could snap his fingers and have any woman he wanted, but for one night, he was mine. My fingers tightened on the edge of my camisole, and I pulled it off.

No going back now.

"And the rest," he said.

"You're still wearing shorts."

Knox got to his feet, trailing his fingertips up my back as he rose. The lightest touch, but it left tendrils of heat in its wake. This time, my shiver was for all the right reasons. Wordlessly, he dragged the shorts down over his hips, and his dick sprang free. Yes, the embarrassment had been worth it. The sleepless nights, the hours spent wondering if I dared to be so brazen. That thing was monumental. The Burj Khalifa of appendages. I'd been there once, to the Burj Khalifa, and now the memories came flooding back. Aiden's hand around my throat as we rode up to the Lounge. His whispered warning that I'd better not embarrass him. Him drinking too much and groping my ass as we looked out across Dubai.

"You okay, baby?"

I shook my head to clear my mind. That asshole had no business being in my thoughts.

"I'm fine."

"You shuddered."

"Just awed by the size of your equipment, stud."

Quickly, I shimmied out of my shorts to avoid any questions. I wanted an orgasm, just one fiery, spine-tingling orgasm to erase the ghost of Aiden's dick and send that wiener to roast in hell where it belonged, and Knox Livingston would be the man to give it to me.

He studied me, really studied me, and I tried not to squirm. My gym membership had died along with my relationship, but I was fit from working around the sanctuary all day. I'd taken a shower and shaved everywhere. Maybe I wasn't the pretty little doll Aiden had claimed, but I didn't look terrible. Knox ran the tip of his tongue along my jaw, and then before I could gather my thoughts, he plucked me off my feet and laid me on the bed.

"Wait there."

"Where are you going?" I asked, but he didn't answer. The door opened and closed, and then I heard his footsteps return.

"I put a sock on the doorknob in case Ryder gets any ideas about coming back early. If you want a three-way, I can take it off again."

"Definitely not." I was nervous enough about sleeping with one virtual stranger. But then I got curious. "Have you had a three-way?"

"Do you think I've had a three-way?"

Why did he have to ask me that?

"Probably?"

Knox pulled me forward so my ass was on the edge of the bed, and then he knelt. What was he…?

"Best view in the world," he said, right before he buried his head between my legs and sucked. Hard. I arched off the bed, a scream rising in my throat before I remembered where I was and who was outside and clapped both hands over my mouth.

"You could have…warned me," I gasped.

"You said I was the remora."

He went back for more, circling my clit with a tongue as capable as the rest of him. I buried my fingers in his hair, unsure if I wanted to stop him or urge him on. This was too much. Way too much. His beard scratched at my thighs, and damn, that felt good. Raw. Rough. Aiden hated beards. He used to shave twice a day because he didn't want to "look like a Neanderthal."

"I only wanted sex."

"News for you, baby. I don't fuck until a woman's come at least twice on my tongue. Or maybe my fingers. I prefer to mix things up."

"I can't come more than once a night. Never happens."

"Bullshit."

"It's true."

"Then you've only dated assholes."

Okay, so that was accurate, but he didn't need to put it quite so bluntly.

"And now I've found another one, except we're not dating."

"Thank fuck for that."

"Can't you just stop talking?"

"You're the one who started the conversation."

What was I even doing? Why had I come here? Hormones, that was it. Stupid, dumb hormones and a bad habit of screwing around with the wrong type of men. Knox Livingston most certainly fell into that category.

"This was a mistake. I should?—"

"If you don't shut your mouth, I'll stick my cock in it."

I shut my mouth. His gaze locked on mine, and my pussy clenched so hard I almost came on the spot. Which would have been such a waste. I wanted to come riding him like a— No, scratch that. I'd hit my head on the top bunk. Most of the time, I was happy in my little Caribbean sanctuary, but there were moments when I missed the mansion in Malibu.

Knox went to town on me, eating as if he were starving and I was dessert. Then he added a finger, just one, and I was gone. The orgasm crashed over me in a breath-stealing tsunami, drowning out all rational thought. I needed more. I needed more of Knox. His eyes blazed, the heat searing my skin as he crawled up the mattress and settled next to me.

"That's one. Fuck, these tits are spectacular. I've dreamed about sliding my cock between them and giving you a pearl necklace, but I think I'd have to gag you first."

"It's a ‘no' on the gagging. Ditto for the spanking."

"Have you tried it?"

Aiden hadn't been averse to slapping, kicking, and punching when the mood took him, so any hint of violence was a turn-off. And I needed to be able to speak.

"No, but I know I don't want to."

Rather than argue, Knox shrugged a shoulder. "Okay."

Okay? That was it? Aiden would have ignored me and done it anyway. Or convinced me that any reservations were in my head, that every other woman enjoyed that sort of thing and if I didn't, there was something wrong with me.

Knox? He just pushed my legs farther apart, did a magic trick with his tongue, added a couple of fingers into the mix, and made me come again. What the hell? The look of triumph on his face made me want to kiss him. Or slap him. Possibly both.

"I'm not going to say I told?—"

"Then don't," I snapped. Holy shit, my legs were trembling, and I was still getting aftershocks. Some enterprising manufacturer needed to replicate his tongue in battery-operated form.

"Ready for number three? Or do you need a break?"

I needed a break. I really needed a break. Time to recover, time to think. I'd imagined Knox would be all about himself. That I'd be nothing more than a warm body, and we'd both selfishly take what we could before I tiptoed back to my bed and we never spoke of this again. But Knox was a giver. Even the arguing was kind of fun.

"Maybe just a few minutes."

He laughed softly and lay beside me, his head propped on one hand and the other draped across my stomach. Now what? Aiden used to roll over and go to sleep as soon as he was done, and I used to either lie there counting my mistakes or sneak off to the bathroom and finish what he started. Ditto for the men who came before him, well, apart from one, a musician who I was quite smitten with until he called me Angie while we were fucking. Knox reminded me a little of him, actually. Cocky, laid-back, hairy.

"Do you play the guitar?" I blurted, and Knox stiffened. All of him, not just his dick. That was plenty stiff enough already.

"Why?"

"Why am I asking?"

"Yes."

Out with the smile, in with the frown. Gone was playful Knox. He'd turned weirdly serious, and I had no idea what had made him that way.

"Uh, I was just curious. I used to date a musician, and he was the only one of my exes who cared whether I came. So I guess I was wondering whether you shared any other traits."

There was the longest pause. He traced the outline of my lips with a finger, but he wasn't looking at me anymore. No, he was staring into the distance, and I had a feeling his mind wasn't in the room at all.

Finally, he answered. "I used to play the guitar."

"But not anymore?"

"Not anymore."

I wanted to ask why. I was burning to ask why. But if I did, something told me he'd shut down completely.

"Well, you still remember what to do with your fingers."

The lines in his forehead eased. I didn't quite get a smile, but his lips did twitch.

"My mom bought me a recorder when I was little," I told him. "Big mistake. Huge. I loved playing it, but I definitely wasn't cut out for a musical career. I thought when the upstairs neighbour stomped on the floor, he was joining in with the rhythm, but it turned out he was just mad."

"If you like blowing things, I have a suggestion."

Normal service: resumed.

"Aw, I never suck dick until the second date."

"So you're saying you want a repeat?"

Think before you speak, Caro.

"You think this counts as a date? You're not even wearing pants."

"What if I pour you a glass of wine and tell you that you're pretty?" He wrinkled his nose. "Do we even have wine?"

"Wine is a luxury I can't afford. Ditto for candles, steak, and fancy shoes."

"If I buy you fancy shoes, will you wear them?"

"Where would you buy them? The general store? They only sell flip-flops and knockoff sneakers."

"Leave it with me." Knox rolled a nipple between his fingertips, not hard enough to hurt but with enough pressure to send a current shooting between my thighs. I gasped at the sudden shock, then nearly swallowed my tongue when he swapped his fingers for his teeth. "I could feast on you for hours."

"We don't have hours. I don't trust the whole sock thing. When I was in college, the sock fell off, and I walked in on my roommate… Never mind. I don't want to think about it, but there were two guys, and I never managed to look her in the eye again."

"So you weren't tempted to join in?"

"Ugh. And you didn't answer my question earlier—have you had a three-way?"

"Yeah, but with two girls."

Double ugh. "Why am I not surprised?"

Knox merely grinned, totally unrepentant, and began stroking his manhood. I couldn't tear my eyes away. I'd never seen a man touch himself that way before, not so unashamedly. Aiden had always pretended he didn't jerk off, even though I knew he did. I'd found out one morning when we rode to the office together. His phone accidentally connected to the Bluetooth speaker in his Porsche, and as we rounded a corner half a mile from home, Lusty Linda began moaning at full volume. Aiden ran a stop sign and crashed into a UPS truck, and somehow—I'd never managed to work out how—it was all my fault. He'd been in a vile mood for weeks.

But Knox just pleasured himself in slow, measured strokes, watching me as he did so. Great. Now I'd never get this image out of my head.

"I'm still here, you know."

"I know. But you like watching me."

"What makes you think that?" I spluttered, even though it was true.

"Your pupils are dilated and your cheeks are flushed, and even though you might not have noticed it, you licked your lips."

"Dammit," I muttered.

"Loosen up and enjoy yourself."

"I am not…not tight."

Before I could blink, his hand was between my legs, a finger sliding into me with practised ease.

"Baby, you are."

Ugh. I thunked my head back on the pillow and groaned. Why did he have to be so annoying? And so…so…good at this? He did some voodoo with his finger, and another orgasm tore through me, turning my insides into a cosmic soup of sensation. My vision darkened at the edges, and all I could see was Knox looking down at me, saying, "I told you so."

Smug bastard.

I closed my eyes, trying to regain a modicum of composure, but he offered no mercy. I heard the rip of foil, and a moment later, his cock nudged at my entrance. The burn as he pushed inside, inch by solid inch, made my eyes water, but at the same time, it felt good. Really fucking good.

"You okay?" he asked, leaning in to kiss me softly. Almost tenderly.

"Mentally or physically?"

"I'm going to ruin you for all other men."

I didn't want to confess that he'd already done that. This was a night I'd never forget, and even if I managed to track down a horse-sized dildo on this godforsaken island, it would never measure up.

Sensations overwhelmed me as he filled me over and over, slowly at first. Then something seemed to snap in him and he surrendered the last scrap of control. I wrapped my legs around his waist, giving in, giving him everything, lost in the moment, lost in Knox Livingston. I knew I'd regret it in the morning, but as he carried on whispering filth into my ear and letting his tongue do dirty things to my breasts, I didn't care.

A fourth orgasm was inevitable. I knew that the moment he slid a hand under my ass, raising my hips and leaving me helpless against the onslaught of dick versus G-spot. I forgot to put a hand over my mouth, and I came with a cry that was part ecstasy, part frustration that this asshole could destroy my self-control so thoroughly. Knox followed me over the edge, jerking inside me before kissing me so sweetly I thought another man had taken over his body.

"We can never do this again," I told him.

He just watched me, sweaty hair flopping over his forehead.

"I mean it. This was a one-off."

Why did he have to be so ridiculously handsome? It wasn't fair.

"So I'll see you tomorrow night, then?" he said.

"Get off me."

I wriggled out from underneath him and quickly realised my mistake as I tried to stand. My knees buckled. I staggered a few steps before Knox hooked an arm around my waist and pulled me back onto the bed.

"You realise I'm the type of man to carry two condoms in his wallet?"

"You are?"

I was so going to hell, but at least I'd enjoy the journey.