Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

J udd didn't need to be asked twice.

He'd planned this evening to the nth degree, since the phone call with Mark earlier that afternoon, and nothing would go wrong.

He'd make sure of it.

Taking hold of Abby's hand, loving how it felt so right, he said, "I've got a surprise for you."

"I bet you do."

He laughed as she looked up at him from beneath her lashes, a mischievous smirk playing about her glossed mouth.

"Come on. My room this time." He tried not to hurry but, like this afternoon, they could barely restrain from breaking into a run in their haste to obtain privacy.

Abby's sweet laughter washed over him as he stabbed at the elevator button so hard it zinged, and he waited until the mirrored doors slid shut before silencing her with a kiss. He hadn't meant to touch her until they reached his room but his resistance was at an all-time low and all she had to do was glance in his direction and he lost it.

"Hey, they have cameras in these things," she murmured, breaking the kiss to nibble along his jaw, dipping her tongue inside his collar, the flicker of her tongue against his skin making his cock twitch.

"You're right." He gritted his teeth, knowing he should stop her exploring him with her tongue, all too aware there wasn't one damn thing he could do about it as his body tensed with every teasing flick against his damp skin.

Thankfully, the doors slid open with a loud zing and he slid his arm around her waist, all but dragging her the short distance to his room, sliding his card into the slot at the speed of light and ushering her into his room.

"Wow." She stopped, her eyes wide as saucers as she took in the scene before them.

"You like it?"

Nodding, she turned to face him, her smile lighting the room better than the countless candles covering every surface. "It's incredible. Did you do all this?"

More than pleased with her reaction, he shook his head. "The resort lent a hand. I wanted to go all out tonight. Make it a night to remember."

The kind of night he wanted to repeat over and over with her, if she'd let him.

Tugging her further into the room, he said, "There's more."

He had the pleasure of seeing her mouth open in a small, adorable O, the surprise turning her eyes a sparkling sapphire.

"You remembered?" Her voice came out on a wistful sigh as she squeezed his hand tight.

"Yeah, pretty hard to forget the night you told me your idea of a perfect date," he murmured, tracing her lips with a fingertip, remembering being parked in his beat-up sedan at the end of her street backing onto a park after the graduation dance, torn between wanting to repeat the mind-blowing kiss they'd shared earlier that night and hightailing it out of town.

Abby, his buddy, he could handle.

Abby, with stars in her eyes and romantic ideals dripping from her lips, had scared the hell out of him.

"I can't believe you remembered." She reached up to cup his cheek. "The candles, the hot pink gerberas scattered around the bed, the strawberry sundaes, the chilled Chardonnay, and the handmade truffle chocolates are fabulous, but you're all I need to make this a night to remember."

He'd roughed it in the wilds of Africa, he'd faced an angry elephant, he'd even been attacked by a cheetah once, but nothing made him feel so out of his depth as Abby's blatant adoration at that moment.

He'd wanted to make tonight special before divulging the truth to her. He'd wanted to make it an unforgettable night. But seeing the honesty in her eyes blew him away and he realised he was playing with fire.

This was Abby, the girl who'd befriended the town joke, who'd stood up for him when other kids teased him about his dad, who'd done countless small things to make his life in Pier Point bearable.

Would she buy his turnaround?

Would she want him in her life beyond this week?

As more than a friend?

"Saying stuff like that can go to a guy's head," he said, his hand covering hers and effectively pinning it to his chest where his heart bucked like a wild animal.

"I'm counting on it." She slid her hand out from under his, fiddling with the top button of his shirt, never taking her eyes off his.

The button gave with a decisive pop and she laughed. "Oops, looks like I've ruined this shirt."

"Then you better take it off."

The spark in her eyes lit his fuse in a big way, blood pounding through his veins until he couldn't think of anything but her fingers toying with him, everywhere.

"Need some help?"

"I think I've got it." She wrenched his shirt open, sending buttons flying and pinging on the marble tiles. He moaned as she leaned forward and planted her lips against his bare chest.

If he could have any wish it would start like this, with the woman he wanted so much it hurt undressing him with eager fingers and bedroom eyes.

He'd fantasised about this moment every waking second for the last few hours, needing to assuage his hunger for her with a drive that bordered on obsession.

Considering they'd already had sex it should've taken the edge off. Instead, his hunger grew every time he glimpsed her smile while they worked, with every coy glance she sent him. Now, with her exploring his chest like a woman who couldn't get enough, he was ready to explode.

"I'll go easier on the pants," she murmured, her hands flitting around the waistband, driving him crazy in the process.

Whatever happened to seducing her, taking it slow and making this memorable? Damned if he knew and damned if he cared. Her eager response was all that mattered now; that, and the fact the woman of his dreams wanted him as much as he wanted her.

"Shall I?" Her tentative, whispered question, combined with her fingertips lightly skimming the sensitive skin of his waist, had him picturing icebergs and blizzards before he totally lost it.

"Go ahead, sweetheart."

He sucked in a sharp breath as she fiddled with the belt buckle, the tinkle of metal unfastening, the rasp of leather, and the smooth slide of a zip turning him on more than he thought possible.

When her fingers slid inside the waistband of his boxers and brushed his cock, he groaned, reaching for her blindly. She leaned forward and ran her tongue along his collarbone, sending his libido skyrocketing and the last of his good intentions to take things slow flying out the window on the balmy tropical breeze.

She wanted him. He wanted her. Plenty of time for taking it slow later. Right now, blinded by insatiable lust, he had no option but to satisfy the hunger raging through his body.

He dipped his head and kissed her, plundering her mouth with the desperation of a parched man finally slaking his thirst.

Abby moaned, her soft sounds exciting him further as she pressed her hips against him. He ached for her, desperate to bury himself in her, frantic to pleasure them both until they lay spent and gasping for air.

"Help me out of this." She struggled to locate the zipper on her dress.

"Allow me," he said, tugging it with so much force it almost came apart in his hand.

"That's better." She stared into his eyes as she shimmied out of the dress, allowing it to pool around her ankles in a sliver of red silk.

He broke the stare, unable to keep his eyes off the heart-stopping sight of the woman who meant the world to him wearing nothing but a skimpy pair of white lace knickers, a pair of seriously hot red shoes, and a sexy smile.

"Shoes off?" She wiggled her toes, all too aware of the power she had over him, and he growled, pulling her into his arms and nuzzling her neck.

"The shoes stay but you can lose these."

Before she could utter a word he ripped off her panties and she laughed, a purely joyous sound that rippled over him in a seductive wave.

"At the rate we're going we'll have to buy each other a new wardrobe in the morning."

Sliding his hands over her butt and pulling her against him, he said, "I like the idea of having you walk around with no panties, so sorry, I'm not agreeing to the new wardrobe thing."

"Pervert."

"Babe."

"Sex fiend."

He wanted to continue the word games but with his cotton boxers the only thing standing between him and heaven, he capitulated quickly. "Guilty as charged. Now, where were we?"

"About here." Her hand insinuated its way between their bodies, grasping his cock through the cotton and stroking the length until he had to release his grip on her butt and lose the boxers in record time.

"You know I had visions of draping your body in gerbera petals, eating strawberries off your breasts, and drinking Chardonnay out of your navel?"

She smiled and pushed him back onto the bed, straddling him. "I'm all for romance and foreplay, but how about we save that stuff for later? Right now I want you, Calloway. Real bad."

Unable to keep the smug grin off his face, Judd ran his hands up her torso, starting at her waist and gliding upwards over smooth skin, circling her breasts, delighting in her gasp when he skimmed her nipples with his palms.

"How bad?"

In response, she thrust her breasts into his hands and he chuckled, tweaking her nipples, rubbing them, loving the soft, panting sounds she made as she leaned forward towards his mouth.

"This bad." She brushed a nipple over his lips and he obligingly enclosed the hardened peak with his mouth, sucking it until she writhed on top of him, taking him closer to the edge with each squirm.

"Protection. Now."

He barely registered her demands as she settled over him, her slick entrance gliding over the tip of his cock in a slow, tantalising brush with ecstasy.

He reached over to the bedside table and sheathed himself quickly, almost losing it completely when she slid down a fraction in an attempt to give him some room to manoeuvre, the slight movement brushing her liquid heat over him again.

She lowered, enclosing him, taking in every inch, wearing nothing but a confident smile and those horny red shoes.

"Oh, yeah." He grasped her waist, his hands fitting perfectly over her curves, content to let her set the pace while he tried to make this incredible experience last longer than a few minutes.

But Abby had other ideas and she increased her tempo, tilting her hips forward, brushing her breasts across his chest, draping her silky hair smelling of frangipanis and ocean breeze across his face, driving him to the brink of losing control in a heartbeat.

"Judd…"

Closing her eyes, she arched back at the precise moment he climaxed, his pleasure heightened by her orgasm a second later as she cried out his name one last time before collapsing forward and smothering him in a welcome armful of warm, satisfied woman.

"Sweetheart, that was incredible." He cradled her close, smoothing her hair back from her face, wondering if she found their connection as unique as he did.

As a friend, she was the most important woman in the world to him and now…

As her eyes fluttered open and a coy smile curved her lips, the realisation of how much she meant to him slammed into him with the force of a tropical cyclone.

He loved her.

More than a friend, more than he'd ever loved anyone before.

But he didn't do love. He didn't know how.

His whole life to date had been shaped by his burning desire to be free. However, his new burning desire stared at him with a quizzical expression in her beautiful eyes.

"What's the funny look about?" She cupped his cheek, tracing the curve of his jaw with a tender hand.

It would be the perfect time to tell her how she made him feel. But he hadn't told her the truth about staying in Sydney yet and he didn't want to complicate things until he'd come clean.

Once she knew the truth and accepted his change of heart, maybe she'd welcome the truth about his feelings too?

He could only hope. For now, he intended to make the most of the night with one incredibly sexy woman.

"Funny look, huh?" Capturing her hand, he brought it to his mouth, nibbling her fingertips before drawing her index finger into his mouth and sucking it, enjoying the look of sheer sensual shock on her face.

"Must be because I'm thinking about begging you to never take those shoes off," he said, joining in her laughter as she lowered her mouth to his, their kiss a slow melding of lips and tongues that notched up the heat between them all over again.

"Play your cards right tonight and you never know what might happen," she said, with a wink.

Judd hoped that come morning, she remembered how great they were together when he revealed his plans.