sure she landed the damn plane safely.
Trey called out her airspeed, but Sophie could feel the plane respond. Outside, the air rushed by and she was amazed by the silence that surrounded them. For a moment, she worried she might be coming in too fast and may overshoot her landing zone, but then the headwind picked up and the plane drifted lower.
And then, to her relief, they touched down on the water. The plane skimmed toward the water’s edge and she held her breath, ready to use the rudder to spin them around if it looked like they might be in trouble. But in the end, the plane gently slid to a stop twenty feet from the shore of the lagoon.
With trembling hands, Sophie unhooked her seat belt and shoved her shoulder against the door of the plane. The door gave way and she tumbled out, falling into waist-deep water. Floundering, she struggled to the shore, her heart slamming in her chest.
The adrenaline was pumping so fast she felt as if she could run a mile in ten seconds flat. When she reached the beach, she braced her hands on her knees and gulped in a deep breath, trying to slow her pounding heart.
“Shit, that was incredible,” Trey shouted as he followed her to the shore. “You’d think that was the way we were supposed to land. I mean, you just set us down perfectly.” He stood in front of her, his khakis soaked, his hands braced on his hips. “How did you do that?”
She looked up at him, taking in his awestruck expression, still gasping for breath. Then, with a burst of energy, Sophie lurched forward, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.
Trey stumbled back, grasping onto her waist to balance them both since Sophie’s knees had gone boneless beneath her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pushed his other hand through her hair, tossing her scarf aside. Sophie was aware of every detail of the kiss, the way his mouth opened beneath hers, the sweet taste of his tongue, the immediate rush of desire that seemed to propel them forward.
Slowly, he pulled her down into the sand, never breaking contact. He stretched out beside her, his hand smoothing along her thigh until it reached her backside. Sophie moaned softly, rolling over on top of him, pressing her hips against his.
His reaction to the kiss was immediate, his erection hard against her belly evidence of that fact. Sophie reached between them and touched him, slowly rubbing her palm against his desire. This was crazy, but yet, it seemed so right. Had they been over the ocean, they might be slowly sinking to the bottom right now, both of them drowned, never to be found.
But they’d been lucky and they were alive and she wanted to celebrate that fact. Sophie fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, damp from his trip through the lagoon. When she became frustrated, Trey grabbed his collar and yanked, the buttons popping open all at once.
His chest was smooth and finely muscled, exactly what Sophie expected to find beneath the cotton shirt. It had been so long since she’d touched a man intimately, that she wanted to take her time, enjoying the feel of his body beneath her hands.
He didn’t appear to object to what she was doing. She risked a glance up and saw his eyes were closed. Why not take advantage of the situation? she wondered. If she radioed for help, they’d have an hour, maybe two, alone on this island. Right now, she wasn’t in any hurry to be rescued.
Sophie pressed her lips to the center of his chest, then traced a trail of kisses to his collarbone. If she was going to take a lover, then this man was as good as any. Unless he already had a woman in his life.
Sophie paused, knowing the only way she could proceed was to know for sure. Though she had an open attitude about sexual desire, she’d experienced, firsthand, what an affair could do to a marriage. Her father’s infidelities had been the cause of her parents’ divorce. She certainly didn’t want to be the other woman in any man’s marriage, even a man as sexy and geographically available as Trey was.
His hand skimmed up her belly, slipping beneath her shirt to cup her bare breast. Drawing a deep breath, Sophie placed her hand over his. “Wait,” she murmured.
He froze, his own breath catching in his throat. “Sorry. I thought-”
“No, it’s all right. I just have a quick question.”
“Yes, I do,” he said, chuckling softly.
Sophie frowned. It was an answer, but to what, she wasn’t sure. “You do? Do what?”
“I have…protection.” He reached around and pulled his wallet from his pants pocket. “I have two. And I might even have a few more in my bag.”
Though she was glad he’d come prepared, it didn’t really soothe her doubts. “I wanted to ask if you were involved. Married, engaged, otherwise spoken for.”
“Would it make a difference?” he asked.
“Yes,” Sophie replied. “I’m not a home-wrecker.”
He bent closer and pressed a kiss to a spot just below her ear. “No,” he whispered. “Not married, not engaged, not even dating. Completely free to do whatever it is you want me to do.”
Sophie stared into his eyes. She didn’t know this man and couldn’t tell if he spoke the truth. If he didn’t, she’d deal with the consequences later. Sitting up, she pulled her top over her head and tossed it into the sand. Slowly, his gaze drifted from her face to her breasts and back up again.
Following her lead, he shrugged out of his shirt. Neither one of them was dressed in much, owing to the humid weather. Her pareu came off next, leaving her in just a skimpy thong. Sophie had always been comfortable with her body and was used to sunbathing naked. But the way he looked at her, with such desire, she wondered if she should have taken things a bit slower.
She reached for her pareu, ready to cover up again, but Trey caught her hand. He slowly got up, his body casting a shadow over her, and unzipped his khakis, then skimmed them down over his hips. He stood there, wearing only cotton boxers, tented out in the front where his erection pressed against the damp fabric.
There was no going back, Sophie mused as she stared up at him. She held out her hand and he lay down beside her in the sand, drawing her into another kiss. This time, it was slow and sensual, his mouth possessing hers, his hands skimming over her nearly naked body.
She didn’t want to go back. She didn’t want to be rescued. For now, Sophie was exactly where she needed to be-alone, on a deserted South Pacific island, with a man who was about to make delicious love to her.
2
WHEN HE’D CRAWLED OUT OF BED that morning, Trey had assumed he’d be in for a rather ordinary day, spent cooped up in a small plane with a competent male pilot. As he teased at Sophie’s tongue with his, he couldn’t help but wonder at this odd turn of luck. The scene was straight out of the encyclopedia of male fantasies.
Stuck on a deserted tropical island, with a beautiful, naked woman who’d ripped off her clothes right in front of his eyes. Maybe he’d actually died when the plane crashed and this was his version of heaven. “Touch me,” he murmured as he dragged his lips from hers.
She skimmed her fingers over his belly and wrapped them around his cock, the fabric of his boxers creating an enticing friction. Trey bit back a moan. It sure felt real, his heart pounding in his chest, his body aching with need. But how could he prove it to himself?
He slowly drew back, cupping her face in his palm and looking into her eyes. Did it really matter? After all the debauchery in his life, he’d ended up in heaven, with a sexy companion. He’d done pretty well for himself. If he was really dead, then dead wasn’t so bad. Trey kissed her again, smoothing his palm over her shoulder and arm until his fingers were laced through hers.
Drawing her hand over her head, Trey gently pushed her back into the sand, his body stretched alongside hers. He buried his face in the curve of her neck, inhaling her exotic scent as he kissed her. Slowly, he moved lower until his lips fixed on her nipple. He teased and Sophie arched toward him, twisting her body until a tiny moan slipped from her lips.
The sun, filtered through a thin cover of clouds, was hot on their bodies, but it felt good to be free of clothes. When she slipped her hand beneath the waistband of his boxers, Trey quickly stripped them off. A moment later, her thong was gone and there was nothing left between them but the salty ocean breeze and the sand clinging to their skin.
