Marriage of Convenience Page 16

  It wouldn’t be until they were forty thousand feet in the air and on the final leg of their flight to the island that Malcolm would feel married. Away from their everyday world, alone and focused only each other, he would then feel that she belonged only to him and he to her.

  The vows and the exchange of rings and the reception had been beautiful. She’d thought of everything and even things that didn’t seem so obvious, but by far he was simply happy that she’d thought of him as she planned. He wasn’t sure that if he’d been asked his opinion beforehand about certain details that he’d have been able to articulate a definite preference. But having been through the experience he wouldn’t have changed a thing.

  Considering his personal experience with his parents’ marriage, he hadn’t really understood the need for a wedding at all. The idea that he had to publicly prove his commitment to someone hadn’t appealed to him. And the beautiful ceremony didn’t change that. He looked at the honeymoon as the opportunity to offer Caroline his commitment to her, to them. Without interruptions or distractions, he’d pledge his love for her.

  The limo pulled into the departure lane, and the driver opened the curb side door. Malcolm tipped him discreetly and led Caroline through the sliding doors.

  “We’ll need to check it for last minute changes.” He spoke softly into her ear. He’d crossed behind her and wrapped his arms around her as he scanned the signs above their heads. She put her hand in his and said, “I’ll follow you anywhere.”

  Malcolm smiled, kissed her kips lightly, and took her hand, leading her toward international departures. He spoke softly with the attendant, asking and answering several questions. He seemed satisfied with the information and said they’d have to go through security and then take a shuttle to catch their plane.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Caroline stood barefoot on the edge of the ocean, the wind blowing through her glossy red hair as the last rays of sunlight danced across her skin, bathing her in a golden glow. She wore only a short sarong skirt. The warmth of the breeze and the privacy of the beach house allowed her freedoms she intended to exploit.

  Malcolm wrapped her in his arms from behind. She didn’t turn.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” she murmured.

  “Gorgeous. And the sunset is pretty, too.” Caroline peeked at him over her shoulder and smiled. Sweet talker. They stood, locked together, as the waves lapped quietly at their feet. They gazed into the horizon until the sun disappeared, and darkness closed in around them.

  Malcolm lightly dragged his fingertips slowly along her rib cage. Caroline shivered. She could say it was the cool breeze coming in off the water, but the weather was warm despite the darkness, and so that left only the growing feelings she had for her husband.

  Husband. The word felt strange in her mind. She had yet to say it out loud, but she had little doubt that it would sound weird even then.

  His hand didn’t stop until it cradled the curve of her breast in the L-shape of his thumb and forefinger. In one easy motion, he covered her breast completely and palmed the peaks until they hardened under his ministrations.

  Caroline leaned into him and sighed.

  It was all the encouragement he needed. With that single sound indicating she was ready to begin their honeymoon, Malcolm turned her slightly in his arms and skimmed his lips along the line of her jaw and over her mouth.

  Caroline turned into him so they were standing chest to chest and slid her hands up over his chest, curled her fingers over his shoulders, cupped one hand at his nape and pulled his head down to hers for a more thorough kiss. He responded eagerly.

  Feeling she was in control of where and how this was going to go, Caroline was unprepared when he bent down, hooked one arm behind her knees, and then lifted her into his arms and against his chest as he turned to take them back to the beach house. She squealed as he twirled her twice, taking her breath away.

  “What are you doing?” Her voice was breathy from surprise.

  Malcolm nuzzled her neck. “I’m carrying my lovely bride across the threshold, of course. I think it’s supposed to ward off evil spirits and bad luck.”

  Loving the warmth that emanated from his body, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and pressed her lips to his neck. She slowly traced a moist line up to his ear with her tongue. She reveled in the gasp that escaped his lips and giggled when he almost lost his balance as she outlined his ear.

  Swinging herself around to procure a safer perch, Caroline found her legs wrapped around his waist as he ascended the stairs to the loft. She tipped her forehead to rest it against his and closed her eyes. She opened her eyes as they reached the top and noted the seductive curve of his smile and the dark passion that glittered in his eyes.

  His gaze never left hers as he carried her effortlessly over the bedroom threshold, where the faint light of a bedside lamp gilded their features in its glow. Silently, Malcolm released her legs and guided them down his, but he didn’t let her go completely. Her toes only skimmed the floor as he wound his arms tightly around her waist, pulled her to him again, and touched his lips to hers.

  With agonizing slowness, he lowered her to the floor, pressing her against him head to toe so that she felt him everywhere—against her legs, her belly, her breasts, her mouth.

  Caroline reached behind him to bunch his tee shirt in both fists. She pulled it over his head and tossed it to the floor. Caroline only stared at the rare specimen that was her husband. A rich scattering of dark hair decorated his torso and narrowed as it arrowed down to the waistband of his jeans. Muscles in his shoulders and arms roped and bunched as he settled his hands on his hips to observe her watching him. Caroline felt heat begin to build between her legs at his heated look. She knew exactly what she wanted him to do with those hands, that mouth.

  With his hands on her shoulders, Malcolm gently pushed her back onto the bed. Caroline felt the cool cotton sheets under her back. Digging her heels into the mattress, she pushed herself back, an action that, when he leaned forward over her, put Malcolm’s face onto her stomach. He kissed her left hip then slid the flat of his warm, moist tongue along her side to the lower curve of her breast. Circling the soft rounded flesh with his cheek, he honed in on its pink tip. When he cupped her breast, her areola began tingling, even before his warm mouth closed over it. His other hand moved to her other breast, plucking the already hardened nipple until bolts of pleasure shot down all the way to her wet pussy. Caroline moaned and squeezed her hand over his while aching her back and pressing herself deeper into his mouth.

  Groans of protest quickly turned to moans of delight as he left her breasts to kiss her flat belly and dip his head lower to her thighs. His mouth meandered up the inside of her thigh, the tantalizing touch of his hot breath, wet tongue, moist lips, and the scrape of his goatee almost too much to bear. The silky fabric of her skirt disappeared with a tug of his teeth.

  She lay beneath him, naked, exposed, and vulnerable. Yet she didn’t feel any of these things. She felt warm, strong, and loved.

  Her skirt disposed of, Caroline expected Malcolm to return to her. She glanced down to the foot of the bed, where she found him standing, one hand unhooking the top button of his jeans.

  Rolling onto her side to watch him, she whispered, “Hurry up!”

  Malcolm chuckled. He must have heard the urgent edge in her voice.

  “Now, now. Patience, grasshopper.” Her own words came back to haunt her.

  As if to illustrate patience, he opened his jeans slowly, button by button, so that she heard the whisper of each one as it pulled away from its fastening. When he’d finished, he spread the fabric open with another leisurely motion, then pushed the garment slowly down over his hips. Though his boxer briefs were rather conservative in design, they weren’t remotely modest as they did very little to hide the extent of his arousal.

  Caroline eyed him and asked huskily, anticipation zinging through her blood, “Are you going to take all night?”

  Malc
olm nodded and smiled. “You can count on it.”

  “Come to bed.”

  Malcolm settled one knee and then the other on the mattress, bending down on all fours to make his way to the head of the bed where she lay on her side, watching him. Circling her ankle with strong fingers, he tugged her down toward him so that she lay flat on her back. He placed one hand on each of her knees and pushed her legs wide. It took a moment for Caroline to realize his intention, and she didn’t protest. He lowered his mouth to her hip, drawing a lazy circle with his tongue. His hot breath tickled her thigh as he trailed open mouthed kisses down to her knee and up again. His teeth nipped her flesh as he drew closer to her heat. Her heart pounded with excitement. When he finally touched her with his tongue, she cried out, pressing her thighs closed around his head.

  He licked her clit, pushing his tongue along the slick length of her folds and easing two fingers insider her. His fingers curled slightly to rub against her inner wall, exciting her erogenous zone.

  “Oh God, Malcolm. Please give me more.” Caroline rocked against his hand. She thought she would explode when Malcolm held her tighter and quickened the pace of his fingers. His tongue slipped over her nub and along her lips, sucking and pulling the delicate skin. Caroline went limp at the mind-numbing sensations that shot through her. She pressed her hands to Malcolm’s head, holding his head fast in place, silently commanding him to give her more.

  Just when she thought she couldn’t tolerate another moment, he moved back up her body, dragging his open mouth over her flat belly, treating each of her breasts to another welcome. Caroline pulled on his hair, drawing him to her mouth. Her tongue outlined his lips as her leg snaked around his hip. She pushed gently at his shoulder, sliding him off her and onto his stomach. The mattress dipped as she maneuvered toward the bottom of the bed. She traced her nails over the back of his calves. He moaned when her hands slipped up the back of his thighs. His body tightened under her hands, and he pushed himself more firmly into her hands as she cupped his butt, kissing and caressing the cheeks.

  Caroline straddled his ass, exploring his back and rubbing her nipples over his heated skin. Pressing the moist heat between her thighs against the small of his back, she felt Malcolm’s body become rigid, unmoving. She leaned her hips forward, rubbing her clit against his warm skin. Malcolm raised his hips up off the bed and groaned, pressing himself up against her heat. Caroline felt the heat rekindle between her legs. She ran her tongue up along his spine and felt his shoulders tense and bunch under her. Leaning forward she blew a soft stream of warm air over his ear and touched her tongue to his lobe.

  “I want you inside me. Now.”

  Malcolm rolled onto his back, and Caroline slid her leg over his hips, positioning herself on top of him. She rocked forward and back over his cock, and he groaned. He sat up, his hands caressing down her arms to her waist, then slowly back up, moving his thumbs in tantalizing circles till they were just under her breasts. Hefting the weight of an orb in each hand, he cupped them and released them, over and over, each time a little harder than the last. He rubbed his thumb back and forth over the taut peak until she shuddered. Caroline’s moan was smothered by his lips as he crushed her to him and thrust his tongue inside deeply, urgently. She kissed him back with equal fervor, dragging her hands through his hair. His tongue explored her mouth, pushing in and out until she was rotating her hips against him and moaning with pleasure. With her nub sliding back and forth over the moist tip of his cock, she wasn’t sure she could hang on much longer. As if understanding her predicament, Malcolm gently pushed her onto her back, between his legs and turned her over onto her stomach. He aligned his body to hers. With her cheek pressed against the cool sheet, his mouth and hands explored every inch of her body, revisiting favorite spots and discovering new ones. He finally lowered his mouth to her ear.

  “Are you ready for me?” he whispered. “I don’t think I can wait any longer. I want to be inside you, deep inside you, Caroline.”

  There was no question Caroline wanted the same, but speech eluded her. Her body was on fire, her mind mush. She brought her elbows up to support her chest and raised her hips so her ass met his pelvis and the long, thick rod that jutted out from the soft brown nest of curls.

  Malcolm eased himself inside her.

  “Oh,” Caroline murmured, the experience once again overwhelming her senses. “Oh, that’s so good.”

  She thought he echoed her sounds, but she couldn’t be sure. Deeper and deeper he entered her from behind, his movements slow, steady, and certain. Caroline had never felt so satisfied, so complete. Until Malcolm, she’d never realized how empty she’d been. Not just her body, but her life.

  He moved his body up and down against hers, in and out, until she thought she would burst with the fullness of him. Caroline threw her head back, grinding her ass back into him. Malcolm rocked his pelvis, driving into her slick canal. With each penetration Caroline groaned louder, feeling her release getting closer, closer. Just as she felt herself approaching the edge, he shifted their bodies so that she lay beneath him, facing him.

  “I want to see your face,” he said softly. “And I want you to see mine.” Their eyes locked, and beyond the amazing physical union they were experiencing, there seemed a mental and emotional connection, too. The latter wasn’t new for them, but to understand each other on so many levels at once brought them to a higher plain of coexistence. They were two who had become one in more than the physical sense.

  Malcolm bound her wrists in one hand, holding them over her head and positioned himself at her entrance. Deftly, swiftly, he entered her again, doubling his rhythm. His free hand roamed over her body, cupping her breasts as he continued to drive into her. Faster and faster, deeper and deeper, he moved inside her until they were nearly overcome with wanting. When Malcolm eased his hold on her wrists, she slipped her hands free and grasped the sheets to brace herself as she met his thrusting hips. He slipped his fingers between them, rubbing her clit. At the same time, he thrust into her until his balls slapped against her ass. Caroline screamed and returned his thrusts enthusiastically. She arched her back and twisted her head deep into the pillow. She closed her eyes and thrust her breasts up toward his face. He sucked hard on one nipple and then the other. Caroline tightened her thighs around his hips as her body responded to the pull on her tender skin.

  Unable to take the erotic sensations any longer, Caroline pulled his mouth to hers and sucked his tongue into her mouth. Malcolm stroked and teased her tongue in a seductive dance that left her breathless. He tore his mouth from hers and said, “Look at me, Caroline.” They were both gasping for breath and shuddering.

  When she opened her eyes, Malcolm hooked her bent knees over his shoulders, spreading her wider beneath him. His hips moved in small circles, dipping the tip of his penis in and out of her hot hole. Holding her gaze, he thrust deeply with one motion. Caroline moaned her approval, and he pounded into her harder and faster, burying himself impossibly deep within her, over and over. Within seconds their bodies jerked, their muscles tense, and they arched against each other, stilling as ripples of absolute pleasure wound through them.

  For one long, silent moment, they only clung to each other, as if trying to preserve the union forever.

  Malcolm kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and finally softly on the lips, before rolling her away from him so they spooned back to front in the middle of the bed. He drew his hand slowly, gently along the length of her spine. Within minutes they were asleep, dreaming the dreams of newlyweds.

  At some time during the night, Caroline awoke to the sound of a faint ringing. Beside her, Malcolm groaned and kissed her cheek apologetically as he rolled out of bed. Fumbling around on the night stand, he searched the surface for the offensive cell phone that he’d thrown aside haphazardly early in the evening. Through blurry eyes, Caroline watched him check the number, then walk into the adjoining sitting room and partially close the door.

  Caroline wondered who woul
d be calling in the middle of the night, on their honeymoon no less, but hoped it wasn’t an emergency. Malcolm was an only child, so she didn’t fear for family. Perhaps a hospital emergency. Straining her ears, she listened to his deep voice as he answered the phone.

  “Elsy? No, no, of course you’re not interrupting anything … no, don’t cry … Sshh. What’s wrong? No, don’t hang up. You’re not a bother. You can call….” The door to the sitting room clicked shut, blocking out the rest of the conversation.

  Chewing her lip, Caroline cursed her own stupidity. To further her own goals, she’d ignored their run-in with the other woman. Malcolm had never brought her up again, and since their plans had continued on as though she’d never existed, she’d simply written it off as an unfortunate coincidence. Until this call, she hadn’t considered the possibility that they still had each other’s phone number, much less that one of them would use it. If she could be so wrong about that, what other falsities was she laboring under? Against her better judgment she’d allowed herself to believe that she had fallen in love with Malcolm. But people in love didn’t keep secrets, take calls in the middle of the night on their honeymoon, or close the door for privacy when speaking to a former lover. At least not in her book of love. Whatever events that had lulled her into letting down her guard were not worth the pain she felt now. She’d obviously misread his commitment. She’d let that be the reminder that she needed to worry about only one thing, and perhaps that issue had already resolved itself. They hadn’t used protection since their first night together.

  She heard Malcolm raise his voice. His words were inaudible, but they sounded soothing, not angry. What exactly was his relationship with the woman? It was obvious they’d had something, but was it ongoing? And if it was, why hadn’t he approached her with his marriage proposal? Perhaps he had. And she’d rejected him, and now she wanted to change her mind. Fat chance, Caroline groused, rolling onto her side. Was the other woman still trying to catch Malcolm, even though he was bound to her? This catch was hers even if she didn’t want it for traditional reasons. But was Malcolm interested in her? He certainly didn’t sound upset by the fact that she was bothering them in the middle of night on their honeymoon. And granted they hadn’t been engaged in anything at the moment, but it had been warm post sex sleep with Malcolm’s arms holding her tight and her head cushioned in his shoulder. They weren’t even on the same continent as the woman! The more she thought about it, the more cross she became. She didn’t care who the woman was. Whatever relationship they had was in the past, and she would not tolerate any rekindling of the slightest friendship in the future.