Body Heat Part 7

She didn't need to be told twice. There in the tranquillity of the island, the moon shadows of palm leaves dancing over the white sand, the salty breeze from the ocean touching her skin, she felt more peace than she'd felt in all her life. Sleeping there with Adam was the easiest thing she'd ever done.

Loving, and leaving him, would be the hardest.

CHAPTER SIX.

Adam opened his eyes, not certain what had awakened him, and squinted against the rising sunshine. He noticed several things at once. Melanie was no longer at his side, the day was hazy, promising rain, and a huge, smelly pelican stood over him, its expression rapt, staring at his naked body.

Adam quickly scrambled back, sc.r.a.ping his bare b.u.t.t on the fine sand. The pelican boldly scrambled after him, keeping pace. Jumping to his feet, Adam tried to intimidate the bird by making shooing motions with his arms and yelling, "Scat!" The bird lifted its enormous wings and opened its baggy beak in a silent but alarming threat.

Adam froze. Where the h.e.l.l was Melanie? Watching the bird with one eye, he called, "Mel!"

She stuck her head out of the empty shack. "You're awake!"

He didn't dare look away from the pelican. "I'm being attacked, d.a.m.n it."

Dividing his glances between Mel and the bird, Adam caught the way Melanie stared, perusing his body in minute detail. A lesser man might have blushed, her look was so thorough. Of course, most men wouldn't have been preoccupied defending themselves against a curious bird.

Adam watched Mel leap nimbly out of the doorway and start toward them at an angle. She wore her halter and the silky tap pants and she was the s.e.xiest thing he'd ever seen in his entire life.

His palms began to sweat.

"I think he might want food. I tossed some coconut and strawberries to him earlier, but he wouldn't go away."

Adam inched closer to her, intending to protect her with his body if need be. "I think they only eat fish."

The pelican didn't like him moving around and fanned his wings as a warning. Adam halted. He turned slightly to Mel, but she had her gaze directed on lower parts, which caused something of an immediate reaction in his body.

"Sweetheart, there's not a d.a.m.n thing I'd like more this morning than to indulge your interest, but I don't want my eyes-or more important body parts-plucked at by our feathered guest while I'm distracted by you."

"Oh." She forced her attention to the bird. "He's kind of cute, isn't he?"

"You must be kidding."

The bird took a small, mean leap at Adam and he yelped, stumbling back. Being naked, he felt even more graceless than otherwise.

"Be still, Adam. You're frightening him."

She had to be kidding. "Honey, find me a rock."

Appalled, Melanie turned on him and pointed a finger. "Don't you dare!" The bird, startled by her command, turned to flee. But on his way, he s.n.a.t.c.hed up her underpants, resting on a pile of palm leaves, and flew away with them.

Melanie's eyes were huge. "Now look what you've done!"

"Me?" Adam did his best not to laugh. And he couldn't very well hold a grudge against the bird. "You're the one who shouted. And for your information, I had no intention of hitting the d.a.m.n bird with a rock, I just wanted to scare it away."

The bird soared down the island, out of sight. Hands on her hips, Melanie stared after it. "I washed out our stuff and left it on the leaves to dry. Now what will we do?"

"Our stuff?"

"Our...respective underthings."

Adam, having resisted her as long as he could, drew her close in the circle of his arms. "Why'd you leave me this morning?"

Mel toyed with the hair on his chest, avoiding his gaze. "I woke early so I decided to do some...stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Already it was hard for him to carry on a conversation. She was soft and sweet and he knew her body well, knew how easily, how hotly, she responded to him. She'd combed her hair and made use of his toothpaste; he could smell the minty flavor on her breath. Her skin, sun-warmed and glowing, felt silky soft beneath his hands.

"I washed out our clothes, like I said. And I tidied up the shack in case we need to go in. The air smells rainy to me." She peeked at him, then away. "I also explored a little down the beach. A lot more of the same, except there's a mango tree there that has-"

Adam cut her off, his mood quickly changing when he thought of all the things that could have happened to her. "You took off down the beach without me?"

She looked surprised by his accusing tone. "So?"

Without even realizing it, he gripped her upper arms. "Mel, the sun's just coming up."

"There was enough light for me to see."

He wanted to shake her. "What would you have done if you'd run into another snake? Or a swarm of those d.a.m.n beetles? What if you'd fallen and hit your head, or stepped on something sharp?"

She pulled away and stared at him. "I'm a big girl, Adam. I can take care of myself."

"Ha! Big girls don't go running screaming down the beach because of a little c.o.c.kroach-"

"A swarm of huge c.o.c.kroaches!"

"-and they aren't afraid to stick so much as a big toe in the ocean." He no sooner said it and saw her face blanch than he felt disgust for himself. Her fear of the water was real, if exaggerated, and he'd found it endearing, not something to ridicule her over. But he could tell by her quivering lip and rigid stance that he'd crossed the line.

He sighed. "Mel..."

She bit her lip to still it, and her hands fisted. After two deep breaths she very calmly, very coldly, said, "I am a coward and I freely admit it. I'm afraid of the water, or rather, things lurking in the water. But I can d.a.m.n well carry my own weight here. I'm not the pampered little girl you remember. I do all the things normal women do, like go to college, work-even break engagements!"

"I didn't mean-"

That stubborn, adorable chin of hers lifted and she cut him off. "I cleaned out the shack so we can inhabit it, and yes, I did run into a few snakes. While I don't like them, I am quite capable of shooing them off with a long stick."

"Honey..."

"I also collected enough fruit for our breakfast and I got a dozen p.r.i.c.ks on my fingers from my efforts." She thrust her hands in front of his face, glaring.

Smiling inside, Adam took her fingers and examined the small scratches. "Blackberry bushes?"

"And some of that stupid gra.s.s. It's as sharp as needles."

"You didn't need to do all that, babe. And I'm sorry I said anything about the water."

She jerked her hands away in renewed pique. "The point is, if I choose to go exploring, I will. I don't need your permission or your protection." Then she sneered, "Or are you going to lie some more about wild boars?"

"You read my Key to the Keys?"

She thumped him on the chest with one small fist. "I'm not an idiot, d.a.m.n it! I don't need to read your dumb guidebook to know there aren't any wild boars here."

She was so adorable in her anger, and he was naked and hard. It was difficult to take part in the conversation when all he really wanted to do was lay her down and slide into her body again. Last night he'd tried to make her see how different she was from any other woman he'd been with. Sheer physical gratification couldn't compare with the deep, primal possessiveness he felt with her. But he knew by the look on her face she hadn't understood. She thought she was just one more woman in a long line of conquests. And this morning, being in a saner frame of mind, he wasn't about to tell her no other woman had mattered, not when he always pretended they were her. That was a little too heavy to lay on a woman after only one night.

"Mel, I don't want you wandering off alone because it isn't safe, boar or no boar. I have no idea what kinds of snakes are on the island, if they're poisonous or not. The shack looks ready to collapse, so until we can decide if it's safe enough to be in, I don't want either of us wandering off alone. Okay?"

His cajoling tone and apologetic expression must have gotten to her. "You're expressing yourself much better this time around, Stone."

He grinned. She obviously didn't know how badly it scared him to think of her getting hurt. "I'm naked, h.o.r.n.y as h.e.l.l, and you're running around in this s.e.xy little outfit, looking good enough to be breakfast. How do you expect me to act?"

Her mouth opened and closed twice, then she looked down and started toying with his chest hair again. He liked her like this, all sweet and innocent and shy. His hands slid over her hips, appreciating the feel of her firm softness beneath the slippery material.

"I looked at you this morning."

Adam froze while kissing her neck. "Is that right?"

She nodded, b.u.mping his chin. "You're very...s.e.xy, too."

Grinning from ear to ear, he put one finger beneath her chin and lifted her face so he could see her eyes. "Am I hearing this right? You took advantage of my exhaustion to sate your curiosity on my poor body?"

A blush exploded on her cheeks and her long lashes drifted down to hide her expression, but she smiled. "Yes. And I enjoyed myself, too. You...affect me, Adam. Once I woke up and saw you, it was impossible to go back to sleep. I had to find something to do so I wouldn't attack you, but I knew you needed your rest after hurting your head."

"My head is fine, feeling better by the second." He kissed her long and deep, his tongue tasting her, enticing her. "You should have wakened me," he growled between nibbling on her lips.

"You're awake now."

"And you're overdressed." One small tug, and her halter dropped to her waist.

This time was no less frantic than the night before, and afterward, as they both lay sated and hot and damp from their exertions and the rising humidity, Adam frowned. He couldn't quite reconcile the way she made him feel, complete but still hungry, at peace but still turbulent. He'd always known there was something there, an irresistible chemistry that drew him in, but he'd thought it all one-sided. Now, seeing her naked beside him, panting for breath, her scream of pleasure at the time of her climax still ringing in his ears, he realized how wrong he'd been. She'd moved with him, kept pace with him, every step of the way.

Yet she'd been a virgin.

Laying a hand on her damp belly, relishing the fact that she still trembled, he said, "Tell me about yourself, Mel. What you've been up to."

She c.o.c.ked one pale blue eye open to peer at him, and groaned. "I think you've killed me."

He laughed. "With pleasure." Leaning down to kiss her, he added, "You're one demanding little lady."

"You'd make me blush if I had the strength."

"You want me to show you exactly how much strength you still have?" He drifted his fingers down her belly.

Melanie caught his wrist and moaned. "No, I'll talk."

"Good. Start with this idiot fiance of yours."

"He's not my fiance, not anymore, and he's also not an idiot. In fact, he's very intelligent, successful-pretty special, really." She sighed, then tilted her head to the side to smile at him. "Jerry Marshall is actually considered quite a catch. He's not as tall as you, but he's handsome. Hair as black as my own, great teeth."

Adam made a sound of disgust. "I don't give a d.a.m.n about his teeth. Why the h.e.l.l haven't you slept with him?"

There was that seductive blush again, making his muscles twitch and his heart pound. When would her potent effect on him diminish? Never? He couldn't accept that prospect and determinedly pushed the problem from his mind. They were still eons apart, and he had a h.e.l.l of a lot yet to accomplish before he could even begin to think of settling down, especially with a woman like Melanie Tucker.

But she'd given him her virginity. In too many ways to count, he felt she was his already.

"I don't know, Adam. The time just never seemed right." She wouldn't look at him, choosing to stare at the sky. "Jerry's practice kept him pretty busy, and our time together was usually spent at social gatherings or working. I guess I wasn't overly anxious to get intimate, and Jerry seemed content to wait."

"What an a.s.s."

She smiled. "Well, I'd expect that att.i.tude from a hound dog like you."

"I told you last night, I'm not nearly as insatiable as you want to think I am."

Her eyes widened and she leaned up far enough to look at their naked bodies. "Could have fooled me."

"It's different with you." He kissed her nose and spoke in a whisper. "You make me crazy." Maybe he was a hound dog, after all, because he sure as h.e.l.l couldn't look at her, couldn't even think of her, without wanting her in the most elemental ways possible. "How long have you been broken up with this guy?"

"About a month." She cuddled closer and rested her head on his chest. "I wanted to get a different job, something more challenging. He didn't want me to. My parents agreed with him."

"What kind of job did you want?"

She tipped her head to look at him. "I don't know. Something fun, exciting. Working for Jerry was...well, it was boring."

"Maybe that's because Jerry was boring."

"Most women don't think so." She smiled slightly, then admitted, "I made a lot of money on the stock market, and by investing in real estate. I wanted to get more involved with that. I seem to have a knack for it."

"Real estate?" That was one of his big interests.

"Yes." She leaned on one elbow. "Adam, my money is all my own, separate from my parents."

That surprised him. Somehow he'd always figured she'd simply live off an inheritance, like every other pampered rich kid. "So you've made your own fortune?"

She nodded. "I have a way with numbers, and with property. Some day I'll inherit my parents' money, but for now, I don't want it or need it."

Ridiculously, he felt proud of her. She was more independent than he'd thought, and it pleased him. "Why not take what's coming to you? You get along with your folks, don't you?"

"Yes. I just like it better when I'm not answerable to anyone but myself." She turned her face toward him, and her smoky eyes nearly did him in. That is, until she spoke. "I want to buy your resort, Adam."

Her words felt like a punch to the chest, making him clench his teeth. After his mother had been forced to accept charity from the town to bury his father, he swore it would never happen again. Taking refuge from his painful memories, he moved on top of Melanie and parted her thighs.

She clung to him, accepting him. "Adam, please just let me explain what I-"

"Be quiet, Mel." He gently, inexorably pushed himself into her, his groan mingling with hers, their gazes locked.