“The truth,” he said, in a direct challenge. “That you didn’t like seeing that woman with me.”
She laughed, but the sound lacked her usual musical quality and came off as strained instead. “If I were the jealous type, the last five years of seeing your picture in magazines and newspapers, always with a different woman, would have drummed that right out of me.”
“So you tell yourself. And yet…”
Teresa took a breath, slanted her eyes to his and murmured, “Fine. I didn’t like the way she was pawing at you. Heck, she was practically drooling. Happy now?”
Short answer was yes. A longer answer would take more time. At least a couple of hours. In his bed. Even his taste for revenge was muted by the fire inside him. All he wanted, all he could think about, was getting her na**d and—if he didn’t stop thinking about it he’d never be able to walk out of the bar.
Reluctantly, he relaxed his hold on her and she quickly got to her feet. She looked down at him and her eyes were bright, her mouth parted as her breath came fast and hard. He caught one of her hands in his and rubbed his thumb across her knuckles. She pulled her hand free a moment later and he allowed it.
“I’ll see you back at the house,” he said quietly. “One hour.”
She swallowed hard and suddenly looked just a little…anxious. “Rico—”
“One hour, Teresa. Then we settle this between us.”
She gave him a brief nod, then moved back to the bar. Alone, Rico stared out at the sea, trying to empty his mind of every wicked thought and desire that raced through it. What he needed was a cold shower, but what he wanted was more heat. Teresa’s heat. The fire he had only ever experienced with her.
And soon he would have it.
Six
Teresa was standing on his bedroom terrace when he arrived. The tropical breeze smelled of saltwater and flowers. The sound of the ocean was like a heartbeat in the distance and the dappled shade from the surrounding trees danced and shifted with the wind that lifted her hair from her shoulders in soft waves.
Her heart was pounding. Every nerve in her body was standing straight up and buzzing. She felt electrified from the inside out. She couldn’t sit still. Couldn’t stand without moving, pacing. Could hardly breathe through the knot of anticipation lodged in her throat.
Back at the beach bar, when she’d been sitting on Rico’s lap, she’d felt the hard proof of his desire for her. And even there, surrounded by strangers, she’d wanted nothing more than to turn in the chair, straddle him and— Oh boy, she was in very serious trouble.
Feeling this way for your husband was one thing. Wanting the man who only wanted to use you then discard you was simply a road map to misery. God, she remembered so clearly what it was like to be loved by Rico King. To be the reason his eyes warmed when she walked into a room. To know that he was right there if she stretched out her hand. To have his arms come around her in the middle of the night, making her feel safe and treasured.
And she knew what it was like to lose all of it.
Now she would have to lose it again, and Teresa didn’t know if she’d be able to bear it this time. Because she’d already lived through years of emptiness without him, so this time when she left, she knew exactly the kind of cold, dark place that would be waiting for her. She’d do anything to avoid that wide chasm of utter loneliness again. But there was just no way out.
Her careening thoughts skidded to a halt when she actually felt Rico’s presence. Slowly she turned to see him standing in the open doorway, watching her. The wind caught his hair and tossed it across his forehead. His blue eyes were fixed on her and his mouth was tight, as if he wished he were anywhere but here. And yet…there was heat and tension spiraling between them, binding them together with invisible tendrils of desire and need.
Whatever else also lay between them—lies, betrayal, anger—this was just as real. This living, breathing passion that was so strong it was pushing her to take the first steps toward him even now. It didn’t matter why he wanted her. Only that he did. She couldn’t take another moment without feeling his hands on her. She’d wanted for so long and now she could have.
He held his ground, half in the bedroom, half out, and waited for her to come closer. Every step was a test in courage. Every breath a victory. She couldn’t look away from his eyes and when she saw a flash of heat dazzling there, she crossed the last of the space separating them in a dash.
Teresa threw herself at him and he caught her, encircling her in his arms, holding her tightly to him so that she could feel every ridge and plane of his body. She felt the thick hardness of him pressed against her middle and instantly she went hot and wet.
Here, her mind whispered. Here was where she belonged. Where she always wanted to be.
What sounded like a growl erupted from his throat as he threaded his fingers through her hair, tipped her head back and held her for his kiss. She met him eagerly, hungrily. Their mouths fused, tongues twisting and dancing in a frenzy of need. Breathing was short and labored. Hands slid up and down burning bodies and when he suddenly turned and walked her backward toward the bed, she kept pace.
Teresa fell back onto the mattress and kept her arms around Rico’s neck, as if a part of her was afraid that he would stop now. Take that one step away and return to that careful, cold distance between them just to torture her. But she wouldn’t let him. Not this time.
Every night she slept beside him and every morning she woke up entangled with him, feeling the heat of his body pouring into hers just before he bolted from the bed and left her there. Alone.
She was done.
Let the revenge begin.
She didn’t care why she was there anymore. Or even why he wanted her there. It was enough that Rico was with her again, laying his body atop hers.
Finally he tore his mouth from hers, looked down into her eyes and whispered, “You’re wearing too many clothes.”
“You, too.”
Nodding, he rolled to one side of her and got up just long enough to yank his clothes off and toss everything to the floor. Teresa did the same. Her T-shirt, shorts and sandals were on the floor in seconds and her bra and panties quickly followed. Then she was naked, standing in front of him as the sunlight streaming through the terrace doors caressed their already-heated bodies in a golden warmth that seemed to soak deep into their bones. That light was reflected in his eyes as he looked at her and Teresa shivered in response.
He was beautiful. Just as she remembered him. His body was tanned and every muscle was sharply defined. He was also hard and ready and glancing at his erection made Teresa quiver deep inside. Right where she wanted him.