still had a thousand questions—when would she be seeing Curt? How could she get in touch with him? Was it all right to call his phone? But she felt too awkward to ask any of them. She thanked James again, took her suitcase from the trunk, and made her way to Bungalow Three.
It was beautiful. The interior was a wide-open space with a bed in the middle, and there was a private deck out back with its own plunge pool. Annalise considered going for a swim, but suddenly the events of the day so far overwhelmed her. She lay down on the bed and closed her eyes, intending to refresh herself with a twenty-minute nap.
Annalise awoke to the sweet sensation of kisses making their way up the length of her arm.
Even before she hummed with pleasure and rolled toward him, she recognized Curt’s lips. She thought she would know them anywhere.
“Hi,” he said softly.
He was dressed only in Bermuda shorts and a button-down shirt that hung open, revealing his smooth chest, and he smelled like the ocean.
“Hi,” she breathed, her hands exploring his chest.
“I asked for a key to your room when I reserved it for you,” he said. “I hope that’s okay.”
“Of course it is. I’m glad you’re here.”
“I should have told you James would be picking you up,” he said. “I hope you weren’t too put off by it.”
“He was a perfect gentleman. I just wasn’t expecting it.”
“I wish I could have come,” Curt murmured.
Annalise couldn’t focus on what he was saying. His deft fingers had found the button of her jeans, and she was suddenly very conscious of how long it had been since she had seen him. How long her body had been craving him.
“You’re here now,” she said.
He nodded, his breathing already harsh and impatient.
Annalise rolled them over so she was sitting astride his hips, kicking her jeans away as she did so. His shorts laced up at the front. Desperate as she was, she forced herself to take her time, toying with the laces, leaving him uncertain as long as she could.
He gasped. “You’re killing me, Annalise.”
The feeling of power that gave her was intoxicating.
She eased her hands down the sides of his shorts and slid them slowly down.
She’d forgotten how big he was. She had thought of him every night, dreamed of him, fantasized—and yet somehow, she had forgotten. She curled her fingers around him and felt the way he filled her hand.
Curt growled, grabbed her by the waist, and tossed her back. He pursued her, lowering himself over her, pressing into her, grabbing her wrists as he did so. Annalise dug her heels into the mattress, lifting her hips to meet him.
Their bodies took over then, each of them knowing what the other needed and knowing exactly how to take what they wanted. Annalise lost herself in the pleasure. She struggled against his hold on her wrists—even as she did so, knowing that she didn’t want him to let her go, that the way he had her pinned down like this was driving her pleasure hotter and higher…
She let out a cry as she came and was distantly aware that that voice didn’t sound like her own at all.
Curt fell onto the mattress beside her and she curled into him, enjoying the feeling of his arms closing around her, imagining what it would be like to stay in this moment forever.
Slowly, they untangled themselves from one another and rolled onto their backs. Annalise stared up at the ceiling fan, turning lazy circles above them.
“Well,” Curt said, after a moment. “I’ve missed that.”
Annalise nodded. Her fingers found his, and she took his hand.
“I’m so glad you were able to come out here,” Curt said. “All I’ve been doing is working.”
Annalise turned her head to the side to look at him, grinning. “Office grind getting you down?”
Curt laughed and got to his feet. “You know as well as I do that work can be stressful, no matter how much you love your job,” he said. “Come on. Doesn’t this place have a pool? Let’s go for a dip.”
Annalise followed him out onto the deck. The sun was high overhead, but the privacy screens around them kept them from being seen by people staying in any of the neighboring bungalows.
“Should we keep our voices down?” she asked, conscious of the fact that he was still visiting her discreetly.
Curt laughed. “No one’s going to put anything together based on hearing two voices,” he said. “Talk as