“I have a message from the main resort. There’s a storm moving in faster than expected. The horses are in the stable and safe here but you’ll have to take a car back. It’s waiting out front, ready when you are.”
“Thank you,” Doug said. The waiter nodded and left them alone.
A storm. Juliette inhaled. Her fear of storms was juvenile and unreasonable, the result of a childhood foolishness that had left eight-year-old Juliette and Gillian stranded in a tree house in their backyard long after it was safe to be outdoors. Fear of being yelled at had been greater than their fear of rain, and by the time the girls realized the severity of the storm, thunder and lightning prevented their easy return. Her father had found them, finally, but not before lightning had struck a tree branch nearby and Juliette’s fear of storms had been permanently instilled. Their parents’ punishment had seemed mild in comparison.
Doug turned to face her. “See? We get a ride back. No drinking and riding issues at all.”
She forced a smile and pushed her fear of storms away for now, in favor of Doug and more pressing concerns. “But there are other issues.”
“Well, don’t keep me in suspense.”
She inclined her head. “It’s not the wine that’s hitting me hard but…” She drew in a deep breath for courage and strengthened the resolve she’d been developing throughout dinner.
She’d come so far in letting herself go. Another woman might not think so, but from her change in clothing to her outward flirting and the tingling awareness in her body, Juliette knew she’d taken great strides. Problem was, she hadn’t gone as far as she would have liked, and she didn’t want to have regrets when her time here was through.
Now that he’d given her not just a simple glimpse into his life but an overt revelation of childhood pain, she was comfortable with the man and knew she was ready. Ready to take that next step—the one Doug the gentleman had been obviously avoiding. Out of fear of offending her? She didn’t know but it was time to find out.
He reached out and covered her hand. “But what?”
“It’s you. You make me light-headed and dizzy. You affect me. And I was about to tell you I’m not ready to go home if it means leaving you standing at my doorstep again.” She’d said it. Juliette let out a huge breath of air and waited.
Doug coughed, a sound that resembled a strangled groan and looked into her expectant gaze. The man who was attracted to her warred with the reporter who’d promised himself he wouldn’t use her sexually to accomplish his goal. But, he reminded himself, he was also on this island to make her wishes come true. If he turned her away, he’d be crushing both her fantasy and her need to feel desired by that one special man. The man he’d set himself up to be. And the man who wanted her as much as she wanted him. Weighing the circumstances, he knew he could convince himself that being with her—at her request—wouldn’t be using her for information.
But it was a thin argument. So he’d make damn sure she knew how badly he wanted her and make sure she enjoyed their intimacy. However, as he’d promised himself earlier, sleeping with her couldn’t, wouldn’t, happen.
He brushed his thumb back and forth over her soft skin before turning her palm up and grasping her hand in his. He rose, pulling her to her feet. “We should get going now, but we’ll talk in the car on the way back.”
She nodded.
He’d counted on a driver being a buffer for the sexual tension reverberating between them. Except the resort hadn’t sent a shuttle van or a car as he’d expected. They’d sent a limousine, something he’d never have thought necessary on this small island resort. But, he realized, the limo, like the resort’s owner, catered to people’s fantasies. Recalling Merrilee questioning him about happily ever after, he knew the woman was a romantic. And what was more romantic than a limousine ride when necessary? The concept went all the way back to high school senior proms, he thought wryly.
This limo came complete with a shaded partition obliterating the driver’s view of the passengers—and whatever behavior they chose to indulge in. And from the bright gleam in Juliette’s eyes, the possibilities hadn’t escaped her notice either.
But then she glanced at the darkening sky, thick now with gray clouds overhead. She shivered, a tremor shaking her hard. “Storms scare me,” she whispered.
He raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“Old childhood fear. It’s silly, I know.” She squinted, studying the gray sky again.
“It wasn’t supposed to roll in until later tonight.”
She shrugged. “It happens.” She climbed into the car and he followed.
The driver closed the door behind them and the rain began to fall—leaving Doug alone with a woman who looked like she’d jump into his lap at the first clap of thunder.
A woman he desired. Badly.
CHAPTER FIVE
THUNDER CRACKLED overhead. Juliette clenched her hands tight in her lap. Lord, she was embarrassed. How could she seduce the man if she was too afraid to move? And she had no doubts she wanted to seduce Doug. None at all.
Without warning, his large hand covered hers. “Relax.” He eased her hand out of its fist until her fingertips splayed—not across her thigh—but his. As a way to distract her, it worked. His leg was hard and strong beneath the rough denim and his powerful muscles flexed at her touch. She let out a slow exhale.
“You missed that last flash of lightning.”
She met his amused gaze. “I had better things to think about.”
He laughed. “That was the point.”