Five Stars (Desire Island 5)

“So, was it a surprise to find that it was me behind you?” Adam asked, grinning. “I kept expecting you to turn around, what with the all the commotion when I finally showed up. I should have remembered you’re too well trained for that.”

Shani laughed. “It was a crazy, wonderful surprise! I was dying to turn around, but yeah, I caught myself in time. Even when I smelled you, I didn’t believe my own senses.

Adam scrunched his nose, making a funny face. “You smelled me?”

“A good smell,” Shani hastened to add, still laughing. “Your leather balm. The particular clean scent of your skin. I thought I was hallucinating. You know, an olfactory hallucination because I so wanted you to be here. Even then, I still thought I had to be imagining it. But when I saw your hands…” She trailed off, still not quite believing he was actually there.

“These hands?” he asked softly, lifting them to cup her face as he leaned down to give her another long, deep kiss.

“Yes,” she breathed as he let her go. “Those hands. Those beautiful hands that craft beautiful things.”

A world-renown whip maker, Adam had given her a parting gift of a pair of gorgeous wrist cuffs he’d made from leftover strips of leather dyed in shades of russet, umber and gold, intricately braided together to form impossibly soft but sturdy restraints.

Adam smiled, taking her hands in his. “I work in leather. You work in metal and gemstones to make that beautiful jewelry with these lovely hands.” He lifted them one at a time to his lips, kissing each palm.

Shani shook her head, embarrassed he’d compared the two of them when in her mind, there was no comparison. “I don’t work in it,” she protested. “It’s just a hobby. Something I do for family and friends.”

“Come on, Shani,” Adam protested. “I can’t be the only one who’s told you that you could do it professionally, if you were of a mind. Your creations are really unique. In fact—”

He cut himself off, turning away. “No. Not yet.”

“What?” Shani replied, confused. “In fact what? Not yet what?”

“Nothing, nothing,” he said quickly. “We can discuss it later.” He reached for a bottle of the island’s special welt lotion from the supply bench. “Let’s give your skin some aftercare so it doesn’t blister. You took quite an intensive fire whipping.” He gently removed the towel from her shoulders and set it aside. “I’m so glad I got to be a part of it.”

His hands felt wonderful on her skin. She sighed with pleasure as he smoothed the soothing balm over her shoulders, back and ass.

“I should have been here two hours ago,” he said as he worked, “but the boat guy apparently had engine trouble and was late picking me up from the mainland. I haven’t even been up to my room yet. I just threw my bags in the lobby and raced out to the beach.”

“I thought you weren’t coming until next month,” Shani said, still dazed with happiness. “I thought you had back-to-back events all over the country.”

“See?” Adam said teasingly. “That’s what comes of being off the grid, Princess. I could have texted you to let you know but…”

Shani chuckled. People always freaked out when they asked for her contact information, and she gave them her physical mailing address. She didn’t own a cell phone or maintain a presence on email or social media. She had never wanted to be sucked into that whole cycle of cyber communication and intrusion. Her mother and sisters knew how to contact her on the island if they needed to, and there was no one else she cared to stay in touch with. It had been a definite advantage when she’d needed to disappear.

“Okay, okay,” she said, still smiling. “I admit there are times I think about entering the twenty-first century. I’m just not quite there yet. So, what changed with your itinerary?”

“The Southwest Leather Conference where I was supposed to run some seminars this week was canceled due to a fire in their facilities. They’ll reschedule for some time later in the year. So, I found myself with a couple of days between gigs. I gave Ryan a shout and he suggested, after some not so subtle hinting on my part, that I spend the time here with you. It was his idea to make it a surprise. I’m just glad I didn’t miss the entire fireplay scene.”

Though she was delighted he had chosen to come back to the island early, she couldn’t help but snag on the words, a couple of days. Why did she have to fall for a guy who traveled half the year? She didn’t say anything, however, not wanting to spoil whatever time they had together by whining that it wasn’t long enough.

Done with the lotion, he replaced the damp, cool towel over her shoulders. It felt good against her still tender skin. He moved to stand in front of her, gazing down with those vivid green eyes outlined in dark, thick lashes. Reaching for her hand, he playfully placed it over the rather sizable bulge at his crotch. His mouth lifted into a playful, sexy smile. “Let’s go inside. I need some aftercare too.”