Everglades Awakening Read online

  When she’d first seen the restaurant, she’d intended to tell her brother the lighting needed to be changed so diners could see the nautical wall decorations without straining. However, she was no longer so sure bright lights fit. Tonight, maybe, would be tinged with magic and sex. The setting should complete the image.

  Because the restaurant was full, they were directed into the lounge and to a small table next to the wall opposite the bar. She ordered red wine, and he asked for a beer. She caressed the glass stem and met Ranger’s eyes—what she could see of them anyway. She’d already noted how dark they were, nearly black like his hair. Their knees kept brushing under the table, but she made no attempt to retain her personal space.

  Why would she? Tonight might be perfect, whatever that was.

  Special at least. Challenge her. Make her feel alive, if only for one evening.

  She’d had a handful of brief encounters in the course of a career as a researcher for an exclusive travel service. A job that required her to travel all over the world meant a lot of nights alone. As a result, getting her itches scratched called for a certain amount of calculation on her part. After all, she wasn’t about to jeopardize her career or taint the service’s reputation with questionable behavior. The men she slept with needed to be as discreet as she did. She’d always checked them out before shedding her clothes.

  Tonight was different.

  Hot.

  New.

  “So,” she whispered. “Where are you staying? The accommodations here are limited.”

  He kept his eyes on her and his fingers inches from hers. “I rented a flats boat to get to the island. I can—”

  “Flats?”

  “Designed for moving in shallow water where there’s limited wave action.”

  “That doesn’t sound very comfortable.”

  “For fishing, yes, sleeping not so much.”

  “I wouldn’t want you to wake up with a stiff back.”

  “I’ve experienced worse.”

  Ah, a mystery man. Yet if she could trust her instinct, which she badly wanted to, he wouldn’t make her regret anything that happened tonight. She was a modern woman in every way. No matter that there wasn’t a steady man in her life, years ago she’d been fitted with an IUD. She even carried rubbers in an inner purse pocket.

  “I’m being comped one of the cabins out by the beach,” she said. “It’s musty-smelling and bare bones.”

  He held her gaze. “What size bed?”

  She delayed her reply while sipping on her wine. Fire slid down her throat and into her veins. Now she knew why she’d worn the sleeveless sundress—because she could be out of it in short order.

  “You don’t want me asking?” His knuckles touched hers, then were gone, leaving her needing more.

  “No. It’s not that.” After releasing her glass, she spread her fingers over his. His roughness contrasted with her smooth skin, and she felt like screaming. “I just needed a minute to think.”

  “I understand. And I’m still waiting for your answer.”

  Of course he was. The rest of tonight hinged on what she said next. “It’s a queen. And the cabin’s well-separated from the others.”

  “And there’s just you staying there?”

  “Yes.”

  * * * *

  Charli drank two glasses of wine before her dinner of blackened redfish arrived. Ranger asked for a third beer to go with his sea trout. By then she’d given him the short course about her career and that she’d come to Soco to give her brother her assessment of the pros and cons of buying the resort. When she mentioned having spent time in Spain, Canada, Mexico, Germany and Australia, he let her know he, too, had been to those countries. He’d said nothing about what had taken him there or where else he might have gone.

  She hadn’t asked. He’d tell her when and if it became her business, which she wasn’t sure she wanted. Seeing him as a stranger added to…what, her anticipation? The possibility of hot, hard, incredible sex with an international smuggler?

  The thought that he might have something to do with the drug trade chilled her, but her nerves—or maybe her pussy—said that couldn’t be. He was too appreciative of his surroundings to be involved with criminal elements. However, he was holding back. Presenting himself as a mystery man.

  No matter. With her belly now full and her head light from the wine, she only wanted to get to her feet and lead the way to her cabin. Have this night with him before the world returned.

  Ranger put down his beer and stood. Having him loom over her wasn’t disconcerting so much as a challenge. He didn’t say anything.

  Throat refusing to swallow, she joined him. All around them, others were hunched over small tables, eating, drinking, or both. Although she couldn’t make out their fellow diners’ features, she guessed a number of them were dealing with sunburns because Soco was all about outdoors activities, mostly fishing. A few were staying in the other cabins, but most would spend the night on their own crafts, which were moored at the dock. Tomorrow she might care what their sleeping arrangements were like, but not tonight.

  Ranger’s cocked head spoke for him. This call was hers.

  Feeling weightless, half drunk and wired with wanting, she led the way around the tables and from there to the still-full restaurant. One thing she could tell her brother, the moneymaking potential was here.

  Small white lights had been strung over the railing around the deck, which gave the area an almost magical and romantic quality. To her right, a couple stood looking out at the moonlit surf with their arms around each other.

  Before she could step off the deck, Ranger trailed his fingers along the small of her back. Heat dove through her and she studied his shadowed form.

  “That’s true silver.” Wrapping his arm around her waist, he indicated the surf. “Nothing man does with color comes close to nature’s design.”

  She, who’d written enough travel brochure copy to be a pro at it, couldn’t have put it any better, although maybe this man saying the words was what made the difference. She’d yet to see him up close in full light so decided that his dark coloring came from more than the sun. He might be Hispanic or Italian, but she was inclined to believe he had Native American blood.

  “It’s more than just the moon glinting off the waves,” she observed. “There’s also the sound of water whispering over the beach and dock, the breeze.”

  “And knowing the day’s coming to an end.”

  Was he hinting at her favorite, albeit only occasional, nighttime activity of waxing philosophical about the sense of peace and quiet that came with putting a workday behind her? Not giving herself time to question her action, she placed her arm around Ranger’s waist. Hip pressed against hip. She sensed him breathing, half-believed she could hear his heart.

  Insane. One-night stand. A taste of romance that wouldn’t survive tomorrow morning when they returned to their separate worlds.

  Go for broke.

  “Ready?” he whispered.

  Home was a thousand miles away. She’d return to a stack of work on her desk and endless meetings. Her brother would text and email and leave cell messages until she gave him a complete assessment. She needed a haircut and to make a dentist appointment.

  None of that mattered tonight with the moon turning her surroundings exquisite and this warm male body sending primal messages to hers.

  “Ready.”

  * * * *

  The condition of the cabin that Charli was staying in told Ranger that the wood had been subjected to heat and humidity for many years. Maybe that was why, despite his humming body and aching cock, he stopped when they were still in the small, screened-in porch with its plastic lawn chairs. Lush vegetation pressed against the screening as if determined to trap them. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

  “I fed countless mosquitoes and no-see-ums when I was in the preserve today,” he said. “Knowing they can’t get through the screens is comforting.” Although there were no lights
here, and he could barely make out Charli’s form, he nodded in the preserve’s direction. If he hadn’t met her, would he be fighting the impulse to return to the wilderness? Only a fool would walk into the wild without so much as a flashlight. And yet, the land seemed to be waiting for him, perhaps ready to give up a few of its secrets. Embrace him.

  “You didn’t have any bug spray?” she asked.

  “I hate the smell and feel of that stuff.”

  “Ditto. So self-sacrifice was the lesser of two evils?”

  “I didn’t give getting bitten a thought until it was too late. Besides, it was worth it.”

  “In what way?”

  “Whoever decided to leave that part of the island as nature intended has done a spectacular job. Except for a few identifying signs and the path, there’s nothing man-made.”

  “Thanks for the heads-up. After listening to you, I know my time here won’t be complete unless I check out that part of the island.”

  She’d sat in one of the chairs and was looking at the world beyond the screen, her profile indistinct, mystical even. The whole time he’d been in the jungle-like area, he’d been grateful for the solitude. Granted, he’d run into a handful people and had muttered the expected “hello”, but most of the time it had been him and questions banking inside him.

  Come morning, would he ask Charli if she wanted him to accompany her as she walked along the narrow trail with vines crawling over the edges? Would he want to share that perfect place with her?

  “Are you going to say it or am I?” she asked, looking at him—or rather at his crotch.

  “You don’t mince words.”

  “Would you prefer I do? I’d prefer not to play coy.”

  He settled his gaze on her breasts. “I don’t want you to. I have condoms on me.”

  “So do I. And an IUD.”

  “Good.” After that, his mind emptied, prompting him to stand over her with his hands gripping the chair arms and his legs straddling hers. Her knee-length skirt had probably crept up when she’d sat down, but there was no way of knowing how far without checking.

  Checking? More like feeling her up. Fairly trembling with anticipation—something he hadn’t done since his teen years—he shifted his weight so his left arm supported his upper body, thus freeing his right. He started easy, fingers light on her knee. She sighed, a small, lingering sound.

  “I just shaved my legs.” She sounded unsteady. “Good timing, right?”

  “Maybe you looked in a crystal ball and saw this was going to happen.” Sensing she was ready for more, he slid his hand between her legs. Her knees were bony, the flesh over her thighs like satin. God had never really factored in his life and he’d concluded that Mother Nature had fashioned women’s bodies like she had in order to drive men out of their minds.

  Not that his mind had led him here.

  You don’t know her. She’s a stranger.

  She’s probably thinking the same thing and yet…

  “I’m not a whore,” she whispered and spread her legs a little. “I need you to understand that.”

  “I do.”

  “Do you?” She ran sleek fingers over his forearm. “I’m acting a bit like one.”

  “If you are, what does that make me?”

  Perhaps his question was more than she could handle. Maybe pressing his palm against her inner thigh and increasing the space between her knees was responsible for her silence. Her hold on his arm increased, strong nails digging into him. He liked rough sex, not all the time, but if the woman was so inclined, he never turned down the opportunity. At least two women had praised what they called his no-holds-barred nature. He took it as a compliment and later had pondered where it had come from.

  He wasn’t sure he wanted to go there tonight, just let it happen. Become part of their surroundings.

  His attention locked on what little he could see of her outline, he straightened. He spread his hands over her thighs, pushing the skirt upward as he did. Another sigh, deeper than the first, slid out of her. She needed no encouragement to open her legs even more and stopped only when his legs prevented her from going farther.

  Soon, he’d place his legs between hers, but for now, he was content to see what she would do on her own. His senses had always been keen. He swore he could smell a woman’s arousal from the other side of a room. Even before he reached the halfway place on Charli’s inner thighs, he caught her telltale scent. As proof of her excitement poured into him, he concentrated on giving her what she’d brought him here for. Done right, his reward would be worth the effort.

  And the fact that they didn’t know each other wouldn’t matter.

  Hopefully.

  “Good muscle tone,” he told her with his palms and fingertips firm on the sleekest of flesh. “That come from flying all over the world?”

  “Looking good’s part of the job.”

  “Company image?”

  “Something like that.”

  No matter that he was ready to dive into her, he couldn’t dismiss the pressure of her nails digging into his arm. Hoping not to break the mood, he pulled her hand off him.

  “What?” she asked.

  “A little too much enthusiasm. You’re leaving grooves.”

  “What? Oh, sorry.”

  To his relief and pleasure, she treated his arm to a series of brisk strokes. These moments, he told himself, were about priming her for sex and bringing her to the place where he already stood, but who was he to complain if she wasn’t in a hurry to get to the main event?

  Sighing again, she slid toward him with her legs wide. Even as he again trailed a finger over the crotch of her panties, he chided himself for thinking of that part of her anatomy that way. He’d just started trying to make sense of who and what she was, but he wouldn’t let tonight be cheap. He wouldn’t!

  Damn! What made a woman’s inner thighs so soft? Was there some secret cream known only to members of that sex and applied for the sole purpose of driving men crazy? Was that how women were going to take over the world?

  Wondering if he’d stumbled onto something earth-shattering, he closed his eyes. With his sense of touch calling the shots, he concentrated on claiming every inch of flesh between her knees and pussy. In turn she twitched and jerked, her breath out of sync and fingers around his wrists. She wasn’t trying to stop him. Instead, she was trying to rush his journey.

  “Your legs,” she muttered. “They’re in the way.”

  “No, they aren’t. Not yet, anyway.”

  “What’s this about? Are you trying to bring out the trollop in me?”

  “Trollop? I hadn’t thought about that.” He stopped all movement. “But you’re horny as hell, right?”

  She bore down on his wrists until she cut off the circulation there. “I hate being teased.”

  “It’s called foreplay.”

  “The hell it is.”

  “The hell it isn’t.”

  On the tail of another curse, she straightened, letting go of him as she did. Before he could guess what she had in mind, she pressed the heel of her right hand against his cock. Just like that, she had his full attention.

  “What do you call this?” Sounding pissed and amused, she cupped the same hand around his cock. “Tease or foreplay?”

  “Dangerous.”

  “Right. That, too.”

  She wasn’t going to hurt him, because if she did, he’d be out of commission and she’d have to find satisfaction some other way, not that he doubted she was capable of doing so. Fortunately, the instinct that made men risk everything to protect that part of their anatomy wasn’t ruling him tonight.

  He slid his fingers around the scrap of cloth standing between him and his ultimate goal and pulled the fabric toward him.

  “What’s this?” he asked. “A standoff?”

  Chapter Three

  #xa0;

  This part of Florida didn’t know the meaning of the word winter. Or cold. By her reckoning, Charli figured it was around nine p.m
., and although things had cooled down a bit, being outside had only recently become comfortable.

  Ranger’s engorged cock impressed her. Where it stood in terms of others she’d seen she couldn’t say and didn’t give a damn about.

  He could, if he was so inclined, back away and break free. In contrast, she was at a disadvantage with him looming over her and promising—or was it threatening?—to yank off her panties.

  “It’s a standoff,” she said, “only if we want it that way.”

  “Which I don’t. How about you let go first?”

  Laughing, she wiggled her ass. “I don’t think so. The way I look at it, I have the advantage.”

  “For now.”

  Wondering what this dark and intriguing stranger had in mind, she studied his form. She should have reached inside the cabin and flipped the switch for the outside light so she could really see him, but would it make a difference?

  She was still trying to answer her question when he released her panties, took her arms and hauled her to her feet. Surprise loosened her hold on him. When he let go of her, her arms dropped by her sides. She didn’t have one idea what she was supposed to do next.

  “There’s no place to lie down out here,” he said. “Unless you want to do it standing up.”

  “I, ah, haven’t given the details much thought.”

  “Do you want me to attend to the details?”

  She might have told him she wasn’t interested in making decisions if he hadn’t taken that moment to spin her so they were side by side with his arm around her shoulder. Sliding her arm around his waist, she leaned into him. Her skirt was hung up on her hips while her panties were heading south.

  He took a step toward the cabin door.

  “It sticks,” she informed him. “There’s so much swollen wood that—”

  Finishing her explanation didn’t make much sense now that the door that had given her trouble gaped open, and Ranger was waiting for her to lead the way in. Air conditioning had been added to the cabins, but the one in hers was threatening to give up the ghost. Instead of putting up with the loud rattling, she’d opted for opening all windows before taking off this morning. At least it wasn’t stifling in here, and the musty smell was less noticeable.