Secret Fantasy(24)
Author: Carly Phillips

“You’ve given me back my faith in myself,” she said simply. Without warning, she refocused on her original task and grabbed onto the waistband of his jeans.

He had seconds to make a choice. Doug wasn’t an indecisive man. He went after his goals, consequences be damned. Hell, the newspaper article and his busted career were proof of that. But when it came to Juliette Stanton, all his intentions and resolutions to go no further were constantly shot to hell the minute she came within touching distance. Kissing distance. Any distance.

He grasped her wrists, stilling their determined movements and giving himself something to do with his restless hands—hands that would rather be roaming her supple curves. “If I’ve restored your faith in yourself, does that mean you believe in me?”

“Of course.”

That simple, he thought. And that complicated. “And you believe I want you.”

She nodded. A light blush stained her cheeks as she gestured with a tip of her head. “Hard evidence, like you said.”

Twining their hands together, he eased himself closer, so he could cradle her in his arms and resist temptation at the same time. “Then can you believe that I want to know you better more than I…” he cleared his throat, “want you to reciprocate. Right now, anyway.”

“I can believe in you enough to trust what you say.” Juliette rested her head against his chest.

Closing her eyes, she could see his face behind her shut lids. If she’d thought him handsome earlier this evening, after a run in the rain and her fingers in his hair, he was devastating and her pulse rate increased rapidly.

“You should. Remember I’m not the one with the fear of storms. If I didn’t want to be here, I could walk out the door.”

What he said made sense. Of course he could walk away. And unlike the past men in her life he didn’t know who she was, therefore he couldn’t want anything from her except sex or her company. Phrased that way, she ought to be grateful he’d opted to get to know her better first, she realized, and she let herself relax against him, trusting him even more.

After all, no man had ever shown interest in her. Doug did. And her interest wasn’t just reciprocated, it ran high. But he was holding himself in check and Juliette had no doubt his restraint was related to his fantasy. He wanted to prove he could put a woman’s needs first, before his own. Unfortunately, that put his fantasy at odds with her desire.

She’d already experienced the luxury of being catered to and doted upon by a very special man. With Doug, she felt desirable and the center of his universe. At times she even forgot the hurt of her broken engagement. And now that Doug had completed her basic fantasy—one she hadn’t known she’d possessed before coming down to this island—she wanted more.

But first she had to prove to him they could share more intimacy and make love without one or the other of them being used for selfish gain.

He said he wanted to get to know her better. It was a start toward her goal and she had no problem complying. “So what is it you want to know about me?”

“How about we begin with your fear of storms.”

She curled into his waiting strength. His arms cocooned her in safety and heat but she couldn’t ignore the tingling awareness rioting through her. “Dad built us a tree house when we were eight. It was so cool and Gillian and I spent so much time there. Too much time, so Mom and Dad had to restrict the hours. But we were kids, you know? We just had to play there no matter what.”

“And here I thought you were the perfect child.”

She shook her head. “Gillian was the wild child, which made me the more perfect daughter, but that came later, as I got older. At eight I just wanted to have fun.”

“Nothing wrong with having fun.” He rested his chin on her head and Juliette sighed.

The comfort and ease of the situation wasn’t lost on her. Not only did he understand, he was interested. He cared. “I liked fun too. We were playing at Stuart’s house…”

“Stuart?” he asked.

“My…neighbor. Fiancé,” she admitted, not wanting to bring the word into her private time with Doug but wanting honesty between them just the same. He let out a low growl but before he could question her about Stuart the man, she continued her childhood story. “And it was getting late. When it started to drizzle, his parents sent us home.”

Doug groaned. “Let me guess. You detoured.”

“Right. And then it started to pour.”

“Aha.” His drawn-out word rumbled deep in his chest.

“Exactly. By the time Gillian and I heard the rain, it was so late we were afraid to go back. At eight years old, punishment is scary. We spent too long arguing over what to do and, before you know it, thunder, lightning and major windswept rain was coming down. We were soaked, scared and wanted to go home.” She shook her head, remembering. “Dad found us first.”

“Of course he did. You guys were in the most obvious place to look.”

She laughed. “I said we were eight years old. I didn’t say we were smart. But he found us after lightning hit a branch on a neighboring tree. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared. I was holding on to Gillian and crying, while she was having the adventure of a lifetime.” She shrugged. “And that’s why I’m afraid of storms. I guess I should have known then I wasn’t cut out for too much excitement.”

“Oh, I think you handle excitement extremely well.”

There was that deep rumble again, Juliette thought. The sexy sound that reverberated inside her, turning her inside out and making her want him even more than she already did. “Depends on who’s sharing the excitement with me.”

“Right now that would be me.”

She rested her head against his shoulder. “You won’t get any argument from me.” She stretched her feet out on the couch and he followed suit. Though cramped, she’d never felt more at ease.

Perhaps because he’d freed them from jumping into anything immediately sexual, he’d taken the pressure off. Thanks to Stuart, she possessed this driving need to entice a man and prove he could be interested. Thanks to Doug there wasn’t another man who interested her except for him. He’d just shown her a nonphysical but still intimate way of expressing that interest. And she was grateful. Enough to let herself go and relax in his arms, the rain outside distant and so far away.

SHE WAS BEING shifted, lifted and carried. She hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep but Juliette awoke with a start to find herself held in Doug’s arms. “What are you doing?”