Hot Summer Page 12

  “Yes,” he whispered as he leaned forward to press his warm lips against the side of her neck, “you are.”

  Summer’s breath came in shallow gasps as she sat still, not feeling she could move even if she wanted to. She was like a bird frozen in the mesmerizing stare of a snake, knowing it was about to be eaten alive but not able to make a move to save its own life.

  She moaned and closed her eyes as his lips stroked the sensitive skin then moved to the base of her throat where he licked softly and gently. She didn’t realize that she was still clutching the handkerchief tightly in her hand until she felt his strong fingers pry hers open to pull it away so that he could seduce her palm with his thumb.

  “Relax, baby.” He moved his lips up her neck and to her ear. “You’re so tense. Just relax.”

  As he spoke he pushed her back gently into the plush pillows and began to nibble her ear lobe. He gave a lick just behind her ear and shock waves ran down her spine.

  “Oh, God,” she breathed, “what are you doing to me?”

  “What someone should have done to you a long time ago, Summer Jones,” he whispered. “Teach you what it means to be a woman.”

  He dipped his head and slid his lips back down her neck, over her collar bone and down to that oh, so sensitive place between the curves of her breasts. Here he paused and she held her breath, eyes shut tight, wondering if he was going to stop now. She prayed he wouldn’t.

  She was not disappointed. An involuntary gasp escaped her lips as he slipped a warm tongue down her cleavage, sliding it between the orbs and teasing her soft flesh until her body screamed and she felt she would die from the sweet sensation. She grabbed the back of his head and pressed him into her, wanting more of the pleasure, more of the sweetness.

  She was rewarded when he turned his head to a soft, round breast and licked gently and sweetly at the smooth skin. He slid a finger along the top of her tank top and pulled the silky cloth down to reveal the hardened nub of her nipple. Summer felt a quick twinge of embarrassment then it was washed away in a tide of sensation as his firm lips and agile tongue settled over her center of pleasure and made her eyes open wide at the tremors that rocked her body.

  She moaned again and arched her back, straining to give him all of her, wanting more of the sweetness that flowed from his lips.

  “Please, please…” she moaned, but could say no more. As if he knew what she wanted, what she needed more than anything, he sucked on her nipple long and hard then circled it slowly with his tongue. She arched up towards him again and he responded to her silent plea. He took the nub gently between his teeth and nibbled expertly until she grabbed his head and pressed it hard into her soft flesh.

  “Oh God, oh God…,” she moaned, “please…” Then her voice was lost in a gasp as he turned his head to the other breast.

  When he finally lifted his head to stare deeply into her eyes she knew she was ready for anything he was willing to offer. In her whole life, never had she felt the way she had under his expert caresses. It wasn’t that she’d never been kissed or caressed before but there was something different about this man, about the way he played her body like a guitar tuned by his own hands.

  Lance lowered his lips to hers and she opened to receive him. His tongue flicked her lips then moved gently inside, first teasing then probing, while his fingers slowly stroked her belly. Her elastic waistband gave him easy entry and soon his fingers, those wonderful fingers, were caressing her hips, turning her into a mass of quivering nerves.

  She leaned back even farther into the couch and slid her hand under his shirt. She caressed the smooth skin of his back, trying to give back some of the joy he was giving her.

  When he broke the kiss and pulled slowly away from her she gazed up at him, still dazed.

  “Summer,” he said softly then stopped as she raised trembling fingers to slowly trace his moustache then his lips.

  “Yes?” she whispered as she laid her palm against his cheek.

  He turned the palm to his lips and kissed it softly before gently resting her hand on her lap.

  “Summer,” he began again and this time she could see through her cloud of emotions that he was struggling to find words. She felt her heart thump hard in her breasts and she slowly pulled herself up into a sitting position.

  “Lance. What’s wrong?”

  When he didn’t answer Summer felt her heart plummet and she suddenly felt like crying. She’d done it again. She could see it in his eyes. She had opened herself to him and now he thought her a slut.

  She dropped her head and covered her mouth with her hand. A sob escaped her throat and he reached for her and pulled her into his arms.

  “Please, my darling, don’t cry.” He held her tight against his chest and the strength of him quieted her. He held her away from him and looked down into her wary eyes. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Summer,” he murmured. “I’m really sorry.”

  “Hurt me?” she said, confused. “What do you mean?”

  Lance frowned as he looked down at her. “If I didn’t hurt you then why are you crying?”

  She looked away. “Only because…I thought you were angry with me for throwing myself at you. Again.”

  “You crazy girl.” He shook his head. “When did you ever throw yourself at me? I’m the one who’s been taking advantage of you. And for that… I’m sorry.”

  “What are you talking about?” she said, still bewildered.

  Lance let go of her and straightened his body. “Summer, I’m a grown man. I know when a girl lacks experience. And I know you’ve got a lot to learn.” He turned back to her and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “I don’t want to rush you, honey. I don’t want us to regret this.”

  “But you weren’t rushing me. I wanted it-”

  “You wanted it,” he said, cutting her off, “but you weren’t ready for it. I want you to be absolutely sure, Summer, so let’s take it slow.”

  With that he rose and stretched out both hands towards her. She rested her hands in his and he pulled her gently to her feet and into his arms. He held her like that for a moment then pressed his lips against her forehead and put her away from him.

  “Come,” he said, smiling. “Walk me to the door.”

  When Summer had said goodbye and closed the door she leaned against it and let out a long sigh. She prayed she wasn’t falling in love.

  11

  When the telephone rang at seven o’clock for her wake up call Summer was far from ready to face the day. After Lance’s departure in the wee hours of the morning she had lain in the bed for over an hour reliving every moment until finally sleep had claimed her. With less than five hours of sleep to refresh her she dragged herself up, groggy and irritable.

  The only thing that brightened her mood was the thought that she would soon see Lance Munroe, the man she loved. Yes, she’d wondered at it and had been so scared, but now she accepted it. She was in love with Lance. No other man had taken her to the heights that he had shown her, no other had been able to steal her heart. The conquest had been easy for him but she didn’t mind. If he could make her feel this good then she was his.

  Summer swung her legs off the bed and padded over to the mirror. Ugh! She definitely would not want him to see her like this. She raked her fingers through her wild hair and headed for the bathroom.

  A cold shower did wonders for her. She was the first person from the group to get down to the lobby. She had dressed in a comfortable, yet attractive summer outfit – dandelion-yellow cotton shirt, white pants and a pair of yellow sandals. She had propped a pair of sunglasses on her head in anticipation of a sunny day and a broad- brimmed straw hat dangled from her fingers. Underneath this garb she wore a red and white polka dot bikini that she knew would turn heads when she walked along the beach. Today she wanted to look good for him.

  Summer ended up waiting over fifteen minutes in the lobby before anyone in the group showed up. She was beginning to wonder if she was waiting in the wrong pla
ce when she heard a familiar voice.

  “Whoee! Don’t we look delicious.”

  Summer turned to see Derrick approaching. He wore denim shorts and a denim shirt which flapped open to display a white t-shirt stretched tautly over his belly. Even his sandals were made of some kind of denim material. Summer looked him over and stifled a smile. Poor Derrick. He was trying so hard to look smooth and sophisticated but no matter what he did he would never be as cool as his cousin.

  “Hi, Derrick. How are you?” Her smile was warm as she greeted him.

  “Wow, we’re even pleasant, too?”

  “I’m always pleasant.” She dipped the corners of her mouth, trying to look hurt.

  “Yeah, alright.” Derrick punched her lightly on the shoulder. “I have to admit, you’ve turned out to be pretty nice.” He flopped down in a wicker chair with cushions covered in tropical print. “Come sit by me. Take a load off.”

  “I’m fine, thanks. I prefer to stand.”

  “Is it me?” He pretended to sniff at his armpits. “I took a shower this morning.”

  “Of course not.” She laughed. “It’s just that I can see the beach when I stand here and that’s a lot more interesting than sitting in the corner staring at the concierge’s desk.

  “Well, I won’t argue with that.”

  “By the way,” Summer said, looking at him questioningly, “where were you last night? I thought you were supposed to be at the meeting with us.”

  “Yeah, well, something came up.”

  “Something came up? In the few minutes between the time we ran in from the beach and the time we had to get back downstairs?”

  “Didn’t Lance tell you?” he asked.

  “Lance didn’t tell me anything,” she said, confused. “When I got back down the Rock Steady people were already there so I just joined them and we got started right away. I never even got a chance to ask Lance for you.”

  “Well, let’s just say he’s not too pleased with me right now.”

  Summer’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Derrick, waiting for an explanation.

  He continued. “Lance was the one who told me not to come to the meeting. After you left us in the lobby he jumped on me, telling me how I needed to act more professional and not fraternize with the employees, how I should show more-”

  “Fraternize with the employees?” she interrupted, frowning.

  “Yeah, can you imagine he said that? As if we were from two different planets or something. Anyway, he told me you’d both handle the meeting by yourselves while I…” Derrick pretended to speak in Lance’s deep voice “…got myself out of this holiday mood and back to the business.”

  “I see,” Summer said quietly, feeling deflated. It was not as if Lance’s words weren’t true. After all, she was an employee. Still, the impersonal description hurt. She wondered how Lance would have described the episode in her room. As far as she was concerned that was way past fraternizing.

  “Hey, are you alright?”

  She relaxed the grimace she felt forming on her face and tried to smile.

  “I’m fine. So…” she looked around the spacious lobby then back at Derrick, “…where is everybody, anyway? We aren’t going to do this video shoot all by ourselves, are we?”

  Derrick glanced at his watch then rose. “You’re right. It’s already a quarter after. Let me go call the others.” He adopted a serious tone. “Let me start acting like a manager.” Then he broke into a grin.

  When he turned towards the house phones Summer sat down for the first time since she had come downstairs. Somehow the sight of couples frolicking on the sand didn’t appeal to her anymore. Right now she didn’t feel quite so ‘on top of the world’. She drew in a deep breath, straightened her back and gave herself a mental shake. She wasn’t going to let a simple comment ruin her day.

  Derrick was heading back so she looked up and smiled. “Are they on their way?”

  “Yeah, they’re coming.” He sat down beside her on the wicker sofa. “Seems like they went out on the town last night so nobody could wake up this morning. The whole lot of them went to Ambrosia. You’ve heard of it?”

  “No, what’s that?”

  “It’s a nightclub in the heart of Ocho Rios. It’s really popular. You should check it out.”

  “But we’ll be in Kingston by tomorrow.”

  “I know - but there’s always tonight.”

  Within ten minutes Super Cool, Monisha and Abe entered the lobby. Derrick beckoned to them to come over.

  “You guys wait here,” he said. “I’m going to bring the van around front then we’ll be on our way. We’re already forty minutes late so we’d better get moving right away. The video crew’s going to be waiting for us at Dunn’s River Falls and you know they charge by the hour.”

  As he turned to go Summer grabbed his arm. “Wait. I mean, let me walk with you to the van. I need to stretch my legs.”

  “Sure, come on.” They headed for the exit while the others helped themselves to the complimentary muffins and orange juice on a nearby table.

  Derrick made long strides and Summer had to hurry to keep up with him.

  “Derrick…how come Lance didn’t come downstairs? Is he going to drive his own car?”

  “No, he changed his mind about going.” Derrick directed her to a navy blue minivan and reached forward to open the door.

  “He’s not coming?”

  “Nope.”

  “Why not? I thought this was an important project.”

  “It is, and that’s why I’m in charge.” He grinned at her as he held the door open. “Hop in.”

  She climbed into the front seat and waited for Derrick to go around to the other side. As soon as he sat down beside her she blurted out, “So he’s really not coming?”

  “No, he’s not.” Derrick turned and looked at her quizzically. “Hey, you’re not falling for Lance are you?”

  “Of course not,” she said quickly.

  “Good, because he’s got so many girls after him it’s not even worth trying to get his attention. Too much competition. Know what I mean?” He smiled at her but she didn’t answer.

  She wanted to ask him when Monisha had arrived but felt she had said too much already. She was trying hard not to let him read her thoughts but she felt she was failing miserably. Thankfully, he just turned the key in the ignition and started the van.

  When he got to the main entrance the group was already waiting outside for them. They piled into the van and set off on the short trip to Dunn’s River Falls. Summer remained silent for most of the trip, listening to the light chatter of her colleagues. She tried to keep a cheerful look on her face but inside she felt like crying. She had so looked forward to the day; now it was as if all the excitement had been wiped out of it. She felt like a stupid school girl with a crush on her teacher. Well, if Lance didn’t feel it was worth his time to see her again she certainly wasn’t going to waste hers thinking about him.

  Dunn’s River Falls was beautiful. While the video crew set up their equipment she walked along the warm sand until she got to the bottom of the waterfall. Children splashed in the shallow pool while adults tackled the rocks. Derrick had told her that the main attraction of Dunn’s River Falls was the climb all the way to the top. It was just sloping enough for this to be done. People were holding hands, climbing together up the slippery rocks, laughing and screaming. Suddenly, a short red-haired man slipped all the way back down. They were having so much fun that Summer found herself laughing, too. She hoped she would find time to do the climb herself.

  By the time she ran back to the beach everything was ready for the video shoot. Monisha lounged on the sand in a bright orange bathing suit, a muscle-bound man lying by her side. The first clip was a beach scene in which two young lovers caressed each other, totally oblivious to everything around them, lost in their love. Monisha crooned a sweet love song as she stroked her partner’s cheek and gazed with loving eyes into his face. He stroked her hand in return then di
pped his head to kiss a smooth shoulder.

  At that point her voice rose at the punch line and she gathered his head to her as she sang “Loving you is all I ever want to do”. The camera zoomed in close as she sang of her love. When she closed her eyes and rested her head on the well-muscled chest the cameras came in even closer for a full facial shot then the sound of her voice faded away.

  “Cut!” The video director was beaming. “Excellent work. Monisha, you’re the greatest!”

  “Why, thanks, Franklyn,” she preened. “You know I aim to please.”

  “And that you did. You’re such a professional.” He stretched out his hand to help her up.

  “Thank you.” Monisha took his hand and rose to her feet in one fluid movement.

  “Come on, guys.” Franklyn called to his crew. “Let’s head for the rocks for the next scene. We’re running behind so we’re going to have to set up real fast.”

  When Franklyn walked away Monisha came over to where Derrick and Summer stood sheltering in the shade of the palms.

  “Well, well. Don’t you two make a lovely picture.”

  “We do, don’t we?” Derrick grinned and put his arms around Summer’s shoulders. She stiffened but caught herself before she embarrassed him by struggling.

  “So what’s up with you being at the video shoot?” Monisha turned her attention to Summer. “Outside of the managers, people from the office never usually come to these things.”

  “My job is to do PR,” Summer replied, “and that entails being at all the video shoots and events in which Munroe Productions is involved. What that means is that I have to make sure that we take advantage of every opportunity for publicity.”

  “I know what PR is,” Monisha huffed.

  “Well, you asked.” Summer shrugged. “All I’m saying is that it’s my job to make you a star.”

  When Monisha looked at her askance Summer continued. “You may say you’re popular already, but you have no idea what the right type of publicity can do for you. I could make you into the next Beyonce.”