“Mick. Oh, God, Mick. Yes, just like that.” She never knew those kinds of sensations coupled together could make her so crazy, but she was going to come.

He pulled back. “Not yet. I don’t want you to come. Not until I f**k you.”

She drew in a ragged breath, so close to orgasm the pulses undulated within her.

Mick held her there on her knees, his hands on her h*ps as he pressed against her, his c**k sliding between the seam of her buttocks.

“You’re so wet here,” he said, his fingers dancing along her pu**y lips, dipping inside to coat her anus. “I’m going to f**k your pussy, Tara. Then I’m going to f**k your ass. And I’m going to make you come, hard.”

“Yes,” she said, her voice hoarse from panting. “Yes. Fuck me.”

She shivered as he swept his hand along her back. He reached into the beach bag on the table. She heard the condom packet as he tore it open, then he slid inside her pussy, pressing against her as he held tight to her h*ps and rocked back and forth. She gripped him in welcome, pulling him closer as she balanced on the edge of orgasm.

“Not yet, Tara. Hold on for me.”

She gritted her teeth and felt every sweet inch of him expand inside her. “Dammit, Mick. It’s so good.”

He leaned forward, kissing her sweat-soaked neck. “I know it is. It’s going to get better.” He withdrew and shoved in, hard, and she cried out, tossing her hair back and rocking back to meet his thrusts.

His fingers dug into her h*ps as he continued to power inside her, stopping short every time she drew close to cl**axing. He withdrew and poured lube over her anus, using his finger to coat her, tease her opening, dipping his finger inside to open her, prepare her. The sensation was maddening. The pressure was intense, and she was so ready to come. She was past the point of reason, past the point of knowing anything but the orgasm she craved.

She felt his c**k at the entrance to her ass.

“I’m going to f**k your ass now, Tara. You ready?”

“Yes. Fuck me. Now.”

He slid his c**k head past the tight barrier. She hissed, breathing through the burning pain.

“Relax. Push out when I push in. You’ll take me in easier that way. And then I’ll make you come.”

She did, and he eased inside her. He held still while she waited through the intensity of feeling him there. He was so full, so big in such a small space, and it hurt. But through the hurt was a pulsing wave of such pleasure to be had. Mick leaned over and began to rub her cl*tin gentle circles, and soon the pain was replaced by that driving need to come again. She pushed his hand away. “Fuck me. I’ll do this.”

He held on to her hips, withdrawing just enough to push back inside her again.

“Oh, shit, oh, God, Mick. Yes. Fuck me like that.”

She massaged her cl*tharder, faster, while he thrust his c**k in her ass, and she spiraled out of control. She rose up, sliding her fingers into her pussy, and continued rubbing her cl*twith her other hand. The sensations pounded at her as she lost everything but the feel of him inside her. “I can feel it. Yes, f**k me. Faster.”

“You gonna come for me, Tara?” he asked, his voice harsh and dark.

“Yes, Mick. Hurry and f**k me. I’m going to come.”

Nothing was going to stop her now as she felt the blast of orgasm hit her. She rocked back against him, taking his c**k fully in her ass as she splintered into a thousand pieces with her cl**ax. She screamed, the sound echoing through the treetops. Mick dug his fingers into her h*ps and shoved hard against her as he came, and his orgasm only intensified hers. She cried out, she couldn’t breathe, but it was the most intense damn cl**ax she’d ever had. She felt it in every nerve ending, exploding throughout her body, bringing tears to her eyes as the waves pounded her over and over again.

She collapsed on the chair. Mick draped himself over her back, both of them panting like they’d just completed a marathon.

“Care for a dip in the ocean?” Mick asked, sliding his tongue along her neck.

“I think that’s a great idea.”

They swam and played in the water for the better part of the day, then came in, took a shower, and Mick called for Simon, their butler, who appeared within the hour to prepare them an amazing seafood dinner, which meant they actually had to put clothes on. Tara didn’t really mind since she’d brought a few fun sundresses to wear and she hadn’t had the chance to put much on. Mick had thrown on a pair of shorts and a short-sleeved tropical shirt for dinner.

After Simon prepared their food, he disappeared for the night, advising them he’d be back in the morning to fix them breakfast whenever they were ready, but to call if they needed anything before.

She could use a Simon in her life.

They ate out on the terrace overlooking the water. The sun had set, the moon rising and casting a silver glow across the water. And it was still warm outside. Tara lifted her glass of wine and took a sip.

“Does it bother you when I have a drink?”

Mick lifted his glass of mineral water. “No. Why should it?”

“Just wondered if you miss it.”

“Alcohol? Not really. It’s not good for me and I can’t handle it. But it doesn’t bother me to see other people drink it.”

“I can drink water or tea.”

He laughed and picked up her hand, kissed the back of it. “Thanks, babe. But there’s no reason you can’t enjoy a glass of wine. To be honest, I don’t even think about what you’re drinking. I’m too busy looking at your hair or your mouth or your tits or thinking about how great it was to f**k your ass today.”

She shook her head. “Such a guy.”

He waggled his brows. “Would you have me any other way?”

“No.”

“Okay then. Quit worrying about it.”

She did. They finished their meal and Tara stopped worrying about doing dishes. Though she still insisted on taking them inside and putting them in the sink, even though Mick laughed at her when she did.

“How about a walk on the beach?” Mick suggested.

“Great idea. That dinner was fabulous. I need to walk it off.”

Mick took her hand and led her out onto the beach. Tara inhaled the salty air and wondered how she was ever going to go back to the reality that was her life after spending a weekend at this idyllic paradise with a man like Mick.

“Tomorrow I thought we’d play some football on the beach.”

She snorted and leaned against him. “Trying to put me on the disabled list so I can’t work?”

“The thought crossed my mind. I’d have to keep you here on the island until you were well enough to travel.”

“I’d be at your mercy, day and night. I’m a slow healer, too.”

“How convenient. So how long do you think we could hold out here? A few months?”

She nodded. “At least.”

“That’d be tough.”

“You’d miss the start of the season.”

“Someone would have to do your job for you and handle all those headaches.”

She laughed. “Yeah, that would be a hardship.”

He put his arm around her and tugged her close. “Nice to dream, isn’t it?”

“This is paradise, Mick. I don’t know how people ever leave it.”

“Some might miss television and phones and Internet.”

“I don’t watch that much television anyway. I’m always on the phone at work, and it drives me crazy. And the only time I’m on the Internet is for work purposes. Getting away from it all here has been wonderful.” She stopped and stepped in front of him, the ocean waves sifting sand and water over her feet and ankles. “Thank you for this. It’s been the most amazing trip.”

He tipped her chin with his fingers. “I thought you might enjoy it. And it’s a nice break for me, too, before the craziness of the season starts up. I’ve never done the whole tropical island getaway, and when I saw it on the bid list, I thought of you and me and knew I had to win it.”

“Did you?” She couldn’t hide her grin.

“Yeah.”

He kissed her, a slow, sensual kiss that made her slide her toes into the sand and lean against him to hold on because she was getting dizzy. With Mick, she lost her senses, which was both a good and a bad thing.

She moved beside him again and they walked, not talking. She found she could be comfortable just being with him and not saying a word, though that tended to get her mind to working, and she thought about being here with him this weekend and what it all meant.

Total fantasy. Nothing real about it. Everything with Mick since the beginning had been built on fantasy. Dream dates and wishes and over-the-top fantasies come true. He was everything she’d ever dreamed of in a man, and everything she’d never dreamed was real. But what scared her about the two of them was the possibility that, like the fantasy of this weekend, there was no reality involved in it, nothing tangible to hold on to once the fantasy wore off.

Soon his football season would start, and he’d be so intensely involved in playing that he wouldn’t have time for her. And her business was taking off. She was getting more and more involved, her bookings were picking up, and she barely had time to see to Nathan’s needs. Once fall came he’d have games she’d need to attend, plus making sure he handled his schoolwork.

Where was there going to be time for a romantic relationship in both their schedules?

Maybe it was time to start seeing the reality of what she and Mick had together. It was a fun summer fling, and that’s all it was ever going to be. The sooner she came to grips with that, the better off she’d be. Before something stupid happened and she fell madly in love with him and started thinking they’d have a future together.

She’d had her heart broken once, and she wasn’t going to let it happen again.

Mick seemed to enjoy spending time with her, and okay, he seemed to like spending time with only her. But that didn’t mean anything. Men’s thought processes were utterly different from women’s. And men were inherently lazy, which meant that she was just easy to be with for the summer.

Wow, Tara, could you insult yourself any more with this thought process?

She hadn’t meant to, and she knew what she was thinking sounded bad, but it wasn’t what she meant. She and Mick got along great, they had fun together, their chemistry was smoking-hot, so why wouldn’t they be together? She wasn’t a demanding actress or model who needed to be seen and photographed and taken to events. She was fine doing whatever he wanted to do, and Nathan hero worshipped him, so there wasn’t even a problem with her kid.

Yeah, right. There’d been a huge problem when her kid had gotten drunk. And Mick had stepped in like a champion. How could a guy who wanted nothing more than sex from her have gotten so involved like he had with Nathan?

Maybe he was just a nice guy. No reason to read any more into it than what it was.

She was kind of the best summer fling he could have, right? And she’d made it pretty clear she wasn’t trying to put hooks into him, which would make leaving when his season started easy enough for him to do.

There was nothing holding him to her. Nothing holding her to him.

It was the perfect relationship.

So why didn’t it feel so perfect right now?

“You’ve been quiet.”

She lifted her gaze to his and offered up a smile. “Just enjoying the remarkable scenery.”

“You’re remarkable scenery. To hell with the ocean, the palm trees, and the sand.”

He drew them away from the water and dropped to the sand, pulling her down on top of him.

She laughed. “You’re pretty good for my ego.”

“Yeah, they’re paying me to boost you up a little.”

She arched a brow. “They? Who are they?”

He put his fingers to his lips. “I can’t tell you. It’s a secret. But trust me, they have your best interests in mind by hiring me on to give you a little lift.”

She laughed and pushed on his chest, lifting herself up to a sitting position. She slid her fingers under his shirt, loving the warmth she found when her skin met his. “So how much will I have to torture you to get the truth out of you?”

He laced his fingers behind his head. “Give it your best shot.”

She unbuttoned his shirt, pulled it aside, and splayed her fingers out over his chest.

“Holding me down to get the truth out of me?” he asked.

She didn’t answer and instead let her fingers drift over his ribs, down his stomach and even lower, dipping into his shorts to search for his cock. He lifted when she tugged on his shorts and removed them, tossing them to the side.

“Now I’m at your mercy.”

“So you are,” she said, taking his c**k between her hands. She stroked him from base to tip, a slow slide of her hands, enjoying the feel of his c**k hardening as she touched him.

“That’s torture.”

She smiled down at him. “Ready to give up your secrets?”

“No.”

She swirled her thumb over the crest of his cock, using the fluid that had gathered there to lubricate her movements. His eyes were locked onto what she was doing, but she was watching his face, his sharp breaths when she gripped him hard, the way his nostrils flared when she rolled both hands over his cock. She kept her gaze focused on his face as she bent down and licked his c**k head, curling her tongue around his shaft, then dragging it down the underside. She licked his balls and he lifted, moaned, and sat up, spread his legs.

“Christ, that’s good, Tara.”

She rolled her tongue over the sac, putting each in her mouth, wanting to taste him everywhere before putting his c**k in her mouth and drawing his shaft deep inside. She went down on him, letting him watch his c**k disappear between her lips. She felt him shudder, loved that she made him weak the way he made her weak when he made love to her, wanted to take him right to the brink and over it. She held on to the base of his shaft and increased the suction as she brought him to the back of her throat, then eased up on the pressure, establishing a rhythm that had him grasping her hair and thrusting into her mouth with swift, hard strokes.