Who Needs Mistletoe?. Kate Hoffmann
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“It’s too hot for a shirt. You’re not wearing one. Why should I?” Sophie paused. “You know, we could always sit in the plane if it rained.”
“It’s kind of hot and stuffy in there,” he said. “It’s nicer outdoors. And I don’t want to sleep in the plane. It’s too cramped. I need space.”
He hesitated, then looked her way. Considering what they’d done on the beach an hour before, Sophie could attest to that fact. Making love in the plane would be more than uncomfortable. When they did it again, she wanted comfort, not privacy.
Trey straightened, turning in a slow circle, then looked over at her. “Which way is the wind coming from?”
She pointed to the northeast and he grinned. “Thanks.” He took a small length of rope and ran it through the grommet in the tarp, then tied it onto a tree. “When I was fifteen, my parents sent me on an Outward Bound trip. They thought it would make a man of me.”
“What is this? This Outward Bound?” Sophie asked, curious to learn a little more about her lover.
“It’s a program where they drop kids in the middle of the wilderness and they have to learn how to survive by working together. You learn all these skills—how to make a fire and how to build a shelter. How to find drinkable water.”
“These are good things to know,” Sophie said.
“This is the first time I’ve ever needed to use them,” he said ruefully. Trey paused, staring down at the knot he’d tied. “You know, that was the last time I remember ever feeling a sense of accomplishment. I was happy that summer. Happy with myself.”
“So it made a man out of you?”
Silly question, she mused. The answer was right in front of her eyes. In all her life, she’d never met anyone who was more “man” than Trey. He exuded masculine sexuality, from his careless stance to his easy athletic grace, from his boyish smile to his unchecked desire.
He glanced over her shoulder, chuckling softly. “Yeah, in more ways than one. I lost my virginity on that trip. To a red-haired girl from Burlington, Vermont. Her name was Elizabeth and she could portage a canoe all by herself.”
Sophie giggled. “Sounds like the right kind of girl to be stuck in the wilderness with. Tell me more.”
“About the girl?”
“No, about losing your virginity. Was it all you thought it would be?”
He considered her question for a long moment and Sophie was afraid that she’d offended him with her bold inquiry. They’d just shared the most intimate experience between a man and a woman. Why shouldn’t they speak about sex as easily as they’d shared it?
“It was over pretty quickly,” he admitted. “And it was out in the woods. We’d been sent to gather firewood. And neither one of us had had a bath for days. The mosquitos nearly ate us alive. But I liked it.” He nodded. “I really liked it. And I’ve liked it ever since.”
“And did it happen again?”
Trey shook his head. “No, she moved on to an older boy. What about you?”
“I was sixteen,” Sophie said. “I was spending the holidays in Paris with my mother’s family. I met a boy. He was an art student and he was sketching along the Seine. He took me back to his parents’ apartment and we did it. It was pretty much the same as your experience.”
“It’s a wonder we survived,” he said. “And that we managed to get so good at it.”
“So what attracted you to this girl?” Sophie asked, wondering just what kind of women he usually chose to bed.
“She had very large…”
“Breasts?”
“Shoulders,” Trey said. “Like I said, she could haul a canoe down a muddy path for miles. And carry two backpacks at once.”
“So you admire capable women?” Sophie asked. “Some men find them…intimidating.”
“I admire you,” he said. “When the plane was going down, you acted like it was just another day at the office.” He looked over at her. “Just how close were we to dying?”
She smiled. “If I told you all the things that could have gone wrong, you might not want to fly again. We were lucky,” she said.
He tipped his head, a grin quirking at the corners of his mouth. “I guess we were.”
There was more than one meaning to his words, Sophie mused. They were lucky to be alive. But they were also lucky to be stuck alone on this island. Had they met any other place, they might have enjoyed a quick afternoon in bed and then gone their separate ways. But here, they were able to take their time, to test their passion.
Sophie pushed to her feet and strolled over to where he worked, grabbing the edge of the tarp and pulling it tight. She caught him staring, then looked down at her bare breasts. It was obvious that her nudity was causing him a great deal of unease. He was growing hard, his erection bulging out the front of his khakis. Was it just her, or was he always so aroused around women?
She sighed, then tossed her hair back over her shoulders, exposing herself completely. “There,” she said. “Go ahead. You can look. I don’t mind.”
He focused on tying a knot around the trunk of a coconut palm. “I’m not obsessed,” he murmured.
“Mais non! It doesn’t bother me. I just don’t understand this American fascination with naked breasts. There is nothing special here. One, two. Now, if I had three, there might be something to stare at. But, sadly, I only have two. Like every other woman on the planet. And every man, for that matter.”
Trey grabbed the edge of the tarp, covering her hand with his. The moment they made contact, Sophie’s breath caught in her throat. She wanted him to touch her again, to pull her into his arms and run his hands over her naked skin.
Slowly, Sophie stepped closer, until her breasts brushed against his chest. It was a subtle challenge, a dare for him to touch her more intimately. She saw the desire in his eyes and his reaction was unmistakable. Trey drew in a sharp breath and held it.
A heartbeat later, his hand found her shoulder, then slowly drifted down to her breast. “I beg to differ,” Trey said softly, as he rubbed his thumb over her nipple. “Yours aren’t quite as ordinary as you claim. Besides, how can you be upset that men find that part of your body so distracting?”
“I didn’t say I was upset,” Sophie protested, placing her fingertips on his chest. “Just curious. And perhaps a bit amused. Would you rather I put my top back on? So you wouldn’t be distracted?”
He bent close and brushed a kiss across her lips, his hand still cupping her breast. “When you look at a naked male body, you don’t see anything sexual?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“All right, let’s limit our discussion to my male body.” Trey stepped back and held out his arms. “Be honest. Take your time. I’ll wait.”
Rising to his challenge, Sophie stared at him, taking in every detail of his form between his chin and his belly. Her gaze skimmed over his wide shoulders to the well-defined muscles of his abdomen. She reached out and ran her finger along the trail of dark hair that went from his navel to a spot beneath the waistband of his khakis. She’d followed that trail before and knew what was waiting at the end.
Her mind skipped back to their encounter on the beach. It had happened so quickly, she hadn’t taken the time to think. In truth, everything was a bit hazy. But, there were some small details that kept teasing at her memory, tempting her to try it all over again. It had felt good. He had felt good moving inside her.
She returned to the little valley in the center of his chest, following it down to his muscled abdomen. Her eyes focused on a bead of sweat that traced its way through the ridges