Private 02 - Private Paradise

throat bob as she swallowed hard. “Do you expect me to believe you've changed so completely?”
    “ I've just grown up enough to man up and take responsibility for my life and my mistakes, and not to be afraid to go after what I want.” He closed the distance between them, until his shirt front brushed hers. She had to tip her head back to keep eye contact. Her eyes were dark and liquid, her lips softly parted. He lifted his hand and cupped her neck, brushed his thumb along the delicate line of her jaw. “And a lot of what I want,” he whispered as he bent his head to hers, “hasn't changed a whole lot in the past eleven years.”
    Her dark lashes fluttered closed and he heard her sharp inhale as he bent his lips to hers. Shockwaves sizzled through him at the first brush.
    “ Carla, are you in here?”
    She jumped about three feet at the sound of Bryce's voice echoing through the gym. Sam stifled a groan and fought not to grab her by her ponytail and drag her back to his apartment to finish this.

Chapter Six

    “ I'm over here, by the weights,” Carla called out as she turned and practically ran in the direction of Bryce's voice. The fitness center was laid out in an L design with the free weights section in the back corner between the walls shared by the yoga and pilates studios, and thank the universe it wasn't visible from the main entry.
    That's all she needed, was for Bryce, who had already been giving her a hard time about what he saw as the undeniable chemistry between her and Sam, to see her in a liplock with the man she'd sworn up and down she had absolutely no lingering feelings for despite what she had described as a brief and meaningless teenage fling.
    Not to mention, Sam was her employee. Even if they hadn't shared a tumultuous past, there was no way in hell she'd make the mistake of getting involved with a co-worker at Holley Cay. She still bore the scars from the last time around.
    By the time she got to Bryce she was only slightly out of breath her heart still pounding and radiating heat.
    “ Thank God you're here,” Bryce said. His frosted hair was spiked and today he accessorized his Holley Cay Polo with a teal blue ascot.
    His gaze flicked past her shoulder. Carla heard Sam's heavy footsteps behind her, but she didn't dare turn to look. Every nerve ending was tingling, and the heavy pulse between her thighs made it difficult to think. “What's so important you couldn't wait for me to get to the office?”
    Instead of answering, Bryce gave her an assessing look. “You're all flushed.”
    Carla felt her already hot face get hotter. “I've been working out.”
    Bryce's gaze flicked from her, to Sam, and back, his eyes narrowing in a way that said he didn't believe her for a second. “Have you looked at the weather reports this morning?”
    Carla shook her head. She'd had a cup of coffee to jolt her awake and come straight here, only taking the time to check the clock to make sure she didn't intersect with Sam, who usually finished up by six fifteen or so.
    But not this morning, she thought as another wave of heat coursed through her.
    “ Why? What's going on?” Sam's voice was so close behind her she could feel the heat radiating off his skin. It should have turned her off. Instead it made her want to throw him down to the floor and crawl all over him, see how sweaty they could get before they hit the shower and helped each other get squeaky clean.
    Bryce wasn't immune to Sam's masculine beauty under the best of circumstances, and his eyes got a glazed look as he took in Sam's sweat slick form as he moved beside Carla.
    “ Bryce, focus,” Carla snapped.
    Bryce's frosted head jerked and he refocused on her with an expression so grave and unlike him Carla felt the bottom drop out of her stomach.
    “ You know tropical storm Edina? The one that's been brewing off the coast of Venezuela?”
    The knot in Carla's stomach pulled tighter. This being September and the height of hurricane season, they'd been monitoring several storms over the last few weeks. In the entire time she'd worked at Holley Cay they'd only been hit with a severe storm once, four years ago.
    Since then, they'd been lucky enough to avoid the worst hurricane seasons in decades.
    “ They've upgraded it to a hurricane, at least category four. And unless there's a sudden change in direction, it's headed right for us.”
    Their luck was about to run out.
    ###
    Carla's blood turned to ice as she looked at the satellite