Private 02 - Private Paradise

spinning with anxiety she knew wouldn't be allayed until she knew exactly what they were facing, she felt a guilty tremor of relief as she let Sam guide her back inside.
    Because she knew that as soon as they got back to business, this thing with Sam had to end. But until that time came, she was free and clear to indulge in every sensual pleasure his body offered. Free to pretend that he meant everything he said in the heat of the moment as he fucked her deep and hard.
    To even let herself go so far as to imagine what might have been had Sam not pulled out at the last minute. To imagine that maybe it wouldn't have been such a catastrophe after all.
    She could do all of this because this situation was so ridiculous, so impossible, it could hardly be counted as real. As long as they were stuck in this villa, it was like they were in their own world, a time out of time, a place that couldn't exist in her normal universe.
    With that in mind, Carla sat back on the couch and accepted the glass of wine Sam had poured, shoved away all thoughts of the harsh reality awaiting her, and determined to enjoy the hell out of every last second of their not so forced proximity.
    Momentarily sated, Sam pulled her to his side as he sipped his wine. Carla was relieved that he seemed content not to delve too deeply into their past or try to convince her that she shouldn't judge him by the person he used to be.
    Though some of the changes were obvious―his work in the army and success after retiring were testament to that. But that aside, it was impossible to believe Sam had changed that much on the inside, that the insatiable player suddenly strove to be an upstanding family man with two point five kids and a house in the suburbs.
    Impossible to believe that he'd spent one single second pining after her, lamenting Carla as the girl that got away.
    But if Sam wanted to play it that way, she thought, practically purring as his fingers combed softly through her hair, Carla would indulge in the fantasy for just a little longer.
    And she would also pointedly ignore the tiny, hidden corner of her heart that desperately wished to believe him.
    For the rest of the evening, Sam stayed clear of touchy subjects, instead asking her about her brother and mother back in Vegas. He then regaled her with stories of some of his wilder exploits in the army. Carla found herself alternately in hysterics at some of the pranks he and his buddies had pulled on each other, and horrified at the level of danger he'd been in.
    “ It's part of the job,” Sam said, echoing his earlier sentiments when Carla expressed her shocked sympathy as Sam relayed how one of his best friends had been blown up in front of him.
    Carla shook her head. “That's what I say when my chef complains about having to cater to every single whacked out diet plan under the sun. When the vegan raw foodist acidentally gets a smear of butter on her plate, there's just a lot of screaming. Nobody gets blown up.”
    Sam's eyebrows pulled together as he looked down at her. “Vegan raw whatist? What the hell does that even mean?”
    A laugh bubbled out of her throat at his obvious confusion. “It's someone who not only consumes only plant based foods, nothing can be cooked above one hundred four degrees because it kills all the living enzymes and nutrients in the foods.”
    “ You deal with a lot of whack jobs around here.”
    She snuggled closer to him, sleepy from the wine, and suddenly acutely aware that he was totally naked under his towel. “Yeah, well you better get used to it if you plan on sticking around here.”
    “ Hell yeah, I plan on it,” Sam said, his voice pitching low like it did when he was turned on.
    Carla tried not to think about how she was going to deal with that, having him so close, yet knowing that letting their sexual relationship continue outside these four walls could only lead to disaster.
    She let Sam take her glass and set it next to his on the low table, tipped her face up to meet his lips, and didn't resist as he scooped her up into his arms to carry her back to the bedroom.
    ###
    Carla woke the next morning and was immediately aware of Sam's warm, muscular body tucked snugly behind hers. She'd fallen asleep this way, her back pressed tight against his chest, his arm firmly around her waist as though he was afraid she'd try to escape.
    God, this was good. Dangerously so. Yes, the sex with Sam was amazing, orders of magnitude beyond anything she'd ever