Carolina Breeze, #1

  CAROLINA BREEZE

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  COVEY PUBLISHING, LLC

  Published by Covey Publishing, LLC

  PO Box 550219, Gastonia, NC 28055-0219

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  Copyright © 2020 by Tamika Brown

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  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the writer, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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  Cover Design Copyright © 2020 Covey

  Book Design by Covey, www.coveypublishing.com

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  Copy Editing by Covey Publishing, LLC

  Printed in the United States of America.

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  First Printing, 2020

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Also By

  About the Author

  1

  Shayla

  This vacation was well deserved. Shayla calmed, releasing all the tension built up within her shoulders and neck, as she took in the crashing waves and deeply inhaled the scent of the saltwater coming off the ocean. She let out a sigh as the breeze from the water burst through her open patio doors. Relaxing and taking time out for self remains a foreign concept to her, and she didn’t quite know exactly how to enjoy it.

  She reached up and pulled out the tie that held her ponytail high on her head, letting it cascade down and billow in the wind. It was not often she let her hair down so to speak, but she was determined to make the most of the time she had to herself. That meant not worrying about putting on makeup, her normal power suits, and heels. She could get away with sundresses, no makeup, and strappy sandals. She could stand the breeze wafting across her creamy, smooth skin if it would help her to relax and enjoy this vacation.

  Her routine normally consisted of business for the better part of a month or more, no time for pleasure. Business dinners, business meetings, business dates, and when they were all over, she had just enough time to take a hot shower and get into bed for the work cycle to launch again the next day.

  She propped herself on her elbows and enjoyed the comings and goings on the beach, the atmosphere perfect for being lazy and lounging.

  The moment she glimpsed him, she couldn’t catch her breath. He was a wet dream or at least her wet dream, anyway. Milk-chocolate skin, glistening from the sweat she could see dripping down his body, smooth bald head, with strong arms, and well-defined muscles. He had a toned, fit, runner’s body that made time stop for the moment. Clean-shaven, even though she usually went for men with full beards, he was still gorgeous from where she stood. Then their eyes locked, and Shayla immediately experienced a sensation like ripples on water, disturbed reluctantly by the soft landing of a leaf. It ran through her body like an electrical current from her head to her toes. She could not tear her to tear her eyes away from him… magnificent.

  Her reaction caught her by surprise. Never had she encountered a man such as him. And never had she experienced the quivers going through her body, watching his chiseled muscles glowing from the sweat dripping off his body. Heat rushed to her face as she practically ogled him while she assumed no one watched her.

  She screamed to herself, stop looking, he’s gonna deem you some kind of idiot!

  But her eyes would not cooperate with her brain, and she continued to watch until he threw up his hand and flashed the most perfect, gleaming white teeth in her direction.

  Immediately, Shayla ran inside to her bed and landed face-first into her pillow to smother her scream. She couldn’t believe it. He caught her watching him, lusting after him. He waved at her, and she acted like some teenager in high school going all-gaga over the star basketball player.

  Get over your school days girl.

  Her body still reacted to the sight of the gorgeous specimen. She tingled, her face flush and hot. She pulled her panties to the side, glad for the cool skirt she decided to put on to beat the heat. Quick and easy. She didn’t want to waste time pulling them off. Instinctively, her hands went to where she ached, the special place, eager to explore the possibilities.

  She visualized every nuance of his body. The way his muscles pulled taut on his arms as he moved down the beach. She wondered how those toned arms wrapped around her would feel and whether or not she would melt, encased in those muscular legs he showed off in his shorts. She imagined him smiling down at her while he lay inside of her, their eyes locking as he waited for her permission to thrust.

  Images circulated in her mind, like clips from a movie of the two of them joined. She rose to meet his thrusts, the images vivid enough that she sensed every move he made with her body. She encircled her clit and worked feverishly now as her muscles became taut, and her whole body heated up. She bucked her hips, tried to gather his essence into her and accomplish an unobtainable feat of stretching to her limit.

  The onset of her orgasm rushed from the top of her head, trailing downward in tiny pinpricks on her face, her breasts, and finally, the sensation reached her toes. With deep, lusty moans, which seemed to come up from her loins, then out of her throat, she endured the first of two orgasms fantasizing about her mystery man. She lay, exhausted from her indulgence, basking in the euphoria and serenity of it all. How could she possibly get another glimpse of him?

  “God, he’s beautiful,” she declared out loud as the realization hit her of the brazen uninhibited feat. She wouldn’t exactly call herself a prude, but she would never do something so uncharacteristic, and definitely not with the patio wide open.

  Suddenly wary, she sprang from the bed. Worry etched across her brow as she considered the ramifications of someone watching her little show. Heat spread across her face as embarrassment claimed the elation that once rested there. Her gaze jerked up to the space leading to the personal access path to the beach in time to spy the well-defined shoulders of her mystery man moving down the stairs. He watched her little spectacle. Covering her face with her hands, humiliation consumed her. She should be angry at the violation, but strangely, the anger never came.

  She covered herself with the rumpled sheets and headed for a quick shower. This vacation stood to happen, no holding back, not even the embarrassing display she put on for her gorgeous stranger.

  Refreshed an hour later, Shayla decided to take in the local sites and do a little shopping. She knew her first stop would be the Graveyard of
the Atlantic Museum, her first stop because she had always wondered, even when she was a little girl, how so many ships could go down in the same area. There had to be something other than just the landscape.

  North Carolina was no Bermuda Triangle, but still, one had to wonder.

  As a kid, she had been so fascinated with it. She really didn’t know how the obsession started, but the richness of history was definitely different from what she knew. When she decided not to attend the UNC, but Emory University’s Goizueta Business School instead, she surprised everyone, especially her parents. They thought being a Tar Heel was her dream; however, in the long run, it paid off. She had everything a person her age could ever want, so she never regretted her decision.

  She grabbed her keys and purse, then rushed out her door, ready to immerse herself into the culture and the freedom of not worrying about prepping for meetings or putting together presentations.

  Shayla mulled around the museum taking in the history the Outer Banks offered. Exhibits included pictures and authentic diving equipment within the Evolution of Diving section. A headstone commemorating and acknowledging Hotel de Afrique as a part of the Underground Railroad and the first safe haven in North Carolina for African Americans during the Civil War intrigued her. She never knew this much history lived here.

  Shayla moved closer to a display housing pictures and authentic news clippings from The Great Hurricane of 1899. These stories and others like it kept her interest piqued about North Carolina. She enjoyed every minute of learning.

  She felt him before she spotted him. A slight shiver running down her spine caused a visible shake as he made his way next to her.

  “Fascinating,” he said in a deep, melodic voice.

  She let the vibration of it wash over her. The smile she caught in his voice did nothing to calm her racing heart or the flush creeping across her face. She didn’t answer, took a deep breath, and continued to read.

  His scent, a deep, manly scent, clean and fresh, hit her like the hurricane she read up on only moments ago. She closed her eyes to take it all in. It took her brief seconds to remember he’d spoken.

  Not trusting her voice if she spoke, she nodded and continued to act as if the explanation on the display held her captive. He moved down a ways to put space between them, as if realizing her nervousness. A weight visibly lifted from her. She could breathe somewhat normally again.

  As fast as she could, she turned and made her way to the souvenir shop she passed on her way in. This man watched her pleasure herself. No way was she entertaining him any further. The earlier adrenaline rush she experienced with him watching her, turned into an irritant.

  The indignation she expected earlier bowled her over now. How dare he invade her privacy? She continued to make her way to the store, and with every step, her irritation transformed into anger.

  He followed her, not closely, but enough for her to be aware of him.

  “May I help you?” she spat, not in the least bit embarrassed by the venom laced in her words.

  He threw his hands up in surrender but smiled, nonetheless. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I promise. I wondered if I could show you around the museum.”

  “I can find my own way thank you very much.” Displeasure laced her voice, not letting him off the hook for one second. “And furthermore, where do you get off following me around? Do you know me? Because I sure don’t know you!”

  She made up in her mind to let him have it! Not simply for following her, but for invading her privacy like some creep. Her hands moved to her hips as she faced him. If you searched the word anger in the dictionary, her picture would be right there. Seething, more like it.

  Through gritted teeth, she said accusingly, “You watched me today on my patio, didn’t you?” She stepped closer daring him to deny it.

  “I did,” he admitted.

  His response surprised her. Words sputtered from her mouth as she reached for a rebuttal. If she were more like her best friend, Tela, she would have confronted him immediately instead of trying to run away.

  But despite her anger, for some reason, he intrigued her, and instead of berating him for being a creeper, she found herself asking him, “Why?”

  He simply stated, “Because I spotted a beautiful woman who caught my eye and distracted me from my running, but I had no intention of watching you.”

  Her irritation diminished slightly.

  Then his lip curled up into a mischievous smile. “But I must say I enjoyed myself as well as you seemed to.”

  How dare he? She could not speak, and the heat rose in her cheeks from the embarrassment. She was not doing this with him. Shayla huffed out a breath. Fury engulfed her. She wanted to slap him, but instead, she pushed past him trying to make her way to the exit.

  He grabbed her elbow as she passed.

  She struggled to pull away, his hold firm, but gentle.

  He leaned in to whisper in her ear, “You’re beautiful when you come.” He released her.

  He gave her space but did not leave the shop. His comment not even in the slightest made her uncomfortable, but heat emerged within her body, settling within her nether region.

  How could this man, a man she did not know, cause such a physical reaction within her? She dared to take a glance and could recognize the same desire mirrored in his eyes. She made her getaway before she acted on her notion to jump him right then and there.

  She continued her escape as quickly as she could.

  As she unlocked the car and jumped behind the wheel, Shayla finally released the breath she held. She didn’t give herself time to dwell before she started the car, certainly not when she peeked back he would be following her.

  She pulled out of the parking lot and drove as fast as she could without getting a speeding ticket, the last thing she needed after her experience with the stranger. As her heartbeat returned to normal, she slowed the car and powered the window down. The breeze from the fresh, salt air calmed her nerves, and all emotions caused by the confrontation with the stranger abated, allowing Shayla once again to enjoy her day.

  Glancing at the clock on the dash, she realized dinnertime nearing, but not quite. She had just enough time to take a shower and catch a quick nap. After the day she had, it was something she was anticipating.

  She rummaged through her closet trying to find something nice and airy to wear to beat the North Carolina heat she wasn’t used to. She pulled out her yellow sundress and held it up against herself in the mirror. It looked as if it was cool and light enough. It would do.

  Dressed, she shuffled through the many brochures of the local restaurants. Soul food, Japanese, and Italian all looked appetizing; however, her mood called for some seafood. Although she had never been picky, she listened as some of the locals talked about where to get the best seafood in town as well as a nice quiet atmosphere. She remembered hearing about The Breakwater Restaurant while in the coffee shop the other day. From the snippets of conversation she caught here and there, it was exactly where she needed to be.

  She googled the address and headed for her car.

  Luckily, the drive wasn’t long at all, and before she knew it, the parking lot came into view. She pulled in moments before the dinner rush; the place would be filling up pretty quickly.

  Shayla was pleased with the setup of the restaurant; although her nice, quiet atmosphere turned out to be a little too romantic for her. Natural woods graced the walls and the bar. Large bay windows adorned one end of the bar to give the place an open-air feeling to go along with the vaulted roof made to look as if it was thatched grass. Simple, but brilliant chandelier lights hung over the top of the bar, and several television sets protruded out from the walls over the heads of the two bartenders serving their patrons. The rest of the place constituted of tables for two or four and booths for couples or groups. Small, battery-operated tabletop lamps rested on these to create the romantic aurora of the place.

  Turns out her cool, summery dress layered against all her cu
rves the right way, now, made her extremely uncomfortable and grossly underdressed for the premises. Nonetheless, she strutted over to a table behind the hostess, with her shoulders back, her head held high.

  She ordered a white wine to begin with, to take the edge off and relax. Even though she appeared to the epitome of confidence, she felt as if people were watching her. She fiddled with her dress and with her hand smoothed down the frizzes of hair the humidity had caused.

  In no time, the waitress approached with the drink, and she took several sips before her nerves calmed. She picked up the menu and decided right then to enjoy herself, not worry about what people thought about her or despite her attire.

  “Let’s get this vacation back on track,” she said, eyes roaming over the dinner specials this place had to offer.

  2

  Calen

  On his way out of the museum, Calen grabbed a brochure and restaurant guide. Hungry after the encounter with the exotic beauty of his dreams, he needed a moment to relax. His body, tighter than a two-dollar watch, yearned for a release.

  He hadn’t lied when he told her she was beautiful in the throes of passion. He didn’t mean to watch her when he stepped onto the patio, nor expected her to be touching herself. The intent to introduce himself long forgotten when he gazed upon her beauty.