by Casey Hagen
She sighed. "I'm not ready to go home."
"Neither am I, Angel. Neither am I."
"When will I see you again?" Her tentative voice gave him a pang.
"Why don't you come with me to family dinner Sunday?"
She turned to him, her soft eyes meeting his. "Are you sure? You went on vacation single, and now…"
"Now what, Corrine Anderson?"
She took a long sip of her drink. "Well, now we—you're—"
"Angel, you're making a mess of this. Now I have a girlfriend. Is that what you're trying to say?"
"Is that what I am?"
"Oh yeah, you're definitely my girlfriend."
She sat there curled in his lap, giving him a goofy grin. A heavy drumbeat sounded. The last of the people milling about hurried to grab seats. He took the opportunity to plant a sensual kiss on his girlfriend's lips while no one was looking. Loving the slide of her tongue with his, he sucked the tip of her tongue into his mouth. Ending the kiss far too soon, he pressed his lips to her forehead.
"I can't get enough of you. You didn't give me an answer."
"What if your parents don't like me?"
"My parents are friendly and down to earth. They're good people, Corrine. They'll love you as much as I do."
Her eyes slid away.
"Hey, what is it?"
"Do you love me?"
So that's what she was worried about. Setting his drink next to him, he cupped her face in his hands. Her hands shook as she laid them over his forearms. He was surprised he had no qualms about saying it first. He had never said the words to any woman before, even those he had been in relationships with for a couple months. In just one week, Corrine had shown more caring and acceptance than all the women in his past combined.
He searched her eyes. Corrine may not know it yet, but she loved him too. He saw it in every look, felt it in every touch, knew it with every fiber of his being, which made it so much easier to say. "Yes, Angel. I love you." He kissed her nose. "Will you go?"
She nodded, her eyes misting over. He smiled and kissed her fingertips. "Great. Now turn around and watch the show, before I haul you out of here and have my way with you."
The tension he sensed in her drifted away once the beat started and the dancers came out to the modest stage. Men chanted, waving fire sticks in an ancient rhythm, stomping in tandem. As full darkness descended, the colors flashed brighter. Spinning, rhythmic ropes of fire twirled before them.
21 The Dance
He could feel Corrine's excitement grow with each set. By halfway through the show, her body was moving in time to the beat. Beautiful women swayed in unison, but he only had eyes for Corrine. He watched her about as much as he watched the show. The firelight brought out red tones in her long, sleek waves. Light flickering over her skin set her aglow, lighting her warm smile and rosy cheeks.
Unable to resist, he kept his hands on her. Massaging her shoulder, caressing her neck, curling his hand over her soft thigh—he just couldn't stop. By the time the show ended he was half out of his mind for wanting her. Now that he’d told her he loved her, he wanted to tell her again. To show her. To feel her wrapped up in him.
When the show ended, he all but dragged Corrine to the car, where he opened the door and stuffed her inside. They reached the bungalow in record time. He opened the door for Corrine, took her hand, and helped her out of the car.
"Your mom and dad did a really great job with you. Such a gentleman."
Growling into her neck, he licked his way from her collarbone to her ear. "I'm not feeling very gentlemanly at the moment."
Her laugh turned husky when he pulled her earlobe between his teeth.
"What are you wearing under the dress?" He breathed into her ear. Her shiver turned him on even more. His ready cock jerked in his pants.
"Nothing."
"I know you skipped the bra."
"And the underwear," she said.
With a rough growl, he threw her over his shoulder and hauled her into the bungalow. The lamp cast a warm glow over the room, especially the bed. With her rump right next to his face, he slid his hand up the back of her thigh, taking the skirt of her dress with him.
Nibbling her hip, he slid his finger over her exposed sex, moisture gathering on his finger. Continuing his slide through the cleft of her ass, he dragged over the tight ring of muscle, sure he was the first to touch her that way. Would she like his finger there while he thrust inside her? He wanted to find out.
Licking his finger, he swirled over the spot. The thought of stimulating her that way made his cock leak in his underwear.
"What are you doing?"
"Touching you."
"But why are you doing it that way?"
"Have you ever been touched like this?"
"No."
"Do you like it?"
"I'm not sure. I'm tingling. My skin feels hot and tight."
Oh yeah, she likes it. "Do you want me to stop?" As he said the words, he slid the wet tip of his index finger between the edges of that ring of muscle, stretching her a little.
"Mmmm, no," she groaned.
Sliding his thumb along her moist slit, he found her impossibly wet. A wave of longing moved through him. Pulling his hand back, he licked the moisture off his thumb before sliding her down his body to stand at the edge of the bed. She stared up at him with wide eyes, her mouth parted, and her lungs heaving.
Slanting his mouth over hers, he poured himself into a deep kiss. He nibbled, he coaxed, he plundered, all trying to get enough, even as he knew it was impossible. Pulling her long hair back in a tight fist, he exposed her soft, sweet throat and devoured her. Desperate to touch her, he pulled the straps off her shoulders, baring her subtly curved breast. Her nipples tightened into sharp points, and he took turns rolling them in his fingers.
When she cried out, he upped his assault on her senses. Sliding his hand between her legs, he buried two fingers deep inside her, curling the tips inward as he worked that sensitive spot inside her. She screamed. Her inner muscles locked on his fingers, pulling him in deeper. He bit lovingly on her nipple and kept his pace until she sobbed. As she moaned his name, her knees gave out, but he caught her.
With one arm around her waist, he raised the dress over her head. "Lie down on your stomach, Angel."
Impatient to get back to her, he tore open his shirt. The buttons popped and rained down on the bamboo floor. He kicked off his shoes as he undid his pants, yanking them off with his underwear.
Curious to see just how much she liked it, he slid his hands up the back of each thigh and parted her. He slid his tongue between her legs, over her most sensitive core, and over the cleft of her ass where he’d teased before.
Her low moan spurred him on, so he did it again, this time teasing her with the tip of his tongue, running it in circles around her. The liquid heat oozed out of her core. Needing to taste the tang of her excitement, he thrust his tongue into her.
"I could do this every day for the rest of my life. God, you taste so good."
"What about you?" she asked in a breathless voice.
"What about me?"
"I want to taste you too. The way you taste me."
Squeezing the flesh of her cheek, he kissed her lower back. "Then taste me."
He enjoyed the sight of her rising up on all fours to turn to him. She wrapped her small hand around him and slid it back and forth. When she squeezed, moisture oozed out the head of his cock.
When she licked the moisture away and took the head of him inside her hot mouth, his smile vanished on a whoosh of air. She sucked gently at first, playing her tongue over him tentatively. Sliding her hand to the base of his cock, she took as much of him as she could in her mouth. Watching her cheeks hollow out as she sucked him in made his balls draw up tight and the tingling start in his spine.
"Easy there, Angel."
She pulled back, the popping sound from the break of suction making him groan.
"Did I do it wrong?"<
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He couldn't help it. He laughed. "No, you did it just right. If you don't want this party over before it begins, you have to stop."
"Can I try one more little thing?"
Curious as to what she was up to, he nodded. His jaw dropped when she flattened her tongue on his sac and gave him a long, slow lick.
She grinned up to him. "Feel good?"
"Where did you learn that?"
"Alexa said she gives a lot of attention to that part. Guys like it. True?"
"Yeah, we like it." He sounded like he’d swallowed glass. His Corrine, who was so shocked at the idea of him making her come standing up, had come out of her shell and seemed to be up for anything. Wanting to test his theory, he climbed on the bed with her. Sitting against the headboard, he crooked a finger at her. "Come here, Corrine Anderson."
She crawled up toward him, her hips flaring and swinging with the movement. When she moved to straddle him, he stopped her. "Nope. Turn around."
A look of confusion moved across her face, but she did as she was told.
"Now, straddle me."
She held his ankles as she got her balance. Heat and pleasure seared him as he dragged the head of his cock over her core. When he slid the tip in, she took over and slowly impaled herself on him.
She sat up straight, her hair brushing half the length of her back. Those low dimples above her hips called to him. He traced the hollows with his fingers before guiding her to move. Each roll and flex of her hips worked him into a near frenzy. When her orgasm tore through her, he rode her out, clenching his teeth so as not to go off too soon. Struggling for control, he held her still. When he was confident he’d regained control, he smoothed his hand over the delicate skin of her spine.
"Lean forward, Angel."
Arching her back, she bent forward until he felt her nipple graze his knee. She turned her head and gave him a thousand-watt smile. "Is this good?"
He brought his hand down hard on her cheek leaving a bright pink handprint. She squeaked and bit her lip as her inner muscles locked on him hard. "Yes." While her eyes were still on his, he sucked his index finger into his mouth, getting it nice and wet before sliding it inside her tight ass.
She kept those olive eyes on his as he started to thrust inside her. He held his finger still, letting the rhythmic bounce stimulate her as he moved in and out of her. Slick and hot, he pounded away at her, memorizing every moan, whimper, and shout as her orgasm built, crested, and finally crashed inside her.
Pulling his finger free, he grasped her hips and thrust into her hard over and over, the sound of him slapping against her and her throaty cries echoing in the room. When she reached down and cupped his balls, he lost it.
"Jesus!" he shouted, clenching his teeth as spasm after spasm rocked him and he exploded inside her. Gasping for air, he rode the wave until the last of the aftershocks subsided.
Corrine rose off him and snuggled into his embrace, resting her hand over his racing heart. Holding her tight, he kissed her forehead. "I love you, Angel."
Her fingers played over his abdomen, making his muscles jump. She lifted his palm to her mouth and laid a kiss in the center. "I love you too."
22 The Return
They watched movies in between naps. Lack of sleep from long nights of lovemaking had taken their toll, not that she would take back a minute of it. So what would happen now, since they were returning to the real world? They both had demanding jobs. There was every possibility she would be busy putting together her line if Dustin decided he liked what he saw. Everett’s phone hadn't stopped going off in Fiji, so what would happen now that he was available to clients? Would he and Corrine find time to spend together?
This time on the plane, no one sat next to Corrine, so they had extra room to spread out. Everett closed the window shade, leaned against the wall of the plane, and opened his arms to her. She curled into his heat with a sigh and drifted off to sleep soon after.
Trepidation grew as they made their decent. The real world had a habit of ruining things for her. She would do anything it took to keep it from ruining this.
At the luggage carousel, he took both of their bags. "Did you remember to get a message to Alexa that I was taking you home?"
"Yes. That's why my phone kept ringing all the way to the airport. She wants the details." They made their way into the late evening heat of San Francisco. Tired families with cranky children shuffled out the doors to catch shuttle buses.
"Living vicariously through you, huh?" They boarded their shuttle to the parking facility where Everett had left his car.
"I don't know why. She's always been the adventurous one." With their belongings stowed, they were underway in a long series of bumps, sharp turns, and honking horns. Airport traffic sucked.
"Oh, I don't know." He brushed the long, soft strands of her hair away from her neck. Nibbling his way up to her ear, he whispered, "I think you might have blown her track record out of the water this week."
A shiver moved through her. Away from their island paradise, he still elicited the most arousing sensations in her. Now, if he could only make time for her. Every time she turned around in Fiji, he was on his phone or tablet, handling some bit of correspondence from work. She’d watched her mother grow more and more bitter watching the same behavior in her father. She would much rather be alone than to have a marriage like theirs. Even if it meant giving up Everett. Somehow she knew if he put her and their family on the back burner, as her father had, he would crush her.
"What's wrong? You stiffened up on me."
"I'm worried."
"What about?"
"How will we make time for each other? You always have to work, and now I'm launching this jewelry line. I feel like I'll never see you."
He smoothed a gentle hand through her hair. "I'm making some changes on my end. If you give me a few weeks, my time will free up."
"When did you decide this?"
"I started thinking about it before I took this trip with you. Being with you only solidified the need to change. I want this. I want us. Just give me a little time, and I promise, I'll work it out."
The shuttle dropped them off at a sleek black Mercedes with open spots on either side. He unloaded their bags and popped the trunk, then tucked their belongings inside.
"Why are the spaces on either side of you empty?"
"I paid for them to stay empty."
"Worried about a scratch on your baby?"
"Not so much a scratch, as they tend to park vehicles so close together I have to be a human pretzel to get in. Last year, they squeezed me in so tight I couldn't get in on either side. I'd just gotten in from Tokyo and had to wait for the car next to me to be moved, and was twenty minutes late for my meeting. I don't take chances anymore."
Because he took his commitments seriously, and being on time was of the utmost importance. "You had a meeting scheduled for right when you got in from Tokyo?"
Opening the door for her, he laughed. "Not usually, but sometimes there are fires to put out."
Before climbing in, she covered his jaw with her hand, feeling the sensuous scrape of stubble across her palm. Those glasses had returned for the flight, and she found she couldn't keep her eyes off him. "You need to take better care of yourself. Your family needs you."
"What about you?" he said, hovering over her lips. His heat called to her. "Do you need me?"
The way he closed in on her mesmerized. The way his breath fanned over her lips set her heart racing. "As much as I pride myself on my strength…yes, I need you."
"Admitting you need someone isn't weakness, Angel. It is strength.”
He captured her lips in a sweet kiss, and she held on to him as he swept her away in longing and sensation. Never had anyone evoked half the feeling and desire Everett did with the briefest of contact. All too soon, he pulled away. "Let's get you home."
The late hour made it easy to navigate through traffic. Before Corrine knew it, Everett slid into a spot right in front of h
er condo. Coming around to her side, he opened the door and took her hand to guide her out. Feeling cherished, she gave him a smile. He grabbed her suitcase, she grabbed her carry-on, and she led Everett inside the lobby. They took the elevator to the fourth floor. At the end of the hall, she slid her key in the lock. Before she could turn the key, Everett spun her around and pinned her to the door jamb.
Gripping her face between his hands, he kissed her. His lips, teeth, and tongue worked in succession to drive her out of her mind. He tore his lips from hers, sliding them over her cheek to her ear.
"My bed will be lonely tonight," he breathed over the sensitive shell of her ear.
"I'm not ready for this vacation to be over." God, was that her voice?
“Neither am I," he said with the slow drag of his tongue along her jaw line. Immobilizing her, he hooked those legs and lifted them up around his hips, making her squeal. The deep, sensuous slide of his tongue along hers had her hips thrusting against him. Dropping a capable hand to her breast, he thumbed her nipple through her shirt.
They were so distracted that they didn't hear Corrine's front door open. "Well, well, well," Alexa said.
Everett froze before pulling his lips away from hers. With one hand locked around the back of her head, he kept her lips firmly under his, while the other still caressed her breast. He nodded toward her friend. "Hello, Alexa."
"Well, hello, Everett! You plan on letting my girl there go?"
Turning an amused glance back to Corrine, he kissed her lightly. "I'll see you Sunday morning at ten?"
Unable to speak past the lump in her throat, she nodded.
She untangled herself from him, and he steadied her when she reached the floor.
Before she closed her door, she watched him step into the elevator. When the doors slid closed, she shut her door and slumped against it.
"Girl, you have some explaining to do! I want all the details and I mean…All. The. Details." Alexa hopped on Corrine's blue sofa, crossed her legs, and patted the spot next to her.
Corrine couldn't stop her soft sigh. "He's incredible!" She pulled Alexa in for a tight hug. "If you hadn't given me a push, I never would have known."