“No, you won’t. Today’s on me.” He shrugged. “And it’s not a big deal. I get wanting to stay out of the spotlight.” He smiled at Frank, leaning down and resting his elbows on the counter, if you could call it that. It was technically a piece of dirty plywood. “Hey, Frank. We’d like to go snorkeling today.”
The old man grinned a toothless smile. “Why, look what the cat drug in. I thought you swore off snorkeling the last time Rachel got stung by a jellyfish.”
Rachel? Who the heck was she?
Austin stiffened. “Yeah, well, I changed my mind,” he said evenly, not looking my way. “I’m here with a friend, and she’s never been out in the water before. We’ll need two kits and some uninterrupted privacy.”
Frank looked at me, smacked his lips together, then set down the deck of cards. “That’ll cost you, of course. Today’s been busy.”
He looked out in the cove for snorkeling. It was as empty as the parking lot. “Of course it has,” Austin said dryly, exchanging an amused glance with me. “How much do you want?”
Frank named a ridiculous price. I opened my mouth to bargain him down, but Austin beat me to it. “Make it half that amount, and I’ll throw in a few free drinks at the bar for the next month.”
“Deal.” Frank cackled and flipped the OPEN sign over to CLOSED, then held out his hand. “Cash only, please.”
“I’ve got it right here,” Austin agreed. When I reached into my shorts pocket, he glowered at me. “Don’t even think about it. I told you this one’s on me.”
I didn’t think I could accept that. I always paid my way on dates. I could certainly afford it. “But—”
He handed his money over to the greedy old man. “My date suggestion. My money.” He looked at me and crossed his arms, the stubbornness in his eyes clearly said he wouldn’t budge. “Unless you’d rather go home…?”
I gritted my teeth. The way he took over without even letting me voice an opinion was so infuriating and yet so hot at the same time. He was so very alpha male. I hadn’t thought I was into that type of thing, but judging from my primitive reaction to his arrogance? I was. I really was.
“I don’t want to go home. But you already knew that, didn’t you?”
He stepped closer, dropping his mouth to my ear level. I could feel his hot breath fanning over my skin, making my stomach clench tight. “Good. Because I plan on doing a lot more in that private cove than snorkeling, sweetheart.”
I shivered and silently thanked God for small favors, because I was ready to explode if he didn’t touch me soon. “We’ll see about that.”
“Indeed, we will.” He traced the curve of my hip with his pinky. The soft touch did crazy things to my body. “Now follow me.”
I was starting to think I’d follow him anywhere he asked.
I KICKED through the crystal clear water, watching Mackenzie as she swam up to a school of bright blue fish. The brilliant corals and anemone surrounded us on all sides, and she looked so damn beautiful with them as her backdrop. She held out her hand, letting the fish swim around it, and then wiggled her fingers animatedly.
Maybe I could have joined her in that moment. Extended my fingers, too. But I was too busy watching her to join in the fun. She mesmerized me more than any God-given creature ever had, and I wasn’t sure what to do with that. I wasn’t sure what to do with her at all. This was a fun fling with an expiration date.
We both knew it. Yet…
I was kind of sad I knew it.
For the first time in my fucking life, I felt a real connection to another person. She made me want to open up to her. To talk about things I’d never talked about, not even with Rachel. Hell, I even told her that my dad committed suicide. I never talked about that shit with anyone.
Again, not even with Rachel.
We acted as if it never happened, even though we both still had nightmares about that night. Shit like that tended to stay with you.
Mackenzie turned to me, her green eyes shining through the mask. She pointed up, and I nodded. We stuck our heads out of the water, I freed my mouth from the snorkel and took off my mask. She did the same. I swiped my hand over my mouth, my eyes on her the whole time.
I couldn’t stop fucking watching her.
I felt like a teenager all over again. And the best part about this outing was that I’d get to spend all day with her. I couldn’t be happier about that. Rachel was at a friend’s house for the night, so I was free and clear to do what I wanted.
And I wanted Mackenzie.
“Oh my God, this is so much fun.” She swam up to me and threw her arms around my neck, pressing her warm body against mine. She was so soft and smooth in all the places I was hard and rough. “Thank you for suggesting this.”
“You’re welcome, Mac.” I pressed my hand against her lower back, fingers splayed, and slid my hand down to her legs. I hauled her up against me, urging her legs around my waist. “But I can think of an even better way for you to thank me.”
Her eyes went wide, but then she hooked her ankles behind my back. “Oh?” she asked breathlessly, her lips pursed. “And what would that be?”
“A kiss wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, that’s for sure.”
She played with a piece of hair on the back of my head, tugging enough to set my blood to boiling. “I might be able to arrange that…if you ask really nicely.”
“I don’t ask nicely,” I said, slipping my hand between her legs. “But I do know how to get results.”
She laughed. “I—”
I growled playfully and crashed my lips to hers, cutting her off. She tasted like salt water and Mackenzie—sweet and salty at the same time. Like perfection. Her teeth pressed into my lips, and her tongue dipped inside my mouth. As she swirled it around mine, making a small sound in the back of her throat, I cupped her ass, holding her against my cock.
Holding her just because it felt good.
I deepened the kiss, spinning so I kind of rested against the sand bed behind me, supporting our weight easily. Her nails skimmed over my shoulders and down my pecs, digging in just enough to hurt so fucking good. In the back of my mind, I knew we should stop. Even though this was a private cove, it was far from secure.
I ended the kiss. “Anyone could be watching, and with a public face like yours, you can never—”
She slid her hand between us and cupped my cock…and I forgot all about being cautious. All that mattered was us. This. She trailed her fingers over the length of me, then closed her hand over the tip of my cock. As she squeezed, tugging with the perfect amount of pressure, I sucked my lower lip into my mouth, biting down gently.
She might have been a virgin when we met, but damn, she was good.
When she let out a breathy moan and repeated the motion, I slipped my hands between her thighs. I pressed the pad of my three fingers into her, rolling them in slow circles over her. “Austin,” she breathed, pressing closer to my fingers. “More.”
I loved when she whispered my name like that, all breathless and sexy. I could play that on repeat for the rest of my life and die with a smile on my face. I captured her mouth with mine, increasing the pressure on her clit with my fingers. I wished I could go down on her right here.
Bury myself inside of her.
But we didn’t have protection, and we definitely didn’t have privacy. So I had to content myself with this. With some grade school, third base shit. With my free hand, I rolled her nipple between my fingers, breaking off the kiss to bite down on her shoulder at the same time. “You drive me fucking insane,” I said, nipping the spot directly over her pulse. “You’re so damn sexy, sweetheart.”
She threw back her head. The graceful arch of her neck captivated me. Hell, she captivated me. She was getting her grips on me, deep and painful, and there wasn’t a fucking thing I could do to stop it. I couldn’t look away. Couldn’t hold her off. Hell, I didn’t even want to try.
I was a train wreck waiting to happen.
Her fingers m
oved over me more insistently, and I did the same to her. Our heavy breathing matched perfectly, as if we were in tune with one another without even trying. And the crazy thing was, I did feel that way with her.
As if we had more than sex and passion between us…
Which was stupid.
I closed off those thoughts and filed them away for a later date. Maybe when I was older and wiser, I’d be ready for them. But not now.
“Don’t stop,” she begged, her legs tightening around me. “God, don’t stop.”
I could feel her whole body growing tighter and straining against me. Knowing she was that close to coming sent me teetering on the edge. I’d have never thought I could come from some heavy petting and kisses, but with Mackenzie…
Apparently all I needed was a hand job and a smile.
I grunted and moved faster, my hips pumping into her hand at the same time. I knew the second she found her pleasure. Knew when time froze for her, because her hand clenched down on my cock, and she let out a little sound deep in the back of her throat.
I loved that fucking sound.
Then I closed my eyes and dropped my head into the crook of her neck. I could finish. I really could, with just her hand and a kiss. But when I did come, I wanted to be buried inside her, damn it. I wanted to be inside of her, making her scream my name and scratch my back. So I headed for the shore with her still in my arms, juggling my equipment and her with ease.
“Where are we going?” she asked, resting her head on my shoulder.
Her mask and snorkel hit my back. She’d managed to hang on to them, even with me making her fall apart. “To my car so I can fuck you properly.” As we passed Frank, I tossed the snorkeling equipment his way. Then I set her down on her feet. “Lose the flippers.”
She held on to the shack, squirming out of them. I did the same, then caught her hand with mine. We padded barefoot to the car, since we’d left our shoes and extra clothing inside, and I opened the back door. I’d parked in a shady, secluded section of the parking lot and I couldn’t be happier about that, because I needed her now.
I pushed her onto her back, reaching into the console and pulling out a condom. I’d thrown them in there earlier just in case. As I yanked my trunks down, I stopped, my hand on my cock. She was watching me with wide eyes.
She flicked her tongue over her lips, her thighs falling open. “Hurry up,” she said, moving impatiently.
Still…I hesitated. Damn it. She deserved better than a quick fuck in the car.
She was Mackenzie Forbes—America’s Sweetheart—not some girl I’d picked up at the bar who didn’t give a damn how or where she got it, or even who she got it from. She’d been a virgin yesterday, and now I was about to take her in the back of my fucking Volkswagen? Pathetic, Austin.
It was no wonder guys like me never got girls like her.
I started pulling up my shorts. “You know what? We can wait. Let’s go back to the hotel and—”
“No.” She yanked me back down on top of her. My cock pressed against her pussy, and she arched her hips up. Not exactly helping my resolve to give her something better than a quickie in a parking lot, for fuck’s sakes. “I don’t want to wait.”
She closed her fingers over me, gazing up at me with wonder. Well, hell, if she kept looking at me as if she needed me to fuck her, I wouldn’t be responsible for my actions. And for the first time in a long time, I wanted to be responsible. I wanted to be a gentleman, damn it. “I’m trying to be a good guy here.”
“I don’t want you to be good. I want you to be bad.” She flicked her tongue over my lips, and I squeezed my eyes shut. “Really, really bad.”
“Someone might come along,” I said through my clenched teeth. “I’m trying to protect you.”
“Then you better hurry up so no one finds us.” I swallowed hard, my eyes skimming over her perfection. The freckles on her nose. The bright green eyes. Her full rosy pink lips. She looked even hotter in the natural light of day, if that was possible. “Between us? I think you’re perfectly capable of making me scream your name in less than five minutes.”
I ripped open the condom wrapper, using my teeth. “You’re sure?”
“God, yes.” She spread her legs and shoved her bottoms to the side, giving me a hell of a view of her wet pussy. Fuck. There went the last of my gentlemanly thoughts, right out the fucking window. “Take me now.”
I growled, rolled the condom over my cock, then fell on top of her. I was wedged up against this side of heaven, my forehead to hers, and I couldn’t imagine any place I’d rather be. And that fucking terrified me.
I thrust inside of her, my whole body seeming to let out a sigh. I kissed her and started moving faster. Harder. She wrapped herself around me, and the stinging of her nails raking across my back sent me over the edge.
So did the little whimpers she kept letting out, soft and sweet. Better than any song I’d ever fucking heard. I kissed her again, swallowing her cries of pleasure so no one heard her, and completely lost myself in her. Her pussy clenched tighter around my cock, squeezing, but it wasn’t enough.
I reached between us and pressed two fingers against her clit. I was fucking bent on making her explode again before I came. By the time I was finished with her, I was determined to be her best memory of this town—of this trip.
God knows she would be mine.
She cried out, arching her back, and tensed all around me, releasing my name on a sigh. “Austin.”
Music to my ears, man.
I thrust into her one more time, my balls going tight and hard, and then I came so strongly my vision blurred. “God,” I muttered, dropping my head down beside hers and drawing in a shaky breath. She was going to kill me. It was official.
And if she didn’t kill me, she was going to get me arrested. Hell, I hadn’t gotten naked in a fucking car with a woman in years. Not since I’d started taking care of Rachel.
I had to remember I had responsibilities.
“Wow,” she breathed, playing with my hair. “I was teasing about the ‘orgasm in less than five minutes’ part, but you totally did it.”
I snorted and lifted up on my elbows. I might want to lay here and enjoy the afterglow, but we had to get dressed. “Maybe I should start a business. ‘Orgasms delivered in less than five minutes, guaranteed or your money back.’”
“Umm…” She laughed, musical and perfect, of course. Because it was her. “I think I’d rather keep you to myself forever and ever. You just might be my best-kept secret, and I’m not about to blab about you to everyone.”
I knew she was fucking around, but hearing her talk about any kind of future set me on edge. There wasn’t a future with us. There couldn’t be.
She wouldn’t want me once she knew the real me, and all my secrets that came with me. And she definitely wouldn’t want a teenager in her life—and Rachel was part of me now. She wouldn’t want a fuck-up with a buried juvenile criminal record either.
And I needed to remember that before it was too late.
“Yeah.” I pushed off her, not quite meeting her eyes. “I kind of figured that.”
“Hey,” she said, sitting up and fixing her bikini bottoms. I did the same with my trunks, the cold wetness making me shiver. “You okay?”
I looked at her. “Yeah. Of course.”
“O…kay.” She tucked her hair behind her ear, peeking up at me. “You just got all stiff and withdrawn or something.”
I shrugged. “Nah. But we should probably get out of here before we get caught.”
“Yeah, probably.” She leaned in and rested her palm against my cheek, her thumb sliding down to my dimple. “Today was really special. Thank you.”
I swallowed hard. The feelings rolling through me had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with the forbidden. I couldn’t want her. Couldn’t want more.
But I also couldn’t pull away.
She leaned closer, hesitating briefly with her lips hovering close to mine. Giving me a ch
ance to reject her, I supposed. Maybe I should have, but I didn’t. Her eyes lit up, and then she kissed me tenderly. This kiss felt different. It wasn’t about arousal or sex.
And I loved every second of it.
THANKS TO the fact that Rachel was spending the night at a friend’s house, Mackenzie and I had spent the last few hours talking and snuggling in the privacy of her hotel room. And now we were at a restaurant I’d never taken another girl to besides Rachel. I couldn’t help but notice I kept bringing Mac to my favorites. As if I was trying to show her a part of me I didn’t normally show girls.
I tried to ignore this fact, too.
“You come here a lot?” she asked, looking over her shoulder. “I love the décor. Very modern yet elegant.”
I looked around, trying to see what she saw. Crystal chandeliers hung over all the tables, and candles flickered on each one. Soft music played in the background, and everyone spoke quietly amongst themselves. Everyone was chill and relaxed. No one rushed or hurried through their meals. That’s why I loved it here. In a life of hectic-ness and bar music, the understated peacefulness of this restaurant called to me.
“Yeah. It’s nice.” I lifted a shoulder. “And tourists don’t come here, so it’s not overcrowded.”
She nodded. “It’s perfect for a girl like me.”
“Right.” I met her eyes. “No cameras.”
“Exactly.”
We fell silent, and she picked up her glass and gulped some wine down. I watched her, loving the way the candlelight flickered across her face. “Are you having fun down here in Florida? Doing all the things you wanted to do? Seeing it all?” I picked up my beer. “If there’s something else you’d like to do besides see me naked, maybe I could take you sightseeing.”
She smiled at me, soft and sweet. “You’d do touristy stuff with me?”
It sounded like pure hell, but I’d be with her—which was as close to heaven as I’d ever get. “Sure. Why not?”
“Nothing. It’s just…” She entwined her ankle with mine underneath the table. “It’s just sweet is all.”
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