Naked Love

by Jones, Lisa Renee

  I wedged my knee between her legs. If she knew I was shaking, she didn’t let on. Instead, she let go of the dress and inched back on the bed. A tit popped out, and she looked down at it, but she didn’t cover it. The hem of the dress bunched at the top of her thighs, and I remembered her panties were in my pocket. She was so close to being completely exposed. “You will,” I said.

  We’d wake up together many mornings if I got my way, but I’d focus on tonight. If I fucked this up, nothing else mattered.

  I wrapped the dress tie around my wrist and tugged her into me. The fabric slipped to her waist as she jerked forward. This time, she didn’t look down. She didn’t look anywhere but into my eyes. I knelt in between her legs, not letting go of that damned strap.

  She wouldn’t let me fall. She snaked her hands around my neck, slipped them to my hair, and pulled me into her. Shannon tasted like wine and things that were only safe to whisper to each other in the small hours of the night, taking a chance before the morning sun melted them away. I could kiss her forever. Kissing was a lost art, a confession, a concession, and a promise. She’d tell me everything I needed to know without saying a word.

  Didn’t matter whose night it was; Shannon called the shots. She pushed my head down, but I wasn’t done kissing her. I did my best to catch her pulse as it banged impatiently against the side of her long neck, but it was too fast. Instead, I concentrated on what I could have, and moved down to her tits, tracing the swell before squeezing it. She let her head fall to the side, and there was no controlling the moan that fell from her lips. Finally, I had her where I wanted her. Off the script, into pure fucking abandon. If I could get her to stay awhile, she’d like it here.

  I caught her swollen nipple between my teeth, relishing the groan that vibrated through her body and penetrated mine. Shannon and I were shit with words, and like everything else, we had to let them go. They worked for other people, but they failed us. I lavished attention on her breast until she thrashed below me. I covered it, hoping to capture that feeling, like I took a picture of it, before moving to the other nipple.

  Shannon wriggled underneath me, pushing her dress down her body. Giving me more of herself, inch by inch. Her legs bumped against my aching cock as she freed herself. Bare and breathless, she wasn’t patient. She pushed my shirt up, but it caught on my armpits, and I’d come crashing down on top of her if she went one more step. A light scrape of her fingernails against my stomach was almost enough to make that happen. My elbows bowed, and I came in for another kiss, but Shannon was faster. She scooted down and took my nipple in her mouth, repeating the move I did to her.

  Shivers racked my body. Her hand lay flat over my pounding heart for balance, as her soft little tongue darted out. It was usually the other way around—me giving everything I had to the person who paid for it and letting myself be forgotten. I rolled onto my back, hoping Shannon would follow.

  She did, exploring my chest with only her lips and tongue, tracing the lines of my tattoo and changing the meaning of the art. She stroked my cock through my pants. I groaned, but the sound didn’t belong to me. Everything I had was hers.

  Shannon kissed a line down the valley between my muscles. She sat up, with her face in shadow and the light from outside making her hair glow like she wore nothing but a halo. Her fingers trembled against my belt buckle, and if my brain was still connected to the rest of my body, I would help her.

  I lifted my hips, and she slid the pants down my legs. She wasn’t in a hurry anymore, letting her hair fall over her shoulder. It tickled my skin as she leaned in to take my cock deep in her mouth. She splayed her fingers over my stomach, and I slipped mine between them and squeezed, as she moved up and down on my shaft, holding it steady while she sucked my balls. Fuck. It had been too long since I had a blow job like this, with little kisses up the length until she reached the tip and licked me clean. If she only knew she drove me crazy… she’d keep doing it. And she did, soft and slow, enough to bring me to the brink, but never pushing me over the edge. She wouldn’t let me fall, because I’d drag her with me.

  With her hands on my hips to steady herself, she straddled me. Our gazes locked, and she’d never been so beautiful. Makeup smeared, hair wild, lips swollen—exposed and hovering over my cock. The city faded to black behind her. It didn’t matter if anyone could see into the apartment. Nothing else mattered but Shannon. She gripped my cock hard, jerking me out of my lust-drunk haze, and led me inside.

  Her muscles pulsed, fighting me every step of the way, but there was no denying what we both wanted. To be one, to fit into one place in this whole fucking world. Together.

  Shannon fell forward, caught herself on my shoulders, and kissed me, giving me the last pieces of her. It was the best present anyone ever gave me.

  20

  Shannon

  “Fuck.” Zach’s booming voice jolted me out of the best sleep I had in ages. He untangled his limbs from my body, and I scrambled for the sheet. Not because I was too shy to show myself in the unforgiving morning light, but because I was cold without him. “We’ve got to get our stuff to Jag’s or they’re leaving without it,” he said.

  I wasn’t ready to lift my head off the pillow yet. It had been almost light out when we finally exhausted ourselves. “What time is it? I need to get ready before you take my stuff away.”

  He’d better not try to pull any of that no-you-don’t-you-look-beautiful crap. Last night, we left nothing on the table, and I had to pull myself together before I met Leah’s parents for the first time. And Kari. Who always looked perfect. Not to mention I’d spent the night in bed with the guy she hired when she had nothing better going on.

  It was a little intimidating. I barely knew Kari, so we’d never talked about what she liked to do when she hired an escort. But it was like meeting someone’s ex.

  “Take what you need to get ready. I can fit some stuff in my saddle bags. He’s blowing up my phone, and I want to ride down there on the bike.” Zach crawled onto the bed, his muscles moving under his skin like those of a predator seeking his prey.

  If I wrapped my arms around him and gave myself to his kiss, we’d miss the wedding. “Me too.” My legs wobbled underneath me as I pulled the bare necessities out of my suitcase. I wasn’t high maintenance by anyone’s definition, but this wasn’t a day I wanted to start at a disadvantage. “Take it away.”

  “I like you like this.” Zach stepped forward, smirking. He’d gotten dressed while I’d dug through my suitcase, and I was still naked, clutching my makeup bag and my outfit for the day. He took it all away from me, starting with my sneakers. “After I get the bags to them, we don’t have to hurry. We can take our time getting down there. Starting with lunch. I’m starving.”

  “Me too.” I tugged on his T-shirt, wishing he wasn’t wearing it. “I was hoping we’d get to take a shower together.”

  He gripped my chin but didn’t kiss me. “The next two days, we can do whatever we want.”

  Yeah right.

  I headed into the shower. This thing was big enough for two, with multiple rain heads and plenty of room. My ex hated shower sex. He said I hogged all the hot water and he got cold. I did not want to be thinking of him today, of all days. I’d given him enough holidays. This one belonged to me.

  I leaned against the wall, wishing I waited for Zach. I closed my eyes, imagining the heat from the steam came from his body instead, and the drops of water were his fingers, his lips, everywhere on my body. My groan echoed through the stall, and I opened my eyes. I’d never felt more alone in my life. I slipped the washcloth between my legs, but it was no substitute for last night, when Zach’s tongue did a much better job. My muscles pulsed, and I promised myself we were having some serious shower sex once we got to Islamorada. In both hotel rooms.

  Zach had nothing in his refrigerator but leftover sushi and almond milk. I opened every cabinet until I found coffee and a mug. As I waited for the coffee to brew, I checked my messages and was surprised to find an e
mail from Insight magazine on Christmas Eve.

  Hi Shannon,

  Happy Holidays! Hope this email finds you surrounded by friends and family. Before I leave the office for the week, I wanted to give you the link to your True Confessions feature. Spread the word on social media. The editors are really excited about this, and they’ve got big things planned for you.

  I’ll check in with you in the New Year.

  Sincerely,

  Sonya Martinez, Lifestyle Editor

  I hugged my knees to my chest as I clicked the link, reading my own words in horror. The contract had mentioned my submissions would be edited, but I’d expected the chance to approve the changes. Or lack thereof.

  Episode One…

  The words didn’t belong to me anymore. I’d lost control of them. It was like reading a catty group message that shouldn’t have been sent as reply all. It was written like I saw my escort, as I called him, as an object and not a person. The article had dozens of comments, but I knew better than to read them.

  “Hey.”

  I jumped a mile when Zach walked in the door.

  “Where’d I bring you back from?” he asked.

  “I’m here.” I grabbed my full coffee mug from under the machine. I’d forgotten all about it.

  “What were you looking at?” He grabbed a mug and glanced at the phone. I prayed the screen had gone dark.

  “My passion project.” I took a sip of coffee, swallowing any trace of guilt. It scalded my tongue.

  He leaned against the counter beside me. “Are you ever going to tell me what that is?”

  I shook my head. “Nope. It’s a secret.” I expected him to pry, but Zach had been trusted with many people’s secrets. “What’s going on at Leah’s house?” I asked.

  “Chaos.” He grinned. “When’s the baby coming? It looks like a toy store blew up in there.”

  “April.”

  “Leah’s mom is trying to convince Leah, Jagger—hell, even me—to bring way too much stuff. Her dad’s cool. He’s in the middle of the mess, watching football. I may have to sneak away for a little while we’re down there. We made plans to watch a football game together. And her daughter’s just sitting there with her purple hair, looking like she wants to crawl into a hole.”

  All that sounded familiar. “At least you didn’t give my stuff to the wrong people.”

  “I think we made the right decision to do our own thing until tonight.” He got his own cup of coffee started. “Have you been to the Keys before?”

  I shook my head. “It’s a pretty long walk.”

  “You could’ve gone with Leah and Jag.” He shrugged. “I’m glad I get to show you everything. There’s only a couple ways we could go, but we’ll take the scenic route. Unless you have to be there to help Leah with stuff?”

  “Who do you think you’re messing with? It’s me and Leah; everything was done a week ago. Anything else, and we could be doing this professionally.”

  “Right.” He laughed, taking the first sip of his coffee. “Speaking of plans—do you think the new website will be ready to go live when we get back?”

  “Absolutely.” I shouldn’t be nervous, but I was. I wanted my work to make a difference. Everything I’d done was a wild card. There weren’t many resources to pull from. I relied heavily on SEO on search terms. The old agency would hopefully be the secret weapon, and I used it as a search term. I hoped it didn’t land Zach in hot water. Once I signed the contract with Insight, I used that as another search term. After reading the article, I hoped that decision didn’t land me in hot water. “Too bad we didn’t sell gift certificates for Christmas.”

  “You don’t miss a beat, do you?” He laughed. “Maybe next Christmas we can do that.”

  “I’ll put it on the list.” I already had the tagline. What do you get the friend who has everything? An escort.

  We had to make it through this Christmas first.

  “Before we go, I want to give you something.” He disappeared from the kitchen and came back moments later with a bag. He pushed it at me, and I’d swear his cheeks were flushed.

  “Thanks. I feel bad, I didn’t get you anyth—”

  “Shh.” He smirked, definitely red. “You’ve given me more than you know. Don’t think of it as a Christmas present. Think of it as a thank you. For taking a chance on a guy like me and his dead-in-the-water, barely legal business. For being funny and open minded and cute as hell. For wearing those damn sneakers with everything. You’d better wear them to the beach tomorrow. For being the sexiest woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of spending time with. And for turning a day I dreaded into one I’ll remember forever.”

  “You’re welcome doesn’t seem like enough.” A small, wrapped box was inside the bag. Like Zach, it had many layers to unwrap, and they were all beautiful. I pushed the paper away from a velvet box, freaking out for a minute that he was an all-or-nothing kind of guy, and there was a ring in there. I let out a sigh of relief when the box revealed a necklace. Not just any necklace, but a cameo on a velvet ribbon.

  “Keep doing what you’re doing.” He took the necklace out of the box, unclasped it, and fastened it around my neck. “I saw it at one of the little shops near the gallery, and it made me think of you when you’ve got your hair piled up on top of your head. Of you waiting for me in the dark. And I wanted you to have something new and pretty to wear tomorrow. Something to remind you of me.”

  I put my hand over it. The pendant was warm against my skin. “I love it.”

  He didn’t kiss me, and it was better that way. I had a feeling everything was going to remind me of Zach for a long time to come.

  I didn’t wear the necklace on the ride down. I was too afraid to lose it. Instead, I tucked it into my purse, which went into Zach’s saddle bag.

  “Anything you want to see?” he asked as he handed me a helmet. It was different than the one he gave me the night he drove me home from the bar, and it seemed new. Not that I knew much about motorcycle helmets. It wasn’t often that Zach was shy about anything, but that resonated in his smile. I didn’t have to ask if he bought this for me.

  “It’s still Christmas. That means it’s your choice.”

  He paused with his helmet ready to go over his head. Even with the shadow it cast, there was no mistaking the way his face lit up. “The whole trip?”

  I laughed, and he wriggled his eyebrows. “Within reason.”

  “What fun would that be?” He steadied the helmet on his seat and snaked his other hand into my ponytail. My go-to hairstyle was perfect for motorcycle travel. He leaned in close but stopped short of kissing me. His words were a whisper against my lips and made me want more. “Maybe I’ll bring you back to that beach and fuck you. Time for us to start making our own memories.”

  It was eighty degrees in the parking garage, but I shivered. “We could do it before the wedding.” That was one way to banish the image of me in a frilly white dress I couldn’t afford, standing in Leah’s place and smiling at my ex like an idiot. I’d stopped thinking of him as John. Just my ex. My own piece of baggage with which I could do what I wanted. I hoped I’d lose him somewhere on the side of the highway on this trip.

  Zach shook his head. “Jag picked this place. That means no one can find it on a map. I have to wait for him to lead the way.”

  Visualizing things to come during the wedding would be a perfect distraction. “I look forward to finding sand in places sand should never be.”

  The kiss finally came, but it was a quick peck on the cheek, the kind that lingered long after. “I’ve been thinking about fucking you on a beach since the first night I met you,” Zach said.

  He climbed on the bike, and the roar of the engine between my thighs did nothing to make that image go away. The motorcycle ride was a blessing and a curse. The open road with ocean on either side was beautiful, but it gave me too much time to be in my head.

  I still loved seeing palm trees. It didn’t matter how long I lived in Miami. That would never
change. I would never take the salt air for granted, or the fact that I was wearing a tank top outside on Christmas Eve.

  “Is this it?” I asked when Zach pulled into a parking lot. There were a bunch of brightly painted cottages in the background, but the focus of the lot was a restaurant. The beach was omnipresent. I liked that. It made me wonder how I’d lived so long so far from it.

  “Nope. We’ve still got about forty-five minutes to go. But there was no way I could bring you to the Keys and not stop here.” He tugged me in the direction of the restaurant. I’d never seen him this excited about anything. This free. He’d dropped his tough guy façade. This was Zach. The tingling in my tummy wasn’t hunger. It was butterflies.

  “Best conch fritters in the Keys,” he said as we joined the line. “Ever had them?”

  “I’m not even sure what they are.”

  He narrowed his eyes at me. “You poor, deprived child.” Then he laughed. “If you want something else, I understand, but I’m getting an order of those and a beer.”

  I scanned the menu overhead. It had been written in chalk, by someone who loved this place as much as Zach did, judging from the amount of detail they’d put into the design. “If you like it that much, I have to try it. But I’m going to go with the conch salad instead. I’ve been sympathy-eating up a storm with Leah. She keeps bringing frosted banana bread to work and I can’t not eat it. But I want to look hot when I’m naked in front of my new boyfriend.”

  I held my breath, waiting for his reaction to what I called him. My boyfriend.

  The lady in front of us turned and I couldn’t tell if the look she gave me was of disgust or encouragement. Zach raised his eyebrow and nodded at her. “He won’t be disappointed.”

  She whipped her head around and I laughed. She hadn’t been subtle, so no reason for me to be.

  “I hear your new boyfriend thinks women who drink beer with their salads are sexy,” he added. His eyes smoldered and I liked the way it sounded when he referred to himself as my boyfriend.