“You’re cold,” he said, glancing over his shoulder. “I’ll show you the beach tomorrow, in the sun.”
“Tomorrow?”
His footsteps halted in the sand, and with agility I didn’t really think he had, Carter pulled me off his back and around his body so my legs were wrapped around his waist and we were face to face.
“I’m not letting you go tonight. Tonight, you’re mine.”
I lifted my chin. “Will you toss me back out to sea if I tell you no?”
He smiled. “Are you going to tell me no?”
My stare dropped to his lips.
“I didn’t think so,” he retorted and started walking again.
He carried me down a sandy path through some tall grass and flowers. The air was fragrant here with whatever bloomed nearby and the unmistakably salty air. When we got closer to the house, lit torches lined the path, creating a warm glow against the stark-white sand.
“You live here all alone?” I was amazed.
“I like my privacy.”
I pulled back to look into his face. “But you brought me here.”
He stopped walking again, pinning me with those endless dark eyes. “I must like you, too.”
I kissed him this time, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck and arching into his body. His hands tightened where he held me, his tongue stroking into my mouth and making me moan.
Without breaking the scorching kiss, he carried me up some steps, across the deck, and into the house. We broke apart for a second. Carter tilted his mouth in another direction, and then he was kissing me again.
Sensation after sensation rolled over me, muddling my thoughts and stealing my breath.
The soft hum of an overhead fan buzzed in my ears, and suddenly, he was draping me across a bed with blankets so soft I sank into them.
He rose beside me on his knees, towering over me with dangerous intensity. I watched by the light of the moon shining in through the windows as Carter peeled the shirt off his body and tossed it away.
His body was long and lean. There wasn’t much softness to him. The wide set of his shoulders drew my eyes again and again. When he leaned down, I clutched his biceps, offering up my lips and letting him consume them. My legs were trembling when his pouty, full lips dragged down my neck and across my collarbone.
With a deep growl that made my stomach flip, he sat up again, staring down with glittering eyes. With deliberate slowness, Carter unbuttoned the shirt around me one button at a time.
With every new button released, he would start at the top, dragging his finger down the center of my chest, caressing the bare skin, until he reached the next button that needed undoing.
By the time he pulled the shirt apart, I felt flushed and overheated. My chest heaved upward when he peeled it the rest of the way off and threw it to the floor.
Lying beside me, our bare skin brushed together. Nuzzling my ear and neck, that large hand of his covered my breast and squeezed.
A low sound built in my throat, and I turned my face toward his so we could lock lips again. He kissed me until I couldn’t think, until I thought perhaps his tongue was mine. My lips were swollen, my limbs completely slack.
I don’t know how, but this man owned me so quickly that if I’d been able to think, I might have been scared.
At last, he moved between my legs, holding his weight on his arms.
“What’s my name?” he asked, his voice low and rough.
“Carter,” I answered, reaching up to cup his jaw.
Lips closed around my nipple, and his palm went to the apex of my thighs. I was ready and drenched, literally quivering for relief.
My hands shook as they trailed over his body, marveling at the dips and curves, getting drunk on the restrained power he exuded.
When his mouth left and he rose above me again, I tried to grab him back. His low chuckle made my teeth sink into my lower lip as I watched him quickly cover himself with protection.
Those large hands covered my thighs, pushing them apart, opening me wide. Between us, he palmed the erection standing proud and stroked it only once.
The second I felt his sleek, hard head brush over my core, I moaned. One arm slid between me and the mattress, pulling me firmly against his naked chest. He whispered my name at the same moment he thrust into my body.
Pleasure unlike anything I’d ever known before erupted over my entire being, blocking out absolutely everything else. Everything was suddenly condensed down to the way he felt moving inside me, how incredibly hard and throbbing he was.
Bracing himself above me, Carter started to move more urgently, spearing me again and again until I could barely breathe. As I gasped, he lowered to capture my mouth, twisting his tongue against mine.
Pushing deep, I felt my body begin to splinter. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pulled him closer, holding on like I was afraid I’d somehow fly away.
Cupping the back of my neck, he pulled me in and thrust again, rocking gently deep inside me.
Light burst behind my eyes, and my body bucked up against his. He used his body to hold me down while sensation after sensation ripped me apart in the best way. I moaned, and his lips caught the sound.
Eventually, my body went completely boneless, and I collapsed against the bed. Carter rose over me again and began to move.
Even though I’d already been ripped apart with immeasurable pleasure, incredibly, it rose within me again. The second a growl built up in his throat, I knew he was about to spill over. Seeing the corded muscles in his neck and the way his eyes glittered made me bold.
Reaching around, I grabbed his butt and pushed him so deep we both cried out.
We fell at the same time, bodies convulsing together and the room filled only with the sound of gasps.
When he was able, he rolled off to the side, arms flinging across the wide mattress. Scooting closer, I pillowed my cheek on his chest. Almost like he was surprised, he glanced down. Gazing up, I asked without words if it was okay.
He answered without words as well, putting a hand against the back of my head and pulling me closer.
Carter
I wrapped my hand around her ankle and dragged her toward the edge of the bed. She made a sleepy sound and reached for me, but I avoided her touch. Slipping my arms beneath her, I lifted Nora and the sheet tangled around her into my arms.
“Where are we going?” she asked, pressing a kiss against my bare shoulder.
I didn’t answer. Instead, I just went across the room and stepped out the large sliders onto the private deck. Sitting down with her in my lap in the single chair outside, I tucked the sheet around our naked bodies and hitched a chin toward the view.
“Look.”
Nora lifted her head. “Wow,” she mused. “It’s so beautiful.”
The sky was just awakening as the sun rose behind the endless ocean. Pink and peach clashed on the horizon, painting the water line in glowing shades. Clouds spread up toward the heavens and the blossoming sun’s rays sparkled on the ever-moving water, making it glitter.
Palm trees filled the island and grew right around the house, their waving fronds sort of like a frame for the sunrise filling the horizon.
“You get to see this every day,” Nora said, staring.
“Usually, I’m still asleep.”
“Mm, sleep.”
I made a sound. “You can sleep on the plane tonight.”
Tearing her eyes off the sunrise, she glanced behind her at me. “You really listened to everything we said.”
“You’re noisy.”
She turned back to the view, and I put an arm around her from behind, pulling her into my body.
“How often do you do this sort of thing?” she asked a little while later.
“Does it matter?”
She didn’t reply, and we sat there until the sun looked like a giant ball of fire resting right on the ocean.
The light wind blew, pushing the blond strands of her hair off her bare shoulder.
Her skin was so creamy, I couldn’t resist leaning forward and sucking it into my mouth.
Her head tilted to the side, allowing me greater access, so I reached around her body to wrap my hand gently around the front of her neck.
I kissed and nipped at the skin, making her shiver. When I started to pull away, she reached around and pulled my head back, holding it there until my lips latched on again.
I sucked on her skin until she was satisfied and her arm slid away. Lifting my head, I saw the already deepening mark my mouth had left behind.
Something about leaving that mark on her skin made me satisfied in a bone-deep sort of way. Nora turned in my lap, grabbing my face and kissing me thoroughly. As we kissed, I peeled the sheet off her body, exposing her naked flesh.
Wind from the ocean blew around us, and the rustling sound of palms overhead seemed to be the music to the desire pounding in my veins. I didn’t know how I could still want her. I’d already claimed her three times.
I don’t know how my body kept responding, but this good girl had awakened something primal inside me, and as long as she was in my hands, I would want to claim her over and over.
Abruptly, I stood, picking her up with me. The sheet fell at my feet, and my lips locked around her breast. Nora arched into me with a purr as I sucked and licked at the hard pebble.
Impatient and demanding, I swung her down to her feet. Swiftly, I spun her so she was facing the view and her back was to me.
“Don’t move,” I ordered as I turned and went to retrieve a condom from the nightstand.
Gripping her hips, I walked until I could place her hands on the railing, then covered them with mine.
My already throbbing cock nudged her ass, causing a swift intake of her breath.
“Someone might see.”
“This is my island,” I rasped, nudging her again. “No one else is here.”
Reaching around, I slid my fingers into her center, finding the secret spot. Her knees buckled, and I wrapped an arm around her waist.
“Spread them,” I whispered in her ear.
Nora planted her feet farther apart and lifted her round ass in the air.
Gripping her hips, I pushed inside her, and we both hissed.
I fucked her hard and fast on the balcony, leaving finger marks on her hips. She cried my name like it was a chant, and I grinded against her bare ass like a hungry wolf.
Her shout of pleasure was carried by the wind out to sea, and when she collapsed toward the ground, I held her up until I emptied every last ounce of satisfaction I had left inside me.
We sat completely naked in the chair, the sheet long forgotten, until I trusted my legs to hold us up. Only then did I carry her into the shower, where we played beneath the spray.
Both of us dressed in robes, we exited to find a tray filled with fruit and pastries, along with a pot of coffee and fresh cream.
I watched her fill a plate and bring it over to me, still intrigued by everything she did. I grabbed her hand when she turned away.
“Am I not allowed to eat?” she asked, playful.
“I’ll share.” I pulled her down on the bed, and we fed each other fruit until the plate was empty.
We took our coffee out onto the beach, me dressed in a pair of shorts and her in nothing but my white silk shirt.
The sand was warm beneath our toes, and her bold hair looked like golden fire underneath the morning sun.
We didn’t talk much on the boat ride back to the resort, even though it was only her and me. At the dock, I tied the boat and lifted her out of the craft so she was standing right in front of me.
“Thank you for pulling me out of the water last night. I’m pretty sure you saved my life.”
Slipping my arms around her, I indulged us both with one last kiss. It was long and thorough, reaching all the way down to bone.
When I pulled back, she caught my lip and sucked it into her mouth, lifting up on tiptoes to kiss me long and hard.
Nora was smiling when she pulled back, her blue eyes dancing with mischief. “Thanks for the shirt,” she said and started to walk away.
“Hey,” I called out, and she tilted her head in reply. “You figure it out yet? The difference between a dream and a fantasy?”
Lifting the collar of my shirt, she ducked her chin inside. After a moment, a smile lit her eyes, and the shirt fell back into place.
“You!” she called out.
Chuckling, I crooked my finger, and she came running. I caught her in midair, her legs wrapping around my waist. “You forget about that ex yet?” I asked against her lips.
“Who?” she asked blankly.
I watched her walk away, the silk of my shirt molding against her curves.
Just when I thought she wouldn’t turn back, she did, and it made me smile.
“Thanks for the fling!” she yelled, and people nearby stopped to stare.
I laughed and got back into my boat.
She might be a good girl, but she sure as hell knew how to misbehave.
Nora
It rained last night. The streets were still damp and puddles dotted the sidewalks. It wasn’t a refreshing kind of rain, though. It was the kind that left the air humid and sticky. Honestly, there weren’t many refreshing rainstorms here in the South, but even if there were, I probably wouldn’t have noticed.
There was only one type of rain for me now.
Water splashed the backs of my calves as I jogged over the sidewalk, pulling open the café door. The strong scent of coffee and the sound of grinding beans welcomed me as I casually wiped the bottom of my sneakers on the large rug by the door.
Valerie waved at me from the line and pointed to a table someone was vacating. Nodding, I went to grab it, tossing my bag in one of the empty chairs and sitting beside it.
A few minutes later, Val dropped into the chair across from me, holding a cup in each hand. “Seriously, Nor?” She complained. “Again?”
I glanced up. “Huh?”
My best friend offered a coffee across the table while giving me a sour look. Following her expression, I glanced down at myself and held back a grimace.
“What?” I asked innocently. “It’s comfortable.”
“Yeah, you’re wearing that because it’s comfortable.”
I cleared my throat and lifted the cup to my lips. The movement caused the silk material to graze against my arm like a teasing caress. Tingles of memory shot along my spine, making my stomach dip. I took another sip of the coffee, using it as a shield while I held on to the feeling for a second longer.
“It rained last night.” Valerie’s voice was all-knowing.
Making a sound, I put the cup down. “I never should have told you that.”
“Please,” she said, arrogantly. “Even if you hadn’t told me all the details from that night, I would have known because you wear the shirts you stole from him all the time.”
“I didn’t steal them,” I muttered, fingering a button on the front.
One dark eyebrow arched dramatically over Val’s eye.
Okay, fine. Maybe I stole one of them. The one I spilled the drink all over. But the stain came out, so what was I supposed to do? Throw away a genuine silk shirt?
What a waste.
And the one I was wearing now—the white one I’d worn when I was with him—well, he’d given it to me.
Besides, it looked really good partially unbuttoned with a lace bodysuit underneath and tied at the waist over a pair of cut-off denim shorts.
Val leaned across the table toward me. “Did you dream about him last night?”
Of course I did. Every single time it rained, I dreamed of Carter. Of that night. I was beginning to think that for the rest of my life, the rain would only ever serve as a vivid reminder of him.
When I didn’t answer, she sighed. “Like I even need to ask. You’re sitting over there half dazed and wearing his clothes.”
I wondered how ballistic Valerie would go if I told her I dreamed about Carte
r even when it wasn’t raining.
“You’re terrible at one-night stands, Nora,” she announced. The girls at the table nearby snickered.
“Oh my God!” I whispered, sitting forward. “You have the loudest mouth of anyone ever.”
Valerie shrugged, not the least bit offended. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
I groaned.
“Ashamed? Who’s ashamed?” someone asked, pulling out the seat beside me.
My back stiffened, and Valerie practically snarled. “Get lost.”
“Nice to see you, as always, Valerie,” Alan said, picking up the bag I’d put on the chair and dropping it on the floor so he could sit down.
“Hey!” I sat forward so I could lean down and pick my stuff up off the floor.
“Leave it,” he said, brushing my arm away. “I have news.”
“Shouldn’t you go share that news with people who care?” Val quipped.
Alan turned his blue eyes to me. “Nora cares, don’t you, Nora?”
“No,” I answered, not having to think about it. “I think I’ve made it clear that I don’t.”
Alan draped an arm across the back of my chair and leaned in. I used to like when he did that. It made me feel secure, like he cared about me. I knew now it was just his way of claiming ownership over me. Of using the way I felt to control me.
“How long are you going to punish me, sweetheart?” he asked as if he were in pain. “I said I was sorry.”
“You think saying sorry makes up for you being a giant, cheating dick?” Valerie declared.
Again, the girls at the nearby table snickered.
“You’re so crude.” Alan sneered at my friend.
Pushing his arm off the back of my chair, I scooted away. “I’m not your sweetheart. And we aren’t together anymore.”
Seriously, though, when was he going to get the hint?
I took another sip of my coffee, deliberately looking away from my ex, wondering for probably the thousandth time if I hadn’t had that one night in paradise, would I be this resolute about Alan?
Would I have already taken him back? Would we be back in the same pattern of him being a giant jerk face and me making excuses for him?
Mr. Fantasy: (A standalone romance) Page 4