A Secret Between Friends: A New Zealand Sexy Beach Romance (Treats to Tempt You Book 6)

by Serenity Woods

  He didn’t say anything. He kissed each scar, gentle and loving, moved across to her stomach and touched his tongue to the graze. Then he kissed down her belly.

  Genie wiped away one of the tears that had escaped as he shifted on the bed. He settled between her thighs, and she felt the warmth of his breath on her sensitive skin. He slid his tongue down into her folds, and she closed her eyes and groaned.

  He stroked his thumb up through her inner lips and parted them with his fingers, and she felt the swirl of his tongue around her clit, warm and comforting. Aaah, was there anything as blissful as a man’s tongue teasing a girl to ecstasy? He continued to arouse her with slow, thorough licks, while at the same time using his fingers to circle and stroke. Once she’d fully relaxed, he slipped two fingers inside her, exploring with his expert touch. Bringing them up coated with her moisture, he made sure she was fully lubricated before sliding them back inside her, curving them to stroke the button on the inside and tease her further toward the edge.

  Pleasure began to spread through her, and she lowered a hand to his head, tightening her fingers in his hair. In response, he slowed the stroke of both his tongue and his fingers, drawing out the moment for her. She sighed and groaned alternately, her climax approaching as if from way off in the distance. Her thighs loosened, and Niall murmured his approval as she opened up to him, giving herself over to him completely.

  His warm tongue swirled and flicked across her clit while his fingers pressed and stroked, and deep inside her muscles began to tighten, the blissful feeling threading right through her body. Her fingers clenched of their own accord in his hair as the orgasm spread, smooth as melted chocolate, and she cried out, gasping with each pulse.

  The pleasure was just dying away when he removed his fingers, and she sighed with disappointment that it was over, wishing it could have gone on forever.

  But to her surprise he didn’t stop. Instead, he kissed down her legs to her feet, flicked his tongue over her ankle bone, then licked between each toe, making her giggle and twitch. Ignoring her protests, he did the same to the other foot, then kissed up her calves and thighs, slow and thorough. He trailed his lips up her stomach, between her breasts to her neck, and back to her lips, and plunged his tongue into her mouth, his own carrying the taste of her arousal.

  Finally lifting his head, he surveyed her with smiling eyes and twirled a finger in a circle. “On your front.”

  She knew she should take over now and return the pleasure he’d given her, but as she hesitated, he gave her a mock glare before demanding, “Turn. Over.”

  So she did, shifting onto her front, resting her cheek on her folded arms. “That was nice,” she said as way of encouragement. “Thank you.”

  He kissed her neck and touched his tongue to her ear. “Oh, we’re not done yet,” he whispered into it before pressing his lips to her nape and then proceeding down her spine.

  Ooh, another? Genie closed her eyes and sighed. This was turning out to be the absolute best day in the entire history of the world.

  Chapter Twenty

  Niall planted soft kisses around Genie’s neck, lifting her hair to touch his lips to her nape before travelling down her spine. She shivered as he traced his tongue across her skin, and he smiled, pleased she was enjoying herself.

  “You have the softest skin,” he said, brushing his lips down over her hips to her bottom. “Especially here.”

  “Soft as a baby’s,” she said with a sigh, giving a little wriggle of her hips as he nibbled at the plump muscle.

  “Mm.” He was hard as a rock, but he wanted to make this last, determined to draw out the moment as long as he could. He had the feeling once they left the lodge tomorrow she was going to say that was it, and they shouldn’t see each other again. Either that, or his guilt would overwhelm him, and he’d have to call it a day. This was a time out of time when the real world didn’t matter, when they could put aside their families and friends and concentrate on the desires of the flesh. Tonight, the worries of the next day could wait.

  He kissed down the backs of her thighs, drew circles with his tongue on the backs of her knees until she squirmed, then planted kisses up to her bottom. Parting her cheeks, he ran his tongue up, pausing briefly to tease the puckered skin there with the tip of his tongue. She squealed, and he laughed and continued kissing up her spine.

  “I knew you’d be wicked in bed,” she said breathlessly as he reached over to collect a condom and rolled it on.

  He lay on top of her, nudging up her left leg. “Normally, I’m not.” He slipped a hand down to guide himself between her thighs and into her hot, swollen flesh. “But you do something to me, Genie Sharpe. You bring out the animal in me.”

  She didn’t say anything, just rested her forehead on the pillow and lifted her hips so he could slide inside her. She was so wet that he was up to the hilt in one smooth thrust.

  They both groaned.

  “Jesus.” He paused, letting her adjust, and delighted in the feel of being enclosed in velvet heat.

  “Oh. You feel amazing.”

  “You too.” He nuzzled her ear, then kissed down her neck. Although her muscles were toned, every part of her felt soft, from her silky hair to her smooth skin. Pulling his hips back, he slid out of her until just the tip remained, then pushed forward again. The sensation of burying himself in her warmth was so fantastic he had to fight hard to hold onto his self-control.

  Steadying himself above her on both hands, making sure to avoid her bad knee, he set up a slow rhythm, wanting to give her time to reach another climax. It soon became clear he wouldn’t have to wait that long. She pushed back against every movement of his hips, and more and more moisture eased his thrusts. He loved how vocal she was too, every moan and sigh a confirmation he was on the right track.

  “Yes,” she said, and groaned. She lifted a hand to slip into his hair, catching her bottom lip between her teeth. “Harder.”

  That one word flicked a switch inside him, and he felt a rush of feral desire at the notion of owning this brave, sexy, passionate girl. He kissed down her neck, big, hungry kisses using his lips and tongue, and when he reached the place where her neck met her shoulders, he took a chance, sank his teeth lightly into the soft muscle, and sucked.

  She squealed. “Fuck! Niall!” Her fingers tightened in his hair, and he felt another flood of moisture around his erection.

  He thrust hard, as she’d instructed, and she dropped her hand and buried her face in the pillow. Lifting her hips, she widened her thighs and opened to him, and he lost himself in her, plunging into her soft flesh as his body took over and demanded fulfilment.

  He was vaguely aware of her orgasm overtaking her at one point when she clenched around him and emitted a string of oh oh ohs, but by then he couldn’t have stopped if an earthquake had struck. He continued to thrust until his climax slammed into him with the power of a steam train. Pushing forward, burying himself in her, he held on for dear life as his body tightened with exquisite pulses.

  His heart continued to race for a while, and he sank onto his elbows and nuzzled her ear until he was breathing normally and the room had stopped spinning.

  “Mm,” she said. “That was nice.”

  “Understatement of the year.” He should withdraw, but she was warm and comforting, and he wanted to stay there all night. “Thank you.”

  “Mm. Thank you.” She yawned, then moved her hips a little underneath him, tightening her internal muscles.

  “Ouch.” Sighing, he withdrew, disposed of the condom, and shifted onto the bed beside her.

  To his surprise, she immediately rolled toward him and curled up, an arm across his chest, her head on his shoulder. He hugged her close. “You okay?”

  “Mm.”

  “I didn’t hurt you?”

  She lifted her head and tried to look at the crook of her neck. Niall saw the red mark and winced. She rolled her eyes. “Thanks.”

  “Sorry.” He felt a twinge of guilt. Tamsin would
have gone ballistic if he’d done that to her.

  But Genie just laughed and snuggled up again. “Branding me, huh?”

  Relieved she wasn’t angry, he kissed her hair. “I like to leave my mark. Keep other dudes away from my women.”

  She chuckled. “Very territorial. I didn’t expect that.”

  “I’m not normally like that,” he said without thinking.

  She shifting to rest her chin on his chest and studied him. “No?”

  He didn’t reply. Lifting a strand of her hair, he curled it around his finger. It was soft and slippery, like silk ribbon. Tamsin’s hair had sometimes felt like straw.

  Letting it go, he lay back and rested his arm across his closed eyes. It wasn’t fair to compare the two women. Why was he doing it? Maybe it was because he’d had relatively few partners. If he was like Jonah, out with a different girl every five minutes, he’d have grown used to the way women were so different. The couple of girls he’d been with before Tamsin were distant memories, so he only really had his ex to compare to.

  It fascinated him how different Genie was. Tamsin was so thin, her ribs and hip bones had been clearly visible, and she’d had small breasts with pale nipples only a shade darker than her light skin. In contrast, although it was clear that Genie was used to physical exercise, her toned form was curvy and feminine, her C cup breasts bearing attractive rosy nipples. Did it make him a terrible person to compare them and find Tamsin wanting? He wondered if he’d ever get over the guilt he felt at breaking up with her. She’d cried so much. He doubted that her accusation of him wasting the best years of her life would ever leave him.

  “It’s okay,” Genie said, causing him to open his eyes.

  “What?”

  “It’s okay. To think about Tamsin. It’s natural, Niall. Don’t worry about it.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “What makes you think she’s on my mind?”

  Genie shrugged. “Women’s intuition.” She traced a pattern through the hairs on his chest. “Do you think you’ll get back with her?”

  Her words implied she wasn’t expecting to see him again after this.

  “No,” he said, his sharp tone betraying his disappointment. “Tamsin and I are done.”

  Genie pressed her lips to his chest and held them there for a moment, nuzzling the curling hairs. What was she thinking?

  She sat up and turned, then pushed herself up. “Back in a sec.” She limped into the bathroom and closed the door.

  Niall looked out at the evening sky. The sun had set completely now and the dark sky was filled with pinpricks of light. He could see Orion’s belt, and Betelgeuse flashing red not far away.

  Would she want him to go to his own room to sleep? Not wanting to assume anything, he got up and left the room to find his toothbrush, went into the other bathroom to clean his teeth, then found a clean pair of boxers in his bag and put them on.

  Finally he went back to the front bedroom. Genie had stripped the thick quilt off the bed leaving just a sheet, but was currently standing by the window, naked, looking out at the sea.

  He cleared his throat. “Well, I guess it’s bedtime.”

  She looked over her shoulder at him, then raised a hand to beckon him close. He walked over to her, and she slipped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest.

  He hugged her. “You okay?”

  She nodded and pulled back. “Niall…”

  “Mm?”

  “You want to sleep in here tonight?”

  Pleasure spread through him. “Sure.”

  “Just for company,” she said. “I miss sleeping with someone.”

  “Yeah, me too. Come on, then.”

  They climbed into bed and pulled the sheet over them. Genie faced away from him, and he pulled her up close, keeping her tight to his body. She fit perfectly, like she had been made to be there.

  “Sleep well,” he said, fighting the urge to nuzzle her neck and push his hips against her butt.

  She mumbled something, but he couldn’t make out what it was, and soon he was asleep.

  *

  He woke sometime in the night. He’d rolled over and was facing the window. They’d forgotten to draw the curtains, and the sky was full of thousands of bright stars. Outside, a kiwi cried in the bush, high and mournful. Was that what had awoken him?

  Beside him, Genie twitched, and he shifted and turned to face her. Her face was in shadow, but he could tell by her breathing that she was dreaming. When he moved to let the starlight fall on her face, he was alarmed to see beads of sweat on her forehead, her features twitching with pain.

  She mumbled something, quiet and unintelligible, and twitched again. A bad dream, then. He reached out and smoothed her hair from her face, murmuring consoling words, trying to comfort her. She was obviously too deeply entrenched to be reached, though. Her eyelids flickered, and her head tossed from side to side.

  Should he wake her? He called her name softly and shook her shoulder. What was she seeing—the accident all over again?

  She twitched once more, and then she cried out, loud enough to startle him. Her eyelids flew open, and where his hand rested on her ribcage, he felt the frantic pounding of her heart.

  “Hey. It’s okay.” He gathered her into his arms and stroked her hair. “It’s all right. It’s Niall. You’re safe.”

  To his shock, though, she turned her face against his shoulder, pressing a hand to her mouth to stifle her sobs.

  “Ssh,” he said. “It was just a dream. I’m here.”

  “I couldn’t save her,” she whispered. “I couldn’t save her.”

  So she was dreaming about Ciara. His gut twisted. “It’s okay. Go back to sleep.”

  She mumbled something, then gradually stilled. It wasn’t long before her breathing quietened. She’d dozed off again, if she’d ever truly woken up.

  Niall lay awake for a long time, though, thinking about what she must have gone through, sad that it wasn’t over yet for her. It wasn’t her fault that she’d survived when Ciara hadn’t. Sinead’s accusation must really be getting to her.

  He sighed and closed his eyes, relieved that her breathing had slowed, and eventually he fell asleep.

  When morning came, Genie said nothing about the nightmare. Not wanting to bring it all back to her, he didn’t mention it either as they showered and dressed, then packed their things.

  He did notice her limp was worse, and when it was time to leave, she was walking with the cane again.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The trip back to Beck’s house felt oddly awkward. Genie held her tongue and looked out of the window, conscious that beside her Niall was quiet, although he did smile and reach out to hold her hand at one point.

  So much remained unsaid between them, but she didn’t know where to start to discuss it. It had been a fantastic day and an even better evening, and she wanted to ask him if he’d like to see her again while she was home, but for some reason the words wouldn’t form on her lips.

  Had she made a mistake in going to bed with him? It was difficult to come to that conclusion when it had been so great, but at least before they’d actually had sex she’d been able to convince herself he couldn’t possibly be as good in reality as he was in her head.

  The truth had been quite the opposite. Making love—or, rather, having sex, she reminded herself sternly—with Niall Brennan had surpassed anything she’d been able to conjure up in her dreams. She’d suspected he’d be tender and respectful, with a layer of passion running beneath it that would hopefully overtake him when he got carried away.

  She hadn’t expected that passion to set her alight until they were both consumed by flames. He’d been surprisingly demanding, a tad aggressive and forceful, and the combination had made her dizzy with desire. When she’d suggested getting together while they were away, she’d expected he’d agree because he was a guy and she was offering free sex, but she’d hoped the attraction she’d felt for him had been reciprocated even if only a little
bit.

  The way he’d taken her, though, the fierce passion he’d shown… He’d made her feel desired and wanted, and it had seemed as if he too were fulfilling a dream he’d had for many years.

  In the cold light of day, though, the girlish fantasies that had swirled in her head as she’d fallen asleep had turned to ash by morning. She’d had another nightmare about Ciara in the night, and when she’d awoken, Sinead’s words had kept ringing in her head. It’s your fault Ciara’s dead. It’s your fault Ciara’s dead. She’d been unable to shake the guilt, and it made it worse that she’d just slept with Sinead’s son. To top it all, he’d been distant and a little cool with her, although she wasn’t sure why. Perhaps the guilt had got to him too.

  “You won’t tell anyone about last night, will you?” She scratched her cheek. “Especially your mum.” She wasn’t sure she could deal with Sinead’s anger right now.

  Niall’s lips twitched in a wry smile. “Of course not. I would like to keep my balls intact.”

  “Ha. I mean it.” She wore a checked shirt, and where the material lay on her jeans, she concentrated on counting the checks. White, blue, white, blue, two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve…

  He caught her hand gently in his own. “Okay. It’ll be a secret between friends, eh?”

  “Yeah.” That was all it was. Nothing more than that.

  “What about the rest of the bucket list?” He turned the car into Beck’s road. “Are you going to carry on with it?”

  “I’d like to.” She hesitated as he pulled up and put on the handbrake. “Are you…um…do you still want to join me?” He turned his light green eyes on her, heating her up from the inside out at the memory of his mouth on hers, the slide of him inside her. She blinked to break the spell. “You don’t have to, but if you do, it would be nice…” She was waffling now, and she bit her lip to shut herself up.

  He smiled. “Sure. Come on, why don’t we choose the next item?”

  “Okay.” Feeling a bit happier, she got out of the car, retrieved her cane, and went to the back to lift out her bag. Niall held out a hand.