by Meg Maguire
He nearly shut the door before seeming to recall her request from the night before. He opened it again, inviting in the smell and sounds of the ocean.
“So. We’ve defiled your beach, your shower, your hot tub, your bed.... Anywhere else you want to have your way with me?”
She put a finger to her chin, pretending to consider. “We’ve covered all my bases. What about your truck? Cabin of the plane?”
He stepped close, smiling.
“Your hammock?” she suggested. “Or whatever it is you sleep in.”
He kissed her and Leigh lost the will to banter. They both knew it was bed or bust. She let the idea percolate a moment...honeymoon suite. Sans husband, which only made it more forbidden and thrilling. She pulled back again, grinning at him.
“What?”
“Hang on.” She returned to the patio, fetching their glasses. Carrying them inside, she passed Will and headed for the kitchen. “Follow me.”
She poured out their chardonnay and opened the fridge, sliding the bottle of champagne from its special slot in the door.
He watched as she unwound the metal cage from the cork, then he put his hand out. “That’s a man’s job.”
Leigh passed it over.
“Before I open this, what are we toasting?”
“My honeymoon.” For a second she wished she could take it back, wanting to give Will no reason to think he wasn’t the only man on her mind. But he merely grinned.
“Your honeymoon?”
“Yes. To it going far better than expected.”
His gaze darted to the open bedroom door, and she knew he was imagining the same guilty pleasures she was. “If you’re willing to pretend to play the part of my husband, that is.” Why did the idea fill her chest with such a floating, weightless sensation? The wine’s fault, surely.
Will twisted the cork until it popped, vapor rising from the bottle. “At the rate I’m going, this may be the only honeymoon I get.”
“Don’t be stingy,” Leigh directed as he poured. They clinked their glasses and drank, the fizz of the wine just right, matching the excitement bubbling through her body.
They kissed between sips, and Leigh decided this was how champagne ought to be enjoyed—off the lips of one’s clandestine lover.
When they set their empty glasses aside, she offered Will a mischievous look and started toward the bedroom.
“Wait, wait, wait.” He jogged to catch up. “You’re skipping the most important bit.” He caught her behind the knees, hauling her up into his arms.
“Oh yes, the threshold. You’re awfully good at this. You’re sure you haven’t been a groom before?”
“Quite sure. But it never hurts to practice.” He carried her through the door and dumped her unceremoniously across the bed.
“Not the smoothest landing,” Leigh teased, sitting up.
“Emergency situation. Very urgent. Do we have any...?”
“Bathroom, top drawer.”
Will returned with a fistful of foil-wrapped condoms.
“Ambitious,” Leigh said.
He merely smiled, setting them on the nightstand. He looked around the room for a moment, spotting the shelf above the other bedside table, arranged with candles. He got the pillars lit and switched off the lights.
“You don’t have to seduce me,” she teased. “I’ll go without a fight.”
“On the contrary. This is your honeymoon, Miss Bailey. Or are you Mrs. Burgess now?”
“No, you’re Mr. Bailey. We’re a very progressive couple.”
“That’s Captain Bailey to you, Mrs. Burgess.”
Crawling over the bedspread, Will covered her body with his. Everything felt right—the heat coming off his bare chest, her wet swimsuit against the dry linens. He planted his knees between hers and nudged them wide, dropping to his elbows, their faces so close their noses touched.
Leigh wished she knew the perfect thing to say...something intimate, something like “I love you,” but for casual lovers. She settled for, “This is very nice.”
He kissed her chin. “Yes, it is.”
“I...I’m very fond of you.”
He pulled back enough to let her see his broad smile. “Are you? You must be terribly drunk. I like that in a woman.”
She swatted his arm.
“I’m very fond of you, too,” he said, then lowered to swipe his lips against hers.
Satisfied on the sweet-nothings front, Leigh let more carnal needs assert themselves. She ran her hands down his back, relishing the feel of his shoulders, the twin ridges of muscle flanking his spine, the firm shapes of his hips and backside. He brought their bodies closer, close enough for his erection to brush her mound and set her pulse pounding.
“Will.”
He kissed her, deep, sensual sweeps of his tongue that matched the stroke of his cock. As she wrapped her legs around his waist, his moan warmed her lips. He angled his hips, his hard length taunting her through their damp layers. She slid her hands under his waistband to memorize the motions as he thrust, and imagine how he’d feel when he was actually making love to her. No, no—having sex with her, she corrected. Very, very fond sex.
“What do you want?” he whispered.
“Just you.”
“That’s encouraging. But we’re not in any hurry....”
“What about you? You can have just about anything you want, Will.”
He pushed up, bracing his arms by her sides. “What I want is to wreck you for every other man you’ll ever meet. Any tips on how to go about that?”
She laughed. “You’re a pilot living in a tropical paradise. You’re quite tough to top as it is.”
“What’s your favorite thing? In bed?”
She frowned thoughtfully. Having Will here, excited and exciting, was the greatest turn-on she’d ever experienced. “I’m not especially adventurous, to be honest. I just like feeling all...crazy, with you. And making you pant. That’s very sexy. Tell me how I can drive you insane.”
“The fact that we’re not naked yet is a good start. But if you mean the good kind of insane, I say we lose the clothes and roll around. And when it looks like you’ve made me wait so long I might have a heart attack, then you’ll have reached your goal.”
Liking this idea, Leigh arched her back and angled her arm to get her top untied. Will lifted it away and tossed it to the floor. For a long minute he spoiled her with caresses, thrilled her with his hungry gaze. When he finally bent down to take her in his mouth, her need went from romantic to aggressive in an instant. She held his head and stroked his hair, admiring his face, so placid with his eyes closed. She tried to imagine another expression, the one he’d wear when he took her, and the seconds before his pleasure came to a peak. All those noises she’d heard when she’d been before him on her knees in the sand. The memory of how he’d tasted from the ocean had her mouth watering.
Will slid farther down the bed, trailing kisses from her ribs to her navel, her hip bone, the outside of her thigh. His touch felt at once familiar and new as he dragged her bottoms down her legs. Settling on his forearms between her knees, he slipped one hand beneath her butt, the other grazing the crease of her innermost thigh. He brought his mouth mere millimeters from her sex, so close she felt his warm breath when he spoke.
“I’ve been imagining this for ages.”
“Since two nights ago, you mean.”
She could just make out his smile. “Feels like an eternity.”
Any reply she had evaporated when his lip touched her clit. She fisted his hair, earning a noise of distinct, happy approval.
Leigh shut her eyes, filled her head with fantasies. As Will’s tongue traced the seam of her sex, she conjured the vision of his naked body, of soapy water sliding down his chest and stomach. She’d
dated few men, all of them sexy in their own ways, but none like Will. He had no constructed style, no self-conscious image, and he only seemed more like himself with his clothes off. She’d never gotten so hot, merely picturing a man’s bare body before.
As his tongue teased her clit with firm, slick sweeps, she imagined him above her, penetrating her. She’d gotten a taunting taste the night before of how he might be—frantic yet masterful—and she hoped it was an accurate preview. Remembering what he’d said, she felt a flush of pride to believe he’d never done this before, been in one of the villa’s extravagant beds.
Will kept his tongue teasing, and the hand that had been idly kneading her thigh inched closer, closer, until she felt his fingertips at her entrance. She heard him suck in a breath, evidence of his surprise or excitement when he found her wet for him. Her body gave no resistance as he slid two fingers inside, then a third. He eased them deep, then drew them out, over and over, and she replaced them with his cock in her mind’s eye.
“I want you,” she murmured.
This time when he spoke, his breath felt cool against her overheated clit. “I want you, too.”
She smiled to herself. “It was supposed to be me who was driving you crazy right now.”
He laughed. “You don’t think you are?”
“Prove it.”
Will spoiled her rotten with his mouth for another minute, then rose to his knees between her legs. The bulge in his shorts looked hard and heavy. He smiled at her and ran his hand along his ridge. “This enough proof for you?”
“More than enough.” More than enough waiting, as well.
Will seemed to agree. He got out of bed, easing his shorts over his erection and kicking them away. His body was gorgeous in the warm light, strong and sexy and perfect.
He knelt before her, and for a dangerous moment, she imagined this was her honeymoon, this man really her husband. He would never bore her, never steer them into a life governed by bills and obligations and the other hallmarks of a typical, mundane existence. He’d keep her on her toes, fly her wherever she wished to explore. He’d take her to bed in some remarkable little home on the mainland, a tropical breeze pushing the curtains in. Swimming, laughing, being lazy, making love.
Love. A scary, wonderful word she didn’t dare assign to a man she barely knew. No, this was infatuation—the hottest of new loves, more thrilling than a mere crush, more primal and urgent than the slow transformation of friends to lovers.
Will’s face had changed in a most alluring way...that heaviness in his lids, that parting of his lips.
“Are you crazy yet?” she asked.
“Certifiably.”
She reached to the bedside table and handed him a condom, keeping her eyes on his ready cock as he wrestled the rubber from its fancy foil packaging. Even the way he sheathed himself was a perfect seduction, three seconds that felt like an hour’s torturous wait. As he lowered his body to hers, time stood still. Every tiny detail—the dip of the mattress, the smell of his skin and the lubricant of the condom, the heat of his breath—coalesced to make this the most erotic moment of her life.
“Ready?” His tone was soft and sincere, with no teasing for a change.
She nodded. “I’m ready.”
“You’re nearly ready,” Will corrected. He turned her head on the pillow and tugged the elastic from her bun, then mussed her hair. “There. Perfect.”
Leigh ran her hands down his body, paying extra close attention to the firm crests of his abdomen and the groove of his hips. She swept the backs of her fingers along the underside of his cock and Will groaned. He reached between them to fist his shaft, guiding himself to her lips.
“Will.”
He eased the first two inches inside.
Longing turned to lust in a flash, and she drew her short nails up his back. His hips bucked, giving her half his length as he swore.
“More,” she whispered.
He drew himself out, the second taste of penetration as hot as the first. This time he gave her more, enough for her to be sure she’d never been with a man this big before.
“Feels amazing,” he murmured, his attention fixed between their bodies.
She tugged at his sides. “More.”
He withdrew and took her to the same depth again, again. Finally, when her nails bordered on clawing, he sank deep, until they met utterly, belly to belly, hip to hip. She shut her eyes and steeped herself in the moment, memorizing the tiny pulsations beating between them.
Without warning, he turned them onto their sides, holding her top leg tight to his waist. His thrusts started small and slow, with kisses to match. As the kissing deepened, his cock grew insistent, his strokes turning long and explicit.
She freed her mouth to take a breath. “God, Will.”
“Leigh.” He pulled away to steal a glance between their bodies, looking as disbelieving as she was that this could feel as right as it did.
With his rhythm steady, she joined in, complementing his thrusts with the movements of her hips. Her body’s demands excited him, and she gasped when he turned them again, her on top. She sat upright, and had to smile at the view—of this strong and shameless man looking so helpless beneath her.
She settled herself atop him, finding the right place for her knees so she could slide all the way off, then take every inch back inside. She listened to his moans and sighs, and watched him watching her.
“Give me your hands,” she said, beckoning.
Will raised his arms, letting her interlace their fingers and use his hands for balance as she rode him. She took his cock at a sharp angle, the friction of his shaft against her clit transforming her from excited to wild.
“God, Leigh.” His words were followed by a groan, his strained expression proof that he wanted this as badly as she did. As something beyond mere sex. Something powerful and pure.
Their palms grew slick. As she neared release her strokes turned frantic.
Will’s gaze was pained, but his voice strong. “Please.”
She let herself go, concentrating on how good he felt inside her, how right. The pleasure became a harsh streak, heating her sex and belly and chest, flashing bright each time her clit stroked his cock. She felt him suppressing thrusts of his own, hips shifting beneath her. Her breath grew shallow as the sensations pooled between her thighs, hot and demanding.
“Don’t stop.”
No chance. She rode him fast as the pleasure mounted, until the sensation and the need to release was greater than she’d ever felt before. “Will.”
“Please.”
The climax pulled her under and turned her inside-out, seconds of exquisite bliss that felt they went on far longer. Better even than the pleasure was the sound of Will losing control beneath her. As she came down from the rush, she felt his fingers between hers, heard his labored breaths.
“Did you...?” she asked.
“Not yet.”
“On top,” she murmured.
Will nodded and let her hands go, and Leigh flopped onto her back. As he knelt between her thighs, he seemed rattled—clumsy, impatient, needy. That she’d brought him to this state filled Leigh to the brim with pride. He guided his cock to her, taking her slowly, as deep as they could go.
“Will...”
This was exactly how she wanted it to be, when he gave in. The perfect view of his body, taking what it needed from hers. She stroked his arms as he found his pace, quick and steady, with nothing to prove.
Feeling shameless, she asked, “Can you lean back a bit?”
He complied, chest and face cast in the golden candlelight. Leigh feasted on the flex of his muscles as he took her.
“You look amazing.”
He smiled, his knitted brow giving away his mania. “I’m close. I don’t want it to be over
yet.”
“We’ve got plenty more nights ahead of us.” She meant her vacation...didn’t she?
“You’re right,” Will said.
He grabbed her knees, hugging her thighs to his hips and letting loose. Leigh tried to match his thrusts, but there was no way—he pounded her hard for a noisy final minute, then gave in. As he came, a groan spilled from his throat and he drove deep for one, two, three spasms. His grip went slack, and slowly, a grin took over his face.
Leigh laughed.
He eased out and got rid of the condom, then tumbled onto the covers beside her. They lay in silence for several minutes, until their racing breaths slowed to the rhythm of the waves lapping the beach. Then he turned his head and smiled at her.
“Good honeymoon?” she asked.
“Best honeymoon I’ve ever had.”
“Me, too. So good we forgot to order any dinner.”
“Food wasn’t foremost on my list of needs tonight,” he said.
“No, mine either. That was way more satisfying.”
“You going to tip me for my exceptional room service?”
She nudged his ribs with her elbow, then sighed, far too content even to flirt. Will rolled onto his side, draping an arm over her waist and nestling his face against her neck. It was a more tender gesture than she’d come to expect of him. She stroked his hair, wanting to return the affection.
“I like you way more than I should,” he said softly.
Leigh blinked up at the canopy, her chest fluttering anew. “How do you mean?”
“I like you a lot more than anybody should, considering how long we’ve known each other.”
She took several deep breaths before replying. “I feel that way, too.”
“You’re just vacation-drunk. You’ll get over that. But me...I’m a goner.”
“Will that make the club proposition a bad idea?”
He shrugged. “Not for me. I’m well trained in awkward breakups. I can keep things professional after you come to your senses and dump me.”