by Carmen Faye
“I don’t even know your name,” she said, upset with herself that she couldn’t just go with the flow. This man was definitely not going to be the sexy stranger she had a one-night stand with, but people were crazy these days. She had to at least get some information—even from a man like this.
“I’m sorry. I’m Lieutenant Commander Matthew Perrier, but you can call me Matt.” He put out his large, strong-looking hand, and she placed hers into the warmth of his. The energy started with their combined hands but seemed to spread across her body in a pleasant rush of sensations. It wasn’t like a hot flash but a slow but steady stream that warmed her in the freezing cold of the airport.
She was concentrating so much on the way her body was reacting to his she was almost startled when he cleared his throat. Emmy looked up at him and recalled that she was supposed to be giving him some information.
“Oh, yeah… umm…. My name is Emmy Roth.” She could feel the flush of her skin getting hotter, and she knew that she probably looked like a red tomato, but this man made her more nervous than most—even as she was trying to appear like she met men like him all the time.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said. There was something about him that she liked. Most people may not have been so nice when you spilled a large coffee on them before practically stroking them off when you tried to clean your mess, but this man didn’t make her feel dirty or ashamed. In fact, he was trying to get her to calm down. This was going to be a great vacation; she was already learning something. Note to self: Hot men make me stupid. Good to know.
She nodded, and he picked up her bag and his before he walked to the nearest bar. It looked like every Hawaiian-based party she’d ever attended with Tiki lamps, coconut drinks, and culturally correct music. Yet, somehow it felt more real here than at all the backyard barbeque Tiki parties she’d ever been to.
He gestured for her to sit down, and then he folded his body into the semi-circle booth. Sliding in next to her, she was fascinated by how he fit his large frame—that had to be at least six foot five—into the small space so gracefully. It was hard to believe this was her life right now. Just a week ago, she’d graduated with a Master’s degree in accounting, and she’d found out that her great-aunt—whom she loved so much but had passed a few months ago—had left her a large sum of money so she could explore the world and find herself.
When the waitress came over to take their orders, she brought chips and two glasses of water. Although she smiled at Emmy when she came to the table, she mostly directed the conversation to Matt.
“What would you like, Emmy?”
She didn’t think she’d ever heard her name sound so delicious coming out of a person’s mouth, but she was quick to come up with an answer so he didn’t think she was absent minded…or worse. “I’ll have a Blue Hawaiian.”
“Sounds good. I think I’ll have a local beer if you have one on tap,” he said to the dark-haired woman in the coconut bikini and grass skirt.
Emmy watched the not-so-subtle flirting that was swirling all around her and decided to concentrate on something that would be more uplifting. First and foremost, she was just happy to be off the plane and on solid ground. That was something she didn’t consider when she was planning this trip. Flying wasn’t her strong suit, but here she was in Honolulu, Hawaii, a place she’d never have believed she would be. The waitress gave Matt a thousand watt smile before she turned and walked away with a sway in her hips. Too bad Matt didn’t even see it since she could tell he was watching her.
“So what brings you to Honolulu? Is it pleasure or business?” Matt seemed to be trying hard to make her feel comfortable by being casual. He didn’t know she had severe anxiety, so maybe she could pretend she didn’t have it either. This is what she was supposed to be doing—getting out from under her rock, having some fun, and making changes in her life to get her to move from introverted and shy to independent and free.
“Pleasure. I’ve always wanted to come here, so after I finished college, I thought I’d treat myself.” She picked up the water and took a sip. Whether it was the company or the situation, she didn’t know, but her mouth was quite parched.
“Congratulations on your graduation,” he said with a smile on his face.
“Why are you here?” She had wanted to know what would bring a man like this to paradise and why was he traveling alone with no ring or other noticeable signs of being married. It could have come out a bit bluntly, but the smile he granted her relaxed her just a bit more. Being awkward wasn’t taken kindly by most people, and she was often thought of as being rude instead of just impulsive.
“I’ve been in and out of missions for a good long while, so I had a few days off before I go back in the field, and I wanted a bit of R and R with sandy beaches and beautiful people.” He made it sound so cut and dry, but there was a weariness that underscored those words, and she wished she could help.
The waitress was back with their drinks as if on cue from Matt’s last sentence. “Blue Hawaiian for the lady and a local draft beer for you. Would you like anything else?”
Emmy didn’t know how that woman had made that simple question sound like an invitation to warm her bed until the morning, but that’s what it sounded like to Emmy. She didn’t want to have to sit here and watch what was going to happen with them, so she just studied her drink and looked at all the other customers in the bar. Travelers… some weary and others fresh-faced filled the seats and created a friendly chatter that she concentrated on to calm herself.
Matt slid closer to her and put his arm around her shoulders. “Hey, babe, did you want anything else?”
She looked up at him and almost couldn’t believe what was happening. He was picking her between the two of them?
“No… no,” she stuttered, but then she cleared her throat and attempted to present a more confident front. She placed a quick kiss on his mouth. “I’ve got all that I need.”
The look on the waitress’s face fell a few notches, and Emmy didn’t recognize the woman inside herself that had appeared a few seconds ago. She would have bet that she didn’t have it in her to kiss a stranger, but she had more confidence in the words she’d written on her paper. The giggle that started inside her grew into laughter, and Matt joined her with his own. They both continued, as the woman walked away.
“She was something, huh?” he said when their laughing subsided.
“That probably happens to you all the time.”
He sipped his beer but continued looking at her. It was then she knew that he wasn’t going to admit to that. This man carried himself in such a way that it screamed alpha male. One look at him and she was almost a soggy puddle in the middle of the floor. This man looked like he could fight, fuck, and protect without hesitation or second thought. Not that she needed the first or the third thing on the list, but she wanted to see if the second thing was right.
“Where are you staying?” he asked in lieu of answering that question.
“I’m at the Blue Hawaiian actually.” There must have been a nice amount of alcohol in this drink because she was feeling warm and giggly. The warmth could have come from him still having his arm around her, but she wasn’t sure. Whatever it was, she was really enjoying herself.
“So am I.”
“Do you have plans for the things you want to do while you’re here on the island?” She had done her research for what was exciting and fun, but she always wanted to know what other people were doing—in case there was something she hadn’t thought of.
“In my regular life almost everything I do is planned out, so for the next few days I’ll just be doing what I want… when I want.”
“That sounds like a great plan.” She sipped her drink and hoped that her tone and inflection of her voice didn’t match how she really felt about that.
“You’re more of a list maker I take it?” he asked in a low voice, like he didn’t want anyone to hear it.
“Is there something wrong with lists?”
>
“Not a thing, but sometimes being spontaneous can be pretty thrilling, too.”
She didn’t really know how to respond to that because she’d never tried it. Maybe I should add that to my list.
He was sitting there with his arm around her in this very dim establishment, watching her like he knew exactly what kind of timid mouse she was. However, that was the whole point of trying to find herself… well, trying to find the version of herself that she could like.
The smirk on his face taunted her, as did the fact that she would probably never be this close to a man with a body and personality like this again. In the name of spontaneity, she quickly put her mouth on his and opened just a little so she could taste him. He wasn’t responding to her advances, and she was mortified. This is what the waitress had felt, but it is possible that this is a little worse. Maybe that’s not what he meant, or I’d taken my desires and made myself think he feel this way too because he offered to buy me a drink.
“I’m sorry,” she said, as she started to move out from under his arm.
There was a low deep sound that came from him before he curled his hand around the back of her neck and brought her mouth back toward his. He licked her lips with a quick swipe of his tongue and growled like he liked her flavor.
“No need to be sorry it was on your list, right?” His lips crushed into hers, and it was unlike any kiss she’d ever had. Most of the first kisses that she was a part of started off slowly and were soft and sensual, but this one was a completely different animal. She could barely get her brain to replay what he’d just said, and she didn’t want to because she knew that she would be embarrassed if she did.
The venue was dark with only a few quasi-lit torches here and there, but they were in one of the darkest spots. He brought his hand up to cup her breast, and she whimpered when he found her hardened nipple through her clothes and squeezed it firmly. She broke away from his kiss and sucked in a deep breath.
He didn’t say anything, and she felt like she was lost in a storm.
“Did you like that?” His voice was huskier now, and he sounded a bit out of breath. That made her feel a bit more at ease because her body felt like it was in the middle of a riot, awakened with sensations and ready to beg for more.
Emmy nodded her head and then stared at his mouth. She wanted more, but he was just sitting there. “Yes. I did like it.” She hoped that giving him verbal consent would make him continue the onslaught of pleasure she knew he could give her.
He sat back in the seat and moved his hand from her breast and from around her neck, and she wondered if she’d done something wrong. Maybe he was just in from a long deployment and was shocked that he would have gone for someone with a few extra pounds and as plain as her. She refused to be upset about that. People liked what they liked, and he couldn’t help it if she didn’t fit the bill, but neither could she.
When he turned his body toward her his hand settled on her thigh, and she wondered if he was going to tell her something or if he was just trying to ease her body down from the euphoric high she’d thought it was about to go on. She didn’t look at him, but after a few minutes, she could feel him slowly hiking up the long skirt she’d worn for her long trip. It was a free-flowing skirt that was comfortable and cute in her opinion. When her skirt was gathered around her waist, she looked down to watch his fingers walk across her thighs toward her panties. It was almost mesmerizing, and she opened her legs just a little in anticipation of him reaching what she hoped was his destination.
“Good girl,” he whispered, and she shivered a little with the force of her arousal.
She watched those two fingers like her next breath depended on them touching her, but that touch didn’t come. Emmy looked over at Matt, hoping the question she had was showing on her face because she didn’t think she would be able to voice that question out loud.
The smile he bestowed upon her seemed bright in the dim room, but he moved his fingers the few inches needed to get to the place she wanted him to be. If she thought he was going to just dive in like he did with that kiss, she was mistaken. Running his thick finger up and down the seam of her no-no place was sensual and decadent. He was acting like he had all the time in the world, and they weren’t in a public place.
“Is this what you meant when you wrote you wanted to have sex with a stranger?” he asked softly.
The gasp was so loud that came from her throat she looked around to see if anyone else had heard her or were looking at what they were doing. They must not have because the world didn’t stop and the fingers she thought would be pointed at her weren’t there.
“I… how did you read that so quickly? I thought I got to it before you could see it.”
“I’m pretty good at reading quickly, and the pink piece of paper you’ve been holding like a lifeline since I saw you captured my interest, but you didn’t answer my question.”
What question? He was rubbing from her hard bundle of nerves at the top of her sex to the entrance where he’d stop and push in a little each time he got there. It was hard to concentrate when he was doing what he was doing to her body and asking questions at the same time.
“I don’t know,” she said, feeling the embarrassment come back until he held his finger on her love button and pushed in harder than he had before. It was like it was a control panel for her hips because they started moving almost automatically, trying to grab the climax that was going to come soon. He released the button and went back to teasingly stroking her.
“There will be none of that. If you want to find out who you are, you’re going to have to get honest with yourself.”
“What? You only had that paper in your hand for a few seconds. No way you read all that?” She felt like she was going into a panic.
“Shhh… calm down. I probably didn’t see the whole thing; those things just jumped out at me.”
She studied him to see if he was trying to make her feel better or if he was telling the truth, but he had such a good blank face she didn’t know how to read it. Emmy turned a bit towards him to get a better look at him, so she could ask a few questions herself. However, he took that moment to slide her panties to the side and insert one thick finger inside her.
“You are so wet. Looks like you enjoy getting groped by strangers in the dark. I bet you taste good, too.” He took his finger out and brought it to her lips.
She was so shocked that he’d brought her wetness to her mouth that she opened just a bit to say something, but he rubbed his finger across her lips and then put it into her mouth. It was almost automatic that she wrapped her lips around his finger and started to suck. The taste wasn’t as bad as she thought it would have been. It was like a slightly citrusy tang that wasn’t as overpowering as the scent. She swore he growled a bit before he took out his finger, and his mouth closed over hers. He kissed her like he was starving, and she was happy to be the entry he chose to eat.
He moved his hand back to the spot he vacated before the sexy kiss started and plunged two fingers inside while he continued to kiss her. It was like sensory overload, and her body didn’t know what it was supposed to be doing. It chose to tighten up and release, as she tried to work her hips to get more and more out of the ride she was taking on his hand.
The kiss masked the noise she would probably have made if he wasn’t stealing every breath she gave. When he pulled his fingers out of her body, he replaced her panties to their rightful spot and lowered her dress.
What does one say when something like this happens? Thank you? That was great? She had her list and now had the first thing crossed off, but she didn’t think it through, and now she was stumped. She looked over at him, and he returned her gaze just as he sucked the two fingers that he’d pleasured her with into his mouth.
“Check please,” Matt called out in a loud angry voice.
CHAPTER TWO
For as long as Matt had been alive, he’d had a favorite type of woman. He tried to stay away from that type, but sometimes
it was just difficult. Quiet, nurturing, unknowingly or unbelievingly sexy and open, it was like that type of woman called him. However, he’d rather have the shallow sexpots who knew they were hot and only wanted a good, hard fuck. Good, hard fucks he could do, but he didn’t have the lifestyle that enabled him to truly give a fuck about anyone.
He’d seen this beauty as soon as she’d stepped off her plane, and her fresh face and eyes filled with excitement called to him like a siren. She was curved in all the right places, and she looked like she would jump far and wide if he said boo, which she did. He’d watched her get her coffee drink, and he’d waited for her. There were a large number of people there, and he wondered if she wanted to share a cab. That’s what he told himself anyway. He was trying to be helpful, and when he touched her arm, she startled so badly that everything flew everywhere.