by Cathryn Fox
“I…uh…think she wanted to partner with you,” Alyssa says.
“Yeah,” is all I say, and I guide Alyssa to the marshy water. I’m used to women wanting me for one of two things. Back in Manhattan it was for what I had in my wallet. Here in paradise, it’s for what I have between my legs. I’m not complaining. Hey, I know the score, and I was happy to play along.
Was?
I mean, I am happy to play along. It’s just that right now I want to play along with Alyssa.
I set the buckets on the shore and take the net in with me. We slog through the slimy mud packed with clams, until we’re just above our knees. I turn and watch the older couple carefully to make sure they are steady on their feet, but they seem to be doing just fine.
“Okay, so we ferret the clams out with our feet. Like this.” I dig my toes through the marsh and pull out a clam. I bend to retrieve it and hold it up. “Simple really. Okay, everyone dig your toes in, put what you find in the buckets, or this net, and tonight when we get back, we’ll feast on clams, and I’ll teach you how to make cockle water.”
“Eww,” one of Josie’s friends says, “this is disgusting.” The three other girls join the chorus of revulsion, and it’s all I can do not to roll my eyes. Why, again, is it I go for girls like them? Oh right, for sex with no expectations. But that’s all I want with Alyssa, right? Unlike Tyler, I’m not getting played out or looking to settle down.
I glance at the sexy doctor, who is deep in concentration and not complaining at all. I grin, liking that about her. She might be a big-city doctor, but she certainly doesn’t shy away from getting dirty and trying new things.
Getting dirty and trying new things.
Fuck, I wish my mind hadn’t gone there. A sound catches in my throat as my cock thickens.
“Something funny?” she asks and wobbles a bit.
I slide my arm around her waist and hold her until she’s steady again. “Nope, nothing at all.”
“I can’t find any.”
I pull a few more out and hold them out for her to see. “There’s plenty.”
She arches one brow. “What are you, a clam whisperer or something?”
I laugh and feel another clam beneath my feet. “Put your foot here,” I say. Her toes slide over mine, and I move foot away, even though I’d love to play footsies a little longer.
Her eyes go wide. “I feel it.”
Yeah, me too.
She digs around and wobbles again, so I once again slide my arm around her waist to balance her. The contact fuels the need inside me. “It’s hard.”
No kidding.
“Harder than it looks.”
Oh, she has no idea.
“I…I got it,” she says excitedly and reaches below the water to pull out a clam. She holds it up like it’s a prized possession.
“See, not so hard.”
“Wait, I think I found another.” She ferrets another one out and holds it up, a big smile on her face. “I have no equal,” she teases, the tension ebbing from her body, and I fucking love seeing her like this. Back in the ER, she was so overworked she looked like she was ready to crash. Too bad she didn’t give me the opportunity to help ease that tension then. I had plenty of ideas. Still do.
She digs around for another cockle. Water and mud splash onto her face, but she ignores it and pulls out a third. With a fistful of cockles, she holds them up. “Take that, clam whisper.”
Grinning, I shake my head. “Looks like you’re going to have the big catch of the day.” I put my hand on her cheek to brush away the streak of mud. She sucks in a breath at my touch, and her flesh turn a pretty shade of pink. Damn that’s sexy.
“What…what are you doing?”
“You have a bit of mud on your face.” I swipe it away.
“Thanks.” I keep my hand on her face and stroke her soft skin, and she blinks up at me, desire reflecting in her eyes. Jesus, she’s feeling this thing between us every bit as much as I am.
“You do, too.” She goes up on her tiptoes and wipes a muddy hand across my face.
“Hey,” I say, and she laughs.
I capture her hand and brush my thumb over her flesh as I hold it a moment too long. “You’re going to pay for that, you know?”
Her laughter dies in her throat, and she puts her free hand on her hip. “Oh, yeah? How?”
Goddammit she’s pretty. “I can think of plenty of ways,” I say, my voice deeper than it was moments ago, and we both go still as our teasing banter turns sexual. It might have happened in the space of an instant, but the pull between us is as powerful as fuck, and I damn well need to do something about it. My gaze drops to her mouth as she wets it, like she’s preparing herself for me, and my heart nearly jackhammers out of my chest. I pull a deep breath into my lungs, and her throat makes a noise as she swallows.
“I…uh…” She holds her hand up, and shows me the cockles.
“Right.” I quickly get my shit together, even though my mind is preoccupied with those full lips of hers. “Here, let me open the net so you can drop them in.” I slide my hand from around her waist, and she loses her balance. We’re only in thigh deep water, but she slips and goes completely under. Shit. I reach for her and she comes out gasping, her long hair plastered to her face. She sputters and pushes her wet hair back, looking so goddamn adorable that equal measures of protectiveness and need steal over me as I hold her.
“Are you okay?”
She makes a strange wheezing sound and sputters some more.
I brush mud from her cheek, and as I take in her big brown eyes, a surge of lust shuts down all rational thought, my actions driven by need. As longing rips through me, I dip my head and close my mouth over hers. It’s too soon. I know it, but I can’t help myself. By rights, she should push me away. Better yet, kick me in the nuts. I expect her to do just that. But instead of ripping off my balls, she slackens against me, and man, that’s all the encouragement I need.
I’m about to slide my tongue between the soft seam of her mouth, but her lips part of her own accord and become pliable beneath mine. Addictive. I deepen the kiss and can’t fucking believe she tastes better than I ever could have imagined. I pull her tighter against my body, unable to get close enough, and she arches into me, every part of her seeking contact. Her drenched clothes soak mine, but I give zero shits about that right now.
Never having tasted anything so sweet, I explore her mouth and splay my fingers over the small of her back, pushing her against me, just a little. She shivers under my touch, so damn responsive it sends heat surging through my veins. I thought it would be a quick, hurried kiss, but the second my mouth touched hers, it escalated and lit something hot and uncontrollable inside me—something completely foreign that just might scare me a bit. When I finally break away, we’re both gasping for breath.
She touches her kiss-swollen lips. “What was that all about?”
“Mouth-to-mouth,” I say quickly. Yeah, she responded readily, but with the moment broken, I don’t want her pissed at me. “I thought you had water in your lungs.”
She plants one hand on her hip, her brow pulled together. “That’s not how you give mouth-to-mouth.”
“Says who?”
“I’m a doctor, remember.”
I brush my thumb over her cheek, and she visibly quivers. “Yeah, well, we don’t have too many of them around these parts, and sometimes we have to take matters in our own hands and give resuscitation the only way we know how.” When she continues to stare up at me like she can’t tell whether I’m teasing or not, I say, “I thought I was doing what was best, Aly.” Not a lie, kissing her was definitely the best.
“Yes, I know but—”
“It wasn’t good enough?” I ask, continuing to play with her.
“No, no, it was good,” she says quickly, clearly flustered.
“Just good? Maybe I need practice.” I run my wet hands through my hair. “Maybe you could teach me. Give lessons.”
“Mouth-to-mouth le
ssons?”
I glance over my shoulder to give a quick check on the others. They hadn’t seen the kiss. My body completely blocks Aly’s and what I was doing. “Yeah, sure. I think it’s a great idea. That way if this ever happens again, and a guest needs resuscitation, I’ll know what I’m doing.”
She frowns and looks down. When she sees her wet shirt, the way it clings to her body and how little it does to hide her pert nipples, she folds her arms across her chest. “I guess I could do that.”
I look her over, take in her mud-covered clothes. “Come on, I have clean water in the back of the truck. I can rinse you off.”
“Oh no!”
“What?” I ask, hoping like hell I hadn’t moved too fast with that kiss and she’s suddenly coming to her senses.
She holds up empty hands. “I dropped the clams.”
“No worries. There’s plenty more. Right now, we need to rinse you off.” I capture her hand and water sloshes around us as I guide her from the marsh. I stop when I reach the elderly couple. “You two good?” I ask, as they ferret clams and fill one of the buckets.
“Wonderful,” the man says and the woman smiles and nods as she pulls another clam with her toes.
“You two are a natural at this. Holler if you need me.”
The four girls follow us out, chattering endlessly as they strip down to their bikinis, and take up residence on the bank to sun themselves.
“Guess they didn’t enjoy it,” Alyssa says.
“Guess not.”
“Too bad. I mean, how many times in your life do you get to dig clams with your feet?”
“I have to say, I wasn’t too sure you’d like it.”
“I’m more adventurous than I look, and I’m willing to try anything once. I’m glad I tried this.” She waves her hands around her. “It was kind of neat, really, and relaxing.” She pulls sludge from her hair. “Until I ate mud.”
I laugh, and when she grins up at me, I entertain the idea of kissing her again. But right now, she needs to get cleaned up, and I’m afraid once I start kissing her I won’t be able to stop.
“Aly?”
“Yeah.
I open the back of the truck and pull out a jug of clean water. “Why are you really here?
“I told you. I’m here on vacation.” She eyes me. “Why are you here, Braydon?”
Ah, the question I’d been waiting for. “I inherited the villa and business. Gave up my job before I had a damn heart attack, and moved here.” I open the jug as my gaze moves over her pretty face. “Are you here by yourself?”
“Yes.”
I resist the urge to do a fist pump.
“Why here? Why now? My villa?”
“That’s a lot of questions.”
“I know.”
“Okay, well, my friend sent me here for my twenty-fifth birthday. And as for why your villa, I have no idea.”
“Wow. Nice friend.”
She blinks rapidly, and I read her body language, a skill I learned in my former life as a stockbroker. “It was a pact.”
“A pact?” I ask, curious about that.
She gives a quick shake of her head, which intrigues me all the more. What is she hiding? What is it about this pact that she doesn’t want me to know?
“Nothing. Never mind, it’s complicated,” she says.
“Nothing is complicated here in Antigua.”
“I know, which makes this the perfect place to de-stress. I think that’s why she sent me here.” She crinkles her nose, and once again I can almost hear the wheels in her brain spinning. Damn, what I wouldn’t do to shut it down for a while. “Then again, maybe she knew you…” Her voice trails off as she gazes up at me, but from the widening of her eyes, it’s easy to see her mind is still racing.
“What did she know?”
She gives a quick shake of her head. “Nothing. Never mind.”
I grin and blatantly let my gaze slide down her body, registering every detail of the beautiful woman before me. Lucky for her, I know just how to help when it comes to de-stressing, and tonight after dark, it’s going to start with a little mouth-to-mouth, followed by a whole lot of un-dressing.
Chapter Two
Alyssa
Ohmigod. Ohmigod. Ohmigod.
I cannot believe for one second that the hottie from the ER is here in Antigua. I touch my mouth, my lips still tingling from that scorching kiss. A quiver moves through me as I picture his mouth on other parts of my body, kissing away my stress as he brings to me orgasm. I squeeze my legs tight, my entire being in hyperdrive just from thinking about it.
Aly.
God, no one ever calls me that. I used to hate it, until I heard it on Braydon’s lips. I pace to the window and pull back my curtain to take in the dark night. The nearly full moon glistens on the water, and I exhale to calm my jittery nerves. Truthfully, I’m still a little shocked that of all the places in the entire world, I’m here with Braydon in Antigua, staying in his inherited villa, no less. Either it was a lucky coincidence, or whichever girlfriend drew my name on New Year’s Eve and, for my twenty-fifth birthday, had to sponsor an epic vacation—where “epic” and “sex” can be interchanged—did a whole lot of legwork to make this happen.
They all knew about the hottie in the ER who asked me out. Sure, I wanted to go, but with my crazy work schedule and a code of conduct between patient and doctor, I had to say no. But I’m not at work anymore, and he’s not my patient.
But no matter the circumstance that brought me to Antigua, I plan to take full advantage of the situation. The other girls who’d gone on their vacations all had crazy epic sex stories to share, and dammit, I want to go back with stories of my own. That’s what this vacation is all about, right?
Go for it, Alyssa.
With my body jittery, hyped up on hormones, I drop the curtain and walk to my bedroom door. I press my ear against it and listen for movement in the hall. The elderly couple went to bed early, and the four girls traveling together have gone into town for drinking and dancing. Earlier, as Braydon put out the fire from the clambake, I excused myself and dashed to my room to get ready for bed.
But I don’t want to go to bed—at least, not alone.
I glance at my open suitcase. Part of the New Year’s Eve pact was that our sponsors were to provide everything for our adventure—right down to the clothes we wore.
While my personal wardrobe is conservative, I’m not worried about finding something sexy to wear. Whichever girl packed my bag, she filled it with sexy clothes I wouldn’t normally put on—well, except for the white hospital coat, and I’m still scratching my head over that one. At first, I was upset by the skimpy wardrobe. Now, not so much.
Footsteps sound in the hall, and my heart leaps with a double dose of excitement and nervousness. I hurry to the door and look through the peephole. The hall is dark, but I catch a glimpse of Braydon’s wide back and broad shoulders before he goes into the room next to mine. When his door shuts, I dart to my suitcase. I push aside my medical bag—I know I’m on vacation, but I don’t go anywhere without it—and pull out a sexy lace bra and panty set. At the last minute, I grab my white coat. I dress and give myself a once over in the mirror. I examine my painted toenails—all part of my dossier, and now ruined from the clam-digging excursion—then slip into my coat.
I look through the peephole and bite back a breathy moan as my pulse races, but I’ll be damned if I allow nerves to stop me. I want this. Correction—I deserve this. Especially after working hard my whole life, skipping grades and completing med school at the young age of twenty-two. I pace the room, giving Braydon time to crawl into bed. Seconds turn to minutes, and when I no longer hear any noise coming from his room, I step into the hall, lock the door behind me, and put the key in my coat pocket.
I fix my hair, even though it’s dark, and put my hand on Braydon’s doorknob. I tap quietly and wait a moment, my nerves on fire. God, is he asleep already? I knock again, a little louder this time.
“
Yeah,” a groggy voice says, and I wonder if I waited too long. Maybe he’s too tired for this. Maybe he doesn’t want me. My lips take that moment to tingle again, a reminder of the kiss. Oh yeah, he wants this as much as I do.
“Can I come in?”
A moment of silence and then, “Door’s unlocked.”
My heart races, and I work to pull myself together as I open the door. I see a big dark figure on the bed, and my body stirs to life as I examine Braydon’s outline. Forcing my wobbly legs to move, I step toward him and catch his scent: beach, sand, pure male.
“Hey,” he says, his voice deep, raspy from sleep—not that I can really hear him all that well with my heart thundering so hard in my ears.
Moonlight slants in through the crack in his curtain, and I stand before it, giving him a view of my coat.
“I was thinking,” I begin, my voice full of sensual invitation as I ache to indulge in his body. “Since there aren’t many doctors here in your small community, you should be taking advantage of the one you have sleeping under the same roof as you.”
His breathing changes, becomes harsher, and pleasure races through me. It excites me to know he’s as into this game as I am. With that knowledge, I slowly slide my coat from my shoulders to expose the sexy lace panty set beneath.
“We should probably start with a little mouth-to-mouth, then maybe we can move on to a deeper physical examination.” I walk toward him, and he runs a hand through his hair like he’d done a few times earlier today, a groan catching in his throat.
“I—” he begins, but I cut him off.
“Shh, you can’t talk during mouth-to-mouth,” I explain and crawl onto the bed with him. I’m about to straddle his hips, but strong hands grasp my shoulders and roll me until I’m captured beneath his large frame. I try to breathe but can hardly fill my lungs, partly because he’s pressing down on me and partly because he’s taking full possession of my body and it excites the hell out of me.