Soaked (The Water's Edge #2)

by Stacy Kestwick

  I didn’t breathe, didn’t blink, couldn’t move.

  It was just waves of pleasure, battering my taut form, pulling me under to a deep oblivion where nothing else existed, just me and him and utter bliss.

  And I willingly drowned.

  West

  I BARELY REMEMBER taking the rest of my clothes off before I climbed over her, pulling her up the bed and covering her with my body until we were skin to skin everywhere. I don’t think she realized she was still whispering my name, but hearing her shout it as she peaked was the hottest thing I’d ever heard. I wanted to hear her scream it again, this time while I was inside of her.

  As I balanced over her on my forearms, looking down at her, I knew this was it. The sight I wanted to wake up to every morning and go to bed seeing every night. Her face was flushed, limbs loose, her gorgeous green eyes unfocused as her body trembled with the aftershocks of her pleasure.

  I couldn’t help the surge of raw possessiveness that swept me, knowing I did that to her, put that satisfied Cheshire-cat grin on her face. It took all my self-control not to plunge balls-deep right then, to force myself to savor this, to savor her, the way she deserved.

  I nuzzled into her neck, breathing in her watermelon shampoo, and when her arms curled around my waist and her legs bent until she was rubbing my calves with her feet, I thought my chest might explode. I couldn’t understand how I’d survived without this connection while she was gone, without feeling the satin of her skin on mine, her taste on my tongue.

  I knew one thing. We’d never be apart for that long again.

  She hummed in contentment and I gathered her closer, my arms slipping under her back. She lifted her legs higher, wrapping them around my hips, and my cock throbbed at the feel of her wet heat. Fuck, she tempted me. I rocked gently, unable to stop myself. I’d jacked off in the shower to her memory for the last three weeks, but nothing compared to be being wrapped between her long thighs, ready to sink home.

  “West.” Hearing her husky voice whisper my name in my ear had my balls tightening, pulling up higher. Her nails scratched a path up my back and I flexed my hips, unable to resist sliding against her a little harder.

  “I’m here,” I murmured against her damp skin. “We have forever. No need to rush.” Except for the overwhelming urge to slam into her over and over, mark her in the most primitive way as mine.

  I nibbled her ear and filled my hands with her sweet ass, torturing myself with the way her hips tilted to meet my gentle thrusts. I spent long minutes just moving against her, loving the little sounds she made when my cock rubbed her greedy clit.

  Her heels dug into the small of my back and she wiggled lower, until the head of my cock hovered, nudging at her opening. She tugged my hair impatiently, growling when I lifted my hips higher, keeping her from pulling me in.

  “I need a condom.” I started to roll toward my nightstand but she stopped me, catching my outstretched arm.

  “Nothing between us. Not anymore.” She pulled my hand to her tit, distracting me when her nipple beaded against my palm. “And I’m on the pill.”

  My blood ignited at her words. Nothing between us.

  I swallowed hard, and then dipped down to lick the sweet, pink peak calling my name. Some guys might prefer a girl with bigger boobs, but hers were perfect. I could cover them fully with my outstretched hands and the way she bucked when I scraped one with my teeth was addicting. I sucked hard, and she shuddered beneath me, a greedy noise vibrating her chest.

  “I need you so much, baby. Need to feel you everywhere. Squeezing my cock and scratching my back and yelling my name.” I leaned up to capture her mouth in a demanding, ravenous kiss, tracing the seam of her lips until she opened up and let me in.

  She matched my every move, fighting me for control, and wrapped her arms around my neck. As if I had any plans to escape.

  But I loved it when she got aggressive, showed me how hot my touch made her and asked for more.

  I’d always give her more. I’d give her everything.

  I needed to bring her to the brink again before I entered her. I wanted her pulsing around me with a second orgasm when I finally released inside of her. Sliding a hand between us, I tested her readiness with one finger.

  She was fucking soaked.

  My cock jumped, and I quit denying myself. Grasping myself at the base, I lined up at her entrance, and nudged inside the first inch, pinching my eyes shut at the sensation.

  “Tell me how you want it, Sadie.” I tore my mouth from hers long enough to ask. “Fast or slow?”

  She moaned. “Slow. But hard.”

  Fuck me, this woman was perfect.

  Holding her still with a hand on her hip, I seated myself in one sure thrust, and I swear my vision turned black around the edges with how tight she was.

  I pulled her legs up higher around my waist, then withdrew until only my tip was still in her before plunging deep again and again. Her snug walls hugging every inch of me was heaven and hell blended together. I never wanted to leave, but I’d go up in flames if I stayed.

  I rose up partway on my knees, changing my angle so I could hit that one spot inside her that made her bear down against me and squeeze tighter. Every time I bottomed out, I rolled my hips, knowing I pressed against her clit with that move and it made her crazy. Her teeth dug into the meat of my shoulder, and I groaned, the slight sting of pain shooting to the base of my cock in the best way.

  “I love you.” My voice was strained, but I couldn’t stop the words as they tumbled out of me. “I love you so damn much.” I licked her neck and the tender spot below her ear. Her breath hitched and she began to meet my thrusts erratically, driving the pace faster. “That’s it, baby.” I wrapped some of her curls around my fist, tugging until her face wasn’t buried in my shoulder, so I could see the moment when she found her release. “Come with me.”

  She cried out, a long string of words that settled into a chant of just my name, over and over, and my balls pulled up tight, those familiar tingles growing at the base of my spine, and I knew this was it. I pushed my hand between us, circling her small bundle of nerves with my thumb, once, twice, and then she stiffened beneath me, her inner muscles clamping down, and I was lost.

  I pumped deep one last time and filled her, her name a guttural roar on my lips, and a primal satisfaction spread through my chest as I squeezed her tight, unable to get close enough to her.

  My hips pumped slowly, softly, while her walls pulsated around me. I couldn’t quite seem to stop. She felt too damn good.

  “West,” she grunted, breaking me out of my daze, pushing her palms to my chest. “You’re crushing me.”

  I rolled us over, switching positions until she lay sprawled on top of me. “Sorry.” I loved the weight of her on my chest, the solidness of it, the realness of all her softness pressed close.

  Gathering her mass of curls in my hands, I drew her back until I could see her face. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

  She shook her head, cheeks flushed, and she almost would’ve looked shy if it weren’t for the wicked gleam in her eyes. “I imagine I’ll be sore tomorrow, but it’ll be worth it.”

  I groaned a deep noise of agreement before kissing her nose and letting her readjust her position. She slid to my side, using my shoulder as a pillow, but kept one arm across my chest and threw her thigh across my hips. My dick stirred hopefully beneath her leg.

  “Down, boy,” she laughed. “I think you’d had enough for now.”

  My bicep muscle flexed beneath her in denial. “I’ll never have enough of you, Sadie.” I stroked her hair and her breath fanned across my skin.

  While part of me wanted to close my eyes and drift off to sleep with her cuddled next to me, a bigger part wanted to stay awake and just watch her, smooth my hand over whatever parts of her I could reach. Maybe it made me a pussy, but nothing felt better than holding her close, knowing she was floating in a post-orgasmic haze delivered by me.

  She shivered, an
d I pulled the blankets over us. I pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and whispered to her to get some rest.

  Because I’ll be waking you up for more in a few hours. I grinned in anticipation.

  “I love you,” she murmured, nuzzling closer and pressing a kiss to my chest.

  “Love you too.”

  And I would. I’d love her every day for as long as she’d let me. I relaxed, knowing I’d found my peace in her. After everything we went through over the last three weeks, we were solid. She was here and she was mine. She finally believed in me.

  Believed in us.

  The soft slide of her blond waves over my calloused hands was addicting, and I continued to sift through her hair, letting the silky strands slip through my fingers. Long minutes passed as her breathing slowed down, and then evened out.

  She filled my arms and my heart and all my fantasies. She’d wake up in my bed in the morning, the sheets still smelling like us. And I’d make love to her all over again.

  I didn’t need sweet dreams with a reality like that.

  Sadie

  THE BREEZE WHIPPED the tails of West’s white button down shirt around my thighs as I sat on the steps outside his bedroom that led down to the beach. The sun was just rising over the watery horizon, pinking the sky as it fought back the purple of the night.

  A new beginning.

  I raised the coffee cup to my lips, watching West and General Beauregard play catch on the sand below me.

  He was way too cheerful for a man who’d barely slept after waking me up twice more during the night with his tongue between my legs. My thighs ached after three rounds, but damn, the discomfort was worth it.

  Rising from my spot, and only wincing a little, I descended the stairs toward the man I hoped to wake up next to again tomorrow.

  I paused long enough to snag his hand, and continued on toward the gentle waves lapping the shore. The ocean was the most patient of lovers, wooing the beach day after day in a constant tug-of-war neither would ever win. Demonstrating the perfect harmony that could be achieved when both sides learned to give and take in equal measure.

  A lesson most of us were too blind to ever appreciate.

  West walked next to me, puzzled, but playing along. When the water kissed my ankles, I stopped and turned to him.

  “You’ll always keep me safe, right?”

  He pinched his eyebrows in confusion. “Of course.”

  “And I can trust you?”

  “Always and forever.” He didn’t hesitate with his answer.

  I took a deep breath then slid the mostly button-less shirt off my shoulders. I was naked beneath.

  “Sadie, what are you doing?” Concern mixed with amusement filled his voice.

  “Going skinny dipping. You coming?”

  Several months later

  Sadie

  “OH NO, HE DIDN’T!” Rue clapped a hand over her mouth and almost fell off the barstool laughing.

  “Yup. And then he disappeared.”

  “Bastard.”

  I nodded and took a sip of my drink. West had warned me what would happen if I continued to send him naughty photos while he was out of town for a tournament. But we’d always had communication issues, so I’d ignored him and kept on texting him pics. Completely innocent ones. Like the one where I was holding the beer bottle between my thighs because I needed my hands to answer his message. Or the shot of my cleavage, when I’d accidentally spilled that same beer down my shirt. And I figured, just to be thorough, he’d need to see that I’d had to remove my shirt because of the beer, and I was stuck lounging on my bed in just my lace bra and cutoffs.

  Just normal pictures of my day.

  But, sure enough, when we Skyped last night and got frisky, and I was seconds away from coming, one hand down my panties rubbing furious circles around my clit and the other holding the phone so I could watch him jack off, he disconnected.

  A few minutes later, after he presumably finished taking care of business, he’d messaged me a reminder that sending him dirty pics when he wasn’t there to see me in person was torture and that he hoped I liked a taste of my own medicine.

  He had a point. My impending orgasm had fizzled to a lackluster finish without him sharing it with me, and I’d gone to sleep feeling grumpy and out of sorts.

  I really hated it when he was right. Not that I’d ever admit to it.

  So when Rue had suggested a girl’s night at the Wreck, I’d been happy for the distraction. West wasn’t due back until tomorrow, and I needed something to take my mind off him and all the sex we weren’t having with him gone. But I hadn’t been able to resist sending him one quick photo of me in the strappy coral sundress I was rocking. I’d lifted one side, showing off a generous slice of thigh, and added the simple message hurry home.

  It’d been three hours and he still hadn’t responded, so I’d pushed him from my mind for now and was focusing on Rue and the fruity goodness of the grog in my cup. My second cup.

  “What about you?” I raised my eyebrows expectantly. “What’s going on with you and Grady?”

  She rolled her eyes and started to answer when a deep voice from behind me spoke up.

  “Excuse me, miss. On a scale of one to American, how free are you tonight?”

  I whipped around and eyed the gorgeous man leaning his hip against the bar behind me.

  “For you, I’m a damn patriot.” Smiling like the lovesick fool I was at his surprise appearance, I threw my arms around West’s neck and that familiar spark shot down my spine when he pulled me close. He buried his nose in my hair and I felt every muscle in his body relax as he breathed me in.

  “Fuck, I missed you.” He pressed a kiss below my ear, and his hand slid lower to cup my ass, snugging me tighter against him.

  Rue coughed. “I think I see Theo . . . that way . . . yeah, I’ll be over there.”

  I hummed an acknowledgement. Pulling back slightly, I gripped the back on West’s skull, my thumbs resting along his scruffy jawline. “I thought you didn’t need a line.”

  He pressed his lips to mine and stole a kiss that managed to take my breath away despite its brevity. “With you? I’m not taking any chances. I even pinned a dollar bill above the bar for the first time last week.”

  I squinted at him in confusion, noticing the hint of vulnerability in the flush on his cheeks that I might have dismissed as sunburn if I didn’t know him so well. Scrawled pick-up lines covered the currency tacked above and behind the bar, and, earlier this summer, he’d told me he’d never once added one of his own. My eyes flitted over the bills. “Where?”

  “Down here.” He tugged me down to the end of the bar, weaving us past the other patrons, his hand firm on mine the whole time. “Look, right there on the end.” He pointed to a crisp bill, folded in the shape of a paper airplane, tucked along the end of the top shelf. His strong script trailed along one wing.

  I drowned.

  My eyes flew to his, trying to understand. “You weren’t drowning. You were floating.”

  He nuzzled the side of my neck, then dragged his lips up to my ear. “Maybe. But you saved me just the same. I just didn’t realize it at the time.”

  I melted into his arms, turning my face until our lips met. He didn’t waste time, tracing the seam until I opened for him, then delved inside to chase my tongue. I gave it to him on a moan and buried my hands in his hair, pulling him closer. His mouth slanted over mine again and again until the catcalls around us filtered through my lust-fogged awareness.

  I pulled away slowly, reluctantly. He relaxed his hold until his arms circled my waist loosely, my hips still pressed to his, but allowing some space between our upper bodies. I shook my head to clear it. “What are you doing here anyway? I thought you weren’t due back until tomorrow?”

  “My client had an emergency back home and had to cut his trip short. And I couldn’t resist a chance to get back to my girl a day earlier.”

  I smiled at the way he claimed me as his. Because I was.
Totally.

  “But how’d you know I was here?”

  He smirked. “Was I really supposed to believe you were just gonna hang out at the cottage with Rue wearing this sexy-as-hell little dress?”

  Oh yeah. I’d forgotten about that.

  I glanced over his shoulder at the exit and he twisted to follow my line of sight. He chuckled and leaned down to press his lips against my forehead. “I like how you’re thinking, but I thought we might hang out here for a bit. I saw the guys over by the games, and I haven’t seen them in a few weeks.” He must have seen my crestfallen expression because he squeezed my hips and bent his head to whisper in my ear, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re well taken care of before you fall asleep tonight.”

  “You better,” I muttered, slightly mollified.

  After helping himself to a longneck from behind the bar, we made our way over to where our cluster of friends were watching a furious game of air hockey between Theo and Wyatt. The boys called out their greetings, and then West rapped on the side of the machine after Wyatt scored a goal amongst the distraction of our arrival.

  “Hey, Sadie and I have next game.”

  I turned to him, eyebrows raised. “We do?”

  “Yup.”

  “Are we playing for a certain prize?” I asked suggestively, bumping his hip with mine.

  He laughed. “You have no idea.”

  After Wyatt squeaked out a narrow victory over Theo, who demanded a rematch later in the evening, we took up our places on either side of the table. A sense of déjà vu washed over me as I remembered the first time we’d played together.

  I leaned down as I retrieved the puck from the slot, making sure West was watching. Sure enough, his eyes immediately dropped to the neckline of my dress.

  “Ready?”

  “Wait. Don’t you want to know the stakes first?”

  I cocked my head to the side and blushed. “I mean, are you really gonna just say it in front of all our friends?”