by Zoe Chant
“We'll miss breakfast,” she teased, drawing away from his kisses.
“I know what I want for breakfast,” he growled back at her.
He slid fingers down into her and found that she was as ready for him as he was for her, wet and slick and warm. He touched her for a long moment, loving the way her breath caught and her body tensed.
“Oh, please, please,” she finally begged, when Tony had teased her to a fine sweat.
He rolled over to straddle and take her, slipping, unresisted, into her folds as she moaned and gave a sweet cry of delight.
If waking to his mate in his arms had felt like delicious rightness, waking to take his mate so intimately seemed like heavenly choruses and perfection. He groaned in need and pleasure, keeping his strokes careful and tender.
She squirmed in blissful torture as he rode her, and cried out in abandon as he brought her to the crests of pleasure, not once, but twice, before he could no longer keep his own release in check, thrusting in increasing need and wildness until he was spent.
“I'm sore,” Amber said, but it was with undeniable satisfaction. She held him tight against her until their breathing had returned to normal.
Tony couldn't help but feel pleased by the statement, and he nibbled her ear in wordless delight.
Chapter Nine
Amber couldn't remember ever feeling so complete.
When she was with Tony, she forgot every insecurity she'd ever felt. He seemed like family, and it was easy to ignore the fact that she'd only just met him. Too easy.
She propped herself up on an elbow when he rolled out of the bed, and watched him go, mesmerized by the gorgeous curve of his ass as he went.
When he was gone, it was easier to remember that this was only a resort fling, that she was only a beach diversion, and he was only a last wild ride before she settled into something ... less.
Things this perfect don't last, she reminded herself. Too many foster families as a child had taught her to mistrust things that seemed so good.
She would enjoy this– to the bottom of her soul, she would enjoy this– and then she would go home and get on with her life, however she could.
Her determination to enjoy the day carried them through a swift shower–more utilitarian than the one the night before–to the dining hall for breakfast, where they found the main meal had already been packed up. There was still an extensive buffet, with a range of breakfast and lunch choices (just being put out), fresh fruit, crusty bread, and an array of salty snacks and vegetables.
They piled plates high, and went out to a set of seats overlooking the pool.
“Are you eating raw broccoli? Ew!” Tony had taken a plate heavy on meat and bread, while Amber had been enraptured by the fresh options of vegetables and exotic fruits. They both had been unable to resist the rolls that had been brought fresh from the oven while they were serving themselves.
“You don't like broccoli?” Amber dipped a piece into a puddle of creamy dressing and ate it with relish.
“Not raw,” Tony said, shaking his head emphatically. “And not unless it's smothered in cheese.”
“I didn't like fresh vegetables until I started growing them myself,” Amber confessed. “There's something about the taste of things you've put your own sweat and tears into.” She had to admit that the selection here was better than anything she could grow, and she wondered if the resort had its own garden or greenhouse.
They compared favorite foods–agreeing on cheeses and breads, but disagreeing about meats.
“I like a meat you have to fight with,” Tony said with a sparkling grin.
“I prefer mine fully cooked and not recognizable,” Amber countered. “Give me a casserole or a sausage any day.”
“You're from the Midwest,” Tony said sagely.
They made short work of their plates and went back for a second round of fresh-ground coffee–Amber could not resist snagging a sweet roll on her way back to their table, and Tony took a second plate of food nearly as large as the first.
Amber enjoyed the warmth of the sun on her skin as she lingered over the combination of flavors in her mouth. She also enjoyed watching Tony eat, more than she'd ever thought she would take pleasure in such a mundane task. His fingers were so sure, and his jaw as he chewed was so obviously strong. He was wearing a short-sleeved, collared shirt that shrouded most of his shoulders, but the strength of them was still obvious, and his arms were thick and tanned. It was like watching a work of artwork, or a dance performance.
“What are your plans for the day?” Amber asked, when she realized she was staring at him again.
Tony looked reflexively at his wrist, though there was no watch there, or even a tanline indicating he'd even worn one since he'd arrived. He scowled at the spot as if it reminded him of something.
“I hadn't made any plans.” Then he grinned. “I wouldn't mind any day that ended like yesterday did.”
Amber blushed, and was glad all over again that her skin wouldn't show it easily. She loved the way he looked at her, like she was delicious and desirable and perfect.
“I was thinking about swimming,” she said with a nod to the pool to cover her confusion. “It's a lovely pool, and it might be too hot to enjoy in the afternoon.”
Already, the temperature was baking hot, the sun beating down on the tile. Summer at Lakefield could get muggy and hot, but there was an intensity to the sun here that she wasn't used to.
She looked at Tony. There were a lot of intensities here she wasn't used to. “And then I was looking at maybe getting a massage or a pedicure, or something ridiculously girly like that.”
Tony did his best to look innocent as he asked, “Are you planning to take advantage of the resort's skinny-dipping-encouraged policy?”
Amber flushed again. “I'm not that brave,” she said with a laugh. “I brought a bikini that I barely have the guts to wear.”
“I can't wait to see it,” Tony said sincerely. He had the grace to not look disappointed that Amber wasn't going to be lounging nude on the pool deck and actually seemed eager to see the promised garment. “May I join you?”
“Of course,” Amber said with a slow smile.
To her surprise, Tony took her invitation to mean the entire day. He scheduled his own tandem massage and pedicure with the events coordinator as Amber did, before she retreated for her own cottage to procure the promised bikini.
“I don't plan on getting any toe polish,” he said with a wink. “But I do need a nail trim, and who doesn't like a little pampering?”
The idea of a big, manly man like Tony putting up with pampering gave Amber a skip to her step as she returned to the pool, too wrapped up in her thoughts of him to feel self conscious in her admittedly skimpy swimwear. It helped that she passed a nude couple that gave friendly nods without the slightest trace of embarrassment.
With his closer cottage, he got back to the pool before she did, and she paused to observe him for a long moment in the shadowed entrance.
There were other guests enjoying the pool–one older man swimming diligent laps, and a few individuals sunning in the chairs at the other end of the pool–but Amber could only stare at Tony. He was wearing loose swim trunks, and lounging in one of the bar chairs with elegant ease and strength. His uncovered shoulders rippled with muscles that were pale in the golden sunlight. He had put on sunglasses, and looked like someone out of a movie, perfectly posed on a brilliantly white chair.
A spy movie, or an action-adventure, with that physique, Amber thought. And he's mine.
The thought caught her by surprise and she delayed in the shadows another moment.
He wasn't hers, not really. This was temporary, even more temporary than most of the people who moved through her life. As badly as she longed for family and permanent, she was not going to find that in a wild, tropical holiday affair.
Chapter Ten
Tony saw Amber hanging back under the roof of the bar, in shadows. Her brilliant blue bikini wasn’
t nearly as skimpy as he'd been led to believe, and she looked like a goddess. He couldn't help but stare. The curve of her hip, the sexy slope of her shoulders, the sleek ponytail that curled around and was long enough to tickle the mound of her breast ... it was a package that he wasn't sure he'd have been able to resist even if she wasn't his mate.
She took a deep breath and started walking towards him, padding as gracefully as a cat, and Tony was mesmerized by the way she moved.
When she stopped at his chair, he had to catch his breath and keep himself from reaching up and pulling her onto his lap for a kiss with no care for the other guests on the pool deck. He was going to need a dip in the unheated pool, for sure.
Amber smiled at him, a slow, tentative smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes. “Ready for a swim?”
“You have no idea,” Tony replied, glad that his shorts had a generous cut.
The pool was long and deep enough for laps, in both directions. The far end, overlooking the beach, ended in a broad set of steps that went out of the water to a wide lower deck with umbrellas and chairs. Palm trees were spaced along both long sides, and the near end had narrower steps between twin waterfalls that fell from the deck nearest the bar and the buffet. A tinny radio was playing American rock, with commercials in Spanish. They walked down these steps holding hands, and Amber gave a little gasp at the chill of the water.
“Ooooo, I'm not sure this was a good idea,” Amber exclaimed, shivering closer to him and laughing.
“It'll feel good once you're in,” Tony promised, but he gave his own involuntary noise of alarm as his own package hit the cold water.
Amber balked as the water hit her belly. “A chair in the sun is looking really nice right now,” she said reluctantly, but she was still giggling.
Tony took a chance. “You just have to get in all at once,” he said. “Get the shock over with.”
Amber looked up at him with big, alarmed eyes as he reached down and scooped her up. She squealed in playful dismay as he tossed her easily into the water before them before ducking himself in after her.
He was right, of course–once they were in the water, it felt no more than cool and refreshing.
Amber splashed him back, and they romped into the deeper water and then swam in leisurely fashion to the far end by the lower deck. Tony was aware of the indulgent looks a few of the guests gave them, but most of his attention was caught by his mate.
She swam easily, like a beautiful, curvy little mermaid, and when she ducked her head under the water and came out of the water beside him, he felt a rush of amazement and adoration.
They lounged at the edge of the pool, drinking in the sparkling sunlight, and Tony gathered her close to him, pausing at every step to give her a chance to protest the intimacy. He was grateful when she snuggled close to him.
“Costa Rica is as gorgeous as all the brochures promised,” Amber sighed, her bare skin against his, cradled in the water of the pool. “Pura vida indeed.”
“More gorgeous,” Tony said, smiling at her.
“You aren't looking at Costa Rica,” she said, smiling back.
“I know,” Tony said, and he leaned in and kissed her, as he'd been longing to do since he'd first seen her at the edge of the pool. “But there's a beautiful banana tree behind you,” he teased, once he finally released her mouth.
She twisted to look behind her. “That's not a banana tree,” she told him. “That's just a palm tree.”
“You sure it's not a coconut tree?”
“Quite sure,” Amber said confidently. “See the way the leaves hang, and the shape of the trunk?”
“Mm-hm,” Tony said.
“You're not looking at the tree,” Amber scolded with a smile.
“Nope,” Tony agreed.
This time Amber leaned up to kiss him first, and he drew her close against him, warm compared to the cool water around them. Her buoyancy gave the embrace an extra element of movement and excitement.
“We have an hour until our massage,” she suggested in his ear, once he had released her lips at last.
The hint was all he needed. They scrambled from the pool, giggling like adolescents, and they barely took the time to towel off before slipping into their sandals and retreating for Tony's cottage.
This time, they managed to get the door closed behind them.
Chapter Eleven
Every time Amber saw Tony naked, it was as if it were for the very first time; his erect member was a gorgeous surprise when he slipped off his wet swim trunks, and she reached out to slip her hand around it in awe. It was so firm and velvety, so impossibly large against her fingers, and touching it made Tony shiver so gratifyingly as he went to work on the ties of her bikini.
Every brush of his fingers against her damp skin was like a jolt of electricity, and he was the most heady combination of strong and gentle that Amber had ever encountered. She could feel his strength, coiled within him, a dangerous inner core that was both exciting and rather terrifying. It left her feeling damp and hot between the legs, and had her heart racing in her chest.
When the bikini top slid off of her breasts with a cool, wet, whisper, she was torn between wanting to cover herself and wanting to display herself. Tony made her feel like she was two parts; the quiet, modest person she'd trained herself to be, and a shameless, sexual, powerful creature of light and pleasure.
She still had one hand on his penis, and put the other at his diaphragm as she scratched, so carefully, along the underside of his cock.
Under her hand, the muscles of his stomach hardened, and he shuddered, holding very still for a long moment.
Then he bent to kiss her, pressing hungry lips to hers.
Any hint of duality was swept away in the perfection of his kiss, the depth of passion that he managed to stir in her. She wasn't two, and they weren't two–they were one together, a perfect match at a level Amber had never even imagined.
He lifted her onto the bed easily, and slipped her bikini bottoms off. Amber suspected they were more damp now than they'd been when they left the pool.
He kissed her again and paused before entering her, tangled his big hands in her hair, and stroked the planes of her face as if he was memorizing the feeling of it.
Amber could feel his manhood, pressed against her, and raised her hips just a little, so that he slipped in between her lips easily.
Still as one, they moved slowly, every motion a burst of pleasure and passion, raising them together up a slope of physical and emotional fulfillment. It was tantalizing, trying to hang at the exact peak, without losing momentum, or finally succumbing to the release. Amber suspected they could have spent hours seeking and enjoying that balance, but Tony finally sped up enough that she couldn't deny her crest of pleasure, crying out helplessly as she clutched at his shoulders.
Her orgasm was still rippling through her when Tony had his own release, and they lay together limply, panting and smiling foolishly at each other until Amber caught a glimpse of the clock by the bed.
“Oh! Our massage is in ten minutes!”
This shower was hasty. They soaped each other swiftly, Amber reaching on tiptoe to get the tops of his shoulders, and Tony bending over to get the small of her back efficiently. He laid a kiss at the top of her shampoo-covered head and then made a show of spitting out the bubbles while Amber laughed.
Amber could not remember the last time she had been so carefree and happy.
Had she ever been?
The masseuses laughed off their tardy appearance with knowing winks. “We are on tropical time here,” said the woman with a thick Spanish accent.
The other masseuse, a lanky blond man with big, strong hands and an Australian accent, led them to a pair of tables on a curtain-shrouded deck overlooking a small, private flower garden.
Amber was amused to notice that they were set up for grooming animals as well as people, with a wide variety of currycombs and brushes hanging along the wall.
She nearly fell asle
ep during her massage, lulled by the conversation that Tony carried on with the two masseuses, all in lilting Spanish that she understood no more than a word or two from.
Afterwards, recovering on the porch in their bathrobes, icy glasses of water at hand, she asked Tony, “You speak Spanish?”
He nodded before she could regret how foolish a question it was.
“I took a little in high school,” she said, feeling shy about it. “And a semester of French. Do you speak any other languages?”
“Russian,” Tony said, and he seemed a little reluctant about admitting it. “Also French, Swedish, and enough Japanese and Mandarin to get by.”
Amber stared, then laughed. “Oh, just enough to get by. In construction management, you know ...”
Tony startled and managed to look guilty and angry at the same time.
“Oh, look!” Amber was glad to distract him by pointing out a toucan making a lazy loop above them, but she knew that Tony was living some lie with her, and it reminded her too keenly that this fantasy had no place in reality, for either of them.
Chapter Twelve
Tony would have kicked himself it had been physically possible. He hated that he had to continue to keep Amber in the dark about who he was, and kept ridiculously forgetting that he had told her the story he was using with the resort. It felt like he had known her forever, that she must know every one of his secrets.
The whole thing reminded him that he still did not have any of the information he had come hoping to find, and he realized he was scowling at Amber when she distracted him by pointing out an exotic bird in the sky above them.
“You know, I'm starving,” Amber said, and it was the perfect excuse to put both his work and his guilt behind him.
“It's still a while before dinner is served,” Tony said, checking the spot on his wrist where his watch used to be. Fortunately, he already knew the time from the position of the sun in the sky. “But I could use some food now, too.”