by Cathryn Fox
“I’ll be right back,” she said as Madison headed for the pool tables. “Madison’s handling security at the beach for us next week, and there are some things I need to discuss with her.” Truthfully, she needed the reprieve from Carter’s sexual pull, more than she needed to strategize security with Madison.
After excusing herself, she made her way into the back room, stopping at a few tables along the way to chat with her old friends. Happiness welled up inside her as she took a quick moment to catch up with the boys. She really did miss this place, and these men.
In the back she found Madison racking the balls, and Blaine had disappeared into the crowd. She couldn’t help but think that was a good thing. Unlike Carter who’d joined the force right out of high school, Blaine had joined later in life, and Carter always seemed agitated around the new rookie. Allison always assumed it had something to do with her, and the fact that she and Blaine went way back.
As she spoke quietly to Madison, detailing the events for next week’s launch at the beach, she could feel Carter’s eyes on her. It rattled her more than she liked to admit.
“Hey, sweet thing.”
Allison twisted around, and before she could greet Blaine, he swept her into his arms and spun her. What was it with cops and bear hugs anyway?
She laughed and felt a little dizzy when he set her back down. She was just about to say hello when Carter came up beside her. He put his arm around her waist, as if to lay claim, then pulled her in tight.
His voice held a challenge when he asked, “Is there something we can do for you, Blaine?”
Standing eye to eye, Blaine glared back at Carter and tension crackled in the air.
Allison jabbed Carter with her elbow, her anger spiking. “Stop it, Carter,” she said between clenched teeth, hating that he’d turned this into some sort of pissing contest.
Picking up on the tension, Madison slipped her arm into Blaine’s. “Come on, big boy. I’ll let you buy me a drink.” Allison gave Madison a grateful smile as she led Blaine away.
“She’s too good for you, pal. When are you going to stop being such a selfish bastard and realize that,” Blaine shot out as the crowd swallowed them up.
Carter made a move to follow but she stopped him. “Carter,” she warned. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I don’t like the way he looks at you.”
She fixed him with a hard look of her own and fisted her hands. God, the man infuriated her sometimes. “You should stop sticking your nose in where it doesn’t belong.”
“And I don’t like the way he touches you,” he added.
“Who I touch and who touches me is none of your business.”
“Ally,” he reached for her, and when she held her hand up and pressed it to his chest to keep him at a distance, Carter winced and stepped back.
In the span of a second, she went from angry to concerned. But wasn’t that the way it always was when she was around Carter. He took her on an emotional roller-coaster ride and left her reeling. Then again, after feeling numb for the last four months, she couldn’t deny that it exhilarated her to feel something, anything.
She eyed him carefully. “What is it?”
He pulled his T-shirt away from his skin. “Burn.”
Allison shook her head and thought about the oil she’d coated him in earlier that afternoon. No wonder he was burnt. Deep-tanning oil provided very little protection from the blazing summer sun. “I’ll have to talk to Drake.” She lifted his T-shirt to take a look then crinkled her nose. “You need aloe. I have some at my place.”
When she caught his glance and the sexy, playful smile curving his mouth, she asked, “What?”
“Was that an invitation?”
She purposely whacked him and turned away, needing to distance herself from him as much as possible. Carter’s howl of pain sounded in her ears as she moved out of his reach.
“You deserved it.” She tossed the words over her shoulder and grabbed her beer from the bar before making her way to the outdoor deck overlooking the ocean. The old wooden steps groaned beneath her, and she shook her head and wondered if on some deeper level, it really was an invitation. Lord knows Freud would have a field day with her.
Working to forget how infuriating Carter could be at times, she leaned against the wooden rail and inhaled the salty sea air as she stared at the ocean. The wind rustled the planter beside her and the scent of flowers filled the night. As gulls squawked overhead, the sound mingled with the roar of the surf and she stopped to think about the last time she’d been on the beach. Honestly, she couldn’t even remember when she’d last gone for a swim or a run in the surf.
Carter was right, she’d been so busy burying herself in her work and trying to climb her way to the top that she hadn’t made time for personal pleasure. Just thinking about it now had her wanting to go squish the warm sand between her toes, to feel the cool Atlantic water rise up to meet her feet.
“I suppose I did.” The sound of Carter’s voice came from behind her.
“What?” Allison spun to see him leaning against the rail a few feet away. She should have known he’d follow her. Then again, maybe on some level she’d hoped he would.
With testosterone oozing from his every pore, Carter stood with his feet crossed at the ankles and his thumb hooked in his belt buckle, pulling his jeans low on his hips. In his other hand he held his beer, and she wondered how it would taste on his mouth.
“I suppose I did deserve it.” There was something about that sheepish expression he wore that made him look sexy as hell. “Forgive me?”
“No.” She turned away from him and briefly closed her eyes, completely distressed by his presence and what it did to her traitorous body.
“Hey,” he said, crossing the deck to take up position beside her. “Come on. If I promise to play nice and bring Blaine a dozen donuts tomorrow, will you forgive me?”
“Since when do you ever play nice?”
He got close, too close, until their bodies were touching in that old familiar way that had her craving him with an intensity that made it hard to stay mad at him. When she turned toward him, he slipped his finger under her chin and tilted her face until they were eye to eye. His tone was soft, full of desire when he murmured, “I can play nice, Ally.”
She couldn’t hold on to her anger, not when he was looking at her like he wanted to eat her alive. “Carter, you can’t go around acting like I’m your possession. Blaine is an old friend.”
He placed his beer on the ledge and scrubbed a hand over his chin. “I’m sorry, Ally, but when it comes to you I can get a little crazy.”
“Then maybe I’m not the one who should be trying to keep you out of trouble.”
He looked past her shoulder. “Speaking of trouble.” He took her beer from her, placed it on the ledge beside his, then slipped a large palm around hers. He gave a little tug, guiding her toward the back steps.
“Where are we going?”
“Let’s go down to the cove.”
She hesitated, dragging her heels. “It’s after dusk. The gates are locked.”
He dangled a key. “Not for me they’re not.”
“How did you…?” She stopped, and her lips thinned to a fine line as she eyed him. “Carter—”
He gave an easy shrug of one shoulder. “I know the owner. He owes me a favor.”
Allison looked out over the water and couldn’t deny that she’d love to go down there and stroll along the privately owned cove. “Are you sure, Carter? You know you’re not supposed to be getting into any trouble.”
He feigned hurt. “Hey, come on, do you even have to ask? Of course I’m sure.”
“Well…”
“I am. Trust me.”
Before she could respond, he gave her hand a tug and she followed him down the back steps. They walked along the stone path until they came to the padlock. Carter opened the lock and gestured for her to enter.
A few minutes later she found herself at th
e water’s edge. It was so beautiful and peaceful, and while she wanted to bask in the glorious serenity of having the place to herself, she knew it still went against town ordinance to be walking along the beach after hours, despite the fact that Carter had a key. There’d been too many drownings in inclement weather, and that put the lives of rescuers at risk.
Carter slipped his arm around her waist. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” she admitted, even though she knew Carter would never let anything happen to her.
Carter gave her a playful grin. “So about this bad feeling…”
“What about it?”
He gestured toward a huge bluff overlooking the water. “Let’s go over there.”
“Why?”
The gleam in his eyes turned wicked. “Do you have to question everything?”
Her entire body quaked with arousal. She felt something inside her shift, urging her to step out of character, just this once, and see where it took her.
“What are you up to?”
A flurry of emotions passed over his face. “I could tell you, but I’d rather show you instead.”
Even though logic warned her to run away, her body urged her to give into impulse.
Clearly the impulsive side of her won out, because a few minutes later she stood at the foot of the rocky bluff, wondering exactly how she was going to climb that embankment in a pair of heeled sandals. Carter pulled her hand and guided her along, but even with his strong palm wrapped around hers, she slipped a few times on the damp rocks. Once they reached the top, the land leveled off, and Carter walked her to the grassy edge overlooking the water. The place was so secluded, so intimate. A light spray rose from the ocean and sprinkled over them, cooling their flesh.
Allison shivered but Carter gave a blissful moan. When Allison arched a questioning brow, he explained, “Feels good on the burn.”
They turned their attention to the night sky. A mosaic of stars overhead set the ambiance for romance, and the full moon lit up the ocean. She stared out over the sparkling water, looking as far as the eye could see.
“It’s absolutely gorgeous here, Carter.”
Carter moved in behind her and dragged her into his arms. Despite the burn, he pressed his chest into her back. “I thought you might like it.”
She could hear the heat in his voice, the need. Allison knew all about that need. When a tremble moved through her, he tightened his hold. God, she’d forgotten how nice it felt to be held by him.
His warm breath tickled her neck. “I’ve missed you, Ally.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but what could she say. She’d missed him too.
As lust overrode common sense and desire sang through her veins, she found herself melting into him.
His warm hand slid under her blouse and brushed over her stomach. His touch sent shock waves through her and unleashed her need. As she took pleasure in the feel of his strong hands on her body, and felt his hard arousal press against her back, some small coherent part of her brain warned that she was crossing a line, one that might not be so easy to come back from and would undoubtedly result in heartache.
Allison gulped. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”
Carter spun her to face him. He wet his mouth as dark eyes full of passion searched her face. “Do you want me to stop?”
Her womb clenched as moisture pooled between her legs. “Yes. No. I don’t know.”
Carter brushed the soft pad of his thumb over her lips. “That bad feeling again?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, tell you what, sweetheart. Let’s not overthink this. Instead, let’s just do what feels good.”
She opened her mouth, but her words of protest were lost on a moan when his lips crashed down on hers. Warm need pulsed through her blood as he kissed her long and hard until her body throbbed with pent-up passion. When he deepened the kiss and she tasted the beer on his tongue, she knew she was utterly trumped.
God, it’s been too long since I’ve been kissed like this.
He abandoned her mouth and pressed his lips to that sensitive area on her neck as he pushed a knee between her legs to widen them. His lips felt like fire on her skin, and there was nothing she could do to stop herself from grinding her pussy against his hard thigh. Pleasure coursed through her, hot and heavy in her veins. She couldn’t deny that she wanted this, wanted him so much she ached. Her hands raced over him with aroused eagerness, tugging at his T-shirt.
God, I need…
When she whimpered, Carter looked at her. His voice was so intimate, so soft and full of emotions when he asked, “Did that feel good, Ally?”
She gave a slow nod, her breath labored, unsteady. With that, Carter tore off his shirt and pulled her close. She ran her hands over his hard back muscles, reacquainting herself with his strong, athletic body. His fingers found the buttons on her blouse, and he opened them one by one, until her hard nipples were exposed through her lace bra.
A low sound crawled out of his throat as he brushed his thumb over one distended bud. “How about this, sweetheart? Does this feel good?”
Instead of answering she let her lids fall shut, her body basking in the erotic sensations rolling through her.
Allison ran her tongue over her kiss-swollen lips as want burned a lazy path through her body. Carter pulled her bra cup to the side and lowered his mouth to her breast. That first, sweet flick of his tongue over her sensitive nipple had her arching into him and moaning in sensual bliss.
“Oh God, yes,” she cried out, and that seemed to be all the encouragement Carter needed.
He quickly removed her sweater, blouse and bra, leaving her standing there in nothing but her jeans. He took a long moment to look at her near nakedness, the heat in his eyes intensifying and warming her all over.
He stepped close, lightly caressing her arms as he dipped his head, his hair brushing her cheek. “You’re beautiful, Ally.”
Her gaze slid over him, need pumping through her veins. “So are you.”
He packaged her in his strong arms, and she could feel his cock press into her stomach. His eyes were dark, his gaze tormented. “Tell me you want this.”
As his primal essence completely overwhelmed her, she struggled to think, to rationalize. But her brain didn’t want to work, and her body only wanted to feel. In that instant she made the quick decision that tonight was too perfect to pass up. The combination of the full moon, the sand and surf, not to mention the half-naked man before her was more than she could take. She’d gift herself with this night in Carter’s arms, then tomorrow…well, tomorrow she’d get her head on straight and her life back on track.
But tonight…oh, tonight…
“I want this,” she murmured, but she needed him to understand. “Tonight, Carter. Just, tonight.”
She felt a tremble move through him, and he lightly brushed his lips over hers, a kiss so soft and so intimate it turned her inside out. A moment later he eased away and turned his attention to the pile of clothes at their feet. He sank to his knees and made them a soft place to settle. Then he twisted to face her, until his mouth was inches from her stomach. He wrapped his arms around her hips and dragged her to him. His warm breath tickled her flesh as he pressed his lips to her naval.
“I want you naked, sweetheart,” he murmured. She rocked her hips as his hand released the button on her jeans. She inhaled sharply when the hiss of her zipper cut through the silence around them.
Carter gripped her pants and pulled them to her ankles. Before she could step out of them, he buried his face in the juncture of her legs, licking her sex through her lace panties. He drew a deep breath, and his growl of pleasure had her burning with need. Allison wobbled and she raked her fingers through his hair to hang on.
The blistering heat of his mouth scorched her clit and bombarded her with hunger. “Oh God, Carter,” she cried out.
“Do you like that, Ally Cat?”
“You know I do,�
� she managed to get out through gasping breaths.
His soft chuckle seeped under her skin. “Yeah, baby, I know you do.”
Restless, edgy and needing more after being deprived of his touch for the last four months, she kicked off her shoes, and as she gyrated against his mouth, a frustrated noise sounded in her throat.
He gripped her hips to still her. “Easy there, sweetheart. We have all night.”
She whimpered in protest, but when he wrapped the lace straps around his fingers and pulled her panties to her ankles, a riot of emotions erupted inside her. He tapped her legs, and when she stepped out of her clothes, Carter tossed them to the side.
“Widen for me,” he ordered in a soft yet commanding tone.
A warm shiver moved through her as she obliged. Carter shot her a pleased look then inched open her damp lips and lightly brushed her lust-swollen clit. She bucked hard, demanding more.
Carter’s breath came in a low rush. “You’re so wet.”
Her skin grew tight, pressure building inside her. Damp with passion, she threw her head back and pitched her hips forward. “Carter, please…”
Answering her needs, he leaned forward and with a slow, skilled pass brushed his tongue over her pussy, licking all the way from the bottom to the top. He pillaged her with his tongue and her muscles clenched in response.
A moment later he took possession of her hard nub, greedily pulling it into his mouth. He inserted a finger and lust stole every ounce of her strength. Slowly, methodically he moved in and out of her, pushing her to the precipice. In no time at all she could feel small spasms pulling at her core, and she bit back a breathy sigh. Her internal temperature rose and her skin flushed hot. God, it had been too long since she’d been touched like this. A wave of desire pulsed through her, and moments before she tumbled into an orgasm, Carter moved back and shot her a dark, scalding glance, raw hunger firing his eyes.
“I want to be inside you when you come.”
Unable to find her voice, she nodded and gave him a look that conveyed her desire. Carter tugged her down next to him then laid her out on the bed of clothes.