by Cari Quinn
As the sun crested the horizon and slowly crept up the trunk of the cypress tree next to the building, they nearly soundlessly put down shingles. The scraping trowel and nail gun were the only sounds they made until better than half of the shingles were in neat rows. The rest were down on the ground. He stood and leaned back against the fresh shingles and stretched his back. It was getting hot and his lips and tongue felt like sandpaper. “We should take a break and drink something. I normally keep a cooler of water and Gatorade up here, but didn’t think about it today.” She nodded and pulled back the hood of her jacket. Her head was soaked with sweat, her hair wet and plastered to her scalp. He shook his head. “Why do you wear that? Your face is very red. You could get heat sick.”
Sophie shook her head, causing small drops of sweat to fling off her. But she was far enough away that she didn’t spray him. “Better red from hot than red from burn. I have a lot of Irish in me. I burn really easily. The first time I worked on a roof, I blistered up something fierce. It was so bad I had to go to the doctor. He told me that I had better start covering up or I’d wind up with skin cancer.”
Oh. That made sense then. She was simply cautious. “I’ve heard of people burning easily, but I’ve never met one before. I spend all day out without a shirt, and have never burned. I get hot, and sweat, but then I drink some water and cool right down. I don’t know anyone in my family who has ever had a sunburn.”
She was watching him with an odd intensity in her face that he couldn’t quite place. “Lucky.” The word came out slightly breathless which made him frown. She was flushed, more than she should be.
“You need to get into the shade. You don’t look too good.”
She paused and then shook her head, as though clearing her mind. “Just a little warm. We probably should take a break.”
He unhooked his lanyard and reached for the ladder. “I will go first . . . in case you feel lightheaded coming down.” Without waiting for an answer, he climbed down and then waited at the bottom for her to come down, one foot on the bottom rung so the ladder stayed stable.
“Look, Gabe,” she said at the top before turning around and putting her feet on the rungs. “I appreciate the concern, but I’m not some delicate flower who has to be protected.”
“Be that as it may,” he responded as she reached the rung near his head. He put his hands up to touch her waist to help guide her descent . . . causing her to freeze for a moment. “I see no reason to let your pride cause you to injure yourself. There is no shame in accepting help when you need it. And had you looked in a mirror, you would have realized you were nearing heat stroke.” She continued down the last few steps without speaking as he guided her safely to the ground. Once she was on the pavement and turned around, he dipped his head politely. “You see? Safety did not hurt, did it?”
“No.” The word was a little breathless and she was blinking. She let out a slow breath through her lips. “But I think some water would be a good idea about now.”
“Of course. You sit here in the shade. I’ll get some.”
Gabe hurried into the office. The blast of chilled air was a shock to his system and made him realize just how hot it was outside. Opening the refrigerator, he grabbed a few bottles of Gatorade and then took a few bottles of water from the cupboard that were not chilled. His uncle had always taught him to drink cool water, not cold, so he could drink more of it.
Sophie was sitting on the ground in the shade when he got back. She’d taken off her sweatshirt and still another shirt underneath. The gray tank top she was wearing was sopping with sweat. He handed her a room temperature bottle first. “Finish this and then we can drink the Gatorade. You’ve lost a lot of fluids.”
She nodded. “Good plan. I’ve never been a fan of ice water.” Watching her open and start to drink the bottle made him realize how thirsty he also was. He opened the bottle and started to drink. It was cool down his throat and he closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation.
The sensation of a hand on his neck made him open his eyes, startled. The last few swallows of water spilled from the bottle down his neck. Sophie was inches from him and was staring at her hand as it wiped away the sweat on his neck. His heart started to pound from the look in her eyes. Hungry, untamed, needy. Her voice was tight and breathless as she whispered, “I’ve been needing to do that for two years. God, how I’ve wanted to.” Without another word, her fingers slid behind his neck and pulled him forward sharply. Her lips found his and he didn’t even try to stop her as she hungrily ate at his mouth. He reached for her and leaned into her body, pushing her back against the brick pillar.
Her skin was slick with sweat and the scent of the flowers was stronger, muskier—like the deepest part of the jungle. He wasn’t going to let this opportunity get away. He broke back from the kiss and pulled her by the hand toward his room. She didn’t try to stop him. He hadn’t set the lock when he joined her on the roof, so he didn’t have to get out his keys. Once inside, he locked it firmly. The rest of the shingles could wait.
The tool belt was first, and it made a satisfying thunk as it hit the floor. She worked on his until it too dropped like a weight to land on the carpeting. Gabe pulled her back, peeling off his shirt as he did, toward the bathroom. He wanted to let water pour over them together, like standing under a waterfall.
He turned on the faucets and adjusted the temperature. By the time he’d turned around, she was naked, her body soaked in sweat. He had to slip his hand down his pants to be able to unzip them, as hard as he already was. She helped pull down the pants and was kneeling when he let go of his cock. She nuzzled her face against it and he let out a groan. As much as he wanted her to surround him with her mouth, he wanted to soap her body down first, run his hands over the slickness of her. “First we bathe. Come.” He held out his hand and she took it, her body molding to his under the flow of water while he kissed her again.
The handful of soap burst forth the scent of vines and moss and as he coated her hair and body. He delighted in her cries of pleasure as he tongued and nibbled at her skin while his hands caressed and stroked her with soap. Each time the water cleaned an area, his mouth was on it. Her neck, between her breasts, the taut, erect nipples. Her fingers ran through his hair, spreading more of the soap, scrubbing and stroking as his fingers slipped between her legs to clean the delicate skin there. She was slick, and not just from soap.
“Oh, god!” Her voice was harsh, panicked. “Please, Gabe.”
He began to rub her hardened clit as she dug fingers into his shoulders like in his dream. But unlike the dream, her callouses were rough against his skin. He realized the sensation was seductive. Her fingers scratched and tickled along his spine and it made him crazy.
Sophie’s breasts were just like he’d imagined, full and heavy under his lips. Soon she was pressed back against the wall, her voice just a series of groans and cries as his thumb moved in and out of her while his other thumb rubbed her nub. She started to lose her balance so he sat her on the edge of the tub and kept moving his hands and mouth until she could take it no more. With a strangled cry, she went over the edge. His mouth was there instantly, tasting her, taking her higher. He knelt in the wide tub and pulled her down to lay on the tub bottom, her legs high in the air.
Water rained down on them as he eased himself inside her. She cried out again as his mouth found hers and he started to move in and out. He pulled back enough to whisper next to her ear, “I have wanted you for so very long.”
“I have too,” she replied. He wasn’t sure how that was possible, but he wasn’t going to argue. Soon they were moving in rhythm as she met each of his thrusts with upward motion. The slapping sound as their hips met was constant under the flow of the warm water and the pounding of it on his back urged him on even faster.
He was close, so close but trying to hang on to let this last as long as possible. But Sophie snaked a hand down between them and began to toy with the base of his cock, rubbing behind it in a circular moti
on that gave him a sensation so strong that he couldn’t hold off any more.
He kissed her fiercely and pulled out of her just as he orgasmed, rubbing his erection against her belly and breasts as he began to come. She moved her hand with him and coaxed more out, rubbing and pulling as he thrust furiously and struggled to catch his breath. When he was finally spent, he rolled off to the side of her as the water poured over them both, cleaning their fluids down the drain. “That was delightful, Sophie.”
“You were . . . amazing,” she said, after a few moments, moving slightly so the water wasn’t hitting her right in the face. “I had no idea the bathtubs were this big!”
Gabe chuckled in pleasure. “Mr. Will liked not only baths for one, but for two. That was the first renovation on the list when he bought the Starlight.” He reached up with one foot and tapped down on the lever on the spigot to turn off the shower. The rush of warm water began to fill the tub. His hip was blocking the drain so they could float together. He put an arm around Sophie and pulled her against his chest. She twisted slightly so she could wrap her knee around his thigh.
“While that’s not something I want to think about my grandfather doing, I’m very glad he invested in the tubs.” She leaned over and began to lick water off his chest and it felt . . . oh, very nice.
“You should be careful. It has been some time since I have been with a woman as sexy as you. I might just have to carry you to the bed and have you again.”
She twitched her eyebrows and gave a sly smile. “Why wait?” She pulled her arm from behind his head and put her palms on the edges of the tub. He watched with growing arousal as ropes of muscles in her arm lifted her bodily over him. She sat down, straddling his hips and began to slowly rub her crotch against his. The movements caused the water to slosh in waves against his balls, which made his pulse begin to race again. Pulling her forward, he began to suckle at her breasts again as he began to harden under her. She raised up slightly onto her knees and then settled down again, his now solid erection deep inside her.
She rode him slowly and he let her, closing his eyes to let the sensations wash over him. Different images of her flashed through his mind—the happy, innocent smiling woman in the photo, the serious professional who arrived in a limo, the dressed up date, the casual Sophie ready for a beach party and the workman, easily handling tools that not even every man could wield. He opened his eyes to see the sexual Sophie, her lips parted, eyes closed, as she took her pleasure from him. So many different women in such a short time. She could easily steal his heart if he wasn’t very careful.
A moan escaped him as she began to speed up. He began to thrust up into her each time she lowered herself onto him and she began to gasp. She leaned forward and grasped his shoulders, changing the angle. Gabe put his hands on her hips and began to thrust in earnest, the sensation inside of him stronger than last time, as though the previous orgasm hadn’t sated him, but had increased his need. She lay passive above him now, letting him control the speed. “I love the feeling of your body around me.”
“Take me, Gabe. I want you so bad.”
The water was halfway up his chest now, lapping at the edge of the tub, so he moved his body slightly to let the drain start to pull some of the water away. But the sensation of the moving water as it began to swirl down turned his brain to putty. He buried his face in her hair and began to nip at her neck, his need wanting more from her. She responded by digging in her nails and nipping at his neck in return. The combination of sensations sent them both over the edge together.
The water was nearly gone by the time they caught their breath and the throbbing in his cock subsided. Surely he was spent this time.
But as they were toweling off, just the sight of her muscled round behind made him crazy yet again. He grabbed her hips and began to thrust, pushing her up against the wall until they’d come yet a third time in less than an hour. It was insane, impossible, and yet he couldn’t seem to get enough of her.
She fell asleep in his arms, barely the middle of the afternoon, her arm pale and perfect against his dark chest, her hair impossibly blonde and silken. The roof could wait. He couldn’t think of anywhere he would rather be than in her arms.
CHAPTER FOUR
Sophie stood up from the desk chair, stretching her back. Her legs and hips protested sharply. It felt like she’d spent the last week tripling up on spin class, but who needed cycling when Gabe was around? The week had flown by in a flurry of sexual innuendo, aching need and sexual gymnastics. Every time she saw him, she turned to butter. Whenever he stripped off his shirt under the blazing sun, she couldn’t take her eyes off the sculpted muscles, the perfect jawline, the thick curled hair, dripping with sweat. Oh my—
But the sultry nights with him were even better. When he took her, he claimed her, cupping her chin with rough hands and kissing her so deep that she couldn’t breath. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on the man, just sinewy strength. Yet he could be so gentle, like he couldn’t believe he was touching her.
And while she couldn’t understand why he felt the same about her, he swore he did. He called her intoxicating, vivacious, beautiful, and the hunger in his eyes when they made love couldn’t be denied.
She was infatuated, pure and simple. That was the only reason she could think of why it had taken her so long to sit down in the office and go over the books. Gabe had gone to the lumber yard to get one more bucket of roof cement. There was only a small corner left, but it really needed to get done.
There was a knock on the office door and she automatically called out. “Come in.”
Marie poked her head in. “Am I interrupting?”
She shook her head and waved her forward toward the chair next to the desk. “Not at all. I needed a break anyway. Would you like some coffee? It’s a fresh pot.”
“Yes, please,” the older woman nodded. She set down a pink and turquoise striped beach bag on the floor next to her.
Sophie had grown to really like Grandpa’s girlfriend. It made her happy that he’d had such fun at the end of his life. The fact that Marie had made him happy right up to the end made it somehow worth knowing. “Just a little sugar, please. My stomach doesn’t like cream anymore.”
Passing her a cup, she sat back down. “What can I do for you?”
After a sip of coffee, Marie put the cup on the desk. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you alone for a few days now. But it’s been hard to catch you alone. You and Gabriel have been a little . . . preoccupied..” She smiled knowingly and let out a small laugh.
Blushing was pointless. The whole complex knew about them by now. “Well, I haven’t exactly been playing hard to get. But he’s out for probably an hour. What did you want to say?”
Marie tapped her fingernails on the polished wood and then reached into the beach bag, extracting an old-fashioned ledger book. She put it on top of the papers on the desk.
Sophie had seen similar ones in Grandpa’s office. While he used computers, he seemed to think best when writing on the pale green paper with red and blue pens. “You need to look at this, dear,” Marie said. “It’s the books that Will kept on the Starlight.”
Sophie motioned to the desk. “I’ve been looking over the books. Everything appears fine.”
She tapped a painted fingernail on the red leather cover. “In those books, probably. But these are the actual figures.” Sophie couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows and the silver-haired woman let out a frustrated breath. “Your grandfather was a wonderful man. He was. I loved him with all my heart. When he thought about business, he would be a cold, logical man because that’s what’s needed. A pragmatist. But when he was here—” She paused and then smiled. “He loved the Starlight, Sophie. It was more than just a motel to him. Gabe is absolutely right about that. But his brain turned off when he got here and he turned into an idealist who believed Gabe when he said that everyone needs everything for the price they can afford.” She tapped a finger on the book. “You and I know that business d
oesn’t work that way. Look this over, but not here. And please don’t show it to Gabriel until you’ve thought about what to say. He’ll be hard to win over and see things the way Will should have insisted on.” She took a final sip of coffee and then stood up. “I’m going to wander down to the beach, dear. When you’re done looking, you can either keep this or give it back to me. It depends on what you decide.”
She cracked open the book after Marie left. It appeared to be a monthly expense summary. Wondering what was different from what she’d been looking at, she made copies of the balance sheets that Gabe had been preparing and took them back to her room to look at.
An hour later, she was glad she’d thrown the security bar across the lock because Gabe tried to come in to her room with the master key, startling her so badly that she nearly slid all the papers into the trash can in reaction. “Sophie? Is everything okay?” He asked it through the narrow slit that the security bar allowed. “Why is the door locked?” It was a valid question, because she’d given him carte blanche to come in when he pleased several days before.
The lie came out so easily that it made her stomach tense up and heat come to her face. “I just have a really bad headache. Too much paperwork. Could I beg off tonight? I’m not very hungry.”
“Oh. Of course. If you’re ill, I understand.” His voice sounded disappointed and sad, and she had to tighten her fingers into the chair arms to stop herself from going to the door and opening it up and giving him a big hug. But he would have no idea why and she didn’t know how to tell him the reason.
She forced a smile onto her face so he could hear it. “I’m sure it’s just eyestrain from looking over all the books. I’ll be fine in the morning. I took some aspirin.”