by Penny Kane
Despite not being too bright, Nicco was a lot of fun and Polly was glad she’d met him. They swam and played about in the water, and Polly’s packed lunch was forgotten when he invited her out to eat. There was no hesitation in her voice when she accepted his invitation and she knew she drove back to the hotel far too fast. She was relieved she wasn’t caught speeding by the police.
Once in her hotel room, Polly was frantic. She showered quickly to get the sea, salt, and sand out of her hair and flicked through the wardrobe to find something to wear. She wanted something feminine and alluring, but not too slutty. Despite being greatly turned on by this Greek hunk, she certainly didn’t want to give the impression that she was easy. He’d have to earn his prize. When did my thoughts become so wanton? Polly Lloyd, you are a slut! She laughed at herself as she hurriedly put on a figure-hugging top and skirt and re-applied her makeup.
By the time she’d blow-dried her hair, checked that she had everything, and made her way down to the foyer, Nicco was already there waiting for her. Polly couldn’t believe her eyes. He actually looks sexier with his clothes on! His tight-fitting white polo shirt accentuated his muscles and jeans. Polly felt like pinching herself to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming.
He stood and grinned, obviously checking her out. “You look fantastic!”
Polly resisted the impulse to tell him that he did, too. “Thank you!” She smiled back and stared into his bottomless brown eyes. She had to make a concerted effort to walk and act normally as they headed out to his car. Pack it in! You’re not fifteen-years-old! She chided herself. Why did being with this guy make her feel so excited?
His car was a Cabriolet. Of course, it was – that’s what she’d written him as having. When she wrote the book, she remembered Georgios driving Steve’s dream car. She smiled to herself as she looked at the Mercedes-Benz 190SL in the car park.
Nicco thought she was admiring it. “Isn’t she a beaut?”
Polly smiled. “Yes, she is. What year is she?” It always made her smile that men referred to their cars as she.
“She’s a 1960 190SL series, and no, I don’t tuck her in at night.” He winked at her.
Polly couldn’t help but laugh. I guess he’s been asked that before, then. She climbed into the passenger seat while he held the door open and admitted to herself that it was an impressive motor when Nicco turned the engine over and revved it to show off.
Going for a drive was a pleasurable experience. It was a hot day, and with the top down, the breeze was refreshing. Polly hadn’t tied her hair back, but had a small brush in her handbag which she knew she would need at their destination’s end. She just hoped she wouldn’t look like a she had a lion’s mane when she got out.
They drove for a short while to Burleigh Heads and Nicco stopped outside a fish restaurant simply named The Fish House. Polly was so famished that she didn’t care what she ate. They had baby calamari and then pan-roasted New Zealand hapuka. Nicco didn’t really have to try too hard to impress Polly with this place – it did all the work for him. The food was exquisite. He’d ordered white wine and Polly, who was already heady from being with him, didn’t realise how much she was drinking.
Nicco managed to persuade her to try the strawberry and rhubarb crumble with vanilla bean ice cream. Polly was glad she was persuaded. It was delicious. She made a mental note of the name and location of the restaurant. She certainly wanted to visit again someday.
As the meal progressed and they began their second bottle of wine – Polly was unaware that she’d drunk the lion’s share of the first – the intensity of their gazes deepened and Polly knew what Nicco was suggesting with his gorgeous brown eyes. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for that yet. Despite the fact that she was greatly attracted to the man, she didn’t want to seem too eager to jump into the sack with him, no matter how tempted she truly was.
“How about we head down to the park and take a walk on the beach?”
Polly smiled at him. For a second there she thought he was going to ask to go back to her hotel. That would have been way too fast for her. She finished up her wine; he paid the bill and headed back to his car. It wasn’t until Polly stood up and the room swam that she realised she was on the far side of tipsy. She did her level best to walk straight as he led her to the car, but he kept turning back, looking at her, and smiling. She was plainly failing miserably at not looking drunk, and the embarrassing thing was he knew it and found it funny. That set Polly off giggling, and on the drive to the park, Polly knew, despite not caring a jot about it, that Nicco had plied her with wine deliberately probably in the hopes of getting what they both really wanted. Polly realised she needed to sober up a little if she was to avoid sleeping with Nicco on the first date.
The scenery in the park was breathtaking and the sea air helped clear Polly’s head a little. She’d always loved the Queensland coastline and it held a special place in her heart. “You know, I came here for the first time when I was about ten.”
“Here?” Nicco looked interested. Polly had discovered that one of his favourite subjects was his homeland.
“Yes.” She nodded. “My dad was an airline engineer and often travelled to Brisbane with his work. One year, he took some holiday time and when he finished whatever job it was he was doing at the airport, he drove us down here.”
“Choice! Where did you stay?”
“At Jacob’s Well. I loved it.”
“Ah, yeah, it’s ace there.”
Polly smiled. “Yes it is. We visited often throughout my teen years.” She sighed. “But that all stopped once I went to Uni.”
“You went to Uni?” He nodded and looked impressed.
Polly nodded. “Yeah, Auckland.” Yep, you’ve caught yourself a smart sheila, bruce.
“Cool! What did you study?”
“Ancient history. I was a history teacher for a while.”
“Awesome, why did you give it up?”
Polly took a deep breath and braced herself to say the sentence that a lot of men would balk at. Remember, this is a holiday romance; you’re not going to settle down with him. “I fell pregnant.”
“You’re a mum?”
Was that fear she saw in his eyes? Surely he was old enough not to expect his conquests to be without strings. “Yes. I have a son, Brendan. He’s at the University of Auckland now, studying medicine.”
“Wow, brains run in the family, then?”
She laughed. “I guess they do.” She watched him for a moment or two while they stared out at the surf crashing against the rocks. “And you? Have you always been a Queenslander?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I was born in Brisbane and moved down here when my dad decided to open a restaurant when he retired.”
“Is that what you do now?”
He shrugged and looked down at his feet. He obviously didn’t want to reveal too much information about himself. “Aw, I sort of manage the place now that Dad’s gone. I’m no chef; I let others do that.”
Polly smiled. “I’d like to see your restaurant.”
Nicco reddened. “Perhaps some other time, eh?”
Oops, stepped over the line into forbidden territory there, Polly dear. “Yeah, great.” She stepped down off the rocks and began to walk along the beach. She turned and shouted back to him, “Are you coming or what?”
The grin that spread across his face as he jumped down into the sand and ran to catch her up told her that was precisely what he hoped he’d be doing before the day was out. Polly blushed. She thought the same thing. What was it about this man she’d only just met that made her want to throw all caution to the wind? How on earth was she to avoid the inevitable conclusion to their date? As they walked along the sand catching each other’s knowing looks, Polly knew that without a doubt the day would end with her being naked and in bed with a complete stranger.
Chapter Thirteen
The atmosphere between the pair grew thicker and heavier as they walked, and eventually, they made a beeline back to
the car. Their destination was unspoken but understood by both.
On the drive back to the hotel, Polly tried to think of a way to delay the inevitable, but her heart wasn’t in it. She never wanted anyone as much as she wanted the man sitting in the driver’s seat next to her.
The hotel staff looked the other way as the pair entered the foyer. Polly collected her keys and they made their way to the lifts. She didn’t know how they’d even make it to her room; the tension between them was so tangible it could be cut with a knife.
Just as the doors to the lift were closing, a hand forced its way into the gap and an elderly woman’s face appeared. “Help me get these doors open, will you, son?”
Polly giggled, but Nicco did as he was asked and stopped the doors from closing so the lady could join them.
“Thank you. I thought I’d have to wait for the next one.” She sighed.
Polly and Nicco’s eyes were back on each other again.
“On your honeymoon, are we, lovelies?” The old lady smiled at them both. “Ah, so nice to see a couple in love. It reminds me of when I first married…”
The woman, as sweet as she was, was also a chatterbox and did not stop talking about ‘when she first got married’ until she stepped out of the lift, thankfully one floor below Polly’s. As soon as the doors closed and the lift moved once more, Polly and Nicco burst into laughter.
“My goodness, what a character!”
The laughter broke the tension and achieved something else, too. Nicco was now holding Polly’s hand. She looked up at him and his eyes flicked from hers to her mouth. She knew he was going to kiss her. However, the lift stopped again, the doors opened, they exited, and the moment was gone.
Polly led him along the corridor to her room. Thankfully, she didn’t have any bother with the key card this time and once they’d stepped into the room, she locked the door behind her.
Polly couldn’t help but grin as he walked towards her with his eyes fixed on hers, fully declaring his intentions. She’d written this scene and enjoyed every single minute of it, just as she knew she’d enjoy every heart-pumping, breathtaking moment of the night to come. He stood before her – the Greek Adonis that her own imagination had conjured up.
Oh my, I’m going to love this. Come here, big man! She tried to remember exactly what she wrote about his kisses as he took her face in his hands. His hands were so warm, Polly felt herself melting into him as his lips touched hers. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and she almost choked. She forced herself to resist the urge to pull away. What on earth is he doing with his tongue? She was sure it was some kind of new dentistry. There was nothing passionate about it; neither was it igniting her to new heights of desire. In fact, it was making her nauseous, and why was he slurping so much? Polly knew full well she’d only had two lovers – Steve, and Todd at Uni – but neither of them had salivated this much. She was gagging, literally. She had to push him away. She did so as gently as she could.
Polly smiled. “Whew, I need to catch my breath.” She hugged him and wiped her mouth on his shoulder as she wondered how he managed to suck, slurp, and check her teeth for cavities all at the same time.
Ok, perhaps that was bad beginner’s luck. Surely it has to get better from here on. Polly hoped she was right and allowed him to kiss her for a second time.
Nope. At this rate, I’m going to need the Coast Guard to come and prevent me from drowning. Polly decided to change tack. She tried allowing him to kiss her fully and then pulled away each time just before the saliva tsunami overcame her. It seemed to work. Hmm… Now, this is much better! Judging by the moaning sounds emanating from Nicco’s lips, he thought the same thing.
Polly managed to survive his kisses with her new technique, and before she knew what was happening, his hands were all over her. This is more like it. He lifted her tight top and cupped her ample breasts in his hands. Oh yes, these are the hot, fire-making hands I wrote about. Things were obviously improving. Polly tried to remember what she wrote about his body as he lifted his polo shirt up over his head and flung it across the room.
‘His wonderful scent made her want to lick his body from head to toe, and she started with the side of his neck.’ Polly smiled at the remembrance of her words and nuzzled her face into the place between his neck and shoulder, eager to live every single word written. However, the taste of salty sweat and Old Spice made her heave. Again, reality smacked her in the face with the fact that novels are great fantasy and real life sucks. She almost burst into laughter with the irony of the situation, but her Greek Adonis was tugging at the belt of his jeans and she didn’t want to miss a second of this show.
Eagerly, she moved to help him off with his jeans. Her passion was heightening and she had desperately wanted him all day. She didn’t care about the near-drowning horror of his kisses, nor the fact that he seemed to have bathed entirely in Old Spice that day. That was beside the point. Here, with his hands all over her body and his lips kissing as much of her flesh as he could, was an absolute hunk of a man, and she’d be an absolute fool of a woman not to give in to the promised pleasures entirely.
But she couldn’t help herself. Her mind kept replaying excerpts from her book. It was as though mentally, she was narrating their actions. She tore at his boxer shorts to free him and ‘…revealed his huge Greek salami…’ Oh! I don’t think so; it’s more like a cocktail sausage! Polly gasped in shock at its diminutive stature, despite his obvious excitement.
Nicco took it as a gasp of pleasure. “Oh yeah, baby, every inch of me is yours.” Every inch? You mean this gets bigger and becomes inches, plural? Oh well, it’s what you can do with it that counts…I guess.
He kissed his way down her torso and paused with his mouth near her belly button as he pushed her skirt and panties down and she stepped out of them. Before Polly knew what was happening, Nicco thrust his tongue into her navel cavity. Eww! What on earth? Polly had to do something to stop that, and fast. She placed her hands on either side of his face and gently pulled him upwards. She kissed him full on the mouth, and then pulled away just in time to avoid the incoming tide.
“I want you, now,” she whispered and he grinned at her.
Nicco picked her up and carried her to the bed. This is nice. However, the landing wasn’t quite so soft; she was plonked, rather than placed, onto the bed. Before she could recover from that, he climbed on top of her, kissing and nipping at her nipples with his lips. Oh yeah, at least I like the way you do that!
He parted her legs and ran his hand up the inside of her thigh. He shifted his position and prepared to enter, placing his elbows above her head.
Polly sighed in exasperation. Now he was leaning on her hair, and it hurt. How could she focus on anything else when it felt like she was being scalped? She didn’t remember sex with Steve being this complicated to get right. She grabbed hold of her hair and yanked it out from underneath his elbow.
Nicco was atop of her and thrusting his pelvis. “Oh yeah, that’s so good!” He moaned with pleasure.
Polly looked at him in astonishment. She wasn’t even aware that he was inside her yet. She thought he was just poking around her labia. Polly groaned in frustration. I’m not having this. She pushed her pelvis hard against him as he came forward against her in an attempt to have him enter her fully.
“Oh!” He yelled with his eyes firmly shut as he lost himself in his own private ecstasy. “Oh, you like it deep, huh?”
Deep? You call that deep? Polly continued to thrust against him and eventually she felt her fires re-ignite. Oh yeah, just don’t stop, whatever you do!
With a few more thrusts, Nicco groaned loudly and collapsed onto her. Polly looked at him in confusion. What was he doing?
He rolled off her and onto his back. His body was covered in sweat. “Did you finish?” he asked breathlessly.
Polly simply smiled kindly and kissed him gently.
“Whoa, that was good, but I could really use a shower now. I’m sweating like a pig on hea
t, know what I mean?”
Polly laughed at the absurdity of it all, not at what he’d said, and climbed out of bed and headed straight to the shower. But then, once under the water, Nicco joined her and reprieved himself, making Polly’s shower as hot and steamy as the water.
The night continued in much the same vein, and Polly began to feel that it was worth all the effort in the end. They ordered room service, most of which was left untouched, and it was well into the wee small hours before they both finally fell asleep, exhausted.
* * * *
The next few days passed in a whirl for Polly. If she and Nicco weren’t in bed or heading in that direction, then they were on the beach or dining in some gorgeous little restaurant in a part of the Gold Coast that Polly had never before discovered.
In fact, after the first bungled night, things improved bedroom-wise. However, they hadn’t improved so much that Polly didn’t swear completely off writing such things ever again in any future novel.
Polly made a mental note never, ever to write, ‘Oh my!’ in her novels again! What kind of pathetic woman says that? And what man ever actually made a woman say that? She rolled her eyes at the memory of their fumbles in bed that first night. It was more ‘oh for goodness’ sake’ than ‘oh my!’ If she was ever tempted to write it in another novel, she swore it’d be connected to ‘Oh my God!’ or ‘Oh my goodness, get off me, you great lumbering oaf!’
Nicco was a hunk and there was no denying it – that was a fact. However, he did severely lack in many areas. But at least she was having a little holiday fun, and going dutch or having him pay for some of their meals out meant that she wasn’t spending as much money as she probably would have had she eaten out alone.