by Ari Thatcher
Matt added the vegetables and cooked shrimp, stirring carefully to keep everything in the pan. He had difficulty concentrating when he’d rather be stirring the pot with Jen. All in good time. The week was young.
He kept the conversation on safe ground while they ate, then he helped her into the living room. He punched the buttons on his remote to turn down the volume on the wireless sound bar.
Sitting close to her on the couch, he set his glass on the coffee table. He stretched an arm across the back of the cushion and toyed with her braid. “I am so glad you came back to Maui.”
Lifting her chin, she looked his way. Her lips pressed together, although he thought they quivered first. “I had to go back to the last time I was truly happy. It’s part of my healing process.”
His hand lowered to rest on her shoulder, absorbing her warmth. Part of him celebrated that she still thought happily about their time together, but he ached that she’d been hurt enough by something to need healing. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really,” she admitted. “Let’s not spoil the night. Tell me what you are up to these days.”
Stretching out his legs, he leaned back into the cushions. “I do pretty much the same thing I did that summer we were both here. Help people be safe in the ocean. Teach them to properly use the equipment.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand how you could go from such a successful job to working for nothing. Don’t you ever wish you’d moved up, gotten promoted to management or something along the way?”
Matt held back a laugh as realization hit. “I seem to have skipped that part of my story. I own the rental business now. The whole resort. I guess that makes me the big kahuna. I’ve got a slew of kids helping out in the peak season, and you’ve met a lot of the staff in the hotel. I kept on the management staff when I bought it. I don’t enjoy standing around being the boss. I’m doing the part I love, out in the water and sun.”
Her eyes rounded. “Oh! I thought…”
“I know. I never said anything to make you think otherwise. But we never really got into it. Just like we haven’t discussed what you’re doing these days.”
Now she brightened, twisting her upper body to face him. “I went back to school online in the last years of my marriage and got a degree in gerontology. When I get home, I start a new job as assistant manager of a retirement community.”
With her face lit up like that, Matt felt like he’d been kicked in the gut. Her beauty sucker-punched him. The ten years had added something-character, maybe just experience-but whatever the change, it fine-tuned what had already been striking beauty.
Jen’s hand came up from her lap and grasped the back of his neck, tugging him toward her. He didn’t fight the pull. Leaning down, he tentatively pressed his lips to hers. The warmth that met him spread through him.
With a groan, he nibbled at her mouth. His tongue traced the full bow of her lower lip. The scent of her body wash, a faint, delectable vanilla, wafted from her skin, increasing his hunger.
His hand found the waves that’d freed themselves from her braid, and stroked at them as he captured her mouth. She arched, rose to meet him, her tongue pressing between his lips.
He let her explore, then tangled the tip of his tongue with hers. He wanted so much more. This time he wanted to see her. Really see her. What they shared in the past had been in the dark of night, sheltered by trees and the large fern.
Stroking her back, he pressed her against his chest, flattening her soft breasts between them. “I have wanted this for so long.”
“Me too.”
With a growl, he kissed her again, letting the sound of her breaths lead him. A surge of need coursed through him. In the back of his mind he heard slow down but he paid no heed. Suckling her earlobe made her squirm, and his shaft swelled.
For a moment her thought about all the years they missed, all the loving they should have shared. Would he have grown tired of this amazing feeling he had when she enjoyed his touch like this?
She leaned back and he followed, lying over her, adjusting her hips to make room for him beside her so she wouldn’t have to bear his weight. Her breasts rose and fell, her nipples already hard. He couldn’t keep from cupping the nearest one, rubbing his thumb over the fullness.
Soft. So incredibly soft. Her top scooped low enough to offer a tempting hint of the curves beneath. Drawn to the pale skin there, he traced a finger along her neckline. On the return trip he dipped just below the fabric. Her back arched, bringing her closer to his touch.
“Your skin is like porcelain. You’re like a fragile china doll.”
“If you don’t hurry and touch me, you’ll find out how unfragile I am.”
“As you wish.” He tugged at the tank top, pulling the strap off her shoulder and the neckline down to bare one cup of her strapless bra. Teasing fingers flicked at her nipple beneath the white lace and watched it grow.
Jen whimpered, clasping his shoulder. “Please, Matt.”
“Please what?” He leaned down and hovered over her breast, not quite making contact. First he flicked his tongue, then he rubbed his lower teeth against the hardened nub.
The little noises she made were the fucking hottest thing he’d heard in years. He bit the edge of the bra cup and tugged, baring her to his gaze. Her pale pink areola puckered as he watched. As much as he loved the sight of her, he needed to taste.
He took as much of her flesh in his mouth as he could, kneading with his tongue and pulling back slowly. “Damn, you’re so sweet.”
She stroked his shoulders and down his arms, her fingers working under his sleeves. Sitting up, he tugged off the t-shirt and tossed it aside. Her gasp was a stroke to his ego, which was swelling as fast as his shaft.
Her thumbs brushed the contours of his chest, finding areas of sensitivity he’d forgotten. She continued to stare as she explored. “I thought you were so hot when we were younger. I had no idea what hot was.”
As he bared her other breast, he said, “I think we have a better appreciation as we get older. We’re not looking for instant satisfaction.”
“Instant, no,” she agreed. She lifted herself to him.
On a sudden urge, he pulled away, standing and shifting her to lie completely on the couch. Sitting beside her hips, he said, “Sit up a bit.”
She struggled to rise on one elbow and he took off her tank top and reached behind her to unhook her bra. Then he adjusted the throw pillow behind her head and let her relax. “Perfect.”
He nudged at her elbow. “Put your arms up over your head.”
She did, her eyes never leaving his.
“I want to learn every inch of you. Then memorize it. All those years I had just shadowed memories of how you looked. As hard as I tried to picture you, I could only remember how you felt in the darkness.”
Jen reached for his arm but he caught her. “Nah, put that arm back.”
She waited, searching his eyes, then lifted her arm again.
“That’s my girl.” Her flesh swelled beneath his touch as he stroked with light fingers, tracing the pink edge of her areola. He tasted her again, tugged on the nipple and watched her head tilt back in pleasure.
With his tongue he traced a trail between her breasts, down over her ribs, stopping at her navel. There he circled before dipping inside. Her hips bucked, and he wrapped a hand around her hip. The denim fabric held her warmth, kept him from exploring further.
He watched her eyes for permission as he unbuttoned and unzipped the shorts. Grabbing the waistband in both hands he tugged them down, leaving only her lacy bikini panties between them.
Her eyes widened when his hand smoothed across the curve of her belly. Matt continued to stroke, wondering for a moment if he moved too fast. Should he wait, take this slowly? How could he tell if she was really ready for this? Emotionally ready.
The fact that their time together would end soon created urgency, a need to squeeze as much lovemaking into their hours as possible, but
they weren’t young and careless anymore. He concentrated on the softness of her skin and the heat of her body. Her hips bucked beneath his hand, silently encouraging him to move on.
“Are you sure you’re ready?” he asked.
“Good God, you can’t be thinking of stopping now.” She reached for her panties.
He stopped her. “My job. Put your hands back where I told you.”
Groaning, she put her arms back above her head. “Only if you hurry up. I want to touch you, too. I can’t take this torture.” She lifted her hips to allow him to take off her panties, her legs parting as she lay back on the cushion.
“Such sweet torture,” he murmured, his hand moving down one thigh. “Sweet, sweet…”
They created a rhythm, his exploring fingers, and her rocking hips. He continued to tease, down one leg, up again and across her belly, just above her black curls. He kept his gaze on her legs, watching as they drifted further apart each time his thumb brushed her inner thigh.
“Please, Matt, touch me. I need you.”
Lifting the nearest leg, he shifted to sit between them, letting her leg drape over his lap. With a glance at her face, he let his hand move closer. “Like this?”
Her legs parted still more when he reached the apex of her thighs. Her gasp cut through him, heat shooting through his shaft. He loved to give her pleasure, loved to see her react. More than any woman he’d been with since their first time, he was all about her enjoyment. “You sound so eager.”
“I’m getting desperate for you. I need you inside me.”
“In good time, sweetheart.”
Her caressed her, searching for the spot that would drive her mad. When she bucked and cried out, he knew he’d found it. He continued to stroke and tease as her body grew tense.
Crying out, she jumped beneath him. He chuckled. “Easy girl, we’ve got a long way to go. Stay with me.”
“Oh God,” she moaned.
The noises she made told him how close she was, assured him he was doing what she wanted. When she reached just the right pitch, he went to work, drawing an orgasm from her.
Finally she shattered, her whimper and gasp obliterating his control. As she stilled, he kissed the inside of her thigh.
Jen reached down and pulled him to lie above her. She captured his mouth, her tongue dancing wildly against his. He groaned, and she wrapped her legs around his hips.
She tore her lips away, panting, and said, “You’re overdressed.” Her shaking hands fumbled between them.
Matt rose to his knees and undressed as fast as humanly possible. He was shocked he didn’t knot his shoelaces or rip the button off his shorts in his hurry. His shaft sprung free when she shoved his briefs down.
He let her stroke him, making him swell so hard he thought he’d burst right there. Seeing her spread before him, her arm reaching between her legs to touch him, he realized they were still on the couch. “Shit, why are we here when we have a bed available?”
He carried her to his room, tugged back the sheets and lowered her to the mattress. She scooted over, making room for him.
Turning on the lamp on the nightstand, he dug a condom from the drawer. “This is much better. Now we have room to play.”
Heat flickered in her eyes and she licked her lips. He groaned and tore open the package. “Where were we?” he asked.
She took hold of his shaft, guiding him between her legs. “Right about here.”
Matt slipped inside slowly so as not to end things right then. His willpower was shot. Kissing her, nuzzling her neck, licking a trail down to her breasts, there were a multitude of ways to draw out the moment. To build her pleasure again so they could peak together.
He would never have enough of his woman. Never be sated, always wanting just one more touch, one more orgasm. As perfect as he fit in her, as much as she tugged at his heart, he needed to have her beside him for longer than a week.
Shutting all thought aside he bucked, tipping her hips and lifting her heels to his shoulders. Driving deep, he felt need increase. He reached a hand between them and listened for that note in her voice that told him she was close to orgasm.
Her cries built, answered by his grunts. She grew tighter around him. “Don’t fight it. Let it go.”
She called out his name, sending him over the edge, and he lost all thought.
He groaned as he let her ass sink back to the mattress. He didn’t want to pull out of her, but he wanted to make her comfortable. After a moment’s hesitation, he withdrew and headed to the bathroom for a warm cloth.
With tender strokes he cleaned her, watching he lie still on his pillow. She was so fucking beautiful, so fucking perfect. He tossed the washcloth toward the bathroom and stretched out beside her.
Propped on one elbow, he let his hand roam over her curves. She probably thought she needed to lose weight, like most women their age, but he loved the look of meat on her bones. Not fat, but lush, ripe curves that begged to be nibbled.
Something about her hesitancy since they’d met up again made him expect her to grab for the sheet, especially now as the blindness of passion wore off. But she didn’t, she lay still, watching, one knee bent, her arms to her side. He loved her for that.
My woman.
Those words first formed in his mind that hot August night when they’d finally shared their bodies. At some point, they’d been shoved in a back corner and forgotten. But they were back with a vengeance, and he was determined that she would agree.
Jen was meant to be his.
Chapter Four
Jen woke to the dim light before dawn. The sheet wrapped low around her hips and a thick, muscular arm held her tightly against Matt’s body. She closed her eyes again and inhaled deeply the scent of him. This was so much better than an alarm clock commanding she rise and shower.
Something had been lifted from her shoulders since she came to Maui. She couldn’t even name what it was that changed, but she felt a lot more like the girl she’d once been.
How had growing up changed her so? She’d only been married for eight years but had aged thirty years in her mind. She became proper, organized, and respectable. Well, she might have always been that way. Matt used to tease her about being the good girl. But she’d carried it so much further while married to Ted. She’d become a Stepford wife, a robotic version of the real thing.
Even once she’d left Ted and pursued the career she’d set aside for him, she hadn’t broken the shell of the woman she’d created. It’d become so much a part of her, she hadn’t realized she was keeping anything trapped inside.
Seeing Matt had awakened the wonderfully spirited woman-child who’d returned to college ten years ago. The carefree woman who enjoyed sex for the sake of sex, who didn’t need the demands of commitment and strings.
Not that she’d been a whore. Or careless. She’d chosen her lovers wisely and used protection. And she hadn’t played the field all that broadly. But for a year or two she’d been confident enough in who she was, she hadn’t needed to cling to false promises or hope.
Then Ted had come along and swept her off her, well, off her carousel of lovemaking. Charmed her. Seduced her heart before her hormones. He had goals and aspirations and could see her beside him throughout the journey he planned. It didn’t take long for her to fall in love with the image of herself that he created.
How had she not been able to see it was nothing more than an image? She lost her substance, her inner being. Quite cheerfully set them aside to be Mrs. Theodore Grimes. And played the role until there was nothing left that resembled Jen Pearson.
All of that was behind her now.
She’d left Jen Grimes in the courtroom, Petitioner on the divorce papers, ghost of marriage past. She’s taken back her name, her pride, her self-worth.
Now was the time to renew her spirit. Find her inner child. No, not child. The sensual, sentient being she once was. Laugh. Flirt. With Matt, with life. Taste a nibble of everything in front of her.
Starting with the man behind her.
Smiling, she drew in a deep breath and rolled under his arm, coming face to chest with her man. The rich chocolate-colored skin lay relaxed as he slept, the muscle beneath still sculpted, but not chiseled. Leaning in even closer she inhaled the fragrance that once brought her to a dripping point of need, the scent of Matt. She lapped his skin, tasting the dried sweat she’d worked out of him, and suckled the warmth she found there.
Matt stirred, his arm tightening around her. “Morning.”
She purred against him. “Morning. Did I wake you? I’m sorry if I did. I’m still on Missouri time.”
“Any time you want to lick me awake, be my guest.”
Leaning back to watch his face, she warned, “I might have to take you up on that.”
His shaft stirred against her pelvis and she rocked into it. “Interesting. I lick you here…” she tongued the depression between his pecs, “and you harden here.” Her hand slipped between them to wrap around his swelling rod.
“Honey, you lick me like that anywhere on my body and you’ll get me hard.”
“You don’t say.” Jen pushed on his shoulder and rolled onto one arm to look down at him. With her free hand, she traced down his abdomen, taking the sheet with her. His shaft jumped when uncovered.
She continued to tease and explore, stroking his hip, his thigh, as far down as she could reach. His muscles tensed beneath her fingers, much the way she sucked in her gut when Matt looked at her.
Her favorite muscle of his continued to grow without her touching it. But it was too tempting not to play. Her index finger followed the swollen vein, circled the crown.
He groaned. She glanced at him, saw the half-lowered lids and slightly parted lips and felt she had all the power in the world. She was his world in that moment.
Wrapping her hand around him, Jen stroked slowly, firmly. She stole glances at his expression as she did to gauge his reaction.
His breathing increased. Her body was on edge from his reaction, like he touched her right where she needed it. Whether he was ready or not, she couldn’t wait any longer. She slid a condom on his shaft and straddled him. He exhaled sharply and she began to rock, hard, fast. After a few thrusts her orgasm exploded, and Matt joined her in release. She collapsed in exhaustion from the short, wild ride. Matt reached down and curled his hand on her butt cheek. “Damn.”