by Fiona Lowe
His hand touched her sleeve, his expression suddenly serious and his mouth curving into a wry smile. ‘I’ve never had to try this hard with any woman. You’ve reduced me to begging.’
She stared at him in amazement. Raw need rolled off him, almost toppling her with its intensity. Deep inside her something cracked and she steeled herself against a crumbling sensation. ‘It won’t work.’ But her voice sounded unconvincing.
Surprise streaked across his handsome face as if the thought had never occurred to him. ‘Of course it will.’
‘No, it won’t.’ She shook her head, trying to hold onto the last shreds of her resistance and common sense. ‘You have your carefree childless life all mapped out, and that’s the opposite of what I want.’
‘You’re over-thinking this.’ He ran his hands down her arms, a touch gentle yet packing a seismic punch. ‘This isn’t for ever, this is all about now. It doesn’t have to be complicated—in fact, it’s pretty simple. I want you, you want me. It’s summer, the season of being carefree, and we’re both here for the summer so let’s use this time we have together, use it for fun.’
His hand cupped her jaw, his expression suddenly earnest. ‘Hell, both of us deserve some carefree fun after what we’ve been through. Let’s wind the clock back to real carefree times and pretend we’re sixteen.’
This is all about now. Tempting images bombarded her, collapsing all her worries about her future into a locked box. ‘I was a very organised and responsible sixteen.’
His mouth curved up into a long, slow, seductive smile and his eyes twinkled. ‘Then this is your chance to reinvent yourself.’
Reinvent herself? The thought tumbled through her, over and over, gathering massive appeal. She’d always been thoughtful, conscientious, a planner, and where had that left her? Shattered and alone. She was tired of worrying about what came next in her life so perhaps it was time to try something new, something just for her, just for a short time. Real life would intrude soon enough and knowing that they wanted such different things would protect her. Yes, this would be fun.
Bad idea. Very bad idea.
She instantly argued—no, it wasn’t. Hell, the whole town thought they’d been at it like rabbits so why not do what was already considered a done deal? Standing strong against the constant barrage of need that burned inside her had worn her to a frazzle. Nick was right, she did want him. She wanted him so badly she throbbed with emptiness. This was her chance to reinvent herself, take something for herself. ‘No plans, no future, just the summer?’
‘No plans, no future, just the summer.’ Nick held his breath, watching the war of emotions on Kirby’s face. From the moment he’d capitalised on her lie earlier and set her up in the clinic, the entire evening had been a gamble—exciting, enjoyable and totally unpredictable. He’d loved every minute of it and now it all came down to this moment.
Silently, Kirby stepped forward, looped her arms around his neck, tilted her head up and seared his lips with a kiss of pure hunger, devoid of any restraint.
Yes! Hot, firm and fast, the kiss thundered through him, and he instantly hardened while his head spun. His arms moved to pull her tightly against him but as abruptly as she’d kissed him she stepped away, turned and ran down the empty pier.
‘Hey! That’s not playing fair.’
Her laughter came back to him on the evening breeze. With sheer strength of will he managed to force enough blood back to his limbs so he could walk down the pier. As he got closer, the yellow light of the rising moon illuminated her hair, giving her a golden halo. An angel with a body for sin.
She threw him a crooked smile. ‘What kept you?’ Grabbing his hand, she quickly started jogging down the pier steps toward the moored boats.
A moment ago with the smugness of experience he’d thought he had her, but now he wasn’t quite so sure. Somehow he’d lost control of the situation and now his planned seduction was unravelling in front of him. Nothing about Kirby was predictable. ‘Where are you going?’
She didn’t reply but kept walking, her feet slapping against the boards of the lower pier. Dropping his hand, she hauled hard on a rope and then jumped down onto the deck of a yacht, its sleek white bow glowing against the dark water. She shot him a smile loaded with the promise of all good things. ‘You said you wanted sixteen, so that’s what I’m giving you.’
The fantasy hit him so hard he nearly lost his balance and pitched into the water. Staring down at her, he concentrated hard and managed to force out the words. ‘I said carefree, not breaking the law. Are you allowed on this boat?’
She stared straight back at him, blue eyes swirling with a wildness he’d never seen before. Keeping her gaze fixed with his, she crossed her arms across her chest and hooked her fingers around the base of her T-shirt. Very slowly, she drew the clingy Lycra over her head and let it trail through her fingers until it fell to the deck.
The sonorous sound of a double bass and clarinet combo, carried by the breeze, and the steady slap of the water against the boat instantly faded as his brain emptied and every sense zeroed in on creamy white breasts nestled against a black lace bra. His pants felt tight.
She tossed her head back, the action full of sass as a curtain of hair swirled around her face and brushed her shoulders. ‘So, are you coming?’
Probably. Letting go of every cautious thought, every shred of common sense, he jumped down onto the deck as Kirby disappeared through the hatch and into the cabin.
He found her skirt on the third step as he stumbled into the tiny space. ‘Don’t you dare go any further without me.’ The words came out on a growl loaded with sexual frustration.
Laughing, she lay down on the tiny bed, a vixen smile on her face as she bent her knees and crossed her long legs, twirling one ankle at him. ‘Well, hurry up, then.’
Somehow he managed to shuck his pants in the tiny space without banging his head. He lowered himself onto the mattress, supporting himself on his left elbow, his right hand trailing through her hair. ‘A good lover is never rushed.’
‘Is that so?’ She raised her hand to his cheek. ‘I’ve never met a good sixteen-year-old lover—they tend to be fumbling fingers, expired condoms, all talk, and mighty quick on the main event.’
He stilled, realising he wasn’t as prepared as he’d thought. He’d planned to seduce her at his house. ‘I don’t have a condom.’
She bit her lip, the fun in her eyes instantly dimming. ‘Neither of us really needs one, do we?’
Her bleak look pierced him—it didn’t belong in their fantasy and the need to banish it consumed him. He traced the line of her jaw with his finger, savouring her softness and breathing in her jumbled scent of wildflowers and salt. ‘Then we have the perfect fantasy, don’t we? A stolen space and no contraception, but there is going to be one very big difference.’
‘What’s that?’ Huge blue eyes absorbed him.
‘The main event is going to take all night.’
The moment his mouth touched hers, Kirby gave herself up to him. Nothing existed except Nick—the pressure of his mouth, the graze of his stubble, his taste of salt and wine, and the scorching touch of his body against hers.
His deep kiss penetrated way beyond her mouth, his tongue eliciting a surge of response from every cell between her lips and her toes. And when he’d kissed her to the point where her mind had completely melted, he trailed kisses along her jaw, across the hollow of her throat and down to the lace of her bra. She was vaguely aware of his right hand under her back and a moment later her bra fastening was released, the cups falling away and her breasts spilling out.
She gazed into emerald eyes. ‘You’ve done that before.’
A sheepish look crossed his face. ‘I learned that technique at sixteen.’
But her quip morphed into a moan of bliss as his mouth closed over her breast, his tongue tracing her nipple, drawing it up into a hot, hard peak and sending spirals of white light thudding through her.
He lifted his head
and grinned. ‘I learned this technique a bit later.’
She caught her breath. ‘I think you’ve refined it.’
He lowered his head again, this time paying close attention to her other breast. Exquisite shafts of tingling sensation—half pleasure, half pain—shot from her breast to a single point deep inside her. Gripping his back, she gasped in delight as her hips rose instinctively up toward him, needing to feel him hard against her.
His wicked laugh rained down on her. ‘If you like that, then you might enjoy this.’ His lips started to press hot kisses down her belly.
Every part of her craved to lie back and let him give her what she knew would be beyond wonderful, but instead she grabbed his head to stop him, sinking her hands into his hair.
‘Problem?’ He raised his head, a questioning expression clinging to his cheeks.
‘Big problem.’ She’d fantasised about running her hands through his hair, pressing her palms against his smooth chest and exploring him in the same way he was exploring her, but if she let him continue, she’d miss her chance. Somehow she managed to get her liquid muscles to function and she wriggled out from under him, pushing at his right shoulder and laughing at the confused look on his face.
He rolled over onto his back, bringing her with him. ‘I thought you would have enjoyed that.’
Straddling him, she leaned forward, her hair caressing his face. ‘I would have adored it and I’m only taking a short rain-check.’ She leaned back, her fingers flicking up the base of his T-shirt, pushing it up his chest, before pulling it over his head. Golden skin, taut abdominal muscles and a trail of dark hair that knifed downward from his navel assaulted her gaze and she sighed. ‘You once told me I’d enjoy this sight. I hate it when you’re right.’
The rich green of his eyes darkened. ‘Gaze all you want, I’m yours for the night.’
Yours for the night. She hugged the words close. ‘I’m done gazing.’ She reached out, splaying her fingers over his heart and feeling the fast beat vibrating underneath her hands. A heart beating wildly and matching her own erratic rhythm—one of blissful anticipation mixed with unfulfilled need. ‘I’ve wanted to touch you like this from the moment I met you.’ Tracing his pectoral muscles, her fingers roved over the small patch of thickened skin—scar tissue from his treatment and the only flaw on a perfect landscape. Then she dipped and curved until she circled his nipple, tweaking it gently between her fingers.
His pupils dilated and his thighs stiffened underneath her. She laughed, loving it that she could get such a response from him. With a feather-light touch she continued downward, outlining the sinew and tendon of the solid pack of muscles and then trailing down to outline and cup the straining fabric of his jocks.
He bucked underneath her as a low growl left his throat. ‘It’s been a long time, Kirby, so if you don’t want real sixteen…’
Her fingers caressed as she hooked his gaze. ‘Can’t you handle the heat?’
Challenge flared in his eyes and he immediately slid his hand down between them, sliding a finger firmly along the crotch of her panties.
Sensation exploded and her breath came hard and fast. She lost all focus on him, her body pushing hard against his hand, needing to rise on the surge of ecstasy that fireballed through her, leaving every part of her begging for more. ‘Don’t stop.’
‘Sweetheart, I’ve hardly started.’
He flipped her over onto her back and using his mouth and hands he fuelled her already ragged need until every muscle deep inside her quivered, desperate to tense against hard flesh. She was past flirting, past banter, past pretence. She didn’t care about anything except the driving need to have him deep inside her. ‘Nick.’ She almost sobbed his name. ‘Now.’
Nick stared down at Kirby, her hair spread out on the bed, her eyes large and wide in her flushed face, and he didn’t think he’d ever seen anything so beautiful. It had been so long since he’d been with a woman and she was driving him past control, but he wanted to give her this, she deserved it. ‘Just enjoy, this one’s for you.’
Her fingers sank into his shoulders with an iron grip and her eyes, wild with hunger, fixed with his. ‘No, this one’s for us.’
He’d dreamed about this moment for weeks. He slid into her with ease, as if he belonged there. She rose up to meet him, capturing him deeply, stroking him as he stroked her and they rose together as one, flinging themselves out to the stars, beyond the pull of reality.
CHAPTER NINE
NICK stood in waist-deep water, his back fiery hot from the sun, in total contrast to his belly where occasional trickles of icy Southern Ocean water chilled his skin, having penetrated his thick, black wetsuit. White, briny foam buffeted him and the sand under his feet moved as the tail end of each wave raced past him to the shore.
‘Now!’ Nick cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone, trying to make himself heard over the surf. ‘Stand up now, Cameron.’
The determined twelve-year-old gripped the side of his board and launched himself from his knees for the fourteenth time in a row, his feet swinging forward to stand against the lumps of wax that roughened the surfboard. He stood, he wobbled, and he fell as the board soared skywards before slamming back down onto the waves, brought to earth by the black cord attached to the ankle strap. A moment later Cameron’s head appeared above the waves, water streaming across his face.
‘Do you want to take a break?’ Nick motioned to the boy who’d been at it for half an hour.
‘No.’ Cameron shook his head and doggedly clambered back on the surfboard and paddled back out to try again.
Splashes of cold water unexpectedly hit Nick’s back and he turned to find a laughing Kirby, body board hooked under one arm, scooping water and tossing it at him with the other. Her eyes sparkled vivid blue, matching the ocean, her face glowed with vitality and her full-length wetsuit clung skintight, outlining every sensual curve. Despite the icy water, his body instantly responded. Like it did every time he saw her.
Still splashing him, she continued moving forward until she stood next to him, her cinnamon-apple scent circling him, taking him instantly back to last night when he’d buried his face in her hair. Buried yourself deep inside her.
He splashed her back, laughter rocking through him at her joyful shrieks. A week had passed since the festival, a week of fun, hard work and the most amazing sex of his life. He felt alive in a way he’d never known before, different even from his life prior to getting sick. Colours were brighter, sounds more complex and his energy for work and his energy for Kirby bounded out of him.
She wrapped the body board’s Velcro strap around her wrist, her expression filled with curiosity. ‘I didn’t expect to see you down here—I thought you said you had capsicums to pick.’
He gave a wry smile. ‘I do, but when I called by KC the unit C boys cornered me and asked if I’d teach them how to surf.’ He swung his arm in an arc. ‘Today’s conditions are perfect.’
‘You called by KC?’ Incredulity clung to the words, matching the surprised expression on her face.
He nodded stiffly. ‘Judy asked me to talk to one of the boys.’
Her eyes widened. ‘And you said yes?’
‘Judy can be very persuasive.’ A ripple of irritation mixed with discomfiture wove through him. He didn’t want to examine too closely why he’d deliberately not mentioned Judy’s call to Kirby, but the disbelief on her face that he’d got involved at KC unexpectedly morphed his irritation into a jag of indignation.
He tried to shrug it off because, if the truth be known, he’d been just as surprised as Kirby at the ‘yes’ that had slipped out of his mouth when Cameron had asked him to stay and help with surfing.
Two boys shot passed them, riding their boards expertly into the shallows.
‘Great going, guys.’ Nick raised his arms to shoulder height and held out both his thumbs above two closed fists.
Grinning widely, the two boys waved back before running back out toward the breake
rs, ready to try again.
‘They’re going really well. Perhaps I should ask you to teach me because I can never manage to get up off my stomach.’
‘Ben and Steven are naturals.’
She threw him an arch look. ‘And you’re saying I’m not?’
He wasn’t falling for that one. He moved his head close to her and whispered, ‘You’re amazing, beautiful and you have skills and talents in other areas.’
Her face flushed and he laughed at her blush. ‘After last night I didn’t think anything would embarrass you.’
She tossed her head, her plump lips forming into a pout. ‘You’re totally wicked, mentioning that in daylight.’ She turned away but a smile lingered on her lips as she stared out toward the horizon.
Nick longed to pull her into his arms and kiss her until her breath was ragged and she collapsed hard against him. But he was on duty and he could already predict the reaction he’d get from the group of pubescent boys if he kissed her, which would range from ‘Oh, yuck’ through to jeering sniggers.
‘How’s Cam doing?’ Kirby pointed to the red-headed boy in the group of other wannabe surfers from KC.
‘He’s determined, I’ll give him that, and he’s almost got there a few times. He just has to find his centre and go with the movement rather than fighting it.’ He cupped his hands again and yelled, ‘Try this one, mate.’
She elbowed him gently in the ribs. ‘You’ve got a bit of a soft spot for him, haven’t you? That’s why you’re here.’
He bristled against her words. ‘No, I’m here because seven boys tackled me to the ground and refused to get off me until I said yes.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Yeah, right. Come on, why not just admit it? You like the kid.’
He felt a muscle in his jaw twitch. ‘No more than any of the other kids.’
‘Yes, more than any of the other kids. During the salmonella outbreak and in the post-recovery check-ups I saw you taking a special interest in Cameron.’
He should have known nothing got past Sherlock, she noticed everything. In the last two weeks he’d recognised a lot of his twelve-year-old self in Cameron, but he didn’t want to talk about it. Avoiding her gaze, he tried to sound offhand. ‘He’s had a tough year with his diagnosis of diabetes.’