What Happens in Summer

by Caridad Piñeiro

  The memory brought a smile to his face, something that didn’t happen often in connection with his father. But it also made him consider something else. “I was little when she died and don’t remember much about it. But things were different afterward, and not for the better.”

  “How so?” Connie asked and sipped her wine.

  He struggled to recall what had made him feel that way, but he’d only been six at the time. There had been grief. Anger. Loneliness. With an uncertain shake of his head, he said, “I can’t say. We stopped coming down to Sea Kiss after that. We hated that, Owen especially. I think even back then he was in love with Maggie.”

  That earned a strangled laugh from Connie. “Seriously, Jon. They were, like, what, seven or eight?”

  He glanced at her over the rim of his glass of wine and said, “Sometimes you just know.”

  * * *

  Connie had never been one to believe in love at first sight. She’d always been too practical and level-headed. Driven, some would say. And while she might scoff at Jonathan’s fanciful belief that her friend and his brother had fallen in love as children, there was no doubting the look in his eyes that said Jonathan thought she might be “the one.”

  She stared down at her glass and swirled the wine around as if searching for some truth there. Didn’t they say in vino veritas after all? But the only thing that came to her was something he wouldn’t want to hear.

  “Sometimes ‘the one’ is the totally wrong person for you,” she said softly.

  “You mean like your dad and my mom? People who were supposed to be there for us but just up and left?”

  It was impossible to miss the raw emotion on his face or the tightness in his voice. She scooted over on the settee and cradled his jaw. Her gaze grew misty at his pain, and she said, “You still miss her.”

  It was hard for her to understand, since his mother had been gone nearly two decades. She had been barely eight when her father had left, and her memories of him were not good.

  As he examined her features, the side of his mouth turned up in a nascent grin. “Why, Reyes. I might just think you care.”

  She gave in to a whim and ran her index finger along the line of the dimple that emerged as his grin broadened. “I’m afraid that I care too much,” she said.

  He grew serious and reached up, brushed a lock of hair away from her face. Rubbed a thick strand gently between his fingers as he said, “Caring takes courage, but the risk is worth the reward.”

  “She who dares wins,” she murmured and traced the line of his lips with her thumb. Closed the distance between them to drop a kiss on the corner of his mouth. She felt his smile grow ever larger and shifted to the other side of his mouth. Placed a kiss there before covering his lips with hers, her kiss hesitant at first.

  Courage, she told herself, afraid of so much, but she didn’t want to waste this night with a man who she had been unable to forget for so many years.

  He eased his hand to the back of her head and kept her close as they kissed over and over, but it just wasn’t enough. She needed to be closer. Needed to feel his hard body against hers. The touch of his hands.

  She straddled his legs, and he wrapped an arm around her waist and urged her toward him until her breasts were pressed tight against his chest and his growing erection was nestled at her center. The feel of it there, hardening and pressing against her, drew a ragged sigh from her.

  He ended their kiss and shifted away from her, his gaze questioning, tender, and full of concern. “Connie?”

  “Touch me, Jon. Please touch me.”

  Chapter 12

  Jonathan’s hands shook as he reached around, located the zipper on the back of the gown, and slowly drew it down. The bodice of the dress gaped and slipped away. As it did so, it revealed the lush curves of her breasts and the first hint of her dusky-rose nipples, hardened with passion.

  As he finished lowering the zipper, he grabbed hold of the yards of satin and beads and drew the gown up and over her head. Let the dress slide to the ground in a puddle of navy.

  “God, you’re so beautiful,” he said as he cupped her breasts and then kissed her again, swallowing her murmur of pleasure at his touch.

  He ran his thumbs along the sensitive tips, entering into a familiar dance, because he hadn’t forgotten what brought her pleasure. As her lips parted with a sigh of satisfaction, he slipped his tongue past the seam of her mouth and danced it along the perfect line of her teeth. Tasted her sweetness before retreating to skim a kiss along her jaw and neck and then lower.

  She rose up on her knees to give him unfettered access to her breasts, and he feasted on the tight nubs of her nipples, licking and sucking them deep into his mouth. He wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her, and she cradled his head to her, urging him on with her soft cries. As she shifted her hips, rocking against him, he reached down, shifted aside the almost nonexistent scrap of lace covering her, and caressed her damp lips before finding the sensitive nub at her center. He stroked his finger across her clit and gently bit the tip of her nipple, dragging a rough shudder from her that said it wouldn’t take much more to send her over the edge.

  But he wasn’t about to rush. Not when he’d waited so long to be with her again.

  He rose from the couch, and she wrapped her legs around him and held on as he walked across the room to the bed. He fell down onto the bedspread with her, earning pleased laughter and a complaint.

  “You’ve got too much clothing on,” she whispered in his ear, and in a flurry of activity, she helped him remove his shirt and pants while he toed off his shoes and socks.

  He covered her body with his, pressing her down into the mattress, leaving a playful trail of kisses from her neck to her breasts, where he leisurely built her passion, nipping and sucking until she was keening and bumping her hips up into his. Wanting to savor every second, he dipped one hand down and below the edge of her lace panties. Wrapped the fabric around his fingers and eased it lower to expose the dark, trimmed curls at her center. She lifted her hips to help him draw the panties off, leaving her naked on the bedspread.

  He took a moment to appreciate the sight. Connie all grown-up, her womanly curves tempting him almost more than he could bear. Her gaze darkened as she licked her lips, murmured his name huskily, and spread her legs in invitation.

  Easing between her legs, he wrapped his arms around her thighs and held her to his mouth as he explored her nether lips, flush with passion. Her breath hiked in her chest as he parted them to lick her and then nibble at her center.

  Her body jerked upward, and she cupped the back of his head, urging him on.

  He sucked and gently teethed her while stroking her toward a climax. The heat and wet of her there had his erection swelling and jerking with anticipation. As she neared the precipice, she shifted away slightly and cried out, “Come with me, Jon. I want you to come with me.”

  He was so, so ready, but as she guided him to her center, he realized that he hadn’t prepared for something like this tonight. “Fuck, Connie, I’m so sorry. I don’t have protection.”

  She caught him off guard with a sexy laugh. “That’s okay,” she said and reached into the nightstand beside the bed to pull out a strip of condoms. “Mrs. Patrick always wants her girls to be prepared,” she said, referring to Maggie’s housekeeper, who watched over the girls like they were her own.

  “God bless Mrs. Patrick, only I’m not sure I’m up for so much preparedness,” he said with a surprised look at the long length of the condom strip.

  Connie grinned and took one out of the foil. She sexily caressed him as she rolled it down his length, and a shiver of desire tracked down his spine. “Seems to me you’re up for it quite nicely.”

  He laughed, enjoying the mix of play and passion, recalling that making love with her had always been a meld of emotions that had made being together fresh and exc
iting. Keeping things in that spirit, he said, “I promise I will do my utmost not to disappoint.”

  * * *

  Connie didn’t doubt that he would do just that. As he dipped his head and kissed her breasts, she guided him to her center, sucking in a breath as his hard length brushed her sensitized lips. She released her breath shakily as he slowly, almost hesitantly, entered her inch by amazing inch until he was buried deep.

  The pressure of him filling her nearly undid her. Her body shook from his possession and the tug and lick of his mouth on her nipples. She arched her back, wanting every inch of their bodies closer, savoring the hard muscle and lean body of the man he had become.

  She offered herself up to him, cradling his hips with her knees to deepen his penetration until with one powerful thrust, she tumbled over the edge and he fell with her. He threw his head back, cried out her name, and ground himself even deeper as his body shook from the force of his release.

  When he dropped onto her, he brushed a kiss across her lips before rolling onto his side and cradling her against him as he remained joined with her. He stroked his hand lightly along her cheek, his gaze searching her features. Uncertain of what he was looking for, she offered him a satisfied smile and a kiss. She tucked her head just beneath his jaw and wrapped her arms around him, content to share the peace that she felt in his arms.

  She wouldn’t read too much into that feeling right now. It was both too early and too late to think about it. She hadn’t recognized that emotion when they had been together in college, and now, she wasn’t sure where this night would lead.

  “Relax,” he said and stroked his hand down her back, sensing the growing tension in her body.

  She took a deep breath and unwound the growing spiral of doubt inside her. Tonight was about enjoying all that was good between them. Worry could wait until tomorrow.

  * * *

  Jonathan woke to the warmth of her mouth on him and a teasing lick all along the sensitive underside of his erection. He groaned, tilted his hips upward, and brushed his fingers through her hair, gently guiding her as she made love to him.

  As she took him in deep, he sucked in a breath to fight back his release. “Connie, I want to be with you,” he said and reached toward the nightstand for protection.

  Her husky laugh nearly undid him, and as he glanced at her, she held up the packet in her hand and grinned. “I’ve got this under control.”

  “Do you now?” he said with a grin, but he shook as she unrolled it down his length while caressing him.

  “Fuck, Connie. Don’t be a tease.” Despite his complaint, he loved the leisurely way she straddled him and sank onto him. She stretched out over his body and ran her hands up his arms to twine her fingers with his. She pinned their joined arms above his head, bringing their bodies flush together. The soft hairs of his chest against her smooth skin. Hard muscle to curvy softness.

  It felt so good, he didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to end the moment.

  “Jon,” she said and met his gaze. She let out a long sibilant sigh and brushed her lips along his over and over. Deepening the kiss, she urged his lips open to taste him.

  He accepted the slide of her tongue and teased hers until she moaned into his mouth and shifted away slightly.

  * * *

  Connie searched his features, needing to understand what he wanted. How to finish what she had started but didn’t want to end alone.

  He smiled lopsidedly. “You’re in control, Connie. Whatever you want. Whatever you need.”

  I want you, she thought. I need you, but the words stayed trapped inside along with the maelstrom of feelings for him.

  She brought their joined hands down and placed his hands at her waist, inviting him to guide her as she slowly raised her hips before plunging back down, starting another dance. Savoring the rhythm as she rode him and their bodies glided ever closer to a release.

  As the meter of her movements became more erratic, he tightened his hold on her and helped set the pace. She leaned forward and splayed her hands on the hard wall of his chest, the sun-bleached hair on his body soft beneath her palms, his erection rigid, the thickness of him an erotic fullness inside as she moved ever faster, climbing toward a climax.

  “Jon,” she keened as she rocked against him, and he moved beneath her, joining her in the duet until with one deep grind, she came, but he wasn’t done.

  * * *

  Her body contracted and vibrated along his length, inviting him to join her in her release, but Jonathan wanted so much more from her. He wanted her to remember this time together in case they never had another night of loving. He wanted her wild and out of control to match what he was feeling inside.

  Rolling, he trapped her beneath him, leaned forward, and kissed the tip of her breast before drawing it into his mouth. He shifted his hips and began to move again, gliding in and out of her, lifting her back up to the edge and keeping her there with his caresses and the powerful thrusts of his body.

  Beneath him, she cried out with her passion and grabbed hold of his shoulders, bit into his skin with her nails, the pleasure and pain challenging his control. As she raised her knees and wrapped her legs around his waist, he drove in deep, barely keeping his own climax at bay. But as she arched her back and screamed out his name, he lost it and joined her in passion.

  He held his weight off her as his climax raced across his body. Sucking in deep breaths, it took him long minutes to finally feel in control, and it was no different for Connie. Her body was still shaking from her release as he eased to his side and tucked her against him.

  The morning sun was just rising past the ocean’s embrace, and the first fingers of a rosy dawn leaked in through the open french doors along with a gentle early fall breeze. As the sun rose, it stretched those fingers toward the bed, warning that it was time to rise, but he was hesitant to move. He dreaded leaving her. Again.

  She sensed the tension creeping into his body, cradled his face, and said, “Look at me, Jon.”

  He met her gaze but told himself it wasn’t love he saw there. He didn’t dare believe, as much as he wanted to. He didn’t dare say the words, because it was too soon and there was too much history there. Too much pain.

  She offered him an enigmatic half smile and said, “Let’s not color this moment with anything dark. Not when it’s such a lovely morning filled with light and promise.”

  In spite of her words, he couldn’t help fear where this interlude would lead. But maybe it was best to leave it as is. Filled with light and promise. “It is truly an epic morning,” he said and turned his face to place a kiss on her palm.

  Her smile brightened, and she settled back into his embrace, laid her hand against his chest, and began a slow, soothing caress there. He let himself relax into the moment, enjoying the easy morning as the sun crept ever higher and called for them to rise and begin the day.

  They dressed in silence, but not alone, helping each other pick up the pieces of clothing that had been tossed about the night before. He dressed in his wedding clothes but left the vest and top few buttons of his shirt open. She tucked the ascot into the breast pocket of the tux with a loving caress along his chest.

  He reached down and tightened the belt on the robe she had slipped on before taking hold of her hand and guiding her down the stairs and to the front door of the mansion. He paused there and faced her, unsure of how to say goodbye, but she kept him from saying a word by rising up on tiptoes and skimming a kiss along his lips.

  “It’s too soon, Jon,” she said.

  “I get it, Reyes. You want this to develop organically,” he said with a grin.

  She narrowed her gaze to scrutinize him. “That’s genius talk for ‘we’re going to fly by the seat of our pants,’ isn’t it?”

  He tucked his hands into his pockets, and his grin broadened. “It sure is. Can you deal with that?”
<
br />   He held his breath as he waited, because Connie never did anything that spontaneous, but then she shocked the shit out of him by saying, “Maybe.”

  Not wanting to push, he nodded and brushed a featherlight kiss across her lips. He turned and walked away and told himself not to look back, because if she was still there, he’d be tempted to return and stretch a night and morning of loving into an afternoon of loving. But he did, only to find that she’d already closed the door.

  Don’t read anything into that, he thought. Last night was more than you could ever have hoped for, he reminded himself and smiled, filled with light and promise in the early morning sun. But the closer he got to his front door, the more the feeling fled as he realized that he’d have no choice but to finally face his father.

  He paused at the front door, girding himself for the confrontation, wondering what he’d say after nearly a decade of separation. But if he and Connie could somehow find their way together, maybe he and his father could as well.

  He grabbed hold of the knob, opened the door, and marched in.

  Chapter 13

  Don’t linger, Connie thought, shut the door, and then leaned back against it, wondering what she’d just done.

  Maybe? Really? Had she, the person who’d had a plan for every part of her life, actually just given the green light to a no-rules, here-goes-anything relationship with him? Could you even call it a relationship after only one night and a promise of maybe?

  The sound of someone padding down the stairs drew her attention. Emma, almost skipping along the steps, an immense smile on her face. Her friend paused as she saw Connie by the door, and her smile faded.

  “Oh no. I’ve seen that look on your face before, and it wasn’t good,” Emma said.

  Connie shook her head, but it was half-hearted with her confusion. She finally pushed away from the door and toward her friend, wrapped her arm around Emma’s shoulders, and hugged her.