by Noelle Adams
They could have a few really good nights together. It would be a shame to not take advantage of it.
***
Laurel wasn’t sure why she’d agreed for Andrew to join her now, since her walks were usually her favorite alone times.
He’d looked so handsome—windblown and just a little sweaty—as he’d stood above her on the stairs, and there was something about his expression that spoke to her.
He’d looked pleased with himself, but with an almost unrecognizable hint of wistfulness.
So she’d said yes.
He wasn’t even bad company.
Last week, she would have assumed that Andrew Damon was one of those men who always had to be talking, the center of attention, charming anyone in his vicinity. He didn’t talk all the time, make jokes, or try to flirt today, though. With the exception of a few questions that almost caught her in her earlier lies, his company on the walk was almost…nice.
They reached the beach, and the dogs broke out into ecstatic sprints, rushing headlong across the red pebbles of the beach and into the deep blue water.
Andrew laughed uninhibitedly as he watched them. Laurel took off her sunglasses and saw that his green eyes were warm and sincere, focused in appreciation on the dogs.
She was very good at telling whether people genuinely liked her dogs, and Andrew did.
He was unnervingly attractive, standing on the beach beside her with laughter lingering in his expression. “I didn’t know German Shepherds were water dogs.”
Laurel shrugged and couldn’t help but smile back. “All three of them always were, ever since they were puppies. They love to swim.” She turned back to watch them in the water.
“I see what you mean about the beach access,” Andrew said, looking around at the picturesque but very rocky beach. “Not ideal for sunbathing.”
“Some people do, but not many. It’s actually a popular beach for nudists, since it’s not as crowded as the beaches on the west coast.”
Andrew pushed up the sleeves to his dress shirt. His face was damp with perspiration, and his shirt was getting rather wrinkled. There was something masculine, virile, and almost free about him now—as if he weren’t bound by the pragmatic needs and inhibitions that always restrained her.
Instinctively, she wanted that. She wanted what she saw in him—the ability to just let everything go and enjoy the moment. She’d never experienced it. Not once in all her life. For some reason, she suddenly wanted it viscerally.
She remembered how he’d looked sitting in the pool last night, drinking beer and staring at the sunset. His bare chest and strong, sexy body. He’d been attracted to her—that much she’d realized—but what had surprised her was how much she’d been attracted to him too.
She felt that same attraction now, buzzing in her mind and pulsing through her body. It was irrational, impractical, utterly stupid. She never let her body’s impulses control her behavior. She’d always been too controlled and efficient.
When Andrew turned back to her, he seemed to notice something in her expression. He grew still, his smile fading into a very different expression. Hungry. Almost feral.
Her breath hitched, and her lips parted with a wave of heat and feeling.
“Laurel,” he said thickly, taking her face in his hands and then leaning into a kiss.
She shouldn’t respond. It was counter-productive and potentially dangerous, but she couldn’t resist. Excitement coursed through her as his lips moved against hers, and she made a silly moan in her throat when his tongue slipped into her mouth.
Then her arms were wrapping around his neck, and she was opening fully to the advance of his tongue. It all felt so good, so right, so free.
One of his big hands spanned her ribs, and the other curved around the back of her head. The kiss deepened even more, until her vision blurred behind her eyelids and her whole body pulsed with desire and need.
Their lips broke apart, and she gasped for air, letting her head fall back. “Laurel,” he muttered hoarsely, mouthing her jaw, her neck, and then back to her lips. “You’re incredible.”
For some reason, the words brought back the last flicker of sense in her mind. She pulled away and stepped back rather awkwardly, panting and so hot she could melt.
He stared at her, dazed and not entirely pleased with their interrupted embrace.
“Sorry,” she said, rubbing her face and trying to think clearly. There was a deep ache between her legs that was impossible not to recognize. “We can’t do that. It’s crazy. We shouldn’t…”
“Why not?” he asked, his voice still hoarse. He was just as affected physically as she was. He was tense, and she could see he was aroused. “We could agree it wouldn’t have any consequences on the situation with the inn. We’d be really good together.”
“Probably,” she agreed, since there was no legitimate way to deny that obvious truth. She shook her head hard, trying to dispel the lingering effects of the kiss. “But…”
She couldn’t think clearly enough. She couldn’t figure out a way to use this to her advantage the way she’d been planning to two days ago. She didn’t even want to.
The inn wasn’t why she wanted Andrew. She just wanted him. And that made her even more vulnerable.
“Let me think about it,” she concluded at last, rather lamely.
“Of course,” he said, smiling again. He still looked a little tense, but he’d recovered more quickly than she had. “Take your time.”
Laurel stared at her dogs, who were trying to leap over the waves and return to the shore. When Theo started after another low-flying bird, she called out sharply so he would come back.
She’d had sex with a few boys as a teenager—a couple of whom she’d actually liked—but Jerry was the only man she’d had sex with for the last ten years. The sex had been fine…sometimes good, sometimes a little boring, never unpleasant or uncomfortable.
Sex with Andrew would be different. She knew that much already. There was no way she could use sex as part of claiming an advantage with the Damons, the way she’d been initially planning to do. She’d been stupid to think she could ever do such a thing.
Having sex with Andrew would be incredible, It might not be worth it, though. Whatever she decided, she had to keep her priorities straight.
And the inn would always be most important.
***
Laurel successfully kept her resolution to achieve proper distance and objectivity all through the afternoon and dinner. Andrew worked most of the afternoon anyway and ate in his room.
That evening, however, something told her she should probably stay in her private quarters, rather than going out to the pool deck. It was her habit in the evenings—to relax and let herself enjoy the Greek island setting she’d worked so hard for.
If she went up there, however, it was entirely possible that Andrew would show up as well. He hadn’t mentioned it, but he’d gone out the night before, and—if he really wanted to have sex with her—it would be a natural opportunity. So she probably shouldn’t change into her favorite green bikini, grab a towel, and stretch out on the chaise.
But she did anyway.
Maybe Andrew wouldn’t show up, in which case her decision would be easy.
A half-hour later, she was still alone. The sun was setting in an explosion of rich color, and she’d taken off her sunglasses to enjoy it. But she didn’t feel as relaxed as normal. She felt restless and unsettled.
It didn’t take a psychoanalyst to figure out why.
She was horny. She wanted to screw Andrew. She couldn’t remember ever being as intensely attracted to a man, and their kiss on the beach had only revved her up.
She kept remembering the kiss, how her body had responded. Then she imagined they hadn’t stopped—that they’d kept at it, tearing off each other’s clothes and having sex on the beach.
It certainly would have been uncomfortable, since the beach was so rocky, and the dogs might have been confused. But she pushed aside su
ch irrelevant details and imagined coming hard in his arms.
She’d really gotten into the fantasy, aroused before she realized it, when she sensed something to her left and opened her eyes to see Andrew standing near the blue gate leading onto the pool deck.
He wore nothing but black swim trunks. He held a towel and stared at her like he wanted to devour her.
They held the stare for a few seconds too long—so long that Laurel shifted her hips, more aroused than was entirely comfortable. Andrew’s mouth quirked irrepressibly. “You’re wearing a top this evening.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. She’d never expected him to be so dryly clever. “Thought I better be on the safe side.”
“I’m disappointed.” He didn’t look disappointed. He looked like a fire had ignited in his eyes, and it was about to consume her.
It wasn’t smart. At all. But she was only human. She’d regret it forever if she didn’t give in to this temptation. She was pretty sure it wouldn’t interfere with any decisions she would make about the inn. Her decisions were logical, organized, focused—entirely separate from this wild heat. “You can take it off, if you want.”
She saw him take a quick breath and then take a few steps closer. He somehow seemed bigger than she knew him to be—too much broad shoulders and tight abdomen and lean hips and strong legs. He was all tension and physicality, and there was a fine line of dark hair that tapered down irresistibly to disappear under his waistband.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she breathed, “I’m sure.”
He moved forward and she reached up, and he was suddenly on top of her, heavy and so much warmer than the evening air. He kissed her, and she responded eagerly, opening for his tongue and wrapping her arms around him.
They kissed for a long time, until there was a roaring in her ears and she was rocking up into his weight. Then he finally pulled his mouth away and stared down, something possessive, almost primal in his expression.
She cupped his jaw with one hand, rubbing her palm against the one-day’s growth of beard. “I was hoping you’d come up,” she admitted, the bristles against her palm doing startling things to her body.
His hot expression transformed to a grin as he lowered his head to kiss a line along her jaw and then down her neck. “I was hoping you wouldn’t throw me out,” he admitted, mouthing the pulse in her throat.
She wriggled beneath him, so turned on she couldn’t stay still. “I thought you were going to take off my top.”
“Right.” There was a smile in his voice as he gave a quick nip to a sensitive hollow above her collarbone. Then he reached around her body to undo the clasp of her bikini and pulled it away from her skin.
Laurel was briefly self-conscious as he stared down at her, the way she’d been the evening before when he’d caught her topless. Not because he was looking at her body but because of the intense look in his eyes as he did so.
He lowered his head and traced the curve of one breast with his mouth. She arched up into it, releasing a ragged sigh when he took her nipple between his lips. He stroked her free breast with his other hand, teasing her until she was on the brink of crying out and then lowering his palm to stroke her stomach and thighs.
She dragged him back up into a deep kiss, instinctively wrapping her legs around his hips. He grunted when she pressed into his erection and started to rock against it. “Fuck, Laurel,” he gasped, breaking out of the kiss abruptly. “You’re killing me.”
She was so eager she couldn’t seem to stop, her body desperately craving the release. At least he was just as turned on as she was. “Well, don’t die until you get me off.” She ran her hands down his smooth back until she found the firm flesh of his ass through the fabric of his shorts. She dug her fingers in, tightening her legs around him, seeking any sort of friction she could.
Unexpectedly, he laughed again, the vibrations rippling through her body deliciously. “If you’ll unwrap your legs so I can move, I’ll do the best I can.”
She did as he asked. As soon as he was freed from her grip, he lowered his mouth to one of her breasts again and then even lower to her belly.
She gasped. And gasped again as he nuzzled her intimately. She fisted both hands in his thick hair, feeling the muscles of her thighs and stomach tighten.
He tucked his fingers around the waistband of her bikini bottoms and glanced up at her, as if asking permission.
“Oh, yes,” she hissed, vaguely pleased that he was so careful, despite his desire and her own impatience. He pulled the little green suit down her legs and then nuzzled her intimately again, darting his tongue out to tease her in a way that felt so good she gave an embarrassing little yelp.
Then he kissed his way back up to her shuddering stomach and higher to her breasts.
“I should have known you were a tease,” she complained, trying to sound dry despite her panting and squirming.
He chuckled against her breast and slid one hand between her legs. “Have you ever tried to go down on someone before you’ve done anything else?”
She gasped in pleasure when he slid one finger inside her, but she fought through the sensations to respond in kind, “You’re saying you’re not up to the challenge?”
He laughed again, joining his first finger with a second. “I’m saying it’s more likely to be successful when you know what the other person likes. Much less embarrassing groping and fumbling around.”
She couldn’t help but laugh at his dry tone—the amusement mingling irresistibly with her desire. He wasn’t at all what she’d imagined a notorious playboy would be like in bed. He was so much better. “Sounds like a cop-out to me.”
He penetrated her with both fingers, her inner muscles clenching around him eagerly. “What does it sound like?”
She arched up helplessly as he stroked her and played with her nipple with his tongue. “Maybe just…just…” She couldn’t seem to catch her breath, the sensations intensifying quickly toward climax.
“Just what?” he prompted, sounding far too smug.
It felt so good she didn’t even care, but she managed to get her thoughts together enough to conclude, “Maybe just strategic thinking.”
“Exactly. I’m all about strategy.”
She was too far gone to talk anymore, as he worked her over with his fingers and his mouth. She’d never been a noisy lover, but she kept making soft, silly sounds like “eh” as she shamelessly rode his hand.
She had to bite her lower lip hard as she came, the pleasure shuddering through her body. And she was still gasping as she relaxed and opened her eyes to see Andrew, that hot urgency in his eyes even stronger than before.
“Oh, God, that was good.” She stretched in satisfaction and pulled him down into another kiss. “Thank you.”
Her body hummed with pleasure but wasn’t finished the way it was when she got herself off with her own hand.
She wanted more. She hadn’t begun to get enough.
Chapter Four
Andrew really hoped Laurel wasn’t about to go to sleep.
Her lush body was stretched out on the chaise beneath him, soft and relaxed from her orgasm, her expression so sated she almost looked drowsy.
He was going to be seriously disappointed if she decided she was satisfied.
His own body was coiled so tightly he was almost shaking with it, and his erection throbbed painfully in his shorts.
He shifted above her, straightening his arms to keep his weight from resting on top of her.
She smiled up at him. “You’ve got real talent.”
He let out a huff of amusement and would have felt pleased with himself had he not been in such an urgent physical condition. “Glad you approve.”
Her hand ran from his shoulder down the length of his chest and stomach until she’d found the bulge in his shorts. He let out an involuntary sound of pleasure when she squeezed.
“We better do something for you. Do you have a condom?”
He e
xhaled in relief and carefully readjusted, sitting up on the side of the chaise rather stiffly. He nodded over to the towel he’d brought up with him to the pool deck.
She was completely naked as she smiled teasingly and walked over to grab the condom packet. She appeared completely unselfconscious. She looked like a Greek goddess in the evening light, her long, lithe body almost luminous in the lingering glow from the setting sun. “I might have said no to sex, you know. Then what would you have done with your condom?”
“My condom and I would have slunk away in defeat, but I’ve always been an optimist.”
“Well, this time it paid off.” She looked from the chaise to the outdoor bed on the other side of the pool desk. The gauzy fabric of the canopy whipped gently around the frame in the breeze. “We might be more comfortable over there.”
Andrew agreed. The distraction had taken the edge off his arousal, so he could get up without groaning. “Very practical of you. I never take the time to plan so well.”
“I believe in practicality and in making plans.” She grinned at him as she pushed him down onto the bed. “Besides, I’m not sure how well that chaise would hold up.”
When she joined him in the bed, he was about to roll on top of her, but she flattened both hands on his chest and pushed him down onto his back. She climbed on top of him, straddling his thighs.
He had no objections to the arrangement. Particularly when she grabbed the waistband of his shorts and pulled them down.
When she’d stripped him as naked as she was, she stared down at his body with desire and something else—something stronger—in her eyes.
He tried to think of something witty to say, but his body had tightened instinctively at her proximity to his erection, and he was having trouble catching his breath.
Laurel ripped the packet open and rolled on the condom. He sucked in a sharp breath when he felt her fingers running down and then up the length of him.
“Damn, Laurel, you’re gorgeous,” he muttered, as he watched her raise herself up above him, her long hair hanging down around her shoulders and half-concealing her breasts.