by Scott, Inara
“But Ryker, we need to get back to work.”
He shook his head. “Not tonight.”
The touch of real pain in his voice surprised her, and she darted him a quick look.
“Please,” he said.
Though nothing had changed about him physically—the broad shoulders looked just as hard and imposing, the jaw set and firm—she felt a sudden vulnerability in his rigid visage. A need in him that he must have hated to reveal.
Alix closed her eyes and struggled with her own desire to retreat, to run away from the vulnerability she saw in him. But there was no running in her tonight. She’d already seen more of him, and shared more of herself, than she would have thought possible. Running away no longer seemed an option.
She nodded.
By the time they pulled into Ryker’s driveway, the sky had turned to a deep, velvety purple. Ryker led Alix around the side of the house, where a tall flight of steps wound through the rock and sand to the beach. Damp, salty air rolled off the ocean and filled her senses with the comforting feeling of home. Silently, they worked their way down onto the cool sand below.
The tide must have been out, because the beach seemed to go on forever, the waves crashing in the distance. Ryker dropped down onto the ground and began to remove his shoes.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
He peeled off his socks and stood. Dark pants puddled around his feet. Giving her a wicked smile, he threw his briefs on top of the pile. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m stripping. I need a swim.”
Alix swallowed hard and tried not to look below his neck. “But it’s…cold. And…”
“Yes?” He began unbuttoning his shirt. The dark obscured his features, but she could see the gleam of those white teeth.
“I’m not going swimming.”
“Yes, you are,” he replied calmly, baring his chest as he removed the last piece of clothing.
“Not, I’m not.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stuck out her lower lip. “I’m from Oregon. No one swims in our ocean but children and insane people with wet suits. I guess the children are insane too. I’ve never understood it, actually.”
“Well, this is California. We love our ocean. We swim in it every chance we get.”
She flung her arm around in a circle, indicating the deserted beach and street far behind them. “What if someone sees?”
“There’s no public access to this beach for miles in either direction. Besides, the moon won’t be up for at least an hour. It’s dark. No one is going to see anything.”
She looked up at the sky. Stars had begun to appear like tiny pinholes of light in the black sky, but they barely illuminated the contours of Ryker’s face. She resolutely steered her eyes from his naked form and tried to keep her breathing steady.
“I don’t think this is a good idea.”
He took her hand and pressed a kiss on the inside of her palm. A shiver of excitement left her stomach quaking.
“Alix, we just went through the equivalent of a war zone. We need to decompress.”
“And swimming together naked will allow us to…decompress?” Her words trailed off in a long, slow hiss as he pressed his mouth again to her skin, this time kissing the tips of her fingers and then drawing the littlest one inside his mouth. He sucked gently, and Alix froze, unable to move, breathe, or think of anything other than the warm, wet feeling.
He took a step closer, let her hand fall to her side, and tugged at the hem of her shirt.
“Ryker, I think we need to discuss—”
Before she could finish her sentence, he had pulled the shirt over her head and trailed his fingers down the side of her face. Warmth rolled off his skin like the cool salty air flowing inland from the ocean.
“Are you really going to make me do this for you?” he asked. “Because I will. It’s not safe to swim alone. It’s the buddy rule, you know. No swimming without a buddy.”
A choked laugh emerged from her lips. “Oh, is that it? You need a buddy?”
He bent down to whisper in her ear, so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. “Will you be my buddy, Alix Z, or Daisy Zahn, or whoever you are right now?”
She knew she should say no. Ryker was a man of strong desires, and it wouldn’t be long before she’d be in the position she hated—protesting, pushing back, trying to set limits that no one really understood—least of all her. But his body, so tall and lean, beckoned her. The ocean waves roared, and the water smashed into the sand, the sound familiar and soothing. Then Ryker kissed her ear and closed his teeth around the lobe in a gentle nip.
Alix sucked in a deep breath. She wasn’t sure which was more dangerous—being in the water with Ryker or out of it.
Without thinking, she pushed against his chest, needing only a moment of space to clear her head. But her fingers met smooth skin, taut muscles, and crinkly hair, and she was suddenly acutely aware that her torso was almost as bare as his, only a scrap of white lace covering her breasts.
He took her face between his hands and swooped down to press a quick kiss on her lips.
She pulled away, shaking her head and clinging desperately to the last ounce of willpower she possessed. “This is too much, Ryker. I’m not playing games with you. No sex. Got it?”
He stopped and eyed her seriously. “I’d never force you to do anything you don’t want,” he said softly. “I just want to be near you. I think you want that too.”
Something caught in her throat, and Alix had to look away. Why did he have to look at her like that? Like he somehow understood?
Of their own accord, her fingers reached back and unhooked her bra. The lace fell to the ground, and she shivered when the air hit her sensitive nipples. She remained frozen while he stared at her for a moment, and then lowered her skirt, taking her panties with it, until she stood naked before him.
“I wish we had the moonlight. I can picture your skin, gleaming and white under the moon.” One hand traced the outline of her breast, slid across and, with unerring precision, landed on her nipple. She closed her eyes, almost dizzy with the intensity of the rush of sensation that followed.
“On second thought,” he said, “perhaps this is better.”
Just when she thought she would melt into the sand, he took her hand and urged her toward the water.
“Ready, buddy?”
She did not trust her voice to speak but began to move toward the ocean. The sand underfoot grew cold and wet, and then the foamy water lapped her ankles.
What was she doing? Alix shuddered when the water hit her calves. The darkness added an air of tension to the scene that curled her toes around the shells and rough grains of sand beneath her. Ryker’s hand pulled her deeper, goose bumps rising on her flesh and her nipples hardening to painful peaks.
When a low wave hit her thighs, she gasped and stopped. “You swim in this water?”
Ryker chuckled. “We’ll have to take the quick plunge. No sense going slow. Ready?”
Words tangled in her throat. She made a strangled sound of assent as another wave smashed against her midriff.
He released her and held up his hand. “After the next wave.”
Water rolled past, making her catching her breath at the sudden chill.
“One…two…”
“Wait!”
“Three!” He let go of her hand and dove forward.
Alix sucked in a breath and followed. The shock of cold started her heart tripping, and she pulled several short strokes under water before coming to her feet.
“Whoo!” She couldn’t prevent the exhilaration from emerging from her lips. The water caressed her naked skin, and when she stood, water lapped around her breasts.
“Ryker?” Alix spun around, but in the darkness, all she could see was the glow of lights on the hills in the distance.
When he didn’t respond, she relaxed back against the water, her body starting to adjust to the temperature. Growing bolder, she released her legs and floated on he
r back, looking at the stars, feeling calmed by the water supporting her naked form.
A swirl beside her leg alerted her to Ryker’s presence, and then he arose behind her, his hands spanning her waist, his head breaking the water’s surface beside her ear.
“Miss me?” he breathed.
It was natural—inevitable, really—that she roll over to look at him. And then bring their faces together and join their lips in a salty kiss, their bodies slipping against each other as the water surged and roiled around them.
“You’re warm,” she said when he pressed her against him. He crouched down in the water, half standing, half floating, and tugged her into a tight embrace.
“I can’t have my buddy getting hypothermia.”
“I don’t think that’s a problem.”
He dropped a kiss behind her ear, and then along the nape of her neck. Their bodies meshed so perfectly she hardly considered how comfortable it was to be with him, how natural it felt to have his skin against hers.
The water moved gently around them, surging and withdrawing. Ryker relaxed his hold, and she rolled onto her back, her head naturally falling in the crook of his neck.
“I have to admit, this is a lovely way to decompress,” she said. “Do you do this often?”
“Every chance I get. I swim every morning when I’m not shooting and come down here at night. There are benefits to having money.”
She snorted. “A few. Must be a big change from growing up in South Central.”
He was quiet for a moment, and she wondered if she’d insulted him. But then he said, “I think about it every day, what I left behind. You can’t help but do that, here in LA. It’s all around you, the inequities, the poverty. I try to do what I can to help, but it’s hard. You never know what you can really do. The problems are so big.”
“Can I tell you a secret?” she asked.
“Of course.” He ran his fingers over her breasts, and she sighed with pleasure.
“I donated the profits from Candy Fever to my old high school so they could build their art program.” She giggled. “I did it anonymously so no one could accuse them of getting their funding from naughty films.”
He chuckled, and she felt the rumble deep in his chest. “I bet there’s some old biddies somewhere who would love to know that.”
“I know. It’s delicious, isn’t it?”
He stroked his fingertips up and down her rib cage. “You’re remarkable, Alix.”
“I don’t know about that. If it weren’t for that program, and for the help of people like Gunther and Elias, I would never have gotten out.”
“I’ve seen your pictures,” he said gravely. “I’m not sure artistry like that could ever have been contained in wedding pictures.”
Warm honey spread over her chest and stomach, filling her limbs with a delicious sweetness. “What about you? Did you have a mentor? Someone who helped you make it out?”
He moved beneath her, the pressure of his hands at her hips keeping her bottom firmly centered over his groin. “Not really. There aren’t a lot of people lining up to help an angry young Latino boy who’s busy pretending he doesn’t need any help. No, I just got lucky. I hit a few billboards, and people liked my looks. Once I got cast in Angel Dust, I started getting calls. It snowballed from there.”
Alix rocked, ever so slightly, against the rod that centered at her back and then rode between her buttocks. She closed her eyes and let the sensual pulse between her legs wash over her body.
“Everyone at USC said you were the hardest working student they’d seen in years, and the most talented.”
“Talk to some of my professors?” Ryker asked.
“Read a few interviews,” she admitted. “I don’t think it was just luck.”
“I suppose I knew what I wanted, and I didn’t expect anyone to get it for me.”
She reached around and outlined the edges of his buttocks. They flexed and moved under her seeking fingers. The pulse between her legs grew and magnified, taking over her hips, her stomach, her legs.
“You make me crazy,” he said, exhaling slowly. “Every time I see you, I imagine touching you like this.”
He moved his hands higher to cup her breasts, and she sighed and relaxed her head against his shoulder. He tweaked her nipples, thrummed them once, then again, and she sucked in a deep breath. Her hips moved in time with his caress, arching back against him and then releasing.
Forcing her eyes open, she stared up at the sky, allowing herself to dissolve into the moment. The aching pleasure of his touch deepened, while the need for more pressure, more contact, grew stronger. She reached farther and took him in her hands, running her fingers along the length of his penis and then gently cupping his balls.
He groaned and flipped her over so their bodies aligned, his hardness searing the space at the juncture of her thighs.
Dual, competing sensations of glorious pleasure and aching regret seized her. Was this what her vow had come to? A couple of weeks with a handsome movie star and she was ready to throw it all away?
She held her breath, heart pounding. Vow be dammed. She couldn’t push him away.
But he didn’t make the move she feared. He simply rocked against her, the tip of him rubbing against her clitoris.
“Don’t worry,” he said, as if he understood exactly how she felt. “I just want to feel you.”
Mutely, she nodded, letting her body float away from his for a second. He caught her hips, pulled her back down against him. The water kept their bodies in motion, the current pulling them up and apart and then releasing them back into each other. It was unlike anything she’d experienced; the force of the water was almost like a third person, with its own gentle caress.
He reached between them and positioned his penis so it would ride more perfectly between her legs. Her hips developed a mind of their own, bucking and thrusting as if determined to force him inside.
Ryker’s arms tightened on her. He claimed her mouth, his tongue taking her prisoner, showing her no mercy even while he stayed mercifully still below. She could feel how much that control cost him, the muscles in his buttocks and back tight and hard. She started to move her hand lower, wanting to feel him like he felt her, but he grabbed her and pulled her arms to her sides.
“Don’t,” he said, his voice rough.
With tiny, almost imperceptible movements, he began to thrust his hips. He moved gently between her legs, rubbing against her clitoris but never going deeper. The pleasure inside her built, sharper and more powerful than anything she’d felt before, and a mix of fear and pleasure drove her to a deep, low moan. Her entire body throbbed and burned. All her convictions about sex and all her reasons to say no paled in comparison to the driving, physical need.
“We can’t…” She gasped at the pleasure he was inflicting.
He held her hips against him. “I know. Trust me.”
A barrier inside her dissolved. She did trust him. However crazy it was, she trusted him with everything she had.
She slid her legs apart and wrapped them around his hips, feeling his cock sliding back and forth against her flesh. As vulnerable as she was, Alix felt safe, sure he would protect them both from her irrational behavior. He did, holding tightly to her hips and moving just inches, back and forth.
He groaned into her neck. She pushed against him, feeling herself drive toward the edge of orgasm, her clitoris burning and her hips driving hard against him.
“Oh yes,” she moaned. “Please.”
He moved faster and harder, finally pulling away completely and positioning himself higher, their bellies and hearts touching, his cock resting against her stomach. She slid her body up and down, the pressure landing precisely at the center of her pleasure. He gasped, and his hands tightened reflexively. She felt herself tumbling toward a crescendo, every muscle in her body tightening. Faster, harder, their muscles fought their brains, their bodies dancing in a fury of control and passion.
And then she exploded,
pleasure shooting from her groin to her fingers and down to her toes. Alix and Ryker cried out at the same time, his body shaking and seizing against her. Her body suffused with pleasure so sharp and overwhelming she collapsed against him in sweet release.
Chapter Fifteen
When the shudders finally stopped and her mind seemed once again in control of her body, Alix tentatively pulled away from Ryker. Clumsily, she set her feet on the ground, was buffeted by a wave, and fought to regain her balance. She couldn’t speak, didn’t want to ruin the moment that felt so tenuous and fragile, so she started to slowly make her way back toward shore.
Liquid warmth still pounded through her limbs, along with a quiet, heavy feeling that left her wanting to relax back into the water’s embrace. But the realization of what they’d almost done—what she wanted to do—kept her moving, shock just beginning to settle over her shoulders.
Alix had never intended her celibacy to last so long. She loved men’s bodies, their taste, smell, and heat. Even though her teenage years had left deep scars, they hadn’t erased her need for physical contact. If she hadn’t started photographing sex, she probably would have given up her vow long ago.
But once she started watching couples in love, things changed. She’d discovered that for her subjects, the moment of climax demonstrated vulnerability, caring, and absolute surrender. It was beautiful—and terrifying. In the past, she’d released that vulnerability to the wrong person, over and over again. She’d known the devastation that came when they turned away, minutes after climax, to smoke a cigarette and turn on the TV. She’d shed all her defenses and barriers for men who didn’t care, and it cost her her pride, her self-respect, and almost her life.
Yet somehow, Ryker Valentine had convinced her body to open when life had taught her to keep it closed. She wanted, even now, to let him bury himself inside her, even though she knew with absolute certainty that he wouldn’t be doing it because of anything other than lust.
Her thoughts spinning, she forced herself to put one foot in front of the other until she was splashing through the shallow water back onto the shore. Ryker broke through the water behind her. Without looking in her direction, he grabbed her hand and gently squeezed.