by Zoe York
Incredible, even.
Sean’s kisses promised a lot for what would come next.
But she needed to keep the fling casual, because it had a very definite end-date. And more to the point, she needed to return to work re-invigorated, not mopey about losing access to ready orgasms and easy, soul-warming smiles.
And she had no doubt Sean understood that—because he was in the same boat.
She grinned as she finished scrubbing her skin. Yes, they were going to help each other a lot over the next two weeks. Restore all sorts of positive energy. Humming, she did a double dose of conditioner on her hair before shaving her legs. Only when her fingers turned pruny did she reluctantly turn off the water.
After dressing in the basic grey lounge pants and black t-shirt that she’d brought for pyjamas, she stepped back into the hotel room and gave Sean a ready smile. “All yours.”
He gave her a slow, warm once over that made her shiver, then grabbed his own bag. “I won't be long,” he said and he gave her a kiss on the cheek as he moved past.
She stretched out on the bed, luxuriating in how big and soft it was compared to her cot. Had a pillow ever felt this good? She rolled her face into it and closed her eyes.
SEAN ROUGHLY TURNED the bar of soap between his hands, working it into a lather. It matched how he felt, although no amount of scrubbing could clean his filthy thoughts when it came to Jenna.
This wasn’t a one-night stand. It didn’t feel like a friends-with-benefits thing, either, although he sure as hell wanted to be Jenna’s friend.
And he wanted all the benefits.
He rolled his neck under the hot spray of water before turning around to rinse his front. The sting of heat against his junk did nothing to slack his erection. He was so hard for her it hurt. The little sounds she made as he hauled her close echoed in his ears.
When he soaped up his balls, just that touch nearly sent him through the roof. Fuck. He didn’t want their first time to be over before it started. He wanted to take his time and make it the best she’d ever had.
He took himself roughly in hand and jerked. Three strokes and he was done, spilling his pent-up release. With a shuddering breath, he leaned against the tile and closed his eyes.
The things Jenna made him feel were strange and new. Why was he putting so much pressure on himself to give her some kind of perfect romance? She hadn’t asked him for that. But as he finished showering, he couldn’t shake the thought that he wanted it for himself.
He’d come halfway around the world in service to his Queen and country. For himself and his career too. But he’d found something else. He’d found Jenna and the spark she lit inside him, and he wanted her, fiercely, on a whole different level from anything and anyone he’d desired in the past. From the second she’d looked up at him, her fingers wrapped around that apple, he’d been a goner.
Need at first sight.
He wasn’t crazy enough to think about the l-word. But two weeks of something special?
Yes, he wanted that.
He wanted romance, and he wanted it to be magical. He wanted to remember this time with Jenna for the rest of his life.
And his first orgasm since he’d met her had been by his own hand while she waited.
What the hell was wrong with him?
In the end, it didn’t matter. He realized even before he rounded the corner that Jenna had fallen asleep. His shower had taken less than ten minutes, and she’d probably passed out the second he left the room.
He leaned against the wall and watched her slow, even breaths. Damn, she looked sweet.
And exhausted.
In the two days that he’d been at her camp, she’d probably had a sum total of six hours sleep between the two nights. If that was standard, she’d probably sleep like the dead until morning. He had when he’d landed in Naples. Now he was adjusted to vacation-time, and she deserved the same transition. He wasn’t going to try to wake her.
He pulled a paperback from his bag and stretched out on the other side of the bed.
The romance could start in the morning.
CHAPTER NINE
IT WAS STILL DARK out when he woke, although he’d left a lamp on. His book was gone, having fallen away maybe. In its place, he was holding Jenna—definitely an improvement, although his sleeping self had taken some liberties with her body. He was plastered against her back, and he’d cupped her breast under her shirt.
Her nipple was hard and tight and growing against his palm.
He was pretty sure he’d been groping her in his sleep. Hot embarrassment crashed through him, but before he could extract himself and apologize, she covered his hand with hers and squeezed.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered.
Well, hot damn.
“Nice way to wake up,” he said, his voice thick with equal parts sleep and lust.
“The best.”
He bowed his head and kissed the bare skin where her neck met her shoulder. She tugged her shirt up, baring more of her chest to his fingers, and he resumed his caress, exploring her naked flesh for the first time. Soft, responsive flesh that pebbled under his touch. He traced a path of goosebumps all the way around her breast then swept his circles in tighter and tighter until he got to the peaked, hard nipple in the middle, standing proud from her body.
He pulled it between his fingertips, and she sighed.
“Like that?”
“Little harder.”
He pinched her gently, then not so gently, and she pushed her hips back against him.
“I fell asleep on you last night.” She twisted in his arms and he shifted with her, climbing on top of her as he stripped off her shirt.
He grinned. “You were tired. And it’s still technically last night.”
“But after those kisses…” God, she was sweet, the way she gave him a wide-eyed look that said she’d known he wanted her and she didn’t want to disappoint.
She never could.
Because he was a dirty dog.
“You got me worked up, all right.” He pressed his hips into her, rubbing his erection against her core. “Want to know a secret?”
Her breath hitched. “Always.”
“I was so ready to jump you that I had to jerk off in the shower. Three strokes and I was done.” There was no shame in telling her that. He wanted to tell her all sorts of confidences he’d never shared with anyone else.
“You didn’t!” She gasped in delight then reached for him, palming his erection through his boxer briefs. “Because you wanted to last longer?”
“Of course.” He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. “I wanted to last all night.”
“But I fell asleep.”
“I’d let lust cloud my judgement. You needed your rest.”
“I’m awake now.” She grinned like the cat who’d caught the canary.
He pushed his dick into her hand. “So you are. And I took that edge off earlier…”
She squeezed. “You said that. Super hot, by the way. I want to watch you next time.”
Sweet hell. “Yeah?”
She dragged her fingers up his body, lighting a path of sparks across his skin in her wake. “Definitely.”
He lowered himself against her, catching her mouth for a thorough kiss before he tangled his fingers into her hair and gave her a serious look. “I got a box of condoms in Italy.”
She gave him a matching solemn look. “Excellent.”
They both burst into laughter and he rolled onto his side then sat up, pulling her into his lap. She straddled him, both of them naked from the waist up, and she held his head as he kissed her collarbone, then lower, over the skin he’d explored with his fingers. He loved the way she shivered, so sensitive, but rose up on her knees eagerly at the same time and pulled his hair like a warrior goddess eager to fight for what she wanted.
“Get back here,” he growled, tugging her hips back down. He craved the firm press of her thighs against his legs, her sex against his cock. Ins
tead of her rising up to meet his mouth, he bent her back, leaning over her to capture her nipples in his mouth.
He couldn’t sort out which got him more worked up—the scent of her, the taste of her skin, or the breathy sounds that kept sliding across her gorgeous lips. His name, pleas for more, and when he opened his mouth wide and swallowed as much of her flesh as he could, a single, beautiful, “Yes…”
He needed more.
He pressed his face into her chest, then replaced his mouth with his hands there and kissed his way back up her neck. Biting, licking, sucking. His appetite for Jenna was growing by the second, turning him ravenous.
He’d been starved, clearly. Deprived of this woman his entire adult life.
“I want to taste all of you,” he said as she grabbed his hair and pulled their mouths together.
She whimpered into their hot, open-mouthed kiss, and he took that for her consent.
Another flip put her on her back beneath him again.
Sex with Jenna was a workout, and he loved it. He wanted them to roll and twist and fight to be on top, on the bottom, sideways and upside down.
But right now, he wanted her to hold still for him because he didn’t just want to taste all of her, he wanted to see her, too. Consume her with his eyes, his fingers, his mouth.
“Let me make you feel good.”
She shivered beneath him, and he slowed his caresses. He kissed her neck and tasted the sweet dip above her collarbone. With each unsteady breath, her chest rose and fell against him, and he put his mouth there again, but not for long.
Her pussy waited for him. He told her that, and she groaned.
“Is that a yes?” He moved lower, rubbing his nose along the waistband of her soft cotton pants. “Do you want more?”
“I want everything,” she whispered.
He hooked his fingers over the waistband and tugged them down, finding her bare beneath. Her hips, like the rest of her, were lean and muscular, curving into her thighs. Her belly had a soft, sweet swell that dipped just above her mound. He kissed her there and the delicate scent of her swirled into his brain and made him stupid.
He whispered her name in awe as he shouldered his way between her thighs. She moved languidly now, like she knew he was going to worship her. He liked this side of Jenna, too. A queen who knew her own worth.
And worship was exactly what he wanted to do. He stroked the insides of her thighs and the sensitive crease where legs met torso. Then with the tips of his fingers, he got acquainted with her swelling sex.
She felt amazing, soft and wet, and as responsive here as she was with her breasts. When she began to move against his hand, he let himself taste her, too. Each lick, each inhale of her scent, drove him a little further out of his mind. He wanted to bury himself between her legs and never come up for air, and that was crazy, because there was so much more sex still to be had.
Later.
He was busy right now.
He found a pattern she liked, his thumb on her clit, his tongue sliding everywhere else—up and around and down, then back again—and when she asked for more, he was happy to give it.
“You want my fingers?” he asked, teasing her entrance.
She answered by lifting her hips and pulling his index and middle fingers into her up to the first knuckle.
Fuck, she was tight. And hot. He pressed inside, matching the speed of his thumb, still rolling lazily over her clit. They were in no hurry.
She chased him again with her hips.
Correction. He was in no hurry. She seemed mighty eager to come on his face and fingers. He was a fool to not get her there as quickly as she wanted. Later, he could play. Tease her and stretch it out, make it even better for having waited.
Now, he gave her what she wanted. He curved his fingers and tightened his tongue, finding all the spots that made her shiver and shake. When she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his head, he doubled his efforts, until she found the crest of her orgasm and every part of her tightened and trembled.
Beautiful.
“God, that was good,” she breathed, flopping back against the bed.
He rose onto his knees, and she reached for him.
“My turn,” she whispered, kissing his mouth quickly before she pushed him back against the bed.
She didn’t need to, he thought as she tugged down his boxers. He hadn’t gone down on her expecting reciprocity. But his heart was going to leap out of his chest, so oh God, yes please…
Her mouth covered the head of his cock. Hot, wet, sucking perfection.
He rolled his head back and groaned. “Yes, Jesus, that…” His hands flailed in the air then he dropped them to the bed and fisted the blankets on both sides.
She grinned up at him before bobbing down again, and he was powerless to hold back. His hips pumped on their own accord, thrusting his dick in shallow, desperate little begs for more. Lick me, suck me, kill me dead.
It didn’t take long for her to do just that. Her nimble, clever fingers wrapped around the base of him, teasing his balls as they pulled tight to his body. He groaned then reached for her. He was going to come. “Jenna…”
“It’s okay,” she whispered, her breath hot on his cock before she sucked him deep again.
The edges of his vision started to dance and he let himself go. With another pull of her mouth and a tight squeeze from her hand, he came so hard he saw stars.
She slid away from him, and he heard water running in the bathroom, then she returned, sipping from a glass. “Want some?” She held it out, and he pushed himself up to lean back against the headboard.
“My legs are like jelly,” he admitted, and she beamed.
“Excellent.”
He took the water from her and she climbed back onto the bed. His gaze tangled in her bare legs and the sway of her breasts, turning his thoughts into single, simple words. Want. Need. Perfect.
She sat beside him and leaned her head back against the wall. Before he could address round two, she yawned, and he tamped down that desire for more. Taking one last sip of water, he handed her the glass, and she drained it.
“Back to sleep,” he told her, and she turned her face to give him a tired smile.
“That was really hot,” she whispered as she leaned in to kiss him. “Best vacation ever and we haven’t even left the hotel yet.”
They turned out the light and Jenna lay down on her side, pulling him against her back. He lifted his head and watched her lace her fingers through his. She tugged his hand back to her breast, where it had been when they’d woken up.
“Mmm, yes. Just like that. I want to wake up the same way in the morning,” she said softly, her eyelids drifting shut.
He squeezed his arm around her. As if there were any chance of him letting go.
INSTEAD OF ANOTHER round of exploring their bodies, the morning brought loud thumping and yelling from the room next door. Sean resigned himself to more sex not happening until they arrived in Arcos de la Frontera later that day.
“Do you think they heard us last night?” Jenna whispered as she packed her pyjamas into her bag.
“We weren’t that loud.” He was pretty sure, anyway. She blushed in a way that made his blood redirect, and he pulled her into his arms. “They’ll never see us again, but if it makes you feel better, the next place is a private apartment. Lots of space. Very thick walls. And I can motivate you to be quiet.”
She laughed and kissed his cheek. “I wasn’t thinking about me, Mr. Groaner. But that’s a good idea. I’ll make you cover your face with a pillow the next time I go down on you.”
If she kept talking like that, he’d be shouting like their next door neighbours, damn the consequences. “Tease.”
“Come on,” she whispered. “Let’s go drive through some mountains.”
Before he’d had a taste of Jenna, he’d had the crazy idea to spend the day in the national park south of Seville before going to Arcos.
Now he just wanted to haul her back to be
d.
Not that spending time out of bed was any kind of hardship.
She was funny and sexy and patient with their glitchy GPS. They stopped in the first town they passed and bought a more detailed road map as a backup, and she carefully folded it out on her lap as he climbed one precarious hill after another. The drive was pretty epic, made even more so by her oohs and ahs over the scenery.
They stopped for a quick lunch, then got back on the road and decided at the last minute to take a scenic detour from the national park to Arcos, a decision he was regretting three hours later when they were climbing what felt like an endless hill. The GPS was glitching more often than it was working, and he had a sinking feeling they weren’t actually as close to Arcos as the device promised, because they’d already hit two dead end roads and needed to double-back.
“It should just be over this hill,” Jenna said as he slowed even further. The switchback was getting tighter and tighter. Not the worst thing he’d ever driven, but pretty narrow.
It would be fun to drive if he weren’t starving for dinner and the woman beside him, in whatever order she preferred. He’d had an epic day, but he was ready for it to be over.
“Okay, the GPS says there’s one more turn and then there’s a straight cut down the hill.”
Sean twisted the car around a bend of trees, gunning it a bit to make the climb. But instead of the crest of the hill, he found a tunnel—gated off and not passable. Another dead end.
The GPS was a damn liar.
Beside him, Jenna shook with silent laughter as Sean braked hard and swore under his breath. “Where the fuck is this place?”
On the screen in the dashboard, it looked like they were nearly there, but…they were nowhere.
“Come on, let’s get out and stretch our legs,” she said, patting his thigh. Her fingers were light and nimble, and it was so damn unfair they weren’t in their apartment yet, because he wanted to feel them on his bare skin.