by Stacey Lynn
Releasing a shuddering breath, I felt David’s hand freeze on my hip, on my scar. Horrific memories flashed in my mind before I focused on the rain, the bungalow, the warmth of the room, and the heat of his body next to mine.
“I told you last night that I grew up living in a trailer, really run down, right?”
His hand on my skin tightened, burning into scar tissue that never healed enough. “Yes.”
“We had this hole in our roof and then in our ceiling. We couldn’t fix it and we couldn’t afford to have someone else come out, so my mom used to patch it with duct tape.” I could still clearly the see the crisscross patterns of gray tape against a yellowed ceiling. “Anyway, sometimes when it’d rain really hard, the water would get into our living room.”
Though it usually did, shame didn’t fill me as I spoke the words out loud.
Chuckling at the memory, the first time I’d ever found anything humorous about the way I lived, I laughed harder. “I could literally dance in the rain while still being inside.”
As proven last night, we had two completely different upbringings, his probably at private schools, city pools with lifeguards, and a tree house built by a loving father.
I had dirty streets and games of kick-the-can using rusted soup cans with other barefoot, scraggly haired children. Many who had it way worse than I ever could have imagined.
Next to me, with David holding me tight to him, his lips pressing against the top of my head, I was safe…for the first time in a long time…to be completely myself.
Chapter 11
David
I hated that for Camden. I hated that she’d had that kind of life, and yet learning the bits and pieces she’d begun sharing last night in the pool, it explained so much more about her.
It told me everything I needed to know about her, even though we had barely scratched the surface of who we really were. Yet I wanted to know more.
“How’d you get the scar?” I asked, feeling the raised and rigid flesh beneath my fingertips. Every time I touched it, she flinched. I wasn’t an idiot. I’d treated enough knife wounds to know what it was.
“Accident when I was a kid.” I felt her swallow harshly against my chest, forcing the words through her throat. It was the most she was going to willingly give me, but I pushed for more.
Three inches long, jagged and wide, it probably had needed staples, not just stitches. Unless someone had chucked a knife at her during a magic trick gone horrifically wrong, it was no accident. Knives needed pressure, a lot of it, to leave that thick of a mark.
“Looks like a knife wound,” I muttered as kindly as I could. My lips pressed against the top of her hair and inhaled the scent of it. Salt air lingered and mixed with her coconut shampoo, a smell I’d never forget.
“Yeah? You know a lot about knife wounds?”
Bitterness suffused her tone. I’d gone too far. Not that I could tell her that yes, I had treated wounds like hers almost every night for five years.
“Bartenders see a lot of things,” I said instead. Not quite a lie. I bet they did. Hell, wounded men from bar brawls weren’t uncommon in the emergency room, either.
She huffed against me, her warm breath tickling my skin. “I was twelve,” she finally said, her voice curt. “I barely remember it.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“I lost it when I was twelve.”
The strange statement made more sense, left more pieces to the puzzle that was Camden scattered all around. The pain in her voice made me change the subject.
“Want to order room service? Eat some breakfast?”
She was quiet for several moments before a soft “Yeah, that sounds good” fell from her lips.
I uncurled from her and pushed to a sitting position. I ignored the fact that I was naked and climbed out of bed, headed toward the other room for the menu.
When I returned to the bedroom, her gaze dropped to my dick, semi-hard from a mixture of waking up and waking up next to her. “Later,” I said with a wink, and crawled back onto the bed. As I moved, she sat up. I pushed myself until my back was against the headboard and tugged Camden into my lap, between my knees. I settled my chin on her shoulder and opened the menu in front of us. “Let’s eat first, then you can look at me all you want.”
“So sure of yourself, aren’t you,” she muttered, but the pain in her voice had disappeared.
“When it comes to you, absolutely not.”
She was a wild card, skittish and closed off. Out of anyone I could go after, Camden would be the hardest to win.
—
The last two hours, sitting with Camden on the bed, her wrapped in a fluffy, bright white robe and curled up next to me while we ate breakfast and talked, had been an effort in self-control.
The white of her robe made her hair seem more vibrant, and it was softer after she’d showered. Makeup free, and clean and fresh, she still smelled delicious and felt like silk. When she’d tried to tie her hair up and off her face, I’d snapped the hair tie out of her hand and slid it onto my wrist.
“Why do you do that?” she asked, her eyebrows arched in surprise.
I waved my wrist in the air. “I already told you. I like your hair down.”
“Yeah, but you could give them back to me.”
“No way,” I laughed. “They’re awards, reminders that I’m the one who causes you to let your hair down. Figuratively and literally.”
She’d rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You’re weird.”
Then she’d crawled next to me and stopped complaining as I began threading my fingers down the length of her hair.
“The rain is stopping,” I told her, my arm wrapped around her lower back, holding her to my side. She was twisted on the bed, covered knees bent and propped over one of mine. We’d watched mindless television and eaten our weight in room service. “Anything you want to do today? Last day on the island?”
“Uh-uh,” she muttered, her voice sleepy, sounding like she was ready to take a nap. “I should go back to my bungalow and make sure I have everything packed.”
Of course she’d already be planning her departure.
“We could go off the resort and do some shopping.” It was the last thing I wanted to do, but girls liked that shit. I’d put up with it for a few hours if it meant Camden smiled at me and held my hand. Maybe danced on the street to a reggae band.
“Eh.”
I nudged my shoulder into her. “Sleepy? Need a nap?”
She tilted her head and looked up at me. The haze in her eyes made my breath catch, and my hand at her lower back tightened.
“You’re not tired.”
Her lips pressed into a shy grin. “No. I’m not.”
God, I loved this side of her. Where Camden always seemed before to be bold and confident when I saw her with her friends, her shyness in the bedroom was a total turn-on. Last night, when she’d admitted to never giving a blow job before, I’d almost busted a nut right then and there.
It was only beginning to dawn on me that she probably hadn’t had that many partners. In moments like this, when she looked up, desire clearly evident in her softened eyes and the way her hand began lightly trailing circles on my sheet-covered stomach, she was the most sexy.
I slid my hand from her back up to her shoulder, gently peeling down her robe until one of her breasts was exposed. The pink nipple was already hardened. It was rosy as the blush on her cheeks when I glided my finger over the curve of her breast, along the top, then around it, following the curve at the bottom, tracing a circle, narrowing until I brushed over her nipple.
“David,” she whispered, her breath already quickening.
God, she was so responsive. The lightest touch turned her on and it was a reminder to go slow…be gentle…despite my desire to fuck her until she screamed my name.
“Horny, Camden?” I flicked the edge of my finger over her nipple and she whimpered, pressing her hips forward. Beneath the robe, her legs began shifting, as if
she had a weight between them that she needed to take care of. “Was that a yes? Have you been lying here so quiet and still because you want my dick inside you?”
Another soft sound from her lips. One that went straight to my dick.
“What do you want?” I asked. She pressed her face into the crook of my neck and shoulder, her breath hot on my skin. The quick move made her robe fall farther, exposing her to her waist. I reached down, pulling away from her breast, and untied her robe. I pushed back the soft, thick material until I saw her creamy, pinked stomach.
Damn. She really did blush everywhere. I loved it. Loved knowing I was the one that sent her flying into a tailspin with a few explicit words and a gentle touch.
“David.”
“Do you want my fingers? My mouth on your pussy? I bet you’re already wet, aren’t you?”
She shook her head, surprising me. Her fingers dug into the sheet covering my waist and she began pushing it down.
Pulling back, her expression was mixed with desire and excitement and nerves. I recognized the look quickly. It happened every time she touched me. Every time she realized she enjoyed me touching her.
“No,” she finally said, breathing out the word on a sigh. “I want to play with you.”
My dick jumped, all for that plan, and I covered her hand on my stomach with mine. “You sure?”
“You’re always on top.”
Camden riding me? That wild auburn hair flying all over? Her breasts bouncing close to my face? Hell, yes.
I pushed down the sheet and wrapped a hand around my hard dick, pumping slowly. Arching a brow, I gave her a challenging look and slid my other hand behind my head.
Hesitating briefly, Camden shrugged the rest of the robe off her other shoulder. It slipped down her back and she tossed it to the floor, her summons bravely masking her nerves. She threw a leg over my mine and straddled me, her hands on my pecs.
“Hey.” She grinned at me, her bottom lip sucked between her teeth.
I laughed softly at her expression. Mischievous and excited, like she didn’t know where to touch me first but couldn’t wait to get her hands on all of me.
“Keep teasing me with your naked body on top of me, Camden, and I’m going to take over.”
“Patience,” she murmured, leaning forward until her lips were at my chest. I shuddered beneath her, because damn…the coconut scent of her hair, the way it tickled my skin, and her warm fingers brushing all over me was driving me to distraction immediately.
“Yes,” I groaned, as she flicked her tongue on my nipple and then trailed kisses down my ribs.
“I like your skin,” she whispered, meeting my gaze for a moment. Her hands continued sliding over me, trailing the ridges of my ribs and between them. “You’re not bulky but you’re strong. Safe.”
I fought the urge to grab her, to slam her mouth against mine. She wasn’t the girl to admit that freely and the way her eyes went serious as she said the word safe told me how important it was to her.
As if she couldn’t believe she’d admitted that, she quickly dipped her gaze and continued kissing me. Her fingers slid through my hair, down to my belly button and then farther south. “I like this, too…this trail…”
Her voice quieted as she kissed me there. My hips pushed into the bed in an effort not to jam my dick deep down in her throat. She wiggled backward until her hand wrapped around my hard shaft. She pumped me slowly, sliding her fingers up and down my length like she was trying to memorize the feel of me.
Fire shot down my spine straight to my balls and I groaned, closing my eyes at the sensations. So gentle, so timid…so fucking determined to please me.
“Camden,” I growled, placing my hands on her hips. “Ride me and fuck me before I blow my load in your hand.”
She chuckled softly, leaned into my stomach, and kissed me. The vibrations of her laughter sent another shock wave rolling through me. “Grouchy when you’re not in control, aren’t you?”
I wasn’t some dominant asshole in bed, a guy who could only get off by being a bossy prick. I liked letting a woman lead as much as I enjoyed leading. But something about Camden actually liking it when I got a bit rough with her only turned me on further.
Forcing myself to let her exploration continue, my fingers dug into her hips, pressing against her soft flesh.
“Can’t help that I like the way you touch me,” I said, my voice deep and tight. God, I wanted to be inside her. I wanted to hold her tits while she rocked against me. I wanted to rub her clit and watch her head drop back as she surrendered to her own pleasure.
I wanted fucking all of it.
All of her.
“I want you on me, riding me.”
She stilled her movements, sat up, and grinned. Tilting her head to the side, she took a moment, as though she needed to actually think about it. “You know, I think that’s a great idea.”
I chuckled at her joke and she climbed off me to reach for the condoms. When she was close enough, I ran my fingers through her wet, slick flesh. She jumped and shot me a surprised look over her shoulder. “So wet already, Cam. Does turning me on make you hot and needy?”
“You know it does.” Her long lashes fluttered repeatedly, and that bloom I was so used to seeing on her cheeks went hot pink.
I pressed a finger inside her tightness. God, when was the last time she’d had a man? She was tight, virginal tight almost. My chest swelled with pride that she’d been able to give herself to me so easily, so frequently, this weekend.
Her cheeks deepened and her fingers began trembling while she ripped open the foil packet. Through it all, my finger continued pressing inside of her, sliding her wetness around to her clit as she climbed back over me.
“Ready?” she asked, rolling the condom down my dick.
“Hell yes, I am.” I forced my eyes to stay open, to watch her as she began sinking down on me.
Her lashes fluttered again and her lips parted. I kept my thumb on her clit, pressing and rolling until I was fully seated inside of her. She collapsed forward, pressed her palms to my chest, and I pushed into her, arching her up.
I wasn’t going to last long. My need to release coiled tight in my balls, my orgasm already burning at the back of my spine.
“Move.” I gritted out the word through tightly clenched teeth and forced my jaw to relax. Everything within me screamed to take over but I wanted to give her this, the time to do what she wanted despite how insane she was driving me.
As she rocked slowly, her tits began shaking. I was mesmerized by the way they moved, the way she moved…like it was another first for her. I imagined it was…She moved hesitantly, taking time to find the right rhythm so it was good for her. I seared every one of her movements into my memory so I could jerk off to them when she wasn’t around. Her lips parted, her tongue swiping along them as she gasped and whimpered. The way her body quivered when I hit that sweet spot deep inside of her, the flush on her cheeks that had nothing to do with embarrassment.
I took in all of it, treasured it, hoped like fucking hell that when we got back home and I laid out all of who I was…and who I wanted to be to her…she didn’t think I was a lying sack of shit.
The fear of that thought made me jolt and press into her deeper.
Her moans filled the room as I took over. One hand on her clit, rubbing fiercely in tight little circles, and my other squeezing her nipple, I rocked into her, needing to fuck all her fears out of her. Needing to make it so good for her, she’d remember this weekend even if—when—she was pissed at me.
I needed to be so deeply embedded inside of her, she had no choice but to listen to everything I had to tell her…as soon as we got home, because nothing was ruining this fucking perfect weekend.
“David,” she chanted, saying my name over and over again. Unable to hold herself up anymore, she fell to me.
I claimed her mouth the way I was moving inside of her—forcefully and with purpose. My hand left her breast and I held on to the
back of her head, pressing her against me and tasting her so deeply I could feel down her throat. Fuck, I needed her. Needed to know she’d be with me, she’d stick with me.
“Camden.” I grunted her name over and over, until the sounds of sex and our whispered moans were the only sounds roaring through my ears.
She shattered quickly, her entire body quaking with the force of her orgasm. She ripped her mouth off mine and threw her head back, convulsing around my dick while she screamed my name so loudly I knew our private bungalow couldn’t contain it.
Slamming her down onto me, I erupted inside of her, my body trembling with exertion and emotion.
Fuck. I needed to come clean.
I would do it, as soon as I knew she wouldn’t run from me when we got back home. I’d tell her everything as soon as I knew this wasn’t a weekend fling for her.
Chapter 12
Camden
I had never known sex to be so incredible. The small number of previous lovers I’d had were chosen purposefully. While their performance in bed had been lackluster compared to David’s, I now knew what I had really been missing.
A connection. Chemistry. Maybe even emotions.
The realization made me tremble as I lay there, pressed against David. My heart pounded against my rib cage, but it gave me comfort to feel his doing the same. His hands held my hips and he was deep inside me as we lay still, trying to calm our breathing.
I tried to slide off him so he could take care of the condom, but he stopped me before I could move.
“Stay here,” he whispered, his lips at my ear. “Lie with me for another minute.”
The request seemed so bizarre, I froze for a moment before relaxing against him. When I did, my hands went to his shoulders and grazed down his arms. My forehead pressed to his shoulder. I kissed him, unable to stop the feeling that I had to taste him.
My hair stuck to my back and to my sides. It was splayed out all over us like a thick, warm blanket.
“I need another shower,” I said, tasting the salt on his arm. It reminded me how worked up I’d gotten. “You probably do, too.”