Jane lost herself to the sensations. Her cunt was growing hotter. It was filled to capacity with Garrett’s amazing dick that was massaging and working her insides with more skill than should be legal. Somehow, with all of that fullness, her pussy grew tighter, closing in around him. She grabbed his ass and worked her hips. Even though she was practically pinned to the counter, she felt like she was the one doing the riding. It only stoked the fire of her arousal even more. Her contralto moans filled the kitchen.
“Christ,” he groaned. “You’re fucking wild.” He leaned his upper body in, pushing Jane farther down on the counter. His shallow, sweet thrusts increased in depth and became more domineering. He pushed as far as her body would let him.
Jane wrapped an arm across his shoulders and held on. She thought that he might just fuck her right through the granite. The idea that maybe he was punishing her for making the two of them wait so long for this made her pussy clench even tighter. He was fucking her to oblivion. Nonexistence never sounded so sweet.
“You,” he said, his breathing becoming ragged. “You feel so fucking good.” Their bodies made wet, slapping noises. Jane was on the verge. Every bit of pleasure, every sensation and word was another drop in the bucket, a massive body of water that was held back by only the slightest surface tension. A slow wave that grew higher and higher with her body as the dam.
The force of his thrusts rocked her head back and forth. “Keep fucking me,” she moaned. “Don’t stop.”
Garrett lifted his body off of hers to create just enough space for his hand to slide between them. His thumb returned to her clit, rubbing harder than before. Sweat beaded on his brow and chest. He worked her pussy and clit in perfect syncopation. “I want to see you come, sweetheart,” he said.
The pressure on her clit and pussy combined with his voice was the perfect storm. The dam burst and the wave took over all of Jane’s faculties. The clench from her pussy felt as though it went to the top of her head. She saw stars, but all she could do was scream.
Her nails found his back and dug in. His sure hip movements became an erratic, frenzied rhythm until he cried out. Face against her breasts, he yelled in time with a few hard thrusts before slowing to a stop.
Jane couldn’t remember the time or the date. The year was simply an educated guess. Nearly a minute passed before her senses started back up. The feeling of the cold granite top on the back of her hand. Yellow morning light filtering into the room. It was Garrett’s hot breath against her sternum that gave her the urge to open her eyes and attempt to lift her head.
“You okay?” she asked, smiling. She lightly ran her fingers through his hair from the temple to the nape of his neck.
A loud exhale: “Uh-huh.” His eyes opened and his breathing gained a measure of control. “Um, wow. That was, uh…”
“Amazing?” she offered.
He slowly nodded his head, making eye contact. “Yeah. Amazing.” He rested his head back down. “One moment.”
Jane could only laugh softly. As she continued running her fingers through his hair, she wondered where things were going to go from here. Things were going to be different now. She just wasn’t sure exactly how.
His laugh broke her from her reverie. “I swear I’m not just falling asleep on top of you.”
She smiled. “Well that’s good, I suppose.”
He raised his head and brown eyes met blue. She couldn’t believe how incredibly handsome he was. He lifted himself off of her and then helped her up. Garrett held her for a few seconds while she found her legs again. He took the opportunity to kiss her. Jane was slightly shocked at how her heart fluttered at that simple gesture.
Pulling away, he gave her a quick look up and down. “Looks like you’re going to need another shower, sweetheart.”
Jane looked down. She was topless. Her skirt was still bunched at the waist and her blouse was a sad blend of white and brown with the scent of coffee still heavy in the air.
“Wouldn’t have happened if some low-life hadn’t scared the life out of me.”
“Well,” he said, lifting his pants back up. “I really wish I could pretend to be sorry about that, but I just can’t.” Buckling himself up, he drawled: “But you still look pretty good.”
Jane had the feeling that smirk was going to be the end of her. Then she started. “Holy—Garrett, what time is it?”
He had just enough time to glance at the watch on his wrist before grabbing both of her arms to keep her from running. “Sweetie, it’s not even eight o’clock yet.”
Her eyes were wide. “Are you sure?”
Garrett kissed her brow. “Yes, dear.”
Even after the intense sex that had just transpired, it was the “dear” that made Jane furiously blush.
“What, you have to hit the road at eight-thirty, right? Plenty of time for a shower.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Jane managed to get her breath back under control. This morning was just full of excitement. “What about you? What are your plans? Do you, um…need a shower?”
“My plans?” He stuck his hands into his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels, like a kid about to ask for a favor. “Well, I thought that you might be willing to make some room in that shower for me. You know, just so I can freshen up a bit and then get down to work. Then, uh…” He leaned in and with that quiet rumble of his asked, “Then I was hoping that maybe I could meet you back here later and, I don’t know, make you dinner or something?”
She smiled. There was no helping it. “You want to cook for me?”
Garrett scoffed. “Honey, I can cook. Trust me. You won’t want to let me go.”
She gave a long, lingering look up and down his body before responding, “I’m sure I won’t.” The master bath was on the second floor, near the bedroom. She walked a few paces before turning around and adding, “Oh, and I get first dibs on the showerhead.”
He followed her up the stairs.
TROUBLE IN PARADISE
Crystal Jordan
Whitney loved the way he touched her, looked at her when they were in bed. Like she was the center of his universe. He was over her, in her, but his gaze locked with hers and wouldn’t let her glance away. She didn’t want to. She’d never get enough of that hot, worshipful expression. It was the most amazing high, better than any drug. He’d been distant during the few days they’d been in Hawaii, but not now. This closeness and connection made her worries evaporate like so much steam.
He pressed her into the mattress, his weight forcing her thighs wider, and he sank his cock deep inside of her. The stretch made her whimper in pleasure-pain. He was thick, filling her almost too full, but she wanted more. Running her hands down the flexing muscles of his back, she dug her nails into his ass to urge him on.
“Hurry, Drew,” she whispered. Yes, she wanted him hard and fast and so deep she couldn’t tell where he ended and she began. Maybe then she could pretend this trip to paradise was as perfect as she’d hoped it would be. She squeezed her eyes shut and stuffed the thought away into the darkest corner of her soul.
The sharp nip of his teeth on her shoulder made her jolt, and her gaze flew to his. The corners of his eyes crinkled. “I think I lost you there for a moment. Am I boring you?”
Rotating his hips, he ground down on her clitoris, making her pussy flood with juices, and she sobbed on a breath. Her legs cinched around his waist, and she moved with him. His thrusts picked up speed and force, and sensations swamped her. The hair on his chest rasped her nipples every time he penetrated her; sweat made their bodies slide together. The bed creaked beneath them, and the sound of their panting breath and low moans created a carnal symphony in the hotel room. She could feel orgasm building, tightening her inner muscles until she was close to breaking. Each time he pressed his dick into her pussy it pushed her toward that inevitable end.
He grasped her knee, pulling her leg higher so he could fuck her harder. She cried out, arching into him as she shattered into a million pieces. He
r sex contracted around his cock, milking the length of him as climax dragged her under. “Drew!”
“Whitney.” He breathed the word like a prayer, burying his face in the crook of her neck. He sank deep inside of her, his big body locking tight as he jetted come into her pussy.
She shivered as the air-conditioning kicked on, and held him closer. It took long minutes for her heart rate and breathing to return to normal. She sighed, contentment drowning out the worry, for now. Trailing her fingers over the sweat-dampened skin of his shoulders, she tried to hold on to the moment. “This is perfect.”
“Yeah…perfect,” he repeated, but there was an odd inflection to his voice. He kissed her throat and lifted away from her. Rolling to his side, he left her staring at the wall of his back.
The gesture gutted her. Pain twisted like a knife in her heart. When had Drew ever turned away from her after sex? Maybe it shouldn’t bother her, but it did. She set a hand on his arm, and the muscles twitched as if he wanted to avoid her touch. Moisture burned the backs of her eyes, but she blinked the tears away.
“Drew, are you sure everything’s all right?” She was starting to feel like a broken record, she’d asked the question so many times since they’d arrived in Honolulu. Knots formed in her belly, confusion and hurt warring for dominance within her. They’d both been so excited to come here, to get away for a whole week together. She had no idea what had changed, and his keeping things from her and refusing to talk just didn’t happen. Not once in the four years they’d been together. It wasn’t like him, and it scared her. She didn’t even know how to react. Should she push harder? Back off and let him sort out whatever was wrong on his own?
He sighed, the sound impatient. “I’m fine, honey. How many times do I have to say it?”
Swallowing the sharp retort that hovered on the tip of her tongue, she clamped her mouth shut. It wouldn’t help. She’d tried arguing, cajoling and reasoning the last few days, but he wasn’t budging. Things were not fine, no matter what he said. The tension and uncertainty built within her until she wanted to scream. She couldn’t stay here, looking at his back and wondering if this sudden distance between them was going to become permanent. God, what a nightmare. She jerked upright in bed, scooted over to the side so she could stand and found her legs were so shaky they didn’t want to hold her. She gritted her teeth, locked her knees and forced herself to keep going. To where, she wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t be in this room right now.
Rummaging through her open suitcase, she found her fingers tangling in the strings of her bikini top. She picked it up and tied it on, found the bottom and slid that on too. Good enough.
She heard Drew stir on the sheets. “Where are you going?”
“Swimming.”
He made an incredulous noise. “It’s dark outside.”
“They have a pool that’s open until ten. I won’t be long.” Just long enough to clear her head and get a grip on her emotions. She turned for the door and walked out.
But she didn’t go to one of the many pools at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. There were people there and she didn’t want to deal with them. Instead, she walked toward the rolling crash of ocean waves until she stood on the beach. For once, it was deserted. She could hear the sound of music and people coming from the hotel restaurants, but the noise faded the closer she got to the surf. She went to very edge of the waterline, passing a few torches that made firelight dance across the sand. She sat just beyond the reach of the waves and let the warm breeze and darkness envelop her.
What was going on? That was the question she couldn’t answer and that Drew was evading. Things had been good between them for four years. They’d had their ups and downs, but they’d both been willing to work out any problems. They’d never avoided an issue before. So why was he avoiding one now? Was the problem so big they couldn’t overcome it this time? The very idea sent dread spiraling through her. She pulled her legs to her chest, wrapped her arms around them and pressed her forehead on the bony plateau of her knees. It wasn’t just the fear of losing him that squeezed tight around her heart, but also…anger. It simmered in her blood, made her want to lash out. How could he have let something come between them without telling her what was wrong?
Some tiny part of her had thought—hoped—that Drew might actually ask her to marry him on this trip. A laugh escaped her, and it tripped over a sob. Wow, had she been wrong. She loved him so much, had since their first date, if she was baldly honest. The feeling had only grown stronger with time. She didn’t want to lose that. A week ago, the possibility wouldn’t even have crossed her mind. But, now? Now, she didn’t know anything.
“Hey.”
She jolted at the sound of his voice behind her, twisting around to look up at him. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing. This isn’t the pool.” His footsteps crunched in the sand, and then he lowered himself down to sit beside her. Close, but not close enough to touch. He didn’t look at her, didn’t speak for a long moment, just stared out over the water.
He cleared his throat. “I’m not fine.”
The words were quiet, but she heard them. Relief and terror ricocheted through her. She was finally going to get her answers, but after days of buildup, she wasn’t sure she could handle how badly the truth might hurt. She shut her eyes tight for a moment, bracing herself for what might be a killing blow. “I know.”
Picking up a handful of sand, he let it slip through his fingers. “I don’t even know how to say what I need to say.”
“Is there someone else?” There. Her worst fear, out in the open. The one problem there was absolutely no fixing. The deal-breaker. God help her, she didn’t think she could live with that. It would destroy something deep inside of her if this man she trusted with her life, her very soul, had cheated on her.
“No!” His voice sharpened with shock. “Jesus Christ, do you really think I could do that to you? To us?”
She huffed out a laugh to cover the moisture that glutted her eyes. “I don’t know what to think. I just know you’re keeping things from me, lying to me about everything being all right.” A wayward tear streaked down her cheek, cooled by the ocean breeze. “I wish we’d never come here. I thought you were going to—” She cut herself off, brushing the tear away. “It doesn’t matter what I thought. Hawaii was a mistake, clearly.”
“No, it wasn’t.” The backs of his knuckles stroked down the side of her arm, the first time he’d initiated any kind of contact since they’d arrived. Goose bumps raised on her skin, a small spark of heat flashing through her. She’d have to be dead not to react to this man, which she used to think was a good thing. At the moment, she wasn’t so sure.
“It really was.” She shook her head. “I want to go home.”
His clothing rustled as he resettled on the sand, his shoulder brushing hers. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, just swim trunks, so even that small brush of his skin against hers made her shiver in awareness. She heard something creak, and then he set something down between them. Squinting in the dark, it took her a moment to make out what it was, and then moonlight made it sparkle. An open ring box. With a gorgeous diamond ring in it.
She stared at it blankly for a long moment. “I don’t understand.”
“You said, ‘I thought you were going to’ and then you stopped. Propose. You thought I was going to propose.” He caught her hand, squeezing her limp fingers. “Right?”
Emotions cinched her chest, so many of them churning inside of her that she couldn’t even sort them all out. This was crazy. Utterly insane. “And that’s why you’ve been acting like you can’t stand me? Because you want to marry me?”
He flinched, but didn’t deny it. “No. That’s not why.”
“Then, why?” Snatching her fingers away from him, she hugged her arms around her torso. “Why would you do that to me? Do you know how scared I’ve been, how worried? I’ve been going out of my mind trying to figure out what happened, and you wouldn’t t
alk to me, and kept acting like I was insane for asking what was wrong.” She clamped a hand over her mouth, willing the tears not to fall.
He scooped her into his lap, easily overpowering any escape attempts. Resting his chin on the top of her head, he held her close. It felt good to be in his arms, and she hated that. She wanted to curl into his comforting, familiar warmth, and at the same time she wanted to shove him away. He stroked his fingers through her hair. “I’m sorry, Whitney. I’ve been an ass. There’s no excuse good enough for my behavior.”
“Just tell me why.” There had to be a reason. The man she loved wouldn’t act like this without a reason. And it had better be a damn good one.
“The day before we left, I picked the ring up from the jeweler’s on my lunch break. I had the whole thing planned out. Dinner at the Royal Hawaiian on our last night here, a table overlooking the ocean, and I was going to ask you. I thought it’d be something you’d really love.”
It would have been. She laid her head on his chest and wished it had turned out the way he’d described. Too late now, but it would have been…perfect.
He sighed. “So I was at my desk, I’d just made the dinner reservations, and I took a last look at the ring to make sure it was exactly the way I ordered it. I was nervous as hell, trying to think about how I’d ask—down on one knee or maybe that wouldn’t work in the restaurant, stuff like that. Mostly, I was hoping I didn’t fuck it up and say it wrong. I wanted to get this right for you—I wanted it to be something you’d remember and tell our grandkids about.” Self-derision underscored his tone, as if he knew that he’d already blown his shot at getting it right. “Then Jim walked into my office.”
“Ah.” She wasn’t sure how that fit into anything, so she asked the same thing she asked any time he brought up Jim. “How’s his wife?”
The man had worked with Drew for years, and Whitney had made small talk with his wife at all the holiday parties and the annual retreats where significant others were invited.
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