Riptide (Rock Stars, Surf and Second Chances Book 2)

by Michelle Mankin

  “Karen.” I breathed her name softly. “Eres muy bella.” I lowered my head. She tipped hers up toward me.

  “Hey you two.” We both jumped apart each wearing expressions as guilty as if we had been caught in something criminal. Ash came to a halt in front of us. He bent over at the waist, hands on his thighs, gassed from the uphill sprint. When he caught his breath, he straightened and grinned wide. “Linc’s almost ready. He saw you pull in and sent me up to fetch you both. C’mon.”

  We followed the drummer as he loped downhill toward the pier. Placing my hand in the hollow of her back, I steered Karen after him. We stepped off one curb then up onto another, crossing a blocked off intersection. We ducked in and around people headed the same direction on the sidewalk, murmuring excuses. When we reached the beach, there was a little more room. Through a break in the line of spectators along the wall, I spotted Linc. He waited with Simone on the sand below. The dude looked a little green around the gills, like his cousin did before performing. But his blue eyes sparkled as brightly as the moonbeams glistening on the water.

  “Simone Bianchi.” Linc dropped to one knee in the sand. She clasped her hands together over her heart. They both knew what was going to happen, as did everyone they had invited, yet there was a palpable element of anticipation. Obviously, the set up was as important as the surprise. “I love you. I loved you pretty much from the moment I met you. I have loved you ever since, and I plan to love you straight on through forever if you’ll have me. Will you marry me?”

  “Yes,” she said, her voice was as clear as the Southern California night. She dropped down to her knees with him, holding out her hand so that he could slide on an impressive diamond solitaire that I’d already previewed. A sudden feeling of unease at odds with the rightness of the moment crept up my spine. I turned to the side realizing the reason for my unease. Karen wasn’t beside me anymore. The spot where she had been only a moment before was occupied by someone else. I slipped backward and scanned the crowd for her. My eyes narrowed in concern as I searched for the one who was perfect for me.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Karen

  I had never seen Simone look happier, but I shouldn’t have come. Watching her and Linc catapulted me backward. I remembered Dominic’s proposal and our wedding on that exact same stretch of sand. Guilt had sliced me through the middle as I recalled everything I had lost.

  I couldn’t stay. I couldn’t do this. Not here. Not now.

  I followed the sidewalk under the pier, passed Outside where the catered spread awaited the partygoers and had just rounded the darkened corner of the cliff when he caught me. His grip on my upper arm firm, Ramon whirled me around to face him. I realized even in the shadows that he was irritated, but I also knew a deeper truth. He didn’t have to catch me. He’d had me for a long time now, in all the ways that mattered.

  “What’s going on? Where the hell are you going?”

  “Home.” I dropped my gaze. “I’m sorry I left without saying anything. It was just too much.” Tears drowned my voice and flooded my eyes. I suddenly found myself crushed inside his comforting embrace. My wet face smashed to his solid chest, I clung to his strong arms, and I wept. I let it all go because he was there to hold me. I wept for my husband, my baby and my marriage like I had never wept before. He stroked my hair while my shoulders shook, and I soaked his shirt with my tears. The angle of the towering cliff provided a private shelter. The roar of the waves crashing into the sandstone separated my grief from the celebration on the other side.

  When I finally managed to pull myself together, I lifted my cheek from his chest and offered an apology about ruining his shirt and his evening. He shushed me, framed my face with both his hands and swiped the remaining tears aside with his thumbs. “I’m not a pretty crier,” I mumbled feeling self-conscious and exposed as he stared into my eyes.

  “It’s ok, Karen. I hate to see you so unhappy. If I could take the hurt away I would. I wish I had that power. I wish I could give you what you most desire.”

  “I wanted her so badly,” I admitted.

  “I know you did.”

  “I didn’t mean to lose her.”

  “Of course you didn’t.”

  I thought I had said my goodbye in my room. I really had, but here I was doing it again. I knew that hollow place inside of me could never be filled. Unless…I went completely still. My fingers flexed on his forearms. Ramon could never care for me the way I cared for him, but he was attracted to me. Maybe not in the way I wanted, but I’d felt his erection when he had pressed me against the Explorer earlier. He’d been about to kiss me. He didn’t find me repugnant. My heart began to hammer furiously with an idea.

  “What is it?” he pressed. “What’s going on inside that pretty head of yours? Tell me.”

  “No. It’s crazy.” Like I was. Certifiable. “It’s impossible,” I stalled.

  He searched my eyes. Something meaningful surfaced from within the depths of his gaze. “Maybe it’s not as crazy as you think. Why don’t you try me?”

  “Would you…can we…” I trailed off, swallowed and drew in a composing breath.

  “Yes,” he said as if I had been clear and everything was decided.

  “You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”

  “After all this time.” He traced my trembling bottom lip with his thumb. My body quickened to his touch. “Say it already.” His voice had grown husky.

  “Have sex with me,” I begged.

  “I thought you would never ask.” He captured my lips with his own. No soft testing like the other time. This time his lips melded to mine. Hard. Assured. Certain. His hands slid to my lower back bringing my hips into firmer contact with his.

  “So the answer is yes, then?” I was out of breath when he lifted his head a moment later.

  “Hell yes, Karen.” He changed the angle of his head returning his mouth to mine. I felt so many things when his lips were on mine, but the one that couldn’t be ignored was a desperation that made my scalp tingle and my toes curl.

  “Thank you,” I managed when he skimmed kisses along my jaw and moved down my neck. “And we don’t have to use a condom. I’m clean. If you…”

  “I am, too. I’ve been completely checked out.” His lips suctioned the sensitive spot between my neck and shoulder. I shuddered. “I go for a checkup every year since my dad’s heart attack scare.” He lifted his head staring deeply into my eyes and tucked a curl behind my ear. His lips curved. “So now that those details are out of the way, can I finally proceed?”

  “Yes, only just one more thing. I want you to know that I’ll take full responsibility for the baby.”

  “What baby?” His brows drew together in confusion.

  “Ours. I mean, mine. The one we make together, of course.”

  “Of course,” he repeated after a long beat, his features no longer confused but twisted together tightly. “You want to have sex with me because you want to get pregnant.” He spoke each word slowly and succinctly.

  “Yes.”

  “And that’s it?”

  I glanced away, watching a large wave crash into the slab of rock beside us, feeling the cold spray on my skin. “Yes. Of course that’s it,” I lied. He wouldn’t say yes if he had to worry about me forming an attachment to him. What he didn’t know was that I already had one. It hadn’t lessened over the years. I knew now that it would never go away.

  “Alright,” he agreed, but he sounded angry. His hands on my lower back slid to my ass. He yanked me into him hard enough to make me gasp. “But I’ve got some rules. After you hear them feel free to change your mind, chica bonita. Then we’ll just pretend this conversation never happened, like we’ve done with so many other things between you and me over the years. Yeah?”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Ramon

  “Yes, I guess that’s ok.” She searched my face trying to see me better but the moon had fled behind a cloud. I was all shadow. The inside of my chest had gone
dark as well.

  “Turn around,” I growled, trying to keep a lid on my temper.

  “What?”

  “Rule number one. You do what I say the first time. Hands above your head.” I turned her and showed her what I meant, grabbing her arms, covering her hands with my own and smacking her palms flat into the sandstone wall above her head. Then I flipped up her skirt and slapped her ass.

  She inhaled sharply and twisted her neck to regard me over her shoulder. I ripped her panties down her legs. I was so pissed at her my hands shook. I don’t remember ever being angrier. I had mistakenly believed tonight would be the beginning of something real for us, but I knew now that she was never going to see me the way I wanted her to. She wanted a fuck? Well, she would get it.

  “Is there a problem, mami?” I met her gaze, my own flashing with challenge. “Are you having second thoughts?”

  “I’m not sure.” She glanced in the direction of the party and wet her lips. “Anyone can see us if…”

  “That’s part of the excitement. Haven’t you ever had sex in a public place before?” I leaned in, letting her feel the edge of my teeth first before I pressed my lips into the curve between her neck and shoulder.

  “It’s so cold outside.” She shivered. “How can your lips be so warm?” She sounded dazed as if her body ran ahead of her reason like mine did. She turned her head as if seeking my mouth. I pulled my head back out of reach.

  “No kissing.”

  “But you just did and…”

  “None from you to me.”

  “Oh.” I could hear the hurt in her voice and see it on her face.

  Good, I thought, telling my heart to shut up when it shouted at me to give into her. “I do all the touching, mamacita. All the kissing. No initiating by you. I’m in control. Got it?”

  “No. I mean yes. But I want to touch you. Don’t you want me to?” The clouds cleared from the moon giving me an unimpeded view of the glassy sheen in her eyes. Fuck. I couldn’t look into them.

  “Not this time. Turn back around.” I lifted her skirt higher and ran my palms all over her perfectly shaped ass, grabbing and squeezing it before running my hand between her legs and just skimming along the heat of her. “You’re wet. You want this. You want me. Then we do it my way. You do what I say. If I say spread…” I shoved my knee between her legs to demonstrate. “You spread. If I say kneel, you drop to your knees, and we do it doggy style.” I could hear her heavy breathing or maybe it was my own. I wanted her. I always wanted her. No other woman smelled the way she did. No other woman had skin so creamy soft. And knowing she was aroused by me drove me to the edge of insanity. “Yes, or no, Karen? Tell me right now.”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “Ok,” I said, letting out a breath. I quickly quieted the noble part of my brain and did as I pleased. Things I had imagined doing since the first time I had seen her on this beach in that tiny red bikini. I covered her with my body, reaching around her, yanking the strapless part of her dress down and feeling her firm tits. They were glorious, a perfect shape, just right for my hands. My cock agreed. It wanted to be inside her right that moment while I twisted her tight nipples between my fingers and thumbs. I licked the lobe of her ear with my tongue, plunged it inside and told her what I wanted to do and how much she pleased me.

  “Ramon,” she shuddered. I felt it shake her body as it ran through her. She liked that, liked the talking, and liked my tongue swirling around the rim of her ear. So I did it again, scoring the tender flesh with my teeth and tugging on the lobe, telling her in Spanish the softer things in my heart that she didn’t care to know.

  You’re a dream. My every fantasy. I bit down on the fleshy part again. She didn’t shiver this time, but she wiggled her sexy rear over my cock as if desperate to have it inside of her. I groaned. “Bueno, mami. Show me what you want. How desperate you are for it.” I rocked my erection against her. Her hands slid down the wall, her nails scoring it.

  “Please, Ramon.”

  “Donde, mi cielo?” I queried. What do you need, my heaven?

  “Please it’s been so long since…I can’t…” She bit back the rest of the words.

  “Tell me. Don’t be ashamed to tell me what pleases you. It doesn’t have to mean anything - this dance between us. But why shouldn’t it be pleasurable? You like this?” I nipped her shoulder again and tugged on her nipples.

  “Yes,” she agreed. “It feels so good.”

  “And this?” I traced the outline of her ear with my tongue and twisted a little more on her tit so she could feel the burn.

  “Yes,” she moaned, rolling over me. I swore she was so wet she was soaking my shorts. I imagined sliding inside of her easily. But I’d waited so long, so fucking long to be with her like this. I wanted to see what else she liked.

  I cradled one perfect breast in my hand and dove the other one south nearly spilling when my fingers spread wide over her mound and I felt how wet she was.

  “Yes,” she glided her pussy along my fingers, and I grinned into the side of her neck, kissing her and licking the saltiness of the ocean spray from her skin. I squeezed her tit, sucked on the side of her neck and stroked her in a rhythm that had her slippery and purring for me.

  “Please.” Her breath caught as I circled her tight clit. “I want you, she breathed.

  “What exactly do you want?”

  “Your cock inside me.”

  I bit down hard to show my approval of her request. She shivered prettily when I stepped back. I quickly unknotted and let my board shorts slide down my legs. I moved back to her grabbed her hips and pulled her bottom half back from the wall. “Tilt your ass more,” I demanded, and she complied. Digging my fingers into her pliant skin, I rewarded her, positioning and sliding inside her in one deep, perfect thrust. I bit back a satisfied groan and squelched the flood of possessive feelings.

  “We are a perfect fit,” I told her instead in Spanish, tamping down this driving need to fuck her hard and claim her in every way a man can possess a woman. I started to move, and those feelings I tried to suppress got even stronger. I couldn’t hold back. I could feel her tightening around my cock. I gave it to her harder, deeper, faster. I pulled her backward into each savage thrust and she took it, took all of me, as if she would die if she didn’t have me.

  “Ramon, oh Ramon.” She whimpered.

  “Tu me vuelves loco.” You drive me insane. “Come for me. With me. Now.”

  She did. She climaxed like a wildcat letting out a cry and bouncing on my cock. I could feel her spasms all around me. Her response ignited more than just my own release. It unwound something inside of me. I knew it in that moment. She owned me. She always had. She always would. But if I let her know she would ruin me.

  Chapter Forty

  Karen

  The sexy Spanish murmurs ceased the moment he pulled out. He didn’t even look at me at all as he yanked up his shorts. I straightened the bodice of my dress and did the best I could to wipe away the evidence of what had only moments before transpired between us using a couple of Kleenexes from my pocket. I wouldn’t call it lovemaking. I couldn’t even bring myself to call it sex. Both those terms implied a mutual act. He had allowed for no independent contribution on my part, though I had been a willing participant and enjoyed very much everything he had done to me. Dominic had never encouraged me to be so uninhibited in private, let alone in a public place. But I didn’t kid myself that what we had done had meant anything to Ramon. The way he stalked off so quickly afterward told me that it had been no more important to him than that kiss all those years ago. He was probably already having regrets about our agreement. It hurt. It cut deeply that I was never going to be the type of woman he could desire when he was everything I wanted.

  The pressure of tears building behind my eyes, I stared at him as he stood by the edge of the ocean. Rigid as a bronze statue with the waves crashing against the shore on either side of him, only his hair seemed alive, the curls tossing animatedly in t
he breeze.

  “Ramon.” I cleared my dry throat, my voice barely above a whisper. He turned his head slightly to the side, but not far enough to meet my gaze. “I’m going back to the party.” I hoped I didn’t sound as clingy and as desperate for reassurance as I felt. I needed a friend. The one standing in front of me had never felt so far away.

  “I’ll come with you.” He turned fully, his face an impenetrable mask.

  “That won’t be necessary.” I backed away as he moved closer. Incapable of hiding my emotions the way he was doing, I didn’t want him to see how much his indifference wounded me. The cliff wall ended my retreat. He stopped directly in front of me.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, of course it’s necessary. We came together. We’ll leave together.” He lifted a brow. His curls shadowed his eyes, obscuring any nuance in their depths. “Unless our agreement is already fulfilled, a certain level of togetherness is a requirement, don’t you think?”

  I nodded, though I was having doubts about our contract. I slid away from him, taking the narrow path along the base of the cliff back toward the pier. He followed in my wake. I could feel his gaze, but tried to pretend that I wasn’t enticed by him any longer. My heart discounted the obvious lie, whispering that with more practice I might learn how to please him.

  I turned the corner to find the party at its crescendo. It seemed like everyone in OB had congregated around the pier. The beach below the sidewalk seemed empty now, but it was really too dark under the pilings to tell if anyone was down there. I dismissed the flash of furtive movement I thought I saw and edged along the sidewalk, picking my way carefully through the throng. I could hear someone playing a guitar nearby. Knowing my friend Simone and how much she loved music, I followed my ears and hoped I would find her there.

  The crowd thickened as I approached. People parted readily in front of me, probably due to the intimidating presence of the Latino at my back. Patrick strummed an acoustic sitting inside the open trunk of Tasha’s Outback under one of the light poles. The cute blonde sat beside him, the two other members of Free Wave flanking them both. Vassel gave me a smile that I wasn’t up to returning. And there was Simone enjoying the music safely tucked into Linc’s embrace. Loved. Cherished. Content.