by Eden Rivers
“Okay. That’s what I needed to know.” Hell, what’s the worst thing that could happen? Besides his heart breaking all over again.
“I don’t know what to do.” Val sat up, half naked in the moonlight, and looked to Abby for guidance.
“Whatever you want. Whatever feels good.” Abby’s voice trickled across his senses like moonlight. “I heard you figured things out pretty well with Ian and Jeremy not too long ago.” Okay, his broken heart was no longer a consideration, because Val was about to slaughter him in cold blood.
“No, please.” Abby grabbed Val’s shoulder as she whirled and reached for her shirt. “Ian didn’t tell me. Jeremy did. And if it makes you feel any better, it was pillow talk. He, Tyler, and I had just finished doing pretty much the same thing.”
Val sat back down, no longer intent on flight, and Ian’s cock twitched at the thought of Abby’s petite body sandwiched between Jeremy and Tyler.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Abby tangled her fingers in Val’s hair. “Come here.”
Oh, wow. This time, Val kissed Abby back. He’d have liked to turn the moonlight up a notch, but then, the darkness was more likely than not a necessary ingredient in the spell. Along with the sound of the waves, the secret valley between the dunes, and the fact that he and Val were both so emotionally raw, they’d do about anything to relieve the pain.
Ian inched closer, almost holding his breath. He didn’t dare approach Val, but he curled his body against Abby’s back and pulled the knot at the nape of her neck, freeing her bikini top. By the time he had the bottom strap undone and her breasts were nestled in the palms of his hands, Val was starting to make appreciative noises against Abby’s mouth.
When he shifted his hands to Abby’s hips, Val reached for his hand. He froze, but as she began to stroke his palm, he tangled his fingers with hers. Her touch conveyed so much tenderness, his eyes stung.
“I’m sorry, Val, so sorry things worked out this way.”
“Shh. Me too. Let’s leave that for now. Please, let’s just have this one night.”
Abby kissed her cheeks, and Ian wondered if Val was crying. He squeezed her hand, willing her to let go of the pain.
“Here, like this.” Before Val had a chance to protest, Abby guided her down onto the towel so she lay on her back with her hair spread out around her head, the mass of dark curls gleaming in the moonlight.
Abby took Val’s nipple into her mouth, eliciting a surprised gasp. But as Abby started to suckle, Val gripped his arm and pulled him toward her. Unsure what she wanted, he hesitated. Abby grabbed the back of his head and guided him toward Val’s other breast. At first, he felt awkward, almost reluctant. But then Val murmured the hungry noises he knew so well. Everything else seemed to slip away, and the night closed around him.
Her skin tasted salty, like the ocean, and she smelled like beach grass and wildflowers. As he circled the satin-smooth flesh at the base of her nipple with his tongue, teasing and caressing until she whimpered beneath him, he felt like he’d come home again. Tonight, her arms would shelter him. That would have to be enough.
“Hey, let’s get these off.” Abby sat up and tugged at Val’s shorts, then slid her panties down her legs and tossed them into the growing heap of discarded clothing.
“You too, Ian.”
He’d never been shy, but as Abby pulled off his swim trunks, he had the urge to grab a towel. And when Val’s fingers brushed the base of his cock, he knew why. This was too intimate, too close to the empty spot that threatened to swallow him whole.
“Val, I…” His voice cracked.
“I know, me too.” She pressed her face against his chest and wrapped her arms around his back.
The longer she held him, the more he believed he might be strong enough to love her one last time ‑‑ then let her go. He pulled Abby close, so his mouth was beside her ear, and whispered, “This. Hurts. Like. Hell.”
“I never said it would be easy, Ian.” Softly, she let her fingers slide down the back of his neck. “You make your choices.”
What the hell was that supposed to mean? Val left him, for Christ’s sake. Not the other way around. Did Abby mean he should have dropped his duties as editor and raced to Gulls’ Harbor when he got Val’s message? Did she think there was some way he could have kept Val from running scared?
“Here, let’s try this.” Smoothing the rumpled towel with her hands, Abby motioned for him to lie down. “Close your eyes.”
Close your eyes. Those had to be three of the most erotic words ever spoken. With his eyes closed, his senses flared to life, and he lost himself in the breeze on his sweaty skin and the brush of Abby’s fingers across his stomach.
Or at least, he thought that was Abby. He reached up, touched someone’s arm, and followed the curve upward to her neck, then her head. Val. Her curls brushed his fingertips, wild and springy in the salt air. With his other hand, he felt around until he found Abby. Her hair felt as soft as down under his hands, silky layers tapering close to her neck.
As one, they bent to taste his skin, starting near his neck and working down his chest and stomach. He held his breath, waiting for the first brush of a tongue against his cock, but they shifted, changed position, and started to nibble his toes. Before long, he lost track of whose mouth was where.
They licked and suckled every inch of bare flesh, nipped and teased until his skin sizzled under their mouths. Everywhere but where he needed the contact most. By the time they made their way to his nipples, he groaned and arched to meet their mouths. Hell, he’d played this scene a thousand times with Abby and Lisa, but nothing ever approached the heat he felt right now.
“You’re killing me, you know.” As someone took his nipple between her teeth and nipped a bit too hard, he dug his fingers into the sand.
“Not a bad way to go, I’d say.” Abby, on his right. The one with the sharp teeth.
Just when he’d gotten them sorted out, they moved again, and his cock twitched as one of them crawled across his thighs. He didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to keep his eyes closed, especially if they kept making those noises. What he wouldn’t give to see what they were doing to each other right now.
Leave it to Abby to find a way to help him through this. From the moment he’d closed his eyes, what had been painfully awkward became second nature. His body rose to meet their hands, and his groans answered their featherlight touches and near-painful nips.
Someone rolled him on his side, carefully brushed sand off his ass with a corner of the towel, and then eased her finger past the puckered ring of flesh. Within seconds he nearly lost control. That had to be Abby. As he braced himself against the invasion of a second finger and felt tugs in opposing directions, he balled his hands into fists. Yes, Abby ‑‑ and Val. They probed and stretched, exploring the contours of his body, and one of them bent to kiss his neck.
“I can’t handle much more of this. I’m going to come in about three seconds if whoever has her finger the deepest doesn’t pull back a bit.”
Gentle laughter followed his plea, but he couldn’t sort out who was where. “Glad to provide amusement, ladies. Any chance you’ll take pity and…”
His breath hissed over his teeth as they slipped their fingers free.
“In my bag.” Before he had a chance to wonder what Abby had in her bag, Val scooted away, then returned and rolled a condom into place.
After what felt like an eternity, they lowered their heads over his cock. “If you’re just teasing…”
No, they meant business. As one, they started at the base and darted the tips of their tongues along his shaft. They teased each other, as well. He felt their tongues meet against his skin. He was close to begging when one of them finally took him deep into her throat.
His hips arched in protest when she drew away, but another pair of lips surrounded him, hot and wet and… “Hey!” Just a little nip, but it jolted across his senses like an explosion.
“Sorry, you were l
iking this too much, and we’re only getting started.” Abby. It figured. “Shove over, sleepyhead. It’s Val’s turn.”
Ian sat up, trying to orient himself. The towel was tangled beneath him, and Abby crouched between his legs. Val sat to his left, her hands resting on her knees.
“Miss Vee?” Would this be too much for her?
Rather than answer, she shoved him away from the towel and shook the sand off. Before he knew it, Val lay stretched out on her back, her eyes closed, palms upturned at her sides. He touched her hand with his fingertip, tracing the crease at the center of her palm.
Val shivered, but her eyes remained closed, her body loose and relaxed. When Abby lowered her head between Val’s legs she flinched, but brought her hands up to touch Abby’s hair.
“Abby?” Her voice sounded husky, hungry.
“I’m here. Is this okay?”
“Feels good. Where’s Ian?”
“Here.” Brushing his fingers along her side so he wouldn’t startle her, he lowered his head to her neck. He nibbled a line along her throat, and by the time he reached the curve of her chin, his heart pounded against his ribs.
Should he kiss her? Or was that too intimate? Slowly, he brushed his lips across hers, then withdrew.
“Come back?”
That was all the invitation he needed. Her lips were open and wet beneath his mouth, and when he darted his tongue past her teeth, she met his thrusts with her own. Playful at first, his kisses soon became tender. As if with touch, he could tell her everything that remained beyond words.
On some level, he was aware of her hips arching, of the little groans that escaped when Abby hit a sweet spot. But every nerve was attuned to the flutter of her lips against his, the taste of her, the joy of holding her again.
Stay with me, Val. Stay with me.
Oh, hell, he couldn’t love her without falling apart. When he cradled his hand against her cheek, her skin felt wet, and he struggled to think of some way to comfort her.
“Val?” Abby sat up and rested her forehead against Ian’s shoulder.
“What?” Whatever she might be feeling, Val’s voice held steady.
Ian had to hand it to her, she was one tough cookie. If he tried to speak right now, he didn’t know if he could produce anything more than a croak.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to” ‑‑ Abby’s voice carried so much heat, Ian bit his lip in anticipation ‑‑ “but I’d like a turn.”
“Sure.” Val sat up and helped Abby get settled on the towel.
Thinking it would be easier for Val if she didn’t explore too much unfamiliar territory in one night, he started to move between Abby’s legs. But Val placed her hand on his shoulder, and when he hesitated, she slid between him and Abby.
Would she really…? Oh, yes. As he watched Val nuzzle Abby’s inner thigh, then nip the soft skin on her belly, all the blood in his brain went south. By the time she settled down to business, his balls ached, and he felt as if someone had run an electric wire through his cock.
Val’s curls spread out against Abby’s thigh, and both women uttered little happy noises. Moonlight had never touched anything more beautiful than the two of them together.
Ian knew he should join in, but the shadowy scene unfolding before him held him captive, frozen in place. As Abby arched and squirmed, Val slid one hand under her bottom and spread the fingers of the other out in a fan across Abby’s stomach. With every ounce of will, he fought the urge to move behind Val and slide his cock home between her legs.
Abby called his name, and Val reached out to pull him toward Abby’s chest. Like a sleepwalker, he lowered his head and took her nipple into his mouth. Abby dug her fingers into his neck, urging him to suck harder.
“Please, you know what I like.”
Yes, he knew what she liked. Playing the tight point of flesh between his teeth, he applied enough pressure to make Abby squirm and cry out. When she dug her nails into his back, he caught her wrists and pinned her arms above her head. By the time he switched to the other side, Abby’s groans changed to urgent whimpers.
“Oh, shit, don’t stop, Val, you’re too fucking good ‑‑ for someone who ‑‑ hasn’t ‑‑ done ‑‑ this before. I’m gonna ‑‑ oh, shit ‑‑ please? Join us, Ian?”
Ian sat up and tried to force air into his lungs. “Val, you know what she wants me to do? It’s okay with you?”
Val raised her head a fraction of an inch. “Yes.”
That presented all the invitation he needed. Stripping the cherry-scented condom they’d used for oral sex ‑‑ no chance he’d risk even a grain of sand between him and Val ‑‑ he rummaged through Abby’s bag and found another. Thank God the conniving little manipulator came prepared.
By the time he had the condom in place, Abby was gasping for air. Pausing only long enough to stroke Val’s back ‑‑ giving her one more chance to say no ‑‑ he maneuvered between her legs. He groaned when his cock butted against the lips of her pussy, flesh Abby had nibbled and tongued not too long ago.
“Still okay, Val?” Damn it, Winters, what do you want, a written affidavit?
“Fuck. Me.”
Well, that cleared up any ambiguity. He buried himself in a single stroke, then grasped her hips and drove even deeper. When Val whimpered against Abby’s pussy, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to slow down. He didn’t want the last time he made love to her to be rough or easily forgettable.
With one hand, he stroked the nape of her neck, and with the other, he caressed the slope of her breast. Somehow, he managed to find a rhythm that, while slow, didn’t leave him foaming at the mouth. Careful to support his weight on his knees, he eased his chest against the curve of her spine.
Her skin felt slick against his own, and the musky scent of sex almost overwhelmed him. Damn if he couldn’t smell both of them, the two odors mingling into a heady aphrodisiac. Abby’s cries verged on desperate, and he quickened his pace to match the urgency of the moment.
“Harder.” Val arched back to take each thrust.
Without stopping the gentle strokes of his fingers on the back of Val’s neck, he angled deeper, drove harder, until his pelvis ground against the soft curves of her ass. Still, he caressed and petted her, rubbing her back, soothing his hands down her arms, stroking her thighs.
He didn’t know if she’d remember the tenderness of his touch, didn’t even know if she noticed. But he’d know he’d done his best to show her what he couldn’t put into words.
“Oh, God! Val!” Abby thrashed so hard, Val had to pin her down with her arms. “More, right there. Now. Oh, please.”
No one ever accused Abby of being quiet in bed ‑‑ or of faking it. Ian couldn’t suppress a grin as his friend’s pleas gave way to a stifled scream. At least Val had the presence of mind to reach up and cover Abby’s mouth with her hand. This would be difficult, to say the least, to explain to anyone out wandering the dunes tonight.
Val soothed her hands across Abby’s stomach, gentling her with steady strokes. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold back, and he prayed Val was close to coming. As Abby wiggled out from beneath her, Val lay down on her stomach, and he followed, easing more of his weight onto her back.
Abby slipped her fingers into Val’s mouth, and he slid one hand beneath Val’s hips, searching for her clit. She clenched around him in little shudders ‑‑ not quite, but almost there.
“Ian.”
He couldn’t tell if it was a plea to take her harder, or if she just needed to say his name. Then she bucked and shook underneath him, and with another stroke, he added his groans to hers, cursing as his body shook of its own accord and tears formed behind his closed eyelids.
Damn, damn, damn. Don’t let it be over. As he tried to force air into his lungs, spent and shaken, he couldn’t make himself pull away.
Val lay still, either tolerating or accepting the fact that he stayed inside her long after he came. At some point, she reached for his hand, and as he shi
fted his weight off her, he bent down to kiss the warm spot behind her ear.
Which was what undid him.
“I love you, Val. God help me, but I love you.”
She jolted upright and made a beeline for her clothes. Abby tried to soothe her, but she’d already scrambled halfway up the side of the dune by the time she had her shorts buttoned.
“Val, wait!” Fuck!
He managed to find his swim trunks, struggled into them, and took off after her. “Please, let me walk you back to your car. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Ian, don’t.” As Val darted away, he hesitated, and Abby caught up with him and grabbed his arm. “Let her get a head start, and we’ll follow to make sure she gets back to her car okay. But let her be. She’s too upset. Trying to talk to her tonight will only make things worse.”
Damn, damn, damn it all to hell! This isn’t how things are supposed to end. Screw that, things aren’t supposed to end at all. Val and I aren’t supposed to end.
With a surge of determination, he raced after Val and caught her arm. “Please? Just give me a few minutes. After that, if you want to leave… But just give me that much?”
Abby caught up with them and touched Val’s arm. “I’ll walk back with you, if you can’t do this. Or if you want to stay, I’ll head back to the beach house and give you and Ian the space you need to see this through.”
Breathing hard, Val turned to Ian. “Okay. A few minutes.”
Ian watched Abby trot off along the beach and tried to absorb the fact that Val still stood beside him. Afraid touching her would scare her away, he gestured back toward the shelter of the dunes.
* * * * *
Questioning her sanity, Val lay on the rumpled beach towel sprawled beside Ian, close enough to smell the musky hint of ocean salt on his skin, but not close enough to touch. She couldn’t say why she’d followed him back to the quiet hollow between the dunes, other than that her legs seemed to lack the will to carry her along the beach.
And leaving hurts too fucking much.
“What could be left to say ‑‑ I mean, that we haven’t said already?” Her throat felt tight, and the back of her neck had that prickly feeling that comes before a really big meltdown. But somehow, she kept her voice steady.