by Miranda Lee
“Nope. I thought, since I already had the week off work, that I’d go away for a few days.”
“I’m surprised your boss agreed to you having a whole week off.”
“I was too, to be honest. Fortunately, I’d worked like a dog last week so I was more than up to date with everything. Besides, it’s not as though I asked for any special favor. I took a week of the two weeks’ holidays I’d already accrued.”
“You shouldn’t have had to do that.”
“Maybe, but I felt better that way.” Less guilty. “And just as well,” she added. “Now I’m free to go wherever I like.”
“Well, you look beachy, so I presume you’re off somewhere coastal?”
“Yes. Back to Hideaway Beach.”
“Really? I didn’t think you liked it up there that much.”
“I always like the beach,” she said, keeping busy with her packing. “It was the timing which was wrong.”
“I dare say. Er…are you quite sure Nigel’s gay?”
“What?” Zoe glanced ‘round at her friend and roommate, confused by the question. “What do you mean?”
“I mean he’s being very generous, lending you his beach house all the time. Unless it’s not Nigel’s place you’re staying at?” There was a hint of suspicion in that last question.
Zoe wished she was a better actor at this point. Or a better fibber.
With Mel looking straight at her, she just couldn’t bring herself to lie.
“No,” she admitted, flushing guiltily. “No, I’m not staying at Nigel’s.”
Mel’s blue eyes rounded in surprise, before twinkling with salacious delight. “You’ve been a naughty girl, haven’t you? You did go with some lifesaver up there last week, didn’t you? Go on, tell the truth and shame the devil.”
“Well…almost.”
“Almost? How can you almost go with someone?”
“No, I slept with him, all right. But he wasn’t a lifesaver. He was a surfer.”
“A surfer!”
“A very famous surfer, actually. His name’s Aiden Mitchell and he owns the weekender next to Nigel’s.”
“Aiden Mitchell! Oh, my goodness, that’s some surfer. I mean he was just the best! He was also on Australia’s ten most eligible bachelors list a couple of years ago. I know because I cut it out and did my best to meet every one of them. But I never did come across him. He’s not all that social a guy. He keeps a pretty low profile. Or he did ‘til last year. You do know about his being sued by that actress, don’t you?”
An actress? She hadn’t known the girl involved was an actress. Zoe wasn’t sure if that was in Aiden’s favor or against it. An actress would make an excellent liar, unlike herself.
“I didn’t when I first met him,” Zoe admitted on a sigh. “I didn’t recognize him at all. I thought he was just some gorgeous beach bum, living in the house next door to Nigel’s while he was doing some renovation work on it. And he let me think so too, the rat. Still, what can you expect from a man like that?”
“Not an engagement ring, that’s for sure. So watch your step.”
“I’m not planning on marrying him, Mel. I just want to sleep with him.”
“I gather you already did.”
“Okay, I just want to sleep with him some more.”
“That good, eh?”
“Brilliant.”
“Ooh, I’m jealous. Do you know Jonathon won’t go to bed with me?”
“Goodness me, why not?”
“He says he loves me too much and I’m far too cynical. He says he wants to wait so that I’ll know just how much he loves me, that it’s not just lust he feels for me.”
“Well, I certainly don’t have that trouble with Aiden. That’s all he wants from me. Sex. And frankly, that’s all I want from him.”
Mel gave Zoe a worried look. “Are you sure? I mean…that doesn’t sound like you.”
“I know. But meeting Aiden has opened my eyes to a side of me I didn’t know existed. From the moment I set eyes on him, I could think of nothing else but sex. I don’t want him to love me, Mel. I just want him to…”
“Make love to you,” Mel finished for her on a dry note.
Zoe laughed. “I wasn’t going to put it quite like that.”
“I know. And that’s not like you, either. You’re not that kind of girl, Zoe. I don’t like the sound of this. Aiden Mitchell! Who would have believed it? Talk about going from the frying pan into the fire. That is one seriously hot-looking hunk of male flesh. And rich, to boot. Are you sure you haven’t fallen for him and you just won’t admit it?”
“No,” Zoe said firmly. “I haven’t. And I don’t intend to. I’m not the same person post-Drake as I was before, Mel. I won’t be giving my heart so easily in future, or so stupidly. No, it’s just sex.”
“Not just sex,” Mel corrected. “Fantastic sex, by the sounds of things.”
“True. I’ve never had anything like it before. And I want a whole lot more. But come next Sunday I’ll be back here, I’ll be alone and I’ll be fine.”
“Wow! I’m impressed. This is pussy power at its best. I love it.”
“I rather like it, too. Now, I just have to get my toilet bag out of the bathroom and I’ll be ready.”
“Want me to make you a cup of coffee before you go?”
“Oh, yes, that would be nice.”
Five minutes later both girls were sipping coffee in the kitchen when suddenly, Zoe’s courage began to fade.
“You…you don’t think I’m being reckless, do you, Mel?”
Mel gave her an exasperated look. “Now don’t go spoiling the new you. I always said you took men and sex far too seriously, Zoe. Time to lighten up and enjoy yourself for a bit. Far from being foolish, I think you’ve chosen just the right type of man to have a fling with. He’s drop-dead gorgeous to look at and he knows all the right moves. Best of all, you have no illusions about him.”
“Yes, that’s true. It’s just that…” She sighed. “Oh, I don’t know… Ever since I met Aiden, I haven’t been myself. In a way it’s good, but in another, it worries me.”
“I think you’re addicted to worry sometimes. Look, you’ve already decided to have this fling. Then do so, without qualms, without doubts. And stop worrying. For pity’s sake, you deserve some pleasure after Drake.”
“I do, don’t I?”
“Yes.”
“Wish me luck.”
“What’s luck got to do with it?”
Zoe thought about that. “Nothing. Which reminds me, I’ll have to buy some condoms on my way up there. It wouldn’t be in keeping with the new me to rely on the man to provide protection. I should have my own.”
“I bought a new box the other day, and it doesn’t even look like I’ll be opening it. Do you want it?”
“How many?”
“Half a dozen.”
“Nah. Not enough. I’ll buy some on the way.”
“Not enough? Now I am impressed. You won’t be able to walk by the end of the week. Is he built?”
“You have to see it to believe it!”
Mel groaned. “Lucky you. I’d like to see Jonathon’s. I’ve felt it, mind you, pressed up against me, and it feels formidable.”
“You could get him into the sack if you put your mind to it, Mel.”
“Yeah, I know. But maybe I don’t want to. Maybe underneath, I like it when he says he wants to wait awhile. Maybe I like hearing him say how much he loves me all the time.”
Mel’s words stabbed at Zoe’s heart, but she valiantly ignored the pain. She was sure love was wonderful if it was true, but she could do without the false hope of it.
“I must get going,” Zoe said, putting her mug down. “It’s gone noon. Now I won’t promise to call. If anyone wants to desperately get in touch with me, give them my cell phone number. I won’t leave it on, but I’ll check my message bank every day.”
“Aren’t you going to eat something before you go?”
“No. I don’t
feel hungry.” Not for food, anyway.
“Wow, that’s a first!”
“I might stop off and have something on the way.”
She didn’t. But she did drive past the turnoff to Hideaway Beach and went on into Nelson Bay where she bought packets of condoms at three different shops, too embarrassed to buy them all at one. So much for her pussy power!
And then she sat over a sandwich and cappuccino for another hour, trying to get her head around what she was about to do.
It was all very well for Mel to tell her not to worry. Mel had been having sex since puberty. And all kinds of sex, from the stories she told. She was an old hand at “just sex” relationships, whereas Zoe was a novice. What if she couldn’t help getting emotionally involved with Aiden? What if she did fall in love with him?
What if, what if, a darkly impatient voice piped up inside her head. Your whole life could go by if you keep sitting here, saying what if? Stop being so wishy-washy. Get up and get your butt over to his place. And when you get there, don’t go all mushy and over the moon. Be strong. Be assertive. Be the woman you want to be.
The stern self-lecture worked, propelling her to her feet and out to where she’d parked her car. She didn’t waiver in her resolve during the relatively short drive back to Hideaway Beach, but when she arrived at Aiden’s house and saw his yellow truck parked in the carport, fireworks started exploding in her stomach.
Shaking her head, she edged slowly down the steep driveway and slid into the space next to Aiden’s van, swallowing as she turned off the ignition.
She didn’t get out straight away. She sat for a while and tried to calm her madly racing heartbeat, not sure if she was afraid or excited. Possibly a bit of both.
She was still sitting there when Aiden materialized in front of the car and just stood there, glaring at her through the windshield. He was wearing those raggedy old denim board shorts and nothing else. His hair was sticking up all over the place, indicating a recent swim, and his chin was beginning to sprout some blond stubble. He looked pretty much as he had when she’d first met him. Roughly handsome and sinfully sexy.
Seeing him like that again made Zoe go all squishy inside.
Be strong, be assertive, she reminded herself as she climbed out from behind the wheel and looked him up and down.
“Been for a swim already, have you?”
“You’re late,” he snapped.
“Am I?” She turned and swung the car door shut before facing him again. “I didn’t realize I had to be here at a certain time. Besides, I had things to do. I had to pack. And to change.”
“So I see. You do realize you’re wearing far too many clothes,” he growled.
“I didn’t think it would be this hot up here.”
“It’s even hotter inside.”
“I’ll be fine after I have a cool shower.”
“I’ll show you the way.”
“I’ll just get my things.”
“Leave them,” he said sharply, and she glared at him.
“Leave them,” he repeated more quietly. A request this time, not a command.
Zoe shrugged, struggling now to remain strong and independent. Suddenly, she wanted to run to him, surrender to him, be a slave to him.
She could not understand it. After all she’d vowed!
He reached out his hand and she found herself placing hers in it, letting him draw her with him up onto the front verandah then into the house.
It was hot inside, as he’d said it would be. But not as hot as she was inside. He led her down the hallway and into the bathroom, closing the door behind them, closing the world out. With a darkly frustrated groan, he took her face captive in his hands and kissed her harshly, hungrily.
There was no stopping him then. He was like some starving beast who’d unexpectedly come across food. Zoe felt like she was being eaten alive, but, oh, how she loved it. Loved the feel of his mouth devouring hers. Loved his hands ripping off her clothes, then his own. Suddenly, there were no doubts or qualms. This was why she’d come. This was what she wanted.
Barely sixty seconds after his lips had first crashed down onto hers, Aiden was pulling her, panting and naked, into the shower.
The spray hit her breasts first. And then her face. Not cold. Hot. Hot as they were. She gasped and spun ‘round in his arms, putting her back to the wetness and the heat. His hands encircled her throat, his thumbs tipping up her chin before rubbing roughly over her bruised mouth.
“Five minutes ago, I wanted to kill you,” he muttered, his eyes never leaving hers. “Where have you been all this time?”
“I stopped off on the way to have something to eat,” she confessed breathlessly. “And to buy some condoms.”
He laughed. “Obviously not at Tom’s store. I emptied his supply. The poor old guy thought I was going to an orgy. See?” And he pointed to the pile of plastic squares sitting on the shelf built into the shower wall. “I stashed some in every available nook and cranny in the house. I wanted them to be on hand, no matter where we were. The trouble was, while I was doing that, I started thinking of how I was going to do it to you in that particular place, or room. By the time I finished I had to go for a swim to cool down.”
Her head spun with his words. “And how are you going to do it to me in here?” she choked out.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“Have you ever made love in a shower before?” he murmured as he licked at her bottom lip.
“No,” she admitted with a quiver.
“How about anywhere other than a bed?”
“Only with you.”
“Oh, Zoe,” he groaned. “You do things to me which shouldn’t be allowed. Here. Feel this,” he said, and taking her hand, pressed it against his erection.
She not only felt it, she began caressing it. So velvety soft. Yet so hard. And all because of her.
Her hand curled ‘round to grip him tightly before sliding seductively up and down. Up and down. He gasped and leaned back against the tiles, staring down at what she was doing as though he couldn’t believe it.
It was an empowering sight, and gradually, Zoe began to feel as she wanted to feel. Not like some submissive love slave. But a love goddess. No, a sex goddess. A wickedly seductive sex goddess.
So what if she hadn’t done a lot of things before! She knew about them. And she wanted to do them now. She wanted to do all of them.
He moaned shakily when she sank down onto her knees.
She glanced up at him through the shower spray which was now beating against his chest, the water running down his body, the rivulets parting to stream down on either side of his straining erection. He sucked in sharply when she grasped it firmly at the root, directing its straining length away from his stomach and into her mouth, her head dipping as she took him in inch by inch.
When she’d gone as far as she could go, she lifted her head slowly once more, sucking him tightly as she withdrew. He stiffened, trembled, groaned. She kept on doing it, her head rising and falling. When she stopped once to run her tongue around the tip, he jackknifed away from the tiles, gasping.
Her head lifted in a panic. “Did I hurt you?”
“Hardly,” he muttered. “But if you do too much of that, I’ll come.”
“So?” She didn’t care if he came, which was amazing. If Drake had suggested such a thing, she’d have been sick on the spot.
He stared down at her for several seconds, then sank back against the tiles, his eyes squeezing shut. “Heaven help me.”
Zoe gathered that was the signal to go on. She did, her confidence soaring, her own pleasure immense. She’d heard of power trips but this was the ultimate. She could not get enough of the noises he made, or the feelings they evoked within her. The elation. The excitement. She learned to draw him in deeper and deeper, to suck him just long enough without tipping him over the edge. To stroke and fondle him with wickedly intimate hands at the same time.
“Zoe, stop,” he prono
unced suddenly, and snapped off the shower. “You have to stop.”
She stopped, her eyes glazed as she glanced up. Hadn’t he liked what she’d been doing?
He reached down and pulled her up onto unsteady feet, steam rising all around them. “You can do that another time. But not now. Not this first time. I just want you, Zoe. Nothing else. You, in my arms, and your eyes where I can see them.”
He reached for a condom and ripped it open with his teeth, his eyes never leaving hers. Their gazes remained locked while he protected them both, then pushed her legs apart. She swayed and had to brace herself against his chest.
“Keep looking at me,” he ordered.
She did, her eyes growing round when she felt him rubbing the tip of his penis between her lips down there, grazing over her swollen clitoris with each stroke.
“Don’t keep doing that,” she gasped at last. “I can’t stand it. Just put it in. Please, Aiden…”
He put it in, his swift upward surge lifting her up onto her toes. His hands gripped her behind and he hoisted her up onto his hips, the position allowing him to slide home to the hilt, filling her totally.
It was better than she’d dreamed about.
Better.
Bigger.
“Oh,” she panted, grabbing at his shoulders for support.
“Brace your feet against the wall behind me,” he urged. “I’ll hold you in position. Bend then straighten your knees.”
“I…I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. Squeeze me tight at the same time.”
She managed it, her mouth gaping open as sensation followed sensation. Oh, it felt so good. So unbelievably good.
His groan echoed her own sentiments. And her rapture.
“That’s just incredible,” he rasped. “Keep doing it… Don’t stop… Faster… Yes, that’s the way…darlin’….”
His words excited her unbearably. They were wild and primitive, as their mating was wild and primitive.
Zoe came first, and then Aiden, their cries mingling, their bodies shuddering as their passion exploded from within.
It was some time before their spasms subsided, but they still clung to each other, Zoe sobbing with aftershock, and Aiden rubbing her back, trying to comfort her, his own thoughts confused.