"No ... Yes, well no, not really.” When she closed the door and turned around, Ted was standing with his arms folded across his chest, watching them.
For a moment, the two men glared at each other like angry lions with a claim on the territory, mainly her. Once again, it struck Shelly how truly huge Guy was. She held her breath for fear that neither one would make the effort to be civil. Guy was by far larger, but then Ted had been an amateur boxer, she didn't want to watch an even-matched, bloody contest.
Stunned, she watched as they both smiled and Guy asked, “I thought you had flown back to England?"
"I intended to, but I had unfinished business here that I mean to see resolved,” Ted said, in a low sultry voice that left no doubt what his unfinished business was.
"Shelly,” Guy said with an edge to his voice. “And has he cleared up his unfinished business?"
Shelly flashed him a heated look.
Ted smiled. He loved to cause trouble between people, he got a certain kick out of it which he supposed wasn't entirely normal. And besides it felt good to get one over on Shelly's new lover, he still felt smarted by the beating he'd taken at the other man's hands. It was obvious to all with eyes that Guy was in love with Shelly; and it gave Ted a perverse amount of satisfaction to have an opportunity to rock the boat between them when their love for each other was so delicate and new.
Trying to look hurt, Ted said, “I better head out, but I'll pop back in when I get the chance."
Guy interrupted threateningly, “Hopefully it won't be in the foreseeable future."
Shelly glared at him, then turning to Ted, she offered, “I'll walk you to the door."
Ted shot Guy a wary smile purely for affect, knowing that although he was no doubt dying to, he wouldn't attack him in front of Shelly. “That won't be necessary."
Shelly insisted. To her dismay, Guy followed them and stood suspiciously in the background while Ted made further arrangements to meet on the morrow. Shelly could feel her face growing warm under Guy's intense gaze.
Once her ex was gone, she closed the door, leaned against it and confronted Guy. “What the hell was that all about? What did you think? That if he clicked his fingers, I was going to fall back into his arms? Is that why you had to follow me just now?"
"I thought he had broken your heart?"
Shelly sighed. “He did."
"But I heard you laughing when I came up to the door. People usually don't have cozy drinks with people they hate."
"I don't hate Ted."
"Believe you me, I can tell."
"God, man, what's wrong with you?” She sighed. She already knew what was wrong with him. He was plainly jealous. It warmed her and maddened her at the same time.
"Wrong with me?” he tossed the words back at her. “Nothing's wrong with me. I just stumbled upon the woman I'm supposedly involved with half naked, getting cozy with her ex, who just happens to be a good-looking prat.” He shrugged. “But hey, nothing's wrong with me. Not one damn thing."
"Let's not argue,” Shelly said, stepping closer to him. The bath towel clung to her slim body, revealing too much, or not enough ... Guy couldn't decide.
She led him back to the terrace, then took Ted's empty glass and placed it in the small sink, removing all evidence of him. Then she poured both of them another drink. “First of all,” she said as evenly as she could. “I could never hate Ted the way you seem to feel I should."
"He cheated on you."
"I know.” She couldn't deny it. “But I lived a lot of years with Ted and shared a few good times with him."
Guy's hands gripped his glass so tightly that, staring at his white knuckles, she was surprised it remained intact. “You still love him,” he said, his voice bare of emotion. “Don't you?"
Shelly almost fell backwards off her chair. The question had hit her square between the eyes. She struggled for the words to deny it, then realized she couldn't. It would wrong them both. “I suppose in a way I do. He was my first lover."
Guy stood abruptly to his feet, his face a cold mask. “I appreciate the fact you told me the truth.” With that, he stalked towards the door.
Shelly took a moment to recover her voice. “Guy, you make it sound as though things are finished between us."
"They are,” he drawled, not looking at her. In his aloofness, he looked far too sexy for words.
Shelly bit back the juice threatening to spill from her pussy and spat. “Fine!” If Guy wanted to act so childishly and ruin everything, she wasn't about to argue it out with him. He was the one, after all, that had insisted they had something special together, something so good that they shouldn't throw it away. And now he was acting like this. If that was the way he wanted it, fine! It was better to find out now rather than later just how unreasonable and quick-tempered he could be.
Unable to restrain her temper any longer, she marched across the room and threw open the front door. “Get out,” she said, her voice hard. Now that she had a closer look at him, she decided he wasn't God's gift to woman after all.
Guy didn't say a word as he walked slowly past her. Shelly closed the door and leaned against it, needing the support. Tears burned her eyes but she wouldn't cry. No way! She had just enough time to count to ten before a staccato of knocks thumped against the door.
"Who's there?"
"It's me, can I come in?"
Shelly jerked away from the door at the sound of Guy's voice, soft, sexy, and pleading.
"Come on, woman, don't be unreasonable."
Damn him, she thought he'd called her ‘woman’ again.
She knew from the way his voice sounded that he must have his face pressed right up against the door. “I said, no. Now go away. You're absolutely right about it being good all around if we don't take things further between us."
The door opened and Guy stalked in, dragging his fingers through his black hair. He looked good enough to eat. Damn! Her body wanted to run and join with him, even as her fingernails were itching to rip him apart. Damn her traitorous pussy!
"Listen,” he said reasonably. “I'm sorry."
Shelly, regretting the fact that she hadn't bolted the door, hesitated, poised to voice another stronger refusal.
Guy watched her chin take on that slight tilt he was becoming to recognize as determination. The lady had her share. But so did he.
"Okay, I'll admit it. I was jealous when I walked in and found you and Ted having a cozy drink. You seemed pleased that he was back and it shook me up a little."
"Oh, honestly!” Shelly flung up her hands. “I wasn't pleased."
He looked shamefaced. “You were laughing and joking."
"Dreadful sins, I'm sure."
Guy clamped his jaw down so hard that the sides of his face went white. “I thought I could walk away from you and feel nothing but I was wrong. Maybe I behaved like a jealous fool."
Shelly challenged. “There was no maybe about it. You did. I had a nice life before you came into it, so why don't you turn on around and close the door on your way out?” She carried on as though she hadn't heard him, but his huge body seemed to make the room smaller and his intense gaze wouldn't let her go.
"Do you want him back?"
Shelly scoffed. “I have no intention of ever taking him back. I'd have to be insane."
"That's all I wanted to hear.” He visibly relaxed. “Can we try again?"
Shelly struggled against the pull of his magnetism and her burning need for him as long as she could, then nodded, agreeing to place the quarrel behind them.
"I'm so sorry, love,” Guy whispered into her hair.
When he opened his arms, Shelly ran into them. She snuggled into his chest. He had said he wouldn't hurt her, but caring about him left her vulnerable all over again. She'd realized that only moments ago when he'd left. She'd learned again what it was to give a man the power to hurt her. She was probably the world's biggest idiot.
"You're trembling.” He sounded angry with himself.
&nb
sp; "I missed you,” she said simply.
He dropped several swift kisses on her face. “I can't believe what fools we were."
"We?” She tilted back her head and glared at him.
Guy smiled. “Okay, me.” He kissed her then, with a thoroughness that left her in no doubt about the strength of his feelings. When he raised his head, she looked up at him through tear-filled green eyes and blinked.
"I'm glad you came back,” she said, when she trusted herself enough to speak.
He kissed her, slowly this time, sampling her lips, kissing the tears from her face; creating a delicious sensation that had Shelly burning and shivering with the chills that raced down her spine. She moaned as he captured her lips again with his and kissed her deeply and fully.
Instinctively, she turned in his arms to taste him better.
And then he reached beneath the towel and separated the tender folds of her body and touched her core. Shelly threw back her head and hissed in pleasure as his talented fingers stroked her intimately.
Guy's arms tightened around her. “Let's go to bed. That towel's going to mold itself on you soon if we don't."
Shelly giggled and took his hand as he led her towards the bedroom. She had completely forgotten that she still wore only a towel and that her nose was peeling and powdered. She must look a fright.
Chapter 18
On Thursday, Shelly lay sunning herself on the small deck of the modern speedboat Guy had purchased for that day. It had been extremely luxurious to walk with him to Male's harbor and pick out a boat solely for their entertainment. Never having had spare money to fling around in her life, she had felt like a princess as she'd mingled and even exchanged a few words with the rich of the world who seemed to flit from one party to another upon their exclusive ships, and who had flocked like birds to Male to partake in the beauty of the Maldives. Although Guy could have quite easily afforded any of the larger ships in the harbor, Shelly had chosen the small speedboat Diamond Princess. It had a very comfortable bed below deck designed in purples, which she and Guy had already tested.
The bedroom had been one of the reasons why she'd chosen the boat. The other was that she would have felt uncomfortable in a more luxurious vessel. She should have known really, that Guy was filthy rich. It still surprised her that she hadn't realized it until their meeting with the oil tycoon, Dalton. After all, how many men wore gold Rolexes and could drink champagne as though it were water? She supposed it was his blasted, faded Levi's and rugged personality that had led her astray.
She adjusted the towel beneath her, pulled her sun hat down to protect her complexion and sighed the contented sigh of a woman who was truly satisfied. She tried not to dwell on the depressing fact that she only had five days of her holiday left. Instead, she thought of Guy, the joy he had brought into her life. As his lover, she'd spent two perfect days with him, they had laughed, made love, and dived, for the most part, just as they were doing today. He had spoiled her rotten with little gifts and Shelly had loved every minute of it.
She sat up on the bow of the boat and shaded her eyes against the sun, shimmering brightly against the surface of the blue-green water. Guy had been gone for about an hour and it had been her habit at five-minute intervals to check for him. Her eyes were drawn to a small speck, some way off. Just as she'd hoped, it was Guy making his way back to the boat at surprising speed. As always, she had to marvel at how in tune with the water he was. He seemed to flow through it as if he were a sea creature that belonged to its temperamental depths. He was magnificent to behold. And he was hers, all hers. A little devil in her smiled as memories of what they had done last night played like an erotic videotape before her eyes.
He'd cut a banana in half and held it along the length of his dick. Then he sprayed fresh cream on top and she licked it off, pretending it was a banana split. Next, he melted a Mars bar in the microwave, whipped the chocolate syrup to a creamy paste and smoothed it over the folds of her pussy. With his finger, he pushed dollops of the chocolate paste inside her. Later, he ate it with a long desert spoon. Shelly's pussy muscles clenched remembering his finger, coated with the warm chocolate sliding into her and the thin, cold spoon swooping the chocolate out a moment later.
Her horny thoughts were interrupted when Guy, dripping wet, scrambled on deck and cried, “Come on, get in the water, you've got to see this."
Shelly shook her head. “Thanks, but I'm comfortable here."
She watched his eyes glint as he strolled towards her. Shelly thought he looked too sexy, too masculine, the little boy whose mummy had just said ‘no'. He tipped her glass of ice cool water over her belly and pulled her to her feet.
She shrieked when it contacted with her baked skin. “Would you stop? You're like a little boy,” she said half exasperated, half amused.
"I don't feel like a little boy,” he said, taking her in his arms and waltzing around the deck with her. “Little boys don't get to do this,” he said, kissing her eyes, her cheek, then her neck. “Or this,” he said, and he freed a breast from her bikini top and sucked the hard nipple into his mouth.
Shelly had brought the fresh cream on board, just in case. She had images of him squishing it across her nipples and licking it off. She was melting quite nicely when he put his arms on her shoulders and put some space between them. “Okay, enough of that for now. We have to get in the water,” he said, pointing to the sea, then he frowned. “Mind you, they're probably gone now, you distracted me."
Shelly was hot and horny. Looking at his black hair glinting blue beneath the sun, his fantastic muscled body, massive chest furred with soft, dark hair narrowing to the waistband of his swimming trunks and the bulge they only served to emphasize, rather than conceal. She didn't care if he had found a dozen gorgeous mermen in the sea's crystal clear depths. She just wanted him to sink his huge bull-like cock into her pussy or her arse. Truth to tell, any hole would do, really. Seeing him half-naked, the water droplets glistening on his bronzed skin always seemed to have that effect on her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and said seductively, “I hope I never fail to distract you, Guy Pearson.” His smile was so sudden, so bright, that she had to press her fingers against her mouth to hold back a sob.
"I don't think there is much chance of that ever happening, angel.” He pulled her against his solid chest for a quick kiss. His body had other ideas, hunger splintered through him. He should release her if he had any hope of catching a glimpse of them, but his body was surging to life under her touch.
Guy was breathing hard when he finally managed to drag his mouth away from hers.
"Time to get going.” His voice was rough, made that way with his longing. He needed to cool down fast. He dived expertly into the sea before the little minx could offer protest.
Shelly, hoping that there weren't any sharks, followed him. She used the little steps that led down into the water for fear that he might witness one of her famous belly flops.
The water was very refreshing. She could see her pale legs when she looked down and the glint of the sunshine through the water to the white sandy bottom for about twenty meters. Guy swam up to her and pointed with his index finger. “Could you swim well enough to make it up to that darker patch of water?” he asked, pointing a hundred feet or so away.
"Probably. I can manage a decent doggie paddle,” she admitted, kicking her legs to stay afloat, “and a slow crawl. I took swimming classes when I was a teenager at university."
He seemed satisfied with her answer. “Okay, let's go then."
"Wait a minute. First you have to promise me that you won't make me laugh."
Guy grinned, flashing even white teeth. “Why?"
Shelly rolled her eyes. She really just wanted to go back to the boat and fuck him. “Because I'll probably swallow a mouthful of water and sink, that's why."
"No, you won't.” He winked. “You've got your own airbags. You won't sink with those babies."
Shelly adjusted her green sno
rkeling mask. “No, I haven't."
"Oh, yes you do.” He reached out and fondled her left breast. “And they're a beautiful pair, if I do say so myself."
Shelly laughed and playfully slapped his hand away. “You're impossible."
"I know, but you wouldn't have me any other way."
Shelly couldn't argue with that.
Guy started out slowly, giving her time to get used to the feel of the deeper water around her body. Then he let her set the pace. She had a nice compact stroke, although he suspected that she'd tire quickly, not being used to swimming any great distance.
They came upon the reef much faster than Shelly had anticipated. Only a little breathless, she asked, “So what are we looking for?"
He pointed downwards. “Just look."
She looked. She saw.
And she burst into tears.
A family of twenty or so bottled-nosed dolphins were swimming like acrobats in the cerulean crystal clear water just a meter or so below them.
"How did you know they'd be here?” Shelly asked in wonder.
Guy kissed her lips fleetingly. “I didn't, I just got lucky."
Shelly knew she must be grinning like an idiot but she couldn't help it. “Thank you, I've always wanted to swim with dolphins in the wild. I love it."
Guy wanted her to say that she loved him, uncomfortable really over how much he longed to hear her speak those three little words, but instead, she smiled and dived below the surface of the water. Happy that he had so obviously pleased her, he followed a moment later.
Hand in hand, they swam around the multihued coral reef, which hosted a diverse amount of sea life. Several curious dolphins accompanied them, on a few occasions, to Shelly's great delight, coming close enough to touch. Once they even saw a large turtle with a brown and white shell gliding so slowly through the water, it seemed as though it wasn't even moving. After about twenty minutes, the dolphins decided they were bored with their newfound friends and moved on.
Shelly broke the surface of the water exclaiming excitedly, “That was magnificent."
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