“Sure, lead the way.” He laughed, and she knew he didn’t believe a word she’d said.
She headed towards the staircase and as she made her way up she could feel his eyes following her every move. She put an extra sway into her step, smiling when she heard the muffled groan coming from the man behind her.
After Marco dropped off his bag in his room, they changed into their swimsuits and got in the car.
“Are you planning on telling me where we’re going?” Phoebe asked after they’d been driving for over half an hour, heading further up the coast. The ocean sparkled outside her passenger window and looked so inviting. If she hadn’t been with Marco, she’d have been sitting on the beach working on her tan, reading a good book.
“We’ll be there shortly — and it will be worth the wait, believe me.”
He turned his attention back to the road and Phoebe continued to gaze out the window. Marco made a turn, and her view of the ocean was momentarily lost. It was like they were in the middle of nowhere.
“If I didn’t know better I’d almost think you were going to take me to some secluded cabin and have your wicked way with me.”
“Would you let me, if that was my plan?”
Phoebe turned to look at him to check his expression to see if she could work out if he was joking or serious. After the kisses they’d shared the other day, and the way he’d made her feel when he’d arrived today, it probably wouldn’t take much for her to succumb to his advances.
“I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Now that sounds like a challenge.”
The atmosphere in the car had gone from relaxed and casual to highly charged, with a sexual tension that was new between them. She wanted to reach over and turn the air-conditioning fan up higher to cool her down. But if she did, she’d let him know just how his words had affected her.
“We’re here.”
She gazed out the window and gasped. They were situated on top of a rise and the ocean was laid out in all its sparkling glory for as far as the eye could see. It was the most amazing place, and she wondered how on earth Marco had found it.
She released her seatbelt, eager to get outside and get a better look at the view. She reached for the door handle but a hand on her other arm stopped her. She turned and was about to ask what the problem was when Marco closed the distance and kissed her, fulfilling the desire that had been coursing through her since the moment he’d arrived at the house.
She leaned further into the kiss, wanting to get closer, but the center console of the car inhibited her movements. She pulled away reluctantly.
“This is where the good old fashioned front bench seat comes in mighty handy,” Marco muttered as he wiped a hand down his face. “Shall we take a walk?”
Phoebe felt his frustration and more. “Sounds good.”
They got out of the car and walked the short distance to look at the view. She was surprised to see that it wasn’t as high as she’d thought and there was a path that led down to the beach. Now she was itching to get to the water.
“Are we heading down there?” she asked pointing down the path.
“Yep. I know we could’ve just stayed at the house and had lunch and swam but this little piece of paradise is quiet and even if the wind picks up we won’t get huge waves rolling in.”
A little part of her was disappointed that their date was a simple swim on the beach. She had been expecting something more. Something romantic. There was nothing romantic about having salt-water-encrusted hair. Although he’d already seen her like that the day he arrived and he hadn’t seemed too worried about it. So why should she worry now? She knew he would still look like a god, even after a swim in the ocean.
She made a move to trek down the path when Marco once again stopped her.
“Wait, I need to get some things from the car.”
She followed him as he walked back to the car and she wondered what he had to get out. She hadn’t seen him put anything in except her bag, which he had placed on the back seat. She got a surprise when he opened the trunk and pulled out an ice chest and a picnic basket. He placed them on the ground before he pulled out another bag, which she guessed held a blanket and his towel.
“When did you organize all of this?”
“Before I got to your place. Don’t worry, I think you’ll enjoy what I’ve got planned.”
“I’m sure I will.” She retrieved her bag from the back seat. “Do you want me to take your bag?”
At his nod she picked it up and tried not to let Marco know how seeing his muscles flex as he bent to pick up the ice chest caused her breath to come out in short, sharp gasps.
She followed him down the path, towards the beach. The lower they went the more the slight breeze that she had felt on top of the cliff seemed to die down, confirming his earlier assertions that the beach was protected from the wind.
Once they reached the bottom, Phoebe was ready to dive headlong into the water. She set down the bags and pulled her hair away from her sweaty neck, wishing she had a band so she could tie it up.
Marco came up and stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her so she rested against his chest. Heat of a different kind flowed through her.
They stood there together for a few minutes, not saying anything, just savoring the view. Phoebe was relishing being held in his arms again.
“Why don’t you take a swim? There’s something else I need to get from the car.”
His words washed over her. There was something about the way he spoke that set her nerve endings on fire. They had become more heightened since she’d broken off their engagement. It seemed so strange that his voice hadn’t affected her before as much as it did now.
“Sure.” The word whispered out and she cleared her throat to attempt speaking once again. “A dip in the water sounds great, but do you need help?”
She turned in his arms and stretched her neck back to look at him. His eyes were hidden behind his dark sunglasses and she wished she could see what he was thinking.
He lowered his head and gave her another kiss, a brief touch of lips that promised so much. It was over too soon and left her wanting more.
“No, I don’t need help. I’ll be back before you know it.” With a brief touch to her cheek he wandered back up the path.
Phoebe’s breath whooshed out as she watched his retreating back. When he was halfway up the path she tore her gaze away and stripped down to her bikini. A swim in the water was what she needed to cool off. If she didn’t, she was afraid that the moment Marco returned to the beach she would push him down on the soft sand and kiss him until they were naked and finding release in each other’s bodies.
She groaned at the image and ran down to the water, gasping as the cold water met her heated flesh.
As she swam away from the shore, thoughts swirled round her mind. They were taking things slowly, trying to get to know each other better. Why was her body so on fire now for Marco, even more than it had been before? Why did she want him so much now?
CHAPTER 6
“You’re going to burn if you’re not careful.”
Phoebe opened an eye and turned towards Marco. “How can I burn when I’m lying under this amazing canopy?”
She’d walked out of the ocean after her swim and got a shock when she saw that Marco had put up a canopy to protect them from the hot sun. Their towels were laid out and he had put the ice chest in the corner to make sure it stayed cool.
“It’s not a fool proof deterrent against the sun.”
“So what are you suggesting? You want to rub sunscreen on me?”
Marco had pushed his sunglasses on top of his head and Phoebe saw the flare of desire light up in their dark depths. “Do you want me to rub sunscreen on you?”
Yes was the respon
se that she immediately wanted to blurt out but she didn’t want to come across as too desperate to feel his hands on her body.
“That would be great — I always struggle trying make sure my back’s covered.” Phoebe delved into her bag and pulled out the sunscreen, handing it to Marco, making sure that her fingers touched his, lingering for a few seconds before relinquishing her hold on the bottle.
She flicked her hair to the side to expose all of her back and she was sure she heard a muffled groan coming from Marco. She smiled. She knew she was shamelessly flirting with him.
They hadn’t actually talked much since they’d arrived. The whole purpose of the date was to get to know one another, but she’d felt so comfortable and relaxed in his presence that she hadn’t wanted to ask questions and start discussions that could lead to creating tension between them.
“Why don’t you lie down?”
Phoebe was so lost in her thoughts; she jumped when Marco murmured the words in her ear. Sexual tension swirled around them, closeted away in their own private little oasis in a secluded cove where not even a boat had drifted past while they’d been there.
Pressure from a hand on the middle of her back encouraged her to lie back down on her towel. She complied with a sigh. The next instant she felt the coolness from the sunscreen being poured onto her back. She couldn’t hold back the involuntary shiver that undulated through her when Marco’s hands started to lightly rub the sunscreen in.
His circular movements were mesmerizing. He slipped his hands under the strap of her bikini before spreading his fingers wide and brushing the side of her breasts. She tried not to squirm as heat pulsed through her and she could feel moisture building between her legs. He moved his hands down her back before sweeping up again, this time sliding deeper down her sides so that his fingers more than just brushed her breasts, they almost cupped them.
She bit her lip to stop herself from asking him for more, for his hands to undo the ties of her bikini top. His hands started the upward motion again and she waited, anticipating the moment when he would touch her aching breasts. She sighed deeply when his fingers caressed her firm flesh before moving down once again.
In a blur of movement Phoebe found herself flipped over and pressed up against Marco’s naked chest.
“I swore I wasn’t going to do this. I swore I was going to be the consummate gentleman. But I can’t keep my hands off you,” he muttered before he fused his lips to hers. She didn’t need any encouragement — she wrapped her arms around him, wanting this kiss as much as he did.
She opened her mouth more to give him better access and to deepen the kiss. She ran her hands down his back, feeling his muscles jump with her every touch. She wiggled her hips closer to his, bringing his erection closer to her feminine core. Only a thin layer of material separated them.
Marco trailed his lips down her neck and Phoebe let her head drop to allow him better access. She lay down on her towel, Marco following her. She welcomed the weight of him and in that moment she knew she’d missed being intimate with him more than she’d let herself acknowledge.
He pulled his lips away from her neck and she gave a little moan of distress. He laid his forehead against hers and placed his lips gently against hers. She didn’t want gentle, she wanted what he was giving her before — unadulterated passion. She didn’t want to think, she only wanted to feel.
“Why did you stop?” She asked, tightening her grip on him when he went to pull away.
“I want you so much, but this isn’t what I had planned when we came here.” His honesty touched something deep in her soul. She knew he didn’t have an ulterior motive. He wasn’t that sort of person.
“I know that, but I want this as much as you do. Please Marco,” she whispered. “Don’t stop. Make love to me. Here and now.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. She didn’t care if it wasn’t wise or sensible. She wanted to feel Marco deep inside of her.
“I can’t say no to you.” He closed the distance once again and Phoebe gave herself up to just feeling.
• • •
Marco lost himself in the sensations of holding Phoebe again. She fit perfectly in his arms and he wanted to make this moment last. He had missed her. Missed her in his arms. Missed her in his bed. Missed her more than he’d thought he ever would miss anyone. They’d only been apart for a week at most, but it may as well have been a year with the way his body was craving hers.
He knew they should talk. Knew he shouldn’t be making love to her before he shared the hurt he’d suffered at the hands of Veronika. Sharing that part of his past would expose old wounds, and he didn’t know how Phoebe would react to it. Would she laugh at his ability to get sucked in by someone who had been playing him the whole time they had been together? Would she call him all types of fool for not seeing through Veronika’s charade? Could he let himself be open and vulnerable?
No, he couldn’t do it yet. Holding Phoebe made everything bad that had happened to him in the past fade away. She was what he wanted to concentrate on now. He wanted to lose himself in her where everything was good and right.
He pushed the thoughts away and shifted them back to the woman in his arms. The woman he wouldn’t let go of.
Marco trailed his fingers down her body again, lingering at the top of her bikini bottoms. It felt so good to be able to touch her again. He knew he had been playing with fire by taking her up on her offer to apply sunscreen. But he couldn’t be happier with how things had turned out, lying with her on this secluded beach.
He slipped his fingers beneath the bottoms of her bathing suit, moving his hand to curve around her buttocks to pull her closer to him. He wanted nothing more than to bury himself into her soft, moist heat but he wanted to savor this moment. Savor Phoebe and show her just how much she meant to him.
He moved his lips down her throat, nipping and kissing as he made his way to her breasts. They seemed to swell against his mouth. He removed his hands from her bottom and went to the ties holding her top together. With quick movements he had her ties undone and was cupping her full breasts in his hands. Marco massaged the flesh softly, his body hardening further with each little moan she gave.
“Take me, Marco. I need you.”
“Soon, sweetheart, soon.” He peppered his words with kisses down her belly until he reached the top of her bikini bottoms again. He traced the edge with his tongue. The combination of salt from the seawater and her unique scent filled his senses to overflowing. He pushed her bottoms down so that she was bared to him. He lowered his head and kissed the inside of her thighs, before making his way to her core. He placed his mouth over her glistening flesh and groaned as her taste burst on his tongue. He feasted on her, swirling his tongue around her sensitized nub. As she writhed beneath his onslaught, his body hardened until he thought he was going to do something he hadn’t done since he was a teenager. As he brought her to the brink, her hands gripped the sides of his head to stop him from moving away. With one last swipe of his tongue she burst apart, her cries bringing a sense of satisfaction over him.
While her body still shook from her climax he trailed his lips back up her body, stopping to place kisses on each of her breasts, causing a more violent shudder to ripple through her.
“That was unexpected,” she murmured.
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t expect this to happen. But I’m not saying I regret it.”
Marco lifted himself off her and stood. He pulled down his board shorts, reaching into the inside pocket to remove the protection he’d put there out of habit. Glad that he had. He rolled the protection on and lay over Phoebe again.
“Good, because I’m just starting,” he whispered in her ear as he thrust into her. She arched her body against his and he groaned at the sensation of being deep inside of her.
He stayed still for a
moment, enjoying the awareness of being connected to her so intimately again. Phoebe lifted her hips, encouraging him to start moving again. He slid out before thrusting back in, increasing the momentum with each thrust until she was crying out her completion again. With a couple more quick thrusts he joined her over the edge, calling out her name as he let his climax flow through him and into her, telling her that they were meant to be together. That this was right and not wrong.
• • •
Phoebe relished the weight of Marco on top of her. The minute he’d entered her she’d realized how much she’d missed being this close to him. She couldn’t deny that in bed they were totally compatible. They always had been. She pulled him a little closer as he went to move away. She didn’t want to break the connection.
“I’m too heavy for you.”
She sighed and closed her eyes. “I don’t care.”
I don’t want to let you go. She let the words whisper through her mind. She couldn’t say them out loud.
Marco rolled over and took her with him. She let her head lay gently on his chest. The rhythmic thump thump of his heart was soothing and comforting. Her eyes drifted shut. She could lie like this forever.
“As much as I’m enjoying this, I need to move.” Marco’s words broke the spell of contentment that had surrounded her.
Phoebe kissed him over his heart and lifted herself off him. She picked up her discarded bikini and pulled it on before reaching into her bag and pulling out her over shirt.
“You ready to eat now?” she asked, feeling a little awkward which, considering what they’d just shared, seemed totally out of place.
As if sensing her discomfort Marco walked over to her and pulled her close. His hands moved up and down her back, providing the comfort she so desperately needed.
“I said it before, but I want you to know I didn’t set out to seduce you today. That wasn’t my intention.”
Phoebe reached up and touched his face. “I know. I’m not regretting it. It’s just that anyone could’ve come along.”
Lovers Unmasked: The Complete Series Page 43