Perfect for the Beach

by Lori Foster

  For the next half hour they flirted back and forth from a distance, teasing one another with their eyes and body language, and heightening the desire and anticipation building between them.

  Her waitress came by again, blocking Dana’s view of Alex.

  “That guy is really hot for you,” the other woman said with a speculative raise of an eyebrow. “You’re a lucky girl. There have been at least three women that have tried to get his attention, but he’s not interested in anyone but you.” With that, she presented Dana with a sealed envelope. “He asked me to deliver this to you.”

  “Thank you,” Dana murmured.

  As soon as the waitress left her table and Dana was alone once again, she opened the envelope and pulled out the contents—a keycard to their suite, and another note, which she unfolded and read.

  I want you. In my bed. In my heart. In my future. Come to my room for an evening filled with erotic pleasures and forbidden desires. If you dare.

  Dana’s heart pounded hard and fast in her chest, seemingly rendering her breathless as she glanced back toward the bar—only to find Alex gone. He’d set the stage for an elaborate seduction, as well as her emotional and physical surrender, but he was leaving the decision to take this provocative fantasy to the next level up to her.

  Oh God, could she do this and give Alex what she knew this night would mean to him? She realized she was at a crossroad in her relationship with Alex and had to make a choice that would irrevocably change the course of her life after tonight. She could either trust in Alex with everything she was, or she could end this dare of his right now and end up alone.

  Possibly forever.

  It was that thought that frightened her most of all. A life without Alex in it.

  Their discussion this afternoon filtered through her mind, and she knew this was where she had to make that leap of faith and trust in Alex, to give herself over to him in all ways and hold nothing back. Because there was no doubt in her mind that Alex would be in charge of tonight’s seduction, and she’d be his willing slave. In all ways.

  Minutes later she was standing in front of their suite door, smiling at the DO NOT DISTURB sign Alex had already put out for the housekeeper. Obviously, he planned to keep her very busy—tonight through tomorrow morning.

  Without hesitating, she used the key card and stepped inside the adjoining living room. The suite was dark, except for a soft glow of light beckoning her to the bedroom. Setting her purse down, she headed in that direction and found Alex reclining in a chair in the corner of the room, waiting for her to arrive.

  His long legs were stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles, and his hands were clasped loosely in his lap. A slow, lazy smile eased up the corner of his mouth. “You came.” His voice, deep and low, sounded very pleased.

  She stopped by the bed, facing him, feeling his hot eyes on her from across the room. “You knew I would.”

  “There was always the possibility that you’d decided this isn’t what you wanted,” he said meaningfully. “You and I both know there’s nothing safe about tonight, and what I’m asking is a big risk for you.”

  “And what risk is that?” she asked impetuously. “Sex with a stranger?”

  He chuckled. “That, and submitting to my wishes and desires.” He waved a hand toward the four-poster bed, which had been turned down for the evening.

  Her gaze shifted in the direction he’d indicated, taking in the props he’d laid across one of the pillows. A satin blindfold. Cream satin restraints. And a black feather tickler. She shivered at the thought of how he planned to put all those items to good use.

  “Are you willing to take tonight as far as I want it to go?” he asked, bringing her attention back to him. “Are you prepared to do as I say and give me whatever I ask for?”

  Her pulse quickened, sending a melting warmth swirling toward her quivering belly, and lower, between her thighs. This was it. The culmination of their weekend together. No more hiding from him or her own feelings. She was about to give him complete control and power, over her body, her heart, her emotions. Her very soul.

  And she was ready to do so. Without reservation. Without fear.

  “I’m yours to command, any way you wish.”

  A satisfied light burned in his gaze. “Then remember this. No touching unless I say you can. Now take off your shoes, then your dress.”

  After slipping both of her strappy heels off, she slowly skimmed one shoulder of her dress down and off her arm, then the other, exposing her bare breasts since she hadn’t been wearing a bra. Her nipples were already tight and aching, and she hooked her fingers into the rest of the fabric and shimmied it over her hips and let it fall to the floor at her feet, leaving her clad only in a pair of skimpy black panties.

  “Very nice,” he murmured appreciatively. Standing, he took off his own shirt and tossed it aside as he closed the distance between them, his features bold and masculine and breathtakingly sexy.

  She only had a handful of seconds to admire his broad shoulders and well-toned chest before he slid his hand around to the nape of her neck and tipped her face up to his. He slanted his mouth across hers, kissing her with an intensity and primitive hunger that branded and possessed. She whimpered, wanting to touch him all over, and had to force herself to obey his request to keep her hands to herself.

  Long minutes later, he slowed the deep kiss, his tongue hot and soft as it lazily chased hers. He gently bit her bottom lip, tugged on it, and suckled it into his mouth until she was moaning and arching toward him in an attempt to rub her breasts against his chest.

  He stopped before she could manage to do so. Taking a step back, he grinned wickedly at her. “Sit down on the bed.”

  She settled herself on the edge of the mattress, and he nudged her feet apart and stepped in between the vee of her spread legs, so that she was eye-level with the thick bulge straining against the fly of his trousers. He unbuckled his belt, opened his pants, and freed his erection. She licked her bottom lip in anticipation.

  He rubbed the head of his shaft along that slick moisture and pushed her lips farther apart to gain entrance into her mouth. “Caress my balls and suck my cock.”

  Ah, finally permission to touch him, and she took full advantage of that small measure of control he’d granted her—all for his own pleasure, of course. But it was her pleasure, as well, because she loved doing this for him. She loved the taste and texture of him. Loved how his body wound tighter and tighter until he gave himself over to the pure, carnal bliss of a shuddering orgasm.

  She took his shaft and his testicles in her hands, squeezing gently as she enveloped the length of him in the warm wetness of her mouth. He was huge and hard, and she took him as deep as she could, then began a stroking, sucking rhythm guaranteed to drive him over the edge.

  He fisted his hands in her hair and rolled his hips as she increased the pressure, the friction, the tight suction of her mouth around his throbbing cock. His head fell back as he groaned, a raw sound that reverberated in the back of his throat as his climax crested and he came, hard and strong. She took every bit of him, the very essence of what made him male and her opposite.

  He stumbled back a step and shook his head as if to clear it. “Christ, I’m supposed to be the one in control here, but damn, you’ve got such an incredible mouth.”

  She refined an innocent look. “I only did what I was told.”

  “I can’t argue with that, and you obey orders very well, but don’t expect that to happen again.” He schooled his expression back into one of dark, unbending authority. “Move up onto the bed and lie on your stomach.”

  She crawled across the mattress and positioned herself accordingly while Alex stripped out of the rest of his clothes. He came up behind her, straddled her hips, and leaned over to grab one of the satin ties. He secured first one wrist against a headboard rung, then the other, leaving her with plenty of slack so the sashes wouldn’t hurt or chafe her skin. Then he slipped the blindfold over her
eyes.

  Complete darkness consumed her, causing a frisson of panic. She felt the heavy weight of him on her bottom, which kept her pinned to the bed beneath him. She gave a tentative, instinctive tug on her makeshift manacles, and realized she was well and truly at his mercy, and he had complete domination over her.

  A shot of apprehension kicked through her at the thought, but she quickly subdued her bout of anxiety. Alex had never tied her up before, but she understood his reasons for doing so now. It was that physical and emotional submission he was after, and her trusting him with both.

  And she did. Unconditionally.

  Seemingly sensing her moment of distress, he smoothed his hand over her hair in a gentling caress. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

  His voice, so soft and soothing, chased away any last, lingering doubts. She knew with her heart and soul that this man wouldn’t hurt her or take anything she didn’t willingly give to him. She also knew if he went too far or stepped out of her comfort zone, all she’d have to do was say stop and he would.

  “I’m okay,” she assured him.

  “Good.” He leaned over her, kissed her cheek, then moved away. She felt the shift of his body beside her before he issued another order. “Lift your hips for me.”

  She did, and he pushed two pillows beneath her, raising her bottom a good six inches off the mattress. She didn’t know what to expect next, and she gasped as she felt the sweep of a lush feather gliding from her shoulders all the way down her spine, leaving shivery goose-flesh in its wake.

  Alex dallied over the curve of her upturned bottom, teasing her with the feather and nothing else, making her squirm and moan and grow impatient for a more intimate kind of touch. He pushed her legs wide apart, making her feel vulnerable and exposed as the cool air in the room rushed over her wet, pulsing sex.

  But then those insecurities flew right out of her mind as Alex shamelessly dipped that feather along the crevice of her bottom until he came into contact with her soft, feminine folds of flesh. He swirled the fringed tip in light, gossamer strokes that made her want to weep, the sensation as arousing as the flicker of a silky, questing tongue.

  She needed more. More pressure. More friction. And she found herself begging for what she wanted. “Alex, please.”

  The feather skimmed along the sensitive skin of her inner thighs, then it was gone and Alex was moving over her from behind, settling his groin against her raised bottom so that his erection nudged her opening. He threaded his fingers through the hair at the nape of her neck, tugging gently to pull her head back toward him, while his other hand slid under her and his long fingers delved between her legs.

  His breath was hot and ragged against her ear, his body rigid along the length of hers. “I’m going to take you while you’re restrained, hard and fast and deep,” he said huskily, and instead of his words shocking her, they thrilled her instead. “And I’m going to make you scream when you come.”

  Her sex softened and tingled and grew damp with anticipation. He took a soft love bite of her shoulder as he pressed in, then with a hard thrust of his hips sank deeper than she believed possible, thanks to the raised position of her hips.

  He took her just as he said he would, and she gave herself over to him without inhibition as he surged into her, over and over, his thrusts long and powerful, strong and sleek, and fiercely determined.

  She ached. She burned. She rolled her hips sinuously against his, and with his fingers working his special brand of magic on her clitoris, she splintered apart. She tugged on the ties around her wrists and arched against Alex, screaming as she rode the wave of her orgasm with reckless abandon, holding nothing back.

  When it was over, she went limp beneath him, and even though she was still blindfolded, that didn’t stop her from realizing that Alex hadn’t come. He was still rock hard and throbbing inside her, his entire body taut with sexual tension, his thighs quivering against the back of hers. Slowly, gradually, he dragged himself off of her, and she instantly missed his weight, his warmth.

  “You didn’t come,” she said, and waited for him to untie her, or at least remove the shield from her eyes.

  “Don’t worry, I will.” He removed the pillows from beneath her, then gently eased her to her back. Her hands crisscrossed above her head, but there was still plenty of slack left in the silken ties so that there was no pinching or binding. “You took care of me earlier, and we’re not done yet.”

  She groaned as he positioned himself between her spread legs, but instead of wreaking havoc on her body with the feather again, he used his hands and mouth to pleasure her. His fingers touched the base of her throat, then moved lower, gliding over her breasts and delicately plucking at the stiff peaks before he took each nipple into his mouth and suckled greedily, until she was moaning and thrashing and begging him to please, please, please untie her so she could touch him, too.

  Ignoring her pleas, he continued to nibble and lick and kiss his way down her stomach, followed by the luxurious sweep of his big, warm hands, all combining to bring her nerve endings back to vibrant life. And when his tongue slid deep into the valley between her thighs and his mouth fastened over her core, she was amazed that she had anything left in her to give him. But she did, and her second orgasm was just as strong and devastating as the first.

  She felt him crawl up and over her body, felt the tip of his shaft glide against her sensitive cleft, but before he could drive into her, she clenched her thighs against his hips to hold him at bay.

  “Alex, wait.”

  He immediately stopped.

  “Please take the blindfold off and untie me,” she implored once again.

  This time, he did as she asked, releasing her hands and uncovering her eyes so she could finally see him, touch him. And the first thing she did was frame his face in her hands and stare deeply into his eyes.

  He was watching her with a bit of uncertainty, and she was stunned to think that this man had a few insecurities of his own, and most likely feared a rejection from her. His emotions, his feelings and need for her, were so evident in his dark blue eyes that she felt a well of tears rise up in the back of her throat.

  God, she was so incredibly lucky to have this man in her life.

  She loved him. She trusted him. With her heart, her body, and her very soul. And she didn’t want him to have doubts about either. Ever.

  She let go of her past, and welcomed her future with open arms. “I love you, Alex Wilde.”

  It was the first time she’d ever said those words to Alex without being prompted by a declaration from him first, and the relief and joy pouring across his features told her she’d made him a very happy man.

  “Oh God, Dana, I love you, too.” He lowered his head and kissed her the same moment he joined their bodies.

  They both moaned, and Dana wrapped her legs high around his waist as this time around they made love at a slow, deep, gratifying pace. Together. As one. Giving and taking equally, with both of them surrendering physical control in order to embrace the emotional intimacy that would from here on define their relationship.

  Chapter Six

  Dana awoke the next morning alone, with Alex’s side of the bed empty except for the black velvet jeweler’s box sitting on the pillow next to hers. An engagement ring. A proposal. A promise of forever.

  It was a not so subtle reminder that she had a decision to make, and she knew without a doubt that there was only one choice for her.

  She slid out of bed and reached for the hotel-issue robe that Alex had left for her at the end of the mattress, then picked up the ring box and headed out to the adjoining living room.

  Alex was sitting at the small dining table, reading the Sunday paper. He was wearing only a pair of boxer shorts, and it appeared he’d ordered in a continental breakfast for the two of them. But she wasn’t hungry for food. Not yet, anyway. First, she and Alex had unresolved business to settle between them.

  “Good morning,” she said, greeting him with a smile.
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br />   He set the paper aside, his gaze searching her features, his own expression guarded. Not that she could blame him for being wary, considering she’d yet to give him an answer to his proposal.

  “‘Morning,” he murmured.

  She set the jeweler’s box on the table in front of him. “I’ve made my decision.”

  He swallowed hard, glanced from the ring box back to her, and gave her a short nod to continue.

  “I love you, Alex Wilde,” she stated in a clear, steady tone of voice.

  A small frown formed on his brows. “But?” he asked cautiously, obviously thinking she was going to qualify that declaration with a dozen reasons why they couldn’t be together.

  He was wrong. “No buts about it,” she said with a shrug of her shoulder. “I love you. And I want to be with you. But I need for us to take things slowly, and I know you’re going to have to be patient with me along the way. I’m still scared deep inside, and I’m still learning how to deal with all that. It might take some time for me to become the woman you deserve and need in your life.”

  Hope shone in his eyes. “You already are,” he rushed to assure her.

  “I’m getting there.” She smiled, unable to believe her heart could feel so full—a feeling that was both scary and wonderful at the same time. “I know I have work to do in certain areas, and it’s going to take time, I’m sure. Like being more open with my feelings. Depending on you for certain things without fearing it’s going to strip me of my identity or independent nature. And I do trust you, Alex. With everything I am.”

  She drew a quick breath, and continued before he could issue a response. “But I can’t accept the ring.”

  The slow grin that had been easing up the corner of his mouth quickly fell flat once again. “Why not?”

  “It needs to come with a proper proposal,” she said, trying not to laugh at his comical expression.

  He grabbed the velvet box and dropped to his knees before her, proving as always that he was a man to rise— or, in this case, kneel—to any occasion. He flipped open the box, took her left hand in his, and gazed up at her adoringly.