The Pleasures of Summer

by Evie Hunter

  Fuck it, he couldn’t leave them drifting. He grabbed the towrope and slipped back into the water. The swim back to the jetty was a lot harder than the one out, but once he got the boat moving, it was doable.

  He had moored the craft by the time the rescue boat came into sight. When it got closer, Flynn cursed. His old school mate, Connor, now Doctor Tait, would recognize him and have the entire lake community aware that he was back in the Highlands. Flynn grabbed his clothes and melted into the shadows of the old boathouse.

  He watched in silence, invisible to anyone who wasn’t looking directly at him, and smiled as the rescue team praised the boy for his quick thinking in tying up the boat and ringing for help. ‘But there was a man,’ the boy protested. ‘He looked a bit like Wolverine and had muscles like Superman.’

  Connor checked over the father and within a few minutes the man was sitting up, groaning and swearing he was never going fishing again. When Flynn was satisfied everything was under control, he pulled his clothes back on, not caring that he was still wet, and headed back to the croft.

  It was empty. Damn it. Summer had done a runner. The bed, made up to look vaguely like a human body, was proof. Did she really think he would fall for that trick again? She didn’t have much of an opinion of him. But at least it was proof that she had run away, not been snatched. The perimeter alerts had gone haywire with all the rescue personnel, so he couldn’t tell which way she had gone.

  It was getting late and the light was fading. Outside, the Jeep was still there. Good. He was glad Summer didn’t know how to hotwire one. He examined the ground and grinned when he saw tracks heading up the mountain.

  Good girl, Summer, lay a false trail before you head for the road. He felt a blaze of pride in her. She wasn’t the airhead she pretended to be.

  Now he had to track her down and find her before she got into trouble. That woman was a magnet for trouble. Summer would hitch a lift with Jack the Ripper and not expect trouble. He debated taking the Jeep. It would be faster, but on foot, he would see signs he would miss from a vehicle. He set off at a fast jog.

  Three miles later, he stopped, frustrated. There was no sign of her. She had managed to leave no tracks and there was no sign of any cars stopping to give a hitcher a lift.

  Incredulously, he realized that she must have actually headed up the mountain. On her own. In poor light.

  This time, he hit the return at a hard run. By god, he was going to whale on her when he caught her. Was she a complete idiot? He didn’t care that she wasn’t from the Highlands; she ought to have more sense.

  He stopped at the Jeep long enough to retrieve a pair of night vision goggles to combat the dark. The Scottish countryside was transformed into an eerie green, but he could see where he was going. He set off up the mountain, determined to catch up with Ms O’Sullivan and teach her a lesson she wouldn’t forget.

  It was hard dark by the time Flynn caught up with Summer. Mind you, he thought, hard dark in Scotland in summer was a decent twilight in most of the world. He could probably have managed perfectly well without his NV goggles, but when he saw the route Summer had picked, he decided to keep them on.

  What had possessed her to take this path? There’s no way she could possibly have thought it was in general use. When he came to the place where the side had fallen away, leaving it unpleasantly narrow, he muttered a string of profanities under his breath. Was she trying to break her fool neck? What had she been thinking?

  If a rookie under his command had done this, he’d be out so fast he’d bounce.

  She hadn’t been thinking at all, he decided. Summer O’Sullivan had been propelled by a mixture of hurt pride and recklessness. She needed a keeper. No, not a keeper. She needed an owner. Preferably one with a strong collar and a whip. For a moment, the memory of Summer kneeling at his feet in the club tormented him. God, she’d looked so at home there, as if she belonged to him.

  He shook his head and pushed on up the track. She wasn’t his, would never be his, and her escapade in the club was one more example of how she wanted everything her own way.

  Flynn half hoped she’d be running when he caught up with her. He’d like to chase her and bring her down in a tackle. It would satisfy something atavistic in him that usually stayed beneath the surface.

  When he entered a small clearing and saw her sitting propped against an old oak tree, it was almost an anti-climax. She hadn’t run far after all. She was staring up at the sky, still as a rock.

  ‘Summer,’ he said. Wherever she was inside her head, it wasn’t in the clearing. She shrieked and jerked before scrambling back, trying to get around the tree. She was wearing only one shoe.

  ‘It’s okay.’ Flynn yanked off his NV goggles and spoke. He was so accustomed to their weight he often forgot how odd they looked to someone who wasn’t used to them. ‘It’s me. It’s okay.’

  She stilled, her breathing still racing. ‘Flynn?’ Her voice was rusty, as if she had been crying.

  He nodded. ‘None other. Always turning up like a bad penny.’

  The joke fell flat.

  She stiffened. ‘You complete and utter bastard.’

  ‘What did I do?’ He had eased in beside her, planning to examine her bare foot, but at this he paused.

  She stared at him in astonishment. ‘This is all your fault. You deliberately humiliated me, then you left me here alone for hours, and when you finally turn up, you look like something out of a horror movie. And you thought I’d be pleased to see you?’

  He ignored her outrage to reach for her foot. ‘I’m here now and I’ll take you home.’

  She yanked her foot out of his grasp. ‘You don’t get to reject me, then grope me. Go away. I’m staying here.’

  Despite her objections, he felt her ankle. It was slightly swollen and tender to the touch. Not broken, but she wouldn’t enjoy walking on it for a few days.

  ‘I said, take your hands off me,’ she snapped and tried to kick him with her other foot, the one still wearing a boot.

  ‘Stop that.’ He grabbed her ankle and held her securely. She tried to kick and wiggle free, but he wasn’t letting go. No doubt about it, she had hurt it and wouldn’t be walking home tonight.

  He swung her up into his arms. ‘Right, we’re going home now.’ He headed back towards the croft.

  She struggled like a landed trout. ‘Put me down. You have no right to put your hands on me.’

  He was tempted to leave her on the side of the mountain for the rest of the night, just to see how she liked it, but there was something about her reaction that stopped him. There was more going on here than bad temper.

  She tried to wrestle her way out of his arms. ‘Stop it, or I’ll drop you over the edge of the cliff.’ It wasn’t a cliff, but the path was narrow and there was a sharp drop off one side where the ground was swallowed up by the dark.

  Summer went still and clung desperately to his neck. Her breathing was faster than normal. She didn’t even speak for the rest of the journey.

  What the hell had she been thinking, running away like that? She needed to learn who was in charge, and learn it soon, before she did something that caused worse than a twisted ankle. The warm weight of the woman in his arms was a temptation Flynn couldn’t ignore. He badly wanted to put her across his lap and spank her in retribution, but with an injured ankle, it seemed unfair.

  Summer’s breathing changed and so did her scent. The hunter in him went on full alert. Those were signs he recognized.

  Fight or flight weren’t the only reactions to adrenaline. There was also Fuck. Right now, Summer was flooded with a chemical cocktail more potent than any little blue pill. And he was reacting to her arousal.

  He pushed in the door of the croft and shifted Summer over one shoulder as he climbed up the ladder, before tossing her on the bed. He reached for her foot, and she kicked him.

  ‘You little hellcat. I’m trying to check your foot.’

  She grabbed his hair and pulled. ‘Leave it alone. I
don’t want you touching me.’

  ‘Then let go of my hair.’ He leaned into her to break her hold. That position put his head very close to her mouth. He hadn’t intended to, but he couldn’t resist. Flynn leaned down and brushed his mouth against hers. Summer’s mouth was sweet and innocent, a contrast to her sharp tongue and devious smile. She tasted of wild strawberries and he licked at the seam of her lips, desperate for a deeper taste. She opened for him eagerly.

  Oh fuck it. One kiss wouldn’t hurt. Flynn tilted her head slightly so that he had better access and kissed her back. In the dark and the silence, there was nothing except Summer’s mouth, Summer’s kiss, Summer writhing beneath him. The taste of strawberries was stronger, now mixed with Summer’s own distinctive flavour. God, he could live off this woman.

  He plunged his tongue into her mouth, meeting hers in an erotic duel where there were no winners or losers. She sucked on his tongue, and he stiffened, the innocent action arousing him unbearably.

  He raised his head. ‘Sum –’ His movement brought her breasts more firmly against his chest, and she moaned.

  He sucked in a breath as the stiff points stabbed him through his T-shirt. She had the most amazing breasts.

  Summer shifted restlessly so that her nipples grazed him again. ‘More, please more.’ Her voice was husky and pleading.

  He couldn’t help it. She might be the damned client, but she was Summer, lying there, writhing in the dark and begging him to kiss and caress her. He took one generous breast in his hand, loving the feel of it, the way it fit against his palm. He pinched the nipple and she gasped.

  He did it again, rolling the tight bud between his finger and thumb, and enjoyed watching the way her back arched and her breathing accelerated. She was so responsive.

  With an unexpected athleticism, she twisted, changing their positions so that she was on top. She pressed her hips against his now straining erection, moving so that every twitch was a new caress. ‘Fuck me,’ she demanded, now certain she had the upper hand.

  He wanted to. His cock was aching, dying to bury itself between those luscious thighs. But not only was she his client, she was a brat in need of a lesson.

  ‘No. You’re the principal.’

  She rubbed against him again, as wanton as a cat in heat. He almost came in his pants when her tongue darted from her mouth to trace a path along her lower lip. ‘You’re fired. Now can we fuck?’

  ‘Only your father can fire me.’ He pinched the other nipple and watched her gasp.

  ‘Then kiss me. Keep doing what you’re doing.’

  He braced her against him and rolled over, before swooping down to capture her mouth again. ‘Yes, ma’am.’ He had no doubt that Summer thought that after a few kisses he’d do what she wanted. But he had other plans.

  He kissed her deeply and thoroughly, exploring her mouth at his leisure. For the first time, he would spend as long as he wanted learning her secrets. He was going to make the most of it. By the time he raised his head, she was limp and boneless.

  Flynn was smiling as he traced her features, particularly her flying eyebrows, which always intrigued him. Then he found her right ear and explored it with his tongue. For a moment, she recoiled from the unexpected touch, and then she allowed him to continue. She was docile at first but when he nipped the edge of her ear lobe between his teeth, she jerked and gasped. He did it again.

  ‘Flynn? What?’ Her hands brushed against his chest, as if uncertain whether to pull him closer or push him away.

  What had her previous lovers been thinking? This was a woman who clearly had no idea what she liked or didn’t like.

  He nipped the top of her ear, enjoying her reaction, and then licked his way down her neck to the point where her neck joined her shoulder, and bit down lightly. She shuddered and groaned, and her legs twisted. Oh yeah, she really liked that.

  He did it again, before searching for the other points that turned her from limp noodle to lioness and back again.

  Finally, he allowed himself the prize he had been obsessing about for days. He opened her top and feasted on her breasts.

  At the first touch of his mouth on her sensitive skin, she gasped. Then she lifted herself against his seeking mouth, trying to get more of the contact.

  Flynn kissed his way along the side of her breast, inching closer and closer to the erect nipple, now standing up proudly. He took it into his mouth and sucked.

  It tasted of raspberries and salt and musk and Summer. He ran his tongue over the hard point, flicking it back and forth.

  Summer gave a muffled scream and clutched his head tighter. ‘More, more, please,’ she begged.

  He sucked a little harder and her back arched, pushing her nipple more firmly into his mouth. Her breathing was racing and the scent which filled his head was ripe with feminine arousal.

  He bit down lightly and she shrieked, her hips lifting against his rock-hard cock. He pressed against her for a moment, luxuriating in the contact, before he stopped.

  She was an inch away from orgasm. He had heard of women who could climax just from having their nipples bitten, but had never met any. Now he had. Who’d have guessed Summer O’Sullivan was one of them? But she wasn’t having it that easy.

  He lifted himself away from her and kissed her eyelids. The long lashes tickled his tongue and he smiled.

  Blindly, she followed his mouth, trying to get him back to where he had been before. He ignored her, kissing his way around her face and allowing her breathing to calm before he slid down her body to resume his assault on her other breast.

  This time he had some idea what to expect, and he experimented, trying out long swipes of his tongue and sharp nips from his teeth to see what caused her to flinch or purr. The delicate texture of her skin fascinated him. If the cosmetic industry could bottle Summer’s fine skin, they’d make a fortune.

  He played with the right breast while he sucked hard on the left nipple and her reaction was electric. She shrieked and panted. ‘Oh god, god, god. Oh god. Flynn!’ When he sucked a little harder, she lost her breath altogether. He bit down carefully, waiting for that moment when her body tightened in the beginning of orgasm.

  Flynn stopped. ‘I’d better check your foot,’ he said, as if they were carrying on a conversation.

  ‘What?’ She shook her head, dazed. She had been lost in the moment.

  ‘I need to examine your foot, to see if it needs medical treatment.’

  ‘It’s fine.’ She was snappish now, frustration making her grumpy.

  He pressed around the ankle, and she flinched. ‘Did you go over on it?’

  She nodded. ‘But it doesn’t matter. Now, where were we?’ She slid down on the bed until her breasts were pointing directly at Flynn, and she tugged him down.

  ‘Right about here,’ he said, licking his way to the peak of one pink nipple. She groaned with satisfaction and pushed her hands into his hair, encouraging him to find the right one and get busy.

  He obliged, using hands and lips and tongue and teeth to drive her on. It didn’t take long until she was panting and gasping, ‘Flynn, Flynn’, and her hips were lifting to him.

  He was watching, ready for the moment when her body was right on the edge, and then he stopped. ‘Did I mention how pissed I was when I found you gone from the croft?’ he asked.

  This time it clicked. Summer struggled up onto her elbow, pushing her hair out of her eyes with her other hand. Pieces of twigs and old leaves were still caught in it, but she didn’t notice. ‘You’re doing this deliberately?’

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’ Flynn sat up, ignoring his own raging hard-on and enjoying her fury.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because you need to learn to do what I say. And I say when you have an orgasm.’

  She glared at him, her fury visible even in the single candlelight of the croft. ‘Don’t bet on it. I can take care of myself.’

  ‘No.’ He positioned himself so that he was between her legs, leaning down to kiss her jaw and whi
sper a promise into her ear. ‘Only when I say so.’

  His hard thighs held her softer ones apart, but he held himself so that she couldn’t press against him. His chest rubbed tantalizingly against her nipples, but without enough pressure to give her what she needed.

  ‘The night is still young,’ he told her and to his surprise, she relaxed, allowing him to unfasten her jeans. She even lifted her hips to help him wiggle them off. But Summer was still Summer.

  ‘I’ll remember this. You just wait.’

  Flynn grinned and resumed his position, but now he had all of Summer spread out before him to feast on. He could play with her stomach and hips and legs all day, and did spend a lot of time indulging his fascination, but the lure of her pussy was too strong to ignore.

  The perfume of it, ocean-fresh and sweet, lured him. He ached to bury himself in her depths, but he couldn’t make up his mind which part of himself he wanted to bury.

  First things first. He nibbled his way down her stomach, laying a trail of stinging kisses as he went. He stopped to play in the neat delta of soft hair, and then moved down again. Summer was panting, eager for him to keep going, desperately trying to tighten her thighs to force him on, but he ignored her. ‘Patience. Good things come to those who wait.’

  She snorted. ‘Good things come to those who get on with it.’ She lifted her hips so that her clitoris was right in front of his mouth. He couldn’t resist sucking it in like an oyster and savouring the feeling of the little pearl on his tongue.

  ‘Ahhh!’ Summer shrieked.

  He stopped. ‘Oh sorry, didn’t mean to hurt you.’

  ‘You didn’t. Do more. Please. Do more.’

  ‘Are you sure I wasn’t hurting you?’ He stayed away from the temptation of her aroused body.

  ‘Yes, now get back to where you were,’ she panted. Poor Summer, she was so close.