The Ties That Bind

by Jaci Burton

  Another factor to consider was that this was Lisa, his ex-wife, someone he cared about. He had to protect her, and he was torn between wanting to do just that and not giving a damn, because he really wanted to rip off that little excuse of a bikini bottom, spread her legs, and bury his mouth against her soft, wet flesh. Especially since she was wriggling against him, lifting against his hand and throwing off every signal in the book that told him she enjoyed what he was doing. And he really liked doing it to her, enjoyed the feel of her soft skin, how wet she got when he slid his finger along the plump folds of her pussy.

  "You like that?" he asked, leaning his cheek against hers, whispering in her ear.

  "I think you know I do. You can feel what you do to me."

  "Yeah, I can. Wet, quivering. You want me to put my finger inside you, don't you?"

  "God, Rick, this is..."

  "What? What is it, Lisa? Don't tell me it's wrong, because it isn't. No one can see us. The captain is driving the boat. Let me drive you." He skimmed her flesh again, a light touch. She quivered in response, lifting her butt off the deck, pressing her sex against the heel of his palm.

  He slid his fingertip inside her and she rewarded him with a pulse of hot cream. Encouraged by her silence, he dipped farther, knuckle deep, keeping his movements slow and rhythmic. In and out, in and out, caressing her clit with the pad of his thumb, his intent to drive her slow and easy and right over the edge.

  The lull of the water, everything around them, was quiet except for Lisa's rasping breath, her fingers digging into his forearm as he moved rhythmically against her, inside her, until she tensed, let out a soft whimper, and jerked against him as she came, driving her head back against his collarbone while she rode out her orgasm with sharp, shuddering motions.

  God, he was hard now, and really damned uncomfortable. Making her come like this had been easy. Fucking her in such a public place would be impossible. He withdrew his hand and licked her sweet, salty cream from his fingers, which only made the torture worse. He was going to have to wait.

  Lisa settled against him, tilting her head back to stare up at him. "This hardly seems fair."

  He smiled down at her. "I'll get my chance."

  She righted herself and wriggled back against him, rubbing her butt against his erection.

  "You're enjoying that, aren't you?"

  The vibration of her laugh echoed against his chest. "Maybe a little," she said. "But I promise to make it worth the wait."

  He could already imagine it.

  In a short while the captain pulled into a private, white sand beach carved into a U-shaped cove. Cool blue water lapped against the shore as they disembarked and the captain helped Rick unload their supplies. Rick made arrangements for him to pick them up before dusk, and the catamaran took off.

  "He's leaving us here?" Lisa asked.

  "Yeah," Rick said, turning to her. "I wanted us to be alone for the day. There's a reef out there for snorkeling, we have a picnic lunch and some drinks in the cooler over there, we have fins and snorkel gear, beach chairs and towels, and I have a cell phone to contact him in case of an emergency."

  She stood ankle deep at the lapping water's edge, hands on hips. "You think of everything, don't you?"

  "Not everything. Just some things. So what do you want to do first? Swim or eat?"

  "Definitely swim. I caught a glimpse of the reef on the way in and it looks gorgeous."

  "Let's go."

  They spent the afternoon snorkeling, diving under and taking pictures. The reef was a splash of colors, from orange to blue to purple to green, coral and waving tall grass hugging the bottom tight while rainbow-colored fish swam in and around it. Lisa seemed to really enjoy herself. Rick did, too, though he mainly enjoyed watching Lisa. She took to the water, the coral, and all the sea life with a childlike exuberance. He grabbed the camera and took pictures of her interacting with everything around her. Those were going to make some great photographs.

  When they tired of swimming and snorkeling, they climbed out of the water, dried off, and ate lunch. Rick had ordered a picnic basket from the hotel, and it was full. They had sandwiches, fruit, wedges of cheese, and a bottle of wine along with water. Plenty to eat and drink while they relaxed in the beach chairs. It was a perfect, private paradise.

  "This is heaven," Lisa said, sipping her wine out of their acrylic glasses. "I could get used to this."

  "It would be easy to live the decadent lifestyle, wouldn't it? If only we were rich and useless."

  She snorted. "Yeah. It's that whole needing a job and money thing. The lack of independent wealth."

  "Dammit. There are always roadblocks."

  "I could start buying lottery tickets."

  He drained his wineglass and grabbed the bottle out of the cooler to refill both their glasses. "Yeah, there's a good use of your money."

  "Hey, I'm working on my dream retirement here. Don't shatter my illusions."

  "You'd never be happy as part of the idle rich."

  She lifted the glass, swirled the liquid around before taking a sip. "You're probably right. I'm way too twitchy. I always need to be doing something. This is nice, because it's temporary, a break from my normal frenetic pace. But to do this every day, lie around and have nothing to do?"

  "You'd be bored."

  Her lips lifted. "Yeah, I'd be bored. I'm already wondering what I'm going to do to fill the time after Kayla goes off to college."

  "No more cheerleading events," Rick reminded her.

  "No more soccer games. Sleepovers. Shopping trips."

  Despite her trying to hide it behind teasing amusement, Rick could see the misery reflected in Lisa's eyes. He wanted to turn that around. "You're worried your life is over because your baby girl is going away to college. That she won't need you anymore."

  Her cheeks pinkened. "I know it's silly. But we've always been so close. I know we're not best friends, because I'm first and foremost her mother, not her buddy. The house will just be so empty after she's gone."

  He hoped it wouldn't be, but he wasn't going to get into that just yet. "You have a full life, Lisa. A career. You've worked hard. Your life isn't all about Kayla."

  She shrugged. "I know that. Logically anyway."

  He also knew that part of her was afraid to take the next step. He knew her so well. "Yeah, but you're a woman. Emotional."

  She tipped her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose and gave him a look. "Oh, don't give me that. You're going to miss her, too."

  "Of course I am. But she's grown up. She's ready to move on to her next adventure. To get out there on her own and test the waters."

  Lisa slid the glasses back up to cover her eyes, then clasped her hands together in her lap. "And we have to let her go."

  "Yeah, we do. But instead of thinking about the emptiness, why don't you think of fun ways to fill all that spare time you think you're going to have?"

  She glanced over at him. "For example?"

  "Well, I'll be available."

  Seven

  Lisa gave him a thoughtful look. He'd hooked her, which was good. Sometimes he liked her thinking, especially if it was about him.

  "You'll be available for...?"

  "I don't know. Bowling."

  She snorted. "You hate bowling."

  "Good point. We could go to movies."

  "We used to love that."

  "I hear they're reopening the old drive-in."

  "Really?"

  "Do you remember when we used to go?"

  She laughed. "Yeah. You, me, and about ten of our friends, all piling into a couple pickup trucks packed up with lawn chairs and coolers. It was fun."

  He reached for her hand. "I liked it better when it was just the two of us there."

  "Of course you did. Because we did more making out, less watching of the movie."

  He had vivid memories of the times they spent cuddled together in the car. "Duh. Why do you think I liked it?"

  "You would."

>   "Though I think I got you pregnant at the drive-in."

  "I think you might be right. Maybe it's not such a good idea for us to rekindle our love of drive-in movies, then."

  He tilted his head back and laughed, then stood and dragged her out of the chair, pulling her against him. "Okay, no bowling. No drive-in movies. I can think of other ways to pass the time."

  Lisa locked her arms around his back, her hips brushing his legs. She tilted her head back. "You can, huh?"

  "Yeah." He pulled her sunglasses off, needing to see her eyes. So clear, bright, filled with the passion he felt, too, whenever he got close to her. She made him feel like a kid who couldn't control his own libido. Hell, he got hard whenever he was around her. That didn't happen with other women. He definitely had a thing for Lisa.

  "What are you thinking about?" she asked.

  He refocused his attention on her face. "What? Nothing."

  "Not true. You get this glazed look in your eyes whenever you're thinking about something. Kind of unfocused, like you're deep in thought and miles away."

  "Sorry. I was actually thinking about you."

  She quirked a brow. "You were?"

  "Yeah. And how I get a hard-on whenever I'm around you. It's kind of embarrassing. I'm too old to pop an erection whenever I'm near a woman."

  She grinned and rocked her hips against his. "Oh, I don't know about that. I like it. It's a compliment."

  He slid his hand down her spine, palming the small of her back and pushing her closer to him so he could press his erection against the softness of her body. "You say that now. What if we were in the grocery store?"

  "Hey, it's your hard-on, buddy. People will be staring at you, not me."

  "I'll be pointing the finger at you and telling everyone it's your fault because you're so damn sexy."

  "You wouldn't dare."

  "Try me."

  "I just might do that."

  She laughed, and he loved seeing her so free and relaxed. It reminded him of when they first met.

  "God, you're beautiful, Lisa. I can't believe how much time we've wasted." He tangled his fingers in her hair and brought his mouth down to hers, tasting the sharp sweetness of wine on her lips. He pulled back, licked along her bottom lip, then pressed his mouth to hers again, sliding his tongue inside, letting the flavor of her mouth burst along his taste buds. He wanted to devour her, but he kept his desire in check, keeping the kiss light and easy. She inched closer and let out a soft moan as he held her, kissed her, let sensation take over for both of them.

  A warm breeze blew over them, the sound of the water crashing against the shore equaling his passion for Lisa. He savored every minute he spent holding her in his arms, feeling the buttery softness of her skin, the fullness of her curves, the way she was so pliant against him. He moved his hand along her neck to her shoulder, learning her body all over again just as he did last night, still in awe that she let him touch her like this. It could have gone the other way and he knew that. She could have easily said no, but she hadn't. That she wanted this, wanted him, kind of amazed him.

  He pulled back, searched her face, the way her eyes darkened when they were filled with passion and need. Her lips parted and she swallowed, breathing hard, her breasts rising with every deep breath. He took her hand and moved to the bag, dragged out the beach towels and spread them on the grassy bank above the chairs.

  She didn't say anything, just reached behind her, unhooked her top, and tossed it over the chair. Rick blew out a breath, admiring the way the sun bronzed her skin, cascaded off her hair. Everything about her was perfection, right down to a few little stretch marks across her lower belly, the marks that said she had once carried his child. He loved those, loved her because she never cared about them or tried to hide them. She'd always seemed proud of them. He moved toward her and dropped to his knees in the grass to plant his mouth across them, kissing and licking each one. With a low moan, Lisa buried her hands in his hair while he reached for the ties on the sides of her bikini, undoing them so he could pull the material away and bare her sex.

  He looked up at her. She watched as he slid two fingers between her legs.

  "Spread for me," he said.

  She parted her legs and he entered her with his fingers. She was already wet, her damp heat gripping him as he finger fucked her with slow, easy movements. She laid her hand on his head, her lips parted as she breathed in heavy, panting bursts while he pleasured her with deliberate strokes. When he planted his mouth over her clit and licked her, she cried out, thrusting her sex against his mouth. He felt her grip him from the inside, contractions tightening inside her as he sucked, and she came against his mouth, over his fingers in a shuddering rush. He loved doing this to her, knew what she needed and how. He loved that she trusted him enough to let him do this for her. For them both.

  Rick stood and untied his board shorts, let them drop to the ground, and stepped out of them. He grabbed a condom and put it on, then lay on the towel, bringing Lisa down with him. She straddled him, giving him one hell of a sexy view of her pussy as she slid down on his hips. She leaned forward, her hands on his chest as she kissed him, rubbing her pussy against his cock, his balls, all that sweet moisture coating him before she pulled back, grabbed his shaft, and lifted herself up to glide over him, enveloping his cock with excruciatingly slow movements. It was so sweet to watch her face as she gripped him, moved against him, rocking back and forth, each time gliding over his balls and making him clench his teeth as he held back.

  He reached for her hips, needing to hold her, to feel her flesh and grab on to her as she rode him. The sun shined down on them both, making them sweat, slick, easy for Lisa to slide over him. She laughed at their stickiness, seeming to thoroughly enjoy the ride. He enjoyed watching her, seeing the light in her eyes, the way her breasts swayed with every movement, the way her fingers curled against his skin whenever her clit dragged against him. She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, concentrating on her pleasure--exactly what he wanted her to do, because if it was good for her, it was damn great for him.

  He rose up, driving harder into her, and she gasped, dug down deep, and ground against him, giving him back what he gave to her. She leaned forward, curling her back up like a cat's as she slid over his chest to grab on to his shoulders, then rode him, driving her pussy down over his cock until he was at her mercy.

  "Christ, Lisa." He dug his fingers into the flesh of her hips now as he held on tight, letting her guide their movements, giving her free rein to do as she pleased. She was a wildcat, immersed in her own pleasure, lifting up and slamming down against him. He knew she was close, felt her tightening, convulsing around him. She surged forward, took his mouth in a wild kiss, biting him, sucking on his tongue, groaning into his mouth. When she came, he knew it because she cried out into his mouth, and he let go then, too, holding her tight against him as he surged upward, flooding come as wave after wave jettisoned from deep inside him in incontrollable bursts.

  Spent and panting, they lay together in sweaty silence for a few moments. God, he couldn't move, every part of his body drained.

  "Ugh. I'm a mess," she finally said, lifting her head from his chest to smile at him. "How about a swim?"

  "Great idea."

  They cooled off in the sea, guzzled down bottled water, then collapsed on the beach chairs.

  "That was nice," Lisa said.

  "Uh-huh."

  "Sex is...a lot different now than it used to be."

  He slanted his gaze in her direction. "In what way?"

  She shrugged. "I don't know. Before we were just kids. Experimenting and kind of new at the whole thing, so we really didn't know what we were doing. Now there's more...finesse. And it's a lot more intense."

  He knew why. At least from his perspective. But he wanted her to figure it out on her own.

  "Yeah, it's intense all right. But I always thought sex between us was good."

  "You're a guy. You think any sex is good sex."

/>   He laughed. "Spoken like a true woman."

  She shifted in the chair and half turned toward him. "Isn't that true, though? At least with men?"

  "No."

  "Men can have bad sex?"

  "Honey, there's great sex, there's average sex, and there's lousy sex. A guy can tell. Trust me, we prefer great sex."

  "What's lousy sex?"

  "Barbie pussy."

  She spit out a deep laugh. "Barbie pussy?"

  "When a woman just lies there stiff and doesn't move. You know, like a Barbie doll. As if she expects the guy to do all the work. Then he's supposed to be grateful that she's allowed him to get some, so that should be good enough."

  "Oh." She snorted. "I could see how that wouldn't be very enjoyable."

  "Yeah. Like I said, sometimes no sex is better than sex with someone who isn't really involved."

  "Have you...had sex with someone like that?"

  How much was he supposed to reveal? They'd never discussed their sex lives during the years they'd been divorced. But if he had any hopes of reconciling with Lisa, he owed it to her to be honest. "Yeah, I have."

  He expected her to be pissed. Instead, she wrinkled her nose. "Yuk."

  "Exactly."

  "Have you had the other kind?"

  "What other kind?"

  "You know...the great kind."

  "Yeah. A couple times."

  She turned again, this time staring out over the water instead of looking at him. "Kayla never told me about anyone you were dating. She was always very discreet."

  "Kayla never met anyone I was dating."

  She snapped her gaze to his. "Why not?"

  "Because I never went out with anyone seriously enough or long enough to introduce them to our daughter."

  "Oh."

  "Lisa, having sex with someone doesn't make a relationship."

  "But if you had great sex, wasn't that worth...exploring a relationship?"

  "Not necessarily."

  "Why not?"

  "They weren't you. They've never been you, Lisa."

  Eight

  Lisa stepped out of the shower and dried her hair, her mind preoccupied with everything that had happened. It had been one hell of an eventful few days, both physically and emotionally.

  After that day at the private beach with Rick, something had changed between them. Maybe it was what he'd said about the other women he'd been with, that he'd never formed attachments with any of them because they hadn't been her. She'd changed the subject immediately, because the topic had been careening toward a road she didn't want to head down--overwhelming and heavy. She wasn't ready yet.