by Claire Adams
“Christian,” I whimpered, unable to take it any longer. I wondered if he was doing this on purpose, this teasing. But there was my answer, in the smirk that he turned toward me.
“Patience,” he chided.
I practically sobbed at that. “Please,” I whined.
He didn't reply to that one, continuing instead to move maddeningly slowly down my body, until he reached my navel, kissing me gently there as well. Then, he pulled back and looked down at me for a moment, seemingly satisfied with the way he had managed to make me come totally undone. He reached up and swiped the pad of his thumb against my lower lip, which no doubt was plump both from the way we'd been kissing before and the way I'd been chewing on it, trying to silence my begging cries.
“God, you're gorgeous,” he said quietly.
“Please,” I tried again, my voice sounding wrecked. I could hardly sit still anymore, so desperate for something, anything, more than his kisses and roaming hands.
Fortunately, Christian finally acquiesced to my pleas. He gave his member a couple of lazy tugs, even though I could tell he was already plenty hard to slide into me, to fill me.
Sure enough, his entry was easy, but he was still taking things slow, still teasing me, apparently. He only went about halfway in, and then he began to slide back out, teasing me with just the tip of his member. I pressed my hand against my face, feeling flushed with pleasure. When I opened my eyes, and I didn't even know when I had shut them, Christian was still smirking down at me.
That was it.
I looped my legs around his waist and managed to flip us so that I was on top. I doubted it would have worked if he had known that it was coming since he was both stronger and larger than me. But with the element of surprise on my side, I got him flat on his back, staring up at me in shock.
I wasted no time in sitting down on his cock. I sighed and slumped forward as he finally slipped fully inside me.
“Oh, is that how it is?” Christian growled, but his eyes were twinkling with amusement.
I shifted my hips a little, unable to keep from crying out as his tip dragged at something deep inside of me.
I came hard, falling forward, hands grasping at the sand. In some primordial way, the waves of my pleasure matched with the waves of the ocean crashing somewhere behind us, echoing through my mind as white-hot pleasure coursed through my body.
Christian was surprisingly patient with me, waiting until I was finally able to open my eyes before he moved again. His hands were possessive against my hips, but he was smiling crookedly up at me. “You okay?” he asked quietly, and I could hear the strain in his voice, could hear how hard he still was inside me.
In answer, I rocked my hips a few times, setting a sloppy rhythm, still feeling floaty and not fully with it. Christian brushed back some of my hair, tucking it behind my ear, his fingers lingering there against my cheek. Then, he returned his fingers to my hips, dug his heels into the sand, and thrust up hard to match my uncertain movement.
I gasped and fell forward, and he collected me there against his chest, tucking my face into the crook of his neck but continuing to rock steadily up against me. His presence was all around me, and he filled my body so good.
“Oh fuck,” Christian muttered suddenly, his fingers spasming against my back. He was spilling inside me, and that was enough to push me over into a second climax of my own. I fell boneless against him, even as his hips continued to stutter up against mine, the angle driving his prick into places I hadn't even known existed.
I lay there gasping long into the aftermath of what we'd done, but I was pleased to hear that Christian sounded just as breathless as me. Finally, out of deference to the heat between our sticky bodies more than anything else, I rolled away from him, lying on my back next to him, twining our fingers together and staring up at the stars. Slowly, I began to get my breathing back.
I couldn't help a giddy little giggle that spilled out of me, and Christian smiled over at me. “Feeling good?” he asked teasingly.
I stretched languidly, cat-like in my lethargy. “I feel amazing,” I told him. I shook my head. “I need to have sex outside more often.”
“You've never done this before?” Christian asked curiously.
I laughed a little, shaking my head. “Nah,” I said. I bit my lower lip. “I'm kind of a good girl normally. Mina's the wild and spontaneous one; that's why we work together so well. We balance one another.”
Christian raised an eyebrow at me. “You seem pretty spontaneous to me,” he said, shrugging carefully.
I could feel a blush spreading over me, but I was glad to realize that in the dim lighting from the stars and a slim moon, he wouldn't be able to see this one. Still, I shrugged as well. “Thanks.”
Christian stretched as well, yawning a little. “Wish we could just stay out here for the night, but some early morning runner would probably stumble across us, we at least probably want to put our clothes back on.”
I laughed and pushed myself to a sitting position, leaning over to give him one last kiss. It was mostly chaste and lacked the searing heat of some of our earlier kisses, but it was almost more intimate in some ways.
When I pulled back, I could feel, deep down, that I was already pretty attached to him.
Christian rolled to his feet and offered me a hand up, which I took. I stretched again, more fully, still feeling boneless and fucked-out. I started to brush myself off, groaning a little. “God, I have sand everywhere,” I complained.
Christian snorted. “If you'd just stayed lying there on your dress like you were supposed to,” he said.
I pushed lightly on his shoulder. “Don't even front,” I told him. “You liked having me on top.”
“I like a woman who can take control,” Christian admitted, shrugging and looking away from me, almost as though he were afraid to talk about his sexual preferences. But when I thought about it, that would make sense. Probably things just unfolded however they unfolded during his one-night stands, and there would never be a reason to talk about desires for a repeat performance.
Again, I found myself feeling almost sorry for him. But I shook that off, turning back toward where the luau was finally starting to break up. I glanced at my watch and was surprised to see how late it was. “I have to go to work so early tomorrow too.” I sighed. “This woman requested an 8 o'clock appointment so that she can go hike a volcano afterward or something like that. I don't understand why she's getting the massage before she goes for a hike.”
“Are you kicking me out of your bed again?” Christian asked, but his tone was teasing.
I sighed, falling into his arms for one more moment. “I could do with a good cuddle after that,” I told him softly, reveling in the feeling of his hand coming up to stroke lightly at my hair. “But I also know that we probably should stay separate. Save that for another time.”
“All right,” Christian said, but I could detect a note of disappointment in his voice. He masked it with a smile, though, and looped an arm around my shoulders, leading me back toward the group so we could grab Mark and say our goodbyes.
I realized I could still see Lino there, lingering with the rest of the group, even though he didn't even really seem to be a part of it. I remembered that moment of anger and spite from before and hated myself for it.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Christian said as we walked.
I sighed. “You probably don't want to know.”
“Sure, I do,” Christian said easily, as though he'd support me no matter what it was that I was thinking.
I swallowed hard. “I was thinking about Lino,” I admitted, nodding toward the luau group. “Not in a sexual way or anything like that, just…”
“You guys dated for a while,” Christian murmured, his voice soothing and his fingertips stroking my shoulder. “I'm sure there are still a bunch of feelings tangled up there.”
“Yeah,” I admitted. “I'm angry at him, honestly. I don't want to talk about why or anything like that
, but the fact that he had the gall to come up and talk to us when we were alone, rather than when we were up with the rest of the group earlier in the evening was shit.” I laughed. “I don't even know what I'm upset about, honestly,” I said.
“Emotions are confusing,” Christian said, nodding his head. “I get that.” He sighed and shook his head. “Honestly? He's probably starting to realize what he lost. You look so incredibly beautiful tonight, and seeing you around your friends, so happy, lit up by the firelight.” He laughed and ran a hand back through his hair. “Listen to me,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I sound like some bad poet.”
I was silent for a long moment, thinking over what he'd just said. Thinking about the fact that I felt like I was somehow privileged enough to see the real Christian Wall, the one who the rest of the world never got to see. Because here, in these moments where he seemed uncertain, where he seemed like he was trying to understand himself as much as me. The rest of the world got the cool and confident Christian Wall, the one who was an expert salesman and slept with a different woman every night of the week. And nothing more.
I spun to face him, leaning up on my toes and kissing him, unable to stop myself. “You're pretty amazing, yourself,” I told him shyly. There was more that I wanted to say, but I knew that we were already getting too far into this. I left it at that for now.
But from the way that Christian smiled knowingly down at me when I said those words, I wondered if he could hear all the other words in my voice regardless.
Chapter Twenty-One
Christian
A couple of weeks after the luau, I was chilling with Mark in my hotel suite. “So, you still have no plans to leave Hawaii?” he asked curiously.
I shrugged over at him. “Nope. No firm plans,” I said. “I need to get back to work eventually, but they can wait until at least the New Year. They told me to come back when I'm ready, and I don't feel quite ready to go yet.”
“Because of Gretchen,” Mark said. It wasn't a question.
I laughed a little. “Yeah, mostly because of Gretchen,” I admitted.
“You know, I really would have thought you'd have moved on to someone else by now,” Mark mused. “It's not like there's any shortage of attractive women here in Hawaii, and I'm sure they'd all be bending over backward to slip between the sheets with the great Christian Wall!”
I shrugged again, not sure how to explain to him that the appeal just wasn't there. “Honestly, I would have expected that too,” I admitted. “But Gretchen and I have a lot of fun together. She keeps me on my toes. And,” I winked at him, “she's great in the sack.”
“I figured she must be,” Mark said, smirking at me. “You wouldn't settle for less, would you?”
“Of course not,” I said, rolling my eyes. “A friend who you don't enjoy having sex with is meant to be just a friend.”
Mark laughed. “Such an obvious thing, but how many people do you bet are in relationships because they like the person as a friend but hate having sex with them?”
“Right?” I said, shaking my head. “Just doesn't make any sense.” I hummed a little. “I'm lucky, though. Gretchen's the full package.”
“So, what, you're going to get engaged to her and never leave Hawaii? Never look at another woman again?”
I rolled my eyes and shoved him lightly. “Come on, man, be realistic,” I said. Then, I sobered up a little, frowning. “Even if I wanted that to happen, and I'm not saying that I do, there's no way to do that. I have my job, my home, and my whole life back in New York. All my friends are there, and-”
“Ouch, man,” Mark said, clutching at his chest like I'd wounded him. “You don't consider me to be a friend?”
I snorted. “You're just my driver,” I joked. Then, I shook my head. “You've also been great since I've been here, Mark. Thanks for that.”
Mark shrugged, looking a bit awkward. “Are we supposed to hug or something now, dude?” he asked.
I laughed. “Nah. But you are supposed to drive me over to the massage parlor. Let's go.”
“Sure, sure,” Mark said, pushing up from his sprawl on the couch and leading the way toward the door. He opened it and bowed me through, an ironic gesture that had me rolling my eyes again.
At the massage parlor, I waited patiently out in the front room for Gretchen to finish up her current appointment. I hadn't told her that I was coming over, but I had asked what her schedule looked like for the day, so I knew that she would have her lunch break after this appointment. I wanted to surprise her and take her out to a place down on the waterfront which had just opened the week before. They were reputed to have really good seafood, and I knew Gretchen would probably like it.
I flipped through one of the ladies’ magazines on the table, glancing impatiently at my watch now and then. It was my fault for showing up fifteen minutes early, but I'd wanted to make sure I got to spend as much time with her as I could. She'd been busy lately with the vacationers beginning to arrive, and even in the evenings when she didn't have customers, she was usually pretty tired and ready just to curl up and watch a movie with me.
Finally, she came out of the massage room with her client, a tall and leggy blonde with shockingly green eyes and a scattering of freckles across her nose. She was the kind of girl who I would have gone for back in New York, but next to Gretchen's exotic looks, she just wasn't that appealing.
She recognized me, though.
“Oh, my god!” she said, putting a hand to her mouth. “Christian Wall?”
I fought to keep from grimacing. Back in New York, whenever girls had recognized me, I'd been so suave, because of course, they recognized me. Here in Hawaii, most people seemed to either not know who I was or else not care who I was. And I'd come to like having that anonymity.
“Hey,” I said, giving her a winning smile. “Are you enjoying Hawaii as much as I am?”
The woman laughed, tossing her head a little, no doubt to make sure I noticed her long, flowing hair. “Yeah, it's great here, isn't it? I just got the best massage, too. That's what you're here for, right?”
I glanced at Gretchen. “I'm just here to see a friend,” I told her.
“Oh, cool,” the woman said. “You should consider getting a massage.” She stretched, her shirt riding up a little and revealing a tanned swath of flat stomach. “I feel great.” Then, she narrowed her eyes at me, a smirk on her face. “But you know what would make me feel better? If you would do me the honor of taking you out to dinner tomorrow night. I know this great little place near my resort, with these incredible ocean views and even better food.”
I blinked at her. On the one hand, I appreciated how direct she was. Usually, I was the one asking girls out, not the other way around. I liked a girl who knew what she wanted and went after it.
My eyes slipped over to Gretchen again. I winked at her. “Sorry, sweetheart,” I told the blonde girl. “No can do, I've got other plans for tomorrow.”
“Oh,” she said, looking disappointed. Then, she shrugged. “Maybe some other time, then.” She dug into her purse for a moment and handed me a crisp business card. Ashley McMahon, Public Defendant. “That's got my number on it,” she said. “You should give me a call. I'm here for two weeks.”
I grinned at her and then tried to school my expression back to neutral, knowing that Gretchen must be watching this. I slid the card into my pocket, not even bothering to put it in my wallet. As much as I appreciated her advances, if I was going to go home with anyone in Hawaii, it was going to be Gretchen.
“If I have a free night, I'll give you a call,” I promised the woman.
She smiled one last time and came in for a quick hug. Then, she finally left the massage parlor, leaving a cloying trail of perfume in her wake.
Gretchen wrinkled her nose and then turned to me, her hands on her hips. “You're already up to something tomorrow, huh?” she asked, her voice sounding steely.
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Look, I can't help if women hit on me, all rig
ht? I haven't been sleeping with anyone except you; you should know that.”
Gretchen rolled her eyes, but I could see the way she was starting to look like she might cry. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what her problem was; had she not seen the way I had just turned down a date with that woman Ashley?
“But you're dating other people,” Gretchen said. “You might not be sleeping with them, but you're, what, going to get dinner with someone else tomorrow? See how things go, and maybe you'll start sleeping with other women.”
I blinked at her. And then realized what her confusion was. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I said, holding up both hands in a placating gesture. I took a step toward her, but she took a step back. “Gretchen, hey,” I said even more gently. “What I meant is that I'm taking you out tomorrow night. You have no idea how much I'd rather go to dinner with you than with some random girl who just knows my name and whatever has been in the news about me.”
Gretchen looked confused and then embarrassed. “Oh,” she said. She picked at the hem of her sleeve, and I couldn't help but find her shyness endearing.
“I'm not sleeping with anyone else,” I told her. “I'm not dating anyone else, either. I have zero desire to do so.”
“Sorry,” Gretchen said.
I laughed a little. “Honestly, it's kind of cute, seeing you get jealous like that,” I told her. “I've had women jealous over me before, but it’s different with you.” I shook my head. I didn't know what it was about her, maybe the fact that I was flattered that Gretchen was jealous that I might want to sleep with some other woman?
Gretchen cocked her head to the side. “So, where were you thinking of taking me tomorrow night, then?” she asked challengingly.
I sighed. “Unfortunately, my plan was to take you to the new seafood place for lunch today, so I guess that's out for tomorrow.”
Gretchen laughed. “Is that what you're doing here?” she glanced at her watch. “How 'bout this? I don't have time to do that for lunch today, but we could wander down to that little sandwich place on the corner and get paninis, and then tomorrow night for dinner, maybe we could go down to the seafood place? I've heard that the sunset from there is incredible, and I only work until four tomorrow.”