“Um, Ger, I think it’s probably one of those things you have to reserve from the hotel ahead of time. I doubt it’s just open for anyone to use.”
He grinned and nudged me under the cabana. “Then it’s a good thing you have me.” He pointed to a card on the table that said Reserved for Mr. Davis and Ms. Reynolds. “We’ll have drinks delivered throughout the day.” He flopped down on one of the chairs and grabbed a bottle of sunscreen from a bag I hadn’t even noticed was tucked under the table. “I can’t have my fair-skinned Red turning all lobstery and crispy just because I want to spend time on the beach.”
I laughed and pulled off my sundress before I sat in front of him. “Are you sure you’re up for the job of keeping me well-covered?”
Gerard muttered under his breath. “Shit.”
I looked over my shoulder. “Everything okay?”
He laughed and held up a handful of white goop. “Just a small pre-mature explosion. Must’ve been air pressure changes on the plane.”
I grinned and turned away, licking my lips as I braced myself for his hands on my body.
As soon as his hands touched my lower back, I suddenly wished I had a one-piece swimsuit. Or one of those old-fashioned suits that covered me from neck to knees. Anything to keep my body from reacting from Gerard’s fingers on my bare skin. The dancing had been nothing compared to what I was feeling now. With the tequila out of my system, the sensation of his large, hot hands on my body, caressing, rubbing, pressing into my skin, left me nearly breathless and my core tightening.
His hands moved from my lower back to my sides, just shy of my breasts, and I had to bite my lip to keep from moaning. God, what was wrong with me? It was sunscreen. In a public place, with people walking past, children splashing in the waves. I shouldn’t be reacting this strongly. Not here. Not with my best friend.
Was I hard up for an orgasm? Nick hadn’t been particularly great in that area, but I improvised. Why was I getting wet from sunscreen application? Though it had nothing to do with sunscreen. His hands felt amazing, tender, and yet there was this underlying caress that put in the right places would make a girl’s toes curl.
I wanted more than the friendly application of sunscreen. I wanted to know what it would feel like when he was caressing me to turn me on.
“I almost forgot about this tattoo.” His fingers skimmed over the small heart-shaped ink on my shoulder. When I was eighteen, I thought it was the coolest idea, a tattoo done like a tree trunk carving in an old movie, with Gerard’s and my initials in the middle. My logic was that we were going to be together forever, that he was always going to be a part of my life.
Now, I wondered if maybe even then I’d loved him. “Friends forever, right? You and me, even longer than the ink takes to fade?”
He leaned forward, his breath hot on my neck. The heat of his body was more intense than the tropical sun beating down on the sand. He kissed me, just behind my ear. It was a gentle caress. “You’re stuck with me.” He went back to applying sunscreen.
The tent felt heavy with unspoken words and a heavy tension that seemed to steal my breath. I didn’t even know if the words were mine or his, or a combination of both. All I knew for sure was that by the time he finished coating me with sunblock, my heart ached, and my pussy throbbed for more.
“I’m going to go cool off in the water for a while. You coming?” I hoped my voice didn’t sound as husky as I thought it did.
“Give me a minute. I’m just going to make sure we’ll have drinks when we come back.” He had a towel pulled over his lap as I got up and turned to look at him.
“Oh, that can wait. Come on, let’s go get wet.” Not that I wasn’t already. At least he was still wearing his shirt for the moment. I tugged on his hand. “The ocean calls.”
“Go answer it. I’ll join you in a minute.” He pulled me closer and then swatted me on the ass. “I’m a grown man, Red. Not a baby sea turtle. I can make it to the ocean on my own.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. But if I get swept away by the tide and drown while you’re sitting here in the cabana, it’s your own fault.”
As I ran down the sand to the water, I thought maybe it was for the best that I had a minute alone. Maybe it would give me the chance to cool off in more ways than one before he joined me.
7
Gerard
This trip was going to be the death of me.
I was tempted to call the front desk and get a cooler of beers and waters, just so it would be full of ice that I could use to calm my cock down. I’d sported a few erections around Cora over the years, but I felt like a freaking teenager. I felt like I was constantly walking around hard and horny.
Offering to rub sunscreen onto Cora was a bad idea. I knew it the moment she took off her dress and revealed the tiny hot pink bikini. I needed to get myself under control before the sunblock wasn’t the only thing getting squeezed hard enough to burst.
I was running out of things to think about that distracted me from the redhead splashing around in the waves.
By the time I made it down the beach, Cora was already completely wet, and when I dove in to join her, she immediately splashed me in the face and laughed. “Took you long enough.”
I grabbed her around the middle and pretended like I was going to drag her under. “You’re such a jerk, Red.”
“Yeah, your favorite jerk.” She kicked away from me and splashed again. “The water’s perfect, right?” She dove under and came up a few feet away, slicking her hair back in one smooth motion.
All I could think was that she was perfect. “Definitely worth the trip.” I swam over and grinned. “Is this all you want to do today, or should we look into snorkeling or something? We’ve got all of Cancun to explore.”
“I don’t know. When I planned this trip, I wanted it to be relaxing so Nick wouldn’t be stressed out about work. I figured lots of beach lounging and drinking and…” Her cheeks were turning pinker, and it wasn’t from the sun.
“You were planning on you and Nick sexing up your room and hanging out at the beach. With Nick out of the picture, and sex off the table, don’t you want to do some more stuff?” I swam closer and wrapped my arm around her again, treading water with the other. “I would be more than happy to lay on the beach and do nothing but eat at the all-inclusive hotel and drink well-tequila margaritas. But we’re in Mexico. We’re hundreds of miles from home, in this gorgeous tropical location. If we’ve got the means to see more than just this little stretch, why not?”
Cora sighed. “I didn’t bring you so you could be my sugar daddy. Our relationship is completely unbalanced sometimes.”
Was that why Cora settled for these guys who couldn’t provide her what she really needed, because she felt like she was on even turf with them?
“It’s not about money, Cor. I couldn’t care less about the money. You had your heart broken. You did this really thoughtful thing and bought this really great trip for a man who didn’t appreciate it or you. I want you to have a great vacation, so you don’t have to think about the asshat who didn’t know what he had.” I wanted her to be a little more covered up in a ridiculous snorkel mask and a life-jacket, so I could stop thinking about her breasts, and about the way her bikini bottom just barely showed the bottom curve of her ass when she walked.
Her cheeks flushed a little and she looked down into the clear blue water. “It’s just…” She sighed and floated away. “Yes, okay. I’d love to go snorkeling. And I’d love to see some ruins, and tour around some. But I feel like an ass.”
“When are you going to learn, Red? I’d give you the world if you’d just let me.”
She smiled a little. “I don’t want the world, but I wouldn’t mind seeing a little more of it.”
I reached for her again. “Then why don’t I head back to the cabana and see what I can come up with for the rest of our trip?”
Cora shoved down on my shoulders like she was trying to drown me. “Not yet. Swim with me a little while lon
ger.”
“Have I ever said no to you?” I splashed her and then grabbed her, pulling her under as a wave came crashing over us.
When we came up again, Cora’s red hair was hanging down her face in wet clumps, but she was laughing wildly. “You’re a dick.”
“Your favorite dick.” I winked at her and splashed at her again.
“Speaking of, are you seeing anyone?”
I raised a brow and glanced around before I asked, “Speaking of my dick?”
She cleared her throat and swished back and forth in the water. “Yeah.”
“Are you asking me if I’m seeing anyone or if I’m getting my dick wet?”
She flinched at my words, but then shrugged nonchalantly. “Either—Or.”
“Why?” I didn’t understand why she was suddenly asking now.
“You know plenty about my love life or lack thereof. I don’t know anything about yours. We just…don’t talk about it. I assume you haven’t been a monk your whole life.”
“Why the sudden interest?”
“I’m always interested in you. Your life. Are you happy?”
She swam up to me this time and I wound my arm around her waist holding her to me. I was surprised when she hooked her leg around my hip.
The rush of the waves, the children playing, the adults laughing, the wind whistling, all of it blended into muffled background white noise. The world became very small with just me and her. Our breath mingled. Her eyes didn’t leave mine.
“I’m happy. I’m not happily getting my dick wet. And I’m not seeing anyone.”
“Are you fulfilled happy?” Her voice was small.
“There’s still stuff I want out of my life.”
Her hand slid up my shoulders until it wrapped around my neck. “Like what?”
“I suppose I want a family. A real home. Not just an apartment where I sleep and keep my stuff. Getting my mom settled somewhere she’d be happy and taken care of was important. And she’s happy. She’s even dating a guy now. I feel like I can focus on myself again.”
“Then why aren’t you with someone? It can’t be hard. You’re hot, successful, kind, generous, and so talented.”
“It’s harder than you think.”
“I know I’m just this naïve, small town girl you’ve known most of your life. But it’s really not. If you wanted to be with someone, you would be with someone.”
“It was just that easy? Snap my fingers and the woman I want will just fall into my lap?”
“Not currently, there’s another woman in your lap.”
My arm was still wrapped around her, while my other one steadied us in the waves. “And what about her?”
The world that had been muted and pushed the back came crashing down on us when a wave caught us by surprise. It took us both under and pulled us apart. We came up sputtering.
“You okay?” I swam over to her.
She pushed her hair out of her face. “Yeah, I’m okay. Maybe we should think about lunch and another round of sunscreen.” Cora’s grin was infectious and even as she suggested leaving, she swam a little further out. She was swimming on her back, her breasts practically on display as she paddled around.
“We can have lunch delivered to the cabana. And then we don’t have to leave the beach until we go snorkeling.” I grabbed her ankle and pulled her close. “But you can’t drift out to sea if we’re going to do these things.”
She laughed and swam behind me to put her arms around my neck. “Take me in, faithful steed.”
I headed for the shore. When we got close enough that I could stand, Cora wrapped her legs around my waist. Her breasts were pressed against my back, her whole body clinging to mine. By the time we made it back to the cabana, I could hardly breathe, trying to keep my cock under control.
Thankfully, she pulled her sundress on again as she sat on her lounge chair. Wet spots quickly outlined where her bikini sat, but at least it was better than all her exposed flesh, making me want to expose even more.
I hardly tasted lunch as I focused on the sand, the waves, the other tourists running past. Anything other than focusing on the woman in the other beach chair. If I looked at her, if I focused on her, I doubted I would remember how to breathe. Let alone that we were just friends.
Her line of questioning also threw me off. She had never been interested in my sex or love life. In fact, she’d hardly ever asked about it. Not that I was forthcoming with details. I didn’t want to talk about it with her. Not when she was hopping from guy to guy and completely impervious to me as anything other than her friend.
Had something changed?
It would’ve been easy to charter a snorkel trip with just the two of us, to spend even more time with just Cora in her bikini. But I didn’t need to prolong my own personal hell. And after everything, I didn’t want to be put on the spot again. Not without clearing my head. Her in a bikini was anything but head clearing.
When we showed up at the boat and there was a family of four already waiting, I practically let out a sigh of relief. I had my arm slung over Cora’s shoulders like I usually did as we walked down the dock.
The woman turned as we approached. “Are you snorkeling with us?” She grinned and gestured to herself. “I’m Molly, and this is my husband, Carson. Those are our kids, Lexi and Asher. Are you two on your honeymoon?”
Cora smiled. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Cora, and this is Gerard. We’re not…”
I wrapped my arm around her from behind and butted in. “We’re not married. But never can tell what the future holds.”
Molly gave me a knowing smile with a twinkle of mischief. “I’m glad to meet you. Have y’all ever snorkeled before?”
Lexi, who looked to be about twelve, kicked at the docks. “I don’t want to go. There are sharks out there.”
I let go of Cora and walked over. “Hey, you’re Lexi, right? You know what? I was scared the first time I went snorkeling too. But look at that lady over there, the one I came with?” I pointed at Cora. “She is the most important woman in my world. And I wouldn’t let her get on this boat with me if it wasn’t perfectly safe. If we see sharks, they’re not the scary kind. The sharks in the Caribbean here are nurse sharks. They’re not dangerous, and we’re way too big to be a snack.” I smiled. “And just in case a scary one comes, I promise, I’ll get between you and it. I won’t let anything hurt you, and neither would either of your parents. I’ll keep you just as safe as I’ll keep Cora.”
Lexi frowned. “Why would you do that for me?”
“Because there’s no reason any man should ever let a woman get hurt if they have the chance to keep them safe. And between me, your dad, and your brother, I promise, you’ll be safe.”
“Okay, I guess I’ll try. But if I don’t like it, I’m staying on the boat.”
I held out my hand. “Deal.”
She shook my hand, a serious look on her face.
When she let go, I returned to Cora’s side.
“You’re a good man,” she murmured and leaned against me. “But for the record, you’re not allowed to get between me and a shark.”
I wrapped my arms around her again and nuzzled her neck a little. I couldn’t help myself before pressing a featherlight kiss against her. “Too bad you can’t stop me. If I want to die in a shark attack, rather than let you get eaten, that’s my prerogative.” I kept my voice low and stern.
She squeezed my hand that was possessively over her middle. “If the dangerous kinds of sharks come by, I’m definitely staying on the boat with Lexi. I don’t want to see that.”
I chuckled as our guide walked up and I reluctantly pulled away.
“We’re all here?” The guide asked addressing all of us. He took our silence as acknowledgements. “Good. Follow me, I’ll get you set up with gear and life jackets, and we’ll get this show on the road. There’re two coolers on the boat, one with drinks for the kids, and one with drinks for the adults. Parents, I trust you to monitor your kids.” He ges
tured us all onto the boat and ran through the tour protocols.
Cora stayed close to me as we got settled, her snorkel mask in her lap and her life jacket wrapped around her. “You’re going to stay close to me, right?”
“As close as you need, Red. But you might have to share me a little with Lexi along the way.” I nudged her.
“I don’t like to share, but I’ll make an exception this time,” she teased.
“You teach fourth graders. Since when is sharing a problem?”
She shrugged and then looked down at her equipment nervously.
“I thought you’ve snorkeled before?”
She nodded. “Yeah, once, years ago.” She looked down at her hands. “It’s not about fear, or about sharks, or anything like that. It’s just…” She sighed. “You’re mine on this trip. And I kind of want you all to myself.”
I reached over and took her hand. “I’m always yours, Cora.” There was no reason for me to believe that she would interpret it the way I meant it, but still, I had to say it.
She grinned and squeezed my hand. It was a quiet gesture, one she didn’t follow up with any other words, but as we came to a stop at our first snorkel location, she didn’t stop holding my hand.
By the time we got back to the hotel and changed into dry clothes, Cora was fighting the urge to yawn. Between all the sun and swimming, we’d worn ourselves out.
“I need a shower. Between the sand and saltwater, I feel like a sea urchin.”
“You make a gorgeous sea urchin, Red.”
She stuck her tongue out at me. “I’m not gorgeous. Why do you always say that?”
“Fuck that. You are gorgeous. Why would I say it if it wasn’t true?”
“Because I’m your friend.”
“Bullshit. Try again.”
I stormed across the room and grabbed her wrist and tugged her to the mirror over the sink. I stood behind her; our gazes met in the reflection.
“You think wild red hair, rumpled from the day, isn’t sexy as hell?” I pulled it back with both hands until I had a makeshift ponytail. If she were mine, I would lift her skirt, push her bikini out of the way and thrust into her from behind, holding her there, making her watch as I fucked her silly and ogled her beauty. “And this skin. Even sun kissed, it’s pale and decorated with freckles.” I traced over her arm, up her shoulder, neck, to her jaw line. I wanted to lick her, taste her lips, strip off every ounce of clothing and worship her body until she gave in to how beautiful she was.
Love Struck Page 7