by Evie Claire
“Dating is not a priority for me. I don’t need the distraction. But the most enjoyable evening I’ve had lately was over pizza and beer. With you. I had a good time. I should probably get out more.”
“That wasn’t a date, and we already knew each other.”
“No, it wasn’t a date. But it did break me out of my comfort zone. I’ve never tasted Mario’s pizza fresh out of the brick oven. It makes me wonder what else I’m missing. But also, we hardly knew each other going in. Both of us showed up with preconceived notions about the other that simply weren’t true.”
“Asshole and redundant distraction?” Lorie asked.
“Pretty much. Now we have a better idea of where the other is coming from. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Lorie nodded. “Okay, your turn.”
“Truth or dare.”
“Dare.” Lorie grinned mischievously.
“Go jump in the lake.”
“No. I’m showered and clean.”
“Exactly.”
She huffed her disappointment but knew she couldn’t back down. Begrudging every step, she grabbed her flashlight and shoes from her room and pushed out the screened front door. What was she getting herself into?
Chapter 14
Saam
Cloaked in the darkness, they picked their way to the water’s edge. Only the moon and a constant bellowing from lakeside bullfrogs to lead them forward. With her toes on the grassy beach, Lorie paused and peered over sparkling water, drawing in a deep breath.
“Is there anything more perfect than a moonlit night?” she asked, wrapping her arms around her middle and squeezing. Her smile widened, and if she had been pissed about the dare, zero of her anger remained.
“Yes,” Saam answered very matter-of-factly. He had two eyes and they were laser focused on one thing that was more perfect than moonlight and water.
Obviously sensing the hidden meaning in his answer, Lorie peeked over her shoulder, a look that was anxious but troubled. She licked her lips, biting the bottom one as she dragged her eyes up and down the length of him. His stomach muscles clenched.
“All right.” He broke the silence and tipped his head toward the water. “In you go.”
“Seriously?” She put her hand on her hip and gave a sassy lip smack.
“You picked dare, sweetheart. I’m totally innocent here.” He used the endearment jokingly, but it caught her attention. Again, her eyes roved over him, only this time the trouble from earlier was gone.
“You obviously have zero experience night swimming.”
“And you do?”
“Practically professional. You don’t tiptoe in like a timid little mouse.”
“Then what do you do?” Saam asked.
Lorie crooked her finger for him to follow. Around to the dock that led farther out into the lake. Away from the shoreline shallows to the depths of the Sugar Lake’s center. A broad sundeck bobbed in the water near the end of the dock.
Wordlessly, they made their way to the end. Lorie slipped off her shoes and oversized T-shirt, revealing a sports bra and pair of running shorts. Intentionally, she tossed the shirt still warm from her body at his feet. All evening he’d been trying to ignore a tingle in his ball sack. Now, covered in her heat and the faint hint of orange blossoms, the sensation came raging straight up the shaft of his cock so fast and furious he nearly came on the spot.
Without looking back, Lorie arched her hands over her head, took a small jump, and slipped beneath the sparkling darkness with zero splash. Damn near perfect. She resurfaced and eased onto her back, floating, staring at the stars. Looking so damn gorgeous. Saam followed her gaze to find a million pinpricks of light dotting the sky. Atlanta’s ever-present lights made a view like this impossible. Miles away, surrounded by darkness, the stars and moon were almost enough to eclipse the beauty of the woman in the water. Almost.
“So beautiful.” Lorie’s words floated across the water in a low whisper.
“Dare,” Saam whispered back from the dock loud enough for her to hear, but not loud enough to make it to shore.
Lorie lifted up in the water, treading it with grace. Her smile cocked to the side, and then slid into a naughty place. One that made his mouth go dry. Hanging on every movement of her lips that now gleamed wet in the moon glow, he almost couldn’t wait. She pursed her lips in a teasing way and then allowed them to roll back into her wide, easy grin.
“Go jump in a lake!” she echoed his earlier challenge, and he was off the dock’s edge, fully clothed, with the speed of Michael Phelps off the starting block. No gunshot start required with an invitation like that. Hauling his body through the water, he swam straight up to her, took her around the waist, and fell into her treading rhythm.
She didn’t hesitate. She didn’t recoil, allowing her arms to rest along his shoulders. Everywhere their bodies touched seemed to ignite with a new purpose when their flesh met. Suspended in weightlessness, nothing but each other to hold on to. If they were going to stay afloat, they had to do it together.
Something had changed in her. No more hesitation. No more reasons not to. She leaned into him, the curves of her body molding into the shape of his. Any hesitation that had darkened her brown eyes before was gone. Now they gleamed—intense, focused, ready.
“Dare,” she whispered into the tiny sliver of space separating them, her breath wafting over his cheeks. Fire lit her face, heat from within that appeared ready to bubble out.
He should probably answer her. But given the proximity of her lips to his, words failed him. And in some ways, a kiss was an answer. Wasn’t it a wordless dare in itself?
His lips parted.
So did hers.
He tilted his head to the side.
Hers mirrored it.
Yeah, she was ready to boil over.
With the weight only a first kiss can carry, their lips met. And lingered—both judging the feel of the other, the texture of lips and moonlight and their bodies working together to stay afloat. It was soft at first. Fragile as glass. Like if they went too hard, too fast, it’d surely break them. Seconds of softness passed, and as if a trigger finally released in their minds at the same time—the same damn time—they dove into each other with a force strong enough to drag them under.
Lips and tongues and lapping water. Legs and arms and bodies wrapped around one another. He freed his legs from hers, still holding her body close, and with a swift kick guided them back to the floating sundeck a few feet away. He loosened another hand from her waist, not daring to pull his lips from hers, and grabbed ahold of the wooden ladder leading to the top.
He didn’t need an invitation. Her kisses were yeses. The grip she clung to him with was a big hell yes. He protected her back with his forearm as he pressed her into the wooden ladder, giving her time to find her balance and enough gravity to push him away.
If she wanted to.
God, please don’t let her want to, he thought.
The moment her bottom grounded itself on a ladder rung she fished for the hem of his T-shirt floating around his middle. Her fingers skimmed over the taut muscles working to hold him afloat. His balls clenched at the touch, the awareness easing out of him in a groan. It fanned the fire inside him. Finding what she wanted, she ripped the T-shirt over his head and slung it over them. With a splat it landed on the deck. Shorts next. And then—at an achingly slow pace—she lowered his boxers and pushed them off with her feet. Naked in the water, he leaned in to kiss her neck and reached for the elastic of her sports bra.
Much to his delight, her hands met his, tearing at the fabric. Ripping it over her head and tossing it to join his shirt. Splat! Before his hands had lowered into the water to find her shorts, she was already yanking them off, and adding them onto the soggy pile.
There wasn’t any foreplay. It wasn’t needed. Her fire was catching, both
of them so ready, so impatient, so desperate. His mouth was on hers again, and when his fingers found her center and gently stroked back and forth, her lips rebelled against the kiss long enough to push out a moan of her own. Taking her thigh in his free hand, he spread her legs wide and brought her to rest on his lap.
The situation and their need intensified. They couldn’t go up on top and risk being discovered by anyone out late on the shore. But where they were—hidden on the far side of the sundeck—afforded some privacy. Had she known that when she insisted on coming out here?
Possibly, because Lorie was so hot, so slick under his fingers, she’d obviously been fighting back the same urges he had. He secured his feet on the ladder’s bottom rung far beneath the water’s surface so they didn’t float away. Her legs tightened around his waist and she tangled one arm through the ladder at her back.
There was a conversation they should be having. One of condoms and safe sex and STD testing. He was a doctor for fuck’s sake. But she was fucking with his brain. Their current situation was so charged with emotion and passion his brain was suddenly incapable of forming coherent sentences.
Instead of saying anything, he paused. Lining kisses along her cheekbone, nuzzling his nose against her hair, asking the question without words. Did she want him to stop? He would respect her wishes if she did, but he really hoped she was as far gone as he was.
And as if she had read his mind, she aligned her mouth with his ear and in a voice so husky she couldn’t hide the lust taking over her body said—
“Don’t stop.” As much plea as demand. He had his answer, and he did as he was told.
With Lorie spread over his lap, he reached around to grab the wooden ledge behind her. The other hand took her waist, and slowly lowered her onto his rock-hard cock. Cold water shrinkage wasn’t a thing when he held such a beautiful woman in his arms.
Lorie whimpered into his shoulder, her walls tightening around him. She bit down on her lip, dug her chin into his shoulder muscles. He paused, allowing her body time to adjust. Trailing gentle kisses over her wet hair, calming her, wordlessly telling her she was more than a moonlight dalliance to him. Frozen, he waited. Seconds later her body relaxed into him. And over him. Taking every inch he had to give.
She shivered against him, throwing her head back, eyes closed, drinking in the moment. The water rocked her against him in a gentle movement. The bare curve of her breasts faded into the inky water. Had she ever been more beautiful? Painted in moonlight, tangled in his arms?
The next moment, she revived herself, tightened her grip around his neck, and began to work against him. Water rippling away from them in tiny waves timed to the rhythm of their thrusts. Water beaded on her breasts. Her perfectly perky breasts. Nipples hardened like rubies, rubbing against his chest. God she was gorgeous.
And he wasn’t going to last very long if he didn’t do something about it. So instead of enjoying the moment like he wanted—of taking in every part of making love to her—he closed his eyes, brought their lips together, and tried to think of something else. Anything really. But there wasn’t a single thought he could make stick. Not when this beautiful woman was making love to him.
A quiver started low in her body, her breath came shaky and halting before she tensed a final time. Her inner walls clenched around him so tightly he couldn’t pull away even if he’d wanted to. The heat that raged inside her squeeze was enough to burn a man. Brand him for life.
And then she came for him, in one long, slow, tortured moan that stayed as silent as possible in the back of her throat. Her head fell back, hair spilling over the water and forming a crown around her. He stilled and allowed her to work the final bits out herself. When she finished, the satisfaction in her eyes was almost enough to cause immediate ejaculation on the spot. But no, he wouldn’t lose that much control.
Instead, he forced himself to make it through at least four more thrusts before pulling out and finishing himself off in the water the old-fashioned way.
“Oh my god.” Lorie’s face froze in horror as she watched, reality finally crashing into her.
“Don’t.” He silenced her with a single headshake. “You’re on birth control, I assume.”
She nodded.
“I’m clean,” he said.
She paused, her head turning to the side.
“I’ve never been tested.”
The news hit him like a freight train and his mind began to reel. Through all the possibilities. All the things this revelation could mean. She didn’t seem like the type. But you never knew.
“I’ve only had one partner.” And then another part of her truth came, with a force strong enough to knock that freight train right off its damn track.
“Lorie,” he said her name to stop the emotions darkening her face. “Let’s go back to the cabin. We need to talk. And I can’t concentrate on a damn thing when I have such a gorgeous naked woman in my arms.”
A small sound fell from Lorie’s throat, and the tenseness left her muscles. They had definitely gotten things twisted. Making moonlit love in a lake before they’d even had a first date wasn’t normal.
Dr. Saam Sherazi was a practical man. A doctor, for crying out loud. A budding researcher at that. He knew the science better than most. Yet, nothing slowed him down when he was in the moment with her.
And, yes, he knew it was probably an awful thing to even think—so he certainly wouldn’t admit it aloud—but Lorie Braddock having his babies wasn’t the worst thought to ever cross his mind.
Holy shit.
What the fuck did I just think?
Chapter 15
Lorie
What the fuck was she doing? Wet clothes clung to her body. Her thighs skimmed together with each step, their gentle brushing stirring post-orgasm tingles with every pass. Saam held her hand, guiding her through total darkness. His firm grasp the only proof he was there. What had they done?
Yes, she had wanted to lose herself. Forget the responsibilities of her world for a while. But she’d imagined doing that in the arms of a one-night stand. Not in the embrace of her off-limits crush.
Thoughts zipped through her mind. Fast as lightning. One right after the other. Was she an awful human being or just a normal one? A person incapable of denying what she felt for Saam, regardless of how off-limits he was.
She liked him. Really like him. They were consenting adults. Her own stupid rules were the only thing that made him off-limits. Workplace romance wasn’t a great idea. It also wasn’t illegal. She had some wiggle room here.
He wasn’t married. There was no jilted wife to demand she lose her job. She wouldn’t end up like her predecessor. Would she?
If he was a coworker, like Quinn, she wouldn’t even be having these thoughts. What they’d just done would be within the lines. It was her own convictions tied to her ultimate work goals that kept her from dating coworkers. She certainly wasn’t priggish about sex. She thoroughly enjoyed what had gone down below the black waters of Sugar Lake. Obviously. So here she was. Hand in hand with a guy her right brain kept telling her was worth it while her left brain was running around like a chicken with her head cut off. Her left brain seemed totally irrational.
Lorie took a deep breath and made up her mind by the time her foot found the first step leading to the porch of their cabin. She had already dived in—literally. She wouldn’t worry about all the why nots. She would enjoy tonight, enjoy Saam, and save the worry for later. No need to borrow tomorrow’s trouble when he was in her arms tonight.
The door whisked shut behind them. Dim lamplight spilled over the room, their discarded feast of wine and Oreos spread over a rickety coffee table. It sure wasn’t the Ritz. There wasn’t wining and dining. There was only them.
Looking over her shoulder, she gazed into her room at rumpled sheets and a dog-eared book, unable to believe that an hour ago she had
debated whether to share Oreos with the man. And now, well…
When you spend your life following the rules, once one is finally broken it doesn’t merely crack, it shatters.
“I’m about to be brutally honest with you, and be forewarned, it’s going to sound pathetic.” Saam dropped her hand long enough to toss his wet shirt over the back of a chair. “I haven’t had sex in two years.” His pointed expression, the intensely navy color of his eyes left her to read between his lines. Translation—if he had anything she needed to know about he’d already know about it. And why would he lie? Their paths crossed. It wasn’t like he was some rando she’d met in a bar. He couldn’t fill her head with a night full of lies and then disappear.
Lorie ran her hand through her wet hair, pushing its weight off her face. Slowly, she nodded, telling him she followed the words he laid down. “Same,” she whispered, give or take.
“You’re on birth control,” he confirmed.
Again, she nodded. More quickly this time, because while she had been totally caught up in their moment, she wasn’t a damned irresponsible fool.
“So, that really only leaves one more point we need to cover.” Again, the navy wave of seriousness that rolled out of his eyes and straight over her made thinking difficult. Last thing she needed. But time for some brutal honesty of her own.
“I don’t want to think about any of that.” And that was the truth. “Right now”—Lorie pointed a finger at the floor and took a step toward him—“is all that matters. I like you, Saam.” She shrugged. “And I don’t want to hear all the reasons why I shouldn’t like you tonight. I just want to be with you.”
“And Monday morning? What happens then?”
“I’ll probably be sleep deprived.” Lorie lifted her brows. “Sucking down coffee.” She took another step forward. “Wishing I was here again.”
“And I’ll be doing headstands in my office. Opening windows to air out the lingering hints of your orange blossom perfume. Wishing I was back right here.” Saam pointed at the floor, too. “All over again.”