She stepped close, bent at the waist, and set her hands on my knees. I didn’t know her intentions until I felt the light pressure of her coaxing my legs to part. I complied with her wordless request, too under her spell to do much else.
She moved even closer so she stood between my parted thighs. Her hands went next to my hands which she guided up her chest, encouraging me to palm her breasts. The matching bra and underwear set were black and lacy. A sheer material connected to more sturdy material, covering up only her most intimate areas.
She definitely hadn’t worn those in Curaçao.
Kate dropped to her knees and took off my boots and the socks underneath. She grabbed my skinny jeans at the ankles and peeled the denim off my legs. She placed soft, deliberate kisses on my ankles and moved up the insides of my legs. My breathing became more ragged the higher her kisses landed.
She stopped at my knee—the same knee I had scraped on a tidal pool in Curaçao. She rubbed the pad of her thumb across the shallow scar. The wound had healed quickly, but I would probably always have at least a faint physical reminder of that trip on my body.
“You’ve got killer legs,” she admired. “It’s a good thing they didn’t have to amputate.”
“Yeah,” I thickly agreed.
She set my leg down; I missed the contact until she crawled up the bottom of the mattress to join me. She hovered above me in a frozen push-up. I wondered about the delay, wondered about what she was thinking, but I wasn’t brave enough to ask. Now beyond midnight, I was only one day away from being back to school and to my life. I couldn’t afford to waste anymore time.
She ground into me, flexing and pushing her hips into my panty-covered sex, making me wonder what it would be like if there had been a strap-on between us. Her hips and upper thighs connected with my most intimate, sensitive parts, pulling appreciative groans from my parted lips.
She reached between our bodies and rubbed me over the material of my underwear. Her fingers pressed against my clit and ground the sensitive nub in a wide, lazy circle. She rubbed her fingers over my covered slit, back and forth, up and down, making me soak the crotch of my underwear.
She slid her hand down the flat plane of my stomach and lower still. Her fingers slipped under the waistband of my underwear and tickled along the outside of my pussy lips.
She breathed heavily into my ear. “I want you.”
All I could do was whimper my consent.
She slid down my body, removing my underwear as she traveled lower. She left wet kisses on my inner thighs. Her tongue left a wet trail at the apex of my sex. She sucked on my pussy lips without yet touching my clit.
She flattened her tongue and rubbed against both my clit and my leaking slit. My back arched so aggressively it was a wonder I didn’t snap in half. I held tight to the headboard. The muscles in my abdomen involuntarily tightened, and I felt a flood of wetness between my parted thighs. Kate groaned in approval, lapping enthusiastically at my swollen clit.
She took her time with me. We weren’t outside of the Thirsty Coconut with Racy looking for me. Her mouth was warm and hungry. Her tongue was slow but methodical.
“Come here,” I urged in a voice no louder than a whisper.
Kate looked up at me with questioning eyes.
“I want to be kissing you when you make me cum,” I explained.
She didn’t require additional convincing.
Kate lay next to me with her leg draped over my midsection. Her knee rested lightly on my stomach. Our mouths briefly touched while she circled my clit with her thumb and her middle finger sought my entrance. I was wet and waiting for her. Her finger met no resistance.
“Fuck, you’re wet,” she marveled.
“Uh huh.”
“It’s so fucking hot.”
I thrust my hips into her hand and groaned into another searing kiss. Our tongues battled for dominance as she rotated on the bed to better position herself on top. She left my mouth momentarily to press her lips against my neck and nibble on my earlobe. The single digit that had been pulling and pushing into me was joined by a second. Kate abandoned my clit to focus on curling her fingers inside of me, searching for the spongy membrane that would make me cry out.
I breathed hotly into her mouth. My kisses were downgraded to panting and groaning when I could no longer focus on her lips and tongue. I clawed at her back and bucked against her fingers, knowing my orgasm wasn’t far behind.
Kate pressed her thumb against my aching clit while her fingers remained deep in my pussy. She rubbed the sensitive bundle, nearly bringing tears to my eyes. I clenched her shoulders while I shuddered against her.
I threw my head back, burying it deep in the pillows at the head of the bed. I exhaled, long and slow. My heart hammered in my chest.
Kate’s face hovered above me in my line of vision. “Did you get off?”
I surged off the mattress to kiss her once again. I cupped her breasts in my hands, feeling her hardened nipples through the material of the bra.
“I’ll take that as a ‘yes,’” she chuckled.
I put my mouth on hers again and pushed against her collarbone to encourage her to lie back against the pillows.
But instead of giving in to my wordless plea, her fingers wrapped around my wrists. Her grey-green eyes explored my face. “You don’t have to,” she said. “You know I have a hard time …” She didn’t need to finish her sentence.
“Let me try,” I gently coaxed. “There’s no pressure. There’s no timetable,” I continued to encourage to put her more at ease. “I want you to lie back and enjoy yourself. This isn’t about settling a debt. I want to do this.” I licked my lips as I eyed her semi-naked form. “Believe me—do I ever want this.”
The fingers around my wrists loosened and released.
I crawled up the mattress and lightly rested the full length of my body on top of hers. I wanted her to feel all of me. I wasn’t in a hurry to go down on her, even though that was my ultimate goal. I wanted to make her feel good everywhere. I wanted to impart attention to all of her body, not just the parts hidden by her matching underwear set.
My knee fell between her thighs; I pressed up against her and she moaned encouragingly. I dug my heels in for a long, languishing kiss. I pressed my lips against the corners of her mouth. I kissed her chin and cheeks and eyelids. When I returned to her mouth, her hands fell to either side of my face to keep me in place. I deepened the kiss, running my tongue along the front of her teeth before pushing past those pearly gates to taste her tongue.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d simply made out with a person. When everything else was on the table, it was far too tempting to dive directly below the waistband. But the longer I remained with my mouth on hers—the longer I simply kissed her—the more she wiggled and squirmed with impatience. The same hand that had tapped my shoulder to tell me not to bother, now gripped my bicep. Doubts of inadequacy crept into my consciousness. Would I actually be able to get her off this time?
I continued to kiss her, but dropped my kisses lower. My lips explored the contours of her collarbone while I stroked my fingertips across her abdomen. I slipped one bra strap off of her shoulder and then the next. Her small breasts rose and fell beneath the lace cups. I peppered kisses across the tops of her breasts before sliding my hand under her back to release her bra clasp.
Her nipples were a rosy color, flushed a deeper purple-pink from our activities. I found them extremely sensitive. Kate was uncommonly quiet, but when I sucked her breast into my mouth and my teeth scraped against her nipple, I heard the sharp intake of air. Her fingers went to my hair and her short fingernails scraped down my scalp. I held onto her hips and divided my attention between her breasts. I left wet trails across the top of her breasts and sucked and pinched and pulled on her nipples until she elicited the response I sought.
I moved lower. I noisily sucked her skin into my mouth, leaving small, blushing ovals across her concave stomach. I dragged my canines acr
oss her jutting hipbones where they peeked above the waistband of her underwear. Kate remained quiet, except for her ragged breathing. Her active hands, however, urged me to continue.
I kissed the strip of skin directly above her panty line. I pressed my mouth against the top of her sex, feeling the swell of her clit through the sheer material. Kate raised her backside off the mattress in a silent plea for me to remove her underwear. I was tempted to make her say the words, but I didn’t want to ruin our momentum.
I tugged the flimsy black underwear past her hips and down her thighs. I kissed the skin wherever the material moved past. I continued the long road beyond her knees and down her calves. When I finally had her naked, I allowed myself an indulgent look. My eyes swept across her chiseled contours and the hidden soft places. I knew well the impermanence of moments like this; I didn’t want it to pass without notice.
I positioned myself between her parted thighs. She was wet and swollen and ready for me. Her stomach muscles clenched and her hips rose off the mattress when I placed a single kiss against her inner thigh.
I held tight to her soft thighs, spreading her wide. Her body jumped when my mouth and tongue drew closer to her sex. I moaned against her when I took my first taste. I ran my tongue up her weeping slit and spread her wetness around and across her clit. I sucked her clit into my mouth and flicked the nerve bundle back and forth with the tip of my tongue.
I lifted myself onto my knees between her thighs. I tugged on Kate’s arms and pulled her to a seated position. She rested her weight on her arms, letting her triceps do most of the work.
“Watch us,” I commanded.
I placed the tip of my middle finger against her entrance and pushed. Her pussy lips divided and swallowed my single digit. My own arousal spiked at the erotic view. I withdrew my finger and slowly pushed it back in. When I pulled back again, I could see her shiny juices coating my finger.
I looked up to Kate’s face. Her eyes were locked on my hand and the space between her thighs. She’d sucked her lower lip between her top and bottom rows of teeth.
I pressed two fingers against her opening. I rubbed her clit with the pad of my thumb. I slid slowly into her. I moved inch by inch, watching her body stretch to accommodate my fingers. I penetrated her with slow, even strokes, until I was sure she could handle more. I pressed my unoccupied hand flat against her lower abdomen. My pace quickened; I thrust into her increasingly faster and harder. Kate’s breath hitched each time I bottomed out.
Her legs quivered around my hand. “Mercy,” she gasped. She had been silent for so long, her voice nearly startled me. “I’m …”
Her sex tightened around my fingers like a vise.
“You’re close,” I encouraged. “I can feel it, too.” I curled my fingers inside of her. “Cum for me, Kate.”
She made one last strangled noise before closing her eyes tight. Her mouth remained open in a silent cry.
I kept my fingers still while I leaned down and lightly lapped at her clit. Her internal spasms diminished in intensity and finally calmed. I eased my fingers out of her sex and gently licked her slit. I avoided her clit knowing it would probably be too sensitive for anything else.
“Holy shit.” Kate stared at the ceiling, unblinking.
“Are you okay?”
Her chest continued to rapidly rise and fall. Her laughter shook the whole bed.
“What?” I’d never had a partner laugh after sex; it was a new and unsettling development, especially given our lack of sexual accomplishments up to this point.
She exhaled loudly. “That was …”
“Overdue?” I finished for her. “Unexpected?”
“Really nice.”
“Oh. Good.”
She twisted in bed and the sheets went with her, wrapping around her torso and hips. “Thirsty?” she asked.
“Okay.”
She threw back the covers and hopped out of bed. Our clothes remained on the floor, but she didn’t bother to cover herself up.
I fell back onto my pillow and inspected the ceiling. I expected to hear the tap in the sink running, not the popped cork of a champagne bottle. I lifted my head to see Kate’s nude silhouette as she poured the pale liquid into two tall champagne flutes.
“It came with the room,” she seemed to apologize. “It was part of their New Year’s Eve package. I swear this isn’t normally how I roll.”
I accepted the offered glass and waited for her to return to bed. She didn’t immediately drink from hers, so I held back as well.
She raked her fingers through her chaotic, short hair. “I feel like we should toast to something.”
I’d never been any good at that sort of thing, so I responded with a shrug.
Kate raised her glass and I mirrored the motion. “I’m glad my crazy family didn’t scare you off.”
It wasn’t a toast exactly, but I didn’t have anything better. Our glasses connected and I brought the skinny flute to my lips. The bubbly liquid ticked my upper lip.
Kate didn’t drink from her glass, but watched me while I took the first sip.
I wiped the back of my hand across my mouth. Her stare and our nudity had me feeling self-conscious. “What?” I asked.
“Nothing. Just taking it all in.”
I set my champagne on the bedside table. “You said that in the park, too.”
Kate leaned back against the pillowed headboard. “I usually don’t have this good of a time when I’m back here. I typically can’t wait to get back on the plane to Curaçao.” She rubbed her hands over her face. “I don’t know what I’m saying; it’s probably just post-orgasmic bliss,” she dismissed.
“You’re like a chameleon,” I decided.
Her mouth twitched at its edge. “I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or if I should be offended. I suppose it’s better than being an iguana.”
“I just mean you seem so comfortable wherever you are,” I tried to explain. “In a Hawaiian shirt in a tiki bar in Curaçao. In an expensive grey dress at your family’s mansion in Gloucester. Naked,” I managed to choke out the word, “in a hotel room in Boston.”
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” she dismissed. “I think I’m adjustable for the very fact that I’m actually not comfortable. If I knew better who I was or who I wanted to be, it wouldn’t be so easy to exist in multiple worlds.”
“So you’re suggesting that I feel uncomfortable all the time because I know exactly who I am?”
She shook her head. “I can only speak for myself.”
“Which Kate is closer to your real self?” I probed. “The grey wool dress or the Hawaiian shirts?”
“There’s a naked version, too,” she teased.
“I’m serious,” I said. “I want to know.”
“Which version do you prefer?” she turned the question around on me.
“The Hawaiian shirts aren’t entirely awful,” I decided. “And they’re a whole lot easier to take off than that grey dress.”
“Something tells me you liked what I was wearing under that dress.”
She was right, but I’d never admit it. “Don’t be so cocky,” I censured.
“Why not? It’s my best quality.”
“No, that would be your abs,” I said without thinking.
“Oh, I see. You only want me for my body,” she feigned injury.
It’s a pretty good body, I kept to myself.
The comfortable banter swiftly became an uncomfortable silence. I hated this part. Was I supposed to spend the night? Did she want her room back now?
“So, uh, I should probably get that cab now,” I announced.
Kate looked over at the alarm clock to see the hour. It was useless, however, since she’d changed the time on it for our news years countdown re-do. I could have checked the time on my cell phone, but it was in my jacket pocket, all the way across the room.
“I’m not exactly kicking you out,” she said.
“I know. I just didn’t want to assume.”
&nb
sp; “You don’t seem like the have-hotel-sex-and-run-away kind of girl,” she remarked.
“I don’t mind spending the night,” I said, not wanting to make a big deal about it. “Besides, your snoring is kind of cute.”
Kate looked offended at the suggestion. “I do not snore!”
I broke out in a grin. “At least it keeps away the snakes.”
+ + +
My eyes slowly opened. The curtains were open and the sun was already bright, which indicated the late hour. A few feet from where I lay, Kate slept on her side, facing me. Her eyes were lightly lidded, lips partly open in sleep. The sheets had traveled during the night and had gathered at her hips, leaving her visibly naked from the waist up. I would have been comfortable with the scenario except for the heavy hand that rested on my collarbone.
I could feel Kate’s steady heartbeat against me. It gave me an overwhelming sense of calm, which then proceeded to turn into panic. What was I still doing here? Why was I spending so much time with a woman that would never result in a productive, successful relationship? I’d been living in the moment, but what about now that the sun was awake and the veneer of vacation had worn off?
I contemplated how I might sneak out without Kate waking up. Racy had done it millions of times, but I had never thought to take notes on her successful exit strategy. I wasn’t entirely trapped, but the placement of Kate’s hand on my upper chest posed a challenge. Should I slide out from beneath her hand? Should I carefully pick it up and move her hand elsewhere?
Kate’s eyes fluttered open and she sighed before I could completely launch into a mental downward spiral.
She stretched her arms above her head and made a quiet noise. “Morning.”
“Morning,” I returned.
Her sleep-rumpled hair looked like a chaotic wave ready to crash against the shoreline. Her eyes were still heavy with sleep as she hefted herself up in bed and rested her weight on one elbow. “Sleep okay?”
Sunscreen & Coconuts Page 18