Love on the Line

by J. M. Madden

  Brady watched her with hooded eyes, fist jacking his cock lazily. Lorna stretched, breasts in the air as she fingered herself. She didn’t want to come again just yet, but Brady’s burning gaze made her feel positively explosive. Moving her finger faster, she concentrated on one side of the focus of her pleasure. That tingling fire that preceded orgasm started to build, and she moved her hand faster. If she could just…oh, yeah. The fingers of her other hand slipped down to rub the areolas of her breast, and that tingling heat began to swallow her.

  Brushing her hand away, Brady dragged her hips to the edge of the mattress and wedged himself into her. Lorna sighed as her body accommodated the fullness of his and sent her hurtling into orgasm. She arched off the bed, but his hands clamped on her hips and forced her to stay immobile, even as she screamed out. Brady strained over top of her, teeth clenched and bared as his hips heaved into hers. Lorna contracted her interior muscles in time with his lunges and watched in satisfaction as she pushed him over the edge. The expression on his normally controlled face was truly significant, because he was everything but controlled.

  She pulled him down to rest against her. His stubbled jaw nuzzled her neck. “Am I too heavy?”

  Lorna shook her head. “Definitely not. Just right.”

  They lay there for several minutes until he finally rolled away. Sweat made his tan skin shine, and Lorna knew she’d never seen or had a more perfect lover. The stray gray hairs and the lines on his face gave him a maturity that she’d been looking for a long time. The bruise on his jaw from the altercation with the felon had faded into a strange green almost invisible beneath the stubble.

  Brady swiped a hand over his scalp, stood and crossed to the bathroom to dispose of the condom. Lorna levered herself out of bed and followed. Flicking the shower on, she stepped underneath before it had completely warmed. Brady smiled when he heard her gasp and stepped in behind her. “I like the sounds you make.”

  Lorna grinned and turned to let the water flow over her hair. “I like the sounds you make me make.”

  Brady laughed and her eyes were drawn to the strong chords of his neck. She wanted to nibble them again.

  “How do you feel?” His eyes sharpened on her face. “After last night, I mean.”

  Lorna cataloged her body, but everything felt post-coital spectacular. “I feel fine. Maybe a bit muddle-headed when I woke up, but that has faded away.” She thought of the guy who had tried to abuse her. “Did you really punch him out like I remember?”

  Brady nodded and stepped under the spray as if he didn’t want to hear her thanks. He lathered his head with shampoo, then ran his sudsy hands down his body. Lorna ripped open the bar soap and turned him to face away from her. Wetting the bar, she started to scrub his broad, muscular back, lightly scraping with her nails. Brady leaned his head against his forearm and let her do what she wanted. Lorna waited until he relaxed before she continued. “I really appreciate what you did for me. I misjudged him; thought he was harmless. If you hadn’t been here, I would probably be waking up in a bed with no idea where I had been or what I had done the night before. Assuming I even woke up. You really did save me.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ‡

  Brady grimaced at the gratitude he heard in her voice. His actions last night had been instinctive. There had been no fucking way that guy was going to drag her out of the restaurant. “I knew something was wrong as soon as I saw you.” He turned to her and blocked the water for a moment as he looked down into her face. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here on time. The whole situation could have been moot if I hadn’t been running late.”

  She shook her head. “Don’t try to take the guilt for this. I didn’t watch him closely enough. I should have seen him slip that Mickey into my drink.”

  Brady shook his head, but she was probably right. If he had shown up on time, the scum would probably have moved to another, unsuspecting woman.

  “Well, the state filed charges on him on your behalf, so he won’t be out of jail in the near future.”

  Or ever, if he had anything to do with it.

  He shifted into the water to rinse off, dunking his head and slicking his hands over his skull. When he opened his eyes, Lorna watched him as if she were fascinated. He didn’t like the attention, and he shifted, blinking the water from his eyes. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded and wrung as much water from her long hair as she could before stepping from the shower. The tan hotel towel wrapped around her almost twice, and she used a second to wrap around her head, turban-style. He’d seen other women do the same movement, but for some reason it made him stop and stare, feeling…needful. He shook off the feeling and stepped out of the shower. She would only be here a couple of days. No sense in getting sentimental.

  But if he was honest with himself, he’d already gotten sentimental. Last night when he couldn’t wake her, panic had begun to set in. There was very little in this world that scared him, but seeing her that way last night definitely had. There had been no sleep for him until she’d roused a couple of times and accepted a few drinks of water. Then he’d been able to ease down at her side.

  It was hard not to feel something when she looked at him as if he were her hero. Every move he made, her gaze followed him. It was flattering at the very least, and humbling.

  Lorna confessed to being ravenous with hunger, so he left her in the bathroom to get ready to go out. The blow dryer ran for several minutes after he left, but as soon as it turned off, she was ready to go. This morning she wore a pale green beach dress with spaghetti straps and brown sandals with little glittery things on top. She had a strapless bikini on in a darker shade of green beneath the dress. Brady stared at her chest, and her nipples puckered beneath the lightweight material of both garments. “Stop it,” she giggled, her face open and unguarded.

  “Are you sure you want to wear that?”

  She grinned and stepped toward him. With an elegant shrug, she let the straps fall from her shoulders and tugged the top of the dress down, as well as the suit top, giving him a glimpse of her pert breasts before she tugged it up again. “Easy access,” she whispered.

  When a heavy heat settled in his groin, he debated delaying brunch. She must have seen it in his eyes, because she flung a loaded beach bag over her shoulder and took off out the door. When he caught up with her at the elevator, he snugged his erection into her ass. “We’re going to test that later.”

  Lorna’s breathing accelerated, and he guided them through the elevator doors as they opened.

  The entire meal turned into a tease, on both their parts. Brady held the chair for her at the table in the dining room and drifted his fingers over her satin-smooth shoulders. When he draped the napkin over her lap, he tucked it between her thighs and brushed her nipples as he pulled away, making her gasp. Lorna had a sultry look in her eyes and she leaned forward when she spoke to him, highlighting her cleavage. When the waiter came over, Brady choked on his order as her toes crept up his thigh to his crotch. Lorna’s smile never faltered as she glided the sole of her foot up his erection. It was a struggle to get the words out, but he must have ordered something they had available. Lorna smiled at the waiter and told him to double the order.

  As soon as the man left, Brady reached beneath the tablecloth and guided her foot in an up and down motion. The thin material of the board shorts he wore didn’t soften anything. Her blue eyes widened with surprise, and she moved over him, trying to be careful and gentle. The waiter returned with their juices and Brady gently pushed her foot away. His erection strained against the cloth, demanding release.

  He maintained that erection all through breakfast. He signed for the check as fast as he could and hustled Lorna out through the lobby and beyond the patio. She laughed. “Are you in a hurry, Brady?”

  He manacled her wrist in his hand and tugged her down the path toward the beach. Before they met the strip of white sand, he tugged her off into the undergrowth. Scrub palmetto brushed against her hips and
anoles darted out of their path. They ducked through a tall pine, sending birds chattering at being disturbed.

  Lorna didn’t struggle, but she didn’t make it easy for him to manipulate her, either. She jogged along behind, kicking sand against his bare legs. Brady ignored her antics and searched the trees ahead of him until he found one he liked. The smooth-barked palm leaned almost horizontal to the ground at the base, then curved upward to the sky. He guided her to lean forward against the taller part, kicked her feet apart and flipped her dress up from behind. She shuddered as the cool ocean air slid over her butt cheeks, bared by the miniscule bikini bottom. She wiggled her hips for him, cranking his arousal.

  He smacked her playfully and pulled the panty aside. One thick finger slid into her wetness and went directly to her clit, circling.

  *

  Shock roared through her at the abruptness of the move, but it suited her mood perfectly. “Oh, hell, yes.”

  Her hips rocked in time with his movements and she clutched at the tree. The thought of somebody happening along the path and finding them in this position heightened her arousal, and for a moment she wondered if she could come in front of a group of people. The goose bumps that danced down her flesh at the thought indicated she could.

  Brady slid his thick middle finger into her wet heat, then a second, and thrust them in and out. Forward and back he worked his hand, slapping against her outer body and about every fifth stroke he would pull out to circle her clit. Lorna cried out when he did that, because it felt like lightning striking, but focused upon her pelvic area. From the way he worked her so hard he wanted her to come quickly, so she let herself think of their interplay in the restaurant, working him with her foot. Just the visual of getting him off amped up her own arousal. The next time he circled her clit, she disintegrated. Harsh spasms jerked her body against the tree and she struggled to keep her knees braced. She clamped her jaw to keep the scream in her throat and hugged the trunk with quivering arms. Strong hands gripped her hips to stabilize her as she rode out the pleasure.

  She almost turned around when she heard the rip of a condom wrapper. Her body clenched at the thought of having him in her again and she shivered convulsively. “Fuck me, Brady.”

  With no further urging he guided his dick into her, to the hilt. Crying out, her nails dug into the smooth bark of the palm. He jerked into her hard, as if he were too close to the edge to control himself. Almost immediately a second orgasm broadsided her, and her vision dimmed. She felt her knees start to give way.

  Brady wrapped his arms around her and picked her up, still joined, to shift her to the lower part of the tree. He pushed against her back her until her upper body draped over the trunk, with her ass in the air. “You look delicious like this,” he murmured.

  He pulled out of her for a moment and ran a line of kisses down her spine. Then, his broad hands gripping the cheeks of her ass, he forced himself in harder and deeper. She almost howled with delight. Pressing kisses against whatever he could reach, he worked his dick deeper and deeper, curling over her. Lorna relaxed her body and pressed out. He chuckled at the ease of movement. “Hang on,” he warned.

  She didn’t need to be told twice. She’d thought that he was riding her as hard as he could, but she’d been so wrong. This position was completely different from anything else they’d done, and she moaned. Every time he plunged into her he forced out a hiss of air, but it felt so damn good. Sensation burned through her and she knew that the orgasm building now would be epic.

  Then Brady shifted. One hand wrapped around her front to cup her breast, and the other wedged in between her hip and the palm tree. His long middle finger found her clit, and it was as if he’d hooked her up to a live wire. Pleasure poured through her and she was so glad she was laying over the tree. Her legs would not have held her weight. Arching her back, she encouraged him deeper. And he complied. He cocked his hips and rocked into her to until he could go no farther.

  Lorna quivered and hovered on the edge of release. His finger and the movement of his body paused, as if he wanted to deny her that satisfaction.

  Lorna moaned, whispering a curse at him, but Brady only chuckled behind her. She could feel the race of her pulse in the aroused tissues down below, and she could feel the beat of his own heartbeat where they were connected.

  She clutched at the tree beneath her but couldn’t find purchase with her hands. Brady shifted, slipping his arms beneath hers and folding their hands in against her chest. Whispering against her skin, he told her how very beautiful she looked coming out of the bathroom this morning, her hair a glorious mess, and how hard it had been for him when he didn’t think she would wake the night before. Lorna caught her breath at the words, because it wasn’t what she expected to hear. Rather than the bawdy sex talk she’d anticipated, he gave her words to melt her heart. She turned enough to meet his mouth as he surged into her deeper, his finger finding her over-sensitized clit again. Lorna gasped, her body right back on the edge of bliss. The tip of her tongue glided against his, taunting and teasing as his hips began to lose their rhythm. Pressing back against his forward plunge, she tightened her muscles around him as he moved, but he didn’t let go until her body convulsed into pleasure. Brady groaned and lost control of his pace, slamming into her without reserve. With a lusty shout, he came, and they fed upon each other’s ecstasy.

  Even through the latex, she could feel the heat of his ejaculation. It prolonged her pleasure, till the waves of release rolled through her almost constantly and she lost all sense of time and self. The bone-melting experience took her by surprise. She’d never come like that before.

  Brady clapped a hand over her mouth and hissed in her ear. That was when Lorna heard people moving along the path.

  “I know I heard something, Jack,” a woman hissed.

  “I think you heard someone playing in the pool or something, Barb. Come on.”

  Brady and Lorna waited until the other couple moved down the path.

  After a few long moments fighting laughter, Brady let go of her mouth and stood up from her. With one hand braced on her back, he pulled out of her body.

  Lorna’s thighs quivered and she missed him there almost immediately. He helped her stand and the dress fell down across her body. She shifted her bikini bottom back into position as she turned to face him, leaning back against the sturdy trunk to stay steady.

  Brady stood before her, grinning, cock glistening. He reached out and pulled the top of her dress down, then her bathing suit, to massage her breasts, plucking at her still-hard nipples. Lorna laughed and swatted at his hands. “You were supposed to do that before you fucked me.”

  He chuckled and winked. “Dessert.”

  Lorna dug a napkin out of her beach bag and handed it to him to dispose of the condom. She rolled her suit and dress back over her breasts. As they waded out of the trees, she searched for the couple she’d heard, but the path to the beach was quiet. “I guess they moved on.”

  “Come on.”

  He walked her down to the hot sand beach holding her hand. Lorna tried not to be affected by the soft touch but her emotions were becoming involved. This was supposed to be a fling, a fun little sex-capade to celebrate graduating from college. As she looked at his strong back leading her to the edge of the Atlantic, she began to wonder what it would take to be in a relationship with him.

  Dangerous territory. It would never work.

  If he was relationship material, wouldn’t he already be in one?

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ‡

  The question nagged at her through the day, but not enough to keep her from having fun. They chatted about inconsequential things that, once lumped together, gave her a picture of a no-nonsense, solid guy who didn’t like recognition for what he did. Though they tried to stay off heavy topics there was no way they could be avoided completely. She told him about her parent’s divorce and he told her about being cheated on by the one woman he thought he’d loved.

  “Ho
w long ago did this occur?” she asked.

  He looked over the surf for several long seconds. “’Bout five years ago.”

  “What happened?”

  She knew he heard the question but he didn’t answer for a long time.

  “She cheated on me. I did transports for the police department I used to work for. That night I got puked on by one of the inmates so I had to go home to change. She was in bed with my next-door neighbor.” He sighed and glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “I found out later they’d been sleeping together for months. I worked night shift so it was easy enough for them to keep everything quiet. I packed up a bag and walked away from everything. Job, career, house. Four year relationship down the drain.”

  The jealously that rose up in her heart when he talked about the other woman surprised her. She’d never been possessive before. “I don’t think you loved her.”

  With elbows on his bent knees, butt in the sand, he looked at her with his head cocked. The wind ruffled his hair. “Why do you say that?”

  Lorna shrugged. “I just don’t think I’d be able to give up on something I’d worked on for that long that easily.”

  He didn’t respond, just stared at her until she shifted uncomfortably. Then, seemingly determined to lighten the atmosphere, he hooked a finger over her dress-top and tugged it down. She squealed and covered herself with her hands because there were other people on the beach, but nobody seemed to notice their antics.

  They played in the chilly surf for a couple of hours before heading up to the room to shower, eat lunch from room service and lay down for a nap. She thought when he said nap he was hinting about making love, but when she stepped out of the bathroom he had fallen asleep, sprawled across the mattress, snoring lightly. Tiredness dragged at her as well. So, curling up beside him, she pulled the sheet over them both and closed her eyes.