Chapter 9

Eric

 

The ship’s next port call was Cartagena, and this was one of the stops I’d been looking forward to. The Roman ruins alone were enough to whet my appetite and have me counting the days until I could go out exploring. I’d even signed up for one of the guided excursions despite my undying hatred of group tours.

When the excursion left this morning, though, I wasn’t with them. Around the time they were due to meet on shore and board the chartered bus, I was flat on my back with Andrew slamming into me so hard I couldn’t catch my breath. The ruins would still be there if I made it to Spain again, I decided. Sex with Andrew? That was a limited run, and I had every intention of getting as much as I could stand before the cruise was over.

“Fuck,” Andrew breathed as he dropped onto the mattress beside me.

I just grinned like the blissed-out idiot I was.

After a moment, when he was apparently steady enough to move, he kissed me lightly, then got up to get rid of the condom. I watched him go, and kept right on grinning to myself. I loved how he looked when he was naked—all perfectly toned muscles and fair skin. He wasn’t one of those guys who strutted when he walked, but he wasn’t shy about it either. Someone who was comfortable in his own skin but didn’t feel the need to pose every second—what a concept.

Jesus, don’t think about Chris right now.

So I didn’t. I just lay there, basking in the afterglow, and waited for Andrew to come back. When he did, he stretched out next to me, sighing happily.

“I swear to God,” he murmured into the pillow. “I haven’t had this much sex in…ever.”

I smiled, running a hand along the curve of his back. “Makes two of us. This much good sex, too.”

“Mmhmm. It’s almost worth the crap my mom’s going to give me for blowing off another excursion.”

“Almost worth it?”

Andrew laughed, pushing himself up onto his forearms. “Okay, it’s definitely worth it.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Still chuckling, he kissed my cheek.

“She won’t give you too much grief, will she?” I asked.

“Nah.” He settled back onto his forearms. “I mean, if I stay aboard for the entire cruise, I might hear about it, but…” He half-shrugged. “And I did promise I’d go with them to Gibraltar, so I’m at least sticking to that.”

I nodded. “I want to see Gibraltar myself. I’m pretty sure we can tear ourselves out of bed for a few hours for that.”

“Me too.”

I watched my fingertips trail along his forearm. “I’d really like to go see the Alhambra too, but I wasn’t quick enough. All the tickets are sold out.”

Andrew’s brow creased. “I think my parents still have tickets, and they decided not to go because of Mom’s knee.” The creases deepened. “If you want to go…”

I straightened. “Really? You want to?”

“Sure.” He grinned. “Long as we’re back in bed that night.”

We both laughed, and the conversation wandered a bit, mostly getting into the upcoming excursions and whether we thought it was worth getting tickets for this or that tour. He said he’d check with his parents about the Alhambra, and I hoped like hell they still had those tickets.

As we talked, I kept having to bite my tongue—almost literally—so I wouldn’t blurt out an invitation for him to join me in Rome. What was two more weeks together, right?

But that would be a bit much. We’d known each other a handful of days. We’d spent more time screwing than talking. I’d been engaged recently, and we hardly knew each other well enough to be thinking beyond the end of this cruise.

Except I don’t want to think about the end of this either.

“Hey.” He nudged me gently. “Still with me?”

“Huh? Yeah.” I shook myself as my cheeks burned. “Just zoned out, I guess.”

Andrew smiled, trailing his fingertips down the side of my neck. “Not getting bored, are you?”

The laugh burst out of me much louder than I expected, and I slid closer to him. “Bored? Really?”

He chuckled, draping an arm over me. “Just making sure.”

“Uh-huh. Get over here.”

He did. He pressed his lips to mine, and as I wrapped my arms around him—hell, my whole body around him—he moaned softly. Or maybe it was me. Didn’t matter. The conversation faded away, and we were back to what I swore was our default setting—making out and turning each other on.

“I haven’t been this horny since I was in college,” he murmured between kisses.

“Vacations will do that.”

“Not vacation.” He pressed his erection against me as he rolled me onto my back. “Vacation has nothing to do with it.”

I just moaned, parting my thighs for him as he parted his lips for me.

Joints and muscles ached, but that didn’t stop me from egging him on. Yeah, we were getting started again. No, we weren’t going anywhere any time soon. Yeah, I was sore and tired, but like hell was I saying no to Andrew’s strong, hot body.

“We still have enough condoms?” He sounded out of breath.

“Only need one for now.” I squeezed his firm ass cheeks. “We can go get more.”

He murmured something I didn’t understand, kissed me, and then reached for the nightstand. In a matter of seconds, he’d put on the condom and slicked it with some lube, and my heart was going wild as his hips settled back between my legs.

“You’re not getting sore yet, are you?” he asked as he guided himself in.

“Not enough to stop, no.” I hooked a leg around his hip. “C’mon…”

He gave a soft, breathy laugh, and might’ve been about to say something, but right then, he slid his cock into me, and the laugh faded to a low moan. My toes curled as he took that first long, slow stroke, and I wrapped my arms around him. The first couple of times we’d done this, he’d needed a stroke or two to find his stride, but now he hit the ground running. He slid in smoothly, and we both cursed as he started rocking his hips. I rolled mine too, and dear God, yeah—whatever clumsiness we might’ve had while we’d gotten the hang of each other? It was long gone. Our bodies moved like they’d been doing this forever, like we already knew every way we fit together no matter what position or what angle. We just…fit.

And Andrew had stamina. And passion. He could go time and time again, and his enthusiasm never waned. He was never just going through the motions. Whether we were fucking, or giving each other lazy handjobs, or I was blowing him in the middle of the night, or he was murmuring profanity in my ear while he fingered me, he was so into it. And so was I, for the first time in a long time.

Where the hell had sex like this been all my life?

In Des Moines, apparently.

“Turn over,” Andrew murmured, and pulled out.

I rolled onto my stomach. I was going to get up on my hands and knees, but he kissed the back of my neck and settled over me, and the whole world went fuzzy as he pushed into me again. We definitely needed to try anal at some point. Now that I knew he wouldn’t be too rough or forceful, I could comfortably take him that way, but damn, I was enjoying this too much to suggest anything else.

As much as I loved being up on my hands and knees, this was quickly becoming one of my favorite positions. I couldn’t move at all, and even his range of motion was limited, but Andrew’s skin was hot against mine all over, from his face buried against my neck to our tangled-up feet. That combined with his deep, frantic thrusts turned me on like nothing else.

I slid a hand under myself to play with my cock, and we both groaned as soon as I made contact. I loved that—how he’d respond when I clenched around him. How he’d shudder a little and lose his rhythm for a second. And the best part? How my orgasms almost made him come. Nothing made a climax hotter than the sounds Andrew made as I hauled him over the edge with me.

His teeth grazed my shoulder. “God, you’re so hot…”

“Mmm. So are…so are you. Feels…” I buried my forehead in the pillow. Words? Fuck words. Between his cock and my fingers, I was getting closer by the second. “D-don’t stop.”

He groaned, and a shudder disrupted his rhythm for half a second before he recovered. He was riding me hard now, fucking me deep and perfect, and…Christ, yeah, I was right there, right on the…

“Fuck…Andrew…” The explosive surge of electricity drove a helpless moan out of me, and Andrew let go of a strangled cry as he kept driving himself in while I came. Then he forced himself deep inside me, hips twitching like he might get a little deeper as he growled curses in my ear as hot breath huffed past my neck and his cock pulsed inside me.

Then he slumped over me. He panted against my skin and his whole body trembled.

“I dunno about you,” I slurred, “but I am really glad we didn’t go on today’s excursion.”

Andrew laughed. “Yeah.” He kissed the back of my neck. “Agreed.”

We could fuck like this in Rome, too.

But I kept that thought to myself.