Chapter 26

Pippa’s body and heart begged her mind to relent. By now she knew she loved him, and he probably loved her, which was the very reason why she wanted him to find someone better suited. Not a woman afraid of deep water.

A woman he could share his love for diving with, a woman he could take down to explore the beautiful underwater world with him. A slight shiver ran down her spine at the thought. It wasn’t the ghastly panic she’d felt just a week ago, but her fear was mixed with a sense of thrill.

With him by her side…she just might…no.

“Okay. I’ll stay.  But only until the love festival is over and I find a room in one of the hostels. And in my own cabin.”

“It’s a deal. Now, how about some breakfast?” River’s face reflected a battle of relief and disappointment and she had to bite back a laugh. His expressions read like an open book.

“Sounds good, but first, I’d like to take a shower and to brush my teeth.”

River chuckled. “I bet you do. Your backpack is in the corner over there. I’ll carry it downstairs for you.” He grabbed it and amidst her protests, he carried it down the stairs and dutifully set it on the bed in her own cabin. “I’ll go get breakfast started. Take your time.”

“I’m not keeping you from anything, am I?”

“Not at all. Today’s a down day. Get cleaned up and then come back upstairs.” He left, shutting the door behind him and leaving Pippa sagging against the wall. After a nice hot shower and the ability to scrub the foul taste from her mouth, she felt like a human being again.

She put on another pair of cutoff shorts, this time in a burnt orange color, and a black tank top that ended just above her belly button. She wore her black bikini underneath and was hoping that after eating breakfast she could find a lounger and sleep for the rest of the day.

River greeted her with a smile, two aspirin and a glass of orange juice as she seated herself at the small table he’d set up for them. He had made scrambled eggs, toast and a bowl of fruit. Pippa helped herself to some of each, watching as River consumed almost twice as much.

Once they finished eating, River insisted on cleaning up while she rested. Later he joined her on the sundeck.

“Hey, sleepyhead, how are you?”

“Better.” Pippa blinked into the sun that stood high on the horizon. “What time is it?”

“Way past noon. You slept almost three hours.” He gave her a devastating grin and heat rushed to her core. His woodsy scent made her forget all her sorrows and she really wanted to run her fingers across his sculpted biceps glistening with sweat. Apparently, her logic brain was still asleep, because her fingers followed the path her imagination had set.

River’s muscles twitched beneath her touch and for a moment she startled at the raw hunger in his glance. But then his lips captured hers, taking her in such a tender kiss, her entire being hovered several inches above ground. It would be stupid to deny their attraction any longer.

“River…I…” she stammered as they came up for air.

“Shush. Baby. No need to worry,” River said and his megawatt grin didn’t help to calm the butterflies in her stomach or calm her racing mind.

“I’m not worried.”

“That’s good, because I want to show you something,” he answered with a mischievous light in his eyes. “I want to take you to the other side of the island to my favorite snorkeling place.”

“No!” Fear attacked her out of the nowhere and she jumped from the sunchair, almost knocking River over.

“Whoa! Hear me out first, okay?” He struggled to regain his equilibrium and then wrapped his arms around her from behind. The fear fled like a ghost chased away by switching on the light. She leaned back against him, feeling his hot breath on her neck, melting into the safety of his strong embrace.

She tipped her head to the side, waiting for his mouth to latch onto the soft skin and shower her with kisses.

“We’ll save this for later,” River said reading her mind. “If I start kissing you now, we won’t leave the boat for the next two days.”

Another wave of exhilaration hit her body. What if I don’t want to leave the boat for two days? “And what exactly is bad about that?” Pippa turned in his arms to give him a seductive glance, hoping to make him forget about his plan to go snorkeling. His hard erection pressed against her belly, but that man had the self-control of a super-hero, because he pushed her away.

“I know exactly what you’re doing, baby. And while I’d love to ravage your beautiful body, I’ll save that part for later in the day. Believe me, you’ll beg me for a rest when your entire body is sore from hours of lovemaking.”

Pippa flushed furiously, the heat spreading from head to toe. Sore from hours of lovemaking. That better not be an empty promise.

“There’s a small cove on the other side of the island that’s basically a baby coral reef nursery, and it can be reached from the beach,” River said in a soothing voice.

Pippa was torn and while she debated, he sat down next to her. “Pippa, the water only comes up to my waist in most places. You’ll be able to float on the surface and see everything. You might even be able to touch the sea floor in some places.”

“The water’s that shallow?” Secretly she longed to go snorkeling with him, but the fear still lingered at the back of her mind, ready to attack during any unguarded moment.

“It is. Please. Come snorkeling with me. At least give it a try.” His sky blue eyes begged her and she couldn’t resist a smile. Nothing could happen to her in waist-deep water. And with River right there with her…

“Okay. But only if you promise to swim right by my side.”

“I’ll even promise to wrap my arms around your waist at all times if that’s what you want.” His eyes sparkled with promise. “Let me go gather the gear and you grab whatever you need. I’ll meet you on the main deck in fifteen minutes?”

Pippa nodded, still torn between exhilaration and fear of committing the worst mistake of her life. Trusting River. Even though her heart knew he was everything she wanted, her stubborn logic still believed he’d be better off without her.

In her cabin she grabbed sunscreen and a hat, tossing her flip flops, a towel, and an extra t-shirt into a cloth bag that she slung over her shoulder.

She arrived on the main deck to see River slinging a towel over his shoulders. “I have room in my bag for your towel if you don’t want to carry it.”

“Great,” he tossed her the towel and she shoved it down in the bag. River took two bottles of water from the fridge and stuck them into the mesh bag carrying their snorkeling gear. Then he helped her across the gangway to the pier. “This is going to be fun.”

“I hope so.” Pippa didn’t let go of his hand after crossing the gangway and they walked side by side toward the exit of the marina

“Are you feeling okay?” River asked as they passed the entrance gates.

“Much better. My head still hurts a bit, but otherwise I’m fine.” Except for the racing pulse whenever you touch me.

“Did you do a lot of snorkeling before?”

“All the time. I used to love being in the water.”

River slung his free arm around her shoulders. “I’m going to prove to you that you still love being in the water.”

“You will?” Pippa asked with a smile.

“Yes, and that you’re the perfect woman for me. Stick with me and you’ll never think of snorkeling the same way again.”

They took a taxi to the other side of the island and half an hour later they were geared up and floating weightlessly on the surface of the water. The colors and plethora of life beneath the surface amazed Pippa and brought back so many good memories.

Pippa fell in love with the ocean all over again, helped along by the gorgeous man who swam by her side. He constantly grabbed her hand, or her waist, and even her ankle one time, to get her attention and point out something she hadn’t seen yet. Each little touch sent tingling awareness up her limbs to lodge at the base of her spine and in her belly. By the time he signaled to get out of the water, Pippa had totally forgotten to be afraid.

She lifted her head out of the water and then followed him toward the shore. The waves lapped against the beach with white foam and she broke out into a silly giggle of joy.

River glanced over and then closed the distance to stand beside her. His head brushed dangerously close to her breasts as he leaned down to slip her fins off. When he came up again, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world for her to push her fingers through his wet hair and guide his mouth up to her own.

Standing in the foot-high water, he ravaged her mouth with unabated passion, with the waves crashing around their ankles and the sea birds calling from the shoreline.

The pent-up tension of the day exploded into an arousal that soaked her already wet bikini bottom and had her throw caution to the wind. She went up on her tiptoes to gain better access to his mouth. Her tongue slid inside his mouth, dancing with is own, exploring and being explored. Each lap of their tongues sending more heat to her aching core. She could feel her nipples harden into painful nubs as they rubbed against the hard muscles in his chest. He pulled her hips tight against his groin, the evidence of his desire digging into the soft swell of her stomach.

She had no idea how much longer she could fight the urge to rip his clothes off and beg him to take her. But thankfully, River’s brain still seemed to work, because he broke their kiss and leaned his forehead against her own. “We need to leave before I make love to you right here on the sand.”

“That would be bad…it’s still daylight,” Pippa murmured as he trailed hot lips across her collar bone down to the beginning of the thin fabric of her bikini top. As much as she wanted him to take her nipples into his mouth, he would only trace the line of her top and then move up to her mouth again.

His hot breath touched her face and she sagged into his arms with overwhelming desire. River swooped her up in his arms and chuckled into her ear.  “So you’re saying if it were night, you’d let me take you on the sand?”

“I didn’t say that.” Pippa tipped her head back and then groaned when his mouth found the tender spot just behind her ear. She’d melt into a puddle at his feet if he didn’t stop kissing her.

“That’s what it sounded like to me.” River trailed kisses back up to her lips. “Let’s grab our gear and go. It’s time to make true on my promise to ravage you until you beg me to stop.”

“I won’t…ever…beg you…to stop.” Pippa’s breath came in ragged spurts as he carried her to their stuff and carefully put her down on her feet.

“Even better.” He grinned and tossed her the towel. Minutes later they had their belongings packed up and raced to the street to grab the first cab passing by.

As soon as they reached the Moana, River tossed their used gear in a pile on the deck along with their wet towels and her bags. There was no time to unpack or hang up stuff to dry. River pulled her to him and took her mouth in another passionate kiss.

His hands moved up and down her back until they firmly grabbed her ass and lifted her up. She slung her legs around his hips, rocking her core against his hard-on. He turned to push her up against the wall and his hands delved beneath her shirt to untie her bikini top.

Pippa’s aching breasts sprang free, her nipples hard and straining. Only moments later he rolled them between his thumb and forefinger, causing electric shocks to surge through her body.

She sensed the wetness soaking into her panties, yearning for him to make love to her, but before her mind went blissfully blank, she noticed a movement out of the corner of her eyes.

“We should move this indoors,” she murmured, breathing hard into his ear.

“Great idea. I’ve a better idea, though. The sundeck is covered from all sides.”

Pippa nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her up the stairs and reverently settled her on one of the loungers. Sometime between the first time he’d kissed her and now, she’d stopped pretending this wasn’t going to happen. In fact, if he didn’t hurry she’d combust from desire.

He skimmed his hands up her sides, taking the t-shirt with him and then tossing it to the ground behind him. Her cut off shorts were next, leaving her in nothing but the very skimpy black string bikini bottoms and the untied triangles of fabric dangling haphazardly on her peaked nipples. By the time he untied the remaining strings and tossed the scrap of fabric to join the rest of her clothing, her breasts were swollen and crying out for his touch.

“God, I love your body,” River said, bending and pressing an open-mouthed kiss against her stomach. But instead of ripping off her panties, he stood and walked over to the fridge for two bottles of ice water.

He handed one of them to Pippa and downed his in one big gulp. Then he took her half-empty bottle from her hands and half-closed the cap, before he sat beside her to admire her body.

Pippa leaned back. The hot rays of sun warmed her skin, adding to the heat coming from the inside. She saw the hungry need in his eyes, like a lion stalking its prey, and sweet shivers of excitement rushed through her.

With River’s gaze running up and down her body, she closed her eyes and let the crazy emotions take over. Until an icy drop hit her left breast. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw River hovered over her, drop after drop of ice water falling from the bottle in his hand and hitting her heated skin.

The drops rolled down her breast and pooled around her nipple that had formed a taut peak.

“Good lord, you’re going to be the death of me!” River said and then his warm mouth latched on to her chilled nipple, licking, nipping, biting.

The load moans of her desire echoed in her own ears and she begged him to take her. But River wouldn’t listen. He took his sweet time torturing her right nipple with the same treatment of hot and cold, soft and hard. He was driving her out of her mind. She writhed beneath his mouth, desperate to feel his full weight on her.

“Please, River, I need you inside me,” she begged him and slung her arms around his neck to pull him over her.

“Oh no, baby. I’ve waited so long, now it’s your turn to wait.” He caught her hands with one hand and held them over her head, while his other hand moved the bottle across her stomach. Droplets of ice made her skin tingle, but it was his hot tongue, licking the water from her skin, that caused violent shivers of arousal.

“River, you’re driving me crazy,” she begged.

“Hmm…exactly my intension.” He let go of her wrists to lock his hands on her breasts, while his lips showered her with little kisses as he moved downward. She still wore those stupid triangle bottoms, putting a barrier between her skin and his mouth. He lightly skimmed across the silky fabric, breathing hot air onto her aroused core.

“God River…,” she moaned, “can you at least remove my bottoms?”

He came up, grinning at her and said, “If you ask nicely, I might just do that.”

“Please, please, rip them off and lick me.” When he returned his mouth to her core and dragged her bottoms all the way down her legs with his teeth, her breath came in ragged little spurts.

River knelt between her legs. “God, Pippa you’re so beautiful. And I’ve wanted you since the moment you walked into that employment agency.” His hands skimmed up her legs, and she could only arch her back and wonder why on earth she hadn’t succumbed to him before. His hands gently nudged her thighs further apart and the next moment his beard rasped against the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. Goosebumps broke out all across her skin.

“You like that?”

“I love it,” she said and he rubbed harder, moving slowly toward her wet center. How would his beard feel against her most intimate parts?

She didn’t have to ask to find out. River pressed hot kisses to her swollen labia, his tongue darting out to tease her clit. His scratchy beard rubbed her skin and she thought she’d combust with desire at the unique sensation.

It took only a few seconds until she couldn’t take it any longer and the pent-up desire of an entire week exploded into an all-encompassing, earth-shattering orgasm.

All her muscles clenched and unclenched in staccato, making her upper body arch into a sitting position, and if it wasn’t for his steely grip on her hips, she’d probably have fallen off the lounger.

When the overwhelming sensation slowly faded away, she returned to lean her head against the lounge chair, the waves of lust reverberating throughout her body. But instead of getting weaker, the waves started increasing again. She pushed up to her elbows to find that River had never stopped burying his head between her legs.

His lips were still suckling her, intent on drawing another orgasm from her overcharged body. She fell back, letting the lust take over and shoving her core into his face in the same rhythm he licked at her clit.

Then he entered first one and then two fingers into her and the intensity of the sensations grew again.

“River, please, I can’t take it anymore…” she moaned.

“What? Already begging me for a respite? And I haven’t even started yet,” he said with a chuckle, his hot breath sending electric shocks into her body.

Pippa couldn’t answer as the tension built up inside her, waiting for the next powerful orgasm to crash over her. But just when she reached the edge, he retrieved his fingers and his lips and left her quivering with need.

“No! Don’t you dare stop!” she screamed out.

The next moment she heard the sound of a foil wrapper and then felt his thick shaft poised at her entrance. She was more than ready for him and took his full length in one swift thrust.

“You feel so good,” she said, grabbing his shoulders for stability. Her fingernails dug into his muscled back every time he pounded into her, but she didn’t care.

Her eyes fluttered open, watching his strained face as he speared her, sending her closer and closer to climax. His powerful shoulders and arms grabbed the lounger to both sides in an effort to keep most of his weight off of her.

“I’m going to come,” she moaned.

“Do it. Come with me. Now,” River commanded, thrusting forward.

Pippa arched up and cried out his name as pleasure like no other ricocheted through her body. Her muscles convulsing, she leaned back to let wave after wave of pure excitement roll through her, feeling his release pulsating deep inside her. Then he held still for as long as the aftershocks rocked them both.

“Holy shit!”

“Good?” River kissed her gently on her lips.

“Perfect,” Pippa agreed, completely relaxed and satiated. She allowed her eyes to close, blissfully happy. As far as she remembered she’d never felt happier than right now, lying beneath the man she loved. Rather than trying to analyze it, she accepted it for what it was. The truth.

Being with River was as close to heaven as she could imagine and she wasn’t ready for the world to intrude just yet. Reality could wait.