Chapter Nine

 

* MEGAN *

 

The day after my grandma’s funeral, I woke up to bright sunlight streaming in my window. It had been a week since my grandma had died, and today, for the first time, I didn’t have anywhere I had to be. Everything had been such a flurry of activity, and I’d been running myself ragged. But today, I would rest.

I wasn’t scheduled to work at either of my jobs for another week, and I’d be cutting back hours drastically at both to focus on my painting once again. Unbeknownst to me, Grandma had had a sizeable life insurance policy. Not enough to retire on or anything like that, but enough that my immediate worries about money were over. I wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t told me about it. She knew I would have protested and told her not to spend her money on providing for my future. I would have rather seen her save money for being as comfortable as possible in her last days.

She’d always looked out for me first, though. And I had the vague feeling that she was still looking out for me from somewhere up above. I had never been a religious person, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that her spirit was still out there somewhere, watching over me.

A loud banging at the door startled me out of my reverie, and I sat up abruptly. What time was it? Why was someone banging on the front door of Grandma’s house? No, of my house. It was mine now. What an odd thought.

The banging sounded again, followed by a loud, male voice.

“Megan? You in there? Everything okay?”

“Oh, shit!” It was Trent. I shot out of bed and pulled on my robe, glancing at the clock in horror to see that it was past ten-thirty. I couldn’t believe I’d slept so late. I’d agreed to head out for a morning beach outing and picnic with Trent, but I’d never imagined I would sleep quite this late.

I ran to the door and yanked it open to find Trent there, dressed in swim trunks and a t-shirt. He took one look at me and then burst out laughing.

“You overslept, didn’t you?”

I felt myself blushing as I realized that I probably looked like a total hot mess. My hair was a wild rat’s nest of tangles, and all I had on under my robe was a wrinkly sleep shirt.

“Um…” I wasn’t sure what else to say. “Sorry. I guess I didn’t expect to need an alarm clock.”

Trent smiled, the dazzling warmth of that smile melting my heart like it always did. “Don’t worry about it. You’ve had quite a week, and I’m glad you got some sleep. I have nothing to do today except hang out with you, so no rush in getting ready. Take your time.”

“Thanks,” I said sheepishly. I still felt quite embarrassed over how long I’d slept, but at least he was being understanding. “Just let me get dressed real quick. You can come in and make yourself comfortable in the living room.”

While he lounged on the couch, I quickly changed into my favorite hot pink bikini, then put on extra-short jean cutoffs and a fitted hot pink tank top over the swimsuit. I brushed out my hair and pulled it up into a neat ponytail, then washed my face and brushed my teeth. I didn’t bother with makeup. Goodness knew that Trent had seen me without makeup enough times already this week, with all the crying I’d been doing. He already knew just how ridiculously red, puffy and unattractive my face could be, and he still always told me that I was beautiful.

I didn’t have any plans to cry today, but I did have plans to swim in the ocean, and that made putting on makeup pointless, too. My skin wasn’t as tanned as it usually was by this time of year, since I’d been working so much. But Trent had assured me over and over that he thought I looked amazing, so I was going to trust him on that.

I packed a small beach bag with a towel, sunscreen, and an extra change of clothes just in case. Then I went to the kitchen to add some water and snacks. I figured even though Trent had packed a picnic basket, it could never hurt to have extra drinks and food.

“Ready!” I called out as I came into the living room. Trent was standing in the middle of the room, gaping at one of about a dozen paintings that I had leaned against one of the room’s walls.

“Oh, shit! I forgot I had all these in here. How embarrassing.” I started to try to cover some of the paintings with a drop cloth, but Trent caught my arm and stopped me. He held my wrist tightly to keep me from wriggling away.

“Why would these be embarrassing? I think they’re amazing. All of them. I thought that one painting you were working on out on the back patio the other day was really good, but I had no idea you had practically a whole gallery’s worth of paintings that were just as good or better.”

I looked down at my feet and shrugged. “I guess I don’t feel like they can really be all that good, if no one wants to buy them.”

“Why would you think no one wants to buy these?”

“I’ve been trying to get some art galleries in Miami to display them, but no one has taken me up on the offer. I figured they weren’t that good, after all.”

“Those art galleries are stupid, and you don’t need them. I tell you what we’re going to do. We’re going to set up an art gallery for you right here on Driftwood Island. The tourists will love these paintings. You won’t be able to paint fast enough to keep up with demand.”

“Trent, I don’t have money to set up my own art gallery.”

“That’s why I’m going to be your first investor. And don’t try to talk me out of it. I know a good investment when I see one, and these paintings are definitely going to bring in a good return on investment.”

I chewed my lower lip and looked up at him through my eyelashes, afraid to meet his gaze.

“You’re just saying that to be nice.”

“No. I’m saying it because it’s true. I’m a sharp businessman. I don’t make business decisions just to be nice.”

I looked down at my feet again. “Okay.”

I wasn’t sure if I believed him, but I had to admit that the idea of owning my own little art gallery was exciting. And what if my paintings did sell well? It would be totally life-changing to actually make a living from my art.

“Besides,” Trent said in a husky voice, stepping closer to me. “If I just wanted to be nice, this is how I would do it.” He reached for my chin and tilted my face up toward him, then put his lips on mine. Hot fire flooded me immediately, and I reached up to grab his arms and steady myself. I’d known that we’d end up kissing—and hopefully more—at some point today. But I hadn’t been expecting anything quite yet. It caught me off guard, but the surprise of it only added to my pleasure. Trent hadn’t kissed me again since the bar. He’d been holding back out of respect for the fact that my grandma had just passed away, but now that everything with that was more or less settled, he was ready to move forward.

So was I.

I moaned slightly as he slipped his tongue past my lips and ran it over my tongue. I could feel my legs starting to shake, and the juices of desire beginning to ooze between my legs, getting my bikini bottoms wet. I began to wonder if we were even going to make it to the beach before morning turned into afternoon.

Apparently, Trent was determined that we would. He stepped back and grinned, then picked up my beach bag from where I’d set it on the floor.

“Come on,” he said with a wink. “That was just a teaser. There’s more to come, but I want to get out in the fresh air. I’m sure you do, too.”

I did, although I wouldn’t have minded staying inside if it meant I got to kiss Trent some more. He was already striding toward the door, though, so I followed him with a sigh. I had to be patient, which was okay. I was excited to explore where things were going between Trent and I, but I was also nervous. I still hadn’t told him that I was a virgin, and now I felt awkward bringing it up. He was treating me like a woman, but when it came to sex, I felt like a stupid teenage girl who had no clue what she was doing.

Probably because that was accurate. I didn’t have a clue. But I was going to do my best to figure things out. If there was one thing I knew for sure, it was that I desperately wanted to give Trent my virginity. I just hoped I didn’t make too big of a fool of myself in the process.

If Trent noticed my nerves at all, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he led me out to his car—a ridiculously impractical convertible that barely had room for us and the beach bags—and started driving down the coastal road. I wasn’t sure where we were going, but I knew Trent was looking for a secluded beach. That realization made me shiver with anticipation. If he wanted to be secluded, that definitely meant I was going to get lucky. My legs trembled as he drove. The mixture of nerves and passion was just too much to contain.

About twenty minutes later, he pulled into Coconut Cove. I hadn’t been here in forever, and I’d forgotten how beautiful it was. The sun shimmered off turquoise waters, and a thick grove of coconut palms offered additional spots of shade here and there, along with a few large rocks. Trent chose one of those shady rock spots to put down our picnic blanket and set the picnic basket on top.

“Hungry yet?” he asked.

I shook my head no. I should have been starving, since I hadn’t eaten breakfast, but the nerves were getting the best of me. I couldn’t imagine trying to keep food down at the moment. Not when I was on the verge of finally being fully loved by a man.

I had waited my whole life to feel this way about someone. Funny that the someone I’d been waiting for had actually been a part of my life for years before he’d moved away. Now he was back, and he’d promised he wouldn’t leave again.

And I had promised myself I wasn’t going to chicken out. But I was already panicking, and I tried to cover it up by stripping quickly down to my bikini and running toward the water.

“Last one in’s the rotten egg!” I yelled, the sprinted across the sand at lightning speed.

Trent didn’t catch up to me right away. He still had to take off his t-shirt, and by the time he did that I was in the waves. He sauntered over instead of running, grinning as he walked toward me and looked me up and down.

“I’m glad the water here is so clear. I’d be pretty mad if that body of yours was hidden.”

His words gave me a thrill, and I batted my eyelashes at him. “Oh? You like what you see?”

“Do I ever.” His voice was husky and his eyes were hungry as he took a few more steps toward me. “I’ve been admiring you from afar all week. Now it’s time to admire you up close.”

He reached for me with his arms, and pulled me in toward him. A moment later, his lips were on mine, picking up just where we’d left off back at the house. My eyes closed as he slid his tongue into my mouth, and I could feel the heat radiating from his body into mine.

The moment was perfect. The sun warmed my skin as he pressed his strong, muscular chest against me. I could feel his erection through his swimming trunks, and I was tempted to reach down and feel it with my hand.

But I felt shy. As turned on as I was, I wasn’t sure how quickly things should move along. Would grabbing his dick now be too much, too soon?

He must have felt my hesitation, because he pulled away from our kiss and took a small step back to look at me. “Everything alright?”

His blue eyes blazed with desire, and I nearly whimpered at the thrill that rushed through me as he looked at me.

“I’m fine,” I insisted. “Just…recovering from a long week.”

His expression took on a deep note of concern. “Look, Meg, I’m not gonna lie or beat around the bush here. I want nothing more right now than to ram my dick deep into that perfect pussy of yours. But I also don’t want to rush things between us. If you’re not ready for more than kissing right now, we’ll take things slowly. We have all the time in the world to get comfortable with each other and each other’s bodies.”

I bit my lower lip. “It’s not that I don’t want you. It’s just that…”

“What, Meg? You can talk to me. Don’t be shy.”

I took a deep breath. “It’s just that I’ve never done this before.”

“Done what? Had sex in the ocean?”

“Had sex at all. I’m a virgin, Trent.”

I forced myself to meet his eyes, afraid that I would see laughter in them as he realized how inexperienced I was. But there was no laughter there. Only an even more intense heat than before.

“Oh, Megan,” he said softly as he reached up to brush away a stray strand of hair. “I’ve been away all this time, chasing after happiness. I had no idea that true happiness was waiting patiently for me right here the whole time.”

“I…I…” I felt like I should say something, but I didn’t know what. I wanted to explain to him that I wasn’t a virgin because I was some loser no one wanted. “I wanted my first time to be special. I wanted it to be with someone special. To mean something. I didn’t want to just drunkenly lose my virginity after too many beers at Joe’s Sandbar, or too many wine coolers out on the sand, you know?”

“I’m sure you’ve had lots of opportunities. I admire you for holding out. But…is this special enough? Are you sure you’re ready?”

I widened my eyes at him. It was sweet that he was worried about things being special enough, but the idea of it not being special when it was with him was almost laughable. We could have been banging in the bathroom at Joe’s for all I cared. “As long as I’m with you, it’s special,” I whispered. “I’ve never been more ready.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, as though letting my words absorb deep into him. When he opened his eyes again, the hunger and heat in them had once again intensified. “Well, then. If you’re ready, I’m going to claim you. I’m going to take your virginity, and show you what it feels like to have a man inside you. I’m going to show you the most intense pleasure you’ve ever known. And I’m pretty sure I’m about to feel the most intense pleasure I’ve ever known, because no other woman could ever compare to you. You, Megan, are perfect.”

I started to protest. I wanted to tell him that I was anything but perfect, but I never got the chance. His lips were on mine once again, his tongue plunging deep into my mouth while his hands reached behind my back and started untying the strings of my bikini. He pulled off the slinky pink piece of fabric and tossed it as far as he could over his shoulder, all the way back to shore. I suppose I should have been grateful to know that he’d made sure it wasn’t just going to be in the water where it would float away, but at the moment I wouldn’t have cared. I had far more important things to think about than whether my bikini would still be here when we were done.

Trent’s hands returned to my body, his blazing hot palms covering my breasts. I felt my nipples going hard and erect as he took each of my breasts and squeezed its fullness in his hands.

“These are amazing,” he whispered as he pulled back from my lips to look down at the curves of my breasts inside his hands. He let his hands slide away for a moment so that he could see them fully, and then he dipped his head and put his lips over one of my hard, throbbing nipples. While he nibbled at that nipple with his teeth, he pulled the other nipple between his thumb and forefinger. He twisted at it in a way that felt authoritative and strong. It wasn’t painful at all, but it definitely made me feel like he was in control. Like he was having his way with my body, and resisting him would be futile.

He let out a low growl, as if to emphasize that he was the alpha male here, and that I would listen to him. I shivered with delight, my whole body like putty in his hands. He could do whatever he wanted to me at this point. I was filled with such a deep, tingling heat that the only thing that would have made me angry was if he stopped touching me.

Luckily, he didn’t seem to have any plans of stopping. He chewed harder at my nipples, and I whimpered in delight with each press of his teeth. A pressure was building in my core that I had never felt before, like my body was trying to contain all of the wonderful sensations he was filling it with. But I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to contain it all for much longer. It was too much. He continued teasing at my nipples while moving his free hand down into the water and slipping it inside the fabric of my pink bikini bottoms. I began to tremble violently as his palm pressed against my mound and he let out a groan of pleasure. I felt happy and relieved to know that he was enjoying all of this just as much as I was. I might not be super experienced, but it didn’t seem to matter to him. He wasn’t looking for experience. He was just looking for me.

And he had me. All of me. I was all in, and ready to give myself completely to him. But he was taking his time, and that was its own special form of ecstasy. As he slipped one finger into my soft folds, I trembled and thought I might cum right then and there. He moved slowly enough that I was able to hold back for the moment, but I couldn’t stop the trembling. Even though we were in water, I could tell that I was wet from the inside out. My desire for him oozed out of me as sweet nectar, coating his finger and seeping into the water around his hand.

He stroked deep inside of me, building the heat and pressure even more. He found my g-spot, and I couldn’t help but suck in my breath with pleasure when he first hit it. He let out a low, satisfied growl, and continued to rub against it while his other hand continued to rub against one nipple. The other nipple remained at the mercy of his teeth.

Every part of my body was his. The hot, tingling passion filled me, and the impossible pressure continued to build in my core until finally I could hold back no more. I fell against him with all my weight as the earthquake within me let loose. My inner walls clenched around his finger over and over, and fire spread across me with every spasm. I moaned out in pure pleasure, and my senses were so heightened that every touch of his skin against mine felt like an electric shock.

“That’s it, Megan,” he growled. “Cum for me. Give in to me.”

I had given in. Wholly and completely. The tremors continued to rock my body for at least a full minute, until I finally had a moment to catch my breath.

“You…you’re incredible,” I gasped out. I couldn’t believe that he’d already made me feel so amazing, when he’d only been using his finger. But he had, and as my breathing evened out, I knew I had to keep going. I had to know what it felt like to have him inside of me. Not just any man. Him. I wanted the experience of his stiff, rock-hard erection deep inside the most sensitive, sacred part of me.

“More,” I whispered. “Give me more.”

He smiled at me, the sun glinting off his tanned skin and blindingly white teeth. My heart pounded and my stomach flip-flopped, and I wondered how I had been lucky enough to have a man like him want a girl like me.

“There’s plenty more,” he promised in that husky voice that always turned me on in an instant. He reached to slide off my bikini bottoms, tossing them back toward the shore and then reaching for the laces on the front of his swim trunks. I reached down to push his hands aside.

“Let me,” I said. With fingers trembling from excitement, I undid the laces and pushed the shorts down. He stepped out of them and tossed them up onto the beach with my discarded bikini, giving me my first full view of his long, hard erection.

“Holy shit,” I whispered reverently, looking down at the impossibly large shaft. “You’re huge.”

I didn’t know how he was possibly going to be able to fit that thing inside of me, but I did know one thing: I sure as hell couldn’t wait for him to try.