CHAPTER 9
Dear Levi, this morning I woke up and my first thought was of you. I imagined your naked body twisted in my sheets and your head resting against my rumpled pillow...
Levi took Natalie’s hand as she climbed aboard the boat. “Did you tell your dad we were doing this?”
As though it were the most natural thing in the world, Natalie leaned forward and pressed a kiss against his cheek. “Of course, not. He would just worry.”
“Natalie.” He didn’t think anything would go wrong, but he hated the idea of keeping her father out of the loop.
“I’ve brought my cell phone,” Natalie told him. “If he calls me and asks where I am, then I won’t lie. I’ll tell him the truth.”
Fair enough, he supposed. Still, John really needed to face this fear on Natalie’s behalf. They lived in a bayside community, a stone’s throw from the Atlantic. She worked in and around the shore all the time. He was going to have to give her some room, otherwise he could see a potential problem developing.
“How’s your Uncle Milton?”
“He’s doing better,” Natalie said, settling into a bench seat. She dropped her bag at her feet--he’d told her to plan on spending the night--and had the pleasure of watching a beautiful smile move over her raspberry lips as he pulled away from the dock. “And it’s been good for Dad to be there, too. He and Uncle Milton have been playing chess and watching Andy Griffith reruns. He needs other interests besides--“ She frowned, seemingly struggling to find the right word.
“You,” Levi supplied.
She grinned. “That works, yes.”
Truth be told, he could hardly fault her father. He seriously suspected that, given the time, his interest would be solely focused on her as well. He could easily see his world narrowing down until only she was in view, until all he could think about was the shape of her smile, the sound of her laugh, the achingly beautiful curve of her cheek, those adorable freckles on her small nose, the way her long hair naturally curved to the shape of her pert little face.
And then there were the other things... The things that made him go hard.
The exact shade of her dusky nipples--a deep rosy hue. The gentle swell of her naked hip, the ripe feel of her wonderful ass in his hands. The way her dark brown eyes went all soft and heavy-lidded when he was inside of her.
Today had been...beyond his wildest dreams.
Getting the letter had been nice, having his suspicions confirmed a perk. But taking her in Winnie’s store room had been hands down, the best thing that had ever happened to him.
Reading her letters, Levi had known that she wanted him. That she literally ached for him. But having all that passion, the complete surrender of any sense of reservation, manifest itself in her arms... Sweet Lord.
He was ruined, Levi thought.
He’d never--never--imagined sex could be anything like what they’d experienced. They hadn’t just made love or merely had sex--they’d connected on a level beyond anything he could have ever imagined. They’d exploded together.
Just looking at her right now made him go hard. His fingers actually shook on the wheel and it was all he could do not to drop anchor and drag her down to his little bedroom.
And he would. In due time.
Until then, he wanted to recreate one of her fantasies. She’d once told him that she wanted to make it on his boat, to feel him rocking above her as the boat rocked below.
He was so willing to accommodate.
In fact, despite the fact that time was so very short, Levi had every intention of recreating each and every fantasy that she’d written to him. For this single moment in time, he had the ability to make her dreams come true and, though he couldn’t offer her forever--even if she’d leave Bethel Bay, he wouldn’t ask her to and coming home wasn’t an option for him--he could offer her right now.
“How’s Adam doing?” Natalie asked. “Winnie mentioned that he’d been distant when she’d visited yesterday.”
Levi winced and settled in behind the wheel. “He’s going stir crazy,” he said. “He’s not healing as quickly as he’d like to and that’s frustrating. Then there’s the emotional trauma he claims doesn’t exist, but I know better. He’s lost part of his leg. He’s in mourning for that, whether he’ll admit it or not.”
Levi couldn’t even begin to imagine his brother’s irritation. Though he knew Adam would eventually do everything he set his mind to, Levi didn’t think he’d factored in sufficient time for the recovery period.
“As for Winnie.” Levi made a face. “They’ve always had a very competitive relationship and he’s always respected that about her. He’s probably worried about losing face. And...she’s always had a thing for him, right?”
Natalie nodded. “I knew that Adam was aware of it, but not you.”
“We’re brothers,” he said by way of explanation. “Anyway, if I were in his shoes, I’d be worried about no longer holding her interest, if you catch my drift.”
Natalie’s eyes widened. “You mean because of the accident?”
“Exactly.”
“That’s absurd.”
He smiled and shook his head. “That’s a man.”
Natalie grew thoughtful for a moment and he watched her worry her bottom lip. “Winnie would never be so shallow. She hates what happened, Levi--we all do.” She shook her head. “But she’s in love with him. Her feelings aren’t going to change because he’s lost part of his leg. He’s the one who keeps insisting that he’s the same. He can’t play it both ways. He’s either the same or he isn’t.”
Levi chuckled. “Have fun telling him that.”
She nodded pertly. “I will.”
Levi aimed the boat out toward the middle of the bay and felt the familiar peace that always surfaced when he was out on the water settle around him. The sun was sinking low on the horizon, painting the ocean in various shades of shimmering blue, pink and orange. Without warning, Natalie’s arms came around his waist and she settled her cheek on his back. Something in his chest tightened and expanded, making it momentarily hard to breathe.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she said, sighing contentedly.
Though he’d been on many different oceans, Bethel Bay would always be the standard. He tugged her around and slung an arm over her shoulder, feeling more content than he could ever remember. “It is.”
“I love Bethel Bay. It’s got everything, you know? It’s small enough to know most everyone, but big enough to have a little culture. And the landscape.” She gestured to the bay. “Second to none.”
They were treading into dangerous territory and he knew it.
Natalie started and drew back so that she could look at him. Excitement glittered in those coffee-colored eyes. “You should come to my Walking Tour Friday night.”
“What?”
“I do Walking Tour of the downtown area every Friday night. Go over the history of the town. Talk about the rum runners and the smugglers who used to frequent our little burg. It’s quite fascinating.”
Seems like he remembered Adam saying something about that. Come to think of it, maybe Adam would like to go. One of the things his physical therapist had mentioned was getting more exercise. “Would you mind if I brought Adam along?”
“Absolutely not.” A concerned line wrinkled her brow. “Are you sure that it wouldn’t be too much for him?”
Levi relayed what the physical therapist had said. “He’s got the temporary prosthesis. He needs to move.”
“Then bring him.” Her gaze bumped into his. “And I was kind of hoping you could come to my place and spend the night. It’s selfish, I know, but...”
“I’d planned on inviting myself over,” Levi admitted as a rush of pleasure moved through his chest. He gave her a little squeeze. “You can be selfish with me anytime.”
A shadow moved behind her gaze. “Not true,” she said. “You leave Saturday, right?”
He knew they needed to talk about this, but that didn’t make it any easier. He didn’t want to talk about leaving her when he’d just found her. But at the same time, he had a job to do. Being a Ranger--it was who he was. He was part of a team, a brotherhood of men who were committed to doing things for the greater good. He couldn’t just change that...even if he were tempted. And God help him, he was. “I do.”
“What time?”
“I fly out at nine, but will need to leave the house no later than six.” He swallowed. “You know how that goes.”
“So we’ll need to say our goodbyes Friday night, then.
He nodded. “I’m afraid so. Unless you want to ride to--“
She shook her head. “No, I don’t think so,” she admitted shakily. “That’s, uh-- That’s family time.”
He understood. Speaking of family, his had certainly celebrated his seeing Natalie. His brother had wasted no time in telling his mother, who’d happily given her blessings. “She’s a lovely girl, your Natalie,” she’d told him, smiling with approval.
Your Natalie. Those two little words had affected him more than he would have ever imagined. She was his. How in the world was he going to leave her?
Time to change the subject, to talk about something more pleasant. Like his plans for the evening. “Are you getting hungry?”
She looked up and her gaze tangled with his. She looked hungry, all right, but not for food. “I could eat.” She paused. “You.”
The perpetual hard-on he’d been experiencing hit critical level at the bald comment. Levi chuckled softly under his breath, then bent and kissed her lips. “I’m definitely on the menu.”
“Then I plan to get full.”
* * *
Natalie waited for Levi to drop anchor, then threaded her fingers through his and tugged him toward the small bedroom. Talking about him leaving had only intensified the fact that she had very little time left to spend with Levi. And she be damned if she’d waste that time with if-only’s and what-might-have-been’s. She knew the score going into this very brief relationship and, rather than dwell on what she couldn’t change--there’d be time enough for that beyond Friday night--she planned to take advantage of every second they had left.
Beginning now.
Her fantasy lover--the bonafide love of her life--was standing right here in front of her, ready to do her bidding, ready to make her dreams come true, ready to rock her world.
And she looked forward to the quake.
This morning she’d been so desperate, in such a hurry to get him beneath her skin she hadn’t been able to give much thought to little else. Frankly, she’d just needed to take the edge off.
And while this morning’s frantic sex session in Winnie’s store room--she was still finding the occasional grain of sugar on her body--had done just that, it had also done something more.
It had whetted her appetite.
She hadn’t been kidding when she said she wanted to eat him. She did. She wanted to taste the hot, hard length of him. She wanted to feel that silky skin against her tongue. She wanted to suck him up like an ice cream cone on the Fourth of July, then set him off like a Roman candle.
Natalie shrugged out of her shirt, then shucked her pants. “You’re going to need to get naked for this.”
Levi’s hungry gaze slid from one end of her body to the other in a slow leisurely procession that set her blood on fire and made her nipples pearl. He instantly stripped, then laid down on the bed and threaded his fingers casually behind his head. “Done.”
Natalie deliberately popped the front closure on her bra and let it fall open, then casually shrugged out of it. Next, she slowly shimmied out of her panties--although there hadn’t been much to them--and kicked them aside.
A stuttering breath echoed out of his lungs. “Wow.”
Pleased, she set one knee against the bed, then trailed her hand slowly up over his thigh. His penis jumped, almost as if it were trying to land in her hand. She feasted her eyes on him, on the part of him that was so very different from her. He was hard and hot and the slippery skin glided effortlessly against her palm as she explored him.
His breath hissed through his clenched teeth. “Natalie,” he said warningly.
She bent and touched her tongue to the very tip.
He swore.
“Yes?” she asked.
“You’re doing this on purpose.”
She took the whole of him in her mouth and sucked long and hard. “I thought that was the whole point.”
“I’m going to get you back for this,” he promised, his voice cracking. “I am so going to get you back. You’re not the only one who’s hungry.”
She quirked a brow at him. “Who says we have to dine alone?”
His head popped off the pillow, his eyes widened and then a long, slow smile designed to set her panties--had she been wearing any--on fire slid over his beautiful lips. “You’re right. We don’t.”
Before she knew what was happening, Levi took hold her legs and dragged her into position. His fingers parted her curls and a second later, his hot tongue was fastened over the heart of her sex, licking and sucking, laving her clit.
Pleasure bolted through her and she transferred her joy to him, cupping his balls, sucking the whole of him into her mouth once more. She nibbled, she licked, she sucked. She wrapped her hand around his dick and chased it with her lips, up and down his long shaft. Meanwhile he continued his own frenzied assault, tenting his tongue over her engorged clit and rubbing hard against her. He pressed a finger deep into her weeping channel and hooked it around, finding a sensitive patch of skin she’d only ever read about.
Natalie sucked him harder, could feel the climax building in his balls as they shrunk up and hardened.
“Natalie, you’d better stop,” he said, his voice strangled.
“Only if you will,” she challenged.
Levi snagged a condom--one of many he’d put on the small nightstand--tore into the package with his teeth and fished it out.
Natalie took it from him. “Let me,” she said, carefully rolling the protection into place. “And for the record, I’m on the pill and I’ve got a clean bill of health.”
Levi flipped her over and nudged her folds, bumping the top of her sex. Her eyes rolled back in her head. “For the record, I don’t need to be on the pill, and I also have a clean bill of health.” He flashed his teeth in a smile. “But I was prepared.”
Natalie chuckled, but the laugh died a swift death as he suddenly pushed into her. Veins stood out on his neck and his entire body quivered atop her. God, he was beautiful, Natalie thought as her body welcomed him inside. She drew her legs back and wrapped them around his waist, rocking against him. He was absolutely amazing. From an artist standpoint, utterly flawless. A beautiful creation of a muscle and bone and those eyes... They had the unique ability to look right into her soul.
“Damn,” he hissed.
He withdrew almost to the tip, then pushed back in. “I know.”
Levi bent and nuzzled her neck, then licked a path between her breasts and over one sensitive aching peak. She felt that sensation all the way to the heart of her sex, as though an invisible thread connected the two. She tightened around him, holding him in, and ran her hands along his back, then around and up and over his chest. She loved the way he felt, Natalie thought, as her greedy palms devoured him. Soft yet hard, unapologetically male. He was certainly no metrosexual. She’d bet her life that he’d never had a manicure and wouldn’t know a male moisturizer if it bit him on the ass.
He was a man. Every wonderfully proportioned divine inch f him.
Levi paused, looking adorably unsure. “Do I want to know what you’re thinking?”
She grinned up and him and flexed her hips, rocking forward. “I think you’re hot.”
He pushed again. “Good. I like it when you think I’m hot.”
“And I was thinking that I’m glad that you’re not a metrosexual--“
“A what?”
“--and that you’ve never had a manicure and that you don’t moisturize before bed.”
Levi peered down at her. “You know what I’m thinking?”
“No.”
“I’m thinking that if you’re thinking that much I must not be doing this right.” He banded his arm around her waist, hiked her leg higher and angled deep. “Time to rectify.”
And he did.
Oh, sweet heaven help her, Natalie thought as he suddenly pounded into her. Hot, long, relentless stokes, deeper and deeper. She wrapped her legs tighter around him and met him thrust for thrust, though it was hard to keep up.
In and out, in and out, he pushed her higher and higher until she could feel the burn of climax hovering in her womb, just a bit out of reach, but growing closer with every powerful thrust of him inside her.
“Levi, I--“ She couldn’t finish, couldn’t form another word, but he seemed to know what she needed because at that precise moment he reached down between their joined bodies and thumbed her clit.
She came.
The orgasm washed through her like a giant pulsated wave, lifting her up, pulling her under, drowning her in pleasure. Just when she’d reached the surface and was content to float along the languid river of release, Levi suddenly flipped her over onto her belly, dragged her hips up against him, and pushed into her from behind.
Unbelievably, pleasure bolted through her. He plowed into her, over and over, his balls slapping against her aching flesh. It was a good thing he was holding her up, Natalie thought, because there was no way in hell she could support her own weight. Her entire body felt boneless and another tingle of unexpected release quickened deep inside of her.
It was almost as if he knew it, too, as though he had some sort of psychic connection to her sex, because he angled up and pushed harder, reaching for that place that would set her off once more.
Harder, deeper and deeper still...
Her breath came in short little puffs and her vision blackened around the edges. She didn’t believe it was possible to die from pleasure, but was seriously beginning to wonder if that was what was happening to her. Her heart was pounding so hard she couldn’t catch her breath. Her heavy, sensitive breasts bounced back and forth on her chest absorbing the force of his thrusts.
“Come for me again, Nat,” he said, licking a path up the middle of her back. He nipped at her shoulder, sending her over the edge of release again. She spasmed around him and with each contraction, another sparkler of almost unbearable sensation eddied through her.
Her climax triggered his own. She felt him stiffen behind her, and he angled deep, seating himself as deeply into her as he could. Warmth pooled in the end of the condom nestled against her womb, setting off another little pulse of release.
A moment later, he snagged a tissue from the table and disposed of the protection, then cuddled her close. She could hear the waves lapping against the side of the boat and outside the first twinkle of stars had appeared. A half-moon glowed overhead and for that instant, everything was completely, totally right with her world.
Because she was in love with Levi McPherson.