Chapter 9
Kevin saw Shanna with her e-reader up on shore, but she didn’t fool him one bit. Sizzling awareness had prickled along his skin as the heat of her gaze followed his every move on shore.
He wished he could’ve seen her expression when he stripped off every last stitch of clothing. Remembering the longing in her brown eyes when he suggested sealing their new deal with a kiss, knowing she watched him undress, and thinking about her desire to rinse off, too—preferably in her birthday suit—had him hard by the time he dove into the lake.
He watched her across the water and stroked himself beneath the surface, but his hand was no replacement for the memory of her glorious heat. If he’d kissed her earlier, he wouldn’t have wanted to stop at her lips. He’d have wanted to explore every inch of her soft skin, then bury himself deep inside her until they both saw stars.
Letting a low groan of dissatisfaction rumble up from his chest, he set about swimming fast laps of twenty arm-strokes to burn off his frustration.
When he reached lap thirty, he took a moment to catch his breath. He cast a quick glance to make sure Shanna was still okay on shore, then froze at the sight of her wading into the water with the makeshift crutch he’d found for her. It appeared she’d removed the bandage from her ankle, but unfortunately, she still wore her bra and panties.
Heaven help him, did she know how damn tempting she was?
She was in up to her knees when something slipped from her hand and splashed into the water. She cursed and leaned for it as it bobbed out of reach. Her arm flailed as she lost her balance. The crutch went sideways and she fell into the water head first with a shriek, creating a much bigger splash than whatever she’d dropped.
Kevin swam toward shore to help, but by the time he reached her, she was floating on her back, eyes closed to the late afternoon sun, a refreshed smile on her face. Little waves lapped at her cleavage where the pointed tips of her breasts broke the surface.
The exertion of his swim was no longer the reason for his elevated pulse as he soaked in the erotic image before admonishing, “You were supposed to wait.”
She squinted at him, then closed her eyes again. “The ibuprofen kicked in.”
“Helped by the beer, no doubt.”
“Maybe.” Her smile widened as she circled her hands in little movements to slowly move her body through the water. “This feels sooo good,” she moaned in a husky voice that had him hard all over again.
He spotted her bottle floating a few feet away and reached for it in desperation. The label read Biodegradable Body Wash & Shampoo, citronella scented, with bug deterrent essential oils. He flipped open the top and took a sniff. Not bad, and if it helped deter the bugs, awesome.
“You’re welcome to use it if you want,” Shanna offered.
He glanced over to see she’d maneuvered to where she could stand. The water rippled against the swell of her breasts over the lace edge of her bra.
This time around, common sense and good intentions went for a swim as Kevin floated closer. “I’ll wash your back if you wash mine.”
Across the short distance of water separating them, her gaze met his. Warm, aware, and dark, chocolate brown with unconcealed want. “Is that smart for either of us?”
“Probably not.” His heart thumped hard in his chest. “But I don’t want to be smart about this right now.”
She didn’t look away as she swam closer to wrap her arms around his neck. “Clearly, neither do I,” she murmured as her mouth met his. Her body pressed along the length of his, and his jutting erection brushed against her thigh.
“Thank God,” he muttered.
Her lips parted, inviting him in for an instantly intimate, deep, passionate kiss, as if she was as desperate for him as he was for her. As their tongues tangled in a breathless duel of give and take, she tightened her hold on his neck to rise up and wrap her legs around his waist.
“Careful of your ankle,” he warned, even as the new position gave him room to reach up and cup her breast.
“It’s good for now.”
“You should be laying down, though. Foot elevated.”
God, yes. He could work with that position.
Through the silky material of her bra, her hard nipple pressed into his palm, and he shifted to lightly pinch with his thumb and forefinger. One gasp of pleasure from her lips and he needed to have her in his mouth to hear those breathy moans that haunted his memory from a month ago.
She tilted her head back, arching into his touch, her long blond hair swirling about her shoulders as he dipped down to nip at her throat on his way farther south. Before he reached his goal, her body sank lower against him, and suddenly, the tip of his shaft prodded against the barrier of her panties. Torn between her breast and the temptation of her heat, he cursed under his breath.
“I need a condom,” he muttered against her neck.
Her thighs tightened on his waist as she rocked against him. “Please tell me you brought some.”
“I have a couple in my backpack—”
“Thank God. No, wait. Only a couple?” She drew back a few inches. “We still have five more days out here.”
“Is this going to last all week?” Could he be that lucky?
No. Lucky would be if it lasted a lifetime.
“It’s not like we’ll have anything else to do.”
Brilliant woman.
“I’m definitely not arguing that reasoning.” He hoisted her higher with one arm, so her breasts were above water again. Then he pulled her bra cup down and pushed the creamy mound up as he dipped his head to take her into his mouth. She gave him one of those low-throated moans that made his whole body throb with anticipation.
“Can I ask you something?” she breathed.
“Anything,” he agreed, laving his tongue around her nipple.
“Well…I’m on the pill…and I haven’t been with anyone since you, and no one for quite a while before that.”
“Likewise.”
“Really?”
“Really.” In the middle of switching to her other breast, he lifted his head with a little spurt of defensiveness. “I wouldn’t lie about something like that.”
“I didn’t think you lied.” Her chin ducked. “I just assumed you dated a lot.”
“Much as I love sex, Shanna, I don’t sleep with just anyone.” The firm statement held more of an admission than he realized until he heard the words out loud.
Shit. Had she noticed?
“Me neither.” Her fingers combed through the wet hair at the nape of his neck. “You were my first, um, one-night-stand—if it could be called that.”
“Not after this.” His heart raced at how closely they mirrored each other. Could that night have been more than a fluke for her? He swallowed hard, almost afraid to hope. “So…what was your question?”
She glanced up through her lashes as she slid down along his body in the water, until his rock-hard erection once again pressed against her core. “It’s more of a suggestion. That we don’t have to use a condom if we’re both good. I mean, that we’re both clean, and that you’re okay with it.”
Automatic no-brainer. “I’m definitely good if you’re good.”
“I’m good.”
Her lips curved in the sexiest grin he’d ever seen as she drew his head down for another kiss.
He loved everything about the way her mouth melded with his, the soft sounds of arousal she made, the sweet taste of her on his tongue, and most especially, the unrestrained enthusiasm as if she couldn’t get enough. He could kiss her for hours, but his body insisted on more.
“Where’d that shampoo stuff go?” he asked between kisses. “I am more than ready to head up to the tent.”
She reached down beneath the surface of the water and took his length in her hand. “Forget the tent.”
Blood surged through his veins, making him throb in her grip. “What if someone comes by?”
“Do you think we have to worry about that? We haven’t seen anyone in two days.”
She was so right—and the stroke of her hand was so much better than his. “Keep that up, and I won’t give a fuck who comes by.”
Her fingers tightened the slightest bit as she increased her speed. He buried his face against her neck with a deep-throated growl. “As good as that feels, Shanna, I’m dying to be inside you.”
“Not yet.”
“I’m not going to last.”
“That’s okay. As I recall, you have an impressive recovery time.”
He quit arguing and instead moved them closer to shore where he could set her on her feet with her head and chest above the water. “Ankle still okay?”
“Yep.”
The steep slant of the lake bottom put her breasts at the perfect height for his mouth as she stroked him closer and closer to climax. He tongued and suckled until the rising tension short-circuited his brain, leaving him to rest his forehead against her chest while he concentrated on the sensations building with the force of a freight train.
And then she stopped.
He groaned in protest, but she dipped back down into the water and back-paddled into the shallows. He followed suit, his eyes just above the surface as he swam after her like an alligator stalking prey.
“Trust me?” she asked.
“Sure,” he said, ready to agree to anything.
She urged him ashore until his hips were above the water, his ass planted on the sandy bottom—thank God this shore was sandy and not mucky. With his elbows dug into the sand behind him, he swallowed hard and waited for her next move. She crawled up on her hands and knees to straddle his hips. The sexy view of her cleavage made him wish he’d removed her bra.
Still, he enjoyed the vision until she halted with her face about two inches from his.
“Don’t touch me,” she warned.
His gaze narrowed. “Uh…okay.”
“I didn’t say thank you for taking care of me earlier. Consider this my thank you.”
“You’re welcome?” It came out as a question because he was still not quite sure what she was up to.
She flashed a smile, then leaned forward to give him a brief, intense kiss. Just when he pressed forward and lifted a hand to thread into her hair, she pulled back with a warning arch of her brows and tilt of her head.
“Right. Don’t touch.” He lowered his arm back to the sand, then watched as she kissed her way down his chest, across his stomach, and lower.
Sweet mother of God.
He hated to say his next words, but… “Shanna, you don’t have to—”
“Mmm,” her lips vibrated against his skin, “but I want to.”
Well, if she wanted to, he was just going to shut the hell up.
She took him in her mouth, her warm lips sliding down his shaft as her tongue swirled around his head. Knowing how buttoned up she usually was at the office only made the moment ten times hotter. Right there, he pretty much lost the ability to form a coherent sentence and dropped flat out on the shore, his fingers digging deep into the sand as he stared up at the bright blue sky.
“Holy fuck,” was the best he could manage when she took him back to the edge and sent him careening over the cliff.
Once the world came back into focus, he murmured, “For an uptight, straight-laced control freak, that was…incredible. Even in my wildest fantasies I could not have imagined a thank you like that.”