Chapter 18
Celebrate. The word caused erotic images to flit through Ashleigh's mind—champagne, warm oil, his hands and lips caressing every inch of her skin. She shook her head, trying to dislodge the thoughts and the heat they were causing to surge within her.
"Dinner was fabulous," she said as they cleared away the last of the dishes.
"Good. I wanted this night to be special. I'm sorry for what brought you here, but I'm happy we reconnected." Desire blazed in his eyes. She bit down on her bottom lip. She wanted to have sex with him again, and if she were honest with herself, she'd wanted to since she first laid eyes on him at Dunes. After the night they'd spent together at the hotel, she hadn't been able to think of anything else. Worse, she couldn't fathom the fact of going back to the Los Angeles without feeling him inside her one last time.
"I've missed you," he said softly.
I've missed you too. She wanted to say it back. The words were sitting right there on the tip of her tongue, but she didn't dare. She didn't trust herself enough to admit it—to let herself feel or believe it. Did she want to chance starting something up with him again, and having her heart shattered once more? No. This was casual. A fling. It was their deal, and she wouldn't be the one to break it.
He stood and held out his hand. She looked at it for a moment and then took it. "Where are we going?"
He walked her over to the railing at the edge of the patio. She looked down at the beach. A blanket was spread out on the sand, an ice bucket held a bottle of wine in it, and logs were stacked to burn. It looked just as it had the first time they were together. It was funny how seeing it didn't upset her like it might have a few days ago. In fact, it did just the opposite.
"Shall we?" The warm timbre of his voice caressed her.
She could feel expectation rolling off him, the fire within her burning hotter than anything he could create. If she got the part she was auditioning for tomorrow, tonight might be the last time she saw Hunter. The last time she felt his lips on her skin.
Only this time, she'd be leaving on her terms.
She tore her gaze away from the longing in his eyes, kicked off her shoes, and ran down the stairs to the beach.
"The sand feels so good on my feet," she said, laughing, and hurried toward the water. He chased after her and she ran right in, playing in the waves, feeling the warm water against her calves, her knees, her thighs.
"Take off those shoes and come in," she called. "The water feels amazing."
Without skipping a beat, he slipped off his shoes and socks and dropped his pants on the blanket, along with his jacket.
She couldn't take her eyes off him as he stripped down to a tight pair of black skivvies. Damn, he was one handsome man. His skin was tanned and muscular and bulging in all the right places.
"The water is so warm. You wouldn't believe how cold the Pacific is."
He laughed as he ran toward her and swept her up into his arms. "I've heard. One of these days I'm going to have to give it a try myself."
She looked up at him and smiled. "Well, you know, you have a friend in L.A. You can always come visit." But even as she said the words, she wondered—would she want him to? Or after tonight, did she want a clean break? Closure. A way to finally put the past behind her and move on for good.
His eyes darkened, his hands cupping her face as he pulled her to him and kissed her. His lips slanted over hers, devouring, possessing. His tongue drove into her mouth and wrestled with hers. Fire expanded in her belly as he claimed her fully. She moaned, deepening the kiss, twining her arms around his neck and tangling her fingers in his hair.
A large wave broke over them, almost knocking her off her feet, and covering her completely. They broke apart. She laughed. "I'm drenched."
"I can see that," he said, waggling his eyebrows.
She looked down at herself and saw what he did. Her dress was soaked and clung to her skin. It looked as if her white satin panties and bra were not even there. The rosy hue of her puckered nipples pushed against the thin fabric. Instantly, she dived toward deeper water until she could stand and the water covered her breasts.
"Ah, now what did you have to go do that for?" Hunter came closer to her, sliding his hands over her ass cheeks to pull her to him. "I liked the view."
He kissed her again, and it was all she could do to stay on her feet. His erection pushed against her belly, and with the next wave to wash over them, she lifted her legs around his waist and pressed her core against it.
He inhaled a deep breath. "Feels nice."
"Doesn't it?"
He pulled her tight against him and kissed her again, kissing her while he carried her out of the water and toward the blanket as the sky darkened. As they reached the blanket, she peeled her wet dress over her head and slipped out of her bra. She smiled at his quick intake of breath. Even in the waning light, she could see his eyes darken. He was breathing out of his mouth. He looked tense, ready to spring.
She pressed her lips against his, moving her mouth, slipping her tongue inside his warmth. She moaned as she tasted him, a trio of wine, heat, and desire. Their tongues sparred, fighting for who would be the victor, the pressure growing as their battle continued. She moaned deep in her throat, and he grabbed her shoulders.
"I haven't been able to stop thinking of you," he said against her mouth. "Of wanting to touch you."
His hands dropped down her back, sliding down her silky skin, over her ass. He slipped his fingers inside the waistband of her panties and pulled them down, then massaged the cheeks of her bottom. Teasing her as his fingers moved closer and closer to her heat. She felt herself grow wet, and wished he would slip inside her.
He broke away from her lips and ran a stream of kisses down her neck, his hot breath caressing her skin. Her hands slipped over his chest, moving over his well-defined pecs, rubbing her thumbs over the tight tips of his nipples. She loved touching him, feeling his heat. He leaned his head down, took the peak of her breast into his mouth, and sucked. Fire shot though her. Whatever Hunter Hamilton was, he was a damn fine lover. She loved feeling his hands on her body, his lips kissing her senseless, his thick, hard cock inside her.
His fingers moved toward her center, slipped between her wet folds, and pushed inside her core. She moaned and wiggled on his hand, even as his erection pushed against her belly. She drew her hand over it, circling her fingers around his shaft, moving her hand up and down, rubbing the velvet tip against her palm. He was definitely ready for her, as she was him.
"Every time I walk on this beach, I think of you. I fantasize about doing exactly this. Are you ready for a fire?"
"I'm already on fire." She lay down on the blanket as he lit a match and ignited the kindling under the logs. She wanted to feel him next to her. Skin to skin. His mouth on hers, his tongue, his fingers, his hot breath on her cheek. She wanted it all. Even if it was for the last time.
He didn't disappoint her. He lay next to her and took the tip of her nipple into his mouth, lapping at her skin, sucking, nibbling, until the buds stood in stiff, aching peaks. She squirmed as his mouth traveled lower, his fingers spreading her as his wet tongue licked her clit. Her back arched and she groaned.
"Oh, God. Hunter. That feels so good, but I don't want to come. Not yet."
"We have all night. I plan to make you come over and over." His hot breath caressed her sensitive nub, almost sending her over the edge.
She tried to hold back the wave coming toward her. "No, not yet." She pushed back from him. "Your turn. And don't you come either."
She pushed him on his back and then climbed over him, licking the long shaft of his cock, slowly, one side then another, in long, sweeping strokes. She blew on the wet skin, and he groaned. "You're torturing me."
"Am I?"
She licked the tip of his cock, circling her tongue around the velvety skin, flicking her tongue across the sensitive flesh, but not taking him into her mouth.
"Oh, God," he said.
Enjoying his torment, she repeated the process, tickling his skin with her tongue, dropping sweet kisses, all the while lightly dragging her fingertips across the tops of his thighs. He huffed out excruciating breaths and pushed himself toward her.
"Take me," he said. "Take me all the way in."
She did as he wished, opening her throat and taking him all the way in, swirling her tongue over his shaft. She loved the feel of his silky skin. The salty taste of him. She pulled all the way out then took him all the way in before focusing solely on his tip. His breathing was becoming faster and harder.
She pulled back as she felt him tense. "No, coming now."
"I'm not," he said.
His cock, red and swollen, looked like it was ready to explode.
"Good. Because I have other plans for you."
***
Holy fuck. Hunter loved it when she sucked him, and didn't want it to stop. Seeing her leaning over him, her ass wiggling in the air as her lips moved up and down on his cock, almost made him explode. But she knew that.
And that was why she stopped.
A seductive smile curved her lips. "I'm not going to let you come. Not until I'm done with you."
She was toying with him. Excitement coursed through his veins, and he almost jumped out of his skin when her hair brushed against his ultra-sensitized skin as she rolled up his body and took one of his nipples into her mouth, sucking on it as she had the head of his cock—with unadulterated abandon.
"I need some of that," he growled, grabbed her under the arms, and pulled her up over him so one of her breasts filled his mouth. He sucked on it as if he'd never tasted her before, as if he'd never licked anything so sweet, so delectable. The peak of her nipple hardened beneath the lashing of his tongue, and he nipped at it gently with his teeth.
She moaned, music to his ears, and wiggled her hips over his cock, teasing it relentlessly with her curls as her hot, wet warmth rubbed its head. He could feel her heat, the moisture beneath the folds, inviting him in. And he wanted to be in. To bury himself inside her, to throw her on her back and drive his cock deep inside her. But he couldn't. Not yet.
"You're killing me."
She smiled, her eyes glinting in the firelight. "Good. I want to make you suffer. To see what you've missed for the last fourteen years."
"Oh, trust me, baby. I know. I've already suffered."
She slid his cock up and down the juncture between her legs, just inside the curls, spreading her wet heat up and down his shaft. He sucked in a deep breath then reached down and grasped her clit between his fingers and squeezed it, rubbing it, until her eyes rolled back with pleasure.
"Do you like that?" he asked.
"Yes."
He grabbed her hips and pulled her to his face. "Sit on me, baby. Let me taste you."
And she did just that.
He pushed his tongue into her core and felt her wriggle above him. Then, spreading her apart with his fingers, he took her clit into his mouth and sucked, flicking it with his tongue until she was writhing. She was pure golden honey, and he couldn't get enough. It didn't take long before she was gasping.
She pulled away before she could reach her climax. "Not yet," she said on a heavy breath.
"I have to be inside you. I can't wait any longer."
"You don't have to. I'm sure with all this preparation you didn't forget a condom, did you?"
He gave her a wicked grin. "Not on your life." He pulled up the edge of the blanket and picked one up out of the stash he'd placed there.
"Good man. Hand it over."
He did as she commanded, anxious to see what she had in store for him. She ripped open the package with her teeth and pulled the condom out, then leaned back and slid it over his throbbing shaft. Slowly. Deliberately.
He sucked in a breath.
She positioned herself over him, straddling him and guiding him into her hot pussy, inch by excruciating inch as she eased down on top of him. He wanted to buck up, to plunge himself inside her, or grab her by the hips and pull her down, but he resisted and let her run the show. He knew he wouldn't be disappointed, and he wasn't. Each agonizing, prolonged sensation only served to make him want her more.
Once he was fully embedded inside her, she started to buck her hips. She squeezed his cock, moving back and forth, pushing him deep inside her tight channel. Her muscles gripped him so tightly that he could barely breathe or he'd surely explode. And then she sat upright and started to ride him. Up and down. The long column of her throat extended as she threw her head back and looked up at the stars, moving faster and harder. Riding him with an abandon he'd never seen before. By anyone.
Her breathing accelerated, as did his. Her breasts jiggled as she moved up and down, and suddenly he couldn't watch her any longer, could only feel as the passion building inside him pushed him faster and faster toward that breaking point, until a loud moan tore from his throat and he exploded inside the condom. She stiffened around him, tensing as a shudder moved through her, a smile lifting the corners of her lips, and at that moment, in the flickering of the firelight, he didn't think he'd ever seen anyone more beautiful.
And then she collapsed on top of him.