“Would you like something to drink? Help yourself in the cooler there.”
“Water would be great, thanks.”
Kay toweled off and hung her towel neatly on the line. With effort, she turned away without straightening Nate’s more casual drying arrangement.
Olivia was sipping at her water and studying Kay’s new painting. “That’s lovely. A happy scene.”
Kay smiled. “Thank you.”
A thoughtful, sweet smile curved Olivia’s lips. “It’s so the two of you. Perfect.” She hesitated, nerves filling her eyes. “Kay? I was wondering, well, would you sell your Coyote Point painting to me? I don’t know how much to offer you, but I love it and really would like to have it. How much do you want?”
Olivia’s shy request caught Kay by surprise, and her own answer even more. “If you like it, it’s yours.” She considered the piece an exercise in disappointment, not a finished work to sell.
“No, I want to pay you for it. I insist.”
Steel lurked behind those doe eyes of Olivia’s and, after a short debate, they settled on a figure that pleased Olivia and didn’t embarrass Kay for selling what she considered to be an unfinished and failed work. She signed and dated the watercolor.
Olivia smiled contentedly as she looked at the painting. “Thank you. You know, Kay, there’s a lot in this picture you don’t see the first time around. At first glance, it’s all burnt and dead, then you see the water there, and where there’s water, there’s life. It’s all hope.” She spoke momentously, as if that simple statement cleared up everything.
“Well…” Kay nodded, but she still failed to see what Olivia saw.
Cheer up, does it matter? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You made a sale and have a very contented customer.
“Want to head over to the others?”
“Sure.”
“Give me a couple minutes to tidy up and I’m ready.” She was already wearing the turquoise bikini Nate liked to see her in—and peel her out of.
Be happy
.
Laughing to herself, she reapplied her sunscreen, wrapped her white pareu around her hips, and slipped on a white gauze shirt. She combed out her fast-drying hair, leaving it loose, and slipped on the silver and turquoise earrings he liked.
She trailed her fingers over his collection of pebbles on the table, polished by sand, wind and water. Be happy. Be happy. How could she feel so happy and terrified at the same time? You’d think one would cancel out the other.
She would be happy. They would talk. She would sort out her mind.
Don’t worry, be happy.
She slipped on her leather sandals and picked up her sunhat, sunglasses and beach bag. “All set.”
As Kay and Olivia arrived at Spider Camp, Nate was talking and taking casual shots of Dave sitting on his boat. Dave waved. Nate stopped talking the moment she came into sight, his attention fixed on her in a way that rushed heat through her and kicked a happy tumble in her heart.
He waved. “Hey, babe!” He raked his gaze over her. “Stop right there.” He raised his camera and made swift adjustments. “Okay, move.” Rapid shutter clicks followed his order. “Oh, yeah. Beautiful. Slower. Perfect.”
He met her halfway and kissed her hot and hard. “I was about to track you down. You look great.”
“And you look happy.”
“Life is good.” He gave her another quick kiss. “I took some awesome shots today.”
Be happy. Kay smiled. She just needed to practice. Starting now. “Want a beer then to celebrate?”
“Sounds great.” Nate slid an arm around her waist and whispered in her ear, “Damn, I love this suit on you. Why does it always make me want to peel you out of it?” He caressed his hand down over her bottom, holding her close. He softly nipped her earlobe. “Between this one and that yellow-dot one, I am one happy man.”
Desire twisted and heated through her. Wanting him was so easy. That, at least, she never doubted.
“Let’s go swimming, so I can play. Hmm?” he murmured, with more little nips. “Please?”
Go on, practice being happy. Go swimming. Play. Relax. Enjoy. Love
.
What was so hard about all that?
Nothing.
Kay tugged the knot of her pareu free and tucked the wrap into his hand. “Okay.” She pulled away from him and strolled off, slipping off her shirt and tossing it, her sunglasses and hat on a chair as she passed, kicking off her sandals as she reached the damp sand.
Running feet pounded up behind her, and Nate scooped her up in his strong arms. He charged laughing with her into the water and threw them both in, the cool shocking splash against her sun-heated skin driving a giggling shriek from her.
Laughter and friendly catcalls rang behind them from their friends.
Nate tugged her to her feet, his body hard and warm against hers. He shook the water from his hair. A big smile, alive with affection and delight, lighted his face. Mischief danced in his eyes. “Come on, follow me.” He swam with lazy strokes toward the moored boats and flipped around, floating on his back, waiting. When she followed, he kicked farther on, putting Lloyd’s and Dave’s boats between him and the shore. She caught up with him. The water here was breast deep. He snagged her wrist and drew her close.
****
“Alone at last.” Nate chuckled and kissed her lightly, dry-brushing his lips over hers. She softened into him with a smile. Pleased to hold her, he slid his hands over her back. The cool lake water lapped about them, the current swaying them together.
What a day. Life was good. The sun was shining and he had a smiling Kay in his arms. Life was damn good. He grinned and kissed her shoulder, licking at the sparkles of water on her skin, grazing up to nibble and taste and just tease her wild. Her hands caught at his shoulders, fingers gripping. He liked when she held on tight.
Taking her mouth again in a deep, all-the-time-in-the-world kiss, he let his hands caress over her until he clasped her bottom’s sweet curves, pulling her close, riding his hard-on against her, easy and lazy, tantalizing them both.
J
ust hold me tight, babe, don’t let me go. I’ll make this work. Just give me a chance here.
“The way you looked, sauntering down the beach like that…” He nipped her earlobe, toying with the tender flesh. Kay sighed and threw her head back, giving him room to play his kisses over her lovely, sensitive throat. Oh, yeah, and those little hungry noises of hers had him good and hard.
He eased the bikini strap from her shoulder, following the strap’s fall with more kisses. Slipping the scanty blue fabric aside, he cupped her breast, caressing lazily, the nipple tightening to a rosy, sensitive point. Damn, but he loved touching her. She had the prettiest, most responsive breasts. His mouth watered and his groin tightened.
“Nate! Someone could come swimming out…A boat could come by…” Kay’s protest came out more as a needy sigh. Her eyes closed and her lips softened into a dreamy smile.
It was good to see her smiling. How could she not see how right they were for each other?
As if his thoughts had startled her, she flinched in his hands.
He cut off any further chance of protest with a kiss, before her sharp, logical mind could overrule feeling. He slipped his hand under her bikini bottoms, caressing the soft, bare cheeks of her lovely, lovely ass while he made love to her mouth. Needing her closer, he lifted her to wrap her legs around him. The hot air, the cool water rocking and lapping about them, his straining hard-on riding against her core, the tantalizing chance of discovery in the false privacy of the water and the boats sheltering them, all drowned him in sensation.
They broke apart, panting. Kay’s face was flushed and her blue eyes darkened. She sank under the water and rose back up, water streaming over her face, her breasts bare and tempting in the water, her top drifting around her waist.
He surged forward in the water and caught her, dragging her up to close his mouth over her breast, suckling and teasing with his tongue. She gripped his shoulders, and he moved to her other breast and she arched in his embrace, biting back her gasps of pleasure.
So good, so good, but if he didn’t let go now, he was going to be inside her in about thirty seconds.
With a groan, Nate dragged his mouth away and let Kay stand up. He drew her straps back in place and reluctantly tucked her breasts back in their cups, giving each a last, longing caress. “This is killing me right now, and how I’m going to get back on shore with any dignity, I don’t know, because this water is nowhere near cold enough, but the upside is I still get to peel you out of these cute scraps again later.”
“Mmm, you think?” With a teasing sparkle in her eyes, Kay ran her hand over his chest and down the tense muscles of his belly, and to the waistband of his swim trunks to tug at the strings.
“Kay.”
Ignoring his half-hearted warning, she slipped her fingers beneath the elastic, sliding the trunks down until she’d freed his erection, and delicately cupped him, her tracing fingers sending every drop of blood in his body south.
Dizzy with pleasure, Nate sucked in his breath sharply. “Oh, yeah.” Her caresses felt too good to tell her to stop. If he had half a brain cell working, he should stop her, because he just wanted to get inside her, and damn, she was right, any of their friends could come on out.
“Babe.” His voice cracked thick and guttural. Her hand massaged over his balls, and his brain tripped and tangled over
stop
and
don’t you dare stop.
He wanted to laugh for the sheer bliss, and he wanted to drag her close and bury himself in her sweet body.
“You wanted to play,” she whispered and wrapped her hand around his straining shaft. She kissed his shoulder and stroked him.
His breath hissed out, and he greedily surrendered to temptation. “Kay…Oh, yeah, harder. Babe…”
He was already close, and she knew how to play him so well. He was going to go over fast. His eyes shut and the world contracted to pleasure, Kay, and love. It didn’t take much more of her grip sliding over him, of their bodies rocking together, before his body seized in bliss and he went off in her hand with a gusty, choked “Yes!” of relief.
They stood embraced, sharing little kisses as he collected himself.
“I owe you.” He grinned ruefully and hiked up his shorts. At least he could get out of the water now. And he definitely looked forward to that payback.
Promise and want snapped in her grin. “Oh, yes, you do, and I fully intend to collect tonight.”
They swam lazily, relaxing, and letting the cool water settle their nerves before joining their friends.
“Ready for that beer now?”
“Very ready. And chips and guacamole. If they haven’t scarfed it all down without us.” She glanced over to the shore, blushed, and rolled her eyes. “They’ll no doubt have a good idea we’ve been fooling around behind the boats.”
“Probably.” He grinned and caught her in his arms for a quick kiss. “So don’t think about it.”
Thank you, God, for keeping everyone all hanging out on the beach
.
“Don’t think about it? Oh, right…Easy.” With a wink, she arched her body against his, drawing another sweet shudder from him. “Nope, won’t think of that or this at all.”
“Damn, babe.” And yeah, good thing for baggy swim trunks, because he’d be thinking plenty, all the way until they were alone again.
Her teasing smile grew pensive, and she settled in his arms. “If we go on this trip to the City of Rocks, do we camp or motel it?
She was seriously considering the trip? Relief and excitement rushed through him. “Both, either, whichever you want.”
“It would be nice to stay in a motel.” She leaned back in his embrace, lazily fanning her hands through the water, thoughts flicking through her blue eyes.
“Hot showers. Privacy.”
Her eyes brightened. “Hot showers are awesome.” She draped her arms over his shoulders, hands loosely clasped behind his neck, her smile soft and bemused.
“A bed. A king-sized bed.” Potent images of what they could do with showers and beds flooded his brain.
“An excellent idea.” She frowned. “You know, it’s going to be awkward, both of us driving separately and towing boats.” She paused, decisions flickering over her face. “One would make more sense. Give us more time together? More time to…talk and everything. More time.” She looked up with pleading in her eyes and a nervous smile.
Yes! He held his breath and comments. Please, please let this be progress.
But the logistics—she’d have to go all the way to his parents with him, and then he’d have to bring her all the way back.
So? Your time is open-ended now, and you wanted more time together. You already decided you wanted this.
Damn the logistics, his truck, her truck, a rental, that didn’t matter. He’d go for it in a moment if she agreed. “Sounds good.”
She nodded thoughtfully. In her eyes, Nate could see her weighing, calculating and making her mental lists. “I have maps in my truck. Next time we go to the marina, I’ll grab them and we can make plans.”
Yes! Relief, adrenaline and joy pounded through him, and he kissed her. “I love you, Kay.” Maybe if he just said it again and again and again, she’d finally believe him.