She peeled her wet T-shirt over her head.
He caught the cotton top from her hand, used it to gently wash the marks of her tears from her face, and then tossed it to the beach.
He leaned back, drinking in the sight of her: her lovely face and eyes, still flushed from her tears, but filled with happiness instead of shadows, her soft, smiling lips, and sweet swells of her breasts.
“Have I mentioned how much I love this yellow bikini of yours?”
With a laugh, she nodded. “You’re overdressed now.” She undid the first two buttons of his shirt and pressed a kiss to the join of his collarbones, and then traced her lips over his chest, taking deliberate nibbles as she finished unbuttoning his shirt, and the soggy garment joined hers on the beach.
He took her mouth again, her tongue joining his in seductive play. He laced one hand into her hair, sliding the other to splay over her bottom, gently controlling the pressure and pace of their contact. So good.
He caressed the bare skin of her back. He would never tire of touching Kay.
Catching her sides in his hands, he tipped her back to blaze a trail of kisses down to her breasts. He closed his mouth over the tight, sensitive pearl of her nipple straining at the yellow polka-dot fabric and sucked. She clenched and arched, grinding against his erection. He jolted. Oh, yeah. The wet barrier of their shorts between them was both frustrating and instigating.
“Again,” he ordered and bit lightly, pressing his hand against her bottom, adding to the effort, pleasure to pleasure. His focus narrowed to the two points of intense contact: the sweet torment of her against his cock and his tongue rasping over her nipple.
Her breath strained in pants, her belly tightening, back arching, and movements tight and focused.
“Yeah, there you are. Come on, come for me,” he murmured against her breast and sucked hard, flicking his tongue against her as he squeezed and drove her down against him.
“Nate!” Her fingers bit into his shoulders, and she shuddered sweetly in his hands.
A chuckle shaking him, he hugged her close and kissed her shoulder. “Blanket or cot?” he asked between showered kisses.
“Either, both, yes,” she gasped.
With laughter pealing from him, he surged out of the water, catching her up in his arms, his hands gripping her bottom. She yelped in delight, wrapping her arms over his shoulders, and tightened her legs around his waist. He strode out of the water, kissing her ravenously. Wet skin and hot air dragged an earthy, cool shiver over his skin.
“Uhhh, nope, that would be a big negative. Looks like Nate’s got things well in hand down there,” Dave’s voice broke in from above on the hillside.
Nate stumbled to a halt and tore his lips from hers. “Shit!”
Dave, one more step and you are so dead.
Giggles burst from Kay.
Nate took several heavy, sharp breaths as he let her slide down gently to her feet. His voice barked out hoarsely, “Dave, you know I love you like one of my own brothers, right? But. Get. Lost. Now!”
Dave was already disappearing out of sight beyond the ridge, and his laughter rang out. “If you two come up for air, we’ll see you at supper. Or breakfast.”
Kay wrapped her arms around his waist, shaking with silent giggles.
Nate groaned and rocked his erection against her, and touched his forehead to hers as more chuckles shook loose from him.
“Could have been worse, he might have shown up a few minutes later from now,” Kay whispered in his ear.
Thinking of where he planned to be and what he had in mind to be doing in a few minutes, his laughter burst full out. “Remind me to kill him later, anyway, okay?”
“No problem.”
He slid his hands over her arms and down her back to cup and caress her bottom, then slid up to slide under her shorts’ waistband. He grinned. “Now…where were we? Ah, yeah, getting naked and horizontal.” He kissed her deep and hot, backing her toward the tent until they were by the doorway.
Kay toed off her wet sneakers and slipped out of his hands into the tent.
After tossing her cotton blanket over the slippery fluff of the sleeping bags, she flopped back onto the cot and set to wriggling out of her wet denim shorts and bikini bottoms. The sight of her, all pale and sexy against the pink blanket in the bright filtered sunlight inside the tent, brought him to a complete halt in stripping off his shorts.
Beautiful.
Sooner you move, the sooner you can join her.
Right. “Shorts.” Nate untangled his feet from his shorts and reached through the doorway. Kay handed her wet shorts over and he tossed them on the drying line. A moment later, he launched through the tent doorway and pounced on top of her with a laugh, careful of her bruised knees, the cot rocking and creaking under them. Skin to skin, so right, so good.
He tugged down her bikini strap to uncover one breast, and fondled the soft handful of her, rubbing his thumb and bringing her pretty nipple to a taut, tempting pearl. “I really, really love this suit.”
Kay sucked in her breath and arched sensuously into his hand. “Why? With you it’s more off than on.”
“Exactly.” He slid the other cup aside and closed his mouth over her nipple.
****
Pleasure jolted Kay and her reply vanished under the twin assaults of his talented hands and mouth.
She shivered, from the pleasure, her desire, and the after-burn of the day’s wild emotion swings. She’d nearly ruined this, nearly lost him.
Her weariness, her aches and pains, all faded under the sweet arousal. Then her world narrowed to a lush blur of touch and stroke and heat and sweat, mouths and hands, cries and gasps.
More and more. Her mouth found his and delight flooded her in the slow, drugging kiss.
She blindly sought, and caught, his rigid hot shaft, stroking her fingers against his silky skin, sliding over hard flesh, mentally cursing her bandaged palms that kept her from holding him fully as she wanted. She caressed him delicately with her fingertips, relishing his shudders of pleasure and the buck of his hips.
He rocked into her strokes. His breath hissed out, and his eyes closed in tense bliss. “Yes, yes, more.”
Pulse and breath heated to a frantic pace under the urgent press and slide of skin, their bodies rocking together, straining for and against the coiling heat.
“Wait—” Nate wrenched to the side, chest heaving, leaving her splayed in abandon on the sleeping bag. She sighed, waves of desire flushing over her, feasting her eyes on his lovely, aroused body as he flexed and stretched and searched his hand under the pillows. “Where? There!” He grabbed the condom, hands trembling as he tore open the packet.
She reached out a hand, intending to help him.
He just gave her a fierce grin and a shake of his head as he rolled it on with the swift accuracy of the desperate. Then he was back over her and she was lifting her hips, hungry for him to fill her. He thrust home in one swift drive, deep and hard, delighted groans breaking from both of them.
She gripped his sides hard, needing to anchor herself. Stings of pain from her bandaged palms broke through the bliss. A wince escaped her.
He caught her wrists in his hands, firmly, but gently stretching her out. “No, take it easy on your hands.” The controlling position added lovely tension to their bodies surging and driving together. He shifted his hips, going deeper and stronger. Passion blazed in those beautiful gray eyes. She clenched at every withdrawal, welcomed every thrust, breathy cries escaping her throat.
“Oh, babe, how I love those sounds you make.” His husky voice jolted a thrill over her.
She gulped air to replace the breath he was driving out of her and laughed. “I love…you…everything…you do to me—Oh, Nate, yes!” she cried out as his next thrust tipped her spinning into the bright carnal grip of pleasure.
However, he was far from done. Grinning, his breath coming in short, fast gasps, he eased to a lazy circling motion, giving her a chance to come down. The rhythm might look and feel lazy, but he was all control and focus. The muscles in his shoulders and neck were taut. Sweat trickled along his temples. He nudged her legs to spread and draw up tighter.
Kay found the cot frame with one foot and braced herself. Oh, yes. Better. More.
Still rocking and circling in the mesmerizing pattern, he released her wrists and caught her face between his hands. “I love you. Look at you, so beautiful.”
The words came so easy this time, freeing, her emotions frothing like champagne. “I love you, Nate.” Happy tears pricked at her eyes.
He kissed her tenderly, long and sensual. Kay sank her fingers into his hair, drowning in the kiss and the dance of their bodies.
The rhythm shifted again, and the tense rush and race to the finish began in earnest. He braced on his arms and reared up to drive short, hard and deep.
She reached right along with him, pent between laughter and ecstasy, clawing her fingers first into the soft blanket and cushioning sleeping bag, and then, needing to hold him, catching onto his arms. Any discomfort in her hands vanished under the promise of the coming climax clenching deep within her and trembling along her legs. Both of them moving in intense harmony, their breathing harsh and shuddering in the desperate, delightful race.
Nate’s eyes locked on her. There was his fierce pirate smile again. He’d never looked more wild or beautiful. His words streamed, rough and urgent, and as sensual for her ears as the sleek pounding drive of his body into hers, “There you go. I can feel you, almost, almost there. Yes. You feel so good. Go for it, babe. Come for me.”
The intense pleasure loomed, too much. Too much. “Oh, Nate!”
“Tell me. Tell me. I love you. Tell me. Go for it!” He drove hard. His face tightened.
“I love you!” Her cry tore free and joined with his hoarse shout of masculine satisfaction.
As the lovely shock and roll of her release flashed over her, he bucked hard and came with her.
“Yes!” Nate sagged against her, heavy and sweating, his cheek glued to hers, as he stayed half-propped over her on elbows, his harsh breaths rushing over her damp shoulder. Exhausted chuckles shook him, and he collapsed the rest of the way and rolled them to their sides. The twitch and pulse of him still locked within her set off answering shivers of delight through her.
Kay stroked her fingers through his damp hair, cuddling him to her, floating in the peace wrapping her mind and body.
He stirred to shower lazy kisses over her face and throat, a contented smile on his lips. He brushed his lips over hers in soft, licking teases. “What’re you thinking?” he murmured drowsily.
“Vegas. I want to marry you in Vegas.” The words just popped out of her mouth. Kay would have sworn she couldn’t have put a coherent sentence together, he had her so relaxed.
His eyes widened, surprise knocking the drowsiness right out of them. “You do?”
She expected embarrassment or the nagging, crazed doubt that had tormented her over the past several days to follow her statement, but no, just cool, solid certainty and clean happiness that Nate and Vegas were exactly what she wanted.
She smiled, joy at her decision filling her. “I do.”
Chapter Seventeen
Five days later, Kay was more than fed up with her new sandals. They were pretty, but completely useless for walking. She could do this better barefoot. Or in hiking boots.
If only she had put her foot down at that last shop…
JoAnn laughed. “Stop fidgeting, Kay, sweetie, you’re losing your flowers. Livie, hon, want to fix that one for her?”
“I am not fidgeting. These shoes are going to be the death of me.” But she obediently held still as Olivia fixed the tiny orchids JoAnn had the salon put in her hair along with what felt like a few hundred bobby pins.
“They’re gorgeous, and you are so not taking them off. You are going to knock Nate’s socks off. If he’s wearing any.” Olivia stepped back and smiled in cheery approval, genuine happiness filling her serious brown eyes. “You’re so beautiful.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this. Pink! Elvis!” Kay glared at the offending hot pink, ridiculously high-heel sandals that perfectly matched the glossy polish on her fingers and toes, the bright Gerbera daisies in the simple bouquets, and the pink dresses JoAnn and Olivia wore. Kay wore the sleeveless ivory dress with the ballet-length skirt they had picked out during the whirlwind shopping led by Olivia.
Olivia had declared she knew the perfect shops and salon, and she’d proved herself: three shops, three perfect dresses. JoAnn’s dress was floral and flirty, and perfectly comfortable for her baby bump. Olivia was stunning in the eye-popping pink of her simple slip dress.
Her friends hadn’t allowed her one minute to worry and, somewhere between breakfast and this moment, they’d managed to get her completely ready for the wedding: from JoAnn as Matron of Honor and Olivia as her bridesmaid, down to something borrowed—Olivia’s elegant diamond earrings—and something blue—the scandalous lacy bra and panties under her lovely dress that Patti swore with a deadpan voice was her and Scott’s wedding present for Nate.