Authors: Julie Ortolon
“Enough, enough,” Chloe finally gasped. She thrashed her head, her body sensitized almost beyond bearing. When he continued tormenting her with pleasure, she reached for his shoulders to urge him upward.
He took a second to put on the condom before working his way up her body with a trail of nips and licks that left her quivering. Finally, he settled over her, his weight pressing her into the mattress. She felt his fingertips caressing her face, and opened her heavy eyes to find him looking at her with such fierce desire, her breath caught.
Knowing she brought this out in him made her feel powerful and hungry for more. She moved her hands over the hot skin of his back, thrilling to the feel of his muscles tightening at her touch. Going lower, she found his butt as firm and round as she’d thought it would be. He sucked in a breath as she squeezed.
“God,” he growled, nuzzling her neck. “What you do to me.”
“Show me,” she urged.
He pressed inside her, stretching her, filling her. When he began to move, she lost herself in the thrill of watching him, touching him. Her own pleasure built again, along with his, higher and higher until it burst over both of them. Gasping, she arched her back, joining him as shudders racked his body.
Slowly, he descended into her welcoming arms. She held him as he struggled for breath, enjoying the sheen of sweat that covered his hot skin. When his tremors stopped, he rolled onto his back, taking her with him. Slowly, the world settled about them.
To her surprise, he didn’t move away when the heat of the moment passed. He held her close, stroking her hair. The tenderness of his touch unnerved her, since she’d had so little of that in her life.
When he kissed her forehead gently, she went still. The gesture somehow felt more intimate than what they had just done. It felt… loving.
She wanted to lift her head to see his face, but the thought of what she might find in his eyes held her in place. Was she ready for something like this? Ready for someone who might want more than casual dating and mutual satisfaction? Fear hitched in her chest at where that could lead, to vulnerability and hurt.
Oh, but it felt so good to have someone hold her. Simply hold her.
Rather than ease away, as her instincts for self-preservation warned her to do, she nestled against him and let herself drift to sleep. Tomorrow was soon enough to decide if she was ready to trust Luc with more than her body.
Chapter 10
“Good morning.”
The enticing voice drifted to Luc from somewhere far away, but his mind felt too sluggish to respond. A whiff of coffee coaxed him toward consciousness. Cracking his eyes open, he found himself face down in a rumpled bed, his body leaden from a long, hard sleep.
“What time is it?”
Rubbing his face, he twisted around and found Chloe wearing a white bathrobe, sitting cross-legged on the bed beside him. Soft light from a bedside lamp haloed sable hair that tumbled to her waist. She gave him a hesitant smile. For one heart-stopping moment, he thought he was dreaming. Then memory came flooding back and a smile tugged at his lips. “Good morning.”
“I have coffee.” She gestured sideways, and he realized she’d set a tray beside her on the bed. It held a white carafe, mugs, a small dish with sweeteners, and a little cream pitcher. “I wasn’t sure how you like it, so I brought options.”
“How about black and by the gallon?” His voice came out scratchy.
“I can definitely handle that.”
While she dealt with the coffee, he managed to sit up against the headboard. His sluggishness surprised him since he never slept so soundly that he couldn’t wake in an instant. Normally he could never shut his brain off enough for that. Even in sleep, his mind churned.
Last night, though, he’d fallen like a rock after having the best sex of his entire life.
“Here you go.” Chloe held a steaming mug out to him.
“Thank you.” The first sip warmed his throat. The second helped clear a layer of fog from his brain. By the third, the taste of the coffee finally registered. He looked at the mug in surprise. “Hey, this is really good.”
“Living at a B and B can do wonders for a woman’s coffee-making skills.” She studied him over the rim of her own mug. “It’s the least I could do before waking you so early.”
“What time is it?” He looked at his watch. His eyes were too tired to focus, but the hint of light creeping around the curtains told him it was morning.
“Barely after six,” she said apologetically. “I have to be at the inn by seven thirty to help with breakfast.”
“Oh.” His groggy brain had just started to form a plan to spend the morning in bed with her, but her statement nixed that idea. “I guess I need to get out of here, then.”
“No, you can take your time. In fact, I thought about leaving you a note and letting you sleep, but...” She shrugged. Her gaze skated away as if she was nervous.
Why would Confident Chloe be nervous?
“I’m glad you woke me,” he reassured her. He’d wake up at the crack of dawn every day if it meant waking up next to her. Fast on the heels of that thought, reality smacked him in the face.
Oh shit.
He’d slept with Chloe before telling her about the necklace.
He hid his cringe behind another swallow of coffee.
Stay calm
, he ordered himself.
And don’t say anything important before you’re awake enough to think straight.
He cleared his throat and tried to look nonchalant. “I’m glad we have a few minutes before you head for work.”
“Me too.” Her cheeks colored, and he had the oddest feeling that their roles had flipped, making her the one who didn’t know what to say or do. “I, um, don’t suppose you’d be up for a sunrise jog on the beach?”
“Ah, a morning person.” He smiled wryly.
“I take it you’re not?” She cocked a brow.
“Only if morning means the hours between midnight and four, when a man can really get some work done.”
“I had a feeling you were a workaholic.” She chided him with her eyes.
A return of her teasing felt more normal. Maybe he’d imagined that hint of nervousness.
“So, how about that run?” she asked.
“I have a better idea for morning exercise.” He twisted a strand of her hair around his finger, pulling her toward him.
Chloe went willingly, taking refuge in the kiss. Getting physical was so much simpler than morning-after conversation. Resting her hands on his chest for balance, she leaned into the taste and warmth of him. Tingles of awareness coursed through her as he nibbled at her lips. His hand went into her hair at the nape of her neck as he slanted his head for a better angle.
Desire built, urging her to slide under the covers with him, trail her hands over his nude body, and let him slip her robe off so he could touch all of her.
Then she remembered waking up to find one of his arms draped over her waist to hold her near, even in sleep. She’d studied him a long time, barely breathing for fear she’d wake him. How easy it would have been to leave a note for him. That would have given her time to step back before seeing him again. She could have kept things casual and light. Taken things slow. Not physically, of course—she’d enjoyed last night too much to want to back off from that. Emotionally, though, a little caution wouldn’t hurt.
Remembering that, she pulled away just as he tried to lower her to the mattress.
“Oh no you don’t,” she scolded playfully. “If we go there, I’ll probably fall back to sleep and miss breakfast all together.”
“You’re saying I put you to sleep?” He raised his brows in mock offence.
God, did he have any idea how delicious he looked? His blond hair was rumpled from sleep, and golden brown stubble darkened his jaw. The sheet had fallen to his lap, revealing his nicely defined shoulders and chest. Unable to resist, she ran a finger down his abs, remembering the fun she’d had with her very own wicked sea captain. “I’m saying you exhaust me into sated slumber.”
“Sated slumber.” He grinned. “I like that.” He moved in to kiss her again.
“Na-ah.” Laughing, she dodged his lips. “Jog.”
He sighed. “I’d love to, but I’m afraid I didn’t bring the right footwear.”
“You can run barefoot on sand.”
“Or the right clothes.” He looked down at his lap, reminding her he wore nothing beneath the sheet.
Temptation flirted with resolve but she pushed it away. “How about a walk, then?”
“Are you sure you want the St. Claires to know you had an overnight guest? Right now, if we’re lucky, I can get to my car and drive away without them noticing. If we go walking along the beach, though, they might see us.”
“Rory and Chance are the only ones at the inn right now, and they’ll be busy in the kitchen at the back of the house.” She bit her lip. “You’re right, though, they’d be pretty shocked. Having an overnight guest after two dates is definitely not something I normally do. If my uncle finds out…” Her eyes widened as she imagined his reaction.
“What?” Worry flashed over Luc’s face. “He’s not like some overprotective father who’ll pull out a shotgun, is he?”
“No, he’s not
that
bad,” she assured. “He would, however, grill me with a hundred and one questions about you, to be sure he thinks you’re good enough to date me. So, how about we walk that way along the beach, instead?” She pointed over her shoulder, away from the inn.
“Good idea.”
~ ~ ~
Birdsongs broke the morning quiet as Chloe led the way down the trail toward the beach. The lightweight warm-up jacket she wore over a sports bra and cropped jogging pants staved off the slight chill while her running shoes crunched on the dew-dampened mulch.
When they emerged from the cool shade of the trees onto the beach, she stopped to breathe in the tangy scent of the Gulf as the rhythm of the waves replaced the song of the birds. The rising sun gilded the bottoms of the billowing clouds that skirted the edges of the bright blue sky. Off in the distance, she caught a flash of lightning.
“Looks like we could be in for a spring thunderstorm today,” she said as she took a seat on a bench at the end of the trail to remove her running shoes.
“Perfect weather for spending the day indoors.” He sat as well, removing his shoes and rolling up his pant legs. He slipped an arm around her. “What time do you get off work?”
“What do you have in mind?” She smiled innocently.
He nuzzled her neck. “I think you know.”
“Letting me play Vortal?” she suggested hopefully.
He went still, his face hidden against her neck. When he lifted his head, his expression looked oddly guarded. “We’ll see. For now, let’s walk.”
She puzzled over his reluctance to let her play Vortal as they crossed the loose sand. They settled into an easy pace on the harder surface close to the water’s edge where gentle waves chased the sandpipers back and forth. Considering how much the game meant to him, she thought he’d be eager to show it off to her. A warning niggled the back of her mind. Something wasn’t right.
She shook off the anxious feeling. Luc didn’t trip any other warning bells for her. Quite the opposite. Last night, he’d shown her more caring and respect than any man ever had before. Allowing him in, a little anyway, felt right.
Absently, she bent and picked up a shell. Dusting it off, she found it completely intact.
“Look.” She showed it to him. “A keeper.”
“Collect a lot of sea shells?”
“Among other things.” She slipped the shell into the pocket of her jacket. “You never know what you’ll find on the beach.”
She thought about telling him about the necklace she’d found a few years back. Really telling him about it. Not just the story about finding it, which anyone could learn from reading one of the articles about her discovery, but why it meant so much to her. She’d never confided all of it to anyone. Even in that one unguarded phone conversation with her mother, which had sparked Diane’s obsession about the necklace being a replacement for Marguerite’s good luck charm, she hadn’t confessed why the necklace meant so much to her. Diane wouldn’t have understood, but Luc might. He seemed to understand her in ways no one else did. Temptation tugged at her as she watched the wind play with his hair while the morning light kissed his face.
Feeling Chloe’s gaze, Luc looked sideways and found her studying him. Her expression said she wanted to tell him something, but couldn’t decide if she should.
“What?” he asked warily.
She bit her lip as emotion played in her eyes. She’d looked at him many times as if she liked him. This was something bigger, though.
Holy cow, was she falling for him?
He saw the moment she decided to tell him whatever was going through her mind. The hesitation vanished into a beguiling smile.
“Wanna know the best thing I ever found on the beach?”