Nothing More Beautiful (38 page)

He grinned. “I can’t help it. All day long
I’ve thought about fucking you and now you’re teasing him.”

“Lie on your side and put your knee up. No,
like this.” I positioned him how I wanted the picture, stroking his
cock. We were both enjoying the building tension, the
anticipation.

As the sun was going down, Vince rolled out
an enormous blanket and weighed the corners down with rocks. I was
still wearing the faux fur red bikini that apparently was his
favorite of them all. We had both washed off the oil. He sprawled
out, naked and hard, his chiseled abs inviting me in for a
nibble.

I couldn’t resist the temptation. I kissed
his neck, down to his chest, biting each of his ab muscles in turn,
working my way down to his cock. It tasted salty with a slight hint
of sunscreen and oil. Propping himself on his elbows, he moaned and
moaned as I licked under his head, down the solid shaft, tonguing
his balls at the end, and repeating the whole process until he
couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’m going to come,” he managed to get
out.

Reading his body language, and listening to
his increased breaths, I already knew, and braced for it, pumping
relentlessly. I swallowed it all, rubbing his cock as it flopped
against his stomach, steadily shrinking.

He kissed me long and passionately to show
his gratitude. “Now it’s my turn,” he said, switching positions so
that his tongue trailed down my body. When he arrived between my
legs, I was so wet from the day of expectation that I might not
have even needed his tongue on my clit to make me come. It
certainly didn’t hurt though.

I was screaming instantly, coming almost as
fast as Vince had. My arousal had him hard in no time. I pushed him
flat on his back and straddled his torso, playing with his cock
against my clit.

Then he was in me.

His swollen cock was reaching so far up
inside me, I could feel things rearranging. I rotated my hips
around his shaft, arching back as he squeezed my ass. He pulled me
down and brushed aside the bikini cups, taking my nipples in his
mouth, until I pushed back, keeping my hands on his chest, sliding
up and down on his cock. I leaned back again, reaching behind me
with my right hand to play with his balls.

He took over thrusting—the added sensation
sending him into a new gear. The veins in his neck and forehead
became pronounced as he came for the second time. His breath was
heavier, his shouts louder, and his grunts deeper.

The pressure in my neck exploded a second
later, his hands clasping my ass so tight, it sent jolts of pain
and pleasure up my spine, adding to the orgasm.

Afterward, I lay on his chest, listening to
the pounding of his heart as it slowly settled into a restful beat.
We watched the sun vanish over the horizon while the moon rose
above, shining bright on the lightless beach.

Flooded with endorphins, I fell asleep to
the crashing waves and the music of Vince’s heart.

THE WEEK FLEW BY
in a
flash. We had done as much as possible in the short time span,
zooming around the island on a helicopter to see the Na Pali Coast,
kayaking up the Wailua River and hiking to a waterfall, exploring
the Waimea Canyon, and so much swimming, it seemed like I had
permanent wrinkles. The only thing we had yet to do was
snorkel.

Vince booked one of the tours along the Na
Pali Coast for the early morning and afternoon that Friday. Having
an assortment of swimwear meant I had the luxury of picking outfits
that suited different adventures. I chose the fluorescent green
monokini for this particular one.

I thought it would be a perfect end to a
perfect week—that is, until I saw Ryan climb up the steps to the
charter boat. Behind him walked a dirty blond who wore the smallest
bikini I had ever seen, the tiny triangles covering only her
nipples, with thin strings tied around her back and neck.

I was positive my jaw dropped at the sight
of them. “Holy fuck,” I gasped.

Vince looked up as they walked on by the
front. “That’s pretty skimpy. I’m surprised she can wear that in
public and not be busted for indecent exposure or something.”

“That’s—that’s Ryan,” I blurted.

“Who?”

“Ryan—the guy I dated for seven months. The
guy I dated before you.”

“Oh,” he said, processing the situation.
“He’s bigger than I thought he’d be.”

“That’s what you choose to say right now?” I
shook my head. “We gotta get off this boat.”

“What do you mean?”

“We can’t stay here,” I snapped. “I can’t
stay around him.”

“It’s a big boat.”

“Not big enough.” I gathered my bag and
water bottle, heading for the exit, but a crewmember had already
unhooked the ropes that bound the boat to the dock. The captain
came over the PA with an announcement.

“No, no, no. This can’t be happening,” I
muttered. I looked at Vince and received only a shrug.

“We can move to the back,” he suggested. “We
can avoid him so that he never sees you.”

“It’s a five-hour tour, Vince!” I whispered
loudly.

“What do you want me to do? Pay the captain
to turn around?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I want you to do.”
I put up my hand to stop him. “I know what I said before about your
money, but this is different. That asshole has hurt me like no one
ever has, and just being near him makes me furious, and to see him
with that—that bimbo. No, no I can’t do it.”

Vince stood up and hugged me. “All right,
I’ll see what I can do.” We walked to the back of the boat, and he
climbed up the ladder to where the captain was, asking if he could
talk to him. The captain, a short, round, hairy man with a sunburnt
face, seemed like a cheery, reasonable guy, so there was hope.

Vince returned a few minutes later. “He says
he doesn’t do this gig for the money and won’t turn around. Now, if
it were an emergency, he’d reconsider.”

“It
is
an emergency, dammit!” I
howled.

“He doesn’t see it that way.” Vince folded
his arm around my shoulder. “Are you going to be okay?” I
considered that for a moment. “I mean, it’s not the worst thing in
the world, is it? Even if he does see you, he’s likely going to try
and avoid you, too.”

“Ryan’s not like you, Vince. He might walk
right up to me, plant a kiss, slap my ass, and force me into a hug
so that my boobs press against him. He’s that type of guy.”

“Well, I’ll tell you what, if he starts
making a move like that, I’ll knock him over the railing. The
captain will have to go back then.” A sincere smile crossed his
face. He was trying hard to not make this a horrible end to a great
week. “Sound good?”

I rubbed his arm. “Thanks.” We were sitting
on a bench where people put on their snorkeling gear; it wasn’t
made for sightseeing. “We can sit up front if you want,” I said
after five minutes of boredom. He nodded, grabbed our stuff, and
headed for the last bench in the front. “I’m just going to read
until we get there.” Book in hand, I spread its pages so that they
blocked my face.

About twenty minutes later, a couple of
tourists started shouting, and soon all the passengers were at the
railings, pointing and yelling. Vince dragged me to an open space
in the railing. “Oh, wow,” I gasped.

“Crazy,” he said. “There’s so many.” All
around us dolphins swam. We could spot dozens and dozens of them in
the clear water. They raced along the boat, leaping next to us,
then zooming underneath the boat’s hull to the other side.

The captain came on the PA. “You’ll notice
the distinctive spinning motion of these dolphins, which gives them
their name. These are Gray’s spinner dolphins, more commonly called
Hawaiian spinner dolphins around here.” He went on for a few
minutes, telling us this was a good sign, since sharks tended to
stay away when a pod of dolphins congregated nearby.

We watched the dolphins for as long as they
stayed with us, but the boat kept on traveling north, and
eventually the pod turned back or headed out to deeper waters. On
the way back to our seats, I heard, “Maci?” from behind me. The
resonant voice caught my attention immediately. I spun on my heels
and saw Ryan standing at the end of the row.

“Oh my God! Ryan.” I tried to sound
surprised, but I didn’t think it came out very convincing. “I can’t
believe I’m seeing you here.”

“Just on vacation with my girlfriend,” he
said. His shirt was off and his muscles rippled under the sunlight.
His smooth black skin looked even smoother than I remembered. “Hey,
babe, come over here. I want you to meet someone.” He waved over
the blond. “Babe, this is Maci, one of the girls I dated before
you.”

“Hi,” she said in a high, whiny voice. She
stuck out her hand. “I’m Claire. It’s nice to meet you.”

I shook her hand despite the rage inside me
telling me not to, for fear that I might crush her hand. But what
animosity between us existed? She wasn’t even the slut he cheated
on me with. How could I blame or resent her? I kept my grip to a
professional firmness.

“Hi. It’s nice to meet you. This is my
boyfriend, Vince.” Vince stood up and shook both of their
hands.

Uninterested in Vince, Ryan went straight to
talking about himself, locking eyes with mine. “Yep, I’ve been
playing for the Portland Thunder these last few months.” He
stretched out his arms behind his head like he used to do, showing
off his muscles for a crowd. “You’ve probably heard of them—they
have ads all over facebook. We play in the Moda Center.” His
bragging tensed me up so much that I started grinding my teeth.

“Yeah, I’ve heard of them,” Vince said. “I
thought about buying the team before they relocated, but I really
wanted to buy the Blazers. I just can’t get Allen to sell.”

Ryan thought it was a joke and hurt his gut
laughing so hard. “You found a real comedian, Maci. A true
funnyman.” He popped Vince on the shoulder.

Vince tapped him back. “I
am
pretty
funny, but I wasn’t joking, Allen really won’t sell.”

“Ah, man, you’re too much,” Ryan laughed. “I
never took you for the jokester type, Maci.”

“I think you should go back to your seat,”
Vince said smoothly.

All of Ryan’s humor vanished. “What’s
that?”

“I think you should go back to your seat,”
Vince repeated. “Before I have to bribe the captain to leave you
stranded in one of these valleys.” He nodded at the sharp hills of
the Na Pali Coast.

I could see Ryan’s explosive anger rising
up, his fingers curling into a fist. I jumped between them to
diffuse the situation. “Ryan, just go back to your seat.”

The blond bimbo put a hand on his chest.
“Come on, baby. You can’t afford to lose it here. Don’t spoil the
trip, baby. Come on.” She tugged at his arm.

“You’re lucky I’m in a good mood, man,” Ryan
snarled, pointing his finger at Vince. “If I wasn’t, I might have
the sense to rip off your balls and feed them to the sharks.” He
turned around at the insistence of the bimbo, heading back for
their seats.

“I wonder why your mother didn’t think he
was a catch,” Vince teased, sitting back down. “I thought he was
real charming myself.” He laughed, mostly to himself, pulling me in
close after I returned beside him. “See, that wasn’t so bad. Not
worth leaving the ship and blowing the whole afternoon. Now it’s
over and done.”

“Ryan has real anger issues,” I said,
nodding ahead at my ex, who was fidgeting in agitation. “And he
really hates being told to do something.”

“I’m not worried about it,” Vince asserted,
“and you shouldn’t be either. Let’s just enjoy the rest of the
tour. We’re going snorkeling in Hawaii after all. It’s something to
be excited about. Forget about them—let’s focus on us and the
moment, all right?”

That was all I wanted to do. He made it
sound so simple, but Ryan got under my skin in the worst way,
eating at me with anger and bitterness. “I’ll try,” I said with
sincerity. The boat weaved in and out of giant caves and through
massive holes in the rocky shore. The stunning beauty of the coast
was a spectacle to behold. The captain turned back south once we
had explored half a dozen caves, and anchored the boat after
fifteen minutes or so, preparing for an hour and a half of
snorkeling.

Afraid of being eaten alive, I had trouble
overcoming the initial fear of getting into the water, hanging back
with my flippers on. Vince swam at the edge of the boat. “The water
is great,” he said with irregular breaths. “I’ll be right by you
the whole time. We can just swim around the ladder.” His
encouragement and assurances finally broke me down as my curiosity
urged me into the warm water.

“I can’t believe how warm it is,” I gasped,
my right hand still on the boat. Not able to breathe through my
nose, the snorkeling gear added a level of anxiety, one that took a
few minutes to adjust to.

With the underwater camera strapped around
his neck, Vince took photos of all kinds of fish. A big group swam
under the boat and came so close I thought they would bump into me.
Most of them veered away at the last second, missing my body by
less than an inch.

It took about forty minutes to acclimate to
the water atmosphere. By then I was ready to explore the coral and
rocks away from the boat. We dove down a little, watching an eel
swim in and out of the rocks, both of us taking pictures. Every
time we saw a new fish, excitement forced us to point and shout
like little kids.

Diving deeper, I was positive I saw a
Humuhumunukunukuapua’a, the state fish, and tracked it across a
field of rocks. Pictures of the state fish were all over the shops
on the island, but I wanted to capture one on camera myself, and so
I continued to follow it until I was within range to get a clear
shot, about a foot away. Satisfied with my effort, I looked around,
and became all too aware that Vince wasn’t within sight. Panic
stabbed my heart with needles.