Reservation (Preservation Series) (2 page)

The epitome of stupidity. Yup, that was me.

The fact that she’d forgiven me—and said yes—made me question whether or not hell had frozen over. Now those two goofballs stood at the door with snorkel gear and way too many bags for one weekend. Carter brought in the luggage while Dean said something to Kate about
Jaws
, all bug-eyed and fascinated with the room’s cliff-drop view to the ocean, and I realized I’d been tuning out most of their conversation.

All I could think about was Kate and how she was standing next to me with her hands on her hips, in that sexy little nightgown I didn’t get the chance to tear off, hair still mussed-up from our make-out session on the desk chair. Tuning out Carter and Dean wasn’t anything new. Their buffoonery could drive a man to the brink. But Kate loved them, and they were good to her. Even if they did want to get in her pants, I had to admit they really cared for her. It cost me an arm and a leg to fly them out here, but it was more than worth it if it meant it would make Kate happy.

“So,” Carter said, drawing me back to reality, “go get dressed and let’s paint the town, kids.” He dragged the last suitcase inside and clapped his hands.

“Ah, Kate and I need to shower first.” I latched onto Kate’s elbow and towed her toward the bedroom, leaving Dean and Carter to explore our tropical fairytale retreat. They seemed to get the hint when the bedroom door slammed behind us.

“Smart man,” Kate purred, throwing her arms around my neck the minute we were alone, allowing me to hoist her up against me. I hitched one of her legs around my hip, and then the other, letting the hem of her nightgown ride up until it gave me a healthy handful of her upper thighs and the beautiful curves of her ass. Dear God, the woman had a banging body. Wait...did people even say ‘banging’ anymore?

Ah, fuck, who cares.

Pulling her tighter against me, I groaned. “
Mmmm
, now where were we?”

“I was being a good student.”

“You haven’t earned your A plus yet, baby.”

“Oh? Where am I now, about a C minus?” She curled her legs tighter around my waist and grinded against my erection, which was damn near painful from the mere thought of being inside of her.

“Getting there,” I lied, shuffling us backward into the bathroom until I hit the wall. She dropped her legs, letting them slide slowly down my body, her hand finding my belt buckle.

“Well, we’ll see what we can do about that, Professor.” Reaching up to nip my bottom lip, she sent a shudder through me with one bite. The plans I’d had for long, drawn-out lovemaking were completely obliterated with that bite. I needed to take her right now.

Fast.

Lifting her up again, I swung us around so her back was pressed up against the wall instead, roughly shoving her against it with one push of my hips. “Assignments, homework...it’s all so overrated.”

“What? But I thought—”

I kissed her hard, wiping that sad little pout right off her face. “You’ve made the grade. I’m ready to take you to graduation.” My lips smashed onto hers again and she welcomed my tongue with a moan that made everything in me melt. It was hot. Too hot. Clothes were too tight, our skin not close enough, and I needed to break the barrier.

Yanking up her nightgown and easing down my zipper in two swift movements, I entered her forcefully and began to move. My name escaped her lips, and I was sure I’d love that sound for the rest of my life. She whimpered and gripped my shoulders, biting her bottom lip to keep from shouting. But I didn’t let up, making sure she had her fill. I needed my girl good and satisfied, because she deserved nothing less. And God, did I love making up for my royal fuck-up. I’d never live it down, but I could show her over and over again just how sorry I was, and how badly I needed her to know I meant it. I’d show her, in mind and body, as many times as it took.

My thrusts grew deeper with each sexy sound she made, my fingers tugging at her hair while her nails dug into the skin of my neck. With one final, desperate push, I felt her climax and pulse with heat around me. We both came hard, leaning into one another for support while the world shattered to pieces all around us.

She let out a laugh against my sweaty neck. “If that was graduation, now I want my graduation present.”

“You greedy, greedy little girl.” I grinned wickedly, sliding out of her. “Your friends are waiting. So your present will have to wait, too, Ms. Parker.”

“Oh, fine.” She lazily lifted her arms, tossed her nightgown off, and turned for the shower. I died a little inside at the sight. Watching her send me a coy smile over her shoulder as she sauntered away and covered her breasts with false modesty made me hard all over again. Mindful of her friends waiting, I followed her for a quick—very cold—rinse, and then wandered into the bedroom to look for my swim trunks.

Kate emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, a vision in red. A tiny cherry-colored string bikini hugged her curves in all the right places, stark against her porcelain, pale skin. My mouth parted at the sight as I drank her in. Steadying myself by gripping the bed’s footboard poster, I silently thanked every deity in the book for my weekend in paradise. And it was just beginning.

***

A soft breeze woke me, the bed’s netted canopy drape rustling against my arm. I peeked to the left, eyeing the dim light of the sunrise. It spilled over the ocean’s horizon and onto the side of our mountain, leaking into the room. I grabbed my watch from the bedside table. Six a.m. Too damn early to be awake. It was Monday morning, my last day in St. Lucia with Kate before I had to fly back to Seattle and resume my classes. It was mid-semester back home, and that meant a jam-packed schedule for professors and students alike. The weekend had been a blur, full of snorkeling, sailing, and lounging in the sun. Carter and Dean left for the airport late last night, leaving me and Kate to sort things out.

There was a lot to discuss since I’d proposed. Not only did we have wedding plans to figure out, but Kate needed to stay in St. Lucia to fulfill her three-month-long obligation at the school. It was March and she wouldn’t be returning to Seattle until June, when school was out, and that meant we’d be separated the next few months while I finished up my last teaching semester at the university back in Seattle. Then I’d be embarking on my first book tour for my debut novel and beginning my new position as Bob Hall’s assistant at Simon and Warden Publishing...right around the same time Kate would be returning home.

Not exactly great timing.

How we were supposed to juggle all of that and hang on to our sanity while being separated for months was beyond me, but one way or another, we’d figure it out.

Returning my watch to the bedside table, I sank back down into the covers and shut my eyes. My attempt to fall back asleep was interrupted by a soft whimper, then another, until in morphed into a quiet barrage of sobs. Kate’s body shook next to mine, her arms tight across her abdomen and chest as she cried into the pillow. She was cradling herself, turning inward as if to curl into a shell.

I turned on my side and slid closer to her, gently pulling apart her arms and brushing onyx locks away from her tear-stained cheeks. “Hey, baby.
Sssshhhh
, it’s okay, I’m here.”

“No,” she murmured, her brows pulled down in distress. “Don’t. Don’t touch me.”

“Kate, wake up, you’re having—”

“Stop!” her soft plea exploded. “Ryan. Please, make them stop!”

I held her tighter and pulled her into my chest, and her body formed to mine, her trembling fingers clutching my shoulders. “You’re safe, Kate. Safe with me. They’re not here. Wake up, baby, listen to my voice.”

Her body jerked, fingers latching deeper into my bare shoulders. Lashes fluttering, her eyes finally opened and landed on my neck, then travelled up, finding mine. “Ry?” Dazed, her dark chocolate brown eyes searched my face and she sucked in sharp breaths, touching my cheeks as if to make sure I was real. Then she burrowed tighter against me, her face in the crook of my neck. My stomach twisted.

She was still having the dreams.

They started shortly after the attack and were sporadic now, but still lingering. Last I heard, she hadn’t had one in weeks.

“Yeah, I’m here,” I said, my tone assuring. “Was it the same one? Tell me.” I felt her head nod beneath me, and I reached down to tilt her chin up.

“It’s always Eric’s face,” her voice splintered, “hanging over mine. And then I can hear Mark’s laugh.”

“They’re never going to touch you again. Never. You have nothing to be afraid of anymore, I promise.”

Her bottom lip quivered. “But it feels so real. Mark laughs, and then tells me I’m all his. I can’t breathe—I can’t, I just—”

I swiftly shifted to lean up on my elbow, focusing on her with a stern gaze. “You are not his. You never were and never will be.” Slowly dropping my mouth to her neck, I kissed just below her ear, feeling the wetness from her tears. “This is yours.” Then, a kiss between her breasts. “And these, yours.” Gliding down to her navel, I kissed over the black, silky nightgown and lifted the hem to her waist, planting a gentle one on her sweet pussy. “And this. All yours.”

Her fingers found my hair and a shiver rocked her body, her sobs turning to pleased hums. That brought a smile to my face and sent the blood rushing to my cock. I exhaled against the inside of her thigh, lightly kissing the soft skin in a slow trail, and she guided my head forward, pulling me flush against her core.

“Touch me,” she whispered.

My smile widened at hearing the exact words I wanted to hear, settling in between her legs and peeling her panties off. Instead of delving with my tongue, I reached up and brought one of her hands down, pressing her fingers against her clit. “Yours,” I breathed, moving her fingers for her, hooking her thigh over my free arm. She whimpered again, and this time, it wasn’t from distress.

She began to work her fingers beneath mine, my own hand guiding and mimicking hers, encouraging each touch, working her toward release. As her breathing turned uneven, gasps causing her chest to rise and fall, I watched. Waited.

Her body stiffened and back arched off the bed.
What a fucking perfect sight
. She begged, and my cock throbbed at the need in her voice. Just as I felt her struggle to lift her hips to capture the friction, I knocked her hand out of the way and slammed my tongue down, bringing her home with sharp, powerful strokes. A scream erupted from her throat, her chest heaving, voice butchering my name as she cried out. She tasted so fucking incredible I didn’t want to move, but as she spiraled out of control, I couldn’t help myself from crawling up her body, bringing my mouth down on hers, and sinking inside of her. “Yours,” I growled, letting the promise melt into her mouth along with her taste. “All yours.”

She welcomed me with contented moans, wrapping her legs tight around my waist, urging me back and forth with deep, torturous motions. Our fingers tangled together in the sheets and I pulled back to watch her move beneath me. Just when I thought about picking up speed, she surprised me by forcing me onto my back, and rolling over to straddle me.

“Mine,” she murmured, staring down at me, eyes gleaming. A small smile pulled at her lips, no remnant of pain in sight, and heat swelled sharp in my chest. She tore off her nightgown and began to ride me, losing herself as she set the pace, closing her eyes, and letting her head fall back. I couldn’t pry my eyes from the curve of her neck or her beautiful, full breasts as they bobbed above me.

Fuck, she’d be the death of me.

I latched onto her hips and let her take me any way she wanted, but I knew I couldn’t hold out much longer. She was too damn sexy, and that swelling sensation in my chest was too overwhelming. I worked hard to manage it, enjoying the view and the feel of her muscles stretching around me, wetness drenching and swallowing me whole. Her hips started to roll desperately, and then she bucked against me, snapping her head forward to ensnare me with hazy eyes, her hair mussed and wild.
My Kate.

“I love you,” she panted, gripping the nape of my neck. I reached for her hand and dragged it to my chest, pressing her palm against my pounding heart.

“Yours.”

An elated smile mingled with her shaky breaths, and then she was coming, mewls seeping from her lips; sounds that would make any man fall to his knees in worship. Feeling her release above me, I let go, my hands finding her breasts, cupping and rubbing all at once. My jaw clenched in euphoric torture, head rolling back into the pillow. She sighed loudly and slumped over, lying against my side with an arm sprawled across my torso. Her heavy breathing started to slow as she snuggled into the crook of my arm and neck, and I couldn’t help but wonder about the question I hadn’t asked in some time. My gaze drifted to the ceiling and I stumbled off into thought, my mouth still open as I worked to pull in deep breaths.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said softly. I could feel her eyes on me as I stared at the ceiling.

“You do, do you?”

“Yeah. And the answer’s still no.”

“No, what?” I played dumb.

“I don’t want to know. Anything.”

“Kate...”

She sighed, cupping my jaw with a gentle hand. “Ry, I’m not going to change my mind. So, please, just leave it alone.”