She nibbled on my earlobe until shivers of excitement raced down my back. “So you only like to do it in bed?”
Wherever she wanted was okay with me. “Not necessarily.”
“I think this beach is a great place to make love. We have chilly night air, the sound of the waves, and that forbidden feeling that we’re misbehaving and might be discovered.”
I slid my hand over the smooth tanned contoured of her calves, grabbed the hem of her dress and worked it up over her hips, exposing her silk panties before baring her abdomen and breasts and pulling the dress over her head. The large ivory globes of her breasts glowed in the moonlight, starkly contrasting with the tanned skin around them. The sensual sight of them made me lightheaded. Selena was hot as hell.
I pulled off my loosened pants to relieve the pressure and then removed my boxers, letting my cock fall free.
“God, you’re so beautiful Selena.” I felt completely mesmerized by the sight of her. I wanted to savor every delicious moment we were together. I kissed her again and then brushed my lips and tongue over the delicious curves of her neck and then trailed down to a breast, relishing its succulent shape in my mouth before sucking a dark nipple in my mouth and flicking my tongue over it until it beaded. She arched her back, and her lips fell open in a groan. The lusty look on her face heightened my excitement. I worked my way over to the other breast, working my tongue over it until the second nipple matched the excitement level of the first one. “So you like to make love outside where there’s a chance you can get caught?”
Her laugh came out more like a sensual moan. “Sure—it’s much more fun that way. Although I can’t remember ever actually having been caught.”
“You must not have made enough noise to attract attention. Tonight, I’m going to pleasure you so much, everyone nearby will hear you scream.”
Just looking at Selena’s body and skimming my lips over her breasts was nearly enough to make me unload. Despite my excitement, I reeled in my instincts, gaining control so I could maximize her enjoyment.
All my previous sexual encounters had been hurried, desperate and sweaty. But I couldn’t imagine making love with Selena would be anything short of sheer bliss and I wanted to savor every delicious minute. There was something about her—she’d cast a spell of enchantment over me.
I traced out a map of her slightly rounded stomach with my tongue, circling my tongue around her belly button, entranced by her skin’s soft texture and fresh scent. Then I slid one finger into the edge of her purple silk panties, tugging them down just enough to make her want more. She raised her hips, making it easier for me to slide them over her swelling hips and down the curves of her legs. I skimmed my hand back up her thigh until I reached her mound and then my fingers explored her silky wetness, teasing the layers around her slit, plunging inside her hole and then flickering back over her clitoris.
“Oh, please, Nicholas, I want you inside me now.” She reached down and tugged at her panties, pushing them the rest of the way down her legs with her toes.
The primal need to bond intimately with her was overpowering. I felt such a visceral, desperate need to own her. It wasn’t just her body I wanted. I craved that deep emotional connection that I’d often fantasized about when I’d laid beside a woman after sex feeling strangely empty. Selena was my fantasy—the woman I would always want to be with one more time. “If you insist.”
Breathing heavily, I yanked off my pants and sunk into the wet opening between her wide-open legs, overcome by the sensation of her tight vagina squeezing my cock. I plunged in and out of her, shifting the angle to stimulate her clitoris. At the same time, I met her mouth in a furious kiss, making love to her mouth with my tongue, while my cock pumped in and out of her wet hole.
“This feels so amazing,” Selena groaned.
She tossed her head from side to side, her hair spreading out in the sand as I increased my tempo, watching her face flush and her tongue slide across her lips. I slowed the tempo again, teasing her, trying to hold her on the edge, wanting to make her wait long enough that when she tumbled over the edge, the orgasm would make her crazy and she’d scream out her release so loud, people would hear it in California. “Come on, baby, that’s it, just let go.” I fought to maintain control as heady sensations rushed to my cock and her wet walls clenched around me. I grunted like an animal, overcome with savage need.
Selena groaned, her hips arching desperately into mine. Our bodies slapped together as our movements intensified and my cock swelled larger as I approached my release. I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to wait.
“Oh, my God, Nicholas. Yes. Yes,” she screamed, over and over again. Her walls squeezed me even tighter, milking me until I couldn’t hold back any longer and I exploded deep inside of her.
I held her in my arms, skimming my fingers over the soft contours of her bare back. “Being with you like this was so amazing.”
“It was wonderful. It was worth the near drowning experience to spend a night with you.”
One night.
Just the thought sent a stab of pain into my chest. “I’d like to give you many more nights like this if you’re up to it.”
“I think I might be able to bear it.” She nestled deeper into my arms.
My arms, legs and even my toes entwined themselves around her limbs. Lightning flickered in the distance, and a breeze brushed over my body. “I think another storm’s moving in—we better get back to the house.”
I stood and reached for her hand, helping her to her feet. We leaned on the rocks and helped each other brush sand off of our bodies before dressing. I took hold of her hand, and we walked back to the house laughing like the carefree new lovers we’d just become.
* * *
Thunder rumbled as we walked down the hallway toward the bedroom. As I turned toward Selena, another flash of lightning illuminated her face. “Would you like to sleep in my bed tonight?”
Her voice came out a seductive whisper. “Yes, Nicholas, I would.”
After a shower, we nestled together in bed. Her breathing eased, and hours after she fell asleep, I continued to lay awake, wondering if the man from Selena’s nightmare lurked outside watching and waiting. Lightning flickered through the window, and rain pelted the glass.
While Selena had brushed her teeth in the bathroom earlier, I’d hidden the gun under the mattress.
If he comes, I’ll be ready.
Selena’s soft curls tickled my arm, awakening me. I opened my eyes and unfamiliar warmth erupted inside my chest as I gazed at her sleeping feminine form. The tips of her hair, illuminated by morning sunlight, glowed gold. I skimmed my hand over her tresses. Her eyelids closed, her red lips were turned up in a smile as if she was thinking about something sensual.
Making love to me, I hope.
I didn’t want to wake her, so I continued staring at her, daydreaming about how it would feel to awaken beside her in bed every morning. I felt a stab of pain inside, when I realized my desires were impractical.
My career-oriented lifestyle didn’t allow for days off and out of control emotions. And Selena had her own life in a different city. There would be no happy ending for us.
Apparently, she sensed the intensity of my thoughts and my gaze, because she raised her head and opened her amber eyes, her brows drawing together. Her voice came out deep, husky, and just awakened seductive. “What is it? I can sense you’re thinking about something intense.”
“Nothing. You’re just so beautiful, that’s all.”
She rolled over on her side and threaded her hands through my hair. “You look upset.”
“I’m not upset at all, I was just thinking.” I traced a finger over her cheek, aching to make love to her all over again. But I regretted having let the relationship advance to the bedroom. I could handle the hurt of saying goodbye.
At least I think I can.
But what about her?
“About what? You’re not comfortable here with me…like this.”
“In some ways, no. I feel like I let my attraction to you get out of control. I was supposed to take care of you, not this...”
She brushed her fingertips over the ridges of my chest. “But what happened was mutual, we both wanted it. What are you so afraid of?”
Mostly, these new emotions scared me. I enjoyed being with her so much; it had almost become a need. “That you’ll want something from me I can’t give. My work schedule just doesn’t leave much room for a relationship.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not expecting anything lasting. I make it a point to avoid attachments. Once you care for people…” She became too choked up with emotion to finish. A tear slid from the corner of one eye, and she turned her head away.
I pushed up on an elbow and turned her head in my direction, wiping the tears from her eyes. “It doesn’t always have to be like that.”
I wanted to say that nothing would happen to me, that I would stand by her, take care of her, and make sure she never had another difficult day in her life.
What’s wrong with me?
This internal dialogue didn’t sound as if it were coming from a man who ran a multi-billion dollar enterprise, who had just planned to explain to his new lover that a long-term relationship could never work.
“What do you mean?” Her eyes widened, the gold flecks in her irises showing an intensity, a desire I interpreted as her wanting me to say what we had mattered.
The words I wanted to say—
I’m the one you can depend on forever
—never escaped my throat. “Someday you’ll meet someone you can always depend on.”
The glitter in her eyes flickered and dissipated. “It happens in romance novels, but it’ll never happen in my life. I’m so afraid if I let myself fall in love with someone, he’ll end up dead.”
“You’re so cynical.”
“No more than you, Nick. You avoid relationships because you’re afraid they’ll interfere with work. I avoid them because I’m afraid they’ll take away the control I need not to go crazy with suffering. I can’t endure losing someone I love again. I just can’t. Right now I don’t even know if my brother’s still alive. Maybe he’s gone, too.”
I smoothed away more tears that streamed from her eyes. “Please don’t cry.”
I’ll make everything right for you.
“I’m sure your brother is okay.”
“You don’t know that. All this talk is upsetting me. Please just help me forget what I don’t want to think about.” Her gaze roved over my nakedness, and I knew right away what path we’d be taking.
When her fingers raked through the hair on my chest and then trailed down toward my erection, I lost all desire to argue and claimed her lips in a desperate, hungry kiss.
* * *
Our lovemaking delayed breakfast, but I still craved my morning run. I peeled back the covers and walked over to my dresser. “Do you mind if I fix our breakfast when I get back from my run?”
“No, of course not. Can I go with you?” Selena sat upright in bed, the covers sliding down to reveal her bouncing, beautiful breasts. “A little exercise might clear my head.”
We hadn’t discussed exercise with Dr. Mendez. “Okay, but you probably shouldn’t do anything too strenuous.”
She laughed as she bounded out of bed naked, her demeanor back to happy and carefree. “I can’t imagine running would raise my heart rate as much as what we did just now.”
My eyes scanned all her curves. The tantalizing view and her candor sent another erogenous surge to my cock.
The woman’s turning me into a nymphomaniac.
I walked to my closet and pulled a terrycloth bathrobe from a hook and held it out to her. “Here, put this on. Then you can go to your room to fetch some running clothes.”
“What do I need clothes for? No one else is here.” She dashed from the room butt naked, leaving the robe in my hands.
I’d pulled on shorts and underwear and was slipping on shoes and socks when she returned, wearing short pink running shorts and a white tank top. She looked so adorable, I wanted to rush over and kiss her on the forehead.
Who knows where that could lead.
Instead, I clasped my hands behind my back.
“I’m ready.” She bent over and squeezed the empty toes of her shoes with her fingers. “The shoes are a little large, but I think they’ll work. I wore an extra pair of socks to fill them out more.”
“Yeah, my mom has big feet for a woman five feet tall.”
Selena laughed. “I’m just the opposite. I don’t know any women my height who only wear six and a half.”
“Well, I think you look cute in those pontoon shoes.” I put my hand on her back and started moving toward the door. “Now let’s go.”
We stepped out the back door, strolled across the patio and down the stone stairs onto the sand. The sun burned bright in a clear sky; the sea was a rich sapphire blue. The tide had gone out, leaving jagged rocks, weathered black by the water, exposed on the beach and jutting out of the water. Once we reached a flat stretch of sand close to the sea, I turned toward her. “We can just walk instead if you want.”
“Come on, Nick, let’s run.”
I started out at a slower pace than normal, but she easily matched my strides without breathlessness. I turned my head toward her, captivated by the trickle of sweat that slid down her chest and disappeared between her breasts. When I stumbled over a rock, I jerked my eyes back in front of me. “Is this pace all right for you?”
“Yes, it’s perfect.”
Clearly, Selena worked out hard and often. Hell, she’d given me a run for my money half the night. I’d never made love to a woman with such an insatiable appetite for sex. But it wasn’t just sex that held me in a trance. Her energy and her adventurous personality excited me as much as her voluptuous body.
As we jogged along, our feet sinking into the wet sand, we passed more beachside homes, hotels and undeveloped stretches of rock and sand. Inland, the arid mountains looked so much like Tucson with their arid granite slopes only thinly vegetated with cactus and desert grass.
We rounded a point and then all at once, Selena gasped and jerked to a stop. “We have to get out of here.” She turned and sprinted in the other direction, scattering wet sand everywhere.