He cleared his throat as his palm slid down her spine. ‘Just ignore what’s going on in my trunks and you’ll keep thinking that.’ He rubbed the heel of his hand along her lower back, just above the waistband of her bikini bottoms, and she bit her lip.
How was it possible to be this relaxed and yet, somehow, completely strung tight with lust? She turned her head towards him. ‘What if I don’t want to ignore it?’
He stared at her, his hand pausing, curved around her hip and burning through her. ‘Then you don’t have to.’
She swivelled the whole way around, so she was on her knees opposite him and looked down at his trunks, which were now dry but definitely no longer hanging loose the way they were designed to. She dragged her gaze up his body and when she finally met his eyes, his eyelids were heavy, pupils dilated, the darkness of his need reflecting her own.
It was so wonderful, it was almost painful, when his mouth landed on hers. She kissed him back with abandon, losing herself in the taste of him and pulling him over the top of her as she lay back, running her hands along his stomach and chest slowly, before taking hold of his shoulders, gripping him tight. She felt more like herself than she had in a long, long time…maybe ever. Thoughts, desires, actions, all in alignment; sure of herself and sure of him.
She sucked his tongue into her mouth, and he groaned and sunk down, pushing the heat of his groin against hers, making her melt and ache all at once. She hooked a leg around his hips, holding him captive against her, so close she could feel the solid ridge beneath his trunks, and it rubbed her right where she wanted him. A low moan escaped her throat and she arched herself up to press her chest against his, so much skin meeting.
Rowan’s hand slid up her thigh and underneath her bikini bottoms, long fingers spanning sensitive flesh, squeezing gently, exploring further. Their kisses fell into a deep, dirty rhythm that matched the roll of his hips and the squeeze of her thighs as she pressed in tighter. Clinging to him.
The thought almost threw her from the moment. Clingy. Was this too much, too fast? Should she be going slow?
No. Slow could go take a flying leap because he was right there with her. His passion for her sparking hers for him and round and round, so she was going up in flames.
He broke away to kiss down her throat and she could barely breathe. ‘Shall we go inside?’ he asked.
Although it felt like there wasn’t a soul for miles, someone could appear on the horizon at any moment, and she didn’t wantthismoment to be disturbed.
‘Yes. Please,’ she said pointedly and felt him smile against her skin.
‘We just need to work on the volume now,’ he murmured, pressing one last kiss between her collarbones before he led her down to the saloon and another couple of steps to a small cabin, entirely taken up by a bed. His tugged her close, capturing her mouth again, hands roving from her thighs to the ties of her bikini top. Trying to stand while he touched her like this felt impossible. She was shaking, and he paused. ‘Is this okay?’ he gasped between kisses. ‘This wasn’t what I was angling for when I planned this date…’
She nearly laughed – she was the one who had gotten him to rub lotion on her, knowing full well what it would do to her – and he was asking if it was okay to take her top off? God, this man.
‘I know. And yes, it’s okay, it’s all okay.’ She reached back to tug the tie herself and let out a shuddering breath as his hand, those long fingers, moved across her ribs to her breast, freeing it. She bit her lip on a groan and then his thumb stroked across her and she let the groan out. He swore and found her mouth again with a kiss so passionate, her knees buckled. He gathered her close and she let her hands wander over his back, along all those muscles, to his trunks, sneaking her fingers into the divots either side of his spine, beneath the waistband, pushing it down.
So little between them now.
They fell back onto the bed. His mouth dizzied her, trailing paths across her skin, tongue teasing her, fingers stroking. Her bikini bottoms disappeared, and she was all heat and kinetic energy, moving with him until he stopped again.
She opened her eyes – she hadn’t realised she’d closed them – and he was there, his long lean body over the top of her, like they were the only two people in the universe.
‘Lila?’ His voice was hoarse, his eyes glazed but fastened on her face. ‘Do you—’
‘Yes. There’s a condom in my bag. In the pocket.’ Ruth had given it to her with a wink as she was leaving.
God bless Ruth.
A brief moment of practicality and then his touch was back, gliding over her legs, soothing, gentle. Patient. Teasing. Finding the sensitive skin on her ankles, behind her knees, at the apex of her thighs, where he lingered. All thoughts evaporated, everything disappearing into heat and pleasure. And when it was almost too much, she coaxed him to where she needed him, his body sliding against hers, skin to skin, hips reaching, legs tangling, lips speaking with kisses the words that she had no breath to say. And more. Closer. As close as they could be, shifting, moving deeper and deeper still, eyes locked on each other as they fell together.
Rowan
‘Fancy living on this boat for the rest of the summer?’ he asked, as they lay side by side, looking up through the skylight at the endless bright blue above them; his heart rate only just returning to normal.
She smiled slowly, her usually pale pink lips reddened from kisses. ‘It belongs to someone else.’
‘We could rent it?’ He was only half-joking.
‘Maybeyoucould. Then I could visit.’ She rolled over to face him, trailing her fingertips along his stomach, making a flash of heat dart down to his groin. Already. He tightened his arm around her, pulling her halfway on top of him.
‘Every night?’ He nipped at her shoulder.
‘I don’t know about every night. Some of us need sleep to function.’ Her head tilted to the side, inviting his mouth. ‘Wouldn’t it be a little small for you every day, anyway?’ she asked, her voice growing breathless as he pressed his lips to the underside of her jaw. ‘And you do have a villa all to yourself, already.’
‘Good point.’ He rolled her back over, smiling down at her. He drank in the sight of her, black hair spread across the white cotton pillow, the bright light making touches of red show at the edges and picking out a few tiny freckles across her nose, which he’d never noticed before.
Boat, villa, he didn’t care where he was – as long as she was there too.
