Author: Christine Bell

When he offered her wine, she nodded. He set the gift on the blanket and opened the bottle to pour them each a glass.

“To no regrets,” he said, clinking his glass to hers.

She mimicked his toast before taking a sip. It was icy cold and sweetly tart, and she sighed with pleasure. “Nice.”

He set down his glass and lifted a hand to the hem of his T-shirt, stripping it off and tossing it onto the chair behind him. After a week of seeing and touching him, she would have expected to have gotten over her initial obsession with his body, but that was far from the case. It was a jolt to her system every single time, and she drank in the sight, allowing her gaze to trip over his broad shoulders, down his chest, and past his sleek abs to the sexy smattering of hair leading to the button fly of his shorts. Shorts that were getting tighter right before her eyes. She dampened her lips, suddenly desperate to taste him there.

“When you look at me like that, I feel ten feet tall,” he said softly.

Emotion clogged her throat, but she swallowed it back. “Women must look at you like that all the time.”

“I’m not talking about what other women do. I’m talking about you and me.” Those dark eyes were intense, as if he knew she was trying to keep her distance and wasn’t going to allow it.

“You make me feel…special, too. It scares me.”

“You should always feel special, whether I’m around or not.”

She nodded, but inside she wanted to weep. When she tried to imagine what her days would be like without him, the sadness was unbearable.

“Are you going to get your skinny-dipping suit on or what? I’m not going to be the only one naked in the pool.” He strode to the steps and stripped off his shorts, kicking them to the side.

Even more determined to live in the moment, she soaked in the view, envying his grace as he walked down the stairs into the clear blue water.

“Come on in, the water’s fine,” he called with a wicked grin.

She didn’t hesitate. A few minutes earlier she hadn’t even been sure she would get another chance to be with him and there was no way she was squandering it. She set down her glass and straightened to slip her tank top over her head. Next came the boxers, and then she faced him. His hum of appreciation echoed across the water, and she fought the urge to cover herself, forcing her fisted hands to drop to her sides.

“Damn, woman. Elle MacPherson’s got nothing on you.” He let out a long wolf whistle.

“Oh no? Well maybe you should have a poster of me over your bed, then.”

“You give me a poster of you like that, babe, and I will hang it up in a heartbeat. In fact, I’ll hang one in every room.”

She stood a little straighter as the instinct to hide faded under the heat of his gaze. He held out a hand to her, and she stepped into the pool, murmuring with pleasure at the warm water caressing her ankles.

“Almost like a bath,” she said, taking his hand. He led her down the rest of the stairs until she was waist deep, standing a scant few inches from him. She craned her neck to see his face. “What now, boss?” She couldn’t keep the note of excitement from her voice as the water cradled her hypersensitive flesh intimately like an invisible hand.

“A massage.”

Not what she’d expected, but she certainly wouldn’t turn it down. “I’d love that.”

He sat on one of the wide steps and pulled her down between his legs. With a sweep of his hand, he pushed her hair aside, leaving her back bare to his attention. He traced the line of her shoulders first, and she let her head fall forward to give him more room. She couldn’t hold back the sigh at his gentle touch. He took his time, starting out soft and slow, drawing shapes on her back with his damp fingers, riding that sublime line between tickling her and making her squirm. Heat rushed to the spot between her thighs, and she wriggled against him until she could feel the weight of his sex, hot and heavy, branding her lower back.

“Mmm,” she moaned. “This is lovely.”

He dropped a sucking kiss to her nape and she shivered. Her breasts felt heavy and tight from the warm water lapping at her now hard nipples and she pressed back against Galen’s hard chest, hoping his displaced hands would come around front to sooth the ache that was growing by leaps and bounds. His low, sexy laugh made her bold, and she pushed her bottom back hard until she was flush against his groin and his thighs hugged her hips tight.

“Tell me what you want, babe.” His mouth was so close to her ear, the warm wash of his breath sent a tingle straight to her core.

“You. Inside me.”

“You can count on it. But not yet.” He flipped her around to face him, and she purred low in her throat as his stiff member pressed insistently at the juncture of her thighs. If she opened a little bit, she could—

“You naughty, naughty girl.” He slid two hands down to cup her ass, holding her in place. “Naughty girls need to be punished, don’t you think?” She was only half listening as she leaned forward to nip his chin. “Don’t try to distract me. What do you think your punishment should be? A spanking?”

Her ears perked up then. “Well, I don’t know about that,” she said, and tried to climb off him. Her heart pounded with a healthy dose of fear mixed with a whole lot of something else just as scary.

“No? I think you’d be surprised to find you might like it.” He held her tight and pursed his lips, as if deep in thought. “Maybe a tongue lashing, then?”

She stopped struggling and her clit pulsed in muscle memory. Like one of Pavlov’s dogs, she was practically drooling at the thought of his mouth on her again.

His warm brown eyes danced, and he shook his head. “I guess that’s out because you look more like I offered you a money tree than a punishment. A spanking it is.”

He stood and lifted her with ease, in spite of her halfhearted struggles, and flipped her over his lap, securing her with one thick forearm. “Grip the side to brace yourself.”

His gruff command sent her nerves into overdrive. “I don’t know. I’ve never done anything like this before, and I’m not a huge fan of pain.” The words had barely left her lips when he slipped his big palm over her ass and squeezed.

“Tell me no, then.”

She couldn’t make herself say it. As afraid as she was, she trusted him, and if he said she would like it—

“Ouch!” The sting when his palm connected with her wet cheek was sharp and instant. He was wrong. It frigging hurt. She opened her mouth to tell him to stop, but then his hand was on her, kneading the offended spot. She groaned and pressed harder into his lap, rewarded when his shaft nudged against her clit.

Another slap landed. “Mmph.” This time, she didn’t cry out, instead biting her lip through the sting. And again his magic hand was there, rubbing away the hurt while creating a dull ache between her thighs.

“Your ass makes me so fucking crazy. So round and sweet.”

Smack.

This time, only a sigh escaped her when the sharp slap sent a bolt of heat straight between her thighs.

“Again,” she whispered, crushing her hips against him now, seeking some relief for the grinding need that drove her.

“Oh, yeah.” He swung again, this time switching cheeks, then rocking against her. He slipped the hand anchoring her around to caress her breast, tweaking the stiff nipple until she bucked against him. Right when she thought she might explode from sensory overload, his free hand slid down the crevice of her bottom, then lower still until he found her soaking wet slit.

He tested her with the tips of his fingers and she writhed against his hand, begging him without words for more.

“That’s my girl,” he ground out and plunged two fingers deep. Blood rushed to her ears and every nerve ending in her body went on high alert. One hand on her nipple, the sweet sting on her ass, the glide of his clever fingers, working her. She was so close…

“Jesus, Galen. You’re going to make me come.”

He pulled his hands away and cradled her to him, sucking in a few harsh breaths. “I want to be inside you. I need to feel that pussy squeezing my cock when you come.” He slid her off his lap and led her back into the water toward the ledge of the pool. She turned to face him, but he held her in place.

“Face the fence,” he said. The hunger in his voice sent a sizzle of anticipation down her spine. She rested her arms against the ledge and waited breathlessly for whatever came next. He wrapped his arms around her from behind to cup her breasts. He rolled the stiff peaks between his thumbs and forefingers and she arched against him.

“If you want to feel me come, you’d better saddle up, cowboy.” She groaned, the rawness of her voice shocking her. She waited for the shame…but it never came.

He slipped his hands beneath the water, tugging her hips backward so that she was bent at an angle, and spread her thighs. He raked his hands down her back, allowing them to drift lower, palming her ass and finally reaching her center. He drove one thick finger deep, sliding in and out, then added a second until she cried out. The need to come bore down on her like a locomotive and her legs shook.

“Now. God, please now.” She leaned forward, draping her arms over the cool marble ledge, desperate for something, anything to stop the exquisite agony and topple her over the razor’s edge.

“Move over. A little to the left.”

He closed a hand on her hip and guided her over a foot, then two. A rush of water blasted against her hip and then…there. Right there. The jet pulsed against her, lapping at her swollen flesh and she bucked, groaning.

Galen was there, crooning words of praise in her ear, clutching at her hips, ready to finish her. He pressed forward, sliding into her in one mighty thrust. The water pulsed relentlessly against her and she froze, overwhelmed by the sensation.

“I wish you could see what I see. My cock slipping in and out of those sweet pink folds.” His husky voice grounded her, and she pushed back against him, taking him deeper in a counter thrust. “Damn it, Lacey, I can’t hold back if you do that.”

“Don’t hold back. Please, don’t hold back,” she pleaded.

The dam broke. He gripped her hips tighter and began to fuck her in earnest. Long, sure strokes, every one of which sent the head of his cock dragging against some magical place deep, deep inside her that left her sobbing. He pushed her forward until the jet was only a few inches away and the water went from a low pulse to a pressured spurt against the sensitive knot between her legs. Then she was flying.

“Galen!”

Her muscles strained as the orgasm broke over her. A keening wail rose in her throat and he pounded into her, filling her to bursting. Galen tensed behind her and growled, his hands digging into her hips. He leaned forward to sink his teeth into her shoulder, muffling his shout of completion as he pulsed inside her.

For an endless moment they stayed locked in their embrace until he drew her away from the jets that were far too powerful for her now sensitive flesh.

“Pools rock,” she murmured. He was slumped over her, stroking her rib cage lazily and she could feel his heart still pounding against her back.

He nodded. “Totally.”

He swept her hair to the side and pressed a kiss to the back of her neck. The simple show of affection sent her emotions tilting out of control. She’d never felt this way before, and it left her reeling. It took all the effort she could muster to swallow the words burning on her lips.

Stay with me.

…

Galen stared at the ceiling, replaying the night’s highlights in his mind. That had been hands down the best sex of his life, and he didn’t have a clue what to do about it. He didn’t want to pressure her, but he was quickly getting to the point that the idea of a brief fling didn’t sit well at all anymore.

Lacey shifted in his arms with a sleepy murmur, and he pulled her closer, tucking her tighter against his chest. He fingered the gold chain against her neck and smiled. She’d looked really pleased when he gave it to her. That had to be a good sign, didn’t it?