The elevator dinged as the doors slid open.
“Ha-ha-ha,” Rhett deadpanned as he waited for me to step on first and then followed me inside. I pushed the number five for our floor as he moved to stand behind me. The second that door closed, his hands were on me, moving up and down, tracing gently over my body, while his lips kissed in a lazy way along the back of my neck. Much like the chilly air a few minutes ago, he took my breath away.
My hair was up in a pony and the subtle feel of his lips pressing against my bare skin made a chill, one completely unrelated to temperature, run through my body.
“Rhett,” I whispered, wanting to give into his touch but also holding back. “Why did you come on this trip?”
“For you,” he said against my skin, his answer automatic, not something he had to think about.
“Why did you bring Luce?” I asked next.
“To make you jealous,” he said even easier.
“What?” I breathed.
His hands still touched, teasing and exploring above my clothes. “If I was going to have to witness you falling in love with another guy then I felt like I couldn’t be alone on this trip,” he told me. “Luce is just a friend. She’s a good friend. The stuff that happened between us happened a long time ago and even then it didn’t mean anything.”
“Does she know that?”
“Yes.”
“Okay,” I said, still feeling slightly insecure. Not a feeling I’d ever experienced with Rhett. But everything had changed in the last twenty-four hours. Everything.
“Okay,” he repeated.
The elevator reached our level and we both stepped off. He grabbed my hand and led me down the hall. Neither of us said it, but I knew we were both going to the same room, to his room. I knew we’d be having sex again in only a matter of minutes, maybe seconds. I knew it would be every bit as intense as the tight, wound-up feeling that currently squeezed at my chest and at my insides.
I wanted him. I wanted this.
And at this point, I was no longer even considering the consequences.
He used his key to unlock his door and then we both went inside his room. It was the mirror image to the room I’d been sharing with the others. Two queen beds, a desk, a TV, two nightstands, and a bathroom. Your basic hotel room. What appeared to be Luce’s suitcase and clothes were spread out all over one side of the room. Why that bothered me so much? I’m not sure. But it did.
Rhett approached the desk beside the door and emptied his pockets of his belongings. Then he let out a long breath, his hands gripping the desk for a moment before he glanced back in my direction. I hadn’t even moved two feet into the room. My body was straight tingling and my nerves were all over the place. The feeling was so extreme that my throat felt thick, my breathing not quite normal, and my balance a little shaky.
Even if I wanted to choose someone other than Rhett, it seemed like I had no freewill in the matter. My body wanted him. Period. And my mind was quickly starting to catch up to my body’s demands.
He took another deep breath then asked, “Want to order room service?”
“No,” I told him.
“We could go out to eat. There are lots of places within walking distance. Or the restaurant in the hotel looked decent.”
“I’m not hungry,” I whispered. I couldn’t eat right now even if there was a plate of creamy lobster Alfredo, my favorite, sitting right in front of me.
“Shower?” he suggested, his face so earnest and gentle as he asked.
“Yes.”
The second I said the word, he pulled at the bottom of his shirt and yanked it over his head in one fluid motion, exposing his hard chest and abs. He tossed the shirt onto his bed. A moment later his shoes were gone, his belt unbuckled, and he was letting his pants and boxers drop to the floor. My mouth dropped along with them. He had one hell of a fine body. One I didn’t get to see at all last night since we’d both remained relatively clothed. And more confident than a man in a three piece suit, he stalked across the room and scooped me up in his arms.
I squealed at his sudden movement as he carried me into the bathroom. “You’re kind of insatiable, you know that right?” he told me.
“Or maybe I feel like I’ve been denying myself and now that I have you, I need to make up for all the time we’ve lost.”
“Yeah?” he asked, pressing those perfect lips of his to mine.
“Yeah,” I whispered back against his mouth, grabbing his neck to bring myself closer to him.
Rhett’s kisses weren’t rushed or impulsive. They were controlled, steady, and adoring. With no barriers between us, this kiss almost felt like a first kiss. Without breaking our connection, he set my body down on the counter, settling in between my legs. I was clothed, he wasn’t, and I loved the warm feel of his naked body against me. I traced my fingers over his skin, exploring and enjoying the hell out of this moment.
We never ended up taking a shower. Instead, he peeled away each piece of my clothing one by one, until I was equally naked and practically ready to beg for him. Then he bent lower in front of me, gripping my bare thighs tight, yanking my ass to the edge of the counter so that I was in a better position for him, and he kissed me…down there.
Okay…so…we’d done everything else except oral sex before. And as comfortable as I was becoming with Rhett, this was the one thing that still terrified me. I immediately started to protest but, dammit, if he didn’t listen. Instead he spread my legs wider apart, telling me to shhh. Seriously, he told me to shhh. Then he pressed his hot, wet, open mouth against me. I loved his lips. His lips belonged to a porn star. But his lips against that one spot—holy shit! I couldn’t even fight him.
And, oh Jesus, he knew what he was doing. Which might have bothered me if it didn’t feel so damn good. A second later, I had my head dropped back against the mirror behind me and my hands fisting the hair on his head. “Rhett,” I moaned, my voice throaty and raw, and coming off rather desperate. “Rhett, seriously….Rhett.”
I couldn’t even get out a complete sentence.
Everything inside me was building up way too fast. But I didn’t want to come like this. Not this time. We’d only just gotten together, and I needed to feel him inside me for this moment instead. So I squeezed my hands tighter in his hair to get his attention. He stopped and his eyes met mine from across my body.
“I want you inside me,” I gasped.
He didn’t have to be told twice. A millisecond later he had his arms gripping my lower waist tight, and his erection pressed right against my entrance. Then he pushed inside. Now I really screamed, and he stifled that scream with a kiss. The feel of Rhett stretching and moving inside me was way too insanely good. Not just on a physical level, but being connected to him like this did something to my heart too. It squeezed the same way the muscles squeezed low in my stomach.
“You love my cock, don’t you?” he uttered with playfulness in his voice, kissing across my neck and chest, starting to pump in a rather hard rhythm. In and out. In and out.
“Shut the hell up,” I breathed. God, he was so full of himself. But he was right, I sort of, kind of, absolutely loved his cock. And it kind of turned me on more hearing him say it.
“And I love your pussy,” he grunted, his voice as rough as his thrusts were becoming. “So I guess that makes us even.”
He had such a tight grip on my ass that it might have stung had I not been so focused on more important things. His hips began to move in more of a rolling, caressing pattern against me. And his lips would not leave my skin, kissing, his tongue tasting every little spot he could reach.
This was different. Different than all the other times we’d been together.
Because all the feelings involved were now magnified. I felt the emotion radiating off of his skin and seeping through mine. I felt light and airy, like this was some sort of dream. And I feared my impending orgasm, mostly because everything else already felt too strong. All the lust we’d always shared was still ther
e. But now that it was backed up by something more powerful, falling over the edge of that cliff frightened me. I wanted it, but it still frightened me.
The ‘where is this thing going?’ thought popped into my head. Could Rhett be the real deal? Could Rhett be ‘the one’ for me?
And still...whether I was ready for it or not…the edge of the cliff came. I came. Like a jolt of lightening, a round of absolute bliss and pleasure pulsed through me, starting at the source and spending across my stomach and chest then all the way to my fingers, toes, and even the roots of my hair. I forgot everything else, my fears, my crazy thoughts about him being ‘the one,’ and only enjoyed the moment. The feeling had me squeezing his ass, cursing him and praising him simultaneously.
Then it ended, too soon, and these delicious little aftershocks hit me for a small moment. After, I grew momentarily exhausted. Rhett noticed because he slowed down and stopped. His hands held my body close to his, as he continued to stay still, and he gently kissed me. “That is amazing every single time. Sweet Jesus, Sydney,” he swore softly. “Sweet Jesus.”
He took a moment, his controlled breaths warm and tingly against my shoulder.
“I’m close,” he muttered. “Like I’m afraid to move.”
“Move,” I told him, pressing a kiss to the side of his mouth. “Not too fast though. I want to see if I can feel it.”
“Shit, you’re bad,” he whispered. Then he pulled out—all the way out. And holding himself strong in his hand, guiding himself, he pressed back inside. He wasn’t fast, but he wasn’t gentle either. This yelp left my lips. Um…I’d thought I was done, but that move felt incredibly nice. Better than nice. I immediately wanted him to do that again.
He did it again. And I still couldn’t help the noises I made in reaction. And it happened again and again. On the fourth time, he stayed inside, pumping in a rhythm, setting a seamless new pace. It felt like our bodies were created to do this together, a perfect match. A skill that perhaps some couples took a lifetime to master, we’d already achieved. Now he had his thumb on my clit, stroking there too, and—shit!—if I didn’t come again. Hard. My insides squeezed in waves against him, the feeling rocking to my core and coursing through my veins. It lasted and lasted until one moment later, he pulled out and he came, right there against me. As in against me, on me.
Basically…it was the hottest, sexiest thing ever.
He was the hottest, sexiest thing ever.
And then after, he pumped back inside me—only once, and ever so gently. This last time wasn’t even about pleasure, as we’d already finished that. It was more about claiming. Like even though we were through, he wanted to remind me one more time that I was his.
He pulled out, taking a breath, moving away, smiling and shaking his head.
“What?” I whispered. The room felt still, a little too still, and my body a little too exposed to him all of a sudden.
“Nothing,” he said, leaving me on the sink, basically spread wide open. He turned around, grabbing something off the towel rack behind him—a wash cloth. He ran it under warm water in the sink behind me. I started to get up, but he quickly stopped me. “Don’t move, princess. I made a mess all over you. Again. Let me clean you up.”
He was so damn coy as he said this, obviously proud of himself.
And even if we were becoming more and more comfortable with one another in these sort of intimate situations, I still felt my cheeks burn red hot. He settled between my legs, using the wash cloth to carefully wipe away all the evidence of our love making. I was tender down there. But he seemed to be aware because he moved slowly, carefully, gently.
“Do you do this for all your girls?” I joked.
“I have only one girl,” he said, serious as a heart attack. “And no.”
Finished, he tossed the wash cloth into the waste bin beside the sink. Then he bent down and pressed one kiss against me—down there. There was no tongue as it wasn’t necessarily sexual but rather sweet. And my heart took off like a jackrabbit because of it and because of the incredibly kind way he was being with me, pounding so hard I couldn’t really breathe.
“I want to eat,” he said standing back up, all nonchalant Rhett again. “Food,” he added for clarification. “I’m starving. So let’s either order room service or go downstairs for dinner. Actually, if we go downstairs then this could be our first real date.”
“Aren’t you supposed to have dinner then sex?” I played, not knowing what else to say because of how insanely nervous I’d grown in the last few moments. He had my ribs cracked and my chest wide open, my heart completely exposed.
“Maybe,” he said. “But have dinner with me anyway.”
“Okay. I’m actually pretty hungry now, too.” I hadn’t been before, but everything else had helped me work up an appetite.
So I borrowed one of the robes from his room, gathered up my stuff, and we agreed to meet up again in ten minutes. This was a good excuse to get away, because I needed a moment alone in my own room to collect my thoughts, get dressed, fix my makeup, and prepare for my first ever real live date.
Rhett already had all my other firsts, and I was excited to give him another one.
CHAPTER 16:
RHETT
I’d never been on an actual date before. Not one that had been premeditated and involved dinner. I’d had plenty of ‘hook ups,’ but this was something completely different. Sydney left my room, and I hurried to take a shower, scrubbing as fast as possible and then dressing even faster. I’d brought one dress shirt and a pair of khaki pants—so I wore that. Ten minutes later, I was knocking on her door.
“One minute,” she called from inside the room.
About three minutes later, she opened the door. She wore a long tropical dress that tied behind her neck, had her hair down now, and her cheeks were still a little flushed. She was so beautiful, so insanely beautiful, that I could do nothing but stand there staring at her for a moment.
“You look nice,” she muttered.
“You too,” I replied lamely, like a completely hopeless moron.
Then we both started heading down the hall in silence. It was a little awkward, but I think only because we were both nervous about this. About halfway down the hall, my confidence suddenly revived itself. I’m not sure what snapped, but something did. I grabbed her waist, squeezing her tight, and yanked her body in close against my side. She laughed and that seemed to ease the tension.
“Damn,” I whispered in her ear, praising her like I should have a minute ago. “I’ve never felt so lucky in my life. I’ve never been so hopeful about whatever tomorrow’s going to bring. I’ve never had a day better than this. You’ve got me by the balls, princess. And I mean that in the best possible way. I am yours. Period.”
Wow. That wasn’t the sort of confession I expected to come pouring out of me. I wasn’t much of a romantic, or good at being sentimental, but with her I could not stop myself.
“I like your balls,” she teased, biting down on her lip and glancing sideways at me to gauge my reaction.
“You would say something like that,” I grunted, and for revenge nipped playfully at her neck.
She shied away, laughing. “Sorry. I couldn’t help myself. Sometimes you say the most random things. But yeah, I know exactly what you mean.” Her laugher subsided and she snuggled in closer to my side. “Because I’m feeling all of that too.”
“Good. That’s what I like to hear.” I slapped her ass as she got onto the elevator. She shot me a threatening look as I followed, but I could tell she’d enjoyed that. That was what I loved about Sydney—she was refined and fun all at once. I could be me, one-hundred and ten percent, and she didn’t seem to mind.
The restaurant in the hotel was overpriced and trying too hard to be fancy, but also surprisingly packed. This led me to believe the food would be decent. There were a million and one restaurants in a big city like this, so a busy restaurant meant there had to be something good about it.
We sat at
a booth close to the entrance. I might have opted for something more intimate, but that was all they had. The server came by and we ordered food rather quickly. Then with no menus in front of us, it was just us. I hardly knew where to start. There was so much about Sydney I didn’t know, and I just wanted to know everything.
“You don’t have a single tattoo,” I said to her, over the noise of the restaurant, starting the conversation.
“Neither do you,” she countered.
“I know. I don’t have any because there’s never been anything special enough that I wanted to put on my skin forever. But that’s not my point…you’re the one who wants to be the tattoo artist. Not me. Don’t the two usually go hand in hand?”
She shrugged. “I guess for some people. And maybe I would have a couple, but I’m such a baby when it comes to pain. Plus, it’s more about the art for me. I love creating different designs with my brother. I love helping him bring someone else’s idea to life. That’s why I want to do it. Going to school this year, I’ve missed all of that so much. I didn’t even realize that it was such a big part of my life until it was gone.”
She was very passionate as she spoke about it. I knew the feeling. That used to be baseball for me. “So do it. Although, I will warn you, you’re gonna have a line of ugly, hairy, old men out the door. All of them getting tattoos, not for the art, but because they want your hands on their sweaty bodies. I hope you’re prepared for that.”
The loudest, most genuine laugh left her lips. “You’re an ass.”
“Hey,” I said, putting my hands up. “Just being honest.”
“Well…I’ll let my brother have the hairy ones. While I take all the hot ones. Don’t worry about me, Rhett.”
I wasn’t worried about her. She could hold her own. For as sweet and as shy as this girl could be, I had no doubt in her ability to stand up for herself and chase after the things she wanted.
“So do it,” I repeated.
“It’s not that simple.”
Kill Devil Hills: A Complete Beach Romance Series (4-Book Box Set) Page 51
