by Theresa Papa
“What makes you think I need to learn anything in that department?” I move over behind her, place my arms on either side of her, and grasp the edge of the pool. Her body trembles up against mine. I wish the terry robe had come off before we ended up in the pool so I would be skin to skin with her, but that’s not the case. Her head lolls back onto my shoulder, and I bury my nose and mouth against her graceful neck, breathing her in. We stay that way for a few seconds until her head pops up, and she dips under the water, swimming down to the bottom and out of my reach. Liz reemerges on the other side of the pool, slicing up from the depths like an ethereal mermaid. Then she smiles and sticks her tongue out at me like a little kid playing tag.
“Oh, you may think I’m not up for the challenge … but I am!” I bluster back at her before I swim over to capture her. As soon as I come up and take a breath, she dunks me under again. The little minx thinks it’s funny and giggles while she wriggles out of my grasp again.
“You might have to tie me up to show me what you know in that department!” she lies.
“Oh yeah! Like I said, I’m up for the challenge! But why should I work so hard when there are any number of women who are willing, without restraints? Not that I mind restraints once in a while in a mutually consenting sexual relationship.”
I slick back my hair again and decide to play it another way by exiting the pool on the side to change the music. I can feel her eyes on me every step of the way as I dive back in and come up directly in front of her. Her face is serious now, and she’s quiet and contemplative.
“Hey, you okay?” I ask.
“I’m just kidding around, you know,” she murmurs. Her gorgeous green eyes look up at me through long lashes dotted with water droplets. She has one hand on the edge. I tread water in front of her and reach for the side of the pool when she jumps on me to dunk me again. This time, she goes under with me because I grab her waist on the way down. When all the bubbles clear, we stare at each other underwater for a few seconds. There’s a message in her facial expression, and it’s pure love and devotion. We surface together, our breath heavy on each other’s face. The water droplets slide down from her forehead and get stuck on her luscious top lip where I want to lick it off. My grip on her waist tightens like I’ll never let her go. Never taking my eyes off her lips, I move in and lick the moisture, then I taste her lips with my tongue. She opens eagerly, and we kiss deeply while we each pull the other close. The robe is open, and her breasts press against me; our bodies’ mold together under the blue depths as she wraps her legs around my waist. I suck on her bottom lip, and she rakes her nails gently across my skin. There’s no mistake in how aroused she has made me when all her heat is wrapped around me. I slide both my hands down and squeeze her ass, eager to slip my fingers inside her swimsuit.
Liz pulls away unexpectedly and leaves my fevered body in the middle of the pool. I have to wait to subdue myself before I can follow her.
Chapter 16
Liz Pope
When I change into my swimsuit and look in the mirror, I make sure the bikini top covers my tattoo. If Tony saw it, he would know my secret. That would not be good for him and his perfect life. I have to make him think that I’m not interested in a relationship with him even though I haven’t done a great job so far. I know! I’ll talk about his other girlfriends. I’ll keep the atmosphere between us slightly petulant, catching him off guard so that romance is the furthest thing from his mind.
I’m sending him such mixed signals and have him so confused that he almost drowns me. I have to get a hold of the situation and keep things platonic. We are just going to be friends, and I’m going to play in the pool as though we’re just friends.
Tony abruptly gets out of the pool, water gliding down his delectable body. The act puts an end to the game of tag and our banter. His taut muscular back is to me, his hair has grown a little longer, curling slightly at the nape of his neck. My eyes travel over the hard angles of his shoulders and the definition in his triceps and biceps. Even the fact that he’s barefoot is sexy. He dives back in after changing the music to something soft and sexy and surfaces directly in front of me. I make another feeble attempt at playfulness by dunking him, but I lose the platonic battle terribly. Tony grabs my waist and brings me under the water with him. The mere action of his hands on me relinquishes my surrender to him. I’m not strong enough to fight our chemistry when he kisses me so deeply, bringing back feelings I’ve never experienced with anyone but him. My legs wrap around his waist of their own volition to let me enjoy the friction of his firm arousal rubbing against the apex of my thighs. We kiss and touch, the desire to make love to each other is so strong. All I can think about is him inside me until somewhere in my brain a voice tells me to love him enough to walk away. When his fingers work their way into my bikini bottoms, I decide it’s a good moment to listen. Tony will think I’m still messed up sexually, and it will be my fault. It won’t be about anything he did or said. I refuse to hurt him and make him feel like I don’t want him. He is the guy I have always loved. This person is my fantasy. The one I never feel worthy of. He is just too good for me. I never want to fuck up such a great person’s life by subjecting him to my fucked-up life. Tears stream down my face as I look away from him.
“Liz, whatever it is that has made you put up these walls between us all this time, you can be honest with me. No more joking around. We’re adults now, and we found each other again. I want to be with you. I always have, and I’ve never forgotten about you.”
“I’m sorry I put you through that, Tony, for putting you through these games. My life has been such a joke, one you don’t deserve to feel the brunt of.”
I push with my palms against his chest and untangle my limbs from him, and then I swim to the stairs and exit the pool. The look on his face when I pull away almost breaks me, and I can feel him follow me out of the pool. I can’t wimp out now. He’s too important to me. If I submit to our mutual need for physical closeness now, there’s no turning back for me. Just now in the pool wrapped around him, I felt more alive than I ever have. He’s like a drug. Once I’m inebriated with his love for me, I won’t be able to resist anymore.
As I climb the ladder out of the deep end, he’s so close I can feel the heat of his body.
“Did I tell you could touch my ass?”
My belt to my terry cover-up is wet from the pool, and I playfully slap him with it and walk away. He follows me over the path to the pool house.
“Why do you always do that?
“Do what?”
“You’re still running away from me, from what we both have always known exists between us. I realize that I represent a part of your past. A past you have spent a lot of time and energy to move away from.”
His eyes are serious and painful as he looks at me from the pathway. I walk back over to him and try to make light of the situation by playfully hitting him again with my wet belt.
“Tony, we were kids, and it was so long ago. You were my first real kiss with tongue!”
Then I turn my back to him to slide my dripping terry robe off my shoulders and hang it on the hook outside the door. After we enter the pool house, I walk over to the table in the room and pick up my phone. In an instant, he has locked the door and pressed his body up against mine. Strong arms encircle my waist from behind, his palm flat against my naked abdomen as he pulls me close. His open-mouthed kisses travel from my shoulder up the line of my neck to behind my right ear.
“Tell me, I could kiss you with tongue. Tell me, I could touch your ass. Tell me, I could make you come over and over again, and never stop for the rest of our lives,” he whispers.
I lean my head back against him and squeeze my eyes shut. Waves of longing sweep over me, and my body aches for him. I drop my phone on the table and reach back with both hands to thread my fingers through his hair. Fiery waves of heat travel down my torso as his fingers skate up and down my sides from the sensitive area under my arms to my
hips. Then they change direction to breach the edge of my bikini bottoms and descend into my center. Tony slides his knee between my legs and eases my thighs farther apart. I’m eager to welcome two fingers gliding inside, stretching me, and setting off sparks of pleasure coursing through me. I grind into his hand and rub myself against his palm. His other hand answers my plea, teasing my wetness up to the glorious spot where the slightest caress sends me to climax. Through fevered breaths, I moan his name as his power over me grows too strong for me to deny him.
As my shuddering ceases, Tony sweeps me up into his arms, and I’m too weak to protest. The pool house bedroom is beautifully appointed with crisp white linens and soft pillows. The only light filters in from the living room behind him as he lays me down gently without a word. The silhouette of his chiseled body towers over me as his eyes lustfully roam over mine. The expression on his perfect face wars between torment and desire. With two hands, he links his index fingers under the sides of my bikini bottoms and peels them down with reverence. It’s almost as if I’m a precious, wrapped gift he finally gets to open. Both hands skim up my body, and I arch my back, needing more of him. He gestures for me to roll on my side so he can untie my top, and all I can think of is how he will react when he sees my tattoo. He has the bottom string untied when I decide to say something. What can I say? As soon as he sees it, there will be no denial of my love for him.
“Tony, I want to …” I say when he interrupts me with an index finger over my lips.
“No talking us out of this, Liz! I’ve waited for you for what seems like a lifetime. You will be safe and feel all the love I have for you. The love I kept buried deep in my soul all these years for you. I can sense you want me just as much as I want you, so please just let me make love to you,” he pleads.
I reach up, take his face in my palms, and kiss him. His words touch my soul like a prayer that has been answered; one I didn’t know I had been praying my entire life. Just to be purely and unconditionally loved on such an immense level is all I have ever dreamed of.
His body rests alongside me on the bed, his hands stroke my skin, and his mouth devours mine. I lose myself to him and revel in the low male sound of his gratification. He fingers the string behind my neck to slip my top totally off. When I open my eyes, he’s gaping down at my left breast. A bright big smile takes over as his index finger lightly strokes the intricate dragon tattoo set over my heart. When his eyes find mine again, unshed tears prove to me how touched he is by my revelation. I reach up to brush a lock of his hair lovingly from his forehead. He’s so passionate, so purely focused on me when he stands again next to the bed and lets his swim trunks drop to the floor. Just the sight of his bare smooth skin that still glows from the dampness of the pool intensifies the warmth in my womb as he climbs on the bed and situates himself between my legs. He slides his hands under me to grab my ass in handfuls and spread me open as he lifts me off the bed to his mouth. My hands instinctively grab purchase of the sheets in bunches, my eyes close to savor the explosive reaction as it ramps up in my core. The illicit way he pleasures me feels so naughty it excites me to the point of detonation. Masterfully, he uses his fingers to accompany his sexy mouth to stroke the bloom of lust inside me. Tony is relentless. An intense climax takes over my body and makes my hips move in rhythm as he once again delivers on his whispered promise to make me come over and over again.
The carnal need inside me grows stronger with each orgasm Tony expertly administers. His restraint in honor of putting my needs first is admirable. I’ve never before experienced a lover so giving and in tune with my body. The soul-baring intimacy I have with this man blows my mind.
“I need you inside me, please,” I plead to him as he crawls up my languid body and places himself at my entrance.
“Open your eyes, Liz, see the love I have for you on my face. Watch the joy as we connect our bodies and souls together. Know at this moment that you are all I’ve ever wanted. I would have waited for you a lifetime because there is no one else on earth for me.”
Tears slide from my eyes down my temples in answer to his proclamation. His lips meet mine as he thrusts inside me. I cling to him while I squeeze his warmth against me. He pauses with our bodies connected before producing a mind-blowing tempo to ramp me up once again in creation of our mutual crescendo.
Chapter 17
Elizabeth Pope
I have always known that when Tony and I finally made love it would be epic, changing me into a different person. His honesty and the pure love that radiates outward from him blow my mind. Through his impressive lovemaking and heartfelt proclamation, I realize I can’t run away from my soul mate anymore. The love he emits is so powerful, it surrounds me in a sort of pristine bubble that makes the reincarnation of Elizabeth Pope possible. Just like any other birth, I am free of all labels, and I am once again pure.
We lie in each other’s arms and enjoy the afterglow of our lovemaking. Tony traces his finger over my tattoo.
“How long have you had this?”
“I got it around four years ago, right before I told you we could never be together. It somehow helped with the unwanted task of letting you go. A piece of you would forever be near my heart, and no one could ever take it away.”
He kisses me tenderly; his palm cupping my cheek.
“Nothing could ever take my love away from you. Even when you ended our relationship and sent me away, I kept in touch with Nico and Jax to inquire about your well-being.”
“You were worried about me? They never said anything to me.”
“I asked them not to tell you. I wanted to honor your wishes to stay out of your life at first. Then every day, I was depressed that I couldn’t see you or talk to you. I threw myself into my work and created a whole new division in our company. When it came to the point I was successful and reaped all the benefits, there was no one I loved to share it with. Consequently, it all meant nothing, and my life was still empty. That’s when I met Susan, but it didn’t work out.”
“I’m sorry you went through that because of my problems. I cared about you too much to subject you to my messed-up life. So I had no other choice but to keep you secretly in my heart forever and convince you to stay away. My therapist, Dr. Baxter, told me I wasn’t mentally healthy enough for a relationship. He convinced me that it would hinder my progress in therapy, and it would negatively impact your life as well.”
“Can’t we put all of that behind us now and just be together?” Tony’s soulful eyes look into mine as I nod slowly to affirm my answer.
“Yes, please!”
He smiles and hugs me tighter. His hands roam my body, skating from hips to my ass to my breasts. Finally, he grasps my face and kisses me within an inch of my life. I keep my lips on his as I move to straddle his perfect torso. It’s delicious to penetrate myself with his newly formed erection. Moans escape from low in his chest as I sit up and impale myself deeper and fuller than I’ve ever been. His fingers bruise my skin as he clenches my hips to guide my movements. Erotic spasms of bliss take over my body as Tony looks adoringly up at me. I am liberated from the constant anger and frustration trapped in my soul that normally feeds my inner volcano. The lava has cooled, the fissure in my heart healing, making the depressive emotions usually vibrating just below the surface disappear completely.
When the shudders fade, he flips us over and balances above me on his arms. The change in angle ramps me up again so soon that my moans echo through the pool house. He uses his mouth to subdue my rhapsody in another all-consuming kiss. We make love as if our days are numbered, and when we finally come down from the high, it’s as if our two souls are one.
The dawn comes quickly. It seems like our cocoon of safety and passion would be ours forever. Muted light streams in from the window illuminating our tangled bodies. I breathe deeply the scent that is exquisitely Tony. Citrus and sandalwood along with the scent of pool water we both still have on our skin. Here in the pool house with him I have
a sense of safety—a sense that I am cared for eternally. But as I lie here in his arms and listen to his even breathing as he sleeps, I can’t help but wonder how close the vermin stalking me are. When they try to take me away, will Tony and the guards be able to stop them? If they succeed, will I ever see the love of my life again?
“Hey, I didn’t think I would wake up to that expression on your face. What’s the matter?” Tony asks. His voice is still gravelly with sleep, his gentle brown eyes concerned. I immediately transform my face into a satisfied and loving grin.
“I’m fine, how did you sleep?” I place a kiss next to his mouth.
“I haven’t slept that well in years, Liz. And the reason is I finally have the right woman in my bed with me.”
“This is right and amazing. But I think I should get up now and go back to my room before anyone else is up,” I turn, swinging my legs over the side of the bed, and then look back at him.
“Liz, I don’t care if everyone knows we’re together! Do you?”
“No, everyone can know we’re together. But everyone doesn’t have to know that we are sleeping together. Tony, I’m happiest when I’m around your family. And I would never want to do anything to lose their respect or to make them think I don’t respect them.”
“Okay, I get it. Let’s go back to our respective rooms now and shower. But first, one more kiss.”
He reaches for me, sending me backward on the bed. In an instant, he is above me, smiling down at me. I giggle as he places soft kisses on my neck, but it quickly turns to lust as his lips move downward. He looks up at me while his tongue laves my nipples.
“You said one more kiss,” I purr.
He smiles, then sucks and lets go, making a popping sound that drives me crazy.
“I lied!”
His ministrations with his mouth and hands send me once again into the stratosphere. My back arches as I give myself to him … body and soul. After another round of earth-shattering orgasms, he fills me once more as our bodies subliminally tell the story of our mutual deep passion for each other. Never to be denied again.
