Dolphin's Playground

by Jaci Burton

  “Fuck me, Trey. Here, now and do it quick. I need to feel your cock inside me.”

  With a low growl, he swept her into his arms and sat her on top of the laboratory counter. None too gently, he shoved the beakers and microscopes to the side to make room for her.

  “Let me tell you how this is going to work,” he said.

  She watched him pull his T-shirt off, revealing an impressively bronzed chest.

  A tattoo of a dolphin on his left bicep caught her eye. Well, surprise of all surprises. The Ivy League rich man had a tattoo.

  He’d surprised her again. She traced the outline of the swimming dolphin with something akin to awe spreading inside her.

  Triton Sanders was a mystery.

  But at least one part of the mystery was about to be solved. She focused once more on his incredible body. Muscles rippled in the harsh light and she reached for him, but he stepped back. When his thumb grazed the top button on his jeans, her throat went dry. Did she really have any idea what she was doing?

  No. And strangely enough, she didn’t care.

  The button flipped open, followed by the zipper. He quickly pushed his jeans off and stood gloriously, magnificently naked. His erection sprung forward, thick and pulsating. She licked her lips, dying for a taste of him.

  His gaze caught and followed the sweep of her tongue across her lips. He shook his head and smiled. “No, little siren, that’s not what’s going to happen.” He pushed her down and reached for the waistband of her shorts, making quick work of pulling them off. “First, I’m going to taste you and find out if that sweet vanilla scent that seems to be a part of you extends to that luscious pussy.”

  She was going to die. Her lab assistants would find her tomorrow, sprawled naked and lifeless on the counter. She was going to have a heart attack from being so turned on. Her juices flowed against her panties and she arched her hips, silently begging for his tongue.

  As if he heard her mental pleas, he tore the flimsy silk panties from her and buried his face between her legs.

  Jaz gasped at the first contact of his lips on her clit. He licked softly along her slit, tasting her, teasing her, until she closed her eyes and reveled in the wicked things he was doing to her. Already, release was imminent.

  When he thrust his tongue inside her pussy, she covered the loud moans escaping her lips with her hand, still cognizant of the fact they were in a semi-public place.

  She could almost laugh. Semi-public, and she was naked and spread-eagled on the laboratory counter. With a man whose tongue sparked a magic she’d never known before.

  “Yes, lick me there,” she cried, shocked at her bold request. He complied, eliciting her wet response. She squeezed her legs together, intending to capture his mouth in that special spot for as long as she could.

  Then she felt cool air as he pulled away. “No, Trey, don’t stop.” Was that her voice, so breathy and low?

  “I have to stop, Jasmine. When you come, it’ll be when I’m inside you. I want to feel your cunt squeezing my cock. I want to taste your cries when you climax.”

  “Oh yes. Yes, I want that. Now, Trey. Now.”

  She’d never been more demanding. Or more needy. Desperately, she clung to his arms, not wanting to let go of him for a second lest he disappear.

  He stepped to the edge of the counter and grabbed her legs, pulling her toward the edge. She propped herself up on her elbow so she could watch.

  A wickedly sensual half-smile curled his lips. With one thrust, he embedded his thick shaft to the hilt.

  Jaz let out a scream of pleasure, no longer caring where she was or who might come in and find them. Her entire being was focused on the feel of Trey’s cock inside her. Her sex surrounded him, moistening them both with wet desire.

  Trey pulled back and plunged again, harder. She groaned and reached for his arms, needing his touch more than she needed to breathe.

  “Your pussy was made for me, Jaz. Feel how snug I fit inside you? How your body grabs onto me?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, her gaze fixated on the lines of intense concentration on his face. He studied where their bodies met and she studied his reaction.

  He grabbed her legs and threw them over his shoulders, lifting her hips in the air and sliding his hands underneath her buttocks. With slow, measured strokes he took her deeper and further into a place she’d never been before…a place no man had ever taken her.

  Closer and closer she swam toward a culmination she’d waited a lifetime to experience. Part of her couldn’t believe this was happening. But it was going to. It was inevitable, it was meant to happen. And soon.

  When he reached between them and applied gentle pressure to her clit, she tensed and cried out. An orgasm so intense it brought tears to her eyes rushed through her body. Sweat poured from her, her limbs trembled and whimpers of ecstasy escaped her lips.

  Trey stilled inside her, letting her ride out the waves of her climax until she settled back, her body no longer wracked with spasms. And then he began to move again, pulling her legs off his shoulders and leaning over her so she could wrap them around his waist.

  She pulled his cock in deeper and he plunged repeatedly against the boundaries of her body. He was relentless, his body taut, his muscles a heated steel. When he bent down and captured her lips in a carnal kiss, she felt the response build within her again, shock and pleasure like nothing she’d been prepared for.

  “Again, Jasmine. Come on me again.”

  She couldn’t. It wasn’t possible. And yet, it was. Trey’s tongue tangled with hers, licking her lips, her mouth, taking in her cries of delight when her electrifying orgasm took her over the edge a second time.

  “Oh God, Trey, oh God,” was all she could mumble. Her climax sparked, holding her prisoner as wave after wave crashed within her.

  This time, he went with her and it was her turn to take in his groans as his lips ground against hers and his seed shot deep within her. He held her tightly clasped to his body, cradling her head against his chest, shuddering until the last of his climax subsided.

  She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even lift her hands.

  Never had it been like this. So intensely physical, and yet so deeply emotional that she shed tears of joy.

  Trey pulled away and stared down at her while she tried to climb back to reality. Then he reached for their clothes, handing her shorts and tank top without looking at her.

  The warmth that had filled her only seconds ago was suddenly replaced by a chilled dread as she realized that whatever she may have felt was one sided. Clearly, Trey felt no emotional bond between them. To him, it had been sex. It was written all over his blank face. He’d climaxed and that meant it was over. No emotion, no involvement, just a fuck.

  That’s all she’d been—just a fuck.

  “We’d better hurry and get dressed before someone comes in,” he said, turning away from her.

  Jaz fought back the welling tears, embarrassed by her foolish fantasies of finding the man of her dreams. She quickly dressed, grabbed her shoes and headed out the door.

  There was no point in attempting to have a conversation. They’d fucked, purely and simply, and that’s all there’d been to it. The sooner she grabbed that concept of cold, hard reality, the better off she’d be.

  * * * * *

  “So what you’re telling me is that you’re still a dumbass.”

  Trey wondered sometimes why he even bothered to have conversations with Dane. Clearly, the only thing he ever got from his brother was insults. “No, that’s not what I said at all. I said I made a huge mistake with Jaz.”

  “Because you had sex with her.”

  Trey inhaled the pre-dawn foggy air and turned to Dane, who had taken human form to converse with him. They were alike in so many ways, down to the dolphin tattoo all guardians wore. Dane wasn’t quite as tall as him, and his hair not as dark, but they had the same mannerisms. A few similarities in their shapeshifting abilities, and a few differen
ces, too. As with all the guardians, each of them was unique.

  Dane’s eyes sparkled with mirth. “So, you had sex with her and you think that’s a mistake.”

  “Yeah.”

  “In what universe, Trey? C’mon. She wanted it, you wanted it, I assume you both enjoyed it, so what’s the big deal?”

  “Dane, you do realize that under no circumstances are we to fraternize with land humans other than what is absolutely necessary.”

  Dane winked. “I’d say getting a good fuck is an absolute necessity.”

  “You’re an idiot.”

  “And you’re a dumbass.”

  Trey was about to say something else to Dane when his brother suddenly morphed back into his dolphin form. Which could only mean one thing.

  “What the hell is going on here?”

  Jaz. He turned and shrugged. “Just checking on the dolphins.”

  “It’s five in the morning.”

  “I’m aware of the time.” Even in the darkness, he could see the pain on her face, the confusion that he’d put there. He’d been hot and all over her one minute, then cold and walking out on her the next.

  How could he explain to her, when he couldn’t figure it out himself?

  She was just a woman, no different than the sea sprites he fucked. He’d been horny and so had she. They’d engaged in steamy sex that was fulfilling for both of them. He shouldn’t have to treat her differently than the other women.

  But she was different from the other women. He felt differently about her. Yes, he was attracted to her physically, but there was more. And that was the crux of the problem, and the reason for his horrible behavior.

  “And why were you yelling at my dolphins?”

  Shit. “Because that one annoys me.”

  She crooked a brow. “Annoys you? How so?”

  He’s a pain in my ass, that’s how so. “Non-cooperative.”

  “It’s because you don’t talk nice to him.”

  Talk nice to him? Trey would like to kick his ass! He glared at Dane, who chattered noisily. What Jaz couldn’t hear was Dane’s maniacal laughter. Dickhead.

  “They’re just dumb animals, Jaz. You don’t have to talk nice to them.”

  “Dumb animals? How dare you!” She pushed him aside and leaned over the tank, petting Dane’s snout. “Don’t listen to him, baby.”

  Trey rolled his eyes. “Give me a break. He’s not your baby.”

  “Is too, aren’t you sweetie?”

  When she pressed her lips to Dane’s face and Dane responded with a wet lick to Jaz’s mouth, Trey had had enough. He pulled Jaz away from his brother, his anger growing by the second. Dane’s snicker wasn’t helping one bit.

  “Grow up, Jaz. Quit treating these creatures like babies. They don’t want or need your help.”

  “And you have become an expert in reading their minds since when?”

  Since the day he was born. “I just know. They’re not intelligent like you and me. They’re…stupid.”

  Of course he was simply trying to get back at Dane. Dane responded by shooting a snout full of water at Trey’s face.

  Jaz laughed and patted Dane on the head. “That should tell you what they think of your opinion.”

  Trey wiped his face, making a mental note to kick Dane’s ass later. “Don’t you have work to do in the lab?”

  At the mention of the lab, her face colored. She pulled her sweater around her chest and lifted her chin. “Don’t you have work to do in the lab?”

  “Yes. I was on my way before you wasted my time with this moronic conversation about dolphins.”

  “Just what size pole is stuck up your ass this morning, Triton?”

  “I’m fine. You’re the one who showed up here in a pissed off mood, ready to attack me. What wrong? Didn’t I calm your nerves enough last night?”

  Her eyes widened. “I don’t want to talk about last night.”

  “Good. Because it was a huge mistake anyway.” One he’d known better than to make. Now he’d be sure never to make it again.

  “Sorry I wasn’t good enough for you. I’m sure you’re used to much better than me.” She turned on her heel and stormed off. Trey followed her movements, feeling worse now than he did before she showed up.

  “Like I said. You’re a dumbass.”

  He didn’t say a word in response to Dane’s insult. This time, his brother was absolutely right.

  Chapter Eight

  Jaz did her best to avoid Trey over the next two days. Thankfully, the tests they’d run had yielded some promising results. They were close to figuring out the culprit responsible for the dolphins’ illness.

  Isolating bacteria found in one of the samples, she and her staff busily set about attempting to identify it amongst millions of potential suspects.

  Trey worked with the assistants, all of them as tirelessly devoted to finding the cause as she was. She had to admire Trey’s work ethic, even if she still bristled at his odd behavior.

  Their night together in the lab had been magical. Hot, powerful, sensual and more than she had ever expected. He touched her in ways that went beyond the physical, both frightening and enticing at the same time.

  But he was all wrong for her. He was surly, unpleasant, insulting, and way out of her league on the social scale. Clearly, he wanted nothing to do with her after their encounter.

  Which was fine with her, except for one small problem—she still wanted him. Her body craved him. He was like a single lick of her favorite ice cream. One taste wasn’t nearly enough. She wanted all of it. All of him.

  And she was angry as hell for that wanting.

  Casting surreptitious glances in his direction, she scrunched her nose in self-irritation at even watching him, wondering what he was thinking.

  She’d been so much better off with her vibrators. At least with those, she didn’t have to worry about what they thought about her, whether she was good enough. They gave her the release she needed, and then were perfectly happy to be shoved back in her nightstand drawer until the next time.

  Men were much more complex. No wonder she had little use for them.

  “Bob, what about those serum levels?” she asked, forcing her mind back on work, where it belonged.

  “I think I might have something here.”

  The answer came from Trey, not from Bob.

  She rushed over and peered at the data on the computer, conscious of the fact she was closer to him right now than she’d been for two days. She couldn’t help but take a deep breath, his crisp, ocean scent reminding her what she loved the most about the sea.

  “This looks like a new bacterium,” she said, lifting her head and meeting his gaze. “Have you ever run across it before?”

  Trey shook his head. “No. I’d like to do a little more analysis on it. More in-depth. Looks like something that might originate in the digestive tract, which would explain their lack of appetite and symptoms similar to sponge ingestion.”

  She nodded. “Go ahead. Pull whatever resources you need from the staff.”

  He stared at her and she stared back. The blue of his eyes, so like the turquoise waters off the Caribbean, held her. She could almost hear his voice in her head, deep, husky, filled with the promise of hot nights and passion.

  They weren’t even alone in the room and yet the pull of attraction made her forget everything around her. She licked her lips, remembering how Trey’s felt against her mouth and on her pussy.

  Her body trembled as he inched closer.

  Was he going to kiss her? Right here in front of the staff?

  Lord, she hoped so.

  “Dr. Quinlan, come quick! It’s one of the dolphins!”

  Trey pulled back and Jaz turned to Tricia, who stood in the doorway signaling for them to follow.

  The sun was shining this afternoon, but a cold chill crept over her as she spotted one of the dolphins floating on the surface of the pool.

  “Shit!”

  Her mind barely registered Trey’s
curse as she jumped into the water. Hurrying toward the dolphin, she pulled the stethoscope from around her neck and placed it against the dolphin’s heart.

  Nothing. The bottlenose dolphin’s lifeless eyes told her the truth. He was gone.

  Pain rifled through her. She wanted to sit down right where she was and wail at the injustice of it all, but there were other things that had to be done. She instructed the staff to remove the dolphin from the tank and take him into the necropsy room for examination. The other dolphins were loudly distressed, each of their laments like a knife in her heart. Jaz fought back tears, needing to remain stoic and professional in front of everyone.

  She knew how they felt when they lost one of the mammals. It tore them up as much as it did her, and they looked to her for strength. She had to pull it together, despite wanting to run upstairs, fling herself on her bed and weep for about a day.

  Trey’s expression was blank. Tight, controlled, revealing nothing. He helped remove the dolphin, but never said a word.

  Did he even care? Did his heart bleed for these magnificent creatures, or did he look upon them the same way as Claude? She really had no idea how he felt about the dolphins. He masked his emotions well.

  Frankly, she didn’t want to think about Trey right now. Now was the time to look on the morbid, yet potentially advantageous side of a negative situation. The necropsy would at least give them an opportunity to do a more thorough investigation of the bacterium present in the dolphins and what type of systemic damage it had been doing.

  That could provide a clue as to its origin.

  They worked through the evening. Trey assisted, giving her no inkling as to his feelings about the dolphin’s death. Tissue samples, morphometrics and photos were taken, all to study later.

  Jaz suppressed her emotions during the procedure, thankful when they finished and she could send her assistants home for the night. Trey walked out with a few of the staff without even looking at her, still not speaking.

  Guilt wrapped itself around her, pounding away at her already miserable headache. She should have worked harder to save the dolphins. Instead, she’d been playing sex games with Trey. A complete waste of time that she could have used on research.