I moaned again as she eased my tip inside her, pushing slowly until she'd enfolded me completely in the one place I swore I'd never go. "Angel, oh angel..."
She tightened around me and let out a moan of her own. "You don't know how long I've wanted to feel this. Make love to me, Nathan, please. Please. I need you."
Her hips rocked and I thrust up to meet her. Once, twice, a third time. Each time, she gasped and clenched around me. I wanted to see her face. I needed to know if she truly wanted this.
I reached up for her breasts, caressing the soft swell of them until I encountered her rock hard nipples. If I couldn't see them, I needed to taste them. Fastening my hands on her hips, I sat up with my next thrust, angling deeper to her humming satisfaction. I ran the tip of my tongue over her breast, then sucked on her nipple.
Caitlin gasped and I froze, wondering if I'd stuffed up and gone too far. Her fingers wove through my hair, pressing my face into her soft flesh. "Don't stop, Nathan. Please do that again."
I grinned and gave in. Those perfect globes had tempted me since the day I met her and I fully intended to worship them properly. But for every stroke of my tongue, she was tightening around me, grinding her hips against mine until there was no way I'd last another minute. Unless I took charge.
I tipped her back, wincing as I slipped out of her, but I didn't release her nipple until her head touched the mattress behind her. I knelt between her parted legs and sucked in a breath.
"Nathan..."
I heard the reproach in her tone, but I didn't pause to make excuses. "If you want me to make you forget everything, from your surroundings to the past to your own damn name, I need to call the pace, or I won't last long enough. It's been a long time, angel, and I need you to trust me." I stroked her damp thighs, tracing the wetness to its source. Her heat enveloped my fingers. "What do you say, angel?"
"Yes. If you have to, then yes." She was breathless with desire. Caitlin. My Caitlin.
I grinned into the dark, unseen, and caressed those smooth legs, lifting them over my shoulders so her bum lifted off the mattress. Closer, closer...I could feel the heat radiating off her and the smell of her was intoxicating. I wanted another taste.
She cried out as my tongue slipped inside her, rasping over sensitive skin on the way in and out, and I paused again.
"More. Oh, please, don't stop – ah!"
I alternated between my fingers and my tongue, relying on the pitch of her cries to know how close I'd brought her to the precipice of pleasure. When her thighs tightened against my shoulders, I increased the pace, knowing I had her. This time, she screamed my name for joy, not pain, before she begged for more. More that I delivered sooner than she'd expected, I thought as her cries turned to moans that egged me on. I wanted to hear her scream my name again. That meant making her come harder – so hard she almost crushed my fingers as her core clenched.
I laughed, pulling my fingers free with considerable effort. "What's your name again?"
"Caitlin. Caitlin Lockyer. But you can call me whatever you want. Oh God, just don't stop!"
I plunged my tongue inside her, devouring her until she was too breathless to scream again. I wasn't much far behind her, either. "Tell me your name," I panted.
"Caitlin. Angel. Alana. Fuck, I don't know. I'm not sure if my body will hold together if you do that again. I think I might fall apart."
"One more then," I breathed against her thigh, my fingers already stroking.
"Nathan, oh, Nathan...only if you promise me. Promise me..."
"What?" I asked, knowing I could keep her on edge with just my fingers, though I craved one more taste before we were done. Just in case it was the last.
"Promise me that next time, you'll come with me." She reached between my legs and squeezed.
Oh God, not in her hands. Inside her. I needed to be inside her.
I freed up my fingers, taking one last, languorous lick. I didn't want to wait either. I'd wanted her from the minute I first saw her.
She scrambled into my lap, a hot, wet dream come true.
"Angel, oh God, angel...Caitlin!" I howled, unable to resist her, the magical minx who milked me for my last drop.
SIXTY-EIGHT
Is there anything more terrifying than waking in the pitch dark with someone's arm draped across you and not a scrap of clothing or covering between you? Maybe for normal people it wasn't frightening at all. My fear only lasted the few seconds it took to swallow my building scream, because I found my lifeline out of the dark when Nathan's sleepy voice mumbled, "Are you all right, angel?"
The hard, naked body was his, enfolding me in his arms. The ache between my thighs was his doing, too, as my body reminded me what this man had done to me in the dark.
I closed my eyes and breathed in his scent. Sweat and smoke and sex. I wanted all of it one more time before he left me like he did every other girl, the morning after sex, or so his sister had said. If this was my last chance, then I wanted it again. That toe-curling, gut-wrenching, breath-stealing moment when Nathan's mouth and hands and rock hard muscles were my everything as I screamed his name for joy into the darkness. I couldn't see, but, by God, I sure could feel. One more round with him in the dark and I'd never want to have sex with the lights on again. Heightened sensation as touch and smell and sound and taste.
I ran my hands across his chest, then my tongue. The taste of salt lingered as I pressed closer to him, realising that I wasn't the only one aroused by our intimacy. Goosebumps broke out on my back as the chilly morning air touched my skin. I shivered.
"Angel? Are you all right?" His voice became more urgent.
"I'm a little cold," I admitted, taking a deep breath before I told him what I wanted. Needed. "Nathan, I want you to make love to me again like you did last night. Light a fire in my blood and cover me with your body and kiss me."
He peeled his body from mine and the cold turned my nipples to pink pearls. I wanted his mouth to warm them again, before slipping lower, but the only contact between us was his fingers resting lightly on my hip. "Are you sure you're ready, angel?"
I grabbed his hand and dragged it between my legs, inhaling sharply when his fingers drove deep inside me, coaxing a whisper of desire into a roaring flame. "Yes," I whimpered as he pressed harder, tracing circles that spiralled around my nerve endings, drawing me deeper into a whirlpool of sensation that sucked the world away and left only us. "Oh, yes!" I shouted.
God, why was he hesitating? I could feel the hot, hard length of him against my thigh, when I wanted him inside me. He was so hard I swore I could feel his beating pulse under my fingers as I tried to pull him in.
"Angel..." he moaned.
"I'm no angel, Nathan," I replied, driving my hips forward to meet his powerful thrust. "But I'll ride you to heaven any time."
SIXTY-NINE
For the first time in longer than I could remember, I stayed awake willingly. All I wanted was to savour the sensation of this incredible woman in my arms, terrified that she'd vanish if I let go. That this would have been just another fucked-up dream. Caitlin's breath tickled my neck every time she exhaled, but I wouldn't have traded it for the world. I didn't dare move.
Her even breathing ended in a gasp, then a moment of her holding her breath as she ran her fingers lightly down my chest.
"If you keep going, you'll find out I don't sleep in pyjamas," I remarked, longing for her to take up the challenge.
Another gasp and Caitlin snatched her hand back. The warm body at my side shifted so she wasn't touching me any more.
Over. It's over. But what a magic night it was, I told myself, even as I ached for more.
"Where are my clothes?" she asked sharply.
I shrugged, then realised she couldn’t see me in the dark. "Your dress was burned, so some of it stayed outside and what was left of it I threw in the corner somewhere. Your bra, too. Your undies...um, I think I stuck them in your beach bag or next to it."
"Beach bag?"
; I felt around for it and dumped it on her legs. "This. It had towels and stuff in it."
"And my bathers. Guess I'll be putting those on now."
I heard rustling for several minutes until she said, "Okay. I'm decent. Is it safe to go outside? Is the fire gone?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "I didn't want to leave you alone here to find out."
She threw some fabric at my face. "Well, put something on so you can come investigate with me. I'm not leaving you here alone, either."
I pulled my shorts on and managed to clamber to my feet. I shouldered her bag, hoping we hadn't left anything important behind. "All right. I’m as decent as I'm going to get. Let's go see what hell looks like."
I insisted on going first, seeing as I was way more expendable than she'd ever be. I stepped into daylight and couldn't stop staring. The world was completely leached of colour – nothing but black, white and grey, from the burned trees and ground to the ash covering everything. Wisps of smoke curled up from raised mounds that might once have been trees or bushes or God knew what, for I didn't and I wasn’t game to find out. If it hadn't been for this godforsaken bunker, we'd have been two more smoking mounds.
I dropped to my knees, thanking whatever powers in the universe that had let me live – let us live – instead of burning to death as a prelude to eternity in hell.
"Nathan? Is it safe to come up?" Caitlin called.
I opened my eyes. "I think so. There's nothing left that can burn."
Caitlin emerged and my breath caught in my throat. To hell with the burned landscape – Caitlin in a skimpy bikini was heaven itself and she was walking toward me, stepping carefully in her thongs between the still-warm piles of ash. She was the hottest thing I'd ever seen.
She folded her arms across her chest. "I wish I still had my dress. I feel naked out here like this, and I can feel the heat from the ground on my bare skin."
I held out my shirt, hoping she wouldn't take it, but she did, quickly buttoning it over her bikini.
"Looks like we won't be selling the house after all."
I turned to see where Caitlin was pointing. It took me a moment to realise that the huge, smoking pile of scorched sheet metal was what was left of the house – it had collapsed under the weight of its tin roof. I pulled her into an embrace, hugging her for the sheer joy of it. I'd never have to enter that house of horrors again because the inferno had claimed it. I was free. We were free.
She pulled away far too quickly for my liking. "I guess insurance claim forms will be easier and there's still the land." Caitlin swivelled to face the ocean, though we couldn’t see it from here. "Come for a swim with me before we go find out what happened to your car?"
My car. Alanna's old car. Oh shit. I swallowed. "Sure."
I stumbled after her as she led the way to the beach. The fire had cleared a track broader than Bussell Highway, so it wasn't hard to find our way. When she reached the peak of the last dune, Caitlin gasped. I crossed the distance between us to stand at her side and found my mouth dropping open, too.
Behind us was nothing but devastation, yet the final slope down to the beach was untouched. When we reached the sand, none of the damage was visible – almost as if the fire and the disaster it had left in its wake had never happened.
Caitlin pulled my shirt over her head and dropped it on the sand, wading into the water until it reached her waist. She ducked under a wave, rubbing handfuls of sand against her skin to scrub the soot off her and probably the memory of my touch, too. I strode in after her and followed her example.
What I really wanted to do was pull her down onto the sand and make love to her like I had last night, like I wanted to every night of the rest of my life, but I wasn't willing to risk rejection again. She'd already pulled out of my embrace once this morning and the sun wasn't even properly up yet. I turned my back, trying not to think of her breathtaking body in the barely-there bikini, and splashed myself with enough cold water to cool off an elephant.
"We should go back to the guesthouse for breakfast, a proper shower and some clean clothes," I said, starting toward the beach.
"Sure," she responded and I heard her splashing steps behind me.
SEVENTY
She didn't say another word to me the whole drive back in my miraculously untouched car. If it weren't for the smell of smoke in the air, I'd have begun to wonder if we'd imagined the fire, but I knew we hadn't. We parted in the passageway, each to our own separate rooms. I ached to join her in the shower, but I didn't dare offer.
Five minutes later, showered and dressed in fresh clothes, I pulled my door shut and set off for the kitchen. Behind me, I heard Caitlin's soft footsteps. Impulsively, I turned to offer her my hand. "I didn't think I'd ever get to eat breakfast again, let alone with you. It feels surreal, doesn't it?"
She laid her fingers cautiously on my palm, watching as I enfolded her hand in mine. "Yes. It must be strange, seeing a girl the next morning after...after what we did last night. If your sister was telling the truth, a first for you, I think. I hope you don't mind. I can have breakfast at a different time tomorrow if you like." She lowered her eyes as she trudged down the passage, pulling her hand free.
I stopped to untangle the confusion in my head. What in hell had my sister said to her? Oh! It clicked and I laughed. "Angel, I'll join you for breakfast every day for the rest of your life if you'll let me."
It was her turn to stop. "But you don't..."
"Just because I've never slept with a girl more than once, you think I'm going to leave you? None of the other girls were you, angel. I waited five years for last night. And tonight, I want to do it all over again – but in a proper bed, like you deserve. You seriously think that after one night with you, I wouldn't want more?" I lowered my voice. "Angel, tonight I'll be the one begging."
Her eyes widened as if she didn't believe me. Still chuckling, I headed for the kitchen and the smell of coffee.
"Good morning!" Beth looked like she'd had way more sleep than Caitlin and me, judging by her cheerful smile.
I mumbled a response and heard Caitlin do the same.
"Have you heard about the fire?" Beth continued, setting out bowls of yoghurt and fruit. I pushed the bowl of strawberries across the table to Caitlin, knowing they were her favourite. "A routine burn-off in the national park got out of hand and burned through half the houses in Osprey Bay, up near the resort. Then the wind changed and they had to close off all the roads as it burned out of control in the national park. They're flying in firefighters from the eastern states and we'll be full by tonight. I've had to turn some down already and I haven't even checked my email this morning!" She laughed, shaking her head. "They say no one's been hurt, thank goodness, but they aren't letting anyone back in yet, so no one's checked the houses that burned."
"No, we hadn't heard," I managed to say through a mouthful of toast. "We went for an early swim this morning. Haven't had time to check the news."
Caitlin's eyes were firmly fixed on the bowl of strawberries and yoghurt in front of her.
"We could share a room if you need it for firefighters," I added quickly, trying not to grin when Caitlin's surprised gaze turned to me. "Just make up the sofa bed for me."
Caitlin swallowed. "That won't be necessary. We should probably head home early, anyway. If the place is full of firefighters, we'd probably get more rest and quiet at home."
I opened my mouth to protest, but Caitlin's wink made me close it again. Her foot stroked my thigh under the table, awakening some other muscles in anticipation of further stroking.
Fortunately, Beth had missed the exchange. "If you're sure. You have paid for both rooms for a week. I'll refund your money, of course."
"Of course," I said smoothly. "The sooner we get that fire under control, the better, right, angel?" I felt her foot slide out of my aching lap.
Caitlin slipped another spoonful of yoghurt into her mouth and nodded.
SEVENTY-ONE
"Let me see how your bu
rns are healing," I suggested.
Caitlin shrugged and pulled her shirt over her head before stretching out face-down on the couch.
Aside from the scars on her back from five years ago, I couldn't see any sign of damage. I leaned over to kiss the back of her neck. "Beautiful. You're not going to scar at all."
She glanced over her shoulder. "You know, there are easier ways to get me to take my top off. Just ask, Nathan."
I opened my mouth to ask for more than that, but something on TV caught my attention.
"Residents of Osprey Bay are allowed back for the first time today. Scenes of heartbreak and devastation as some homes were completely lost..." the news anchor said.
On the screen were pictures of the burned-out houses. It looked like Laura's house had copped the worst of it, so that picture featured the most, from varying angles.
Caitlin's phone rang and I leaned across her to snag it from the table so I could hand it to her.
"Hello? Yes, I'm Dr Miller, the owner of 100 Osprey Bay Drive." She listened for almost a minute, nodding slowly before she replied, "Sure, I can tell you my policy number." She rattled off the number as if she'd memorised it. Several more minutes of occasional "yes", "mmhmm" and "sure" responses, she thanked them and ended the call. The phone clattered to the coffee table as she turned her puzzled expression on me. "Apparently, there are some issues with the local council and the national parks office over who was responsible for the fire, so the insurance company wanted to explain the delays. The odd thing is that they've sent in a demolition crew, but the council aren't allowing them on the site because of all sorts of things. First they said hazardous materials and asbestos, and now there's some question as to whether the land's safe because of caves beneath it. Apparently a section of ground collapsed under a truck. The whole area's been declared unsafe until a specialist team has come to assess it so demolition will be delayed until then." She grabbed her t-shirt and yanked it back on.
Afterlife of Alanna Miller Page 22
