Life's a Beach

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  “Yes. But one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Don’t tell Dude.”

  “Uh, okay, but why not?”

  “It’s complicated. He didn’t want a long-term thing. I had to practically hit him over the head to give me two weeks. If he knows I’m going to be here permanently, he’ll freak. I want to be with him for as long as I can. He’ll dump me as soon as he finds out.”

  “I doubt that.”

  “He’s very skittish about getting close to people. But don’t worry. I won’t let our affair interfere with our jobs. I know you have a policy about fraternization, but that’s mostly between guests and staff, and I’m no longer a guest. We’re both professionals and we genuinely like each other. I’m not a drama person.”

  “That’s the last thing I’m worried about. He seems smitten with you. I’ve never seen him like this.” He clinked glasses with her. “Give him hell. He’s never had to work at a relationship before.”

  “He’s probably going to hate me because I’m going to load more work on him.”

  “I’m looking forward to seeing that. It’s your call. I won’t say a word. But you’ll have to make sure the other staff members don’t mention anything to him.”

  “Thank you so much for this opportunity. I won’t let you down. I’ll whip this place into shape and make you proud. I’m going to shake things up, but in a good way.”

  “You’re going to make things very interesting, at any rate.”

  Chapter 13

  Amelia finished her drink and then excused herself. When she pushed back her chair, Marcus rose too. She couldn’t help it and gave him a huge hug.

  “Thanks again.” She practically skipped out of the restaurant.

  She was expecting Dude to jump out of the shadows, so she didn’t flinch when her arm was grabbed. Only it wasn’t Dude. It was Rosalie.

  “I see what you’re doing.”

  “Yes, it is a nice night, Rosalie. How are you?” Amelia shook her arm free.

  “I’m warning you, you little bitch, Marcus is mine. I don’t care what line of bullshit he’s feeding you. I’ve been sleeping with him for years.”

  “How nice for you.” Then because she was giddy and a little tipsy, she couldn’t resist. “He didn’t mention you.”

  “I’ll tell him you’re fucking that shaggy drunk and both your asses will be out on the street.”

  “He knows.” Amelia leaned in to grin into Rosalie’s hateful face. “And he couldn’t care less.”

  Rosalie gaped at her.

  Amelia made shooing motions with her hands. “Go away, witch. You have no power here.”

  “Watch yourself,” Rosalie said, turning on her heel and stalking away back to the resort.

  Amelia walked out on the beach, kicking off her sandals. Dude joined her not long after.

  “Are you drunk?” he asked.

  “No, but what a great idea.” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

  What started out on her part as lighthearted quickly became more serious, as his mood was darker, more primitive. “Come with me,” he growled, and tugged her off the path.

  “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll find out,” he said. “What was with the hugs and touching over there?”

  “Why were you spying on me?” she countered. “I told you it was just a business meeting. He listened to my ideas and he liked them.”

  “What’s the big grin for? Are you seeing him again?”

  “Dude, he’s the kahuna. I’m sure I’ll see him around.”

  He whirled her into his arms. “You know what I mean.”

  “No, I won’t be going out to dinner with him again.”

  “Good.” Dude kissed her again. The savage press of his lips and the tight way he held her stirred more than desire in her. It felt like he was possessing her, and she wanted to give him everything.

  “Damn, we’ve got to hurry or I’m going to fuck you in the sand.”

  “Let’s go back to your room.”

  “Not tonight. Follow me.”

  He led her down to a Zodiac and then dragged the inflatable boat to the water’s edge. “Get in,” he said.

  She hopped in. “It’s a little late for a sail.”

  He ran it into the surf and then jumped in. Amelia held on, hoping he wouldn’t tip them over. But he was graceful and soon had the motor going. “See those lights?” He pointed to a large boat in the distance.

  “Yeah?”

  “We’re going there. A friend of mine let me borrow his yacht for tonight.”

  “Is it okay that you’re bringing me?”

  “Sweet thing, you’re the whole reason I borrowed it.”

  “Oh.” Amelia swallowed past the lump in her throat.

  He piloted the little boat to the back of the yacht and tied it off before hopping up on the dive platform. Helping her up and onto the boat, Dude made sure she was steady before bringing the Zodiac up. He secured it and then led her across the moonlit deck.

  “This is amazing,” she said. “I’ve never been on a boat like this.”

  “Good.”

  He led her belowdecks to an immaculate stateroom furnished in leather and brass.

  “Does your friend know we’re going to fuck on every surface?” she asked him.

  “Take off your clothes before I rip them off,” he said in her ear.

  Amelia kicked off her sandals and shimmied out of her dress. Dude went over to a nightstand and pulled out two large silky scarves. “I made sure to have these on board.”

  “You remembered,” she marveled, standing in her bra and panties.

  Dude tied one to her wrist and led her back up the stairs. “Sweet thing, I haven’t been able to think about much else.”

  “Are we alone?” she asked as the night air chilled her.

  “It’s just you and me.”

  He kicked a lounge pillow next to the railing on the deck. “Sit down,” he said, and fixed it so the large cushion protected her back from the side of the boat while she was still sitting on it.

  “You’re wearing too many clothes,” she told him as he secured one wrist to the railing and then the other.

  He chucked off his shirt, and his shoes and pants soon followed. When he was naked, he moved in closer and rubbed his cock against her cheek. As hard as he was, his skin felt like soft velvet. Amelia shifted and tugged on the scarves. She was bound tight, and damn if she wasn’t already wet. The cushion was comfortable and the ocean breeze was like a lover on her exposed skin.

  Her head turned of its own volition and she opened her mouth wide to accept his cock. Still standing, Dude straddled her and slowly moved his hips so that he slid in and out of her mouth.

  Amelia tried to lick him, but he was retreating and advancing too fast. Finally he plunged in deep and she was able to suck on him.

  Being completely at his mercy was more exciting than she had expected. The scarves were tight on her wrists and she couldn’t control his pace at all. At one point, he held the back of her head and pushed deep into her throat. She moaned as he fucked her mouth, almost choked from his thickness, but he pulled out before it was uncomfortable.

  “I could come,” he panted. “Just by looking at you sucking my cock. Just by seeing you tied to my boat. I bet your panties are soaked.”

  Amelia licked her lips and nodded.

  He groaned and slid back into her mouth. “So damn beautiful. Your nipples are pushing out of your pretty lace bra.”

  Amelia moaned around his cock. He held her head close again and pumped his hips. “Is this too much?”

  She grunted negative and sucked him hard.

  “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about this since you mentioned it. Love your lips. Love the way you make me feel.”

  He gripped the rail over her head and let her do whatever she wanted to him. She bobbed her head and took long, slurping sucks. Then she was all tongue and groans. Dude was tense and shaking, and the thr
ill of power flooded her, even though she was the one tied up. Amelia gave him his orgasm with the deep hard suction that made him beg and call her name like a prayer. He pulled out at the last minute and gave his seed to the sea. She watched him stroke himself until he was empty.

  “You could have come in my mouth,” she said.

  “Next time. How are your arms?” He stroked his fingers down her arm, then kissed down the same path.

  “They’re getting tired,” she admitted, his touch making her shiver and jump.

  He untied her from the railing. “Do you want to go inside or stay up here?”

  “I’m good up here. I like to look at the stars.” Truth was, her legs were jelly. She didn’t think she could move if she wanted to.

  “Then you’re going to love this.” Dude pulled the cushion with her on it until it was flat on the deck. He took off her bra and then her panties. “You are soaked,” he said, smiling. Then he parted her thighs. “You’re going to see stars when you come,” he joked, and knelt between her legs. “Play with your breasts for me.”

  Amelia did as he asked, cupping them and letting the flesh roll through her hands. He rubbed circles with his palms over her inner thighs. When she thought she couldn’t take any more of the teasing, he parted the slick folds of her core and lowered his head to her throbbing bud.

  The first flick of his tongue was like a jolt of electricity. When he continued the unhurried lapping, she tried to adjust his rhythm by moving her hips. He moved away and licked all around her soft folds until she stopped. Dude rewarded her by pushing two fingers inside her as he latched on to her clit and started to suck. Now he allowed her hips to pump, sucking his fingers deep and letting him fuck her with them.

  Her head whipped from side to side. She was drowning in sensation. The sky above them was pitch black and only the sounds of her gasps and cries broke through the crash of the waves against the boat. Dude moaned low in his throat as she came on his face. She rubbed her hips over his face in a frenzy as the rough beard tickled and abraded in a pleasurable way.

  Dude put on a condom and was inside her a moment later. She locked her legs around him. He ravaged her neck, but she no longer cared about hickeys or marks. She needed the pounding his body was giving her. It was like he was claiming her.

  “Take me,” Amelia chanted. “Take me. Take me.”

  He growled deep in his throat and pumped harder. Each thrust brought her closer to a pinnacle she could almost reach. Slamming her heels to the deck, Amelia met each thrust with the force of her hips. Finally he grabbed her calves and bent her in half as he plunged hard and deep.

  “Yes,” she crooned as he hit the exact spot she needed, over and over again. She gave herself over to the sensation and gripped him as she came again.

  He flipped her over on her hands and knees and pulled her deep against him. His fingers pressed into her ass, and he took her with such speed and force that her breasts rocked hard against the pillow.

  “Mine,” he gritted out into her ear. “You’re fucking mine.”

  If she wasn’t already goo, his words would’ve melted her into a puddle. He came with an inarticulate growl that echoed off the water, then collapsed on top of her. They lay like that, breathing heavily, bodies still connected, Dude’s arms wrapped around her, while they listened to the waves.

  “Were you jealous of Marcus Kincaide?” she said at last.

  Dude snorted. “He’s a jackass.”

  “Why don’t you like him? Do you like his brother?”

  “It’s a long story, sunshine. I don’t want to talk about either Kincaide. Right now I just want to enjoy having you next to me.”

  She turned to face him and ran her fingers through his hair. Amelia cuddled into him and slowly covered his neck and chest with kisses. “So, what time do we have to leave tomorrow?”

  “We have the whole weekend to spend together.”

  “Here?” Amelia raised her head to see if he was joking.

  “Yep, my friend’s not going to need it until late Monday.”

  “What about the resort?”

  “You don’t work there, and Hani is taking over my snorkeling lessons. Well, except for the ones I’m going to give you.”

  “We’re going snorkeling tomorrow?” Amelia couldn’t contain her glee. “But I don’t have a bathing suit.”

  He chuckled evilly.

  “I am not going skinny-dipping.”

  “I told you I was going to get you a bikini. It’s in the room. Aside from that and what you were wearing, you won’t need many clothes.”

  She shivered. “Pinch me—I think I’m dreaming.”

  He took her nipple and pinched it.

  “Do that again.”

  Dude did, spending a bit of time worshipping her breasts. Amelia’s toes curled as she relaxed into the decadence of the night air. Yeah, this was a vacation to remember. He had her moaning and breathing heavily with his nips and tugs.

  “You wet for me again?” He put on another condom and then rubbed his cock between her legs.

  Amelia spread her legs wide, and he eased in. This time, he took his time making love to her. The slow glide of their bodies was punctuated by long kisses and deep satisfaction. She rubbed her hands over his shoulders and down the muscles of his back.

  Aching for more, Amelia arched into him, and he rolled so she was on top.

  “Fuck me, sweet thing. You know what I like.”

  With her hands on his chest, she rode him to orgasm again. She liked being in control, looking down at his sexy smile and the heat in his eyes.

  “Yeah, you aren’t going to need clothes,” he told her. “I’m going to fuck you all over this boat.”

  He took her breath away, and she clutched at his arms as he thrust hard to come inside her. This time, before she could collapse on him in bliss, he picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist, hoping to keep him inside her. But he slipped out as he carried her belowdecks to the bed.

  “I figured tomorrow, I’d take you out to the Molokini crater.” He pulled back the covers and placed her on the bed.

  “Can you drive this boat?”

  “I have my captain’s license.”

  “You are a man of many talents,” she said. “What else don’t I know about you?”

  “A lot,” he said, cuddling up next to her under the covers.

  It occurred to Amelia as they were falling asleep that she wouldn’t be able to run out on him in the morning.

  Chapter 14

  The next two days went by in a blur of sea, sex, and sun. Amelia had never felt so cherished and special as the times she was in Dude’s arms. Molokini was magical, if the water a little cold. The bikini he got her barely covered what it needed to, but he leered and grinned and couldn’t keep his hands off her, so she wore it for him. They explored the coral reefs and the fishes. Dude was surprised she could snorkel as well as she did.

  “My parents are both in the navy. My sister, Stacey, is a marine biologist. She works in Mystic, Connecticut, at the big aquarium there. My parents work at the submarine base. So we’re a water family.”

  “What was the name of the hotel you used to work at?”

  “The Goldfish. And yes, the irony wasn’t lost on me. I can also scubadive, but my dive card hasn’t been updated for a few years. I got it in the Grand Caymans when I was in high school.”

  “That’s the place to get it. Grand Cayman is beautiful.”

  “Is that where you learned?” Amelia fished for details, but Dude was vague, only telling her that his first time was in Cancun.

  Back on the boat, true to his word, Dude had her on pretty much every flat surface and over a few railings. Her favorite was when they were wrapped around each other in the hot tub, drinking wine from each other’s mouths. Once the bottle was empty, he became more talkative about himself.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been as relaxed as I am right now.”

  She shared another sip of the sweet red wine tha
t he’d picked up in Paia. He held her firmly, as if she might drown if his hands left her ass and back.

  “For a while my job felt like being in a pressure cooker, and I was going to pop the top and splatter all over the ceiling.”

  “Pressure cookers have safety valves in them now. That can’t happen.” She placed drunken kisses over his face.

  “That’s good to know,” Dude said, kissing her back and trying to capture her mouth. “Not that I’m ever going back. You work your heart out, literally, and no one cares.”

  Amelia smoothed the hair out of his eyes. “Where did you work?”

  The change in him was instant and he tensed underneath her. Jeez, he must have been a government spy or something. Maybe he was the American James Bond? More likely she was tipsy and making crazy assumptions. Still, she didn’t like the guarded look in his eyes, so she said the first silly, sexy thing that came to her mind.

  “I want you to put cherries on my nipples and spray me with whipped cream.”

  Laughter and heat returned into his eyes. “I don’t think we have any cherries or whipped cream.”

  “Okay, put olives on them then and pretend I’m a martini. Shaken, not stirred.” She winked to let him know she was all right with him being a spy.

  That led to another adventure that would have put the movie 9½ Weeks to shame. Too bad she spoiled most of the hard-core eroticism by giggling her head off. Dude just couldn’t maintain the Christian Grey act. He was more like the Dread Pirate Roberts and Wesley and all the other movie heroes she’d fallen in love with as a child.

  Oh, shit.

  She was in love with Dude. A man who wouldn’t even tell her his name. She tried to tell herself it wasn’t love. It was a rebound affair. But she’d never felt this way about Jay, not once in the two years they’d been together—not even when she’d moved in with him. With Dude it had been only a week, yet she knew he was the one. She wondered if he would eventually feel the same once he saw her on a daily basis, or if he’d regret the two-week stand when this magic turned into something old hat.

  —

  He was in the shower on Sunday morning. They were going to sunbathe and nap on the deck before taking the Zodiac back to reality later in the afternoon. Amelia enjoyed the rocking motion of the boat. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel him inside her. Sighing happily, she rolled over. His phone buzzed from the nightstand, and she sat up. She shot a glance at the shower and then picked it up. Part of her knew she shouldn’t do this. She should just force him to tell her his name. But he had been avoiding all personal questions. Maybe this wasn’t intimate to him, but it was to her.