by Lyric James
“Did you alter the schedule the way you wanted? Let the lady who had three kids move to the day shift so she could be at home to do homework with her children and attend their sporting events?”
Now, he made her smile. “I can’t believe you remember that,” she said. “And yes, I did. When I first got the position, I sat down with each of my nurses and asked them which shift they’d prefer to work and why and what kinds of changes they’d like to see made. It took some work, but the last few months have run so smoothly and everyone is happy to come to work now. No one is complaining or caling in sick just for the sake of caling in.”
“I’m happy for you. I knew they’d offer you that position once it was open.”
“Yeah. You told me that. Many times.”
“Um. What about personaly? Are you…seeing anyone?” Dayna looked at him, but he’d leaned back and was staring up at the sky when he asked her the question. What was he thinking? She didn’t want to tel him she hadn’t found the courage to date anyone since the last relationship had ended so disastrously.
That she’d felt like a failure, less of a woman. “No. The new promotion has kept me pretty busy. I make it a point to work each shift every once in a while. I realy haven’t found the time.” After they’d sat for a while in silence, he said, “I’m sorry about what happened, Dayna.”
She crossed and then uncrossed her arms around her knees. She didn’t want to talk about him. “Why are you apologizing for something you didn’t do?”
Jared came up, picked up a rock, and tossed it into the ocean. “He was—is—my friend. What he did… You didn’t deserve that.”
Dayna stood and walked into the water, slicing her leg through the cool liquid and said, “Forget about it.”
“If I was lucky enough to have someone like you, I’d never fuck that up.”
That gave Dayna the opening she was looking for. She turned to face him. “And if you had me, say, for one night, what would you do with me?”
Even in the darkness, she saw his irises flair and smolder.
He was up in one fluid motion and came toward her, splashing water on her legs as he did. Jared didn’t touch her, but his nearness caused heated desire to slither down her spine. “I would worship every inch of your body. When I was done, you’d know you were the only woman in my life and no other could ever take your place.” Here goes nothing. “They why don’t you? Have me for one night.”
Jared moved closer until their toes touched in the water.
The look he gave her could cause a lustful and lethal combustion.
“Don’t say it if you don’t mean it.”
Dayna reached out, touched his chest, and wiled the butterflies zinging around in her stomach to settle. She stroked him right above the slit before the buttons began, moving her finger in a slow, sensuous circle. What she wanted to do was tease him, tempt him, but instead she struggled for breath as her skin connected with his. Every cel in her body blistered with unbridled need. “Who says I don’t?”
He grabbed her forearms and squeezed. It didn’t hurt, but it let her know that she was playing with a fire she might not be able to put out or contain once it started. “He could come crawling back. If we do this, how wil you feel when he does?” Slowly, she began to unbutton his shirt. Eager to see him naked, her tongue snaked out over her bottom lip. “I wouldn’t take him back if he came to me crawling across a pile of diamonds and gold.”
He enclosed both of her hands in one of his and tilted her chin up with the other. “Are you sure about that?” She moved around him to return to the blanket and glanced around. She took off her tank and removed her shorts, carrying her panties down with them. Once she stepped away, she was completely naked. “I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.” His mouth was slightly open when she passed him and walked into the water, her back to him. The not altogether uncomfortable coolness of the water energized her body and made her feel like a sexy sea nymph.
Dayna stopped when the water covered her hips. She didn’t turn to look at Jared, to see his reaction, to see if he was stil standing by the shore. She smoothed the palms of her hands over the water in a wide arc and watched as her fingers glistened over the surface.
Even though it felt like hours, she knew it was only seconds when he came up behind her and trailed one of his hands down the middle of her back. Her reaction was instantaneous, hot, needy, want. The cold between her legs didn’t ease the fiery ache she felt, the desire to have him inside her.
Jared moved her hair to the side and applied a series of scorching, delectable kisses from her shoulder up to the underside of her ear. “I’ve wanted to do this for so very long.” His words thriled her, excited her as his lips moved across her shoulder blade, the back of her neck, the other shoulder, up to her other ear where he bit and tugged it into his mouth. “You are so beautiful.”
Pure and swift, pleasure bloomed inside her, and a delicious languor spread through her limbs. His slow, easy touch curled her toes and sent tingles to her bely. Like a cat, she rubbed her backside along his warm, muscular body. He groaned, and she felt his dick harden against her bottom.
“He was a goddamn fool.”
The ocean wrapped them in a cocoon of cool, intoxicating pleasure, while his body induced heat to simmer between her thighs.
Growling softly, Jared hooked his arms around her waist and reached up to cup her breasts. The dark stubble covering his jaw raked over her shoulder. He leaned down and kissed a trail of sweet, soft kisses down her back. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do this, how long I’ve wanted to see you like this.” Something deep inside her awakened, shouted and spasmed with joy. A secret thril of pleasure curled within her being, and she smiled. His strong, muscled thighs rubbed against hers, and even as the waves pushed and cascaded around them, she could feel his thumping heartbeat, the lift of his chest with every breath he took. She relished the night, the stars sparkling above them, the water surrounding them, and the warmth of his body next to hers.
God help her, she didn’t want any of this to end.
When Jared arrived, she hadn’t even wanted him here. But then, her thoughts had evolved into seducing him, a little revenge sex between friends. Now, she was completely caught up in the profound perfection of the moment, of this man, of the one who should have been.
A moment later, Jared ran one of his hands down her stomach, a whisper of sensation slipping through the water. Her breasts tingled, her nipples puckered from the ministrations of his touch.
Dayna felt his breathing change at the same time hers sped up. His fingers slipped between her thighs and caressed her. She trembled, her senses reeling from the fiercely tender assault. She moaned as blood poured through her veins like liquid fire, leaving her scorched and slightly smoldering.
As Jared gently fingered her, she arched on tiptoe until he pushed a thick single digit inside her. He groaned, holding her close to him while his hand made love to her with searing intensity.
“Dayna,” he whispered raggedly. “I need you. Tel me this is what you realy want.”
She swiveled around, the water roaring around them. The raw hunger on his face mirrored the craving rampaging through her body. She did want him. She wanted him so badly she shook with it. This wasn’t about a lover’s revenge anymore.
This was Jared.
The man who always listened to everything she said. The one who encouraged her to go after what she wanted. The guy who checked on her and bought her chicken noodle soup when she’d caught the flu last winter.
This was Jared.
The beauty of the night disappeared around her even as she glanced at the long line of houses that went on for a mile down the beach. The seagul sounds turned into a sensual melody of love. The twinkling lights of the stars changed into romantic candlelight.
She was breathless with anticipation, adrenaline and lust.
Breathing deeply to bolster her flagging courage, she stood on tiptoe and brushed her lips across
his forehead, his closed eyelids, his nose and cheekbones before claiming his mouth. He kissed her back with hungry need as she sought the heat and flavor of his mouth.
As their tongues tangled, dueled, he cradled her bottom, and she moaned. Her heart thundered, squeezing any remaining air out of her lungs. “Take me Jared. Make me believe I’m the only woman you’l ever need.”
Before she could catch her next breath, he swept her up in his arms and carried her back to the blanket and crushed his mouth to hers. The kiss was raw and blistering, the heat of his big, hard body singeing her from the inside out. The smooth cover layered over the gritty surface felt like a pilow beneath her back as she flung her arms around his neck and sucked on his hot, thrusting tongue with a hunger she didn’t even know she possessed.
She moaned and writhed against him as fingers of electrical explosions detonated through her pussy. He reared back and impatiently ripped off his wet shirt and his drenched pants, almost faling when he did. She laughed.
“Oh, you think that’s funny, huh?” Nostrils flaring, he bent his head and sucked a nipple into his hot, wet mouth.
Her back bowed as she keened with pleasure. “Oh Jared, yes…oh yes.”
He trailed a path of ecstasy-inducing open-mouthed kisses down her body. When he reached her pussy, he paused, heightening her anticipation. Then, he pressed his tongue to her clit and stroked her, from bottom to top, between the lips, and she cried out.
As her knees came up, he pushed them back apart, spreading her wide open beneath him.
“Jared,” she whimpered, writhing desperately. “Please,” she begged as hot wetness coated her sex.
He lifted his head and stared at her. His face was flushed, his eyes were bright and gleamed with unbridled lust, and he smiled before lowering his head and giving her pussy a hot and hungry lick as need pulsed through her body. Her breath caught at the sensation of his silky tongue invading her body. She gasped as his hands cupped her bottom and lifted her. Her womb contracted as spasms of pleasure ripped through her.
He was taking his time with her, the way he lapped at her, kissed and licked, trying to savor every drop she poured over his lips. She slid one hand through his hair, the silky, midnight black texture sliding between each finger.
“So, this is what I’ve been missing al this time,” he murmured against her, low and rough. “Oh yeah. He was a goddamn fucking ass fool,” he said before he lowered his head again.
Her body went weak. She trembled everywhere. Jared reached up and palmed her aching breasts, pushing them together, thumbing her nipples. Air hissed between her clinched teeth as his tongue probed her slick, swolen folds. He lowered one hand and when he slipped a finger inside, she cried out and clamped her thighs around his head.
Again, he pushed her legs back. “Nuh uh, baby. I need room for this.” He groaned low. “Damn you’re wet, so juicy.” When he stopped and reached for his pants, she frowned but smiled when he put something in her hand. “Open this.” She almost couldn’t concentrate trying to open the foil packet, but it was necessary if she didn’t want this night to end. She tore it open with her teeth. They were in sync as she handed it back and he put it on, his mouth back on her again. Her hips undulated against him as she mewled with pleasure. He suckled her clit as his fingers worked inside her, thrusting deep with erotic strokes. Dayna twisted, dug her heels into the blanket, and sank her hands into the sand, the grainy texture rasping against her palms.
Soon, she was groaning and shaking, shuddering from the cataclysmic rapture and pleasure of his mouth. The wave of ecstasy went on and on as a scream ripped from her throat. And when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, he rose above her and plunged deep inside her.
“So sweet,” he murmured, holding her gaze as he puled out and drove into her again.
Bending his head, he captured her mouth in a deep, stimulating kiss that left her moaning as she tasted herself on his lips and tongue. Each glide inside made her clit tighten and throb, made her greedy for another orgasm. A shudder rippled as he slipped a hand between them and massaged her enlarged nub. She wrapped her legs around his waist and gripped his arms with her hands. In quiet adoration, she explored him, running her hands over the hard, toned muscles that ridged his chest and abdomen. His golden skin was gorgeous and hot and as smooth as a polished metal sculpture.
Jared gazed down. The concentrated, focused intensity in his eyes let her know the weighty implication of the moment.
Neither could take it back now, even if they wanted to. This night had catapulted them from friends to…to…she wasn’t sure what.
But there was no turning back now. They stared into each other’s eyes as he slowed the tempo, pushed in and out, sending excruciatingly sharp pleasure to the very foundation of her being.
Each caress was so exquisite, so rapturous, she had to blink back the tears in her eyes.
“You know what this means, don’t you?” he asked as he tenderly entered her and retreated again.
Dayna didn’t want to guess, didn’t want to think about it or hope. She shook her head. “No,” she whispered, digging her nails into his arms, the sensations he gave her making her needy.
“You are mine,” he growled, thrusting wildly inside her.
“Mine, mine, mine,” he chanted, his voice low, raspy. “You should have been mine al along.”
Her eyes widened, and she wondered about the implications of what he said. She was about to ask him, but he seared her lips with his own, capturing her mouth with hungry urgency. As he groaned and powered deeper, her nails raked his back and dug into the muscles of his tight, firm butt.
Jared buried his head in her shoulder as he plunged and retreated, filed her and speared her, and wedged himself so far inside her that passion and hunger expanded into a cohesion that could only be personified as rapturous bliss. No man had ever made Dayna feel this way before. And she knew that no one ever would again.
She loved the way his skin smeled, a hint of musk from his cologne, mingled with a layer of sweat from the love-making and the salt-sea air. If she could bottle it, she’d throw it in the ocean and pray for it to come back to her so she would always remember this night.
She couldn’t help but let the tears flow as she sobbed Jared’s name and arched her back, franticaly worked her hips as he rocked back and forth inside her. She wailed with pleasure over and over until she didn’t recognize her own voice. His primal shout, her mewling cry, swirled up to the sky and echoed across the entire beach. They lay there, spent, air whooshing out of their lungs as if they’d been swimming through the ocean for miles.
Slowly, Jared pushed up onto his elbows and framed her face between his hands. He stared down at her with an expression of such ferocious possession she had to blink her eyes several times to focus. “You are mine, Dayna Walker,” he growled huskily. “I’ve waited— waited—for my chance to be with you, to love you, to show you what you mean to me. I don’t want just one night. I want every night from this moment forward. Do you understand that?” She nodded her head as tears swam in her eyes. “Yes,” she said, her voice breaking with emotion. This wasn’t what she expected. “I thought I was seducing you.”
Jared shook his. “You did.” A lazy smile touched his lips.
“This wasn’t what I intended to happen. I didn’t come here to check up on you or make love to you. I came here to tel you how I felt about you, how I’ve felt about you since the first moment I saw you.”
Dayna’s gaze roamed the intense look on his face and wondered how she’d ever missed it. “I didn’t know.” He cradled her in his arms, wrapping the blanket around them both. “I worked very hard masking my emotions so you wouldn’t. How would it have looked?” He touched the nape of her neck. “But when you changed clothes… Damn, I started thinking with the other head.”
She ducked her head on a shy smile. “Al I was after was a little revenge sex.” she laid her palm over her heart and then his. “I didn’t expect this…this connection
.”
“So I’m not alone? You feel something for me too?” She bobbed her head up and down almost in unison with the waves crashing up onto the shore. “Yes. I’m not sure what it is, but I do…there is…something.” Dayna didn’t know how to answer him. She stared down at their entwined fingers. This night had turned out the complete opposite of what she expected.
Jared stood and reached out his hand. When she took it and stood, he gathered the blanket around her. “You’re wiling to give us a chance?”
Al night she’d been thinking she’d been with the wrong man, the wrong friend al along. When she thought back over the last two years, the one standing in front of her right now was always there for her in every way a friend should, showed her that he cared about her, that she was important, that she mattered.
Could the relationship she cherished al this time be the love she’d been looking for al her life? Was it possible their closeness could turn into something much much more?
Dayna tilted her head to the side. “Now I understand why you never told me,” she said.
Jared tightened his arm around her, snuggling her close to his warm body. “I couldn’t sabotage your relationship with him, I couldn’t tel you he was a dog and then turn around and try to get with you myself. You would have thought I lied about it, made it up.
As much as I hated watching you go through that, you needed to see it for yourself.” He paused, nuzzled his chin in her hair. “After you broke it off with him, I knew it was my chance, but I also knew I had to wait. Damn, it kiled me to wait. I wanted to come to you that first night.” He let go of her and reached for both of their scattered clothes. After he handed her her shorts, he said, “When I received your email, you know, before I opened it, I’d been thinking about you al that day, wondering if it was the right time, if I’d waited long enough. Then, I received the invitation and I knew it was.”
