by Cari Quinn
“We aren’t fighting.” Deliberately, he lowered his sunglasses. “We’re just not on speaking terms at the moment.”
“Oh, that’s better.” She snatched her foam finger and gave him a swift whack in the side, much to the surprise of the tourists clustered beside them at the rail. “Dammit, Shawn, you know they love you.”
Since he wasn’t paying much attention to their creep toward Liberty Island anyway, he turned and braced his elbows behind him. “And they love you. So, of course, they love us together. Wanna get married?”
Rachel dropped her foam finger. “That’s not funny.”
“Especially since it’s not really a joke. God, Rachel.” His laughter seemed to perplex her, but she obviously didn’t get how thin the wire he was tiptoeing across truly was. “Kill the Little Miss Peacemaker act. We both know you rip me a new one every time they call.”
“Oh, you think so.” Her voice frosted. “I don’t think I’ve ripped into you that much, considering.”
“Can you honestly tell me you’re okay with their questions? Their supposed help in guiding our relationship?”
“Of course not.”
“Do you or do you not freak out every time you talk to them?”
She compressed her lips into a thin line. “Well yeah, but --”
“And then I freak out because I know you’re upset. I’d just laugh them off, because I know they can’t make us do anything we don’t want to do. But you go postal every damn time.”
“So it’s my fault for taking them too seriously. Not theirs for prying or --”
“That’s it.” Ignoring her shocked curse, he snatched her purse off her shoulder. He fished out her phone and dangled it over the water while she swore and clawed at his arm hard enough to leave welts. “Unless you swear on your grandmother’s grave you won’t answer any more of their calls -- your family’s or mine -- throughout the duration of this trip, your phone’s going for a soak. And I don’t think she knows how to swim.”
“Shawn!” Her screech made him wince. “You’re being childish.”
“I. Love. You.” He lifted his voice above hers, effectively silencing the conversations surrounding them. “Is it so much to ask that I want to spend some uninterrupted time with the woman I love? Is that really such a huge sacrifice on your part?”
“No.”
He got the answer he wanted, but unless Rachel had gone through a sex change operation, the person who answered wasn’t the one he’d intended. He shifted his head to the right. Though the temperature hovered near eighty, Shawn’s skin slicked over with ice as his eyes narrowed on the man standing behind Rachel.
“What the hell…?”
Ryan grinned at him, then down at Rachel as he swung the hand of the woman at his side. Taking in Chrissy’s sunshine-bright smile, Shawn blinked.
Twice.
Was there something in New York’s water? Was that why people swapped beds here as fast as kids switched seats in musical chairs?
Instead of looking at them, he glanced at Rachel. She didn’t seem too surprised. Imagine that. “Why are they here?” Before she could answer, his manners got the best of him. “Hi, Chrissy.”
“Hi, Shawn.” She waved before returning her attentions to Rachel’s ex.
Shawn shook his head as Ryan lifted Chrissy’s hand to his lips. “What did I miss?” he asked slowly, waiting for the punch line.
“Ryan called when you were out getting the car this morning.” Rachel batted back a curl that had come loose from her braid. “He wanted to meet up, so I explained the situation.”
“Oh yeah? What is the situation, Rachel?”
“That we’re together.” She met his gaze with a defiant stare. Little did she know the reaction those simple three words caused within him. “Which he was fine with, because it appears he and your…friend are together too.”
“Yeah.” Chrissy let out a happy sigh. “We’re so together.”
Ryan grinned, running his free hand up and down Chrissy’s bare arm. “Wild, huh?”
“Wild,” Shawn agreed, doing his best to smile for Chrissy’s sake. He knew she’d obviously had a thing for Ryan for a while, judging from the adoring looks she’d aimed his way the other night, so who was he to question her choice? Besides, it kept Tight Pants away from Rachel. “Well, I wish you the best. I’m happy you found each other.”
“Thanks to you, man. If you hadn’t been pushing so hard for Rachel yourself, I might have pur --”
“Water under the bridge.” Rachel waved her hand, sending her wristful of gold bangles jangling. “I told Ryan our plans for the day, figuring if they showed up here, you’d…see.” She took a breath. “So here we all are.”
“Great idea, Rach.” Still smiling, Shawn gave her braid one hard yank as he tugged her closer.
He didn’t quite get why she’d thought the four of them spending time together was a wise move, but he’d be sure to do something just as nice for her later.
Like flushing her phone down the toilet.
As Chrissy and Ryan again began trading spit, Rachel capitalized on his distraction and grabbed back her phone. “Ha.”
“I’ll have the last laugh later,” he said, swiftly turning away from the lovebirds.
“We would’ve sought you out sooner, but we were busy.” Ryan waggled his brows at Chrissy as he drew his mouth from hers. “Below deck.”
“On the ship? You mean, right --”
Shawn pinched Rachel’s arm. Like he really needed to hear details about that. “Not our business, Rach.”
“Oh, we don’t mind.” Chrissy leaned her head on Ryan’s arm, beaming. “Having sex on a ship is the absolute best. Every time the boat rocks…” She released a wistful sigh.
“All I got was wall-burn,” Rachel muttered.
Catching Shawn’s dark expression, Chrissy stroked Ryan’s chest. “Honeybuns, maybe we should leave these two be.”
Honeybuns? He could only hope he and Rachel never reached that level of intimacy.
“Yeah, you guys look like you need your privacy.” Shawn forced a hearty laugh. “Anytime you want to go below deck, Rach, let me know,” he added in an undertone.
She smirked. “What happened to your days of foreplay?”
“Screw foreplay. We’re every bit as oversexed as they are.” He tapped his fingers on the rail as Chrissy and Ryan dove into yet another kiss. “Why do I suddenly feel like I’m caught in a Friends episode?”
Hearing himself, he closed his eyes. “That’s it. I’m done watching TV with you.”
“There’s nothing wrong with Friends.” With a haughty sniff, Rachel tugged on the sleeve of his T-shirt. “Ryan, we’re going to the other side of the boat. Catch you later.”
“Hey, wait. We wanted to ask if you wanted to join us for dinner some night while you’re still in town.” Ryan tossed them a grin. “You know, to say thanks. If you two hadn’t hooked up at the gala, we might never have --”
“Stumbled upon each other,” Chrissy finished.
“There’s a first,” Shawn said against Rachel’s hair. “Never been thanked for sleeping with another man’s date before.”
She choked down a laugh as he turned back to Ryan. “That’s a nice offer, but we’re not sure what our plans are.”
“Oh, come on. It’ll be fun. Why don’t we meet up at the View Sunday night? You mentioned you’d be going there anyway,” Ryan said to Rachel.
“Uh, yeah, I did.” Her throat worked as she glanced at Shawn. “What do you say?”
Say good-bye to your phone, honey.
“Sounds great.” Shawn rubbed Rachel’s shoulder as the announcement came over the loudspeaker that they were about to reach Liberty Island. “We’ll be looking forward to it.”
Chapter Fourteen
After Shawn reluctantly agreed to have dinner with Ryan and Chrissy, Rachel expected fireworks, or at least a small dose of the famous Griffin silent treatment. Instead after they disembarked the boat, he bought her a hot dog
as they walked through Battery Park. They strolled for hours, sightseeing and talking about subjects decidedly less touchy than exes, meddling families, and the perils of entering into a relationship with your best friend.
His disposition was so sunny, in fact, she started to consider she couldn’t read him so well after all.
Fat chance. The other pump dropped when he snatched her phone as she was readying for bed.
Naked, she hurtled across the suite, alternatively threatening, begging and pleading as he dangled the phone over the toilet. “I have four gigs of songs on there. That’s all my workout music!”
“Should’ve thought of that before you decided to make me share rolls with your ex-lover,” he said in a singsong voice as he flipped on the phone and scrolled through her stored photos. “Ah, look at that one.”
He indicated a shot of them from the previous Christmas. His mother had snapped them lying on the couch, Rachel sprawled across his body as if she hadn’t possessed the strength to move. They’d been stuffed from dinner, and when she’d collapsed on top of him, he’d laughed and laughed. A hint of that laughter was captured in this photo. Her heart gave a funny little twitch every time she saw it.
“That’s a nice one of us, don’t you think?”
She said nothing, not wanting to give him more ammunition. Though she knew he was probably bluffing, she had to fight to keep from pounding on his back. There was no way he was destroying her favorite picture of him. Of them.
“Would be such a pity to lose it. So hard to replace mementos.”
Rachel dragged at his arm, leaping as he held her phone maddeningly out of reach. “That’s my favorite. I don’t have another copy.”
“Damn shame.” Shawn flashed her a grin. “Maybe I’d return this to you if you, say, called Ryan and said we can’t make dinner.”
She nearly acquiesced. Nearly. Then her gaze lit upon the towel he’d wrapped loosely around his waist after his shower. She snapped it free, holding it up against her chest as he spun to face her. “Now at least we’re even.”
He shrugged. “If you’re that hot to see me naked, it’s no skin off my nose.”
“I’ve seen you naked plenty, wiseass.” But her gaze sneaked greedily over his body anyhow, latching onto the alluring hollows in his hips and the ropey muscles that laced his thighs. She licked her lips at the telltale twitch low in her belly, already feeling her juices pooling at the sight of his cock.
When had she turned into this complete sex addict? This was so unlike her.
God, she loved it.
“Me and my small penis.” He sniggered, not catching her flush as he went back to fiddling with her phone.
“Guess nothing fazes you, hmm?” Ever so casually, she strolled back into the suite.
Shaking her hair over her shoulders, she gathered her nerve as she aimed for the balcony. She hadn’t gone out on it for more than a minute or two each morning, usually just long enough to watch the sun rise above the clouds.
The sun wasn’t shining now. Full twilight had descended, and with it had come a trickling rain. That rain pelted her face as she threw open the doors.
She glanced back at Shawn, still engrossed in his toy. Courtyard sex aside, she knew well his dislike of public displays -- and she was pretty sure her standing naked on a balcony eighteen stories up in midtown New York qualified.
He also hated heights. Big time.
She grinned. What better way to make him come running than by pushing two of his hot buttons at once?
She stepped onto the narrow balcony, barely wide enough for the planter of flowers and small wrought iron chair and table it held. “Oh Shawn,” she called.
He glanced up, and his towel shimmied down her body, coiling in a puddle around her bare feet.
“Goddammit, Rachel.”
She chuckled to herself. Direct hit.
He tossed the phone onto the bed and crossed the room, all thoughts of destroying her property apparently lost in his desire to retrieve her modesty. “What the hell are you doing?”
Tilting her head back, she spun in a circle, extending her arms high above her head. Handy that it was approaching midnight, or she might have an indecency charge to contend with. “I think it’s called dancing in the rain.”
“Put that damn towel on. Do you want someone to call the cops?”
“Mmm, I like cops.” She rolled her tongue over her lips. “Men in uniform really do it for me. I like a man with a big --”
He pushed the sliding door open farther. “I’m not laughing.”
She bent to pick up the towel, hooking it over her finger as she took one teasing step back for each he took toward her. “Why don’t you come on out here” -- her gaze traveled avariciously down his body -- “so I can see if you meet my requirements.”
“Oh, I’ll meet your requirements.” But he stopped with one foot in and one foot out, as if he’d remembered he, too, lacked clothes.
“Chicken.”
His gaze flickered with temper or arousal, she couldn’t be sure which. “Are you trying to get arrested?”
“I’ve already been in cuffs once this vacation.” She shrugged, swinging his towel over the railing. “And this rain is making my fingers so slippery…”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him lunge and let the towel go with a shrieking laugh as he seized her waist. He whirled her back against the glass sliding door, using his arms to cushion the collision as his mouth came down hard on hers.
Reeling from the kiss, she clamped her legs around his hips as he turned and lifted her onto the narrow railing. His strong arms were her only protection from a nasty eighteen-story drop.
“Still wanna play, little girl?” he said against her mouth, loosening his hold ever so slightly.
She shifted to see how far down the streets were. Cars resembling ants marched in uniform rows, and the sky seemed close enough to touch as she lifted her face to the warm, yielding rain.
Licking the drops off her lips, she linked her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes. Everything she’d ever needed burned in those fiery green depths. “I always love playing with you.” Smiling, she leaned back, degree by degree. “Do your worst.”
Rain slicked down over them as Shawn rocked against her, wedging his cock between her spread legs. She gasped at the sensation of his hot, hard flesh rubbing against hers and, eager for more, sucked his tongue deep into her mouth.
Before she’d had her fill, he made a feral sound in his throat and swept his lips down her neck and over her breasts, now damp with drizzle. She laced her fingers in his hair as his tongue laved one hard peak. Her head fell back, back arching as his teeth scraped her nipple. The swollen head of his cock brushed her clit, then lower, the tip teasing her slick pussy.
So close, so close…
She angled toward him, drawing her legs up to take his cock all the way inside her. Letting out a low grunt, he hesitated only seconds before sliding home.
Their gazes locked and held, his flesh stretching hers gloriously. She loved it when he filled her like this, banishing anything but him. When they were joined, he wasn’t just her best friend. He was the man she longed for more than she needed to breathe.
The man she was falling for, hard. And there wasn’t a soft landing place in sight.
Shawn reared back and pumped into her, his balls slapping against her in time with his thrusts. Each hilt-deep plunge shook her legs; each kiss stole more of her breath. She ripped her nails across his shoulders, knowing she’d leave marks. Hoping she did.
Pleasure undulated in slow, numbing waves up her legs. Her entire body throbbed in concert with his surges in and out of her body, her inner walls contracting and expanding as he grew even thicker. Her clit felt so swollen, so sensitive, the friction of his movements shoving her ever closer to what she craved.
His hips slammed into hers. Faster. Harder. Her sex gripped him so tight, she wanted to scream. From the ferocity of Shawn’s thrusts, she knew he was right
there with her. Watching him come would be almost as amazing as coming herself.
Her arms trembled around him, but she held on for all she was worth. Dying for an orgasm, even a mind-shattering one, was a higher price than she was willing to pay.
The rain intensified, still warm, but delivering a sting as it hit bare skin. She moaned into his mouth as her climax took over her body, spinning through her limbs as quickly as the downpour drenched her hair. She turned her face up to the sky as he pounded deeper, extending her climax until she was sure her body had melded into his.
Damn, he felt so good. He made her feel so good. Sharing this crazy experience with him was more wonderful than she’d ever dreamed.
He tensed. Anticipating him, she squeezed her pussy around his cock, crying out as he went over. She clung to him as he pressed his face into her neck, his body shaking with the force of his release.
“That’s it, baby,” she murmured. “Just like that.”
She whispered endearments as she nursed him through the aftermath. Things that under normal circumstances she found hokey but right now felt so right. She rocked her pelvis against his, swallowing his residual groans when their mouths met in a slumberous kiss.
Safe in his embrace, Rachel leaned back to stare up at the hotel looming against the dark blue sky. She took a deep breath, forever imprinting the moment on her mind. The scent of wet muddy earth, the rain, Shawn buried so deep inside her.
Incredible. Beautiful. Perfect.
She laughed, just laughed until her eyes streamed with tears. “That was so…”
Shawn kissed her mindless all over again as he carried her into the suite. “So…”
“Mmm.” That was as much as she could come up with as another helpless giggle tumbled forth. “Bye-bye days of foreplay.”
He laid her down on the bed. “One was plenty.” From the telling gleam in his eyes, she knew he wasn’t done with her yet.
Thank God.
“It’s a damn good thing this hotel is geared to couples,” he added, shaking his soaked hair out of his face. “Else that railing would’ve been much higher.”
