Too Hot to Handle

by Jennifer Bernard

  “Wooohooo!” She hopped from one foot to the other in the wet sand. A chill chased through her, even though the water was warmer than she’d expected. She plunged in further in, until she was up to her waist.

  “Ice water?”

  “No, it feels good. Come on! What’s the holdup, big guy? You’re the one who started this thing!” She looked teasingly over her shoulder at him. He was in the midst of pushing down his trousers, revealing powerful, flexing thigh muscles and tight black boxer briefs.

  She gaped at him. She’d been aware of him physically ever since they’d met, but she’d been trying to block it out for the sake of not lusting after him. But now, with most of his clothes gone, that was flat-out impossible.

  He straightened up to his full height. In nothing but his boxers and t-shirt, he walked toward her. That grin, that twinkle in his eyes, the way he moved. Oh. My. God. How was she ever going to get this image out of her mind?

  To distract herself, she skidded the side of her hand across the surface, splashing a rooster tail of water at him. “I thought you didn’t want to get your clothes wet.”

  “Oh right.” He ripped off his t-shirt in one quick motion and tossed it onto the sand.

  She swallowed hard and took a quick step backwards. The ocean water lapped at her hips, but she was oblivious to it as she took him in. Sweet Lord in heaven, he was spectacular, especially with the moon gilding every ridge and tendon of his torso. A few scars marred his skin. Air Force wounds? Mechanic injuries?

  He caught her looking. “Dirt bike,” he explained with a grin. “That old misspent youth thing. You couldn’t get me off that bike when I was a kid. Until I discovered stunt piloting.” He waded through the water toward her. “Hoo boy!” He rolled his shoulders and shook out his arms.

  She laughed at his expression as the cold water hit him at the knees, then the thighs, then higher up. “I’m going in!” he shouted. “Watch out.”

  He swung his arms behind him, wing-like, then launched himself into a flat dive. She shrieked as a spray of water collided with her.

  He surfaced, laughing and hooting, shaking water in every direction.

  “I can’t believe you did that! With no warning!”

  “Warnings are for wimps.” He plowed through the water toward her. “You’re gonna get wet. There, you’ve been warned.”

  “What are you doing?” She backed up again, her toes digging into the wet sand at the bottom of the little cove.

  “Making things more interesting. You said you wanted to let off some steam, right? So why are you just standing there, girl?”

  “Because it’s water,” she shrieked. “And I’m not insane.”

  “Sure about that?” With a big grin, he closed in on her.

  She ducked under his arm and splashed more water at him. “Don’t you even think about it,” she warned him.

  Laughing, he wiped water out of his eyes. “Don’t you know the hardest part is when you’re half in, half out? I’m trying to help you out here. Once you dive all the way in, your body adjusts and it doesn’t feel so cold.”

  “Oh really. I’m supposed to believe you?”

  “Have I ever lied to you?” With a wolfish grin, he pushed through the water toward her again.

  She dodged around him. “That doesn’t mean you couldn’t start.”

  He turned to keep up with her. “I already told you I don’t lie when it comes to relationships.”

  “You’re saying we’re in a relationship?”

  “Yeah. We’re in a relationship. Might as well admit it.”

  “I admit nothing.” She lifted her chin in challenge. “Except one thing. You’re right, it is better once you’ve gotten all the way in.”

  With that, she turned away from him and dove into the water.

  The cold water closed over her head in a rush of pure adrenaline. All worries, fears, hurt, doubt, betrayal, everything besides the absolute purity of the ocean drained out of her like a receding wave. She surfaced, shrieking and gasping. “Oh my God!”

  He was right next to her, pulling her up with one hand around her wrist. “You okay?”

  “Yes!” she yelled. “More than okay!” She dove into the water again, just for the sheer thrill of the sensation. “Incredible,” she spluttered when she surfaced again. “You’re a genius. This is perfect.”

  He laughed, spurring her on like some kind of sea god. “It doesn’t take a genius to get wet and nearly naked with a gorgeous woman.”

  Rolling her eyes, she sank into the water again and swam circles around him. She hadn’t been in the ocean since she’d gotten back to Jupiter Point, which seemed crazy when she thought about how much she used to love it. When Ben was dating Julie, she used to tag along with them to Stargazer Beach, where Julie worked as a lifeguard. But since then, she and her mom had traveled mostly through the south and southwest. The few times she’d tried swimming in the Gulf of Mexico had just made her miss the Pacific Ocean.

  And now here it was, lapping at her, surging around her in happy swirls, as if welcoming her home.

  She lay on her back, floating on the surface and laughing with joy. The moon, just a few shades short of full, the color of a lovingly polished coin, sailed high overhead.

  “I missed this so much,” she told Kevin the next time he swam near her. He was doing the backstroke from one end of the little cove to the other. “Thank you.”

  “No need to thank me. This is the best night I’ve had in a while.”

  “It’s pretty great, isn’t it? And you know, it’s kind of a tribute to Ben and Julie. They used to take me with them to Stargazer sometimes. Julie taught me the butterfly stroke.”

  “So we’re celebrating their engagement after all.”

  “Yup. Here’s to Ben and Julie.” She scooped up a handful of ocean water and flung it through the air, where it caught moonlight in a shower of sparkles.

  “To Ben and Julie.” Kevin followed her lead with his own “toast” of water, some of which cascaded across her stomach, making her giggle. “May they do a helluva lot better than I did at the marriage game.”

  Hmm, now that was…interesting. Did she want to hear about his ex-wife and their marriage? Come to think of it, why hadn’t she? Still floating on her back, she used her hands to propel herself closer to Kevin. “You know, I’ve dated a few divorced men, and they all spent lots of time complaining about their ex-wives. I’ve never heard you do that.”

  “And you never will.” He ducked his head underwater, then came up again, blinking streams of saltwater out of his eyes. “That might not be entirely true,” he admitted. “I try not to. But I’m human. I have my moments. I just try to keep them private. I figure no one wants to hear a grown man bitching about his ex. We both made mistakes. I was a total fuckup in a lot of ways. But I got Holly, so any complaints I have are fucking self-indulgent and I won’t go there. All I want is to give Holly my best, and I can’t do that if I’m badmouthing her mom.”

  She swam closer to him, unable to resist the pull of attraction. The more time she spent with Kevin O’Donnell, the more her respect for him grew.

  “So as a former spouse, what words of wisdom do you have for Ben and Julie?”

  “Hmm.” He dipped his head underwater again, disappearing for a moment. When he surfaced, he was so close to her that she jumped. “I’d say give it time. Like maybe at least twelve years, so you know you found the right person.”

  She laughed, since that exactly described Ben and Julie’s entire love story. “That’s cheating, it’s not a real answer.”

  He grinned at her. “It’s all I got. Believe me, if you’re looking to me for answers about marriage, you’re in trouble.”

  “I’m not looking. It’s not like I’m walking down an aisle. I leave that kind of thing to my brothers.” She made an impish face at him. “And they’re doing a fine job of it. They’ve all picked excellent partners.”

  “Wait, what?” He snagged her arm and floated her even closer
to him. “No marriage for you? Are you serious?”

  “Well, I’m twenty-eight years old. I’ve dated plenty of guys. Slept with a certain number of them. And honestly, I can’t say that I was especially impressed.”

  His eyebrows lifted. With his black hair plastered to his head, he looked like a curious sea lion. “With them or their performance?”

  “Either one. With the whole thing. Starting with the first time. To be completely blunt, it sucked. Afterward, I went online and looked up a bunch of stuff about sex, trying to figure out why it didn’t feel good. I thought maybe it was because it was the first time. I was going to try again, but we ended up moving. The next time, a couple years later, was less painful, but still nothing to get excited about.”

  A wave pushed her so her hip bumped against his shoulder. His eyes tracked her, alight with curiosity. “So you’re saying it’s never been good for you?”

  “No, I’m not saying that. I just don’t count on the man knowing what to do. I make it good for myself. Which is pretty much what the rest of my life is like. I rely on myself. Which is why I probably won’t get married.” She scooped up a handful of water and watched the droplets catch the moonlight.

  Kevin was staring at her with an odd expression, one she couldn’t read.

  “What?”

  “Do you have any idea how turned on I am right now?”

  14

  Oh hell…had he gotten a little too blunt with that statement? He’d just blurted it out, despite every speck of better judgment.

  Cassie whipped her head around, her hair swirling through the water like a mermaid’s. “Excuse me?”

  “Sorry. Shouldn’t have said that.”

  “No no. I don’t mind. That’s fine. But—” She paddled closer and straightened, and he felt one of her legs twine with his. “You’re immersed in cold water. That’s not usually a turn-on.”

  “It is when you’re with a nearly naked woman who you’re wildly attracted to and she’s talking about sex.”

  “About bad sex.”

  “No, about making sex good for yourself. That’s a fucking turn-on, lady.”

  “Oh.” Her eyes widened and she got that devilish look he was beginning to recognize. “You don’t say?” She floated her hips near his, sending water flowing over his pounding cock.

  Yeah, it definitely wasn’t a common occurrence to get this turned on while submerged in chilly water. That just proved how attractive she was, or how strong their chemistry was, or something. Right now, the heat between them could boil the sea water in this little cove.

  He groaned as she brushed against his cock. He wanted her with such pure, fierce lust that he was surprised he hadn’t spontaneously combusted.

  “You know,” she said softly. “There may be another loophole.”

  “What?”

  “We’re in the ocean. We could avoid all land-based sex, but make an exception if we’re in the ocean.”

  He snorted, though his erection got even harder. “That’s ridiculous.”

  “Is it, though? How often will we be alone in the water? It’ll probably never happen again. Loophole.”

  God, she was hard to resist, all sassy and teasing and wet and delicious.

  He shook his head, knowing this was a bad idea. “There’s a problem with that plan. I can’t guarantee good sex under these conditions. And the last thing I want is to inflict more bad sex on you. When we make love, I want you to be totally satisfied, not chalking it up to one more disappointment. I’m not sure we can pull it off here.”

  “You said when.” She smiled at him cheekily, one leg sliding between his.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You said when we have sex. You could have said if. But you didn’t. You said when, and that tells me you’re thinking about it just as much as I am.”

  “I guarantee you I’m thinking about it more than you are. I am a man, after all, and I see you in those coveralls every day, and now I’m going to remember you almost naked like this, and—” He broke off with another deep groan. Because she was peeling her slip off her wet body.

  She balled it up and tossed it onto the beach. Her breasts gleamed pale in the moonlight, the darkened peaks of her nipples just visible above the lapping of the waves.

  He swore, at length, deploying all sorts of creative language he’d picked up in the Air Force. “Now that’s just mean, Cassie Knight.”

  “Fair’s fair. I don’t see a shirt on your body.”

  He didn’t have an answer for that. His palms itched to fill themselves with her soft flesh, surprisingly heavy on her lithe, long-waisted frame. How would those taut nipples taste against his tongue? Slippery, salty, erect and hard from the chill of the water…

  But he couldn’t…they couldn’t. It was a bad idea. He was already in too deep with her. He knew it, knew himself. Casual wasn’t in the cards for him and Cassie—not even in the ocean.

  Okay, maybe in the ocean.

  Maybe just this once, as a way to let off steam.

  He’d promised her that, after all.

  Besides, everything about her tugged at his heart, and she was beautiful and hurt and he wanted to help her forget her troubles. And he wanted to be close to her.

  He wanted all kinds of things he wasn’t ready to name, but for now…he wanted to make her come.

  “About that loophole,” he murmured. He wrapped one hand around her right hip and pulled her closer, until he could cradle her against him as she floated just under the surface. She wasn’t completely naked; she still wore panties, he could see a glimmer of fabric under the dark water. “I have thoughts.”

  “Just thoughts?” She shivered, gazing up at him with eyes filled with moonlight and stars. He realized that the air against her skin was chilling her down, and held her even closer to share his body heat.

  “Very, very good thoughts. Like how beautiful you are, and how much I want to watch you come. Hopefully as you scream my name.”

  Her eyes widened and she ran her tongue between her lips. Oh yes, this was happening, no matter how much of a mistake it might be.

  “That would be pretty amazing, because I don’t really do that sort of thing.” A smile played at the corners of her mouth. “You know me, I’m practical. And I’ve learned not to get my expectations up too much.”

  “Sorry, but I’m not okay with that. Your expectations should be right the hell up there, higher than our fricking planes.” He ran his hand along her inner thigh, her legs parting at his touch.

  “That’s just not realistic.” Her tone might have been teasing and skeptical, but her heavy-lidded expression told another story. A dark flush swept her cheeks.

  “It can be realistic, with one condition.” He tugged her panties aside and lightly brushed his thumb against the hot nest of curls at the juncture of her thighs. It was hard to tell if her wetness was due to arousal or to being, well, wet. But he liked the way she shifted and reached for his touch.

  “There’s always a catch,” she sighed.

  “But it’s nothing we can’t do, babe. You have to let me know what’s working for you. Communication. I’m a big believer. For instance, how does this feel?” He found her clit, a hard little kernel of heat, and deepened the pressure of his thumb.

  “Oh my God. Amazing.” She arched her back and nestled against him, her body warming his, or his warming her, or both.

  “Good.” His cock was hard as steel, but he blocked out the sensations screaming from that area of his body. This was about her. For her. Although the sight of her floating in his arms, pale flesh gleaming through the moonlit water, was so sexy he could probably come right this minute, if he allowed himself. “You’re so gorgeous like this. You aren’t too cold, are you?”

  “No, I’m surprised the water isn’t boiling by now.”

  He laughed, because of course Cassie would bring her usual dry sense of humor into lovemaking. She was always herself, that was one thing he loved about her.

  Not that he loved he
r. It wasn’t like that. They’d agreed, after all. Love wasn’t part of this. Cassie had made it perfectly clear she wasn’t looking for anything like that, and his commitment to Holly was firm. This was just sexy ocean-based fun, nothing more or less.

  He fisted his hand in her panties and tugged the material so it scraped against her mound.

  She whimpered and opened her legs wider. “I can take them off.”

  “No way. I want to play with them. I want to see how you react when I drag that wet silk against your hot little clit.”

  Her eyes flew open on a quick inhale.

  Oh ho. So she liked a little dirty talk.

  “I want to see your nipples get hard…I bet they’d feel like candy on my tongue.” He bent down and experimented, drawing the flat of his tongue across the closest nipple. It hardened immediately, swelling from the size of a Red Hot to the size of a gum ball. And it did taste like candy, sweet and melting and head-spinning. He teased her nipple with avid little strokes of his tongue. He learned the shape of her breast with his mouth and lips, memorizing its contours, the soft curves, the swell, the firmness, the tightly puckered areola.

  He lost himself in her to such an extent that he barely heard her whimpers and moans, except as a feverish background soundtrack. When he finally drew his mouth from her, the nipple giving a slippery pop as it came free, the frenzied look on her face made him stagger slightly.

  “Holy shit, Kevin. You’re driving me crazy.”

  “Crazy? You haven’t seen crazy yet.” Thick and intense, his voice barely sounded like his own. He took command of her pussy, opened the folds to find her entrance. With his thumb still circling her clit, he slid his index finger inside her slick heat. She arched, her legs tightening convulsively around his hand.

  “Oh. God. Please, Kevin. Please.”

  Well, it wasn’t quite screaming, but she was calling his name. He’d take it.

  “Tell me what you want, Cassie. Talk to me.”

  “A little harder, please. Just a little more. Again, harder. Oh yes. Oh my God!”