by Jade Hart
I cringed, looking at a livid Liam. “It’s not what it looks like.”
Nikolai kept his arm around my shoulders even as I tried to shrug him off. “I was here for her at a time you weren’t.”
Liam’s nostrils flared. “Don’t go there, Rivers. Don’t you dare go there!”
My eyes widened as curiosity soared. There was history between these two. What exactly?
Liam glared at me. His blue eyes howled with arctic winds. “Nina… I thought you agreed to have dinner with me? What did I hear about room service?” His face tightened with hurt.
It was a miscommunication. I should never have let Nikolai in, let alone dance with him in my bikini. Fainting was my punishment for being a slut.
Nikolai answered before I could. “You took too long, Mikin. She fainted from hunger. Next time you tell her you’ll feed her, don’t be late.” He squeezed my shoulder and let go. “I’ll see you later, Nina. I’ll come by and make sure you’re okay.”
I didn’t say anything as Nikolai brushed past Liam. “I’m not the bad guy here, Mikin. We both deserve to be happy.”
Damn, what was between these two? It had to be bad with the way animosity thickened the air around them. Damaged feelings blazed in both their eyes, pain, hurt—whatever happened scared them both.
“I haven’t forgotten, Rivers. But I’m not giving you Nina. You want her, then I’m going to fight. Like I should’ve back then,” Liam snapped.
Nikolai didn’t look back as he left. Liam came to my side and stood awkwardly. I hated I made him doubt my newly budded feelings for him and stepped closer. He sighed heavily as his arms encircled me, and I melted into him.
His body called to mine; I snuggled closer. His scent, his flavour—everything about him was what I wanted. Nikolai didn’t compare. How I could’ve forgotten that for a brief second was unthinkable.
“I’m sorry, Liam. I know you probably don’t believe me, but I meant what I said at the waterfall. There is only one man I’m interested in on this island.”
He rested his chin on my head. “Funny enough, I do believe you. I just don’t trust Nikolai.”
That much was obvious.
“What happened between you two?” It had to be a girl. My heart boycotted the idea Liam had been in love with someone else. I wanted him to be mine. Wow. I want him to be mine. I never thought I’d say those words, let alone so soon into a courtship.
He stepped away, deliberately ignoring my question. “I have another idea. Rather than a restaurant, we’ll have room service, then we’re going out.”
Nina devoured her cheeseburger the moment the waiter placed it on the small table located on the fale’s balcony. Sitting close to each other, I took a bite of my own beef and cheese, a smile on my lips as Nina closed her eyes and moaned.
“This is the best burger I’ve ever tasted.” She smothered a fry in aioli before popping it into her mouth. “And these fries are awesome, too.”
I swallowed my mouthful, wishing I’d ordered a beer to chase it with. “I think anything would taste good if you fainted from hunger.” Frowning, I added, “Do you do that often? Forget to eat?” I forced myself to act normal, while trying to figure out if there was more to it than she let on. Was she hurt from the crash? Was she hiding something?
“No, not too often. I tend to graze throughout the day.” She munched another fry before continuing, “What with studying for my license, my new job, dancing, not to mention life in general; I’m pretty busy.”
Being busy didn’t give her an excuse not to eat. I shook my head. “You can’t let yourself get run down. How will you complete your exams if you don’t take care of yourself?” The thought of her becoming any slighter than she was squeezed my stomach. She was petite. Anymore petite and she’d be a wraith. Plus, she needed to eat for brainpower. Flying exams were hard—code, jargon. A scramble of terminology that turned any brain into whisked eggs. And I wanted her to succeed. There was nothing more satisfying than the day I earned my commercial pilot wings. She needed to experience that.
The rush of knowing I could fly myself anywhere was the ultimate gift in freedom. I grinned; I couldn’t help it. It was the happiest day of my life—the first ray of hope amongst my misery and guilt. I’d made a promise to myself that day—I’d never give up on finding more happiness, but it took me until this afternoon when Nina allowed me to kiss her in the waterfall, to find it. Now, I had a new favourite moment in my life.
Memories of her taste and the pounding waterfall behind us turned my blood into molasses. Shit, I shouldn’t have thought about kissing her. Her lips drew me like an arrow to a target, and I couldn’t look away as she took a sip of her apple juice.
She stopped drinking, cocking her head. “Is everything alright?”
Did she have to play with her hair when nerves got the better of her? She grabbed the curtain of silky, bronze locks, exposing her throat. Her neck was white as the moon and as graceful as a flamingo.
My cock jerked and I leaned in fast, planting a kiss right on her collarbone. Oh God, she smells good. I breathed in deep, drenching my lungs in her coconut and honey scent.
She shuddered. “Liam…” Her voice lilted between breathlessness and urgency.
My entire body reacted. Every cell sat up, denied for so long, watching her from the shadows, nursing a burning passion for her.
I kissed her throat again—an open-mouthed kiss so I could taste her with a small lick of my tongue.
Her head fell forward onto my shoulder, her hands clutching at my t-shirt hem.
All thoughts of eating exploded into non-importance. I wasn't hungry anymore. Well, not for food at least.
I stood abruptly, jostling her off my shoulder.
Nina sucked in a breath. Her eyes swirled with blues and blacks, and I was sure my own reflected a dark need swiftly growing out of control. Gone was my self-imposed timeline of not rushing her. I’d wanted to wait, to make sure she felt for me what I did for her. But seeing her in Nikolai’s arms. In the bikini I brought for her. Alone. It lacerated me, carved a hole in my chest leaving my breath oozing from my lungs.
I needed affirmation she told me the truth. She wanted me. Not Nikolai. I needed to hear it from her body, not just her lips.
“I need to go inside.” Would she understand what I was asking? Could she hear the unvoiced urgency in my gruff tone?
Nina blinked. “Oh, okay.” Regret tinged her face. “I guess I’ll wait here.”
I sighed, giving her a lopsided smile. Guess I was too subtle. Holding out my hand, I tried again. “I want to go inside with you.” All thoughts of what I’d like to do to her behind closed doors raced across my face. “I need to go inside.”
Please, say yes. If she turned me down, I’d never live through the shame. I bet Nikolai would swoop in at that exact moment and laugh at my failure to entice her.
My stomach somersaulted as she reached for me, lacing her fingers with mine briefly. She didn’t say a word as she disappeared into the fale.
My pulse roared in my ears, drumming with every step. Hot, urgent, needy blood chugged through my veins, and I faltered. If I took one more step over the threshold, I’d be a goner. There would be no stopping what I felt for her.
That wasn’t the problem, though. I’d already succumbed to my feelings. There were other things I’d planned to do tonight. Important things—to allow Nina to get to know me better. To do something fun. Not that fucking her wouldn’t be fun. Listen to yourself, Liam. Somehow you’re talking yourself out of sleeping with the woman you’re falling for.
The image of a half-naked Nina in Nikolai’s arms batter-rammed me again. My self-control snapped in the wake of green-hazed jealously and I stalked after her, slamming the door behind me.
I’d do everything in my power to make her forget the engineer and his twinkle toes.
Nina jumped as the door slammed. Her cheeks flushed as her eyes dropped to the floor.
My heart hiccupped. Every inch of me wan
ted to protect her, to wrap my arms around her and never let anything hurtful or dangerous happen again. I wanted to be her safe haven. The guy she could tell all her fears and worries to, and give her an extra shoulder to bear them.
And I wanted the same from her. I wanted to tell her what happened ten years ago; to watch with bated breath as I told her my ultimate lifelong dream.
I wanted her to love me.
Nina stood frozen. Her hair wisped around her head thanks to the gentle breeze of the ceiling fan. The soft glow of side lamps shrouded her with shadows. She looked like a sea nymph sent from the waves to tempt me.
Why the hell was there distance between us? I rectified it by launching myself at her. Her eyes popped wide as I gathered her into my arms. We didn’t say a word. Just stood there, drowning in each other.
Slowly, she reached for my cheek, and my skin detonated beneath her simple caress. Her fingertips trailed to cup my jaw, catching on my day old stubble. She massaged my ear lobe before slinking her hands into my hair, running her nails along the back of my neck.
I shuddered as every part of my anatomy clenched: my abs, my thighs, my cock. Everything about me wanted this woman.
She stood on tiptoes, biting her lip, hovering in deliberation.
I didn’t move a muscle. I was spellbound, moonstruck, compelled.
Her lips landed on mine. I snapped.
Growling, I wrenched her hard against me. Her mouth yielded to my fierce pressure and she quivered as I licked her tongue. The sweet tartness from her apple juice intoxicated me as I grabbed handfuls of hair, arching her back to kiss her harder.
Harder.
Harder.
I wanted to kiss her with everything I had. Everything I was. My sanity was close to splitting when she returned my kisses with full force. Her body entwined with mine, her hands delved down my lower back and into my board shorts, squeezing my ass, digging fingernails into my flesh.
I couldn’t take it. I’d explode right there. She was a hallucinogenic. A sensory overload. She’d drugged me and left me sex-crazed.
Panting, nipping, kissing, licking, I grabbed her around the waist and picked her up. Her legs whipped around me to squeeze my hips. She bowed into me, causing fire to ignite in my shorts. The line of gunpowder had been lit and everything inside me sizzled, waiting for an impeding explosion.
Shuffling forward, the bed knocked against my knees. I dropped Nina onto the sheets.
Her breath caught, looking up at me with endless blue eyes. Her hair tangled on the bedspread, looking copper-black in the low lighting. And her cleavage heaved, held prisoner only by triangles of her white bikini.
I hovered over her, my breathing harsh and rattling.
Shaking, I reached for her, and swirled a fingertip around her erect nipple visible through the material.
I didn’t think she expected me to touch her there. Her breath erupted from her lungs, neck arched. Her beauty stole all oxygen from my body and left only one piece of me working.
Hooking my finger under the triangle, I pulled it to the side, exposing her. Her nipple was tight and pink.
She bit her lip, panting. “Oh God, Liam. Your touch….wow.”
Didn’t that make me glow. I blazed with happiness, knowing I affected her.
Wanting to overdose on her, I bent my head and sucked her nipple. My arms burned with keeping myself hovering above, but keeping my body separated was the only way I could maintain a resemblance of the man I was. One press into her hips and I’d be replaced by an alter-ego of a horny teenager with no stamina.
Nina’s hands clutched my hair, pushing her nipple further into my mouth.
Her skin was cool and slightly salty from the heat of the day. I tried to stem the growl in my throat. She was mine. If Nikolai so much as looked at her with interest again, I’d probably be escorted off the island in handcuffs.
Rolling her nipple with my tongue, I reached behind her neck and undid the string holding the top in place. It came away as easily as silk. I feasted my eyes on her naked skin.
Fuck, she’s beautiful.
I crashed to my knees beside the bed, pulling her hips closer. Before she could say a word, my mouth descended over her bikini briefs, and I exhaled a hot, heavy breath right between her legs.
“Oh my God, Liam.” She writhed on the bed, her fingers scrambling at the sheets.
I ran my hands along her thighs, over her hips and up her waist, tracing her muscles, pressing delicate ribs as she arched.
“Can I?” I needed permission. I wanted to give her something without taking anything in return. I wanted to show her I was giving. Thoughtful. And so drunk on her I wanted to drink and savour and taste.
She barely formed a sentence. “Uh huh…”
My mouth latched over her bikini again while my hands went to her hips and the two white strings. With a sharp tug they both came away.
I paused to gaze up at Nina. Her head was thrown back, eyes squeezed tight.
Inching the material down her legs, my cock jumped in my shorts. She was stunning. Her folds were soft and hidden, a glisten of wetness that turned my roaring blood into a thundering waterfall.
I bent my head.
She froze as my lips hovered, so close to touching her. Not one breath as she waited…
I paused as long as I could, drawing out the anticipation, before my mouth descended.
In that moment, I belonged to her. My brain fogged and nothing was more important than being on my knees in front of the woman who’d captured my heart.
She melted into my touch. My heart packed up in that instant and was lost in baggage reclaim, waiting for Nina to claim it.
I groaned as I licked and nuzzled. Closing my eyes, I set a strong and steady pace. I wanted to lavish her with attention. It was fitting being on my knees before her. She could break me in two if she turned me away, and she’d never know what sort of spell she cast over me.
Running my hand along her calf, I hitched her leg over my shoulder. I caressed upward until my finger found her heat.
She moaned loudly as I pressed inside her. Loving the resistance, the tightness.
“Liam…” she whispered brokenly. “Please… I need…I want you.”
The image of fucking her almost took me to the edge. My mind swam with lust, and I licked her harder. My finger pressed deeper, rocking in rhythm, matching my tongue.
Her breath came faster, her hands scrambled quicker, stomach muscles quivering.
“Stop… come here,” she panted.
I didn’t obey and increased my tempo.
“Oh, don’t stop. Don’t stop.”
I had no intention of stopping. My hips jerked, wanting to dive into her. Claim her.
With one last thrust, she bowed upright, shattering around my finger. The clutch and release of her orgasm sent fire scorching through my heart and into my groin. I knew I wouldn’t be able to walk for hours with how much I needed her.
Slowly, she returned to earth.
I rocked back on my heels. I smiled as I covered her with her bikini briefs and, as best I could with suddenly clumsy fingers, re-tied them.
She looked dreamy, sated, and completely lovable. I’d given her what I wanted: something to remember me by when she was next hounded by Nikolai. I didn’t know where my willpower came from, but I wanted to leave her with the memory of my tongue on her. Somehow I’d survive the ache in my cock, and wait. The sweet agony of postponement would be worth it.
“Come on. I have something I want to show you.”
Butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, and any other creature with fluttering little wings lived in my stomach and heart. I couldn’t stop looking at Liam with wonder. He’d pleasured me. Touched me as if he’d known me forever and expected nothing in return.
Hair whipped in my eyes as we raced down island roads in the open-top roll cage of a jeep. I didn’t really care what we were doing at this point as long as Liam was by my side.
I hadn’t asked where we were
going. I’d nodded blankly in my post orgasmic glow. My legs resembled melted candle wax; completely unhelpful thanks to my body being so languid and sated.
The soft glow of the airport appeared on the horizon, silhouetted with spiky palm trees. Feathery clouds hid the moon, while stars winked and glimmered. Why were we going to the airport so late at night? Then again, I had no clue what time it was. Time lost all meaning when my entire world had been shattered by a man’s tongue.
Heat raced over my cheeks, remembering Liam’s blue-black hair nestled between my legs. What a glorious sight he made with his ice-blue eyes blazing up at me. Watching me be pleasured. Relishing in what he did to me. He was a maestro and in that moment I was whatever instrument he wanted me to be.
Liam pulled up to the side of the terminal and switched off the growling jeep. “Ready?”
I breathed deep the tang of air-fuel and mechanical sharpness. I loved the smell of aviation and the airport sent familiar zings of excitement in my blood. It was a portal to exoticness. With one plane, the entire world was open to exploration.
“I’m ready, but for what?”
With a smirk, he jumped out of the car and came around to offer me his hand.
My heart did some serious swooning. Wasn’t he unsatisfied? Didn’t he want to sleep with me? I’d become desperate for him the moment he said he needed to go inside. I thought that’s where the evening would end up. Entwined in each other, locked in passion. Instead, he’d gifted me the best orgasm of my life and asked for nothing.
“We’re going to meet the moon.”
My eyes widened as I looked up into the star-dusted velvetness. “We’re flying?”
He nodded. “I’ve arranged to borrow a very old, and frankly, rather decrepit crop-duster. But it’s all fuelled and ready for a jaunt.” Nerves attacked him and the carefree, happy Liam was replaced with an anxious mumbler. “Of course, we don’t have to. It was just an idea… I can—”
I stepped into his arms, reaching up to press my lips against his. “If you think I don’t want to go on a date with you and see the stars, you’re nuts.” I stopped talking and kissed him, hard. His mouth opened beneath mine and the world swam. Everything around me paled when I was in Liam’s arms. It was as if he touched me on a deeper level. A level I didn’t even know existed. Somehow he’d awakened me and claimed me as his own.
