by Tawny Weber
Alexia knew all the signs.
Her heart was racing, even as her feet twitched, warning to run.
Anticipation curled, tight and low in her belly. Somewhere between desire and terror, it waited. Hope and fear entwined, making it impossible to know which to root for.
Her mind screamed warning, but her body wanted him, badly. Her nipples tightened and her thighs melted in anticipation. It was all she could do not to close the space between them, lean into that rock-hard body and trace her tongue over the hint of stubble along his jaw. She’d bet he tasted yummy.
Catching herself just before she fanned her hand in front of her face to try to chill, Alexia desperately grabbed control, reeling it tight.
It was time to make an excuse and leave. She had a very narrow window—maybe five minutes, tops—before she did something really, really stupid. And she’d spent a lot of years weaning stupid behavior from her repertoire.
She was proud of that. Even as a sneaky part of her brain whispered that she’d been good for so long, she deserved a little bad. Just a little, now and then.
Mostly now.
Then Blake stepped closer. Her eyes widened. Her pulse tripped over itself before racing off so fast it made her light-headed.
“I know it’s too soon,” he murmured, his words as dark and deep as the night sky, “but I have to taste you.”
Alexia’s mental gymnastics melted away, right along with her resistance. Desire swirled down into her belly in a slow, sinuous slide.
Then his lips brushed over hers and she didn’t care about stupid, resistance or the fact that they were on a public beach.
His breath was warm. His lips soft. The fingertips he traced over her shoulder a gentle whisper. It was sweetness personified. She felt like a fairy-tale princess being kissed for the first time by her prince.
And he was delicious.
Mouthwatering, heart-stopping, panty-creaming delicious. And clearly, he had no problem going after what he wanted, she realized as he slid the tips of his fingers over the bare skin of her shoulder. Alexia shivered at the contrast of his hard fingertips against her skin. Her breath caught as his hand shifted, sliding lower, hinting at, but not actually caressing, the upper swell of her breast.
Her heart pounded so hard against her throat, she was surprised it didn’t jump right out into his hand.
She wanted him. As she’d never wanted another man in her life. Years, she’d behaved. She’d carefully considered her actions, making sure she didn’t hurt others. She’d poured herself into her career, into making sure her life was one she was proud of.
She had a man who wanted her in his life. A nice, sweet man who she could talk through the night with and never run out of things to say.
But she wanted more.
She wanted a man who’d keep her up all night screaming with pleasure. Who’d drive her wild, who’d send her body to sexual places she’d never even dreamed of. She wanted orgasms. Lots and lots of orgasms.
Even if it was only for one night.
And that, she realized, was the key. One night of crazy. One night of delicious, empowered, indulge-her-every-desire sex with a man who made her melt.
One night would be incredible.
One night would be enough.
“This is crazy,” she murmured against his lips.
“Yeah,” he agreed, his tongue sliding over her lower lip before he nipped the tender flesh. When she gasped, he soothed it with a soft kiss. “But crazy feels damn good.”
It did.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, leaned into the hard, solid wall of his muscled body and gave a low moan of delight. He felt really, really good.
Blake pulled back then, giving her an intense look. As if he was trying to see past her heart, into her soul. As if he knew all her secrets, her every desire.
Then he smiled. A slow, wicked curve of his lips. As if he’d just figured out how to make every one of those desires a reality.
Now, that was a scary proposition. Scarier still, she was pretty sure he could.
She wanted him. Wanted nothing more than to strip him naked and run her hands over every inch of his hard body. To touch, to taste. To feel. Oh, God, she wanted to feel him. To give herself tonight to feel, to enjoy. To live.
“Did you ever want something you knew you shouldn’t have?” she asked, her words so soft they almost disappeared in the sound of the surf. She traced her fingertip over his lower lip, then sighed and met his eyes. “Something you knew you’d be better off not even considering, but were so tempted by?”
“No.”
Figured. Alexia laughed helplessly, dropping her forehead to his shoulder and closing her eyes.
“But I know what it’s like to want someone that bad,” he said quietly, his voice so intense she had to raise her head to look at him.
He shifted, sliding his hands in a whisper-soft caress up her cheeks, then tunneling his fingers into her hair. Cupping her head just above her ears, he tilted it back just a little and stared deep into her eyes.
Alexia shivered. Her heart skipped, then tumbled over itself trying to catch up.
His gaze was hypnotic. Penetrating. The moonlight glowed, glancing off his cheekbones and giving him an otherworldly air. As if he was straight out of one of her fantasies, sent by the universe as a reward for her being such a good girl for so long. A chance to be bad again for just a tiny little bit of time, and then she could go back to being on her best behavior.
She wanted Blake, and this feeling between them. His hands skimmed through her hair, fingers tangling softly in her curls. This delicious, overwhelmingly intense feeling of excitement. Her body hummed, her senses went on hyperalert. It was as if each touch of his fingers was amplified, exciting her more than she’d ever been before. More than she’d even imagined.
“Shouldn’t we talk about this?” she asked, desperately trying for sane and practical. “Make sure we know what we’re doing?”
“Babe, I promise you, I know what I’m doing.”
Whether to prove it, or to shut her up, he shifted again, his fingers strong, firm against the back of her head as he held her face up for his lips.
His tongue tangled with hers, demanding a response, pulling passion out of its worried hiding places and daring it to dance. Alexia’s fingers dug into his shoulders as her mind gave up the fight to be rational and dived into the delights he offered. To hell with discussing it. Who needed a clear understanding of what the parameters of this exchange were when the communication between their bodies was coming through loud and clear.
Sexual nirvana, his body promised.
Hers couldn’t respond with anything but Let’s rock.
4
BLAKE SPENT A GREAT DEAL of his life under fire. He’d honed his body to be a strong, powerful weapon, ready to face down and beat any danger.
He was pretty sure he’d never felt so out of control as he did right now. It was as if Alexia was a sudden addiction he couldn’t do without.
“You feel so good,” she breathed, her hands gripping his shoulders, then sliding down the hard muscles to curve over the rock-hard roundness of his biceps. “So strong. Big.”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” he said, his laughter a whisper of air over her throat.
“Then show me,” she challenged. Using her nails, she scraped a soft line back up his arms and shoulders, then down his shoulder blades, pulling his body closer against hers.
He groaned in reaction, both to her move and her aggressive attitude. She was clearly a woman who knew what she wanted, and wasn’t shy about getting it. Was there anything sexier? Still, they should probably go somewhere. Since he lived on base, and was currently banned, he’d been bunking at Cade’s. So that was out. A hotel seemed tacky. Her place?
She leaned in, her breasts softly pressing into his chest as she placed tiny, nibbling kisses along his jaw. When she reached his ear and blew a soft gust of warm air, he groaned again.
He wasn�
�t going to last till they found somewhere else. He had to have her. Here. Now.
Eyes narrowed, he peered up the beach. Their chances of being caught were slim. To narrow the odds even more, he swept her into his arms.
“Whoa,” she exclaimed breathlessly, automatically wrapping her hands behind his neck for balance. He shifted her tighter against his chest and strode around the copse of boulders, far away from curious eyes.
“Better,” he decided as the dark blanketed them, the rocks blocking the party, the lights and the people. He gently set her on a stone ledge, the height of it putting her breasts at mouth’s reach. He stepped between her legs, nestling there. Exactly where he wanted to be. “Perfect.”
Before she could comment, or worse, protest, he took her mouth again. She tasted sweet. Like sunshine and smiles and a hint of strawberries. Delicious. He was starving for more.
He rested his palms on her knees for a second, warming her skin before he caressed his way up the smooth, silky warmth of her thighs. He felt her shiver. Her breath caught. So damn sexy. He traced the edge of her dress, the fabric soft and smooth, but nowhere near as soft as her skin.
She was his escape. When he touched her, everything in his mind shut down. All the dark thoughts, the emptiness, they went away. It was as though the hollow desolation of the last month just disappeared. Instead, he had a single focus. Pleasure. Feeling it, giving it.
And keeping her totally focused on this passion between them, so she wouldn’t think to slow it down. Because he was pretty sure if she stopped him, he’d make an embarrassed fool of himself and do something really crazy.
Like beg.
His tongue danced soft and slow over hers as he skimmed his hands down to her knees, then back up her thighs. He cupped the back of her thigh in one hand, shifting her so that her legs rested against his hips. With the very tips of his fingers he traced a gentle path along the edge of her panties, right there in the crease of her thigh. Hip bone to the top of her thigh, then back. A little deeper, a little closer to her core. Then back to her hip bones. His fingers slid down again, slipping under the slender elastic as they went. Teasing, loving how tight she felt as he wound her up, he stopped just short of her tempting flesh.
Her fingers dug into his arms, her thighs trembling at his touch. Her breathing intensified, and he could feel her heartbeat beneath his fingers, fast and furious.
He shifted his mouth over hers, taking the kiss deeper. Their tongues dueled, each fighting for control. She challenged him, stirred up a desperation he’d never felt before. The taste of her was beyond words. So delicious. So incredible.
Then she shifted. Her body beckoned, her warmth luring him closer. He needed more. He had to feel her. His fingers slid along the elastic of her panties again, this time hooking into the tiny lace band holding the sides together. He pulled.
She gasped as the fabric slid down her legs, then caught. Moving fast, again, needing to touch, to taste, he shifted so he pulled her panties away, then tucked the fabric into his back pocket. In less time than it took her to inhale, he was back. Right there between her thighs. Her warmth.
Delicious.
The movements had pushed the wildly patterned fabric of her dress higher, to the crease of her thighs. The moonlight shone on the hint of curls peeking from beneath. Beckoning. Tempting.
Blake didn’t have the power—didn’t want to find the strength—to resist temptation when it came in the form of Alexia. Starting at her knee again, he slid his index finger up the inside of her thigh. Wanting to see her reaction, he locked his gaze on hers. His fingers combed softly through curls that were gratifyingly damp, then skimmed the swollen bud nestled there.
Her gasp filled him with as much pleasure as touching her did. She squirmed a little, as if trying to intensify the pressure. Always glad to make a lady happy, he did just that. She gave a breathy moan, her hands now roaming his chest, scraping a delicate path of fire down his pecs and making him want to strip naked and see what she’d do next.
Her touch was perfect. Just the right blend of rough and delicate as her fingers scraped lower, along the flat planes of his belly. He sucked in his gut, wanting her to delve lower, to touch him the way he was touching her. Wanting to see how fast, how hard, they could go at each other.
Pulling his mouth from hers, he buried his face in the delicate curve of her throat, breathing deep her scent. It turned him on even more.
“You’re delicious,” he told her as he pinched her swollen clitoris softly. It was like triggering a switch. Her entire body stiffened, her breath coming in gasps now. She went up fast. He’d bet she was wild once she caught fire. Wild enough to take anything he had, to handle the intensity of his sexual appetite.
* * *
SHE WAS ON FIRE. Hot, intense and wet, Alexia gasped at the pleasure Blake’s body offered. She let her suddenly too-heavy head rest against the rock as his fingers slid, first one, then two, deep into her core. Slid and swirled. Heightening and tightening.
It was as if he had her entire body, her entire being, in the palm of his hand. Literally. His to control. His to pleasure.
Oh, please, yes. More pleasure.
She pressed herself tighter against his hand, her hips undulating, circling, trying to take him in deeper. Her breath came in gasps, all of her being focused on his fingers. On the feelings he stirred. The scent of the ocean mixing with Blake’s subtle cologne adding to the surreal, out-of-this-world feeling she had.
It turned her on even more.
The sound of people partying, just on the other side of the rocks, made her nerves sing, worry about one of them venturing this way adding a whole ’nother level of intensity to the feelings Blake’s fingers were creating.
She’d never been an exhibitionist. She’d never been turned on by the idea of public kissing, let alone semipublic orgasms. But this was...
Oh, my God.
Her breath came faster as his fingers worked her.
Her heart raced, trying to keep up with the wild, intense feelings rioting through her body. She couldn’t think, could barely breathe. Everything she had, everything she was, centered on Blake. His fingers, the pressure.
Oh, baby, the pressure.
Desperate for him to feel as good as he was making her feel, she skimmed her fingers, just the tips, along the hard, rounded muscles of his arms. His body was incredible. Masterful.
She wanted to touch him, to fan her hands all over the firm, sculpted planes of his body. But she couldn’t find the energy to move. Not while he was doing such lovely things with his fingers. She was so focused on that, she barely noticed his other hand slide under her dress, up to her breasts, until he cupped one, squeezing tight.
“Oh, God,” she moaned breathlessly, staring up at the stars overhead through blurry eyes.
His thumb brushed over her nipple. Sensation, sharp and enticing, shooting from her clitoris to her breast like lightning. With a quick flick, he unsnapped the front closure of her racer-back bra, the fabric breaking loose under her trapeze dress. The constrictive straps slid down her shoulders. Hating the trapped feeling, she quickly shrugged off the white satin, not caring where it fell.
She grasped his head with both hands, pulling his face to hers. She had only a brief glimpse of the flaring heat in his blue eyes before her mouth attacked his. Ate him up in big, gulping bites.
His fingers pinched, rubbed, swirled. Her nipples hardened, aching for more. As if hearing their pleas, he pressed harder, flicking his thumb back and forth, back and forth. Her body tightened. Her girlie parts wept with pleasure. His fingers moved faster between her thighs, plunging deeper into her core.
Then he pressed her aching bud tight with his thumb, his fingers—all of them—still tormenting.
The climax grabbed her so fast, she couldn’t stop the cry of pleasure. Vividly aware that there were people nearby, she tried to stifle her screams, so instead they came out strangled gasps. Everything spun in circles. Her head, the stars, the hot del
ight low in her belly.
Before she could come back down, before her body was even through shuddering, he moved. She was vaguely aware of the sound of ripping foil as he readied himself. Her thighs fell wide, as if begging to feel his hard power there, thrusting deep.
Instead, though, he grabbed her, lifting and turning at the same time so it was him bare against the rock.
She cried out in surprise, then in pleasure, as he pulled her close. Her body, still quaking from that lovely climax, wrapped around his.
His hands were so big, each one covered a cheek. He pulled her forward, gripping her flesh with strong fingers, positioning her. The velvet knob of his penis pressed, just there against her still-quivering flesh, as if begging for entry.
“Ready for some passion?” he asked, his words husky and low.
“Sure,” she breathed, linking her fingers behind his neck and preparing for what she hoped was going to be a wild ride. “Because so far it’s been pretty bland.”
His laughter rang out, the sound making her ego feel almost as good as her body did with his pressed against it.
Then he slid, hard and deep, inside her.
She’d been wrong.
Nothing, ever, had felt this good.
It was as if her nerve endings all picked up and moved between her legs, every single sensation in her body connected to the feel of his cock driving in and out.
He moved slowly, with just a hint of undulation as he plunged. His hands gripped her butt, his strong fingers adding a whole new level of pleasure to the experience.
“You’re going to come for me,” he muttered, his words tight, low. Intense.
As if under his command, she instantly went over.
Alexia’s body shook with the power of her climax. Her breath came in gasps, pleasure so tight, so intense, it bordered on pain. Her ears rang out, the surf disappearing so all she could hear was her own pounding heart.
As her body slowly settled back down to earth, she tried to catch her breath. Tried to reconnect with reality. Given that tiny trembling orgasmic aftershocks were still rocking through her, it wasn’t easy.
