Now I still wanted her, desperately, but I was able to take my time. Holly wasn’t going to disappear under my hands. I could move slowly inside of her, really thrust in deep, and feel the strength of our connection between our bodies.
I kissed her in time with my thrusts, hands braced on the sand on either side of her head. I wanted her to feel me so strongly that she could never even think about another man. That the impression of my body on top of hers, my cock inside of her, my mouth against hers, was so ingrained in her that she could feel it long after I had gone. I wanted her to feel like there was still the ghost of me in and around her body.
Holly had her arms around my neck and kissed me back with just as much fervor. She was marvelous. I couldn’t keep up my slower rhythm—I wanted her too badly—I fucked into her harder, faster, like an approaching ocean storm. Holly gasped.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, fill me up, Keith, make me yours…”
I wanted to make her mine. I wanted her to be my partner, my woman, forever. All the logic that I talked to myself about the rest of the time always went out the window when it came to Holly. I could never fully control myself around her. I always wanted to be with her, to be full of her, to fill her in turn, to be lost with her and to join with her—
I had never felt like this while fucking someone. I’d never had this all-encompassing feeling inside of me like a tsunami I couldn’t escape. It wasn’t just sexual desire. It was so much more. I felt like I almost couldn’t contain all that I felt, all that I wanted for her, from her, with her.
We came at almost the same moment, and I couldn’t help but feel there was something profound about that. Holly smiled up at me, her eyes glowing, like there was nothing in the world that could possibly make her happier than she was right now. More than my own orgasm—as fantastic as it was—that was what undid me. Her smile and her sweet eyes, her happy, open face. I wanted her to always be this happy, and in that moment, I felt like I would do absolutely anything to ensure it for her.
It was a pity we couldn’t lie in the surf—we had to get cleaned up—but that warm feeling still stayed in my chest as we dove back for a final dip into the ocean, and as we walked up the beach, and returned to the villa to shower and change for dinner. It felt like it was making a home there, inside of me, and telling me that it was never going away.
Instead of being scared… I welcomed it.
I got us a reservation at one of the best restaurants in the area. I didn’t want to treat Holly like just any other fling, but I also wanted to spoil her, to show her that I cared to treat her well—and I wanted to show her off a little. I wanted everyone in the restaurant to see us and know that I was the lucky man who got such a fantastic, gorgeous woman.
Holly seemed to enjoy it. She kept smiling at me, not in the hungry way that she used to when she wanted me, but in a soft way. It made me wonder if perhaps she felt it, too, this thing blossoming between us—not just sex, but something deeper and warmer. Something so much more, and longer lasting than any sexual connection, as amazing as ours might be.
The next day was even better than yesterday. We hadn’t had as much time, between the sleeping in and getting Holly’s things from the hotel, so we’d just kept things slow and romantic, basking in the sun and the surf.
Today, though, we got up and headed out. We started with kayaking in the morning, and got out early enough that we were able to see some dolphins. I wasn’t able to get any pictures of them, and Holly laughed as I nearly dropped my paddle trying.
“Worth getting up at the crack of dawn?” I asked Holly as we took in the view out on the water.
“Definitely,” she assured me. “Although maybe not every day,” she added with a tease. “I do like when you keep me up late.”
I liked that, too. I was starting to worry I would never get tired of her body, or of just, well, Holly herself. Part of me was elated and happy. Part of me feared what that would mean when this week was over.
Kayaking had us up early and was pretty exhausting, so after we had a light lunch we decided to go up for a walk around the lighthouse, nothing too strenuous at least for our poor tired arms. Holly loved listening to the history of the place and had a ton of questions for the tour guide.
Honestly, if I’d gone back in time to seeing her at the bar and you’d asked me if I thought this party girl would be the type to care about history, I would’ve said no. But Holly genuinely was interested in this type of thing. She was such a mess of contradictions. She was confident and determined, feeling that what she deserved was the best. But she was also someone who keenly felt the pressures of her family, of the situation that had given her so much privilege and how she had to prove that she was more than that. She was a relaxed party girl and a total vixen, but also serious and earnest, a hustler.
She was a mess of contradictions, and I loved it about her. I loved all the different sides of her. And that was dangerous. I wanted her all the time, more than just this week, every moment deepening my feelings for her and it was the opposite of what this was supposed to do—but I couldn’t stop, either.
After the lighthouse, instead of doing the smart thing, the right thing, and saying you know what, maybe I am finished with you after all, being a jackass for the sake of us both, I suggested we get ice cream.
Her face lit up. “Ice cream’s my favorite.”
“Really? Here I always thought it was Dawn’s.”
“No.” Holly laughed. “She’d always get it because of me, we’d get it together.”
We ate the ice cream outside, walking down the beach, taking our time eating it, stealing sticky-sweet kisses now and again. We couldn’t be like this at home. Someone might see us. Even if we were in a random area, away from our homes, we might run into someone we knew. It was just too big of a risk.
But here… I didn’t have to worry about a thing. And I flattered myself, I didn’t look too much older than Holly. She had a very sophisticated air, and the women I’d had flings with had often expressed surprise when they found out my age, thinking I was in my mid to late thirties.
Nobody gave us dirty looks. Nobody bothered us. It was perfect. I wanted to stay in this day with her forever, for it all to never end.
“Is this your idea of a usual date?” Holly asked. “I have to say, I’m surprised by you, with all the smooth wining and dining you’ve done over the years, this didn’t seem your style when it came to wooing a woman.”
“It’s not,” I replied honestly, watching as Holly licked her ice cream cone. Her tongue was definitely distracting. “I never did anything like this with the other women I dated.” I paused. It was probably stupid of me to continue to say this, to dig myself further down the rabbit hole, but… “It’s been a lot time since I’ve connected with someone like this. I missed it.”
Holly gave me a warm, surprised smile. “Same here,” she admitted. “I tried dating in college, you know. The whole time, I wanted you, thought about you—but I knew that you didn’t think it could work, I knew that it would be tough, so I tried to date other men and see if it worked.”
She shook her head with a rueful look on her face. “But none of them were you, and it never got far.”
I was glad. I knew it was wrong of me to be so pleased, but I was delighted, with that possessive pleased purr back in my chest. She had kept herself just for me. She had wanted me all this time, and she hadn’t been able to find anyone else that could compare to me. The idea of that—that I was her ideal, that she hadn’t been able to find anyone—that she just wanted me—made me happier than almost anything else.
Honestly, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this possessive, and this happy, this connected with someone. With Kelly, I had never felt this close or this pleased that she’d chosen me above all others. I’d always just thought, well maybe I wasn’t the jealous type. Maybe I was more casual with my feelings than others.
But now, I was feeling all of that elation, all of that pride, that I ha
d heard about all of these years and never thought was really real, at least for me.
I wanted to hold onto it forever.
How was I ever supposed to be able to let her go?
20
Holly
It was time for me to get back to business.
As amazing as the day had gone for me, with Keith, I still had a job that I had to do, the reason that I had come to this island in the first place. Keith took me back to the hotel, and I took care of everything so that the band could set up. I made sure that they were all set up properly, that they were focused and professional, before I could relax and hang out with Keith.
Keith was definitely still there, of course, just hanging out at the bar enjoying a drink. It could’ve so easily been annoying or felt like he was keeping an eye on me because I was some kind of child, or because he was one of those boyfriends who didn’t trust his girl to be alone, thinking she’d be unfaithful.
It didn’t feel like that at all, though. He wasn’t even looking at me half the time, chatting with the bartender—but when he was looking at me, it was with this fond look on his face, a small smile, warmth in his eyes, like he couldn’t help it. Like he just liked looking at me, seeing me in my element.
That made me—well, it made me happier than I could say. He was proud of me, happy to watch me work, happy to see me successful and doing my work. I got the feeling that he wanted me to be successful. It made me proud of myself, too, and made me feel like maybe I could do this after all, that I really could be successful.
At one point, he stood up and went outside to check on Dawn, give her a call. Simon watched him go, a sour look on his face. Simon had been annoying the entire time, grumpy, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out why.
“How’d that guy get a first-rate woman like you?” he grumbled, watching the door where Keith had disappeared to.
“By being a first-rate man,” I replied. There as no way that I was going to let Simon get away with making comments. I wanted it clear that I wasn’t doing this for Keith’s wealth, and I wasn’t settling for someone who wasn’t my equal. I only went after the best, and the best, frankly, was Keith. “Besides, you’re going to be drowning in groupies soon. You’ll have so many women you won’t know what to do with yourselves.”
The other guys in the band laughed, and clapped Simon on the back. Simon smiled a little bit. The guys, seizing the opportunity, kept teasing him, working him up, doing that bro-thing that I certainly wasn’t a part of but didn’t mind encouraging.
By the time they were finished, Simon was definitely cheered up. I was glad of it. I didn’t need Simon on my back. In just a few days, we were going to have to deal with the truth of our situation, the fact that we weren’t really just any two people who’d fallen in love but in a terrible, horrible situation, a situation that would set us up to potentially betray the people that we loved most.
I didn’t want to have Simon complicating things on top of all that.
The boys all settled, and Simon cheered up again, I decided to order some food from the bar before things got crazy—I was starving.
And then my phone rang.
I pulled it out, wondering who it could be, only to see Daddy as the caller I.D.
Oh, no. He had no idea what was going on here. Of course, he knew where I was. I wouldn’t make my parents worry like that by just galivanting off with no warning. But he didn’t know about Keith and the idea of talking to him while he didn’t know was… it hurt.
“Hi, Daddy!” I said, keeping my voice cheerful but low as I answered the phone.
“Holly!” My dad sounded pleased to hear from me. “How’s my princess doing?”
I cringed, glad that he couldn’t see me so I didn’t have to worry about controlling my face. When I’d been a kid I’d loved that he called me his princess. Being the apple of my parents’ eyes was all that I’d ever cared about. But now it just worried me. I didn’t want to be put up onto a pedestal and I feared that my parents, especially my dad, didn’t realize what an adult I was, that I was a complex person and not just their shining little girl.
When Keith and I were officially together, when the truth came out—Dad was going to be upset, not so much because of Keith, I was sure I could convince him that of all the people in the world his best friend was the right man to take care of me—but because it would mean he’d have to really understand that I wasn’t a child anymore. I wasn’t his simple little princess.
How was he going to handle that?
The guilt swelled up in my throat, choking me, and I had to swallow it back down. “I’m doing great, thanks, Daddy. The band is bringing in crowds, people love them, and I’ve been coaching them on public image and how to act, what to say for interviews, that sort of thing. I’m encouraging them to work out their album tracks, so I can get them a studio to rent and we can properly record something for digital streaming. Soon they’ll start getting noticed by industry people, I’m sure of it.”
“That’s amazing, Holly,” Dad replied. I could hear the smile in his voice. “You know, I’m really proud of you. I was worried about—well. I was worried what you were going to do, once you graduated, if you had any ideas, but it seems you’ve really been a go-getter, you’re carving out a career for yourself. I’m really proud of that.”
“Thanks, Daddy, that means a lot to hear.” Maybe he was finally ready to understand, maybe—
“I do miss my little girl, though,” he went on. “I hope that this won’t have you traveling for too long, we’d hate to have you gone from home all the time.”
My wince returned. I had to hold in a sigh, because while he couldn’t see it, he’d be able to hear it. For a second there I’d had hope that maybe he could actually see me as an adult, an independent woman who could be who she wanted, and with who she wanted. But it seemed he still saw me as a child.
Unconsciously, my hand slid over my stomach, and it took me a second to realize what it was doing and why.
My baby. The baby that was growing inside of me, mine and Keith’s, and my dad had no idea. How could I tell him? When he did find out—he would eventually, after all—how would he take it? Would he finally see that I wasn’t just a little girl anymore?
“Well, you know, I’m going to have to be away sometimes,” I replied, keeping my voice light and even, ignoring the tightness in my throat. “I mean, I’m not going to live with you guys forever, for one thing.”
“I—I know, but…”
“But anyway, Daddy, it’s going really well, and you don’t have to worry about me at all. I’m having a lot of fun, and I’ll be back in a few days, faster than you know it. Okay?”
“Okay, honey, your mom says she loves you.”
“I love you both.”
I hung up and took a deep, calming breath. It was going to be okay, I told myself. It would all be okay. He was going to see the light soon enough, just as soon as I could figure out how to tell Keith.
But I couldn’t tell Keith until I had convinced him that we could be together, that we should be together.
It was a lot.
As if he could tell that I was thinking about him, about us, Keith re-entered. He was smiling, apparently happy with how his conversation with Dawn had gone. “I’m going to grab a drink at the bar,” he said. “Would you like something? What can I get you?”
Ah, crap, I couldn’t drink, not with a baby inside of me. “No, I’m okay, thank you though!” I smiled. “I’m not in the mood.”
Keith looked a little confused. “Are you sure? You haven’t had a drink since you got here. What happened to the girl who took back to back shots back in Atlanta?”
I laughed. “That girl must be back in Atlanta, because Tybee Island Holly is already drunk on all the fresh air and sunshine—I don’t need booze.”
“Mmm, you sure it’s not all the excellent sex?” Keith teased, lowering his voice.
“Excellent sex? Oh dear, must’ve… forgotten about it.” I kissed him.
“Maybe you need to remind me.”
Keith was never one to back down from a challenge. I assumed he’d take me back to his hotel villa, which wasn’t far, but he was too impatient for that. Instead he took me further into a hotel, into one of the empty conference rooms that businesses would use to host events or conferences.
Right there, up against the wall, he had me. I was thrilled by the way he could just lift me up and pin me there, against the wall, with nothing but his pure strength to keep me there. I had such an amazing man, sexy and strong, and it made me feel safe even as it thrilled me.
Not that I ever expected to need him to physically defend me. This wasn’t the Wild West or anything. But it was still just so—so lovely, to know that while I was in his arms, nothing could get to me.
His fingers curled into my thighs and dug in deep as he thrust into me. The soft noises we made filled the empty room and made it all that much hotter. They were so small and intimate, little gasps and grunts, the soft slide of sweat-soaked skin against skin, the rustle and drag of clothing. If I closed my eyes and just listened to those noises, I was sure I could come, just on my own. They were that intoxicating, that sexy.
I held on tight as Keith kissed along my neck and my jaw, the slope of my shoulder, burying his face between my breasts as he continued to thrust inside of me. Gravity helped to do the trick, keeping him deep inside me, spearing me on his huge cock, and all I could do was squirm and take it as he fucked me.
My orgasm almost took me by surprise, sneaking up on me and I couldn’t even scream, choking on my ecstasy as I shuddered to completion.
Even as Keith filled me, though, fucking me through his own orgasm, I could feel his come sliding down the inside of my thighs and I remembered the reason this had all started—I had been distracting him from the fact that I wasn’t drinking.
My Best Friend's Daddy (Forbidden Temptations) Page 12
