“Agreed. Give me fifteen and I’ll be there.”
~ ~ ~
At exactly the fifteen-minute mark, Athena appeared at the East Entrance lobby. “Hi.”
Mark held open the door leading to the beach, and she proceeded through it. She’d gone casual. Black yoga pants and a racer back T-Shirt that hugged her luscious curves. ‘It’s Go Time’ was emblazoned on her chest in big white letters.
Hell, yeah. Go time, indeed. “Nice shirt.”
“Sorry I didn’t wear something nicer. Didn’t plan on having another work consultation tonight. I’d planned on taking the evening off.”
“It wasn’t a complaint, believe me. I love it.”
She shot him a sideways glance as they ambled along the boardwalk from the resort to the beach. When they crossed over the dunes and made their way down the steps to the sand, Athena kicked off her flip-flops and bent to pick them up, carrying them. “So, what’s going on? How did the date with Daphne go?”
“You haven’t talked to her yet?” He kicked his shoes off and left them near the bottom of the wooden stairs.
“No, I haven’t.”
“Mmmmm. Well . . .” He drifted off as they wandered a short distance down the beach.
“That’s all you have to say?” She watched him closely. “Or did you convince her to take you on, even though you were playing with me back there, less than an hour ago? Got your perfect woman secured now?”
Mark didn’t miss the scorn and the hurt. “No, I didn’t convince her. And my idea of perfection has changed.”
He strode to the edge of the surf and faced the ocean.
She followed to stand by him, toes in the water while the sea foamed around their ankles. “What do you mean?”
He turned to her. “Athena, I’m firing you. This isn’t working for me.”
“What?” Her jaw dropped open. “Excuse me? I’m pretty sure I didn’t hear you right. You’re firing me?”
“Yep.”
“Why would you do that? This, as you call it, is the only thing getting you anywhere close to actually dating someone. And isn’t that Jamie’s prerequisite for going to college? That you hook up with someone long-term? Or have you forgotten?”
“Nope.”
“Can you talk in more than single words?”
“Yes.” He bit down on his bottom lip to remain serious.
“Why would you fire me?” Her eyes were snapping now. “You do realize I have a hundred-percent success rate. No one has ever fired me. You’re going to ruin my reputation and my success rate.”
He scoffed. “Yeah, right. Like my failure could ever tarnish your business. Everyone in this town and at Essence knows what a hopeless cause I’ve been from the start. No one expected me to succeed. They know how unhappy I’ve been since . . .” He couldn’t invoke Sarah’s name right now, not when he planned to pursue something with Athena. He cleared his throat instead.
“Fuck them,” she snapped, taking up his cause.
“I’m firing you so I can do this.” He palmed her neck and drew her close, his lips seeking hers in the dark. She melted into the kiss. Liquid heat and velvet in his mouth. Wet, hot, smooth, and silky.
He didn’t ever want to stop kissing her. His fingers trailed over her back, before he cupped her ass and molded her body to his, deepening the kiss. Then, sliding his hand into the front of her yoga pants, he found her wet core. Stroked her.
She responded, body arching into his as he slipped his other hand to her breast and thumbed her hard nipple beneath the cotton fabric of her shirt.
She moaned into his mouth, never breaking contact. Her arms around his neck held him tight to her.
“Is that a yes?” He pulled back, his forehead pressed to hers, her hot breath still in his face.
She growled.
“Eh, eh, eh.” He kissed the corner of her mouth. “That’s highly frowned upon. Use your words, babe.”
“You stop now, and I’ll never forgive you.”
He grinned against her mouth. “Mmmm. I like those words.”
Then there were no more words. No need for them, as his mouth sealed hers. He backed her into a cabana, hidden in the dark. White, billowy fabric fluttered in the breeze at the four base poles. A huge rattan mat covered the entire floor and an oversized chaise lounge took up a corner. A low table sat off to the side between the chaise and another oversized chair.
A blanket draped the chaise. He grabbed it and threw it on the mat, pulling her down with him.
She peeled off her yoga pants, then ripped her shirt off. She lay on the mat in her bra and panties. The most gorgeous sight he’d ever seen in his life.
He lowered himself beside her, and trailed a hand down her bare skin, making her squirm and writhe.
She undid the front of her bra and her perfect breasts spilled out. He leaned in to take one nipple captive in his mouth, sucking it deep, while he pinched the other gently. She arched off the blanket and mewled. Damn, he loved how responsive she was to him. This kind of passion, he could get used to. Every fucking day of his life.
“Touch me.” Her words came out a sob.
“I am touching you.” He tweaked her nipple.
“No. I need you inside me.” She outlined the bulge of his hard cock under his zipper.
And he didn’t need any further encouragement. He shucked his jeans and underwear in one move and knelt between her bent legs, pushing her knees wide. She splayed open deliciously before him. He lowered his head, unable to resist a taste of her.
She screamed softly.
“Yeah, baby, let it all out.” He licked her again, suckling her clit until she was wound tight, then thrusting his tongue between her wet lips. She tasted like heaven. She exploded on his tongue, and he lapped her up.
Unable to wait any longer to bury his cock inside her, he drew back. She cried out at the loss.
“Ssshhhh. You’ll like this better, baby. I promise.” He eased his hard, throbbing cock into her tight opening. Slowly. Half an inch by half an inch. She wriggled to take him deeper.
“Wait.” He didn’t want to come too soon.
She paused.
“Gimme a minute. I want to make this good for you.” After a moment, he thrust deep, and she came off the mat to meet him. Hot. Eager.
“Yes. Just like that,” she purred, squeezing his shaft with her core muscles.
He groaned. “So fucking sweet. And. Tight.” He could barely get the words out over the burst of pleasure he experienced.
“Mmmm.”
He moved slow. Deliberate. Building a rhythm. Tension ratcheting up in her like a clock winding tight, she was about to explode. Amazing he could read her so fast.
She gasped, holding on. “Oh God.”
“That’s it, baby. Let it go.” He coached her in a soft, commanding voice. “Come hard for me.”
And she did, releasing a long soft wail. Her warmth soaked his cock. He continued to thrust, determined to give her prolonged satisfaction and pleasure. She tightened immediately.
“Fuck, yeah,” he gritted out. Fighting back his own release, he powered through, thrusting, orchestrating her next orgasm.
She captured his face, a hand on either side, drawing him down to her mouth in a hot French kiss that he was sure touched his soul. “Take me, I’m yours,” she whispered.
“All mine,” he grunted, then growled, riding his own orgasm hard and fast until they both went up in a blaze of glory, his hot seed spilling into her just as her whole body seized and she clenched tight around him, bathing him in her sweetness once again. Mingling, burning fiercely, totally on fire.
They rode the waves out together until they were both panting.
Mark rolled over so they were both lying on their backs on the
mat, side by side. He turned his head to look at her. “You okay?”
Her breasts were still heaving with labored breathing.
“Yeah. I’m good.” She gasped out the words and reached for tissues on the low table to clean herself up. For a few seconds there was silence as she wiped carefully.
“Mmmm hmmm. How good?” He didn’t wait for an answer, because he was ready for onslaught number two. And by the flare of her nostrils, and the scent of her arousal, he knew she was ready, too.
He turned on his side, and trailed a hand over one breast to tweak her nipple.
She arched, moaning, and dropped the tissues.
He continued to caress her, slowly sliding his palm down her abdomen, as though moving through thick honey to find her sweet spot. He dipped a finger into her liquid heat and she purred.
Mark kissed her satiny skin, following the same path his hand had taken. She tasted sweet on his tongue. He loved the soft sounds she made in response to him. This was power, knowing he could bring her pleasure. Again and again. Make her fall apart underneath him. Bring her totally to life by responding to him and his touch.
Unbridled passion was such a gift.
One he would not give up or return unexplored.
He moved between her legs, ran his hands under her toned thighs, and lifted her knees over his shoulders, leveraging her and giving him the best access to her core. He inhaled her scent. It made him instantly hard. Why was it he couldn’t get enough of this woman? She drove him nuts. He felt out of control and slightly out of his mind with her. All he wanted to do was consume her. Fuck her. Make her his. And never stop.
“Please,” she gasped. “No torture.” Her words did sound pained.
“Only torture for a few minutes, babe. Then lots of pleasure, I promise.” He proceeded to show her by teasing her lips, first one side, then the other with his tongue. She squirmed. He held her hips down so she was no longer a moving target. He flattened his tongue and ran it over her clit.
“Yes. That. More.” She begged in a raspy soft voice that had him wanting to please her and have her shatter into a million tiny pieces against his lips.
He suckled the nub into his mouth. Starting the pressure light, he teased with his tongue while he sucked.
“Mark.” She moaned. “Gawd, yes.”
Her words spurred him on. He increased the intensity, alternating between licking, kissing, and sucking so that she bucked against his face trying to find her satisfaction. Her tension increased, pulling her tight.
He plunged two fingers into her hot core, stroking her G-spot until she came undone. Her soft whine made him want to prolong her pleasure. He slid up her body and into her, his engorged cock immediately encased in her tight wetness. As he moved, she thrust her hips up, meeting him demand for demand, clenching him.
“Fuck. You are so tight.”
“So good,” she murmured.
“Athena, open your eyes.”
They fluttered open, her gaze meeting his. Passion swirled in their depths. He saw the exact moment her orgasm took hold of her. Her mouth rounded in a pretty O and her entire body clenched.
He thrust harder, deeper, bringing her to another orgasm before his own crashed down on him.
Mark pressed his forehead to hers. In that moment, they were one, their souls reaching beyond their solitary existence to touch each other. Obliterating the loneliness. In that moment, he had no doubt this was the woman for him. His true soul mate.
He pressed his lips to her temple.
“I love you.” She whispered the words.
He stilled and pulled back.
Her eyes had widened and a soft, vulnerable, almost scared look had pushed away desire to leave a sweet vulnerability.
He stilled. Early on, she’d said she didn’t want a man to fall in love with her immediately. All men did that, and he was determined not to do the same. He did love her, but he couldn’t tell her. It was too soon. She’d freak. But she’d said it. Did that change the rules?
Fuck, he wished he knew how to deal with women better. Why couldn’t they come with a manual? “You said you love me. I thought this wasn’t about love?”
“You’re right.” She shrugged, her mouth firmed. “It’s not.”
“O-o-o-kay, then.” What else did he say. He had no clue what she wanted.
Athena struggled to get out from under him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say I love you . . . It just slipped out. Heat of the moment sex, that’s all.”
“Wait, dammit.” He captured her wrists and held her hands above her head, pinning her down. “What’s going on? You’re god-damned confusing, woman. You don’t want me to love you, you want me to love you. Figure it out for Christ’s sake and let me know. With your words.”
“I’ve got to go.” She wiggled to get free.
“No, not yet. You’ll hear me out. You’ve been telling me all along how I need to communicate better, so, by God, you’re going to listen. I’m not like other men. I’m trying to show I’m different here. That I don’t just rush into a rash declaration of love for you. I did not fall in love with you on sight. If you remember, I didn’t like you at the start, and I wasn’t afraid to tell you. I am different than all the other guys in your life.”
She stopped struggling. “I always liked you.”
“You did? Even though I was a bear?”
“Yes. Even then.” The expression on her face held irony as one corner of her delectable mouth lifted.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” she asked, eyes lighting with hope.
“Misjudging you so badly.” He kissed her softly on the mouth. A sweet, light kiss.
She moved her head, ending the kiss, panic evident in her eyes. “But you don’t love me.”
It wasn’t a question. It was a statement of fact.
“I never said that.” What would send her running faster, him admitting he’d fallen in love with her, or him remaining silent? “I don’t think you’re ready to hear what I have to say.”
“And what would you say? Hypothetically?” Her voice wobbled.
Maybe he could talk his way around it. Remain ambiguous. “You are everything I’ve always wanted in a woman but had no idea I needed.”
She huffed at him teasingly and rolled her eyes. “You’re just telling me that because you’re naked and want to get lucky again.” She looked slightly relieved.
“I do. I’m still hard. You have that effect on me. I want to keep making love to you.”
“Show me.” She wrapped her legs around him and he slipped inside her, easy and methodic, his eyes never leaving hers, her panting breath hot in his face. He never wanted to let this woman go. Ever.
His words must have calmed her. She wasn’t ready to bolt anymore. They both understood sex.
This time their lovemaking was slow, sweet, and tender. And when Athena came, she squeezed her eyes shut. A tear slid over her cheek. He brushed it away with his lips. “Ssshhh. It’s going to be okay, I promise.”
She buried her nose in his neck and held on.
Mark wanted to tell her he loved her with all his damned heart, but he couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t run fast and far if he did. He wrapped his arms around her, protective, even though the intense emotions made him feel out of control.
With her, he knew there’d never be any control. He was okay with that. Maybe. But was she?
He kissed her softly, then pulled back. “You okay?”
She nodded.
“Let’s see if this relationship has legs. If it will work beyond tomorrow or next week. Can you give me that? We’ve got crazy chemistry together.”
“Crazy chemistry is explosive, especially in bed. And it’s lust, not love.” She corrected her earlier admonition.
He chuckled. “Call it what you will, woman. But say you’ll do it with me.” He leveled a serious look at her then turned on a charming grin. “Come on. You know you want to.”
She looked away, a little shy. “You fired me, why should I give you a chance?”
“Yes, so I could date you.”
“Sex is not a date.”
“What is it then?”
“Sex.”
He rasped, “No, it’s more than sex. Let’s see if we can make this work. I’d bet good money we can.”
She didn’t say anything for several long moments.
Mark’s heart thundered in his chest, ready for outright rejection. Why couldn’t she see the potential? Why couldn’t she see they’d be great together? That he loved her and that he’d be good for her? She was the best relationship coach in the country, and she couldn’t see love right in front of her own face. Dammit. Women were complicated.
“Okay.”
“Okay? Really?” His smile broadened. “You’re going to give me a chance? Give us a chance?”
“When I say yes, and it doesn’t happen very often, I mean yes. I’m willing to give this budding friendship a chance.”
“Friendship?”
She lifted her brows. “Take it or leave it.”
It was a start. He’d convince her he loved her within a short time. You didn’t have this kind of sexual connection and not fall in love with someone. Besides, she’d already let the cat out of the bag. She loved him, even if she reneged on what she’d said because she was scared. She didn’t trust easily.
He’d change that.
“You won’t regret it, I promise.”
“Uh-huh. Famous last words.” She kissed him full on the mouth and rolled him, putting her on top.
And damned if he didn’t have at least another round left in him before he called it a night.
Absolutely no regrets.
Chapter 10
Heard it Through the Grapevine
Mark was pretty pleased with himself the next morning as he stepped out of his house. It was a glorious day and Athena had agreed to give their relationship a chance. Yes, she called it a friendship. But he had high hopes he could convince her otherwise in no time. He was off to check in on her at Essence now, before heading to the brewery.
Make Me a Match (The Soul Mate Tree Book 5) Page 12
