by Dawn Atkins
A woof made her look toward the screen door. Matt stood with Radar. “Enough work,” Matt said, coming inside, leaving Radar on the porch.
“Not quite,” she said. “I have a great idea. There’s a business luncheon tomorrow and I want you to come with me and do some networking.”
“We’re on vacation, Candy.” He came to stand behind her and nuzzle her neck. Goose bumps shot down her arm. The dog whined outside. “I had ten messages on my cell from work. Guess what I’m doing about that?”
She turned to him for his answer.
“Not a thing.”
“Do you think that’s wise?”
“I don’t care.” He leaned down to kiss her. “Forget work. Forget luncheons. I want you in bed.”
His urgency sent hot fire zooming through her. “First, promise you’ll come to the lunch tomorrow.”
“You drive a hard bargain.” He ran his thumbs across her nipples through her top, making her shiver.
“Do you want to see what I’ve got so far?”
“Oh, yeah,” he said, but he wasn’t talking about Ledger Lite’s marketing plan. He kissed down her neck, running his tongue across a tendon in a way that melted her to butter. “Show me what you’ve got.” He lifted her out of her chair.
She loved it and wanted to dissolve into his arms, but she had to stick to her plan. Somehow. “I had a thought about building Paycheck Plus sales, too,” she said, knowing she’d never get him to look at the computer.
“Hmmm?” He seemed to struggle to focus.
“We need to boost word-of-mouth with a wow moment.”
“Okay…” He stopped kissing her, but his mouth was dangerously close.
“The software is so great, so easy to use, that users take it for granted,” she said, gaining enthusiasm as she spoke. “It needs a whiz-bang hook for users to buzz about.”
“Sure,” he said, running his hands down her arms, reaching around to grasp her bottom.
“That’s the incredible thing. It has a whiz-bang hook. Gina told me about a tickler alarm that no one uses because it’s buried in the manual.”
“Yeah?” He stopped moving his fingers.
“When they find it, people love it. It’s a little complex, but if we set up a podcast for key contacts and show them the steps, they’ll talk it up for us.” Noticing his dreamy expression, she stopped. “Are you even listening?”
“Sure. I’m listening…and watching your lips…and kissing you.” He kissed her, slow and steady. “And thinking about making love to you. Multitasking.” He pulled her close and pressed himself against her, stoking the heat building inside her.
“You’re catching on,” she breathed, kissing him back. She’d accomplished enough to take a break, right? “So what do you think of my idea about the podcast?”
“It’s great. All your ideas are great,” he murmured.
“I have another one,” she said, breaking away long enough to lock the door for privacy, though Ellie and Sara would be out for hours. The dog, meanwhile, had given up on them.
Returning to where Matt stood, Candy sat on the sofa and pulled him close, running her palm along his erection through his trunks.
Matt took a rough breath.
She slid his suit down to his ankles and grasped his cock.
“Like I said,” Matt breathed, “I like all your ideas.”
She gave him a long, slow lick before closing her lips around the head of his cock, taking him deep into her mouth.
“Ah, Candy.” The reverent whisper turned her on. He was warm and tasted of salt and man and she loved the way he put his hands to her face as she worked over him.
She relaxed her throat and sucked him deeper until he groaned in pleasurable agony.
He stroked her hair, while she sucked and tugged, cupping his balls in one hand, using her other to grip his shaft low and tight.
In a few moments, he stilled, ready to come. She gave a last pull, her lips tight, her fingers squeezing low, inviting him to spurt into her mouth.
She swallowed his warm fluid, then looked up at him.
His face was so full of feeling, she was startled. It was more than pleasure. It was connection, closeness, a new intimacy that she realized she felt, too.
Matt helped her up and into his arms and he kissed her softly, holding her close, telling her with his arms and lips how much she meant to him.
Together, they unfolded the couch to reveal the bed, then stripped each other until they lay face-to-face. Matt ran a hand down the side of her body, then found where she ached and stroked her until she was moaning and sliding against his fingers.
He entered her then and her body stretched to take him in, eager for each thrust and slide. Together they climbed toward the peak, each stroke bringing them closer and closer. She never wanted this to be over.
Her orgasm pushed through her in a hot, hard wave. Matt surged into her, her name on his lips. She collapsed against him, feeling his heart pound against her chest.
This was so nice. Heaven.
But even heaven got old, right?
After they recovered, Matt suggested they go for a swim.
“I’ll get my suit,” she said, pushing out of the bed to bend over her suitcase.
Matt stood behind her, looking on. “Wear the white one,” he said, cupping her backside possessively, running his tongue along her ear. “It looks good against your skin. And those strings make you easy to get to.” He ran his fingers down her slit, making her feel faint.
Somehow, they both managed to put their suits on and head out. They found Radar on the beach, as if he was waiting for them, and played with him for a while, enjoying the breeze, the waves, the seagulls’ calls, the warm sun.
Then they swam, beyond nearly everyone. Candy felt so strong, she thought she could swim to the next beach town. They stopped at the reef where they’d stood that first night. Matt dived down.
She felt a tug on both sides of her suit bottom, then it was gone, and Matt rose with it in his teeth.
“Matt!” She looked around, hoping no one could see.
He took it out of his mouth. “You’re safe. I checked.” Then he found her with his fingers. “Mmm. How’s that?”
“Lovely,” she said, practically losing feeling in her legs.
“No shrieking, now, or a lifeguard might try to save you.”
“I don’t want to be saved,” she said. “Ever.” Pleasure built in waves like the ocean that passed by them, lifting, then setting them down again together.
When her climax hit, Candy put her mouth on Matt’s shoulder to muffle her cry and clung to him, wrapping her legs around his body, so happy to be with him like this.
“That was nice,” he said, kissing her, cuddling her close. “How about some sun?” They returned to shore and found a sheltered area too rocky for swimmers, where they spread their big, blue-striped towels between protective boulders.
Matt fished the sunscreen from her bag and massaged the warm liquid into her back and legs.
When it was her turn, she worked the cream into his back and, when he turned over, his chest and thighs, aware that his erection was mere inches from her fingers.
So tempting.
Checking to be sure no one could see them, she slid her fingers into his trunks and stroked him.
He turned lowered eyes her way. “You’ll get us arrested,” he said lazily.
“Not if you’re quiet,” she said.
“I’ll do my best.” His face tightened with the pleasure of what she was doing to him.
She rubbed him in earnest, leaning over him to hide her movements. His eyes glittered with pleasure and he watched her as she slid her fingers up and down, over and over, feeling him tighten and tense. When he reached climax, she shifted the towel to catch his release.
“That was great,” he said, pulling her onto his body.
“Can you believe we’re doing this?” She rested her chin on a fist on his chest, watching his face. The sun warmed her ba
ck, the rhythmic crash of the waves soothed her. Distant shouts and laughter were delicious punctuation to the moment.
“It seems like a dream.” He ran his fingers through her hair.
“I know. Unreal.”
“I’ve never done anything like this before.”
“You mean had sex on the beach?” She grinned.
“That either,” he said. “I’ve never been so caught up with anyone.”
Not with Jane? But she wouldn’t ask, didn’t want to remember the other woman in his life or what she might think about their vacation fling.
“How about you?” Matt asked. “Have there been any serious guys in your life?” He ran his fingers along her cheek.
“Serious ones? Never.” She joked away the question, but she could feel Matt wanted a real answer.
“You know what I mean. Boyfriends.”
“On a short-term basis, sure. Nothing too major.” She thought about the one time she’d been hurt. “Except there was one guy in college. Brad. We had a thing for a couple of years. We ended up friends though.”
“What happened?”
“We were on and off a lot, and eventually…You know how it goes.”
“No, I don’t. How did it go?”
“He wanted to get married and I…didn’t.” Not exactly. It had been late in their senior year and they’d agreed to take another break from each other. Three weeks later, Brad was engaged to a business major he’d had classes with.
Candy had been surprisingly hurt. She hadn’t wanted marriage, but if she’d known he did, she’d have at least moved in with him. They were alike—both with wild streaks—and they’d had a lot of fun together. In the end, she’d swallowed her pride and actually asked him, Why not me?
Brad had been mystified, almost laughed. You don’t want that, he’d said. Marriage isn’t you.
He was more or less right, but it hurt that he hadn’t considered her marriage material, had simply written her off. It made her feel limited by her reputation, trapped by it.
Years later, she’d decided the problem was that she was spoiled. She wanted it all—even if it didn’t suit her.
“That happens,” Matt said, reading something in her face. Did she look hurt? God she hoped she was over that. “For it to work, you have to want the same thing, have compatible goals. Once you get past the heat and settle into a routine, I mean.”
“Why would you want to get past the heat?” she said. “And who wants routine? Talk about killing the joy.”
“There’s joy in the familiar,” he said. “What’s life, if not the day-to-day moments?”
“But that’s boring. You have to shake things up, keep each other guessing.”
“I’m not surprised you’d say that. You remind me of a girlfriend I had.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. She liked to shake things up, too. As a matter of fact, she was into roller coasters.”
“I can relate.”
“You would have liked her,” he mused.
“What happened?”
“She shook things up.” He gave a wry smile. “She warned me, though. She called it emotional ADD. Of course, I thought I could fix her. I couldn’t.”
“You were young.”
“Yeah.” He gave a soft laugh. “So, you think you’ll ever settle down?” He asked as though it would be a long shot, which gave her that locked-in feeling, that sense she was trapped by what other people thought about her.
“Sure. Why not? When the time is right.”
“And the guy. He’d have to be the right guy—someone into Silly String and karaoke and the limbo. Someone who’ll keep you guessing.”
“You got it,” she said, knowing that proved how wrong they were for each other, not that it mattered. That wasn’t even on the table. She rolled off him and braced herself with her elbows.
He did the same, so they were lying side by side, looking out to sea.
“Speaking of shaking things up,” he said slowly, staring at something in the sky. He pointed toward a bright spot of color. “I know what we’re doing next.”
She realized it was a parasail. Two people dangled there, miles high, dots with legs against the blue sky, the boat far, far below. Candy’s heart lurched and she felt the swirling vertigo she got whenever she found herself on a balcony.
“You want us to parasail?” she asked, her mouth dry.
“Have you done it before? I never have.”
“No, no. I haven’t. Um, not yet.” She swallowed over a suddenly tight throat, not wanting to admit her fear.
“Then it’s perfect. Something new we can do together.” He got to his feet and reached for her hand. He seemed excited he’d found a way to shake things up.
He had no idea.
She pushed past the quiver in her stomach, the constriction in her chest, how dizzy she felt and said, “I can’t wait.”
Maybe it wouldn’t be as scary as it looked.
MATT PAID THE SPEEDBOAT owner for a tandem parasail ride and before long they were putting on yellow life jackets while the boat zoomed out into the ocean. He grinned at Candy, delighted he’d found some thrill she’d not yet had. Then he noticed her fingers were shaking as she clicked the clasps.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I just can’t get this.” She fumbled the bottom latch, so he clicked it into place for her. Her smile was tentative and her face pale.
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”
“I guess lunch didn’t sit well in my stomach.”
“Do you want to cancel? We can come back tomorrow.”
“No. We’re here. It’ll be great. Once we get…up there.” She forced a look that was as determined as her voice was weak.
Before he could pursue the contradiction, one of the crew called them to climb into the side-by-side harnesses that reminded him of a toddler’s playground swing.
Matt put his hand around Candy’s on her upright line, surprised to find she had the rope in a death grip. Her body was trembling, too. “Are you cold?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Just excited.”
No, he realized abruptly. She was scared. How had he not noticed? “Candy, if you’re nervous, we can quit right now.”
“No! I’m a little jumpy about heights is all. I’ll be fine once we get moving.” She swallowed hard and forced a shaky smile. “This is an adventure.”
“We’ll do something else that doesn’t upset you.” He leaned forward to call to the crew.
“Don’t you dare!” Candy said fiercely. She leveled her gaze at him. “I want to try this. We’re going up. It’s an adventure.”
The guy asked if they were ready.
Candy shot him a thumbs-up and before Matt could intervene, the crewman released the winch and let out the tether. Slowly, Matt and Candy rose, up and away from the boat. It was an incredible sensation. He felt weightless and free, but he kept his gaze glued to Candy, whose eyes were shut tight.
His heart lurched. He should have stopped this. Forget her pride. No way would he allow her to be terrorized on his whim.
He was about to signal the crew to pull them in when she opened her eyes and smiled cautiously. “This is…nice.” She looked gingerly around, then glanced down. That made her gasp and squeeze her eyes shut again.
“Candy, let’s quit. You got up here. You proved yourself. You can say you’ve parasailed.”
“No,” she said, eyes tight, pale as milk beneath the pink of her sunburn. “Baby steps is how they fix phobias. I’m working through it. I just won’t look down. Right away, anyway.”
The woman was being her own therapist. “You’re amazing, you know that.”
“I’m just me,” she said, steadying her gaze on him. The wind blew her hair away from her sweet face. She looked scared and brave, vulnerable and fierce all at once and emotion built inside him.
He watched her build up her courage, keeping her eyes open for a few more seconds each time. Before long, she let out a
huge yell of triumph. “Yeah! I did it!” She released her rope long enough to squeeze his hand. “This is great. Thanks, Matt.” She smiled, her eyes bright, her voice warm with gratitude.
Looking at her like this, radiant with courage and triumph, Matt’s heart flipped over in his chest.
“What?” she asked him. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” he said, but that wasn’t true. Something was up, all right. Two-hundred feet in the air, he’d fallen for Candy.
Which was insane. And impossible. Even if they didn’t work together, which was trouble enough, Matt had no interest in the emotional roller coaster that Candy would consider normal. He liked things calm and stable. She liked to shake things up. They were apples and oranges, oil and water, as she’d said. And all the lighter fluid in the world wouldn’t change that.
Still, as he watched Candy laugh, head thrown back, reveling in the moment, love billowed inside him, taut and broad as the parasail that held them aloft, as if it planned to keep him in the air forever.
He knew then that it was too late for good sense, for willpower, for turning back. He was in love with Candy and now he had to figure out what to do about it.
12
CANDY LOOKED OUT across the sky, careful not to look down, thrilled to be floating on air, surrounded by blue, blue sky. She’d not only conquered her fear, but found a new thrill—parasailing. It was fantastic…electrifying…She felt so alive. And so grateful to Matt for giving her this gift.
“I love this,” she said, looking right at him. And I love you.
Uh-oh. Bad idea. Just an overflow of her delight, right? Except Matt looked at her so warmly, it was as though she’d actually said the words and he’d said them back to her.
That was scary. She felt dizzy and faint, the way she’d expected to feel floating so far above the water, but didn’t. Not anymore. She’d gotten used to it. Could she get used to these feelings for Matt?
She became suddenly aware that they’d stopped moving forward and had begun to drop in altitude. “What’s happening?” she said. “Are we going down?”
