by Sara Daniel
Justin swallowed and looked over the pool again. Holly was sitting on a rock bench under the water, submerged up to her neck. Her eyes were closed, and her face was lifted to the sun. She looked so pure and peaceful, he knew he had no right to disturb her and create havoc in her life. The water rippled around her, distorting her pale skin but leaving no doubt that she was indeed naked. He lifted his gaze to her face again and saw that she had opened her eyes and was watching him.
“This is going to sound ridiculous, but Myron’s cards told me to come here. If you don’t want me—” He stopped. He’d thought he could offer to give her privacy. But assuming he had the enough honor in him to walk away from her wet naked body, his knee couldn’t handle the long walk back to the lodge right now. “Do you mind if I share the pool? I’ll stay on the other side.”
“Are you done talking?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Good. Are going to take your clothes off?”
He looked into the rippling water. Clothes on or not, it was going to be a damn challenge to stay across the pool from her. “Yeah.”
“Good.” She kept watching him.
He lowered himself onto one of the rocks around the edge of the pool. He took off his shirt first and tossed it next to her clothes.
Holly’s gaze roamed over him. She’d never been shy about how much she enjoyed the hard muscles of his arms and chest. It helped his ego to see that at least something was still the same.
She pushed away from her underwater bench and glided through the water until she reached the edge where she’d left her clothes. She lifted herself high enough out of the water to give him a side view of her bare breast.
His fingers twitched. He wanted to touch her, needed to feel her soft skin and watch her nipple pucker in his hands. She was the only thing soft and sweet and real he’d ever had. If he was smart he wouldn’t question why she was with him now and would be grateful for whatever she was willing to give him.
He tossed aside his shorts and boxers and eased his legs into water that was warmer than he expected. The minerals bubbled against his skin. Carefully, he scooped a handful of water and dribbled it over his knee. Instead of making him wince and tighten up, his muscles relaxed with the cleansing clear freshness.
Holly glided through the water toward him, submerged up to her shoulders again, a tan square held above the water in her hand. “Sage gave me some soap to wash your knee. She said it will help.” She wrinkled her nose.
She didn’t want to touch his knee, and he wasn’t going to make her. He held out his hand. “Give me the soap. I’m not going to make you touch it.”
She put her other hand in his outstretched hand and squeezed. “You’re misinterpreting me. I want to touch you, all of you, even your knee. My doubts have to do with the effectiveness of Sage’s herbs. But it can’t hurt to try, right? If we start there, we can move on to other parts you might enjoy me touching more.”
He held tight to her hand. “Why don’t we just start with the good parts?”
Her smile bloomed bright, so beautiful it nearly blinded him. Then she laughed, and he was drowning too. “It’s called foreplay, Justin.”
She slid her hand free and sank entirely under the water. Her hands circled his right ankle and slowly lifted it. She rose above the water and looked at him, her face dripping, her eyes shining with mischief yet concerned. “Does this hurt?”
“No.” What was killing him was sitting here and not reaching for her. Hell, they were both naked. The last thing he wanted her paying attention to was his pathetic destroyed joint.
“Don’t lie to me.” She balanced his calf on the top of her thigh and slowly began rubbing her hands, one with the bar of soap, along the sides of his leg. She took the slippery square and very carefully circled it around his patella and around the backside of his knee.
He watched her face, waiting for the disgust and revulsion or at the very least relief that she’d done what she’d thought was required of her and had eased her conscience that she’d tried to fix his broken, sorry self.
Holly released his leg but kept it balanced on her thigh at the surface of the water. She slowly lathered the soap in her hands and then set the bar on his abdomen. She cupped his swollen knee in her foamy hands and began rubbing.
He flinched as she smoothed her palm over the long permanent line of the surgeon’s scar.
Her fingers paused. “Am I hurting you?”
“No.” The word came automatically, but it surprised him to realize this time he was telling the truth. He was uncomfortable with anyone touching him there. It disgusted him to look at it, let alone bandage it or medicate it.
His knee didn’t hurt, but Holly’s touch did make him feel more vulnerable than he’d felt writhing in pain during the shootout or listening to the doctor in that hospital room. She was reaching him in a place a bullet couldn’t hit, that a surgeon couldn’t stitch. The worst part of it was he liked it.
He closed his eyes and allowed her soft whispering fingers and the smooth tingling of the herbs to soak through his skin. Her hand brushed his stomach as she picked up the soap to lather her hands again and repeat the process.
She cupped her hands and trickled the warm mineral water over his leg. Then she bent over him and gently pressed her lips to the exact point where the bullet had entered his patella. She was not revolted or horrified. Instead, she was reverent, as intense as a surgeon, as if she believed she really could heal him.
Watching her, he nearly believed it too, at least until he remembered that his career was over. Even if he was miraculously healed, it was too late for him to go back to the life he knew.
Holly knew two things for sure. Justin was uncomfortable having anyone pay attention to his knee, and he was even more uncomfortable having someone else take charge of what was going on. Well, he’d dictated their whole relationship, from how often they saw each other to when it should end. She was more than ready for her turn to run the show.
She lathered her hands with the soap one more time. Slowly, she rubbed from the sole of his foot to his ankle, around his calf, over his slightly bent knee and then down the back of his muscled thigh.
The closer she moved her fingers toward his buttocks, the more his breath sucked in. He might fight her touch, but he wanted it. He wasn’t happy she’d followed him to the island, but he wanted her. He had no intentions of keeping her in his life permanently, but right now what she was doing mattered more to him than anything else.
She leaned over and touched her lips to his inner thigh where it met the surface of the water. Her wet hair fell across his stomach, and he groaned. “You know what you’re asking for, don’t you?”
She lifted her head. “I’m not asking for anything. I’m giving it to you.”
“How much are you giving?”
He might have thought he was challenging her, but all she heard was vulnerability. All she saw was hope in his eyes. Stupid man. Hadn’t he realized she would have given him everything before he rejected her? Instead of responding with words, she bent her head over the tip of his cock and swirled her lips around it.
He jerked in surprise.
She gently but firmly encircled him with her hand.
“I’m going to come before you have a chance to enjoy anything,” Justin pointed out, his voice unsteady.
That suited her purposes perfectly. Not that she didn’t want what he could offer her. She did. Her core pulsed with how badly she wanted it. But if she gave all the pleasure, she controlled everything too. She slid her tongue around his cock. Then she lifted her head and raised her body above the water, so she could see the reaction on his face.
His thumbs pressed against her nipples, shooting a shock of pleasure straight down to her core. She pushed her foot against the underwater bench, leaning into his touch.
He reached his hands behind her, squeezing her ass and drawing her to him. He took her nipple into his mouth. He suckled and swirled his tongue.
T
his wasn’t what she’d wanted to happen. Except it felt like he was giving her exactly what she wanted. She braced her hands on his shoulders, her legs going limp in the onslaught of sensation. She wanted to return the pleasure, but all she could do was beg for more. “Yes. Please.”
His fingers spread her labia, allowing the warm water to lap against her vulva. His hot hand pressed against her. All she could think was she wanted more heat, more of him. She pulled her thighs to the tip of his erection.
Justin kissed her breast one more time and then lifted his head. “Where is the hot water coming into the pool?”
She blinked, too blinded by lust to make any sense of the question. “The source of the hot springs? It’s just under the surface. Over there.” She pulled herself free and plunged underwater toward the natural hot water jet. Good God, she gave up control easily. One minute she swore she’d keep it all, and then next she was laid open for him, begging him to take her.
He swam up behind her. She started to turn toward him, but he encircled her with his arms, keeping her back to him. “Breathe with me.”
His erection pressed against her ass. The hot water rushed against her nipples. Justin’s hands covered her stomach and her chest, just as he had during the deep breathing earlier that morning. His stomach pressed against her back as he breathed in.
Her life shrank to heat and water and Justin. She was floating, light and free, and so heavy with need she could barely stand it. He squeezed her breast as she breathed out, and she reached back to grip his thighs.
His hand moved slightly lower on her stomach as they inhaled. All her concentration focused on how much farther he would move during each breath. Exhale, and his other hand caressed her nipple. Inhale, and oh Lord, his fingers were sifting through her pubic hair. Her clit ached for him to stroke it.
She dug her nails into his thighs, trying to bring the hard, hot cock pulsing against her ass inside her. Inhale, and he spread her with his fingers, holding her open as the hot water rushed against her clit. Pleasure hit her hard and fast. She tried to turn to him, but he slid into her from behind, filling her with heat, with him.
She leaned forward, bringing him deeper inside. The cool air and warm water rippled against her nipples as she reached forward the clutch the edge of the pool. The flow from the hot springs titillated her cleft. And Justin, oh Justin. He held her hips firmly as he thrust again and again.
Inhale, exhale, in, out. She gasped and moaned and writhed in unison with him, powerless to move of her own accord. Her world exploded, and she forgot to breathe, forgot everything but the blinding burst of raw sensation that consumed her as he pulsed pure hot pleasure into her.
Holly clung to the edge of the pool, the hot springs jetting against her stomach, as Justin leaned against her back, his arms around her, still wracking her with spasms of pleasure from within.
He surrounded her. He’d taken over her life just as he had from the moment she’d met him. He’d overwhelmed her with so much sensation that she stopped taking an active part in the relationship and simply accepted whatever he gave her. No wonder he’d expected her to accept his decision to walk away with no questions asked. It was how they’d handled everything else between them.
His breathing returned to normal against her back. Holly deliberately inhaled as he exhaled. On that deep breath, she pulled away and swam across the pool.
“Where are you going?”
“To get dressed. It’s nearly dinner time. I don’t know about you, but I’ve worked up an appetite this afternoon.” She flashed what she hoped was a teasing grin over her shoulder.
Justin didn’t smile back and didn’t reply.
She lifted a towel off the rocks to begin drying herself. Justin was still across the pool. She tried to ignore how intently he was watching her. She sat on the ledge and dangled her feet in the warm water while she hooked her bra and pulled her t-shirt on over it.
“Was I too rough?”
Surprise made her raise her head swiftly before she pulled her feet out of the water and began drying her lower half. “Rough? Of course not. You were perfect.”
As always. Too damn perfect, really. What did he need her for?
Holly had said yes. She’d been turned on and hot and ready for him. He’d made her come. But she didn’t want to look at him after it was over, let alone cuddle up to him like she used to.
Justin’s instinct was to blame his knee. Except, she hadn’t shied away from his injury, even when he’d been limping so badly he couldn’t walk. The pain ruled his life, but he hadn’t thought about it the entire time they’d been making love. He knew she hadn’t either.
He made his way slowly across the pool to her. “Do you have a towel for me?”
She handed him one, then busied herself with picking up the remains of the soap. “How is your knee? Do you want to treat it one more time before we go back?”
“Sure, if you come in the water and wash it for me.”
“I’m already dressed.” She didn’t look at him as she slid the soap into the satchel. “Sage put another poultice in here for you to wrap your leg with after you get out.”
He shoved himself up on the edge of the pool and let the cool air blast his overheated body. “You know this means we’re together, right? For the rest of this week, you’re with me.” This week was all he had to give. Without the Army, he no longer had a future.
Finally, she met his gaze. “You’re the only person I came here for. This week has always been about you.”
She didn’t ask for more than he could give. He was grateful but perversely disappointed too. She deserved more. He wanted to be the man that she wanted to have her happily ever after with, even though he knew he couldn’t give it to her.
She walked around the edge of the hot springs toward the waterfall while he dressed and secured the gauze to hold the poultice in place. His knee felt so good he would have forgotten his cane if Holly hadn’t held it out to him. As they walked back to the lodge, it stiffened up, but the discomfort was minor compared to earlier today. Despite tearing it up during his encounter with Tom, it felt more healed than it had at any time since he’d arrived at the Haus.
The closer they got to the lodge the more his nerves shifted into high alert. He automatically scanned the forest for signs of ambush and snipers, and he made sure Holly was at least a step behind him. Cyrus had given his word that the island was safe this afternoon. Justin believed him, but Tom wasn’t going to give up. He would be back. It was just a matter of how soon and how close to the portal he was lurking.
Most everyone was already seated for dinner when they arrived back at the Haus. There were no empty tables. Holly started to head for one in the middle of the room with a couple open chairs, while he was still scanning the faces for any sign of Tom. Tom wasn’t here, but Justin wasn’t going to sit where he couldn’t see the entire room at once.
He took her arm and steered her toward the table with Bob and Esther Gladstone. He had every reason to believe they were as genuine as Holly and as harmless as they seemed last night. In fact, they and Holly picked up their conversation from yesterday without missing a beat.
Not only that, Holly had obviously been thinking about them in the past twenty-four hours. She had a host of suggestions for fulfilling their financial and emotional holes when they returned home. The thing she was most excited about, which they seemed mutually interested in, was bringing them in as part-time security and public relations ambassadors for her clients in Chicago. By the end of dinner, not only was the couple on-board with her ideas, they were ready to adopt her as a surrogate daughter.
“I’ll see you here for dinner tomorrow,” Holly said, as they left the dining room. “Save me a seat if my date makes me late again.” She tossed Justin a flirty wink that relaxed him a little bit, knowing that she clearly intended to spend as much of the week as possible naked with him.
Justin looked around and caught Cemil’s eye.
“The island is well pro
tected tonight. Everyone is safe. Get a good night’s sleep. Check with me tomorrow morning on the status before you go outside,” the empath said. He touched Justin’s arm. “Well, maybe you won’t be sleeping much tonight. Even better.” He winked and then went to talk with the couple that Holly had made friends with, touching them and talking with them with just as much familiarity.
Holly linked her arm with his, and they went up the elevator. He thought they’d have to discuss and debate whose room they would go to, but she went straight to his.
As soon as they were inside the bedroom, Holly pressed him against the wall and kissed him hard. Then she led him to the bed and stripped them both before sinking down on top of him and making love to him until his eyes glazed and his hands went limp and his body pulsed every ounce of his life into her.
If he never had to leave here and return to reality, Justin’s life would be perfect.
Chapter Seven
IN THE MORNING, Holly left as Justin still slept. She returned to her room, showered and dressed. Then she went down to the house computer. She’d never gotten around to checking in with her assistant and client yesterday and had no idea if the crisis was ballooning or had fizzled out. In truth, she was finding it difficult to care either way.
Another guest was already sitting in front of the work station, so once again she was forced to wait. She paced the lobby, trying not to think about how she wished she was back in Justin’s room, waking him with her mouth and hands. She’d taken control of their lovemaking last night, but somehow it hadn’t helped her feel like she had any more control over their relationship.
“Holly,” Myron called to her from the front desk. “What are you doing?”
“I’m waiting for the computer.” She couldn’t help noticing that the batty lady was wearing a name tag that said Faye this morning.
