Adrian slipped a hand up her shirt, finding her bare breast, closing his hand around it. That knot loosened a little. She needed more to ease the tension deep inside her. She wasn’t ready for the end, but it was happening. And really, sex was what they had.
“What do you want from me, Ruby?” His breath was a rasp in her ear. “You want me to wear you out tonight? You wondering if I’ll keep getting hard for you, over and over, all night long? Because I already know the answer.”
His teeth grazed her neck, and she let out a quiet moan. His words flipped a switch in her, and all the tension in her exploded into hot streaks of lust. She was so ready for sex right there on the beach.
Ruby craned her neck to see if they were alone. They weren’t. Farther away, a couple wandered next to the water, holding hands, heading away from them. The woman stopped to pick something out of the sand, and the man stooped down to look at it, his head bent to hers.
Adrian’s hand came to her chin, gently coaxing her gaze back on him. “You really want to think right now? Or do you want something else?” He brushed his fingers over her nipple, then squeezed it, sending sparks of pleasure through her. “If James and Cristina’s names weren’t on the line, we’d do it right here, in the sand. Could you keep quiet while I fuck you, or would the other guests hear us?”
Oh, Lord, the filthy things he whispered were turning her inside out. His cool facade was melting with every word he spoke, and in its place was hunger. For her.
“You wouldn’t dare,” she said, her voice full of challenge. “Not here, in front of everyone.”
His cock pulsed against her and he laughed. “You’re pushing me again, and you can feel how it gets me going.” He flexed his hips against her, his erection rubbing against her clit, shooting a burst of pleasure through her. “I think I know what to do with you.”
Then he was off her, lifting her like a bride.
“What are you doing?”
He didn’t answer, just marched her across the beach and up the steps with a smug smile on his face. He walked them across the deck of the pool, heading straight for the deep end.
“Hey, wait—” Her words were cut off as Adrian dropped her in, fully dressed.
She remembered to close her mouth just as she hit the water. It was cool and refreshing, and she swam to the surface, her clothes weighing her down. She took in a gasp of air and clung to the side with one hand, rubbing the water out of her eyes with the other. She looked up at Adrian, who was now shirtless and working to unbutton his shorts.
“You just threw me in the water with my clothes on?” she said, breathless.
“That’s not a real question, Ruby.” He had that condescending tone from the office, and his smile oozed triumph.
“Asshole,” she muttered. She was caught up in that mix of emotions that was so familiar: frustrated, reluctantly amused, and a lot turned on.
Adrian seem to interpret her silence as hesitation because he added, “I can buy you new clothes if those are ruined.”
She shook her head. “I would never let you off that easily.”
He tipped back his head and laughed. It was deep and unrestrained, a laugh she had never heard, and she found herself smiling. He shook his head. “No, you wouldn’t.” He eased his shorts and boxers down, revealing his growing erection. “I love that about you.”
Ruby froze, her heart jumping, her breath stopped. The words had slipped from his lips so naturally, and now they colored everything between them. Love. Was that word a careless mistake? From a man who was never, ever careless?
Slowly, reluctantly, she met his gaze. His smile had faded a little, and she couldn’t read the expression that was in its place. Was it the same, uneasy combination of surprise, agitation, and whatever else was brewing in her? What they had together wasn’t love, but the word echoed inside, insistent, defiant.
Before Ruby could make sense of the moment, Adrian scrubbed his hands over his face, took a deep breath, and then leaped into the water, cannonball style. She was too surprised to duck as the water splashed over her, drenching her face again. When she wiped the water from her eyes, Adrian was next to her, his face glowing with laughter.
“Damn, that felt good.” He shook his head and water sprayed from his hair, across her face. He reached up to wipe the drips off her cheeks.
“It had the potential to be painful,” she said, glancing down between his legs.
“I was careful.”
She rolled her eyes. “You always are.”
He swam closer, grabbing onto the wall next to her with one hand, his face just out of reach. The word love still rang inside her like a bell, and she didn’t know how to make it stop. He found her thigh with his other hand and closed in for a nip at her bottom lip. “Let’s figure out how to get you out of these clothes.”
He caught the bottom of her shirt, bunching it as he lifted it. She grabbed more of it with her free hand, and together they brought the material over her head. It hit the deck with a splat.
Adrian’s hand glided around her, down her back, and he eased off her shorts and panties, lifting her legs to pull them off. He held them out of the water for a moment, staring at them with a hint of a smile, then set them next to the shirt. He swam behind her, his erection nudging against her rear. Treading water, he unhooked her bra. He came in closer, the warmth of his body at her back, as he eased the bra strap over her shoulder and down her arm.
Was this the last time he’d ever undress her? Uneasiness ran through her, and she bit her lip. No, she couldn’t start thinking that way.
“Are we having pool sex?” she asked, dropping her bra onto the pool deck.
He kissed her neck. “I really hope so. And I think the ledge that’s built into the other side of the pool would be the perfect place for it.”
With a deep breath, he disappeared underwater and started for the shallow end. Ruby pushed off from the side, taking long slow strokes, then flipped over onto her back, stretching her body out, enjoying the water and the sun, and the knowledge that Adrian would be at the other end, waiting for her. When she reached the other side, he was sitting on the ledge. The water came up to his chest.
Ruby swam up to him, straddling him, wrapping her legs around his toned waist. She reached between them, stroking his cock, feeling the difference now that they were in the water.
“Does sex even work in the pool?” she asked. “Everything is much slower.”
He shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out.” His hands settled on her hips. “You ready to try?”
“Mmm. Very ready.”
His teeth grazed her neck, then sank into it, sending a sharp ripple of pleasure through her as he entered her, slowly filling her, pausing when she gasped, giving her time to adjust. It was a different sensation, dreamy and languid. Then, when she was fully seated on him, he leaned forward and kissed her. The kiss was thorough and deep, and her hands tangled in his hair as she pulled him closer, the sensual slide of their tongues stoking her hunger for him. The erotic scrape of his teeth against her lip was a shot of ecstasy, chased with an aching tenderness as he caressed her. Her body was melting in the flames of their kiss, and still she wanted more.
“You feel so good,” he whispered, his lips brushing against her. “I can’t get over how good this is.”
Before she could gather the words to reply, he lifted her and then brought her back down, letting his cock fill her again. It was a slow exploration, so new and different. Adrian’s low grunts each time he entered her added another layer of pleasure. Time faded and she was suspended in this dream, her hands on Adrian’s biceps as they flexed, moved. She closed her eyes, giving herself over to the sensations.
“Take care of me.” The words came out of her mouth again, and before she could take them back, he answered.
“I will, Ruby,” he said, his voice tight. “I will.”
&nb
sp; His words tipped her over the edge, and she let go as her orgasm rippled through her, long and deep, shaking her to the core. Adrian came with a deep groan, his arms closing around her and pulling her tight. She fell against his chest and hung her head on his shoulder. Her eyes fluttered closed as she listened to the thump of his heart.
I will.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE NIGHT WAS WARM, and the light of the moon bounced off the water, casting a bright glow on the deck. Adrian sat on what was now his favorite lounge chair next to the pool, and Ruby lay with her back against his chest, settling between his legs. The waves broke on the beach, so close.
For one last night, they were spending the night in this cabin, in their own world where they made the rules. He’d brought the word love into this world, even though it didn’t belong here. Her eyes had widened when he said it, and truthfully, it had surprised him too. He wasn’t in love, but he could feel the seductive pull of it. He could fall in love with Ruby Bisset. It wouldn’t take much. That should’ve been a reason to stand up and move far away right now, but instead, Adrian slipped his hand under Ruby’s tank top. Just a little more time to make up for what they were missing with their early departure—that was all he wanted. Then he’d move on. His fingers moved over her stomach, and he focused on that feeling.
“I don’t think I’ve had Filipino food before,” she said, her voice soft and dreamy.
“It was delicious.” He focused on how her inhales and exhales felt under his hand.
“I wonder what other dinner they had planned for us tomorrow.”
This was the opening he’d been waiting for all evening. He’d planned his words carefully as he watched her dress. It should be an easy sell because it was what she wanted all along: casual, no-strings fun in the bedroom. He was the one who had resisted in the beginning, not her. So why was his heart beating so fast right now?
Because it felt different.
But it wasn’t, not really. They still had polar opposite aims. She had her no-attachments-before-thirty thing, and if anything, this connection with Ruby made him want the real thing even more. But he could deal with that in the new year.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said, keeping his voice light. “We’ve been cheated out of at least a day of sex. Maybe we should finish that up when we get to New York.”
She stilled against him. His heart was doing crazy things in his chest as he waited. Then, finally, she exhaled slowly.
“No, thanks.”
“What?” No, thanks? What the hell kind of answer was that?
“I said no, thanks,” she said, and her voice had an edge to it.
“Why the hell not?” The question came out harsher than he meant it, and she sat up, pulling away. “You were the one that pushed me in the beginning, and now you’re turning me down?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose, but that didn’t stop the agitation that was building inside him. This conversation was going completely wrong. He took a deep breath and tried again.
“We would be really careful. No going out, no chance of getting caught. We could have an end date—New Year’s. It wouldn’t be any different.”
Ruby huffed out of breath. “No. Thanks.”
The frustration was building inside him. She wasn’t touching him, wasn’t even looking at him now. “Can you say something besides that?”
“Like what?”
“Like at least tell me why?”
Slowly, Ruby turned her head toward him. She looked...uncertain. She almost never looked uncertain, and it occurred to him that he was the one who’d put that look on her face. A bad feeling had been growing in his stomach, and it was getting worse.
“Did I do something wrong?” he asked softly.
She sighed and shook her head. “No.”
“Then why not?” There was a hint of desperation in his voice, and he realize that was what this bad feeling was: desperation. Since he’d gotten James’s text, he’d been comforting himself with the idea that they’d have a few more days. That this didn’t have to be over...except she’d just turned him down.
Ruby bit her lip. “Adrian, I don’t think I can be casual about you anymore. That’s why I think it’s better to break it off here.”
It took a moment for him to realize he was gaping at her. What the hell was going on? “What about your no-attachments-until-thirty thing?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not a machine, Adrian. No attachments doesn’t mean I have no feelings until I’m thirty. It means that when I start to have feelings, I need to walk the other way.”
That took a while to sink in. This scenario hadn’t occurred to him. He’d formed a list of counterarguments in his mind, but they were all about making sure no one would find out and that her job would never be threatened. Not...this.
“What about...what about when we get back to the office?” he asked.
She shrugged. “We’ll avoid each other, I suppose. I’ll go out, get drunk and forget? And you go back to your sex-free marriage dates.”
Everything in that statement needled him. First of all, he had no interest in sorting through marriage candidates right now. But the idea of her and Raj against the wall...that wasn’t sitting well with him at all. Would he have to endure that again?
“So...” Adrian was having trouble getting words out at all. He swallowed. “We just end like this? That’s it?”
“I’m a little tired for another round of sex, if that’s what you’re asking.”
That wasn’t what he was asking. Actually, he had no idea what he was asking. All he knew was that the idea of ending whatever this was between them early was emphatically not what he wanted.
“Tell me what you need. What would it have to look like for you to say yes?” The desperation was leaking into his voice again.
“It doesn’t work like that,” she said, shaking her head.
“There must be something.”
She shook her head again.
It hurt. It actually hurt. He took a deep breath, the scent of coconut everywhere.
Take care of me.
She had said those words. It had been in the middle of sex, but she had said them. His plan had been all about making sure she had nothing to lose in this. She hadn’t acknowledged that there was anything that would make her change her mind, but what if he offered her something different...something more? No. That couldn’t be what she wanted. And he didn’ want compromises, either.
Adrian scrubbed his face with his hands. This was a mess. It was late and all he wanted was to lie in bed with her right now. No more talking. It was the last boundary he’d kept in place, and tonight, he was going to break it. Keeping to his side of the bed didn’t matter as much anymore. Sex would feel good, but he found that even sex didn’t matter as much. Just touching, like they had been minutes ago.
Except now touching looked like the last thing Ruby wanted to do.
Her hair was tousled, her bare legs soft and perfect. He had a sudden desperate thought, that maybe he could suggest they go somewhere else, take a real vacation together and see what happened. His heart sped up. He could just ask.
But that wasn’t what he wanted, not really. Was it? No. He’d stopped having sex on dates so he’d look at relationships logically. And right now, he definitely wasn’t thinking logically.
They sat in silence, not really looking at each other. Finally, Ruby stood up. She opened her mouth, hesitated, then shook her head.
“Good night, Adrian,” she whispered, but it sounded more like goodbye.
* * *
Ruby was still awake when Adrian came into the room. She’d half expected him to sleep on the couch, but here he was, slipping under the covers next to her. She was on her side, facing away from him, and she pretended to be asleep. It was easier that way. Even though she was so far from asleep.
Every inch of her was awake as he came closer, closer, until finally, he crossed the unspoken line he’d drawn the last few days when they were lying in bed together. He was touching her. His hard body settled against her back. He had no shirt on, and her pulse kicked up as his warm chest pressed against her skin. His cock was half hard, and she was dying to press back against it, feel the friction between her legs as it grew.
If he wanted sex now, she wouldn’t have the strength to say no. Even if she’d probably regret it in the morning.
His arm came around her, pulling her closer, and he rested his hand on her stomach. She was trying to keep her breaths steady, but, oh God, she wanted him. His cock was growing. If he just moved his hand a little lower, it would feel so good. Ruby waited. And waited. And waited.
Nothing more happened. Just his body against hers and the pressure of his hand, pulling her against him. They lay just like that. The distant sound of waves came in through the windows, and the sound of his deep, steady breaths was so close to her ear. It was the one and only time they’d ever lie like this, and she fought hard to stay awake, memorizing each detail, each sensation.
Finally, after a long, long time, Ruby gave up and drifted off to sleep.
* * *
Ruby slid on her sunglasses. They hid her eyes in moments of weakness, like when she found herself staring at Adrian’s biceps as he lifted his suitcase or when she caught sight of his expression as he held the car door open for her. His trademark frown was back, the one that she’d seen less and less of over the last few days, and tension radiated from him, threatening to spark every time she accidentally brushed against him.
She settled in the seat of the car, the air-conditioning cutting through the last traces of the tropical humidity. As they pulled away, she got her last glimpses of the Kalani Resort, noting each bit of the luxury that she’d probably never get to enjoy again. She’d never be able to afford this place on her own, and she was trying to be thankful for the little taste of luxury she’d gotten, but it was hard not to think about the things she’d missed since it wasn’t really her vacation. The pool with the waterfall they’d passed on the way to the docks, the restaurant over the water she’d only seen a picture of, the horseback ride they’d canceled...
Pure Satisfaction--A Hot Holiday Romance Page 14
