“My turn.”
I don’t have the time to process that comment, or come down from the insane orgasm high I’m riding. Before I can ask questions, or tell him he’s a god, I find myself being flipped over on my stomach, face mashed into the comforter, not because Lex is doing any mashing, but because my limbs are completely incapable of doing anything constructive since they are currently the consistency of pudding.
“Show me that ass.”
I yelp when that order is accompanied by a swift slap across my left cheek. Lex chuckles, a sound full of cocky arrogance and self-satisfaction. I’d make some kind of snarky retort but I’m still trying to figure out how to use my tongue for things other than random noises. Also, that was an astounding orgasm, so he has a right to be cocky about it.
When I don’t move fast enough, Lex grabs me by the hips and drags me up onto my knees. I make a very weak, sort of pathetic attempt at pushing up on my arms so I’m on all fours, and showing him “that ass,” but my arms are incapable of holding my weight and I drop back to my elbows, resting my forehead on my clasped hands.
“How you feelin’, baby?” He runs his palms over my ass in a wax on, wax off motion again and again.
I try a word, but it comes out garbled.
“What was that?” The press of his hips against me, and the slide of his cock between my ass cheeks, makes me suddenly alert.
I manage to string a bunch of words together, they’re a little slurry, but there’s some snark in there. “I thought we were eating first.”
“I did eat. Now I want to fuck you again.”
My saucy reply gets caught in my throat at the tear of the condom, which is followed by the feel of Lex’s cock sliding low and easing in. I groan and push back until his hips rest against my ass. His fingers trail a line along my spine.
“Ready?”
I nod.
There’s no easy start up. No slow build, no shallow thrusts. Lex grips my hips tight, pulls out, almost all the way, and then slams back in. Over and over, faster and faster, harder and harder. I consider giving my marble a roll, but the thrusting is just too vigorous, and honestly, I’m beyond the point of being able to coordinate the movements. But I can feel the pressure building again, the tightening of muscles, the heat funneling low and building fast.
As if Lex can sense how close I am, he releases one hip, slows down long enough to grab me by the shoulder and haul me up so my back is pressed against his sweaty, hard chest. Instead of resuming the thrust-a-thon, he starts a hard grind.
Running his fingertips down my arm, he takes my hand and brings it up. “Hold on to the back of my neck.”
I do as I’m told, because independent thought has ceased to exist. Also, if he releases me right now, I’ll face-plant back into the comforter. Beyond the other current issues impeding my ability to use full sentences, this position is incredible and it’s pushing me closer to the edge.
Lex anchors me to him using my left boob, and then the other hand, the one on my hip, moves lower and he does the thing I’m too uncoordinated to manage on my own. He circles my clit, slow and hard, grinding to the same rhythm. And I come. Viciously. Like the hardest I think I’ve ever come in my life. I’m a moaning, screaming, boneless mass of useless limbs.
Lex must’ve come too, because I find myself back on the bed, him stretched out on top of me.
“Holy hot damn,” I groan.
“Sounds about right.” His lips are on my shoulder, soft, warm, a stark contrast the way he just fucked me.
We lay there for a good minute, or seven, or an hour—I’m too sated to know or care—before he rolls off me. My hair is in my face, I blow at it, my limbs still refusing to do anything apart from remain attached to my body. Gentle fingers move the hair away until he comes into view. There’s a sheen of sweat on his forehead, all over him really. His hair is a mess, the longer strands sticking up or falling forward, curling on his forehead.
He traces the contour of my face, his gaze following the same path until his eyes come back to mine. His expression is intense.
I clear my throat, not looking away. “Soooo . . . yeah.” My voice is raspy and my mouth is dry. I could use a gallon of water, and maybe a few shots.
He barks out a laugh. “Was that nice?”
Sarcastic bastard. I can’t even muster the energy to pinch his nipple. “Feed me.”
“I’ll call room service.” He rolls off the bed, popping up with far more energy than is reasonable considering the amount of it we’ve just expended. I admire his hot body as he crosses the room, the flex and pull of muscles, the amazingly solid contours of his ass, the narrow waist, the heavily cut back, sinew pulling tight as he runs his hand through his hair, smoothing out some of the wayward strands. I’d hand wash clothes on those abs and use that ass as pillow—after I bit it, of course. I get caught at the two thick lines crisscrossing across the left side of his upper back.
I’ve seen those scars before, when he dressed as a gladiator at the Halloween soirée months ago. I thought they were some elaborate makeup to augment the authenticity of the gladiator costume he was wearing. I didn’t think they were real. They’re jagged and thick, but pale, as if they’ve been there for a long time.
Lex picks up the phone and leans on the table, arms flexing. I pause to finally appreciate the intricate sleeve. A thunderous sky wraps around his shoulder, lightning bolts shooting down his bicep to end at his elbow. His forearm is covered in bright watercolor flowers, and on the inside of his forearm is a three-dimensional clock in black and white.
I could literally spend the next two weeks watching him like a TV show. All he would have to do is walk around my bungalow exactly as he is now, bending over to pick things up, stretching. He could just sit and read the paper. I’m not picky. My gaze moves up, and then back down. He really is immensely hung. I’m not sure I’ve had bigger. I definitely haven’t had better.
“What’re you hungry for?”
“Huh?” I pause my ogling.
“What do you want to eat? Apart from the obvious.” He gestures to his crotch with a smile.
I roll my eyes and flop back down on the comforter. “I don’t know. Anything.”
“Burger and fries?”
In all honesty, the idea of a burger and fries makes my mouth water, but I’ve avoided food that tastes like anything for so long I’m not sure my body can handle a burger. Also, I’d have to eat with my hands, and burgers are messy. Not sexy.
“What about antipasto? A cheese and fruit platter? Desserts?”
“Sure.”
Lex taps on the counter as he places an order. “You can put it on my account but deliver to bungalow seven. Yes. Yes. Thank you.” He hangs up and saunters back to the bed, holding out his hand, and he nods to the sliding glass doors. “It’ll be about half an hour. Want to take a dip?”
I give him my hand and let him pull me up. It takes some effort to get my legs to swing over the edge of the bed, but my muscles are taking cues from my brain again, so that’s a good sign. “I’ll just grab a suit.”
“Why bother? It’s late. It’s not like anyone can see.” Stepping over our discarded clothes, I note his socks are purple and covered in happy faces and that his boxers have the same pattern. I must’ve been pretty preoccupied with getting inside his pants to have missed that earlier.
I follow him to the deck, checking to make sure we’re the only ones taking a midnight swim, or whatever time it is. The water is like glass, the night quiet. Millions of stars flicker in the black sky. The moon is massive, a gorgeous pale disc reflected across the water.
Lex descends and dives in, seamless and smooth, hardly making a splash as water ripples out, lapping softly against the deck. He surfaces, running his hand through his dark hair. “You coming?”
The last time I went skinny-dipping was my first year of college. I’d been with Ruby, and some guy I was seeing at the time and his friend. My hope had been to set them up, but he turned out to be a dud, i
n all departments.
Lex treads water as I make my way carefully down the steps. Now that I’m not having multiple orgasms, and the endorphins are settling, my toe has started to throb. Maybe the water will make it feel better. “Is it cold?”
“We’re on a tropical island, Amalie. It’s beautiful.”
I dip a toe—one on the foot I didn’t hurt. It’s tepid, like a cooling bath. Perfectly refreshing. My plan is to sit on the edge and ease into the water, but Lex has other ideas. He shoots up out of the water, grabs me around the knees and pulls me in with a shriek that echoes across the empty, silent water.
“Shh. You’re going to wake everyone up and then they’ll know you’re naked,” he murmurs in my ear with a laugh.
I push on his chest in an attempt to get free, but he has me by the waist. It’s barely deep enough for me to tread water. If I stretch, my toes touch the sandy bottom. I stop fighting, because his body is warm against mine, and drape my arms over his shoulders. Clasping my hands behind his neck, I lift my chin and take in the stars. The Milky Way is a thick band of cloudy shimmer streaking across the night sky.
“It’s so beautiful,” I whisper, truly appreciating it for the first time since I arrived here. Although, hot sex has a way of making even the most dreary of environments seem pretty awesome.
“Stunning really,” Lex whispers.
I drop my gaze to find he’s not looking at the stars, but at me. “I’m sure my post-sex hair is amazing right now.”
“You look like you belong in an eighties hair band video.” Lex kisses me on the chin, then releases me from his protective hold. Flipping over onto his back, he spreads his arms. “It’s too bad we have to fly halfway across the world for an experience like this.”
I mirror his position. I suppose outside of the city we could’ve had the same view of the stars, but it wouldn’t be anything like this, with white sand and pale blue water, an inactive volcano rising in the distance. And there wouldn’t be Lex either. I have a sudden moment of panic over what I’ve done and what this means. Is it just tonight? Will things be awkward in the morning? Will he even stay? Do I want him to? I think the answer to that is yes. I like what I know of him, beyond just his ability to make me come. I have no idea what Lex’s usual style is. Armstrong painted him as a playboy, and our introduction, along with his antics at the Halloween soirée last year, lead me to believe it was true. But I’ve been wrong before, so maybe I’m wrong now.
Lex’s fingers skimming the tips of my own startles me. I turn my head toward him.
“Where’d you go?” There’s softness in his eyes, worry maybe. I don’t know what it means.
“To the moon.” I gesture to the sky. “I wonder if this stops being beautiful if you see it every day.”
“I don’t think it stops being beautiful. I think people get used to having that beauty around them all the time, though, and sometimes they just take for granted that it will always be there.”
Maybe that’s what happened with Armstrong; the things that attracted him to me in the first place became commonplace. Or maybe what he saw on the inside made him change his mind about what was on the outside. I think I wanted his inside to be like his outside, but it wasn’t. Is that just how life is? I really hope not. I hope that one day, someone will see me, all of me, and that I’ll be enough. I don’t want to settle but I also don’t want to end up alone and lonely.
“Hey.” Lex grabs my hand and pulls me to him, wrapping me back up in his arms. I shiver, not from cold, but from the intensity and the sudden wave of sadness that passes through me. He tips my chin up. “Wherever you keep going in that head of yours, don’t. Okay? Just be with me, right here, in this moment. Just soak up this beauty and stay with me.”
The sudden knock at the door prevents a response. Lex sighs and drops a quick kiss on my lips. “Be right back.”
He pulls himself out of the water, hopping up onto the deck and grabbing a towel on the way to the door. I don’t like the idea of being in the water alone in the dark, but I can’t very well follow after him otherwise I’ll be flashing the concierge, and with Lex being who he is, that’s definitely not a good idea, so I float over to the ladder and wait for him to close the door before I climb out, careful not to catch my toe on the boards. I wring out my hair and grab a robe.
Lex sets the tray on the coffee table. It’s quite the spread; I don’t even know where to start. I sit on the couch cross-legged and pop a strawberry in my mouth, groaning at the sweet explosion. I could probably inhale almost everything on this platter.
“Sparkling wine or water?” A bottle of San Pellegrino and a sister bottle of sparkling wine accompany the food.
“Both?” I’m not feeling the martinis I drank this evening anymore, or the wine I consumed over the course of the afternoon.
Lex pours a glass of each for me and does the same for himself. He’s still just wearing a towel around his waist, and I’m in the robe, but neither one of us seems to mind. I certainly don’t have a problem looking at his chest.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” He pops an olive in his mouth.
He’s so easygoing. The exact opposite of Armstrong. We would never eat on the couch, wrapped in towels or bathrobes, fresh from the ocean. He would’ve insisted on a shower, and getting changed, and eating at the table.
“How’d you get those scars on your back?” I go for a piece of cheese next.
“An accident when I was younger. Fucking around, being dumb. I fell and ripped my back open, needed a lot of stitches.”
“How many stitches did you have? That must’ve hurt.”
Lex shrugs and picks at the platter. “Dunno. It didn’t feel good, but I survived, so there’s that.”
Survived? Jesus. “What kind of accident? What did you fall on?”
“Some rocks. We were swimming where we shouldn’t have been.”
“We? Who were you with?”
He hesitates for a few seconds, fingers tapping restlessly on the arm of the couch. “Some buddies. Armstrong was there.”
“He’s not big on swimming.” Part of the reason for the beachfront hut was his dislike of deep water. That we ended up at a beach resort at all is pretty much a miracle.
“No. He’s not.” The finger tapping continues. “We used to spend a lot of time together as kids. We were pretty competitive with each other, sometimes not in a good way. That day we were drinking and things got a little out of hand. He jumped into the river and the current was way too fast.”
“I can’t even imagine Armstrong willingly jumping into a river.” He gets nervous when he’s anywhere near water that’s more than waist deep.
“He wasn’t one to back down from a challenge and the booze gave him some balls. He panicked and I went in after him. He came out with a couple of bruises and I came out with some scars.” He clears his throat. “Anyway, speaking of accidents, how’s that toe feeling? We should probably change the bandage now that you’ve been in the water.”
Obviously he doesn’t want to talk about it anymore, based on the swift change of topic. I still don’t quite understand why they hate each other so much when it seems like Lex saved Armstrong’s life.
“We can look at it when we’re done eating. I’m salty, and I need a shower.”
He leans in and kisses my neck, tongue sweeping across the skin. “You are salty.” He nabs a strawberry and, biting the end, drags it across my lips, sucking on the bottom one. “And sweet.”
I get caught up in kissing him for a few minutes. After that, we make out between bites of fruit.
When we’re full we head to the bathroom. I don’t know what to expect after the shower, but I’m hoping he’ll want to stay the night. Or what’s left of it.
I pause when I see my glass friend sitting on the vanity. Lex is right behind me, clearly having recovered from the last round of sex based on the way he’s poking me in the back, not with his finger. His mouth is at my ear. “I’d like to see what
exactly you do with that.”
“Right now?” My voice is high, nervous.
He chuckles. “Not right now. Later. Tomorrow maybe. Or the day after that. I’d actually like to get my hands on that tickle trunk of yours. I wasn’t kidding about being your beta tester.”
Oh God. He’s talking like tonight is going to continue, possibly as a regular occurrence. Maybe the entire time we’re here. And I want that. I want him.
“Come, shower, we need to manage the mess I’ve made of your hair.” I catch a horrifying glimpse of my reflection in the mirror.
The shower inevitably leads to sex—thankfully I packed condoms—which leads to more orgasms, which exhausts me. By the time we’re done it’s almost three in the morning. I fall naked onto my bed, and roll onto my back while Lex rewraps my toe.
“Will you stay?” My stomach dips at the tilt of his head. “The night? Will you . . .” I stop. Bite my lip. I hate how nervous I am. This is uncharted territory. It’s not simple. It’s a complicated situation that’s suddenly even more complicated because I actually want him to stay. I don’t want to be alone here. I want to be wrapped up in him, grounded, protected from all the things I’m not ready to deal with. Is it fair? I don’t know. Probably not, but I still want him anyway. Even if it’s just for this two-week span of time. I want hot sex and easy companionship. I want this chemistry even though I’m afraid of it. I want to not be an emotional mess. The silence between us drags out. “Never mind. I shouldn’t have asked that.”
Lex clears his throat. He’s still holding my bandaged toe. I’m still naked. He’s only in a towel. “If you want me to, I can.”
“You don’t have to.”
“But you want me to?”
“Not if you don’t want to.” I wish I was wearing something. I wish I didn’t feel so naked, and not just physically.
There’s softness in his eyes and his voice with his reply. “Tell me what you want, Amie.”
I like the way it sounds when he says my name like that. “I want you to stay.”
The Shacking Up Series Page 45
