Slippery When Wet

The moonlit beach was dotted with the shadowed bulk of palms. They slipped off their shoes and stepped onto the sand. Away from people and noise, Taylor could hear the small rustles of the night creatures going about their business. To one side, a crab scuttled into a stand of mangrove. And the waves grew louder.

Dev led her past the palm trees and onto the dock. Their feet made hollow thumps as they walked along the creosote coated planks. Thick ropes swung from squat posts, making only a passing pretense at security. It didn’t matter, really; in such shallow, warm water, a person falling in could hardly get hurt. Out on the end of the dock, a red light atop a tall post winked out to sea.

The water stretched away from them black and fathomless. Far in the distance, on the coast of the mainland, a few lights glimmered. Above them, stars painted their patterns on a midnight velvet sky.

Dev looked up at them. “The stars are different down here, have you noticed?” Somehow, that had been the thing that had finally allowed him to let go the frustration and betrayal, that sense of being somewhere different. He’d come out to the dock at night a lot those first weeks. Gradually, the peace had seeped into his soul. “That was the first thing I looked for down here, the Southern Cross.” He pointed. “You can barely see it on the horizon.”

Taylor stepped close to him and he felt the soft swell of her breasts brush against his arm. “Where?”

He moved so that she was in front of him and pointed over one of her shoulders so she could sight along his finger. “There, there, and…there.”

“Do you know any other constellations?”

“I was pretty into it when I was a kid.” It had been a good excuse to get out of the house and away from the fighting. “There’s Sagittarius and Scorpio,” he said, pointing them out. Taylor’s hair brushed against his arm, silky and light.

“How come all of the constellations are always critters?”

“They’re not. You’ve got Perseus and Orion, they were warriors, and Cassiopiea, she was a seer.”

“Always alone, though. Don’t you think all those lonely shepherds that named the original constellations would have seen lovers somewhere?”

“Sure. They just didn’t make it into the astronomy books.”

She leaned back against him and he wrapped his arms around her. “I like the idea of lovers painted on the sky.”

“How about earthbound lovers?” He nuzzled her hair, breathing in her scent.

Taylor turned in his arms. In her eyes, he read promise, challenge and mischief. Then she pressed her mouth to his. It jolted through him down to his toes. He made himself concentrate on the soft, nibbling temptation, holding back from letting his hands rove over her body, that sleek, alluring frame. He could taste the faint sweetness of the margarita she’d had at the theater.

Then she stepped away. “How about lovers in the water?” she asked, dropping her shoes.

Exhilaration tore through him. “You don’t have a suit,” he pointed out.

“Mmm, you’re right, and I’d hate to ruin this nice dress.” She reached down and pulled the pink silk up, sliding it off over her head.

Underneath, she wore nothing.

His mouth went dry. Her skin glowed pale and lovely in the moonlight, rounded breasts tipped with the darker shadows of her aureole. Before he could look his fill, she turned and walked to the edge of the dock.

“I think you’re running behind, Mr. Carson. You’d better catch up,” she said, flashing a look at him over her shoulder.

And dove into the water.

3

THE SALTWATER CLOSED AROUND her body and slid against her skin, warm as an embrace. Like a sea creature, she arrowed through the water, feeling a rush of illicit arousal at the brush of liquid against her bare nipples, her bare behind. She burst up through the surface laughing at her own audacity.

And blinked. The dock was empty in the moonlight. Taylor gave a quick glance around, raking her fingers through her wet hair. He was here somewhere, she knew. A man like Dev Carson didn’t walk away from a challenge. She felt the thrill of expectation.

Then the water next to her exploded and she jumped and whirled to see him rearing out of the water.

She put a hand to her chest, suddenly intensely aware of her bare breasts above the waterline. “You just took ten years off my life, you know.”

“Did you think I was a sea monster?”

Actually, with the water streaming from his shoulders and his hair soaked and disheveled, she thought he looked more like some kind of a sea god. A surge of anticipation ran through her as he moved nearer. “You can never tell what’s swimming around,” she said, then blinked as he disappeared. Seconds ticked by, then she jumped at the feeling of a slippery hand sliding down her back.

He surfaced a few feet away. “Well, you know, you’re taking your chances, swimming at night. You never know what’s going to decide to take a bite out of you.” He stepped closer and a little shiver of anticipation ran through her.

“I know. Something just fondled me,” she said.

“Those damned fish are getting more forward all the time.”

“Maybe it wasn’t a fish. Maybe it was some other kind of critter.”

“All the more reason you should stay close so I can protect you. I’ll keep an eye out for the bad guys.”

“You must have good night vision.” She swayed lightly in the soft pressure of a swell.

“I eat lots of carrots.”

“Planning ahead?”

“It never hurts to be prepared.”

“Were you a Boy Scout?”

He laughed, a low, rough sound in the dark. “No, I hung with a more disreputable crowd.”

It had her pulse thumping. “Maybe I should go in, then. A young lady’s known by the company she keeps.”

His teeth gleamed in the dim lighting. “Did you learn that from your mama?”

“From cotillion, thank you very much.”

“Somehow you don’t seem like the type to get too caught up in rules. After all, the signs say no skinny dipping.”

“I wanted to go swimming,” she said with dignity.

“Without a suit?”

“I’m impatient.” Somehow, she was breathless, even though she hadn’t moved.

“So am I.” His eyes were shadowed. The moonlight had leached the color out so that they just seemed to glow silver.

“What are you impatient for?”

He skimmed a hand across the water between them and stepped a bit closer. “You.”

Taylor stared at him, watched him come near. Then she whipped out of the way, swimming past him so that she brushed his legs. His fingers started to close around her ankle, but she whisked past. When she felt him stroking after her, she abruptly reversed direction in a flip turn and surfaced, breathing hard.

Dev came out of the water a few feet away from her. “Playing cat and mouse?”

“Or shark and angelfish.”

“Are you calling me an angel?” His eyes laughed at her, then he shook his head so that drops of water scattered around them.

“Somehow, you remind me more of a devil.” This time when she ducked under the water, she brushed a hand down his ass, just to feel if it was as marble hard as the rest of him before she flicked away. Lightning fast, he turned and managed to stroke her leg as she flowed past and up to the surface.

“Careful when you go grabbing like that, darlin’,” he said when he’d followed her. “You might get hold of something I’ll need later.”

She laughed. “I don’t know, if I were you, I’d worry more about some hungry little fishy thinking it’s a big fat ol’ worm dangling there and taking himself a nibble.”

His teeth gleamed white in a smile that suddenly reminded her of the shark she’d mentioned. “It’s not dangling like a worm right now.”

Taylor ducked back under the water, this time stroking a hand over his belly—oh, those rock-hard abs—as she passed. She was just one beat too slow, though. His hand slid down the length of her back, curving over the taut muscle of her ass. Swiftly it tightened around her ankle, pulling her back toward him.

When his hand slid up over her bare breast, Taylor jolted and reared her head up out of the water, gasping. It felt outrageous. It felt provocative.

It felt right.

Suddenly the mood of play was gone. She let her feet touch the bottom, swaying lightly in the water. Given that it had been years since she’d had sex with anyone but herself in the room, the idea of a man touching her was exciting and more than a little frightening.

The reality of it was simply exciting, period.

Dev’s face tightened and he stepped forward, pulling her against him.

Heat on heat, mouth on mouth, the stroke of hands sending sensation rocketing through her body. Taylor shuddered. God, it had been so long since it had been like this, maybe even never. Surely she’d have remembered this kind of kaleidoscopic physical rush sweeping her along into madness, she thought as Dev crushed her mouth under his. Rough stubble scraped against her skin. Tantalizing, it failed to satisfy but only made her want more.

She clutched at his shoulders. Buoyed by the water, she wrapped her legs around his waist. The smooth, hard heat of his belly tormented her. She wanted him in her, hard and against her. This had nothing to do with tequila or vacation, it had to do with a wanting that went deep into her bones.

Waves slapped softly at the pilings of the dive dock. The palapa fronds rustled in the wind. The brush of hand on skin was slick and silent, the shudders silent and swift.

Dev groaned at the feel of Taylor’s breasts filling his hands, her sleek, soft legs holding him in a slippery grip. He was so hard that he was brushing up against the cleft between her buttocks, the slick touch keeping him on the edge of coming. Not yet, though, he thought. There were places he wanted to take her, things he wanted her to feel before that.

He slid his hands around her back and pulled her toward him, running his tongue tip along the impossibly soft skin of her jawline, down her throat. He’d wondered how she’d tasted. He’d thought about it all day, as they’d sat at dinner, as they’d walked down the beach in the darkness. The combination of smooth softness and sleek strength enthralled him. To have her now, filling his arms, pressed up against him, robbed him of breath, rendered him rock hard with need. He wanted to make her blind with pleasure, immersed in heat, to send her flying over the edge.

“Tell me you want this,” he muttered, running a hand down the flat of her belly.

Taylor gasped and arched against him. “I want you,” she whispered.

He filled his hands with her breasts again, feeling the soft give and the hard tips against his palms. Unable to hold back, he lowered his head to take her nipple into his mouth. The feel of the rough nub against his tongue sent sudden, sharp arousal jolting through him. His fingers slid lower, passing curls of hair to find her wet in a way that had nothing to do with water. Knowing she was right there, accessible, threatened his control, but didn’t break it. Though he ached to drive his cock into her, he held back. Instead he found the hard, tight bud of her clit.

Taylor jolted in shock at the hands of another on that most sensitive of spots. The slight calluses on the ends of his fingers teased a thousand nerve endings with slippery friction. She strained against him with a moan, as the tension coiled in her. His fingers tormented, then teased, then stroked rhythmically, leaving her helpless to do anything but feel.

Pumping her hips to accentuate his touch, she moved against the maddening strokes. His hand tightened on her breast, squeezing the nipple and she climaxed in a rush of sensation that exploded through every cell, crying out and gasping with the intensity, her body bucking helplessly against him.

Taylor clung to him as the shudders ebbed slowly away. Then her eyes met his, and the desire flared up again, hot and immediate. She pulled his head down to hers for a fierce, fast kiss, running her hands down the taut, corrugated muscles of his belly, feeling them raise up against her fingertips. “I think we need to do something to equalize things.” She slid off of him to stand on legs that were still trembling. Reaching out, she wrapped her fingers around his erection, but he stilled her hand.

“I’ve got a better idea. Let’s go back to my room.”

She nipped his lips. “For a bed?”

He wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her close for a hard kiss. “For a condom.”

THE DOOR SLAMMED BEHIND THEM and Dev pressed Taylor against the wall, feeling the soft spring of her muscles against him.

“You’re wearing too many clothes,” he muttered distractedly. “I want you naked and I want to be in you.”

“Mmm.” She kissed him, and reached down for the hem of her dress. “Then maybe we’d better stop wasting time.” She pulled it over her head and dropped it in a pool of pink silk on the tile floor.

Dev slid his hands down the smooth curves of her waist, brushing over her backside for a heady instant before he moved his hands up into her hair and kissed her hard, feeling the soft strands spilling over his fingers. Then he pressed her back to the wall, holding her in place as he knelt down and tormented her with his mouth and tongue.

She writhed against him until he could feel how wet she was, taste how close she was to the edge. And he stopped, wanting, needing to see her face this time in the light, to watch her flush as her orgasm moved through her.

When he stood, it was her hands that tugged feverishly at the drawstring on his pants. When he pushed the cloth down, it was her hands that searched him out where he was heavy and hard, jerking just a little with the force of his arousal. And when he stepped forward, it was her hands that guided him inside, her moans that filled the room when his own voice failed and all he could do was gasp at the tight, hot miracle of her body clenched around him.

RED-GOLD LIGHT STAINED Dev’s eyelids. He moved to roll away from it, to burrow back down into sleep, but he couldn’t move. His arm was numb, held down by a solid weight.

A weight of warm, soft female flesh.

He gathered the bundle against him even as he rose into consciousness, a consciousness laced with sensory snapshots—the maddening moments before they’d reached his room…the yielding heat of her naked body against his…the hot, slick rush as he slid himself into her…the molten explosion of his orgasm into her still shuddering body. And all the times they repeated it in the hours that followed.

Dev pressed a kiss on the tousle of blond hair and Taylor grumbled once in slumber.

“Shhh,” he whispered. “You can go back to sleep, just let me get my arm out.” It felt more like a chunk of wood than an arm, but he moved it nonetheless. Enduring its wake-up promised to be excruciating.

Taylor rolled away from him and burrowed back into the pillow, the sheet falling away from her to reveal an enticingly angular back. Dev looked at it speculatively, but then tingling in his fingertips warned him that the fun was just beginning. Minutes ticked by while he suffered through pins and needles, focusing on the curves of her body in an effort to distract himself.

He shifted onto his side to stare at Taylor in the dim light of the room and stroked a hand down her back, savoring the way it sloped down and then rose in a tight curve.

She rolled onto her stomach and turned her face to him, squinting at him through her mop of hair. “It can’t possibly be morning. What time is it?”

“You’re in Neverland, darlin’, there are no clocks. Close your eyes and go back to sleep.”

Tempting though the prospect was, it wasn’t nearly that easy. She was in the bed of a person she hardly knew after a one-night stand. A memorable one-night stand, but a one-night stand nevertheless. It had been a long time, but as she recalled, the drill was to wake up and leave as soon as possible. Groaning, she pushed herself up to sit on the edge of the bed, feeling the unaccustomed soreness between her thighs. They’d used each other hard and relentlessly, she remembered, stretching in a pleasurable satisfaction.

She yawned. “Give me just a minute and I’ll get out of your hair.” The next second she was squawking as Dev pulled her back to tumble against him in a welter of sheets and pillows.

“Who said I wanted you to?” He scooped her in to spoon against him, his chest warm against her back, his thighs strong and solid underneath hers.

“Well, I just figured this was…” Her voice trailed off as she felt his tongue trace the line of her shoulder.

“This was what?” Dev murmured in her ear. His hand slid over to one of her breasts, brushing the fragile skin and squeezing the nipple.

“A one-night stand,” she managed. “A fling.”

He bit her earlobe lightly. “A fling, certainly. But I never recall any discussion of a time limit.” His other hand slid down between her thighs to find where she was already slippery. “We’ve got the whole rest of the week. I was hoping to talk you into something a little more leisurely. I’ve definitely got no interest in letting you walk away this morning.”

She could feel him hardening against her bottom. “I just don’t…” His fingers moved against her, forcing a moan from her.

“You don’t think you could walk out of here this morning without coming at least once? Smart girl,” he said approvingly.

Clever and slick, his fingers slid against her clit. The bolts of sensation had her moving her hips helplessly. Reaching back, Taylor pulled his face toward hers. His mouth. She wanted his mouth, then his cock, as deep as he could go. “I need you in me,” she whispered against his lips.

“Always happy to oblige a lady,” he returned, shifting so that she was beneath him.

“CAN YOU JUST CARRY ME to the beach?” Dev groaned.

“You were the one who had the big idea about round two,” Taylor said, rolling over to prop her arms on his chest.

“I’ve always been the kind of guy who sticks with what works.”

Taylor fought to keep a straight face. “And in this case?”

“Well, round one worked, and round two worked. I think we ought to stretch it out a little more.” He stroked her back and she purred like a cat.

“What did you have in mind?” she asked, pressing little kisses on his jaw.

“We’re both here the rest of the week.” He held up her left hand and inspected it. “No tan lines. Good. You appear to be footloose and fancy free and God knows I am. I got blood tests for the wedding, so I’m healthy and clean. How about you?”

“I give blood monthly.”

“So we’re set there. What do you say?”

“About?”

“About making a week of it.”

“Sleeping together, you mean?”

He nodded. “Unless you were faking it and really didn’t have a good time. It’s perfect. No ties, no commitments, just whatever we want, whenever we want.”

“And nothing when we get home.” She didn’t phrase it as a question.

He shook his head. “Nothing when we get home. You can do anything and everything your heart desires and know you’ll never have to face me again.”

“If you agree to it, you’ve got to mean it,” Taylor warned. “No looking me up after we get home.”

He leaned in and bit her shoulder. “Not that you aren’t completely delectable, but after what I went through a couple of weeks ago, darlin’, I’m not exactly leaping out of my skin to get involved in another relationship.”

Taylor looked at him consideringly. “How’s your stamina? I’ve gone without for quite a while. Whenever I want might be pretty often. I’d hate to choose you over some of the other guys around here and find out that I’ve worn you out.”

He silenced her with his mouth. “Well, you can stop your search right here. I’m all the man you’re going to need.”

“Oh, yeah?”

He curved his hand over her breast. “I’m up to the task.”

“Oh, yeah?” she asked, her hand straying down to find that he was, indeed, up. “Oh,” she said softly, “yeah.”

“I take my vitamins,” he murmured.

“Good thing,” she whispered against his mouth. “You’re going to need them.”

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