CHAPTER THIRTY
The Maldives, sunrise . . .
She was stealthy that morning.
Her pink bikini was already on—she’d retrieved it from her villa after the first rays of a bright orange sunrise peeked over the horizon—and her breath was minty fresh. She had her sights set on one thing—destination waterfall. The night before, she hadn’t been able to see it in the dark, but it was one of the first things she spotted when the soft peach dawn painted itself on the sky this morning. There, in a little lagoon next to an outcrop of rock was a waterfall, serene and falling softly.
She kneeled next to Nate, naked and beautiful under a sheet. He’d grabbed one from the bed last night and brought it out to the deck so they could sleep under the stars. The sheet slipped down to his waist and she couldn’t help but admire the strong muscles in his back and his shoulders as well as the trim taper of his hips. He had a pretty fantastic ass too, so she gave the sheet a gentle tug, revealing a few more inches of that firm, rounded rear that she loved to hold on hard to when he was inside her. He stirred from the movement, turned over, and blinked. Flashing her a drowsy smile, he shielded his eyes from the sun, and said a husky good morning.
“Good morning to you too,” she said, matching the wattage with her own grin. “I just decided that kissing you under a waterfall is on my bucket list and we’re going to go check that off right now.”
“Ah, I see you’re enjoying the perks of the best villa on the property. Or I should say, you’re about to.” He sat up. “Give me one minute.”
As he retreated up the stairs and across the deck, she watched him walk, enjoying the view of his backside as he headed into the hut. A minute later he returned, still in his full birthday suit. His eyes raked her over from top to bottom. He scratched his forehead as if something didn’t compute. “What I don’t understand is why you have on a bikini.”
She held her hands out wide as if the answer was obvious. “Because we are about to go in the ocean.”
“The way I see it, this whole bucket list thing should be satisfying to both of us. And mine has skinny dipping in the Indian Ocean with you on it, so get out of that right now,” he instructed. Then added, “This area of the beach is private. There’s no access to the lagoon except from this hut. So, if I were you I’d strip.”
She laughed and rolled her eyes, even as she did what he asked, leaving two pink scraps of fabric on the wood floor. “You just love being the alpha male, don’t you? Giving me orders.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “I do, and I love all your orders too,” he said, then dropped a quick kiss on her lips. His breath was fresh, just the way she liked breath to be in the morning, and all day long, for that matter.
Casey walked down the final set of steps that descended into the ocean. A former swimmer, she would’ve preferred to dive in, but the water was shallow by the hut. Soon, it deepened and she and Nate swam naked to the lagoon.
Serenity took on a new meaning here in the tranquil water with the sun caressing her skin. The world was calm and not a care was to be had, not a concern existed, and nothing at all could ever go wrong. This was the true escape, and she understood why people wanted to make island getaways for life. This kind of paradise had a way of working a magic spell on you.
When they reached the secluded lagoon, the curving rock ledge shielded them further, hemming them into this private little pool for lovers. The waterfall pattered down the slate, beating out a steady rhythm.
She roped her arms around Nate’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss. It was a morning kiss, the kiss of the sun rising and the start of a new day. It was a kiss that held the promise of so much more between the two of them, of a whole future. Of lazy Sundays. Of breakfasts together. Of Saturday matinees, and foot rubs, and baths, and Chinese takeout, and someday, walking a dog together in the park.
She ran her tongue across his top lip, then the bottom, savoring this lingering pace—soft, slow and unhurried. No one was in a rush. They weren’t subscribing to a set amount of lessons or expecting only a finite amount of time together, and the kiss said as much. She gave herself over to the delicious sensations that spread through her whole body, warming her inside and out with the tenderness of his touch. Then, he picked up the speed, kissing her harder and deeper, their tongues tangling as the falling water made its morning music. Soon he backed her up so they were under the waterfall. It was like standing in an afternoon summer storm as the drops cascaded over her shoulders, her breasts, her waist. She sighed contentedly as his lips fused to hers.
But then, sometimes easy kisses turn into something more. As he yanked her closer, the evidence was clear in the hard length of his erection—this kiss was primed for much more than first base. “I’m thinking we want to kick the bucket list item up a notch. How about you?”
She nodded, flashing him a naughty grin. “I’m thinking we’re on the same page again. But just to make sure, is this how you’re thinking you’d like me? In this position?” She turned around, dropped her hands onto a rock that peeked over the water’s surface, and raised her backside into the air. He groaned appreciatively.
“Yes. You are reading my mind,” he said as he slid his hand between her legs where she was ready for him.
Funny, how she’d intended simply to kiss him in this romantic, blissful setting. But then the two of them had never been very good at stopping at kissing. The first night in New Orleans his kisses had made her want to climb him like a tree. They’d only grown hotter since, and they always led to more.
He rubbed his hard-on against her entrance, and a little whimper escaped her throat from that first heady sensation of him touching her where she wanted him most. In one quick thrust he had them both moaning at the same time, their sounds echoing across the rocks, carried off on the morning breeze along the ocean. The water lapped gently around her as he rocked in and out, filling her.
Even though she was the one bent over with her ass in the air, being fucked standing up in the wide open waters, she still felt possessive of him, of this man who wanted her, who craved her, who seemed to need her desperately. Somehow, she was the one who had him. But she also knew they were a perfect match. Perhaps that was why she felt so possessive of him and wanted him as her own for all time.
He took her like he wanted her that way too.
Pinning her to his body, he twisted her hair around his fist, pulling hard, giving him even more leverage to drive all the way into her, which is exactly where she wanted him. Her fingers dug into the rock as she held on tight, the waterfall raining down on them. Like that, the sea turtles somewhere out there and the birds flying by the only witness to their intense pleasure, she rose higher and higher. Her toes dug into the wet sand. Her body tightened as she sought release from the sheer intensity. Concentrating on the sensations that blasted through her body, she rode closer to her climax, and then she shattered—bright, brilliant diamond lights exploding behind her eyelids. In seconds, he chased her there, grunting her name as he came, his body jerking from the aftershocks.