Cassandra Pierce - Diamonds in the Sand [The Aquans 2] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Special Edition) (4 page)

Before long, Janko circled back to shore. He stopped a few yards away from her, floating with his arms outstretched, the picture of relaxation. When was the last time she’d really felt that loose and carefree? Maybe never.

“Doing okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine.”

“Must be kind of hot up there on the sand,” he observed. “You’re already turning red.”

Maura glanced at her arms, which were indeed looking a little sunburned below the rolled-up sleeves. The tropical sun was full and intense, even at this early hour. “I’ll be all right,” she said.

“Just be careful. This kind of weather takes some getting used to.”

In an effort to change the subject from her own slowly baking skin, she gestured toward the other two men. They were out so far that their heads were mere specks. “You guys must swim all the time. You’re excellent in the water.”

“We do,” Janko agreed. “In fact, we need to. It’s in our blood.” He paused, his grin widening. “You ready to jump in? It’s a lot more comfortable out here than where you are.”

“I don’t know.” Averting her face, she pretended that the sun bothered her and shielded her eyes with her hand. Janko was right about one thing. The heat was becoming more intense…in every sense of the word. A swim did sound refreshing. And her shirt probably hung long enough to double as a smock.

More good-natured cajoling from him brought her to her feet. Slowly, her fing
e
rs stiff with self-consciousness, she undid her skirt and folded it neatly. Then she tugged the shirt down as far as it would go and walked slowly into the water. To his credit, Janko avoided looking at her as she waded in. Maura kept walking until she was submerged up to her waist. Janko stayed by her side as she stretched out and let the warm current take her deeper.

Even through the shirt, the water felt like a caress. Shutting her eyes, she reflected on how life here really did move slowly, sensually. The balmy air and water seemed designed for human comfort. The bay itself, so quiet and serene, felt as safe and comfortable as a gigantic bed. No wonder Septimus loved this place, a gentle haven where he could live out his golden years.

Soon Janko drifted close. She didn’t object when he drew her body to his and pressed his muscular frame against her back, spoon style. She felt his cock, thick and hard, brush her thigh, just below the area still covered by her panties. The thrill of his flesh touching hers made her want to melt into the sea.

“I won’t play games,” he said into her ear. “I want you as much as Daq did last night. I’m pretty sure Ivar does, too.”

She pulled away a little, embarrassed not only by his words, but by the instant effect they had on her. “Well, I don’t know what to say. I’m flattered, don’t get me wrong, but still….”

“If you’re worried what Daq might say, don’t bother. He’s not the possessive type. None of us are.”

“Is that part of this island culture all of you keep talking about?”

“Sort of, but there’s more to it. You don’t need to worry about that yet. In fact, you don’t have to worry about anything. Just sink back and let things happen.”

His hand crept across the front of her thigh and dipped between her legs. Maura gasped as his fingers kneaded the crotch of her panties and then slipped inside the leg hole. He massaged her sensitive folds, sending thrills up the middle of her body. Was it wise to combine such intense bursts of electricity with water?

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” he whispered. “There’s a lot more where that came from.”

“Mmmm. I’ll bet there is.” Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back, resting her weight against his chest. His hand probed, pushing the panties aside. She began to wish she’d been bolder and left all of her clothing on the shore. Of course, nothing prevented her from shedding it now.

Her own fingers soon drifted to the buttons of her shirt. Janko used his free hand to assist her. Before long the shirt was floating toward shore.

“We’ll find it later,” he said. Maura nodded, but truthfully, she didn’t care. Her mind was on other things…like the way his cock, hard and hot, even under the water, slid between her thighs. He eased the panties away and slipped them down her legs. This garment, too, went bobbing after the shirt, a tiny pink blotch in a vast expanse of blue.

Ready for each other now, they fitted their bodies closer together. Janko used one hand to skid his cock down the small of her back, tickling the sensitive nerves at the base of her spine, while the other went on teasing her pussy.

“Do you like this?” he asked, sliding his cockhead into the space where his fingers had been only a heartbeat before. He stroked her outer lips the way he had her back, sending shudders of anticipation through her.

“Yes,” she whispered, reaching around to grip the taut curve of his thigh. “Very much.” He leaned into her, his erection prodding her flesh more insistently. Maura readied herself for his welcome invasion, opening her legs and willing her muscles to relax.

To her surprise, an entirely different sensation distracted her from what was going on between her legs. It started when something brushed over her right nipple, followed half a second later by a similar contact on the left. She knew even before she opened her eyes what she would find.

Sure enough, two figures bobbed in front of her, with one set of hungry lips attached to each breast. Janko continued to support her, his cock rubbing just below the point of entry, while Daq and Ivar enthusiastically sucked on her tits.

She marveled at the way the three of them worked in perfect tandem. Daq slid one arm around her waist, while Ivar wrapped one around her thigh. Janko supported her weight from the back, helping to keep her afloat while his friends applied pressure from the opposite side. Between them, they kept every erogenous zone on her body stimulated.

Still, things couldn’t remain as they were for very long, mostly because she couldn’t bear to be teased and tickled indefinitely. She needed something stronger…or harder…and soon.

Janko pulled her closer as Daq and Ivar began to move apart, though they kept their lips on her skin. Daq trailed his upward, kissing his way along the slope of her breast and then her shoulder, finally pausing to nibble her ear. Ivar, on the other hand, drifted lower, actually ducking his head underwater. A moment later she felt his tongue tracing the outline of her pussy.

He encircled her swollen bud and gave it a playful squeeze as Janko finally, and fully, pushed inside her. Daq’s mouth found hers, and they enjoyed a fiery kiss above the waves while other arousing events took place below the surface.

Pleasure more intense than any she’d ever experienced before, or even dreamed of experiencing, raced from three different parts of her body and collected in her center. Because of the water encasing them, Janko had to move his hips slowly and rhythmically, rather than fast and hard, the way she wanted him to. Still, she found herself getting caught up in the almost hypnotic motion of his measured, steady thrusts. He timed them to perfection, each push diving in a little deeper and stretching her a little wider. Climax built in her like a storm, gathering force and fury as it rolled across the sea.

To her amazement, Ivar’s head remained submerged. He hadn’t drowned—the flicking of his tongue against her clit was proof enough of that—but his ability to hold his breath for so long, while using his mouth with such expertise, seemed nothing short of miraculous.

She didn’t have much time to dwell on his talents, though, as an equally incredible pressure surged in her middle. No doubt sensing the quiver in her body, Daq lifted his face from hers. He dragged his teeth along her lower lip, setting off another shower of sparks.

“Let yourself go,” he cooed. Rather than hearing them in the usual way, Maura felt the words brush her mouth. “Show us that we’ve pleased you.”

“Of–of course you have,” she wheezed.

“No, don’t tell us,” he whispered back. The vibration of his voice reached deep inside her, joining with the swirl of Ivar’s tongue and the thrusts of Janko’s cock. “We want to see it.”

An inane thought crossed her mind. How could Ivar see anything when he was underwater? Still, she was literally in no position to argue. Daq drove his lips back down on hers, and Janko tilted his hips upward in a final energizing push.

It was like thunder and lightning striking together, with a volcano erupting nearby for good measure. Maura’s voice caught in her throat, her heart seized in her chest, and the lower half of her body turned inside out with excitement. She came.

* * * *

Afterward, the four of them paddled back to shore together and retrieved their clothes. Though Maura’s shirt was wet and sandy, she put it on anyway. The hot sun began to dry it out almost immediately.

Oddly, she felt shy around them once they were all dressed and on land. Maybe it was because she began to think about Septimus again, and the task of deciphering the stack of research in the bungalow. Hopefully, his notes and journals would point her in some feasible direction as to his whereabouts. She planned to study them more once her head cleared. Right now, with the guys hanging around, she didn’t think anything would make much sense.

“Why don’t you three go on with what you normally do during the day?” she suggested. “I’d like to spend some more time going through Septimus’s papers.”

“We promised we’d help,” Janko said, disappointed.

Maura took on the voice she used in her college classroom when her students weren’t buckling down to the task at hand. “I think it’s safe to assume that if we’re all in the bungalow, we’re not going to get much work done. It would be better if we split up.”

Ivar reached out and smacked Janko in the shoulder. “Give the lady some down time. We’ll see her at lunch.” He raised hopeful eyes to her. “Won’t we?”

“Depends on what kind of progress I make with the research. Let’s play it by ear.”

They stood, and Maura started back toward the bungalow. Daq followed her for a short distance then stopped. She couldn’t resist looking back at him.

“If you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to come back to the house,” he said. “At least one of us will be there.”

“I’ll do that.” She knew he wanted to say more, maybe to discuss what had happened between them all in the sea and where it left their relationship—if that was an accurate name for their frenzied encounter the night before. In any case, such a philosophical discussion would have to wait.

Turning, she headed back to the jumble of scholarship they’d abandoned. This time, she took a more systematic approach, sorting the books and papers into neat little piles. She began to read through the material one stack at a time. More than once, she had to push thoughts of the guys out of her mind so she could concentrate.

She felt a little guilty about invading Septimus’s privacy. Still, he could be in trouble—surely he would understand that they had to take every precaution.

She paged through several journals, dating back a year or so. Unfortunately, some of Septimus’s notes didn’t make a lot of sense, thanks to his cryptic handwriting. What she could untangle suggested nothing of the great discovery he had hinted at with such excitement. Frustrated, she put the notebooks aside and mined the loose notes instead. These yielded more of the same.

Time to attack the computer. It was an older model, probably one Septimus had used for many years. As soon as she turned it on, a password-protected screen came up. Cursing, she spent several minutes trying to override the security software. Apparently, she didn’t know her old mentor as well as she thought, since she was unable to guess the password. Eventually she gave up, turned the machine off, and leaned back in the chair with a sigh.

Only from that angle did she spot the photograph tucked under the keyboard. Curious, she pulled it out and examined its faded surface.

The black-and-white snapshot showed a woman seated on the beach, wet from swimming, her long, dark hair trailing loosely over her shoulders. She posed with both arms wrapped around her bent knees, dressed in a two-piece swimsuit that seemed a bit skimpy for the days of black-and-white photos. The background showed Septimus’s house, which hadn’t changed much. Maura turned the picture over but found no notation on the back.

Maura doubted this was any sort of clue. For one thing, the picture looked at least fifty years old. Still, Septimus had kept it close at hand while he worked. She had nothing to lose by asking about it.

She took one of the journals, tucked the photo inside to protect it, and started back toward the house. As she crossed the beach, she spotted Tagin and Ejan pulling up to shore in a blue-and-white bowrider, presumably the craft they’d had serviced in town. When they got close enough, Tagin jumped into the water and tethered the boat to a submerged mooring. Maura waited for them both to wade ashore. She wondered what they’d been up to all morning. Surely they had no idea how she and their friends had been entertaining themselves.

She fought back a blush as Tagin approached her, grinning. Maybe he did have some inkling.

Hastily she produced the photo. “I found this in Septimus’s office,” she said, holding it up for both of them to see. “Do you know who it is?”

The two squinted and bent down for a closer look. Ejan shrugged, but Tagin peered at it for an extra moment before shaking his head. “Sorry, no. Maybe it’s someone from his family.”