Crossing the Line (7 page)

“Took you long enough.” Derrick leaned on the door jamb, grinning like a madman. “Still jerking off?”

“Yeah. Going for the world record.”

“Save it for later.”

He grunted. Too late for that. “Did you?”

“Hell no. Fucked her in the pool as soon as you left.”

“In front of that couple?” he asked, and Derrick grinned even wider. Jeremy bet that decision had more to do with Derrick’s need to stay in control than Hanna’s need to get laid. Not that he blamed the guy. “Lucky bastard. Never in a million years would Viv have let me do that.”

“Did you ever try?” Derrick’s question came out casually, but it packed serious punch, whether he’d intended it to or not.

Because no, he hadn’t. And sure, he could toss out a lengthy list of reasons for that no, but the bottom line was, he hadn’t tried. His attempts to thaw Viv’s perpetually frosted vagina had always occurred behind a locked bedroom door with the curtains closed. Maybe he’d have had more success if he’d made the effort under more exciting circumstances. Pointless to wonder—he’d never know now.

“Anyway,” Derrick buddy-slapped him back to the present, “we’re gonna take off, but we’ll be back for that six-thirty dinner reservation. Should be the hottest dinner ever.”

“No doubt.” Given their plans for Hanna, and after how she’d responded to him—to
them
—earlier, they might trigger the emergency sprinkler system in the resort’s small dining room. “Have a good time in town. Spoil her rotten, man.”

“That’s my plan,” Derrick said as he walked away.

Yeah, it’d be his plan too.

* * * * *

The neighboring town was a ten-minute drive from the resort. Close enough to be convenient, far enough to maintain a high level of privacy, as the website had promised. That privacy had certainly come in handy earlier. To think, she’d gone to her knees and sucked Derrick’s cock in the doorway of their cabin. Oh, and the pool escapade. Talk about an exciting beginning to the weekend.

For now, though, it was just the two of them. Hanna slid her hand higher up her husband’s thigh, smiling when his larger, sturdier hand dropped on top, his fingers lacing with hers. “I love you,” she said.

“Love you more, baby.”

Normally, she’d argue that point. But Derrick had definitely taken the lead today.

He pulled her little Beetle into an available parking spot on what appeared to be the main drag. The picturesque street stretched farther than she could see, disappearing over a hill several blocks away. Until that point, it was solid with shops and bustling crowds. Beyond the drop-off was a lake view she could’ve stared at for hours. Calm, blue water met a sky full of puffy, white clouds, the former dotted by sailboats and other small watercraft.

“Ready to shop, birthday girl?”

She blinked up at her husband, waiting on the sidewalk, his hand outstretched in invitation. “We don’t have to shop. We could go down to the water and take a walk instead.”

“Anything you want. Everything you want.” He pulled her up, into his arms, managing to hug her and gently smooth her windblown hair into it proper place in one easy motion. “Tell me where you’d like to start.”

“At the beach.”

“You got it.” He smiled when she slid her arm around his waist. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, demanding she lean into him as they moved. “You were quiet on the drive over.”

“Just thinking.”

“Yeah, I saw the smoke.”

“Oh stop, it wasn’t that bad.” She curled her fingertips into his waist, for all the good it did. The man was a rock, nothing fazed him unless he chose to let it. A childhood spent conditioning himself not to show any response to physical and emotional abuse had created that quality.

He pressed a kiss to her temple. “Tell me.”

“Okay, but wait until we get past that group of little old ladies.”

“So it’s gonna be dirty—excellent.”

She laughed, but it tapered into a sigh when the time to spill her guts arrived. “You didn’t touch me—I mean really touch me—after you got back from the pool or on the drive over here.” She burrowed closer, pressing her face tight against the softness of his favorite t-shirt and the warm, hard chest beneath. “Is it because of…earlier?”

“No, baby.” He caught her chin and tipped it up, forcing her to look into his eyes. “I promised you this weekend wouldn’t change anything about
us
. Trust me to keep that promise.”

A ball of tangled emotions lodged in her throat. If she spoke, it’d crack open, and there’d be tears inside. So she nodded. And trusted the man who’d never been anything but one hundred percent honest with her.

They walked the next couple blocks in comfortable silence. Arms wrapped around each other, the late afternoon sun warming their skin, following each other’s unspoken cues to window-shop here and there. If they never had hot sex, or any sex, again, it wouldn’t matter. Just being together was enough.

He squeezed her tighter then, as if he’d read her mind. “Mind if I duck into a store for something before we head down to the lake? Won’t take long.”

“Sure, of course. Lead the way.”

“Actually, I need to go alone.” He winked. “Birthday business.” He steered her toward a patch of green space next to the building. “Be right back.”

“Derrick…” Arguing would be futile. “Go,” she said, shaking her head as she settled on a wrought-iron bench. “But don’t go overboard. I don’t need things, I just need you.”

True to his word, ten minutes later, he was walking toward her. Blue eyes twinkling, a satisfied grin making his dimples pop. God, she couldn’t take her eyes off him—a problem shared by the women he passed en route to her location. She didn’t blame them one bit.

Hair a little messy because all he’d done to it after the pool was swipe it back with his palm, goatee a bit too long to be trendy, tattoos disappearing beneath the sleeves of his well-worn, white t-shirt. Derrick nailed the bad boy look naturally.

To quote her judgmental mother, he was “rough around the edges”. Not inside, where it counted, though her family had never taken the time to find out. As hot as his rough exterior was, his heart and soul were bigger—and belonged to her.

“What’s in the bag, mister?” she asked when he dropped onto the bench beside her, his arms casually slung along the back rail.

“Something for my beautiful wife.” He nodded at the bag on his lap. “Dig in.”

Yes, she’d repeatedly told him not to spend money on her, but since he had… She darted a hand into the small, paper shopping bag and pulled out a tissue-wrapped item that fit nicely in her palm. “What is it?”

“Not telling. Open it.”

She could rip into the paper. As with other things, though, much of the fun was in the anticipation. “Give me a clue.”

“It’s not a vacuum.” One of their inside jokes. They knew way too many couples who’d fallen into the cycle of buying each other what Derrick referred to as
passion killers
. Another thing he’d promised would never happen in their relationship.

Given his speed, he’d known exactly what he’d planned to buy, so it had to be something they’d seen in one of the windows. She turned the gift over in her hand. Too small to be any of the useless but pretty decorative things she’d spotted. The wrong shape to be the earrings that had caught her eye. The salesperson had wrapped it very well—Hanna couldn’t begin to guess.

“I give up,” she said, carefully peeling an edge back.

“Oh good, you’re saving the paper.” Another wink from her sexy hubby, this one as he mimicked her mother at every gift-swapping occasion, ever.

But she didn’t mind. He’d never been anything less than charming and wonderful with her family, despite their unwillingness to extend the same courtesy.

Something metal in shades of copper and silver peeked out from the layers of tissue. Now she really had no idea what he’d bought. She grabbed the edge and ripped. “To hell with the paper.”

A husky laugh ripped from his mouth, as expected. It always gave him a kick when she swore outside of sex.

“Oh…it’s so pretty.” She fingered the edges of the two lovebirds adorning the large hair barrette. Totally her style. And totally unexpected.

“You like it?”

“I love it, it’s beautiful. I can’t believe I didn’t notice it back there.”

“Lots of nice stuff in the window—you were probably looking at something else.”

She popped it open and slid the bar along her nape. Most barrettes wouldn’t hold her thick hair, they either refused to stay fastened or she blew out the pin mechanism trying to force them. She held her breath while clicking the clasp. “It works.”

Derrick trailed his fingers down her newly accessible neck. “The woman in the store said the clip part is made of heavier-duty metals than most of the junky crap out there. She swore it’d hold, even after I told her how many of these things you’ve demolished.”

She could picture that conversation, how gruff he would’ve sounded, complaining in his deep, husky voice about cheap hair accessories. He’d probably left whoever had had the pleasure of serving him a little weak in the knees. Ten years together, and he still had that effect on her. Daily.

She turned slightly, giving him an over-the-shoulder smile as she traced the barrette’s design with her fingertips. “How does it look?”

“You make it look beautiful.” He cupped her neck—a much gentler touch than when they’d had sex in the pool—and pulled her into his space, half onto his lap. The kiss matched the rest of the moment. Soft, slowed down. But still so, so hot.

The pedestrians and passing cars disappeared from existence. She leaned in, her hands flattened against his chest, her left leg wrapped over his lap. With each sweep of his tongue inside her mouth, every delicious crush of his lips against hers, she needed him more. The ownership that came with his kiss, his hands on her body, the sweet release he always gave her. She slid her thigh higher. So what if passersby could see up her dress?

Derrick’s warm palm landed on her bared leg, just above the knee. But it didn’t climb. Instead he broke their kiss. “Let’s go down to the lake.” He chuckled at her frustrated sigh, then circled one of her wrists and brought her hand to the hard-on pushing against his zipper. “Unless you want to take care of that right here?”

* * *

“Tempting…” Hanna said while squeezing his cock. The woman knew she was playing with fire, it was in those gorgeous, whiskey eyes. But she also knew he’d take care of her. Push her limits, but never let her go so far she’d regret anything. Part of why they were perfect together.

So he sat back and let her stroke him through his cargo shorts. Watched her lips part and her tongue peek out as she pressed her clit against his hip. Barely moving, but obviously getting the friction she needed.

Jesus, so fucking hot. A couple more minutes and she’d probably come. She could get off pretty damn discreetly, he’d seen it plenty of times and it made him hornier than hell. He slid his hand up her thigh, under the edge of her dress. High enough to discover she’d gone commando. Of course she had. Now he really had to get them out of here.

He leaned forward so he could whisper in her ear. “Baby, if you come, I’m gonna unzip and push your pretty face down on my cock. Hold it there while you return the favor.” Christ, her sexy little moan. Yeah, that kind of
threat
only made her hotter. He needed to change direction. Immediately. “And there’s a cop parked across the street.”

A quick peek over her shoulder had her scrambling to straighten her dress. “Oh my god, how long has he been there?”

“The whole time.” Truth was, the cruiser was empty. The cop had gone down the street and disappeared into a store while she was opening her gift. But Derrick kept that part to himself. Hanna loved riding the edge and relied on him to take her there. He stood, did a bit of straightening of his own, and pulled her to her feet. “Let’s go to the beach.”

“We should’ve brought a couple blankets. One to lie on…another to keep us from getting arrested.”

“You’ve got a one-track mind, woman.”

“Yes, and you’re it.” Delicate fingers squeezed his as they walked. “You always will be.”

In a couple hours she’d have another man’s dick in her mouth and she’d be loving every minute of it, yet he didn’t doubt her feelings for him. He pulled her in tighter. Smiled as he patted the little box tucked deep in his pocket. “Ditto, baby. Always.”

The street ended at a drop-off. Another street ran parallel to the shoreline below, a boardwalk with short fence lining the escarpment, while the opposite side consisted of wall-to-wall businesses. From the looks of things, this section of town had nothing but food booths and souvenir shops. Good thing he’d asked the manager at the resort where to find a special gift for his wife.

“Are we going down?” she asked, blinking at him innocently.

“Oh yeah.” Had to smile at that one, especially when she rolled her eyes. He motioned toward the wide, wooden stairs that led to the beach. “Ladies first.”

The embankment wasn’t crazy high, but it was steep. As were the steps. If the heel of her sandals snagged in knothole and she fell… He shook off the image. Cut around her to take the lead position. She wasn’t prone to clumsiness, but he wasn’t taking chances.

She kept her hold on the railing—he could see that much in his peripheral vision, but her other hand landed on his shoulder, near the base of his neck. “My hero.”

“You know it.”

At the bottom, he followed her lead and removed his shoes. Warm sand filled the gaps between his toes, covered the tops of his feet. Not his favorite sensation. If he’d spent more time at a beach as a kid, maybe he’d get the appeal rather than want to shake his feet off every other second.

Family outings hadn’t exactly been his dad’s thing—unless you counted a taxi ride to the liquor store on welfare check day. The closest Derrick had come to a beach back then was the overturned skid full of sand in the corner of their backyard. And since every damn cat in the neighborhood used the makeshift sandbox to crap in, it was the last place he would have gone barefoot.