Deep Focus (9 page)

“How can they be juicy?” she asked, arching up toward him when he drew back.

“They just are.” He dipped down and sucked her bottom lip to taste her, to feel that soft give of her flesh beneath his.

Melanie gave a soft moan.

He cupped one breast, testing its weight, testing her reaction.

She sighed. “You know what really got to me earlier?” she asked.

“When I dropped my pants in front of you?” He nibbled at the corner of her mouth, wanting to take his time and explore all of her body, all of her reactions.

She giggled. “That tickles. And yes, that did get to me. But actually I was thinking about the massage you gave me. It both relaxed me and totally turned me on. I was fantasizing about you slipping your finger into my bikini bottoms.”

“What a coincidence. So was I.” If they hadn’t been in public he might have tested the waters.

But now they were blissfully in private, and Melanie had lost her shirt somewhere along the way. He wondered what was happening down south. “Roll over. I’ll massage you again.” Pushing back, he stood up and went back to the bathroom.

“Where are you going?”

She sounded upset that he was leaving, which was satisfying. “To get some lotion.”

“Oh.”

As he came back, squirting the scented lotion into his hand, he saw she had done as he’d told her to and rolled onto her stomach. She was resting her head on her hands and watching him with a small smile. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

“Uh, yes, I do.” He climbed back onto the bed. “This isn’t a duty or charity on my part. I don’t have to get my oil changed every three thousand miles. I don’t have to show up at my friend Brent’s annual clambake. This? I have to do this. For both of us.” No one was going to sleep until there was at least one round of orgasms.

“No, I meant the massage. I sort of strong-armed you into it.”

The woman needed to be spanked. She spent far too much time telling him what he shouldn’t do for her. “You did not strong-arm me into it. You didn’t even ask. Can I suggest something?” He started at her shoulders, enjoying the sigh of contentment she gave.

“What’s that?”

“Zip it and let people do shit for you. Embrace your inner diva.”

“I don’t think I have one,” she said so sincerely that he had to laugh.

“Well, let’s go looking.” Hunter settled himself over her, one knee on either side of her thighs. Her butt was still covered with the sheet, and he perched over her, their bodies just brushing occasionally as he kneaded the knots under her skin. Leaning forward, he kissed behind her ear, kissed her neck, kissed the side of her mouth that was available to him. “Are we close?”

“I don’t think so,” she murmured. Her eyes were closed, and he could feel her relaxing beneath him.

He moved on down her body, running his thumbs on either side of her spine. Her body was already familiar to him from his earlier massage, though now he had the luxury of moving farther and farther to either side until he was touching the swell of her breasts. She had a great chest that he was very much looking forward to enjoying thoroughly.

“Well, then, let’s attack this from a different angle.” He moved off her and slipped his hands lower, taking the sheet down with him. She was still wearing panties, which didn’t surprise him. It had been daring enough of her to take her shirt off.

But he didn’t hesitate to peel the panties down and off her ankles, exposing the curve of her backside to him. She sucked in her breath.

“Please don’t massage me...there,” she said.

“Why not?”

“It’s weird.”

Completely defying her, he cupped her cheeks with both hands and gently massaged her. It was a total turn-on, touching her while studying her body laid out for him. She looked so sexy, her lips swollen from his kisses, her hair wild and damp—but a little anxious.

She groaned even as she repeated, “This is weird.”

“What’s weird about it?” Hunter wiped his hands on the sheet to make sure there was no lotion remaining and lay down on his side next to her, feathering his palm across her backside.

“I don’t know,” she whispered, staring at him with limpid eyes. “No one has ever touched my butt before.”

“You can’t be serious.” He stroked her flesh with a feathery touch, up and down, hoping she would relax. “If you try to tell me you’re a virgin, I’m going to call you out on it because I don’t believe you.”

She rolled her eyes. “No, I’m not a virgin. What does that have to do with anything?”

“There is no possible way you can have sex without your butt being touched at some point.” He kissed her before she could respond, teasing his tongue inside her mouth.

Melanie smiled and pulled away, sounding breathy as she spoke. “I meant the
way
you were touching it, kneading it like bread dough, not just any sort of general touching.”

“That makes more sense. I stopped doing that. Should I stop doing this?” He reached around behind her and slipped his middle finger between her legs and into her moist heat, sliding in and out of her with a steady rhythm. She moaned softly and her hips rose involuntarily. Damn, that was sexy. She had the kind of body he loved. He’d lived in South Florida until he was ten years old and seen many beautiful Latina women in bikinis on the beach during his formative years. He appreciated curves on a woman, the classic hourglass with breasts and booty. With her tail end raised, he was getting more and more turned on. Melanie had a body built for sex.

He had a body built to satisfy her.

“No.” She started to move onto his finger. “Please don’t—”

“Please don’t what?”

“Don’t stop.”

“Not until you tell me to,” he promised. “Is this good enough? Do you want something more?” He wanted her to want his cock, but he knew she was shy. Or maybe it wasn’t shyness. Maybe it was that she was uncertain as to what she actually enjoyed. He had a feeling she’d dated her fair share of losers in the past.

He reached with his free hand to get a condom and tore it open with his teeth. Her eyes widened as she saw what he was doing, but she didn’t speak.

It wasn’t normally his first position of the night, to take a woman from behind, but her backside was raised so perfectly, so temptingly, that he couldn’t resist. He moved in behind her, nudging her legs just slightly apart, giving her time to object as he teased her with the tip of his erection. Her response was to lift her hips higher in a blatant invitation.

Oh, yeah. He was going in.

Hunter pushed his cock into Melanie with one thrust, dragging a groan from both of them. He was just savoring the sensation when he realized that she was nearly in the throes of an orgasm. Holy shit, that was hot.

He gripped her hips and slid a finger down and around to tease her clit.

The deep, throaty sob of satisfaction she gave was the best thing he’d heard in ages. “That’s it, Melly. Come for me.”

“I am,” she said, and her pure wonderment made him swallow hard and start to move.

She felt incredible wrapped around him, and he lost himself in her, burying himself deep.

8

M
ELANIE
BRIEFLY
CONSIDERED
the fact that she should be embarrassed for having an orgasm so quickly, but she was too busy having an orgasm to care. Damn, the man could do amazing things to her. It was something about his big hands, his hard, warm body, his teasing touch.

And his voice. It was deep, rumbling. Masculine. It didn’t seem outrageous to do anything when he suggested it, when he coaxed her, encouraged.

She hadn’t expected that he would just take her from behind. Then again, she hadn’t expected he would massage her into such languid arousal. While still managing to kiss her. The very fact that it wasn’t following the rehearsed choreography she was so accustomed to made it even sexier. Hunter seemed to do what occurred to him as each moment came, not because he had a sexual routine that he employed with all his lovers.

That was hot.

Which was why by the time he pushed inside her, she was beyond ready to come. He continued to thrust as the waves of ecstasy washed over her. Melanie gripped the bedsheet and allowed herself the freedom to call out his name. She couldn’t believe that it was so easy to reach climax with him. She didn’t consider herself a problem case, exactly, but it usually required a fair amount of effort. That Hunter brought her to the finish line in minutes astonished her and robbed her of any remaining rational thought.

His orgasm was less noisy than hers, but it satisfied her to hear him groan. “Holy shit,” he said. “Melly, baby, that was unbelievable.”

At first she hadn’t been sure how she’d felt about him giving her a nickname that sprang from their porn-star joke, but now she found herself liking it. Melly was the kind of woman who had orgasms easily. She was calm, without constant to-do lists scrolling through her thoughts. To her surprise, she liked being Melly.

Hunter pulled back and flopped onto the bed next to her, face-first. She swallowed and rolled onto her side to face him, her lower back giving a twinge of protest at the angle she’d been in. Her lower back could suck it. That had been worth a little muscle pain. She blew her hair out of her eyes and gave him a smile. “Well. Hi.”

“Hey.” He stirred and gave her a smirk. “How was the massage?”

“Very satisfying.”

Hunter propped himself up on one elbow, then reached out and smacked her on the ass. Melanie jumped from the slight sting, though it was more surprising than painful. “Ow! What was that for?”

“For being so damn desirable. I wanted to make that last a little longer, but you brought me to my knees.”

Given the look on his face, she couldn’t help but believe him. That in and of itself was enough to make her feel reassured. She had needed this, no question about it. “Thank you,” she told him.

“Are you kidding me? I didn’t hold a door open for you,” he said, scoffing. “This was for both of us. No thanks need to be exchanged. That is what is weird. Not me touching your butt.”

He had a point. It was an ingrained habit, one she clearly needed to break. “Maybe I should touch your butt and we’ll be even.”

“Be my guest.”

Given that she’d been fantasizing about that ever since she’d seen him in his underwear, she was eager to go for it. Snuggling closer to him, she did a frontal spoon position.

“I like this already,” he said, voice husky. “There are so many things I want to do to you. Good thing we have lots of time on our hands.”

She slid her arm over his hip, feeling the heat of his skin, the tautness of his muscles. They could do this anytime they wanted for five more days, if you subtracted a day for the journey back to Chicago. Which of course she did, because that was the way her mind worked. That was never going to change. “Mmm. Sounds like a plan. Are you still going horseback riding with me tomorrow?”

“Of course.”

She let her fingers wander over his butt and explore the firmness of his glutes. Wow. It felt as good as it looked.

“Does it stack up?” he asked. He was starting to sound sleepy.

“Very impressive.”

She wondered if he would scoot away from her, making it clear this was just sex, nothing more. But he didn’t. In fact, after pulling off the condom and depositing it on a tissue on the nightstand, he actually wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in closer.

“Think of this as a warm-up,” he said. “An Intro to Orgasm course.”

Melanie gave a soft laugh, feeling very relaxed and comfortable cocooned next to his warm body. “I wasn’t a virgin, remember?”

“No, not technically. But before this trip is over I’m going to get you to really let go, Melly.”

She thought she was doing pretty damn good so far. “I thought you were supposed to protect me from danger,” she teased.

“How is great sex dangerous?”

Because when they got back to Chicago they wouldn’t see each other again, and then he would be the gold standard by which she judged all future men. She didn’t want to lose her head. Or worse, her heart.

“I’m not very athletic. I might pull something if I really let go.” She’d go with flippant. He didn’t need to know the direction her thoughts were taking.

“Always stretch first.” He yawned.

If he knew she was being a little evasive, he didn’t call her out on it. Though he probably didn’t. Most men didn’t think the way women did, hence the abundance of failed relationships. “Good plan.”

“I can help you with the stretching if you’d like. Put your ankles on my shoulders and things like that.”

Oh, Lord. “I’m good, thanks.”

Hunter kissed her. “Then, quit complaining.”

“I’m not complaining!” Was she? She didn’t think she was. “But I’m going to go to sleep now. Good night.”

“Good night, gorgeous.”

Melanie shifted to roll onto her back.

“Stop wiggling.”

“I was going to give you some room.”

“I don’t want room. I want you.”

Melanie stilled. His eyes were closed, and he sounded only half-aware of what he was saying. He didn’t mean anything by it. She knew that.

But for now she was just going to cuddle up against his warm body and enjoy being close to someone. Giving a sigh of relaxation, she closed her eyes and ended the first day of her vacation.

Never in a million years could she have predicted it would end this way, but she was proud of herself for going with the flow.

And she refused to wake up tomorrow with any regrets.

* * *

H
UNTER
HAD
NEVER
been into horseback riding. He didn’t feel as though he could control the animal, and that pissed him off. So even though the horses used on the resort excursion were old and tame, he still felt as if he might fall off at any given moment. It didn’t help his mood that Melanie looked completely comfortable and happy, trotting along the beach with her skin and eyes glowing.

He had woken up in the middle of the night sweating bullets, but he hadn’t wanted to shift Melanie away from him, so he’d just dozed in and out of sleep. Then when he’d finally woken up, Melanie was already out of bed and in the shower. With the bathroom door locked. It wasn’t how he had wanted to start the day. When she’d come back into the room she had cheerfully informed him he only had twenty minutes before departure, shattering his visual of Melanie climbing onto him and starting the morning out right with some lazy sex.

There had only been time for him to eat a muffin before he’d had to climb up on this beast. He was a man—he wanted breakfast, not baked goods. It was making him surly. As was the fact that he’d been wanting to explore Melanie from head to toe. She didn’t look as if she was regretting the lack of morning sex. She looked happy, peaceful.

Which, now that he thought about it, was a good thing. She had needed to chill out a little. She deserved to be happy, and if riding a goddamn horse made her feel that way, then he’d deal. Maybe he could also flatter himself with the idea that she was feeling a little bit of afterglow.

Their guide was telling jokes and showing Melanie extra attention. Hunter found it incredibly irritating. Had she told him the porn-star story? He hoped not. It had been just a humorous inside joke between the two of them, and he had mentioned it himself to strangers, but now in hindsight that seemed like a bad idea. He didn’t want her to receive inappropriate attention from guys on the resort because they thought she was a fun girl.

It was that concern that had him forcing his horse to walk a little faster so he could catch up with Melanie and her new boyfriend. He had to laugh at himself. He was jealous of the tour guide. It was ridiculous. Two days earlier he hadn’t even known her, and now he was jealous. But while that was totally irrational, it wasn’t out of line to be concerned about her safety if she was staying in character with the persona they had created.

So there.

Hunter came up so close and so quickly that the guide had to move his horse to the right to make room between himself and Melanie.

“Hey, amigo,” the guide said with a big smile. “You’re finally getting riding figured out, yes?”

“Yes.”

Melanie gave him a look of contrition. “You’re not having fun, are you? I’m sorry. I didn’t know you don’t like riding. I love it.”

“I can tell. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” How long could this beach walk go? It couldn’t be more than a couple of hours. “I’m getting to know my horse. We’re buddies.”

She laughed, and she sounded so carefree that he couldn’t help but relax. The tour guide fell back to talk to another couple, and Hunter took the moment of privacy to warn her. “Hey, uh, I know I started the whole Melly Ambrosia thing, but I don’t think you should tell people you’re in the film industry. I don’t want guys getting creepy on you. It might bring you some unwanted attention.”

She gave him a look of disapproval. “You’re right, you did start it. But for your information, I didn’t tell him anything of the sort. One, he knows my name because it was on the excursion package. Two, I’m not dumb. And three, he assumed you’re my boyfriend. He’s just being friendly, not gross. It’s his job. I’m sure he wants a tip at the end of the tour.”

“If people are assuming you’re my girlfriend, then you should act like it.” Wow. That sounded super assholish. He meant it to be flirtatious, not possessive.

Her eyes widened, and she leaned forward slightly, petting her horse as if it reassured her. The breeze tossed her hair into her face. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. Never mind.” There was really no way to explain his feelings. At least none that he was comfortable with. Hell, he didn’t even know what his feelings were.

“We’re just...fooling around, right?” she asked, suddenly sounding uncertain.

Great. She thought he was angling for some sort of relationship. It was usually the other way around—the guy was supposed to worry that the woman was assuming too much. The fact that she was thinking he was having ooey-gooey thoughts after a brief but intense sexual encounter was downright humiliating. So he liked her. Big deal.

“Yes. We’re just fooling around. While we’re here in Mexico.”

“It’s a vacation fling?”

Her expression was inscrutable.

“Yes.”

“So we don’t need to talk about what happens when we get back to Chicago because nothing will happen. Correct?”

This was a minefield. He was certain of it. She was setting a trap for him. If she thought he was going to avoid it by disagreeing, therefore condemning himself to awkward expectations, then she took him for a fool. He wasn’t stupid. He was not the guy for Melanie. She needed Mr. Touchy Feely, not Stonewall Jackson. When they got back home they would go their separate ways. He would hole up in his stark apartment and work and exercise, and she would meet a nice guy who golfed and would go antiques shopping with her. This was just one of those things they had fallen into and while it was mutually pleasurable, it couldn’t go anywhere.

“Correct.”

“Thanks for making that clear.”

She was annoyed, though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly why, whether it was because she wanted there to be something more or because she didn’t like that he was just putting it out there. “You’re welcome.”

But that was the wrong answer, because Melanie rolled her eyes and kicked the flank of her horse, setting off into a trot and leaving him in her sandy wake. His own horse whinnied and reared his head. “Don’t worry, buddy,” he told him. “We’re not going to chase her. She just wants to be left alone.”

This day certainly wasn’t playing out the way he had intended. Not even freaking close.