No Strings Attached (8 page)

“Wow,” Ella said as she took her seat. “This is definitely worth waiting for.”

“I thought you might like it here.”

“Who wouldn’t? The ocean, the breeze…It’s breathtaking, Clay, especially to someone
who’s landlocked like me.” She turned her gaze to him. “And you, too, of course. This
is amazing.”

“Yeah, I found this place on my last trip here and came back every morning for breakfast.”

“I can see why. And I’m sure whoever you brought was very appreciative.”

He laughed. “I didn’t bring anyone with me, Ella.”

She poured cream into the coffee the waitress had brought. “No? I would have thought
Hawaii was a romantic destination, that you’d bring a woman.”

“I come here to go fishing, not for romance.”

She arched a brow. “Could have fooled me.”

He laughed and leaned in, took her hand in his. “Well, not usually anyway.”

“So I’m an exception.”

“Definitely an exception.”

“Then again, what we’re doing together isn’t really romance, is it?”

“What were doing together can’t be labeled.”

She slid her hand away and grabbed her cup, leaned back in the booth. “Sure, it can.
It’s just sex, right?”

“Yeah. Right. Just sex.”

Why did it feel like more than that? He of all people knew that he wasn’t capable
of anything more than that with a woman, and especially someone like Ella, who was
all about emotion and permanence and marriage. That wasn’t where his life went. They’d
agreed it would be sex with no strings. She seemed happy with the arrangement.

So what was irritating him?

After breakfast, they headed down to the beach, where Clay chartered a boat.

Ella stepped aboard, helped out by one of the crew. She turned to Clay. “How many
others will there be?”

“Others?”

“Yes. Other people in this group excursion.”

His lips lifted. “Oh. None. This trip is private. Just you, me and the crew. I thought
we’d tour the island, maybe stop somewhere and snorkel.”

“Really?”

He loved when she was excited and happy. Her eyes lit up like a child’s. And she hadn’t
been pumped up about anything in a long time. He was happy to give this to her. “Yeah,
really.”

They sailed out of the port and onto the open sea, heading out at a leisurely pace.
Clay led Ella to the front of the boat where there were cushioned seats waiting for
them. The sun was out and warm, so he shed his shirt and kicked off his sandals.

“Oh, great idea,” Ella said, and stood, pulled off her tank top and shucked her shorts.

Damn. Even though he’d had her naked last night, the sight of her in her bikini was
enough to make his mouth water and his dick twitch. She had smooth skin, she was slender
and well built, and she fit a bikini like a model. Yet she wasn’t perfect. She bore
scars here and there—minor injuries incurred from working construction alongside her
crew. Her hands were calloused, her nails short and scraggly, and her feet looked
as though they spent the day stuffed in work boots.

Maybe that was what he liked so much about her—she wasn’t buffed, puffed and polished,
didn’t look as if she spent her days at the gym and the spa being pampered. She worked
for a living, just like he did. She had a fundamental understanding of what his life
was about, which was light-years away from any woman he’d ever dated. He could actually
carry on a conversation with her—hell, he
wanted
to talk to her, which was rare with the women he was usually with.

She pinned him with a curious stare, her hands on her hips. The wind blew her hair
across her face. “You taking inventory?”

He grinned. “Maybe.”

“Well, stop it. It freaks me out. I know I’m not perfect.” She slid into one of the
cushioned chairs and propped her feet across the raised deck of the bow.

“I know. I was just thinking that.”

She slid her sunglasses over her eyes. “Gee, thanks. You sure know how to compliment
a woman. I’m amazed you get as many dates as you do.”

“No, I was thinking that I can appreciate how imperfect you are,
because I’m not perfect. These scars, for instance.” He lifted her arm and traced
his finger across the faint ridge on her forearm.

“Damn weld burn. Went right through my shirt.”

“Yeah. I carry more than a few of those myself.”

She leaned over and smoothed her fingers down his arm. “I recognize your battle scars.”

He laid his hand over hers. “I like you touching me.”

Her hand stilled. “I like touching you.”

Their gazes caught and held.

“This is so…odd,” she said.

“Yeah? Why?”

“I don’t know. You, me, together. That part I’m used to. But this part?” She smoothed
her hand across his arm again.

“Is that a problem?”

“Not really. I’ve just known you a long time. As a friend. A business associate. I’m
not used to having free access to your body.”

He pulled on her hand until she came over to his chair and sat on his lap.

“Get used to it. I want you to touch me.”

She leaned against him, the curve of her breast so near his mouth he could have licked
her. His cock rose at the thought. Instead, he buried his face in her neck and inhaled
her scent. “You smell good.”

Her breathing deepened. He ran his hand down her back, letting his fingers tease the
material of her bikini bottom.

“You keep doing that and something scandalous is going to happen right here on this
boat.”

He kept doing it, letting his fingers dip just inside the material.

“Clay.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m pretty sure the captain and crew can see us.”

“That’s too bad because my dick is hard.”

“Does this boat have a cabin?”

“As a matter of fact, it does.”

She lifted, looked at him. “A private cabin? With a door lock?”

He laughed. “I don’t think they’re going to bust down the door,
Ella.” He’d paid a hell of a lot of money for this private charter. And private meant
just that—he expected time alone with Ella.

She slid off his lap and held out her hand. “Let’s go.”

He stood, hoping his erection wasn’t too obvious. Not that he cared. They went downstairs,
Ella leading the way. She found the door to the cabin, opened it, and Clay shut it
behind them, making sure she heard him lock the door.

She was already kneeling on the bed facing him when he turned around. Her legs were
spread, her fingers teasing along the front of her bikini bottom. His erection returned
with a vengeance.

He came toward her and stopped just short of the bed. “What are you doing?”

“I got a little hot out there.”

He palmed his cock through his board shorts, squeezing it as he watched her. “How
hot?”

She seemed indecisive, chewing on her bottom lip. But then she asked, “Want me to
show you?”

“Hell, yes.”

Her fingers disappeared into her bikini bottom. Her eyes went glassy, her lips parted
and she thrust her hips forward. Then all he could do was imagine what was going on
as her hand moved.

He took a couple more steps toward her, stopping at the edge of the bed. Now he could
smell her arousal, inhaling her sweet scent as her fingers did whatever the hell they
were doing inside her bikini bottom.

“Tell me.”

“I…can’t.”

“Yeah, you can.” He untied his board shorts and let them fall to the floor, then took
his cock in his hand and began to stroke it. “Look at me, Ella. Talk to me.”

“Oh, God.” Her gaze zeroed in on his cock. He almost lost it when she licked her lips,
but he loosened his hold.

“Tell me what you’re doing,” he said. “Better yet, show me.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

He got the idea she’d never played this game with James before. That this would be
a first. And she was going to have it with him.

“Take your bikini off, Ella.”

She shuddered out her next breath, reached behind and untied her top. It fell off,
revealing her breasts. Her nipples were hard. He wanted to cup them, suck and lick
them. It took every ounce of restraint he had to keep from going to her. But he wanted
to watch. At least for the moment. Then he’d get in there and take action—later.

She moved to her hips and slid the bottoms down her thighs, stopping to look at him.
He squeezed his cock, stroked it, the two of them locking gazes as Ella removed her
bikini bottoms. She resumed her position on her knees, her sex visible as she widened
her stance. It was probably the hottest thing he’d ever seen.

“That’s good. Now I can see what you’re doing.”

“I’ve never done this before, Clay.”

“It turns me on, Ella. Show me what you like. And I’ll show you what I like.”

He wanted her to be at ease, to let her know he didn’t mind at all showing her what
pleased him. He gripped his cock in a tight fist, holding the base and doing a slow
glide with his hand to the tip before traveling back down again. Not fast, not too
slow. Ella watched his hand, seemingly transfixed. And he got a hell of a jolt out
of her looking at him.

“Now touch yourself for me.”

She laid her palm flat against her lower belly, her fingertips resting just above
her sex. She eased her hand down and cupped her pussy, let it rest there, her fingers
lightly tapping.

Clay could tell from the look on her face that it felt good. Her eyes were half lidded,
her lips parted, and her breasts rose as she breathed. And damn, watching her sure
as hell felt good to his cock. He squeezed his shaft harder and pumped it once, twice—not
too much—because watching Ella pleasure herself could make him go off.

She eased her hand, up, then down, caressing her pussy, her fingers teasing her lips,
not quite dipping inside. And then her lips
parted and a soft moan escaped them. It was enough to drop a man to his knees. She
lifted her gaze to his, and he read the heat in her eyes. Heat and nervousness. He
liked seeing that innocence on her face, enjoyed knowing she gave him something she
hadn’t yet given another man. Yeah, call him an arrogant Neanderthal, but he liked
that this was just for the two of them—something special just for him. At least today.

Her hand movements quickened, her hips jutting forward. And then she tucked one finger
inside her pussy.

“Oh, yeah.” He stepped closer, and dropped down to his knees, putting himself at eye
level to her sex. He needed to see up close, watch her finger drilling in and out
of her hot sheath.

She was wet, the smell of her arousal soaking the air around him. He licked his lips
and tilted his head back to look at her. Her face was dark with desire, her mouth
open as she panted.

“Let me taste you.”

She removed her finger and held it out for him. He grasped her wrist and brought her
hand forward, wrapped his tongue around her finger and sucked it into his mouth.

Tart, tangy. Sexy, just like the woman who made him crazy.

She moaned when he sucked, and the pressure kicked higher inside him. But he could
wait. He had patience. He wanted her to come first.

He pulled her finger out of his mouth and stood, leaning over the bed. “Lay down,
babe.”

She dropped to her back and he pulled her to the edge of the bed, then parted her
legs. He took a moment to just look at her while she was naked. If someone had told
him a week ago that he’d be naked in a room with Ella Hicks, he would have laughed
at them, would have said that would never happen. He was glad he’d been wrong, because
he couldn’t think of anyone he wanted to be with more than her.

And maybe he always had, but he’d pushed the thought aside. She belonged to someone
else, even if that someone else was dead.
It had always been hard for him to think of her as a woman—an available woman—because
he’d always thought of James.

But for some reason, ever since he found her here in Hawaii, all those reservations
had disappeared.

Because while they were here, she belonged only to him, even if it was just for a
week. And he was going to enjoy having her for every minute he could.

And every which way he could.

He spread her legs and knelt, slipping his hands under her thighs so he could raise
her hips. She lifted up on her elbows. Obviously she wanted to watch.

He spread kisses along the smooth skin of each inner thigh, then looked up at her
and smiled, watching the tension spread across her face as he lowered his mouth to
her sex.

Her skin was warm and bathed in her scent. He breathed her in and took a long, slow
lick of the entire length of her pussy. She shuddered underneath him, a soft cry escaping
her lips. He wanted to hear more of that and pressed his tongue against her clit.
She lifted against him, moaned again, this time louder.

Oh, yeah.

She had a sweet pussy, her body so damn responsive it was all he could do not to plunge
his cock inside her right now. But doing this to her—for her—was more important. He
loved feeling her squirm underneath his hand, his mouth, taste her as she edged closer
and closer with every lap of his tongue. He felt her tighten, knew what he needed
to do. He swirled his tongue over her clit and slid one finger inside her.

“Clay. Oh, God. Yes.” Her entire body vibrated when she came, her pussy squeezing
his finger tight while she convulsed and thrashed against his mouth. And oh, he liked
it. He liked it a lot seeing her let go like this.

He took her down easy, using slow licks and caresses, waited until her body stopped
shaking before he stood, put on a condom and leaned over her.

Her eyes were glazed over and she wore a half smile that told
him how much she’d enjoyed her orgasm. He’d always liked giving a woman pleasure.
But making Ella come meant something more to him.

He didn’t want to analyze it. It made his gut clench in a way that meant there was
emotion involved in that thought. And that was dangerous territory.

Ella drew her knees up and planted her feet flat on the bed. “You going to fuck me
or stare at me?”