Tempt (Take It Off) (14 page)

“And what do you think I need to thank you for?”

“It would have been all kinds of awkward for him when you didn’t kiss him back.”

“Who says I wouldn’t have kissed him back?” I countered, lifting an eyebrow.

A few strokes and he was beside the rock. He reached up and wrapped his hand around my ankle and slowly towed me forward. I slid right into the water, but before I could plunge into its depths, he pinned me with his body. My back arched against the rock and he leaned in close.

“Because he isn’t me.”

A shiver started at my feet and worked its way all the way up. He looked smug.

“I’m cold
.” I lied.

“Are you?” he whispered, coming close
—so close that I could feel his warm breath fan across my lips. My tongue jetted out, moistening them, waiting for his kiss.

He didn’t kiss me.

He swam away. “We better go, then.”

I stared daggers at the back of his head and his laughter echoed around the cove. He was standing on the shore when I swam up, and he helped me up, reaching down and scooping up my dress.

“I want to show you something,” he said, taking my hand.

He led us onto the darkened beach, walking across the sand, past the place where we had a bonfire. I didn’t pay attention to how far we walked because I was completely distracted by the moon.

It was perfectly round, huge, and the color of a russet sunset. It was absolutely stunning. The kind of sight that made me wish I had a camera because I knew I would never see it quite this beautiful again.

It was still rising, sitting just above the water, and it was so large and produced so much light I finally understood the term “a moonlit night
.” I never really got it at home. Yes, the moon came out, but it was never really bright enough to light the dark. Until now.

“I’ve never seen a more beautiful moon,” I told him as we walked.

“Me either.”

I could stare at it all night. I wanted to commit it to memory, to never forget just how incredible it was.

A little while later, he pulled me closer to the trees and I looked at him, puzzled.

“I have something for you
,” he said, pulling me around so the only place I could look was his beautiful moonlit face.

“What is it?”

“I thought you deserved something special after the day we had.”

I melted a little at his words, though it wasn’t really his words
. It was the consideration behind them. The fact that he thought of me enough to want to make a craptastic day just a little bit better.

Curiosity pulled at me and I smiled.

“Ready?” he asked softly, grasping me by the shoulders.

I nodded, squeezing my eyes shut with anticipation. He spun me around.

I opened my eyes and looked.

It was swaying lightly in the breeze and was big enough for two.

I smiled. “Where in the world did you find a hammock?”

“The other side of the island.”

I bit my lip. “Do you think they will notice it’s gone?”

He shook his head. “It was in that boat with all the rope and the tarps. It was buried at the bottom.”

“I love it.” Now we really could stare at the moon all night. “When did you do this?”

“When you were in
the cove, kissing Duke.” He teased.

But it wasn’t a joke, not to me. “Nash,” I whispered, touching his cheek. Trying to find the words. I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to say.

“I was only kidding,
bella
,” he soothed, pulling me closer. Both of us were still slightly damp from the water. “I know he’s interested. I can see it every time he looks at you.”

“Are you jealous?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“No?”

“He’s jealous of me.”

“
And why is that?” I murmured, looping my hands around his neck and playing with the ends of his hair.

“Because I’m the one with you right now.
I’m the one who’s going to steal away your heart.”

“Confident,” I replied, trying to play it cool, even though deep down inside I was sweltering. My heart was definitely considering a leap into his hands.

“Not confident,” he murmured, finally brushing a kiss across my lips. “Certain.”

I let him have the last say. I was done bantering. I wanted his lips upon mine. He gave me a deep kiss, his tongue massaging against mine
, and then he pulled me backward toward the hammock.

He was the first one in, leaving on
e foot firmly planted on the ground as he opened his arms up to me, inviting me into the little swing. I snuggled up along his side and he lifted his leg, wrapping it around my legs and setting the hammock to a gentle swaying motion.

I sighed as the cool ocean air flirted with my skin, the sound of the surf lulled my body into a boneless position
, and the moon stood watch over the night.

Nash played with my hair, pulling his fingers through it all the way until they cleared the long strands
, and then he would start all over again. I curled my fingers into his chest, snuggling as close as I could against him. If I could have found a way inside him, I would already be there.

Eventually his hands drifted away from my hair and traveled down my body, grazing the side of my breast. I was already wound tight, still worked up from the night before
, and I groaned, arching into his hand farther.

“You like that?” he murmured, stroking me again.

“Mmmm.”

The next thing I knew
, my top was gone and I was lying flat against the hammock as he stared down at me with passion-laden eyes. He kissed me deeply, his tongue taking over the inside of my mouth. I was completely breathless when he pulled away, his lips closing over my puckered nipple and gently sucking at it while he made tiny growling sounds that vibrated my entire breast.

I grabbed his head, holding it to me, not wanting him to stop, needing more of his lavishing attention. He moved on to the other breast, stopping in the hollow between them, licking the skin and then blowing on the wet flesh. I shuddered and began to writhe below him.

He rocked his hips forward and I felt the rock-hard length of him. Immediately, I spread my legs, wrapping them around his waist and locking him into position.

The hammock swayed as we dry
-humped each other until I literally ached with need. When he pulled back, my entire body was shaking, shaking so badly that my teeth were chattering.

“Are you cold,
bella
?” he asked, concerned.

“No.” I reached up to the button on his shorts. “We were interrupted last night,” I said, releasing
the closure.

“We were
.”

“I still want to see you.”

We moved so he was lying on his back and I was lying along his side, my breasts brushing up against him. Eagerly, I slid down his zipper, guiding it past the large bulge in his shorts.

He wasn’t wearing any underwear.

The only other time I ever looked at a man’s privates was the one time I had sex—but that time had been in the dark, it had been very quick, and I certainly hadn’t been presented with it the way I was now, and even though it was dark, the oversized moon shed just enough light for my hungry, curious eyes to explore.

He
was larger than I expected. And it looked silky smooth, the skin pulled taut over a member that seemed to be reaching for me. Suddenly, I wanted all the fabric away. I didn’t want his shorts anywhere near his body. and I tugged at them, making a frustrated sound.

He chuckled and reached beneath him, pulling something out and quickly dropping it beneath the hammock. I barely paid attention
. My eyes never left his manhood. My hands begged to touch him.

Nash helped me pull off his shorts and he kicked them out of the hammock
, where they landed in the sand.

Finally
, he was completely bare. Finally, I could look at him the way I truly wanted.

“Just your heated gaze is enough to make me come,” he murmured as he reached out and stroked my nipple.

But I wasn’t only going to look.

T
entatively, I reached out to touch him with a single finger, trailing down to the base. He shuddered.

My eyes snapped up to his face
, but he wasn’t looking at me. His eyes were closed. Feeling a little bolder, I continued down, cupping his warm balls in my palm. The skin here felt a little different, a little less smooth, a little thinner, but it wasn’t a bad feeling. I kneaded the round globes that rested just between his thighs, rolling them around gently in my hand while the other came up and wrapped around the base of his erection.

He groaned and I smiled. I moved my hand up and down along the length of him, enamored by the reactions I got whenever I touched him certain ways. His skin was utterly soft, almost like velvet
, and I couldn’t get enough of exploring him.

I encircled
my thumb and forefinger around the tip, noting the way it got a little wider at the top, squeezing just a little. He jerked in my hand, his stomach muscles contracting at my touch. A small bead of moisture formed at the very top and I glanced up at him, a new desire forming in my mind.

His head was tilted back and I couldn’t read his expression
, so I scooted just a little closer, my face right in his pelvic area, my feet hanging off the hammock, and I wrapped my lips around his hardness. He tasted slightly salty and tangy. I licked at him like he was a giant lollipop and his hands grabbed the back of my head, his fingers digging into my scalp. His hips thrust forward, and I took him deep into my throat.

He groaned. As I moved my head back and forth
, I cupped his balls again and massaged them gently.

Too soon, he reached down and pulled me away. I looked up
, afraid I’d done something wrong, or maybe I’d been too overzealous and hurt him. “Nash,” I whispered, my voice deep and husky. “Did I hurt you?”

“No, baby, you definitely didn’t hurt me
,” he replied, carefully moving us so he was on top of me. I loved the feel of him over me, like I was small and protected, caged in by him.

His weight bore down
as he brushed the hair away from my face. His lips grazed my cheek when he whispered, “Ava, I want to make love to you.”

“I want that too,” I whispered back.

Like he’d done it a hundred times before, he untied the strings on my bikini bottoms and tossed them away in the sand. He fitted himself between my legs, resting there. His long, hard length pressed against my core, resting right along my folds, the very tip of him sliding against my clitoris and making it hard for me to breathe.

Just when I thought my desire couldn’t be any stronger
, a new hunger swept through me.

He kissed me, a fiery kiss that scorched my skin, scorched my insides. It scorched my heart.

“I’ll stop,” he reminded me, pulling back just slightly. “You can change your mind.”

“I know
.” I reached up and ran the backs of my fingers down his incredible face. His eyes deepened and fluttered closed. “I want this. I want you.” He’d already made me feel so much that I wanted more; I wanted to see what else he could give me.

“I don’t have any condoms. I didn’t exactly prepare for this,” he said
, a hint of regret in his voice.

“I’m on the pill
,” I said as he kissed my nose, my cheek, and the corner of my lip.

He took my face in his hands and looked into my eyes. “I’ve never had sex without a condom before. I swear.”

“I believe you.”

He started kissing me again, deep
, long kisses that had my hips searching for him as he moved against me but never slid inside.

Just when I thought I was going to go mad with need
, he plunged in, one long, quick stroke. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I felt my body stretch out around him, hugging him tightly and welcoming him inside.

He cursed softly, burying his face in my neck and holding himself still.
I wanted him to move. I rocked my hips, the movement sending shivers across his skin. He moaned in my ear and then rose up, pulling back and then plunging in again.

The hammock began to rock
. The rope he used to tie it to the trees made a groaning sound as it rubbed against the trunk. He didn’t seem to notice, but pulled out and plunged into me again. My body arched up as pleasure shot through me.

We proved to be too much for the hammock and it tipped, dumping us out. In the fall, Nash managed to wrap me in his arms and turn so he landed first and broke my fall.

I gasped and pushed off of him. “Are you okay?”

He groaned and grabbed my hips. I noticed then that I was straddling him, that he was still rock hard and he was pressing against me. I rocked against him, sliding along his pubic area. He moaned.

I rocked up, leaving some space between us, and his penis stood up, presenting the perfect opportunity for me to slide my body down over it.

Tiny waves of ecstasy rolled over me
. The angle of him was different; the feel of him was stunning. I bucked my hips slowly, like I was sitting on a mechanical bull. My entire core was against him; every inch of me was in contact with him.

The friction of the short, rough curls on both our bodies drove me wild as we moved together. Little sounds erupted from my throat and chest
. It was like I couldn’t possibly get enough of him.

Oh
, I definitely wasn’t broken.

This was unbelievable.

This was more than I ever thought possible.

It was like my body was no longer my own. But it was ours. We moved as one
. We breathed as one. We rose to the very pinnacle of pleasure as one.

I bent at the waist, bringing my chest up against his
, and he wrapped his arms around me, anchoring me to him and then he started moving. Up until this point, I had set the pace; I had moved atop him with single-minded precision. But now he was taking control once more… He was holding me close and hammering into me, our hips banging together as pressure built inside me.

“Come with me,
bella
,” he said and rocked upward, rubbing his pelvis against my super-sensitive clit while diving deep inside my body.

We both exploded. Everything fell away, everything but the ecstasy
. Everything else around us was completely lost.

I don’t know how long we floated, how long we
lay there joined together. Eventually, he lifted me up like a ragdoll, and I hung limply above his body. He chuckled and kissed my forehead. He kissed each of my eyelids, and then he sighed.
“Mi adoro,”
he spoke in Spanish.

“What does that mean?” I asked, not bothering to lift my head off his chest.

“That I adore you.”

I smiled.