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JACE KISSED DOWN HER body, taking time to tease her nipples with his tongue again on the way down. Was there anything as blissful as worshipping a woman’s body while the rest of the world was still asleep? And Sandi’s body was more beautiful than most—or maybe she just felt special because of the way she was reacting to him.
He was happy to admit, he’d been with his share of women over the years, especially when he was younger. Some had been shy, one or two inexperienced. Some were enthusiastic, and most had enjoyed going to bed with him. But he’d never had a woman respond to his attentions the way that Sandi was responding. It wasn’t as if she gave fake sighs and moans like a porn star—she obviously didn’t need to fake anything. Her flushed cheeks, fluttering eyelids, and the way her body moved beneath his told him she was responding to every brush of his hand, every touch of his tongue.
He pushed up her knees and lowered down between them, used both hands to open her wide, and sank his mouth into her folds. She moaned and clutched a hand in his hair, tilting her hips up to give him better access. Encouraged, he took his time to explore her, sliding two fingers inside her, and teasing her clit with the tip of his tongue.
“Ohhh... that’s amazing,” she said with a sigh when he gave a few long licks all the way up and circled her clit slowly.
Maybe that was why he was enjoying this so much—because she wasn’t afraid to communicate what she liked. No one’s born knowing, he thought, and it made things so much easier because she was open with what felt good for her.
Continuing with the long licks and swirls of his tongue, he wasn’t surprised when it was only a few minutes later that her breathing turned ragged and she tightened her fingers in his hair.
Murmuring his approval, he stroked her thigh with one hand and felt her clamp around the fingers of his other hand as she came, and he guided her through it, enjoying her sweet sighs and the way her body shivered with pleasure.
When she’d done, he pushed upright, put on a condom, and then twirled his finger in the air. “Turn over,” he instructed. She twisted onto her front, and he parted her thighs, positioned himself at her entrance, and then slowly entered her from behind.
“Aaahhh.” She buried her face in the pillow.
“Surely you’re not done yet?” he teased, bracing his hands either side of her shoulders and thrusting slowly. It was like plunging into soft wet velvet. When he looked down, he could see himself sliding into her, his erection glistening with her moisture every time he pulled back. “Fuck, that feels good.”
She widened her thighs, and the sight of her spread there so willingly for him forced his body into overdrive. He started to thrust properly, filling the air with the slick sound of their lovemaking, and she began to exclaim with every push of his hips.
“Too much?” he asked, easing back a little, knowing that not every girl liked it rough.
“No. God no. That’s... aaahhh... amazing...”
So he picked up the pace again, thrusting hard. Something was rising inside him, deep and feral, a basic instinct to claim and conquer that the civilized part of him usually suppressed. Groaning, he tangled his hand in her hair and tugged it back, and she cried out, rewarding him with a fresh flood of moisture. He slid a hand beneath her to tug on her nipples, and that was it, she came again, panting and crying out as her body clenched around him.
He slowed his pace and then carefully withdrew. He wasn’t far from climaxing, but her words from earlier, about looking into each other’s eyes, had him curious.
Rolling her onto her back again, he took a moment to admire her flushed cheeks and the way she lifted her arms above her head, stretched, and purred. Then he guided the tip of his erection into her, and slid inside as he lowered back down.
“You are one hell of a woman,” he said, moving slowly.
“Mmm, and you are the sexiest man in the world.” She closed her eyes as he kissed her, her lips parting beneath his with a moan as he pushed forward, filling her to the brim. “Fuck. Jace!”
“Too much?” He wanted to test her limits, to find out exactly what she did and didn’t like.
“Mmm, no... it’s just... ohhh... you’re not a small man... mmm...”
He chuckled and nipped her bottom lip. “Open your eyes.”
She did so, looking up into his as he continued to move. In between kisses, thrusting all the while, he held her gaze, feeling as if he was drowning in the ocean of her eyes, for the first time understanding why they were called the windows of the soul.
She looked dreamily erotic, sleepy and sexy, and as he continued to slide inside her, her cheeks filled with rose-pink, and her lips parted with her sighs.
“Keep your eyes open,” he demanded, heat building inside him. She was so slick around his erection, her tight walls clinging hold of him every time he moved back, and he wasn’t going to last much longer. Against his will, his hips moved faster, and his breathing grew quicker.
“Oh fuck, yes, come on baby,” she said, meeting each thrust with a rock of her hips. “Come for me.”
He forced his eyes open and looked into hers as his climax slowly rolled over him. Her dark blue irises were flecked with sky-blue, and as he stared into them, his body pulsing into hers, he felt as if someone had looped a piece of cord around them both and pulled it tight.
He’d had one-night stands before, and other casual relationships, and for him sex was rarely more than a brief connection, the blaze of comets passing by in the darkness of a night sky. But at that moment, when he looked into Sandi’s eyes, something happened.
If he was a more romantic man, he might have said his future flashed before his eyes—not his past, but a glimpse into a world he’d never seen before, where life was shared with someone else, where evenings weren’t long and lonely, and where marriage, love, and children wasn’t something to be afraid of, but rather something to be cherished and celebrated.
It happened in a brief burst, like the scatter of sparks from a firework, and then he blinked and gasped as his climax passed, his rigid muscles releasing the tension and turning loose and wobbly. Sandi was coming again beneath him, fucking hell, her fourth orgasm, the woman was a phenomenon. He couldn’t believe it. He groaned as she squeezed his erection with each clench of her muscles, her sighs hot on his lips, and then she flopped back onto the pillows, limp and exhausted.
He kissed her. “Four down, 130 to go,” he said.
She started laughing, and he chuckled and withdrew, got rid of the condom, and swept her up in his arms.
“I’ve never met anyone like you,” he said.
“Nor I you.” She wrapped an arm around his neck and pressed against him as he kissed her, and he reveled in the feel of her soft body along his, smoothing his hand down her back and over her hips.
“Well, we’re not drunk this morning,” he pointed out.
She smiled. “That’s true. I don’t know what excuse I can give this time.”
He cupped her face and brushed his thumb across her bottom lip. “Do you need an excuse?”
She shrugged, lowering her eyes. “I suppose not. There’s nothing wrong with pleasure for the sake of it.”
That wasn’t quite what he’d meant, but he didn’t say anything.
“It’s the best wedding I’ve ever been to,” he said when he eventually lifted his head.
“Mmm, me too. I thought I was going to get bored watching Ginger and Sam mooning over each other.”
He settled down beside her, propping his head on a hand. “You don’t resent her being happy though?”
“Oh God no, of course not. I was being flippant. She’s had a tough time. You know about her ex, right? How when they broke up, he accused her of stealing from his mother’s restaurant?”
“Yeah, Sam told me.”
“Between you and me, I was glad when she dumped him. He wasn’t good for her. He was very controlling—he hated her going anywhere without him, and would get really jealous and possessive.”
“I’m surprised she stood for that,” Jace said. The feisty strawberry-blonde hadn’t struck him as the sort to do what a man told her.
“Ginger’s all bark and no bite. She loved him, I guess, and for a while she was swept up in him. It happens.” Her eyes darkened, like the sudden approach of a storm in a summer sky.
He opened his mouth to say And what about you? What happened to you that you’re so afraid of telling me about? But Sandi had rolled over to look at the clock, and she sighed, sat up, and swung her legs over the bed.
“I need to get going,” she said. “I have to get breakfast ready for the guests.” She rose and stretched, standing in the shaft of sunlight streaming through the window. Her creamy skin turned a blush pink, and Jace grew hard again at the sight of her plump breasts with their tantalizing nipples. Her gaze dropped to his crotch, and he covered himself hurriedly with the duvet.
Her lips curved up. “Are you never sated?”
“Says the woman who had three orgasms and came back for four more.”
She laughed and walked over to the bathroom. “Touché. I’m going to have a shower. She stopped just inside the doorway, turned, and winked at him. “You can join me if you like.”
Jace didn’t need telling twice. He leapt out of bed, tangled himself in the duvet, fought with it for a moment, tossed it aside and grabbed a condom, and followed her hastily into the bathroom.
Sandi welcomed him willingly into the shower cubicle, washed him down with great pleasure, then happily let him massage the shower creme into her skin. He soaped her breasts and slipped his hands between her thighs, and soon they were making love again, steaming up the bathroom, and filling the air with their sighs.
Jace turned her away from him so her hands were on the wall, rolled on the condom, and slid into her from behind. As he moved inside her, he tried to concentrate on how well they fit together and how amazing it felt to have her in his arms, rather than think about the fact that soon it would all be over. He knew goodbye sex when he saw it—God knew he’d done it himself often enough. Sandi wasn’t planning to see him again. For her, this had been a one-night stand from the start, and she had no intention of continuing the relationship.
He wanted the moment to go on forever, but she was so fucking slippery and sexy and sensual in his hands, and he couldn’t wait any longer. Sandi came—just the once this time, but her cries loud enough to tell him it was a powerful orgasm—and he thrust harder, riding her through it, then came himself, his hands curling into fists on the tiles while he spilled again and again, his passion touched with an edge of desperation as he fought to stay in the moment of ecstasy as long as he could.
But it was over all too soon, and they exited the shower and dried themselves, then he returned to the bedroom to dress in the clothes he’d worn the night before.
Afterward, he stretched out on the bed, and watched Sandi getting ready for the day, dressing, drying her hair, and adding a touch of makeup in the mirror.
He kept the conversation light, talking about the wedding, about what Mac and Fred were doing with the vineyard, and about his work, and Sandi chatted away. When she was ready, he came to stand behind her, and slid his arms around her waist.
“You look stunning,” he said honestly, liking her relaxed look of cropped blue pants and a sleeveless pink top.
“It’s going to be warm today.” She lifted up and kissed him, letting her lips linger for a moment.
When she eventually drew back, he looked into her eyes for a long moment. “I don’t suppose there’s any point in asking for another date?” he said.
Wariness crossed her features. “Jace...”
“I know,” he said softly. He bent his head and kissed her again. “Think about it. I’d like to see you again. But I know you’re hiding something from me. You’ve been hurt before, and you’re afraid of being hurt again. I get that. Relationships are like alchemy—they’re a mysterious process where you try to turn base emotions into something magical. Often you just get ash, but very occasionally you can turn lead into gold.” He smiled.
“You think you have a philosopher’s stone?” she asked softly.
“Maybe. We won’t know unless we try.”
“It’s been amazing,” she said. “I’ve had such a fantastic time. But I don’t want a relationship. I’m happy how I am.”
“Fair enough,” he said. “How about regular sex?”
She laughed and swatted his arm. “Honestly.”
“I’m serious. You’re amazing in bed. And you seem to enjoy it with me. If you ever want a reenactment, I’d be happy to oblige.”
She met his gaze, her lips curving up. “You’re serious.”
“Think about it.” He kissed her forehead. “I’d better go.”
“You’re welcome to stay for breakfast.”
“No, I’ll slip out while everyone’s still asleep. I don’t want to embarrass you.”
Her brow flickered with a frown. “I’m not embarrassed about what we did.”
He smiled. “You’re really not, are you?” He bent and kissed her lips. Then he picked up his wallet and car keys. “I’ll see you around. You know where I am.” He took one of his business cards out of his wallet and placed it on the bedside table. “Call me anytime.”
“Jace...” She hesitated. “Thank you.”
He blew her a kiss and left.
Outside, the early morning sun was dazzling. He slid on his sunglasses and stood for a moment looking down at the bay. The Pacific Ocean sparkled, and at the edge of the bay he thought he saw the dark flash of a fluke—there was an orca pod out there, chasing a school of tuna or herring. The killer whale was actually a member of the dolphin family. He’d seen them many times while out fishing. He knew dolphins mated for pleasure, and females tended to have multiple partners in a single season.
He pursed his lips and walked back to his car. Sometimes it was better not to know these things.