The next morning, as Tara stood in her kitchen cracking eggs into a bowl, a pair of warm, muscular arms enveloped her. She leaned back into Flipper’s body and felt the unmistakable evidence of his desire. When she turned to curl her arm around his neck, she was surprised—and thrilled—to discover he stood there stark naked. Steven had never done anything so impulsive; their lovemaking had been as predictable as sunrise and sunset. And then they’d stopped having sex.
“How about taking a break from what you’re doing there?” Flipper whispered in her ear, his husky voice causing her lady parts to tingle.
“But I’m right in the middle of making breakfast,” she protested without conviction.
Her mother had taught her never to act too eager when a man, even a husband, made advances, that putting up even a token resistance was a sign of good breeding. Tara knew such thinking was hopelessly sexist and outdated, and she’d shattered that mindset by initiating sex the night before. Still, she hadn’t managed to completely break free from her mother’s etiquette expectations.
“So put everything back in the fridge and we’ll cook it together when we’re done. Don’t you owe yourself some fun?”
Tara stiffened. “Is that all this is to you, a convenient opportunity for a randy romp?”
Flipper pulled back and frowned. She could see the insult in his eyes and could’ve kicked herself for jumping to such a conclusion.
“Honey, you know you mean much more to me than that. How about doing us both a favor by going with the flow? Look how great it turned out when you did it last night.”
She knew her remark merited worse than his gentle chiding and was relieved he let it go so easily. Tara flashed him a saucy smile. And then she filled both hands with his firm backside and squeezed. When he rocked his pelvis against hers, a shudder rolled through her body.
“Don’t let it go to your head, Studly Do-Right, but that was the best sex of my life.”
“Is that so? Well, you’ve set the bar plenty high, but I’ll do my best to exceed it this time. You game?”
Tara tucked one hand between them and let her fingers dance along his hard length, enjoying the way it jerked and pulsed beneath her touch.
“Does that answer your question?”
With a growl, he pulled her even closer and devoured her mouth. She let out a little whimper when he broke off the kiss and set her apart from him, but then he whipped her camisole over her head and attacked her breasts with the same enthusiasm. She heard only white noise as the blood rushed in her ears, and she nearly climaxed despite his hands never venturing below her waist.
Just when she was about to demand that he strip off her boxers and panties, too, he snatched a towel from the counter and led her over to her dinette set. Tara stifled her objections when he spread one of her best dish-drying cloths on a chair and settled on top of it. As he rolled on the condom he’d left on the table, Tara unconsciously licked her lips. He gave her a slight tug forward and made short work of the rest of her clothes.
She sank down onto his lap and melted into him as their tongues and lips mated. Flipper seemed content to enjoy their foreplay for far longer than she would’ve expected. If he wasn’t in a rush, neither was she. Tara marveled at his intense concentration on her satisfaction. She’d never had such an attentive lover, although anything would’ve been an improvement over her previous partners.
Before Steven, she’d been with only two other men, one of those a college boyfriend who, after months of pursuing her, had dropped her like a sprig of poison ivy once she’d let him take her virginity. Flipper might not realize it yet, but he was on the cusp of unleashing her inner sex goddess.
Tara moaned as he licked his way over to her earlobe.
“Let’s try something a little different this time, a position called the sit and spin,” he said. “I think you’ll really get off on it.”
“O-okay, what do I do?”
“Lift up a little and take me inside you. And then slowly turn until you’re facing in the other direction, with your back to me. You’ll still be on top so you’ll have control. But I can easily reach around to your front and double your enjoyment.”
A thrill raced through Tara as she did what he suggested. She felt empowered, impulsive, alive, especially when one of his hands tweaked her nipples while the other delved between her legs. And then she and Flipper began to move in tandem. Before long, she was bouncing with such vigor she had a fleeting worry she might hurt him. But he urged her on by grasping her hips and thrusting with even more enthusiasm, and she saw stars and bursts of light behind her closed eyelids.
“Oh my God,” she shrieked, and at first she didn’t recognize her own voice. Her climax surged through her with such force that tears rolled down her cheeks, and then Flipper used his fingers to prolong her pleasure even as he found his own happy ending.
Spent, she collapsed back against him, and he wrapped her in an embrace that left her feeling cherished and protected.
“I’m head-over-heels crazy about you, Tara Louise Langley,” he murmured.
“That’s good, because I feel the same about you, Paul Aidan O’Riley.”
He chuckled. “How’d you know my middle name?”
“I Googled you. How did you find out mine?”
“Same way. I realized I don’t know as much about you as I should.”
“All you had to do was ask,” she replied.
“Same goes.”
“Point taken.”
Flipper laughed again. “This is hardly the direction I expected this conversation to take, especially after we just confessed our feelings for each other.”
Tara turned her head and planted gentle kisses along his jawline.
“It’s obvious I need to work on my romantic banter. I’ll do better next time.”
“I wasn’t criticizing,” he assured her. “And I’m not such a sweet talker myself. I prefer to let my actions speak for me. Kind of like this.” He palmed her breasts and gave them a gentle squeeze. “I just had you and I want you again already. How about we hop in the shower and work up a lather?”
“Only if you promise me a custom hand wash.” Yet again Tara shocked herself, but she rather liked her newly awakened provocative side.
Flipper’s hand wandered down to the sensitive nub at the apex of her thighs, and it flared to life again at his touch.
“I promise to give you the most thorough detailing you’ve ever experienced,” he replied. “And I’ll even throw in a lube job for no extra charge.”
*
Lust obscured Flipper’s vision as he watched water cascade down Tara’s luscious body. Nothing dampened his desire for her and, as he worked his soapy hands into suds, he wasn’t sure how he’d drag himself from her side and return to Gulf Shore. He’d drawn the early shift the next morning, which meant stumbling into the aquarium by five o’clock. He loved being a dolphin trainer, but he could do without being rousted from sleep before dawn.
He slid his hands over every slick inch of her, setting himself to his task with a focus he usually reserved for his dolphins. His meticulous touch brought Tara to a climax not once but twice, and then she treated him to a thorough scrubbing that left them both gasping.
Ready to explode, Flipper suited up in record time and took her hard and fast against the cool tile wall of the shower. With her excited cries ringing in his ears, he wondered yet again why he’d taken so long to accept that he and Tara belonged together.