After spending the entire day exploring all the beauty of this place, I’m beyond exhausted. Every second was worth it, though. The sun is steadily disappearing in the distance as I sit on the edge of the infinity pool situated above the underwater room.
To say I’m mesmerized by this place would be an understatement, but I never want to leave. If we could stay here, tucked away from the world forever, I’d be perfectly okay.
“Water?”
I glance back at Ridley, who thankfully has yet to put on a shirt, as he offers me a chilled bottle. “Thanks.”
He sits down beside me, and I spare him a glance as he downs his water. Inked, taut skin that’s sun-kissed from being out all day, all but steals my breath. He’s so damn magnificent. Ethereally beautiful, and I honestly cannot get enough.
“What do you want to do tonight?”
“We have the place for tonight, too?”
He nods. “I figured we could do dinner then watch a movie? I’ll sleep in the guest bedroom.” The last part is added quickly as if he’s worried I’m going to bolt.
“We can sleep in the same room,” I tell him. “Doesn’t mean we have to have sex.”
He visibly relaxes. “Well, I, for one, am enjoying this whole take-it-slow thing. It’s been fun.”
I arch an eyebrow and turn to face him, propping one leg up on the edge of the infinity pool and leaving the other in the ocean. “You’re enjoying not having sex?”
His wicked grin melts me. “I’m enjoying getting to know you, Rachel, because it’s going to make the sex that much better.”
Heat pools between my legs despite the cool water. He completely disarms me with a look. A single moment pinned beneath his gaze leaves me nothing but putty.
Swallowing hard, I’m unable to tear my gaze from his as he leans in and presses his lips to the corner of my mouth, so close, and so damned far from where I want them. “Let’s go order some room service.” When he pulls away, I’m left wanting, yearning for his return.
Why the hell did I insist on taking it slow?
He swings his legs back into the pool and hops down, and the crystal water comes up to his bare chest. I follow suit, but before I can step down, he moves in close, coming to stand right between my legs.
My breath catches as I stare down into his bright gaze.
“You captivate me,” he whispers.
Dammit. I lean down and press my lips to his in a tender kiss, my way of thanking him for the most amazing day, but that tenderness is lost as it quickly turns into something much, much more. My body aches, my need growing to a level that will surely kill me if I don’t sate the burning desire in the pit of my stomach.
My hands find his hair as his arms wrap around my waist, pinning me against his hard body. Water envelops me as he pulls me off the ledge and into the pool with him. Cool tile meets my back, but I’m so damned hot I barely notice the chill.
His hard length presses against me, and I moan, but the sound is swallowed by his kiss. I'd pushed him to take it slow, to get to know me first, but now? All I can think about is shredding the thin fabric of our swimsuits and taking exactly what I want right now: him.
I slip my hands down from his hair and grip his muscled shoulders, letting my fingertips dig into his flesh.
Dammit.
Dammit.
Dammit.
I should pull away. Should put a stop to this now. But all rational thought disappears when he grinds against me again, and all that matters is my body pressed against his.
He pulls back and sucks in a shaky breath. “Fuck, we need to stop.”
“Do we?” I question, He meets my gaze, his eyes heavy.
“We do. You wanted to take things slow; we are going to take things slow.”
“I could be persuaded.”
His chuckle vibrates through my body. “I’ve no doubt of that at the moment, but since that was not my intention of bringing you here, despite it being a hotel, I’m going to begrudgingly decline.”
And if there was ever a time I wanted him more, it was now when, deep-rooted in our desire, he denies me because of something I wanted.
“Besides.” He reaches up and tucks wet hair behind my ear. “We have eternity.”
Slowly, I come awake. The warmth at my back brings a smile to my face, especially when I realize the TV is still on, the screen frozen on the landing page for the rom-com we fell asleep watching last night.
Popcorn has been discarded onto the nightstand beside me.
Last night was everything to me. Ridley and I laughed, talked, vented, and spent an entire evening getting to know each other in a way that goes a hell of a lot deeper than any of my previous relationships.
Even the four years that nearly led to marriage. With him, I don’t worry about being guarded, about hiding pieces of me, because he accepts them all. Hell, the guy risked his soul to bring me back from the dead. I very much doubt he’s going to care if I have a weird attachment to mismatched socks and orange Tic Tacs.
He groans and tightens his arm around me, pulling me in closer. When his lips go to my neck, a shiver runs up my spine though my body is anything but cold.
“Morning,” he whispers before pressing a kiss to my shoulder blade.
I clear my throat. “Morning.”
“You sleep okay?”
“More than.”
Ridley’s agreement is grunted as he kisses the base of my neck. The stubble on his chin from a day of not shaving scrapes deliciously. My nipples harden, and my body turns to little more than putty.
The last day has been amazing.
Perfect.
And I find that I’m no longer in need of the time I was so desperate for. I swallow hard and roll over onto my back. Ridley doesn’t move, his arm still resting across my waist as he hovers above me, propped on an elbow.
Nerves wrecked, I reach up and cup the back of his neck. His nostrils flare, his pupils dilating, though he doesn’t make a move toward me until I gently tug.
But when I do—his lips touch mine, the feverish need instantaneous. His hand tightens on my waist as my arms wrap around his neck. I need him—desperately. He moves, positioning himself between my legs, his hands splaying out on either side of my head.
With my stomach full of butterflies, I let my hands trail down his sides and to the bottom of his t-shirt. I grip the soft fabric between my fingers and gently, slowly pull it up, enjoying every bit of hot skin that is revealed.
His tongue is smooth against mine, his body hard.
When he releases my mouth so I can tug the shirt over his head, he hovers above me, staring down into my eyes. “Are you sure?” he questions, the muscles of his arms quivering. His entire body is rigid, his muscles poised as if he’s doing everything he can to hold back.
“More than.”
There are no follow-up questions, no moment to process. He takes my mouth again, this time with a desperation I mirror. My hands are all over his back, kneading the muscles, scraping against the skin. When I wrap my legs around his waist, I arch up, feeling his hard length pressing against me, and it is my complete undoing.
I need him.
Crave him.
And now, I will have him.
He pulls back and reaches down to remove the t-shirt I’m wearing. I sit up so he can pull it over my head. Then he tosses it to the side and remains kneeling between my legs as I lie back down. His eyes stare at me, traveling up and down my body.
“Fuck, you are a queen.”
“You make me feel that way.”
He leans down and whispers, “For eternity, an grá.” He kisses me again then pulls away and drops his head to my neck, my shoulder, my breast. As though he’s been perfectly trained to play my body like an expert, he pulls my nipple into his mouth, his teeth and tongue driving me damned wild.
I arch up as pleasure shoots through my body, sending every single nerve into overdrive until I’m sure I’m going to explode.
And he hasn’t even touched the most tender part of me yet.
Leaving my breast, he trails his lips down my body, my stomach, my waist. He grips the sides of my shorts and slowly drags them down my body, taking his time to explore every inch of exposed skin. Never in my life have I ever felt so cherished. So wanted.
He climbs off the bed, and I lock gazes with him as he stands before my naked body. I’m completely vulnerable, and yet I feel more powerful.
“Your turn,” I tell him.
He flashes a wicked grin. “I’m enjoying my view right now.” But his hands go to the waistband of his shorts, and he shoves them down.
My mouth goes dry.
My pulse pounds.
He’s massive. The butterflies in my stomach go rogue as he climbs back onto the bed and settles himself between my legs. His breath is hot on the inside of my thigh, and I have to fight every urge to arch up against his mouth, but I wait, letting him torment me with the sweetest kind of torture.
His tongue undoes me. He runs it over my clit, slowly at first, then closes his lips around me. Fireworks go off in my brain. The entire ocean could come crashing down on us, and I doubt either one of us would notice.
“Ridley— shit.” I do arch up into him now, though the action is completely mindless, my body knowing it needs more. “Oh my— fuck, don’t stop.” I reach down and grip his hair, burying my fingers in the thick strands as he fucks me with his mouth.
My body comes to life beneath him, the orgasm ripping through me like a damned tsunami. Crying out, I arch up, and he moves so damned fast I barely see him leave his spot between my legs before he’s driving into me.
Ridley fills me completely, my body stretching around his hard length.
“Oh, my—you’re so wet,” he whispers as he pulls out then moves back in, drawing out my orgasm even as I’m already right back in the pleasure. I grip his shoulders as he moves inside of me, pulling out, thrusting in, the tempo a perfect match for the beat of my heart.
I never believed in true love. In soulmates.
But Ridley was made for me, and I’m never letting him go.