Just right for me.
I enjoy the way she works, fluid in her movement behind the bar, easy with the customers. Singing along with the music piping in over speakers, her voice is melodic, a temptation in and of itself. That and her smile, which is brighter than any sunrise I’ve ever seen, is enough for me to lie down at her feet and beg. I’ll plead for anything; talk to me, sing to me, touch me, fuck me. I'll take everything or anything. Throw me a bone.
I’m struck down by her laughter every time it flashes. It brings the night to heel and me along with it. There's something about her that calls to me on the most elemental level, fueling my need for this virtual stranger to be mine.
Two days ago, the need to escape my life was crippling. Day after day of constant travel wore me down. No matter how much I like what I do and whom I’m with, I needed time away. It’s a job, a fucking big one, but worth every hard-fought battle to get where I am today. This weekend brought about the first consecutive days I’ve had off in more than a year, and the need for separation too. I wanted a night of solitude, no one to watch after, and no one to talk too, just me, and a beer, with the ocean breeze rolling in—that was what brought me here to the beach and Faith.
Almost as soon as I’d settled into a lounge chair that first night, I’d seen her behind the bar. At the time I had no idea who she was, only that my body reacted instantly, blood pooling hot and needy in my cock. That hadn’t been so unusual; put a gorgeous girl in a bikini in front of me, and it was a natural reaction. Any other time I’d brush it off or get on it or in it, but fuck me, I couldn’t get her off my mind. Thoughts of her kept my dick hard and my mind running all night, brought me back yesterday, and here I am again today.
My boss forced me into it. Said she’s sick of me playing the martyr, sacrificing any hope of a personal life for my career. As astute as I have to be in my job to understand danger, she sensed my dejection and pushed me out the damn door. Now I’m sitting at the bar, closer than I’ve been on either night, watching every move Faith makes.
Part of my job is to investigate and ask questions, to know what’s happening around me and with those I protect. I started asking about her. I found the few locals who hang out on the beach, slurring their words, offering information easier than a dress coming off on prom night. With one phone call and a few minutes I had her name and that’s all I needed. But I got more. She’s hiding something; only someone with a past they want to forget runs away and begins using another name. It’s for her to tell, not for me to take, so I’ll leave it alone unless she shares it. But let’s be real—long conversations aren’t what I have in mind. Not with a body like that.
The sun is about to set. If the orange flames dying in the ocean are any indication, it’s not going down easy. Neither am I. Based on the last two nights and if I can trust her schedule will mirror them, her shift will end soon. I intend to go home with her. It’s time to make this happen.
“Faith,” I call, tapping my empty bottle on the counter. Without a word she bends over to grab one from the cooler, ass cheeks peeking out of the denim and my mouth waters. Her legs are a mile long. The only thing I can imagine is them wrapped around my waist as I fuck her, and she screams my name over and over again until she can’t speak. And then I’ll do it again.
“Hey.” She snaps her fingers in front of my eyes to get my attention, and she has it. “You want to start a tab?”
“No, I want to take you home. What time are you off?” I smile while lifting the beer to my mouth, taking a long drag and watching her mind reel from my question.
She eyes me up, starting with my hair that never really lies in place, especially at the beach. Bypassing my eyes, she stares at my mouth. “Not going to happen. About the tab?” she asks. The tip of my tongue glances over my bottom lip and I pretend it’s on her skin. Licking the ocean salt from her, then I’ll make my way to the rounded swell of her tits. Christ, this girl.
“Let me take you home.” I’ve never wanted someone like this. Her name is everywhere: whispered in the shadows, written in the sky, buried in the sand and clawing at my chest. Damn if I know why. It’s just there, and I’m done ignoring it.
“How do you know my name?”
“It’s my job to know who you are.” I smile again, hoping I don’t sound like a perv, but knowing it’s a good possibility.
“No one here knows it. How do you?” Faith’s golden-brown eyes meet mine and I’m speechless, struck by the perfect ripeness of her mouth. The fullness of her bottom lip is ready to be plucked and fucked, and I’m the man for the job. I want to turn that sweet thing into something dirty. Change the polite tone to sassing seductress. Touch her until she’s panting. Fuuucck, I need this girl.
“One night—that’s what I’m asking for. Give me all of you for just the night, only tonight. No strings, no expectations. We’ll walk away in the morning with memories of us.” I wait a minute, trying not to let my desperation show, to ease her into it, but my calm façade is failing.
“Faith, look at me.” When she does I continue, more demanding in my request, “I’m leaving in less than twenty-four hours and I want to spend every second I have left on this island with you. Take me home.”
Her eyes search mine and I see temptation swirling with doubt.
Faith
“I don’t bring strangers into my bed,” I whisper, caught off-guard by him. I don’t even know his name.
“No worries. We won’t make it to bed,” he says in a tone as low as mine. The unexpected rough gravel of his voice rumbles in my belly, surprising a reaction from my body. His smile is seducing: Sex God meets Prince Charming, and I’m quite certain I could fall for his charms.
This man, with his crazy hair and clear eyes, excites me in a way no one has in a very long time. I’m sure he can see everything I’ve tried to hide and then some. His irises are almost devoid of color, cold ice on a clear day, yet they’re filled with fire as he stares into mine. They melt my heart and the pace of it accelerates with the intensity of the moment, along with my breath. I’m practically panting. What the fuck? Shaking my head to break the towline reeling me in, I begin to back away.
“You’ve got the wrong girl. I’m going home alone.”
Although I sought distance, I can’t take my eyes off of him. For the last two days, I’ve watched him from afar. He sat in the lounge chairs in the sand on Saturday and Sunday night, drinking beer. Women stared, some approached, but he never engaged with any of them. He spoke to a few locals, always short conversations, spent even less time on his phone and barely paid any attention to me—until tonight.
Pick-up lines and offers for sex aren’t unusual. They happen daily. Most of them are laughable and some downright disgusting. It comes along with the job. Work on the beach in a bikini and the offers come in droves. I’ve resisted them, but there’s something about this one. His bold request should be offensive.
It should be, but it’s not.
The attention and flattery felt from the singular request is empowering, bringing about my own bold thoughts and brazen responses. Why this man? Why now? I have no desire for a relationship, casual or not. My track record is poor, downright tragic. Everyone involved would be better off if I passed up his lurid advances, but there’s just something about him.
“Come here,” he whispers again. Damn if I can say no. Like a magnet I’m drawn in, moving until our breath mingles. His is heady from beer, sharpened and coming faster by the telltale signs of lust. He leans in further until the tip of my nose caresses his. Closing my eyes, I bask in the pure unadulterated heat of this moment, the steady draw of his breath working over my lips and mapping a path to the irrational part of my brain that wants to say yes, take me and make me feel everything but the past.
“I can see your pulse pound right here.” His voice reverberates against my mouth and I feel rather than see him move. The warmth of his tongue dips into the thrumming beat at the base of my neck. Shit. My breath speeds up again. I should ask him to stop, but something about him keeps me in place and I let him continue as he murmurs into my skin, warming a path to just behind my ear.