“You convinced me.”
Elle kissed Luke as her hands joined his at removing her blouse. Without hesitation, she pulled it over her head and tossed it to the side. Luke stripped himself of his clothes while Elle removed her skirt, panties, and finally her bra. Together, they stood naked below the moonlight.
“I knew it.” Luke pulled her close. Her nipples rose to meet the muscles of his chest. “Nothing more beautiful.”
“Race ya!” Elle whooped into the night air, her palm smacking the taut muscles of his right butt cheek. Luke laughed and she could hear him following close behind her as her feet met the sand. The grainy texture dug at the bottoms of her feet until she reached the base of the shore. The sand turned cool, wet, and thick and her toes dug into the ever-stretching expanse of gritty earth.
Rather than simply dip her toes into the frosty water, Elle crashed into it with force, submerging herself in the invigorating waves spilling against the shore. Luke dove into the next wave. He rose from the water, his chest glistening as he ran his fingers through his drenched hair.
“Wow, it’s cold.”
“It feels amazing, don’t you think?”
Elle dunked her hair into the water, taming the crazy strands pasted to her forehead. The water soothed her tresses, making them silky smooth against her fingertips.
“Now that you have me here,” she said with a smile, “and no one’s around . . .”
Luke wrapped his hands around Elle’s waist, pulling her further away from shore. She felt weightless in the water as she wrapped her legs tightly around his waist. She could feel him hard beneath her. Her hand reached down to clutch him.
“I’m impressed . . .”
“Why’s that?” Luke tipped his head to the side, looking confused.
“The cold water. I was prepared for shrinkage.”
“Well, I’m no George Costanza,” Luke said with a laugh, his hands stroking her thighs. Elle threw her head back in laughter, realizing no statement had ever been more accurate. Luke, with his chiseled abs, firm ass, and contented nature, was about as far away from the neurotic, stocky character from Seinfeld as possible.
“That’s for damn sure.”
Supporting her weight with one arm, Luke cradled her breast with the other, squeezing gently as he massaged her sensitive skin. Her nipples rose further just before Luke took one into his mouth. She gasped at the electric sensation traveling from her breast to her sex as his teeth grazed the nipple’s tightly drawn peak.
“Oh my God,” Elle murmured, pushing her hands against his shoulders and easing herself onto him. Slowly, she lowered herself down until he was completely inside her. She moaned at the feel of him, the way her muscles accepted his length. Again and again, she pressed her hips to his, thrusting beneath the soothing water. Luke continued to stroke her nipples with his tongue, first one then the other. The sensation of his lips, his tongue, his teeth was almost more than she could handle as she plunged in and out of the water with each of Luke’s thrusts. She felt herself approaching climax and quickened her pace. A wave doused them with more water, but they were so immersed in one another, they didn’t notice. Luke wiped the water from Elle’s eyes, his fingers delicate against her drenched eyelids. He took her mouth in his, his tongue stroking hers as he moved her hips against his.
“You’re so close. Let go, baby.”
Elle threw her head back in ecstasy as her orgasm took over her entire body. Pulses of pleasure consumed her and she felt her muscles clench against Luke. Knowing how close he was as well, she didn’t allow herself to slump into his shoulder, weak from her orgasm. Instead, she quickened her pace, lowering her hands to grip the muscles of his back, thrusting harder and harder until Luke growled into her ear, finding his own release.
With a sigh, Elle collapsed into his chest, satisfied and exhausted. Luke smoothed her hair and kissed the top of her head.
“Worth the wait?”
“It was.” She breathed heavily against his cool, wet skin. “It most definitely was.”
“Come on. Let’s go back and get warm.”
As if she weighed no more than a feather, Luke lifted Elle and placed her on her feet. With one last gentle kiss, they joined hands and ran into the cool evening air. Elle gasped as a chill collected on her skin. By the time they climbed the steps of his deck, her teeth were chattering and her chin was quivering in the cold.
“Here, put this on.” Luke pulled her to the hammock, which held several towels and two white terrycloth robes. He wrapped one robe around her, and she pushed her shaking arms into the sleeves. Before dressing himself, he handed her a towel. She promptly flipped her hair toward the deck and wrapped her soaked tresses in the towel. Luke wrapped himself in the other robe, before pulling Elle into his chest. Her heart raced as he eased her into the hammock, his hands stroking her back to warm her.
“You planned this, huh? Towels and robes at the ready.” Her chattering teeth were coming to a halt as Luke’s body heat engulfed her. The hammock rocked back and forth as Elle eased her hand into Luke’s open robe, running her fingers through the silky hair of his chest.
“I guess you are rubbing off on me.” Luke kissed her forehead and lay back into the hammock.
“We’re rubbing off on each other. I like it.”
“I do, too. I can’t believe you went skinny-dipping. I’m so impressed, it’s ridiculous.” Luke laughed, running his fingers through her hair. Elle joined him in laughter.
“You have that effect on me, I guess.” Elle deepened their embrace, pulling his midsection in for a tight squeeze. Somehow, when she was wrapped in Luke’s arms, the rest of the world just fell away. She was safe, protected, cared for.
“Good.” Luke’s hand stroked the soft cotton of Elle’s robe, pulling her close. “We’re yin and yang, huh?”
“In some ways, yeah.” Elle took a deep breath, exhaling the brisk evening air. “But I think at our core, we’re more similar than we think. You have such a good heart, Luke.”
“I like to think so.”
“Tell me something,” Elle began. “Where do you see yourself in five years?”
“That sounds like a pretty loaded question.”
“It’s not, I promise. I’m just curious. I want to know your goals, your dreams. I want to know more about you.”
“Hmm, five years. Well, I’ll be . . . geez, I’ll be almost forty. I’d like to think I’ll be acting. Maybe television, or movies.”
“I could see you in movies. Especially an action movie or a thriller.”
“Not a chick flick? I’m disappointed in you, Ms. Riley. I think I could play one of those swoon-worthy guys.”
“Oh, of course. I mean, you make the ladies swoon already. But I think you’d shine in other genres, too.”
“Well, thank you. I did receive a film offer, actually. But I’m not sure if I should do it. Wanted to get your opinion on it.”
Elle couldn’t help cringing at the idea of a film offer—at the idea of Luke’s path turning into Nolan’s before her very eyes. She swallowed hard and did her very best not to lump him in with her contempt for Nolan. “A film offer? Seriously? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? This is a huge deal.”
“You distracted me.” Luke let out another laugh. “Actually, it’s an indie film. Ben Stevenson is directing and—”
“Are you serious? Ben Stevenson is incredible. You should do it.”
“You haven’t even heard anything about it yet.”
“I don’t care—he’s brilliant. You should do it.”
“I don’t know . . . I mean, the timing is good. I’d be filming while we’re on hiatus for the show, so there’s no conflict.”
“So what’s the problem?”