He bent and flung her scanty red dress across the tropical sand. Without a word, he crushed her against him, fitting her against his erection. As she pressed her lips to his chest in welcome, he lowered her on top of the discarded dress.
Following her to the ground with a grunt, he drew himself on top of her and compelled her mouth open with the sweep of his tongue. She clutched him, reveling in his scent, the smooth silk of his golden skin over the hard ripples of his shoulders, in the shifting sand beneath her, the salty breeze teasing her.
Then he trailed a hand across her belly slowly, making her burn with each moment he grew closer to that moist place that ached for him. Fingers trailed
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down, down, taunting her with his suddenly slow pace. Of their own volition, her legs restlessly parted as his hand drew oh-so near. He watched her with burning eyes as she tentatively opened to him.
With a low curse, he ceased toying with her, grabbed both thighs and dragged them wide open. His stare seemed glued to her wet flesh.
Christina started and gasped, a taut yearning suspending her from everything but need.
Then his fingers were on her—in her—stretching, tantalizing, working the little button of nerves her aunt had told her about into a magic tingle, bringing her heaven and hell at once. The ache centered, raged to a fever. Soon, the fever spiked until she neared a hot frenzy.
“Please. Now,” she panted, skin damp with need. “I need…”
“Yes,” he panted. “Now.”
And with another touch, he sent her soaring. Christina cried out, long and low, as blood rushed through her, pleasure converged, clashed, then exploded.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered hotly. “I shouldn’t do this…”
But his voice told Christina that he wasn’t going to stop.
The captain backed away from her just long enough to unfasten his breeches and lower them, exposing the full glory of his wide cock to her.
His flesh jutted hard against his belly, bracketed by lean hips and solid thighs. Heavily veined with an angry purple head, the sight fascinated her.
Then he took himself in hand. From a little slit at the tip, he leaked fluid as he stroked his hard length with a tight fist. That sight made her belly tumble, her need roar. Her curiosity surged. What would he feel like inside her?
Their gazes met as he lowered himself to her. His heated fingers drifted down her silk-clad thighs to her knees, curling inside. He spread her legs apart yet again, so wide, her thighs quivered.
“Sweet Jesus, I want you,” he breathed against her cheek. “Time for truth, Lilli. Was your aunt telling the truth or were you? Have you had another lover?”
Her body throbbed, her nipples hard in the tropical breeze. And the captain looked at her with determined eyes. He wasn’t going to move without an answer.
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“There’s been no man.”
The captain paused, then steeled himself with a nod. “I’m not a gentle man.
For you, I will try.”
With his words echoing in her head, he grazed her breast with his lips, then kissed her mouth. His rigid cock probed her opening. With her arms wrapped around the strong column of his neck, Christina held her breath.
He eased inside her, brushing sensitive flesh and liberating a burst of liquid passion. Then he paused. Muttering a curse, he pushed again. She felt something inside her give way to his possession. The pain Aunt Mary had warned her of ripped through her for an excruciating moment as he pushed his way inside. He withdrew and glided back inside, a little deeper. The hurt became discomfort. As he repeated the process, sliding deeper yet, the soreness gave way. Joy and wholeness coexisted with the ache throbbing between her thighs.
Looking into his face, Christina saw taut restraint in his closed eyes, the grit of his teeth. His breath came fast and heavy.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked.
“Right now, it feels wonderful.”
He gave her a strained smile as he thrust inside her again, grinding against her, into her, at the bottom of his stroke.
She moved beneath him, rocking to meet his movements, thrilling to the pinpoints of pleasure that wound throughout her body, into a drugging delight she never wanted to end.
Faster, higher, harder, he moved. He groaned, and she gripped his shoulders, kissing his neck, his hard jaw. Then their mouths met in a union that mimicked their bodies as the craving within her built to something untamed, something that dangled her at the precipice of pleasure again.
The captain shifted, fitting his palms beneath her. He stroked into her again. The pleasure her body sought dawned as light and color exploded around her in ecstasy, this time brighter, wilder, than before.
“Lilli,” he cried, his body tensing, his cock expanding inside her.
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He thrust into her once more, twice. His rough groan rent the air as he slowed his stroke, then stopped. He slumped against her, burying his face in her neck, his harsh breathing a remnant of their passion.
As the fragments of her soul drifted back to her, Christina knew a feeling of joy, as if she’d been reborn. Whole, accepted and treasured; the captain had given her all of these in his embrace.
Tears squeezed from the corners of her eyes as she curled closer to him.
Musk and salt overran her senses and coupled with her emotions. What they shared had been significant and rare.
Christina rolled with him as he moved to her side and drew her against his chest. Indolent relaxation swelled within her. She closed her eyes, searching for the words to ask him if the experience had affected him with the same profound sense of awe.
She opened her heavy lids to find the captain searching her face. Before her sluggish mind could form a sentence and voice her question, he kissed her forehead.
“Sleep,” he urged. “We’ll talk later.”
Reassured and content, Christina nestled herself against the length of his warm body, at peace as the damp air rushed across her skin and his arms curled around her. She drifted away, lulled by the sounds of surf and the feel of satisfaction.
* * *
Inching away, Drex stared at Lilli’s slumbering form. Relaxed and trusting, she slept, unaware of his turmoil.
How? The one word litany reverberated in his head, a representative of his chaotic thoughts. How had she been so naive yet unafraid and giving? How had he allowed himself to become intoxicated by her spicy sweetness?
How had such an innocent rocked his body and soul so completely, he felt the craving still, stronger than before?
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Drex sighed. He would love the oblivion of sleep now, but his mind wouldn’t rest. Lilli’s alabaster nakedness, exposed to the moon as if she were a sacrificial offering, hardly contributed to a restful state.
Rolling onto his back, he stared at the stars, in search of objectivity. He’d done what he knew he shouldn’t, behaved recklessly with Lilli in his arms.
Despite her aunt’s tutelage, she was ignorant to many of the consequences of their passion. Damn it, he should have walked away, been stronger. Instead, his lust, fueled by anger, had appeared, demanding gratification, along with a taste of her, and damning the repercussions. But this woman thrust past his usual conscientiousness, evoked desire like never before.
Drex rose to his feet and dressed, taking in the smooth perfection of Lilli’s face. The defined angles of her delicate cheeks enhanced the cat-like quality of her green eyes, shining with adoration before she drifted into a light slumber.
His heart leapt with hope.
Yet Lilli had proven herself to be much like Ryan. He knew them both too well to believe her reverence would last longer tonight’s tide. Any longer than Ryan’s devotion to Chantal.
Armed with those realizations, why did he still feel as if he wanted to gather her close and never let go? What he felt, it was insane…complex and undefined. His emotions asked how he could keep her with him for all the days and nights to follow.