The boat rocked gently as they rolled together in their mounting need. Nick slid her under him and sank lightly down upon her, into her, and then the little boat rocked in a rhythm that had nothing to do with wind or sea.
“I’ve needed you,” Paula whispered. “Needed you so much. Oh, love me… love me.”
“I’ve wanted you,” he murmured, tasting the sweetness of her breasts and feeling her vibrate beneath him. “Wondered if you’d ever want me, too. Wanted you in the cave, in the bushes, in the dungeon, everywhere. Wanted you in the hay, to roll with you, like this.” He demonstrated, and she moaned with pleasure at the grinding motion. “Want you now… more than ever.”
Their mouths melted together as their bodies flexed and arched in the exquisite acrobatics of love. She gave him back everything he gave, teasing his body and tempting it, swiveling slowly and provocatively as though relaxed beyond the need to stir him further, and then pulsating suddenly with galvanic movements that made Nick catch his breath and groan with ecstasy. Each moment seemed as though it must surely be the last, yet each moment led to another even more impassioned. Every movement of hers was a charge of electricity that sapped and strengthened him at once, forcing him to fight for control and yet give her even more of himself. Sensations crowded one on top of each other in a sort of symphony of sensuality. Two magnificent bodies clashed and parted, clashed again and entwined about the other. She was passionate and urgent, but she knew the subtleties and nuances and she was savoring every one of them. Nick plunged deep into the wonders of her, lost in the painful pleasure of prolonging each play of his body so that both of them could enjoy it to the full. But a storm of passion was building inside him and he arched to let it burst.
His tongue probed deep between her parted lips and his body writhed with desperate need.
He groaned suddenly and heard her moan with him. Her legs caught at his and held them close and her hips arched to trap his body with hers. Muscles tightened and played against each other until the friction burst into a liquid flame. Thighs trembled violently and then convulsed as the storm within Nick broke and became part of her. The boat rocked violently and a tongue of spray splashed into the shelter, but the fire did not go out. It blazed for long, incredible moments of complete ecstasy as the man and woman sighed together and lay there, rocking, like a single being. Blinding exhilaration held them together in a thick mist that blotted out everything but their mutual sensation. Slowly, very slowly, it began to clear.
Nick lay back and held her lightly in his arms. Her heart was still beating like a triphammer, and so was his, and her giving had been complete. But there was nothing flaccid about her relaxed body. Nick kissed her tenderly and raised her head so that a stray beam of light from the inboard lamp played across her face. Paula’s eyes were bright but calm and there was a smile upon her lips. There was a new beauty about her and a look of fulfilment that had nothing to do with satiation.
“You’re beautiful, Paula,” Nick said softly. “Very, very beautiful… in every way.” He pushed a lock of honey-colored hair back from her forehead and brushed his lips against her eyes. And then her cheeks. And then her mouth. And then again her breasts, now soft and round. He felt invigorated and refreshed.
“You lied to me,” she murmured.
“I did what?” Nick looked up, startled.
“You lied. No padded shoulders, no built-up shoes. It’s all you, all you. And all… all magnificent.” She smiled again and drew his mouth against hers.
It was a long, slow gentle kiss that only ended when they lay back upon the rumpled clothes and entwined themselves together. They rested in each others’ arms for a little while, and their next kiss was not gentle. It was passionate, explosive, demanding of more kisses and much more than kisses. Paula’s fingertips trailed over Nick’s body, lingering over the patches of plaster and making tender little stroking movements that were like soft words of compassion.
Soon the rhythmic clisthenics began again. The sorrow that had helped to begin it all was blotted out for long, delirious moments of love between two people who both knew how to satisfy and enjoy.
“Ah, it is even better now…” Paula murmured, and whispered things that stoked the hot coals of Nick’s desire. He kissed the secret places and marveled at the sweetness and resilience of her body. So cool, she had seemed, so detached in her feline composure. But beneath the coolness there was an astonishing animal vitality and zest that brought an answering exuberance from him. She made him feel expansive and robust — ten feet tall with a mighty strength to match. He wanted above all, to bring her to heights of explosive passion such as she had never known before, and he played upon her with all his considerable skill to give her the ultimate in physical sensation.
Her long legs encircled him and her breasts melted against his chest. Somehow she was different from all the many other women he had known, and he tried to pin the difference down as he pinned her down beneath him against the rough deck of the tossing boat. The sea smell and the damp mist enveloped them as they wrestled in the sensual holds of love, mingling with the warm, sweet scent of her fresh body.
She belonged to the outdoors; she was as natural and unaffected as the wind and sea around them. And she was a loner, like himself, used to making her own tough decisions and acting upon them. He, at least had AXE in the center of his world. She only had herself to call the shots of her own life. In a way she was made for it, with her feminine-tough body and her self-reliance, and yet no woman so lithe and lovely should have to live with loneliness. She was different from the others because she was so much like himself, and yet all woman underneath the mask.
But now the mask was stripped away and she was wild and free. Together they made rapturous, uninhibited love and whispered meaningless words that blurred into moans of exquisite pleasure. Under Nick’s touch her body bloomed and became a paradise for him, one into which he sank voluptuously through a velvet passage. Their bodies fused, blazed, shuddered violently, and consumed each other. Paula tilted her head back and closed her eyes. Her lips parted and a little moan escaped them. Even her sudden, galvanic lurch against him had a grace of movement that enhanced the moment of explosion. Nick’s mind swirled in a red haze as he gave himself up completely to their joint desire. She was on the peak now, high upon the peak of passion to which he had brought her with his thrusting body. Molten lava flowed between them. Suddenly they fell through space together, clutching each other and gasping with release.
This time, when it was over, they were limp and spent. Both sighed with contentment and lay back to rest. Side by side they lay, holding each other but not talking, and when at last they did talk it was of things that had nothing to do with why they were there. They were there, and for a while that was enough.
Salt spray licked at their bodies and reminded them that the night outside was cool. It also reminded Nick that there were other things to do beside make love.
“We’ve run out of time,” he said regretfully, and kissed her once more before he rose and began to pull his clothes on. Paula gave a startled exclamation.
“I had forgotten!” she said, full of self-reproach. “How could I forget?”
“Easily, I hope,” he murmured. “But don’t forget tonight.”