By the Book (9 page)

The feel of his mouth on her, licking and
sucking, and the ice melting into her core drove her higher. “Pleasefuckme,”
she begged him. The cold was an almost pain, but it just made the heat of his
mouth that much sweeter. Oh, so close. “Ahhhhhhh,” she moaned, on the brink of
release.

He stopped again.

“Noooo. Damn you, Gray!”

“I haven’t even touched the strawberries,
or the whipped cream, or the chocolate,” he murmured wickedly against her inner
thigh.

Big mistake—there were
way
too many
choices on the tray. She didn’t like the silence.

“Gray, just forget about the tray and fuck
me!” Once more her body started to calm a little…frustrating the hell out of
her.

Again, he ignored her demands and started
from the top as he crushed strawberries in his hand to decorate her chest,
filled her belly button with whipped cream, and drizzled chocolate over her
using his fingers as a paintbrush. Then he started licking.

And this time he let her come. And come.
Her orgasms ran together like a string of pearls. She’d passed the point of
being feral eons ago. After the fireworks and thunder climax of her life, he
let her rest. With gentle fingers he untied her blindfold and went into the
bathroom, returning with a warm washrag and a dry towel. With a few efficient
strokes, he cleaned her off. Then he curled up against her on the bed and held
her while she put the pieces of her shattered mind into some sort of order.

When she could talk, she whispered to him,
“Untie me, Gray. I need you inside me.” He looked at her with such tender
caring, she wanted one more thing—him. She needed him buried inside her so deep
there would be no telling where she ended and he began. She could feel the hard
ridge of his erection push into her thigh. He kissed her, their mouths moving
together for long, sweet moments in time. Then he pulled back and her gaze
traveled the length of his body. From his chiseled jaw…to the tight muscles of
his chest. His body gleamed with a light coating of sweat. Her gaze dropped
further and his cock pushed out and bobbed with need. Oh, baby! Just looking at
him made her muscles clench in eagerness, the sight enough to make her all set
to start again. And if the jutting shaft provided any indication, he was ready
too.

Gray reached over and pulled first one and
then the other scarf off her wrists and then he leaned back and did the same
thing for her legs. They were a little sore from being held in one position
while her every muscle strained to their limit, but she ignored the feeling.

This time their lovemaking was slow. So
incredibly sweet and gentle that Joey’s climax brought tears to her eyes.

Chapter Eleven

At some point during the night, they
stirred enough to shower and move into one of the spare bedrooms. Slipping into
a bed with clean sheets, they tumbled together, back into a deep sleep. Gray
woke up first, with Joey’s body entangled with his. He kept still for several
minutes just holding her, watching her slumber. When he realized what he was
doing, it worried him. Getting pleasure from watching a woman sleep could not
possibly be the actions of a man interested in simple lust… This was holding
and wanting to keep. He needed to think about what he wanted,
really wanted,
from Joey.

In slow motion, he pulled out of her arms,
careful not to wake her. He decided to run home and shower and change. He
didn’t need to work today. Or at least, what little he did need to do could be
done on his laptop. He would grab it and, while Joey wrote, he would do a
little work as well. Then maybe this afternoon they could go for a drive or go
out to dinner.

He took a quick detour into town for lattes
and muffins. He debated for a minute the wisdom of also bringing Joey a
tropical bouquet. He wasn’t sure if it would alert her to the fact that he was
thinking about more than helping her with her research. Oh, hell! He
wanted
to bring her flowers—he just wouldn’t worry about what they meant. It would be
ridiculous to second-guess everything. So he changed his plans to include a
stop in his garden, where he gathered several stalks of bird-of-paradise for
her before heading down the hill.

When he got back to her house, he found her
still sleeping. Displayed in a boneless sprawl across the bed, her nude body
was a temptation he couldn’t resist. Didn’t want to resist.
God, she’s
beautiful.
The lush vision of wild russet-colored hair, sun-kissed skin and
lush curves lay there just waiting for him. He bent over her to trail the pad
of one finger over the firm high peak of a breast. Even asleep, her body
reacted to his touch, the pale pink nipple tightening into hard nubs.

Finding a vase and putting the flowers in
water, he debated for all of five seconds whether he should wake her and give
her the latte he’d brought or let it grow cold and arouse her in his own
special way. The coffee could be warmed up in the microwave. He stretched,
shifted…hot and ready for her now. Change of plans.

Decision made, he stripped off his clothes
and slid into the bed next to her and took her in his arms.

Joey woke as Gray pulled her out of the
blankets.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” he whispered into
her ear and then proceeded to nuzzle her neck.

“Ummm. Morning,” she mumbled. “What are you
doing?”

“I’m going to bathe you,” he replied. “I’ve
been thinking about water, soap and your body for what seems like hours now.”
He wondered if seeing Joey in the shower the first night made him develop a
water fetish. He seemed to want sex every time he thought about water. Showers,
the ocean…hot tubs. Damn!

Gray carried her to the outside shower, and
reached over to turn it on. As he waited for the temperature to regulate, he
lowered Joey’s feet to the ground. He made sure her body would slide against
his.

The little distance existing between them
melted away. Gray’s body touched hers, his bare chest rubbing against the tips
of her breasts as his hands reached up to tunnel through her wild hair. In
involuntary reaction they fisted around her tangled curls. Not to hurt, but to
hold her still while he bent down, his gaze intent, keeping her captive. He
pulled her toward him and his mouth fastened on hers, taking possession.

Joey’s hands found the sleek muscles of his
shoulders and held on. The kiss started out sweet and slow. But it wasn’t
enough.

His tongue slid into her mouth, danced a
long, sensual tango. His mouth moved over hers, demanding a response. Pulling
back, he held her gaze and moved them both under the water’s spray. He picked
up the soap and started lathering his hands. He moved her to stand with her
back to his front, leaning against him so he could support her.

And she needed the support. The feel of his
hands, slick with soap, gliding over her breasts, made her knees weak. He
rubbed and massaged and tweaked her nipples, sending a sharp spark of heat to
her core. As he tormented her with his hands he leaned over to suckle the soft
skin on her neck. The combination made her wild. Slowly, so slowly, he slid one
hand down to wash between her legs.

“Joey, love, I have a confession to make,”
Gray whispered in her ear.

“Ummm.” Joey’s entire body vibrated, her
skin flushed and sensitive from Gray’s soft rumble.

“The first night, Joey, I watched you in
this shower. Watched you pleasure yourself and wished it were my hands—my
mouth—touching you.”

Shock coursed through Joey’s body. The deep
heat of embarrassment worked to push away the lust. Joey struggled in Gray’s
arms, but he wouldn’t allow her to leave him. He tightened his grip on her and
slipped his hand forward and back over her clit.

“Don’t be embarrassed, Joey. I loved it. I
loved watching you. You made me so hot—I had to pretend I was with you. Do you
know what I did, Joey? What wanting you made me do?” Gray quickly described how
aroused he’d been and how he’d imagined being with her as he’d masturbated.

The marvelous friction of Gray’s hand
sliding between her legs and the erotic picture he’d painted in her mind of him
holding his cock in his hand and masturbating while he watched her drove away
the panicked twinge of mortification. Her breath caught as Gray pushed his hard
erection against her ass.

He propped his right foot up on the low
ledge beside the shower. Keeping her back to his front he encouraged her to
open to him, to drape her right leg over his, giving him unrestricted access to
her throbbing pussy. He slipped first one finger, then two through her folds
and into her swollen channel; he stretched her, pushed into her and made her
feel as if she were on fire. With his other hand he squeezed her breast. She
bucked against his hand, crying for release.

“I watched you touch yourself, watched you
use the showerhead against your clit. And I used my hand, Joey. Used it and
imagined it was your tight cunt milking me.”

Joey couldn’t breathe. Every thought, every
action focused intently on Gray’s movements. And his voice stroked her mind as
he shared with her the fantasy of that first night. “Oh, God!” she moaned.
“Promise me someday…ah, please someday I can watch you.”

“Someday, baby. But now I’m here. I’ve got
you and I’m going to do to you what I wanted to do that night. What I did in my
mind while I worked my cock with my hand.”

Gray played with her slick folds, rubbing,
pulling and fingering her pussy. Each stroke, each subtle pressure drove her
higher. He stopped to bend her forward—carefully placing her hands against the
low lava rock wall. She hadn’t realized he’d grabbed a condom when he brought
her outside. As she waited for him to quickly sheath himself and move behind
her, she whispered, “Hurry!”

“Spread your legs a little more and bend
down,” he rumbled.

She did what he told her, only too happy to
comply with his demands. Gray fit his lower body against hers, nudging her
opening with the tip of his penis. He didn’t enter her at first but slid along
her folds, pumping his hips against her as he created an enthralling friction
along her clit.

“God, that feels good,” she groaned.

“Yeah, but this will be even better.”

Finished with tender teasing, he pushed his
hips forward and filled her completely. Both of them froze, careful to remain
still and enjoy the feeling of him buried deep inside her.

Gray let go of her hips and leaned over
her, reaching one hand to her breast and the other to the hard nub between her
legs. Without moving any other part of his body, he set his hands to drive her
crazy. He stroked and pulled and, with his strong arms and hands, caged her to
minimize her struggles. Finally, she
had
to move. She rolled her hips
and shoved back into him, rocking hard to set him in motion.

Gray groaned, “That’s it baby, shove your
ass back just like that.” He straightened his body so he could leverage his
hips against the soft globes of her ass. He didn’t think he would ever get
enough of her. Her restricted rhythm fanned other needs. He pushed back and
withdrew, leaving a scant inch of his cock poised at her entrance. He slammed
back in and stopped. Breathed. Drew almost out again and slammed back. Not as
much hesitation this time. Soon his hips were rocking wildly. He dug his cock
into her channel. Slammed his balls against her clit. His body craved hers,
wanting more and more. Harder. Faster. Deeper. He indulged himself, giving up
to lust and greed as her body clutched and shuddered under him. And when she
cried out and her muscles clenched in climax, he let go and buckled under his
own orgasm.

A few minutes passed before Joey could
move. After the mind-blowing sex, they both collapsed in a heap on the floor of
the shower. Luckily Gray found enough energy to reach up and turn the water off
or they would have been prunes by now. Or the lack of hot water would have
jerked them back to their senses.

Joey managed to get up and finish the
shower and start dressing. Gray moved a little faster than she could. He’d
dressed and gone into the kitchen to warm up the coffee and muffins he bought
in town.

She was so screwed
. Joey snorted—she hadn’t meant it literally—but oh how well the
sentiment fit. No…she meant screwed as in this didn’t feel like research anymore.
Or lust. Or just sex. No. This felt like something
big
and she didn’t
want those kinds of complications.
Did she?
God, she already knew she
was going to miss him horribly when she went back to L.A.

Chapter Twelve

Two weeks later, Joey still reeled from the
discovery she’d made in the shower. Gray had become more to her than a vacation
fling. She had willed the feeling away, but it didn’t cooperate. Instead, the
emotional ties she felt grew deeper. She and Gray had worked together that
morning and many mornings after. He spent his time on phone calls and
architectural drawings and she concentrated on her writing.

As Joey thought about all the time they’d
spent together, her eyes glazed over and she could feel her breath coming in
little pants. Her panties were soaked. Again. She’d given up on everything but
cotton—anything else just didn’t cut it.

Her writing moved forward at a fast clip.
No longer a problem of what to write, she now had more inspiration then
concentration.
That
was definitely a problem. She would start writing a
sex scene and her thoughts would turn to Gray. And the various exercises they’d
tried. She worked hard to resist turning all her book heroes into carbon copies
of him.

And it got worse when he worked by her
side. Every so often he’d lean over and read something she’d written, and then
look at her with a burning heat in his eyes, overwhelming her with a driving
lust and his own idea of how the scene should go.

And they would be making love again.

When they weren’t enjoying each other’s
bodies, they were playing on the beach or at the waterfall. Gray took her
sightseeing and they created an adult game of hide and seek. Looking and
finding someplace to have sex in each location they visited created a
heightened awareness—spiking their sex with the risk of being discovered.

They’d gone snorkeling…and made love in the
ocean.

They went to a luau…and snuck off to find a
secluded hammock.

She knew she’d met and carried on
conversations with other people over the past couple of weeks but she couldn’t
remember anything specific. All she
could
think about was Gray. And
those thoughts weren’t of just having sex with him. They were of how his smile
made her feel beautiful, or of the breathtaking sight of him working, or
sleeping, or…

Well, anything.

The sense of rightness she felt when she
woke up next to him. Alive. Happy. Whole. Until she reminded herself she only
had a few days left before she went home. And that feeling dissolved into one
of near panic.

She was in love with him. But
this
experience hadn’t been intended to be about love. She wasn’t going to ruin this
last little bit of time with worrying about how in
hell
she could live
without him when she left. She would just make sure she spent every minute she
could with him. And she’d keep her breaking heart to herself.

Right now she would concentrate on today.
They were taking a picnic to the waterfall. Gray said he’d gotten an idea from
one of her research books. Joey closed her eyes and shivered in anticipation.
He seemed obsessed with making love in the water.

Gray had had a lousy morning. The
conference call on a new building in Honolulu had lasted too damn long with
nothing getting accomplished. He knew most of the fault was his, because he
couldn’t stay focused. He kept hearing an imaginary clock in his head, ticking
away the rest of Joey’s vacation time. He needed to make some decisions on what
he wanted. He snorted. He knew what he wanted, he just needed to talk to Joey
and see if she felt the same way. He’d gone into this relationship because she
seemed a fascinating woman he wanted to spend some time with…and he wanted to
fuck her. Repeatedly. That need didn’t seem to relax during the time he spent
with her. In fact, he still couldn’t keep his hands off her or his pants
zipped.

It hadn’t taken very long for the sex to
become a lot more than a physical act. The thought of waking up without her
beside him in a couple of days hurt and was something he didn’t want to think
about. But if he didn’t deal with it soon, it would be too late. She would be
gone.

So the question was when? And what would
she say? He hoped she felt a similar need. Love.

Maybe he’d get the chance to tell her when
they went to the waterfall today. If he could keep his mouth off her long
enough to talk. Oh, Christ! He knew already by the size of his erection it
would have to be after he’d made love to her at least once before he could
manage a serious conversation.

They walked together hand in hand down the
beach to the waterfall. Gray carried the picnic basket, while she carried their
towels. The sun beat hot against her skin. They were both silent and pensive,
lost in their own thoughts. Joey tried to lighten the mood.

“I heard from my editor today,” she stated.

Gray looked at her and smiled a little.
“Any news?” he asked. He knew Joey had sent several of her completed
manuscripts in for review last week. She hadn’t thought she would hear anything
for a while.

She did a little jig still holding on to
his hand. “She read two of the four I sent to her and she sent me contracts on
both. One of those happened to be the book I started here. It was just a short
story, but they accepted it for an anthology. She also said if the other two
were even close to the steamy, mind-blowing quality of the rest, she’d go
without sleep and let me know in a couple days about her decision on them,” she
announced proudly.

“Great,” he said as he wrapped his arms
around her for a congratulatory hug and soft kiss. “I am really proud of you,
Joey.” He was just a little worried that their time together had been all about
her writer’s block and the mind-blowing sex. And he wanted it to be more. Much
more. He decided the time had come to make sure she knew how he was feeling. He
would tell her today. Just…later.

They came down the path to the waterfall
and stopped at the ledge. “Do you want to eat lunch first or take a swim?” Gray
asked her.

“Umm. I’m pretty hot. How about we swim
first?” she replied.

“Works for me,” he said and peeled off his
clothes and dove cleanly into the cool water.

“Gray!” she giggled. “Aren’t you forgetting
something?”

He looked back at her and raised his
eyebrows in question.

“Your bathing suit?”

He snorted. “Like I would have kept in on
for more than five minutes after you got in the water anyway. You might as well
leave yours up there so we won’t have to look for it later. Just make sure to
grab a condom out of my bathing suit pocket.”

Joey laughed and slipped out of her bikini.
She grabbed a small foil packet and stood on the little ledge for a few minutes
before she joined him. The sun caught the red highlights in her hair and bathed
her body in its bright rays.

The cooler water didn’t affect Gray’s cock.
It sprang to life and boogied in tribute to the beautiful woman he wanted to
make his own. She swam to him, wrapped her legs around his hips, her arms
around his neck and kissed him. He loved her. He couldn’t imagine living
without her.

Gray didn’t break their kiss but he slowly
moved with Joey through the water to set her on a low ledge close to the falls.
He wanted to worship her, mark her soul with the passion they shared. Then he
would tell her how he felt. He knelt in front of her and draped her legs over
his shoulders. “Relax,” he whispered across her stomach.

Joey sucked in a breath and moaned. She
couldn’t suppress the small bark of laughter. Every muscle in her body tensed.
“Yeah, relax…I don’t
think
so…oh, God.”

Gray moved his hands to Joey’s hips and
brought her to his mouth. He used his hands to spread the lips of her vulva
further apart. She melted in front of him, dripping. Her unique and spicy scent
called to him and he bent to lick her from front to back and then in reverse.
Twirling her clit with his tongue, he used his finger to thrust hard and
frantic into her passage. The long slow licks and fast flickers set a rhythm
that ended her spiral and forced her to burst into the sun.

“No more, please,” she gasped while
struggling to push him away. It was too much.

Gray gave her a moment and then he stood
with her in his arms. He moved to the edge of the waterfall and sat down with
Joey’s back to his front. He positioned the swollen head of his penis at her
tight channel. “Put the condom on me and then open up for me, baby,” he growled
into her neck.

Joey moaned, fumbled to open the little
square packet and lovingly covered Gray, smoothing her hands over his hard
shaft. She loved doing this to him. She gasped as Gray entered her. In this
position, she could slide one hand along the underside of his shaft as she
moved the other hand lower until she could cup the warm heat of his ball sac.

Joey worked hard to keep her tears from
flowing. Every time she touched Gray, her heart constricted with pain. Wanting
more than just a few short days with him, she worried he wouldn’t feel the same
for her. It had been understood from the start that this would be a temporary
relationship. For her, the rules had changed. She couldn’t leave Hawaii without
letting him know the intense lust for his body had evolved into something more,
something much deeper. She loved him so much.

Gray’s seeking hands brought her mind back
to the moment. To the feel of his flesh under her fingertips and the
exhilarating sensations he forced from deep within her as he stroked between
her legs and pulled her back to lie against his chest.

Gray panted. His body shifted in tune to
the heat of Joey’s hands and the cool slap of the water over his ass. He tugged
her back against him and shifted their hips, stretching their joined bodies
until they were positioned directly under the pounding spray of the waterfall.
They lay sprawled on the little hidden ledge. The shelf was about five feet
long and about nine inches under the water. He’d never thought about using it
for sex until he’d read some little snippet on “water sex” from one of Joey’s
books. He’d definitely become more passionate about Joey and water since the
first time he’d watched her in the shower. The sensual possibilities seemed
endless.

Gray used one hand to smooth down the plane
of her body, sliding over a nipple, smoothing over her stomach to come to rest
on the trim nest between her thighs. He could feel the water pummeling his
hand—they were in the right place.

Joey cried out as her body clenched around
him in a tight coil of reaction under the onslaught of water. Gray held her to
him, his sensitive cock feeling every contraction. He kept his arms wrapped in
a band around her waist, not allowing her to move away from the relentless
pounding of the waterfall. She struggled in his arms for a moment, her body
trembling. Her skin rippled with goose bumps. He rocked his hips forward and
back, dragging his erection in a sizzling slide through her channel. He felt
her inner vibrations in reaction to the water’s torment and his shifting. He
could feel the moment she relaxed into the sensations, giving her body over to
the pleasure as she arched her back and spread her legs wide, opening herself
to the water’s manipulation.

Gray released Joey’s waist to reach down
and hold her knees apart. He continued to work his hips in a rolling stroke,
digging his cock into her, making Joey writhe and mewl in his arms.

She couldn’t think. Her body and her mind
separate entities, one struggled to get away, and one opened up for more. She
whimpered and thrashed her head against his chest. “Oh. My. God,” she panted in
broken sobs. “Can’t-take it… So incredible…so good.” Every molecule in her body
seemed to swell and expand in grasping, nerve-tingling enjoyment. The intensity
of her arousal worried her, the niggling fear she wouldn’t be able to put the
pieces back together this time. Her body and her heart would shatter beyond
repair.

Gray’s gentle rocking beneath her made her
inner muscles clench and release in spasmodic counterpoint to his thrusts. The
water’s surge against her exposed clit pummeled her and the strong arms around
her waist allowed no escape from the fierce vibrations. She clenched his hips
to dig her fingers in, holding tight and tried to keep some small hold on her
sanity.

Instead Gray increased her fall into
mindless craving as he brought one hand up to tease her breasts. Cupping her
and pinching her budded nipples, his fingers tormented her skin while he
pressed resolutely up and into her. And still the water beat against her. She
closed her eyes and little pinpoints of light exploded behind her lids. Overwhelmed,
she screamed and her body flew apart.

The inferno blazing between them was pushed
higher with the hammering of the waterfall—the rush to orgasm turned chaotic
and out of control. Straining, Gray waited for Joey’s turbulent release and
groaned deep in his throat as he detonated after her.

As Joey screamed, her internal muscles
clamped and seized around his cock and he gushed into her sweet flesh.
Mine,
God please mine
, he thought raggedly. The fire licked over him, roared in
his blood. His muscles contracted, flexed. He pulled Joey closer, his body
weakened and yet unable to stop its reflexive action…still working to bury
itself within her, over and over again—intent on branding her as his.