Sacred Waters (21 page)

He gave a sardonic laugh. “You think? She was my guest, Colin, and of all people I never thought I had to watch my back around my brothers, let alone you.”

The accusation stung, but Colin took it. “I’m sorry. Please don’t make Sammy feel bad about it though. I take full responsibility.”

Bray let out a dry, low laugh. “Sammy is it?” He shook his head as if still struggling to believe what he’d walked in on. “Well, you two enjoy each other. I’ll be sure to stay out of your way. I wouldn’t want to ever be accused of poaching from my own family.”

Shit. This was really bad. If anything his family was always loyal to one another. Before Braydon could leave Colin reached for his arm, “Bray…”

He stopped, but didn’t look at him.

“I need to know you won’t say anything to the others. Samantha’s going back to school at the end of the week and come August I
will
be making the sacrament of holy orders. Nothing’s changed.”

“For you,” he said under his breath.

“Please, Braydon. She doesn’t deserve to be dragged into the middle of all this in front of a family she’s just met. I understand that you’re angry at me. Be angry for as long as you need, but don’t hurt her in the process.”

Braydon looked up at him with such a penetrating stare Colin feared he could see right through him and see how he truly felt about Samantha.

“If anyone hurts her, Colin, it won’t be me.”

Chapter Thirteen

True to his word, Braydon did not breathe a word about what he had seen. While the morning after he struggled with looking Samantha in the eye, the tension quickly faded and he was once again acting as her friend. There was still, however, tension between him and Colin.

The days passed faster than Sam was prepared for. In the mornings she would usually spend time with Maureen and sometimes the aunts and Katherine, while Colin went to the Church to work on painting the school or other things that needed tending. They found it easiest to stick with the rest of the family in the afternoons, and in the evenings they had fallen into the routine of sneaking off to the lake to see how far Colin could distract Sam into the water.

She had made it up to her ribs and Colin was immeasurably proud of her.

The water became less of a fear and more of a need to please him, to show him that she could handle anything. She craved that look of pride he showed with each little bit of progress she made. Her apprehension of even being near the lake had faded in ways she couldn’t process. On Wednesday they had been so elated at her progress they could barely keep their hands off each other.

There was something sacred about their time at the water, something that was theirs and could never be shared. It was her memory, her secret kiss tucked neatly in the corner of her smile that no one else could ever lay claim to. With each passing night she fell more and more in love with Colin McCullough and her fear of the coming Saturday became more paralyzing than all thoughts of water.

Thursday night came and they waded into the lake, its silver moon shadows sparkling like tiny diamonds along the surface. Colin held her securely by her hips and walked backward, holding her with her back to the shore until the ground fell away and she floated in his arms. It was a terrifying and euphoric feeling wrapped into one.

He instructed her how to move her arms and legs to bob in place. Only the mildest panic crept in when small spatters of water crested her shoulders and splashed her face. He held her and whispered words of encouragement and her anxiety faded. It was surprisingly peaceful, floating with her shoulders under the warmth of the water. When her legs grew tired she wrapped them around Colin’s hips.

His laughter slowed and he looked at her with such a serious expression. His blue-green eyes looked almost golden in the darkness.

“I love you, Samantha.”

“I love you too, Colin.”

They kissed in the water for a long while, their bodies heating and coiling with each breathless moment. His arousal pressed so close to her center she felt naked. She wanted to pull her suit aside and touch him to her, flesh to flesh.

She broke away from their kiss and breathed, “Colin, let me touch you. Please, I want to feel you.”

He pressed his forehead to hers. She knew he wanted to say yes, but there was still that part of him that wouldn’t give in.

“What do you need, Samantha?”

“You. I need you inside of me.”

His hand coasted over her hip and his fingertips grazed the soft patch of skin between her belly button and bikini bottom. Slowly, his hand moved lower. She let her body become buoyant, loosely wrapping her legs around his hips, and keeping her hands where they held her at his shoulders.

Fingers trailed down the front of her bikini and pressed lightly into the crease of her sex. He moved his fingers slowly up and down over the fabric as if orienting himself with her shape.

“I’ve never touched a woman here.”

She looked at him but said nothing, simply waited to see what he would do, hoping he would truly touch her. After a few moments of him petting her there, a hollow ache built inside of her, screaming to be filled. What had always been simply anatomy was now an empty void connected to every nerve of her body, every muscle, to her mind, and most of all, to her heart. She was a puzzle piece missing its complimenting half. Colin’s half.

When his fingers breached the cool wet fabric of her suit and teased at the soft patch of hair the material hid, Samantha struggled to remain still in his arms. She began to panic when his fingers pulled back up before ever making contact with her sex, but then relaxed when she realized what he was doing.

His fingertips rode the inner hem of her suit like a track until they came up to the knot tied at her hip. Her heart raced as his fingers tugged the soft string causing the bow to come loose.

The two strings fell away from her hip and Colin pulled the front away from her body until her sex was bared for his touch. The forgotten suit wrapped one thigh.  He looked into her eyes, and his fingers coasted toward her folds.

They feathered back and forth there for a moment, building her anticipation to a fever pitch. He was unintentionally teasing her and she never wanted it to stop, yet at the same time she wanted to scream at him to do more. Finally his fingers fell away and his palm cupped her wanting core.

Samantha’s eyes rolled back and a guttural groan left her throat. Colin was breathing so hard his shoulders seemed to inflate with each breath. Her eyes shut, but she could feel him watching her. The broad tip of his middle finger separated her folds and she begged him to keep going. He breached her opening and slid in to the third knuckle, his other fingers still cupping her from the outside.

The sensation was incredible. Right. Her body lifted, the water easing her movements and keeping her almost weightless. His left arm wrapped around her lower back as she continued to lift her body up and down shamelessly upon his hand.

“What does it feel like, Samantha?” His voice was a mere whisper falling in between her labored breaths and the slight sloshing of the water against their skin.

“Good. It feels so good, Colin.”

He pressed the heel of his palm against her clitoris and she purred deep within her throat.

“There?” he asked.

“Yes.”

He continued to rub as she rode his finger. He turned his wrist slightly and another finger trailed along her labia.

“Can you take more?”

“Yes.”

The other finger slipped inside, lining up beside the other. The fullness was splendid. She became disoriented by the sensuality of it all. Pulling herself up by his shoulders, she pressed her face into his neck making throaty sounds of pleasure.

He dragged his fingers out and slowly glided them back in. Her body opened for him the more he slid his fingers in and out. Her channel became as slick as her skin that was fully submerged in the water.

Colin increased his rhythm and touched an extremely sensitive spot deep inside of her that made her hiss.

He stilled. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s good. Don’t stop.”

He pressed again, finding that soft place hidden deep within her sex. She could tell the tissue there was softer, slightly more tender and sensitive than the other parts of her sex. Whatever it was, Samantha wanted Colin to never stop touching it.

A third finger played at her opening but didn’t quite fit with the others. The more he reached for that spot inside of her, the closer his thumb came to her clitoris. His motions grew more confident that he wouldn’t hurt her and pumped his fingers in and out of her sex with a little more force and speed.

When his thumb pressed directly on her sensitive bud, she cried out. He understood this was one of the most sensitive places on her body. He tried touching her there a few different ways, but couldn’t seem to keep any sort of rhythm with his thumb while his fingers pumped in and out of her.

Finally he grunted and shoved his fingers deep into her sex. They found that soft inner spot and pressed into it. His thumb then clamped down on her clit and rapidly strummed her. His touch caressed her most sensitive flesh both inside and out. She heard her voice echo around them as she came and cried out his name. Her body tensed and locked so tightly around him her abdomen lifted out of the water.

As her locked muscles unraveled and she came back to earth Colin suddenly began to pound his fingers in and out of her once more.

“Again,” he grunted, holding her tightly to his hip.

She looked at him about to tell him she couldn’t possibly when another climax tore over her like a tsunami washing all doubt out of its path. The inner walls of her sex fluttered and pulsed around his fingertips, as there was a heavy release of moisture from within her.

Her entire body shook as he cupped her weeping sex, his touch remained tucked deep inside of her. She was tired and disoriented. In that moment she would be incapable of even spelling her name. The only thing she was sure of was that she loved this man and letting him go would be the hardest thing she’d probably ever have to do.

Colin kissed up her neck and found her mouth. He seemed torn between wanting to kiss her thoroughly and wanting to whisper words of love to her.

His mouth opened and closed over hers. “So beautiful.” He licked at her bottom lip. “So soft.” He nibbled along her jaw. “Never have I seen something so breathtaking as you letting go.” His mouth sealed over hers and his tongue stabbed past her lips. He devoured her mouth and sent her senses spiraling once more. She became a body without bones.

When his fingers stirred within her she moaned tiredly. “Give me one more, Samantha. I know you can take it. Let me feel you one more time.”

She didn’t stop him from touching her, but she couldn’t seem to muster any more enthusiasm. She was rung out, spent, completely and totally sated. Her body jerked when his thumb coasted over her clit. She was so incredibly sensitive there. Pleasure became almost painful to endure.

Suddenly his fingers slipped out of her, causing her to feel incomplete and bereft, then they were moving toward the shore. Her body shivered as he carried her to shallow ground and the coarse sand pressed into her back. Colin’s weight settled on top of her.

He kissed her lips, her neck, the curve of her breasts. The sopping inconsequential weight of her bikini bottom wrapped around her knee vaguely registered.

“I can’t stop yet. Forgive me, Sammy, I can’t let you go just yet.”

She exerted too much energy in order to lift a hand to the side of his face. He raised his head from where he was kissing her stomach and gazed at her. So much pain and anguish and need in those deep ocean colored eyes. Her mouth was dry and her eyes could barely stay open, but she managed to form words. “S’okay, Colin. I’m yours.”

His shoulders dropped as if hearing her acceptance was an enormous relief. He laid his cheek upon her belly and whispered, “I love you.” She was too tired to say it back.

Slowly he scattered kisses across her skin, upon her belly, down her thighs, at the backs of her knees. She lay supine beneath him allowing him to touch her freely as he pleased.

Come the end of summer he’d take his vow of celibacy and never touch another woman again. She supposed she had it easy, knowing her body was the only one he would ever know. He, on the other hand, had to accept that she would someday have a husband.

Her mind returned like an explosion playing in reverse. Her body became revived with each caress. The sensation of Colin’s warm tongue licking up the crease of her sex had her propelling forward. She must have startled him, because he jumped back. His expression was that of a little boy spying on his friends older sister getting dressed, seeming contrite but still willing to do it again.

“Should I not do that?”

She loved how this big confident man was so unsure when it came to matters between man and woman. She didn’t know what to tell him. No, you don’t have to? Yes, please lick me there until I come again? It seemed so personal. Sinful. Dear God, he would be a priest soon and he wanted to put his mouth between her legs.

Something about imagining him in his Godly clothes filled her with such resentment toward the church. Damn God for taking another person from her. Well, He could have him, but she’d have him first!

Her legs spread wide and she spread her arms out in complete submission. It was the most wanton display she’d ever even contemplated let alone attempted.

“Do it again,” she tempted and Colin seemed torn between looking at her face and her glistening pink sex.

He swallowed and then dove between her legs. He licked and kissed and fucked her with his tongue. His fingers came into play and although she was slightly sore, she wanted him to keep going. The third climax she feared was now something she needed immensely.

Her knees pulled back and her toes dug into the wet sand. He gripped her ass cheek hard enough to leave a handprint. His arm drew back as his fingers lanced in and out of her. She panted with each up stroke, her voice growing needy and higher pitched the closer she came to her release. His tongue licked over her sensitized clitoris, up and down, up and down, and then he did something marvelous.