Chapter 18 #2
“Don’t move, or you’ll look like lightning zapped you in the ass.”
I started giggling, but Hunter again took hold of my head and gave me a playful, stern stare. His gaze dropped to my lips, my grin faltered, and I was very aware of my blood traveling from my heart through my body and back again.
I tried to focus on the gentle sound of the ocean or a raspy buzzing of bugs instead of Hunter’s red, slightly parted, and moist lips.
I couldn’t help but wonder how he kissed.
Were his kisses slow and languid or hungry and zestful?
I shouldn’t think about that, and instead I counted only the golden-colored stubble on his jaw.
That might take a while. I blinked a few times and instead counted the number of laugh lines around his eyes—a total of six—and deep lines around his remarkable mouth—one on each side.
One small mole in the center of his Cupid’s bow.
My lips tingled with the need to kiss it.
I didn’t think cutting hair was sexy or erotic, but here I was, getting a wave of heat through me.
It could be because Hunter wasn’t wearing a shirt.
If I were an artist, I would want to paint beautiful landscapes of his face and body.
But I wasn’t an artist. All I could do was commit every nanoscopic and vital detail of this gorgeous man to memory.
My gaze roamed over his exposed sun-kissed skin, noticing every ripple of muscles on his chest, taut abs, and a trail of dark hair disappearing into the top of his shorts.
And I wanted to hook my finger over the waistband and see his reaction.
Would his hands loop around my hips and drag me flush against him—well, I might get splinters in my ass if he did that—but would he gather me to him and let me feel his skin on mine?
Or would he tell me to stop, like when he asked me not to say his name?
I had to curl my hands into fists to prevent them from doing something stupid and embarrassing.
When I looked up, Hunter’s eyes, rimmed with thick eyelashes, were heavy on me. My stomach swooped like I was free-falling. His hands were no longer near my face but resting on his thighs. Had he caught me staring at his crotch?
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “I think this is a good stopping point. It’s a bit uneven, but it doesn’t look like I used a lawn mower.”
I wanted to say thank you, but a small clump of hair stuck to my lip.
Before I inhaled it, I tried to push it off with my tongue, but it only stuck to me more.
Hunter’s lips curved to a side, and his hand moved to my mouth.
He pinched the tip of my tongue between his fingers, catching the annoying hairs, and my pulse found a new permanent location to throb. Hard and fast.
Hunter’s thumb grazed my lower lip, then he dragged his hand against the side of his shorts. He gently brushed hair clippings off my nose and shoulders, his fingertips stumbling over my bikini strings.
He exhaled a slow breath as if he were losing a battle against his self-control. “You probably want to dip in the ocean to wash off.”
I wanted to yank his hand and place it at the base of my throat, where my pulse thrashed like a bird caught in the net, but instead I touched my hair, getting used to its short feel. “Thanks again.”
His darkened eyes never left mine, smoldering me to ashes.
I was in emotional purgatory. Stay still and wait for him to make a move or take matters into my own hands?
Literally. Take his face in my hands and crash his mouth to mine.
He would be the second man I ever kissed. The second man to have me.
“Will you go for a swim with me?” I asked.
“With this sexy haircut, I’ll never want to let you out of my sight.”
“Yeah?” I patted my head subconsciously again, pulling on short strands. “You think I look good?”
“Of course.” He smirked. “Why wouldn’t you? I gave you this cut.”
With a roll of my eyes, I pushed on his shoulder. “You’re so full of yourself.”
At the beach, I was waist-deep into the warm sea when Hunter barreled by my side and quickly submerged himself in the water. It was long before his head popped out a fair distance from me.
“Aquaman,” I said to myself and swam to him.
It was exhausting to keep myself afloat by the time I reached Hunter. He was in deeper water, where my feet couldn’t reach the bottom. Taking a deep breath, I relaxed and sank under.
“You tired?” Hunter asked when my head broke through the surface.
“Do you mind if I join you in the morning for a swim? I need to get better at swimming.”
“Not at all.”
He took my hand and pulled me in closer.
His hands grasped my waist. My body bumped against his, and I rested my hands on his shoulders.
Closing my eyes for a moment, I relished his proximity—his warmth, the softness of his skin.
I brought myself to his eye level, looping my legs around his torso and linking my ankles.
Once again, I thanked the universe for the laser treatment.
My legs and underarms responded well, but my bikini area not so much.
Alas, now my down south didn’t have a landing strip exactly, more a savanna grassland—land at your own risk.
And I bet Hunter wouldn’t mind taking a risk.
An electric current shot up my spine when my center smacked against Hunter’s firm stomach.
The need for him blinded me. It took all my willpower not to move my hips and grind against him.
His gaze swept over my face, and when he paused at my lips, the eagerness for what could come next sent a zing straight through me.
I stared at his mouth, waiting, not breathing.
We swayed with the push and pull of the ocean.
“Sydney”—his throat bobbed—“if I kiss you, I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop.”
“You don’t have to stop.” My fingers played with soft curls on the nape of his neck.
His eyes flickered to mine, water droplets clinging to his long eyelashes. “Sex complicates things.”
Our relationship had an expiration date, and we were both well aware of it.
Was he afraid to fall in love? Was I? Of course.
I already had a crush on him. But if I kept in mind that this was a short-term affair, I wouldn’t develop anything more than a little crush.
As for Hunter, he would move on after we had a good time.
Perhaps he worried if we had sex, and it turned out to be awful, we risked cohabiting in awkwardness.
Was he insecure? I could boost his confidence and make it easier for him by admitting that Phill was vanilla.
An only on Sunday and Thursday kind of guy.
And besides my ex I had nobody else to compare to.
“Hunter, it doesn’t have to be anything serious. It can be just a fun time between two consenting adults.”
“I don’t think you are someone I can just have fun with.” Hunter’s fingers moved on my back, pulling me closer, my breasts pressing into his chest. His eyes flitted across my face. “I already like you too much. It’ll hurt when it’s time for us to go our separate ways.”
I understood what he meant. The same fear pushed against my ribs, but I was also out-of-my-mind horny, and that was enough for me to take a risk.
Our breathing was quick and shallow. His pulse throbbed in his neck, the tempo no doubt matching mine. He was nervous. He was scared. And for that, I wanted Hunter even more.
His grip strengthened on my back, and he tilted his head, lips parting. The distance between us was a scant breath. My eyes went over his shoulder, and my heart stopped.
“Shark.” I choked on the word, fear knotting my throat. My right hand shot out to point at a black fin in the water about a hundred yards away from us.
Hunter tensed and twisted around. “Fuck.”
With me in his arms, he lunged us forward toward the dry land.
When the water reached his waist, and my feet found the ground, I slipped out of his grasp.
He gripped my hand and pulled me with him.
My feet sank into the hot sand, but I didn’t stop and bolted to where the jungle encroached on the beach as if the shark would chase me this far.
“Oh my God.” Catching my breath, I hugged the leaning palm tree and pressed my forehead on its bark.
Hunter sunk onto the tree trunk, his chest heaving. “It’s probably the same blacktip reef sharks that have been visiting once in a while. They like to lurk around those rocks.”
“And after all these days, you just now tell me about it?” I peered at him around the tree.
“They are not bad. They’re friendly.”
I scoffed. “I didn’t see you staying in the water.”
“Well,” he chuckled nervously, “I wasn’t exactly keen on finding out if I’m right.”
My stomach hollowed. That Hunter wasn’t sure about the type of shark it was only made my anxiety worse.
“No more swimming for me.” I flung my arm out toward the ocean. “I’m not going back there ever again. Knee-deep, and not an inch deeper.”
Hunter waved his hand dismissively. “Swimming in the ocean is overrated anyway.”
Once my breathing subsided, I slumped next to Hunter, our thighs touching, my eyes on the black dot circling in the water.
“No doubt this island has treasure because all kinds of things that want to murder intruders guard it. Snakes. Sea urchins. Sharks. You name it.” I laughed, but Hunter didn’t.
I glanced at him and caught him looking at me. His eyes were soft and curious.
“What?” Feeling self-conscious, I smoothed my hair and looped some of it behind my ear. I hadn’t had a chance to check out my new haircut before we spun to the beach. So, for all I knew, I might have looked like Gollum (and Hunter was my precious).
“Stop fidgeting with your hair,” Hunter said, wrapping his fingers around my wrist and taking my hand away from my head.
The spot where his thumb touched ignited, and heat threaded its way through my muscles, electrifying my body. Hunter’s eyelashes lowered as his gaze dropped to my lips. When he lifted them back there was an unspoken question in his darkened eyes. My breath stalled.
“I’m going to kiss you now,” he said, his voice low, deep, and thick.
“Please.” I managed.
Hunter cradled my face in his hands and bridged the distance between us, pressing his hot mouth over mine. The feel of his soft lips sent my world off its axis. A sigh escaped my throat. God, his mouth. His gorgeous, seductive, incredible mouth.
My lips parted, inviting him to deepen the kiss.
He tasted of ocean salt and need. Hunter kissed me confidently, no second-guessing.
He groaned with satisfaction. Ungovernable happiness erupted in me, and I twisted my fingers in his hair, tugging him closer.
His breathing grew labored, and he gathered me to his body, his large palms fitting perfectly against the valleys of my back and setting my every sense on fire.
Hunter kissed me like I was the only woman he’d ever wanted to kiss, like he’d die if he didn’t.
I was drowning in a sea of pleasure and need, and I clung to him like a lifeline.
I could have guessed kissing Hunter would be earth-shattering, but I didn’t know it would feel like a luscious, wild dream.
I moaned and came up for air when he pulled his mouth away.
Hunter smiled against my lips. “The sounds you make will echo in my head for the rest of my life.” His breath was a flutter on my lips, and then his mouth was moving against mine.
His arms came around my waist, and I wound my arms around his neck, pressing my chest flush against his, desperately seeking closeness.
He coaxed me onto his lap, letting me feel how much he liked me and my sounds. The feeling of his hard length unleashed a shudder in me. The thought we could, we would, we should have sex turned me into a frenzy, and my insides melted as if I’d stepped on a hot wire.
“More,” was all I could say before he kissed me with an unquenchable hunger I craved. And I returned it. He angled my head and deepened the kiss. Arousal throbbed in my core, and I yearned for more. I needed more than his kiss. I needed more of Hunter. I needed all of him.