Chapter 9 #3
What was he doing, anyway, just lying there alone? He should take her lead and go and enjoy himself in the water.
With her.
Pushing himself up to standing, he walked swiftly across the hot sand, feeling acute pleasure as the cool sea rushed over his feet and lapped against his legs. He waded towards where she was bobbing about in the water and when she turned and saw him coming her face broke into a smile.
Euphoria swelled in the pit of his stomach, then rushed up through his chest, taking his breath away.
‘The water feels incredible against your hot skin,’ she called, moving forwards to meet him.
All he could think about at that moment was what it would feel like to touch her slick skin and feel her incredible body pressed against him.
Her smile faltered as he got closer and he realised that the longing he was feeling must be showing on his face.
‘Are you okay?’ she asked, reaching out to him and putting her hand on his shoulder.
Before he knew what was happening a particularly strong wave had pushed her towards him and their bodies connected, their mouths only inches apart now.
The feeling of her pressed against him tipped him over the edge and without another thought he dropped his mouth to hers, sliding his hands around her waist to steady them both.
Everything else faded away as the sensation of her soft lips under his took over his entire awareness, plunging him into a state of desire so intense it left him breathless.
Instinctively he deepened the kiss and felt her respond, opening her mouth so he could slide his tongue inside.
She tasted just as sweet as he remembered, but also salty from the seawater, and he let out a groan of pleasure deep in his throat.
Her body was slippery and smooth against his and he pulled her closer to him, losing himself in pure physical indulgence.
He’d wanted to do this for so damn long.
His body responded as his desire deepened, hardening and pressing into her with obvious intent.
‘Oh!’ she gasped against his mouth and the sound of her surprise shocked him out of his erotic daze.
He pulled away abruptly, suddenly furious with himself for allowing his need to override his common sense.
What was he doing? He couldn’t kiss her like this and expect everything to stay the same between them.
But did he really want it to?
Yes. They couldn’t afford to let their agreement slip; it wasn’t sensible.
‘Sorry,’ he muttered, drawing away from her and noting with a sting of regret how shell-shocked she seemed by his sudden withdrawal. ‘I shouldn’t have done that.’
‘No. Okay,’ she rasped, her confusion clear on her face.
‘I’m going for a swim, then we should think about getting back to the house,’ he said gruffly, diving underneath the cool water before she had a chance to answer him, praying it would bring him back to his senses and extinguish his driving need to swim right back and kiss her again.
* * *
‘You know, you’re very mature for your age.
I guess that comes from taking on so much responsibility when you were so young,’ he said to her later, back at the house, while they sat on the terrace gazing out over the water, sipping their second large glasses of wine, trying to pretend that the kiss hadn’t really happened.
She turned to shoot him a startled smile. ‘Do you think so? Most of the time I feel like I have no idea how to be an adult.’
He gave her a wry smile back. ‘I think most people feel like that. We’re all just making it up as we go along.’
‘That’s good to hear.’
There was a small pause where they just looked at each other.
‘I’m… er… just going to get a glass of water. This wine’s going straight to my head,’ she said, standing up quickly and stumbling as she caught her foot on the chair leg.
Xavier shot out a hand to steady her, rising from his chair so he could take her weight.
She gazed up into his eyes, an expression of embarrassment clouding her face. ‘Sorry,’ she whispered.
‘No need to be sorry,’ he said roughly, hyper-aware of his pulse throbbing in his throat. She smelt wonderful, like sunshine and fresh air and her own distinctive sweetness, and he drew in a great lungful of her scent, his chest swelling with a longing so powerful his whole body rushed with it.
‘Soli…’ He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say. A thousand thoughts flashed through his head, but words wouldn’t form in his mouth.
So he kissed her again. Hard.
She let out a small gasp of surprise, but didn’t pull away. Instead she wrapped her arms around his back and pulled him closer to her, forcing their bodies together.
And then his hands were in her hair, and his body was responding in all sorts of inappropriate ways, but he couldn’t stop himself this time. Didn’t want to.
From the desperate sounds in her throat, it seemed as though Soli was having the exact same problem.
‘Let’s go inside,’ she murmured when he pulled back a fraction to breathe, her grip tightening on him as if she was afraid he might change his mind again and let her go.
Through his haze of desire, Xavier couldn’t remember any of the reasons why they should stop any more, so without another word he slid his hands beneath her thighs and lifted her up against him and carried her into the house, still kissing her as he went, unwilling to break the connection.
In the bedroom they discarded their clothes quickly and he rolled on top of her, luxuriating in the feeling of her soft skin against his.
Through the fug of feeling, a terrible thought struck him like a blow. ‘I don’t have any condoms,’ he bit out, suddenly furious with himself for overlooking such a simple thing. His thoughts swirled wildly as he tried to reconcile all the concerns that were now jabbing at the edges of his brain.
‘It’s okay, I’m on the pill,’ she muttered back, gazing up into his eyes with a look of such genuine honesty he knew deep down that she was telling him the truth. Because she always told him the truth.
‘Thank God for that,’ he said, letting out a breath and feeling relief radiate from the pit of his stomach.
Sliding his hands back into her hair, he took a moment to marvel at the sensation of the silky strands running through his fingers.
‘Thank God,’ he repeated huskily, before losing himself in the wonderfulness of her again.