Chapter 15 #2
“Do you believe it?” I rest my head against the chair.
“Hmm. No one has ever asked me that.”
An acoustic guitar drifts in the breeze, and she turns toward the water.
“It sounds ridiculous, but legend has it that every person who checks out is different from when they checked in. Many people who end up here have something to heal inside of themselves.”
“It doesn’t sound ridiculous. Hope it works.”
She grins. “Hope it does too.”
“Is that why you’re here?” I ask.
“Truthfully?” She sighs. “Yeah.”
“I guess you’ll have to share if it worked for you. I’d be curious to know.”
She nods.
“Will you tell me too?” she asks. “If you change while here?”
“Yeah.” I swallow hard.
Wendy looks away. The sound of waves crashes below, and neither of us speaks for what feels like an eternity.
The corner of her mouth rises.
I stand from the chair and go to her. She’s close enough that I can smell her sweet shampoo.
Her fingers find the hem of my shirt, and I walk her back into my room, closing the curtain in front of the door.
Her palms slide up my stomach, and my muscles tense under her touch.
Her fingers trace the lines of my abs like she’s memorizing me.
“I want you,” she whispers.
“You sure?” I ask.
Her mouth brushes mine. “I’m waiting for you to stop being a gentleman about it. We’ve been dancing around this since the day you arrived.”
“I don’t want to rush,” I confess.
“We’re running out of time,” she reminds me, setting her phone on the nightstand. “You’re leaving on August 3.”
I cup her cheeks and kiss her the way I’ve wanted since she entered my room.
She tastes like strawberries, and I pull her lip between my teeth and suck. The sound she makes rushes straight to my cock.
“Fuck, Wendy.”
Her hands slide up my chest, removing my shirt. I pull her against me, and the heat of her body is everywhere. We walk backward until her legs touch the mattress. She sits, pulling me down with her.
Ocean air fills the room while I lay her back against the sheets. Her ponytail fans out across the fluffy white comforter. The gold flecks in her brown eyes catch the light, and she lets me admire her before I reach for the edge of her polo.
I peel it off of her, then reach around to unclasp her bra. Tan lines from her bathing suit cut across her shoulders. I trace one with my mouth. A shiver runs through her as my mouth closes over her nipple, tongue circling the peak.
“Carter.” My name comes out soft, so soft that I almost don’t hear it.
I move between her breasts and across her stomach. She grips my hair when I reach her hip bone, and the tug sends a jolt through me.
I push down her shorts and press my mouth against the wetness in her panties. “So fucking wet for me.”
“Always.” Her breath catches.
I stay there, adding pressure to her before peeling them from her body. Wendy sits upright, her breasts on full display as she reaches for my shorts.
“I don’t have a condom,” I explain.
“I’m on birth control. Please,” she nearly begs, snapping the button open, then pushing the material down to my feet.
I move forward, and she leans back. I settle between her thighs with my cock pressing against her. I add pressure, but I don’t go any further. Her eyes hold mine in the warm light.
“Ready?” I ask.
“Yes,” she says.
I push into her slowly. She’s tight, and the sensation of being with her like this overtakes me. Fuck, it feels so good. I close my eyes. Her lips part, and she gasps in my ear as her nails lightly scratch across my shoulders. For a second, I stop giving her time to adjust.
“Okay?” I ask.
“Perfect. Keep going.”
I sink the rest of the way in, and a moan escapes me. She takes all of me, buried to the hilt. Her breathing is shallow against my mouth.
I’ve had sex, but this isn’t something I have a description for. It’s more emotional.
Then her hips rock, and we start to move together.
The first thrusts are slow because I want to feel every inch of her.
When her legs wrap around my waist, the angle changes, and I go deeper. She gasps, and her back arches off the mattress. My cock slides from the tip to the base, harder this time.
“Eyes on me, Wen,” she mutters.
Her eyes lock on mine, and too many emotions rush through me at once. We find a rhythm together, her hips rising to meet mine.
“Carter.” Her body tenses, and I don’t stop.
My hand slides between her legs, and I rub slow circles on her clit. Her mouth falls open, and I stay there, repeating the motion until her breathing grows ragged.
A groan leaves my throat when she comes around me, squeezing me so damn hard. I slide my hand under her lower back and lift her hips off the mattress. She whimpers as I fuck her through it.
“My brown-eyed girl,” I whisper.
She reaches up and drags her thumb across my lip, the way I did to her on the balcony. The tenderness undoes me.
This isn’t a crush, and I kiss her deeper, knowing she’s everything I’ve been looking for.
My pace increases, and her hands go back to gripping the comforter as she tries her best to stay quiet. We’re breathless. But then her mouth opens, and everything seizes again. Her pussy grips me so tight that I can barely move as she comes in waves.
“Fuck,” she whispers. “I’ve never … not twice.”
I bury myself in her one last time and come hard with her name on my lips.
The breeze from the balcony cools the sweat on my back. Her breathing settles while mine tries to match it.
“Wow,” she says.
“Yeah.”
“There’s magic in those walls, and those who need healing get it.”
Maybe Mia wasn’t fucking with me after all.
I’ve signed up for marathons, worked nonstop, purchased real estate and planes, and nothing filled the gap.
I roll onto my side and pull her with me. Wendy rests her head against my chest and listens to my heartbeat. I hold her, and it’s the first time the noise has stopped. She doesn’t even know my name.
Wendy lets out a shaky breath and moves closer. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I say against her temple.
She presses her lips to my shoulder. “Your heart is racing.”
“Is it?” I ask, twirling her hair in my finger.
“Yeah.”
“I’m okay, just excited.”
Wendy laughs against me. She moves in even closer, and her arm wraps across my stomach.
She breathes me in and sighs.
I don’t want to talk about the rules or expiration date. What just happened and the emotions I felt changed things for me, and I think it did for her too. I don’t think either of us understands what this relationship really means.
She kisses my chin and slides out of bed. “Be right back.”
I stare at the ceiling and listen to water running. The lights from the balcony cast a soft glow.
Her phone lights up on the nightstand.
The screen flashes. A preview of an image pops up.
It’s a photo of her with a guy on a beach. His hand is on her ass, and she’s kissing him, laughing. Her hair is longer than it is now.
Another message follows it.
Adam
I miss you, Wendy. So fucking much. Can’t stop thinking about you, us, and what we had. I want you back.
It stays lit for five seconds before the screen goes dark.
The bathroom door opens, and Wendy walks back, wearing one of my shirts. She doesn’t look at her phone. She climbs into bed and tucks herself under my arm.
I pull her as close as I can.
“Stay for a while,” I say.
“I’d like that.” She leans forward and kisses me.
Her breathing evens out, and I pull the covers over us.
Her ex didn’t choose her, and it broke her, and now he’s trying to crawl back.
But I’m just as guilty. She saw the real me. She just doesn’t know my real name.
I don’t think Wendy would like Dyson Banks. I’m not even fucking sure I do anymore.