Chapter Twenty-Six
Tammy lay on her stomach, feeling the damp air of the cave against her hot skin and the steady drip of water from the roof.
If she’d been glowing before, she was molten now. The sex had felt natural, organic, as if they were meant to be together.
Ruan trailed the back of his hand down her spine. Gradually, the distant roar of the ocean and his gentle touch brought her out of her dreamy state.
She laughed softly.
‘You’re ticklish?’ he said.
She turned over. ‘No,’ she said, challenging him with her eyes.
‘No?’ He skated his fingers lightly along her stomach and she squealed. ‘Really?’
She writhed and tried to roll away as he tickled her mercilessly. ‘Yes! Hey! Nooo! I surrender!’
‘I knew it,’ he declared, gazing down at her with triumph in his eyes. She propped herself up on her elbows and he sat back on his haunches, grinning. ‘I knew you’d weaken in the end.’
He was right, she had weakened. Within weeks of meeting him, she’d opened up in every way. Telling him about her father, what her art meant to her, and now, the sex.
Outside, the roar of the surf meant the sea was coming closer, yet she wanted to stay here forever, wrap herself around that gorgeous body again, and lose herself in Ruan.
‘I guess we should get dressed.’ Rolling away from him, Tammy found her underwear and put it on.
Ruan watched her pulling on her shorts but made no attempt to do the same. The sight of his honed body made her weaken again; then she tore her eyes away and stiffened her resolve.
Should she be more cautious? Hold back to protect herself and him? Every other relationship – fling – call it what you will, had ended up with her ending it. She’d hurt people even though she’d never meant to and she didn’t want Ruan, of all the men she’d ever known, to be another casualty.
She shook sand out of her vest. ‘We need to get out of here before we can’t.’
‘Does the cave flood then?’
‘Probably not, but there’s a big tide running today so you never know.’
‘OK,’ he said, rising to his feet languidly as if he didn’t care at all. ‘Just how do we get out of here?’ he asked with a sexy glint in his eye. ‘Not that I mind being trapped in a cave for six hours with you.’
Tammy’s heart skipped a beat, taken aback. This was a different man from the one who’d first followed her to the secret cave. A more confident man. A man with not just hopes but expectations …
Her stomach fluttered. This was serious. This was big.
‘There are some rocky steps at the back of the beach,’ she said. ‘They were cut into the cliff in Victorian times and even some locals don’t even know they exist, but they definitely will be cut off if we don’t leave soon.’
He sighed. ‘OK.’
She looked him up and down, fighting to tame the urge to feel his heartbeat next to hers again, forget everything and lose herself in the heat of the moment. She fought it down and went for humour.
‘I recommend you put some clothes on before we climb back up. I’m enjoying the view, but you don’t want to get arrested.’
With that, she forced herself to walk out of the cave without looking back. She knew he’d follow. She knew how much she wanted him to follow, for this to go on, and that was terrifying.