Chapter 30
Casey
The Maldives, sunrise…
I was stealthy that morning.
My pink bikini was already on—I’d retrieved it from my villa after the first rays of a bright orange sunrise peeked over the horizon—and my breath was minty fresh.
I had my sights set on one thing—destination waterfall.
The night before, I hadn’t been able to see it in the dark, but it was one of the first things I spotted when the soft peach dawn painted itself on the sky this morning.
There, in a little lagoon next to an outcrop of rock was a waterfall, serene and falling softly.
I knelt next to Nate, naked and beautiful under a sheet.
He’d grabbed one from the bed last night and brought it out to the deck so we could sleep under the stars.
The sheet slipped down to his waist and I couldn’t help but admire the strong muscles in his back and his shoulders as well as the trim taper of his hips.
He had a pretty fantastic ass too, so I gave the sheet a gentle tug, revealing a few more inches of that firm, rounded rear that I loved to hold on hard to when he was inside me.
He stirred from the movement, turned over, and blinked.
Flashing me a drowsy smile, he shielded his eyes from the sun, and said a husky good morning.
“Good morning to you too,” I said, matching the wattage with my own grin. “I just decided that kissing you under a waterfall is on my bucket list and we’re going to go check that off right now.”
“Ah, I see you’re enjoying the perks of the best villa on the property. Or I should say, you’re about to.” He sat up. “Give me one minute.”
As he retreated up the stairs and across the deck, I watched him walk, enjoying the view of his backside as he headed into the hut.
A minute later he returned, still in his full birthday suit.
His eyes raked me over from top to bottom.
He scratched his forehead as if something didn’t compute.
“What I don’t understand is why you have on a bikini. ”
I held my hands out wide as if the answer was obvious. “Because we’re about to go in the ocean.”
“The way I see it, this whole bucket list thing should be satisfying to both of us. And mine has skinny dipping in the Indian Ocean with you on it, so get out of that right now,” he instructed.
Then added, “This area of the beach is private. There’s no access to the lagoon except from this hut. So, if I were you I’d strip.”
I laughed and rolled my eyes, even as I did what he asked, leaving two pink scraps of fabric on the wood floor. “You just love giving me orders, don’t you?”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “I do, and I love all your orders too,” he said, then dropped a quick kiss on my lips. His breath was fresh too, both of us ready for a morning make-out.
I walked down the final set of steps that descended into the ocean. A former swimmer, I would’ve preferred to dive in, but the water was shallow by the hut. Soon, it deepened and Nate and I swam naked to the lagoon.
Serenity took on a new meaning here in the tranquil water with the sun caressing my skin.
The world was calm and not a care was to be had, not a concern existed, and nothing at all could ever go wrong.
This was the true escape, and I understood why people wanted to make island getaways for life.
This kind of paradise had a way of working a magic spell on you.
When we reached the secluded lagoon, the curving rock ledge shielded us further, hemming us into this private little pool for lovers. The waterfall pattered down the slate, beating out a steady rhythm.
I roped my arms around Nate’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss.
It was a morning kiss, the kiss of the sun rising and the start of a new day.
It was a kiss that held the promise of so much more between the two of us, of a whole future.
Of lazy Sundays. Of breakfasts together.
Of Saturday matinees, and foot rubs, and baths, and Chinese takeout, and someday, walking a rescue dog together in the park.
I ran my tongue across his top lip, then the bottom, savoring this lingering pace—soft, slow and unhurried.
No one was in a rush. We weren’t subscribing to a set amount of lessons or expecting only a finite amount of time together, and the kiss said as much.
I gave myself over to the delicious sensations that spread through my whole body, warming me inside and out with the tenderness of his touch.
Then, he picked up the speed, kissing me harder and deeper, our tongues tangling as the falling water made its morning music.
Soon he backed me up so we were under the waterfall.
It was like standing in an afternoon summer storm as the drops cascaded over my shoulders, breasts, and my waist. I sighed contentedly as his lips fused to mine.
But then, sometimes easy kisses turned into something more. As he yanked me closer, the evidence was clear in the hard length of his erection—this kiss was primed for much more than first base. “I’m thinking we want to kick the bucket list item up a notch. How about you?”
I nodded, flashing him a naughty grin. “I’m thinking we’re on the same page again.
But just to make sure, is this how you’re thinking you’d like me?
In this position?” I turned around, dropped my hands onto a rock that peeked over the water’s surface, and raised my backside into the air. He groaned appreciatively.
“Yes. You are reading my mind,” he said as he slid his hand between my legs where I was ready for him.
Funny, how I’d intended simply to kiss him in this romantic, blissful setting. But then the two of us had never been very good at stopping at kissing. The first night in New Orleans his kisses had made me want to climb him like a tree. They’d only grown hotter since, and they always led to more.
He rubbed his hard-on against my entrance, and a little whimper escaped my throat from that first heady sensation of him touching me where I wanted him most. In one quick thrust he had us both moaning at the same time, our sounds echoing across the rocks, carried off on the morning breeze along the ocean.
The water lapped gently around me as he rocked in and out, filling me.
Even though I was the one bent over with my ass in the air, being fucked standing up in the wide open waters, I still felt possessive of him, of this man who wanted me, who craved me, who seemed to need me desperately.
Somehow, I was the one who had him. But I also knew we were a perfect match.
Perhaps that was why I felt so possessive of him and wanted him as my own for all time.
He took me like he wanted me that way too.
Pinning me to his body, he twisted my hair around his fist, pulling hard, giving him even more leverage to drive all the way into me, which is exactly where I wanted him.
My fingers dug into the rock as I held on tight, the waterfall raining down on us.
Like that, the sea turtles somewhere out there and the birds flying by the only witness to our intense pleasure, I rose higher and higher.
My toes dug into the wet sand. My body tightened as I sought release from the sheer intensity.
Concentrating on the sensations that blasted through my body, I rode closer to my climax, and then I shattered—bright, brilliant diamond lights exploding behind my eyelids.
In seconds, he chased me there, grunting my name as he came, his body jerking from the aftershocks.
He pulled out and then, and as if on cue, we both sank down in the water to our necks, enjoying the pleasant sensation of the ocean covering our bodies.
He rained more kisses down on my mouth, my cheeks, my eyes, whispering words of love, words of desire, words of sweet, tender passion.
I was a lucky woman. I was a happy woman.
In our time together he’d made me feel so good about myself, loving me for who I was, not who he wanted me to be.
That’s how he’d always treated me, from way back at the start of our friendship on through the here and now.
We played in the water, splashing each other, laughing, darting under the crystal blue water like dolphins. I was faster and each time I popped up, hair sleek, I’d laugh at him. “You must’ve forgotten that I was a swimmer in high school.”
“I remember. Did you think I’d forget anything about you?”
My eyes widened and I clasped my hand over my mouth. “Uh-oh. What if we don’t have anything to say to each other? What if we know everything about the other person and there’s nothing left to talk about?” My voice rose in mock fear.
He laughed and shook his head. “I’m not worried about a damn thing when it comes to you.”
We swam to the dock, water droplets falling off our naked skin as we climbed the stairs, and then headed inside to get ready for the wedding.