Chapter 26
BERNADETTE
The afternoon had been perfect. Too perfect. It felt like we were a thing. I knew we weren’t, but he was being so attentive. So boyfriend-like.
It was hard not to get caught up in the moment.
But I had to remind myself my time in paradise was halfway over.
When we went home, the pseudo-romance would be over.
And I would be left with amazing memories and a slightly cracked heart.
I wasn’t sure it would be broken, but it would definitely have a couple of fractures.
“Want a coconut water?” Sebastian asked. “I’m guessing it’s the real deal and nothing like what we’d get back home.”
“I’d love one.”
As expected, it was amazing. The whole afternoon had been lovely and I didn’t want it to end. Neither of us spoke much on the way back to the resort, but the silence felt full rather than empty. It was like we had some mutual understanding of the situation.
We didn’t have to define it. We could just allow it to be what it was. That was far easier than trying to put a label on anything. It saved a lot of questions and the hurt feelings that would come if and when things ended.
When we reached the path that would split—one direction toward my bungalow, another toward his—we both stopped.
“Thanks for hanging out with me today,” I said.
“Thanks for letting me tag along.”
Neither of us moved.
“Little Bee.” His voice was husky with just enough gravel to make my stomach flip over.
I felt so ridiculous because every time he called me that I practically climaxed. I looked into his eyes. I saw what I hoped was desire. Want. Or maybe that was just me projecting. “Yes?”
Oh God. I sounded like a frog. Maybe a toad. There was a giant lump in my throat that made speech very difficult.
“Come back to my place.” It wasn’t really a question. More like a request. An admission that whatever we’d been pretending about this being professional or temporary or just physical was falling apart.
I should have said no. Should have gone back to my bungalow, called my father with an update, reviewed tomorrow’s safety protocols and be the good girl I always was.
Instead, I said, “Okay.”
His face lit up. He grabbed my hand and we walked to his bungalow.
Not going to lie, I wanted to run. I craved the man like a person on a no-sugar diet wanted chocolate cake. I wanted his lips on mine. His body against mine.
Inside, he closed the door and we stood there for a moment, looking at each other. The sexual tension from the pool, from sleeping in his bed, from every stolen glance and hidden touch over the past few days, hung thick in the air between us.
My heart kicked against my ribs so hard I was certain he could see it through my shirt. My breath came in short gasps. He wasn’t faring much better. I could see his chest moving up and down.
I didn’t know if I should move first or wait to see if he wanted to talk. And then I didn’t have to wonder much longer.
He moved first, closing the distance between us in two strides. His hands cupped my face and then his mouth was on mine. It was hungry and demanding, like he’d been starving for me.
I kissed him back with everything I had. My hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer, needing more contact, more heat, more everything.
“Bernadette,” he breathed against my lips. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“Then don’t stop,” I whispered back.
That was all the permission he needed. His hands slid down to my waist, then lower, gripping my hips and pulling me flush against him. I could feel how much he wanted me. The eagerness I felt burning through him made my knees go weak.
I couldn’t believe I was the one who undid him.
He walked me backward until my legs hit the edge of the bed. We tumbled onto it together. His weight pressed me into the mattress. I wanted all of it. Every damn inch.
His hands found the hem of my tank top and jerked it up over my head. It only took him seconds to make quick work of my bra. His eyes darkened as he looked at me. I felt beautiful under his gaze in a way I’d never felt before.
“You’re so gorgeous,” he murmured, lowering his head to take one nipple into his mouth.
I gasped, my back arching off the bed. His tongue circled and teased while his hand palmed my other breast. Pleasure shot straight through me. My fingers tangled in his hair, holding him to me, silently begging for more.
He switched sides, giving equal attention to my other breast while his hand trailed down my stomach. When his fingers found the button of my shorts, I lifted my hips to help him slide them off along with my underwear.
Then I was completely bare beneath him while he was still fully clothed. Something about that imbalance made everything feel even more intense.
I felt completely at his mercy. I never allowed myself to be that way with any man. But with him, I wanted it. I didn’t want to think or control. I wanted him to be in charge.
He slid down my body, kissing a trail from my breasts to my stomach. “I’ve been thinking about what you taste like,” he said, his voice rough with desire. “I need to know.”
I couldn’t form words. Could barely breathe. My hands gripped the sheets as he positioned himself between my legs, his broad shoulders forcing my thighs wider.
He looked up at me, his dark eyes holding mine. “You’re so beautiful, Little Bee.”
Then his mouth was on me and I forgot how to think. His tongue moved in slow, deliberate strokes that had me gasping. He explored every inch of me like he was memorizing the taste. Like he had all the time in the world and intended to use every second of it driving me insane.
“Sebastian, yes,” I moaned, my hips lifting involuntarily.
He gripped my thighs, holding me in place as he worked me with his mouth. The combination of his tongue and lips was overwhelming. He focused on my most sensitive spot until I was trembling beneath him.
I’d never felt anything like it. The first time had been amazing, but this was different. More intense.
He slid one finger inside me while his tongue continued its relentless assault. Then another. The dual sensations made my back arch off the bed. My fingers tangled in his hair, holding him to me, needing more.
“That’s it,” he murmured against me. “Let me hear you.”
I didn’t hold back. Couldn’t have if I’d wanted to. The sounds coming from my throat were animalistic. I’d never been this vocal during sex before. I had always been self-conscious about making too much noise.
But Sebastian seemed to love it. Every moan made him work harder. The pressure built low in my belly, coiling tighter and tighter. I was so close. Right on the edge. I just needed a little more pressure. A little more something.
He sucked hard on my clit while his fingers hit that perfect spot inside me, and I shattered. The orgasm crashed through me in waves. My entire body convulsed with pleasure so intense I saw stars. I cried out his name, my thighs clamping around his head as I rode out every last tremor.
He didn’t stop. He kept working me through it, drawing out every bit of pleasure until I was boneless and gasping, too sensitive to take any more.
Finally, he pulled back, pressing soft kisses to my inner thighs. He looked incredibly pleased with himself.
“You taste so good,” he said, crawling back up my body.
“Your turn,” I managed, tugging at his shirt.
He sat back and pulled it over his head in one smooth motion. I reached for the button of his shorts, but my hands were shaking. He took over, stripping them off along with his boxers.
And then we were both naked, skin against skin. I didn’t think I would ever get used to the sensation of his body against mine.
“Sebastian,” I gasped. “Please.”
“Please what, Little Bee?”
“I need you.”
He reached into the nightstand and pulled out a condom. I watched him roll it on and practically licked my lips. Then he was settling between my thighs, the blunt head of him pressing against my entrance.
“Look at me,” he commanded softly.
I met his eyes as he pushed inside, filling me completely. I closed my eyes and savored the rightness of it. My hands gripped his shoulders as he began to move slowly at first, letting me adjust.
“Okay?” he asked.
“More than okay,” I breathed. “Don’t stop.”
“God, Bernadette,” he panted. “You feel incredible.”
I couldn’t form words anymore. When I opened my eyes, he was still watching me. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him deeper. Every thrust hit exactly where I needed it, building that pressure inside me again already.
“You’re so tight,” he groaned, his rhythm picking up speed. “So perfect.”
His words sent heat flooding through me. I’d never been vocal during sex, never been the type to talk dirty or ask for what I wanted. But something about Sebastian made me brave.
“Harder,” I breathed. “I need more.”
He growled and shifted his weight, hooking one of my legs over his shoulder. The change in position let him go even deeper. I cried out at the intensity of it.
“Like that?” he asked, his voice strained.
“Yes. God, yes.”
He pounded into me, the headboard hitting the wall with each thrust. I should have been embarrassed by the noise, worried someone might hear. Instead, I found myself getting even more turned on by it.
My hands roamed his back, feeling his muscles flex and move under my palms. He was so beautiful. So strong. And he was mine, at least for right now, in this moment.
“Bernadette, I’m not going to last much longer. You feel too good.”
“Don’t stop,” I begged. “I’m close.”
The man was a machine. I felt myself climbing higher and higher, right on the edge of something massive. Suddenly, I was afraid. Not afraid like someone was going to murder me, but afraid of the crash that was coming at me like a freight train. The pleasure was too much.
“Come for me, Little Bee,” he commanded. “I want to feel you.”
That did it. My orgasm slammed into me, even more intense than the first. I screamed his name, my body clamping down around him as wave after wave of pleasure rolled through me.
“Fuck,” Sebastian groaned, his rhythm faltering.
He thrust deep one last time and I felt him pulse inside me, his whole body going rigid as he came. He collapsed onto me, both of us breathing hard, slick with sweat.
He carefully pulled out and disposed of the condom before coming back to bed. Instead of rolling to his side like I expected, he pulled me against him, tucking me into the curve of his body.
I let myself relish in the feel of him. I had a little fantasy about us waking up together. And then going to bed together the next night. Breakfast in bed. More sex.
Then rational thought started creeping back in.
What the hell was I doing?
I’d slept with him again. After we’d agreed it was a one-time thing. We had established boundaries. I promised myself I wouldn’t let this get complicated.
There was no way this was just sex. That much was obvious. I wasn’t that naive. I knew when a guy was interested. But this had gotten way out of hand.
I was falling for him. Maybe had already fallen. And that was terrifying because it had to end. Had to. In less than a week, we’d both be back in New York, back to our real lives, back to being people who didn’t make sense together.
I was the insurance rep. He was the billionaire model. I wore pantsuits and read safety manuals. He dated actresses and attended galas. My father would lose his mind if he knew. The company would fire me. Everything I’d worked for would be gone.
And for what? For a man who’d never done serious relationships?
Even if he wanted to try—which was a massive if—how long would it last? A few weeks? A couple months? Until he got bored or I got too needy or reality crashed in and reminded us why we couldn’t work?
I needed to leave. Needed space to think. I had to figure out what the hell I was going to do.
“I should go,” I said, pulling away from him.
Sebastian’s arm tightened around me. “Stay. Just for a little while.”
“I can’t. Annika will wonder where I am. And I need to… I have things to prepare for tomorrow.”
It was a lie and we both knew it.
He released me. I could feel him watching as I gathered my clothes and got dressed.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said quickly, not looking at him. “For the shoot. The Venus thing.”
“We should talk.”
“No.” I finally looked into his eyes. The hurt I saw there almost made me stay and say damn the consequences.
But I couldn’t.
I left his bungalow and practically ran back to mine with my mind racing.