Chapter 61
Aria sat on the waffled quilt Nic had spread on the floor.
Arriving back in the dark and agreeing to relax with him in the finished kit house, she’d collected clothes and bedding from his place.
She rifled through the bathroom cabinet before leaving, spraying liberally and slipping something else into her pocket. Just in case.
Disturbing the peace they were creating, she spilled the glass of brandy he’d poured for her. Frustrated with herself, she huffed, ‘Damn it, sorry, Nic. I’m clumsy and it’s dark in here.’
He tossed her a hanky to mop up the brandy and illuminated the space with his phone light. ‘Relax, Aria, you definitely weren’t clumsy earlier. How did you know what to do?’
‘I’ve seen cold water shock before. Had it once myself.
It can show up in different ways – it made me giggle uncontrollably.
The worst manifestation is a heart attack, which I was afraid of when you were clutching your chest. The icy water drains the body of heat much faster than air can.
You’d been drinking too which won’t have helped. ’
‘Yeah, I knocked back a bit of champagne. Pre-wedding nerves.’
‘Except you weren’t the groom so I’m not sure what you were worried about?’
He shrugged. ‘Seeing you. You made it very clear you hated me.’
‘I didn’t hate you. Well, maybe for a bit.
’ She smiled to herself, wondering how she could have stayed away from him for so long.
Warm and cosy in this unfurnished house, the shock of Tiger’s near death was wearing off too, although she was missing him.
‘The ambulance crew were great, weren’t they? And the vet.’
‘Yeah, although I did feel like a knob doing gym moves to warm up on the beach while everyone else went off for a three-course meal.’ He asked her to shift up so he could place a second quilt over their legs before joining her on the floor.
As they snuggled under it, she put the drink down, feathered her hair and secured it on her head. ‘There’s one thing I don’t understand. Tiger loathes water. How did he end up in the sea?’
‘He went in after the duck,’ Nic told her.
‘Ah, now I see. But it wasn’t even hump hour!’
‘Has that continued? Remind me what time it begins these days because I’m very much up for it.’
She noticed afresh how attractive he was, his wicked smile and copper-bottomed eyes giving her the urge to touch his face.
‘I really am sorry, Aria, about your cabin.’
She held up a hand to stop him. ‘The settlement fee will allow me a fresh start. The demolition was a terrible shock, but in the long run this has helped me move on.’
‘So, what now? For us?’
She shrugged. ‘Well, I’m here. Something I couldn’t conceive of before the wedding.’
‘And I’m sticking around too. It’s hot under these covers.
Perhaps we have too many clothes on?’ He said it tentatively like he was worried he might overstep, but she lifted the duvet and fiddled with the waistband of the sweatpants she’d retrieved from his house.
Her smile invited him to loosen a stubborn knot and together they pushed them down before she kicked them off.
As he whipped Aria’s sweatshirt over her head, he sucked in a sharp breath, realising she wasn’t wearing a bra.
Kissing and grazing on her nipples, he trailed his hand down her stomach.
Wriggling to meet it, she let the delicious feelings build, as he circled ever closer to a point that made her squirm.
He continued stroking and teasing, all the while nibbling at her breasts, till she cried out in frustration.
Then he spread his fingers out on her pubic bone, homing in on her centre with his thumb.
Now his hand became a paintbrush, stroking a rainbow of feelings into every nerve ending.
‘You like this?’ he asked. She did, she told him with a moan. The sensations swirled and grew as his lips traced down her body to join his fingers. ‘And this?’
She communicated yes with a nod and a whimper, savouring every moment.
‘Ohmygod, ohmygod…’ she mumbled as he entered her with one finger then two, searching for a sweet spot he was desperate to reach for her.
Endorphins flooded her body and heat travelled from her head to her toes.
This was obviously as much a turn-on for him as it was for her as he stopped to rip off his t-shirt and kick off his shorts.
Now they moved up a gear, changing position as she ground against his erection while clawing at his hips.
All of her senses were thrumming – his familiar smell stimulating her, the sound of his moans exciting her as they moved as one, hurrying on the inevitable.
‘Wait!’ he said, but she was ahead of him, reaching for the sweatshirt she’d discarded earlier.
In the pocket were two small packets she’d taken from his bathroom cabinet, and she enjoyed seeing his surprise at her intent.
‘Pre-planned? I like it when you take control, Aria Wilson.’ She enjoyed the jut of his cock and his happy sigh as she helped him smooth on the condom.
‘But it’s my turn now,’ he smirked, climbing over her and pinning her down.
He kissed her deeply and satisfyingly. She sank into it, hungry for every part of him, and cried out a muffled yes as he sank himself into her body.
She felt every inch of his shaft and wanted it all.
Checking she was OK, he started to thrust. Feeling very OK, she moved with him, urging him on with the whole of her body and being. They came together, crying out as one.