11. Eleven
Five Years Ago
“Do you see that reef out there? I’ll race you to it.”
I look over at Harlowe, who once again looks incredible in a cobalt blue bikini with a scoop top that lovingly holds her tits in perfect presentation for me to admire. She’s shading her eyes and judging the distance seriously. I feel a smile tugging at my lips as I consider her latest challenge. Yesterday, it was who could find the most abalone and coming face-to-face with a reef shark that she stared down and waited for it to move on while her lungs nearly gave out. The woman is fearless.
“What makes you think you can beat me in an open-water swim that’s at least two hundred meters?”
“Ten years on a swim team and a whole lot of confidence,” she replies, turning to me and dropping her hand from her gorgeous face, sun-kissed and perfect in every way. “Why, worried you’ll be beaten by a woman?”
I pull her against me. “I like your confidence. It doesn”t bother me to potentially lose to you with all that swagger. But I’d like a fair wager. So what do I get if I beat you?”
“I’ll titty fuck you. It’s a lot of work for something that’s all about your pleasure instead of mine, so it’s a fitting prize.” Her answer comes without hesitation, which makes me wonder if she already had it prepared before she made her first comment about the bet.
My gaze instantly drops to her tits, pressed invitingly against my chest, and it is a wonderful visual to consider fucking her there. I push a finger down into her plush cleavage, slick with sweat and her coconut sunscreen, and imagine my cock following the same path. I’d rather do something that gets her off, but if that’s what she’s putting on the table, I won’t argue. I pull my slick finger out and nod.
“And what would you like if you win?”
She grins widely. “I want you to draw me a bath, complete with flowers, bubbles, candles, the whole nine yards. I want you to take it with me and massage my shoulders for at least ten minutes before it devolves into fucking. Because it inevitably will, but I want that guaranteed pampering and shoulder rub first.”
Fuck. That sounds like couple shit. But it also sounds like something I’d like to do now more than anything. I tilt my head, evaluating if that would be going too far, if it would break too many rules. “Deal,” I say before I can overthink it. I’ve already broken all of my rules for her. What’s one more?
Her smile is brighter than the light reflecting off the Indian Ocean around us. “Good. See you at the reef.”
And just like that, she’s racing down the beach and into the water, her long legs churning up sand and splashing through the water. I immediately pursue her and plunge into the warm ocean hot on her heels. It’s been a minute since I’ve had to swim with any sort of competition in mind, but the form is ingrained in me and I slice through the waves, letting my strokes pull me along as my strong kicks stabilize my body against the rolling waves. The saltwater burns my eyes, but I have no choice but to keep them open to see if I’m on course, and if Harlowe is anywhere close by. I see a splash ahead and realize she’s far enough out that I may not catch her. That damn Wildcat knew what she was doing and baited me. No wonder she was confident enough to challenge me and make a bet out of it. I double down anyway, putting more strength into each stroke and working to close the gap.
My max effort isn’t quite enough. Harlowe is treading water when I reach the reef, and she’s barely out of breath. “I like my baths on the hot side. Those plumeria flowers the housekeepers keep putting on our bed would be amazing in the bathwater. They smell so good,” she says when I swim up next to her.
“You’re a shark,” I accuse, blinking saltwater out of my eyes.
She laughs, the sound a bit scratchy from the ocean, but still drilling straight to my cock and getting me to smile despite feeling a little bitter over her now obvious deviousness.
“I never said otherwise. I told you I swam competitively and was confident. You could have taken it for the heads up it was, but you underestimated me.”
“If I did, even unconsciously, I certainly learned my lesson. I will make you the best bath you’ve ever had tonight. You’ll be so relaxed you’ll sleep like a baby.”
“Mmm, that sounds good, but I’ve been sleeping fine. Maybe it’s because I’ve been woken up at dawn more often than not by you impatient to start the day with something sure to get the heart rate up.”
“If I do recall, you’re just as likely to be the one to wake me up. Just yesterday, your mouth was on me before my eyes were even open.” I start lazily swimming back toward the beach, and Harlowe follows.
“Only because your giant dick pressing into my ass woke me up first. I had to do something about it.” She smirks as she side-strokes next to me.
“So you put it in your mouth? Hey, I’m not complaining,” I say when she gives me an exasperated look. “It was an incredible way to wake up. Fuck, I’m getting hard just thinking about your sweet mouth on me.”
I swallow a mouthful of seawater as a wave hits me in the face while I’m thinking about her waking me up with her incredible brand of head that makes my eyes roll back every time she goes down on me. I cough and sputter, remembering we’re still a hundred meters or more from shore and I shouldn’t be thinking about fucking Harlowe’s mouth while survival is on the line.
Harlowe laughs and mutters, “serves you right,” before she starts swimming toward shore with her powerful strokes. I can see how she beat me. Her long, lean body is built for swimming, the water seeming to bend around her as she cuts through it. Fuck, she’s sexy. Another wave hits me in the face and I realize I better get my shit together before I drown unintentionally.
After dinner, I send Harlowe to relax while I work on her prize. I go all out, collecting every flower I can find to fill the huge bathtub in our villa so Harlowe can have the luxurious, relaxing, sexy bath she requested as payment for winning her bet—rigged as it was. Bath oil and bubbles were part of the toiletries set included on the table next to the tub, so in they went, as well. I don”t remember the last time I took a bath, but joining her for this one doesn”t sound like a bad option. I make sure there are several condoms within easy reach on the table before I leave the bathroom in search of Harlowe to let her know it’s ready.
She’s stretched out on her side, her head propped on one hand while reading one of the romance novels she brought with her in a cushioned nook on the little deck overlooking the darkening water off the back of the bedroom portion of the villa. The ocean is beginning to churn, the sky a mass of clouds streaking across the horizon with an approaching storm.
Harlowe is oblivious to the weather and looks sexy as hell in a loose slip of a dress that hits her high on her thighs, the breeze lifting the hem and showing me there’s likely nothing else underneath as the sun sets along the horizon behind the deep gray clouds. I give myself a moment to appreciate her like that, completely relaxed, unguarded, and not putting on a show for my benefit.
I know she’s been playing a role. I never asked her to, but I’d be stupid to assume she would agree to this trip without some level of expectation, especially for what I asked of her. She likely thinks she needs to be a certain type of character to satisfy me. She has no idea that all I wanted was to get to know the woman behind the photos, the one who captivated me so much I had to break my own rules for her. I just wanted to know who she was off-set, out of the images that grabbed me by the balls and made me chase her. To know her like this.
I couldn’t tell her that and risk her thinking I wanted anything more than just this trip. I can”t promise her more. I can”t promise her me, not off of this island, in the real world where business comes first and she would get the leftovers. Not when she deserves something so much better.
But tonight, I can offer her this piece of me that no one else has, or will ever have. She gets the real me, the whole me. The me that is in over my head and absolutely fucking crazy about her.
“Your bath awaits, my goddess divine,” I say, bowing low to her at the doorway to the deck.
She smiles at me over her book. “Your goddess divine, huh? Really laying it on thick tonight.”
“I’ve been humbled by your athletic prowess in the sea. How else should I address you, my queen?”
“Oh, I could get used to this,” she says, humor bubbling through her words. She sets her book down and rises from the cushion-strewn nook, stretches, and walks to me. “Remember, it’s ten minutes of shoulder rubs before the fucking.” Her eyes narrow into a look of pure feline seduction, and I feel my balls tighten in response.
“Yes, my great and mighty deity of power and grace, I’m your willing and humble servant,” I say, dipping my head in reverence as she passes, making her laugh loudly.
“You’re too much. I definitely like your crass, demanding ways more than whatever this is. What would you call it, anyway?” She stops and turns toward me, waiting for my answer.
I straighten up, considering her question seriously, because I could just as easily stay in this role, worshiping her forever. “Acolyte is probably a good term.”
“Drop the acolyte act. I want my Zander back.”
My Zander.Fuck, I want to be hers so badly.
She grabs the neck of my shirt and pulls me to her, crushing our mouths together, and I react instinctively. My arms wrap her against me exactly as I have come to enjoy the last week, one hand low on her back, the other along the column of her neck, my thumb and forefinger angling her jaw for my mouth to claim hers. She moans into my mouth, her body going soft where mine goes hard, and I thrill at the responsiveness she has to my touch.
“Don’t start something I can’t finish for at least ten minutes.” I nip at her bottom lip and take her hand to walk her through the villa.
“It’s part of losing the bet. You have to control yourself,” she says playfully.
“No, Wildcat,” I chastise. “It’s you that will have to control yourself.”
With that, I lead her around the corner to the bathroom and she gasps at the sight of the tub, full of bubbles and flowers, candles glowing around the edges of the windows and along the floor, illuminating the darkening bathroom. A soft rain begins to patter against the windows, creating a soothing soundtrack for our evening.
I turn to her and run my hands down her sides until I get to the hem of her thin dress and slowly raise it up and over her head. She lifts her arms for me while keeping her eyes locked on mine, and I was right, she’s completely bare underneath.
“Fuck, Lowe,” I growl, working on my control despite what I just said about it being her needing it. “You look so fucking good every time I see you like this. I want to worship you.” I blink and lift my eyes away from her body which makes me want to drop to my knees and do as I promised. But I have to pay up first.
She’s smiling like she can read the very real struggle I’m experiencing on my face. I reach behind my head and pull my shirt off by the collar, catching her expression shifting to interest as I shuck off my clothes to step up behind her and trail my fingers along all of the exposed skin I have access to like this.
“Your hair will get in the way. Tie it up,” I order.
She gathers her long, wavy hair into her hands and pulls it up, twisting it around and tucking it into a knot at the top of her head. “Better?” She smiles.
“Now, do you want me to get in with you, or do you want me to rub your shoulders from out here.”
“In,” she says on a shaky exhale. “In the tub with me,” she repeats, stronger this time.
So, into the nearly too-hot water I step and hold out a hand for her. She takes it, stepping in, turning, and together, like we’ve done it a million times before, we sink into the tub, her hips fitting snugly between my legs, her back against my chest. We fit perfectly in every way. It’s no surprise that a giant bathtub is no exception.
Harlowe lets out a low moan of appreciation and sinks back against me heavily, the hot water instantly soothing her muscles. I’m already sweating from the temperature and hard from her little sounds, but this is as much my punishment for losing as it is her prize and I’ll endure it silently so she can enjoy herself.
I begin kneading her neck and shoulders, and she purrs out her appreciation. That’s right, my vicious little Wildcat can purr, and the sound stirs up an unholy need in me.
“Fuck,” I breathe against her ear. “Keep making those noises baby, keep telling me what you like with your body. I love knowing that what I’m doing makes you feel this good.” My voice is low and full of my need. Her shaky exhale is all the answer I need.
I continue to slide my thumbs along her slender muscles, working on instinct and what I have gleaned about what she likes from our trip so far. Her body grows heavier against me and the continued sounds of satisfaction that punctuate the quiet of the bathroom give me every indication of where she wants me to touch her now, much as she does any other time my hands are on her. I work out any knots I find, smoothing the tension from her shoulders and enjoying the feel of her becoming even more relaxed under my hands. The rain on the windows has steadily increased as the storm grows closer, lightning flashing in the distance.
When I’ve rubbed her shoulders for a fair amount of time, I start moving elsewhere. I know she’s sensitive just below her ears, so I make sure to massage up each side of her neck with slow, deep strokes. She shivers, goosebumps rising along the skin of her shoulders. I know she likes it when I touch her just below her collarbones, so I let my fingers brush along the front of her chest, stretching her back against me tighter.
Her head falls against my shoulder and her breaths come out in shallow pants next to my ear, her dusky nipples now peeking through the bubbles, giving me even more incentive to touch her everywhere. I trace my hands down each of her sleek shoulders, kneading and working until my hands are under the waterline, and I graze the sides of her tits with my fingertips as I work down the full length of her arms and begin to come back up. I feel her tense in anticipation, subtly shifting herself so I’ll have to graze her tits again. I still my hands at her elbows instead, and she makes a huff of impatience.
“Do you want your shoulder massage to include more now?” I ask, my voice a low caress next to her face that is still on my shoulder, so close to mine.
“Yes,” she pleads, the word simple, yet holding so much yearning. A flash of lightning strikes closer to our villa, followed by a boom of thunder several seconds later, adding to Lowe’s plea for more.
“This is all for you. Tell me exactly what you want.” My voice is silky, hands barely moving along her arms again, fingers drawing small circles on her skin under the water.
“Touch me everywhere you know I like it. You know my body, Zander. I want to be yours. I want you to touch me like you own me,” she begs, half mad with a desire that almost surprises me. Almost, but it doesn’t, because I feel that same burning need for her.
“You’re already mine, Lowe. All mine,” I growl, grasping the graceful column of her throat, feeling her racing pulse under my fingers as I turn her face toward mine so I can claim that plush mouth that just said the most dangerous thing she could to me. Because I do want to own her. I want her to be mine. I want to have her be my forever, maybe even love her. My other hand gives her tits the attention she was seeking, kneading and stroking in time with my tongue against hers, rolling one nipple before lavishing the other with the same attention.
Her body is writhing against mine, angling, looking for more of my touch. I continue my path as I draw lazy circles around the undersides of her breasts, along her ribs, down her taut stomach, and finally to her sweet little pussy that she bucks up into my hand once it”s within reach.
“Needy girl. Let me take my time enjoying all of you. You’re mine, after all, and I’m quite indulgent. I like to visit all of my favorite parts, and unfortunately for you, that is everything on this exquisite body, so there is a lot I have to lavish with attention even if your cunt wants my fingers more than say, your hip bone.” I keep my voice low and sensual as she growls when I move my fingers over to her thigh. She bucks again and I tsk at her. “There’s my Wildcat.” I bite her neck to keep her still, but she’s writhing now. I lick up to her ear. “Beg me, if you want it that badly.”
It has been torture for me not to bury my cock inside of her while she’s been this pliant and sexy, this beautiful and relaxed, making the most incredible noises while I massaged her soft skin as steam rose off of it. I want to hear her say she needs me just as badly, and she’s as wild as I am for her now.
“Please, Zander, I need your fingers. No, I need you. I need you inside of me. I need you to fuck me. God, I think I’ll die if I don”t have your cock inside of me now. Please, Zander. Please fuck me,” she whimpers, her hands on my thighs, trying to reach between us, but I”m holding her too tightly for her to slip her greedy hands behind her back to grasp me.
Everything she says is fucking music to my ears. She’s so perfect. I groan with it, my fingers gripping her thigh tightly with the need to sink my cock inside of her body the way she wants me to.
“You’re so pretty when you beg, baby. Of course, I’ll give you what you want. On your knees and wait like a good girl with your hands on the edge of the tub.”
I let her go a little reluctantly so she can obey. Harlowe rises out of the protective cage of my body onto her knees and I miss the feel of her against me instantly. I’m rewarded by the sight of her, rising like a goddess from the bubbles and steam, flowers clinging to her like they, too, can”t stand to be parted from her perfection.
I groan again at the sight and file it away as another of those most beautiful images I’ve seen. Her perfect profile and the curve of her neck are caught in the flash of lightning as she looks over her shoulder at me, her sun-kissed caramel skin glowing in the candlelight, reflecting off droplets of water and iridescent bubbles. The boom of thunder rattles the windows as the storm swirls over the villa now, mirroring our own frantic needs and desires.
I have to tear my gaze away to get myself out of the water, blinking and reminding myself she’s real and won’t disappear if I look away while I reach for a condom on the little table next to the bathtub, ripping the foil and slipping it on my cock. I kneel behind her, angling myself to enter her from behind like this. She’s so tight, her knees only able to spread so wide by the sides of the tub, but I press in inch by tight inch until the tip is tightly wedged inside her little pussy.
“Hold on to those edges or we’ll both go in face first and drown, got it? I can’t be gentle. Not with how much I want you. Not with how much you need me.” She makes the most delicious sounds of relief and pleasure that I slam home roughly, sloshing water around us and over the edge of the tub onto the floor with a splash. “I’m going to fucking ruin you, Lowe. You’re mine.”
We both groan and the feral need to really make her mine, to possess her, has me gripping her hips, hard, and pumping into her, pulling out to the tip, over and over again. What started as being completely for her has transformed into taking my own pleasure, but Harlowe is screaming yes, her back bowing, hips pressing back into the way I’m brutally fucking her. She’ll have marks on her hips from my fingers tomorrow, but I’m out of my mind with need and she doesn”t seem to care.
Water is going everywhere, sloshing over the sides of the tub with every fast pump of my hips, candles hissing out around us, smoke adding to the curling plumes of steam filling the bathroom around us. The storm outside matches our intensity in every way, flashes of lightning nearly constant, thunder shaking the very foundation of the villa and making my heart skip.
Her body feels custom-made for mine, every plush curve molding to my hard planes, her pussy taking my hard, deep thrusts as our groans and sounds become animalistic, primal. I’m out of my mind with the feel of her, but I’m lucid enough to want her to feel this good, to come apart around me and drive me further over the cliff of becoming completely lost to her. I slow enough to move the fingers of one hand to circle her clit, and the other hand up higher to her tits, playing with her straining nipples as I keep her pressed to me. I continue my driving assault into her cunt, feeling the trembling of her body, on edge. I pump my hips up hard, pull back, drive up harder.
“Zander!” Her choked gasp is my only warning. Her face lights up with the crack of lightning that burns outside the windows as her pussy clamps down on my cock, her orgasm detonates, and she shatters with the boom of thunder that follows, her internal walls spasming around me in the most explosive release she’s had yet. I fight the tight hold and force myself in again and again.
“You’re mine.” The guttural growl is a foreign sound to my own ears while I bury my cock in deep, pressing my hips tight to hers as my release follows shortly after while I clutch her against me. Our breathing stays ragged, harsh as the howling wind and cracking of the very sky over our heads that knows we just broke every rule there is.
I’m utterly, madly, stupidly in love with this woman.
And even as I’m still heady with relief in the post-orgasmic glow, I know I’ll have to cut out my bloody pulp of a heart when I walk away from her at the end of these two weeks. There’s no way I can realistically take whatever we are creating here in our little vacation bubble back into my life back home. No matter how deeply she is now embedded in my heart, or how entwined my fucking soul is with hers, my first focus will always be business.
There is no room for a beautiful, vivacious, and all-consuming woman like Harlowe in what is leftover after work wrings me dry with all I have vowed to give of myself to the mistress of industry. Harlowe deserves more than coming in second to that. She deserves more than I could ever fucking give her, even if, selfishly, right this moment, I want to keep her all for myself.
I know I will have to let her go, and I’ll have to crush her so resolutely there will be nothing left to come back to if I give in to my weakness.