A Secret Between Friends: A New Zealand Sexy Beach Romance (Treats to Tempt You Book 6) (12 page)

Genie couldn’t wait any longer to touch him, to feel him against her. It had been a delicious hour, playing with him in the shade, stroking his body, kissing him and watching him swim, but she’d had enough of looking at and touching him respectfully. She wanted to explore her other senses, and to touch him in a way not suitable for public consumption.

To her relief, even though he exclaimed when she pushed him back, he opened his mouth to hers and kissed her hungrily. Lifting a hand and slipping her fingers into his wet hair, she welcomed the slide of his tongue against hers, closing her eyes to enjoy the taste of him, sweet with grapes, strawberries, and wine. His hands rested on her back at first, above her hips, but when she leaned against him and pressed up to him, he gave in and let his hands splay across her butt. His fingers tightened there, pulling her close, and she sighed at the feel of his erection against her mound, long and hard. All things being well, soon he’d be sliding inside her, and her heart rate doubled at the thought. All these years she’d daydreamed about this in secret, at night, lying alone in bed getting hot and sticky beneath the covers, and now her dream was finally coming true. Talk about fulfil her own bucket list. She was the luckiest girl alive, and she couldn’t quite believe it.

“You taste sweet.” His lips left hers to kiss around to her ear where he nibbled the lobe and dipped his tongue into the shell.

She shivered. “You too.”

“And salty.” He ran his tongue down her neck and sucked at the point where it met her shoulder.

She groaned at the feel of his tongue lacing across her skin. “You’re driving me crazy.”

“You were already crazy,” he teased, kissing back up to her mouth. “How would I know the difference?”

Meeting his gaze, she rolled her eyes. He smiled and cupped her face, brushing a thumb across her lips. Opening her mouth, she closed her lips over his thumb and sucked. His eyes took on that hot, sultry look, half-amused, half-exasperated, his lids lowering when she ran her tongue across the pad and sucked again.

“You’ll be the death of me,” he said, his voice husky with desire.

She released his thumb and licked her lips. He trailed the wet thumb down her neck, his gaze close behind. As he exhaled, she felt his breath on her damp skin, and when she followed his gaze down, she realized he was watching her nipples tighten.

“I can’t quite believe this.” He lifted a hand to cup her breast. He stroked his thumb across the peak, and she closed her eyes.

“Me neither.”

His other hand joined the first, palming her breasts, feeling their weight before his thumbs explored her nipples. He traced around the puckered skin, then across the tip before taking it between his thumb and forefinger and gently squeezing.

Genie tipped her head back with a groan, so keyed up now she thought she could probably come with him doing just that. She knew she must be wet and swollen down below—when she tightened her thighs, pleasurable sensations skittered through her. Each brush of his fingers across her nipples made her clench deep inside.

It didn’t help when he dropped his head and took one of her nipples in his mouth. As he smoothed his tongue across the tip, she moaned, and when he sucked, she gasped and tightened her fingers in his hair.

“Jesus. I can’t wait any longer.” She took a step backward, forgot about her knee, and twisted awkwardly. She gasped again, although this time from pain rather than pleasure.

Niall caught her and lifted her easily, holding her flush to him so she had to wrap her legs around his waist. “All right?” he said, concern in his eyes.

The brief twinge of pain had vanished, and suddenly she could think of nothing else but the way the tip of his erection was pressing beneath her. She moved her hips a little, letting him part her flesh.

His hands tightened on her butt. “Fuck.” His voice was little more than a growl. “Condom,” he stated.

“I have some in my bag on the bed.”

Still carrying her, he walked through to her bedroom. The room was hot and humid, and sweat broke out between her shoulder blades as they walked in. He lowered her legs to the floor, then pulled the floor-length voile curtains that gave them some privacy but stopped none of the sunlight from pouring through the windows across the bed. Genie flicked on the ceiling fan. Later, she would put on the air conditioning, but now she wanted him hot, wanted to feel his skin sliding against hers.

She ferreted in her bag until she found a condom, dropped the bag to the floor, and limped over to him at the window. After tearing off the wrapper, she leaned in close and kissed him. “Let me?” she whispered.

He nodded, so she took the condom and pinched the air out of the end, revealed the tip of his erection, and rolled the condom down as slowly as she could manage.

Niall groaned, his hands tightening on her. “What is it about you and testing my self-control?”

“You’re always so in control,” she said, reaching up to kiss him again. “I want to see you lose it.”

“The chances of that happening are approximately one hundred percent.” Turning her so her back was against the window, he lifted her again and positioned himself beneath her.

There he hesitated, his lips brushing hers. “Are you sure about this?”

“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life. It’s a dream come true.” She hadn’t meant to sound so soppy, or to admit her lifelong obsession with him, but she’d already mentioned it earlier. Besides, it made his eyes glow in a way that suggested she’d said the right thing.

With his eyes fixed on hers, he lowered her. Genie felt the tip of his erection part her inner lips, felt him slide inside her, so easily she knew she hadn’t been wrong about being wet and swollen. The sensation of him filling her was amazing—she could feel herself expanding, stretching around him. He paused, withdrew a little, then pushed forward again, and this time, slick with her juices, he slid all the way in until she was fully impaled on him.

Her fingers clenched in his hair, and she closed her eyes. “Fuck.” When she tightened her internal muscles, she was conscious of squeezing his hard length, and his breath left his body in a whoosh.

“I want this to be slow,” he said, somewhat fiercely, as if fighting the urge to thrust hard until he exploded into her. Lifting her off the window, he turned and walked over to the bed.

Genie let him, not caring where he took her, as long as he didn’t leave her, because these sensations were too blissful to stop. There was something so erotic about having sex in the afternoon, in bright sunlight, the fan above them doing little more than stirring the warm air, but it wasn’t just the environment. It was the fact that it was Niall inside her, the one man she’d never thought to have.
Look away,
she thought to Ciara, hoping her best friend didn’t mind how the afternoon had panned out.

Niall climbed carefully onto the bed, still inside her. He sat and crossed his legs before him so she was sitting on his lap, with her legs locked behind his back.

Genie wrapped her arms around him, looking into his eyes for a moment as she pulled out the pins holding up her hair and let it hang damply around her shoulders. She’d never tried this position before, and it was incredibly intimate, being so close to him. It meant she didn’t have to worry about putting any weight on her knee, and it also restricted their movement.
I want this to be slow
, he’d said, and this would force them to be just that.

His hands slid down her back to hold her hips, and together they rocked slowly, the small movements only heightening her sensitivity. His eyes blazed into her, and he was breathing fast, but his movements remained leisurely, and when he kissed her, the stroke of his tongue against hers was sensual and unhurried.

Genie continued the rock of her hips, enjoying their measured exploration of each other’s mouths, the slide of his hands down her back, and just being with him, being close to him. She sank her hands into his hair and held his head as she kissed him, loving his sighs and guttural groans when she raked her nails across his scalp.

“This is amazing.” She tipped back her head and closed her eyes to concentrate on the feel of him inside her.

“You’re amazing.” He dipped his head and touched his tongue to the hollow of her throat, and she moaned and leaned further back. Dropping her arms from his neck, she rested her hands behind her on the bed, finding that the angle let him thrust deeper inside her.

“I was trying to slow things down.” He cupped her breasts, which were now on display for him, and she let her head fall back with a sigh. “You’re not helping,” he continued, sounding as if he was gritting his teeth.

“Oh…I don’t…care…” Delicious sensations were spiraling through her, and when he squeezed her nipples, it tipped her over the edge. “Oh, Niall…”

He held her hips and thrust harder, and she clenched around him, letting her cries ring out through the room. Pulse after pulse of pleasure filled her, and her body was still rippling with it when he tipped forward, throwing her onto her back on the bed and landing on top of her.

“Oh!” She blinked up at him, barely able to focus, but she couldn’t gather her wits because his mouth was on hers, his tongue stroking deep, and then he was moving inside her, long, hard thrusts that made her gasp. With every jerk of his hips he ground against her clit, and to her amazement, she felt the approach of another climax hot on the heels of the last one.

“Don’t stop,” she gasped, unable to believe how hot it had grown in the room.

“If you say so,” he replied with a grunt, thrusting harder. Normally, she would have laughed, but she was way beyond humor now.

His skin was slick against hers, and his kisses had turned demanding, punishing—she could barely breathe, overwhelmed by the taste and smell of him, the feel of his shining muscles beneath her fingertips. She hadn’t expected this—he was such a gentle guy, and he’d been so tender and considerate until now. His body was taking over. She’d said she wanted to see him lose it. She was about to get her wish.

He pounded into her, filling the air with the sexy slap of skin against skin along with his feral grunts of pleasure, and Genie let him carry her to the edge once again, more turned on than she could have imagined by the notion of this man taking his pleasure from her. His tongue plunged into her mouth, his hips pumped, and then he shuddered and she dug her fingers into his back as he came.

Her own orgasm hit her at the same time, and she experienced the odd sensation of fighting it because she wanted to watch him, but her body refused to wait and tightened of its own accord, adding its own pleasurable pulses to the delight of watching him climax.

It seemed to go on forever, and she let her arms fall above her head as he thrust and thrust, the fierce frown on his features filling her with an immeasurable joy.

Eventually, his hips slowed, his eyes opened, and she watched him focus on her, those green eyes blinking several times until he’d returned to the land of the living.

“Hello,” she said, and smiled.

Niall blinked down at the blonde bombshell lying beneath him. He’d momentarily lost the power of speech, and for a moment he just stared into her eyes. They were a beautiful deep blue, the same color as the ocean outside, her pupils large in spite of the sunlight streaming across the bed.

His mind was filled with wonder. In his experience, sex was rarely bad. Tasmin might not have been the most enthusiastic partner in bed a lot of the time, but she’d always appeared to enjoy being with him, and it was only toward the end of their relationship that he’d felt dissatisfied, although he couldn’t have explained why.

Sex with Genie was a whole new ballgame. Not only had she been enthusiastic, she’d thrown herself into their lovemaking with a passion. She hadn’t cared if she made noises—in fact she’d seemed aware that sighs and moans were a turn on rather than something to be suppressed. He’d thought going to bed with her could be fun. The truth had far exceeded his expectations.

He felt extremely conscious of all his senses. His mouth was filled with the taste of strawberries, his nostrils with the scent of jasmine from outside, mingled with the smell of their arousal. Now his breathing was slowing, he could hear the seagulls calling above the water, the smooth whisper of the waves on the sand. It was so warm in the room that their bodies were glowing, and as he withdrew from her, their skin peeled away with an erotic sucking sound.

He fell onto his back, blowing out a long breath. Genie rolled onto her side to face him and propped her head on a hand.

He stared up at the ceiling for a moment, then turned to look at her. Her eyes danced with amusement, and they both started laughing.

He grabbed a tissue from the box beside the bed and disposed of the condom. “I half expected the end to be the size of a basketball. It didn’t seem like it was ever going to stop.”

She giggled. “That’s what you get for not having sex for six months.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “Did you come again at the end?”

“Might have.”

“Wow. I am good.”

She pushed his arm. “Mr. Modest.” Then her expression softened. “But I have to say you were. Impressively so.”

Her words gave him a warm glow. “Thank you. A guy’s only as good as the woman he’s with, though.”

She smiled. “You are such a sweetie.” She leaned forward to give him a brief kiss, but he slid a hand into her hair and held her there, exchanging a long, slow smooch.

When he let her go, her cheeks had flushed, and her lips looked plump and swollen. “Mm,” she murmured. “Nice.” She flopped onto her back. “Phew. It’s so hot in here!”

“Hot stuff.” It was his turn to roll onto his side and observe her. She lifted her arms above her head and stretched on the bed, eyes closed, like a cat. Being a redhead, Tamsin had had very pale freckled skin, which he hadn’t minded at all, but there was something beautiful about Genie’s flawless skin that bore a healthy, golden glow. Under the hot sun, it shone with a light sheen, and when he reached out a hand to trail down it from her neck to her breasts, it felt like velvet.

“Mm,” she purred again.

He drew circles around her breasts, down over her stomach, and across to her hip where the scars began. He wondered if she’d push his hand away if he tried to inspect them, but although she opened her eyes to watch him, she let him trace a finger from one mark to the next. Most of them were on the mend, but he could imagine how painful they must have been at the time.

“If I join them up,” he said, “will I get a picture of Winston Churchill or something?”

She gave a small smile. “You’ll have to try it one day.”

His fingers lingered over the large graze on her stomach that looked as if someone had dragged a cheese grater across her skin. “What caused this?”

“I can’t remember,” she said. She met his gaze for a second. She was lying—he knew it instinctively. What wouldn’t she tell him?

She blew out a breath. “It’s so hot! I need a drink.”

He decided not to push her. “Yeah, it’s pretty steamy in here.”

“Come on. I brought some Diet Coke with me and there are ice cubes in the fridge.”

They met back in the kitchen where they poured themselves a long glass over ice and took it out onto the deck. He noted that Genie hadn’t picked up the cane. She still had a limp, but at least she was walking.

They sat in the shade and put up their feet, enjoying the sea breeze that dried their towels and lifted the hair around Genie’s shoulders.

She asked him about his business, and he was touched that she’d checked out his website and knew the different trips and services he offered.

“You’ve worked so hard at getting it off the ground,” she said. “Are you proud of what you’ve achieved?”

His eyebrows rose. Nobody had ever asked him that. “Yeah, I guess.”

“I saw you helping that girl in a wheelchair.”

“Yeah, we offer all sorts of services for disabled people.”

She smiled. “That’s so cool.”

“I think so. And it doesn’t take much to get the equipment installed really—I don’t know why more companies don’t offer it. Everyone loves swimming with dolphins, but there’s something extra special about watching people and kids with mental or physical issues getting into the water. I guess it’s like when they say dogs never judge—they don’t care if you’re horrifically scarred or can’t walk. They’ll love you all the same. Dolphins are like that, and there’s something healing about being near them.”

“I can see that.”

The sun was dropping lower in the sky, and the clouds that had gathered to the west were increasing the humidity. He couldn’t read Genie’s expression. What was she thinking? Was she regretting what they’d done? He hoped not, but he had to admit he wasn’t sure where they went from here. Although he’d thought an afternoon spent naked with her might well end up in bed, he hadn’t thought any further than that. She’d said
I’m not looking for anything long term
, so did that mean this was it? He didn’t want to put his foot in it and assume she’d sleep with him again, although he certainly wouldn’t be averse to a fling with her before she returned to the Army. Should he suggest it?

He decided to take it step by step. “Would you like to go for dinner at the restaurant? My treat?”

“You’ve already paid for the lodge,” she pointed out. “It should be me buying dinner.”

“Even so. It seems appropriate after all the pleasure you’ve just given me.”

She laughed. “I could say the same. It definitely wasn’t one way, sweetie.”

“That’s good to know. So, dinner?”

“Sure. I’m starving, actually.”

“Thank God, I thought it was me. We did work up an appetite, though.”

She grinned as they made their way back inside. “We sure did.”

He caught her and pulled her into his arms. “Thank you. It was truly amazing.”

Lifting a hand, she cupped his face and brushed his cheek with a thumb. “It was.” A flicker of something crossed her face, but it had gone before he could work out what it was. “Okay,” she said, “meet you back here in five minutes.” She kissed his lips and then limped off to her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Niall stared at it for a moment, hands on his hips. She hadn’t invited him to move in there with her. Did that mean it was all over? The pang of sadness surprised him, but he pushed it away.

He turned and went into the room where he’d left his bag and took out his clothes. Plenty of time to work on her, he thought as he pulled on jeans and a white shirt that was a little less crisp now than when he’d put it in the bag, but still looked smarter than his T-shirt.

Returning to the living room, he’d just fastened the sliding doors and locked them when Genie reappeared. She’d changed into a simple long beach dress similar to the one she’d worn on the pier. This one was a deep blue with large light blue and orange swirls. The soft fabric clung to her curves, and although she’d pinned up her hair again, tendrils curled around her face. The ensemble suited the hot and sultry conditions perfectly. She looked like a tropical flower.

Did she taste as sweet and hot as it implied? Niall was tempted to take her back into the bedroom, push the dress up her thighs, and bury his mouth in her. Unsure what her reaction would be—and also genuinely hungry—he stifled a sigh. “You look gorgeous.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

Was it his imagination or did she blush slightly?

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” she said. “I like the white shirt.”

He led the way to the front door. “I’d have added a bow tie but it’s too hot.”

She chuckled, following him out and waiting while he locked it. He noted that she didn’t bring her cane. “I can’t imagine a tux being the usual sort of clothing worn here somehow.”

“Me neither. This is New Zealand after all.”

They were right—the few couples who’d already made their way to the restaurant were dressed similar to themselves, in shorts and T-shirts or simple dresses and shirts.

It was a gorgeous restaurant, filled with tables covered in white cloths, with tropical flowers providing colorful centerpieces. The waitress showed them to a table on the deck, and Niall took a seat opposite Genie, pleased he’d made the right choice in coming here. The deck overlooked the sand and the sparkling Pacific, and even though it was warm outside, they were sheltered by an umbrella, and the sea breeze was strong enough to keep them cool.

They ordered a glass of wine each and chose their meals, Genie opting for pasta and Niall for a steak. While they ate, Genie asked him about Melbourne, and then they talked about his trip around Europe and what his favorite cities were. She told him about some of the places she’d been, including funny stories about his sister.

The food was delicious, and they both had a dessert, then coffee before deciding to take a walk along the beach. It was seven o’clock by now, and although the sun hadn’t set, it had flooded the sky with oranges and pinks that were reflected on the calm ocean like a watercolor painting.

“It’s so gorgeous here,” Genie said. It had seemed natural to offer her his hand as they were walking along, and she’d given him a small smile before accepting it. She was still limping, but she seemed to be coping without the cane, which pleased him.

Neither of them had spoken for a while, and she caught him in the middle of remembering the way she’d touched him while they lay on the sand, her touch light and sensual.

He fought not to blush and smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”

“It’s been a lovely day, Niall. I’ve really enjoyed it.”

“Me too.”

“I feel a bit guilty.”

“Oh, why?”

“Because fulfilling the bucket list was supposed to be about honoring Ciara and bringing her closer, but I haven’t thought about her as much as I should have.”

“It’s okay. I’m sure she’d understand.”

“I hope so. I hope she’s up there somewhere smiling down at us. I don’t think she would have resented us getting together today, do you?”

Niall looked away, across the ocean to the boats making their way back to Paihia. He looked up at the sky, at the bruised clouds that threatened hot summer rain, and felt a flicker of guilt.
It’s just a fling
, he told his sister.
It doesn’t mean anything.

“Niall?” Genie had stopped and now turned him toward her. She had a sultry look in her eyes, and his heart rate picked up as she stroked his face. “It’s nearly dark,” she said. “We’ve avoided the topic all evening, but I don’t think we can dodge it any longer. When we get back to the lodge, are you coming to my room or not?”