Anaz-Voohri (17 page)

Zack looked up over his book, as if sensing her gaze. “Going home?”

Tia shook her head. “Not a chance, amigo. I can’t stand my mother’s badgering about my career choices. I’m thinking of some place warm with the ocean breeze and sand between my toes.”

“Miami Beach?”

“Too crowded.
Maybe the Keys."
Tia zipped up her bag.
“How about you?”

“The Keys sound good." He smiled. “Would you like company?”

 
Tia felt elated but fought to control her reaction. Although they were alone by now in the dorm, she didn’t want Zack to think her too eager.
“As a friend?"
She hoped her coyness would get him wishing for more. She knew the effect she had on him, so why didn’t he make the jump?

“Is that what you want?"

But Tia wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “We’ll see." As long as he came along, everything would be fine. The memory of his kiss still burned on her lips. He’d definitely responded with unexpected passion, and she’d find a way to recreate the magic. “You’ve got wheels?”

“If you don’t mind the Kawasaki.
I had it shipped three weeks ago, just in case." He winked. “Better pack light, though. Not much space for luggage.”

“Let’s do it." Tia’s whole body flushed with warmth at the idea of riding behind Zack on a motorcycle.

He rose with nonchalance. “Should we take the helmets? They aren’t required in Florida.”

Tia struggled to hide her excitement.
“Nah.
I like the wind in my hair.”

“So do
I
." He smiled. “Besides, you know the only thing a helmet guarantees, don’t you?”

“No, what?”

“An open casket funeral.”

Tia smiled at his macabre humor. “I don’t intend to die." She wondered what else they had in common and intended to find out.

“We’ll cruise the old road along the coast. No daredevil stunts, I promise." His eyes sparkled with merriment.

“You don’t really strike me as a daredevil.”

Zack chuckled. “My folks wouldn’t agree with you, and they don’t even know what I’m really doing these days.”

*****

As he started the Kawasaki, Zack wondered how he’d fare alone with Tia for several days. She looked hot in low rise designer jeans revealing a perfect navel under a peach tank top. Her long dark hair framed her face, and her eyes hid behind mirrored sunglasses. A pleasurable chill ran across his skin when she mounted the bike behind him. Adjusting his own shades, he revved the engine and slowly rolled out of the NASA facility.

The morning sun rose higher, heating his skin, but the breeze cooled off the burn. Zack enjoyed the firm grip of Tia’s arms around his waist, the vibrations of the machine under him, and the wind blowing her fragrant long hair around his head. He recognized the familiar sweetness of gardenia. It was definitely her shampoo.

Although he hated to admit it, Zack would miss Tia if they were assigned to different units. Whether they agreed or fought or planned strategies, he had grown accustomed to her presence. Life would seem dull without her.

But would they get along away from their consuming mission?
A rich Latina and a surfer geek.
What could they possibly have in common? Lobo used to say that if a relationship of any kind could weather a long road trip, it could weather anything. In the four hundred miles between Cap Canaveral and the Keys, Zack intended to test that theory.

The distance melted too fast under the summer sun. To the left, sand beaches and the scintillating ocean beckoned, but Zack could wait. The flat coast seemed strange to him. The Atlantic looked so green. He missed the blue pacific and the California surf.

They stopped for lunch in Palm Beach, had dinner in Miami then decided to press on to Key Largo in the sunset. Riding on the endless low bridges felt like boating on the flat sea. When they reached the Keys, they saw tourists and residents enjoying the late evening around bonfires in small coves encased between sharp rocks. In some places rocky beaches lined both sides of the road.

The hotel on the shore looked like a Victorian house with bay windows facing the beach. Zack dropped Tia at the front door,
then
parked the Kawasaki. As he carried the luggage to the reception, he found Tia smiling devilishly.

“Guess what? They only have one room left.
A room with only one bed."

Exhausted by the trip, Zack felt confident he could safely sleep in the same room alone with Tia. “I’ll take the floor, you can have the bed." The wood floor couldn’t be much worse than the cots of Camp Hell. “I’ll find another room in the morning.”

Tia looked disappointed. When it came to the female psyche, Zack found it difficult to read the signs. Did she expect him to find another room tonight? After all, he had invited himself, she hadn’t asked him. But he wasn’t about to apologize. Exhausted by the drive, he just wanted to crash and sleep.

When Tia went to take a bath, Zack stripped to his boxers then rolled himself into a blanket on the rug. Although tired, he couldn’t fall asleep and closed his eyes when she came out of the bathroom and went to bed. What an idiot he was. She probably wanted him as much as he wanted her. What made him so insecure? But Tia had already fallen asleep. He’d lost his window of opportunity.

*****

The hard floor, the first morning rays, and the sound of breakers on the beach through the open window awoke Zack at sunrise. He rose slowly, impeded by a major erection. Tia still slept on the bed, tangled in the sheets. What he could see of her tan skin in the lovely abandon of sleep suggested that she might be sleeping nude, which only compounded his problem.

Embarrassed at the idea that she could wake up any second, he grabbed his shaving kit and rushed to the bathroom. He took a long hot shower, enjoying the steam and the relaxing downpour. Shaven and refreshed, confident he could now face Tia without unseemly reaction, Zack wrapped a towel around his waist and re-entered the room to fetch clean clothes.

Tia sat at the table in a bright yellow bikini more revealing than any he’d ever seen on a beach. “Hope you don’t mind. I ordered breakfast.”

On the table, scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, orange juice and coffee, and a stack of pancakes smelled wonderful, but Zack couldn’t help staring at her. Neglecting to get dressed, he sat gratefully to hide his growing lust and attacked the food.

*****

Tia observed Zack with amusement. She couldn’t get over his insatiable appetite and wondered how he would cope with her shameless seduction plan. Since he’d offered to accompany her, she had the next move. “Don’t stuff yourself. We are going for a swim. I bet I’m faster than you.”

He held up his hand while he finished chewing. “You are so wrong. I’m a surfer, remember? Water is my element.”

“We’ll see." No one had ever beaten Tia in her swim team as a child. The ocean couldn’t be that different from an Olympic pool. But just to give him confidence, she was prepared to let him win. She rose and straightened the sheets on the bed, bending over just a little more, aware of his stare checking out her skimpy bikini bottom. The tiny thing from Victoria’s Secrets, one she’d never wear in public, was working miracles.

He cleared his throat, as if he’d choked on his pancakes. “Maybe I should find another room, first.”

Was he serious? When would he come to his senses? Now that she’d made up her mind, Tia certainly hoped he wouldn’t wiggle out. Once reassigned, they could be separated, and Tia would never fogive herself if she didn’t act upon her feelings now.
To hell with regulations.

She composed her face as she rose and struggled to sound casual. “What’s the rush? Check in time is three in the afternoon. No room will be available before then.”

She found the surprise on his face priceless.

Tia fetched a tube of sun block and handed it to him. “Can you help me get this on my back? I don’t want to be the lobster at dinner tonight.”

She undid the straps of her bikini top, barely holding in place the scant fabric covering her nipples, then winked. Zack gasped. Reassured, Tia presented her bare back to him and smiled inwardly. Lieutenant Zack Duncan had already lost this battle.

*****

Had she just winked at him? Was that an invitation? Zack found it difficult to believe. Tia certainly wasn’t drunk, and a fearless woman like her would go straight for what she wanted. She hadn’t slept around in all the months he’d known her, so it wasn’t about casual sex. Could Tia have stronger feelings for him than friendship? Why would she break regulations otherwise? The thought made his whole body flush with heat, and his erection ached.

Good thing Tia stood with her back to him. He rose and squeezed sun block into his hand, rubbed his palms together, then took a deep breath before touching her flawless skin. The contact increased his embarrassing reaction. He couldn’t believe how smooth her skin felt under his fingers, how supple the contours of her chiseled muscles. She moved sensuously under his touch, like a cat caressing herself against his hands.

His body wanted her, but his mind clamored with warnings. What if he were wrong about this? He didn’t care if she kicked his butt, but it would destroy their friendship, and he didn’t want to risk it. The only safe route was to ask.

Zack swallowed hard to gather his courage. “You’re driving me crazy." He found it difficult to breathe. “It’s not like you to play games, Tia. What do you want from me?”

She turned and faced him, an expression of triumph on her face,
then
she dropped the bikini top. “Men can be so dense." Grabbing his shoulders, she fell backwards on the bed, pulling him down with her.

Zack offered no resistance and landed on top of her.
 
“We could get in serious trouble for this.”

“I know." She chuckled. “I’ve wanted to get you in this exact position since our first hand to hand combat demonstration.”

The memory of the wild Amazon he’d glimpsed that day overwhelmed Zack. He couldn’t think anymore. One hand had found Tia’s firm breast, another kneaded the small of her back, and he kissed her throat going upward, searching for her mouth. When he found it, her soft lips parted to let him in. He drank from her, overwhelmed by the scent of gardenia, and thought he would drown in sweetness.

Finally he came up for air. “I’m not an expert at this..." Zack could barely remember his few experiences with loose college girls. This felt so different, so right and yet so dangerous. What if he blew it? He couldn’t afford to lose Tia.

“You are doing fine, Lieutenant." She tugged at the towel around his waist. “Practice makes perfect.”

He lifted his hips to help her
unwrap
him. “I like the way you think, but you do scare me a little.”

“I have that unfortunate effect on men." Tia traced his pectorals and the line of his shoulders, sending shivers across his skin. “But I know you can handle it.”

For Tia, Zack could handle anything. He pulled at the side strings of the bikini and the knots fell undone. Bathed in morning sunlight, she looked golden, her skin shiny with sun oil. Her smile illuminated her soft brown eyes. God, he wanted her.

Ignoring his urgency, Zack wanted to give her pleasure first. Despite his lack of practice, he’d done intensive research on the matter in college. But when he tried to remember the sound advice of Dr. Love on finding a woman’s G-spots, he drew a blank and decided to follow his instinct. He kissed her breasts then the valley between them, working his way down, teasing her navel on his way to the dark patch below. Delicately, he separated the moist petals of her womanhood then nibbled with gentle insistence.

Her fingers tangled in his hair, Tia moaned and squirmed as if to escape his ministrations, but he tightened his grip on her hips until she roared like a jungle cat. And even then he didn’t let go.

Finally, she pulled him by the hair up to her level and bit his lower lip in a savage kiss that sent flaming bolts through his groin. “Give me twenty. Right now,” she whispered against his cheek.

“Only twenty?"
His fingers explored her warm slippery vault. “I’m going to give you a hundred, and that’s only for starters. Then we’ll see..." He pressed against the entrance of her opening and with great effort remained still, just to make her want him more.

“
Te quiero
."
Her fingers tensed against the muscles of his back.

She gasped as he entered her in a slow, powerful thrust. Surrounded by her warmth, he felt her core contract around his member, as if to prevent him from getting out. He kept a slow rhythm as long as he could,
enjoying
her pleasure and her heat as she growled with each thrust.

Drunk with this new power over her, Zack barely noticed when she accelerated the tempo. That, along with Tia’s climax drove him to the brink of madness. Ready to explode, he wanted to retreat, but Tia held his butt in a vise, refusing to let him go. The flood overcame him and she rode his tremulous release with him.