Bermuda Nights - The Boxed Set (24 page)

He nodded, tracing kisses down my neck. “I’ve heard that.”

I arched against him, soaking in the delicious feeling of his thighs pressing against mine. “But with you, it’s the opposite. I am connected in a way I’d never thought possible. I feel a part of you. Our souls merge and melt until we are one. And that kind of high is beyond anything I could ever hope to achieve in any other way.”

His voice grew hoarse. “Oh, Amanda.”

I twined my hands behind his head. “I love you, Evan. I adore you, I treasure every moment I’m with you. Maybe those who don’t have something like what you and I share don’t realize it’s even possible. Maybe they turn to pale alternatives, like drinking or drugs.” I pulled him down to me. “If they only knew how much better it would be, to find that soulmate, that one whose mere presence sets your entire world alight …”

His hands were at my waist, and my top was stripped from me, then my bra. His mouth was at my nipples, first one, then the other, licking the peaks until they hardened and ached with pleasure. His teeth danced along their edges, and my entire body sang with each movement.

His hands moved to my waist, and soon my remaining clothes had joined the top in a growing pile at my side. His strong hands kneaded my ass as his lips traced their way along my hip, across my belly, nearing that sweet triangle where I craved him with all my heart.

His tongue neared my clit, darting, sliding, and then it eased into my folds. He groaned with pleasure. “God, you are soaked, Amanda. And you taste so good. I could pleasure you for days.”

I twined my hands into his thick hair. “Yes, please …”

His tongue danced against me. I spun with him in ever-deepening waves of pleasure, and then –

He drew up, his eyes meeting mine.

My breath came in gasps. “What are you doing?”

He stood and quickly stripped off his own clothing, tossing it onto the heap. He sat back down on the bench, holding his arms out to me. “I want to see your eyes. I want you to look into mine. I want us to share this pleasure we bring to each other.”

I didn’t need a second prodding. In a moment I had straddled him, lowering myself onto his hard, throbbing cock. It pressed deep inside me, and I moaned with the richness of the sensation.

His groan echoed mine, and I could feel it resonate throughout me. His hands drew onto my hips, holding me there, pressing me down to firmly seat my body against his. “Oh, that’s it,” he ground out.

I put my hands on his shoulders and slid myself up his length, stopping just when I had cleared his head. The look in his eyes left me breathless, and I waited just a moment more before sliding down his length, harder, faster. His groan was deeper.

His fingers dug into my hips, holding me firmly. “Amanda, I need you.”

I slid up his length, quicker now. “I need you too, Evan.”

He gave his head a quick shake, his hands sliding against my hips. “I mean I
need
you,” he expanded, his voice hoarse. “I need you in my life. I need you in my bed. I need you, I need you, I –”

I slid down hard against him, taking him deeply into me, and he arched his head back, his breath blowing out of him. I could feel the matching emotion billowing within me, the complete merging of our spirits. I cared. I cared completely and fully and utterly, and it struck me how shallow the promise of the heroin had been. It erased what made our joining so powerful, so soul-twiningly complete. No drug or drink could ever match what we were creating together.

I leant forward to brush my lips against him, drawing him back to me. “I am for you,” I murmured. “I am only for you. For I am yours –”

I lifted up, then firmly moved down again. His breath was coming in longer draws now.

I slid my hands down to hold his arms on either side, the thick muscles which I knew would keep me safe, no matter what the cost.

My voice was a vow. “I am yours –”

Faster, this time, harder, and his body rocked with the power of his pulse.

I clenched my thighs against his, our bodies merging, our lives now intertwined beyond any separation.

I delved into his gaze, lost myself, and found myself again within him. “I am yours.”

I rode him, faster, harder, and our bodies slipped against each other like finely made parts to a precision creation, a design that had always been meant to be. The world expanded, shimmered, became a kaleidoscope of colors, and then it cascaded into flowing joy. It was infinite, all encompassing, and nothing else existed in the world but him and me. Together we formed a greater whole which shone with the light of a thousand suns.

We were complete.

We floated, drifted, and he kissed me in a million ways, soaking into my very core. At last he lay back against the bench and I draped over him, my body a blanket and a part of him all at once. The other half of him which had been cruelly separated for so long; now, at last, settled into its proper place.

It seemed hours later when his hand traced gently down my spine. “Well, my love, are you hungry?”

My stomach rumbled loudly in response.

He chuckled. “I say we get us some fresh clothes and then some dinner.” He winked at me. “I bet we have the entire restaurant to ourselves tonight.”

I nuzzled against his neck. “Why, Evan, dear, are you asking me out on a date?”

He looked down at me, his eyes shining. “Absolutely, my love.”

Chapter 5

I glanced down at my clothes as we walked out of the Stardust Theater. My t-shirt and sweats wouldn’t have been appropriate for a restaurant back when they were clean, and at this point I felt as if I had endured a Marines boot-camp mud course.

I looked over to Evan. “I really should stop back by the room, shower, and get a change of clothes,” I murmured. “Even if you wanted to do the buffet, I need to at least rinse off first.”

He pressed a fond kiss on my forehead. “You will be beautiful no matter what you wear,” he promised, “but we can’t go back to your room. Kayla might be there, and Jeff could be lurking around as well. We just have to make it until tomorrow morning. Best to avoid all trouble as much as we can.”

I sighed. I was sure I looked like an escapee from an all-night mosh pit.

He grinned. “Cheer up. I have a different idea in store for you.”

He led me along a hallway and stopped before a door. “First, to get the clothes.”

He pressed open the door.

I stepped through – and gasped in awed delight.

It was a treasure-house. No, it was better than that, because there were not simply faceless piles of coin before me. Instead, there were the most luxurious fabrics I had ever seen, cut into a variety of dress shapes. There were elegant green sheaths, tight-fitting oriental cheongsam dresses with delicate embroidery, a black full-length gown straight out of a film noir, and every other combination I could think of. Over to one side was a rack of tuxedos as well.

I stepped forward, my eyes shining with pure pleasure. “What in the world is this room?”

He grinned at me. “I thought you might like it. These are the rental facilities, for people who want to have that once-in-a-lifetime anniversary dinner but don’t want to lug all the clothing around with them. They simply come here, choose their dream for the night, and everything is taken care of for them.”

I went to the side wall where row after row of elegant heels were laid out like assortments of candies on a confectioner’s shelf. “I can only choose one outfit?”

He chuckled. “If you’re not that hungry, we could always stay here all night long. You could try each one on in turn.”

My stomach rumbled more loudly, and I wondered just how long it’d been since I’d last eaten. “One will be fine,” I acquiesced.

I walked my way down the row of dresses. The fabrics, the textures, the delicate embroidery – it was like choosing your favorite treat at a chocolate shop full of delicious options. How could I possibly decide?

I turned – and then I saw it. It was a deep crimson color, with a shape I knew would hug my curves just right. The neckline swept down in a heart shape, and the hem would land mid-way on my thighs.

I drew it from the rack and turned with it. “This one.”

Evan had a tuxedo suit in his arms and lifted his head to see. His eyes grew smoky as they moved between the dress and me. “Maybe we won’t make it to the restaurant,” he murmured.

My stomach growled louder and he laughed. “All right,” he capitulated, “I can behave until after we eat.”

I looked at the dress again. “I hate to get into it, with as sweaty as I am now.”

He shook his head. “Grab some shoes and follow me.”

I found the perfect shoes to match my dress – elegant red heels with sparkling jewels along the toe. Then we left the mecca of clothing and descended down several levels in the elevator.

The sign for the infirmary waited for us as we landed, and he stepped through the open door. “Doc?”

A man in his fifties stepped from the room. He had short, greying hair, and a cheerful face on a lean body. He smiled at Evan, then turned to me. “This must be Amanda that I’ve heard so much about.” He put out a hand.

I shook it. “Thank you for all your help.”

His gaze shadowed. “From what I hear, it is you who should be thanked.” He turned on Evan. “Although you should have gotten her off the ship back –”

“He tried,” I interrupted. “He tried repeatedly. I was too stubborn to listen.”

Doc sighed. “You’d need to be, to last long with him,” he commented. “Seems like you are two of a kind.”

Evan chuckled. “Right now, what we need is a shower.”

Doc promptly handed over his room key card. “You know where it is. I’ll run up to the guest shop and grab you guys some underclothes. They’ll be ready for you by the time you get out of the shower.”

Evan nodded. “Thanks, Doc. We appreciate it.”

Doc stepped over into the elevator, and Evan guided me several doors down.

Doc’s room was larger than mine and as neat as a military recruit’s area. Everything was right-aligned and carefully tucked away. Evan grinned, then nudged his head at the bathroom. “You go on in first, and take your time. I’d come and help, but then we might never make it to dinner.”

I smiled at him. “That can be our dessert.”

His eyes glowed, and I slipped through the door before he could act on the thought clearly forming in his mind. It was heaven to climb out of the sweaty clothes. When the hot water pounded into my skin, releasing layers of grime and sweat, it was the sweetest sensation on earth. Even the simple acts of rubbing shampoo through my hair and soap on my skin brought me the greatest of pleasure.

When I had scoured every part of my body, I simply stood in the pulsing stream for a while, letting it ease away the aches and pulls in my body. So much had happened in this past week. So many mind-boggling events that I could never have thought possible. And it was nearly all over. A few more hours and I would step off the ship, a far different woman than the one who had strode on a mere seven days ago. My entire life had been changed.

At last I came out of the stall. Evan must have slipped in at some point, for a fresh toothbrush with toothpaste was waiting for me on the sink. I felt almost human as I finished up the cleaning and emerged from the steamy room.

Evan was sitting on the bed, and he smiled as he looked over my towel-wrapped form. “Feeling better?”

“Much,” I agreed. “Your turn.”