Riptide (Limitless Book 1) (6 page)

“Because my dad trusts me to do what is right by you and the company at all costs.” Including at the expense of her heart.

“What if the two things don’t coincide?”

“Sometimes, they don’t.” She hopped into the boat and slid the key into the ignition, then she headed toward the front and slid the rope off the front cleat. She went back to the driver’s seat, reached over the side and held onto the dock as Hunter removed the last rope tethering them in position. “And I will live with whatever those consequences are.”

“What if I told you that I don’t want to get back on a board?”

“I’d call bullshit. Someone with your natural skill doesn’t surf for the money or the glory. You surf because it is a part of who you are.” She started the engine, letting it purr as the boat slowly drifted away from the dock. Then she gave the boat some gas and moved out into the ocean. “My father may have killed that a little. Dazzled you with the possibility of what could be. Deep down, though, the reasons you started surfing...they’re still there.”

“I can’t stop seeing—” He shuddered, then looked at her. “Where are we going? I thought I asked you to go for a walk.”

“Surprise. Just sit back and try to enjoy yourself.”

He moved up behind her, leaned in, and whispered, “Only one way to enjoy myself around you.”

“I think I might be offended, Mr. Sullivan.” She laughed as his arms slid around her waist. “I’m more than a sex object. I have many talents. I’m multi-layered.”

His laughter cut through the air whipping around them. “I’m certain you are, but my mind usually turns to sex when you are anywhere near me. Doesn’t matter what you’re doing.”

“Really?” She turned the boat into a secluded cove. “That’s what ran through your mind when I put your life in danger on our ride from the airport?”

“Even then, I silently cursed you and your father because all I could think about was the feel of your legs wrapped around me.” His hands slid under the edge of her tank top. “And when you were surfing the other day and came up on the beach, I wanted to lick the water from your belly.”

They were on the verge of breaking the deal they’d made two years ago and she wasn’t sure she cared. For the first time in her entire life, she wanted to be so head over heels gone for someone. To feel love that intensely. To be loved so completely and insanely...that she could be broken.

H
e waited as she maneuvered the boat into the cove and behind a waterfall. The boat beached against the sandy bottom and the water cascading down over them hid them from the rest of the world. Once she cut the engine, he moved closer to her. He aligned his body against the back of hers, the hard length of him pressing along the crease of her ass. “Do you feel what you do to me?”

“Yes.” The single word came out on a whisper and made him crave her even more. He slid his hands around her waist and kissed her shoulder. It had only been three days since he’d been in her bed, but it felt like it had been longer.

This woman would be his undoing. No doubt in his mind. The past two days of watching her, not being able to touch her, and being pissed off at the one man who’d given him all he ever dreamed possible taught him that. Oddly enough, that same man was partially responsible for her being in his life. Part of him needed to know that he wasn’t alone in the feelings he had. The other part of him feared what they had would never be more than the friends with benefits arrangement they’d made when they first fell into bed together. He couldn’t take the blow of losing her, too. Not on top of losing his best friend.

She spun around and kissed along his jawline. “You’re thinking too hard.”

The long hard feel of him pressed against her thigh and he moved his hands up her body, allowing himself to indulge in the sensation of her skin under his palms. He could feel her nipples tight under his hands. It was always like this between them. Bodies reacting to each other in a primal way they couldn’t explain. He pulled her tank top up over her head and tossed it to the floor of the boat. Her string bikini top didn’t hide what he was after. His mouth closed over the fabric and found her nipple as he slipped his hand between their bodies. With one slow movement, he slipped his hand inside her bikini bottoms. She was ready for him and slid a finger inside her at the same time he began to suck and nip at her breast. The sensations forced her body to arch and she moaned.

“Hunter, that feels so good.” She slid her leg over his hip.

“Your body remembers me.” He pulled on the ties holding her top in place and let it fall, giving him full-unobstructed access to her breast. With slow deliberate moves, meant to draw this out as long as possible, he ran his tongue over her nipple, then blew softly, causing it to pucker. “No matter how much time passes, you remember me.”

“Dangerous fact.”

“For who?”

“Me.” She pushed against his chest enough to get him to take a step back, then again.

He thought he’d been the one driving this sexual encounter, and with one move, she turned the tables as she hooked her foot around his ankle at the same time she gave him a little shove, sending him sprawling back on the cushioned sundeck of the speed boat. She climbed up to join him, straddling his body. The waterfall cascading down behind them sent a fine mist over them.

His brother was right; he was a goner. Sexually, they were a matched set. Emotionally, they were a train wreck. Yet he had to believe there was more for them. That the emotions that drove them would be the reasons they stood a chance in this crazy churning sea of chaos and love.

“Look at me, Phoenix.”

Their eyes focused on one another and his hands grasped her hips, she slowly guided herself down. Having her like this...being able to look up and see the look on her face and reveling in the feel of being sheathed within her body.

“Still so tight but ready for me.” He lifted her slightly, adjusting to get a better angle, then pushed in a little more. “So beautiful.”

Their bodies rocked together, creating a blissful heat from the friction, and her muscles contracted around him, heightening the sensation of their connection, as the building orgasm finally claim her. Instead of screaming out his name, which he’d come to enjoy hearing, she looked away, but she wasn’t fast enough to hide the tear sliding down her cheek.

“Angel, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

His movements slowed. This was no longer about him. Something happened in the last few moments that made all his self-absorbed concerns seem meaningless. “Did I hurt you?”

“No.”

“Talk to me.”

“When my dad threw this in my lap, I wanted no part of it. Saw no way out.” She sat up, their bodies still connected. “I thought I’d lost this.”

“We set boundaries a long time ago, but I’m in this for the long haul, Phoenix.” Hunter lifted her chin, so he could look in her eyes. “I’ve wanted more from this for a while, so if you think that I would let something like your dad being my agent destroy this...then I haven’t done a very good job of showing you what you’re worth to me.”

She rested her forehead against his and took a deep breath. “And here I thought you just wanted me for my body.”

“That’s a perk I plan to enjoy for a long time.” He ran his tongue over her bottom lip and nibbled on it slightly. “Starting right now.”

***

“C
ome on, get up.”

Phoenix groaned. “What time is it?”

She pulled the pillow over her head in a desperate attempt to block out the light that suddenly flared to life and filled the room.

Hunter slapped her ass. “Let’s go surfing.”

Tossing the pillow to the side, she glared at him. “Don’t tease me. It’s not nice.”

“I would never tease when it comes to surfing, angel.” He smiled. “Especially when it comes to surfing with you.”

She rubbed her hands over her eyes. “If I get out of this bed and you don’t surf, what my father will do to you will be the least of your concerns.”

“Testy. I’ll go put the coffee on.”

As he turned to leave the room, she rolled onto her stomach and watched him go. She liked the view. “Hope you plan on putting something on. Surfing in the nude could be dangerous.”

“True, but you like to stare at my ass. Figured you might get out of bed faster.”

The phone on the nightstand rang and she stared at it. Impeccable timing. She snatched it out of the cradle and slid out of the bed.

“If you’re calling to check up on me, I’m fine. Hunter is making some progress, but I don’t know that he will be ready for the classic.”

“Damn it, Phoenix!”

“I’ll talk to you later.” She hung up the phone and headed into the bathroom. Her suit hung over the shower stall and she put it on, brushed her hair into a ponytail, and then headed out into the kitchen. Hunter had put his surf shorts on and even that wasn’t enough to stop her from ogling him.

“Stop staring at my ass or we will never get out on the water.” He turned and handed her a cup of coffee.

She took a sip and watched him over the rim of the cup.

“What?” Hunter threw a few bottles of water into a small cooler, along with a couple pieces of fruit he’d grabbed from the bowl on the counter.

“What made you change your mind?”

“I don’t know. I could go out there and make a total ass out of myself. Haven’t been able to get on the waves without having a major panic attack.” He closed the lid on the cooler and stepped over to her. “But maybe having you with me might make it a little easier to push the attack away.”

“Can I jump your bones after?”

His laugh was deep, rich, and caressed her skin. “Most definitely.”

“Providing you don’t make an ass out of yourself, of course. You won’t get points just for showing up. You’ll have to work for it...if you want the prize.” She winked at him, finished her coffee, and then they headed out to the beach. The surfboards were already waiting on the sand. “Had this all planned out, huh?”

“Didn’t want to lose my nerve.” He set down the cooler and she saw the crack in the tough guy act when the waves crashed and he stared at them, a distant look in his eyes.

She didn’t want to force him to revisit the ghosts that haunted him when he got in the water. To hell with her father. “We don’t have to do this. We can just spread out a blanket right here, screw ourselves silly, and catch lunch back at the house.”

“Thanks, angel. That means more than you could possibly know.” He grabbed the wax and started applying it to his board. “That can be plan B.”

When they settled into the water, the surf was fairly calm but the longer they were out the waves picked up until they were rough and bordered on un-rideable. Hunter wiped out and Phoenix sat back, watching and waiting for him to re-surface.

“You good?”

“Perfect.” His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “One more set?”

“I’m game if you are.”

Hunter reached down, dipped his hand in the water, and splashed her.

“Just for that, this wave is mine.” A wave rolled in and she paddled after it. The ride was nice, but she really had one goal in mind. Finishing her wave, so she could sit back on her board and enjoy watching him.

Hunter dropped into the face of the next wave. She sat on her board, focused on the sight of Hunter carving out the face as the wave pushed closer to where she was, waiting to dive under it until the last minute. That’s when she lost sight of him. Just when her nerves started to get the best of her, she saw him kick out over the top of the wave. He joined her where she sat, the waves starting to stall out.

“I needed this.”

They let the water rock them slightly as they sat, staring out over the vast ocean. It was peaceful. Being here with him, doing something she’s always loved.

“Come here.”

“What?”

He pulled the side of her board, dragging it alongside his. He put his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her closer to him, then kissed her. “Thank you.”

“Mmm...best thanks ever.”

“Now how about that jumping my bones part?”

“Race you back to the house.”

“W
hy are you standing there with that Cheshire cat grin on your face?”

“You didn’t even look at me.” Hunter should’ve known she would realize when he stepped up behind her.

“Good thing you aren’t in the military. Can hear you coming a mile away, but I did sneak a peek. Right about the time you tripped over the edge of the stepping stone back there in the garden.”

He’d tried to be stealthy in his approach and failed. He shoved his hands into his pockets and watched as Phoenix continued to stretch out her muscles, her body glistening with sweat from her run on the beach. “Just enjoying the view.”

Phoenix grabbed her towel from the deck banister and snapped him with it before draping it around her neck, using the corner to dry her face. “Keep that up and we will end up tangled in the sheets again.”

“Only if my luck holds out.”

“Seriously, Hunter, I want to go into town today.”

Perfect. That played right into his plans. He smiled. “As luck would have it, town sounds like a great idea. I have a surprise for you.”

Phoenix looked at him, wariness in her eyes. “What kind of a surprise?”

“After all we’ve been through these last few days? I’m hurt.” He clutched at his chest as though she’d shot him. “You don’t even know what I have in mind. I’m not use to women telling me no.”

And he wasn’t. Usually he was the one saying no. Running the other way because they weren’t what he wanted. They weren’t her, though. He was taking a huge chance here.

“There’s a first for everything.”

“But I guess tonight is your lucky night. I need a shower first. Can you give me about thirty minutes?”

“Sure.” Hunter watched as she disappeared into her bedroom. As he lost sight of her, his phone range. He glanced at the display and groaned. “Yeah?”

“Where are you? I’ve been trying to call you since you landed in Hawaii and you’ve not returned my calls” The irritation in his brother’s voice was palpable. “Five months on the road with me weren’t enough to clear your head? And when you left here... Well, you can’t do that to the people who care about you.”