The Heat is On (7 page)

“There’s no one around. I’l only be a sec.” He kept his back to her, and her gaze was glued to him as he dropped his pants and boxers in one swift motion. And then there he was, in al his bare-assed glory. Cotton lodged into every corner of her mouth.

She could barely swal ow as she stared at that taut behind. How was this man
this
sexy?

She forced herself to look away. She couldn’t jump the guy in public, no matter how badly she wanted to.

He turned around a moment later, a pair of sky-blue swim trunks hugging his trim hips. Two beach towels were tucked under his arm and a smile graced his sensual mouth as he said, “Ready?”

She gulped. “Uh-huh.”

They headed down the concrete staircase and made their way to the beach. Savannah instantly kicked off her flip-flops, sinking her bare toes into the warm, white sand. In the distance, she spotted the commanding shape of Coronado’s Naval Base.

“What kind of demo were you doing over there today?” she asked curiously.

“Obstacle course.” He cast her a cocky smile. “We were showing some of the new recruits what we’ve got.”

“Your arrogance makes my heart go a-flutter,” she said sweetly.

“What about my ass? Does that make your heart flutter too?”

“No,” she lied.

He just laughed.

The beach was completely deserted and they had their pick of spots to spread out their towels. Once they were settled, Savannah peeled off her bright green sundress and shoved it inside the oversized beach bag she’d brought. She pul ed out a tube of sun block and innocently held it out. “Do my back?” He visibly swal owed. “No.”

“What do you mean, no?” She couldn’t help but feel a little insulted.

“I’m not putting my hands on you,” Matt said cheerful y, plopping down on his towel. “I know exactly what you’re trying to do. You’re tempting me with your goddess body in the hopes that I’l be so overwhelmed with lust that I’l cut the date short so we can fuck like bunnies.”

“I am not.”

Okay, so maybe she was trying to tempt him. Truth was, she hadn’t hung out with a guy in ages. A dinner or two before getting naked, sure, but once sex entered the equation, she made sure to keep it that way. For some reason, though, Matt was determined to spend time with her.

What was wrong with him?

She unscrewed the cap and squirted a glop of sun block into her hands, proceeding to slap it across her skin in frustration. Real y, what
was
the matter with him? Here she was, offering him wild, no-strings sex, something most men dreamed of, and he wanted to
get to know her
. Didn’t he realize that—she sucked in a breath. Oh Lord, he’d taken off his shirt.

Uncontrol able lust slammed into her at the sight of those sleek, golden muscles. Her body went into sexual overdrive.

“So tel me about your parents.”

The awareness sizzling through her veins fizzled with a
pop
. “Why do you want to know about them?” she asked immediately.

Matt let out a laugh. “Relax, darlin’, I’m not going to track them down and murder them. I just want to know what they’re like.”

“Okay, you want to know what they’re like? They’re perfect,” she said with a sigh. “And boring.”

“With you as a daughter, I doubt they’re boring.” Savannah fixed her gaze on the calm waves lapping against the shoreline. She breathed in the clean scent of salt, suddenly wishing she’d tried harder to seduce him right out of this “date”.

“They’re just so predictable,” she final y admitted.

“They finish each other’s sentences, laugh at al the same jokes, do al the same things. It’s…wel , like I said, boring.”

She felt Matt’s gaze burning into her skin. When she glanced over, his green eyes revealed a perceptive glint. “What’s the real reason?” She swal owed. “What real reason?”

“Why you’re so bothered by their relationship.”

“I’m not…I’m not bothered by it.”

“Sure you are. So why?”

Uneasiness swirled in the pit of her stomach. “I don’t know.”

“Of course you know.” He tilted his head. “What is it about them that troubles you so badly?” She grew silent.

“Come on, tel me. I’l even make you a deal. If you tel me, I’l tel why I’m bothered by
my
family.” His offer sparked her interest. Despite her reluctance, she found herself trying to put her feelings into words. “I guess it’s… They’re just…stil so in love,” she burst out. “After twenty years, they stil act like newlyweds. Their relationship is so solid I can’t make sense of it.”

Matt’s forehead creased. “Why not?”

“Because every relationship I’ve ever had has died a fiery death. I just don’t get how they’re stil together.

How they made it work.” She was momentarily puzzled, despite the fact that she’d wondered about this for years. “Seeing them just makes me glaringly aware that I’m different.”

“Why did your previous relationships fail?” he asked curiously.

She shook her head in confusion. “I honestly don’t know. One minute everything was great, and the next they just ended. First with my high school boyfriend Rick, then in col ege with this guy Kevin, then Greg.

Either I get bored, or they get bored, or both of us do

—no matter what, it always ends.”

“So you’ve decided to prematurely end things instead?”

She shrugged. “Why not? Obviously I’m not cut out for relationships. Which I’m total y fine with.” She changed the subject before he could question her again. “Okay, your turn. Tel me why your family bugs you.”

“They express their emotions so easily,” he said without hesitation. “I don’t get it.” Savannah had to laugh. “Uh, you express your feelings pretty easily too. You’ve made it more than clear you’re interested in me.”

Now he seemed to falter. “That’s different. I’m talking about…love, I guess. They’re so quick to gush about how much they love each other. For me, it’s always been more difficult, tel ing people how I feel about them.”

A

short

silence

stretched

between

them.

Discomfort roiled inside her. This was the most honest, disturbing conversation she’d ever had with a man, and the need to flee rose in her chest, tingled in her legs. Abruptly, she jumped to her feet and said,

“I’m going to take a quick dip.”

Without waiting for a reply, she nearly sprinted across the flour-soft sand. The water that swirled around her ankles was warm, soothing. Taking a breath, she dove in, submerging herself in the ocean and swimming out a dozen yards. When she final y came up for air, she glanced at the beach and saw Matt stil lying on the towel, propped up on his elbows.

She couldn’t see his expression but she imagined he looked as confused as she felt. What on earth was she thinking, tel ing him about her parents’ marriage, her past relationships?

She was treading in dangerous territory here.

Having honest heart-to-hearts with a guy? She hadn’t done that in years, not since she’d decided to focus on the thril of firsts and avoid the pain and heartache that came from messy break-ups. Evidently she needed to regain her footing here, remind herself that her time with Matt was temporary, the way it always was in her life.

Col ecting her composure, she took another deep breath then smoothed her wet hair off her forehead.

She kicked off in a leisurely stroke, and by the time she emerged on shore, she felt calm and centered and determined to lead this affair with Matt back in the direction it belonged.

To the bedroom.

Matt groaned softly as Savannah’s head bobbed up and down his hard length, her tongue gliding across the sensitive underside of his shaft.

Savannah’s blowjobs continued to amaze him. She gave them a hundred and ten percent, focusing al her delicious attention on the task at hand. She used her hands and tongue and mouth and even teeth, until he could barely remember his own name when subjected to her ministrations.

She sucked his tip gently before taking him almost to the back of her throat. Groaning again, Matt cupped her head and gave an upwards thrust. She moaned, the sound vibrating through his cock. She’d had his clothes off the second they stepped into her apartment, and as irritated as he’d been then, he felt none of that irritation now. Instead, he leaned his head against the headboard of her bed and closed his eyes, losing himself in the remarkable sensations she produced in his body.

His eyelids popped open when her mouth left him, but she didn’t leave him in the lurch. She just shimmied up his naked body, rol ed a condom on his stiff shaft and lowered herself onto him. The moment her wet heat clamped over him, he wrapped his arms around her slender form and pul ed her toward him.

“I need to taste you,” he muttered hoarsely.

Savannah cupped her breasts and brought them to his mouth. He devoured one, then the other, licking and sucking her pearly-pink nipples while she rode him in a slow, lazy rhythm. Her skin tasted like saltwater, and the stil -damp hair streaming down her shoulders had a slight curl to it. She was the most beautiful fucking woman he’d ever seen, and a fresh dose of arousal flooded his groin.

“See how much better this is,” she murmured, bending down to kiss him. “Who needs dating?” If he weren’t on the verge of losing control, he would’ve been annoyed with the throaty remark, but as it was, he couldn’t concentrate on anything but the feel of that tight pussy squeezing the hel out of his dick.

“Faster, darlin’,” he said, gripping her hips. “Make yourself come before I explode.”

With a sexy little smile, she did what he asked, grinding her lower body against his in a suddenly reckless pace. His breathing became labored, a tense knot of impending release coiling in his body.

Savannah rode him hard and fast, but stil he held back, watching the hazy desire swimming in her gray eyes, waiting for the moment her lips parted to let out a wild cry. Her inner muscles gripped his cock as she lost herself in orgasm, and the knot of tension in his groin snapped apart and pleasure seized his bal s.

His climax seared into him, the incredible burn spreading through his body until every muscle, every limb was infused with pleasure.

Savannah col apsed on top of him. Her hair tickled his chin. He could feel her heartbeat hammering against his chest.

“Why does it just seem to get better?” Her breath moistened his shoulder.

He was wondering the same damn thing. As much as he didn’t like Savannah’s “first thril s” mentality, he understood it. After half a dozen times, he got bored of the woman in his bed. The sex just lost some of its passionate appeal after a while. But not with this woman. With Savannah, each time felt like the first time.

“Maybe it’s a sign,” he said gruffly.

She lifted her head to peek up at him. “A sign of what?”

“That you should be more open-minded to this dating thing.”

Her hand slid between their sweat-coated bodies to squeeze his condom-covered dick. “I’m more open-minded to
this
thing.”

Making a disapproving sound with his tongue, he reached down and firmly moved her hand. “No way.

You don’t get the little soldier again until after the next date.”

She burst out in gales of laughter. “You have a nickname for your penis?”

“No,” he lied.

Her laughter died, replaced by a groan of frustration. “You’re seriously sticking to this ridiculous plan?”

“Yep. One round of sex for every date.”

“You’re a sadist.”

“Yeah, but you stil like me.”

Savannah sat up with a thoughtful look. Pink splotches covered her breasts, chafed from his stubble. He kind of liked the sight, knowing he’d marked her this way.

“If we order Chinese food, does that count as a date?” she inquired.

He mul ed it over. “Sure.”

“And then afterwards we can do this again?”

“That’s the rule.”

“Fine.” Her arm shot out to the cordless phone sitting on the bedside table. “Let’s have some dinner so I can play with the little soldier.”

“This is
perfect
,” Annabel e exclaimed, marveling over the sample centerpiece Savannah had created.

They’d agreed for Annabel e to come by the shop at ten in the morning in order to approve or ask for a redo of Savannah’s work. Approval seemed to be the conclusion. So far, Annabel e loved everything, including the sketches Savannah had done of the orchids twining around the delicate white birch archway that would serve as the altar.

Annabel e pul ed out her Blackberry and snapped a few photos of the centerpiece, then clicked a couple of buttons. “I’m just sending these to Jeannine. She was happy with the description I gave her, but I’d like to give her a visual so she can suggest changes if she wants.”

As it turned out, the bride agreed with Annabel e’s assessment, quickly texting back
PERFECT
.

Savannah experienced a burst of pride. She’d worked hard on the arrangement, and she was glad her efforts had been successful. She’d dreaded having to redo the centerpiece, particularly because of the vague details the bride had described. Now she wouldn’t have to.

“Did you order the silk for the head table panels?” Annabel e asked as she tucked her Blackberry into the pocket of her loose brown Capris.

Savannah nodded. “I’m holding on to al the receipts and invoices like you asked.”