BarefootParadise (4 page)

He stood to go and she immediately grabbed his hand. “Don’t
tell me that you tracked me down, walked a half a mile down the beach, told me
your darkest secret and now you are just going to walk away?”

“I thought that’s what you wanted.”

Gwen turned to face him on her knees. “Let’s stop with the
assuming. I never said that I would judge you and you should stop thinking you
know how every woman will react just because you had a couple who weren’t right
for you. I like you, Steve, and it takes a lot of…balls to come clean. Sit back
down with me and let’s talk.”

He smiled and she felt her tummy flip-flop at the flash of
his even white teeth.

Steve sat back down and reached for her hand. She let him
tangle their fingers together and she felt a soft spot for him and his problem.
She knew what it was like to be judged for something you couldn’t change and it
certainly explained his behavior.

Her boyfriend in college had dumped her when she had gained
twenty pounds suddenly. Some people were so superficial, never looking past the
outside glitter to the person beneath.

“Since we are telling dark secrets, I think I owe you an
apology as well,” she told him.

“You don’t owe me anything.”

She smiled at his remark. She liked that he didn’t expect
anything from her but she felt that she should explain as if he did. After all,
he had jumped first.

“I just think maybe I overreacted this morning. We all have
insecurities and I let mine take charge and I said things that didn’t really
have anything to do with you. People are harsh and I might have used you to get
some things off my chest and for that I’m sorry.”

“What happened?” he asked quietly.

“I fell in love with a guy who asked me to tutor him in
college. To my surprise he liked me too and we dated for a few months. My
weight has always been an inconsistent thing.” She sighed heavily and suddenly
wondered why she had brought it up.

“Go on,” he encouraged and squeezed her hand.

“I gained twenty pounds and he dumped me. A public breakup
in the middle of the commons. I was mortified as you can imagine. It changed
me.”

His arm came around her shoulders and he pulled her into his
chest. “Sometimes we change to protect ourselves from being hurt again.”

She nodded, knowing what he said was true. His arm felt so
good around her and she had now spilled her own dark secret—fear of rejection
for something that she couldn’t change. So she wasn’t a size zero, she wasn’t
supermodel beautiful either. But she was happy in her own skin.

She glanced up at Steve. Maybe now she had found a man who
liked her for her.

“I was married once,” he said suddenly. “To a woman who I
thought loved me. But when I asked her to experiment with me in the bedroom she
changed into someone I didn’t know. She called me a pervert and said other
things that cut me deep. Then she left one day while I was at work, I came home
to an empty house and all I can remember feeling was relief. Does that make me
sound terrible?” he asked.

“Of course not. Sometimes it’s just not meant to be.” His arm
was warm around her as the night air cooled and she wondered how long she had
been sitting there.

“I do have one question though.”

“Ask away,” he replied with a smile.

“What were the things you wanted to try with your wife?”
Curiosity got the better of her.

He was quiet for a second and she hoped that she hadn’t
pushed too far. “It’s okay, forget I asked,” she hurriedly added.

“No. It’s all right. It just seems weird to be talking about
it. But I want to tell you.”

“I’m dying to know,” she said with a smile.

“I wanted to try something called a foot job and I don’t
know… I guess I just wanted her to try a little. To make me feel like she
cared.”

She knew it was hard for him to talk about so she asked,
“What’s a foot job?”

He chuckled at her question. “Just like what it sounds.
Instead of hands wrapped around me it would be your feet.”

Gwen contemplated this for a second. It hardly seemed
extreme enough to divorce over. But then she was rather open-minded when it
came to sex. Obviously his wife hadn’t been or it had just been a handy excuse.

“Have you had a chance to try it since then?” she asked
quietly.

“No.”

“I’d try it with you, Steve.”

He turned her in his arms and pulled, sliding her across his
legs so her ass rested in his lap.

“I didn’t bring it up so that you would take pity on me and
do something you don’t want to do.” He gazed down at her and she felt her tummy
erupt in a flight of tiny wings.

“I never said I didn’t want to. I thought we were done with
the assuming?”

He grinned again and lowered his mouth to hers suddenly. His
lips went hard and demanding in the span of a second and she moaned into his
mouth.

His hand came up to her face and cupped her cheek as his
tongue invaded her. Their teeth clicked together and he tilted her head for
better access. Their tongues dueled and danced, passionately tangling together
before she pulled back to catch her breath.

Steve’s cock was hard under her bottom and she wiggled
against it.

“I want you, Gwen,” he whispered near her ear, sending
shivers of anticipation down her back.

“I want you too.”

“If I do something you don’t like you will tell me, right?”
he inquired.

“Of course,” she said with a smile.

“Good. Let’s go back to your room,” he said as he lifted her
off his lap.

They walked hand in hand back to the resort, at a much
faster pace than she had earlier. Excitement zinged through her as he squeezed
her fingers.

This was what she had wanted, what she had come all this way
for. To find someone who was willing to let the walls come crumbling down, even
if it was only for a little while.

The light from the resort brightened as they got closer but
they took a small path that led around the crush of people. Her heels dangled
from her fingers and she caught Steve glancing at them. She smiled and he grinned
back, the kind of grin that lit up his whole face with happiness.

It was amazing what a little acceptance could do for
someone. She promised herself that this would be a night both of them would
remember always.

They stopped quickly at one of the outdoor showers to rinse
the sand off their feet and somehow she wasn’t surprised when he knelt and
helped her, spending more time rubbing her soles than was needed.

When they got to her room he took the keycard and opened the
door for her, letting her pass. He followed and it closed with a resounding
click.

Now that the moment was upon her all she felt was nerves.
She wondered if Steve was feeling it too but he walked toward her with purpose
in his gaze.

He stopped in front of her and knelt. Taking the high-heeled
shoes from her fingers, he helped her step back into them. She used his
shoulder for support as he buckled one tiny strap around her ankle and then the
other one.

He stood when he had finished and his arms snaked around her
to the zipper on her dress. He lowered it slowly and trailed his finger up the
exposed skin of her back to her shoulders, moving the straps down her arms as
he went.

Once he had freed her of her dress he let it fall to the
floor and helped her step out of it.

He stood back to stare at her in her white lace thong, bra
and high heels that were the same shade of blue as her dress.

“Beautiful. Perfect,” he said as his fingers went to the
buttons of his shirt. She watched as he undid them and tossed it aside. He
really was in good shape for a history professor. She certainly didn’t remember
any of them looking like that when she was in college.

He smiled as he lowered his head and laid a kiss on her that
made her head spin. It was quick and potent and too soon he was pulling away.
He walked her backward to the bed and with a gentle nudge pushed her down to
sit on the edge of it.

He knelt between her knees and kissed his way down her body,
starting with her neck and collarbone. He trailed wet kisses on her cleavage
and stuck his tongue deep between her breasts. When her head rolled back he
spread his hands out on her shoulder blades to hold her up.

Gwen was glad she was sitting because he was turning her
legs to jelly. He left her breasts and she leaned her weight into his arms as
he slowly lowered her to the bed. Then he continued his trail of kisses.

He lapped at the sensitive skin at the base of her bra and
then lowered. By the time he reached the top of her thong she swore he hadn’t
missed an inch of her. She was a quivering mess and all she wanted to do was
pull him on top of her and find that sweet release that he was dangling in
front of her with every flick of his tongue.

But apparently he had his own plans. Hooking his thumbs in
the white lace at her sides, he pulled her panties down quick and sure. The
cold air pumped into the room from the air-conditioning did little against her
burning skin.

She hoped that he would cut her some slack and dive right in
but no such luck. He continued his kissing on the inside of her thighs, the
backs of her knees and the tops of her shins.

He swirled his tongue along her ankle bone and then, lifting
her foot, he licked and nibbled on every inch of skin he could get to through
her shoe. Some of it tickled and some of it sent waves of pleasure straight up
between her legs.

“Steve, please.” She groaned as he continued to give her
give her toes undivided attention. He smiled at her from his spot on the floor
and took one of her heels off. He bent her knee and moved closer.

Suddenly he plunged two fingers into her wet and waiting
pussy at the same time that he sucked her little toe into his mouth.

Gwen groaned loudly and then again as he pulled out and
thrust his fingers in again. It was more than she could take and it pushed her
off the edge of reason, quick and definite.

Her back bowed and even though she was lost in the throes of
pleasure she could feel his eyes on her. But it did the opposite from what she
expected. She didn’t feel the insecurities that usually plagued her. Instead
she felt sexy and desirable.

It was a new feeling and it was all because of him.

Steve watched as she came all over his fingers. He had her
so worked up that it had only taken him a second to push her into climaxing. It
was a heady feeling to know that he could do that to her and still be himself
at the same time.

Her feet were sexy as hell and he liked the way they arched
as she came. His cock was hard enough to punch a hole in a brick wall but he
held on to his control. He didn’t want it to end too soon.

She had made it all worth it and abruptly he wondered how he
would ever go back to hiding what he wanted and who he was. After all, vacation
wouldn’t last forever. Knowing there was nothing he could do about it now, he
withdrew his fingers and sucked them clean as Gwen watched him with
heavy-lidded eyes.

He took her other shoe off and pushed them out of the way.
He was going to give as good as he got and make her remember this night
forever.

Pulling her ass to the edge of the bed, he lowered his mouth
to her still-quivering pussy. She moaned long and low with the first lick. She
tasted so good that he pushed his face closer, feeling her juices run down his
chin.

Gwen was going insane. Steve was doing things to her with
his tongue that made her legs tremble, her belly flip-flop and her scalp
tingle, all at the same time. He sucked her clit into his mouth and fluttered
his tongue.

The orgasm took her by surprise and she didn’t mean to but
her legs clamped closed on his head. He didn’t seem to mind. His fingers dug
into her thighs as wave after wave of white-hot heat rolled inside her.

Her fingers clenched in the sheets and she felt as if she
were on fire. Undeniable pleasure took over everything and for those few
blissful moments it was all there was.

When it finally faded she went limp. She was breathing heavy
and her legs relaxed next to Steve’s head. Reaching down, she blindly searched
for his hair and tangled her fingers in it.

Steve rubbed her legs in a slow, hypnotic way and she
practically purred.

He leaned away from her hand and stood. She could hear him
running water and then he came back but she still didn’t have the will to open
her eyes.

Suddenly he was sliding his hands under her shoulders and
with one quick move he slid her up on the mattress. That had her eyes popping
open in astonishment.

He was braced above her on his arms, staring down at her
with a smug smirk on his face. Instead of being upset, like she usually would
have been, she chuckled. “You’re looking pretty pleased with yourself, Mr.
History Professor.”

His smile got bigger but he didn’t say anything. She sensed
something shift as she reached up to brush his sandy hair back off his forehead
so she could see his beautiful brown eyes. Eyes that never wavered from hers.

He lowered down on her slowly and kissed her, soft and
sweet. But as she wrapped her arms and legs around him and pulled him closer
she noticed that he had lost his pants. His skin was hot and smooth against her
and she stroked his back with her hands and his thighs with her calves.

The kiss changed pace almost immediately as he met her with
equal passion. His lips molded and took hers demandingly as his tongue danced a
hazy cloud of desire around her again.

He pulled back only when they could no longer breathe. She
didn’t let him go far, sinking her teeth into his shoulder to hold him in
place.

He groaned loud in her ear and she moved her hands between
them. His hard cock twitched and grew impossibly bigger as she wrapped her
fingers around it.

“Uh, god, Gwen. You’re killing me,” he growled out and she
smiled. She knew what he wanted.

“Tell me what to do for you,” she whispered in his ear.

He kissed her neck and lifted his body back up onto his
arms. “Just lie right here,” he told her as he got up onto his knees between
her legs. She did as he said but pulled a pillow under her head so she could
watch him easily.

She noticed now that he had brought a hand towel and her
bottle of conditioner from the bathroom. He was considerate and resourceful.

He shifted back a little and she bent her legs to put her
feet together in front of him. He smiled down at her and it was a smile that
melted her heart. She felt a strange sense of protectiveness toward this man
and she suddenly wanted to rip the hair out of any woman who had hurt him.