Pulse 2 (Pulse Series) (10 page)

I stretched my arms out and fell onto my back. The soft sand aga
inst my skin was firm and flexible all at the same time. I looked up at the night sky for a few seconds before closing my eyes. My chest rose and fell to the rhythm of the waves. I once again noticed how much easier it was to breathe out here. Alone with my thoughts, I enjoyed the peace and quiet. But there was still a part of me that wished that I had someone to share this time with.

“
Alice.”

I ignored the voice in my head. I exhaled another deep breath then tried to slip deeper into my serenity.

“Alice?”

The voice repeated itself. It wasn
’t in my head. It sounded familiar but I couldn’t place it exactly. When I opened my eyes, I saw a man standing there above me. He was wearing a long pair of swim trunks and nothing else. His body was long and lean. His muscles weren’t bulky but defined and sinewy. The lines on his sides, abdomen and chest were highlighted by the moonlight and one of the small bonfires in the distance. When I looked at his face, I realized why he looked so different. The suit he wore when I met him was gone and replaced by almost nothing at all.

“
Dante?”

“
Hey! You remembered my name!”

“
What are you doing out here?” I asked him as I sat-up from the sand.

“
We’re in Hawaii,” he shrugged. “The hotel is right next to the beach. Why wouldn’t I be out here?”

“
Right,” I said as I laughed. “Of course.”

“
I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your little moment of zen. I just noticed you and it didn’t look like you were sleeping.”

“
So, you were staring at me while I laid here with my eyes closed?”

“
All right,” he said with a smirk. “You caught me. If you want me to leave—”

“
No. I don’t mind a little company. This beach is too beautiful to keep to myself.”

“
Indeed.”

Dante fell onto the sand next to me and we both faced the ocean. He sighed a deep brea
th and I knew exactly how he was feeling.

“
I’ve been here before,” he said. “But it never gets old. I know what you were thinking when you were lying down. You were just enjoying your little moment to yourself. Away from the stresses and joys that you’re usually used to. You probably sit in some office in some big building when you’re back home.”

“
Doesn’t everybody?”

“
Yeah,” he scoffed. “It just makes you appreciate a place like this even more. You don’t even have to do anything. You can just… be here.”

“
Yeah…”

It was different sitting next to someone else on the sand. I had enjoyed Wesley and Travis
’s company but Dante was different. He was a stranger that I was becoming more and more familiar with so quickly.

“
So, is that what you usually do when you’re out here?” I asked him. “You just sit in the sand and enjoy the scenery.”

“
Yeah, that’s right. I watch people just like I was watching you.”

“
Oh, so you’re a creep.”

“
Yes, I am,” he said as he laughed. “And it’s much more enjoyable with so many women walking around in their bikinis. You should see it during the day. There’s much more skin on display.”

I looked at him and saw the grin on his face. He stuck his tongue out at me and I burst into laughter. I put my hand on his arm and playfully shoved him away
from me. Even though I had just met him one night ago, I was comfortable around him. It was a stupid notion to consider but it felt like I knew him. It was something I couldn’t describe.

“
But I’m not
always
watching the people,” he said.

“
What do you mean?”

“
I was here at the last two conferences they held here. It didn’t take very long for me to get bored, as I’m sure you’ve experienced already.”

“
I have,” I laughed.

“
Right. So, in an attempt to get as far away from the conference as possible, I did just that.”

“
You did what?”

“
I got as far away from the conference as I could. You’re not here with anybody, are you? I want to show you something, Alice.”

I looked out into the water. Wesley and Travis seemed to be enjoying themselves. It was clear that Wesley
was finally having some success with the opposite sex.

“
I’m not here by myself but I’m sure they’ll be fine without me.”

“
Good. Come on. Let’s go.”

I got up off of the ground and wiped the sand from my outfit. I followed Dante along the beach. I asked him
where he was taking me but he only replied by telling me to remain patient.

I didn
’t know how long we walked but the hotel was lost in the distance. There were fewer people surrounding us and the light from the bonfires was dim.

“
They can still hear me if I scream,” I said to him. “So don’t get any ideas, mister.”

“
If you scream, it won’t be because of anything I do. I can assure of you that… All right. We’re here.”

“
We’re here?”

I looked at him, confused. We were just down the beach and aside from the lack
of people, nothing looked different.

“
Yes, we are. Just one more step.”

He splashed into the water and disappeared beneath it. I stood there and watched as his head rose above the water.

“Are you following me or what?”

“
Is this place underwater or something?”

“
We can either swim underneath for a few seconds or you can walk all the way around the cove to the other side. It’s up to you.”

He smiled at me, his white teeth glistening from the water. I sighed and reluctantly di
ved into the water with him. The rush of the cold saltwater was invigorating. But it only lasted for a second, as I quickly found my way underneath the rocks hanging over the beach and on the other side. I followed Dante up the sand and realized just like that, we were in a small cove that looked completely different from the side we were just on.

I stood on the sand with my hands on my hips and watched the waves in the ocean in front of me.

“So, what do you think?” he asked me as he stood right next to me. “It’s different, isn’t it?”

“
Yeah, it is. It’s like a completely different beach.”

“
Yeah. The other side is beautiful. But it’s nice to see things from a different perspective.”

“
It is. How did you find this place again?”

“
I was just trying to get away.”

I turned and looked at him. There was a satisfied smile on his face. I started laughing and shook my head.

“What’s so funny?” he asked me.

“
Nothing,” I said. “It’s just… You must really loathe the business conference to stumble on a place like this.”

“
Maybe,” he laughed. “But there’s a time and place to discuss business and money and politics and all of the other things those old men talk about. Sometimes you just want to get away and forget about it. Even if it’s just for a little while. Does that make any sense?”

“…
Yeah. I understand completely.”

“
Yeah, I figured it would. You’re a little too young to be in the work environment you are now. I’m sure you’re qualified to work for a man like Barnett. But sometimes it’s nice to just be who you are.”

I turned a
way from him and looked back into the water. Then I sat down and got comfortable. I didn’t know what it was exactly but being out here was what I needed to clear my head. It wasn’t just the boring workshops and presentations I had to sit through. It wasn’t even the thoughts of Rafael and what he might possibly be doing at this moment. I didn’t need a vacation away from the city. I needed to take one from myself and everything that was stressing me out. And I’d found it here in this place that Dante had led me to.

Dante took a seat next to me. I could hear him breathing the same as I was. My lungs filled with air then emptied in rhythm with the waves of the ocean just like it had previously. I didn
’t care about anything else at this moment. I just wanted to soak up the atmosphere in this cove on the other side of the beach.

“
I could fall asleep here,” I said. “Just lie down… and sleep the night away.”

“
You can if you want to.”

“
Yeah, I could. But who am I kidding? I have to sleep in a bed in my room.”

“
Of course. That’s who you are. Once a city girl, always a city girl.”

“
Maybe,” I said with a giggle. “But I only wanted to get away from that girl for just a little moment.”

“
Sure. And when you’re ready to get back to her, let me know.”

“…
Thanks for taking me out here.”

“
Thanks for coming, Alice.”

For the rest of the night, we didn
’t say another word to one another. Instead, we sat there then laid in the sand and relaxed. I was so relaxed that I eventually nodded-off to sleep. But I woke-up a few hours later in the dead of night. Dante and I headed back to the hotel in preparation for the next day of the conference.

Chapter 11

The warm sun rays fell upon my face. My eyes were closed but I could still feel the light seeping in-between my eyelids. I sighed a deep breath then shifted in my bed. The soft pillow against my head was like a cloud.

I heard the sound of my window opening
. The cool morning breeze joined the warmth of the sun against my skin. In addition to everything I was feeling, there was the smell of food making its way into my nostrils. I was awake but the weather still felt like a dream. I slowly opened my eyes and saw a figure standing just to the side. It was standing next to my window and I could barely make it out as it pulled the curtain even more to reveal the view of the beach. Housekeeping didn’t care whether I was sleeping or not.

The figure approached me and
my eyes closed with fatigue.

“
Alice.”

The voice whispered at me and I opened eyes again slowly and looked closer at the man suddenly standing there.

“Rafael?” I said as I wiped the sleep out of my eyes.

“
Good morning,” he leaned in close and kissed me softly on the lips.

“
What are you doing here?”

“
What else am I doing? I’m here to see you.”

He enveloped my mouth with another kiss. I was half-awake but already I could feel the desire stirring inside of me. Rafael moved his head away from me then pulled his
shirt off and threw it to the side. He moved back closer to me and I put my hand up against his chest.

“
I can’t,” I said as I laughed. “It’s too early. I still have morning breath.”

“
I don’t care, Alice.”

He leaned-in close to me and kissed me again. Afte
r my time on the beach with Dante, I headed back to my room and collapsed on my bed. I was still wearing the same swimsuit from last night. Rafael didn’t seem to care. It probably just made things easier for him.

He shifted the blankets off to the side and
pounced upon me. I giggled into his mouth and he positioned himself on top of me. The two of us made-out in the middle of my bed with the morning Hawaiian weather making its way into my room. I wasn’t completely awake but Rafael was doing everything he could to let me know that this wasn’t a dream.

His lips trailed down my chin and against my neck. I laid on my bed comfortably as he continued to work his way down. I sighed as his mouth fell across my bare stomach and just above my bikini bottoms. He pulled
the strings on the side and kissed me through the fabric.  My body shifted from the pleasure of the pressure he gave me. I jerked my hips up and raised my ass up from the bed. Rafael pulled the bikini bottoms off of me completely then tossed them to the side.

Rafael didn
’t waste his time in putting his mouth back on me. His tongue fell upon my clitoris and woke me up completely. I groaned softly from his touch. My knees raised with his hands underneath my legs. He gripped my sides as he worked his tongue over me. Up and down, he took turns between my swollen nub and my entrance. The desire building up inside of me was obvious. The sound of his tongue and mouth grew louder as he smacked his lips against me. Kisses on the inside of my thigh and near my center made me quiver and writhe against the sheets.

In the distance, I could hear the sound of people enjoying themselves on the beach. My eyes were resting but I could still picture what the scene was like. It was something I could never forget. And several fl
oors up in a hotel suite, I had my legs wrapped around the head of a man who was making the scene that much more pleasurable. The weather was perfect and the bed was so comfortable. It was like I was floating right next to the sun.