Trade (9 page)

She stiffened. Groaned. So
responsive he almost came right there.

His fingers slid inside the leg of
her panties, finding her wet and ready. Ordinarily, he’d just rip them off, but
this was no ordinary situation—neither of them had many clothes on the island,
so with regret, he lifted his head from her breast and stared into her face. “These
have to go.”

“So do these.” She undid the
button of his pants and slid down the zipper. Then she swung her leg off him,
and stripped. When they were both naked, she curled her hand around him, and
her tongue swiped across her bottom lip. “Mmm.”

She ran her finger over the tip of
his cock, smoothing the bead of moisture over his length, then moved her hand
up and down slowly, staring at what she was doing with total concentration.
When she bent her body over him to take him in her mouth, he snapped out of the
lust-induced funk that had taken him over, and took back control.

His hand slid up her thigh then
dipped between her legs. “I want to taste you.”

Chapter Nine

“That’s my line.” Max turned and started into his eyes.
Wow,
he really can bring the intense
. Every nerve ending on her skin seemed
super-sensitized—it would be easy to pretend it was just because it had been so
long since a man touched her, but the truth was she’d never felt so affected by
a simple caress. The way he looked at her made her heart pound and the thought
of further speech impossible.

She’d almost had him in her mouth,
but now that goal was obliterated by the slow slide of his fingers over her
bottom.

As though recognizing her state,
his mouth curved into a movie heartthrob smile. He scooted to the side, nudged
her hip and had her flat on the blanket in seconds. Warm lips kissed her
shoulder. His thumb stroked her clit in agonizing slow motion, and his fingers
dipped into her opening. She was so wet, wetter than she’d ever been. A light
wind brushed over her hands, which had somehow found their way to caress his
back. Palm trees rustled. The murmur of the sea kissing the shore, and the dull
crackle of the fire, soft accompaniments to the sounds of their lovemaking.

Not lovemaking. Sex.
Thinking
about him as anything more than a beach fuck was dangerous. They might hook up
again after the island, but it wouldn’t be a relationship—could never be that.

Then he licked her nipple and
sucked it into his mouth again, and coherent thought evaporated.

Max loved her body. Adored sex
with an experienced partner, and had always considered it an essential part of
being human. Even though she hadn’t had sex in months, she was protected by her
contraceptive implant. But her partners always wore a condom, and because she
thought she might end up sleeping with Sholto, she’d slipped a packet into her
bag. But admitting that she’d known all along they’d be lovers felt awkward.

Sholto’s fingers pushed into her.
His hair tickled her stomach as he scooted down her body to the juncture of her
thighs. “What are you thinking?” He looked up, emerald eyes blazing with heat. “About
condoms?”

She nodded.

“Are you on the pill?”

“I have a contraceptive implant.
And I’m clean.”

“I am too.” He scooted up and
propped himself up on one shoulder. “Although you shouldn’t just take my word
for it.”

What other option did she have? He
hadn’t brought test results with him, had he?

He avoided her gaze. “I know I
wasn’t supposed to bring anything Weatherly didn’t have.” He scooted up to
reach for his discarded pants and unfastened the long pocket on the thigh. “But
he was alone on the island. I’ve been burning up for you from the first time I
saw you at the
After Ecstasy
premiere—there was no way in hell I was
coming to Melati unprepared.” He pulled out a long ribbon of condoms.

It was like a magic trick. The one
where the magician pulls out brightly colored silk handkerchiefs tied together,
and flings them through the air. “How many?” Her voice sounded feeble, so she
cleared her throat and gave it another shot. “How many did you bring?”

“About thirty.”

“Thirty?” She raised her eyebrows,
doing her best to look scandalized.

He ran a hand through his hair. “There
is more than one way to have sex. I could lick you, suck you, touch you in ways
that would drive you so crazy you’d come without my cock penetrating you, but I’ll
never fuck without a condom.”

His words were so hot it was
difficult to think, never mind manage a response. She swallowed. “So you came
prepared.”

Screw this. It was time to drop
the outraged act, and get real. Max smiled. “I do want you. And you’re right,
we could just play around. I could suck your cock. Touch you until you can’t
bear the ecstasy any longer, and cum in my hands. Shove my tits together to
make a cradle for you, and stare into your eyes as you thrust between them.”
She looked down at his gorgeous cock growing long and thick by her thigh. Then
she leaned close so that his breath feathered across her lips and whispered. “But
I wanted more, so I cheated too.”

“You did?” His hand cupped her
breast.

“I have a bumper pack in my bag.”

“You are so fucking sexy,” he
growled against her lips, then he slanted his mouth over hers and kissed her.
The taste of him, the scent of him, set all her senses alight. His tongue met
hers and it was as though the moments spent talking had never happened. His
fingers squeezed her breasts, tweaked her hard nipples, sending a spear of
sensation into her core. Her hands spiked into his dark hair, tracing his
scalp. Her heart was pounding fit to burst—his touch was delicious.

She wanted him hard and fast,
thrusting into her, stretching her. He was close, but she needed him closer.

Even though she hadn’t said
anything, he got the message her body was transmitting. His mouth left hers and
he trailed a flurry of kisses down her neck, across her sternum, then licked
around her nipple and sucked it into his mouth.

“Oh.” She jerked, arching her back
from the soft blanket, and gripped his shoulders.
If she almost climaxed at
the feel of his mouth on her, what...

He kissed down her stomach, his
clever fingers tracing further and dipping between her legs. “You’re wet for
me.”

His hands clasped her thighs,
pulling them apart. He stared into her eyes as his thumb rubbed over her
sensitive clit. “So beautiful.” His eyes were dark like the green depths of the
forest behind them. He scooted down and draped her legs over his shoulders, and
stared at her sex with a look of total concentration.

Yearning hollowed her stomach, and
her body shivered in the grip of a desperate desire to feel his mouth where she
needed it most. Then, slowly, Sholto leaned down and flicked his tongue over
her and then sucked hard.

Her hips bucked.

He slipped two fingers into her,
and wrapped his other arm beneath her hips, pulling her up and onto his mouth.
He sucked, he licked. His fingers curled and found a spot inside, a spot she’d
heard about but no-one had ever managed to locate before. He stroked her there,
and his mouth slipped a fraction, his tongue joining his fingers thrusting
inside her.

“I can’t...”

She couldn’t tell where she ended
and he began. Sex had always been fun, but this--this was something else. In
the past, she’d made the decision to let go and surrender to sensation, here
she had no choice, no control. She couldn’t stop her body from undulating in
the air, from pressing greedily against his mouth.

His fingers dug into her butt.

The sound she made was more moan
than cry. His fingers moved faster, teasing her G spot again and again. His
thumb circled her clit with just the right amount of pressure.

The feeling started at the tip of
her stiff nipples, wound down through her torso, then thrashed like the incoming
tide, through her entire body. Her toes turned up in bliss, and spasms took her
to nirvana.

“Maxine.” His voice was deep and
full of wonder. “Fuck, Max, that was beautiful.” He slid up her body.

When her heartrate steadied, she
kissed him, tasting herself on his mouth. Then the insistent hardness of his
cock against her stomach sparked desire to life again. She edged her legs apart
and linked her ankles behind his back. “I want more.”

He reached across to his pants and
ripped open a small foil packet.

“Let me.” She took the condom, and
rolled it slowly over his erect cock, loving the way his face changed as her
hand gripped him. He’d made her control evaporate; she needed to return the
favor. Needed to see him completely lose it. She rubbed his crown over her
wetness, pressed him against her clit. Played a teasing game for as long as she
could bear to, before the need to have him inside was too much for either of
them.

He held himself up on his arms
while she played with him, eyes closed and his lips slightly parted.

Then she notched his cock into her
warm heat, and his eyes flicked open.

“Max.” He murmured her name,
staring into her eyes, as he thrust into her. “Shit, you’re so tight. Am I
hurting you?”

He was big, and she hadn’t had a
lover for a long time. “Just...” She held him in place with her hand on his
butt for a moment, adjusting to his size. “Slow.”

He withdrew almost all the way out
of her, then thrust back in slowly.

“Oh, that’s fucking magical.”

He smiled. “Better?”

“Better,” she agreed.

He let his body down so that they
were eye to eye, mouth to mouth, chest to chest. “Get ready for best.” He slid
out, then slammed into her.

There were noises--someone
moaning, screaming, begging for more
. They’re coming from me.
He gripped
the back of her thighs, giving her what she was demanding, thrusting into her repeatedly
so fast she could barely see straight. With every thrust, he unerringly hit the
bullseye, and when he let go of one of her thighs and rolled his knuckle over
her clit she couldn’t hold on any more.

“Fuck!” His mouth was everywhere,
on her neck, then her jawline, then he sucked her earlobe into his mouth and
bit it gently.

She struggled for breath, feeling
the wave overtake her, knowing he was close, so close. She gripped the firm
globe of his butt cheek, encouraging him to slam into her. A moment before she
came, she opened her eyes, and found he had done the same. A strong, true
connection united more than their bodies, it seemed to link their souls.

Without words, staring into each
other’s eyes, they surrendered to the inevitable, and crested the wave
together.

*****

While faking sex scenes for the movie, he’d acted a deep
connection. Had stared into a woman’s eyes and pretended to feel deep emotion.
But the reality was so much more than anything he could simulate.

He’d been kissing her, thrusting
inside her, with his eyes closed. Then he’d opened his eyes and been entranced
by the sight of her face, so open, so naked in desire, and been unable to look
away. When her eyes had flickered open, and her sky blue gaze connected with
his, he felt a tug of an alien emotion deep inside. Possession. More than possession—connection.
As though they were linked together; as though she saw the real him.

It was both the ultimate turn-on,
and utterly terrifying.

Now they lay on the blanket, with
the sky above darkening. Her head on his shoulder, and his arm wrapped around
her naked torso. “Are you cold?”

“A little.” She snuggled closer.

His hand massaged down her
ribcage, slipped around to rest on her bottom. “I’ll go fix the fire.”

Her hand grasped his arm as he
started to move. “Why don’t we crawl into your shelter instead?” She yawned. “I’m
exhausted.”

“I’ll just put some stuff away.”
He pulled on his pants, and T-shirt. Screwed the top on the whisky, shook sand
out of her panties, and handed them over.

“You’re a tidy one.” She slipped
into her panties.

He tossed her dress, and she
caught it in one hand.

“We have a busy day tomorrow.”
First, he’d check the lobster pot, and if he hadn’t caught anything, he’d need
to fish again. Then there was the business of water collection to take care of.
And they still hadn’t investigated the entire island…

“Busy?” She’d made no move to put
on her dress, and the new moonlight cast the slopes of her breasts in a silvery
light.

“What?”

Her smile was slow and sexy. “Are
you too distracted by my body to listen to my words?”

She’d caught him staring, and he
didn’t care. “Yes, I am.” He placed the bottle down on the sand and opened his
arms. “Come here.”

She walked into his arms, and his
cock hardened instantly at the feel of her soft curves, her warm body. “I was
asking what you meant when you said we’d be busy tomorrow.” Her hand slipped
low, over his butt. “Because there’s not much to do on this island except
appreciate each other.”

“We have to find food, get water. I
have to learn the script…”

“That’s true. And really, I
shouldn’t help you with any of that, you have to prove you can do it all
yourself, you know.”

“So your plan is to lie around
getting a suntan and drinking whisky?”

“Oh!” She pulled away. “That
reminds me. I have one more luxury I smuggled on to the island that I guess I
could share, if you don’t tell Jasper.”

She walked across the sand and
stooped to pick up her bag.

It was impossible not to admire
her curves in the pink bikini panties as she did so. “I’m enjoying appreciating
you.”

She darted a glance back at him,
saw him looking, and wiggled her hips. She pulled out a bag of hard candies from
the bag. “It’s sorta sticky. But sugar’s sugar.” She peeled off a wrapper. “Want
one?”

“What else did you bring?” He
reached for the bag but she jerked it out of reach.

“That’s about it.” Her face went
pink, and she changed the subject quickly. “I had to bring candy. I can’t
survive without it.”

“You can have it. It’s not really
my thing.”

She popped the sweet into her
mouth, closed her eyes and moaned.
Good decision.
Watching her indulge
her sugar rush was a hell of a lot more enjoyable.

She picked up the blanket and
folded it. “Let’s go to bed.”

*****

When Max woke the following day, the sun was high in the sky.
She was alone. She rolled over onto her side to stare out the opening in the
shelter at the cerulean sky.

Last night.
Remembered
images of their bodies together filled her mind, warmed her body. But a feeling
of disquiet burrowed through her too. She sat up and hugged her knees.

Her body’s reaction to him was raw
and primal. She’d craved him desperately, out of control as never before. But
it was the mental link forged when they stared into each other’s eyes in the
throes of passion that concerned her.