THE SHOCK OF the brisk air against Lacy’s bare skin sent goose bumps up her arms. Dane wrapped her in his arms, held her against his chest, and kissed her until she could barely think. Months of restrained desire fueled her need to feel his skin against hers. She drew back, nimbly freeing him from the buttons on his shirt. Her fingers traveled over the rough hairs on his chest. She’d waited so long to touch him and knew she should go slowly, but his skin was hot beneath her palms and she couldn’t help herself. She slid her hands down his body and felt the ripples of his rock-hard abs, sending heat between her thighs.
His hands glided down her naked back to the slim line of her thong. Dane pressed her hips against his. Their bare chests came together, every breath rushed and needy. His mouth found hers again, and Lacy’s hands found the button of his pants, then the zipper. His slacks dropped to the sand, and Dane moaned against her mouth. She stroked his hard shaft through his silky boxers.
He took her breast in his mouth, and she gasped at the heat of his mouth on her chilled skin. Her fingers tangled in his hair, urging him harder. His teeth brushed against her nipple, sending her nerves into a heated frenzy. She reached for his boxers, tugging them down as he moved his mouth from her breast to her mouth again, probing her with a force so strong it took on a blaze of its own. They lowered themselves to the sand—missing his jacket altogether.
“Lacy…” he said breathlessly. His eyes were pitch-black as he stared into hers.
Lacy trembled beside him. His hand slid over the crest of her thigh, and Lacy froze when his fingers grazed the scar that covered her upper thigh.
“What’s wrong?”
She didn’t answer. She moved his hand to between her legs, and he stroked her there, allowing the thoughts of the scar to fall away. She opened her legs for him, and as he slipped two fingers inside of her, the hot length of him touched her leg. The sand scratched her back and shoulders as she arched against his hand, reminding her of where they were. Lacy had a momentary worry of being caught naked on the beach. She pulled herself from her reverie long enough to look around.
“What is it? Did I hurt you?” he asked.
“No.” Why is my voice trembling? “I just don’t want to be caught…you know.”
Even in the darkness she could see Dane’s adorably sexy smile and realized she didn’t really care if they were caught. She was not going to stop what they’d started.
“We’re pretty deep in the dunes.” He kissed her softly. “And we’re far from the building. I don’t think anyone will see us, but I don’t want to do anything that you’re not comfortable with. Want to go back to the hotel?”
Heck no! Lacy reined in her desire long enough to settle her voice. “No. It’s okay.”
Dane wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and drew her into another deep kiss, then licked her lower lip as they separated.
“Still nervous?” His voice was warm and comforting.
“A little,” she admitted.
“Lie back,” he said, gently guiding her down to her back. He lay beside her, and they stared up at the stars. In the darkness, he reached for her hand.
Lacy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then blew it out slowly. What was wrong with her? Why on earth was she so nervous? She was with the man she’d been dreaming about for months. She wanted him so badly she couldn’t think straight, and there she was, trembling like a scared child. She tried to clear the wanton thoughts from her mind long enough to form coherent ones and weave her way through her nervousness.
“Remember the afternoon we first met?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
He leaned on one elbow and traced her ribs with his finger. “My whole life I’d been looking down, down into the water when I’m looking for sharks, down at the computer when I’m researching funding sources, and even down when I’m just going through my daily life. Think about it. How often do you really look up?”
Lacy couldn’t remember the last time she’d looked up at the stars.
“The night we met, I looked into the sky and thought about you, and when we started talking on the phone and texting, I found myself looking for the stars. Even on the rainy nights, I was searching for the stars. And somewhere along the way, I realized that I wasn’t really looking at stars, Lace. I was looking for you. And now I wonder if you had been there all the time, just waiting for me. The Lacy Star,” he said with a smile.
Lacy snuggled against him. Her head rested in the crook of his arm, her hand on his stomach. The dune grass swished beside them. Dane put his arms around Lacy and held her close. He tilted her chin up and looked into her eyes.
“Lacy, I’d wait for you forever.”
She saw the truth of his words in his serious gaze.
“We don’t have to do anything tonight. We can get dressed and walk some more, or go back to the hotel. Whatever you want. The night is yours. I just want to be with you.”
Could you be any more perfect? Lacy wanted nothing more than to push through her nerves and be closer to Dane. His tender words tugged at her heart, and his gorgeous body tugged at all the intimate parts of her that she’d been trying to ignore. She gathered her courage and remembered Danica’s words. Whatever you want to happen will happen.
She leaned over and kissed him, and when they came apart and he opened his mouth to speak, she settled her mouth over his again, kissing him deeper and leaving no room for misinterpretation. She ran her hand down his muscular stomach until her fingertips touched the tip of his erection. She hesitated for only a second before she wrapped her slender fingers around him, and she couldn’t contain her surprise at his girth now that he was freed from his briefs. Her eyes flew open, and she felt him smile against her lips. She didn’t know what to do, or how to react, so she continued stroking him.
He reached down and touched her hand, stopping her motions.
“Lacy.” He had a serious note to his voice.
Lacy wasn’t sure if it was her nerves that got the best of her, or if she really did find the whole thing funny, but the next thing she knew, she was laughing. When he drew his eyebrows together in question, it only made her laugh more. She released him, and in the next breath, he had flipped her on her back and was staring down at her, a curious grin on his lips.
“You’re not very good for my ego,” he teased.
“I can’t help it.” He had her pinned beneath him, naked. She dropped her eyes to his erection, which cast a shadow along her belly, and she laughed so hard, she had to turn her face away from him. Ten inches is definitely not an exaggeration.
He reached down and tickled her ribs. “I’ll give you something to laugh about,” he said, tickling her so hard she curled her legs up and tried to turn onto her side beneath him—but he was too heavy, and his penis knocked against her ribs, sending her into more fits of laughter.
“Get that weapon away from me,” she said between laughs.
“It’s been called a lot of things, but a weapon was never one of them,” he said sternly, but she saw him trying to contain his laughter, which only made her crack up more.
Tears of laughter streamed down her cheeks. She took deep breaths to regain control.
DANE HAD ALWAYS wondered what women really thought when they finally saw the size of him. He was usually met with wide eyes and gracious hunger. Lacy’s laughter, he realized, was probably the most honest reaction he’d ever encountered. When he was a younger man, he’d tried to hide his enormity. He had enough brothers to know he was more than well endowed—he had a python in his pants. When he was in college, he’d finally embraced his gift, and it had given him courage and even a cocky air about him, which had roped in many women. But after meeting Lacy, he’d come to loathe his revolving bedroom door. And watching the relationship between his brothers and their girlfriends made him crave more than a good lay.
He started to move to Lacy’s side, and she grabbed his arm.
“Don’t go,” she said. She pulled his hips to hers. “I’m sorry I laughed.” She touched his face and kissed him.
Dane moved his mouth to her neck, then lower, to the center of her breasts. He fondled her nipples between his index fingers and thumbs, until they were taut peaks. He couldn’t get enough of her. He took one nipple in his mouth and dropped his hand, careful to avoid the scar that made her flinch, to the heat between her legs, stroking her gently. Her legs fell open, and he slipped two fingers inside her, teasing her with his thumb, stroking her until her breaths came in tethered pants.
“Dane. I want you inside me,” she said breathlessly.
Dane wanted nothing more than to be inside her, but he loved watching her squirm against her need. He wanted to please her, but he worried that once he was inside her, all those months of wanting her would come rushing forward and he wasn’t sure how long he’d last.
He kissed his way down her belly to the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. Her hands clenched into fists as he worked his fingers in and out of her in slow, smooth movements, then replaced them with his tongue.
She gasped a breath at the first lick. Her hands found his shoulders, and she dug her nails into him as he quickened his pace, slipping a finger inside of her as he felt her muscles tense. Just as she came apart, he climbed on top of her, his testicles against her wetness, his girth against her belly, and he kissed her hard and possessively as she shook and shuddered beneath him, crying out into his mouth.