Sea of Love(8)

When her body stopped trembling, he reached for his pants and quickly snagged a condom from his wallet. He ripped it open with his teeth.

“Hurry,” Lacy urged.

He rolled the condom on and looked into her beautiful blue eyes. “Are you sure, Lace?” Dane wanted her so badly he could barely breathe, but he worried about how quickly they’d come together. He didn’t want her to get the impression that sex was all he was after.

“More than sure.”

She opened her legs wider, and he lowered his mouth to hers, entering her slowly, being extra careful not to hurt her. She grabbed his hips and urged him deeper, harder, until his entire length was buried inside her.

Lacy gasped, pinning his heart to hers with the desire in her eyes.

He’d never experienced such intense pleasure, and hadn’t been with many women who could accept all of him. He groaned when her silken flesh touched the base of him, and he took her in a passionate kiss—memorizing the deep curves of her mouth and the sweetness of her lips. Lacy wrapped her arms under his and grasped his shoulders from behind, then pressed her body in to his as they moved in perfect rhythm. She licked his neck, sending flames through his veins. When she locked her legs around his hips, he was sure he’d go over the edge. He drove deeper, harder, faster into her, sucking in a breath with each thrust, biting back the urge to come.

Their bodies were slick with sweat despite the cool air. Rough grains of sand dug into his knees and stung his toes, but he didn’t care. The taste of Lacy’s salty skin and the sweet, sensual smell of her infiltrated his senses. All hopes of being gentle and taking it slow were cast aside as she bucked beneath him, her insides pulsating around him, drawing the come right out of him. He quickened his thrusts, meeting her peak with his own earth-shattering release. He pumped harder, driving into her again and again, until his muscles twitched and clenched, every ounce of his energy drained, and he and Lacy both lay spent, panting with pleasure. Then he kissed her again, long, slow, and tender.

As he rolled off of her soft and supple body, he thought again of why he hadn’t gone to see her for all those months. He knew now that he’d been right to worry that once he was with Lacy he’d never be able to turn away. Like Treat had done for Max, he’d do whatever it took to be with Lacy.





Chapter Five


A BREEZE WHISPERED across Lacy’s bare breasts. Every nerve tingled, and her fatigued muscles were unable to respond to the chill on her skin. From where she lay next to Dane in their hidden nest on the dune, she saw a halo around the moon. In her mind, words danced in quick succession—Wow. Amazing. So damn hot. The feel of Dane moving closer beside her—their arms touching, his thigh flush with hers—sent a chill through her.

“Lace,” Dane whispered.

“Yeah?” God, I love your voice.

“I didn’t plan for that to happen.”

The sincerity in his voice tugged at her heart. She turned her head, his features slowly coming into focus against the darkness. “I know.”

He touched her thigh with his hand, and she froze.

“You don’t need to flinch when I touch you.” He squeezed his warm palm against her scarred thigh.

Lacy almost never thought about her scar—or the incident that had caused it. The incident, that’s what she and her sisters called it. She’d been only seven when the shark had grazed her leg. She closed her eyes and willed the thoughts away as she’d done so many times before. Usually, men who happened to notice her scar and ask about it were eager for a quick answer and a change of subject. Dane wanted more. He wanted to know the truth, but she wasn’t ready to share it with him. She took his hand in hers, raising it off of the patchy, rough skin that covered the upper part of her right thigh. She’d told him that she thought she might be afraid of sharks, but she hadn’t shared why, and as he touched her thigh, the admission hung on her tongue, but fear swallowed it down. She wanted a relationship with Dane, and if she could keep her fear at bay, she just might have a chance.

He came up on one elbow and kissed her softly. Lacy closed her eyes as he touched her cheek with one hand and released her hand with the other, resting it on her scar once again.

“Dane.” Her heartbeat quickened. She reached for his wrist, but he held firm.

“Shh. You’re beautiful,” he whispered. Then he kissed his way down her side to her thigh. He ran his finger along the long, thin grooves that marred her thigh. Slowly, he followed each pattern, which swam fast and deep in some places and rode the surface in others.

As he traced the deeper grooves, Lacy closed her eyes, losing sensation for a few seconds as Dane’s fingers traveled the paths she’d worked so hard to forget. When his warm lips touched her thigh, she held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut, disappearing into the quiet, dark place she’d learned to escape when the memories came rushing back. She concentrated on the sounds of the waves, the salty sea air, anything but the feel of Dane touching, exploring, and caressing her scar.

“Wanna tell me about it?” he asked. Moving away from her scar, he laid his head on her belly.

“I’m getting a little cold,” she lied, warmed by the heat of his body against her. He lifted his head and returned her gaze. Lacy held her breath again, expecting him to push her for answers—answers she didn’t want to think about. She was too happy. She’d waited months to be with Dane, and as she looked into his eyes, silently hoping he’d let it go, she didn’t know how she’d make it through a day, a week, or a year without seeing him again.

He pulled her close and rubbed his hand thoughtfully along her back. “Let’s get you back inside.”

She let out a relieved sigh and reached for her dress. Dane stopped her from pulling it over her head and first gently brushed the sand from her legs, her butt, and her back. He ran his fingers through her hair, shaking free the sand crystals, and warmed the back of her neck with tender kisses. Then he took her dress and slipped it over her head.

“Here,” he said, placing his jacket around her shoulders. Then he stepped into his pants and put on his shirt, leaving the top buttons open, his curly dark chest hair peeking out.

He’s too handsome. Too kind. He must have some fault she was missing.

He held out his hand. “Shall we?”

They walked through the cool sand toward the lights of the inn. Worries sailed through Lacy’s mind: What now? Would he act like nothing had happened when they were with his family? Should she?

As if he’d read her mind, he asked, “Will you still be my date tomorrow?”

When he smiled, Lacy’s pulse ratcheted up a notch again. “Are you sure?”

Dane stopped walking and touched her cheek. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my whole life.”

He stepped closer, and the memory of his kiss brought a smile to her lips.

“Lace, I’m happier than I have been in a very long time,” Dane said.

OhGodohGodohGod! “Me too.” Me too? What the hell is wrong with me?

“Then, it’s a date.”

They stopped to retrieve their shoes. Dane slipped his fingers into the straps of her heels, then picked up his dress shoes and carried them in one hand, never letting go of her hand with the other.

Once inside, the lights of the inn were too bright, the hardwood floors smooth beneath her bare feet. Lacy held tight to Dane’s hand, not wanting the night to end. The middle-aged woman behind the counter smiled as they passed, and Lacy wondered if she could tell what they’d just done. She reached up to touch her hair, startled when she felt the mass of frizz that her corkscrew curls had morphed into. What was I thinking? She cringed at the thought of what she must look like. They took the stairs up to the second floor, passing a mirror that hung on the wall. She turned away, embarrassed, and made a mental note to be sure she looked great tomorrow.

Standing before the door to her room, she felt her nerves tighten again. Should she invite him in? Would he want to come in? She dug through her purse for her room key.

“I had a really nice time tonight,” Dane said.

Lacy bit the inside of her mouth, afraid to lift her eyes and meet his. She wanted to kiss him again so badly that she didn’t trust herself. “Mm-hmm.”

“You’re meeting your sisters in the morning, right?”

She’d already forgotten. She grabbed her key card and fumbled with inserting it into the slot. “Yeah.”

He nodded, and Lacy saw a question in the narrowing of his eyes and the nod of his head. He took the key card from her hand and unlocked the door.

“After you meet Danica and Kaylie, since we don’t have to meet everyone until around four o’clock, maybe we can go for a sail,” Dane suggested.

“On the boat you’re staying on?” Dane had borrowed one of Treat’s sailboats to live on while he was on the Cape. He’d lived on boats for so many years, he’d told Lacy that he missed the feel of the water beneath him when he was on dry land.

“No. That one is in Chatham already. He has two other beauties. I’m staying at the inn tonight.”

Here? Please don’t go.

Dane pushed open the door and stepped closer to Lacy.

“I want nothing more than to come inside and hold you in my arms until we both fall asleep, but I’m worried I’ll smother you,” he said.