He loved everything about the way her mouth melded with his, the soft sounds of arousal she made, the sweet taste of her on his tongue, and most especially, the unrestrained enthusiasm as if she couldn't get enough. He could kiss her for hours, but his body insisted on more.
"Where'd that shampoo stuff go?" he asked between kisses. "I am more than ready to head up to the tent."
She reached down beneath the surface of the water and took his length in her hand. "Forget the tent."
Blood surged through his veins, making him throb in her grip. "What if someone comes by?"
"Do you think we have to worry about that? We haven't seen anyone in two days."
She was so right-and the stroke of her hand was so much better than his. "Keep that up, and I won't give a fuck who comes by."
Her fingers tightened the slightest bit as she increased her speed. He buried his face against her neck with a deep-throated growl. "As good as that feels, Shanna, I'm dying to be inside you."
"Not yet."
"I'm not going to last."
"That's okay. As I recall, you have an impressive recovery time."
He quit arguing and instead moved them closer to shore where he could set her on her feet with her head and chest above the water. "Ankle still okay?"
"Yep."
The steep slant of the lake bottom put her breasts at the perfect height for his mouth as she stroked him closer and closer to climax. He tongued and suckled until the rising tension short-circuited his brain, leaving him to rest his forehead against her chest while he concentrated on the sensations building with the force of a freight train.
And then she stopped.
He groaned in protest, but she dipped back down into the water and back-paddled into the shallows. He followed suit, his eyes just above the surface as he swam after her like an alligator stalking prey.
"Trust me?" she asked.
"Sure," he said, ready to agree to anything.
She urged him ashore until his hips were above the water, his ass planted on the sandy bottom-thank God this shore was sandy and not mucky. With his elbows dug into the sand behind him, he swallowed hard and waited for her next move. She crawled up on her hands and knees to straddle his hips. The sexy view of her cleavage made him wish he'd removed her bra.
Still, he enjoyed the vision until she halted with her face about two inches from his.
"Don't touch me," she warned.
His gaze narrowed. "Uh … okay."
"I didn't say thank you for taking care of me earlier. Consider this my thank you."
"You're welcome?" It came out as a question because he was still not quite sure what she was up to.
She flashed a smile, then leaned forward to give him a brief, intense kiss. Just when he pressed forward and lifted a hand to thread into her hair, she pulled back with a warning arch of her brows and tilt of her head.
"Right. Don't touch." He lowered his arm back to the sand, then watched as she kissed her way down his chest, across his stomach, and lower.
Sweet mother of God.
He hated to say his next words, but … "Shanna, you don't have to-"
"Mmm," her lips vibrated against his skin, "but I want to."
Well, if she wanted to, he was just going to shut the hell up.
She took him in her mouth, her warm lips sliding down his shaft as her tongue swirled around his head. Knowing how buttoned up she usually was at the office only made the moment ten times hotter. Right there, he pretty much lost the ability to form a coherent sentence and dropped flat out on the shore, his fingers digging deep into the sand as he stared up at the bright blue sky.
"Holy fuck," was the best he could manage when she took him back to the edge and sent him careening over the cliff.
Once the world came back into focus, he murmured, "For an uptight, straight-laced control freak, that was … incredible. Even in my wildest fantasies I could not have imagined a thank you like that."
Chapter 10
Shanna heard the gentle teasing in Kevin's voice, but the backhanded compliment still twinged something deep inside her chest. To mask the unexpected hurt, she quipped, "Maybe you need to expand your fantasies."
"There's no maybe about it," he agreed with a grin.
Careful of her still-sore ankle, she swiveled away in the shallow water to search for the body wash and saw it bobbing near shore a few feet away. Once she had it in hand, Kevin sidled up behind her, hugging her back against his chest with one thick forearm while his other hand took possession of the soap bottle. His lips brushed against her ear, his warm breath sending a shiver down her spine.
"You okay?"
Shanna nodded. "Of course."
After a moment, he said, "Good, then I'm going to expand my fantasies right now. Soaping you up from head to toe goes at the top of the list."
That's right, what started this all. You wash my back, and I'll wash yours.
The tightness in her chest eased as anticipation wound through her while he removed her bra and peeled off her panties. Of course, she'd known exactly what she was getting into when she decided to join him in the water. Despite their rocky start yesterday-and that stupid wager where one of them had to quit their job-ever since their hike, things between them had felt like the night of that client dinner. The night she'd decided to throw caution to the wind and follow her heart, only to discover the next morning she'd ruined her life plan.
Now, she wasn't so sure she'd ruined anything, though his comment about her being uptight kept some of her doubt in place.
Talking and joking with him-having fun with him-came naturally when they weren't at each other's throats. She'd fallen in love over the years through brief glimpses of a man who was smart, loyal, and honorable, with a wry sense of humor she could relate to. Keeping her emotions concealed had been possible because those glimpses were frustratingly brief through miniscule cracks in his usual conceited arrogance.
Since this morning, she'd been faced with the full-throttle version of the elusive man she'd fallen for. A man she could imagine spending the rest of her life with. Each moment together only strengthened her feelings.
But could it last? Or would he go right back to being the boardroom jackass she'd had to deal with these past seven years?
Unaware of her inner turmoil, Kevin tossed her bra and underwear into the canoe, then made good on his promise to soap her from head to toe. Her fears and doubts were once again buried as she gloried in the sensations of his large, soapy hands gliding over and kneading every inch of her body. Even as he was extra cautious with her ankle, sexual tension built, strumming along her nerve endings until her whole being vibrated with need.
She sucked in a breath when his fingers brushed between her legs, but disappointment stung when the intimate touch didn't linger. After a record-quick scrub of his own skin, he floated them out deeper to dunk them both, his hands skimming over her to rinse the suds away.
Once back in shallow water, he helped her stand, then wrapped her in a towel and swept her up into his arms to carry her to the cushioned spot he'd set up earlier. She'd expected the tent, but her pulse increased when he laid her down and kneeled beside her. He lifted her left leg to elevate her injury and the corner of the towel slid down to pool on her thigh.
She automatically reached to make sure she was covered, but Kevin brushed her hand aside.
"Nm-mm," he chastised. "My turn."
Her heart thumped in her chest, and her breathing went shallow as he braced one hand by her head.
"Trust me?"
She swallowed hard at the hungry glint in his eye, but managed a nod.
He took her right hand and raised it over her head, then did the same with her left. "Don't touch," he instructed with a slow, sexy grin.
Despite her instinctive reflex to rebel against such a blatant order, she bit her tongue and nodded again. Hard to argue when she'd done the exact same to him such a short time ago.
He flipped open the towel, exposing her completely to the warm caress of the evening air as he trailed his gaze along the length of her body. Her nipples tightened into hard buds, aching for his touch. Heat built the longer he looked, and she fought not to fidget, her chest rising and falling with each tense breath she took.
His gaze rose to hers. "I've never seen anything more beautiful than you in this moment," he murmured.
Emotion swelled at his sincere words. Her heart hammered in her chest as he leaned in to capture her lips. The tip of his tongue urged her to open for him, and when she did, he explored her mouth with possessive confidence, his kiss soul-consuming and intimate on a whole new level for her. When his hand skimmed past her belly to delve between her slick folds, she moaned her approval against his mouth. Fisting the sleeping bag with both hands above her head, she arched into his touch and begged for more.
He gave her more with his fingers, then his tongue, until undulating waves of pleasure cascaded through her. Before the tremors subsided, he shifted his body over her, his erection nudging her entrance. She raised her left knee, hooking her leg up over his hip as he teased with short little movements of his hips.
Her gaze locked with his as she lifted against him, begging with her eyes, body, and words. "Kevin, please."