Blazing Bedtime Stories, Volume III Page 5

  Hype? He’d never misrepresented himself in any situation. Ever.

  Kiss her, you fool.

  He leaned in, claiming her naked lips with his. She smelled of his soap, which was even better on her. He silently groaned and turned his head, at the same time she turned hers. They bumped noses.

  “Ow.”

  “Sorry,” he murmured.

  He went in again and tried to swivel her toward the bed. Her heel hit his big toe just right.

  “Ouch.”

  “Sorry.”

  He felt his way down the front of the shirt she wore, sliding his hand inside. Soft, so soft. He budged his fingers toward her right breast, cupping the full mound, finding the tip stiff and thick. He lightly pinched the flesh and she muttered another “ow.”

  Ari stepped back and stared at her. “This isn’t exactly going right, is it?”

  She gave a relieved laugh. “No, it isn’t.”

  He ran his hands over his hair a couple of times, trying to come to grips with the awkwardness of the moment.

  He wanted this woman. More than he could remember wanting anyone else.

  Why, then, the problems?

  He looked down to his pants front. Pericles wasn’t having any trouble at all. He was so hard it almost hurt.

  “What’s say we try this again,” he offered.

  Elena nodded and then licked her lips.

  “Wait,” he said, when she moved to step closer. “What’s say we move on to step two?”

  The thought of seeing her totally nude made him harder still. He reached for the shirtfront and easily undid the two fastened buttons. The fabric opened enough for him to see the long, tanned line of her stomach and half her breasts, but left everything covered.

  Whatever hesitation he felt vaporized as pure, consuming need gripped him. In that moment, he didn’t fear what might happen, didn’t wonder whether or not his performance would fall short. All he wanted was to make love to this strikingly beautiful woman, claim her, brand her with his hands and his mouth.

  He slowly pushed the fabric back over her shoulders. The shirt whooshed from her and pooled in a white puddle at her feet even as she unzipped his pants. They instantly fell to his ankles, revealing that he wasn’t wearing underwear either.

  Her eyes widened as she took in his highly aroused state.

  Ari grinned. Oh, yes. This was much more like it…

  He backed her toward the bed and she tumbled down, scooting farther back with her knees together, leaning toward one side. He stepped to the edge of the bed and ran his hands over her shins and knees, bringing them up. Then, with his gaze melded to hers, he slowly opened her thighs, baring the most intimate parts of herself to him.

  Ari’s heart beat a thick rhythm in his chest as he took in the dark, springy curls. He moved his hands inward, sliding them, reveling in the feel of her even as he breathed in her unique, sweet musky scent. His mouth watered as he knelt on the bed and pushed her upward still. He leaned inward and kissed her deeply, only their mouths touching. He kissed her, and kissed her again, until her breathing came in ragged gasps and her breasts trembled with need. Then he reluctantly broke the contact and licked his way down each of her breasts, suckling the puckered bits, before continuing farther.

  The instant his mouth touched her curls, her back came up off the bed. Ari splayed one hand against her stomach, holding her still, even as he parted her with his other. She opened like a ripe fig, pink and juicy and mouth-watering.

  He dipped his tongue in the shallow channel and brought it up, running the very tip around the tight bud at the top. Then he fastened his mouth around it and suckled gently.

  Her cry as she achieved orgasm was worth a hundred sore toes…

  7

  ELENA COULDN’T catch her breath. Her fists were still entangled in the sheets, Ari was still between her legs and all she could manage were choking gasps.

  “I…you…never…can’t…this…” she rasped incoherently as she attempted to drag massive amounts of air into her lungs.There wasn’t a part of her that didn’t feel the earthquake that had rocked her body. No one had ever gone down on her before. One date had tried, but she’d been too shy to allow it.

  What in the hell had she been thinking?

  Ari continued his delicate lapping. She let go of the sheet and threaded her fingers through his hair. Look at her! She was trembling all over.

  Finally, he lifted his head to look at her, his eyes drawing her into their dark depths. She welcomed his weight against her as he shifted until they were nose-to-nose, her arms encircling his waist and her palms running along the muscles of his back and down to his backside.

  What a phenomenal male specimen he was. Perfect in every way. No Greek god had anything on Ari Metaxas. He could easily have been the model on which artists had based their work. His arms were strong, his chest broad, his waist narrow, his thighs thick.

  Then there was what lay between his legs.

  Elena reached for him. She could barely get her fingers around his width, and his length made her wonder if she could possibly handle it all.

  She restlessly licked her lips in between kisses. She didn’t know, but, oh boy, did she ever want to try.

  She spread her thighs wider and his erection instantly pressed lengthwise against her aching sex. Oh how she wanted this man. In a hungry, unabashed, uninhibited way that might have frightened her if she’d been capable of thinking at all. But she wasn’t, so she didn’t.

  His tongue caressed hers with slow deliberation, but she was so impatient to have him inside her that she wriggled, trying to force entry. When that didn’t work, she reached between them again, positioning his burgeoning head against her and bearing upward.

  Oh, yes, oh, yes, oh, yes, oh yes…

  Her blood seemed to rise up toward her heart, giving her a curious full feeling. And he had yet to completely enter her. What would happen when he did?

  Instead he withdrew.

  No, no, no, no…

  He entered her again and every molecule of air left her lungs as he slid in to the hilt in one, long, magnificent stroke.

  Yes…

  Elena felt wondrously, gloriously alive, as if her heart was the size of her entire body.

  So this was what sex, good sex, was supposed to be like. She’d…had…no…idea.

  “Look at me,” Ari said huskily.

  Elena opened her eyes, seeing the way she felt reflected in his tight-jawed expression. Exquisite pleasure rippled through her at the sight of him stroking her inside and out. So feral, so natural, so damn beautiful.

  To her amazement, she found a sob gathering in her throat. She opened her eyes wide even as they filled with tears.

  Ari slowed.

  “No! Oh, God, please no,” she rasped.

  He not only continued his thrusts, he increased the urgency of each, hitting spots she’d never been formally introduced to, much less knew well. She clutched his shoulders, trying to anchor herself, yet urging him to come along with her for the ride. It was like she was being propelled through some fog-misted, lush wonderland full of vivid colors and sweet aromas.

  Then it all shattered, leaving her feeling as if she lay in a thousand, explosive pieces throughout the cabin…

  ARI COULDN’T REMEMBER a time when he’d been so sore following sex. His balls felt empty. Pericles was raw. His muscles ached as if he’d just completed a marathon. Yet, miraculously, he felt energized rather than exhausted. As if he could spend the rest of the day making love to Elena just as they had spent the entire night.

  If he didn’t know better, he’d think it was the first time she’d ever achieved climax during sex. She was at turns surprised and wantonly curious, bursting into tears now and again, insisting that they weren’t born of sadness but joy.He finished shaving and opened the bathroom door. Elena was spilled across his bed facedown, deep asleep, one long leg poking out of the sheet along with an arm. He made out the curve of a luscious breast. As if on command, P
ericles twitched in his white linen pants.

  Down, boy, he insisted. While he knew that all he had to do was kiss Elena and she’d welcome him back to bed, he needed sustenance before he could even consider making love to her again.

  He also needed to make sure that there wasn’t a search party out looking for the woman who had rocked his night.

  He gripped the handrail and took the stairs two at a time, emerging from the cabin and into the bright morning sun. He blinked several times.

  “What time is it?”

  He wasn’t surprised to find Troy already enjoying breakfast at the nearby table, going over yet more columns of numbers positioned next to his plate.

  “Nine.”

  Ari picked up his glass of orange juice and drained it.

  “Hey,” his brother complained. “Get your own.”

  “What time did you get out of there last night?”

  “Late. What time did you duck out?”

  “Early.”

  Ari liberated a piece of toast from the small stack. So Troy thought he’d gone into town. He was also fairly sure that his brother wouldn’t be sitting there calmly eating breakfast if he knew the truth: that Ari had essentially kidnapped the bride-to-be and that even now, she was asleep in his bed.

  “I made great progress last night,” Troy said, turning the page. “We’re a pen stroke away from getting everything we want.” He frowned. “Or nearly everything. The old man drives a hard bargain.”

  Ari’s gut tightened. “That’s nice.”

  If his response sounded hollow, Troy apparently hadn’t noticed.

  “Manolis has invited us to bring the final contracts to the pre-ceremony luncheon.” His brother consulted the laptop at his other elbow. “I’m getting everything ready now.” He finally looked up at Ari. “I’d appreciate it if you were there.”

  One of the crewmembers approached, offering Ari breakfast. He accepted, and then added, “Make it full fare for two.”

  Troy grimaced. “I already have mine.”

  “Who says it’s for you?”

  His brother’s hand paused where he typed. “You brought a girl back to the boat? That’s unlike you, Ari.”

  “Yes, well, I’ve been doing a lot of unusual things lately,” he said quietly, stepping to the edge of the deck and staring out at the stunning, postcard-perfect view.

  How could he explain to his brother that the wedding wasn’t going to happen? And that once the groom-to-be discovered the reason why, it was highly unlikely that he’d be interested in doing business, much less sharing a meal, with either of the Metaxas brothers again?

  Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned to watch a dark head pop up from the stairs, look around wildly, and then emerge altogether.

  Well, it looked like he wasn’t going to have to say anything at all. The circumstances were about to present themselves in all their beautifully blinding detail.

  Ari grinned as Elena came out wearing his shirt again, along with a pair of his white linen pants rolled to her ankles.

  Troy glanced up from his laptop, took in Elena, who was on the losing end of a battle to stuff her hair under a Seattle Mariners ball cap, and then returned his attention to his computer again.

  Ari silently counted the seconds. Three…two…

  “Holy Mother of God!” Troy jumped from his chair so fast he nearly toppled his table, contents and all, straight over the side of the deck.

  Not that it mattered. He wasn’t going to need any of the items anymore, anyway.

  Elena made a beeline for Ari, her face looking a little too blanched for his liking. “I need to get back to the villa,” she whispered harshly. “Can you arrange for a skiff?”

  “Ari! I need to speak to you. Now!” Troy said.

  He held up his hand to his brother, his attention fully on the woman who looked like she was about to jump out of her skin. “I just ordered breakfast for us.”

  Pain loomed large in her dark eyes.

  “Ari!”

  “I can’t,” Elena whispered. “I just can’t…”

  Troy crossed the deck, moving toward him. Ari turned on him. “Can’t you see I’m busy right now, Troy? I’ll be with you in a minute.”

  Elena started walking away, but Ari grasped her arm.

  “What in the hell are you doing?” Troy demanded, refusing to wait.

  Ari had one person trying to get away from him, and he couldn’t get rid of another. Talk about being between a rock and a stubborn place.

  “I need to get a skiff back to the island,” Elena said pleadingly. “It’s too late to hope that no one’s noticed me missing, but maybe it’s not too late to salvage everything…”

  She trailed off, apparently seeing something on Ari’s face that stopped her from continuing.

  Troy finally released his grip and began walking away.

  “Damn it, now, where are you going?” Ari asked.

  “To get the lady a skiff…”

  He quickly moved out of earshot and Ari was left staring at Elena, unable to believe what she’d just said.

  “You mean…are you saying…” He swallowed hard. She couldn’t possibly be serious? She was going to go ahead with the wedding? After all that had passed between them last night?

  His mind filled with the memory of her quiet moans, her arching back, her ardent cries. He’d been so sure she’d felt as moved as he had. He’d never stopped to consider that she might get up this morning and ride straight out of his life as if nothing had happened. It wasn’t possible. Didn’t she know that everything had changed? That there was no going back from this?

  Elena was silent for a long moment, staring down at the bag she held that presumably contained her shoes and dress. When she raised her damp eyes to him, Ari felt like she’d just socked him in the gut.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “This is something I’ve got to do.”

  “No, you don’t. Where’s it written? Tell me so I can go tear up the contract.” He must have tightened his grip on her slender wrist because she winced. He forced himself to let her go, cursing himself for his overbearing behavior.

  But, damn it, he didn’t want to let her off this boat. Ever. He wanted to sweep her up into his arms and carry her back down the stairs and never let her out of his bed.

  “Things change,” he said, sounding weak even to his own ears. “You can’t tell me that last night…meant nothing to you.”

  She looked away again. “Last night was last night, Ari.” She searched his eyes as if begging him to understand. “And today is today.”

  “Today you get married.”

  Troy returned to the stern and Ari made out the sound of a motor starting up as the skiff that had been secured to the side of the boat was manned.

  “All set,” his brother said, grasping Elena’s other arm. “Follow me, then, and we’ll get you on your way.”

  Elena reluctantly let Troy lead her to the ladder as the skiff pulled up next to it.

  “Elena,” Ari said so silently he nearly didn’t hear the word himself.

  “I’m sorry,” she said as Troy took the bag from her hand and tossed it to the skiff. “I’m so very sorry…”

  8

  “WHAT IN THE HELL were you thinking? Or, maybe the correct question is, what in the hell body part were you thinking with?” Troy asked, facing off with Ari after they’d watched the skiff cut the water, back to the island. “Jesus, Ari, you slept with the bride of the man we’re looking to help us save our town. How could you even consider it?”

  Ari moved to turn away, so filled with pent up energy that he was half afraid he might hit his brother for aiding Elena in her escape. If only he had a few more minutes to talk to her. To kiss her. To make her remember last night…“Oh, no. I’m not letting you off the hook this time, little brother,” Troy said.

  “When have you ever let me off easy on anything?”

  “What? When? Oh, I know. Whenever we travel somewhere on bus
iness and you disappear to go out and have a little fun. When you act like there’s not a damn thing wrong, that Dad’s not ill, and that the company’s not facing bankruptcy without this deal with Philippidis? At every turn, off you go, acting like the American playboy who has access to limitless resources, bedding any woman who’ll have you.”

  Ari stared at him.

  Troy sighed and paced a short ways away. “You could have screwed anyone on the entire island. Why did it have to be her?”

  “I didn’t screw her,” he growled.

  Troy looked a breath away from hitting him. Which would be all right with Ari, because he could use a good excuse to hit something himself. More specifically, he’d like to knock that know-it-all expression from his brother’s face.

  “Oh, no. You didn’t screw her. The two of you experienced love at first sight.” He pointed toward the island. “That’s why she hightailed it off the boat to return to the man she should be marrying. Because you rocked her world and she decided that, gee, she couldn’t marry one of the richest men in the world. She wanted one of the poorest.”

  Ari advanced on him and Troy backed up. “Are you calling her a whore?”

  “Her? No. I’m not saying anything about her. I’m questioning the constitution of your own moral integrity.”

  “So you’re calling me the whore.”

  “If the condom fits.” Troy stalked back to the table, then picked up the contracts there and threw them at him. “Damn it, Ari, how could you have done this?”

  “Funny, the question that comes to the forefront of my mind is how could I not have.” He grabbed the contracts and slapped them against his chest. “You’re right. I’ve been with a lot of women in my life. But Elena…she’s different, somehow. Special…”

  “Yes, because she’s off limits.”

  “No, because I was drawn to her before I even knew who she was. We met in the market yesterday morning, long before dinner last night.”