Page 14 of Hidden Resolution

Her mossy-green eyes went wide as her gaze dipped below the water’s surface. When she looked up, intrigue had replaced annoyance.

He quirked a brow in challenge.

She waded closer, but stopped a foot shy of touching him. “If this is a game and you dunk me again, I swear, I’ll kick your?—”

Lunging forward, he caught her around the waist, pulling her to him.

“Does this feel like a game?”

“N-no.”

“I want to touch you, Shonda,” he murmured against her ear. “Are you willing?”

Her answer was a nod, slight but unmistakable.

His hand slid below the surface, gliding beneath the edge of her suit. When he reached her, he found her slick and warm. “Mmm, seems like the ocean isn’t the only thing that’s made you wet.”

“Mason…” Her voice cracked on his name when he peeled off her swimsuit bottom, tucking it into the back of his waistband. The flush on her cheeks wasn’t just the result of the sun’s tropical rays, and she cast an uncertain glance over his shoulder. Her voice was breathless as she said, “People are watching.”

“Let them. What will they see? A couple enjoying a bit of necking?”

He trailed kisses down the side of her throat, nipping the soft skin. Sinking lower, he drew her closer. When she wrapped her long legs around him and pressed her core against his erection, he groaned and inched her hips away.

“None of that. Not yet,” he said regretfully.

With his thumb, he teased her, circling her clit while his fingers moved in gentle, deliberate strokes. She shivered, melting into him, arms encircling his neck as she pressed her face into the crook of his shoulder.

“I’ve got you,” he assured her, sliding his finger inside her warmth. “Let go and enjoy, love.”

She clutched his back, her muscles tensing as her thighs crushed his sides. A sharp gasp escaped her lips, followed by a breathless moan. She clenched down hard as he pleasured her and came undone right there in his arms. He held her through the silent trembling, capturing her mouth in a demanding kiss that stole her cry before it escaped. And as she calmed, relaxingher grip, he brushed his lips against her temple, across her cheekbone.

Her eyes were glassy, her lips swollen, and she was positively wanton-looking.

“You okay, love?”

She nodded, gracing him with a languid smile. “Why didn’t you…?”

“Because this time was for you,” he said, lips quirking.

“Is that all we’re doing?” she asked, as she stroked him through his suit.

Mason held himself back from grinding against her hand, wishing to hell they had privacy with the barrier of clothes gone. He wove his fingers through her damp hair and gently tugged her head back so they were face-to-face.

“For now, but you need to know I don’t do long-term. If you want to continue this, know it’s only for the duration of our stay.” Her frown disappointed him, but he had to drive the point home. “You cool with the terms?”

She paused for what seemed like forever, and his heart raced like he’d been the one to experience the orgasm.

“Yes,” she eventually agreed.

He shut his eyes in relief. Had she said no, his disappointment would’ve been keen. His desire for this woman was more than he’d felt for all the women he’d been with in the last five years combined. That alone should have him running in the opposite direction. But he was quickly becoming addicted to the taste of her mouth and the feel of her skin against his.

“Good. That’s good,” he said on an exhale, sounding winded and embarrassingly glad. “When I get off with you, it’s not going to be half hidden in the water with a resort full of people nearby.”

She stared at him like she couldn’t quite figure him out.

He told himself he preferred it that way. Better to remain mysterious and detached, if only to prove to himself he could be.Closeness equaled eventual betrayal and pain. He’d avoid both if possible.

“Okay, give me back my bikini bottom.” She held out a hand, and her expectant air amused him.