Page 19

She’s a natural-born distraction.

‘You okay?’ I ask, hearing an unintended sting of irritation in my voice.

There’s a short, loaded pause before she says, ‘As okay as I can be, trapped in the company of a sexually repressed pedant, in the middle of a howling gale, with no way out of here for the foreseeable future.’

But there’s a definite smile in her voice.

I can’t help but grin. ‘I love that you say exactly what comes into your head the moment it occurs to you. That sort of confidence is something else.’

‘You love it like you think it’s great? Or you’re being your usual sarcastic self and it actually annoys the crap out of you?’

‘Actually, both. Depending on how much sleep I’ve had.’ I turn to raise an eyebrow at her in a show of jest, but she just rolls her eyes at me then turns away, colour rising on her cheeks.

Sexually repressed? Hmm. Well, I suppose she has a point there. I definitely feel like I’m repressing my sexual urges right now. No thanks to our current situation.

The bathroom scene once again flashes through my mind and I feel myself get hard for the millionth time today.

Dammit!

‘I’m going back to the room for a shower,’ I say, rolling off the lounger on the side facing away from her, then quickly diverting into the changing room to grab my clothes, before making straight for the sliding door.

‘En-joy,’ she says in a lazy, I-really-couldn’t-give-a-shit-what-you-do drawl.

My blood is still pulsing hard through my veins as I stumble into our room. Now that her dad and Jeff aren’t here, I should probably move into the room Tim was staying in. A bit of space is exactly what the two of us could do with now. I’ll move my stuff once I’ve had a quick shower.

Just as I’m coming out of the bathroom after sluicing off the chlorine, Dee comes sauntering into the room, still wearing her bikini – and nothing else.

‘Are you going to hang about in just that all day?’ I ask her irritably, dragging my gaze away from her lithe body.

It’s clear she knows exactly what effect she’s having on me and she’s deliberately teasing me about it now. I mean, she’s always loved to mess with me, but this now seems to be her favourite way to entertain herself while we’re here.

‘Why? Does it bother you?’ she says, her expression all mock-innocence.

‘No.’

‘You sure?’

‘Yep.’

‘Uh, huh.’ Her tone suggests she’s calling bullshit.

Which, to be fair to her, it is.

‘Why do you feel the need to provoke me all the time?’ I demand. My blood’s up now and her semi-naked presence here is seriously fucking with my head.

She scowls at me. ‘Because you seem to think it’s okay to treat me like I’m just some nuisance !’

‘Only because you are a nuisance,’ I say through gritted teeth. ‘You’re always bothering me.’

‘So I do bother you then?’

‘Yes! You bother me! You’re driving me crazy!’ I shout back.

‘And you’re driving me crazy by leaving me hanging, then kissing me and messing with my head!’

There’s a tense silence as we both glare at each other, breathing heavily, the air vibrating between us.

As much as I don’t want to, I can’t help but think how sexy she looks, with her cheeks flushed and her eyes flashing fire at me.

And she’s not wrong. I haven’t made any effort to repay her for my orgasm yesterday.

My heart thumps hard against my chest.

I’m suddenly full of energy.

So full, I’m shaking with it.

Ah hell.

I really shouldn’t do it – the idea that’s crowding out all other thoughts in my mind.

I really shouldn’t.

But I really want to even things up between us so I can stop thinking about it. About her.

Striding to where she’s standing, I slide my hand into her hair, tilt her head back and bring my mouth down onto hers, hearing her gasp in surprise.

She doesn’t push me away, though; instead, she slips her hands around my hips, then down to cup my buttocks, pulling me against her so my erection presses into her bare stomach. She kisses me back hard, parting her lips to allow me to thrust my tongue deep inside her mouth.

She tastes amazing. Like pure need.

It’s another rough kiss, just like the last one, where we’re both fighting for control of the situation. Both determined to get one over on the other.

One of her hands slides around my thigh towards my cock and I stop her by putting my own hand over hers and moving it away. Then I guide her backwards until she’s pressed up against the wall.

‘You don’t get to call all the shots,’ I say firmly.

‘Argh! You’re such an exasperating bastard!’ she grumbles.

‘And you’re a demanding bitch,’ I reply, moving my hands up to cup her breasts, feeling her nipples harden under the press of my thumbs.

Then I slide them down her stomach – sensing her quiver under my touch – to the top of her bikini bottoms, where I hang out for a bit, dipping my fingers into the top of the band, but no further.

‘You’re driving me crazy now,’ she complains, but her voice is light with lust.

‘Yeah? Well, you deserve it,’ I say with a smile, then kiss her again, feeling her mouth soften and mould under mine.

‘Hate sex it is then,’ she says, grinning back at me when we come up for air, her voice a low rumble in her throat.

‘To release the fucking frustration of having to be around each other,’ I mutter.

‘Exactly.’ Her eyes are wide and pleading now. ‘Touch me properly,’ she begs. ‘Please.’

That invitation is what I’ve been waiting for, so I slip my hand fully inside her bikini bottoms, moving my fingers lower and lower until I feel the soft heat of her pussy under my fingertips.

She sucks in a deep breath as my fingers explore her, learning this bit of her body. I’ve never touched anyone like this before and my heart is racing at how intensely exciting it is to be this intimate with someone. With Dee.

I’m acutely aware that I don’t have any real-world experience with this kind of thing and the fear of getting it wrong is keeping me just about in check. I have to make sure I stay in control of this.

‘Just fooling around, though,’ she murmurs against my mouth. ‘We shouldn’t have full sex.’

I pull back to look her in the eye and still my movements. ‘No?’

‘No,’ she says. ‘It’s just a bit of fun, so better not to get too serious. Your first time should be with someone you really care about. So we’re just playing right now, okay?’ she says again, her voice breathy.

‘Yeah, sure. Okay,’ I say, though I’m actually a little disappointed she doesn’t want to go further. But I get what she’s saying. It’ll be easier to keep emotions out of this if it’s just a bit of light-hearted fun.

‘Good.’ Pushing into my hand, she gives a small groan. ‘Just don’t stop doing that.’

She then proceeds to tell me exactly where to press my fingers, how hard and how fast – or slowly – until her breathing becomes rapid and rhythmical on my neck and her skin is hot to the touch.

‘Yes, just there. Right there… Don’t stop,’ she moans, her body starting to quiver and buck against me.

There’s a moment of utter silence, then she finally lets out a long, low cry of pleasure, the volume and total abandonment of the sound surprising me. It’s like a primal scream, something she’s not able to control.

Fuck.

I made that happen.

Okay, I see now why people become so obsessed with sex. The power you feel when you give someone that kind of pleasure is something else.

She continues to shudder against me as her orgasm seems to go on and on, until she finally stills and presses her forehead against my shoulder, her breathing starting to slow.

‘Jeez, I really needed that,’ she mutters.

‘Yeah, I could tell. You were pretty vocal about it.’

I feel her body shake again, this time with laughter. ‘I’m not usually that loud when I come.’

‘Oh. Right.’ I’m acutely aware that I’d not know if that was unusual. I have a lot to learn.

Finally, she raises her head and looks at me. ‘It was super intense. I guess from all the pent-up sexual frustration.’

‘Uh, huh. Okay, well, good.’ I shift a little awkwardly on the spot. An uneasy feeling is growing in the pit of my stomach now. Things have rapidly got out of control here and I’m not sure we should let them go any further. Despite how good it feels in the moment. Who knows where it might lead?

‘So we’re even now then and you can stop provoking me. That’s the end of it?’ I ask uncertainly.

She flashes me the most incredulous, mischievous smile I’ve ever seen.

‘Sure it is,’ she says, adjusting her bikini, then sliding away from where I’ve had her pressed against the wall.

I watch her limp away into the bathroom and she shuts the door behind her with a flourish, as if she’s the star actor in a play, exiting centre stage.

I stumble to the bed and throw myself onto it, rolling onto my back to stare up at the ceiling, my heart still racing.

What is it about Dee that’s so irresistible? No matter how many times I tell myself it’s not a good idea to get sexually involved with her, I just don’t seem to be able to remember that in the moment.

My body always thinks otherwise.

And no matter what I just said to her, I have a very strong suspicion that this is definitely not the end of these encounters.

Unless I do something to make sure it is.