Authors: Regina
“Jesus, I missed this.” His hands gripped her hips for leverage, and he buried his mouth in the deep hollow of her throat as her body swallowed his cock.
His strokes were slow at first but then became more heated as she rose up to meet his every thrust. She undulated against him, and her nipples tingled in bliss as they scraped over his chest.
“So good, Carter.” Her nails clawed at his back, pleasure overtaking her. She squeezed her sex muscles, holding him deep inside her, never wanting the moment to end.
“Christ, girl, you keep that up and I won’t be able to last.”
His corded muscles shifted as he slowed his movements and slipped a hand between their bodies to caress her inflamed clit. Goddamn the man sure knew how to touch her. He pulled his cock out of her and then slammed back inside with an urgency that both frightened and excited her.
Each hard thrust drove every sane thought from her brain and forced her to concentrate only on the pleasure. He continued to work her clit, rubbing and circling it with slow sinuous strokes that drove her mad while he pushed back inside, burying himself in her tight sheath.
She drew a shaky breath, and her blood began burning beneath his artful manipulation. As Carter took her to the edge of oblivion, her pulse kicked up a notch and delicious warmth spread over her skin as her climax mounted.
A shiver racked her body, and she knew she’d reached the point of no return. “Yes,” she moaned as she lost herself in his arms and gave herself over to the need coursing through her.
“That’s my girl,” he said, when her body began to pulse around his blood-swollen cock.
Her breath came in a ragged burst as her muscles clenched around his shaft. Sweet erotic pleasure came on the heels of each spasm. He slowed his thrusts, nurturing and drawing out her orgasm. When her body stopped spasming, Carter picked up the pace, driving into her with a force that stole the air from her lungs.
Frantic and needy he slammed into her again and again, and she held him tight, letting him take what he needed, even though she sensed he was seeking more than just release. Their gazes collided and his mouth found hers. As he pushed into her hot channel, with long, driving stokes that spoke of need and hunger, she wrapped her thighs around him, frightened by the way he could so easily get under her skin and touch her heart.
“I’m close, baby.”
She tightened her legs to hold him to her, and a deep ache in her core that she couldn’t seem to assuage spread onward and outward. “I want you to come inside me,” she said, her voice a low, strained whisper.
Carter drove in one last time and stilled his movements. He threw his head back and released on a growl, and Allison let loose a moan of her own as his seed splashed high inside her.
He collapsed on top of her, moisture sealing their bodies, and she couldn’t deny that she loved the weight of his body pushing down on hers. Her sigh of happiness filled the air as his fingers found her hair and brushed a few damp strands from her forehead. A moment later he captured her mouth in a slow, simmering kiss that managed to touch her on a completely different level.
“Hey,” he whispered into her mouth, his tone radiating contentment.
Allison smiled. Carter never was much for words after a round of lovemaking. “Hey, yourself.”
When their eyes met, love rushed to her heart, and there was nothing she could do to keep it at bay.
“God, I needed that.” He brushed his fingers over her face, the soft pad of his thumb tracing the pattern of her jaw.
A bone-deep warmth filled her as everything in the way he touched her played havoc with her emotions.
“Me too,” she admitted.
That seemed to please him. A teasing light returned to his eyes as he shifted to the side and stretched out. “So
bad
can be good?”
She smiled and looked at the sprinkling of stars overhead. “Don’t put words into my mouth, Carter.” Especially when there was something else she’d rather him put in there. Just thinking about it brought heat to her face.
Dear God, what is this man doing to me?
Carter laughed out loud. “Let’s go for a swim.”
Thankful for the distraction, Allison considered it for a moment. “I don’t have a suit.”
His grin turned wicked, and he rolled back on top of her, crushing her beneath his body. “You don’t need one.”
Allison shook her head. “I believe skinny-dipping might just fall into that category of
bad
.”
He laughed again, and the sweet sound startled a few birds in the nearby trees. They squawked and took to the sky.
Then the smile fell from his face and he turned serious. “When we’re done, Ally, I want you back here, exactly where you are.”
Allison gulped and licked her lips. “You mean here, as in beneath you.”
His eyes burned as they gazed into hers. “I’m going to need to take you again.”
“Again?” She couldn’t deny that she liked the sound of that and was completely astounded by how easily he could pull her back in.
“Yes, again.”
As she stared at him, everything inside her warned that she needed this to end as much as she needed it to continue. An invisible band tightened around her heart, and she wondered, when it came to Carter, if she was simply fighting a losing battle?
A salty wave slapped Carter across the face and cooled his scorched skin as he circled his arms around his Ally Cat. Her body pressed against his, and his heart ached with the love he felt for her. Okay, he could do this. He could play by the rules if it meant having her back in his life, forever. Christ, he’d been so damn miserable without her that even the guys at the precinct were sick of being around him.
Allison blinked the water from her eyes, her teeth chattering. “Carter, it’s too cold,” she protested. “I think hypothermia is setting in.” Her entire body shivered as the cool Atlantic waves washed over their naked bodies.
She was right. The water wouldn’t be suitable for swimming for at least a few more weeks, and even then it couldn’t be classified as warm. He hugged her tighter and ran his hand along the back of her neck.
“I know how to warm you up, baby,” he teased.
“So do I,” she rushed out, laughing. “A hot bath.”
Carter laughed with her and grabbed her hand. He gave a tug and they made their way to the shore. “Okay, come on.” He shot her a playful look. “But I still think we’d both like my idea better.”
When they reached the sand, he looked at the gorgeous woman standing before him, and despite the frigid water, his cock grew another inch. Gazing at his beautiful Ally, a woman who touched him so deeply it rattled him to the core, he studied a droplet of water as it dripped from her hair and traveled a lazy path down her body, trailing over her full breasts and flat stomach to settle between her legs. Jesus, how he ached to bury himself in her again, to bring them both to orgasm, and then remain inside her for the rest of the night. His glance moved back to her face.
She was shivering, but he didn’t miss the heat in her eyes when she caught the way his body was reacting.
His voice, husky with need, came out a little deeper. “Let’s get you home.”
Instantly her body stiffened and a barrage of mixed emotions danced in her beautiful, blue eyes.
He wasn’t sure what had happened, or what he’d said to cause her sudden mood shift, but he could feel her distancing herself physically and emotionally.
“I…uh…I have my own car, Carter.”
Carter stopped and stared at her, his heart sinking as she took a measured step back, a defensive move that put a wall between them. He reached for her but she shook her head.
“Ally—”
“I have a busy day tomorrow.” Her voice was rough with emotion when she spoke, and he spotted something in her eyes that he’d never seen before, something that gave him the strangest sense that she was afraid. But afraid of what? Of trying again? Or was it something else?
She gestured toward the top of the bluff, to where they’d left their clothes. “I’m just going to get my stuff and go. Okay?”
His stomach knotted. No, it was not okay. Frustrated, he threaded his fingers through his wet hair. “Ally, you don’t have to run away.” He waved his hand back and forth between the two of them. “I thought we were doing okay.”
“We always do okay with this, Carter.” She forced a laugh. “You know as well as I do that it’s the other stuff we suck at.”
As his hurt turned to anger, Carter wanted to protest, but he really didn’t want to argue. Wouldn’t that simply prove her point that most times they mixed as well as oil and water? When she began trembling from head to toe, he put his arm around her to offer his heat, and she sucked in a tight breath.
Carter slipped a hand under her chin and forced her eyes to his. “People can change, Ally.”
She gave him a dubious look. “I really wanted tonight, Carter. We both did. Maybe I should have tried harder to keep it from happening, but I got caught up in the moment.” She stopped to poke him in the chest. “I got caught up in you. Just like I always do.” She frowned and let her hand drop to her side. “I thought we both understood that tonight was just about sex. A one-time thing.”
Her emotions were so transparent, and everything in the way she touched him, made love to him beneath the stars, and kissed him with unabashed passion told him that was pure bullshit. No one could kiss like that and feel nothing.
What is really going on with her?
“So you’re saying you just want to be friends?”
“Yes.” Her voice sounded tight.
He took a long moment to think about it. Okay, they could be friends for now, but he reconciled himself to the fact that he still had a month to convince her they belonged together. A month to convince her he’d changed his ways.
Carter tried for casual, although there was nothing casual about them. “Okay, at least let me walk you to your car. Friends do that after engaging in outdoor sex and skinny-dipping right?”
The corner of her mouth lifted in a half smile. “Yes, Carter. I believe friends do that.”
Together they made their way to the bluff to gather their clothes. Both lost in their own thoughts, a quiet fell over them as they walked to the hill. Carter took the lead to guide the way in the dark but noticed that as the tide moved in, the spray from the surf saturated the ground and made climbing the rocky embankment much more challenging.
He reached for Ally’s hand. “Careful—” Before he could even get the words out, she slipped and landed with a thud. Air whooshed from her lungs, followed by a sharp cry that cut through the night and had Carter’s stomach lurching with panic.
“Jesus, Ally. Are you okay?” Carter climbed down and crouched beside her, and that’s when he noticed her foot jammed between two boulders.
“My ankle,” she cried out.
Carter felt his way along her leg, testing the bones around her ankle. “Can you move it?”
Ally tried her toes as he gripped one rock and pulled it away to free her foot.
She winced as he cupped her heel into his hands and gently examined her. “I don’t think anything is broken, but we should take you to the hospital to make sure.”
She wiggled her toes. “No. I think I sprained it. I just need to get home and rest it.”
Carter cursed under his breath, taking full responsibility for her fall. He’d brought her here and goddammit he should have taken better care of her.
“It’s okay.” In tune with his emotions, she put her hand on his shoulder to placate him. “I’m okay, really.”
His mood darkened. “It’s not okay. I shouldn’t have brought you here.”
She touched his face in such a familiar way that a riot broke out inside him. He forced himself to draw a calming breath. “Actually, I’m glad you did.” The warmth in her eyes seeped under his skin and filled him with longing. “You know, for old times’ sake.”
Before he did something stupid—like make love to her again right then and there on the rocks—he lifted her into his arms. “Let’s go. Time to get you home.”
Surprise lit her eyes as he cradled her. “I can take care of myself.”
“And I can take care of you.”
When she opened her mouth to voice an argument, he cut her off. “Your foot is swelling and you’re in no condition to drive.”
He carried her to the sand and deposited her away from the surf while he ran up the embankment and grabbed their clothes. Once they were dressed, he carried her to his car and put her in the passenger seat.
“What about my car?”
“I’ll pick it up for you tomorrow.”
She tested her foot, and he didn’t miss the pain on her face, showcasing her emotions. “I’m sure I can drive.”
“And I’m sure I can drive you.”
Allison rolled her eyes as he blasted the heater. “How is it that you always seem to get your way?”
He smiled at her and in a teasing tone said, “How is it that I don’t know you fell on purpose?
You know, just to get me back to your place.”
Allison whacked him across his sunburnt chest, and he yelped out loud.
She winced. “Sorry, forgot. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt for you to come by and get some aloe anyway.”
Ten minutes later he pulled up in front of Allison’s condo. She opened her door, but he bolted from the car, went around to her side and scooped her up.
“Carter, I can walk.” She shot a glance around the quiet neighborhood. She lowered her voice and added, “People are going to see you. They’ll talk.”
“I don’t care.”
“They might get the wrong idea.”
“Still not caring.”
“I’m pretty sure I can walk.”
“And I’m pretty sure I can carry you.”
“Do you have any idea how annoying you are?”
“It’s my fault you’re hurt so I’m going to take care of you whether you like it or not.”
She blew out a resigned sigh. “You make me crazy.”
“And you make me crazy, but that doesn’t mean I’m just going to leave you to fend for yourself.”
“You’re insufferable.”
“Key?” he said when they reached her front door.
“Can’t you use—” Her words fell off and she frowned.
“I gave it back, remember.”
She reached inside her purse and fished for her keys. Carter took them from her and opened her door. Once inside he carried her to the sofa and gently set her down. He placed a pillow on the coffee table and propped her leg on it.