Out of My League (9 page)

He moved beneath her, each thrust angled perfectly to rub against the place that drove her crazy. Before long, a light sheen of sweat covered his body, and they both trembled, fighting the inevitable. He caressed every inch of her skin, pausing at her clit to circle and press until she sobbed his name.

The electric sensations he generated converged, a tidal wave insisting on her acquiescence. She couldn’t hold it off any longer. With a long cry, she came. Her pussy contracted hard, and he followed her over that cliff, shouting her name the entire time. He pulled her down and held her tight against him.

Chapter Seven

As they rushed around the place packing up the few things they had brought, Mia made some promises to herself. One: she would not let Kaelen know she’d spend the rest of her life fantasizing about him. Two: in her very next fantasy, she would be in the Slutty Boss role, and he would star in the role of Naked Assistant. Three: she was taking home the big purple vibrator he had used on her. No way in hell he was going to use that powerful piece of equipment on some other woman. She had an urge to lock him in a chastity belt so he couldn’t use his equipment on other women either.

She straightened up the papers on the desk. The yellow binding of his paper caught her attention again. Though she really didn’t have the time, she flipped it open and read the first paragraph.

When he snatched it out of her hands, she was on the second page. She tried to grab it back, but he rolled it up and tucked it away in his inside flannel jacket pocket. “Kaelen, you went through all the trouble of bringing it here. You might as well let me read it.”

“This is your vacation. You can’t do homework on vacation. Plus, there’s no point.” He handed her hairbrush over. She’d left it in the bathroom.

“It’s really good. I don’t understand why you would turn in such a huge assignment late.”

“Let it go. Vacation. Relax. Enjoy.” He held the door open for her.

She dug into her jacket pocket for her car keys as she crossed the dormant grass to her car. The sun glinted just above the tree line. “Stubborn asshole.” She stuck her key into the lock. He slammed her door shut before she could open it more than an inch.

He leaned his weight on the car, but he pressed his body against her back. His lips grazed her neck. “Seriously, that’s not a nice thing to call someone who just rocked your world.”

He eased back a little so she could turn around. She inhaled, breathing his scent and striving to remember every detail of this perfect day. Before she could decide whether she wanted to apologize or defend her statement, his mouth closed over hers. He plunged his tongue inside and wrapped his arms around her body, crushing it against his iron muscles. He took, consumed, razed until only the limp shell of who she used to be stood there, trembling in his arms.

She took solace from the fact that he trembled too.

“I have a flight to catch. I’ll see you Monday.”

And just like that, he was gone. She watched his car disappear down the long driveway and tamped down the complex mixture of feelings that made her want to chase after him and beg him to not leave.

* * * *

Kaelen forced himself to focus on the road ahead. Two days and nights in a resort with a sandy beach outside awaited him. Two days to soak up the sun, do some windsurfing, and troll the tourist traps for some cheap souvenirs to give his parents and his little sister. Two nights alone in bed wishing Mia was sleeping next to him.

After a layover in Atlanta where he couldn’t locate a place comfortable enough to stretch his legs, he was too exhausted to care about anything but finding a bed. A taxi met him at the airport in what he thought was supposed to be Bermuda, but was actually a resort on a private island, and took him to the hotel.

Check-in went off without a hitch, and his eyes were almost closed by the time he rolled his suitcase out of the elevator. Finding the room wasn’t difficult, and thankfully the key card worked on the first try. He planned to flop onto the bed and fall asleep without even taking off his shoes, but a scream woke him up.

The lights in the room came on, and a woman crouched on the other side of the bed. Mia.

Shock rendered him speechless. She gathered her wits much faster. “What the hell are you doing here?”

She wore a silky nightgown with thin straps to hold it up. It came down to the middle of her thigh, and he had an urge to know whether she had matching panties. With her hair tousled and that feisty look on her face, she was an erotic vision in pink.

He thought back over his wish, and puzzle pieces fell into place. “You wished for a couple days on the beach too?”

She stared at him for a minute before sinking down to sit on the edge of the bed. “I guess they meant for us to spend the whole weekend together.”

Kaelen parked his suitcase next to a wall and peered around the room. He hadn’t expected anything too fancy. It was nice but not lavish. It had a kitchenette, a small dining table, a sofa, coffee table, and a king-size bed. This wasn’t making complete sense. Some parts he understood.

“They didn’t ask questions about this part, but they only gave us one bed.” Then he realized she had been here for a few hours. “And why didn’t they have us fly together? I had a two-hour layover in Atlanta.”

She shrugged. “Maybe they went the bargain route on your wish.”

He shoved his hand in his pocket for something to do that would make him feel less out of place. “I got it for free, as a thank-you.”

“A day of fantasy sex and a weekend in the Caribbean. That’s some thank-you. What did you do?”

Hefting his suitcase, he put it on the bed and opened it up. Might as well brush his teeth and get into his pajama pants. “My job. Look, I’m beat. What do you say we get some sleep and talk about this in the morning?”

She looked away and nodded.

* * * *

She listened to the sounds of water running in the bathroom as Kaelen got ready for bed. This wasn’t real. She’d been thinking about him, wishing they had the whole weekend together, when the door had opened and in walked the man of her fantasies.

When he emerged a few minutes later and approached the bed from the other side, she watched and wondered what he was doing. Then she remembered. One bed. She jumped up and grabbed her pillow. “Since I’m shorter, I guess I’ll sleep on the couch.”

He snagged her pillow from her grip and tossed it back on the bed. “It’s a big bed. I don’t snore, but I do tend to pull the covers when I turn. Just yank them back. I’ll let go.”

With that, he slid under the sheet. His eyes closed before his head hit the pillow.

“Kaelen?” She poked at his shoulder, but he was sound asleep. “Well, I guess that answers that question.” He wouldn't be making a move on her tonight.

* * * *

She woke in the warm cocoon of his embrace. He’d nudged his knee between her thighs, and he held her close with one arm. His bare chest pressed against her back, which wouldn’t have been such a big deal except her nightgown had ridden up. Most of his arm rested on her exposed skin, but his hand had crept under her gown to cup her breast.

How many times had she dreamed of waking like this? She tried to stay as still as possible, but he stirred. He eased his hand from her breast, extracted his knee from between her thighs, and rolled away.

“I thought you said you didn’t hog the bed.”

His nervous laugh didn’t lack for charm. “I don’t usually. I must find you attractive.”

More likely he’d just responded to having a warm body nearby. She closed her eyes. “You can have the bathroom first. I’m not ready to get up.”

When she woke again, it was to the smell of fresh coffee. She opened her eyes to find Kaelen regarding her with that dimpled half grin. He held a steaming mug in one hand and a plate of assorted breakfast goods in the other.

“They were closing down the continental breakfast, so I snagged a few things for you. I didn’t know what you might be in the mood to eat, but I’ve seen you make coffee. Two sugars, right?”

“Thanks.” She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. He set the coffee on the bedside table and put the plate in the kitchenette. She stretched and helped herself to the coffee. Hot, with just a touch of bitter. It woke her right up.

“And I talked to the manager. They’re booked solid, so we’re going to be roommates for another night.”

Mia frowned into her cup. She wouldn’t mind spending the weekend with him, in or out of bed, but she hadn’t shared that secret part of her fantasy with Oasis. No way would she have wanted to end up spending time with some stranger just because they’d screwed one another’s brains out.

“I got the coffee wrong?”

“No. I was just wondering how they could have messed this up. They were pretty thorough with everything else.”

He pulled the cord to open the drapery covering the slider. They had a balcony. “I think we can make the best of it, don’t you? We have about thirty hours before checkout. I was going to go windsurfing this morning. Want to go?”

Mia shook her head. “I have no sense of balance. I’d rather just swim than spend time climbing out of the water.”

He didn’t force the issue, for which Mia was thankful. He called his good-bye through the bathroom door when she was in the shower shaving her legs. Finding it easier to admit to herself that she longed for his company and his kisses, she embraced her disappointment at the fact he didn’t have a problem spending this vacation as if they were two people sharing a room by accident. Perhaps they were, but still. Maybe she wasn’t so thankful after all.

In the original bargain, they’d promised this was a no-strings fantasy. Of course, she hadn’t expected to act out her fantasy with Kaelen. But she had, and now she was confused by this need to be with him and act like a couple.

She spent the morning on the beach. Not really one for just lying out, she walked the shore and appreciated the natural beauty of the place. This was what she would have done if she had been here alone. Walking the beach, listening to the waves crash against the shore, and feeling the sand squish between her toes had figured prominently in her plans.

While she would have liked to try windsurfing, she just didn’t have confidence in her ability to get anywhere, even with a few lessons. Not that she could have afforded them. All of her money had gone into paying for the wish, and that left nothing for extras like windsurfing lessons.

And what kind of job could someone do that made the fulfillment of a sexual fantasy a suitable way to show appreciation? It bothered her that she didn’t know what he did for a living. She knew he’d served his country in the Army, and that he was two or three years older than her twenty-four years, but she didn’t know anything more.

In all the times they’d interacted—and they’d interacted at least once a week—she’d never thought to ask a personal question. She had fantasized about a man she didn’t know very well at all.

Perhaps the terms of the fantasy had been for the best. One day of incredible sex did not a relationship make.

She turned her attention to a flock of windsurfers sailing on the other side of the finger of land where she had wandered. They looked so graceful, skimming and dipping over the surface. A few of the more experienced sailors did tricks. Most people seemed content with the easier maneuvers that involved nothing more than avoiding a crash into anything else.

Mia watched until they began to head back to a base camp. The sun beat down on her head. She knew if she didn’t get inside and get some water soon, she’d end up with a headache that wouldn’t go away.

The cool air of the hotel room did a lot to lift the fuzzy feeling from her brain. She downed a bottle of water and took another one to the couch Kaelen hadn’t let her sleep on. With no television in the place, she didn’t stay down for long. She dug the papers she’d packed from her suitcase, in order to get some grading done before Monday, but she couldn’t concentrate on them. She wanted to read Kaelen’s paper, but he’d taken it from her.

She prowled the room. As she eyed Kaelen’s suitcase, the image of him tucking his paper into his flannel jacket flashed into her mind. Without the smallest qualm, she opened his suitcase and took it out. She rationalized by telling herself she hadn’t looked through any of his other items, though she noted he’d brought the sex toys from Oasis and more than a few condoms.

Those were leftovers. There had been no time for him to ditch those items before he had to board his plane. The sex toys she’d snagged were in her bag. If Kaelen hadn’t been there, she would have made sure the door was locked and made use of them.

Settling back on the sofa, she sipped her water and read Kaelen’s paper. In it, he proposed studying the correlation between a woman’s level of sexual satisfaction and the frequency of the use of sex toys. He’d laid out a number of variables, both dependent and independent, to consider. It would benefit from peer review, but it was a damn fine treatment.

Mia was impressed at the amount of thoughtfulness he’d put into the paper. If he’d turned it in on time, it would easily have netted him one of the top grades in the class and perhaps an invitation into many different colleges for postgraduate study. The eight misplaced commas would be a problem with Brindley, but his ideas and his design were solid.

The door opened and closed. “Honey, I’m home.”

She finished the last paragraph, glancing up only when his shadow fell over her. The saltiness of the water combined with the scent of sunscreen and sweat. On anyone else it might have offended her senses, but on Kaelen it made her want to draw him closer and taste his lips. The fact he wore long swim shorts and no shirt added to that urge.

“Did you get out of the room at all?”

Though she wore a bathing suit, she hadn’t done more than walk along the shore. “Yes. I just came back a little while ago for some water and air-conditioning.”

“Storm’s rolling in. I was gonna shower and grab some lunch. Want to go down to the restaurant with me?”

She closed the report cover and set it on the table. His eyes tracked the movement, narrowing as he realized what she’d done.