It felt so good that she couldn't bear his mouth away from her body, and, sensing her need, he slowly continued to explore her breasts, running his tongue on the underside, nibbling their softness, teasing her nipples until she wanted to scream.
He slid his hand underneath the elasticised waistband of her shorts, and pulled them down. She wriggled, then kicked them off, parting her legs.
Her wetness down there surprised her. How was it that she had never reached these amazing heights of pleasure before? Was it because, for the first time in her life, she felt as though she had truly relinquished all control?
He placed the flat of his hand between her thighs and gently rubbed. In response, she reached down and found his pulsating manhood, looking at him so that she could enjoy his own surrender of self-control.
âTake your time,' he murmured, his eyes burning, and she sighed.
Time, she knew, was something they had very little of. Before they knew it, it would have crept up on them, and they would have to leave this idyll behind. But for the moment she put all such thoughts to the back of her head as she eased her body down, down so that she could explore him the way he had been exploring her.
Her mouth drifted sensually over the flat planes of his stomach, feeling his muscles tense and harden under her, then she nuzzled his erect member, licking the shaft, then covering it with her mouth, and as she did so she felt him stiffen, and his breathing become more rapid.
With her hands, she stroked and caressed him, wanting to give him as much pleasure as he had given her, wanting to take her time as well so that what was happening between them, remarkable as it was, would stretch out as long as possible.
She realised that she didn't want this to end. She didn't want to roll away from him and face the present once again.
Sex, which had always been something pleasant enough that had tended to happen at the end of an evening out, had been transformed into something wild and hungry and surging with passion and yearning.
She could feel her body reaching out for him and when he moved to urge her onto her back, she eased her bikini bottom off, so that her soft, blonde, damp curls were exposed to the balmy air.
This ultimate intimacy was a first for her. She watched his dark head descend lower, until his mouth nuzzled against those damp curls.
His tongue found her swollen, throbbing bud and flicked against it, and she moaned and moved against him, pushing herself up. One hand was entwined in his hair, the other loosely thrown over her face, as she panted under the waves of exquisite pleasure rushing through her.
She gyrated her hips, and the pressure of his tongue became stronger. His hands were spread underneath her firm buttocks, and he urged her on until the waves of pleasure became an irresistible crashing force.
She felt her body tense and tighten, then shudder uncontrollably.
But still he kept licking, teasing every ounce of energy out of her body, so that the one powerful climax merged into a series of utterly wonderful shivers of intense fulfilment.
When he finally thrust into her, a deep excitement filled her, unlike anything she had ever experienced before. His mouth covered hers in a hungry, urgent kiss, while one hand cupped her breast and massaged it.
Jessica cried out, a deep, hoarse cry that didn't sound as though it could possibly come from her, and as she felt him reach his own soaring heights her body stiffened in wild response.
How long had time stood still?
When she next opened her eyes, it was to find him looking down at her with the same drowsy contentment that she was feeling and she gave him a tremulous smile.
âPerhaps I will risk a swim in this heat after all,' she murmured, tracing his features with one finger, which he grasped and put into his mouth, so that the smile became a giggle of delight.
âSounds like a good idea.' He eased himself off her, and they faced one another on their sides.
âIf I can only find the energy to get up.'
âFeeling a little drained, are you?'
âJust a bit.' She ran her hand lightly along his side, and then along his upper thigh. She felt, amazingly, as though she had been asleep all her adult life, and was now awake for the first time. Her body was still tingling in the aftermath of their lovemaking.
âWell, no time like the present,' he said, without moving, and he lay flat on his back with his hands folded behind his head and stared upwards for a few seconds, before transferring his gaze to her.
She moved to start slipping back on the bikini, and he stopped her.
âBut what if someone comes along?' she whispered nervously as they stood up and began strolling down to the water. She glanced back over her shoulder, and he laughed and rumpled her hair, which looked a mess.
âI guess they'd be in for a shock.'
âThat's fine for you to say,' Jessica told him sternly, kicking at the water as they stepped in. âWhen we get back to England...' it seemed a million miles away, and the thought of it filled her with a sudden, shocking feeling of disappointment, which she immediately stifled â...you'll vanish back into that ivory tower of yours, but I'll be left with the whispering and knowing looks...'
âTrue,' he agreed readily. âBut what's a little whispering and a few knowing looks to a determined young woman like yourself?' He grinned and began splashing her with water, and she returned the favour with equal enthusiasm until they were both drenched, and all thoughts of being overseen were lost in the sheer physical activity of swimming.
Swimming and touching, soft, wet strokes that made her want to return to the little patch of sand under the tree and make love to him all over again.
Her hair hung down to her waist like a sheath of dark gold, and the sun was so hot that after only a few minutes with her head above water she could feel it beginning to dry off.
As they emerged from the water he held her from behind, his arms enfolding her, and she gasped as his fingers slipped down between her thighs, caressing her.
âAnyone could be spying on us!' she protested, not struggling very hard to resist because his fingers were rapidly firing her body into a wet, willing response.
âDon't be so worried,' he murmured, sweeping her hair to one side and bending to kiss her neck. âThis little spot is surprisingly difficult to find if you don't know precisely where to go. Trust me.'
âTrust you? Isn't that something of a tall order?' She twisted around to give him a sceptical, amused look from under her lashes, and he grinned back obligingly.
âI sense criticism in that remark.' They held hands and began walking back towards their clothes, which lay strewn at the scene of their lovemaking.
It hadn't been meant as criticism, or even to be taken seriously, but now that he had offered that observation she suddenly gave some consideration to what had just happened between them. For a minute, she had taken flight, but the earth was still under her feet and sooner or later she would have to land.
She thoughtfully slipped back on her sandy bikini and her even sandier shorts and then sat down, hugging her knees and waiting while he dressed and sat back down next to her.
âActually,' she said slowly, turning to face him, âI wasn't being critical.'
âBut...? That expression on your face is telling me that there's a postscript attached to that little statement of yours...'
This feels so unreal,' she started, with hesitation. She dropped one hand to the sand and began sifting through it, watching it filter through her fingers like castor sugar. âLook...I feel you should know that I...' She sighed and mentally made an effort to work out where she was going with this one. âI'm not the kind of girl who makes a habit of this sort of thing...' She gave an unsteady laugh and felt a rush of confusion at what she had just said. Not only was she
not
the sort of girl who did
this sort of thing,
she was not the sort of girl who had ever even contemplated it.
So how had it all happened so easily?
âI know.'
âBecause your experience is with girls who would easily do that sort of thing?' She couldn't help it but she felt a stab of jealousy so deep that it was a physical pain in her chest.
âWhat do you want me to say to that?'
âThe truth?' This conversation was not going where she had expected it to. Ten minutes previously, they had been swimming naked in the crystal waters, and she had felt as though she had no cares in the world. Now reality had come barging through and was refusing to budge until it had been dealt with.
Why did that fill her with such a sense of anger and regret? She had never had a problem facing up to reality, but now she wished that it would just go away and leave her alone.
âOkay, the truth is that I haven't had a string of women who particularly balk at the prospect of going to bed with a man. If you want to call them easy, then you can. So, as far as my trustworthiness goes, I guess it's never had to be put to the test.' He expelled a long breath and looked at her with utter seriousness. âI work damn hard and I've never sought out the responsibility of a committed relationship. I never felt the need for it.'
âWell, at least you don't have a problem with honesty.' A breeze wafted and blew her hair into chaotic semi-dry tendrils around her face.
He hadn't told her anything that she hadn't already figured out for herself, but she still felt a little shocked at the brutality of his frankness.
âI try not to. Lying just ends up in a knotty situation.'
âSo this weekend...'
âCan be whatever you want it to be.'
Jessica stared out to sea, curling a strand of hair around her finger. She knew what was on offer. A temporary liaison on an island that inspired magic.
She desperately wanted to ask him what happened once the weekend drew to a close, but she already knew the answer to that one. He neither wanted nor needed anything permanent in his life. In fact, she doubted he even wanted anything that remotely smelled of permanence. She wasn't his type, nor was he hers, but for a few days they could let the spell that had been cast run its course.
âWhat do
you
want?' she asked curiously, turning to look at him.
âYou.'
âA holiday fling,' she said pensively. The way he looked at her filled her with a heady, drowning sensation. She looked away and distractedly flicked some sand with one finger, watching as it sprayed into the air.
âA time to remember.'
âOh, very poetic.' Jessica laughed, not caring to look into the future beyond the weekend. He ran his fingers along her spine and she shivered. âPerhaps we should be getting back.'
âI take it that's your answer?'
âI don't know
what
my answer is.'
And she truly didn't. But for the remainder of the day she felt his presence with such force that it left her breathless. This really was the stuff of memories. She didn't think that she would ever forget the way he made her feel, the way he sent her senses spinning into orbit.
She could feel his eyes on her, even when he was talking to everyone else, and it was like being touched. As dusk turned into inky blackness, and food was eaten and alcohol consumed, and the noise levels rose, the undercurrent running between them was like the silent buzz of electricity. Her eyes were drawn compulsively to him, as though her body had tuned into its own peculiar radio signal, but she only realised what she wanted to do when, as the last of the straggling crew drifted off to their bedroom, the worse for wear, she lingered behind, waiting and watching.
And even then, there were still the remnants of hesitation.
Was she cut out for this kind of thing? Was she fashioned for the one-off fling, no strings attached? She must surely be, she reasoned fiercely to herself, because she certainly wasn't fashioned for the whole marriage bit.
She didn't want commitment any more than he did, so why was she so scared at the prospect of this brief, intense fling, followed by nothing?
âNot heading off to bed?' She heard his voice from behind her, and jumped. He was switching off lights, checking the doors to make sure that everywhere was closed. In the darkness, he was a tall, shadowy figure, lounging indolently against the wall, his hands stuck in his pockets.
As she looked at him she could feel her breath quickening, and she raised her hand to her throat, forcing herself to be calm.
âAre you?' she asked in a ridiculously high voice.
âActually...' he pushed himself away from the wall and walked slowly towards her, and with every step closer she could feel her heart rate accelerate â...I was thinking about a stroll on the beach. Care to join me?'