His hands stilled with the panty low enough to reveal the tattoo and a hint of her waxed mound. The heart shaped tattoo refracted the scant light, sending tiny multi colored spears flashing around the room. Candace held her breath, waiting for Ryan to say or do something. His finger traced over the heart and the scripted R inside. She let her breath out, only to have it catch in her lungs as Ryan lowered his head to her once again and placed a soft kiss over the heart.
Ryan growled like a crazed animal and rose to his knees between her legs. Her panties ripped in his hands and seconds later he was sheathed and poised to take her. With rough hands, he lifted her thighs and shoved them up and out, holding her at the back of her knees so she was open to him. She’d broken through his wall of restraint at last.
“Mine,” he grunted and speared her with his cock.
Candace closed her eyes and screamed his name as he buried to the hilt inside her. It felt so damned good, better than she had imagined. Ryan drew all the way out and plunged back in again, seating himself against her womb. “Mine,” he repeated and dropped his hold on her legs and came over her, holding himself above her on his forearms.
“Look at me,” he commanded. Candace opened her eyes and saw the fierce possessive gleam in his eyes. His strokes were hard and fast, claiming her as she’d never been claimed before. Candace reveled in it. With every pounding thrust, Ryan showed her how much he loved her. She cradled him between her thighs in welcome, giving over all she was to the man of her heart.
Ryan reached beneath her and flicked the clasp open on her bra, freeing her arms. She wrapped her arms around him and stroked his back, his shoulders and down to his firm, flexing ass. “Mine,” she whispered.
“Forever,” Ryan said against her lips.
“Forever,” she agreed.
He kissed her with heart melting tenderness, slowing his thrusts to match the poignant moment. His claiming turned to sweet loving. He gave instead of took. His hands roamed her body as hers did his, giving and receiving love, until the exquisite gentle torture built into a raging need inside both of them.
Ryan stoked the fire inside her. Candace ached, clawing his back, striving for the glorious release Ryan promised with every masterful stroke. She ground her clit against him in the age-old rhythm of lovers. Candace gasped every time her swollen bud pressed against the rough hair around his cock. With each thrust of Ryan’s powerful body, the tension inside her grew. Release taunted her with its nearness, so close yet beyond her reach. She wanted to weep, her mind and body begged for sweet abandon.
Candace bucked her hips off the mattress, clinging to Ryan, reveling in the feel of his cock inside her wet sheath. Every stroke was a sensual assault on raw nerve endings. Her pussy made small sucking sound as Ryan pulled almost all the way out of her, as if trying to suction him back in. Over and over his cock made the torturous slow slide out, and back in. Wet skin slapped against wet skin. His balls ricocheted off her perineum with each downward thrust.
Like a mountain climber’s, her lungs burned for oxygen, as Candace climbed higher and higher. The summit shifted further away as she approached it, distorted and elusive in its simplicity. She had to reach it, and so she concentrated on the center of her universe, where Ryan’s body joined hers.
Oh God, he felt good. Each bold thrust stretched her, filled her, and moved her closer to the elusive peak. Ryan shifted and changed the tempo. With each stroke, he buried to the hilt and ground against her clit before pulling out again.
“Oh God, Ryan!” she cried. She dug her nails into his back and clawed her way toward the summit. One more step, one more stroke, one more slick slide inside her. Her body sang as euphoria overtook her. Ryan buried his cock against her womb and pushed her over the edge. For a timeless moment, Candace hung suspended above the world, hanging on by a rope woven with the fiber of their love, before she plummeted heart first down the mountain.
Her pussy clenched around Ryan’s cock as waves of sweet, torturous release swept through her body. Every muscle quaked with the force of it. Swept away on a current too strong to fight, Candace drifted in an altered state of consciousness. Ryan flexed his hips again, drawing all the way out before he slid in one more time, arduously slow, until he touched her womb. His groan vibrated through his chest, and bounced against the paneled walls of the cabin as his body responded to hers, and he plunged over the edge with her.
With what little strength she still possessed, Candace wrapped her legs around Ryan’s thighs and held him close as his cock spewed inside her.
Ryan dropped his head into the crook of her neck and nuzzled her between short choppy breaths. He’d braced himself on his forearms and they slid out from under him, pressing her into the mattress. One arm cradled her head next to his, his face buried in the crook of her neck. His breath fanned across her shoulder in hot ragged puffs. Candace raised her arms, splaying her hands across his sweat soaked back.
When his breathing evened, he slid out of her and to her side, pulling her with him so she lay half across his chest. Cool air on her damp skin made her shiver. Ryan tightened his hold on her and pulled the edge of the comforter up and over them. Long minutes passed as they savored the momentous occasion. Candace felt loved and cherished, and safe, cradled against Ryan’s heat. His hand stroked a lazy path up and down her arm under the covers.
“I love you, Candace.”
“I love you, too.”
Silence followed their declarations.
Ryan spoke first. “I didn’t hurt you, did I? I got carried away when I saw that heart with my initial in it. When did you get that done?”
“This morning.” She traced lazy circles on his chest with one fingertip. “I wanted to do something for you.”
“I liked it. Does that mean your heart is mine?”
“My heart, and everything else.”
“Do I have to shave my groin and get one too?” he teased.
“No, I don’t think that will be necessary.”
Ryan retrieved the dinner tray and they sat cross-legged on the bed with it balanced between them. “Tomorrow is the one and only shore day. Are you going to go ashore?” he asked.
“I don’t know. It’s a private island, isn’t it?”
“Uh huh. The cruise line owns it. It’s the only place this ship can stop, for obvious reasons.”
“What is there to do?”
“Actually, there are a few of the usual choices, snorkeling, parasailing, and scuba diving for trained and certified divers. There’s the usual sunbathing, and massages on the beach. There’s a band and a barbeque for lunch. Oh, and the entire island is clothing optional.”
“Really?”
“Really. It’s private enough.”
“Snorkeling sounds good, but I don’t have a swimsuit.”
“Your cabin steward should provide you with one tonight, in case you want to wear one. Snorkeling equipment is available on the island.”
“What about you? Are you going ashore?”
“If you are, otherwise I’ll stay on the ship. There’s a full list of things to do onboard too.”
“Let’s go snorkeling. I think it will be good to get off the ship for a while.”
“Snorkeling it is.” He smiled his best pirate smile at her. “I think I need some practice first, though.” Ryan made short work of removing the dinner tray and pulled Candace to lie on her back. Before she had time to question his motives, her legs were spread wide by Ryan’s shoulders, and secured by his arms. The first flick of his tongue across her clit had her struggling against his restraints, but he held her fast, and dove in.
Every thought, every feeling, once again centered on the spot where Ryan’s body joined hers. The man derived as much satisfaction from her pleasure as she did. She’d never experienced anything like it before, but knew she could easily become addicted to it. He sucked her clit into his mouth and her eyes rolled back in her head. She arched her back and her hands came up to grasp his head. Her fingers clawed his scalp for purchase as a climax clawed its way through her body, threatening and taunting her with the need to let it free.
Ryan hummed against her clit, the soft vibration setting off a firestorm of sensation. Her climax stretched through her, her muscles tensed for the explosion. Ryan released his hold on her clit and her body crashed, climax out of her reach. Candace groaned, but Ryan wasn’t through with her yet. He buried his face against her again and speared his tongue into her vagina. She saw stars. She was caught somewhere along the time-space continuum and only Ryan could set her free. “Please,” she formed the plea in her brain, but couldn’t be sure she’d actually spoken the word. Ryan showed no sign that he’d heard her.
She could see it, could almost touch it, the elusive climax hovered just out of reach. Ryan’s mouth plundered. This was the pirate she’d seen that first night, seducing, taking, torturing her with his lips, his tongue, and oh God, his teeth. Senseless, Candace clung to his hair, her only anchor as she flew through space. Her pussy ached to be filled. Hot liquid flowed from her vagina as her body wept for completion.
Ryan returned to suck her clit, thrusting two fingers deep inside her channel at the same time. Candace sucked in a sharp breath. Her lungs seized up as every muscle in her body quaked. She bucked against Ryan’s restraining arms. He held her firm until she collapsed in a boneless, panting heap.
Somewhere in the post climatic fog, she heard the sound of a foil packet tearing. Ryan covered her, slipping into her drenched and sated sheath effortlessly. He’d given, and now he took. Candace cradled him in the V of her legs and rocked against him, giving as he took.
Ryan slipped his hands beneath her, tilting her pelvis to allow deeper penetration. Candace held him to her breast, her arms banded around his waist. Her lips trailed along his neck and shoulder, tasting his salty sheen of sweat, placing tiny love bites and soothing them with a kiss. She marveled at the play of muscles beneath his bronzed skin, the strength she knew lay beneath the surface, yet he had been nothing but gentle with her.
A familiar ache formed deep inside. She’d grown accustomed to the anticipation in a few short days and welcomed it, even though she’d had an earth-shattering climax no more than a few minutes ago. Ryan’s cock swelled inside her as he too strove for the mind-bending pleasure within their reach. He picked up the tempo, flexing into her sheath, harder and faster. Candace clung to him, reaching for the peak. Ryan pushed to his forearms, gained leverage and changed the angle of entry. He slammed into her once, twice, three times, before he exploded inside her. Candace felt his climax all the way to her toes and followed him over the edge, gently massaging every last drop from his cock.
* * * *
Richard’s voice on the loud speaker woke Candace the next morning. She stretched under the covers, remembering every touch, every caress of the night before. Ryan had left in the wee hours of the morning, insisting she climb out of bed and set the deadbolt behind him. He’d promised to go snorkeling with her today, something she looked forward to. Richard droned on about the fun things to do on shore and what deck to report to for the tender boat that would take passengers to the island.
Reluctantly she left her bed, showered and donned the white bikini provided for her. She tugged her unruly hair into a high ponytail and adjusted the tiny triangles meant to cover her breasts. Nothing she did made them cover any more skin, so she settled for covering her nipples. The scrap of fabric around her hips skimmed the top of the crystal tattoo that had driven Ryan crazy the night before. The waxing might have been painful, but it had been worth it.
Candace peeled the fabric down for another look. Crystals sparkled back at her. She smiled, knowing Ryan would see it again and again before the glue gave way and the crystals came off. A knock on her door startled her.
“Ryan.” He wore small white swim trunks, the male version of her bikini. She ogled his generous package stuffed into the swimsuit.
“Good morning. Can I come in?”
“Sure.” Candace stood aside, closing the door behind him.
“I have to cancel,” he hesitated, “at least for a while. I’ve got to do some, uhm, paperwork for Richard this morning. I can come to the island for lunch, though.”
“Oh, well. I guess that would be all right.” She didn’t try to hide her disappointment. Insecurities she thought she’d conquered reared up. Was he looking for a way to get out of spending the day with her?
“I’ve got a proposition for you. I have a gift for you, and if you accept it, I promise to find you this afternoon. I know a secluded place on the island. I’ll take you there and make it up to you for deserting you this morning.”