The slight breeze blew her hair back from her face. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes heavy, her lips slightly parted as she tried to regulate her breaths.
She stared down into his eyes with a mixture of want and need he felt everywhere. The same want and need he’d been fighting since she’d walked back into his life.
“Okay,” Hannah announced. “Start on his pecs and work your way lower.”
Avery’s gaze slid to his torso, and she licked her lips, a movement that only amped Cade’s desire even higher. Then her slick hands landed against his chest, and it didn’t take more than a couple of strokes down his abdomen before he knew he’d spontaneously combust if he didn’t get inside her right this very minute.
He pushed up to sitting, wrapped his arms tight around her waist so her weight dropped onto his aching cock, and closed his mouth over hers.
She groaned, opened at the first touch, drew his tongue into her mouth, and kissed him deep. And everything else faded away. Why they were here, what had happened between them so long ago, all those years in between. All that mattered was this. All Cade ever needed was her.
He changed the angle of the kiss, licked into her mouth with long, deep strokes, gripped her ass in both hands, and pulled so he could press right where they both needed. She moaned, framed his face with her hands as she kissed him again and again and rocked her pelvis against his until he saw stars.
From somewhere behind him, Hannah chuckled. “Usually we have to get to the feathers and ice before we reach the point of no return. Since you’ve both obviously reached it, I think my work for this class is done early. I’m heading back down to the spa. Come and find me if either of you need anything else.”
Footsteps echoed, then disappeared. Kissing Avery deeply, Cade flicked the clasp on her bikini top, then pulled it away. His hands moved down her sides and around to cup her breasts. She moaned again, kissed him deeper. He dragged his mouth from hers and looked down, rubbing his thumbs over the tips of her nipples until she trembled.
“God, you are so beautiful.”
He lowered his mouth, lifted her left breast to his lips. Avery arched to meet him and sifted her fingers into his hair, raking her nails over his scalp in the process. He flicked the tip with his tongue, then drew her into his mouth, suckling and rubbing as much as he could reach.
Her head dropped back. She rolled her hips against his, rubbing her sex over the hard length of his cock. He lifted her other breast toward his mouth, sucked the nipple, and repeated the process. Her fingers tightened in his hair and pulled, and the groan that rumbled from her chest echoed through his entire body.
“Cade—”
She grasped his face in both hands, tugging him away from her breast. For a split second, he thought she was pulling away, stopping what was happening between them; then she lifted his face in her hands, lowered hers, and closed her lips over his, kissing him deeply.
He moaned into her mouth, slid his hands down her sides, and grasped the side ties of her bikini bottom. He had to get inside her. Couldn’t wait. Had to—
“I want you,” she whispered. “I can’t wait anymore.” Her hands pressed against his shoulders with force. He fell back before he could stop himself. Her mouth tore from his, landed against his throat, his collarbone, his right pec. Then her fingers grasped the towel at his hips and pulled.
Warm Caribbean air rushed over his aching cock. She slid down his body, then her slick, oiled fingers closed around his shaft, and her tongue licked the pressure point between his thigh and torso.
“Holy fuck. Ava…”
She closed her hand around the base of his cock, then her lips opened and drew him in, her tongue running along the underside of the sensitive head until he groaned.
His eyes rolled back. Sweat broke out along his forehead. She lowered her mouth, taking him deep until he brushed the back of her throat, then drew forward, sucking and licking as she went. His balls grew even tighter, he saw stars, and every rational thought flew right out of his head.
“Ava…” He groaned. Lifted his hips. Gripped the back of her head so he could get deeper.
Her throat started to open, tightened around the tip of his cock. The blood surged in his groin. She pulled off and gasped.
He sat up quickly, grasped her around the waist, and jerked her off the massage table with him. Then he whipped her around and dropped her butt on the leather.. He pulled away what was left of her bikini, tossed it on the ground, and moved between her legs.
“Cade…” She hooked her legs around his thighs, pulling him in, opening for him as she braced her weight on her hands.
With one hand he gripped the back of her neck, drawing her closer so he could kiss her. With the other, he fisted his shaft and rubbed the wetness glistening over her sex with the tip of his cock.
“Oh…” She shuddered. Lifted her mouth and kissed him deeply. Gasped when he pulled away and looked down at her swollen sex, open and ready just for him.
He brushed the head of his cock over her clit, then down to her opening. “Tell me to stop, and I will.”
“Uh-uh.” She bit her lip, shook her head, braced her hands on the leather beneath her, and scooted her hips closer, forcing him inside just a fraction of an inch. And oh God, she was so tight. So wet. And watching his cock disappear inside her body was so fucking erotic…
“Don’t stop,” she gasped. “I’ll die if you stop. I want you right now. I need you.”
He wanted that too. He pressed forward a tiny bit. Trembled when her sheath gripped him like a velvet fist. “I”—shit, he was sweating—“I should find a condom.”
She shook her head violently. Rocked her hips forward until the head of his cock completely disappeared inside her. “No condom. We’ve both been tested, and I get shots. I just want you. Oh God…”
She rocked forward again, taking him deeper. Her eyes slid closed, and a long groan rumbled from her chest.
Seeing her stretching around him like that, hearing her words, watching her body tremble as he slowly filled her… Everything inside Cade broke open wide. He pulled her mouth back to his, closed his lips over hers, and licked into her mouth just as he thrust deep.
They groaned in unison. He pulled out, pushed back in even deeper. Felt her grip every inch of his length with her tight, slick channel. He eased back from her mouth, continued to slide in and out of her wetness. “Look at me, Ava.”
She fought to tear her eyes open, blinked several times, and finally looked up. Her hair was a messy tangle around her face, her makeup smeared beneath her eyes, her cheeks flushed with desire, and her lips swollen from his mouth. But to him, she’d never looked more beautiful than she did at this moment, and the way her eyes glazed over with lust when she stared up at him caused his heart to turn over in his chest.
“You and me,” he said in a thick voice. “This isn’t over. Not by a long shot. Look at me taking you. I’m the only one who should be fucking you like this.”
Her gaze slid down his torso to where their bodies were joined. He drew out so she could see her wetness all over his shaft, then thrust deep until her eyes rolled back and she moaned. Wrapping one arm around her lower back so he could pull her even closer, he gripped the nape of her neck with his other hand and pulled her lips back to his. Her arms closed around his shoulders, her mouth fused to his. She pushed herself tight against him while he drove deep again and again, while she kissed him crazy, while what was left of the obstacles between them crumbled to their feet right there on that bluff.
She dragged her mouth away, pressed her forehead against his, and gripped his shoulder like a vise as she lifted and lowered her hips against the massage table, trying to get closer. Perspiration trickled down her temple. Her breaths came hot and shallow against his cheek. Pulse pounding, he fought back his climax as he held her tight, as he let her take the lead and find that special spot.
“You and me, Ava,” he said again. “This never should have ended, and I’m not letting you g
o again. Tell me you believe me.”
“I…I believe you.”
“Say it.” He thrust faster, deeper, over and over, jostling her body against the leather, causing her breasts to bounce and jiggle against her slim body.
Oh God. He wasn’t going to be able to stop this. Come now…come now, dammit…
“Ah…” She cried out, throwing her head back. Every muscle in her body tightened.
“Say it,” he growled, plunging deep again and again and again, unable to stop, unable to do anything but let his body take over.
“You and me,” she moaned.
The pressure in his balls built to bursting. Her words set off a chain reaction inside his body. He felt it streak down his spine, then explode through his hips. White light erupted behind his eyes and sent tremors through every limb that seemed to go on and on and on.
When he could think again, he realized he was lying half on top of Avery on the massage table. Her legs were wrapped around his lower back, her fingers sifting through his hair, and her breasts were right at eye level. So close he could reach out and taste them with his tongue if he—
“Are you awake?” she asked. “I think you might have passed out. I guess I’m not the only one you fucked blind.”
He chuckled, a lightness filling his chest at the humor he heard in her voice. “Blind, huh? That’s a first for me.”
“Me too.”
He pushed up on one hand and looked down at her. Her eyes were no longer glazed over with lust, but there was a wariness there he hadn’t seen before.
“Cade, we need to talk about—”
He pushed himself forward to kiss her and realized he was still inside her. God, that felt good… Bracing the palm of his hand against the leather table near her head, he gritted his teeth and brushed his mouth over hers. “No talking.”
“But—”
He didn’t need her thinking. At least not yet. He’d gotten her to admit there was still something between them, even if it had been during sex, but he needed to solidify the bond they’d rekindled before they got too deep into conversations he knew were coming. Hopefully by then, the rest of it wouldn’t matter.
“Not yet,” he said again, easing back from her mouth. “We aren’t going to find anything out about Melody in the next hour.”
“That’s not what I was—”
He knew that. The fact he’d distracted her so much from her original goal only made his heart beat even faster. Just a little while longer…
He kissed her again, then pulled back and smiled. “I am a sweaty, oily mess, Ava. I need to get cleaned up.”
Her gaze drifted from his eyes to his chin, then down his glistening torso to where her legs were still wrapped tightly around his hips. “You are, aren’t you?”
The heat he saw rekindle in her eyes caused the blood to flow right back into his groin. “Yeah.”
She brushed a hand over his shoulder and tightened her pelvic muscles, causing his cock to come to life all over again. “I bet I could help.”
“What do you have in mind?”
She shot him a coy little smile. “There’s a huge shower back in our suite.”
He eased away from her quickly and grasped the towel at his feet. Wrapping it around his waist, he grabbed another from the chair behind him and tossed it to her. “Don’t bother getting dressed. Just grab your stuff and come on.”
She laughed and wrapped the towel around her breasts, covering her naked beauty from view, but he didn’t mind because he didn’t want anyone else in this fucked-up resort looking at her but him. “Hold your horses. That shower isn’t going anywhere.”
She lifted her bikini from the floor, and when she was upright, he whipped her around to face him. Her hands landed against his pecs. Her hips bumped into his. Against his chest, her breasts felt like heaven. He leaned down and kissed her, swift, hard, chaste. Not a thing like how he planned to kiss her as soon as he got her alone in their suite. “I’m going somewhere. As soon as I get you in that shower, I’m going to touch you, taste and explore every single inch of you. And when you’re finally begging for me to take you, I’m going to fuck you so hard you won’t remember anyone but me. Now…knowing all that…do you have a problem with my hurrying?”
Her eyes glazed over, just the way he remembered, and against his chest, she went molten. A long “No” escaped her lips.
“I didn’t think so.” He patted her on the butt. “Now hurry up, princess.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Avery was sure she was going to be sore in places she hadn’t even known existed. That little acrobatic feat in the shower had definitely been stuntman worthy.
She tucked the towel around her breasts, then reached for another to wring the water from her hair. Turning toward the shower, she said, “Do you want water or something else?”
“I have water,” Cade said in a sexy voice. He peeked around the corner of the shower door and lifted his brows. “What else are you offering?”
Laughing, she tossed the towel in her hand at him. “Not that. Not now at least. I need food first.”
He ducked back in under the spray. “Got it. Water now, you later. Try to find the room-service menu while you’re out there and figure out what you want to eat. Then I want to talk about Melody. I have an idea.”
“Okay.” Feeling lighter than she had in days, Avery stepped out of the steam-filled bathroom and into the suite. From the closet, she grabbed a short cotton dress, tossed her towel on the foot of the bed, and tugged on the garment. The warm Caribbean breeze blew the curtains away from the window and ruffled the skirt against her overly sensitive thighs. The ceiling fan turned lazy circles above.
Seeing her cell phone on the nightstand, she grabbed it out of habit, checked to see if there were any messages, and finding none, stuck it in the pocket of her flouncy dress. She wasn’t going to get down that there was nothing from Aegis. If they had info about Melody they’d probably send it to Cade anyway, not her.
She moved behind the bar, leaned down, and opened the fridge. Finding two glasses, she poured bottled water for both of them and looked across the room at the bed, remembering the massage and everything they’d done to each other in that giant shower.
A slow smile slid across her face, and warm tingles started in her breasts then drifted downward. It was crazy that she was feeling this way when they were supposed to be looking for clues about Melody, but she couldn’t help it. The things Cade had said, the way he’d made her feel… No one had made her feel that way since him. She knew she shouldn’t get her hopes up and that they could never go back, but maybe—maybe—that was the key. Letting go of the past and moving forward…together. He sure sounded like he wanted to try. The question was…could she?
Butterflies took flight in her stomach. In the bathroom, the water shut off, and she could hear him humming. She was being stupid, but part of her didn’t even care. She’d been fighting her feelings for him for two days and they weren’t going away; they were only getting stronger. Melody had said the reason she wasn’t happy was because she needed closure. Maybe what she really needed to do was open that door again.
Nerves vibrating, she lifted both glasses of water from the counter and stepped out from behind the bar. Her wrist knocked into Cade’s wallet sitting on top of the shiny mahogany, and the folded leather hit the floor with a clack. Frowning, she set the glasses back on the bar and knelt to pick it up. Then froze when she saw the picture sticking halfway out against the cool tiles near her feet.
The woman with long brown hair and clear blue eyes was pretty—no—gorgeous. And in her lap she held a little boy in light blue overalls. One who was smiling as he stood on her thighs and clapped wildly. One who couldn’t be more than a year old.
Her brain spun, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Cade didn’t have any sisters. She couldn’t remember if he had cousins, but considering his family dynamics, she doubted it. Her brow wrinkled as she stared at the picture and tried to figure out
who—
“He’s my son.”
Avery’s gaze jerked up. Cade stood a few feet from her, a towel tied around his lean waist, another in his hand drying the hair at the back of his head. The worried look in his eyes forced the air to catch in her throat.
“His name’s Zachary. That picture was taken a while ago. He just turned three. He’s three.” He drew in a deep breath, blew it out again. “I was going to tell you. I just…didn’t have a chance. The woman is his mother, Natalie.”
“His mother,” Avery whispered, looking back down at the slim brunette with the big smile. He had a son. Her stomach twisted and turned and felt like it might wring the life out of her. Why hadn’t she considered the fact he could have had a life in the years they’d been apart? Just because she hadn’t? “Your…” She swallowed hard. “…girlfriend?”
“No. I’m not seeing anyone now. I wouldn’t have…” He blew out another long breath. “What happened between us earlier wouldn’t have happened if I was with anyone else now.”
Well, thank God for that. Though knowing he had a son left Avery feeling anything but relaxed. She pushed to her feet. Her hand trembled around the photograph. “Then why do you keep a picture of…her in your wallet?”
“Because…” He raked a hand through his wet hair, then dropped it against his thigh. “Because she was my wife. She died when Zach was a year old.”
Sickness gathered low in Avery’s stomach, and she took a step back until her spine hit the wall. She had no reason to be upset. They’d been apart for twelve years. He had every right to have a girlfriend, to have a child, to get married. And yet, she couldn’t seem to keep her voice from cracking when she asked, “You married her?”
Cade moved forward. “Listen to me. What I said to you earlier was true, but she…” He pulled in a shaky breath. “She was the sister of a guy I served with in the service. We hooked up a few years ago at her brother’s wedding. I was working undercover for the FBI then, and when she told me she was pregnant, I didn’t know what to do. Tommy had told me once that she’d lived through breast cancer in her early twenties, and I owed him for saving my life overseas. And you were off in Hollywood living it up as a celebrity. I didn’t think I was ever going to see you again. So…yeah, I married her. Only…between my job and other things…it didn’t work. She hated my long work hours and the fact I was gone so much, and I started to resent the nagging. After Zach was born, things went downhill fast. I was ready to call it quits, but then she got sick again and I… I couldn’t leave her then.”