A Seaside Christmas

  Annie’s eyes widened. “You want to brainstorm with me?”

  “Why not?” He began to stroke the top of her hand with his fingers. “I bet there are a hundred ways a mermaid can glisten.”

  “You think?”

  “Sure. For starters, she can shimmer or shine.”

  Annie started to breathe hard. “I guess they can.”

  “Anything is possible.”

  Very slowly, Annie rotated her hand so that her soft palm was laid open to his fingertips. That was a gesture any man could decipher. It was about as subtle as a hard slam on an icy boardwalk. Annie had just offered herself to him. Simple as that. Nat felt the comforter rise, and he didn’t give a damn whether she saw it. She needed to see it. His own breathing became shallow.

  “Or she could be moist,” Annie whispered.

  Nat insinuated his finger up inside fuzzy cuff of her sweater. The inside of her wrist felt tender and hot to the touch.

  Annie gasped.

  “She could glow,” Nat said, deciding to take her up on her overtly sexual offer. He brought her wrist toward him with one hand while pushing the sweater up to her elbow with the other. Slowly, so slowly, he lifted her arm to his mouth and lowered his lips to the delicate tendons and bones of her inner wrist.

  Annie whimpered. “Or, maybe she’s just wet.”

  Fuck. Nat’s focus began to narrow as the comforter expanded. He removed his lips momentarily. “Drenched.”

  “Dripping.”

  He introduced the tip of his tongue to her skin, then left openmouthed kisses from her wrist to the crook of her elbow. He looked up at her. “Maybe she’s soaked.”

  “You’re very creative, Nat.”

  “Take your clothes off and get in this bed with me.”

  “Why?”

  “So I can show you just how creative I am.”

  With that, his kind and sweet caretaker reclaimed her arm from his mouth, stood by the edge of the bed, crossed her hands at her lower belly, and yanked the sweater up over her head. The move displayed a tight white T-shirt, which revealed every aroused and puckered detail of her body that the sweater had hidden.

  “Wow.”

  She smiled down at him, her thick blond hair falling over one all-natural breast. “Do you think you have the strength to help me get out of these clothes?”

  “I’ll die trying.” Nat sat up and splayed his fingers across her tight belly. Then he fingered the button of her jeans, releasing their stretch across her hips. Just for fun, he slapped his hands on her ass and pulled her closer, using his teeth to open the zipper. And even as they both laughed, an outlandish but dead-serious thought wafted through his mind: This is how perfection feels—the sun on his face, the wind in the spinnaker, the water rushing by, all the forces of nature in concert as he’s delivered to his one true destination.

  Nat pulled at Annie’s pants, his eyes flashing as a bare strip of tummy was revealed, then pale blue-green panties, then the tops of her thighs. He pressed his lips to all those places, one by one, tasting the sun and the wind, smelling the salty air, hearing the crash of waves inside his head. Annie suddenly pulled away. He felt privileged to watch her get rid of the jeans and socks, then the T-shirt, leaving her in only the sheer panties and the even sheerer bra. When she began to climb up on the bed and straddle his legs, Nat’s mouth went dry.

  Something large poked into his ribs, and Nat saw that Ezra was still there, annoyed that the bed had become crowded. This presented a dilemma. He needed to lose the cat without alienating the nearly naked cat owner now perched on his upper thighs looking sexy as hell.

  “Beat it, dude,” Annie said, lifting the animal. Ezra immediately jumped from her hands to the comfortable chair, where he shot a nasty look Nat’s way before getting settled.

  “I’m impressed,” he said, stroking Annie’s silky thighs.

  “Oh yeah?” She pushed her hands up under the sweatshirt, caressing his stomach. With care not to jar him, she lifted each arm from each sleeve, then pulled the sweatshirt over his head. The pleasure of her gentle touch was so intense that Nat moaned out loud.

  “What impresses you most?” she asked, tossing the shirt to the floor.

  Nat chuckled. “I hardly know where to begin, but it was really impressive how you tossed your cat to the chair. Not all women would do that.”

  “Really?” Annie placed her hands on the mattress near Nat’s head, then leaned close. Her eyes sparkled and her mouth twitched. The instant her soft lips made contact with the side of his neck, Nat moaned even louder. He closed his eyes and continued his shameless moaning as her kisses traveled to his collarbone, up his throat, to his jawline and the side of his face. The kissing stopped abruptly, and Nat opened his eyes to see her smiling down at him. “I don’t know what kind of girls you’ve been hanging out with, Nat, but I have a strict rule—only one pussy is allowed in this bed when I have company.”

  Nat laughed hard. She laughed with him.

  He reached for her hair. It was the first time he’d touched it, and it felt like water flowing between his fingertips. Eventually, their laughter slowed, then stopped. When Nat looked into Annie’s eyes, a rush of emotion hit him so hard that his chest felt like it would burst into flames. It took him a moment to pull himself together.

  “Any other rules I should know about, Miss Parker?” Nat dropped her hair and smoothed it against her shoulder, then ran his hands along her sides, her ribs, her back muscles, her soft belly.

  Annie arched into his touch and made a humming sound. “I usually have a lot of rules.”

  As he noted her use of the word “usually,” Nat moved his hands to her thighs again, but this time he dared look between them. It was obvious that mermaids weren’t the only females glistening around here. “Like what?”

  “You really want to know?”

  “I do.” His fingers strayed to the silky flesh of her inner thighs, and he stroked her there.

  “I have a one-man-per-year rule,” she said, her voice suddenly matter-of-fact instead of teasing and seductive. “I pick one at the beginning of the tourist season and ask him to stay with me for the summer. Then I kick him out in the fall.”

  Nat’s mouth fell open. He had to concentrate in order to snap it shut again. “Seriously?”

  “Yes. Rowan teases me about it all the time, but I’ve decided that’s the way I want it to be.”

  “Why?”

  She shrugged. Something about the movement revealed a vulnerability he hadn’t yet seen in her. He knew to proceed with caution. “You can tell me, Annie.”

  She looked away, giving Nat a chance to study her profile. She was stunning. She was also a little sad. “It’s just safer that way,” she said, still not making eye contact. “We both know ahead of time that there’s a beginning and an end and there’s no room for unrealistic expectations. Nobody gets hurt.”

  Something about this didn’t make sense to Nat. “But isn’t summer the time of year that you have the least amount of time to spend with someone?”

  She turned, looking his way again. Nat could see tears forming in her eyes. “That’s the point.”

  Breath whooshed out of him. “That’s harsh.”

  “It is.”

  “But you’re breaking that rule with me?”

  “In a big way.” It was obvious that Annie was struggling with her emotions, too. “I let you in my house four days before Christmas. I let you in my bed. I actually want to spend time with you. And you’re . . .” She stopped.

  “I’m what?”

  “Different.” A tear fell onto her cheek. “I want you. I want you here. I want us both to have expectations, which is completely insane because I live here and you live in LA, and anyway, I don’t even know you.”

  “Come here, Annie.” Nat opened his arms and felt her body lay against his. He caressed he
r back as he spoke, aware of her diaphragm moving as she breathed, the heat of her skin, how truly wonderful and unexpected all of it was. “If it makes you feel any better, I broke a rule with you, too.”

  “Really?” She squeezed him tight with her thighs but kept her face hidden against his neck, where she cried softly. “Tell me, Nat.”

  “It’s my only rule, really, but it’s hard and fast.”

  Annie wrapped her arms under his back, so that she was clutching him. “It must be an important one.”

  “It is.” Nat pulled her closer. They were locked as tight as pieces at the center of a puzzle. “I never let myself get lost in a woman. What I mean is, I never allow myself to get in so deep that I lose control of the situation. It happened to me only once, when I was very young, and I promised myself it would never happen again.”

  Annie stiffened in his arms. A long moment later, he felt her exhale, relax, and push herself up and away from him. She looked bewildered.

  “What’s going on here, Nat?”

  “I have no freaking idea.”

  “We haven’t even kissed yet.”

  He smiled, deciding now was the perfect time to try out his strength. Without giving her any warning, Nat grabbed Annie, rolled with her, and flipped her onto her back. If it weren’t for the fact that the covers were now twisted around them, it would have been a flawless execution of a fairly complicated maneuver.

  “What the—?”

  Nat covered her mouth with his, letting his lips and his tongue tell her that everything would be all right, that no matter what was happening to them, it was all right because it was completely, magically, insanely, 100 percent mutual.

  He shoved his hands in her hair. He tried to use his legs to open hers, but the covers were a tangled mess. Nat removed his mouth long enough to rip the bedclothes from both their bodies and then start in on Annie’s underwear. He couldn’t help but laugh at her stunned, but happy, expression as he removed her bra and panties like a man who didn’t have a second to spare.

  Because right then, Nat knew that he’d wasted too many seconds in his life. He would make up for every one of them. Starting now.

  5

  “What if you hurt yourself?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “But the doctor said to stay in bed.”

  “I am in bed. With you. And we’re both naked.”

  “But—”

  “Shh.”

  Nat ended Annie’s objections by lowering his lips to hers. The slick, sweet heat of his kiss left her so weak that all she could do was moan. The kiss felt decadent. Reckless. Which brought her right back to reality.

  “I’m worried this might make things worse and—” Her words were muffled by his continuing kiss, and she felt something hard and long poke into her belly. Nat sure didn’t appear to be physically impaired. In fact, he seemed robustly healthy. Gifted, even.

  “I want you, Annie.” He pressed her wrists against the mattress and continued to leave soft and leisurely kisses along her neck, shoulders, and chest. “I want to make love to you. I want you to call out my name and beg for more. I want you to glisten, baby.”

  Annie chuckled, knowing she’d long ago passed the glistening stage, sure he knew it, too. Her laughter turned into a gasp of pleasure the instant his soft lips brushed the top of her left breast, then her right. Involuntarily, she began to wiggle and arch up beneath him. When Nat gently bit down on a nipple and sucked, she nearly shot off the bed.

  “You like that, huh?” Nat moved on to the other nipple. His hands left her wrists and traveled up into her hair again, then down her arms to her sides, eventually settling on her hips. Annie felt his fingers claim her flesh as he pressed his weight—and his way-above-average erection—into her stomach. Nat’s touch had an unusual intensity. His skin felt so hot. The sensation of his tongue and lips was extraordinarily electric. Her body hummed with awareness from her scalp to her pinkie toes. And in what she suspected would be her last moment of clearheadedness, Annie fumbled around inside the drawer of her bedside table until she found a condom.

  “Are you always this prepared?” Nat asked, raising his head from her breast and taking the foil packet from her fingers.

  “Yes.” She wrapped her legs around the backs of his thighs and squeezed.

  “Are you always such a greedy little sex vixen?”

  “No.”

  When Nat smiled, his eyes flashed. Annie couldn’t decide whether it was a spark of delight or a warning to her that things were about to get interesting. She hoped it was a little of both.

  “Annie Parker, I’m going to ravish you. I’m going to make you mine.” Nat began to slowly push himself further down her body, his lips and tongue trailing down between her breasts toward her belly button, which he greeted with a quick flick of his tongue. At that moment, she felt him pull away and push her legs apart, a move that made her whimper in anticipation. Oh God, she wanted this. She wanted him.

  Nat looked up, his gaze locking on to hers, as he used his hands to press her wide open. Annie couldn’t remember the last time she felt so helpless, so exposed. Maybe she never had. Maybe she’d never allowed herself to.

  Nat gave her a wicked little grin, then resumed using his lips and tongue to drive her insane. First she felt his kisses on the inside of her thighs. Next came a series of nibbles and licks, his mouth making its way toward her sex. The instant she felt Nat’s tongue slide along her opening, Annie tipped her head back and gasped at the acute pleasure.

  And that was it. She knew there would be no turning back, no second-guessing. Whatever was happening between them was too powerful and too perfect to question. She knew that all she could do was hold on and enjoy her good fortune.

  Nat took his sweet time teasing her with a trick bag of sexual moves that left her defenseless. There were long, deep licks and quick touches of the tip of his tongue. There were intervals of sucking—soft, then harder—that segued into one, two, then three fingers entering her, only to leave and start again. When he focused all his skills on her hard clitoris, she couldn’t help but scream. Before she could regain her composure, he’d slipped on the condom, realigned himself, and positioned himself against the entrance to her body.

  “Annie,” he whispered.

  She opened her eyes and realized she could barely see him through her tears. She couldn’t speak, so she nodded.

  Nat smiled as he stroked the side of her cheek and brushed away her hair. “I need to be inside you now,” he whispered.

  “Yes.” Annie felt how she’d instinctively opened wider for him, her body welcoming him. “Please, Nat.”

  His mouth covered hers. She tasted herself—salty like the sea, rich and female—the juices of a greedy, love-starved woman. And as Nat pushed inside her in a single long, slow thrust, she swore she heard the waves crashing through her heart, through her soul.

  • • •

  Annie opened her eyes, took a breath, and knew that everything had changed.

  One of her legs was thrown across Nat’s thighs and her head rested on his chest. His body felt hot and firm against hers, and their feet were entwined. Her hand lay on his hard belly, and his hand covered hers protectively.

  Nat was asleep, his breathing deep and slow. Annie peeked up at him and saw how relaxed and peaceful his face was, how handsome. Suddenly, she felt a twinge of guilt for being such a terrible nursemaid. In fact, she sucked so bad at nursing that she had no idea what time it was or how long Nat had been asleep, which was a real no-no. Plus, she’d just had wild, bed-rocking sex for hours on end with a patient who was supposed to be resting and might even have a concussion, an offense that surely would be frowned upon by everyone—except maybe Rowan.

  Though Nat stirred, she continued to observe him. He had a strong neck and a firm jawline. She noticed that his face had become scruffier as the hours passed and de
cided a bit of beard looked unbearably sexy on him. His hair was just long enough to give him some bad-boy possibilities. But those lips! They were the most erotic lips of any man she’d ever known, smooth and straight, soft, the foundation for that magical smile. And, boy, did he know how to use them. Annie thought it amusing that Nat had grown up in what sounded like one of the most ordinary places in the world, yet he was the most extraordinary man she’d ever known.

  At first she’d found him slightly intimidating, with all that cocky male energy and his hipster clothing. But he’d grown on her. Fast. And it was difficult to believe that she’d just met Nat and he’d already accomplished the impossible—he’d gotten her to let down her guard.

  She closed her eyes and nestled in to him again, a sudden sadness enveloping her. It wasn’t fair. The idea that Nathaniel Ravelle would be leaving as soon as he’d finished whatever he’d come to Bayberry Island to do made her want to cry. All night she’d been trying to push away the knowledge of the inevitable, but it kept returning, even in moments of extreme pleasure. But how could she pretend to be surprised by this? She’d let him in. She’d taken the most deadly of all fatal missteps. She’d allowed herself to want him, to have expectations about their relationship, though she had no idea if Nat had any of his own.

  Annie sighed, promising herself two things: She would keep her anxiety to herself, and she would enjoy what time she and Nat had together, no matter how brief it might be.

  Though she didn’t want this moment to end, it was time to wake Nat to check that he was alert and oriented. Plus, she needed to know how much time they had before the doctor showed up, because finding them naked together in bed, clothes and cats thrown every which way, probably wouldn’t go over well with a health care professional.

  “I know you’re awake,” Nat whispered, gently stroking her hair.

  When Annie smiled, her cheek pushed against his chest. “How could you tell?”