“Kiss a beautiful woman at the top of this lighthouse and, yes, I asked Ray to give us some privacy.”
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she threaded her fingers through the hair at his nape, wondering what he’d say if she told him she wanted him.
“I want you,” he told her against her lips, molding her body to him.
Yep, she couldn’t miss that. Not with his body fitted so tightly to hers. He kissed her again, his hands cupping her bottom, keeping her pelvis ground against him. Not that Faith needed any encouragement. Most likely this was the last time she’d get to experience Vale like this, to taste his lips.
Definitely the last time because anything more and she might fall into some fantasy world where she believed she and Vale had a chance, might end up like her mother down the road. No, she’d take this moment, make the most of it, and then she’d go on with her life. It was what she wanted. What Vale wanted. Everything would be okay.
Desperation flowed through her veins, making her crazed, making her crave him with an addict’s fervency. Maybe he felt crazed as well. His hands caressed her everywhere, his mouth marauded hers with demanding kisses, his body moved against hers.
When he tugged on her skirt, lifting the material, sliding his fingers beneath the lace of her panties, Faith moaned.
“Vale,” she breathed, vaguely recalling that they stood at the top of a lighthouse
“Shh, no one can see us,” he assured her. “And even if they can, they can’t tell what we’re doing. We’re too high up.”
Which didn’t really reassure her, but his flinger flicked across where she throbbed, and all sane thought disappeared in the pleasurable fog that followed. His gaze locked with hers, he brought her to orgasm, smiled with satisfaction when she melted against him.
“You first. Now it’s my turn.” With that, he spun her and was inside her in the space of a breath. Hard, fast, deep, he thrust, stopping only long enough to swear and don a condom, before plunging back into her in a climactic finish.
Trying to catch the breath he’d stolen, Faith let go of the railing, turned and placed her hand on his cheek. His skin was warm beneath her palm, smooth and spicy from where he’d shaved that morning, moist from where he’d just made love to her.
She stared into his eyes, the intense blue shaming the sky around them. Her chest threatened to explode with the emotions she felt for this man. She could only imagine the outpouring of her love beaming out the top, lighting up the world with a kaleidoscope of colors. Vale’s world. The brightness of her love a guide to lead him safely home, to her. For ever.
Oh, Lord. What was wrong with her? She’d gone all sappy. For ever? For ever didn’t exist. Not outside fairy-tales and romance novels.
“Faith.” Her name came out a breathy sigh and he closed the gap between their mouths, brushing his lips across hers in a soft, reverent kiss, then pulled back to stare into her eyes.
Could he see the truth? Could he tell how much she wished this day would never end? That they could go on inside this magical beach bubble for ever? A bubble where just the two of them existed in this magnificent world?
Lord, her thoughts had gone corny. She wasn’t some silly schoolgirl prone to fantasies. She was a highly skilled neurologist, logical, realistic.
“We should go,” she insisted, pulling away from him. Their weekend was almost over. It was time for her to get back on track with life, with what was important. Her career. “I need to get back to the city.”
Back to reality.
His pupils dilated, and he watched her as he straightened his clothes. “If that’s what you want.”
She nodded, but felt a sharp jab when he turned without another word, without meeting her eyes. In that moment she knew that to Vale she was merely another woman he’d spent an enjoyable weekend with.
They’d had a weekend together. No strings attached. And that was all she wanted. Really.
CHAPTER NINE
VALE stared at the heavy traffic impeding him from putting his pedal to the metal the way he longed to do. Anything to abate this sense of unease weaving its way through him.
Faith was shutting him out.
The drive back to the city had grown more and more tense as blue skies had transformed into Northern New Jersey gray smog. Silently, they’d crossed over the Hudson and back to reality.
She’d not said a word to him. If he asked a question, she gave a short, almost snippy response. Had he hurt her at the lighthouse?
No, he knew he hadn’t. Not physically.
Emotionally? God, he hoped not. He’d made her no promises, had only been acting on the intense attraction between them. He never made promises to women. Hadn’t he learned better than that years ago?
Plus, there was the added complication of he and Faith working together. An affair between them would jeopardize the easygoing relationship they’d always shared.