Someone Else's Ocean

“Damnit, Ian, don’t. Okay? This isn’t going to change, and I don’t want it to interfere with our…” I nodded in embarrassment, “you know.”

“Quality time?”

“Exactly,” I said giving him a forced grin. I prayed for the pills to kick in as we walked to his house. He pulled me as close as I could be as we devoured the food and watched our favorite movies from when we were kids, Raiders of the Lost Ark—his—followed by mine, Jaws.

“Remember when we watched these?” he asked as he loaded Jaws into the DVD player.

“Of course.”

“You were so young, I didn’t know if you remembered a lot of that summer.”

“I remember all of that summer.”

He gave me warm eyes. “Me too.”

“You were a hot-headed ass.”

“You were a total crybaby brat,” he smarted back before he pulled me into his lap. Sometime later, I woke up cradled to his chest. He was staring at my lips in the dim light of the house, the movie flickering over his features. His eyes fluttered closed and he turned his attention back to the screen. I pressed a kiss to his Adam’s apple and drifted back to sleep.

Heaven or hell, I wasn’t sure which I was dwelling in. I was leaning more toward the former. I’d spent my week on standby waiting for Ella after school to spend every moment I could with her. I applied for a few teaching positions for the fall. My life seemed to be back on track. I was feeling a little more like myself, aside from the new freedom I felt. I was running out of reasons to continue flying back to St. Thomas and I fucking hated the fact that I felt like I needed any other excuse than the one laying in my arms. The truth was we were on a slippery slope. At the same time, I still had so much hatred for Tara, I couldn’t be civil to her for any amount of time. My plans for the summer were mine to make. I was a free man. Ella was going to summer camp in Washington. I had the summer. I could give her the summer. I studied her gorgeous face in the flickering light and got fixed on her lips. She stirred awake and gave me a small smile. I turned my attention back to the screen and felt her lips on my Adam’s apple. My chest ached in that moment at the idea of leaving her.

I could give myself the summer.

I SUCKED MY BANANA POP on the love seat flipping the pages of my new book. It was an incredibly hot day, and my AC was working overtime to cool the house. Our book club had commenced a few hours prior. Ian sat back on the couch opposite of me, his feet crossed and propped on the other end. I’d been stealing glances at him every page flip since we started reading. Shirtless in his faded palm tree swim trunks, he looked completely relaxed as he turned through the pages of a mystery novel.

Slurping on the sweet deliciousness of the freshly made frozen concoction, I managed to get through a chapter before I stole my next glance. To my surprise, his eyes were hot on me.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yes, much.”

“You have beautiful lips.”

“Thank you.”

“Get over here a

nd put them on my cock.”

“Whaa?” I sat up, my clit pulsing with the low rasp of his voice, my mouth watering at the idea. I couldn’t look away. The whole situation was a train wreck because the New Yorker in me wanted to castrate him, while the feminist in me wanted to tell him to go straight to hell; but even as I feigned offense, I was strangely more turned on than I had ever been in my life.

Ian wore an infuriatingly sexy smirk. “I can see you fancy the idea as well.”

He was right, and a part of me hated it. Breathless, I rubbed my lips together as he zeroed in.

He slipped his shorts down enough so his ready cock sprang free. He was so hard, pre-cum dripped from the tip. He took it in his hand and pumped a few times as I found myself gravitating toward it.

“You’re serious?”

“It’s sex and no one tops me in the bedroom, Koti, ever.” He wiped the tip of his dick with a finger and held it out for me. “Come here.”

I sank to my knees on the carpet looking up at his bedroom eyes. The man turned me on like no other.

“I’m going to need a view, Miss Vaughn.

Taking his cue, I unhooked my bikini top.

“Now, that’s a view.”