“Oliver,” she moaned, raising her hips to meet me half-way.
My pace was slow as I lowered my body over her and lost myself in our kiss. Soon her body met mine thrust for thrust. Her heat claimed all my senses and turned me into a wild person who didn’t resemble the laid-back man I’d worked hard to become.
Mari wanted all of me and I gave it.
“I’m so close,” she panted squeezing me with her thighs and causing me to curse.
She clung to me and I wanted her in my arms forever. I swept my thumb across her clit as her body pulsed around my cock. I spilled into the condom while her orgasm exploded with a shout, wishing for the day when I could mark her as my own completely.
Even as her body lay still, I stayed in my place not wanting to lose our contact. I rained kisses down her neck and whispered sweet things against her ear, not sure how many made their final destination in my haze.
Her breathing slowed, and I finally slipped from her, lying on the bed and wrapping the covers around her shoulders. Mari’s eyes closed as I positioned her body in front of mine and wrapped my arm around her shoulder, cupping one of her breasts in my hand. Her hair spilled out on the pillow and I rested my head against it letting Mari consume my world.
24
Mari
Irolled over, my outstretched hand finding the body beside me. It was warm underneath the covers, but the room at the bottom of Oliver’s boat was dark.
“Oh shit.” How long had we slept?
I scuttled out of the bed and pulled back the curtains from the small half window at the top of the room, letting in a large swath of light. It was still daytime outside and, from the looks of it, early afternoon. How many people in town saw me walk onto Oliver’s boat? And how long had I been with him hidden away from the world?
While I was distracted by the situation I’d found myself in, Oliver came over and pulled me close to his side. I happily cuddled up next to him again.
“Five more minutes,” he said, nestling into my hair.
I relaxed beside him and wrapped his arm around me as our bodies fit together so perfectly. But I didn’t stay that way long before the guilt settled.
I’d been battling more than one emotion since stepping foot in Pelican Bay, but guilt was always the most prominent. It wasn’t like I cheated on Pierce, so why did it feel that way?
If you asked anyone in town, I had a fiancé at home. No one knew the truth, and I had no plans to tell them. Yet eventually I would have to leave Oliver’s boat and do the walk of shame back into Pierce’s home. If gossip ran as rampant as Pierce said, what would people say if anyone saw? How would it reflect on Pierce?
I was here to give him a squeaky-clean presence, but I could end up tarnishing it worse than when I arrived.
And why was I okay with hiding out on this boat rather than facing the music? When did calm cool Mari turn into a wimp? I’d faced worse than this and lived. How would Pierce handle the news when I told him I’d fallen in love with his cousin? He had done nothing to try and win me over, but we had an agreement, and if Oliver and I stayed together I’d be going against everything we agreed.
Ugh.
My Prada-wearing, mineral water sipping former self would kick my own ass right now if she saw me. I didn’t take things lying down—even if I was wrapped up in the arms of a hottie. I made things happen. I used to control full board rooms, and I was a strong confident woman, but the events of my life and being forced out of San Francisco made me lose my self-confidence. My spunk.
Guatemala helped me regain pieces of it, and then Oliver reminded me of the woman I’d once been, the strong person I still had hiding inside me. I felt better, renewed since leaving San Francisco, but that didn’t mean I wanted to turn into the same heartless person I’d once been.
Oliver flexed his arms and pulled me tighter as I went to roll away. “Five minutes is not up yet.”
“What? Did you set a timer?” I asked.
He chuckled into the back of my neck. “No, I have an internal timer. At least four and a half minutes are left.”
No way did we have four and a half minutes left, but I rested beside him and let my mind run wild on our possible futures.
If I tried hard enough, I’d conquer the world again and find my way to the top. For the first time in years, I wanted to. Maybe Tabitha was right and I could have both. I’d work with Oliver sorting out his energy solutions and help my people in Guatemala. If occasionally I enjoyed a mineral water on United States soil, then fuck anyone who had a problem with it. It’d take adjusting, I’m sure. I’d have kinks to work out, but it seemed possible to maintain my commitment to helping others without giving everything of myself away to the world.
The only thing keeping me from jumping up and putting together my action plan for how to handle it was Oliver’s arms. They kept me snuggly against him and I didn’t want to leave. Eventually the excitement became too much. I finally felt like me. Like Mari Chambers! A woman who knew what she wanted and kicked ass to get it.
I wiggled around, turning to face Oliver.
“Were you serious with giving me the two million for Guatemala?” I’d never gone back on an agreement before, and I hated to leave Pierce without a fiancée, but if I could get the money for Guatemala and then continue on with my life whatever I chose it to be, I had to run with it.
