She grinned when she returned and saw my face. “Miss me?” She put the mug up to her lips.
I snatched at her and water dribbled down her chin, between her breasts, pooled in her navel and slid between her legs.
Before I could respond or react, her lips became fierce on mine, her warm tongue searching the inside of my mouth—swiping over teeth and then lips.
She grabbed for the mug again—this time I knew it was warm water—and took a deep sip. Then her mouth was back on me again, her teeth and tongue grazing my neck, until she came to my chest. She bit at me, making me groan. Her mouth was so warm and her tongue was like velvet. She moved further and further down, until her mouth came around me. I hissed and cursed. I was so swollen that I felt engorged, and the pulse in my balls roared in my ears. Her tepid tongue was everywhere, her cool hands massaging.
I couldn’t even speak. The heat made me delirious. Control meant nothing. And then it happened, quick and hard. So intense that my eyes stayed closed afterward. I trembled from head to toe.
“Did you…did you like it?” She watched me, a curious look on her flushed face.
Only one of my eyes would open. I cleared my throat. One word came to mind. “New.”
Her smile was smug. “I’ve become experienced an—”
I flung her on the bed, situated myself over her, and took her wrists in my hands. “Tell me.”
I’ve been liberated! I don’t know who I am anymore.
Those words fucking haunted me.
Her eyes darted back and forth, uncertain, though my eyes were solid on hers. “A book,mio angelo. I read it in a book.” She pushed against my hold, not able to move. “Give me a minute?Please.”
I nodded, letting her wrists go, but didn’t move too far. She leaned over and dug in the bag she usually carted to the pool. She handed me a book. The directions were in print—right there, staring back at me. I glanced at her and then at the book again. I shook my head. It was a guide on how to liven up the bedroom. Then my mouth twitched as I thought of her scanning pages, taking notes. My wife was a bit of a nerd—the sexiest nerd who was fucking magic between the sheets.
“You take good directions, baby. You almost killed me.”
“Ugh!” She made a disgusted noise. “I can’t believe you would eventhinkthat I would—”
My mouth seized hers, cutting off the stream of huffiness that was assuredly coming, and then I wentlentowith her, as she had asked, feeling liberated myself.
* * *
We had the yacht all to ourselves as soon as we arrived at our next destination. Cádiz. Our group scattered as soon as we made port. The tension was thick, and certain parties refused to be around other certain parties.
Rocco was pissed that Dario was still trying to convince Carmen to marry him. Rocco thought he was foolish. She had nothing to offer him and she already had a son from someone else. It wasn’t that Rocco was callous, but he was raised to believe that there was nothing wrong with an arranged marriage. It was normal in our culture. A marriage was more than love or lust. It was a business dealing. Nothing more. Nothing less. Even though Rocco could have romantic notions, he refused to budge on this. Something about Carmen rubbed him the wrong way. Carmen seemed to resent Rocco, Abree, and Dario, for all different reasons. Abree refused to give up the chase, and Rosaria supported her.
A few men stayed behind with us, but they were on the other side of the boat, giving us some privacy.
Scarlett went to change into her bathing suit.
I lay face down on a lounger, wanting to take a siesta, but unrest had my mind on even if my eyes were shut.Too many problems and not enough answers.Trying to release some of the tension, I stretched my shoulders and groaned, feeling hot and stiff under the relentless sun. A flash of red caught my attention when one eye opened. Glancing behind me, I blinked from the color of the bathing suit and the glare.
Sitting up, I narrowed my eyes at her. “That’s not yours,” I said. No fucking way.
The bathing suit was the sister to the one I had shredded in Fiji. One piece was the most that could be said about it. It was all crisscrossing straps, gaping slices revealing skin underneath, even her naval. From the side, the outline of her breasts was visible, along with soft, buttery flesh.
“Oh,” she put down a cold beer next to me. “I couldn’t find mine. Somehow I ended up with Eunice’s on accident. Violet gave me this one.”
She knew. I had taken hers out and had Eunice replace it with one she would wear but in Scarlett’s size. Eunice was fond of flower patterns and ruffles.
“Do you like it?” She did a little turn, showing me the back of the bathing suit. Lifting her hair so I could get a better view, she peeked over her shoulder to gauge my reaction. The back was no less revealing than the front. It was all tied straps and nothing but a thin ribbon between her ass cheeks. I put her hand on my cock to answer her question.
“I thought you would,” she said, her mouth close to mine. Her tongue darted out and she licked a line of sweat from above my lip. “You taste good.”
“I don’t like it,” I growled against her mouth.
“I know.” She sighed and then, untangling herself from my stare and hold, turned and dove into the pool. Under the water, she slid like a siren, hair dark and bathing suit as crimson and as hot as a firework. When she came up for air seconds later, pushing her hair back, droplets of water sliding against smooth skin, she met my eye.
