When they finished their food, they strolled along the quiet beach, the sun now dipping from the sky, casting them into dusk. The lights of Porthan glimmered in the near distance, but right now, they were in their own pocket of the world.
“When are you due to go home?” Alianna asked. The suddenness of the question made Rionan pause and face her.
“Why?”
“I…I don’t know. I wanted to know, I suppose.” She lifted her hand and nervously played with a strand of her hair that had fallen down around her face. “I like spending time with you.”
“I like spending time with you, as well.” He reached forward and traced the edge of her hand with his finger, in silent permission. She rotated her hand and softly gripped his hand with her own. He did not pull away.
“When I came here,” Rionan continued, “I did not know what I was looking for. For work, I mean. I suppose I haven’t quite worked that out yet. But I think I may have found another very valuable treasure here, too.”
Alianna swallowed slowly as he stepped forward, closing the distance between them again. He reached up with his other hand, tilting her chin to face him. A breeze swept around them both, and the loose strands of her hair blew gently around her face.
“You are magnificent,” he breathed, his eyes locked on her own. “I do not find it easy, anymore, to talk to others. To let people in. But you…you have unlocked something in me. A part of myself I was worried that I may never feel again.”
“What is that?” she asked, her voice so quiet that she wondered if he even heard her. Her heart pounded in her chest at the words being spoken between them, and the closeness of his body. She could feel warmth radiating from him. She remembered how it felt to have his body against hers.
“Hope,” he replied simply, “hope. Warmth. Connection. With you, I do not seem to feel alone.”
He interlocked his fingers with her own and took a small step towards her, eyes never leaving her face. Alianna’s heart thudded so wildly that she felt like it might burst out of her chest. She knew exactly what he was doing – allowing her to make the next move. For it to be her choice.
And she wanted it. Wantedthis. Wantedhim.
Alianna stretched onto her tiptoes and leaned towards him, kissing him tenderly. His mouth, sensuous and inviting, caressed her own as he snaked an arm around her waist.
Rionan pulled her towards him, their bodies meeting, and she found a quiet moan escaping her mouth. Something seemed to awaken in Rionan at the sound of it, as he gripped her more tightly, running a hand down the side of her body, settling it on her hip. Their kiss filled with heat and became more desperate, mouths opening for each other as their tongues danced. Rionan made a quiet sound of satisfaction as his hand slipped around to her behind, squeezing gently. He broke their kiss, moving his mouth to Alianna’s ear.
“Your swim clothes are still wet. You must be cold,” he whispered, his breath warm against the shell of her ear. It sent shivers down her spine as the night air seemed to crackle with energy. He held her there, kissing her neck tenderly, waiting for a reply.
“I’m fine,” she murmured, reaching up to run a hand through his thick, dark hair. He pulled her ever closer, their bodies held firm against each other. She shifted her legs and felt the hardness of him through his swim trunks. Alianna gasped as he nipped gently at her earlobe, inciting a whimper of pleasure from her lips.
Alianna could feel heat building at her core as her need for the man in front of her continued to grow. She knew that she’d be slick with her desire and thought about how it would feel to have his fingers in between her legs. He inhaled through his nose, his mouth still on her neck, and let out a feral groan. Alianna knew that somehow, he knew what effect he had on her. The same way the effect she had on him was undeniably pressing against her.
“I thought of you last night, you know,” he said, whispering the words against her ear. “I thought of what we could have done if we hadn’t been interrupted. I thought of how you’d feel around me. I thought of how it would feel to have you slide yourself onto me, slowly loweringyourself lower, lower,lower, until you were so full that you were seeing stars.”
Alianna shut her eyes and breathed in the scent of him, feeling herself going dizzy with pre-emptive pleasure. He held her upright, one of his hands making idle circles on her lower back.
“I thought about how it would feel to flip you onto your back and explore every inch of your glorious body. I would take my time. I don’t want to make you finish until I know that there are no other thoughts in your head butme, andyou, andus. When the only word on your lips is my name – and you forget everything else.”
Alianna wasn’t sure if she was shivering from the cold of her swimwear or if her heart was pounding so intensely that it was causing her body to shake. Rionan lifted his face to hers, feeling her body against his, and a heat emanated from him that was so intense that she felt instantly warm.
“Let’s go back to your suite,” Alianna whispered.
***************
They crashed through the door of his suite, and Alianna found herself with her back to the wall. Rionan’s kisses were full of desire, coming quickly, frantically, as her hands roamed across his back.
He cupped her face with one hand, the other coming up to her breast, gently squeezing. He could feel her pert nipple beneath her dress, hardened from the cold of her swimwear, and he groaned into her open mouth. His hands roamed over her breasts, exploring them as much as he could without removing her clothes. Alianna slowly slid her hands downhis back once more, this time bringing her hands up beneath his shirt, tracing the contours of his muscled frame.
Rionan moved backwards slightly, reaching to pull his shirt over his head, and he threw it to the ground. She marvelled at the male in front of her, his toned body, his airy, swirling tattoos. She traced her finger along one of them, not thinking much about the action, and Rionan looked down at the motion she was making with her finger. She dragged it lower. When the tattoo stopped, she continued, dragging her finger down the planes of his stomach and stopping as she reached his swim shorts. Alianna could see the length of him pressing againstthe fabric, and she fought the urge to slide a hand beneath his waistband. Instead, she trailed her finger along the top of his shorts, causing him to suck in a breath.
“Such a tease,” he purred, using one of his legs to usher hers open wider as he reached down, stroking her thigh with one of his hands. Torturously slowly, he slid his hand up her leg until he hit the edge of her bikini bottoms, still damp with seawater. Rionan brought his hand around to the front of her, cupping the delicate spot between her legs, and he cursed when he could feel the evidence of her arousal soaking into her swimwear.
A fire ignited within Rionan as he pulled back, grabbing her dress and pulling it up, yanking it over her head. Placing each of his hands on her behind, he scooped her up onto him. Alianna let out a small squeal of surprise as he carried her to his bed, biceps bulging. He lowered her down tenderly, his eyes roving her body, before he looked up to her face again.
Their eyes locked, and she gave him a small nod of permission.
Rionan pulled her to the edge of the bed, taking each of her legs in his hands and opening them before him. Her swimwear still blocked proper access to her, but he didn’t seem concerned about this. Gently, Rionan raised a hand to the wetness pooling against her bikini bottoms, tracing a finger up and down against the material. Alianna groaned, hips bucking slightly, damning her traitorous body for givingaway just how desperate she was for this man. Rionan smiled and repeated the motion, slowly circling the bundle of nerves that he knew sat just beneath the fabric. Alianna cursed and closed her eyes, allowing him to tease her. His mouth was so close to her. She could feel his breath on her inner thigh, his eyes roaming her body.
