‘You want more friction and less space?’ he enquired, his voice as light as his fingers. She watched his Adam’s apple bob in his throat and wondered if his mouth was as dry as hers. Her breathing was shallower now as his finger and thumb circled her clit, touching and teasing.
‘A lot less space,’ she panted, lifting her hips to meet his ministrations.
Keeping his hand where it was, he gently pushed her back on the rug and lowered himself on top of her. She felt herself flush as her body absorbed his heat. He smiled, catching her gaze and holding it. The spark travelled down her body and when she ground her pelvis against his she almost set her knickers on fire. They needed to lose the clothes. Nic obviously had the same idea as he deftly unbuttoned her pink denim shorts and pushed them down her legs before pulling off her hoodie. She had no bra on and he looked hungrily at her chest where her nipples were hardening with the cold and desire. Then his lips were on hers and he parted them with his tongue. They worked each other’s mouths like a dance they’d been practising for. She grazed his teeth, lips, anything she could find while he caressed her breast until there was barely an inch he wasn’t stimulating. Her longing intensified and she clawed at the buttons on his shirt, her kiss moving from urgent to furious. She groaned as her clit pulsed, wanting more. Perhaps understanding this, he rolled onto his back, cursing as his shoulder came off the rug and the shingle bit into his skin. Straddling him now, Aria unzipped his jeans,tugged them down and grabbed at his underwear. With the waistband clear, she saw a lightly haired stomach and a tight erection. She fisted his hardness with her palm, feeling his heat as she dragged her fingers to the tip. His eyes darted to her enthusiastic work, and she wondered how often this businessman gave up control. Aria let him fully take her weight as she ground rhythmically against him, keeping her hand on his shaft and massaging the tip with her thumb. Their breathing matched as he moved his attention to her other breast, waking it fully, tempting the nipple to pebble further. Running his free hand down her side, he gave her buttocks a squeeze as she thrust against his cock, feeling a familiar sensation build. And then his warm hand cupped her between the thighs and she squirmed with pleasure. One finger was joined by two and it was too much already, yet not enough. She wanted to taste him, get him off and release the sexual energy she’d been carrying around like a weight. More than anything, she wanted him inside her.
‘Back pocket,’ he said and she reached for the jeans they’d discarded.
‘It’s stuck, no, I’ve got it.’ She freed a condom from his wallet. He was stiff and substantial, and she swallowed with anticipation as they smoothed the protection on. Now she felt a calm sense of her need and their purpose as he put his hand on her shoulder and guided himself into her. She moaned softly as his length pierced her, feeling him from the inside out. As they moved as one in steady rhythm, Aria became highly sensitised to everything around them. The ripples of the water, the breeze against her bare skin and the darkeningof the sky. Entwining their fingers, he slammed into her, his strong thighs dominating hers. With a groan, she came, and felt him follow in uninhibited release. They lay, in a moment of blissful security, fused to each other. He was careful when he pulled out, an appreciative smile tugging at her lips for his gentleness.
‘I think hump hour needs to go in the brochures,’ he said. ‘Beats a happy hour any day of the week.’
46
Bloody wildlife. He wasn’t sure what particular bird had jolted him awake, perhaps the owl that had hooted late into the night. He only knew his backside was so pockmarked with shingle he felt like cellulite had kicked in. They’d cuddled naked after that spectacular sex. In the cool night air, under a shared blanket, their body temperatures would have gone from volcanic to glacial, yet his sleep had been deep and satisfying, much like the connection between them earlier. He turned on the uncomfortable ground and reached out for the blanket Aria was hogging. She was asleep on her back, her hair laid out around her. Turning fully towards her and pushing a strand of hair away from her face, he tried to analyse his feelings for her. The sex had been amazing, probably inevitable, and he wanted it again, if only she would wake up in the next few minutes. They had chemistry, that much was undeniable. But it was more than just a little spark. More than sex. He’d caught feelings for her, and he’d tried to keep them at bay, he really had. But he also needed to focus on his other life, his real life – a world away from here. He suspected this sunflower would wither and die if he transplanted her to an urban environment.By all accounts, she’d tried moving south last year and hated it. He rubbed his eyes. He had an important meeting today, and following the outcome, some difficult decisions to make. He still hadn’t sorted the problem of her cabin blocking marina access. He needed to be on top of his game with his brother gone and keep the goal in mind. But every time he turned around the goalposts shifted again. Was Theo right? Did he need to make the fake relationship real – the obvious wins of joy and sex counterbalanced by the hard work of a long-distance relationship? Did he want to launch into a partnership that might distract him from the task even further? Damn. It was real already, he decided, and he was in denial if he thought any different. He rose, careful not to disturb Aria so early in the morning and tucked the blanket firmly around her to keep her warm. Walking towards his house, Nic read through the messages he’d ignored last night. One was an alert from Theo that builders were on standby to start digging the road in advance of installing the services for the marina, so they’d be ready to go as soon as planning was called one way or the other. Nic was pleased – another box ticked on his endless to-do list. Theo also said there was yet another counterbid on extra land they were going for and asked if there was anyone up here Nic could talk to. Nic sighed. He couldn’t do any more. It was all down to the universe now. To top things off, there was a voicemail from his dad that he couldn’t bring himself to listen to just yet. His brain was frazzled by the fitful sleep and his worries. He needed to get back to his house, take a shower and head to the hotel where he’d agreed to meet his case officer after the meeting. He was tired of his responsibilities. It had been easier at the beginning of his career when he flipped properties and took regular weekend breaks that sometimes lasted until Tuesday. As he walked, he looked back, noticing a shift in the light and a change in the intensity of the birdsong as the morning broke properly. A bright green insect skimmed the lake, making him pause and watch the ripples as he continued up the hill. On one side of the path was his manicured lawn, and on the other, Aria’s hut and garden, buzzing with life. Live-wire orange and yellow poppies flirted with other wild flowers. Some of the vegetable beds were beginning to sprout fine lines of green and the rose bushes beyond were starting to bloom. Then his eyes were drawn back to her, as they always were whenever she entered his universe. The most beautiful flower of all. For a moment, he considered walking back and waking her with a kiss, before showing her what else he could do with his tongue. But beyond her the lake reminded him of what he really was. If he looked closely, would there be blood in the reeds and where it was as still as a millpond, would he see his own cowardly face? Her roots were flourishing, but his were tangled with knotweed. He needed to pull up the trauma of his past or make the barrier she talked about before he’d be worthy of her. Feeling the morning breeze on his cheeks while wishing his face was buried in that delightful space between her breasts, he continued to walk up the path.
47
Aria struggled to summon up enthusiasm for her gardening job. Her back was hurting after a night spent on the beach and she was unexcited by the mundane tasks of scarifying the lawn and fishing dead leaves out of the pond. Frustrated, she climbed into a fountain and started shovelling mud, overthinking the situation with Nic. While the sex last night had been wonderful, he’d had his way with her and then left, without so much as a ‘good morning’ or a wake-up kiss. She knew it was his planning meeting today. But would he come back home after it? Or should she prepare herself for him disappearing for good?
Trudging back into town, she decided to call in on Sophie.
***
‘Oh hello,’ said an old man, opening the door. ‘You after my granddaughter? She’s downstairs talking to her mannequins, if you’d care to follow the hallway and walk down a few stairs. I’d show you there, but I’m exhausted. I hiked three Wainwrights today.’
Although he looked like he was likely to stumble getting to the bathroom, she took him at his word. ‘Fantastic. How many have you done in total?’
He looked perturbed. ‘I can’t remember exactly. I’d join you for a chat but there’s a programme about hoarding on.’
After checking it was OK to take Tiger with her, Aria wandered through the hall and down some steps into a cellar. There, she found her friend wearing headphones, brushing the hair of a mannequin and whispering. Aria waited for her to finish, taking in the piles of clutter from Christmas decorations to old suitcases. ‘OK, I’m confused,’ Aria said when Sophie logged off. ‘What’s with the brushing and whispering?’
‘I’m growing my ASMR channel. I was trying to get people off to sleep.’
‘Is that still a thing?’ Aria asked. ‘It’s almost the afternoon.’
‘It’s totally still a thing. And it’s midnight somewhere in the world.’
‘People pay you to do this?’
‘Not yet, but I’m never gonna get rich cleaning or working in a shop so I’ve come up with some business ideas. If I can’t get humans off to sleep, I’ll kidnap Tiger to practise on.’
‘Good luck with that. He’s a terrible sleeper.’
Sophie reached for Tiger. ‘Come here, you gorgeous dog, and don’t listen to her.’
Looking at the two of them cuddled up, Aria couldn’t help but think back to the night before. Wrapped up on the beach with Nic, her head on his chest, the feeling of his skin on hers…
Sophie must have smelled the pheromones. ‘So. How’s life in the luxury lodge with fit Nic? Good sex?’
‘Sophie!’
‘Come on, don’t be coy. We are mature enough to talk honestly and I’m sure a guy like that is going to be a great lay. He’ll have been having sex with himself in the mirror since he was old enough to notice God chiselled him an awesome jaw.’
‘The sex is pretty amazing,’ Aria admitted, sighing and kicking off her shoes. ‘I’ve fallen for him, Sophie, despite all the red flags.’
‘What?’ Sophie practically shrieked. ‘That man is a walking green flag. Rich. Successful. No clutter in his house, which makes it easier to clean than a yoga retreat…’
Aria felt ready to confess her worries. ‘We slept together on the beach last night. But he got up and left this morning without a word.’
