She moaned, deep and throaty, and it nearly sent me over the edge.
“Come with me, baby.”
Her responsive body didn’t disappoint. She stiffened then trembled, seizing around my fingers and crying out with each pulse of pleasure. And with the next stroke of her hand, I came. Hot waves of come shot from me, my hips rigid through my orgasm.
I collapsed atop her, careful not to crush her beneath my weight. We lay there for a moment, panting, spent, and satisfied.
I pressed up onto my forearms. She was so beautiful, face luminous and flushed from sex, and she looked at me as if I was a hero.
Those beastly feelings returned with a vengeance, expanding out of my chest to conquer my soul. Panic rose to meet the tenderness, and I swallowed, an overpowering need to escape kidnapping rational thought. My brain went wild with impressions of an imaginary future. Burying myself inside her in my bed. Watching her fall asleep after we made love. Waking up each morning with her in my arms.
Panic consumed me, and I froze.
Lights flickered to my right, and my head snapped up. Two flashlights. A dog barked. “Shit.”
I rolled off Lena, and we both scrambled to our feet. I grabbed a towel to wipe us off and pulled up my pants. She righted her dress, smoothed out her hair, and cleared her throat. She caught my eye and giggled.
Gods, she was so happy. What the hell was I doing? I managed a nervous chuckle.
The couple and dog wandered by giving us suspicious glances, and her giggles devolved into laughter. Her mirth was contagious, and despite the panic, I found myself laughing along with her.
“I think that’s our cue to leave,” I said.
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” She yawned. “It’s getting late.” She placed a hand on my arm, and I stiffened, my feelings for her at war with my growing anxiety. “You’re amazing, Elias.” She squeezed. “Thank you for bringing me back to myself.” She stood on her toes and kissed me on the cheek.
I stared down at her expectant face and swallowed, my mouth as dry as the sand. “You did that yourself, Lena. I just reminded you of your destination.” I bent down and pecked her on the cheek. “Come on. I’ll walk you home.”
We walked up the beach toward the dunes, and the loud, steady beat of my pulse drummed in my ears, drowning out everything around me except for a single question: how had I let this happen?
My arms sliced through the waves like propellers through air, and my heart thumped hard against the walls of my chest as I pushed myself to my physical limits. My lungs burned with exertion, and I prayed to the gods it would mask my burning desire for Lena.
“Elias! Dude! Hold up!”
Niko’s voice snapped me out of my self-inflicted punishment, and I stopped, nostrils flaring.
“What the hell, man?” Niko was panting even harder than I was. “Are you trying to kill us?”
“No. Sorry. I—” I dragged a hand down my face.
His forehead creased, eyebrows reaching for his hairline. “Man…” He shook his head, stupefied. “She’s got you all twisted up, doesn’t she?”
My jaw clenched. “Shit, Niko. I can’t get her out of my head.”
“Why? Cause she didn’t fall all over you like everyone else? Is that what this is about?”
“No.” I shoved a hand into my hair and tugged. “I mean, it was, at the beginning, but—it’s more than that.”
Images of her face flashed through my mind. Our swim with the dolphins when I’d first seen her smile. Her surprise and delight the day I’d shown up for her yoga class. Her parted lips and lidded eyes when I’d made her come.
This went far beyond a challenge, and it freaked me the fuck out.
“Don’t tell me Elias Georgiou has feelings for a woman.” Niko grasped his throat as if he was choking, rolled his eyes back, and sank under the water. When he emerged, he sputtered as he laughed.
I looked out at the horizon and ground my teeth. I didn’t need his shit. I was beating myself up enough as it was. I didn’t want to hurt her, but…
I snapped my attention back to Niko, determined. “Open mic tonight?”
He arched an accusatory eyebrow. “You sure about that?”
