Page 29 of One Bed

‘You would’ve been part of his harem,’ Reena said, in her raspy, blunt way. Gib wasn’t sure if her comment was historically correct but wasn’t about to challenge her on it. Reena scared him a little.

Golly threaded her arm through Reena’s. ‘Honey, he would’ve been part ofmine. Along with Caravaggio, pre-syphilis of course, and that sexy Spanish actress, the one who was in the film about that drug lord.’

Reena rolled her eyes, said goodnight and the two older women walked away, arm in arm. Cass picked up her glass and took a large sip of her margarita. She turned to hug Bea. Women were such tactile creatures, so openly affectionate. He and Navy showed they didn’t despise each other by ragging each other, and giving each other back slaps and shoulder punches. Only on extreme occasions – marriages, births, when they scored a goal at indoor soccer – did they resort to quick, one-armed hugs.

‘I’ll see you in the morning, Bea.’ Cass held Bea’s face in her hands, her smile soft. ‘Get some sleep, sweetheart, you look like you need it.’

‘I’m so glad you’re here, and I promise that bonus is going to be super big,’ Bea told her, holding her wrists.

Cass kissed her forehead and when she stood up, she handed Gib a smile. ‘Good night, Gib. If you get bored, I can always use a pair of free hands.’

Tomorrow, Gib intended to hit the beach, paddle for a couple of hours, and have a mid-morning nap. He wanted to use every minute of his time on Santorini relaxing in peace and solitude. ‘I’ll keep that in mind,’ he told her.

Cass sauntered away and Gib sat down on the wall next to Bea and stretched out his legs. He picked up Cass’s glass, took a sip and swallowed. There was enough tequila in there to sedate a horse.

He handed it to Bea and she shuddered. ‘If I have any more, I will be less than useless tomorrow,’ she told him, crossing one leg over the other, her bright yellow flip flop dangling from her pretty foot. She had a high instep and long toes…

What the hell? He’d never noticed a woman’s feet before.

The fairy lights decorating the pergola still twinkled, and a couple of candles still had a little way to go before they burned out. The sky was in an inky, purple blue, the heavy texture of expensive velvet. The slight sea breeze danced across the ocean, up the cliffs and rolled over them. The lights of Oia twinkled in the distance. It was tranquil, lovely, and God, so tempting. As was Bea…

It didn’t mean anything, it couldn’t. But it did. It could.

Gib leaned forward and rubbed his hand over his face. His skin prickled at her proximity. Too close…

But not close enough.

He turned his head, and her face was right there. What else could he do but mimic Cass’s gesture and hold her face in his hands? His thumbs stroked her cheekbones, and he watched her amazing eyes widen, and her lips parted. She gripped his wrists, her fingernails digging into his skin. The pulse point in her neck jumped and his heart echoed the erratic thumping of hers.

He wanted her.

‘Gib…’ she whispered. ‘What are we doing?’

That question had layers of meaning and he had no fucking idea. ‘Right now, I’m about to kiss you.’ His voice sounded deeper, rougher, like he’d smoked an entire pack of cigarettes.

‘OK, good. Just checking.’

He was taking that as a yes. Gib slanted his lips over hers and his heart settled, and his stomach stopped its roller-coaster ride around his body. He knew how to do this, how to make her feel good. Not because he was experienced, not because he’d loved a lot of women and knew his way around a female body, but because he felt like he knew her, that somewhere and somehow, they’d crossed paths before.

And not just as kids, but in another world, another lifetime…

Fuck!

This night, and Bea, were playing havoc with him. He wasn’t a guy who waxed lyrical, he didn’t look for deeper meanings. He didn’t fuckingtalk.

Find your balls and get with the program, asshole.This was about attraction and sex, about their mutual need to chase pleasure.

He pulled back to look at her, taking in her gorgeous mouth and lust-swamped eyes. She hooked her arm around his neck and edged closer, her mouth landing on his again. Her tongue traced the seam of his mouth and slipped inside…

Pure fucking magic.

This time he didn’t hesitate, he took what he wanted, plunging his tongue inside her mouth to discover her. She tasted of lemons and tequila, and he swiped a speck of salt off her bottom lip. Underneath the margarita, he tasted sin and temptation. Deeper and darker than he’d expected.

Needing her closer, Gib wound his arm around her waist and hauled her onto his lap, positioning her so that she was facing him, the inside of her thighs resting against his hips, the skirt of her dress lying over the crotch of his pants. He needed to feel her, so he yanked her to him and her warm mound hit his so-hard cock. Instead of pulling back, she ground against him, pushing her breasts into his chest at the same time.

This woman, so full of secrets and layers, confounded and confused him. He was used to walking the linear track to bed, no frills and no fuss. Dinner, sex, leave. But Bea was a tangled knot, a complicated puzzle … a place where he started in the middle and had no idea where he would end.

Pulling his mouth off hers, he scraped his teeth over the line of her jaw, his fingers pulling down her dress’s zip. When he had enough play on her dress, he pulled it down to reveal her lacy black bra over her small but lovely breasts; he placed his hand over one and swiped her sweet nipple with his tongue. Through the lace, he felt her tighten. His hand replaced his mouth and pulled the lace down. His thumb swiped her pebbled nipple.

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