Page 37 of On The Beach

"It's tempting." I agreed. "My life back home is pretty much all deadlines and expectations. I told you, everyone at work calls me Lady Freeze like I'm this machine who justworks and works. It's not that I don't love what I do—I do, but…it's all-consuming."

"Then stop letting it consume you."

"I want to save lives, Mick."

"But at what personal cost?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Any cost because if it helps someone, then…I have to do everything I can. I don't know how to explain it."

Mick's eyes softened, and he gave me a small, knowing smile that made my heart flip. "I get it. I do. But everyone needs to rest. Maybe that's why you're here."

"Maybe."

We both fell silent, watching as the waves crept up and down the shore, the sky turning pink and orange with the setting sun. Something about this moment, this tiny slice of time with Mick, felt almost…inevitable.

We clinked our plastic cups together, and then he reached over, brushing a stray hair from my face, his fingers lingering on my cheek just a second longer than they had to. It was the kind of touch that made me forget everything else—work, Dr. Augustus, my flight back home. All I could think about was him, right here, and how I didn't want this moment to end.

"Mick," I whispered, not even sure what I was going to say. But he leaned in, and before I knew it, we were kissing, the rest of the world slipping away as his arms wrapped around me.

We kissed slowly, tenderly at first, but it soon became heated. I didn't even resist when he undressed me. We were out in the open but in a private paradise, and honestly, I didn't give a shit, even if we weren't. This kind of freedom was unusual for me, and I savored it like it was expensive wine: heady, strong, and full.

"Fuck. I can't ever get enough of you," he said hoarsely, cupping my pussy.

He lay down and pulled me to him. "Straddle my face."

"What?"

He didn't explain and just hooked my leg over him, adjusting me so my pussy was right above his mouth. I'd never done this before, and I flushed, embarrassed.

"Mick, I…."

But before I could say more, his mouth was against me, and his tongue moved up and down my clit.

"Hold on to the palm tree, Babycakes, 'cause this is gonna be a rough ride."

I had no choice because, despite myself, I was aroused beyond belief, loving how wanton I was being. He stroked his hand up and down my thighs, and I locked eyes with him. It was erotic as hell to watch him eat me out and position my body so he had the best access.

The pleasure built inside me as his tongue stayed on my sensitive clit, playing, stroking, nibbling. Suddenly, it became too much, and my hips began to move of their own volition.

"Fuck, yeah, just like that, Belle. Fuck my mouth."

When I hit the high, my thighs trembled, and I started to sob. The release was so intense.

He moved from underneath me and lay me down, mounting me. He kissed me while he went balls deep inside me.

Once he was all the way in, he groaned, "You're so tight, so perfect."

"I am?" I squeaked out.

"Yeah, Babycakes," he said softly, amused, and kissed me. "How do you taste?"

I felt nervous and closed my eyes.

"Hey, none of that. Don't be shy. Not with me." He thrust in and out, slow and steady, as if we had all the time in the world, and we did. We weren't in Cambridge, where I had to run from one meeting to the next. We were in Reef Harbor, where every day was Saturday—full of no expectations, justliving. And orgasms.

"I taste like you," I breathed, opening my eyes and looking into his, which were blazing with heat and hunger.

"Yeah. We taste like each other." He began to slam inside of me, and I felt myself splinter. I'd never come just with penetration, but it was happening now. He could feel it too, the tightening of my body, how slippery I was.

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