Page 16 of On the Line

Her elbow anchored around my neck, she held me in place with the other hand as she lifted her hips and slipped me inside her. She groaned, sliding further onto me. I watched her eyes, alert for signs of discomfort. “Go slow,” I told her gently, “You’re in control.”

“I’ve lost all control with you, Spencer,” she sighed. “And I love it.” Her body opened for me, and she moaned as she took me deeper.

I lovedher, but I was too afraid to say it. I could barely speak at all, she felt so good stretched around me. “I love it, too, beautiful.”

When she was finally able to take all of me, Ellie held still, her mouth half-open as she stared deep into my eyes. I throbbed inside her in time with my heart pounding against hers. I’d never felt anything like it.We pulsed together as one.

I held her in my arms as she lifted and lowered herself, moaning in the moonlight. Her round breasts glistened, sliding over my chest.

She moved faster and faster, slipping over me more easily. Her nails dug into my shoulder blades, a fierceness filling her eyes. The sparkling bioluminescence bubbled around us with the motion, a twinkling symphony to accompany her moans.

Ellie gripped me from within, her face twisting in pleasure as her sounds drifted up toward the stars. She bounced on me harder and faster, eyes wide as she called out, “Oh my god, Spencer. Oh my god.”

I was pretty sure neither of my two previous—mostly unremarkable—sexual experiences had ended in orgasm for the girl. But Ellie’s climax was unmistakable. Her shrill moans were music in the darkness.

The rush built in me, a tidal wave consuming my entire body. I held back as long as I could, but Ellie clenching me from within while howling my name sent me hurtling over the edge. Unable to control my own elevating noises, I had just enough self-control to try lifting her off me. In response, her ankles latched tighter behind my back. I squirmed, mustering all restraint, and just when I was sure it was too late, I was able to raise her hips and release into the water.

Shuddering, I held her in my arms. I could feel her heart thumping in her chest, through mine, as her labored breath tickled my ear. Trembling together, we held tight until ourbreathing finally calmed. Finally, her feet unlatched behind me, and she slid down my front. My persistent hardness pressed into the warmth of her stomach.

“I’ve been dreaming about this since I was fourteen,” she sighed. “I’m so glad I waited for the right guy.”

I pulled her to my lips. “I’m glad I was the right guy.”

Ellie tucked under my arm as we emerged, dripping, from the water. The night air felt perfect against our naked flesh as we walked toward the towel I’d left onshore. I briefly patted my legs dry then draped the towel around her shoulders, brushing a hardened nipple with the back of my hand before bending down to retrieve my shorts. The weight of the wooden box in my pocket reminded me that the ring was still there.

I pulled the box out and waited for Ellie to dry herself. “I finally got this for you today. I’ve been waiting for months.”

She looked up with curious eyes, slowly prying the lid. Despite the poor lighting, she recognized it immediately. A smile spread across her face. “The conch pearl?”

“I knew you loved it. I hope it fits.”

Carefully, she removed the ring and placed the box on the sand, before sliding the band onto her left ring finger. “It fits perfectly…” Her eyes gleamed with an unforgettable brilliance in the moonlight, a sight I’d take with me to my grave. “Just like you.”

CHAPTER 8

The mayor’s publicity stunt in Key West worked. The Feds lifted the blockade and visitors flocked back to the Keys in droves. I got three new customers that week. And after Ellie and I had made it official, I was on top of the world.

She got out of class early that first Monday after things were back to normal, so we were heading out on the Whaler for an afternoon cruise…and some loving, I hoped. After that first taste of her, reenacting that night was all I could think of.

Ellie was in my apartment bathroom as I loaded the cooler in the kitchen.

“Where do you keep your towels?” she shouted, voice muffled.

“They’re in the top of the closet.”

A minute later, I heard, “I don’t see any towels.” Her voice sounded further away than the linen closet in the hall. I put down the cooler and lifted my head, peering toward thehallway. She wasn’t there. Which meant she was in the other closet. In the bedroom. I stood up straight and rushed in, a second too late.

I heard the thud before she even saw the brown paper-wrapped parcel on the floor. She held the blanket it had been wrapped in, blinking, confused. I started toward the parcel but she was already picking it up.

She looked puzzled by the weight of the package, bouncing it in her hand. Money is heavy, at least when it’s bundled in $5K stacks.

“Sorry. This fell when I pulled on the blanket. Thankfully it didn’t hit my foot or I’d have a broken toe.” She rolled the brick over in her hand, eyeing it. The brown paper had split open on the corner from the impact, revealing the green stack of bills.

She looked up, questioning. “What’s this?”

I swallowed to try to clear the lump in my throat. “It’s my nest egg.”

She stared at the package for a long second before she ripped the paper further. I could see Benjamin Franklins from where I stood, as clearly as I saw her mind reeling. “There’s thousands of dollars here. Where’d you get this kind of money?”

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