Page 75 of Ride the Wave

I shake with laughter beneath him. ‘There’s a couple of clips at the back of the neck.’

‘So, I unhook them like a bra?’

‘Yes, sort of.’

‘Hmm.’ His eyes flash at me. ‘A new challenge.’

Oh God, he’s fucking adorable.

His hand slips under my neck as I lift my head a little to help him and I wait while he works it out. He manages to unclasp it quickly, smirking proudly.

‘I’m impressed,’ I say, nestling back down into the pillows as the straps come loose and he’s able to peel the dress down, exposing my black, lace, strapless bra.

He keeps going, sliding the dress over my hips and down my legs, taking me in as he goes, his process considered and unhurried. With his help, I finally pull my legs free of the dress and his eyes flare with heat as I lie in front of him in just my bra and thong.

My stomach fills with butterflies as I notice him swallow.

Maybe I make him nervous too.

‘Fuck, you’re beautiful,’ he says breathlessly. ‘I must be the luckiest guy in the world right now.’ As I smile shyly, he turns his attention to my towering heels that I haven’t had a moment to take off yet. ‘Do you know how long I’ve wanted to do this? Take these ridiculously sexy shoes off your feet and lie you back in my bed?’

One at a time, he unbuckles the strap around each ankle and slips my shoes off, letting them fall to the floor with a soft thud.

‘Since I saw you standing on the beach watching me surf the first evening you arrived,’ he says, answering his own question.

‘I don’t believe you. You couldn’t have seen me from all the way out there.’

‘I knew exactly who you were. And exactly what I wanted to do to you.’

‘But then you met me,’ I remind him, my breath shaky, ‘and you didn’t like me.’

He shoots me a cross look. ‘Not true.’

‘You didn’t trust me.’

‘I don’t trust anyone at first,’ he reasons. ‘Especially not journalists.’

‘But I’m going to assume, since I’m here, you’ve warmed to me,’ I tease.

‘Just because I didn’t trust you didn’t mean I didn’t want you. I did,’ he says calmly. ‘Ever since you arrived, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. Imagining you like this, how you would feel, how you would taste. It’s been very distracting.’

My chest tightens as he runs his warm hands along my calves and leans down to trail soft kisses along the inside of my thighs, the thin fabric of my thong growing damp.

‘You have the sexiest legs I’ve ever seen in my life,’ he murmurs, his lips grazing against my skin, ‘and the way they look in those shoes…’ He lifts his head to give me a pointed look, expelling the air from his cheeks. ‘You’ve tortured me for alongtime.’

I giggle. ‘It’s been two weeks, Leo.’

The warmth of his hands desert my legs as he comes up to hover his lips agonisingly close over mine without touching, his warm breath tickling my skin.

‘I don’t care. That was fucking long enough,’ he says, his eyes darkening.

Inhaling sharply, I grab the back of his neck and claim his mouth with hot urgency, done with his teasing and desperate to feel his weight on top of me again.

‘God,’ I gasp against his mouth, pushing my hips up and relishing the friction of the hard bulge in his shorts between my legs, ‘Iknow.’

His kisses move lower, his lips working their way down my neck over my throat, across my collarbone and along the swell of my breasts. I lift my back and his hand slides beneath it to unhook my bra and throw it off the bed, a groan emitting from his throat as he cups my breasts before kissing them, while his other hand grips my hip, holding me in place beneath him. As his tongue circles my nipple, I suck in a sharp breath, a wave of arousal flooding me. I’ve always been self-conscious of my small chest but the way he’s admiring my breasts with his mouth, teasing and sucking my nipples like he can’t get enough, is making me feel sexy and proud of them for the first time ever.

‘You’re so fucking beautiful, so amazing,’ he murmurs, in case his actions weren’t loud enough, his kisses moving down to my stomach. He pauses, lifting his head to look at me. ‘You sure you want this?’

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