Page 15 of Exposed

“I want you inside me,” she whispered, kissing him hard and deep before grabbing a condom from the basket the resort provided on the tub ledge and slipping it on him. This LoveFix place might be a load of crap in a lot of ways, but God bless them now. Eric didn’t think he could stop, protection or no, at this point. His body ached to be joined with hers.

Then she positioned herself over him and lowered her body down onto his throbbing cock, taking him one inch at a time into her tight heat until he was fully inside her. Beth stopped then, her hands on his shoulders and her gaze locked with his, letting her body adjust to his size while their hearts adjusted to this new aspect of their relationship.

He kissed her then, both to reassure her that this was okay and because he couldn’t get enough of her. Whatever happened after this, they’d handle it. If she wanted him to stick around and continue as part of her life after they left the resort, he would, at least until his medical leave was up. If she didn’t want anything more than this one time with him, well then, he’d sure as hell make sure it would last as long as he could.

Slowly, she started to move on him, each movement sending shockwaves of sensation through him. He rested one hand on her hip to steady her and used the other to play with her nipples again. She was so damned responsive, her groans letting him know what she liked and urging him onward. Soon, they’d gotten into a rhythm that had them both teetering near the edge far too fast.

She threw her head back, her long dark hair wet and slick against her back as she rode him faster, seeking her pleasure the same way she sought everything else—with her entire being. He cupped her breasts again, leaning into her to nuzzle the pulse point at the base of her neck. Water splashed freely over the side of the tub with her movements and neither of them cared at all. They were both lost in the moment, lost in each other, lost in the grip of their white-hot passion.

“Oh, God,” she cried out, her gaze boring into his. “I’m close. I’m so close.”

“Yeah, baby,” he said, reaching between them to tease her clit. “Are you going to come for me?”

“Yes!” Beth kissed him as her body convulsed around him, riding out her orgasm until she went limp and sated in his arms. “Yes.”

Eric was right behind her, thrusting once, twice, before the tightness in his balls sent bolts of pleasure straight up his spine. He held her close, his face buried in her hair, her name on his lips as he came hard inside her.

Afterward, they stayed locked in their embrace, lounging in the tub, until the water cooled and it was time to get out. Eric stood first, grabbing a thick towel to dry them both off before carrying Beth to the bed and crawling in beside her. It was still theafternoon and sunlight streamed in through the windows, but he didn’t care. None of that mattered. At that moment, she was his entire world.

“Rest, sweetheart,” he said, pulling her against him. “I’ll be here.”

She touched his face for a second, their gaze meeting, and then she closed her eyes. She was asleep almost immediately, and he was glad. She needed rest to recover from the trauma of the afternoon. He lay awake for a few moments, enjoying the feel of her and basking in the afterglow of making love.

As Eric followed her into slumber, he couldn’t help thinking that for the first time since he’d arrived on the island, it felt like he’d found paradise.

10

“Please accept our apologies again, Mrs. Holman,” Robert Hart said to Beth the next morning as she waited for the group therapy session to start. His expression was earnest enough, but she still didn’t trust the guy. And yes, she still felt a bit off-kilter, though that had more to do with her steamy night with Eric than falling off the side of a cliff. “I promise you my staff is looking into the matter to make sure nothing like that ever happens again.”

Beth gave him a polite, fake smile. “Thank you. Oh, there’s my husband. If you’ll excuse me.”

She walked away, leaving the still-talking Hart behind her. She just couldn’t stay near him any longer, not even to help keep up her undercover persona. Everything about him set her on edge. Most things about her near-fall yesterday were still blurry in her mind, but the one thing that stood out clear as day was Eric saying a piece of her safety harness had been deliberately cut. Her fall wasn’t an accident, and it was only the resort’s staff that could have done it.

Beth met Eric near the entrance to the large open rec room where they were holding this morning session. His slow smiled sent all sorts of wicked waves of heat through her.

“Hey, baby.” He leaned in and kissed her. It was a brief, public-display kind of kiss, but it was a sharp reminder of their night together.

Last night had been…well. It had been pretty damned incredible. After their time in the tub and a nice nap together, they’d made love twice more before finally rolling out of bed this morning. Beth was kind of surprised she could still move, it had been that mind-blowing and body weakening. He’d made her feel things…

Feel in the physical sense, not the emotional sense, she reminded herself. Because their erotic tryst had had just as much to do with the need to affirm life after her brush with death yesterday as it did any true emotions between them other than pure lust.

What they’d shared was just sex. Good sex.Amazingsex. But nothing more than that.

This was all temporary. She had to remember that, no matter how her heart fluttered around him. No matter how her lips still tingled from his kisses and despite the marks she still had on her hips from where he’d held her tight in the heat of passion. Eric had been sweet and gentle one minute, then alpha and demanding in his desire the next, and Beth had loved every second of it.

Perhaps too much.

What she needed today was to get her head out of the haze of satisfaction he’d left her in and put her mind back in the game. Yes, she was beyond grateful for him coming to her rescue, butthey still had a mystery to solve here and a job to get done. So, she planned to keep things strictly platonic between them from here on out so she could focus on making sure her story was watertight before she left the resort. She was absolutely certain that that was the right decision. She just…hadn’t gotten around to telling him that yet. But there was no moment like the present.

To that end, she squared her shoulders. “Good morning. Have a nice run?”

“Always.” He grinned, the heat in his eyes making her toes curl in her flip flops, darn it. “Couldn’t stop thinking about you though. Last night was…”

Beth looked away, heat prickling her cheeks. “Eric, last night is over. It was good, don’t get me wrong, but I think we should probably cool it now. I have work to do, and the days are going by quickly. I need to pour my energy into my story. I don’t want to jeopardize my story over a little fling.” It hurt her to trivialize what they’d shared. Whether she’d admit it aloud or not, their night togetherhadbeen special to her. For those hours they’d spent in each other’s arms, the rest of the world hadn’t existed. No one had ever made her feel like that before. Not even Devon, who she’d supposedly loved. “I hope you’re good with keeping our relationship strictly platonic from here on out.”

He didn’t respond for a moment, carefully scrutinizing her face. She was doing the same to him, and she noticed his slight wince before he hid it away beneath his usual unreadable expression. She wondered if they taught that trick in the SEALs since her brother did the same thing. Heath compartmentalized things and switched off his emotions to the point where it made Beth furious sometimes. She was all for rational thinking, but these guys took it so far that they became more like robots than men.

Eric hadn’t been a robot at all the afternoon before, though. His concern for her had been genuine and on display. His lovemaking had been far from scripted or controlled.

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