me touch you. Use me as your chart. Give me your course.”
The ship’s ambient chorus of sail, rigging, and plank faded. Their eyes held each other’s as they played a languid game of show and tell: seeking and exploring, discovering and learning.
“Touch me here,” she said, curving her hands along the spring of his ribs. And so he did, gooseflesh following in the path of the softly callused fingers.
“And here.”
Nathan's breath caught and he trembled when she touched his nipple. It came up hard, as hers rose against his palm, begging to be suckled once more.
As she directed, he followed, echoing her every move. Her fingers teasing his stiffened length were answered by beguiling fingers, which found her slippery cleft. A fingertip at the tip of his cock delicately guided him further. When her eyes closed in ultimate surrender, he chuckled softly, and then slid down. Cradling her hips in his hands, he re-traced his exploratory route, re-discovering with lips what fingers had already known. She curved her fingers into the raven hair, and guided him, until she could hold on no more.
He kissed the inside of her thigh, his breath warm on the tender skin. “When you’re ready, luv, and not a moment before.”
Cate surprised him when she pushed him back and rose over him to track similar journeys: over the curve of his ribs, his skin rippling in response; down to the jut of his hip and the deep grove of his groin. She tasted the salty dampness at the hollow of his throat, felt the hard nub of his nipple, and smelled the deep must of the heavy thatch between his legs.
“Succubus,” Nathan hissed and pulled her to him. Crushing her mouth with his, he rolled above her.
Encircling his cock, she gave the silken length a few more strokes, and then guided him home. He gave a solid thrust and staggered with relief in her arms. She flinched, her tender flesh contracting at the invasion, and he tried to pull away.
“Nathan, no, please…” Her hand at his back held him in place.
“But, I…”
“No. Please.”
Nathan’s body trembled with the strain of giving her time to adjust, unable to move, unable to breathe. A flex of her hips her assent, he plunged to the root. He held so very still, allowing her to set the pace. She had the impression he would have never moved had she not seized his hips and goaded him on. She discovered years of denial weren’t as ready to be relieved as one might think. What had seemed so simple and imminent became an elusive taunt, teetering so very near, only to fall away, a dam impregnable. She bucked under him, urging, begging, demanding. Pain and pleasure ricocheted against each other, until they became a new glorious goal: to suffer one was to gain the other.
Her consciousness spiraled down to the point of their joining. Clawing at his flanks, she smothered her cries into his shoulder. Giving over to his own need, he settled with new purpose, driving harder and faster. The pounding became a fleshy rhythm, each thrust felt to her womb.
He sought to withdraw, but her hand at his back stopped him. His final shuddering gasp was lost as her finish came in a flood of long racking spasms, one overlapping the next as she crashed against him.
Forehead buried in the pillow next to her head, Nathan limply lay on top of her. His pulse echoed through their joining, and their hearts settled into a unified beat.
Yes, the body does remember—and remembers very well, she thought, idly stroking his back.
Nathan’s body began to quake, and then the low rumble of a laugh finally erupted into the pillow. He pushed up, rolled his eyes back and fell away. Spread-eagle across the bunk, his chest heaved as he strove to catch his breath. He raised an arm to wipe the sweat from the side of his face, and then dropped as if it was too heavy to support.
He cut her a sideways look, started to speak, gulped, and tried anew. “Are you always that way?”
The flush of their love-making drained into cold mortification. Cate scrambled for the edge of the bunk. “I’m sorry! I told you it had been a while. I didn’t mean to—”
“No! No!” Nathan groped for her arm and pulled her back. “I meant, I have never been with anyone ever like that.”
“I’m sorry.” Embarrassment still heated her cheeks. “I was nervous; I’m not usually that…that…awkward.”
Nathan lifted his head to peer