my lungs. And I get goose bumps as he tugs us both away from the edge of the water, then falls back onto the blanket.
I follow him on all fours, looking down at him, halfway shocked by this turn of events, and also at my own audacity, because I’m practically straddling him now. “Rickie?”
“Yes, baby girl?” He reaches up and runs his hand right over my ass, and I feel my body respond immediately. I’m hungry for his kisses. But now he’s waiting to hear my question.
“Um,” I hear myself say. “Chastity told me you never hook up.”
His eyes widen a fraction. “Well I guess she’d be surprised if she came back for her pocketbook right now, wouldn’t she?” With playfully slow fingers, he eases the strap of my bikini top down my shoulder, until it threatens to fall off.
“But is it true?” I ask. I’m teetering on this emotional precipice, trying to decide if I can do this—if I can put myself out there one more time, even though my love life is a perpetual disaster.
I want this. I really do. And he knows it.
“It’s true,” he says, running his fingertips down my jaw, then teasing my lip with his thumb. “I haven’t hooked up with anyone since before my injury.”
I stop breathing. “Really? That long ago?”
“Really,” he says, almost absently. His talented fingers trace the top edge of my bikini top, over the swells of my breasts, teasing my sensitive skin. “I used to think something was wrong with me. But now I think I know better.” Those gray eyes look up, boring into mine. “I was missing you. I was waiting all this time for you to come back into my life. And now you’re here.”
A shiver runs up my spine. But it’s the good kind. “You are very persuasive,” I whisper.
“It’s easy to be when you’re telling the truth. Now come closer and let me show you.” He beckons to me with a crooked finger. “That’s a girl. A little further. And feel free to crawl toward me at any time. Yesss.” His hands reach for me, skimming my bare ribcage, pulling me in. I land on him, and it isn’t very graceful.
But no matter. He rolls, pulling me to the blanket, his generous mouth finding mine. His kiss is a searing press of lips and heat. He licks into my mouth a moment later, and I open for him, as obedient as a baby bird.
“Yesss,” he murmurs again, rolling us until he’s on top, braced on strong forearms above me. “That’s more like it.” He kisses me again, while I give in and explore his sculpted chest with my fingertips.
He was right about one thing—it’s easy to lose your train of thought while kissing Rickie. My hesitation evaporates faster than the water that’s still clinging to our steamy skin. He leans in, chasing kiss after kiss, his strong body a needy weight against mine.
I’ve never done this before. I’ve never kissed a man on a blanket under the trees. And I’ve certainly never let one tug the straps of my bathing suit off my shoulders, and then expose my breasts one by one to the dusky sky.
“Take the top off,” he murmurs, leaning down to tongue my nipple. “I need it out of my way.”
My hands do his bidding, even if getting naked outside feels brazen. As the cool air peaks my nipples, it occurs to me that I’m not a good girl anymore. I tried to be, but I failed spectacularly.
And the casual slide of Rickie’s roughened thumbs across my bare breasts has me too distracted to care how far I’ve fallen. I just want more of this reckless feeling. I thread my fingers through his hair and pull his head down to my chest. A moment later, his wicked tongue runs amok over my nipples.
This is exactly what I need. My hands find their way to the waistband of his bathing suit. I slip my fingers past the fabric and wrap my palm around his hard length.
The kiss he’s delivering to the valley between my breasts halts its path. And he makes a low groan of surprise and delight as I stroke him. “I love that,” he says huskily.
“Of course you do.” I swipe a thumb across his tip, and he makes a masculine grunt of pleasure.
“Baby, you can touch me all day long.” He rolls lazily out of my grasp. “But that’s not what I meant. I love it when you let