“I’ve never made love on the beach,” she said as she waited.
He lifted his head. “Me, either. Now I’ll be ruined for doing it anywhere else.”
“You’ll have to bring every woman you want back here.” It was completely the wrong time to make such a statement. But she needed to remind herself not to get too caught up in what they were doing. This didn’t mean anything. That was the point of casual sex.
“I’d rather not talk about other women right now,” he said.
“Smart man,” she teased.
He didn’t keep the banter going. She was trying to put some emotional distance between them—their lovemaking was growing pretty feverish and intense and all-consuming—but he wasn’t playing along. From what she could tell, he welcomed the intensity, didn’t seem concerned with emotional distance, because he turned the focus back on her, which enhanced the overall experience but did little to help her maintain the proper perspective.
“Are you cold?” he asked when she suddenly quit responding, for the first time worried that they might be making a big mistake. “We can stop.”
She nearly brought it all to a halt. Because he was so considerate, he’d given her the opportunity.
Except she couldn’t do that; it wouldn’t be fair. He’d given her plenty of chances to stop before it went this far. It wasn’t as though she really wanted to quit, anyway. She’d just gotten spooked by how well it was going.
“No. I don’t feel the cold,” she admitted, and so that reality couldn’t intrude again, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the occasional pop coming from the glowing embers of the fire, the cool wind on her naked, sweat-dampened skin and, most of all, the sensation of Dallas filling her with each thrust. “You feel incredible inside me,” she admitted as soon as that flash of reluctance was cast aside. “Just the way I knew you’d feel.”
That was too personal. But this whole thing was getting away from her, and she couldn’t seem to stop it.
“I’m glad to hear that, because with you beneath me, I feel like the master of all I survey,” he said, and they both laughed.
“Maybe the wine has something to do with that.”
“Nope, it’s all you,” he whispered, and rolled onto his back, pulling her with him. “Let’s try it this way, so that you can be in charge. Maybe you’ll be able to work off some of the anger and hurt you’ve been feeling lately.”
She was eager to try. Resting her hands on his firm chest, she began to move slowly and deliberately. The intensity on his face made her feel powerful. She liked being on top. Here, alone with him on the beach, she felt as free as he probably did when he was climbing.
Once she began to move faster, his hands gripped her thighs to help her, and she cast away the rest of her reserve, threw back her head and rode him in earnest. When she felt his body go rigid, she was afraid he might come too soon. That one moment when she’d freaked out had cost her; she wasn’t quite there yet. But he didn’t.
Her release was both powerful and oddly cleansing. It was almost as if her body had gathered up all of her frustration and unhappiness and annihilated it in one grand explosion that rippled through her, bringing the most exquisite pleasure.
When she gasped, she heard Dallas make a similar sound and felt slightly exultant. Besides everything else, she’d brought him to climax with her.
“That was close,” he admitted, sounding relieved as she slumped over him and tried to catch her breath. “I was hanging on for all I was worth.”
“I could tell. But you made it. And it was so damn good.”
“You know what they say about rock climbers.”
“No, I don’t,” she said, suddenly languid and relaxed and tired again.
“Neither do I,” he said, and they laughed as he wrapped the blanket around them before drifting off to sleep.
12
Saturday, December 12
“Will you be okay if I leave for a few hours?” Susan asked.
Startled by the intrusion of her employer’s voice, Emery blinked. She’d been staring off into space, lost in her own thoughts. “I’ll be fine,” she insisted with a polite smile, but she wasn’t as confident as she was pretending to be. She’d spent the past two hours training at her new job. What she had to do wasn’t hard. But as long as Susan was around, and she only had to do what she was told, her mind tended to wander.
After Dallas brought her home early yesterday morning, they’d both slipped quietly into their respective bedrooms, hoping Aiyana and his younger brothers wouldn’t realize they’d been out all night. He’d been gone when she woke up; he spent Friday working for his mother, helping to get ready for the wedding, which was going to be at the groom’s ranch. Aiyana had asked him to set up several tents and fill them with tables and chairs. Emery had heard something about a gazebo, too, and going to Santa Barbara to pick up the wine. He’d gotten back after Emery was in bed. Then she’d left before he was up this morning, so she hadn’t seen him since their night on the beach.
That didn’t stop her from thinking about him, however.
“I need to lie down for a couple of hours,” Susan said. “But the weather’s turned again, so it shouldn’t be too busy. I never get as many customers when it’s wet.”
“Right.” Susan looked pale and moved as though she was struggling to keep going. “I got the store. Don’t worry about anything. I hope you feel better soon.”
Susan thanked her, and Emery maintained her smile until Susan made her way gingerly out the back door to her car, which was parked in the alley. Then, as if fate was determined to make a liar out of Susan, the store got busy in spite of the bad weather. Emery had to focus on what she
