Breathe You In (29 page)

I drifted into an explicit daydream about what
I’d do with a hot male body tied up before me. I’d start with long, slow
kisses, move on to oral sex; perhaps I would sit on his face. Then I would ride
him, hard and fast. Get myself off over and over, my pussy gorging on rock hard
cock. Next I would let him strap me down, lay spread- eagled and surrendered,
allow him to do what he wanted to my poor neglected body. In the end I would be
crying for a rest he’d made me come so many times.

“I brought you a fresh drink.”

The deep voice at my side startled me from the
erotic picture my mind had created. I opened my eyes, sat up and propped my
glasses on my head. Hoped I hadn’t mumbled anything incriminating during my
daydream.

Sitting on the empty lounger next to mine was
Beach God. The very man, I now realized, who’d been the star of my recently
concocted fantasy. Warm anticipation poured through me. He was truly beautiful
and his smile devastatingly infectious.

But why is he sitting next to me?

“Oh,
er
thanks,” I
managed, reaching for the large
Pina
Colada he
offered forward. It had three straws emerging from white froth and two slices
of pineapple balanced on the rim. “But how did you know—?”

“That you were drinking
Pina
Colada? I asked the waiter at the beach bar.” He nodded in the direction of a
circular wooden hut with a reed-stick roof.

“Oh, well, thank you very much. I’d just
finished mine.”

“I know.” He grinned and took a sip from a
bottle of beer. When he lowered the bottle it made a soft
sploshing
sound. He held out his hand. “Josh Kendal.”

He wrapped his long, strong fingers around mine
and squeezed gently. His skin was as smooth and warm as I’d imagined, though I
noticed callouses on his palm.

“Laura
Makay
. It’s nice
to meet you, Josh. Thanks for the drink.”


“Are you here alone, Laura?”


“Yes, just for a long weekend. I need
pictures for an assignment so decided to take a working holiday.”


“Great place you’ve chosen to work. Marbella’s
amazing.”


“Yes, it is.” I took a sip of my scrumptious
cocktail, appreciating its coolness after the dregs of my last one that had
warmed in the sunshine. “What about you. Are you here alone or are you with
your wife?” I directed my gaze at his left hand, staring studiously at his
silver wedding ring for a few seconds before re-settling my gaze on his.

He grinned. “No, not at all, I don’t have a
wife.”

I raised my eyebrows a fraction and took another
sip of drink. No wife but wearing a wedding ring? I would wait for him to
explain that one.

His grin was still in place when he nodded in
the direction of the beach bar. “I’m here with my partner, Nick.”

I followed his gaze.
“That’s him, sitting
in the shade, catching up on emails,” Josh said.
I spotted a tall,
dark-haired guy hunched over a laptop. He wore flowery swim shorts and had a
broad, hairy chest. “Your partner. As in business.”
Josh laughed, a deep
rumbling sound. “God no, I couldn’t work with him, he’s fanatical about detail,
it would drive me crazy. No, Nick is my husband” He smoothed his index finger
over the ring. “We’ve been together for ten years. That’s why we’re in
Marbella. He’s treating me to a holiday as an anniversary present.”

I felt as though a ton of rubble had just been
dropped inside my chest. Of all the luck. Not only was the delectable man at my
side married, he was also gay. He couldn’t be more out of reach if he was
living on the damn moon. “Well,
er
, congratulations,”
I said, swallowing tightly. “On, your, you know, anniversary.” I gulped down
several big mouthfuls of cocktail, ensuring the straw was right at the base of
the glass to maximize the rum hit.

“Thanks,” he said, pushing his hair from his
face again.

I rested back and slotted my sunglasses down
over the bridge of my nose. I didn’t want him to spot the disappointment in my
eyes. Josh was by far the most lovely looking man I’d spoken to in years and
suddenly finding out nothing would ever happen between us, not even for one
night, created a twisting frustration in my gut.

“So where are you staying?” he asked.

“Just here.” I tipped my head to the towering
hotel behind the beach bar. “At The
Peniche
.”

“Yes, so are we. It’s pretty special, isn’t it?”

“It’s lovely, but I really should have been
kinder to my bank balance and gone for something a little cheaper.”

“So why didn’t you?”

“Well, since I’m traveling alone I wanted to
know my hotel wasn’t going to be on some dingy back street. Plus, this one has
free airport transfers so I didn’t need to hire a car.” I shrugged. “And it’s
just for four nights anyway.”

He smiled. “I think it does everyone good to be
spoiled sometimes.”


“Definitely. Has Nick been spoiling
you?”


“God yes. He acts like a hard nut but he’s a
complete softy really, very romantic when the mood takes him and he’s not
swamped by work.”

“What does he do?”

“He’s an architect. He’s got his own business
which he runs from home, but it means he needs to keep on top of current
projects when we’re away. He can’t completely forget about his clients.”

“No absolutely.”

“It only takes him a couple of hours a day,
though, and it suits me to go for a swim and laze in the sun reading. If he
doesn’t do it he only worries and gets crabby.”

“I understand what that’s like. When I have an
assignment I like to just get on with it.”

“What is it you do exactly?”

“I’m a freelance photographer.” I nodded at the
camera by my side. “Sometimes I work to a specific request my agent has
negotiated, other times I just snap away and sell what looks good.”

“Wow, that’s a pretty impressive way to earn a
living.”

“Yes, it’s fun, but to be honest I could do with
selling a few more pictures. Though if I don’t, it wouldn’t stop me being a
photographer. I love what I do. Capturing an image, a moment in time, it makes
me feel like I’m a documenter of history.”

He grinned, flashing neat white teeth and
sending small lines darting from the sides of his eyes. “So what are your
favorite types of shots?”

I thought for a second. “Hard to say. I like
taking ones like I have been today. On a beach, everyone having fun, great
light to play with, not much to tell you what decade it is except for the style
of beachwear. Then other times I like to really concentrate on the detail,
close ups, nature particularly, flowers, bugs, cobwebs on a frosty morning,
that sort of thing.”

“Nice.” He took a sip of his beer. When he took
the rim of the bottle from his lips they were coated with moisture. A small dot
of white froth sat in the central bow of his top lip.

“You ever do portraits?” he asked, apparently
oblivious of my intense scrutiny of his mouth, and luckily none the wiser to
the fact that I was imagining what it would be like to
be
that speck of
beer froth.

“
Er
, yes, I have in
the past. It usually pays well, and if the subject is...” I paused, searching
for the right words as I kicked my brain into gear again. On the tip of my
tongue was a comment about being physically perfect and how that made portrait
work so much easier, but I couldn’t say that without blushing, for surely Josh
knew how physically perfect he was. Surely he was aware he was having an effect
on me despite the fact he’d been honest in telling me not only was he gay but
also married.

He licked his top lip and tipped his head, as if
urging me to go on.

I sighed, and once again quashed that sludgy
feeling of regret. “If the portrait subject is relaxed it makes it so much
easier,” I said. “Plus if they have an idea what kind of mood they’re going for
in the final shot it helps to get us both on the same wavelength.”

Josh smiled, nodded, then glanced over at Nick.
“Looks like he’s finished. I’d best go and get him a drink.”

He stood and once again, I let my gaze travel
down his body. He was honed and toned in all the right places. His swim shorts
were fitted and I could make out an impressive bulge behind them; long and
thick and dressed to the left.

Taking another sip of my drink, I willed myself
not to stare.
It was impossible not to.

What a waste.

“Would
you like to join us for dinner tonight, Laura? I guess you’re eating alone.”
A
wave of surprise washed through me, and I looked back up at his face.

“Dinner?”
He grinned. “Yeah. I’d love to
hear more about your work and I’m sure Nick would too.”

“Well...
er
...”

“We have a reservation at the top floor
restaurant at eight. I could easily call and change it to a table for three.”

“Well, if you’re sure. I don’t want to intrude
or anything.”

“You won’t be intruding. We’d love your
company.”

You can
read the rest of Laura, Josh and Nick’s super-steamy story by purchasing
The Glass Knot
from
Amazon
.