Immortal Healer (17 page)

“Hey there!” The voice was a ways off but approaching them. And as they turned to see who was talking, he kept hold of her hand. It was two women, perhaps slightly older than Abigail’s twenty-five years. They were both ridiculously put together for the beach, decked out in skimpy bikinis that had more metal brackets than fabric, slinky slipper type shoes that had no business being on the beach, and enough makeup to leave them both looking like some freak show ghoul should they actually get in the water and get wet. However, they were beautiful, or he suspected they were under the layers of gunk, and that left Abigail’s adrenaline surging, and it left him wanting to protect her from two women who could never in a million years hold a candle to her but seemed to leave her feeling far more vulnerable than he cared to see.

He couldn’t fathom why she’d care what these women thought of her, but it took him little time to figure it out. And it wasn’t her at all, but him.

“Hiya!” They both stared at him, only glancing at Abigail and disregarding her quickly. Their eyes roving over his body were offensive with Abigail at his side, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in front of him. They finally looked at her, and her heartbeat started to slow.

“Hi.” His voice was a bit flat as he responded to the vapid duo in front of him.

“We’re having a gathering down the beach a ways. Pretty low key, bring your own drinks. In an hour or so if you want to join us. The more the merrier.”

“We might stop by. Thanks for the invitation.” And then he pulled Abigail into the water with little more thought to the women.

The water was warm, and the surf was calm, as they waded farther out. She wrapped her legs around him, clinging to his back as they reached chest deep water. She held his waist snug with her legs, and she rested her cheek against the top of his shoulder.

“I wish we could just stay here forever.”

“So do I. When you’re done with this program, I promise we’ll come back and stay as long as you’d like. So, how about we go and crash this party in a while?”

She pulled back from him, regarding him curiously. “Now why the hell would we want to do that?”

“I was thinking I’d enjoy the challenge of making you come in a group of people without anyone knowing. Suppose I can pull it off?”

*

She had no doubt he could pull it off. He wasn’t a man very familiar with failure, but while she had infinite confidence in him, she wasn’t entirely sure she wouldn’t end up humiliating them both.

They swam for nearly an hour before returning to the Adirondack chairs and drying off. He wore swim shorts like he wore underwear. They weren’t a Speedo so much as an incredibly low rise brief, black and enticing, and as she watched him towel off, she couldn’t stifle her desire.

She loved the way the brief fit snug and low and showed the very top of his bottom. He looked like a damn underwear model, and for whatever blessed reason, he was intent on spending his time with an emotionally damaged, fucked up chick. It was a little ridiculous really, but his desire never faltered. As hard as it might be for her to understand where it came from, she didn’t question it.

He studied her just as closely as she parted her hair down the center of her head, braiding pigtails that fell down the sides of her chest, and once she was finished, he smiled and tugged on the end of one before kissing the tip of her nose.

They walked hand in hand down the beach toward the large bonfire in the distance, and when they were close enough, they could hear the group of people. It wasn’t a terribly large gathering—perhaps twenty or so, and they were spread out on beach blankets around the fire. The pretty girls from the beach saw them immediately and ran over.

“I’m so glad you made it!” No
you guys
, just a completely inappropriate
you
. As the young woman reached a flirtatious hand out for Quentin’s arm, he pulled back and wrapped his arms around Abigail. She flushed with a warm trill of need.

They found a place near the fire and spread a small blanket out on the sand. They were next to another couple who instantly started to chat with them as they settled in. Quentin pulled her between his legs and grabbed another blanket to cover them. The blanket was rumpled loosely on her lap, and as Quentin made small talk with the couple beside them, he gently stroked her exposed arm. He explained the ins and outs of research medicine, and Abigail was reminded of what Ember said about listening to him explain what he did for a living. She knew exactly what Ember was talking about now. He really was quite a nerd. A very handsome one, incredibly good at pleasuring her, but still.

“So what is it you do, Abigail?”

“I’m sorry?” No she wasn’t. She was just stunned. She’d been so engrossed in the circles Quentin was tracing on her upper arm that the question took her by surprise. “Oh. Uh… Nothing. I guess I’m…” Sounding like an idiot… “I used to … um…”

“Abigail will be returning to school soon. She took some time off to deal with some things, but I expect she’ll be ready to go back and finish this fall.” He kissed the side of her neck as he finished speaking, and relief washed over her. She’d not really spoken of the direction her life was going to anyone aside from him, but he saved her having to have that conversation.

“And what will you study?” Damnit.

“Well, I was just going into my senior year of actuarial sciences. Statistics more or less.” The man’s brow wrinkled, and the woman’s mouth kind of hung open.

“You don’t look like the type is all.” The man appraised her as he spoke. “Thought statisticians were nerds.”

She chuckled at his easy comment as did Quentin behind her. Okay, maybe she was as much a geek as he was. “I am a nerd.” And she smiled.

The group eventually quieted down as someone started playing guitar and singing, and she rested into Quentin’s arms.

Quentin leaned down and put his lips to her ear. “Relax, dear. I have a challenge to work on, and I expect your full cooperation.” Her heart leaped into her throat at his words. It wasn’t all nerves though, and as wetness and want flowed through her body, he leaned back down to her ear. “Ah. There you go. That’s exactly what I want—you ready and willing.” His words alone ratcheted up her need, and soon his hand slipped over the top of her thigh under the blanket.

She was sitting cross legged. The blanket was only barely covering her crotch as his fingers swept under the leg of her swimsuit, softly stroking over the smooth skin of her mound. She started panting, and were the eyes of the group not focused on the man singing and playing guitar, she wasn’t at all sure she could hide her reaction to Quentin’s touch.

If anyone cared to watch them closely, they could without doubt see the gentle movement of the blanket on her lap and the fact his arm was missing a hand that disappeared under the blanket. His finger slipped between the wet lips of her sex, grazing gently over her clit as it moved, and at the contact, her fingers curled into fists against his legs, her nails scrapping along his skin.

When she reached to pull the blanket farther up her body, he gripped her arm with his free hand. “You’re plenty covered. Now relax and lean back into my arms, so I can get my fingers into your pussy.” He was speaking quietly in her ear, and she sank back into his arms. As her pelvis tilted upward, he sank two fingers deep into her, and she dug her nails into his thigh.

He stroked, pushing and pulling but keeping his wrist steady between her legs, and as her panting increased and her stomach muscles started to clench, she started fighting it. She couldn’t do this here. Stifling her reaction would be impossible, and there was no way she could come and hide it from these people. He seemed to know how terrified she was as he leaned down to her ear, nibbling the lobe gently.

“Don’t you dare think about those people. You think about me. You want my cock inside you again, don’t you?” She nodded her head as she fought to control her breathing. “You’re going to come for me first if you want it.” He kept his voice low and quiet against her ear. “Come on, baby, let go for me.”

When she couldn’t stifle her need to come any longer, she did let go. She turned to his free arm that was slung across his knee, biting him on the inside of his upper arm as her stomach muscles tried to turn her body inside out. He groaned as her teeth clamped down, and the couple next to them suddenly turned toward them. He chuckled quietly, and shook his head as he looked at them. He pretended to clear his throat as she dug her nails into his thigh again and forced her mouth to release her teeth from his arm, and as her orgasm faded, he slowed his fingers and eventually pulled them from her, slipping her bikini bottoms back in place.

He let his wet fingers trail across her stomach and up her chest to her face. He ran the wetness over her lower lip as he dropped his chin to her shoulder. The guitar played on, and the couple had returned to watching the man sing. She could feel his arousal tight against her lower back, and when she reached back between their bodies, she discovered the head of his cock had pushed up past the waistband of his shorts. She stroked her fingers gently across the exposed head, and his fingers clutched at her stomach.

His lips met her ear. “We’re leaving now.” It was a whisper.

“Oh? I was just getting started.”

“Unless you want me to fuck you right here where you sit, it’s time.” His voice was desperate, and after pushing his cock down below his waistband, he stood and pulled her to her feet, keeping her in front of him to hide the erection that was fighting to get out.

They said a quick good-bye to the group before he pulled her down the beach. She struggled to walk fast enough to keep up with his pace, and when they were barely out of earshot, he turned to her. “Get on your hands and knees.” They were out in the middle of a large expanse of beach. There was certainly no privacy, but as she dropped to her knees, and he closed in behind her, pushing her chest to the ground, she decided she really didn’t care.

He pulled her bikini bottoms down to her knees before he thrust a deep, harsh penetration into her tight sheath, and she cried out. Every thrust after was joltingly hard and made it difficult to stay on her knees. It was intense, fast, and painfully deep as he pistoned into her body. His fingers were digging into her hips, pulling them back to his cock as he swiftly thrust forward into her. She cried out with nearly every stroke, and he grunted and pushed harder and faster into her with every thrust. She came as she let her cheek drop to the sand, and he did too, collapsing against her back and pushing her down to the ground.

She could feel his cum seeping from her body when he moved off the top of her. He took his place by her side, stroking her back as she slowly caught her breath. She was aching from the primal and ferocious power he’d put into his movements, but she was beyond replete and content. They were lying on their stomachs in the sand, and he was partially covering her backside with his front.

“I’m sorry. That was far too rough.”

He’d lost his mind.
“No it wasn’t. It was perfect.”

“Then why can I smell your endorphins?”

“’Cause you’re a weirdo vampire, and you can smell everything. These are good endorphins.”

“Well, yes, that is what endorphins are for. To make you feel good even when you’re in pain. See what I’m getting at?”

“Shut up, and let my endorphins do their job. You’re annoying me and my endorphins.”

He chuckled as he trailed his mouth over her shoulder, and it wasn’t until many minutes later that he pulled her to her feet, and they set off toward his home again.

After showering in the outside shower to wash the sand from their bodies, they crawled into bed together with the doors open wide. She’d meant it when she’d told him she could stay here forever. But it wasn’t here as much as it was him. She would gladly attach herself to him anywhere. For a woman who didn’t like men, she’d managed to easily fall in love with this one.

Chapter 18

“You look tired.”

“It’s the ass crack of dawn, and tired is just my natural state of being.” It was still dark as he drove them back toward Boston. The weekend had been far too short. He wanted weeks. Weeks and weeks of nothing but them. She made the silence around him tolerable and comfortable. It was odd. She was quirky and funny—sarcastic was the understatement of the century. But she was a completely different person when they were around others. He loved both of her, but he especially loved that she gave herself to him so completely when it was only the two of them.

“Why are you so different when we’re alone?” He couldn’t help himself. They had a long enough drive to give him ample time to delve some.

“Why are
you
?” He cocked his head at her question.

“Am I?” He was mildly surprised to hear her comment. He’d not really thought he was different. He felt all sorts of different when he was with her, but he’d not supposed it was outwardly noticeable.

“You have a sense of humor … or more of one when we’re alone. You’re less serious.”

“Are you saying I’m normally stuffy?”

“Hmm.” She was taunting him. He reached for her hand, pulling her knuckles to his mouth.

She was silent beside him as she stared out the window. He’d almost given up on further conversation until she broke the silence again. “Why did you decide to sleep with me?” Her voice was terribly quiet.

“I’m guessing saying you’re hot isn’t the answer you’re looking for.” She laughed, and he was suddenly relieved at her lightened mood.

“I didn’t take you to be as shallow as that actually.”

“No, I’m not. Not at all.” He glanced at her quickly before returning his eyes to the road. “You wanted to.” She looked hurt for half a second, until he continued. “I mean you
really
wanted to. I know every time you’re aroused, and that’s not something you can fake or pretend with me. It’s real and genuine desire. The first night when you came to me naked after we’d just met, you weren’t aroused, not in the least. You were testing me, daring me, taunting me… I’m not sure what exactly, but it wasn’t anything real. I was surprised the first time you became aroused around me. Loved it, but I was surprised. And I eventually decided if you were okay with it, wanted it, then I wanted to be the man to share it with you. I wanted you to know just how amazing it could be, and frankly, I was ready. More than ready after torturing myself with you all the time.” She was watching him with interest. “And you’re hot.” He shrugged mildly.