Modern Girl's Guide to One-Night Stands (14 page)

Suddenly her eyes shot open. They were dark with desire and the scarlet blush across her freckled skin was almost too much for him to handle. Was she looking at him? Did she want him to join her? Simon was ready to interrupt her, when she cried out.

“Yes! Oh, yes!”

Julia’s breath hitched and she bit her lower lip, squeezing her eyes shut. She let her head fall back against the pillow as her body arched off the bed, rocked with the intensity of her orgasm. After a few seconds, she collapsed on the bed and slid her hand away from her wet pussy. The damp fingers glistened in the lamplight. Simon licked his lips, remembering the taste of her.

Despite her climax, a frown creased her brow, and Julia leaned up on her elbows, pushing his shirt down to cover her breast. She started searching the bed. He assumed she was looking for her panties, but instead Julia found the e-reader. After flipping through a few screens, her frown deepened. She let out a frustrated huff and threw the offensive object into the bedside drawer. She mumbled something under her breath.

Simon was plunged into darkness as she turned off the bedside lamp. He stood there for a few seconds, sure he’d heard her say his name—along with a few choice expletives.

Had she been thinking of him while she touched herself? That thought alone was almost too much for him, but now that the show was over it didn’t take long for reality to set back in. Simon came out of his fog and realized he’d been standing in the middle of the hall, pumping his dick through his jeans, and watching his baby sister’s friend masturbate. Insanity was his only excuse. This woman was driving him mad.

Simon marched up the hall before he could get caught and headed straight to the shower. He needed to take care of his current state before he could even think about sleeping. Now, even more than before, he was determined to do something about this irrational desire. If they had one more night together, maybe then he could get her out of his system.

Simon felt like his head had just hit the pillow when Megan came bounding in and jumped on his bed.

“Get up, asshole,” she said and bounced up and down beside him. “You skipped out on dinner last night, but I’m not about to let you miss sailing today.”

“What time is it?” Simon looked over at the clock and groaned. “Fuck. It’s not even six. Go away, Meg. I’m supposed to be taking the weekend off.”

He yanked the pillow over his head, determined to ignore her. His head pounded and what little sleep he did get last night had been haunted with images of Julia’s flushed, sweaty body stretched out, pulsing with pleasure.

Megan crawled off the bed with a loud harrumph. “I’m going, but if you aren’t down at the boat by seven, I’m coming back with the bucket.”

“What are you, ten?” he asked and she just laughed, retreating from his room.

It didn’t seem to matter how many years had passed—when he and Megan were together, they reverted back to childhood. One summer when they were young, he’d dumped a bucket of ice water on her while she slept. She had never forgiven him. And to this day she kept that old bucket, and out of the blue would catch him unaware. Simon had no doubt that if he wasn’t down at the dock she’d use that old tactic, so he rolled out of bed and got ready.

Despite his headache, he and Peter had the boat out of storage and ready to sail by eight. The wind was stiff and it was a good day to be out on the lake, as long as the weather held. The high, white clouds that raced through the sky forecast storms later that day as the temperature rose.

He had just finished checking the sails when the girls started down the stairs from the house. They were loaded down with a large picnic basket and several wine bottles. He leaned over and helped Megan into the boat and then took the basket. He held out an arm to help Julia, but she just looked at his hand as though it was a snake poised to strike. “Let me help you," he said, prompting her.

When Julia placed her hand in his, he leaned back, causing her to slam into him.

“Watch your step,” he whispered into her ear.

Her breath hitched and she looked up to meet his gaze. “I’m…I’m sorry."

“I’m not.”

“Megan said there was a small galley on the boat. I’ll just put this stuff away.” Julia took the basket and turned, but not before he caught the high flush on her cheeks.

After that reaction and the scene last night, Simon knew it was just a matter of time before he had her back in his bed. He’d just have to turn on the charm today.

Julia disappeared below and Peter unmoored them from the dock. They planned to sail along the coast of Lake Michigan and anchor for lunch, before heading back. Simon planned to use that break to find out a little more about Julia, so he could plan his next move.

Peter joined him at the helm after they’d been out for a while. “Megan wants to know if we can stop while the sun is out. She wants to have some wine and sunbathe while she still can.”

Simon looked to the stern where Megan stood waving a bottle of wine and then to the sky. The white puffy clouds were starting to converge into towering thunderheads. It was just a matter of hours before they’d need to head back.

“I think that sounds like a good idea,” Simon said. He looked north and frowned. “The wind has really picked up and it's getting a little choppy. Why don’t we stop here for a short break and then head back?”

Peter shot him a mock salute. “Aye, aye, captain. I’ll tell the girls the plan.”

As Peter headed back to the stern of the boat, Simon unconsciously searched out Julia. She was crouched by the railing, snapping pictures of Megan leaning against the pushpit. Megan shoved a glass of wine in Peter’s hand and threw an arm around him and posed for a few more shots. Good thing Simon didn’t need any help with the sail.

It only took twenty minutes for Simon to find a secluded cove, lower the sails, and set the anchor, but by the time he joined the rest of the group, Megan and Peter were already on the second bottle and Julia was gone.

“About time you joined us,” Megan said, pouring him a glass.

“I think I’d better pass. Someone has to stay sober enough to get us home.” The boat rocked against the wind, and he frowned. The weather was moving in faster than he'd expected. Simon looked around. Julia’s camera bag was still on the deck, but she was nowhere to be found. “You didn’t let your friend fall overboard, did you?”

“She’s below, making food,” Megan said and grabbed the railing to steady herself. “It’s getting a little rough out here. Maybe we should head back.”

“We’ve got a few hours before it gets bad,” Simon said. “But I think you’re right. I’ll go give Julia the heads-up.”

He headed down to the cabin, and heard a soft hum coming from below. He smiled, remembering her in the kitchen, singing with abandon. His thoughts immediately turned carnal as he recalled that same abandon last night when she was in his arms. Simon pushed away the images. That wasn’t the reason he’d come down here.

He cleared his throat.

She jumped and swung around, startled. An apple fell off the narrow counter and rolled across the floor to come to rest at his feet.

“You’ve got to stop sneaking up on me,” she said.

Simon leaned down and snatched the apple off the floor. “I wasn’t sneaking.” He presented the apple to her and smiled. "You were distracted. Do you often get lost in your own little world?”

Julia blushed and looked away. Perhaps she was thinking about last night. Simon knew he was.

“I’m almost done in here. I’ll be up in a few minutes with the food,” she said, picking up the knife and chopping the apples into wedges. “I don’t really need any help.”

“I’m beginning to get that impression, but you know some things work better when you have some help,” Simon said, his voice low. He took another step into the small galley and was right behind her now. “I wanted to talk to you about last night.”

Her hands stilled, and she held the knife in a death grip. “I’m sorry. You’re more right than you know. I tend to get caught up in the moment and I forget myself."

“Julia, I’m not complaining. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

He was inches away from her now and he had to fight the urge to touch her. Simon knew that would be the wrong thing to do. He wanted her, but she needed to be the one to come to him.

“I know you never thought you’d see me again after that night, but I have to be honest. I’m glad we’ve met again.” He watched her, looking for any signs that she might be receptive to what he was about to say, but she wouldn’t look at him. “I know we agreed to pretend like that night never happened, but I can’t.”

Her breathing was slow and even. She was still facing away and Simon couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

“I’m sorry,” she said on a long exhale. “I just can't. Especially knowing who you are.”

“Why should that matter?” He ran his hand up her arm, leaving a trail of gooseflesh in his wake. She wanted this as much as he did. Her response to him said as much. “If this is about Megan, I’ll talk with her.”

She chuckled and shook her head, still refusing to turn around. “Megan’s only part of the problem.” Julia raked the knife across the cutting board, digging the tip into a slice of apple. She raised the speared fruit to eye level and examined it. “Do you know why I asked you back to my room that night? It was because you seemed different than all the other stuffed shirts in that bar. You didn’t have that hungry look in your eye that some men have when they'll do anything to get ahead. Not only were you not like them, but you could see it too. Making fun of all those pharmacy people. That, honestly, was the most fun I’d had in months. Maybe years. You didn’t seem to belong with them and that’s the real reason why I wanted you.”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“I shouldn’t have asked you up to my room.”

Simon had somehow lost control of the conversation and he wasn’t sure he liked where it was heading.
Fuck.
Maybe bringing up that night had been a mistake. “There's nothing wrong with what we did. As a matter of fact it was pretty fucking amazing.”

“But it wasn’t real. We were both playing a part. You were someone else. I was someone else.” She flicked the apple off the edge of the knife. "It was amazing and that’s how I’d like to leave it.”

“No. That’s not good enough.” He touched her shoulder to turn her around. He had to look at her. He needed to see those expressive eyes of hers. But just as she started to turn around, the boat lurched hard to one side and she lost her footing. Julia crashed against the wall and collapsed to the floor.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” She clutched her hand against her chest and a bright red stain soaked into her sun dress.

Simon flew to his knees, trying to asses her injuries. Blood was spreading in a wide circle from her chest and Simon was panicking. “What happened? Where are you bleeding?”

She sucked in a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut. “It’s just my hand. I cut it when I fell. Tell me how bad it is. I can’t……I just can’t look.”

She held the injured hand clenched tight into a fist. Blood dripped in a steady stream onto the floor, forming a small puddle. Even without looking, Simon knew it was a serious cut.

He grabbed a clean towel out of one of the drawers and slowly pried her fingers open. There was a four-inch gash across the meaty part of her palm. Simon dabbed it gently with the towel, causing Julia to hiss in pain. Fat tears escaped her closed eyes and she took deep breaths while he examined the cut more closely. It was deep enough that she was going to need stitches.

“I’m sorry.” Simon leaned in and kissed her temple. He covered the wound with the towel and folded her fingers back around it. "Apply pressure to help with the bleeding, but I’m afraid we’re going to have to get you to the emergency room.”

A soft whimper came from her, and her breath sped up. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Simon grabbed the bowl the apples were in and dumped them into the sink. “Here. Take some deep breaths. It’s not that bad. I promise. You’ll be right as rain by tonight."

She clutched the bowl with her good hand and buried her head in it. She was still breathing too fast, and Simon was worried she might pass out.

“Julia, I need to get the boat back to the house.” He smoothed her hair down and kissed the top of her head. He was no good at his. “Stay right here and I'll get Megan.”