Thigh High (6 page)

“Oh, you're good. Do that again.”

A second finger slid home and she rocked against his palm, sucking sounds proving her arousal. She kissed him into silence when he looked ready to speak, then decided to take him way past the need to talk.

She dropped to her knees, regretting the loss of his fingers in her slit. But a girl had to do what a girl had to do. She worked his tented shorts open and freed his cock.

Jutting flesh greeted her, and she took him tip-deep into her mouth. She followed his lead and played lightly with the bulbous purple head, sliding and swirling her tongue. His shaft thickened with the attention, and she cupped his scrotum. His balls pulled up hard and she knew he was close. In spite of the orgasms through the night and early morning, Daniel was a wake-up sex kind of guy.

He groaned and held her head lightly while she played him.

“Bed,” he groaned. “I need—”

But she knew what she needed and this was it. To know she could take him over the edge with nothing but her mouth gave her a power she loved. A power she craved. A power she had to use to keep his mind off the man he'd seen.

Because this had to be good-bye.

 

Something was off, Daniel decided, while his thoughts whirled and sensation threatened to take him over the edge into orgasm. She was anxious and hurried, whereas all the other times they'd made love, Frankie had been open and at ease. Once she got over her shyness and got rocking, that was.

She surged and sucked him, licked his balls and took them into her mouth. He nearly lost it then, but managed to hold on long enough to form a plan.

He burrowed his fingers into her hair and tugged lightly to pull her away. She moved, looked up at him with feverish need and tried to dive back into his crotch.

“No. Bed, now.” He picked her up and she cuddled into his arms. He stepped out of the shorts around his ankles and carried her back to bed.

Following her down into the mattress he pressed his body the length of hers, twining their feet, his cock cushioned by the softness of her belly. He slid his hands into her hair again, holding her still. He stared into her eyes until she focused and quieted.

“What's going on, Frankie?”

“What do you mean?” She pumped her stomach muscles, sending fluttery sensations from his cock up his spine. Sweet heaven, the woman didn't stop.

“Don't play this game. As soon as I mentioned that guy on your yacht, you went from morning-after comfortable to let's get this over with.”

Her eyes widened. “You're crazy.” She moved her head from side to side to break his light grip.

He let her go and sat back on his haunches. “Maybe I am, and maybe some women can switch gears that fast, but I don't think you're one of them. We were about to settle in for a quiet day together. You know it and I know it.”

“I know nothing of the kind.” She stiffened, looking alarmed. He rolled away. She needed room. Whatever was wrong, it wasn't about him. It was about her visitor. Hell, even Barkley hadn't liked the guy.

“You put on my shirt,” he explained. “If you weren't planning to spend the day with me, you'd have dressed in your own clothes. You'd have left for your place.” He hated that he couldn't tell from one moment to the next whether she'd be here or not. It had been like that since she'd first come onboard.

She nibbled her bottom lip but kept silent.

“Who was the guy on the yacht? He had a camera, if that helps.”

She groaned. “Telephoto lens, too, I bet.”

“Yeah, come to think of it.”

She bit her lip again. “I can't be seen, Daniel. If I am, all hell will break loose and I'll have to leave.” Her hands fluttered over her chest in a gesture that screamed nervous fright. “I should go anyway.”

“Go where? Whoever this guy is, he found you here. He'll find you again. What's going on?”

“What did you say to him?”

“He said he was looking for the owner of the boat. Asked if I knew where ‘she' was. I said there was no ‘her' and that the yacht owner was away. He seemed okay with that answer and moved off without giving me his name.”

She nodded, and he could see her thoughts whirling. “I should still leave. He'll be back if he doesn't have anywhere else to look.”

“Stay here. Keep out of sight for a few days. Wait it out in bed.” He ran his palm down her chest, past her lusciously sexy belly and found her slickness.

She blinked and smiled. “For today,” she said. “I'll stay for today. I have to consider my options.”

“One of them being me.” He slid two fingers into her, watched as she closed her eyes and raised her hips for more. Wet heat enveloped him as he moved his fingers in and out, taking her mind off the conversation. He pulled his fingers out and licked them.

She stroked his cock with languid care, making his belly tighten.

She sighed and opened her legs. The woman from last night, relaxed and free, came out from under her nerves, and Daniel settled in to enjoy every moment of her company for as long as he had it.

“Stay with me, Frankie; it's too soon to lose this.”

“Yes, too soon.”

He slid into her and rocked her into an orgasm that took him too.

 

Two hours later, she knew she should deal with the disturbing news of the man on the yacht, but she'd been
dealing
for six months and she was tired. Tired of running, of hiding, of trying to keep her sister out of harm's way.

Meetings out the wazoo. Being chased, harassed, photographed, her emotions left raw and bleeding. Her family had been blown to the far corners of the earth. It was all too much. She needed to crash.

What better place to land than here, with Daniel. The man with the golden touch and the softest, most versatile lips she'd ever come across. She giggled at the thought.

To come across his lips was something she planned on doing several times today. Beginning now…

He blew a raspberry on her belly!

Just when she was settling in for some serious lovin' he got silly. She squealed when he did it again.

“That's better,” he murmured as he trailed his lips lower. Sensation speared her as he nuzzled at her curls. Buried deep in her folds her clit plumped and filled. Remembered response. Her body already anticipated the slow build of tension Daniel was so good at.

She shuddered. “That's so good,” she praised, smiling inside at the raspberry. The man knew exactly what to do to make her forget her troubles.

No one knew she was here with Daniel. She was safe for as long as she stayed out of sight.

She closed her eyes and let Daniel's easy strokes carry her along to glory. He slid his palms beneath her hips and raised her to his face.

“Open for me, Frankie, I love to look at you.”

She slid two fingers to her pussy and widened her lips for him. The tip of his tongue found her clit and rocked her hard with a fluttering that carried her over the edge. Held up this way, she couldn't move her hips but had to leave it to Daniel to press and take her higher before she fell, fell, fell into the abyss of exquisite sensation only Daniel could create.

Before the inner pulses died away, he shattered her again with an invasion of cock that stole what breath she had left. She took him in to the hilt and rocked him past all thought and deep into the world of sensation he'd created.

“I
'm leaving him,” Fiona said.

Frankie pressed the phone to her ear. “Oh, give me a break. Leave Bernie? Are you insane?” She was, Frankie realized. Fiona was nuts. “You've been engaged for three years and together since high school. You're
not
leaving Bernie.” Besides, she'd been saying that same thing since they met. Frankie had hoped that having a longed-for wedding would stop the nonsense. But no, apparently her sister had tuned out the “til death do you part” section of the vows.

“We're stuck up here with nowhere to go but fishing. It's cold, it's wet and I want to go home.” Home meaning more than the place they grew up. Frankie gripped the receiver tighter.

“I'd like our lives back to normal too. We have to hang tough a while longer.”

Her sister sniffed into the phone. “You're right. It's just—it's been so long. And Bernie's having the time of his life. He's found a bunch of hunters and guys who fish to hang with. I'm lonely.” A social butterfly, Fee wasn't used to being left to her own devices. Frankie took a deep breath and prayed for patience.

“You don't know how lucky you are to have Bernie.” She surprised herself with the depth of her feelings. She was jealous! Not of Bernie, but of the trust her sister had in him. Dependable Bernie, always-there-for-Fiona Bernie. Frankie sighed and bit back hard on the jealous pang. “Bernie loves you, would die without you. Believe me, that counts for a lot.”

“I know,” her sister responded in a broken whisper. “Believe me, I know. I thought it would be different, that's all.”

“Marriage you mean?” It was a supremely stupid question considering they'd been living together for years. Oh! The distress that had caused her traditionally minded parents.

“No, the other thing.”

“All that is being sorted out. We have responsibilities and I'm seeing that we all live up to them. Well, as much as I can, anyway.”

Fee chuckled. “You've always been good at being responsible. While I've been nothing but a screwup.”

“Don't say that, Fee.” Anyone would have gone crazy given their situation. “You took the news about the thong going back exceptionally well.” That was a huge step for her shopaholic sister.

Fee's mood had changed from whiny to reasonable. Frankie made the best of it.

She leaned back against the shady wall of Daniel's boathouse. Wearing an old lady caftan topped with a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, she blended in with a lot of the population on the houseboats. From a distance, she hoped her getup would make her look thirty years older. She hoped it was enough.

“Poor Bernie,” Fee chuckled. “He'll never see my pussy dripping in diamonds.” An image Frankie could have done without.

“Yeah, thanks for that, Fee. Just what I want emblazoned on my brain.”

Fiona giggled, her sunny nature restored. “So, how are things with you?”

She shouldn't think it, let alone say it out loud, but it felt so good she had to share. “I've met someone.”

“No shit, who?”

“If you can believe it. A DJ.”

“You mean you've been partying? Hooked up at a club? That doesn't sound like you.” The sudden concern in her sister's voice warmed her. Maybe her family wasn't as splintered as she thought.

“No, not a club DJ. He's on the radio. He's good, Fee. I just love to listen to his voice. He does a late-night blues show.”

“Does he know?”

“Of course not. I can't tell him.” She wanted to. She was missing out on so much sharing. All the getting-to-know-you stuff that was vital in the early days of a—she broke off the thought.

“I guess you can't.” There was a pause on the line, and Fiona moved away from some background television noise. “That's better. Listen, Frankie, I'm glad you've met him. You're way past due for some action, but you're right to keep it to yourself. You can't trust anybody.” Her sister's firm, quiet voice surprised her.

Fiona was rarely the one who chastised.

Oh, but she wanted to trust Daniel. He inspired hope and confidence. If nothing else but these few days were in the cards for her and Daniel, she'd cherish them forever.

“Don't worry.” She cupped her hand over her mouth for more privacy. “I may not be around for the next few days, Fee. A guy with a camera showed up on the yacht. For now I'm hiding out with Daniel, but if I'm discovered, I'll be moving fast.” Leaving Daniel.

She patted Barkley's head. He'd taken to sitting beside her whenever she ventured out on deck alone. Her little guardian.

“Hiding out with him? He must be important if you're taking that kind of chance.”

Again, she squeezed the phone tight. “He is, Fee. I have a lot of feelings for him already. He's kind and protective and hasn't asked me much, in spite of being curious. He's smart, too, and funny. He chased the guy off the yacht, told him I was gone away, even before he checked with me. Said Barkley didn't like the guy either.”

“Barkley?”

“His dog. Scruffy terrier cross, cute and a real pain in the ass, but he barked at this guy and Daniel ran over to the yacht.”

“Where were you?”

“Sleeping.”

“In Daniel's bed?”

She let silence be her answer.

“So, the bed thing's good?”

“Fee!”

“You can tell me, I won't tell Ma and Dad.”

She grinned and her pussy twitched in memory. “Rockets, Fee. Rockets like the Fourth of July.”

Fiona laughed long and hard. “It's about time. If you could only find a way to trust him, he might be a keeper.”

A keeper.

And this was the worst possible time to find one.

“He would be a keeper if he wasn't moving to Chicago.” She told Fee about the transfer. “He wants the promotion to the morning slot. Although I suspect he'd prefer to stay on late night. It's weird.”

“Is that what he said?”

“No, he said working the morning shift was everything he wanted, but he had a sad look in his eyes when he said it.”

“When he told you about this promotion, did he ask you to join him? How serious is this?”

“When it looked as if he was going to ask me, I kind of changed the subject. Distracted him. If it was any other time, and especially any other place, I'd want to be with him.”

“That's quick.”

“Crazy, huh?”

There was a prickly silence. “Oh, Frankie.” Fee's voice crackled with sympathy. “I hate fate. Sometimes it really fucks up.”

“It sure seems to be giving me the gears.” She cleared her throat and tried to put a smile in her voice. “Speaking of keepers, you have one in Bernie.” She couldn't believe she was saying it, but boring old Bernie was dependable and honest and a far better man than Fiona would find now. Yes, thank God for Bernie. He kept Fiona grounded.

“I realize Bernie's a forever kind of guy.” She sighed, long, hard and suffering. “About this safari in Africa. Do I really have to go?”

“You really have to go. Unless you can promise to keep a low profile when you get back from Alaska.”

“But—”

“No buts. Bernie gets it, why don't you?”

On that note, Fiona growled her frustration and disconnected.

Frankie had been fighting an uphill battle with her sister for six months. With a touch of good luck, some of this traveling would open Fiona's eyes.

Frankie could only hope.

“Fiona is a sweet girl, Barkley,” she said as she scratched the dog behind the ears, “but not particularly aware of the world at large. If conditions don't effect her, they don't exist.” The dog looked up at her, brown eyes bright and curious. He tilted his head. “Don't get me wrong. She isn't cruel, or mean-spirited, she's just…small in her scope.”

Barkly groaned and rolled to his back, presenting his belly for a rub. She obliged, happy to be outside, even if she was dressed in an ugly caftan that covered her from neck to ankles.

A seaplane roared out of the harbor, water dripping, sparkly and light, from its pontoons. Maybe she should be on the next one out of here.

But she didn't want to go. These nights with Daniel had twisted her up into knots of want. She wanted Daniel in bed, she wanted Daniel at the breakfast and dinner table, she wanted Daniel holding her hand, Daniel's arms, his trust, his…love. She wanted all of it.

But could
she
give
him
all those things? Without complication, without mistrust, without doubt. She definitely couldn't if he found out her secret. And the longer she stayed here the more likely it was that her secret would come out.

That would spell the end of this time with him. The end. No more Daniel. No more loving in the wee hours when the soft quiet of the waterfront seeped through her bones.

The pain of losing him seared her.

She tracked the seaplane, banking to the left, heading into the sun. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe she'd book a flight tomorrow. One more night with Daniel couldn't hurt.

She picked Barkley up and buried her face in his neck, fighting tears. He kissed the top of her head, then yipped and squirmed to get down. She let him go and swiped at the moisture gathered in her eyelashes.

“Your sister?” Daniel's voice startled her, while Barkley danced on deck.

“Yes, Fiona.” She sniffed. “Thanks for the use of your phone.” Her own might be traceable. She hadn't needed to explain, Daniel had simply passed her his cell phone.

“Ah.” He nodded. “She has a name.” He pulled a chair over to sit close. Leaned in. “Is there anything wrong?” His finger smeared across her cheek with a gentleness she loved.

“No, I just miss my family. We've grown apart.”

“You can always mend fences.”

She stayed cross-legged on the floor, back to the wall, hating that she'd made him believe there'd been a falling out. Every lie of omission, every half truth and misrepresentation ate at her. Daniel deserved better.

He grinned and made a show of raising his eyebrows. “Nice outfit. Sexy as hell.”

“Oh baby,” she quipped, then slid her hem to her knees in a peek-a-boo slide designed to make him laugh.

He did.

Humor. Comfort. Acceptance. All three flashed between them.

This was the way it was supposed to be between people who cared for each other. It pained her that she had to be dishonest.

“You're taking a chance being out here,” he commented, with a quick glance around the harbor.

She cleared her throat. The man's intuition kept surprising her. He ran his fingers along the center part in her hair, then slid them through to the ends. “Tell me what's going on, Frankie. Whatever it is, I can help. I want to help.”

She tilted into his hand seeking the comfort he offered, but taking none. The push–pull in her heart was making her crazy. Daniel pulled at her while her own problems yanked her away from trusting him.

“This is something I need to work out for myself. I'm the only one who can do it.”

“Okay.” His voice quieted. “If it's money you need, I've got some.”

She warmed. “That's sweet. You have no idea what that offer means to me, but money from you won't help.”

“Then what else can I do?”

“Take me to bed, Daniel. That's what I need.” More of his Fourth of July rockets would set things right for the moment.