Unexpected Places (12 page)

‘Ariana. And, um, yes, I…I guess…um…’

Laughing at her hesitant, shy reply, and truly impressed with her acting abilities, Luke moved her hair to one side. Tendrils of her soft, silky hair dipped into the water and clung to her slim body. He slid his fingertips over her throat, and then stroked the oval curve of her jaw. Cupping her chin, he leaned down and kissed the creaminess of her cheek.

‘Breathe,’ he ordered softly.

Ariana suddenly drew in a large gulp of air, opened her eyes wide, and smiled. It was his turn to hold his breath now, as he gazed down into her huge green eyes and appreciated all over again how pretty she was. Without even knowing he was going to do it, he kissed her. Her lips parted and he deepened the kiss. He smiled as her tongue tentatively met his.

His hard-on was reaching painful proportions, and, breaking the kiss, he groaned. If Ariana could make him this hard with a kiss, what was going to happen next was going to be the best sex he’d ever had.

Ariana’s eyes widened when he abruptly stood and scooped her into his arms. He burst out laughing at her gasped response of, ‘Oh my goodness!’, as she felt his full erection pressing into her back.

Grabbing a couple of towels, he carried her over to the bed, spread one out on top of the cover and lowered her carefully down onto it. She shivered. ‘Sorry,’ he said, ‘the air conditioning is a bit cold in here, but I’ll enjoy drying every sweet bit of you, starting with these lovely things.’ He pressed the other soft towel against her high, round breasts, with their hard, erect and pretty pink nipples. ‘For such a little girl, you have amazingly big tits.’

Ariana opened her eyes and simultaneously wrinkled her little nose and tried to cover herself. Laughing, he grabbed her wrists and held her arms above her head. ‘Sorry, sweetheart. That’s not part of the game is it? What should I call them?’

* * *

He bent his head and licked her left nipple.
Oh my goodness
. As Ariana arched her spine, a zap travelled right down between her thighs. Did she just whimper those words? She wrestled her wrists away from his hands and plunged her fingers into his short, cropped hair. Luke raised his head and smiled down at her, raising an enquiring eyebrow. He wanted to talk to her
now
? ‘Actually, Luke,’ she whispered, ‘
tits
is fine, though maybe a bit rude. But, please, don’t stop.’

Luke lowered his head toward her breast and she felt him laughing as his teeth softly grazed her nipple, before he turned his head and suckled and licked its partner. His fingers slid down her wet stomach, until they found the curls at the apex of her thighs. It was then that Ariana realised her legs were clamped tightly together, for he wedged a thigh between them and forced them apart. He traced a gentle line down the crevice of her labia. Everything down there throbbed in delight. He lifted his head and grinned at her. ‘Wait till you see what I can do with my tongue.’

He lowered his head again, and this time, with gentle, teasing kisses, skimmed down her belly with his lips. His tongue swirled around her belly button, and then…she nearly shot off the bed with his tongue’s first pass over her clitoris. ‘Luke, I don’t think… oh god, that feels…’

‘Shhh, sweetheart,’ he murmured against her clit. ‘Just enjoy this, don’t fight me.’

It was such good advice that Ariana decided to shut up. She closed her eyes, and writhed as his soft wet tongue softly lapped and teased her. He pushed her thighs far apart, then continued his delightful torture, licking, kissing, swirling, flicking, until the pressure rose, more and more, until it seemed as if she were going to explode. And then it seemed to her that she did. Explode, that is. Her first ever orgasm given by another person, and goodness, it was good. She heard herself scream as she came, and opened her eyes in time to see Luke smile.

She smiled back.

But she wanted more. A hollow feeling, deep inside her core, told her what she wanted. She wanted Luke. Right there.

He seemed able to read her mind, for he reached over to his top drawer and drew out a small packet. Her eyes widened as she saw the length and width of what was about to go inside her for the first time. After swiftly donning the condom, Luke moved up and over her, forcing her thighs wide apart. He braced her feet against his shoulders and folded her in on herself. ‘Are you ready for this, my sweet little virgin?’ he asked, grinning.

Ariana nodded fervently, unable to think of a single word in reply.

Luke laughed, and plunged his rock hard shaft into her slick wet heat. And it hurt. It hurt so, so much. She cried out at a level of a pain she’d never known. Luke stilled, and he seemed to pale before her eyes, as he stared down at her with incredulous eyes. ‘You really are a virgin,’ he whispered.

‘Was,’ she corrected. He was still deep inside her, but the pain seemed to be less now. She tilted her hips experimentally.

‘What are you doing? Keep still, I’m trying not to hurt you. Ari…I’m sorry, I thought you were playing a game.’

She rocked her hips against him. The pain was all gone, and Luke felt fantastic.

‘Ariana, do you want me to stop?’

She laughed up at him as he studied her with anxious eyes. ‘You’re ruining your whole dominating, vengeful image, you know. And it’s fine now. Great, I think.’ She tilted her hips toward his, loving the feeling of being filled up. ‘Yep. No way do I want you to stop, Mr Donahue.’

His lips curved in amused appreciation. ‘Mr Donahue, eh? I love the way you talk.’ He frowned. ‘Are you sure?’

Smacking him on his muscled bottom, she tilted hard against him. ‘Just do it,’ she ordered, laughing.

‘Thank god,’ he murmured. Then he groaned as he cupped her thighs and lifted her up to him, surging in and out of her in a powerful rhythm. ‘Tell me if I’m doing this too hard,’ he panted. ‘Tell me if I’m hurting you.’

‘You’re…not…hurting…me,’ she gasped in time to each thrust. And he wasn’t hurting her. Not at all. She opened her eyes to admire Luke’s strong body towering over her. Then she shut them again to savour what he was doing, as he drove his hard, male flesh deep inside her. That incredible pleasure rose again. Her orgasm took her by surprise. Luke followed close behind, thrusting deep inside her as he shouted out in pleasure. Someone’s heart was thudding hard. Maybe it was hers. Maybe it was Luke’s as well. As he lay on top of her, she sighed in languorous contentment. His body felt heavy and satiny with sweat.

Wow. So that’s what sex was all about.

Luke’s face creased into a smile as he kissed her with gentle sweetness, and rolled away, still holding her, so that she lay within the circle of his arms.

‘Well, little Ariana, you’re an amazing lady. Your surprises keep on coming. I’ll be back in a minute, and then we’ll talk.’

He rose, and Ariana admired his swimmer’s physique as he turned around. His broad, tanned shoulders tapered down to slim hips and an amazingly pert bum. Her eyes dropped to her own body, sprawled out in happy abandon. And that’s when she saw the blood.

‘Oh!’ she groaned in embarrassment. She jumped up, snatched up the towel, and ran to the bathroom. She met Luke at the doorway on his way out.

She could feel her face burning. ‘Um…’

‘Is there something wrong, Ariana?’

Why was he so grim?

If her face got any hotter, she could have fried tonight’s dinner on it. ‘Um…no…nothing’s exactly wrong. I’ll just jump into the bath again.’

Luke stared at her. Then he noticed her legs and the towel. His face softened. He reached out and kissed her. ‘Don’t be embarrassed, sweetheart,’ he whispered. ‘It’s what happens.’

She nodded, comforted by his strong arms and sweet kiss.

He drew away. ‘Throw that towel into the basket. There’s fresh ones in the cupboard.’

As she gazed up at Luke, she was puzzled. He seemed so solemn.

‘Have a quick bath, and then we’ll talk.’

Had she done something wrong?

Ariana had a record-breaking dip in the cooling water. As the water gurgled down the plug hole — where did it go? Straight into the river? Surely not. She dried herself in seconds, secured a fresh towel around her, and ensured her breasts were fully covered by white, fluffy towelling. She glanced in the mirror at the result. Her hair was a mess and her face and neck had red blotches from Luke’s stubbled chin. She and her reflection grinned at each other.

When she emerged into the cabin, Luke had spread back the cover, and was lying on the white sheets, his head propped up on his elbow. He motioned for her to join him.

As she lay next to his long, lithe, naked body, she smiled. He didn’t return her smile. His eyes were serious, his brows drawn together.

‘How old are you?’ he asked.

‘I’m twenty-one.’ Ariana sat up. ‘What’s wrong Luke? Why are you looking angry with me again? Was…was I bad, or something?’

Luke groaned and hauled her against him. ‘Jesus, no. Of course you weren’t bad. You saw what you did to me.’ He kissed her lips. Then he gently put her away from him. ‘I’m not angry with you. But, I guess, I’m confused. You’re an incredibly pretty, sexy girl. You work for Changpu. He employs women who trade their bodies to get what he wants. Yet you were a virgin. You have some explaining to do, young lady.’

She had some explaining to do? Who did he think he was?

‘I don’t have to explain a thing to you, Mr Donahue,’ she snapped. She lifted herself away from the bed. Her towel slipped and his eyes were drawn downwards.

‘Yes you do,’ he corrected, as he gently pushed her back onto the mattress. His hand cupped one of her now exposed breasts. ‘First of all there’s the way you talk. The whole “Jesus Mary and Joseph” and “Goodness Gracious” thing. We’ve just fucked —’

She opened her mouth again.

‘— and very nice it was too, don’t think I’m complaining, but you’re still calling me “Mr Donahue”, for crying out loud. Don’t you think we should be on first name basis by now? And then there’s the little fact that, until about five minutes ago, you were a virgin. So, the question I want answered, Ariana, is this. What is going on? Who the bloody hell are you?’

‘I wish you would stop swearing.’

‘Don’t change the subject.’

She worried at her bottom lip, and wondered what the heck she could say to him. Almost the only truthful thing she’d told him was that she’d been a virgin, and he hadn’t believed that bit.

Luke sighed. ‘Let’s take it in little chunks. And we’ll start at the beginning, with no more lies.’ He shot her a warning glare. ‘Your name is?’

* * *

She rolled her eyes. ‘You
know
what my name is.’

‘Do I?’ Luke said dryly. ‘Seems to me you have a couple of aliases. So far, there’s Ariana and Moonbeam. You got another one anywhere? The real one maybe?’

‘They are my real names,’ she snapped. ‘Both of them.’

He laughed. ‘Your parents named you Moonbeam? Give me some credit. Ariana is weird enough.’

Her eyes were spitting now. Laughing in earnest, Luke kissed her soothingly on her soft lips. The indignant schoolmarm. God, he loved that one. ‘Do you wear glasses?’

She stared at him. ‘Um, yes, sometimes, when I’m working on the computer and for close-up work. I’m an accountant, so there’s a lot of that.’

He sighed in satisfaction. His little Ariana was an accountant. No surprises there.

‘So back to my first question. Your name. Ariana is pretty and suits you, though it’s a strange one for an accountant. But Moonbeam?’

Ariana pressed her lips together, doing a sulky teenager impression now. ‘Moonbeam is my first name and Ariana is my middle name. I use it because it’s slightly less weird. My names might make sense to you if I tell you I grew up on a hippy commune, just outside Nimbin, in northern New South Wales.’

He nodded. Everyone knew Nimbin.

‘When I went to school, I was allowed to use my middle name.’

‘But your parents and grandmother still call you Moonbeam?’

‘Grandma does. Everyone on the commune does. But Mum is dead.’

‘I’m sorry.’ Luke leaned toward her and lightly touched her shoulder. ‘My mother died when I was twelve. Cancer. If every woman was like Mum, I’d probably be a much nicer guy.’

‘Maybe you would have been,’ Ariana agreed.

‘And your dad calls you Moonbeam?’ he persisted, ignoring her insult, unable to stop his fascination with people who’d saddle their child with a name like Moonbeam.

‘Good grief, what is it with you and my name?’ she exploded. ‘I have no idea who my dad is.’ She wriggled wildly away from him, threw herself to her feet, and hitched up her towel. Wrapping it tightly around her tiny body, she paced about the spacious cabin like an angry cat. If she’d had a tail, it would be swishing. ‘Actually, my dad is any one of several blokes on the commune. They’re all still there. All on the dole, losing teeth, dreadlocks down to their waists. I’m so proud one of them is my dad.’

Her eyes shone with unshed tears. Her hands clenched in white knuckled fists.
Shit.
Luke leapt off the bed and pulled her against him, running his hands down her exposed back, trying to soothe her. She was trembling. For a tiny, non-swearing, recently virginal accountant, she had a bucketload of issues. He’d had no intention of hurting her with his questions. ‘Ari, you don’t have to—’

But now the flood gates had opened, and she didn’t seem to want to stop. ‘And my mum,’ she struggled out of his arms and resumed her pacing, ‘my mum left the commune with a new guy. She wanted to take me with her, but Grandma wouldn’t let her. Mum was getting into serious drugs by then. We heard she overdosed up in Cairns.’

She stopped, breathing heavily. Once more, he followed her, and drew her into his arms. This time she didn’t struggle. She wound her arms around his chest and rested her cheek against him.

‘I hated it at the commune,’ she whispered. ‘About the same time Mum left, I was about eleven, Grandma booked me into boarding school. She smiled wryly. ‘Surprised everyone. Grandma was a closet Catholic and rich.’

Luke had gone to a private Catholic school himself. He grinned. ‘Must have been a big contrast to Nimbin.’

He felt Ari relax. Glancing down, he saw her smile. ‘I loved it there. The rules, the ambition. Every single girl was going to make something of herself, not just drift along. We had a few nuns, and they took a real interest in me. After a while, I ended up staying on at school over the holidays because I never wanted to go back to the commune. The nuns were so strict, but kind. They never swore.’ She stared reproachfully up at him.