Wasted (13 page)

“
How do you know about this
place?” She tripped over a rock, and her other hand shot out and
grabbed my arm.

I steadied her. “This property belongs to my
friend’s family. We used to come here all the time when we were
kids. I called him and asked if we could go swimming, and not only
did he assure me that it was fine, but he also told me we’d have
the whole place to ourselves.

“
Is that the swimming
hole?” She pointed to an area ahead flanked on either side by
cliffs. Where the stream deepened, the water transitioned from
pellucid to opaque, and a large, flat rock jutted out of the stream
near the edge of the underground hole.

“
That’s it.”

We found a grassy patch of land on the bank,
just before the terrain began climbing upward toward the top of the
cliffs. I let the backpack slide off my arms and dropped it to the
ground with a soft thud.

“
You ready to go swimming?”
I asked and pulled my shirt over my head, discarding it in a
crumpled pile by the backpack.

Her line of vision focused on my chest, and
I wasn’t sure whether she was studying my tattoos, admiring my
pecs, or avoiding direct eye contact.

“
Lexi, are you checking me
out?”

“
What? No!” Her eyes found
my face.

“
Are you sure?” I asked,
amused that she was obviously disconcerted.

“
No. I mean yes.” Her voice
heightened in pitch, and then her eyes clamped shut. She inhaled
deeply.

I leaned in toward her and whispered, “I’m
going to check you out, too, just as soon as you strip down to your
bathing suit. Or your birthday suit. Your choice.”

“
Mason!” she
shrieked.

“
You’re so damn cute when
you’re flustered.” I reached out and grabbed the zipper of the
lightweight hoodie she wore as a cover up and pulled her to me
until her face was inches from mine.

My lips hovered just above hers. I wanted
her breathing to become erratic. I wanted her pulse to race at my
nearness. I wanted her to be aware of me, to feel the anticipation
of our kiss.

Her eyes widened as she gazed at me, unsure
of my next move. As I gripped the zipper, my knuckles rested
against her chest, and I could feel her uneven breaths. Her
fingertips reached out and grazed my torso as they felt their way
to my hips, and she cupped her palms around my waist and clung to
me for support. When I was sure that she felt all the things I
wanted her to feel, I brushed my lips against hers, teasing her
with the gentlest of touches. My tongue caressed her bottom lip
until she opened for me. As I delved into the warmth of her mouth,
I slowly unzipped her hoodie and pushed it over her shoulders until
it pooled at her feet.

My hands curved around her nape, pulling her
to me. With my thumbs, I tilted her head back, my mouth dropping to
the tender flesh along the slender column of her neck. I breathed
deeply, inhaling her floral scent.

Still grasping her nape with one hand, I
allowed the fingers of my other hand to trace a pathway from the
front of her neck, over her collarbone, and farther down until I
reached the valley between her breasts. I stopped long enough to
guide her hands to my shoulders, and then I continued to trail my
fingertips along her belly, her muscles twitching beneath my
feathery touch as my lips found hers again.

When my fingers dipped into the waistband of
her shorts, I captured her tiny gasp of surprise in my mouth. Her
hands clutched me tighter as I unfastened the button and wriggled
them over her hips. Writhing, she broke away from me, grasping my
arms as she stepped out of her sandals and managed to get her
shorts past her knees. They dropped to the ground, and she hooked
them with her toes, kicking them out of the way.

Holding her at arm’s length, I admired her
bikini, its color reminding me of blue curacao liqueur, which I
often used to make drinks, Blue Lagoon being one of my favorites.
Her bronze skin contrasted sharply against the brilliant hue, and
her rich brunette hair and dark eyes gave her the appearance of a
mythical goddess of the tropics. Appraising her firm body, I drank
in her beauty, her plump lips that had been a favorite of mine
since the first day she came into the bar, the curves of her heavy,
round breasts as they exceeded the boundaries of the triangles of
blue fabric, her slender abdomen with its dangling piercing, and
long, slender legs that were made for wrapping around a man’s
waist.

Unable to control my body’s appreciation of
her femininity, I hardened with desire. “Come on,” I urged her,
“we’re going swimming.”

I grabbed her hand and pulled her to the
water’s edge. As I walked in, she pulled me back.

“
It’s cold.”

“
I know. It’s coming from
the surrounding mountains. You’ll get used to it.” I tugged on her
hand again, urging her into the stream.

As we gingerly stepped along the rocky
bottom, we waded knee-deep. By the time the water hit her waist,
she was sucking in air.

I plunged myself beneath the surface. When I
came up, I smoothed my hands over my hair, squeezing out the excess
water.

“
Just do it,” I told
her.

An unsure expression crossed her features as
she gazed at the stream and rubbed her arms, trying to generate
heat to ease the goose bumps.

I smacked the creek, sending a spray of
water over her. “The pool was a lot colder than this when you
pushed me in.”

She held her breath and submersed herself.
When she came back up, she squealed, “It’s freezing!” Her hardened
nipples strained against her top, and I had the overwhelming urge
to free them from the fabric and warm them with my mouth.

“
Why don’t we have a little
friendly competition to heat things up?” I raised my brows in
question as I awaited her answer.

“
What did you have in
mind?” She crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to warm
herself, squeezing her cleavage together in the process.

“
Let’s race to the other
side.”

“
And what do I get if I
win?” she asked, cocking her head.

“
Bragging rights aren’t
enough for you?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not much of a
bragger.”

“
Okay, then. Pick your
pleasure.”

“
If I win, you have to give
me a foot massage after work tomorrow.”

I tilted my head back and pretended to think
about her offer. “Okay. I guess I can spend half an hour rubbing
your smelly feet.”

She splashed me. “You know my feet don’t
stink.”

I held my hands up in a conciliatory manner.
“Fine. I’ll give you a foot massage if you win, but if I win….”

“
If you win,
what?”

“
If I win, you have to
swing from that rope and jump off the cliff.” I pointed to the
thick rope that dangled from the sturdy branch of an old oak. The
tree grew at the top of the cliff, its branches twisting out over
the stream.

She looked in the direction that I pointed
and saw the rope swaying gently in the breeze. Her mouth dropped
open in horror. “Do you know how high that is?”

“
You’re not chicken, are
you?”

“
Of course not.”

“
Then we have a
deal?”

She smirked. “I like a little oil with my
massage.”

“
And I think a flip or two
would be nice, rather than a boring jump straight into the
water.”

She dove into the stream, her arms slicing
through the water as she raced through the deeper water toward the
other side.

Amused, I waited patiently as she swam like
piranhas were inches away from nibbling on her toes. When she
reached the cliff on the other side, she slapped it victoriously
and scanned the water in search of me.

“
Mason! You didn’t even
try!”

I shot her a grin as I splashed the cold
water on my chest. “Why would I want to pass up the chance to use
massage oil on you?”

“
You could’ve at least
pretended like you were trying.” She pushed her long dark tresses
away from her face as she eased back into the water and swam lazily
toward me.

“
I was trying—trying to
stay here and keep cool because let me tell you something, love.” I
let out a low whistle. “You are sexy as hell in that bathing
suit.”

She approached me. “Here,” she said,
splashing me. “Let me help you cool off.”

When she didn’t relent, I finally started
splashing her in return. Her peals of laughter echoed between the
cliffs. In one final move, she sprang toward me, her arms pressing
against my shoulders in an attempt to push me back into the
water.

I caught her by the waist as we both plunged
backward, the water rushing in over our heads. When I regained my
footing, I pulled her up with me, hugging her against my chest. She
wrapped one arm around my neck and used her hand to squeegee the
water off her face. Opening her eyes, she smiled, drops of water
clinging to her long dark lashes. Damn, she was gorgeous. I froze,
wanting desperately to study her face, to admire her beauty, her
flawless skin, her hypnotic eyes, her intoxicating mouth.

I’d seen my share of beautiful women, but
there was something about Lexi that drew me in and forced me to
take notice. When she realized that I wasn’t smiling, that I was
studying her face intently, the smile faded from her face, too.

Her dark eyes watched me, and I knew that
she was wondering what I was thinking, why our horseplay from
moments ago had now been replaced with this serious connection
between us.

Leaning in closer, I tested her response.
She tilted her face toward me, her lips parting slightly. When I
made no move to close the distance, she inched forward, her mouth
meeting mine in a raw display of hunger. Pleasantly surprised by
her fervor, I matched her enthusiasm as our tongues explored,
teased, tasted.

It was only a kiss, but everything with Lexi
seemed amplified. Reluctantly, I pulled away from her and gazed
upon her face, my fingertips lightly wiping away a few stubborn
drops of water. She leaned in closer, her lips searching for mine.
I dropped a couple of light kisses at the corner of her mouth and
lifted her up. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around my
waist.

Dropping my hand to her breast, I gave it a
gentle squeeze. Shit. My fingers were shaking, and I couldn’t
remember the last time a woman had this effect on me. Slowly, I
slid my fingertips beneath the edge of her top, peeling the fabric
back and exposing her taut nipple. Cupping her ass with one hand, I
traced her breast with the other, noticing the weight of its
fullness as I lifted it and bent down to tease her nipple with my
tongue.

When I drew it into my mouth, she groaned,
thrusting her breast toward me as she entwined her fingers in my
hair. Her tiny gasps of pleasure assured me that she was enjoying
this every bit as much as I was.

My hand slid along her waist beneath the
surface of the water, eased past her bikini bottoms, and stopped at
her thigh. I massaged her flesh, working my way toward her center.
Her hands groped at my shoulders while her hips ground against me.
Her response to me was empowering, and I savored the knowledge that
I could have her squirming with just a few touches.

Separated by a thin layer of nylon, my
fingertips brushed against her cleft. She clutched my face in her
palms and drew my lips to hers.

Ending the kiss, she closed her eyes and
rested her forehead against mine. She unwrapped her legs, slid down
my body until her feet reached the riverbed, and adjusted her
top.

“
Is something wrong?” I
asked.

“
Everything’s just moving
so fast.”

“
I tried to tell you to
slow down, but you just keep on jumping my bones.”

She smacked me in the arm. “I do not. You
are so bad.”

Chuckling, I leaned over and kissed her
chastely on the corner of her mouth. “Let’s get out and talk for a
while.”

She grabbed my hand as we made our way to
the bank.

“
You want to sit on this
rock?” I asked, motioning to a large boulder that jutted out over
the edge of the stream. The top of it was large and flat and
perfect for relaxing in the sun.

“
Works for me.”

I helped her climb up the short distance
onto the rock, admiring her sweet ass from behind.

Once she reached the top, I quickly pulled
myself up the rest of the distance and joined her. She lay on her
stomach, the water draining off her and creating a dark outline on
the otherwise dry stone.

“
This rock is so warm,” she
said, laying her cheek against it. “It feels so good.”

I sat across from her, leaning my forearms
on my bent knees. “It is rather toasty.”

“
It reminds me of the time
when my parents took Seren and me camping when I was a kid. I think
we were twelve. We met a bunch of girls our age, and we swam in the
lake and sat on a rock like this one. One of the girls took us back
to her tent and stole a bottle of her dad’s beer. She passed it
around, so we could all have a taste.”

“
And did you like
it?”

“
I didn’t really drink any.
I put the bottle to my lips and pretended like I did. When I
finished, I wiped my mouth off with the back of my hand. I could
still taste it a little, and I hated it.”

“
What about Seren? Did she
like it?”

Lexi folded her arms under her chin. “She
said she did, but I saw the look on her face when she got a big
swig. I’m pretty sure she thought it was as disgusting as I
did.