Page 44 of Passionate Defense

“I’m being cautious. This creamy white skin rarely sees the light of day.” He leaned over and sucked on a taut, bare peak. “I imagine sunburned nipples would be quite painful.”

“Yeah. It would sure put a damper on our play.”

“That, too,” he said as he gave the bud a long lick, before rubbing in more sunscreen.

He kept guard as she sunbathed topless, drinking in the last of summer’s warm rays. Only once, when a man and his dog jogged past, did she have to cover up. Ethan was there for her, leaning over her, pressed chest to chest as he claimed yet another kiss from her smiling lips.

The sun was dipping low in the western sky when they headed back inside, dumped their beach paraphernalia on the deck, and made love on the first surface they encountered inside the door—the dining room table. They showered, but too exhausted from the sun, sea, fresh air, and sex, finished the contents of the cooler and spent a quiet evening in their temporary dream home, enjoying the closeness of each other’s company.

Sunday was a near repeat of the previous day, except they dined at a seaside saloon in town. As Ethan pulled into the lot, Lanie rolled with laughter at the name on the hand-painted sign. Spanky’s Crab Shack was a quaint, casual restaurant with red-checkered tablecloths and a wonderful view of the marina off Nantucket Sound. Afterward, they got hand-dipped ice cream cones and walked along the viewing pier.

There was a cool breeze blowing in off the water as the sun dipped below the horizon. Sleeveless, and not thinking she would need a sweater, Lanie moved closer to Ethan for warmth. Although she was chilled, the ice cream tempted her tongue. She took a big lick. As soon as she did, the rounded scoop of double-chocolate fudge chip rolled off the cone, bounced off her chest, leaving a sticky brown smear on her white tee before it landed with a plop on her shoe.

“Well, shit,” she grumbled, as she glared down at the mess.

“Tsk, tsk.”

Lanie glanced up at the disapproving sound. A man passing by with a young woman on his arm was giving her a reproachful look. As she blushed, her gaze fell on the girl dressed in a short skirt and a novelty tee. She zeroed in on the twin pigtails and matching pink ribbons in her hair. On closer inspection, Lanie noticed she wasn’t a teen as she’d first thought; instead, she was much closer to her own age.

“A paddling followed by a good soaping will curb your little girl’s naughty tongue, my good man.” Despite his stern words, he clapped Ethan on the shoulder and gave Lanie a wink, before he tugged on his girl’s hand. “C’mon, missy, let’s get you warm.”

They stared after the pair, watching as the girl practically skipped along beside him. They were almost out of sight when Missy glanced back with a broad grin and gave them a wave over her shoulder.

Staring after them for a moment, they broke into loud peals of laughter. Maybe it was her hair in the twin ponytails gathered behind her ears, or the pretty pink skirt covered with dots, bows, and beach umbrellas, or it could have been her white Keds and anklet socks. But most likely it was the combination of all the above, plus the ice cream cone and the hand-holding. Whatever the case, it was the impetus for Ethan to take her straight home and act on his advice, less the soaping.

Once he’d bent her over the back of the couch and warmed her bare ass to a warm rosy red, he took her in a very un-daddy-like fashion.

All too soon, Monday evening rolled around, and real life called them back to Boston. Neither wanted to leave, but they quietly packed and headed out with pink noses from too much sun, sand in their shoes, and a weekend’s worth of wonderful memories.

Chapter 11

“BREATHE, BABY.”

Lanie took in the chaos of her usually orderly desk. Stacks of files and piles of error-ridden invoices covered every available surface.

“I can’t,” she replied with mounting panic. “We’ve got a mess on our hands. Penny’s great with the phones and appointments, but she’s in over her head handling the billing and account statements. Beth and I are already covered up, and neither of us has time to check her work. Angie has done billing before, but she can barely keep up with the contracts, briefs, motions, and other court filings as it is. What are we going to do?”

---