Page 97 of Dream Lake

His hand covered her breasts with warm, stimulating pressure, his palms rubbing softly, and then his thumbs flicked until the tips were rosy and hard. She leaned back against the hard edge of the counter, forcing words between shallow gasps. “Please… upstairs…” She wanted the dark enveloping privacy of a bedroom, the softness of a bed.

“Here,” Alex insisted softly. He took off his own shirt and dropped it to the floor, all toughness and masculine brawn, his body rampantly aroused. His eyes were light and devil blue as he reached into the bowl of frothy cream and scooped some with two fingers. She blinked as she realized what he intended.

“Don’t even think it,” she wheezed, giggling, trying to slide away. “There’s something wrong with you.” But his free hand gripped the front edge of her shorts, anchoring her in place, and he dabbed the chilled white chocolate mixture over the tips of her breasts. She closed her eyes, trembling as he bent to lick and suck the sweetness from her. He stood and kissed her again, his mouth delicious and hungering. His hands were in her shorts, his palms hot against her skin. She couldn’t think, could hardly breathe.Just let him,her body urged, the pleasure unfolding in wanton blooms. Let him ease her shorts and panties off, let him kiss the vulnerable curve of her stomach and grip her bottom with his hands. Let him kneel in front of her, his mouth following the taste of her excitement.

Her legs shook, and she leaned back against the cold granite counter for support. Gooseflesh covered her skin everywhere. He reached for the bowl of cream. A dab of cool sweetness between her thighs. He opened her with his mouth, his tongue flickering. Down, across, up, over. The rhythm was persistent, merciless, allowing her no time to think, lavishing her with a feeling so intense that it shortened the spaces between her heartbeats. She heard herself making sounds like a distraught dreamer, her hips moving in tight circles against his mouth. Her flesh swelled, and he licked deeper, rougher, faster, sending her into a commotion. She cried out, their surroundings shimmering in a brilliant blur. He stayed with her, stroking while the release melted through her, until she was moaning and spent.

Rising to his feet, Alex tugged at the zipper of his jeans. His arms went around her, pulling her upward against the stiff shape of his erection. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her head falling to his shoulder. There was no need for condoms, she had started taking the pill. Reaching down, he angled her hips and positioned himself, and she gasped as a heavy upward thrust nearly lifted her toes from the floor. Her body closed around him, working at the hard invasion until he groaned and thrust again. She was weightless, anchored only by the force of him inside her, shudders of pleasure rebounding from her flesh to his and back again. The breath hissed between his teeth as he came in rough pulses, his arms curling tightly around her. They stood locked and shivering, exchanging soft, sated kisses that soon turned greedy… the kind of kisses you shared with someone you might not have for always, but you could have for right now.

They went upstairs to Alex’s bed, with its cool white sheets and the screened windows open to the salty breeze from False Bay. As Alex kissed and caressed her, the September moon shed cold lavender light into the room. She felt the pull of it, the moon tide of emotion and energy rising as Alex made love to her as if he owned her. As if he wanted the feel of him to sink deep in her nerve memory and never be erased.

He was so strong over her, so deliberate, filling her with heavy lunges while the moonlight wrapped around them. His hand went beneath her bottom, lifting her into his movements. The lust gathered to an agonizing pitch, and she groaned the moment before it uncoiled, but he backed off, slowing, not letting her come. He circled his hips, teasing until she writhed. She gasped out a few pleading words, telling him she wanted him, needed him, she would do anything for him. It wasn’t enough. He brought her to the edge and retreated until they were both sweating and shaking with desire, and he breathed her name with each thrust as he drove her at a slow, merciless pace. She felt hot pleasure-tears leak from her eyes, and he kissed them, pressing wordless gasps against her cheek.

And then she understood what Alex wanted, what he was trying to force from her even though he wasn’t aware of it. The moment she gave it to him, she would lose him. But she had known from the beginning that this was where they’d been heading. Withholding the truth wouldn’t change what was real, what was inevitable.

Turning her face, she spoke close to his ear. “I love you.”

She felt the jolt that went through him, as if she’d just hurt him. But he began to thrust harder, losing control. “I love you,” she said again, and he crushed his mouth over hers, his hips pumping roughly. She felt herself splintering, rapture spilling and spreading. Tearing her mouth free, she repeated the words as if they were an incantation, a charm to break a spell, and he buried his face against her neck and found his own shattering release.

Twenty-three

In the morning they treated each other with the forced casualness of two people desperately trying to pretend nothing had changed, when everything had. Zoë found it unbearable, trying to pretend to be light and cheerful when she could see the way Alex was pulling back from her. They talked impersonally while he drove her to the cottage. It was positively gruesome, Zoë thought privately, feeling miserable and defiant. She knew with every fiber of her being that Alex loved her but would never admit it, that he wanted her to love him but would never allow it.

The home-care nurse’s car was in the driveway. Justine had already returned to the inn.

Pausing at the front door, Zoë turned to face Alex. “Last night was fun,” she said brightly. “Thanks.”

He leaned forward and brushed a light, dry kiss against her lips. His gaze didn’t quite meet hers. “It was fun,” he agreed.

“Will I see you later?” Zoë asked. “Maybe tonight?”

Alex shook his head. “I’m going to be busy the next couple of days with this Inari stuff. But I’ll call you.”

“No… don’t,” she heard herself say.

Alex looked at her then, his eyes questioning.

Zoë didn’t want to keep up pretenses. The idea of waiting and wondering while their relationship drained like sand in an hourglass was too depressing. She had to be honest with him. “What I said last night… I’m sorry it freaked you out. But I can’t take it back. And I don’t want to.”

“I don’t—”

“Please let me finish,” she said with a wavering smile. “If this is the point where you feel like breaking it off, that’s okay.” She reached up to touch his taut cheek. “The only thing is… if you want this to go on, we can’t pretend last night didn’t happen. You have to be okay with me loving you… or else we shouldn’t see each other anymore.”

He was silent for a long moment, his face expressionless. “Maybe we should take a break.”

“Okay,” she whispered, her heart plummeting.

It was over. He was right there with her, but the distance between them might as well have been infinity.

“Just for a few days,” he said.

“Absolutely.” She wanted to plead with him.“Don’t leave me. Let me love you. I need you.”Somehow she managed to lock the words away before they could escape.

“But if you need anything,” Alex said, “call me.”

Never. She wouldn’t do that to him, or herself.

“Yes.” Zoë turned and fumbled in her bag for her key, and somehow managed to unlock the front door. “Bye,” she said without turning back, her eyes burning. And she went inside and closed the door.

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