Page 41 of Space Oddities

He busts out laughing, his shoulders shaking. “Jesus, I thought that was only a Jules thing.”

Locking my legs behind him more securely, I grab his face with both hands. “What do you know about Jules’ lady blue balls?”

Laughing harder, it takes him a minute to answer. “I was worried when you didn’t answer me when I said goodbye this morning, so I asked Jules about it.” He looks embarrassed, eyes shifting to the side. “She mentioned lady blue balls, but I didn’t believe it was a thing.”

I chuckle, imagining his expression after Jules dropped that morsel of knowledge on him. I place my hands back on his shoulders, my eyes lowering to watch a droplet of water slide down his neck into the hollow of his collarbone. My laughter fades as more insecurities I didn’t know I had, and can’t seem to fight, surface. “I thought maybe you didn’t want to after our talk last night. About what I… told you about my past and—”

“Hey.” Ian waits until I find the courage to peek up at him. When I do, I’m shocked by the intensity of his gaze. “You are all I’ve wanted since you hollered out that ridiculous greeting across a bunch of drunk engineers at the bar. I love your friendly nature. Your self-made drive. What you told me only makes me want you more. You are so impressive, Trish Garrett.”

Pressure I didn’t know was weighing me down since this morning vanishes, bringing my smile back, and with it hot tears of relief. Hopefully they blend in with the pool water dripping off me.

“Besides, I thought you were embarrassed over what I told you.”

I frown, not following him. “What do you mean?”

He shrugs, the movement doing delicious things to his pectorals. “I thought you moved into the guest room this morning because you maybe weren’t attracted to me now that you know I’m a grown man afraid of small spaces.”

“That’s just ridiculous. That’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Smiling, Ian slides his hands from my thighs up my back, wrapping them around me, pulling me in for a hug, the embrace more intimate than sex.

Though our bodies are aligned, and from the pressure behind his Speedo, more than primed for sex, my stupid heart has me sinking into his arms, grabbing hold of his affection like a starved animal. I have a feeling it might be the same for Ian too.

I may have had a one-night stand or two over the years when loneliness found me, leaving town the next day to sever all connections, but since the day I started running, I’ve never had this. This sense of understanding. This feeling of…

My thoughts cause my body to stiffen. I push back from his embrace.

Blinking into his handsome face with his sincere gaze, I struggle to come back to reality.Don’t you dare, Patty Anne Garrett. Don’t youdarefall in love with this man.

I don’t know if Ian can sense my panic, or if my now tense body foreshadows my desire to run, or maybe he just does it because he wants to. Maybe all of the above.

But he kisses me.

It’s not a peck.

It’s powerful and deep. Consuming.

Drowning me in emotion so strong reality seems but a dream.

The kiss goes on, my tears mixing with the chlorine.

Moving through the water, Ian climbs the ladder attached to the side, keeping me wrapped around his front.

If my swimsuit wasn’t already soaked, it would be now.

“We’ll get water in the house,” I say absently as we reach the door. “It’ll ruin the floors.”

“You’re right.” Ian sets me down in front of the French doors. “We should strip. Protect the floors.” In one smooth move, he bends, pushing his bathing suit to the patio floor with a wet smack. Rising, he stands tall. Both him and his beautiful penis.

I tilt my head, considering it, trying to control my breathing. It’s long enough that it takes both hands fisting from root to tip to cover it. I know because that’s exactly what I do, reaching out to stroke and squeeze. It’s smooth and flawless, its length and girth highlighted by a throbbing vein running down its side. I’ve never really considered penises beautiful, more like a blunt instrument for orgasms, but Ian is once again changing the way I think.

“Trish.” His voice like a prayer as he drops his forehead to mine.

He lets me continue exploring while he reaches around me, unhooking my top. When it drops between us, my nipples exposed to the air, he pushes my hands away from his cock before dropping down on one knee, eyes level with my navel.

His lips trail light, worshipful kisses on my belly, his long fingers skimming the tops of my thighs, running under the ruffle of my suit.

“This bathing suit,” he murmurs. “I love this bathing suit.”

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