Hands on her hips, he let her set the pace, occasionally twisting his hips as directed. Every time he did, her core tightened around him to the point her sex gripped his cock like a damn vise. The urge to give her what she wanted warred with his need to drive into her, to force the orgasm she was dragging out for both of them, to make her scream his name to the heavens.
She must have been on the same page because, without warning, she leaned forward, parked her hands on his shoulders and began to ride him in earnest. Sounds of hard, fast sex—skin on skin, harsh breaths, little moans—saturated the air, filled his head and dominated his awareness. There was only this moment, only this woman, only one possible outcome.
Liam’s balls drew up tight. Release roared toward him, and he was a slave to its timing. But he could—would—bring her with him. Reaching between them, he found her clitoris and stroked in time with the pace Ella set. She faltered before increasing her speed, pumping harder, digging her fingers into his shoulders until her nails scored his skin. Her eyes widened a fraction, and Liam struck.
Knees bent, he pitched her forward at the same time he pinched that bundle of nerves between two fingers and strummed it with his thumb. He rolled his hips and drove into her, meeting her thrust for thrust.
Ella’s head fell back and she called out his name.
Liam increased the tempo even more, thrilling as she lost control and called out his name.
Hair loose and wild, she let go of his shoulders and reached back, gripping Liam’s knees as she ground her sex against him, taking him as deep as she could. Her cry was magnificent, seeming to originate from the very heart of her before flinging itself free without a care as to who heard her or what they might think.
Liam’s own release ripped through him, boiling out of the tip of his cock as if she’d summoned it.
Nothing had been this good. This right. This whole. Not ever.
Ella was brilliant, wild, so fucking alive he couldn’t look away. She was everything.
And he was lost.
CHAPTER TEN
STORMCLOUDSDOMINATEDthe horizon, obscuring the setting sun as Ella stepped out of the shower. Body lax, muscles loose, she toweled off and wrapped up her hair atop her head. There were a dozen different things she needed to focus on, but her first priority was sorting herself out.
She and Liam had been right on the cusp of falling into each other earlier when Liam had said four words—just four words—that had shredded Ella’s heart.My body is yours.His body. And only his body. She’d realized then that she wanted more. Not that she had any right to any of him, particularly after they’d agreed this was a fun-while-it-lasted affair. No strings. No regrets. Hell, she’d even given herself a stern talking-to a couple days ago about keeping things light and enjoyable until they left the island.
But somewhere in there, she’d begun to feel...something. What that something was, she couldn’t be sure. Not yet. And with the way Liam viewed relationships, not ever. That meant Ella needed to stick to her initial ground rules or remove herself from the equation altogether.
Touching her fingertips to the tops of her breasts, she watched the peaks swell and rise, and she wondered if she could actually give him up. He loved her body like no one ever had. He made her tremble with a single word, yearn for his touch, forget how to breathe, come apart on command. She was the instrument to his virtuoso. Her sex throbbed, a sweet ache of memory.
His form filled the doorway, mouth fluttering at the corners in a half smile. “And I was under the impression I’d done a thorough job so you wouldn’t need to supplement my efforts.”
She dropped her hands and shrugged, looking away as she unwound the towel from her head. “Condition check. Nothing more.”
“Everything okay?”
She smiled at him in the mirror. “You’ll be pleased to know you left everything in working order.” Grabbing her brush, she began working the tangles from her wet mass of hair. Sometimes she loved having naturally wavy hair; others, not so much. Like now. She pulled a little too hard and winced.
“Here,” he said, closing in behind her and taking the brush. “Sit. Let me.”
She sat on the vanity stool, body vibrating, heart numb. How could she possibly keep her emotional distance if he was going to do things like brush her hair? That certainly wasn’t some random act of kindness. It was blatant intimacy, the one thing he had kept out of their interactions.
Except the dance on the beach.
Except for ordering breakfast served on the porch.
Except carrying you to the bedroom.
Her heart ached like a bad tooth, and she fought the need to rub her chest and soothe the discomfort that bordered on pain. It wasn’t like this could be serious anyway. People didn’t fall for each other this fast. Not if it was real. Infatuation? Sure. She had that in spades. And, if she were honest, she’d hadthatparticular affliction since he’d landed on her lap on the plane.
If her feelings for him were serious, she’d be...what? What would she be feeling that would be any different than what she felt now?
Ella’s breath caught.
She was so not falling for Liam Baggett, brother of Hollywood’s darling, famous in the world of finance, infamous among socialites as the unattainable, unchainable bachelor. Yeah, she’d looked him up this afternoon. Article after article labeled him a jet-setting playboy, a millionaire so many times over evenTime’s Top 100 had lost count, a shark in the boardroom and a lover of women worldwide.
I’m one of those women.