Chloe shook her head. “It still amazes me how successful you’ve become.” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I’m so proud of you.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist. “Thank you.” It meant a lot coming from Chloe because he knew she meant it. She didn’t try to suck up to him and get close to him because of his money and connections.
Wanting to show her how he felt, he bent his head and placed his mouth on hers, opening her lips with his tongue. The heat of their kiss burned, searing him to his very core. His hands moved to her back to pull the string of her bikini loose. He repeated the act with the tie behind her neck. The top fluttered to the floor. With their lips still fused together, his hands slid up her stomach and cupped her breasts. She moaned into his mouth as he massaged them in slow, circular motions. Carefully, he maneuvered her backward to the large lounge chair by the pool until the backs of her knees hit the smooth wooden edges. Her hands looping around his neck, she sat, and he soon followed her. He positioned her on her back and slid between her legs, covering her with his body.
Her hands skimmed his back as he placed wet kisses along her collarbone. He didn’t know how many more times he’d have her like this. Every time they were together could be their last. When she found the man she wanted to marry, it would be the end of whatever the hell this was. But he didn’t want to think about that now. All he wanted was to have as much time with Chloe as possible.
God, she was amazing.
His heart swelled with every touch of her body, every gasp of breath she took. When her gaze locked with his, he saw something more than two people satisfying their needs—something that went far beyond friendship. The three little words almost spilled from his mouth.
Almost.
But he yanked them back. He couldn’t say those words. Not yet. Not ever. She wasn’t his to keep. But while he had her, he was going to savor each and every moment.
They moved slowly, taking their time exploring each other’s bodies. He untied the strings on the sides of her bikini bottoms and tugged them off, and she dragged down his swimsuit. This was supposed to happen in the pool—another item on her list—but he was too far gone to move now. They’d just have to tick that box later.
His tongue slid down her neck, over her collarbone, and circled around her nipples. Her back arched off the lounge as he pulled one into his mouth. Traveling lower, he took playful bites of her hip. When he reached a certain spot, he outlined it with his tongue. “When I was younger, this birthmark drove me insane.” The heart-shaped mark still did. He planted a kiss on the tantalizing mark.
She giggled, “I can’t believe you knew about it!”
“How could I not when you pranced around in skimpy bikinis in front of me?” He traced a finger around it.
“I did not.”
“Yes, you did. It was so damn sexy. I wanted to lick it.” And he did what he’d fantasized doing all those years ago. He twirled his tongue around the birthmark before moving on to other tempting locations. Lapping his tongue along her body, he drew a line from her birthmark to her lips. Their mouths fused together into a heart-stopping kiss.
Not able to wait a moment longer, he drew her knees apart and nestled himself between her thighs. His eyes met hers, waiting for her permission to continue. She gave it, pulling him closer. That was all he needed; he entered her with a slow thrust. He didn’t move for a beat, even though every fiber of his being demanded that he pound into her until she cried out her release. But he didn’t. His body shook at the intimacy of the moment. This was more than a quick fuck to tick off her boxes. He was falling for this woman, and he wanted to show her just how much she meant to him with his body since he couldn’t say the words.
He dropped his head onto her shoulder, pulling in deep breaths. His body tightened as he pistoned in and out of her. Whimpering with growing need, she tilted her hips up to meet him, and he met her hips thrust for thrust.
God, she was amazing. Magical. Wonderful. He wished he could freeze this moment and keep this beautiful woman with him forever, but he knew it was impossible. But his heart refused to listen. How was he supposed to walk away from her? How could he forget how she wriggled in ecstasy within his embrace? How could he possibly say goodbye?
Unaware of the struggles plaguing his mind, Chloe bucked under him, ready for release. Slipping his hand between their bodies, his thumb circled her clit, bringing her to her limit.
“Theo… this… is… perfect.” She panted between words as her body trembled. “Never… want…to…stop.”
“I know, Glowy. I know.” Although he’d bet that, unlike him, she was thinking about the sex, and not their relationship in general. Pulling her knees up higher, he drove harder into her with punishing thrusts. Like he needed to castigate her for wanting a life he couldn’t give her.
Her body spasmed, and she cried out as her orgasm hit. Her sheath fluttered around his length, and he soon followed her into ecstasy.
As he lay by her side, he waited for the trembling to ease. There was no denying how he felt about her. Even though he would never say the words out loud, they’d burrowed deep into his heart. But he wouldn’t hurt her like he had Layla—couldn’t live with himself if he couldn’t give her everything she wanted. So, he wouldn’t say the words—wouldn’t even think them. He would just have to live with the fact that Chloe would soon be leaving his life for good.
When they caught their breath, he led her to the pool. “You know, I always used to love swimming with you—even if you were scrawny.”
She splashed him with the heated water. “I wasn’t scrawny.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Pencil thin,” he joked, pulling her to him. And she had been scrawny, there was no other word for it. Then she’d gone through puberty, and suddenly there had been nothingscrawnyabout her.
“Speaking of when we were kids, I spoke to Mum yesterday.” She rubbed a finger over his collarbone.
He welcomed the shift in conversation, the better to take his mind off things he’d rather not think about. “How is she? She was always so good to me. Even when Ethan and I got into trouble from time to time.”
“‘Time to time’?” Chloe rolled her eyes. “More like always. Anyway, she’s good. She had something interesting to tell me, though.” She paused for a moment and bit her bottom lip like she was unsure whether she should continue.
“And?” he urged.
She fiddled with a lock of her hair. “And, she said when you lived in Sydney, you had a crush on me.”