Rescue Me(29)

"I'm going to hold you to that," she responded, eliciting a lazy smile from his lips. She settled back onto the bed, letting the waves that gently rocked the boat lull her into a hypnotic state. So what was she going to do to make sure that the rest of this trip was filled with hot days with Cole and even hotter nights?

She sat up with a start, an idea forming.

"Hey," Cole protested, pulling her back toward him. "Remember, I'm not done with you." He lifted her deftly and settled her over his hips, and she could feel him hardening again between her thighs. He closed his eyes again, tracing lazy circles with his thumbs where his hands remained on her hips.

"About that," she began, gathering her courage when he stiffened, his hands stopping their gentle caress. "I know I said I was okay with no promises." She watched him carefully and noticed him clenching his jaw repeatedly as if he were trying to remain calm. She was suddenly nervous, not sure how he would respond to what she was about to propose.

Best to just get it all out at once, she decided. "I was thinking, considering you aren't done with me and all, and since that was hands down the best sex of my life—" He smiled at that, and she relaxed slightly, feeling a bit of renewed confidence. "Maybe we should make use of my remaining time here. You know, like a fling. It would be an awful waste to not put your skills to good use. And I could definitely handle being on the receiving end of those skills."

She stopped talking, realizing she was rambling, and held her breath. He didn't say anything. Had she ruined the moment, after he'd clearly stated he wasn't able to make her any promises?

Cole slowly opened his eyes and regarded her, finally saying, "A fling?" He said the words as if they were unfamiliar to him.

Okay, not the best response, but definitely not the worst. "Yeah. No strings attached. We get to spend the next week finding ways to please each other, and then when it's over, we go our separate ways." She didn't like the sting in her chest at those last words, but she shoved it away mercilessly. They lived completely different lives, and it was silly to imagine anything extending beyond their time here.

"A fling," he repeated, this time trying the word out as if he were considering it. "I think that might be an experience worth having. No strings?"

"No strings."

"Deal." He smiled at her, but she noticed it didn't quite reach his eyes. They were an unfathomable depth of swirling doubt. She didn't have time to worry about it, though, because the next instant he bucked his hips slightly and she found herself aching for him to be inside her again.

She ground her hips against him, relishing in the feel of being completely naked and uninhibited with him. He reached for another condom and slipped inside her, kissing away any other thoughts she may have had.

***





A fling. Cole had to admit, it was a new concept for him. He was used to one night with a woman and often made a point not to be there the next morning. It was better that way. Safer.

He disentangled himself from Meredith's sleeping body and pulled a blanket up to cover her in case she got cold. He stared at how her dark curls splayed across his pillows, her face peaceful and content as she rested. He felt the stirrings of arousal yet again as he thought about how she'd opened herself up to him so completely. How she'd been so free and uninhibited as they'd made love.

Made love? Jesus, man, get a grip.

It was sex. That was all. She'd said so herself. No strings and they would both just walk away.

It seemed so easy and uncomplicated. A perfect arrangement for him. And he wanted more than anything to take her up on it. To be able to have her under him, over him, beside him every day for the next week.

And that's precisely why he knew his shouldn't do it. Angry at himself, he climbed the cabin steps and walked out on the deck, trying to clear his head with a few deep breaths of the salty sea air. This was his safe place, the one place where he felt free from all his inner demons. He'd never brought a woman into the sanctuary of his cabin before, and the fact that he'd done so with Meredith without a second thought had him worried all over again.

He'd known from that first night that she wasn't like the women he was used to. She had an uncanny ability to get under his skin, to make him want to know her on more than just a physical level. He'd learned the hard way what a mistake that would be.

Not for the first time in the past week he pushed away thoughts of Jessie and tried to enjoy being out on the water. He was at home, in his element out on the open sea, and it always put him at ease. For the time being, he was just going to forget his troubles and go with it. He took a seat on the deck and stared out to sea, letting a peaceful feeling take over.

***





Meredith awoke to the calming rock of the sea and it took her a minute to orient herself. Stretching out on the soft bed under an even softer blanket, she opened her eyes. Cole's boat.

She smiled to herself as she remembered just why she was so relaxed and sated. That had, without a doubt, been the best sex of her life. And that was just the beginning of what promised to be a very exciting week. She'd never done what she proposed to Cole. The idea of a week of no strings sex was unfamiliar, but she reveled in the prospect. After what she'd just experienced at his skilled hand, and mouth, it was worth breaking out of her comfort zone to have more.