Lana(15)

I got dressed nearly as quickly, slipping on the bikini, shrugging into the dress, and slipping into the flip-flops while he just watched me, looking hot and flustered, which was how I liked him best of all.

I gave him a radiant smile. “Ready.” I grabbed his hand, tugging him with me outside. He didn’t resist.

I didn’t even pause at the pool, going directly for the long trail that led into the lush green forest and to our private beach.

Akira stopped me at the forest line, reaching to pluck a white plumeria from one of many trees that dotted our property. He smiled as he tucked into my left ear, then started walking again.

“Wrong side,” I told him, feeling silly. Of course he knew that a plumeria over the left ear meant I was taken, and one on the right meant I was looking. Mari had been the one to teach me, years ago.

“I don’t think so.”

I felt my heart turn over in my chest with a fearful kind of hope. “Oh?” I asked in a weak voice. “Why don’t you think so?”

He sent me a suspiciously innocent look. “Well, you’re not looking for a man, are you? A flower on the right side means you want every interested guy to hit on you.”

I supposed he had a point, since that was the last thing I wanted. I fingered the flower as we made our way from the small patch of lush forest that led to the ocean. “It’s as beautiful as I remember,” I told him, taking in the enchanted green serenity around me.

“Yes,” he said simply.

The black sand beach was just as I’d remembered it, too. And the ocean. Oh, the ocean. I’d always had such a fascination with that endless expanse of blue, and I always found it to be the most beautiful right at sunset, which was fast approaching.

Akira sat in the sand, pulling me between his spread legs without a word. I leaned back against his chest, thinking that this was my own perfect little slice of paradise.

“I think I could stay like this forever, with you,” I told him quietly.

He pressed a cheek against my hair, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. “Why don’t you, then? Give me one good reason why you can’t stay on this rock?”

My breath grew ragged, and I couldn’t seem to find the breath to speak. I’d been so brave when I was younger, declaring my feelings with no hesitation or reservation whatsoever. It seemed as though I’d just used it all up back then, with none of it left for the grown-up me. It made me sad, but I still couldn’t seem to ask him the questions I wanted to. Could I just stay here? Was it a terrible idea, or a brilliant one? I couldn’t live my life based on whether or not Akira could love me like I did him. I knew that was not way to live. But could I live here, and see him every day, and be able to endure the longing, if we weren’t together?

“I’ll have to think about it,” I told him quietly, watching the sky turn brilliant with the sunset.

He nuzzled his face into my neck, placing a soft kiss there. “You do that.”

“You want me to stay?” I asked him, holding my breath to hear his answer.

“Yes,” he said thickly. “I want that.” He cleared his throat.

We were both silent for a long time, watching the sky turn colors in a glorious display that had never failed to move me.

“This place has the most beautiful sunset in the world,” I murmured.

“Yes. The beach for sunset, and Haleakala for sunrise. Guess where we’re going in the morning?”

I turned my head to give him an amused smile. “You really want to wake up at four a.m. to catch the sunrise?”

“More like three, and yes, we’re going. It’s been years since either of us has seen a Haleakala sunrise, and I think it’s fitting that we go together.”

I snuggled my back into his chest, feeling a wave of contentment wash over me. Even if the world ended tomorrow, I thought I could be okay with it, after having watched this perfect sunset, and after, a perfect sunrise with the love of my life.

It only took one small stroke of his thumb against my collarbone to change the mood from sweet to hot in an instant.

He kissed just the perfect spot on my neck, his hands finding and kneading at my br**sts with just the right pressure. I moaned.

“You’re going to ride me reverse cowgirl,” he murmured into my ear. “So you can watch the sunset while I make you come. You will never forget this ride.”

“Sex on the beach? Isn’t that messy?” I asked ruefully, but I was so game. “We’ll get sand in our unmentionables.”

“Maybe. It won’t be so bad if you’re on top, but it will probably be messy, and God only knows where we’ll be finding sand later. Do you mind?” As he spoke, he was shifting me against him, lifting me higher so that he could slide his hips under me, parting my legs to straddle him.

I was already untying my bikini bottoms as he opened his slacks, freeing himself. “I do not. I can’t believe you wore a dress shirt and slacks to the beach, Akira.”

He didn’t respond, but I heard a harsh gasp behind me as I lined myself up over his stiff length. I was already wet, desire only taking the briefest thought for me when it came to Akira.

I circled my hips, wetting his tip.

He groaned loudly.

I worked him into me slowly. I had no choice with his size and the angle. He was so thick that I held my breath as I worked the last few inches inside of me. I sucked in a rough breath when I was finally seated to the hilt, stuffed full of him.