"You spied on me?" Her heart pounded and a caged feeling tightened around her. "You were spying on me and you followed me and now youre telling me all these things about your life." She couldnt catch her breath. She spun in place and her vision swept over the expanse of the ocean around to the gla.s.s windows. She started toward the sliding doors. Her fingers closed around her phone. She would Uber. She couldnt stay, she wouldnt be hemmed in, or contained, or- "Stop." Trevors hand grasped her forearm. She didnt pull away from his touch. In his eyes were compa.s.sion and love and kindness. All the things that made her love Trevor, but also made her want to run. "If you have to go, Ill take you home. No questions asked." Sadness pulled at the corners of his lips. "I dont want you to be afraid, or feel claustrophobic. I want you to feel happy, and if this ... if I dont make you happy then I ... I want you to go."
The panic in her belly slipped away. "No." Her voice trembled. "I dont want to go, Trevor ... its just ... Im scared."
Trevor nodded. "I know."
He pulled her into his arms and the warmth of his body surrounded her. The flame that was always present between them heated them both.
"My G.o.d, Poppy, Ive missed you."
She tilted her head, and their lips met. Her body ached for his touch. His hands drifted over her shoulders and down her back until he cupped her a.s.s through her skirt. He pulled her forward against the hard insistence of his s.e.x. Her hips tilted forward toward him. Desire for him rushed through her body and her nipples tightened beneath the cloth of her dress. His skin, she needed the hard warmth of his skin. She tugged at his shirt and raised it over his head. In the firelight, with the glow of the moon, her eyes feasted on his flesh. He was beautiful perfection. The chiseled body of a surfer. A man who loved to move. Her hands trailed over his golden hued skin, tight over hard muscles. She wanted him, with all her heart she wanted him. He lifted her dress over her head and his eyes gorged on her flesh. He stepped back and looked at her. A deep thrill of want clasped her belly.
"Youre perfect." His voice, like warm velvet, caressed her body. His hand reached out and tipped her chin up toward him. He stepped forward and his lips took hers. A hungry, powerful kiss. His tongue slid along the seam of her lips until they opened to him. As his tongue probed deep into her mouth, his hand caressed her back and unsnapped her bra. The silk dropped to the deck. Both of his hands cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. His breath came faster. The pads of his thumbs stroked over her tight nipples.
His mouth pulled from hers. "My G.o.d, Poppy." His lips pulled her nipple deep into his hot, wet mouth. She arched upward and his hand flattened against her back. My G.o.d, but she loved him, loved his touch, and loved the strong masculine scent that was Trevor. He smelled of sunshine and salt air and man ... just strong man. He released her breast and pulled her up into his arms. He walked to the long full chaise lounge and lay her down on the deep luxe cushions. He knelt before her. His lips now on her belly. His hands grasped her thong panties and pulled them down over her knees.
Heat barreled through her body. She wanted him, and her hips arched to meet him as the flat of his hand held her belly in place. He pulled her leg up and placed her knee over his shoulder. Her entire body tingled with the knowledge of where his mouth would soon be. His touch. His tongue. His deep caress of every inch of her s.e.x. His mouth trailed over her belly to the edge of her curls.
"You smell like heaven." He lifted his head, took her other leg, and placed it over his shoulder. His mouth skirted around her curls and her s.e.x clenched. His tongue slid down from the top of her s.e.x, brushed over her c.l.i.t.
Heat ripped through her body. She grasped the pillow, clutching and clawing with pleasure. Her hips thrust up. She wanted more, she needed more, the release that his mouth could provide. His tongue thrust into her and his finger stroked over her engorged c.l.i.t as his tongue pulsed in and out of her s.e.x.
"G.o.d, oh my G.o.d, yes." She grasped his head and pulled him closer. The edge of pleasure cut so close and sliced through her body. His finger stopped caressing her c.l.i.t and he pulled his mouth away from her s.e.x and kissed along the sensitive flesh of her thigh.
"No, no, no." His lips on her s.e.x, she needed his mouth on her, gorging and sucking and pulling her over the edge to the sweet abyss.
"You like that, baby?" Trevors voice held a lilt of teasing.
"Yes, please, please."
His hot breath blew over her curls and tendrils of want squeezed her insides. He moved closer and his tongue flicked out and over her s.e.x, over the tiny engorged spot, the nerves already on fire from his touch. Her hips spasmed upward. His mouth latched onto her and his tongue twirled over and around her c.l.i.t, with the suction pulling her, pulling her.
"Oh my G.o.d, Trevor, yes, yes, yes!" She shattered into a million pieces while the ocean waves. .h.i.t the sh.o.r.e.
Chapter 10.
The darkness surrounded them, the metronomic beat of the water against the sh.o.r.e their companion. Poppy lay naked on the chaise beneath the moon. Her bodys curves glistened in the moonlight and firelight, the curls between her legs still soft and wet. Her chest heaved from the exertion of their pa.s.sion. Trevor put his arms around her, pulled her close, and lifted her. Poppy curled into his arms and settled her head against his chest.
Her weight was perfect, as though every bit of her was built for him. Through the dark coolness of the house and toward the stairs he carried her. Her naked flesh warm against his body. Hed feast on her further. Take her over the edge into pleasure again and again and again. He entered the privacy of the master bedroom. Trevor laid her in the center of the giant king-sized bed that faced a wall of windows overlooking the sand, the sky, and the ocean. He lay beside her and pressed his lips to hers. A hard churning in his belly. He needed to be inside Poppy. To take her, to make her his.
His hand trailed down her body and slid between her legs. His finger stroked her c.l.i.t, wet and moist and swollen and sensitive. With the slightest touch, Poppys hips thrust upward.
A tiny moan came from her throat. The noise nearly undid him. His entire body wired tight with his need to take her. His hard c.o.c.k pulsed between them. Poppys hands grasped him. With a long even stroke she slid her fingers down over his s.e.x. She pushed him onto his back. Her dark eyes smoldered with a heat and she watched his face as she slid down his belly. Her lips trailed hot kisses.
Trevors breath shortened. Her long curly hair trailed behind her lips. She got to the edge of his s.e.x and turned herself to watch him. His gaze was locked onto her face. Her mouth parted, lush lips opening. Her tongue slipped from her mouth and slid over the rim of his c.o.c.k. She circled his head while her hand stroked a long slow pull down his shaft and back up. Her lips took the entire top of his c.o.c.k and drew his s.e.x deep into the hot wetness of her mouth. Her hand stroked faster and tighter. Drops of pre-come spurted from him and Poppys tongue swiped over the top of his s.e.x.
Heat built in his b.a.l.l.s. Her eyes were wide and her full mouth pressed down over his shaft. She took him deep into her mouth again. Her lips closed around him. She sucked, her hand gently cupping his b.a.l.l.s. That hot wet mouth squeezed tight and suctioned his shaft.
d.a.m.n. He wouldnt hold back much longer. She stroked her mouth down him with faster movements that took all of him. Every muscle in his body tightened. She gently pulled and flipped onto her back. He kneeled above her. She adjusted him so each of his knees was on either side of her.
Jesus. Sweet Jesus. His whole c.o.c.k was in her mouth. Her hair a wave around that beautiful face. Those full lips took all of him deep into her throat. She widened her mouth for more. The vision of this beautiful woman whom he loved with her mouth wide and his c.o.c.k deep in her throat. The vulnerability of the position. The surrender. The heat. f.u.c.k.
Her hands held his hips. She pulled him and he leaned forward, slowly pressing deeper into her throat. The liquid heat. His b.a.l.l.s tingled. Not long. Not long.
"f.u.c.k, Poppy, this is ..." He couldnt speak. He slid his c.o.c.k from her mouth. A shiver pulled down his spine. Her hands held him tight and he stroked back into the wet suction of her mouth. "f.u.c.k, this is amazing!"
Her hands clasped him and her nails dug into the flesh of his a.s.s. Her mouth closed around him again. Her eyes widened and he pulled back, fear that he might hurt her clutching his belly, but her hands urged him on. She pulled him closer, his c.o.c.k going even deeper into her throat. Her tongue wrapping around his shaft. She gently squeezed his b.a.l.l.s and the heat tore through his body. Control was lost.
"Oh Poppy, baby, baby, Im going to come." He leaned back to pull his c.o.c.k from her mouth, but she grasped him tight. Her tongue licking and stroking the side of his c.o.c.k. Every muscle in his body hardened. The hot come thrashed through him and shot deep into her throat. She licked and swallowed around his c.o.c.k. A hard shiver pulsed through his body. He pulled his s.e.x from her mouth. He leaned forward and kissed her. Pulled her into his arms.
"Baby, oh, my G.o.d, Poppy, that felt so good."
She turned onto her side and stretched out beside him. His fingers ran over her long curly hair. Her flesh hot against his. How impossibly beautiful she was. He pressed his lips to the tip of her nose. A sigh claimed him and warmth flooded his chest. This. Moments like this with Poppy in his arms were how he wanted to spend his entire life. Nothing mattered. Money, no money, job, no job-as long as she lay alongside him for every night of his life, he would be content.
His hand pressed down her side, to the curve of her waist. Her lips kissed his and soon his s.e.x sprang upward, ready again to claim this woman. He would never grow tired of Poppy. Couldnt tire of her. This heat, a sultry sort of confidence, came off of her always, plus an ungraspable presence, as though she were quicksilver at her essence and would slip through his fingers should he grasp her too tightly. He scooped her breast into his hand and leaned forward. He pulled that taut bud of a nipple deep into his mouth.
"Oh, Trevor." Her moan nearly unraveled him. To hear her voice ripe with pleasure.
She rolled onto her back and he moved above her. His forearm pressed to the mattress beside her head as he suckled her breast. He released her nipple and moved to her other breast. His hand drifted down her skin to her curls and again his fingertips found her c.l.i.t. Soft, wet, still engorged with desire. He circled and her hips thrust up.
"Trevor, please, oh my G.o.d, Trevor, I want you in me."
He positioned himself over her and spread her thighs. The head of his c.o.c.k nudged the tight ring of her entrance, smooth and warm and wet. He pressed forward. Heat gathered in the base of his spine. Desire to thrust in hard and fast, and to sheath his c.o.c.k to its root, nearly overcame him. He pushed forward slowly into the smooth tightness of her s.e.x.
"Yes, oh my G.o.d, yes." She wrapped her legs around him, her feet pressing against the tight muscles of his a.s.s. Her fingers clawing into the muscles of his back.
"Please, harder, oh my G.o.d, harder!"
He couldnt fight the need. He thrust up and into her. The smooth silken heat of her body took him and melded her to him. Trevor pulled back and drove forward. Again she clung to him tight and close, and he stroked forward and back.
Her eyes were open. A window to the feelings she didnt speak. Their gazes locked onto each other as he took her. Their bodies fused together. No end, no beginning, just one. A ma.s.s of pleasure and desire.
The sound of the ocean roared through the windows, sealing them together. Heat throbbed through Trevor, his b.a.l.l.s tightening and drawing upward with each thrust. The base of his spine tightened. He pushed deeper, her body yielding to him. The heat in his b.a.l.l.s searing within him. He pressed. He was losing his rhythm now, his control.
"Baby, Poppy, baby-"
"Oh my G.o.d, Trevor, you feel so good, please," she whispered. "Please."
The heat coursed through his b.a.l.l.s and spurted inside her. He thrust forward, his body tensing a final time. Her s.e.x tightened and tightened again, holding his c.o.c.k deep inside her as the come shot out. Her arms clamped around his back. His gaze locked with Poppys and the roar in his mind ceased. Poppy. There was only Poppy. In this moment, in this world, in this universe it was only them, together as one.
Poppy slipped from Trevors arms and reached for a white T-shirt. Before putting it on, she pressed the cotton to her nose. A long deep breath. She inhaled the scent of Trevor, the man she loved. Lush and rich with hints of sunshine and salt air. She pulled his shirt over her head and walked toward the wall of windows. Just beyond the open sliding doors was a deck. She walked out and the cool night hair slid over her skin. The ocean rolled in and out, and the surf gently caressed the sand in the darkness of the night. Bright bits of starlight scattered across the blackened sky. The last time shed slipped from Trevors bed theyd been in Tahiti and shed thought that she was leaving him, perhaps never to see him again. Shed been running from her emotions for so long. Why? The first time shed run, what had she been trying to escape? Shed been the only one left at home with her father, who didnt seem to want her there. Shed landed at her brother Brians place, but had felt like a fifth wheel amongst his mates. Then shed finished university and shown up at Mimis, but Mimi had already settled with Daniel. Shed run from Los Angeles, thinking that Mesquale would be the perfect fit. A life without commitment. No way of getting caught in emotional entanglements.
A deep breath. Now what? Now she was madly in love and quite likely wanted to settle with Trevor. Yet shed run from him too, dodging his love to flee to Los Angeles.
Her chest tightened. The desire to run again surged through her body. Trevor loved her and she loved him, so what was her problem? She pulled her hand through her hair. Really? Was she so messed up that shed run away from a man who loved her? A good man who wanted her and made her entire body quiver with pleasure?
She gripped the deck rail with her hands and leaned back. Her eyes met the moon. The cold orb that hung high above her in the sky, keeping company with the stars. Trevor deserved a woman who would commit to him. A woman who wouldnt run away from him simply because of the tightness in her chest. Could she be that woman? Could she embrace all that he had to offer with her entire heart? Fear over who she was, based on what her parents had been, filled Poppy. Would she continue to run away from love? Would she fold like a house of cards at the first sign of trouble or inconvenience?
"Its cold, why are you out here?"
Poppys skin shivered with the caress of Trevors rough voice. He wrapped his arms around her and she dropped her head back against his chest. His arms, thick with muscle, pulled her close and warmed her body. She could stand here in these arms for a lifetime if shed only surrender to the love in her heart. If only she could banish her fears ...
"I couldnt sleep and the view is beautiful."
"Theres nothing more beautiful than you." He pressed his lips to the top of her head. "But the stars and the moon are pretty spectacular." He turned Poppy in his arms and his piercing blue eyes locked onto her. "Dont run away this time, okay?"
She nodded. He deserved better than an empty bed with nothing but a three-line note. Lucky for her, he hadnt believed the cavalier words shed written before her Mesquale disappearing act.
"I love you."
His face split into a smile at her words. "Why do you think I followed you halfway around the world?" He pulled Poppy closer. "I love you too, Poppy. You know that, right?"
She nodded. His love tickled her heart but caused her gut to tumble with fear. The devil on her shoulder screamed: Run! She loved Trevor. She trusted Trevor. She just couldnt believe in the idea that love lasted.
He pulled her closer. "Lets go to bed. Well talk in the morning." His gaze searched her face. The desire for her happiness evident on his face, in his arms, the way his eyebrow hitched upward.
Poppy nodded. They needed to talk in the morning. Theyd had six months of intimacy and yet had resisted building a relationship. What other secrets did he have to disclose? At Mesquale the two of them had great s.e.x, but also a host of half-truths and omissions. Time for truth telling now, and hope that once theyd finished, Poppy would no longer need to run.
Chapter 11.
"This is your mom and dad?" Poppy pointed to a picture on a table behind the couch.
Trevor turned away from the stove. He held a spatula in his left hand. "Thats them. The little guy beside them is me."
"Trevor! Youve always been adorable."
"Ha! Im guessing Mom might not agree. I think there was a period of about five years she refused to take me to the grocery store because of all the fits I threw."
Poppy walked back to the kitchen table and sipped her mug of coffee. The ocean view wasnt just a part of this house, it defined it. The entire west wall was gla.s.s from floor to ceiling. She stood between the kitchen and the deck with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Looks like some weather today." Trevor flipped the eggs onto two plates.
Not the usual bright-blue So Cal day. Instead gray clouds hung low over the Pacific, turning the water an angry dark grayish-blue. Steep, white-peaked waves churned against the sh.o.r.eline.
"Inside or out?"
"I vote in," Poppy said. "Too windy."
"Agreed." Trevor set down the plates and pulled the sliders shut. "Hungry?"
"Starved."
"Good to see you have an appet.i.te."
He brushed his lips against the top of her head and a flush of heat lit up her neck. Yes, she did like to eat, especially after a night of good s.e.x. A fact he already knew from their six months together. He sat across from her and topped off each of their cups of coffee.
"So," he said before taking a large bite of his eggs, "this silence feels awkward, doesnt it?"
"I have a brother Brian and hes coming to L.A. tomorrow."
"From Malaysia?"
Poppy looked up from her plate and her eyebrow lifted.
"There was a lot of information that came back when I was searching for your address."
Her hands grew clammy. Trevor knew more than shed told him. Her throat tightened. "How much information?"
Trevors eyes flicked from his coffee cup to Poppys face. "Probably more than youd like. But Poppy, I think youd feel best if I knew nothing at all about you." He flashed her a wicked smile. "Other than that you have a scar just above your beautiful a.s.s."
"Stop!" She returned his smile. "Okay, fine. Youre right, I do feel vulnerable when people know details about my life. I just need to digest that you know everything about me? Right? I mean, you know about Mimi and the girls and Brian and I suppose about my father. Im guessing you even know about Therese."
"I did get the facts about your life, but that isnt really a life, is it? The facts just tell the scenario, but to know the story? You have to hear it from the person who lived it." Trevor leaned closer to her. "The nuances tell you the truth about a person. Ive got most of that language down for you, Poppy. I know your tones and your eye movements, Ive just never seen any of that applied to the facts of your life."
Her breath shortened. Naked. She suddenly felt absolutely naked and afraid sitting at Trevors kitchen table. My G.o.d, Trevor did know her. Theyd developed the shorthand of a couple. She could communicate with him simply by a look or a raised eyebrow or the curve of her mouth. Now if he had the facts and saw how she reacted to these people ... she could hide nothing. Oh my G.o.d. Her heart beat fast. How could she ever survive someone knowing her this well? How did anyone survive?
"I see Ive managed to strike fear into your heart."
She pulled her gaze away from Trevors eyes and looked out the window at the wind-whipped peaks in the ocean.
"Youre right. This is terrifying."
"Yes," Trevor said softly. "It is." He stood and lifted both her plate and his and took them to the kitchen. He returned and sat beside her. "I seem to have the advantage, and as you know, Im big on fairness. So why dont I start? You havent had the benefit of a private investigator who happened so be on staff for your family since you were born."
"You have security?"
Trevor nodded. "Silly, right? I mean, I am pretty tough."
A laugh burst from Poppys lips. "Trevor, tough? Youre the biggest pushover."
"Okay, well, maybe not." He reached out and took her hand into his. "Let me live in denial. But really"-his azure blue eyes caught hers- "ask away. What do you want to know?"