Page 49 of Finding Elodie
“Yeah?” he replied just as quietly.
Her breasts rose and fell with her inhalations, letting him know he wasn’t the only one feeling out of control.
“This is crazy, isn’t it?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “But damned if I care.”
“Me either,” she said with a small smile. “But…I don’t do this. I mean, I have in the past. When I was in my early twenties. I was killing myself to make it as a chef and was stressed way the hell out, so occasionally I’d go to bars and find a guy and go home with him. But I’d always feel guilty afterward, and it didn’t make me any less stressed. Shit…now I’m babbling and you probably think I’m a whore.”
“I don’t think that,” Mustang said immediately. “I’ve done the same thing a time or two, and you’re right, sleeping with a stranger never really seems to be all that satisfying.”
“Exactly.”
“But you don’t feel like a stranger to me,” Mustang told her.
She nodded. “I know. Why is that? We’ve really only known each other for less than a day if you count the hours and minutes.”
Mustang tightened his grip and ran his thumb over the skin behind her ear. She visibly shivered under his touch, and it made him feel so damn powerful. She was responsive as hell; he couldn’t wait to see her reactions in bed. “I think it’s because we formed a bond on that cargo ship. I helped you, and you helped me. It was pretty intense and our guards were down. I’ve thought about you every day since then. Wondered where you were, if you were all right, what you were doing.”
“Same,” Elodie said as she blushed. “I was devastated when I realized I’d lost your number. It felt as if I’d lost something precious. It was silly to come here to Hawaii in the hopes I’d somehow be able to find you, but I didn’t know where else to go.”
“I feel as if a higher power had a hand in us not only meeting, but in me seeing you today. Midas suggested we go deep-sea fishing out of the blue. It’s amazing that we happened to be at the same harbor that you work out of.”
“I know,” she said.
Mustang watched as she licked her lips…then she leaned toward him slightly. He took the hint and met her more than halfway. He kept hold of her nape as he devoured her.
She melted in his arms, tilting her head back and letting him take what he wanted. How long they made out, he had no idea, but when he felt her hand slip under his shirt…then into the back waistband of his shorts…Mustang knew he needed to slow things down.
He wanted this woman with a longing that scared him. He needed to be naked with her, inside her, more than he’d ever needed anything in his life. But he wasn’t going to do something that might embarrass her, or get either of them arrested on this public beach.
After pulling back, Mustang realized that his own hand had made its way under the hem of her dress…and he was kneading her thigh inappropriately, considering where they were. She’d spread her legs just a bit, giving him access, and his fingers were dangerously close to feeling exactly how ready her body was for him. He could smell the slight scent of her musk, and he had to close his eyes to get control of himself.
“That escalated quickly,” Elodie said with a small laugh.
Opening his eyes, Mustang looked down at the woman in his arms. Her lips were even plumper now than they were before, flushed from his kisses. Her cheeks were pink and she seemed to be having a hard time catching her breath.
Both their hands were frozen, her fingers brushing the top of his ass cheeks under his shorts and his own on her inner thigh. Slowly and regretfully, Mustang removed his hand from under her dress. His cock jerked when she slipped her hand out of the back of his shorts.
“Still want to take that walk?” he asked.
Elodie nodded immediately. “Yeah, actually, I do. I’ve lived here for a month and a half and have yet to see a sunset from a beach. And it’ll keep me from pushing you down onto the sand and jumping you right here.” She grinned as she said it.
Relieved that she didn’t seem ashamed or overly embarrassed about their very hot make-out session, Mustang smiled. He was glad he’d found a relatively secluded piece of the rock wall around the beach to eat. He stood and gathered their trash and then reached for her hand. “One romantic sunset on the beach, coming up,” he said with a smile.
Elodie took his hand in her own and stood. The beach wasn’t very long or wide, and wouldn’t take terribly long to walk, so they took their time ambling down the sand, laughing and enjoying each other’s company.
As they walked, they got to know each other more, talking about anything and everything they could think of. He told her stories about SEAL training and his teammates; she told him stories from her time as a chef in various restaurants. How awful customers could be when something wasn’t exactly how they wanted it. He learned that she hated being cold, loved cats and guinea pigs, that she wished her feet were smaller so she could wear cuter shoes, that ever since the incident on the cargo ship, she had to sleep with a light on. She was a neat freak, loved to read romance novels, had a bad habit of picking at her fingernails, and was a secret ice cream junkie.
In return, Mustang told her that he wasn’t really much of a pet person; while growing up, all animals had been kept outside. He hated having rugs in his house because he felt all they did was collect dirt and germs. Declared forest green was his favorite color, and he told her how he’d gotten the small scar under his chin.
By the time the sun finally began to set, Mustang felt even more as if he’d known Elodie forever. They had the same feelings about growing up as only children…they’d liked it, but had been lonely at times. They both thought three children was the perfect number for a family, and they loved living in Hawaii.
He stood behind her and put his arms around her shoulders, holding her against his chest as the sun ever so slowly fell below the horizon. “Don’t blink,” he warned Elodie as it began to disappear.
Neither said a word as they watched the sky turn from blue, to orange, to pink, then finally a light gray as the sun fell from view.
Elodie turned suddenly in his arms and rested her cheek against his chest. She looked up after a long moment. “Thanks,” she whispered. “That was perfect.”
