“I’m seriously impressed with how well executed this whole thing has been. And we’re only on the second clue.”
“I admit, I’m impressed as well.” I pull into our hotel and we both go inside to check in.
“Oh yes, Dr. Coulter. Your room is ready.” The front desk woman passes me two keys. “And you’re in luck. Low tide is in about thirty minutes. So go drop your things off in your room, and then head on out.”
“Are we going to need tools for this?” Lena asks.
“Yes. I have a flashlight and a bag here for you,” she replies and passes it to me.
“The beach is rockier than I expected,” Lena says when we make it down there a little later. “I was expecting sandy beaches.”
“Those are farther south,” I reply with a smile and hold her hand while she gingerly chooses her footing down to the shore. “This is more rugged.”
“It’s gorgeous,” she says. “Are there sharks here?”
“Probably.”
“Not going in the water,” she says, shaking her head adamantly. “Where do we find the jade?”
“From what I understand, we just look around the tide pools. They might be under other rocks.”
She nods and immediately gets to work, picking through rocks. “I found a starfish.”
“Those live in the ocean too.”
She sticks her tongue out at me, and continues to look around.
“Look!” She holds up a rock with a green tint. “Is this it?”
“That’s it,” I reply. “It can be red, too.”
“I know.” She slides the rock in her bag and continues to work. Over the next hour we explore, finding several good sized pieces of jade, and enjoying the time together.
“It smells good here.”
I stop to take a deep breath. “Nothing like it.”
“Look at these smooth rocks.” She’s walking away from me, over smooth rocks that the tide has worn down over many years.
“Be careful, they’re slick.”
“I’m fine.” But suddenly her arms flail about and she loses her balance, falling into the water.
The tide is beginning to come back in, so it’s about waist deep where she is. I wade out to help her up and back to shore. She’s sputtering, pushing her hair off of her face.
She’s soaked.
“Damn it,” she mutters.
“I didn’t warn you soon enough.”
“Did I lose my rocks?”
“No.” I laugh and take the bag from her, and watch as she wrings her hair out. “It’s safe.”
“Good.” She sighs. “I’m cold and I need a shower.”
“Indeed.” I reach my hand out for her and she takes it, holding on tight as I lead her back to the hotel. The sun is just beginning to set.
When we reach our room, I put our treasure aside, and immediately walk into the bathroom and start the shower.
“I don’t want you to get sick. We need to warm you up.”
“I’m not stripping down in front of you.”
My lips twitch as I watch her prop her hands on her hips and look at me defiantly.
“No, ma’am. I wasn’t suggesting such a thing.” But I cross to her and kiss her forehead. “But, if you wanted to do that, I wouldn’t complain.”
I wink and walk away, leaving her to shower and get comfortable. In the meantime, I call down for room service. Steaks, salads, and cheesecake for dessert sounds good.
She’s not out yet when the food arrives, so I wheel the tray to the far side of the room where we can watch the sun sink down behind the water.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
I turn at the sound of her voice and feel my breath catch. Without any direction, or realizing that I’m doing it, I stand and walk to her. She’s wrapped in a towel, her hair washed and still damp.
“I tried to dry my hair, but hotel blow dryers suck.”
I push my fingers through the strands. “You are so beautiful, Lena.”
She swallows hard, watching me.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t take my clothes in the bathroom with me. I didn’t think about it.”
She’s slowly leaning toward me, as if she can’t help it.
Her hands are fisted in my shirt at my sides, her eyes staring at my throat.
“Lena?”
“Yes.”
She doesn’t look up.
“I want you.”
She swallows hard again and then finally meets my eyes with hers.
“I want you, too.”
That’s all I need. My lips are on hers, my hands buried in her damp hair as I feast on her. She reaches up to grip onto my shoulders and her towel simply falls, pooling at her feet.
I step back to look at her. She moves to cover her breasts, but I stop her.
“No. Don’t cover yourself.” She bites her lip. “God, Lena, you’re stunning.”
“You’ve seen it before.”
“I was a fool.” I reach out and touch her already tight nipple with the back of my finger. “I should have cherished you more.”
“You were gentle with me.”
“That’s not the same thing.” My eyes find hers again and I lift her in my arms, then lay her gently on the bed. “I want to explore every inch of you.”
“Well, you are an explorer,” she says with a grin. “But you’re terribly overdressed.”
“Would it make you feel better if I were naked too?”
She smiles and nods. How can I resist her?
I step back from the bed and shrug out of my shirt, my pants, and underwear and stand before her in just what God gave me.
“Wow.”
“You’ve seen it before,” I say, echoing her words.
“You’ve changed,” she murmurs. “You were handsome before, but damn, Mason.”
I grab her small foot and kiss it as I kneel on the bed. I kiss up to her knee, making her fall back against the pillows.
“You’re serious about this,” she says.
“Never been more serious about anything in my life.”
“Do I get to return the favor?”
“Later.”
She gasps when my tongue slides up her inner thigh. Her skin is soft and still dewy from the shower.
I glide my nose along the crease of her leg and her hands fist in the blankets.
She’s so damn responsive.
“You smell like you want me inside you.”
“Because I do,” she murmurs.
“Soon.” I lick the outer lips of her pussy and grin when she moans. “First, I get to learn you all over again.”
“You’re going to kill me.”
“But what a way to go.”
I smile up at her before I plant my tongue on her clit, then slide down into her lips and kiss her intimately. She’s writhing, her legs moving in agitation.
“Mason.”
“Mm hmm.”
She fists my hair in her hands and holds me to her, her hips moving against my mouth until she comes beautifully. Her whole body flushes, and she moans until her whole body just lets go.
“Now.” I climb over her and poise my cock against her pussy. “I need to be inside you right now.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t have any condoms.” I stare down at her, so pissed at myself for not bringing any.
“I have the birth control covered,” she says with a grin. “And I’m healthy.”
“Do you want to see my medical records?” I ask, making her laugh.
“No, I want you to fuck me.”
I push just the tip inside and lean my forehead against hers. “I’m not going to fuck you.”
“No?”
Easy Fortune: A Boudreaux Series Novella
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