All She Ever Wanted - Barbara Freethy [89]
She shook her head. "Here," she whispered, pulling him down to the sand, until they were on their knees facing each other. "Make love to me here before I can change my mind or you can change yours, before reality makes us see how crazy and wrong this is."
"Not wrong, maybe crazy," he muttered, as he pulled her toward him for another kiss. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," she said, feeling reckless. The dark corner of the beach made her feel as if they were the only two people on the face of the earth. Why shouldn't they have each other? It was what they both wanted.
"Damn. I don't have anything with me. We can't—"
She put her finger against his mouth. "I've got it covered. I'm on the pill. Health reasons," she added at his inquiring look.
"And I've been tested," he muttered. "But—"
"It's okay. Trust me, Cole."
"I do. I do trust you," he replied, pushing her back against the sand. "I want you so much."
"Then have me," she said simply.
She ran her fingers through his thick dark hair as they kissed and caressed and explored each other with a passion that far surpassed the reckless fumbling of their youth. Natalie hadn't really known what she wanted back then, but she knew now. Her fingers moved with a purpose as she undid the buttons on Cole's shirt, as she pulled it aside to run her hands up and down his bare chest. And when Cole stumbled, trying to rid her of her sweatshirt, her blouse, and her bra, she sat up and helped, feeling more free than she ever had in her life. Stripped naked, they lay together on the cool sand, the heat from their bodies making the spray from the ocean rise like steam around them.
With no barriers between them, the last semblance of rational thought completely faded. Natalie pulled Cole into the cradle of her body, wrapping her legs around his.
"We've got to slow down," he muttered, but he was as hard as a rock, and the last thing she wanted was to go slow. "I don't want to hurt you."
"I'm ready. I have been for a long time." She caught his face with her hand and looked him straight in the eye. "Don't make me wait."
Her words were all he needed to let go, plunging into her body with a force that took her breath away. She gave a glad cry, reveling in the wild, unrestrained passion between them, urging him on. She didn't care that it was hard and rough, that the sand was scraping her back, her buttocks, her legs. All she cared about was that Cole was inside her, surrounding her, enveloping her in everything that was him. She'd wanted to lose herself, and she did. When Cole collapsed against her, she wrapped her arms around him, wanting to keep him there for the rest of eternity.
Eternity lasted about five minutes.
"I'm crushing you," Cole said.
He was, but she was reveling in it and was disappointed when he pulled out of her body and lay next to her. He took her into the curve of his arms and kissed her on the cheek. "That was ..."
"Yeah, it was," she murmured with a smile. Then she shivered as she became aware of the cold breeze coming off the ocean. They were in San Francisco after all, not the Caribbean, which brought to mind a long-ago conversation when Cole had told her that one day they'd travel, sleep on the beach under the moonlight, the warm breezes caressing their skin.
"You must be cold," Cole said as she shivered again.
"I guess."
He sat up and started handing her pieces of clothing. They dressed quickly. Natalie felt self- conscious now, embarrassed at the way she'd demanded that he make love to her. What must he think of her? She'd always prided herself on acting responsibly, but the last few hours—make that the last week—she'd been anything but responsible.
"Don't think so much," Cole said with a knowing smile. "We didn't break any laws."
"Are you sure about that? God, I hope no one saw us." She glanced around, but the beach was so dark she couldn't see more than ten feet away. At least there was no one nearby. "I lose my mind when I'm around you."
"So do I." Cole caught her arm as she turned to leave. "I don't regret that, Natalie. Do you?"
"No, I don't regret it," she