“Matt?” She flailed her arms, shifting into an upright dog paddle. “What are you doing here?”

“Swimming off the booze.”

A gentle wave rolled by, lifting first her, then him, sliding them closer.

“Is it working?” she asked, smiling at him.

“I hope so. What brought you out here?”

“I was restless,” she said, stepping onto the reef, closer to him, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she caught her breath. Her hair was sleek, her makeup gone, but she looked incredible to him.

He wanted her so much it stunned him. It was as though his desire had conjured her out of the sea, made it okay for them to be together, to do what they both felt like doing.

All the reasons why he couldn’t have her slid away on the waves. Every nerve was on fire for her, every muscle strained to touch her. It was as if he’d been sleepwalking through his life and now he was awake. Wide awake. For her.

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her mouth, salty from the sea.

Her body shook against him, her lips trembled and she broke away. “You’re still drunk, Matt.” She searched his face.

“Not so much now.” He pressed his mouth to her neck, felt her pulse wild against his lips. He returned to her mouth, heat and need flowing through him.

Candy stilled against him, filled, he was sure, with the doubts he’d let float away on the sea.

If she was serious about stopping, he’d respect that, but first he’d do his best to persuade her this was the right thing to do. Everything in him said it was.

Well, almost everything.

After a few seconds, he felt her let go, as if a cord had snapped inside, freeing her. She wrapped her legs and arms around him and kissed him back, offering her tongue, which he took, reveling in her moaning response.

The moment felt as primal as the waves that swelled and subsided around them, rocking them together with slow, inexorable power, pulling them into primal, instinctive acts, the way the moon tugged the tide.

Except Matt wanted civilization at the moment. “Let’s find a bed before we drown.”

Candy burst out laughing. He loved the husky sound and the way she put her whole body into it.

He lifted her up and she tucked her head under his chin, then he carried her to shore and across the sand, enjoying the weight of her against him, the way she clasped her fingers trustingly behind his neck. Desire beat time in his body, suspending all thought except how he would soon be inside her.

It seemed simultaneously to take forever and no time at all before he was unlocking his door. He moved with care over the slick entry tiles, relieved when his toes hit the carpet. He padded down the hall, paused to grab towels from the bathroom, then carried Candy to his bed.

The spread was soft, thank God, because he wasn’t taking time to peel it back. He ran the towel over her body, then his, sopping up some of the seawater, then kissed her face, her neck, unhooked her top and tossed it to the floor.

There were her round breasts, their tips knotted from the cold. He cupped their firm curves, perfect handfuls, butter-soft except for the nipples, which were smooth beads against his palm.

She leaned back, making her nipples poke out, tight and eager, welcoming his tongue, his lips, his teeth for a taste, a suck, a gentle bite.

He ran his tongue around one nipple, then the other, tasting salt and skin, feeling the tiny bumps swell and subside under his pushing tongue.

She stiffened, then collapsed into quick, helpless jerks of her hips. Her hips. Yeah. That reminded him of the rest of her, which he wanted naked, too, so he dragged her bikini bottoms down. His fingers scraped sand. He brushed the grit from her tender flesh, then studied her belly. Her pulse was a series of quivering blips under her pale skin. There was a light pink line above her pubic curls from the sun they’d gotten today.

He slid out of his trunks and Candy grasped his cock, her hand warm, making his vision fade.

She explored him with slow fingers, making him harder with each sure stroke, making him push against her palm.

He ran his hands along the curve of her hip and between her thighs, which she parted so he could stroke the swollen lips of her sex, then her clitoris, slowly bearing down until a shiver of pleasure rippled through her body and she moaned, her hand stopping on his cock, she was so caught up in what he was doing to her.

They weren’t speaking, only giving groans and gasps and cries of approval. This was so good. No way would he regret this.

He eased one finger into her wet velvet space.

She gasped, surprised, then bit her lip as if the pleasure were so great it almost hurt.

He moved on top of her and captured the lip she’d bit to lick it better, to taste her sweet mouth again, while his fingers explored her slick sex, pushing in slowly, then pulling out again.

She made breathy mewling sounds, lying very still, as if concentrating on his every move. Now and then she tried to stroke him, but seemed too absorbed in what he was doing.

He was happy to be making her so happy.

“You’d better…we’d better…what about a condom?” She sounded desperate.

The barrier would slow him down and he wanted to make this last. Were there any in his toiletry kit? A few from the early days with Jane, he was sure.

“When we need one, I’ll get it. I’m happy here for now. You?”

“Mmm, hmm.” She nodded, lips parted, breathing through her mouth. She relaxed into the bed, lying open to his fingers. Moonlight bathed her parts-her breasts, belly, hip bones, curls, her taut thighs. He memorized her-her shape, her breath, the way her tongue swept her lips and her face-reveling in how she seemed to be sinking into the moment with him.

He kissed the impossibly soft skin of her neck, ran his tongue over her pulse, stroked the button of her sex, which swelled, eager for more. His thumb in place, he slid two fingers in and out of her in a rhythm he mimicked with his mouth and wanted to begin with his cock.

Her hips rocked faster, she tightened around his fingers. “Oh, oh, oh. I’m going to-”

“Come. Yeah. Come for me.”

She sped up, getting closer and closer until…

There.

She froze against the bed, then yelped, her eyes rolling back as she bucked against his finger. He felt so grateful to be with her, to feel her fire and energy and desire, to give her what she wanted.

He realized he’d sensed her needs without words. This was a surprise, this automatic understanding. It was as if they’d been together many times before.

“Oh, wow,” she breathed, rolling over and onto him. “That was-” She finished her sentence with a very wet, very violent kiss.

Abruptly, she rose to her knees and pressed his arms to the bed, looking as though she intended to wrestle him into submission.

“Uncle,” he said. “Aunt and cousin, too, if that helps.”

She smiled the smile of a hellcat bent on getting her due. Then she hesitated. “The condom…” She bit her lip. “I’m on the pill. I get tested. You?”

“I’m…healthy,” he said, not sure how he’d even make it to the bathroom with this incredible woman above him.

“Good. Bareback it is.” She guided his cock into her body, slowly seating herself at the base of his shaft, settling in with a moan of pleasure. She arched her body, head back, enjoying this, it seemed.

He certainly was. Her tight, hot sex was pure heaven. He grabbed her hips, pulling her down harder.

She looked at him, her hair falling forward, color in her cheeks, her eyes shining in the dimness. She was so beautiful.

“This just gets better, huh?” she breathed.

“Oh, yeah,” he said, thrusting up into her. “Better and better.” This had to be the best position. Except for looking down at her body. Or lying on his side, facing her. Or all the other positions they hadn’t tried. Yet.