They swam together for the edge of the pool near the waterfall where it grew shallower. Neal hooked an elbow on the ledge there and drew her close. They were protected from the view of anyone who might chance by on the bar deck, as slim a possibility as that was at this hour.
The sensation of the water all around her, her legs entwined with his, and the delicious pressure of his member against her nether areas was intoxicating. When Neal added his mouth, Mary found herself writhing in need.
“Don’t stop,” she begged him, when he pulled away, but then he touched her thighs with his hand, stroking at the edge of her lace panties and she could only whimper in pleasure.
She clung to his shoulders, panting and clawing at him as he used his talented hand to explore her through the wet fabric. When he finally slipped a questing finger under the elastic and into her folds, she gasped and cried out in release.
“If we weren’t in the pool, you’d be able to tell how wet I am for you,” she said near his ear when she could breathe again.
“Can you tell how hard I am for you?” he answered, and Mary found his proof with her own hand. He wasn’t bulging now as much as he was straining against the soaked undergarment, his erect cock pulling the elastic away from his legs. There was little resistance from the underwear when Mary pushed it aside, the better to touch the firm, velvety flesh.
Floating in water was significantly different than tussling on the bed, and it meant a great deal more accidental touching as they struggled to keep their heads out of the water and their bodies in contact. Every touch was electric and new, caressed by the flow of water around them.
When Neal pulled aside her underwear and slipped into her, it was like being lit on fire. Even the friction of his member inside of her was new for being underwater, and the grip his hands felt fluid and different.
With touches and thrusts, he brought her to the crest of pleasure, not once, but twice, then pulled away, gasping, “Too hard…”
“Just hard enough,” Mary laughed back at him, but she followed willingly to the far edge of the pool, and they tumbled out of the water onto the edge of the pool, where they kissed and touched and slipped on the wet tile. The rain had faded to nearly nothing.
Neal tugged her up onto one of the padded lounge chairs, and Mary shimmied out of her underwear to welcome him, not sure where his briefs had disappeared to in the darkness, but glad they were gone. He slid fingers under her wet bra strap, and she gleefully unclipped it to let her breasts swing freely.
He worshipped them with his hands, cupping them and running thumbs over the erect nipples, and Mary felt her yearning reach another fever pitch.
He entered her in a rush, and Mary rose to greet him, moaning softly in satisfaction. Having him close, having him inside her, seemed to fulfill her in a way she’d never known she was missing.
Clever fingers and the perfect rhythm of thrusts brought her to peaks of pleasure again, and this time, Neal joined her at that crest of orgasm, and finally sank down to embrace her tenderly as their breath returned to normal.
Chapter Fourteen
When the chill in the night air finally drove them off the damp lounge, Neal discovered that his briefs had been left behind in the pool, and were floating just beyond the reach of the pool net.
After grumbling, Neal finally slipped back into the water and swam to retrieve them, and Mary greeted him with a thick towel at the edge of the pool.
They walked the steps back up to the bar deck where they had shed their clothing and pulled them on. Neal couldn’t help but stare while Mary dressed; all of her curves in the dim light were enchanting and mesmerizing while she struggled to get tight clothing over damp limbs.
He walked her to her cottage, hand-in-hand, running the last few steps as the rain started up again.
“Stay with me?” she asked softly as they stood in the doorway, almost begging.
Neal almost broke at the gentleness of her voice, feeling his heart aching inside him. He took her face in his hands for a gentle goodbye kiss.
“I… don’t sleep restfully,” he said regretfully.
“So I’ll sleep in after you leave in the morning,” Mary cajoled. “It’s a big bed…”
Neal cut her off with a second kiss and a shake of his head. “Soon,” he suggested, and he didn’t want to think about how true that had to be.
She didn’t try again to persuade him, only gave him a curvy embrace and reluctantly let him go.
He left her sighing in the open door, lit from behind as he went back out into the dark, back to his own bunk to catch a few hours of sleep before waking to do the morning chores.
As promised, it was not restful sleep. He lay awake for far too long, thinking about how short his remaining time with Mary at the resort was. Her stay was only a few days more, and he…
While he couldn’t imagine staying after she left, he also couldn’t imagine fitting into her life. She was a math teacher. He was a broken soldier. She suited a quiet, domestic life. He wasn’t fit for anything.
Close to dawn, he finally dozed, and the afternoon’s confessions dredged up terrible memories to work into nightmares of horror and guilt. He woke in a sweaty tangle of blankets, his pillow already ejected to the other side of the room.
He took a utilitarian shower in the tiny bunk bathroom, and when he went to pull on his clothing, he found the paper that Scarlet had given him in his pocket.