Chapter 72

This New Year’s Day had a late start.  Neither of them could find the initiative to get out of bed, choosing instead to curl around each other and go back to sleep.  Twice.  When they finally did manage to get out of bed, traditional ‘morning’ exercise was been replaced by kayaking on the open ocean.  Since open ocean also meant open sun – hot sun – they followed up with a cooling dunk in the sea.  Feeling as though they’d sufficiently worked out, they were now napping in the sun.

There was just something about the beach that Rachel couldn't get enough of.  The feeling of the sand between her toes and the sun warming her skin was addictive – as was the man dozing on the lounge chair next to her. 

She rolled lazily to her side, garnering a better view of the handsome man who had rocked her world.  The light dusting of sand on his tanned body, combined with the shaggy hair and unshaven jaw, actually made her mouth water.  He had so little body fat, she thought, that his belly button was almost an ‘outie’. 

The trail of fur slipping beneath his low-slung swimsuit drew Rachel’s eyes and took her imagination on a twisting, turning adventure reminiscent of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at Disneyland.  She didn’t know how many times she'd made love with him, but it would never be enough.  With Jon, she was never too tired, never too busy, never in a rush.  

And somehow, she never got enough.  She craved him.  His touch was intoxicating and from their first night, he had the ability to make her do, think and feel things she’d never known she was capable of.

“I’m blushing just reading your mind, young lady.” 

Mirrored aviator sunglasses had hidden the fact that not only was he awake, he was able to clearly see her ogling him.  Rachel was completely unashamed at being caught lusting and didn’t shy away from voicing her awe at his fine form. 

“I swear you wear sand better than most men wear Armani.” 

“GAWD!” he cackled. “You really do turn into a sexual predator when you get near the beach.”

“I know.  It’s something about the sun…it’s like an erotic massage alllll…”

“Yeah.  I remember from the Hamptons – it’s like an erotic massage alllll over your body.  I get it.”  As he stood, one arm extended to reach for her arm and pull Rachel off her lounge.  “C’mon.  Let’s get outta the sun.  It’s bound to be five o'clock somewhere and I could use a cocktail and something to eat.”

Allowing herself to be removed from her comfortable beach chair, her hand slid up the firm plane of Jon’s oh-so-fit abdomen and slithered around his neck while she tip-toed for a kiss.  “I’m ready to eat you alive and YOU want a cocktail and some food?  Did I hear you right?”

“I'm an old man, honey.  I've had more sex in the last 24 hours than any twenty year old will have in a week.  So to answer your question, yes.  I need food and liquor.  And shade.”

“Party pooper.”

                                                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cool, ocean breezes blew through the outdoor living area where Rachel had endured “The Godfather” playing on the enormous screen adjacent to the pool for most of the afternoon.  Jon had just taken a break to check in with his kids and follow up with business associates.  She immediately took advantage of his absence to get control of the remote and therefore their next movie selection. 

“Where’s the corkscrew?” 

His bare feet had scuffed across the patio, alerting Rachel to his return.  Beer and her homemade attempt at the infamous rum punch concoction had been his beverages of choice during lunch and the movie, but as evening approached, Jon was getting serious about his drink.  That meant wine.   Drawers were being opened and closed in the outdoor kitchen as his impatience grew. 

If she hadn’t been so comfortably spread out on the cushy sectional sofa, Rachel might have gotten up to help.  But she had a bad case of tropical laziness and she reasoned that, eventually, he’d find the damn thing.  

“Keep looking, babe.  You’ll find it.”

By the time he showed up several minutes later with the opened bottle and glasses for the two of them, she had narrowed down her choice for movies.  She accepted the glass Jon offered before he plopped down next to her and threw an arm across her lap.  Rachel took a sip and readied her pitch.

“Okay, here are your two choices:  I’m thinking ‘Under the Tuscan Sun with the beautiful setting or  ‘Unfaithful’ with all those hot sex scenes which will no doubt leave you with a raging hard on.  Pick your poison.”

Rubbing his temple, Jon muttered, “Trust me, Rach - it most definitely will not leave me with a raging hard on.  In fact it’s likely to leave me with a limp dick for the rest of the day.  You’d be better off to just pick another movie.”

“I thought you were friendly with Richard Gere when you lived out there?”

“Yeah, I was - still am friendly with him, in fact.  But… I dated Diane Lane for several months when Dorothea and I were broken up.”

Rachel mock cringed. “Ewww!  So you’re not interested in seeing your ex having sex in a stairwell, huh?”

“I’ve seen it – I watched it one night in a hotel room.”  He shook his finger at her declaring, “That’s another one of those confessions if you tell anybody I’ll cut you off in the bedroom.  Dorothea hated her with a deep and abiding passion and I’m none too fond of her myself.”

“Bad breakup?”

Jon grinned in her direction and patted her thigh. “EVERY breakup is bad, otherwise you wouldn’t be breaking up.”

“So…. what happened?”

“She liked to party.  Richie liked to party.  I found the two of them ‘partying’ together.”  He shrugged his shoulders as though it didn’t really bother him. “Got rid of her and kept him.  Then I went running back to Dorothea as fast as I could.”

“Odd choice.”

“Nah, not really.  I love him like a brother but I only liked her.  It was a good lesson for me.  I saw that a girl in Hollywood was not gonna be my thing.  Dorothea knew what loyalty was and to her credit, she still does.  That was really what drew me to her as much or more than anything else.”

“Hmm.  So what drew you to me?”

“Lust.” 

“Lust, huh?”  Rachel couldn't resist leaning into him and swiping her tongue across the bottom of his earlobe, teasing, “And now, all these months later, you prefer food, liquor and shade to making love with me.”

Jon’s lopsided grin was one of the most appealing facial expressions he wore.  When he gave it to her, she felt that familiar sizzle begin to stir between her legs.  She wanted him.  Again.  More than that, by the look in his eye, she knew he knew she wanted him.  Again.

“Jesus, honey.  Quit lookin’ at me like you’re a starving lion and I’m a piece of steak.  You’re givin’ me a complex.  I think I’m gonna have to lock myself in the bathroom just so I can change my clothes without you pawing me.”

There was no doubt in Rachel’s mind that he loved the way she looked at him – the way she craved him.  He was merely playing up to her for the simple pleasure of it.  That was fine.  She could play along, too.

“Well, since you’re hungry again, I guess we could go into town at one of the local dives.  That might be tame enough for you.”  She sat up on the edge of the outdoor sofa, untying her bikini top.  As she stood, she released the top and let it flutter with the breeze to his lap.  “I’ll go take a quick shower and slip into something appropriate for dinner.”

Ever so slowly, she leaned over to kiss him, making certain that her bare breasts swayed tantalizingly close to his face.  As her lips met his, she casually released each of the side ties that held her bikini bottom in place, leaving her completely naked.  That half of the bathing suit was tossed to his lap too,  as she saucily walked past him toward the house.  The expansive glass windows allowed her to see his reflection as he sat motionless and simply watched her walk away.

She knew he was every bit as hot for her as she was for him.  He was just too stunned to respond for the moment.  But, if she knew her man, he’d follow and it wouldn’t be long. 

The cool rain forest shower head felt positively decadent as it gently washed the salt and chlorine of the day off of her sun-kissed body.  Rachel was just reaching for the shampoo when her vacation partner entered the shower, as expected. 

Spinning her to face him, he used his knee to spread her legs apart and urge her body up against the shower wall.  While she was finding her footing in this new position, his hands took her wrists and raised her arms above her head. 

Rachel grinned as he ate her alive with ravenous blue eyes.  He'd always loved the way her breasts looked in the position and this time was no exception.  Seeing his excitement made her nipples stand up, their pebble-hardness practically begging for attention.  Rather than obliging, Jon took the opportunity to tease, just barely letting his chest touch her hers.

“Is there more to that little show you put on for me out there on the patio?”

“If you play your cards right, there might be.”

He pressed further into her, widening her legs even more and with a grin that was pure evil, challenged her, “Show me what you got.”

There was something about the way he looked that made her most intimate muscles tighten and flip.  He was unshaven and had the beginning of a sunburn on his nose.  His mouth was slightly parted with  a hint of the lopsided grin she loved so much, giving her a glimpse of his tongue through all those pearly white teeth. 

Rachel felt his hand cup her thigh, lifting it and gently hugging it around his hip while he slid slowly into her, but she never took her eyes off his mouth.  Whether it be the rum punch or the effects of too much sun, or her hormones, his mouth had her besotted and mesmerized.  Rachel’s utter fascination with each dip and graceful line in and around that sinful mouth was making the intensity of her arousal more pronounced than it had the first time he laid a finger on her. 

It called to her.  It beckoned.  It longed for her as much as she longed for it.

She touched her mouth to his bottom lip, noting the slight chapping before that magical tongue of his found hers.  They had shared the most intimate acts two people ever could and yet, this time, the simple act of kissing him felt more intimate than anything that had come before. 

Jon broke the kiss and dropped his head to her nipple.  Ordinarily Rachel wouldn't have objected, but this time...   This time, she needed his mouth on hers as much as she needed her next breath.  She tapped his jaw, silently signaling him to bring his lips back where they were wanted. 

As his tongue slicked against hers, igniting a burst of adrenaline, Rachel realized that she had become dependent on him.  Food, water, oxygen and Jon were the only things she truly had to have every day.  It was a terrifying realization.  She'd only been dependent on one other person in her life.

For the first time ever, Nick came to her mind while making love with Jon.  

Rachel had allowed her life to become so intertwined with Nick’s that his death left her almost crippled beyond the loss of their children.  She hadn’t thought she would be able to get up day after day after day.  In fact, she hadn’t wanted to.  With the other half of her missing, what was the point?

And...  She shuddered as Jon sucked on her tongue, his fingers digging into her backside.  The way she felt about him was stronger than anything she'd ever felt for Nick. If the unthinkable happened again… she didn’t think she could survive.  Absolutely could not survive.

The slow, rocking rhythm he used to coax her body into responding had her wrapping her other leg around him.  His power was controlled and steady, but the sharp inhalation through his nose interrupted her revelation and took her attention from his mouth.  It was a sure sign he was close to exploding .

“You won’t leave me?” 

She hadn’t planned to say the words, didn’t even realize she had at first, but she was sure it was her own voice’s raspy echo that surrounded them in the glass shower stall.  Lifting her eyes, at last, to Jon’s, she saw the subtle change in their sex-darkened irises. 

There was a depth to him now.  He understood what she was asking and why.  He recognized her out of character question and knew that it was borne of facing her deepest fear - of giving herself so completely that she couldn't live without him. 

His hips continued to roll steadily filling her and retreating, his pace relaxed and slow.  There was no hesitation and he never stilled inside her, pushing both of them steadily toward that place where it was just them. 

The only physical change he made was to brush her cheekbone with his thumb and whisper, “I won't leave you.”

Those four words made her complete.  She became whole even as she burst into the familiar million pieces that only he could put back together over and over again.   The release was as much emotional as it was physical and it carried a sort of reverence with it.   They were quiet..., gentle with both their bodies and their voices, even though they barely spoke a word. 

They didn’t have to speak.  She didn’t need anything more than this to know he would always be there.