Love's Retreat Page 3

  Alex dropped the coffee and danishes on the table and reached out to pull Jess tight against him. He pushed her hair aside and forcefully kissed her neck, licking then nibbling when she squirmed. His hand cupped her breast, roughly massaging.

  Jess’s breath quickened, and she pressed her breasts further into his grasp. She reached her arms up to encircle his head. She turned her head and breathed in his scent and moaned as one hand released its prize and moved down her stomach and inside the waist of her pants. She reached down, unbuttoned her pants and lowered the zipper.

  Alex pressed his face against her shoulder, eyes shut tight. His hand moved lower, stopping only for a second to cup her soft mound. Jess stepped to spread her legs for him. He accepted the invitation and delved into the soft wet lips.

  Jess groaned. Her hips thrust forward in rhythm with the caressing fingers. She tensed when he gently touched her clit, then moved in slow, light circles. She bit her lip and arched her back as the waves began to overtake her. As she came he thrust his finger inside. She shouted in joyous agony.

  As her body began to slacken in release, Alex rocked her gently. He turned her in his arms and cradled her close.

  Jess walked slowly to her morning session. Her body was still numb with passion. Alex had allowed her to choose whether they went back to bed or drank their coffee and left the cabin. As much as Jess wanted to feel him inside her again she knew they had to go out to the real world. She needed to think with a clear head and she definitely could not do that with Alex close by.

  She found Nora in the Contemplation Hall and sat down next to her. Jess was relieved to see that Nora looked as worn out as she was. They shared a conspiratorial smile. They listened to the Mentor. Jess took several notes and tried to stay concentrated on the lecture.

  When the presentation was complete and they were set free to work with partners, Nora led Jess to a far corner. “You didn’t come in at breakfast.” It wasn’t an accusation but a request for information.

  Jess blushed, then turned bright red when Nora chuckled.

  “You too?” she asked excitedly. Jess nodded. Nora took her friend’s hands. “Who was it? Was he amazing? Ryan was really, really amazing! I didn’t think I would be able to get out of bed, I was so exhausted,” she leaned in close, “and a little sore.” Nora leaned back and laughed. “It was all so unexpected. We ran into each other on the path last night and he asked me out to dinner. We hit it off and everything just fell into place.”

  Jess nodded, thrilled for her friend. “Alex said you two would get along well.”

  “He knew?” She shrugged. “I guess we did talk a lot yesterday morning.” Nora pulled at Jess’s hands. “I thought you were keen on Ryan. I worried that I was stealing your guy.”

  “I do like Ryan,” Jess admitted. “He’s very cute. But I didn’t have a thing for him. I’m glad you hit it off.”

  “Oh, in a BIG way!” Her smile was dazzling. “But what about you? Wait, you didn’t spend the night with Alex, did you? You did!” Nora was so pleased with herself that Jess had to smile. “But I never would have thought that you and Alex…”

  Jess didn’t want to reveal all the details. “I saw that you were…active in our cabin, so I went for a walk. I ran into Alex and we got to talking. One thing led to another, and then led to another.” She blushed again.

  “That’s wonderful, but also a bit…” Nora looked away.

  “Nora?” Jess got nervous. What did Nora know? What had Ryan told her? Was Alex seeing someone, married, or worse? No, nothing could be worse than his being married. She reached out and shook her friend’s shoulders. “Tell me Nora! Is he married?”

  Nora looked confused. “No, nothing like that. Ryan was just talking about him during dinner last night. He said that he wasn’t sure if he should have left Alex alone. That he’d get bored because he’s not the type to socialize with strangers or pick up women. That he wasn’t the type to fool around. I guess he was wrong.”

  Jess stared off for a moment. “I guess he was.”

  “Now you’ll owe me,” Nora said jovially. “Because this wasn’t a horrid weekend after all and we both had a little fun.”

  Was that all it was? A weekend fling? Maybe that was okay for Nora and Ryan, but she didn’t want it to be just some quick sex and “call me sometime”. But what did she want? She hardly knew Alex. All they really had was sex…really great sex.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” Jess looked at her watch. “What time do we check out today?”

  “I don’t know, after lunch maybe. Why?”

  Jess didn’t want to talk with Nora right now. She left the building and walked to her cabin. She was surprised to find the beach stone on her bed. What did it mean? Was it a goodbye gift? Jess felt herself becoming worried and irrational. She went to find Alex.

  He was not in his cabin and neither were his things. She ran to the parking lot, breathing normally only when she saw his green car next to hers. She thought about the steam house but couldn’t bring herself to go inside again. She walked up the path they followed the night before. Up near the top she caught sight of Alex taking photos. She paused and took several deep breaths. She didn’t have a clue what she would say to him and was half afraid of what he would say to her. So she stood, saying nothing. Her heart refused to beat normally until he turned and smiled.

  “I was afraid you wouldn’t come.” Alex put his camera away.

  “It took a while to figure out where you were.” She didn’t move and felt as if they were miles apart. “I even checked your cabin and the parking lot.” She tried to be flippant but sounded like a little child.

  “Did you think I’d skipped out?” He hadn’t closed the distance between them.

  Jess looked away, uncertain, and nodded.

  In an instant he was in front of her. One arm pulled her tight against him. He twined his other hand in her hair and gently tilted her head back. His kiss was passionate. She rose on her toes, pushing her lips more firmly against his, wrapping her arms up his back to hold onto his shoulders. It was several long minutes before she dropped down and hid her face in his chest.

  “Why were you so worried? What happened after you left this morning?”

  “It was something Nora said about this weekend being a…” Jess could feel tears welling up. “She said that Ryan told her you don’t have weekend flings.” She held him tighter. “When your things weren’t in your cabin I thought you might have decided…” she couldn’t say it.

  Alex lifted her chin and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “You thought I might have had regrets about last night and made a hasty escape?”

  Jess couldn’t look at him, couldn’t risk seeing what might be in those beautiful dark eyes. The gentle kisses on her eyelids and cheeks were more than she could bear and she hid her face in his shirt again.

  “Didn’t you see the beach stone?”

  She nodded, sniffling. He held her tightly.

  “Did you ever wonder why I would carry around such a thing? People don’t usually have rocks in their pockets.” She shook her head. “When I achieved my dream of getting the cottage by the ocean I picked up a stone that was being brought in on the tide. While holding that stone I made a promise to find someone who would love the place as I did.”

  Jess wiped her face on the soft shirt and looked up into the eyes that were so full of love that her whole being lit on fire. She threw her arms around Alex’s neck and kissed him.

  He spun her around until she laughed. “That’s better. Now what do you say we have Nora drive Ryan back to the city and we take a trip to the beach?”

  “Yes, please.”

 

 

 
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