Three

Sandra glanced up at Devlin’s handsome face.

“You’re here.”

He drew back the covers, revealing her naked body. Had she peeled away her pajamas since she fell asleep?

The heated look in his eyes sent her insides melting. He sat on the bed beside her, then leaned in and kissed her. His hot lips brushing against hers took her breath away. She arched forward and he wrapped his arms around her, then drew her close. He explored her mouth with his probing tongue, urging her lips apart, then gliding into her mouth. She stroked his tongue with hers, then sighed as he sucked her tongue deeper into his mouth.

He lay down beside her and stroked her breasts. Her nipples tightened into hard buds. Then he tasted one, stroking his tongue over the tip, driving her insane with need. She glided her fingers along the back of his head, then released the leather tie that held his hair behind his head and stroked her fingers through the long strands. She’d wanted to do that for so long.

He slid to her other nipple and sucked lightly. She gasped at the intense pleasure.

She stroked down his solid chest, then to his belt buckle. She released it, then his fly and tucked her hand inside. His erection pulsed with life as she encircled it with her fingers.

She sat up and stared at his wonderfully large cock. She pressed her lips to the tip and licked, then swallowed his cockhead whole.

“Sandra, that’s fantastic. You are fabulous at that.”

She beamed and dove down on him, taking him deep into her throat without a single gagging sensation, even though he was big and thick. She sucked and licked, then bobbed up and down.

“Oh, God, sweetheart. That is incredible. I’m going to … Oh, God.”

In a rush, hot liquid flooded her throat. She swallowed and smiled up at him. She’d never gotten her ex off that quickly.

She grabbed his pants and pulled them down, then tossed them off the bed. He tugged his shirt and T-shirt over his head in one quick movement. He drew her into his arms and kissed her, her naked breasts crushing against his rock-solid chest. Her beaded nipples driving into his ridged flesh.

She pressed her hands against his chest and he lay down on his back. She arched her leg over him and wrapped her hand around his straight-as-an-arrow cock and pressed it to her slick opening, then slowly lowered herself onto him.

Oh, God, it had been well over a year since she’d had a man inside her. And now Devlin was gliding into her. Deeper. And deeper.

Finally, she rested on his groin, his cock embedded in her. He twitched and she thought she’d fly over the edge right then and there.

He stroked her breasts, sending tingles rushing through her. She leaned forward so he could take one in his mouth. It was such sweet heaven to be touched by a man again. She moaned at the exquisite sensation of his hot lips covering her hard nipple, and his hard cock filled her so full she thought she’d explode.

She lifted her hips, then lowered herself again. Pleasure swelled through her. She glided up and down. She sucked in a breath at the intense sensations writhing through her.

“Oh, dear God, Devlin, make me come.”

He wrapped his hands around her hips and lifted her, then lowered her again. Lifted and lowered, augmenting her rhythm.

The phone began to ring, but she ignored it. Bouncing up and down on Devlin’s big cock. Gazing into his delightful, star-speckled blue eyes.

Ring.

Pleasure burst through her, washing through every cell.

Ring.

Devlin seemed to dissolve. The phone rang again. Light filtered into her eyes. The orgasm that had seemed so close only a second ago also seemed to dissolve. Her vagina clenched, but Devlin’s big cock had also dissolved.

Oh, God, no. It was only a dream!

She gasped for air, her body twitching with need. She stroked between her legs and found her clit nestled in the damp folds. She stroked it, then gasped and moaned as the orgasm finally overtook her. Her body convulsed, and she collapsed on the bed.

The phone stopped ringing.

As she stared out her sunny bedroom window, catching her breath, she remembered what had really happened last night. How she had thrown herself at Devlin and he had turned her down.

Damn, what a crappy way to start the morning.

*   *   *

As Sandra gazed out the sunny window of the restaurant, she saw Aimee walking toward the door. A moment later, Aimee entered the restaurant, glanced around, and waved at Sandra. She walked toward the table.

“Hey, there.” Aimee hooked the shoulder strap of her purse over the back of the chair, then sat down. “Did you order for me already?”

“Pastrami on rye and a diet cola.” Sandra sipped her own diet cola, a vice she had picked up from Aimee. She really didn’t need the caffeine.

The waitress arrived at the table and placed plates loaded with food in front of them. Aimee’s sandwich and fries and Sandra’s chicken wrap with a side salad.

Aimee picked up a long, slender fry with her fingers and took a bite. “Mmm. These things are way too good. And really hot. Just the way you like them. Want one?”

Unable to resist the delicious aroma, Sandra grabbed a fry and took a bite. Heaven. She swallowed, then pushed her fork through a chunk of salad. One fry was her limit.

“So, do you want me to pick you and Devlin up for the movie tonight or do you want to drive?” Aimee asked.

Sandra’s chest constricted. “Oh, well, um … I think I’m just going to stay home tonight. You two go ahead.”

The thought of facing Devlin after last night mortified her. She knew she had to find a way to get over it eventually, but that wasn’t going to be soon.

Aimee put down her sandwich. “Okay, what gives?”

Sandra realized she’d stabbed her fork into the salad multiple times, gathering several chunks of lettuce on the tines. She glanced at Aimee.

“What do you mean?”

“Did you and Devlin have a fight or something?”

“No.”

“First, you insist we go shoe shopping today instead of joining Devlin at the art museum for the new Escher exhibit, which I know you wanted to see. Now you want to blow him off when you know he’s been looking forward to that new thriller movie for weeks.”

Sandra shrugged. “I just need some alone time.”

“Aw, honey. Is it about the divorce?” Aimee rested her hand on Sandra’s. Her deep blue eyes gazed into Sandra’s with sympathy. “Did the anniversary bring up bad memories?”

Sandra appreciated her friend’s comforting gesture.

“No, it’s not that, I…” She bit her lip. “It’s just that … I sort of made a fool of myself last night with Devlin.”

Aimee’s well-shaped eyebrow arched upward. “Really? How?”

Sandra’s cheeks burned in embarrassment.

Aimee grinned. “Hmm. With cheeks that red, I’ve gotta know. Give.”

“When he dropped me off last night … I … sort of kissed him.”

“Boy, if you’re not sure, you are definitely out of practice.”

Sandra picked up her diet cola and swirled it around, sending the ice cubes tinkling against the glass.

“Aimee, you’re not helping.”

“Okay, so what happened then? Did you guys…?” Aimee’s eyes glittered in amusement.

“No. He…” She stared down at her plate. “He couldn’t get away from me fast enough.”

“Really? Hmm. I find that hard to believe.” Aimee took a bite of her sandwich.

“Well, believe it.”

Aimee chewed for a few seconds, then swallowed. “Okay, so now what? You going to avoid him forever?”

Sandra gazed at Aimee sheepishly. “Can I?”

Aimee laughed melodically. “No, I won’t let you get away with that. He’s a great guy. And you guys are friends.” She patted Sandra’s hand. “But I will allow you a reprieve. We’ll skip the movie tonight and, to help you out even more, how about you and I go up to my cottage next weekend. It’s a long weekend, and the weather’s supposed to be fabulous. We’ll enjoy three days of sunshine, water, and relaxation. That should give you lots of time to forget all about any nonsense between you and Devlin, and the following week we can all pick up where we left off. What do you say?”

A weekend at Aimee’s cottage. Sandra had never been, but had heard many stories from Aimee about the good times she’d had there. And where better to spend a glorious sunny long weekend than at a lakeside cottage?

*   *   *

Sandra’s hair whipped wildly in the wind as the small boat, with Aimee behind the wheel, raced across the sunlit water. Sandra glanced at the cottages along the treed shoreline. Off to the right, several teenagers enjoyed a large swim raft, some sunning themselves on top while others swam around the edges. Shrieks rang out as the ones in the water splashed the others, then several dove into the lake, probably with revenge in mind.

“Over there.” Aimee pointed to a small island beyond the end of the channel where the shores widened. “We’re coming up on Silver Lake, and that’s the island where the cottage is.”

Aimee shared the cottage with her sister. It had belonged to their parents, but they hardly used it anymore and found it not worth the maintenance headache, so they’d given it to their two daughters.

“An island all to yourself. That’s pretty cool,” Sandra said.

“Well, it’s a tiny island, and it’s not exactly all to myself. There is one other cottage, but it’s on the opposite shore, so it’s pretty private.”

Sandra liked that. Aimee had told her there was a lot of waterskiing, canoeing, and other water sports in the main lake, but most people didn’t come in too close to the island because of the danger of rocks. There were better places to go in the large lake, so the traffic around them would be practically nonexistent. Sandra enjoyed the idea of a quiet weekend on the water without swarms of people around.

“Do you know the people who own the other cottage?”

“It used to be owned by the Reeds, friends of my parents, but they didn’t get up all that often anymore, so they sold it last year. To a friend of their son’s. His name’s Craig. In fact, I used to date him.”

“Oh.” Sandra pursed her lips. She didn’t think she’d want to date someone she shared an island with. When the relationship ended, things could get dicey.

As the boat approached the island, Aimee slowed down. Sandra spotted a neon orange buoy off to the left, and another couple way to the right. Aimee headed straight ahead toward a wooden dock. A sleek maroon boat was tied on one side of the dock.

“I guess that means someone is at the other cottage this weekend,” Sandra said. “So you dated the owner. Is this going to be awkward?”

“No way. Craig and I are still good friends. We dated for a while last summer, but it didn’t last long after that. It may not be love, but we get along really well.”

Aimee’s face lit up with a smile and she waved. Sandra glanced toward the shore and saw two men walking along the dock, each carrying a tall-necked brown beer bottle in his hand.

“That’s Craig,” Aimee said. “And that’s his friend James.”

The way Aimee looked at Craig, Sandra wondered just how well Aimee and Craig got along. Of course, she might just be imagining the hunger in Aimee’s eyes, reflecting her own hunger for a strong, sexy man.

“We still run into each other the odd time during the summer and we always have a good time together. You’ll like him. James, too.”

James, too. Suspicion reared up and Sandra’s eyes widened.

“You sneak. This is a setup, isn’t it.”

Aimee grinned. “Well, maybe a little bit. But I just figured it would be a way for you to meet a couple of nice guys in a casual setting. No pressure. And if you decide you don’t want to spend time with them, we’ll just keep to ourselves.”

Yeah, right. No pressure. They were on an island together. No other people for miles.

Sandra’s gaze locked on the two men standing on the steadily approaching dock. They were both tall, just over six feet, the one with the short, sandy hair slightly taller by about an inch. The dark-haired one wore a shirt draped open, revealing his masculine chest, while the other wore no shirt at all. Sandra couldn’t peel her gaze from his tight, sculpted abdominals. She didn’t know which one was Craig and which one was James and, quite frankly, it didn’t matter. From what she could see, both were drop-dead gorgeous.

Just Sandra, Aimee, and two exceptionally hunky guys for the entire weekend. Her pulse began to race and tingles danced along her nerve endings. This weekend was going to prove more of a distraction than she had anticipated.

*   *   *

As Aimee brought the boat alongside the dock, the shirtless man with sandy brown hair handed his beer to the other man and grabbed the side of the boat and pulled it closer to the dock. Then he tossed a loop of rope over the cleat on the front of the boat, and hooked it back, neatly tying the boat to the dock. Sandra’s gaze fell on the large tattoo of a tiger, which prowled up his right arm and along his muscular shoulder.

“Got a load of stuff, I see.” He stepped into the boat and picked up the huge cooler, then hefted it onto the dock.

“Thanks, Craig. This is my friend Sandra. Sandra, this is Craig.” Aimee nudged her head toward the other man. “And that’s James.”

Craig’s sandy brown hair was short and straight all over, the spiky tips almost glittering with golden highlights, probably from a lot of time spent in the sun, judging from his dark tan. James had his back to them as he placed the beer bottles on the other side of the dock, but Sandra could see that his dark brown hair was short on the sides and full and wavy on top.

Sandra smiled. “Hi.” She grabbed her small wheeled suitcase and lifted it.

James turned around and stepped toward the boat. “Here, let me.” He took the bag and placed it on the dock, then offered his hand to help her from the bobbing boat.

Her gaze locked with his as her fingers nestled in the confines of his strong grip. Awareness flashed through her. Of his strong masculine body, his arms and chest bulging with muscles. Of his glittering blue-gray eyes that nonchalantly perused her body. Of the attractive dimple in the center of his chin as he smiled at her.

Her eyes widened as recognition struck.

“James Connor?”