(Mermaid Note: If you haven’t already, please read The Fourth Date’s the Charm (Part One) first. Also, this spicy story has the water bubbling, so be warned.)

Oh no. Not the nibbly thing.

Piper arched her neck into the caress of his lips. Jake wasn’t playing fair. He knew she turned to mush when he did that little nippy thing with his teeth on her skin. He was just trying to keep her off-balance in order to stop her from pointing out how this thing between them was a bad idea.  He was doing a great job because she’d somehow ended up on her back with his hard length pressing her into the soft turf.

“Jake.”

“I love it when you call me that.”

“You . . .” she bit back a groan as his fingers nudged back the flimsy strap of her dress to allow his clever mouth better access to more of her tingly skin, “. . . you hate nicknames.”

“Not from you.”

“Stop doing that.”

“You don’t want me to stop.” His low laugh vibrated against her breast as his hand pushed her dress higher up her leg.

She. Didn’t. Want. Him. To. Stop.

But, she really, really needed to put on her big girl panties and end this insanity. Oh, damn. She closed her eyes, counting the fireworks going off in her head as his calloused finger pushed aside those previously mentioned  panties and touched her in the place directly connected to the “off” switch in her brain.

“I’m not the girl for you,” she panted.

Jake exhaled a heavy sigh, his breath warm and moist against her skin as he paused in his sensual exploration. He rested his forehead against hers, moments passing in silence while she struggled against the urge to shift her palms from the width of his shoulders and into the crisp, satin of his hair. He made the most delicious sounds when she did that.

“Baby.” He groaned as he lifted himself onto his forearms, still anchoring her to the turf while he nailed her with his intense dark eyes. The side of his mouth lifted in a grin. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m not the one for you.”

“Why not?”

She needed to get through to him. They’d discussed what an odd couple they were many times, never coming to a conclusion both baffled by their inability to leave each other alone.

“You’re too old for me,” she offered.

“You’re an old soul. Twelve years is nothing in a lifetime.”

Damn, he was using her own words against her now.

“I have crazy hair, tattoos and pierced nipples.”

“You also have a brazilian wax job and I love them all. They’re unspeakably sexy.” His hand played idly with the strap on her dress. “Besides, you told me I needed to loosen up.”

“I said you needed to mix-it-up in the wardrobe department.”

“Well, I listened.” He leaned in close enough to whisper in her ear. “I’m not wearing any underwear.”

She snorted. “Not exactly what I was talking about.” Piper’s traitorous hand cupped his jaw, the stubble of his beard briefly scraping against her palm before being replaced with the softness of the hair curling at his nape. Jake’s smile, open and carefree, lit up his features, accentuating the severe cut of his cheekbones. Her heart stuttered in her chest. She was either falling for the guy or she needed medical attention.

Good thing he was a doctor.

“You hate my friends.”

“I don’t,” he protested.

“You think they’re weird.”

“They are weird.” He pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist and set off another set of sparks in her belly. “But, they take care of you, so I like them.”

“I don’t like your friends.”

“Neither do I. They’re arrogant assholes and they were rude to you.”

“Good. You deserve better.”

“I deserve you.” His voice was firm but his eyes were soft with something she wanted very badly.

This wasn’t going the way she needed it to go. They’d been over this, talked about it, never getting past the fact that their worlds existed on totally different planets. But, something between them clicked, literally hummed with rightness whenever they were together, and she wanted it like a kid at Christmas. But, she’d been disappointed before by people she wanted much less. This man was a heartbreak waiting to happen.

“Jake.” She covered her face with her hands, her surrender so close she could feel its hot breath on her back.

“Piper, look at me.” He pried her hands away, placing them on the ground next to her head in a position of submission.

Panic flared momentarily, but, in another surprising move he slid his hands into hers, intertwining their fingers in a clasp of lovers instead of conquered and conqueror. She wanted to look away, fear rising in her throat at the intimacy, but his gaze held hers in a test of heart over head.

“You forget that I endured over a decade of grueling education and training to get to where I am today. I knew what I wanted and nothing stood in my way.” Jake’s body shifted over hers, his knee pressing between them until she could feel the hard length of his erection against her thigh. He rolled his hips for emphasis — as if she could miss his point. “I want you. We’re great for each other. Unless you can tell me a very good reason why I should let you go a second time, I’m not going anywhere.”

***

She looked scared to death.  Her pulse was fluttering like a hummingbird against his skin as he held her hands. Had he gone a bridge too far in issuing what amounted to an ultimatum?  He didn’t have the finesse or the necessary soft touch when it came to women. Too much time spent on his career and too little time spent pursuing anyone beyond a casual dinner and screw.

She swallowed hard, her voice trembling when she finally broke the silence. “When you get tired of me, let me down easy. Okay?”

Jackpot.  Her entire body softened as his grew hard as stone.  Who knew that giving in to utter insanity would be such a turn on?

“Don’t worry. I won’t ask you to move in with me until our sixth date,” he answered, only half joking.

His mouth covered hers in a kiss calculated to mark her with his possession, his desire.  Jake poured all of the passion he’d hoarded in his heart for so many years, afraid to give in to something he could potentially want more than his vocation.

Piper’s hands curled into his grasp, her nails digging in, marking him return. He loosened his hold, hoping she would wind her hands in his hair as she often did when he kissed her. It was pure bliss, her tiny hands pressing him closer, keeping him within her orbit — as if he could break Piper’s law of gravity.

Her mouth opened under the pressure of his kiss, allowing him to sink into her sweet taste and scorching heat.  She kissed like it was the only thing in the world, not just the pregame show but whole damn Super Bowl.

His hands found their way underneath her skirt, hungry to feel the silky heat of her skin, the curve along the back of her knee, the satin texture of her thigh.  She was wearing these tiny, barely-there panties made of lace and her arousal warmed his seeking fingers.

Piper’s own hands were busy. Nimble fingers undid his tie, unfastening his studs to expose his throat to her mouth. Her tongue licked, her teeth nipping as his skin burned with a thousand points of fire — each nerve-ending transferring the pleasure up and down his body. She sucked against the hollow of his throat and his cock jumped, hardening to the point of pain.

With a groan and a hunger for just a taste, Jake lowered his head, nudging aside the silky straps of her dress until he could see the rosy tip of her nipple underneath a layer of emerald green lace.  Undeterred by the barrier, he suckled her through the fabric bringing it to a hard peak as her hands found their way to his hair and pressed him closer.

“Fuck, Piper.” He ground himself against her thigh as she bucked against him in answer. If they kept this up he’d come in his pants like a teenager. “Let’s go. My place is closer.”

She gave a short shake of her head before her hands left his hair to travel down to his waist.  It wasn’t until he felt his button slip through the hole that he understood what she was doing. His hands reached automatically to stop her but they were pushed away just as quickly.

“Here?” His voice was a harsh croak against the background of party music and rippling water.

“Yes, here.” Piper’s nimble little hands lowered his zipper and suddenly his aching cock was cradled in the sweet tunnel formed by her fingers.

Mindless with lust, he thrust into her hand, his body contradicting his words. “Anyone could walk up at any minute.”

“Well, then you’d better hurry.”

***

She had no idea what had possessed her but it felt way too freakin’ good to stop.  The thought of Jake, inside her, over her, with the moonlight shining down on them made her crazy. She had to have this moment. Nothing else would do for their first time.

She almost wept when his body relaxed and he shifted to ease down the length of her body. She shivered as he leaned back on his knees, lifting her skirt and exposing her to the cooler air of the evening and the heat of his gaze.  He was an image of pure sex — hair disheveled, shirt open and tie askew with his erection jutting from his open pants. Her mind was on sensory overload, the thrill combining with anticipation and creating a cocktail that went straight to her head.

Her gasp joined his groan as his hand petted her lace-covered mound, his long, surgeon’s fingers tracing every dip and fold.  His eyes flickered up to meet hers for one brief moment before he leaned over, pushed aside the lace and suckled her clit.

Her eyes slammed shut, hands clenched in the summer-soft grass as she panted her desire out into the air. Jake groaned against her flesh as he delivered an endless press of kisses.  Reduced to a pile of boneless mush, all she could do was open her legs wider and pray he didn’t get a call from the damn hospital. If he did, she’d have to shoot somebody.

He stopped his caress and her eyes flew open and found his in the moonlight.  Jake was propped on one hand, pupils blown with lust as he pumped his cock in time with the harsh breaths escaping from lips glistening with her juices.  It was the most erotic thing she’d ever seen.

Piper reached up, her hand cupping his face as her thumb stroked his lower lip. They were on the brink of something game-changing for both of them.  Neither of them knew if it would last. It was a gamble. She wouldn’t miss it for the world.

“Jake, I need you.”

Her words spurred them both into action.  Panties were gone. Condom retrieved from her purse and smoothed on his cock.  And then months of wanting, weeks of doubt and indecision all came down to one moment of held breath and a gentle push.

“Holy shit.” Jake groaned through gritted teeth as entered her body, filling her with his desire.

Piper arched up into his invasion, her body screaming for the pressure, the ache, the fire. A breath, a sigh, escaped her body as he fully seated inside her and they began a slow glide of passion.  Jake pulled almost all the way out before easing in again — an easy rhythm calculated to make it last.

Sounds of the party now seemed a million miles away.  The trickle of water in the nearby fountain, the chirp of the cicadas blending perfectly with their moans and cries as their bodies demanded more.

Jake trailed open-mouth kisses along her neck, cheeks, and lips.  The muscles of his shoulders rippled under her hands, his hair tickled against her palms. The moon was bright over his shoulder as she leaned back and let him take her on a ride of pleasure. It was magic. Tendrils of fire coiled in her belly and sparks skittered along her skin, the combination causing her to shiver.

“This is so good. So good.” Jake breathed against her ear before he traced her jaw and claimed her mouth in a carnal kiss.

“Yes. Oh, hell, yes.”

His total invasion — cock and tongue mirroring the others movements — triggered the beginning of her orgasm.  Jake’s hands cradled her face as he broke the kiss and looked down at her, his features taut, betraying how close to the edge he was with his own pleasure.

And then, it was upon her.  A frisson of lightening that started in the base of her spine and then traveled along every nerve-ending. She closed her eyes and the image of the bright, full moon was imprinted there with multi-color sparklers. She held onto Jake, her only anchor to this place, as he thrust into her and claimed her ecstasy as his own.

This was the good stuff.  His weight upon her.  Muscles relaxed and limbs boneless as they remained one body, joined intimately. The time to be savored before the awkwardness of “oh, shit what have I done?” settled in the air. But, somehow she knew this time would be different.

And it was.

Jake shifted his weight off her, pulling her with him so they remained entangled as they faced each other.  He leaned over to give her a lingering kiss, a little tongue and a lot of heart.

“You okay?” His eyes traveled over her face, tenderness in every glance.

“Oh yeah.”  Piper laughed.  The giggle spilling over her lips and joining others as his face broke into a grin. “Paging Dr. Ash. Woman in need of mouth-to-mouth. Stat.”

“Are we going to play doctor?” His previously relaxed expression perked up at the suggestion.

“Uh huh. I even have a nurses’ costume.”

“And I have a stethoscope.”

Piper leaned in to kiss him, his infectious smile keeping it light and easy but no less potent. “Sounds like we have a plan for date number five.”

***

Come back tomorrow to read the story behind The Fourth Date’s the Charm by Robin Covington and the Come Inside Our Garden Anthology by the Waterworld Mermaids.