Torrid Teasers Vol. 47

Sarah couldn’t decide whether to blame Celia’s chowder or the wine, but her body seemed determined to ignore her urge to stay alert and on guard. Her spine relaxed into a soft curve, and her limbs felt heavy and loose as she listened to the crashing waves. Curled beside her on the beach blanket, Jon fidgeted with a piece of driftwood, the heat of his body warm against her back. His musky, soapy scent mixed with the smell of salt spray, and she shivered at the reminder of the hot, damp smell of sex.

Nearby, their closest friends clustered around the remains of the bonfire. His sandy brown head dappled golden in the firelight, Ryan lay next to Celia with his hand snuggled under the waistband of her jeans. Celia’s devilish half smile sent a shiver of apprehension, or maybe anticipation, down Sarah’s spine. Ever since they’d roomed together during their first year of college, Sarah’s raven-haired, irrepressible friend had dragged her into more adventures than she cared to count.

And if Celia didn’t find a way to turn a quiet evening by the shore into something…memorable, Drew would. Sitting with his arm draped across Ethan’s shoulders as he stared at the glowing embers, Drew was six-feet-two of trouble in an irresistible package. His dark hair curled under the collar of his shirt, and his full, sensual lips, moody blue eyes, and angular cheekbones were dappled with shadows in the firelight.

Sarah suspected Drew and Ethan were drawn to each other because Drew was as wild as Ethan was steady. Still, although Ethan kept his black hair clipped short and neat, and Drew wore his long and tousled, Ethan’s preppy accountant look and wire-rimmed glasses couldn’t hide the body of a former college athlete. And if the others initiated something wild, Sarah knew from experience Ethan would ditch his conservative image and play along.

Jon shifted and traced a finger along the curve of Sarah’s breast before tangling his fingers in her chestnut curls. “Want another glass of wine?” His grin looked sexy in the firelight, and he reached up to push a thatch of blond hair away from his forehead.

“I think I’ve had too much already.” When Drew suggested the spring evening on the beach, Sarah knew he had more than food and conversation in mind, and she wanted a clear head if things got out of hand.

As Jon traced his fingers down her spine, letting them rest at the small of her back, Sarah listened to the rhythmic churning of the waves. Hungry for something she couldn’t bring herself to name, something more complicated than his body pressed naked and wet against hers, she stretched out against the curve of his chest, closed her eyes, and buried her hands in the cool sand.

When Ethan and Drew doused the dying fire with a bucket of sea water, Jon sat up and grabbed her around the ribs. “I think we’ve communed with nature enough for one night.”

“But it’s peaceful out here.” Edgy about what might unfold once they were indoors, she hesitated to leave the beach.

Drew chuckled, a low, sexy sound. Sarah suspected he had her all figured out—knew what she wanted, but also understood her fears, and her irrational need to cling to her innocent, country girl image.

Celia rose, and brushed sand off of her shorts, her “I dare you” look easily identifiable in the moonlight. “C’mon, Sarah, I’ll protect you from the big, bad wolves.”

Feed her to them, more like it. But this was a familiar game, and Sarah—not to mention everyone else present—knew she’d join them. She just needed a little coaxing to soothe away her good-girl skittishness.

Jon kissed the nape of her neck and slipped his hand under her shirt to cup her breast. She reached up to touch his face, and felt along his hairline for the childhood scar from when he fell off his bike. Everything about him was familiar, soothing.

“I’m not sure I can do this tonight.”

Not that there hadn’t been dozens of nights like this over the years. And she loved these people more than she could say. But she felt like her stomach was full of June grasshoppers, and she wondered for the millionth time how a shy girl from Idaho had ended up with such a wild bunch.

And for the millionth time she answered herself. Years ago, on the night she’d looked across the crowded college party and spotted Jon, her mouth had gone dry and she’d known in an instant she’d do anything for him. Falling in love with his friends had been a simple extension of the love she offered him.