Shifting Gears Read online

  “You’re the first woman who’s ever done that.” Mark traced her eyebrow with one finger. “You make me feel special. I’m not the kind of guy who has to be the center of attention, you know? Most of the time I’m glad it’s Sebastian in the limelight. I could never handle that circus day in, day out. But, for once—with you—it’s nice to be the main event.”

  Sloan squeezed his hand, urging him to bend down so she could hold him. “You’re the man I want, Marco. I haven’t been this excited to spend time with someone…ever.”

  “Me either.”

  They smiled into each other’s eyes before she broke the hushed intimacy.

  “Have we seen enough for Lynn’s notes?” She whispered in his ear, “I think it’s time for one of those quickies.”

  “How about a longie instead?”

  “Deal.”

  Hand in hand, they walked so fast they nearly jogged along the narrow streets toward the beach. Less popular than Tung Wan, which sat five hundred feet from the ferry pier and boasted the fabulous Warwick Hotel, Lynn had assured them Tai Kwai Wan held more natural beauty along with greater privacy, a combination Sloan appreciated.

  As they rounded a bend in the road, the gorgeous landscape before Sloan stopped her in her tracks. The hill they stood on tumbled down to a wide, sandy beach. The greenery gave way to the sea on either side, as if the jungle hugged the ocean. In the distance, windsurfers darted beneath neon sails. Here and there, on the fringes of the beach, tiny bungalows on stilts dotted the coast.

  Mark turned around to examine her. “Sorry, Cougar. It’s getting hotter by the minute. I should have walked slower. Need a break?”

  “No. I’m fine.” She laughed. “I’m not that old.”

  He rolled his eyes.

  “It’s the view. I’ve never seen something this amazing.”

  He didn’t look away from her. “I know what you mean.”

  “Stop that.” She blushed.

  “How do you feel about checking into one of those huts for the afternoon? You’re going to burn to a crisp out in the sun all day.” Mark ambled closer, trailing his fingertips across the tops of her breasts. “You’re so…white.”

  “Thanks.” Sloan burst out laughing. “I think. Though I’d kill for your Italian genes.”

  They headed for the giant, hand-painted sign with Rental scribbled in English below a string of Chinese characters. As they walked, they talked about their vastly different upbringings. She waited on the beach while he ran up to the stand.

  Sloan could imagine Mark sailing along the Amalfi Coast, getting into trouble with Sebastian. They had a lifetime of experience as heartbreakers despite their youth. The unsettling flutter in her chest, which recurred each time she looked at him, made her afraid she would join the ranks of their casualties when the brilliant run she and Mark had going crashed and burned.

  A worry for another day.

  She couldn’t help but reflect his grin as he neared her with a pile of towels and a bamboo bucket brimming with drinks.

  “I scored the last one. Over there.” He pointed to the most secluded bungalow. “Left a message for Sebastian and Lynn to join us when they arrive.”

  Though he couldn’t have meant it the way it sounded, Sloan’s imagination ran wild after the encounter on the train. When he caught the lascivious cast to her smile, he didn’t freak out or make excuses for what he’d said.

  Could he want to explore further?

  Did she?

  The thought had her desperate for something to cool her down. She kicked off her sandals, scooped them into her hand then sprinted for the shore, yelling over her shoulder, “Last one there has to be on the bottom.”

  The lack of a shark net at this beach made Sloan a little nervous, but she figured there were plenty of other tasty-looking people wading farther out than their bungalow. She splashed through the rising water until she was hip-deep. The crisp waves refreshed her, but they didn’t do much to douse the flames building inside her.

  By the time the ocean reached her waist, Mark overtook her. He managed to keep the towels dry and the pail out of the surf for the last twenty feet or so to their sanctuary. The straw structure had three walls. One covered the back, facing the beach, and each of the two sides. The front remained open, though sheers had been tied on either side for some privacy while maintaining the view from inside.

  He lifted the supplies above his head, tucking them beneath the gauzy material, onto the floor of the bungalow, then returned to gloat.

  Before he could start, she swung her arm and sent a curtain of water splashing in his direction. He shook the mist from his face, his hair swirling like a lush mane. She would have launched a second assault but he chose that moment to whip his shirt over his head and toss it into their hut, freezing her in place.

  Her jaw hung open as she studied the flex of his contoured chest and shoulders, leaving her completely unprotected when he lunged for her, knocking them both beneath the waves.

  Mark held her close as they tumbled through the jewel-blue water.

  So strong, he propelled them upward still linked. Before they crested the surface, his mouth was on hers, kissing her, drowning her in pleasure.

  Sloan gasped for air when his hand wandered from her back, over her ass then between her legs. His long fingers teased her pussy from behind, leaving her torn between rubbing against his palm or the hard shaft of his cock, which prodded her through his shorts.

  “Don’t make me wait, Marco,” she moaned. “No more. Not after this morning and all afternoon. I can’t take a minute more.”

  Chapter Eight

  “Shit yes.” He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, causing a waterfall to pour over his body. His muscles glistened as he carried her to their hideout. He scaled the ladder, lashed to the stilts supporting the structure, with no difficulty, then set her on the roughhewn floor covered in reed mats.

  His shorts disappeared in two seconds flat, leaving him proud and naked before her. She reached for his cock, but he deflected her hand, instead gripping the hem of her soaked tank and whipping it over her head.

  He made quick work of undressing her, leaving only the necklace he’d bought her earlier. “Gorgeous.”

  “Not so bad yourself, lover boy.”

  “Now, about that loser-on-bottom thing…” He stalked closer. “I have to get inside you, Sloan.”

  “Yes.” She spread her legs and played with her pussy. The pressure building wouldn’t allow her to be patient.

  “Dio, so sexy.”

  Mark crowded her until she took a step back and then another. Before she realized it, she tumbled toward the plush mattress lying on the floor. Her lover caught her, slowing her descent but following her down, covering her with his powerful form.

  His bare skin glided across hers, stroking her diamond-hard nipples and caressing her belly with his firm abdomen.

  “Yes, yes, yes.” She couldn’t say more but she clawed at his shoulders, encouraging him to sink deeper into her welcoming hold.

  His lips flew across her mouth, her neck and her chest, licking, sucking and kissing anywhere he could reach. He plumped the heavy weight of her breasts in his large hands. “Your tits are perfect.”

  “Fuck them.”

  Mark didn’t balk. He knelt on either side of her torso then placed the dripping head of his cock in her cleavage. Sloan gathered her breasts in her hands then squished them together, enfolding him in their soft warmth. He shuddered above her then began to thrust until the thick head poked from between the mounds of flesh.

  Sloan tilted her head to suck the tip each time it appeared, easing his way and lubricating his shaft. The weight of his balls dragging across her torso turned her on. When he noticed her squirming beneath him, desperate, he pulled out then flipped her around.

  His strangled groan served as a testament to the effort it took him to pause.

  She opened her mouth to ask why he’d stopped. He took it as a cue and plunged his c
ock inside the moist orifice. Instinct had her swallowing around his length—salty and hard. She sucked him deep until he buried his face between her thighs and returned the favor, lapping her from clit to ass.

  “Mmmph.” The mass of his cock muffled her shout.

  Mark rolled to his back, propping her on her hands and knees, giving her free rein to fuck his face with her pussy. She took advantage of the opportunity, squirming in his hold until his mouth landed in the perfect position. One of his hands migrated from palming her ass to snake around her waist. His arm locked there, pinning her in place, ensuring he could reach the syrup dripping from her.

  Each time he hit a particularly sensitive spot with his tongue, she sucked him harder, teaching him with her feedback. Soon, she realized the error of her ways. She couldn’t stop the tsunami of sensation barreling down on her no matter how badly she wanted to wait and come with her student inside her.

  He moaned encouragement, vibrating her clit. The stimulation shattered her restraint. Her body tensed then flailed, thrusting in shallow arcs as he chased her with his tongue, ensuring the full extent of her pleasure.

  The initial euphoria faded, leaving her limp in his supportive grasp. She realized she still sucked on his cock with gentle pulls that echoed the pulsing of her pussy.

  Her young lover shifted her off him, withdrawing from her mouth.

  “Thank you, Marco,” she whispered, unable to catch her breath.

  “Roll on your side, Cougar. I want you to share this view with me.” He growled the command. When she took longer than he preferred, he collared her waist with his hands and adjusted her until her ass snugged to his crotch and they both faced the idyllic scenery. He aligned his hips behind her, fitting the blunt tip of his massive hard-on to her opening.

  He pillowed her head on his biceps, his other hand stroking her ribs, her breasts, her tummy and her ass. Everywhere she wished he would pay attention to, he did, as though he could read her mind. She rotated her head toward him and he captured her parted lips.

  His endless caresses rekindled her lust.

  Mark explored the inner reaches of her mouth, licking her gums, her tongue and her palate. She gasped against his lips when he flexed his pelvis, feeding her his cock inch by inch from behind. Still, he never stopped kissing her, nipping the corner of her mouth, cupping her cheek.

  His balls tapped against her when he bottomed out in her pussy.

  “Sloan!” He panted against her cheek. “I have to fuck.”

  “Yes, Marco.” She braced herself on the mattress with one arm then lifted her top leg. He caught it behind the knee, spreading her farther. His cock sank in a bit deeper, making them both cry out.

  Sloan allowed herself to be carried away. She lost track of where the motion they generated merged with the ebb and flow of the ocean, which stretched out before them on the other side of the gauzy curtain.

  The length of Mark’s shaft delved to the root with every tender, slow thrust before he withdrew it completely. The instant it penetrated the tight ring of muscle at her entrance once more she saw fireworks on the horizon. Sparks shot along her spine, straight to her clit.

  A little more and she would come apart. Her entire body strained in his hold, arching to maximize the impact of his veiny shaft on her sensitized channel, fusing them together. When she shifted her hand, he released her leg then covered her fingers with his on her clit. He studied the motion she used on herself for the span of several heartbeats before taking over on his own.

  Sloan held her leg high so he could work her both from the rear and in front, trapping her in a vise of bliss. Rapture fizzled along her nerve endings. But his ragged cries, as he chanted her name, alerted her to his impending orgasm, instigating her climax.

  The first wash of his hot come on her swollen tissue amplified her initial contractions until she screamed her relief. He locked her in his arms as he filled her to overflowing with the semen he released in burst after burst. His cock still jerked inside her when he lowered his mouth to her neck and nipped her beside his necklace in a show of possession so primal her pussy hugged him tight again.

  And again.

  And again.

  * * * * *

  A few hours later—hours filled with lounging, laughter and more loving—some very obvious splashing and thunderous discussion alerted them to Lynn and Sebastian’s approach long before their friends reached their paradise hideaway.

  “Thanks for the heads-up but we’re decent in here,” Mark shouted, his voice rich with laughter.

  “You know, I don’t object to indecency.” Sebastian boosted his fiancée into the open-fronted bungalow with one arm then handed her a picnic basket and a cheap cooler. “I just want to make sure we’re invited, not crashing the party.”

  “You’re always welcome, amico.” Mark smiled at Sebastian and Lynn, who glanced toward Sloan.

  She nodded as well. “I’m glad to see you escaped the pirates.”

  “No thanks to this saucy wench.” Sebastian slapped Lynn on the ass as she bent over to unpack the amazing dinner they’d brought.

  World-class food served on banana leaves, eaten cross-legged on a mattress in a straw hut, in the company of great friends—Sloan couldn’t believe her good fortune.

  After a delicious meal and bunches of stories about their day apart, they packed all the garbage in a plastic bag.

  “Could you hand me a drink?” Sloan asked Sebastian, who sprawled closest to the supplies.

  “I think we’re all out, babe. Sorry, I should have grabbed more. I didn’t realize how dehydrated we’d gotten today. Make one last beer run with me, Mark?” Sebastian put the lid on the cooler then tucked it under his arm.

  “Sure.” Mark winked at her. “We worked up quite a sweat before. Don’t want my Cougar to run out of steam.”

  He kissed her on the cheek before taking off at a run, launching himself—still shirtless—into the sea.

  The guys cannonballed off the platform into the water, wrestling each other while they whooped and hollered like a pair of kids, making their way toward the restaurant on the shore.

  When Sloan quit shaking her head, she turned to Lynn. “Thanks for dinner. You didn’t have to buy. Hell, inviting me on this trip was more than I could have hoped for. Today has been wonderful.”

  “My pleasure, it’s the least I could do after your help in researching the temple. Not to mention the show you two put on for us this morning.”

  “I’m glad it didn’t freak you out.” Sloan turned to face Lynn head-on. “I’ve never done anything like that before.”

  “Look, Sloan, I realize things have moved at the speed of light since you and I ran into each other at the stadium the other day, but none of us will judge you. Hell, I fucked Sebastian less than two hours after meeting him. Not too much longer after that I was sandwiched between him and Mark.” Lynn clapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh my God. What am I saying? I didn’t think. Shit. Are you okay with that?”

  “Um, yeah. It’s fine. Except, I’m super jealous.” Sloan raised one eyebrow. “Mark mentioned the incident on the phone the other night. I hope you don’t mind him sharing. I told him the idea of two guys screwing around was a big fantasy of mine and he said he’d experimented with you two. He couldn’t believe how much it turned him on when you asked him to play with Sebastian’s ass.”

  Sloan’s face flamed but she found she couldn’t lie. Didn’t want to. The possibility of realizing her wicked lusts subdued the last hint of shyness she possessed.

  “I trust you, Sloan. So I’ll tell you a little secret. On the blog earlier, the girls were referring to it anyway. They’ll spill tonight if I chicken out.” Lynn grinned. “Ever since that night on the plane, Sebastian has been curious. We’ve fooled around with…toys.”

  It made Sloan more comfortable to see Lynn off balance, exactly like she felt.

  “Are you saying—” She held her breath, afraid to do anything to keep her new friend from continuing her revelati
on.

  “Yes. We’ve been working our way up. It started with Mark. What, six…eight…months ago now? After that, I noticed Sebastian got off faster when I fingered his ass while I went down on him.” The other woman scooted closer and lowered her voice to a whisper though no one could possibly hear. “One day, when I had him tied up and blindfolded, I used my smallest vibrator on him as I sucked his cock. He went berserk. After that, he ordered a set of butt plugs from a shop on the internet. He enjoys wearing one when we screw around.”

  “Jesus, that’s hot.”

  “I know. And it gets better.” Lynn took a deep breath then confessed, “Last month, he gave me a strap-on for my birthday.”

  “He did not!”

  “He did.” She beamed. “He loves it when I fuck him.”

  “Wow.” Sloan’s eyes widened. She didn’t know if she could imagine doing that to Mark, but then again, she’d never dreamed of giving a man a blowjob while on a train either.

  “I mean, it’s not like we do it all the time, and I think Bastian would be fine with messing around with me every once in a while, but both of us have wondered what it would be like to have another threesome. Maybe a foursome? To go all the way this time.” Lynn paused before continuing. “The only man Sebastian trusts enough to consider is Mark.”

  A cascade of moisture flooded Sloan’s pussy.

  “Do you think he’d be into it?” Lynn chewed her lower lip. “Would you? I don’t want to mess up what you two have going. I know it’s new, fresh, and I would hate myself if we interfered—”

  “Stop.” Sloan leaned closer to hug the other woman. “I’m flattered you asked my opinion in the first place. You know Marco so much better than I do. You’re freaking yourself out over nothing. Your…proposition…sounds like one of the sexiest things I could imagine. And for the record, I think Mark would be extremely interested.”

  Lynn flopped onto her back on the mattress. “Oh thank God.”

  Sloan joined the woman. The promise of something so decadent and forbidden left her weak and boneless. “You know, I probably shouldn’t say anything, but—”