52
[Kat]
We were all tired from the long drive and the food had taken forever to arrive and tasted like old shoe.
"Rave reviews? I think not," I said as I filled out one of their surveys and tossed it at the snooty head waiter on our way out.
Patrick touched my elbow and said, "See? Told you In and Out was the way to go."
I rolled my eyes. "I could take that any number of ways..."
He laughed softly before climbing into the back seat. "Only one way with me."
Dad got in and cleared his throat. "I think the man boy has it right."
Patrick leaned his arms on the back of the seat. "Yeah, how's that?"
"Stick to the basics next time."
Patrick prodded me. "And avoid tofu poisoning."
My stomach almost roiled at the thought. "Thanks."
We moved out to the road and Dad threw me a few glances. "I have to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"What does that girl Tabitha have against you? She's full of venom."
Shit, I had completely forgotten about that. "That's one way of looking at it."
"She told me you never turned in your money for the trip."
I hunkered down in my seat and sighed. "That's true."
"So where's my check?"
That deceptively mild tone did not bode well. "Hmm, that's a tough one. Could be in Miramar by now..."
"What did you say?" Dad had heard me just fine but wanted me to repeat my folly so he could rip me a new one.
"I tore up your check and tossed it in the dumpster behind the school."
Dad was shaking his head and muttering, never a good combination. "Explain."
There was no way out of this. "I can't. It was stupid and impulsive, and I'm totally sorry."
"Not as sorry as I am," Dad said, eyes focused on the road ahead as we meandered back to the hotel.
I sensed Patrick's smile behind me. "Look on the bright side, Dr. Stratford. You saved a bundle of money."
Dad made a scoffing sound. "Hardly. Between the gas money, food, and hotel costs, I'm out more than a thousand."
"But look at all the bonding time we got, dude."
Dad raised an eyebrow. "I suppose."
We returned to the inn and viewed our accommodations with disbelief. "This is their largest room?" I scanned two queen beds and a narrow rollaway bed more suited for Barbie than anyone over five feet tall. The sink was out in the main room, which left no privacy for anyone.
"Yes," Dad said flatly as he dropped his bag on the floor. "And we're not moving."
"OK." I took the bed closer to the cot and was surprised that Dad merely sighed when Patrick dumped his duffel bag on the rollaway.
"I've got first dibs on the bathroom," Dad said tiredly.
That was fine with me. "Sure. Don't use all the hot water."
He made a face. "Seems I've heard that a few thousand times."
"You think?" I watched him until the door closed behind him.
Patrick joined me on top of the bed and wrested the remote from my fingers. "Mind if I check the scores?"
I laughed to myself as he surfed for Padres scores. "See? You're not so different."
He raised an inquisitive brow. "Yeah? How so?"
"Channel surfing and checking scores."
Patrick laughed and a wisp of his warm breath stirred the hair around my face. "Ssh, if that gets out, it's all over for me."
I turned slightly and was slightly stunned by the warmth in his eyes. "Your secret's safe with me."
"Of course it is." And suddenly he was kissing me in that slow, swooning way he had that melted me from the inside out. From the long, slow slide of his tongue against my lips to the way he bit gently on my lower lip, it filled me with liquid want.
I felt him deepening the kiss and pulled back. "Probably not a good idea."
His chest vibrated with silent laughter. "Definitely not."
"But you'll find a way, right?"
Patrick sat up and held out his hand. "Already have. Follow me."
We moved toward the balcony door and stepped out to get some air. To my amazement, we were bordering a gorgeous courtyard that filled the center of the hotel with exotic plants, waterfalls, and a short path to the swimming pool. "Out here?"
"Sure, why not?"
I could think of a million reasons why it was a bad idea, but the wild child in me was screaming yes. "We could get caught."
He smirked. "That's part of the fun."
Indeed it was. "How late?"
"Midnight." Patrick leaned in and kissed me again, his hands roaming freely across my upper torso.
I moaned in the back of my throat and threw back my head, grinding against him as his mouth trailed wetly from my ear to my collarbone. He was pushing my left strap down when we heard Dad emerge from the bathroom. "Damn."
By the time Dad found us, we were sitting at a safe distance and enjoying the night air. "What have you two been up to?"
"Nothing," I said. "Just getting some fresh air."
"It's your turn," Dad said.
"Huh?"
"To shower."
"Right." I got up and made a face behind Dad's back. "Better be some hot water left, or there'll be hell to pay."
[Patrick]
Walter fell almost instantly asleep and the room was soon filled with loud snoring. I managed not to snicker as I pulled my pillow over my head, knowing I could never sleep under these conditions.
Kat tossed and turned and kicked the covers off. Sensing she was awake, I got out of bed and padded over to her. "You ready?" My whisper was eclipsed by Wally's rather impressive snores.
She sat bolt upright and touched my hand. "OK."
We moved silently through the sliding door and shut it behind us. "Let's take a dip."
"Now?" Kat looked at me like I was crazy and I laughed at her expression.
"Ooh, someone's afraid."
"Of you? Hardly."
"Prove it."
That was all it took to propel her toward the pool, which had a Closed sign but no padlock on the fence. Kat opened the latch and the gate opened with a loud squeak, which made us both chuckle. The water looked black, but my inspection earlier had shown it to be clean and heated, a big plus in this iffy spring weather they got on the Central Coast. I shucked my clothes and slipped into the deep end. The water instantly refreshed me and I said, "C'mon in, the water's fine."
Kat dipped a toe in and shuddered. "Are you kidding? It's freezing."
I grinned and splashed some water on her. "Coward."
"I am not," she said hotly, stepping back out of range.
"Yeah, then why are you still standing up there?"
My taunt obviously rankled, because in a brief flash, her clothes had left her body and she was floating toward me. "See? Here I am."
"Mmm," I said, scooping her into my arms and pulling her across me. "So you are."
I paddled us over to the shallow end and decided the steps were perfect. Kat dismounted and we stood naked in waist deep water. "Here?"
"Sure."
The moonlight silvered her entire frame and I was slightly dazed by her dark beauty. The tip of her tongue was hanging out, as she took in my aroused state with a half grin. We were both smiling when I flicked my tongue across the tip of each breast. Her groan vibrated against my throat as I moved up to attack her mouth, sucking on her tongue as I sat back on the top step and pulled her on top of me.
Back and forth I wove, deepening the kiss with each thrust of my tongue and timing my last approach by ramming up into her. She jerked like a puppet on a string when my hot fingers found her slick center and for a long moment, we both stopped and stared at each other in dazed lust.
Her inner muscles contracted and nearly killed me with sensation. She moved against me and any thought of staying in control were lost as she galloped along at warp speed, riding me hard as my ass bumped against the step with each parry and thrust. My hand moved in sync and when I was nearly over the edge, she groaned out my name and pressed against me, falling into my waiting hands when I performed a coule and nearly sliced her in half.
