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Ch4:Walking Paradox

Leah said nothing as he rolled the rubber over his cock and came down over her, supporting his upper body on one elbow and guiding himself to her slit. But she gave a plaintive cry when he drove into her sleek walls and pressed his naked balls to her, dewy swollen petals.

"Shhh," he soothed as he dropped kisses on her flushed cheeks. But he didn't know who he was trying to soothe, her or himself. He stroked her and clamped his eyes shut.

Fuck it was awe-inspiring.

He held her gaze and fucked her, slow and shallow, causing sweet little electrical sensations of distilled pleasure to pulse his cock and tickle up his spine.

Her pussy fit him like she had been tailor made.

Even though the room was cast in shadow, he saw how vividly flushed she was. He suspected his tight thrusts were having the same effect on her that they were on him. His eyes fixed on her parted lips. She whimpered on his firm downstrokes.

He touched his mouth to her lips. "Are you burning Leah?"

"Yes," she whispered. She flexed her hips, trying to get him to ride her faster. Instead, he paused, fully sheathed in her pussy. He kissed her like he wanted to fuck her, plundering her sweet mouth, violating it… loving it. The pleasant throb of his cock slowly mounted to a furious ache.

The sensation of her squeezing vagina eventually made him groan roughly and lift his head. He had been quenching his thirst on her mouth for several minutes. It amazed him to realize it, but he wanted to kiss her more. His cock wouldn't let him though. He silently cursed the damn thing for putting limits on his ravishment of this woman.

She licked her upper lip anxiously. They were both covered in a fine layer of sweat. Her eyes moved over his chest, the hunger he saw in her gaze made his need surge.

"Untie me so I can touch you," she strained against the ties.

He began to move, his actions firm and deliberate. Her beautiful face tightened.

"Not this time Leah."

He wanted her hands on his body, all right. But the strength of the explosion that was building in him warned him it wouldn't be a good idea. She tested his control sorely. He watched her expression, fascinated, as he pounded their bodies together with longer strokes now, more than he had allowed them before, but still denying them both the driving thrusts they craved…building their fire carefully.

"Embry," she pleaded. He felt her shaking but then wondered if it was his own flesh trembling. Her hips strained up for him, her pussy whispering promises to him of the deepest, sweetest orgasm imaginable.

"What, Leah?" he goaded between a clenched jaw. "What do you want? What did you come here for?"

She writhed beneath him, clawing at the silk scarf. "For this. Fuck me. Do it hard."

A drop of sweat rolled down his abdomen as he rose. He placed his hands on top of the headboard. She responded when he pierced down into her tight walls at the new angle. He set a hard, relentless pace. A fuse went off in his brain when she spread her thighs wider, granting him greater access to her paradise. Tight control gave way to pure free-for-all lust and need. Their flesh slapped together in an intense, fluid fuck.

She lifted her head off his pillow and shouted out her release.

"That's right, give it to me," he grated out as he pounded into her spasming pussy and heat flooded around him. It was too much. He drove into her high and hard, and exploded. It felt so good it hurt. He fell down over her, seeking out her skin with his nose and mouth, some primitive part of his brain needing to breathe her in the midst of that agonizing, blissful storm.

He slowly came back to himself with the scent of Leah—desire drenched flowers—flooding his nose. Something told him not to breathe too deeply of the addicting fragrance. She was a cold, rigid, bitch…. mixed up.

Not his type.

But it was too late. He buried his nose in the damp curve of a breast and inhaled deeply.

Leah felt as though her body had gone to mush. Her mind worked sluggishly, unable to work properly with the sensation of Embry's body pressing her down into the mattress and her nerves still firing madly after her explosive climax. She was quieting…but slowly, deliciously, her muscles going heavy and warm in the lazy descent. His nuzzling nose and mouth on her breast only added to the decadent sweetness of the still moments—the calm following the storm. His head pressed more heavily to her breasts, his warm breath caressing her perspiration damp skin. She wondered if he had fallen asleep. Leah closed her eyes in profound contentment.

In the distance a boat called a warning with its horn.

"Embry?" she whispered.

He lifted his head slowly. He hadn't been sleeping after all. By the sight of his heavy eyelids, however, he hadn't been far from it.

"Sorry," he muttered.

He reached. With a flex of taut muscles, he untied the scarf. Her arms lowered and she experienced a moment of discomfort. She didn't know what to do with her hands. She'd wanted desperately to stroke his beautiful body in the heat of passion, but now that he had released her, she felt restrained.

Not by bonds—by her own uncertainty.

He paused after tossing aside the strip of silk, and Leah experienced a pang of regret for interrupting their deep exhaustion. But it had caused that old, familiar pressure on her chest to consider what it would be like to have his head resting on her breast while he slept peacefully. Only this time, Leah couldn't decide if the sensation was caused by panic or some sort of… inner fullness.

Either way, she'd felt a need to put a stop to it.

He came up on his elbows regarding her intently. One of her hands fell to the cool sheets, but she couldn't stop the other from caressing the dense muscles of his shoulder and upper arm. Her vagina tightened around his embedded cock at the sight of him… at the sensation of his thick, smooth, perspiration slick skin beneath her hand. He looked glorious with sweat gleaming on his bronzed skin, his long bangs mussed on his forehead… the gleam of a well satisfied male in his dark eyes. His gaze swept down over her throat and breasts. His lips twitched in amusement but she thought he looked pleased.

"We really worked up a sweat. How about a swim?" he rumbled, his stare still latched on her breasts.

"I doubt I could keep up with you."

She muffled a protest when he shifted off her. "Just a dip, honey. We've already done the workout."

She couldn't help but join him in a smile as he stood. He was in the process of removing the condom, his back to her, when he glanced over his shoulder.

His smile faded. "Fuck."

"What?" she asked alarmed.

"I just realized I've never seen you smile."

Her mouth hung open for a second before she recovered. "Despite what you think, it's not such an unusual occurrence." When he didn't say anything, she cleared her throat uncomfortably. "I don't have anything to wear swimming Embry."

"I disagree. You've got a beautiful bathing suit." He said glancing over his shoulder at her naked body.

Leah couldn't help but notice that there was only the faintest of tan lines around his lean hips. He likely only wore swim trunks one out of every four times he was in the sun. His muscular ass was nearly as bronzed as the rest of him. She could only be thankful that he'd been wearing a pair of board shorts when he arose from the lagoon earlier, looking like a god arising from the sunlit waters. The vision of him had wreaked havoc on her senses, but if he'd been naked, he would have overwhelmed her.

"Come on, I'll show you. It's private so no one will see us," he said forcing her to drag her eyes off the awesome sight of his bare ass.

Leah stood and followed him down the hallway, their bare feet padding softly on the cool wood floor. She waited while he paused in the bathroom glancing around his home.

She had noticed when she entered earlier that although he left his windows open to the sultry Hawaiian breezes, his air conditioning had been set to a low setting. When it became too stuffy inside the breezy boathouse, the air conditioner kicked on, cooling the interior. A small roof surrounded the entire boat, casting the living quarters in a pleasant shadow that contrasted drastically with the brilliance of the sun reflecting off the Pacific Ocean.

Embry Call had created a lovely, incredibly peaceful home for himself, Leah acknowledged as she waited behind him while he opened a pair of patio doors in the living room.

They stepped onto the deck. Leah blinked in the blinding sunlight. She looked out on a circular body of cerulean water. The waves were even gentler here than in the protected harbor. She hadn't noticed it before when she circled the deck, searching for Embry, but he had secured his boat at the mouth of the lagoon. A hundred feet away she saw a white beach. To the left, a finger of land stretched out into the water. An enormous koa tree, its trunk possibly ten or elven feet thick, persevered on the tiny spit of land. A few palms crowded next to it, along with a thick tangle of shrubbery. The bay was protected on the opposite side by the curve of the land. In the distance she saw the vastness of the Pacific Ocean.

"Wow," Leah murmured as she gazed out at the calm blue waters. "A private swimming pool."

Embry laughed before he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the edge. "I had my reasons for picking this harbor for the marina. There's a coral reef to the south of where I anchor the houseboat. It protects the lagoon even more than the harbor. It's deep enough to dive here though."

Leah just looked up at him and nodded. She dove. The rush of water over her heated sensitized body felt delicious. A second after she surfaced, she heard a splash and knew Embry had followed her. His head and shoulders popped out of the water not ten feet away from her. His smile struck her like a flashbulb—not of light, but of concentrated sex. Something lurched in her breast at the sight. She couldn't help but wonder how many women he seduced with that smile on a daily basis. The image of the red head with the curvy body and the eager hands popped into her mind's eye.

A shadow crossed his face as he came toward her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said lightly. She laid her hot cheek in the cool water and began a lazy sidestroke toward the beach. Why should she care if Embry Call seduced a dozen women a day? His effortless sex appeal and skilled lovemaking were the reasons she had sought him out, weren't they?

A moment later she sat in the soft sand and let the gentle surf caress her thighs, hips and belly. Orange hibiscus flowers danced in the gentle breeze just to the right of her. Six foot and several inches of hard, delicious male glided up next to her on a wave, his muscular back and gleaming ass breaking the surface of the foaming water.

Paradise, indeed. Leah couldn't imagine why she had gone so tense when she saw him smile.

He plopped down next to her, his forearms resting lightly on his bent knees. For several minutes they just gazed out at a sky so perfect it looked like a turquoise shellacked dome.

"Don't you get tired of it after a while?"

"What?" he asked turning toward her.

"Perfection."

She glanced at him when he didn't reply. His head was tilted down, casting his eyes in shadow as he studied her. "No, I love this island, I grew up here. My family is here. I've been to a lot of different places, but no matter how much I enjoy them, I eventually want to come back. What have you got against my home Leah?"

She swallowed uneasily when she heard the low, gruff quality of his voice. She hadn't meant to lead them into dangerous waters. "What makes you think I have anything against it? As you're always saying… it's paradise."

She could tell by his sidelong glance that he knew he was being brushed off. "You don't think it's paradise though, do you?"

She shrugged and nodded at the clam blue lagoon. "Who would deny it?"

He bent his head and rubbed his cheek idly against this forearm as he studied her averted profile. "Someone who's decided it's hell, I suppose."

She said nothing. Thankfully the tension of the moment eased with the help of the sunshine and the gentle surf. They sat for a long time, not talking, just enjoying the hot sun and cool water.

"I should go I must be keeping you from your work," she murmured eventually.

He made an irritated sound. "You're fine," he said. Then after a moment he asked. "Where do you live?"

"Los Angeles." She said softly.

He grunted.

She glanced at him sharply as she asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He shrugged. "It just makes sense."

"What?"

"You seem like a city girl," he stated vaguely.

"You mean I'm uptight."

Again, that vivid flash of white in his dark face. "No I meant that you seem like a city girl," he restated firmly. "You don't take any shit, that's for sure."

It hadn't sounded like an admonishment. In fact, his tone had been even and matter of fact. Regret seeped into her awareness, nevertheless, for always coming off so edgy with him. An apology would have required and explanation as to why she was so defensive, however, so she remained mute. It wasn't like she had a good answer after all. She couldn't very well tell him he rubbed her the wrong way because he seemed to embody everything about this island paradise—the brilliant beauty, the effortless charm…even a career that bent to the tourists.

"Is Los Angeles your brand of paradise?" he asked, interrupting her thoughts.

She smiled as she stared into the distance. "No, not really."

"Then why do you live there?"

"Because it's convenient for my work. My studio lets me record there, and I perform fairly regularly at a club in Hollywood."

"I like your music. I never got a chance to tell you." he said softly.

She glanced over at him, surprised at the sincerity in his voice. Surprised in general.

"Why are you shocked that I like your stuff?" he quirked an eyebrow.

"I don't know," she mumbled.

He leaned closer. She caught the scent of his male musk and clean ocean water. "Tell me Leah. I'd really like to know."

She gave him an exasperated look. "You just don't seem like the type, that's all."

"And what type would that be? The type that listens to the Beach Boys and Jimmy Buffet? Surfboards, margaritas, and girls running around in bikinis… do I have it right?" he teased.

"Well, you are sort of a…" she couldn't find the right word.

"Cliché?"

She blinked. This time he hadn't sounded so lighthearted.

"I… I'm sorry," she murmured. "I hadn't meant to judge."

He sighed, some of the tension that had built up in their exchange leaving him. He cupped his hand on top of the water and watched idly as a gentle wave submersed it. "My mother says I get my occasional bouts of moodiness from her side of the family."

"Do your parents live on Oahu?" she tilted her head to the side.

"My father does, my mother lives in Washington. Maybe it's my Makah genes that make me appreciate the blues."

She realized her mouth hung open in amazement. It seemed so strange to think of him anywhere but here on this vibrant, lush Polynesian island. She thought of that steely hard gaze that entered his eyes at times, his manner with her in bed minutes ago, and was forced to alter her opinion. The stark, harsh beauty of that state suited him just as much.

He was a walking paradox.

She shook her head slowly. "A Native Makah Polynesian. Well, it's no wonder you're a swimmer," she finally said with a small smile. She shivered when she saw his eyes glued to her mouth and she glanced out at the sunlit lagoon.

"Are your parents divorced then?" she asked delicately.

"Never married. Every year I spend a month with my mother. I love visiting Washington, but like I said: this is my home."

"But…your mother… why didn't you live with her?"

He sat back exposing his lean muscled torso to the sun. She couldn't stop herself from turning and gaping at his male beauty despite her interest in the conversation.

"It's a long story but the short version of it is: my mother didn't expect to get pregnant on her visit to Hawaii. She's a writer, and even back then, she had made a career for herself. My father has never once set foot off this island. Never wants to. After they'd talked it over a great deal, they struck a bargain." He met her gaze, and Leah sensed powerfully that he was entirely comfortable with whatever his parents decision had been. She surmised this because Embry Call was entirely comfortable with himself. "My mother agreed to let me grow up on the island with my father and my gran as long as I came to visit her every year. Gran Emma went to Washington to get me soon after I was born."

"You mention your grandmother a lot. She must be special to you."

"She is." His simple earnestness touched her.

How many times did a woman hear a strong confident entirely masculine man speak of his grandmother with such gentleness?

Leah realized that several seconds had passed in silence as they stared at one another. The cool surf lapping around her belly caused her nipples to tighten. His gaze dragged slowly over her neck and chest pausing on her breasts.

"You may not care for the island Leah, but you look like you belong here."

The skin at the back of her neck prickled at the sound of his husky voice. Her nipples pinched tighter under his appreciative stare.

She pushed forward several feet and came down on her knees in the sand, covering her body in the water. If he seemed surprised by her abrupt movement, his face didn't show it.

"I should be going," she said.

He sighed. "Yeah I guess I should too."

He shoved off the beach but instead of immediately swimming toward the boat he paused, waist deep in the water, and waited for her. She saw his heavy lidded look of frank appraisal and knew he was considering going another round in bed before she left.

The cool water seemed to lick sensually at her suddenly tingling pussy.

But awkwardness crashed down on her at that moment, as well. She had allowed him to tie her down. She had lost all remnants of control beneath his knowing hands and mouth, spinning in a whirlwind of desire that had eventually splintered her into a billion little fragments.

And she would be lying if she said she didn't want to do it all again. Right this second.

Her need for control made her plunge into the cool water instead.

Not surprisingly, Embry was already standing on the deck as she hauled herself out of the water, using a ladder. She was thankful that he handed her a towel almost immediately and was even more grateful when after quickly drying off, he tucked his own towel low around his trim hips. It still left a startling amount of bronzed male skin and rippling muscle exposed, but that rectangle of cloth at least helped Leah to keep her senses from overwhelming her brain.

She wanted him to touch her, to somehow acknowledge the intimacy that had passed between them. She longed to reach out to him, as well, even if they were engaging solely in a casual fling. But he seemed aloof at the moment, much more like the man born in the intimidating harsh landscapes of his mother's state.

Ten minutes later they had both showered—separately—and dressed. Embry came out of the bedroom wearing a pair of khaki pants that rode enticingly low on his trim swimmer's hips and an off white short sleeved cotton shirt that offset his healthy tan. His dark hair was still damp. She caught a whiff of his clean smelling cologne.

Too handsome to be turned loose on an unsuspecting public, she thought wryly.

She knew what many of the businessmen in Honolulu wore to meetings—shorts or pants and brightly colored island shirts.

He paused when he saw her small smile. "What?"

"I was thinking about your clothes. It must be nice to dress so casually for work everyday."

"One of the many reasons I love Hawaii so much," he said with a grin. He went to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water. When he held up one for her in offering, Leah shook her head. She hopped down from the bar stool next to the kitchen island, waiting for him so that he could take her back to shore. He cracked open the plastic seal on the bottle with a quick twist of his strong wrist.

"Can I take you out to dinner tomorrow?" she asked briskly.

He stopped in the motion of raising the bottle to his mouth.

"No, I don't think so," he replied slowly.

She felt like something heavy landed in her hollow stomach but she didn't flinch. "I see. Thank you for today then. I appreciate you making time for me."

He set the bottle of water down on the countertop so hard water popped out and splattered on his wrist.

"God damn it Leah," he said softly. She just stared at him, unsure what to say. His long dark eyelashes narrowed as he studied her intently. "Do you do that on purpose?"

"What?" she asked.

"Pull that Queen of the Bitches routine just to piss me off?"

She swallowed thickly. "I was trying to thank you Embry."

"For fucking you? Well it was my pleasure Leah." He grabbed his keys off the counter with an angry slashing motion. He started toward the hallway that led to the door. "Let's go."

"What are you mad at me for? I'm the one who just asked you out and got rejected," she spat out.

He spun around. Leah barely stopped herself from taking a step backward.

He looked furious as he replied, "What did I tell you the other night? I don't want to be patronized by you. I'm not some kind of island pretty boy who's going to play stud for you while you pet me and feed me sweets."

"I don't think that Em—"

"I don't know what the hell you're thinking in that cold, calculating brain of yours, but I do know that's what you want. I see it all the time, you know. Half the young men in my family have been led around by the nose at one time or another by a rich mainlander here for a good time, including a hot island fuck. Hell, my cousin Sam, who runs Hawaiin Nights, has made a fortune off people like you."

White hot fury bubbled up in her chest. How dare he judge her! How dare he so basically make her out to be one of the thoughtless tourists who treated the natives like lovely, exotic little objects who existed for the sole purpose of a good time?

"Don't stick me in some easy category. You don't know anything about me," she seethed.

"That's the way you want it, isn't it" He took another step coming close enough for her to imagine she felt the waves of heat and anger coming off his big body, close enough that she was forced to lean her head back if she wanted to keep control and not avoid his lasering stare like a coward. His voice volume dropped to a low, intimate rasp, but Leah sensed his bubbling irritation, nonetheless. "You want me to make your vacation a little more memorable? Okay, I've got no problem with that. You may be stiffer than a frozen board most of the time, but you bend real nice in bed. You know where you can find me."

"Why are you trying to insult me?" she asked in a furious tone.

He shook his head. She couldn't tell if he was disgusted with her, himself, or both of them. "I'm being honest. Believe it or not, I doubt there are many guys who would like being condescended to by you. Don't you get tired of carrying that huge chip around all the time?"

Her throat ached when she swallowed. Still, she was glad her voice sounded reasonably calm when she spoke. "I see I'm not the only one around her with a chip on their shoulder."

He went still for a few seconds as he looked down at her. The rapid beat of her heart in her ears escalated to an uncomfortable throb. His nostrils flared before he stepped back. He made a motion for her to move in front of him toward the door.

"I've told you the rules. If you want to play… Well, like I said. You know where to find me Leah."

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