Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight (;

Ch7:Into the Line of Fire

Leah sat up slowly in the water. It took her a few seconds to realize she had been holding her breath. "How… why the f— " she cut herself off before rephrasing her words. "Why would you ask me that?"

His expression was unfathomable. "Don't most people notice? It must be because I grew up here. I see it in your smile. I feel it in your skin. You carry around the warmth of the islands in your body whether you like it or not. It might be Samoa or Fiji or maybe even New Zealand, but given your distinct dislike of Waikiki—" he paused, his dark eyes lasering through her—"I'd say Hawaii is the culprit. Was it your mother or father?"

She glared at the churning water.

"My father, actually," she replied briskly after a moment. "He was full Hawaiian. My mother and he met at Hawaii Pacific University."

"Both your parents are from Honolulu?"

"No." She inhaled, striving to calm her rapid heartbeat when she heard the unintentional sharpness in her tone. "My mother was full Quileute. My grandfather was from Washington—he was quite a talented jazz saxophonist, actually. My mother grew up in La Push even when my grandfather died. My mother died when I was four of a rare form of leukemia. My grandma came to Hawaii to collect me. I lived with her in Washington." Leah said breezing over the fact that she hadn't gone to live with her grandmother until she was eleven years old.

"What about your father?" Embry asked quietly.

"He died as well, but his was a more protracted illness," she said with a mirthless smile. She picked up her glass and took a sip, not really tasting the sweet pineapple flavor. "He died of cirrhosis of the liver from chronic alcoholism."

She heard Embry exhale in the silence that followed. "So Clearwater is your mother's maiden name?"

Leah nodded still not meeting his eyes. "My grandmother's name. It was easier for me to take it when I moved to Washington."

"If your father grew up here and he was Hawaiian, there's a chance my grandmother will know him. Seems like she knows everyone of Hawaiian descent on Oahu. What was his surname?"

She surged up out of the bubbling water. "I'm getting too warm," she murmured as she climbed out of the tub. Instead of using the little steps that led to the elevated pool, she hopped down from the ledge to the deck, avoiding Embry's stare. She glanced at him uneasily she had dried off and fastened the towel around her breasts. He had turned his head to watch her, but otherwise he hadn't moved.

"My mother is buried in Oahu Cemetery. We buried my father alongside her when I was thirteen years old. I haven't been back to Honolulu since then. I'm sorry I don't have the warm memories for this place that you do," she said defensively. "We can't all be as lucky as you."

He stood and stepped out of the tub. Steam rose off his bronzed, glistening muscles. Even though his penis was flaccid at the moment, it was still firm and beautiful. His testicles hung like round, full fruit between his powerful thighs. He was the very image of male potency.

He reached for his towel. "Have you visited their graves while you've been here?"

She shook her head, unable to speak temporarily because of invisible fingers gripping her throat. She couldn't say if her muteness had been caused by the distressing nature of their conversation, the sight of Embry's magnificent, steaming flesh, or some combination of both.

Why did it seem like Embry Call was always creating the riotous paradox of anxiety and raw lust inside of her? It was an intoxicating yet disturbing brew.

"I'll take you there if you would like," he offered.

She gave him a sharp glance before she sat down on the cushioned recliner. How could she tell him that she longed to visit her mother's grave… in truth, longed to see her father's as well… but dreaded it in equal measure. It upset her to think of them lying there side by side. She carried a shadowy childhood knowledge of how much her mother had worshipped her father. Not that he deserved it. He could charm a viper into purring like a satisfied kitten.

In truth, her father could be as charming as Embry when he chose. Unfortunately, he didn't choose it often. At least not with Leah, he hadn't.

You're not a little girl, Leah admonished herself impatiently. She was a grown woman; a woman who knew very well that people everywhere had suffered much crueler fates in childhood than a mother's death and the tribulations caused by an alcoholic father.

But she hadn't been able to bring herself to go to the cemetery. Her weakness shamed her more than she could ever say.

There hadn't been an hour in the past six days when she hadn't thought at least briefly of those twin graves. She paid an annual fee to have an attendant clear the gravestones of debris. Her father hadn't had any living relatives in Oahu. It caused a heavy lump to form in the pit of her stomach when she considered how forlorn the two graves must be compared to others—no one to pay them tribute, no flowers or other mementoes on Memorial Day. She'd wanted to pay the attendant to adorn her mother's grave with flowers on holidays but she had felt guilty because she hadn't wanted to do the same for her father. Her indecision had hamstringed her into inaction over the years.

So stupid, this lingering love for a woman she never really knew; this bitterness toward a man who cared more for a bottle of whiskey than he had her.

She wondered if the graveyard attendant ever placed old flowers from other headstones on her parents graves, ones that hadn't yet withered when new fresh ones arrived from loving attentive relatives. Anguish rose in her at the thought.

She didn't appreciate Embry agitating the old wound.

"I won't be going to Oahu Cemetery," she said cooly. "So you were thinking I'm a racist because I didn't shout out the fact that I'm part Hawaiian. Am I right Embry?"

He paused in the action of drying off his chest. His eyelids narrowed as he studied her. Her heartbeat leapt at her throat when she saw the fire that entered his gaze.

He said nothing, just went over to retrieve their drinks. He sat on a long wooden bench near her recliner. Leah lay back on the chair and took several sips of juice, willing herself to calm down. The night air felt good on her warm skin.

Unfortunately her attempts at soothing herself were futile. She felt as agitated and tense as the bubbling water in the whirlpool. Her heartbeat still drummed too loud in her ears She let her head fall back against the chair, irritated she couldn't conquer her volatile emotions.

God it'd be good to get off this island once and for all.

"Leah."

She tilted her head and met his gaze.

"Come here."

"I don't want to," she replied before she could stop herself. The fact of the matter was, she did want to go to Embry at that moment. Very much. And that was what was stoking her anxiety as much as anything.

He set down his drink on the deck. "I want you to come here, though."

He waited patiently while she stewed. How could it be possible to want him so much, and yet be so desperate to keep him at a distance?

It was just sex, after all. Just pleasure.

She stood. Her legs felt a little shaky as she stepped toward him. She would have liked to blame her slight weakness on the hot water but suspected Embry's stare had something to do with it. It reminded her of the way he had looked in the photo at Bry's … the one where he was poised to dive on the starting block.

So hard and determined.

She stood in front of him.

"Lower the towel." He quirked a brow while he waited.

She did so reluctantly. She rarely felt self-conscious about her body, but she did at that moment. Embry's merciless stare made her feel more naked than usual. His expression gave nothing away as he inspected her nude body.

His gaze eventually met hers. "I wasn't trying to suggest you were a racist. I was trying to ask you about something that's been confusing me about you. But you already know that. You were just raising your defenses to get me to back off. Right, Leah?"

She just stared at him as she resisted a powerful urge to reach for her towel to cover herself. Her hands bunched into fists at her side to prevent her from doing just that.

When she didn't reply, his face stiffened with anger. He reached for her hips and drew her toward him. "Lie down in my lap."

Leah planted her feet, resisting him. "What? Why?"

"Because I said so," he told her with a fierce glare. "And because I'm going to spank you."

Her mouth hung open with disbelief. Her thighs instinctively closed, tightening around the acute throb of lust at her core. "Get serious."

Embry's expression informed her he was about as serious as it got. "What are you afraid of? That you'll like it?"

She scoffed.

He nodded pointedly at his lap. "I know I'm going to like it, and that's all that matters at the moment. Come on, Leah. My rules."

He remained unmoving, but she experienced his hot stare like a push on the inside.

She wondered if he could hear her heartbeat; it thudded so unnaturally loud in her ears. Why had she ever agreed to his stupid rules. She knew she could tell him no; knew he would take her back to shore if she requested it. As worked up as she was, however, being deprived of the hot, mindless pleasure she knew Embry could give her was the last thing she wanted.

What the hell? It never hurt to expand the sexual repertoire a bit.

She held her breath as she came down on her knees on the bench and then stretched out over his towel covered lap. When she felt the outline of his penis through the fabric, she lifted her belly up like she had been burned.

"Oh!" she cried out when Embry smacked her bottom. Her skin prickled and tingled where his palm had landed. She swung her chin around to face him.

"Lay down," he said.

She let her weight sag into his lap, biting her lower lip at the captivating sensation of his cock pressing against her stomach through his towel. He put his hands on her hips readjusting her until the lower curves of her breast brushed his outer thigh and her bottom draped over the other edge of his lap.

She braced her elbows on the cushioned bench and raised her upper body, but Embry immediately stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Spread your arms out in front of you, like you did when you were getting used to the snorkel earlier." He pushed gently but firmly at the back of her neck until her forehead rested on the cushion.

She felt entirely vulnerable lying there naked in his lap. She squirmed in mounting excitement when he placed his hand on her ass and stroked her warmly.

He leaned forward. His warm breath ghosting her damp neck made her shiver. "You have a beautiful ass, Leah. While you're on this boat, it's all mine."

She clenched her eyelids shut when she heard the softly growled challenge. He was trying to provoke her… daring her to run. When she refused to reply to his taunt, he sat up and resumed caressing her bare ass.

"Okay, Leah. Let's see how well your pride and defensiveness last through a good spanking."

Embry took his time playing with her, letting the anticipation build. She had a gorgeous ass, taut and muscular with plenty of round, curvy flesh. He gaped at the firsthand evidence of how correct he had been when he had thought she would tan easily. Her ass was significantly pale in comparison to the golden brown skin of her thighs and back. He loved the way her cheeks fit his palm. His cock ached pleasantly as he squeezed and stroked her firm, sweet flesh.

He wanted to remind her she was his to do with as he pleased… for the moment, anyway. He needed to remind himself of that fact. Her arrogant question still echoed in his head.

So you were thinking I'm a racist because I didn't shout out the fact that I'm part Hawaiian. Am I right, Embry?

Truth was, he wanted to watch the elusive, prickly, stubborn Leah Clearwater squirm, and if that made him a jerk and or an ass… well, so be it.

He swung his hand back and landed a firm spank on the lower curve of her right ass cheek. She hopped up at the brisk contact.

"Stay still," he said, his voice slightly hoarse from the lust that pounded through his veins. He spanked her other buttock, testing her. His cock lurched when she tensed, but remained still in his lap. He gave her two more brisk spanks in quick succession, enjoying the slight shiver of her taut flesh as it absorbed the blows. He heard her whimper and paused to soothe her, rubbing her bottom softly, easing the sting in his palm as much as her ass.

He grabbed a handful of firm flesh possessively. "This ass was made for spanking… among other things."

"Embry…" she moaned.

He smacked her again with his palm, the resulting whap of skin making his cock throb uncomfortably. He cursed and pulled at the towel still in his lap, lifting Leah slightly to release it from between their bodies.

A satisfied grunt popped out of his throat when he pressed her naked body against his straining cock. He felt her ribs expanding and contracting against his thighs as she panted.

He popped her bottom several more times, fascinated by the pink blush that rose on the smooth cheeks. Every time he heard her whimper he paused and rubbed the firm globes, quieting her firing nerves. When she'd sag into his lap, panting, he would spank her again, increasing the tension in her lithe muscles, building the excitement.

Then he'd soothe her all over again.

"Embry… no more," he heard her mumble as he rubbed her ass. She was nice and pink now. The curving flesh felt velvety soft and hot beneath his appreciative fingers.

"You want me to stop?" he murmured.

"Yes," she mumbled against his thigh. She gasped when he abruptly plunged his finger into her warm cream. He grunted in animal satisfaction at the stark evidence of her arousal.

He immobilized her squirming hips with one hand, keeping her still while he fingered her drenched pussy. "Your body is saying differently, Leah. Your body is telling me you like being spanked."

He couldn't help but grin when she started bouncing her butt, riding his finger for all she was worth, grinding her damp, tender outer sex against the ridge of his palm. He hated to withdraw, but her bouncing butt was too sweet of a moving target to resist. He swatted her several more times, more for effect than anything. Her bottom had been spanked enough, truth be told. His spanks were just light, brisk swats for sound effect… and to remind her that he was in charge.

He parted her fiery bottom cheeks, exposing her asshole. She seemed to sense his gaze on her, because she whimpered and squirmed in discomfort.

"Stay still, Leah," he murmured as he tightened his grip to still her. He leaned forward and snagged the towel he'd brought up earlier. He had wrapped several items from his bedside drawer inside it. She came up on her elbows, peering over her shoulder when she sensed his movement. He saw her eyes widen when he sat back on the bench with a bottle of lubricant in his hand.

"Put your head back down on the bench. Arms out. I'm not going to tell you again," he warned, a hint of humor curving his lips. She looked singularly lovely at that moment, her eyes wide and wary, her blushing bottom a carnal confection too sweet to resist. His cock lurched against her ribs. He grimaced in discomfort and shifted his hand beneath their bodies.

He settled his erection next to his abdomen and pressed Leah's body back against his aching balls and the root of his cock.

"You see what you're doing to me?" he grunted when he noticed she had turned her head and watched as he rearranged his cock. The sight of her parted lips and hungry stare made him desperate. He spanked her gently to get her attention. "Head back down beautiful," he whispered when she met his gaze.

She slowly lowered her upper body.

Leah's breath burned in her lungs as she heard him pop open the top of the bottle of the lubricant. Like the night in the hotel room, when Embry had overwhelmed her with his bold lovemaking, she felt a sense of disconnection. Part of her seemed to watch this highly erotic encounter from a distance, while another part seemed hyperware of her body: the warmth and tingling of her bare ass; the dull, nearly shaky ache of her core; heat surging blood in her veins. Her heart pounded like she was running from an enemy despite the fact that she remained still and anticipatory.

She jumped when he parted her bottom cheeks again.

"Shh," he soothed softly. She felt him caress her hip, his touch light and elusive, just like it had been in the water when he'd accustomed her to using the snorkel. She felt his finger on her rectum, lightly rubbing the sensitive ring… pressing. Leah forced herself to inhale slowly when he penetrated her.

"That's right," he murmured. "Keep breathing. Try to relax beautiful."

It was easy for him to say, she thought distractedly as he slid in his lubricated finger all the way into her. He wasn't so horny that he felt like he might explode from the stimulation of a stiff breeze. He wasn't entirely naked and exposed lying in someone's lap.

She whimpered when he plunged his finger in and out of her ass. She heard her throbbing heartbeat, the gentle waves hitting the shore in the distance… and the squishy sound of his finger moving in the lubricant. The intimacy of what was occurring overwhelmed her. She clamped her eyes shut and moaned when he pistoned his finger more forcefully in her.

"You like that?" he whispered gruffly.

Leah gritted her teeth in frustration. Wasn't it enough that he had the power to bring her to her knees again and again? Why did he always have to make her say it was true? It infuriated her. He finger fucked her more forcefully. She turned her mouth into her upper arm, trying to restrain a groan of pleasure or a sob of uncertainty; Leah couldn't say which. He stimulated her ass, but it was as if he made every nerve in her pelvis simmer. She felt an overwhelming urge to push back on his hand harder, demand he take more of her. Her raw need humiliated her.

"Tell me you like it, Leah."

"Why are you always pushing me? What do you want from me?" she asked irritably.

His arm paused in its plunging motion. "I told you before," he rasped. "I want you to let go. Completely."

"You want to break me or something? You want to—" she paused, biting down on her lower lip. She'd almost said, weaken me, but she'd stopped herself just in time. "Expose me."

"What if I do? Would that be so bad?" He resumed stroking her ass, but this time he worked his hand between their bodies. A cry burst out of her throat when he began massaging her clit in tight little circles. Leah writhed in mounting pleasure, grinding her pelvis first against the pressure of her clit and then against his finger pounding into her ass. He applied optimal friction both from above and below. She felt so hot… so lost… so needy.

"That's right," she heard him say as if from a great distance. "Let go, 'Aileah."

She blinked open her eyes when his words penetrated her awareness. Her bouncing hips stilled. He noticed and slowed the taut, frantic pace he had set. She whimpered at the loss of the delicious pressure.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I… don't…" But she couldn't finish. Desire and confusion sealed her throat shut.

"You don't or you won't?" Embry queried from behind her, his tone hard.

Leah lowered her perspiration damp forehead to the bench cushion. A warning blared in her brain, but her body screamed for release.

"All right," she whispered.

"All right, what?" his voice was tense.

"You can continue."

When he withdrew his hand from her and slid his finger out of her ass, Leah realized she had pissed him off yet again.

"What are you doing?" she asked when he leaned over her body and groped for something on the floor of the deck. She came up on her elbows and twisted around as she watched him.

He didn't respond. She saw the grim, hard line of his mouth before she saw the dildo he had just recovered from the towel on the floor. He must have brought it up earlier along with the lubricant Leah realized. She shivered in anxious excitement as she watched him smear a coat of lubricant onto the sex toy. Unlike the vibrator she owned, this was purely a dildo meant for penetration. It was blue in color and shaped like a small penis with a thick head. Given the size of it, it was specifically designed for anal penetration, she realized.

He spread her bottom cheeks with one large hand, pressed the cool dildo to her rectum and met her gaze. When she just stared at him, her excitement, uncertainty, and arousal likely written all over her place, he pushed the dildo into her ass.

Her body tensed at the invasion.

Embry's facial muscles looked rigid as he slowly slid the dildo farther into her. Air popped out of her lungs when he pressed the base of the little blue cock tightly against her ass cheeks. It looked lewd, wedged as it was inside her most intimate flesh.

Embry swatted her ass from below then palmed the flesh possessively, grinding it around and against the dildo.

She trembled. He pushed down on the base, jiggling it ever so slightly, holding her stare all the while.

He began to thrust the dildo in and out of her.

Sweat slicked her face and neck. A droplet ran frantically down her chest.

She burned with sexual excitement. "Embry—"

"Look at it. Watch your ass getting fucked."

She twisted more in his lap, unable to resist the compelling lure of his demand. She bit her lip and whimpered at the sight of him holding her in place with his long fingers while he plunged the dildo into her.

"Damn," he muttered under his breath. He released her bottom cheeks, still fucking her with the sex toy. Leah strained over her shoulder when she realized he was stroking his thick, flushed erection where it pressed against her belly. That first time at his surf school she had thought his penis was the most beautiful she had ever seen. But even then, he hadn't looked like he did now, so swollen he seemed near bursting.

Raw lust slammed into her. "Oh shit… Embry, please…"

"Please what? What do you need?"

"I need you to fuck me," she admitted hoarsely, even while another voice in her head shouted that she was out of her mind. Her heart slammed in her ears as Embry removed the dildo from her ass and slid her lower body to the deck. He was lifting her back onto the bench again almost immediately after he had slid out from under her. He stood.

"Come up on your hands and knees," he said.

It gratified her to hear his lust thickened voice. At least she had the small satisfaction of knowing that even if he did bring her to her knees, she had nearly as great an impact on him that realization helped to quell her mounting anxiety as she came up on her knees. Embry placed on knee on the bench and remained standing on his other foot.

Leah twisted her head around anxiously when she heard the pop of the lubricant bottle. Embry glanced up and caught her stare on him as he rolled on a condom and added lubrication. She swallowed thickly. He looked stunning… magnificent, every muscle in his body rigid with restraint, his smooth, bronzed skin gleaming with perspiration, his cock glistening and furiously erect.

He had been so irritated with her earlier, she was a little surprised when he made his characteristic soothing sound as he came closer to her, his cock in his hand. Leah gasped when he pressed the impossibly thick, hard crown to her rectum.

"Press back, it'll be okay Leah, I got you." he whispered roughly.

She did. She cried out shakily, her head falling forward when the fat cockhead slipped into her body. Embry paused behind her allowing her to become accustomed to his presence. She trembled when he ran a hand along the sensitive skin at the side of her body. He caressed her breast softly while his cock throbbed in her ass.

Leah's harsh groan slashed her throat. She pushed back on him, seating him farther into her. She felt ready to explode into a million pieces. The anticipation combined with the pleasure hurt like an open wound.

"Please… just finish it. You're killing me," she cried out.

His harsh grunt informed her that he was in complete agreement… for once. He flexed his hips and fucked her shallowly. Leah bit her lip to still an overwhelming instinct to howl. The sensation he built in her was dismal than what she experienced with vaginal intercourse but fuller too. More combustible. And his cock was so thick, it caused a burning indirect pressure on her clit.

He pumped once forcefully, causing a shout to erupt from her chest at the same moment his pelvis and thighs smacked against her butt cheeks. He hissed loudly before he strengthened his hold on her hips and begun to fuck her long and deep, smacking their flesh together again and again.

At first Leah merely stared blindly, her mouth hanging open. It was really too much. His cock was too large, his strokes were too powerful. He was going to split her… break her, just like she had accused him earlier of wanting to do. But then his hand was on her clit, rubbing and agitating it, demanding without words for her to join him in his mindless orgy of pleasure.

And she did.

She pushed with her hips, pistoning his cock in and out of her ass with mindless abandon. Orgasm slammed into her at the same moment that Embry had smacked against her body. She shuddered in a torrent of bliss. He continued to fuck her powerfully as she came. Even after she heard the shout of incredulous pleasure that signaled his own release, he continued to fuck her. When she fell forward on her chest and whimpered, he jerked himself out of her.

Leah panted desperately for air, her cheek pressed to the bench cushion. He must have been concerned when he had heard her cry out, but she wished he hadn't withdrawn. Even though his forceful orgasmic strokes had hurt a little, it's also felt sublime to feel him throb in release while he was inside such a private place in her body. It'd struck her as beautiful to experience his vulnerability while he was in the midst of such a display of raw, powerful domination.

She remained unmoving when he encircled her waist with his arm and pressed his forehead to her back, his breath hitting her skin in erratic puffs. She replayed what had just occurred between them. Now that the demanding hunger of her lust had been satiated, it seemed a little surreal that she'd allowed it… that she'd participated there at the end with almost violent desire.

The depth of her need made her inwardly cringe.

He grunted softly in surprise when she reached for the towel beneath them on the bench and slid out from under him. She wrapped the towel around her and murmured an 'excuse me' before she hurried down the stairs.

She locked the bathroom door behind her.

Ten minutes later she opened the door, pausing when she saw Embry standing in the dim hallway, leaning against the wall. He wore a pair of cargo shorts, but he was shirtless and barefoot. The humidity from the whirlpool had caused his hair to wave. He looked mussed and sex rumpled and so damn good it took her a few seconds to really take in the concern in his dark eyes.

"Are you okay?" his gruff voice in the still hallway caused her damp skin to roughen.

"I'm fine, I just wanted to clean up."

He didn't say anything, but she had the impression he wanted to.

She suspected he was irritated at her again and felt helpless because there was nothing she could do about it. "I'll let you have the bathroom then." She said softly.

When she started to move past him, his hand snaked out and encircled her upper arm. He pulled and Leah landed face first against his bare chest with a soft thud.

"I already cleaned up in the master bath." He rumbled.

"Oh, I'd forgotten you have another bathroom."

He grunted with impatience at the inane conversation. She pressed her cheek against his chest and inhaled shakily, absorbing his clean soapy scent.

He whisked his hands over her bare arms and pressed a single kiss on the top of her head. "You must be tired. Let's go to bed."

Leah didn't really sleep with men. She might have drifted off a half a dozen times or so after a round of especially exhausting sex, but she didn't do spending the night together. Why had she agreed to spend the night with Embry, anyway? She suspected it had to do with the raw lust he always inspired in her. He had made clear the rules of the game, and she had been all too eager to agree as it meant she could have him.

She wondered if Embry sensed the tension rising in her when he paused in his arm rubbing.

"All right," Leah said quickly before he could accuse her of being cold. How hard could it be to sleep in the same bed with a man? "Do you mind if I call the hotel first and leave a message for Rose? I should let her know where I am."

He studied her face in the dim light. "Sure, you can use the phone in the kitchen. Just turn out the light when you're done."

Leah was left with the uncomfortable impression he had seen more than she cared for him to with that laser like stare of his. What was new? She had no right to complain though, when she had been the one to throw herself into the line of fire.

I probably went way too far with the lemon this chapter, ah well, hello to all the new alerters, reviewers, and readers! Makes my day that you guys are enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it.

Review if you can! :)