Friction by Samantha Hunter Page B

through the thin cotton bra she wore, and swallowed her deep moan.
    He moved his hands down, tugging her shorts lower and then pulling them down to her feet as he sank to his knees, running his hands over her, memorizing hershape and scent as he released her feet from her garments and nudged her thighs apart with kisses.
    “More…let me in…”
    She accommodated, though he sensed her hesitation, and he cupped her gently between her legs, investigating, reassuring. Her breath came quickly and she moved slightly against him. He looked up; her head had lolled to the side, her eyes closed, fists clenched. He smiled, dragging his tongue along the crease of hip and thigh where her skin had not been touched by the bug spray and felt her shudder, parting even farther for him.
    She tasted like honey and salt, flowers and sex, and he groaned against her, wanting more. Widening her, he darted his tongue inward and was rewarded to feel her muscles jerk in a sharp response. He slid his tongue deeper, finding the sensitive nub of flesh he sought, a hot pearl hidden in between silky folds, and drew it between his lips, softly tugging.
    “Oh…God….”
    He pulled away just for a second. Her eyes were still closed, her face a study in mindless pleasure.
    “Say my name, sweetheart, Sarah. Say my name when I make you come….”
    His mouth was back on her, nibbling, nipping, sucking until her head spun, and she managed to whisper his name, wanting what he was giving her, needing it on a profound level that she could barely understand. She buried her hands in his hair and pulled him closer, focusing on the pleasure he was giving her as the shadows crowded around her.
    She struggled. The usual demons danced around the edge of her pleasure-saturated brain, disappearing for a moment when she felt him slide one finger deep inside her, then two…. She could do it, she could enjoy him making love to her, set her thoughts aside and just feel what he was doing….
    But her conscious mind reasserted itself and she opened her eyes, looked down…she tried to concentrate only on the pleasure as he knelt before her, but the deadening chill started in her chest, worked its way out as images flooded her brain, and what she saw invaded what she felt.
    “Stop…Logan, ah, please…stop….”
    He did, immediately, looking up in concern. He stood, his breath ragged, and she could feel the heat from his body emanating toward hers. This was so unfair. For both of them. She shouldn’t have let this happen.
    “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” He reached to touch her, but stopped, unsure.
    “No, no…” God, how could she explain this without seeming to be the worst kind of tease? She didn’t want to tell him the truth, and grasped at some kind of rational explanation. “I just…couldn’t.”
    She couldn’t see his expression clearly enough to know what he was thinking, but she felt relief course though her when he backed off, bending to grab her clothes from the sand, shaking out her shorts and handing them to her. She slipped them on quickly, feeling awkward and miserable.
    “I’m sorry, I—”
    He tipped her chin toward him, and she made out asmile. “No apologies, honey. This can only be good if it’s good for both of us, and there’s time.”
    Sarah sagged, feeling both relieved and saddened. He didn’t understand that there might never be a good time for this. Not for her. Her mind was poisoned against it, even as her body pleaded for his touch.
    He grabbed her hand and pulled her down on the sand beside him.
    “C’mon, sit down.”
    “I’d better get going.”
    He paused, clearly unsure what to make of her response.
    “Just sit for a moment.”
    She did, and he blew out a breath, looking out over the darkness of the Bay. “Can you tell me what happened?”
    She searched for words, and didn’t really find any.
    “I just lost it, you know, it happens, maybe too much beer—”
    Logan wasn’t buying such a half-assed explanation,