The Lighthouse Read online

  His facial stubble tickled her skin as he smothered her neck in kisses, nibbling on her earlobe.

  Needing to feel his skin against her fingertips, she slid her hands under his shirt, resisting the urge to glide them into his pants so she could cup his tight ass.

  Screw it. She’d already all but attacked the poor man.

  He groaned as he pressed his mouth over her breast, which was hidden behind a thin T-shirt and bra, but he managed to find her nipple, his teeth scraping over it through the fabric.

  All she wanted was her skin to be touched by his like how flames hugged a crackling log as it sizzled in a fire pit. Her lungs ached as her breaths came in short pants. Her hands grappled with his clothing, trying to remove as much as she could.

  He snagged both her hands, raising them over her head, pinning her down.

  “What’s the rush?” he asked before he bit her lower lip, not giving her a chance to respond as he kissed his way down her neck, across her chest, lifting her shirt and exposing her bra. His lips seared on the skin on the top of her breasts.

  She wiggled the shirt over her head as he found the front clasp. The room blurred in the background. All she could focus on was him and how his tongue blistered her body as if she were being kissed by the sun. Fisting the comforter, she closed her eyes, letting out a moan as he rolled her pants over her hips.

  The way his hands held her body reminded her of how warm water felt trickling over her aching body, only she wasn’t sore, but instead needed to be caressed and devoured. She might have started this tangle in the sheets. However, she gladly gave the reigns over to Ramey, who thus far, seemed to be the master at making a woman wither underneath his touch.

  As they shed the rest of their clothing, Tequila let go completely, giving herself to Ramey. He played her body like the finest bow gliding across the strings of a rare violin. He was tender and kind as he gave every inch of her skin his fullest attention. He demanded nothing of her, other than with every moan or calling out of his name, she was rewarded with an encore.

  Tequila didn’t like to relinquish control of any situation, yet, twice today, she’d trusted Ramey, first when she got in his chopper and now in his bed. She chalked it up to being cut from the same cloth. Neither one wanted a long-term relationship. They might have different reasons, but the end result was just the same.

  They had an instant attraction and when you add all the things they had in common, it was inevitable they’d end up in bed, so why fight it.

  His scruffy, barely there beard, tickled the inside of her thigh. While she anticipated what came next, she wasn’t prepared for the intense heat that trickled out of her body. Her insides erupted with hot pulses as she arched her back, digging her heels into the bed. She clutched his head, rolling her hips in motion with his mouth and fingers.

  Her chest tightened and she could barely breathe as she tried to control a rumble about to turn into an earthquake. She blinked, staring up at the skylight, then down at Ramey, who looked up and smiled before settling back down between her legs. His fingers and tongue massaged her in ways she’d never imagined.

  And she had a good imagination.

  Clutching her legs together, tugging at his hair, she groaned as her body bucked and convulsed. Her stomach tightened, quivering like a volcano as it exploded.

  He reached up and twisted her nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

  “Oh… my…” she said, tossing her head back and forth, raising her hips as he continued to stroke and lap at her. Her body reacted over and over again in multiple orgasms that crushed her ability to think of anything other than the sheer pleasure he brought her.

  He kissed her stomach, moving his way toward her breasts, taking each nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue over the hard nub before sucking deep. His hand still cupping her, gently stroking her as aftershocks rippled across her skin.

  Nuzzling next to her, he kissed her shoulder. “Are you ready for more?”

  She’d yet to catch her breath. “The question is: are you?” she managed to ask as she pushed him to his back, taking the length of him in her hand. His cock throbbed against her palm as she gently stroked.

  “I was born ready.”

  She squeezed.

  He let out a long, slow hiss when she brought her tongue to the tip, her hand gliding up and down the length of him.

  His hands found their way to her breasts and he pinched and pulled at her nipples, driving her mad with desire. She found herself desperate to please him, a feeling she didn’t welcome, but couldn’t ignore. She’d been a selfish lover with most of the men she’d been with, taking charge, and demanding more from them. She greedily got her fill, but now she found herself in an almost panicked state, wanting to hear him groan and call out her name as she made him climax.

  Only she found herself laying on her side with his fingers inside her and his mouth on her again. Her body tightened and tingled. She tried to focus on giving him pleasure instead of the sheer joy he brought, but it proved impossible as her body betrayed her.

  She tossed her head back, squeezing his shaft as she groaned.

  “Jesus,” she said behind gritted teeth. Her climax coming down so hard and fast she was afraid she’d spasm right off the bed. “Oh, my, God, Ramey.”

  She could have sworn she heard… or maybe felt, him laugh.

  Gripping him, she watched her hand ride up and down. There was something beautifully magnificent about his body. Besides being muscular and strong, his skin was soft and he smelled like a late walk on the beach as the sun descended over the horizon. His fingers massaged her thigh and his lips kissed her shuddering stomach.

  “Where’s the condom?” she needed to feel him inside her, but she also needed to gain some control.

  “There’s a box in the top drawer of my dresser.” He pointed across the room.

  She scooted off the bed and slinked across the room where she found a few boxes of condoms in the drawer. She pulled one out and turned.

  She swallowed.

  He’d propped himself up on a few pillows, one hand behind his head, the other strategically placed over himself, barely caressing.

  If she had the number for People Magazine, she’d call them up and tell them she’d just met the sexiest man alive.

  Ever.

  Tossing the foil package toward him, she crawled onto the bed, enjoying how his eyes widened.

  “Put it on.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said with a deep throaty voice.

  Kneeling in front of him, she watched as he masterfully covered himself. He leaned forward.

  “No. Stay just like that.”

  He arched a brow, but didn’t move as she straddled him, rubbing his tip across her, enjoying the reminder of what he’d just done to her.

  He groaned, grabbing her hips, shifting his slightly.

  “I wouldn’t tease me too long,” he said.

  She smiled, taking him in slowly, inch by glorious inch. He dug his fingers into her flesh as she rolled her hips over him, gently rocking back and forth, cupping her breasts, watching his facial expressions as she toyed with her nipples.

  His hands jerked her body while his chest rose up and down, his breath raspy and short.

  “You think you can do it for me one more time?” he asked.

  “Do what?”

  He cocked his head, taking her hand and placed her fingers where their bodies joined.

  She bit down on her lower lip as he guided her motions. He propped himself up, sucking her nipple into his mouth.

  “Oh, God,” she whispered, riding him faster while once again she fell under the spell of his fingers and mouth.

  And more.

  Before she knew what hit her, he had her on her back, legs wrapped around his waist. He fanned her cheeks with his thumbs as he stared into her eyes.

  For a moment, as he stopped moving

  She stopped breathing.

  “You’re amazing.” He thrust into her with wild
abandon.

  She accepted his pace, grinding as hard as she could while he never glanced away. Their gaze locked with one another as she tightened her legs feeling the ripple of pleasure tickle her toes as it moved across her body.

  “Yes,” she said, trembling in his arms as another orgasm tore through her system. One tremor after the other, vibrating and rocking her insides until she thought she might erupt.

  He slammed into her and stayed like that for a long moment, before repeating the motion.

  “Just fucking incredible,” he said before his mouth took hers with fury. His tongue probing deep as his entire being shuddered with release.

  He kissed her softly, moving across her lips, cheek, and neck as he collapsed on the bed next to her, pulling her in close, spooning her.

  It shocked her how neatly they fit together. Cuddling normally hadn’t been her thing. Not that she didn’t necessarily enjoy the after sex snuggle, she did, but it never felt this comfortable.

  Or this good.

  She let out a long sigh as Ramey pulled the sheet over their bodies.

  Talk about a walking contradiction.

  His fingers glided up and down her arm as he nuzzled his face in her neck. His knees tucked up against hers.

  She should want to bolt from his bed, get dressed, and go about the business of…

  Fuck.

  “We need to check all your planes for potential tampering.”

  He chuckled. “I know, but let’s do that after we eat those sandwiches you started to make.”

  “I forgot out those,” she admitted. “I am kind of hungry.”

  “I’m starving.” He nibbled on her shoulder.

  “Worked up an appetite, did ya?”

  He laughed, rolling away from her and patting her ass. “I had one before and now I’m just all that more hungry.” He lifted her torso from the bed. “And after we eat and after we check my planes, I might want to have some dessert.”

  “I think you started with dessert.”

  He groaned, kissing her lips, darting his tongue in her mouth. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “I can think of a few things.”

  Chapter 4

  RAMEY STUCK HIS HEAD into the engine compartment of Roxi, looking for possible tampering while doing his best to avoid the constant stare of Tequila. He’d often felt a little awkward after being with a woman if he had to spend any length of time with her after sex, but to be rendered nearly speechless?

  Never.

  Not Ramey.

  Some would call him a womanizer, and perhaps there was a ring of truth to the statement in the sense that he had no intention of having anything other than a good time, but that was a concept he made sure was quite clear with any woman he had a short-term fling with. He never led anyone on and he never treated a lady with anything other than respect.

  And he respected Tequila, even if he wanted to douse her body in salt, lick her, take a few shots, and then pour lemon juice all over her body.

  He bent upward.

  Bam!

  Fuck.

  He rubbed the back of his head.

  “You okay?” Her sweet voice called from the other side of the room. It had this high-pitched sound that seeped into his ear drums like the hum of a perfect engine.

  “I’m fine.” Everything except his damn ego. Since when did he hit his head while looking at the inside of a plane?

  And since when did a woman tie his stomach into tight knots? The first time that had happened was when he lost his virginity to one of the maids at his mother’s place of employment. The last time had been with Denise.

  He shook his head. Denise had done a number on him and he resented that it still bothered him. Not because he wanted a woman in a forever kind of way, but because she had a tendency to creep into his subconscious, reminding him what it felt like to have your heart torn into a million pieces and that made him crazy.

  “You’re not going to be fine when you see this.”

  He wiped his hands on a rag as he meandered across the hangar toward his Stinson 108, the very first personal plane he’d ever purchased, acting as if Tequila had no effect on him whatsoever.

  She had the engine cover lifted as she leaned against the nose. Her legs crossed at the ankles. God, she had sexy legs and he could feel them wrapped around his waist as he buried himself inside her.

  But the memory that took his breath away was how utterly terrified he’d been to get out of the bed and lose the feeling of her in his arms.

  Not the sex part of skin pressed against hot skin.

  Though mind-blowing.

  But the quiet mix of their breath and beating hearts pulsating together that blanketed them with the kind of comfort and contentment that could only come from…

  No. He wasn’t going to go there.

  “What’s the problem?” he asked focusing on the fact that someone had fucked with his planes, not the woman he wanted to fuck.

  Again.

  “Frayed starter wire.” She tapped her knuckle against the metal. “Looks like it could be just worn.”

  “Only I check that kind of stuff before every flight.”

  “That’s what I figured.”

  He positioned himself next to her, letting his arm touch hers like a horny adolescent. “I took her to work for about five days two weeks ago. Haven’t flown her since.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t want any of my planes to feel neglected, so I rotate them, giving them each my undivided attention.”

  Tequila shifted her weight, leaning more against him than the airplane. A closeness he couldn’t turn away, but didn’t necessarily welcome either. He swallowed. It was bad enough that he’d made love to her in his bed, but he either had to take her back to the base and let her go back to whatever hotel she had checked into, or let her stay the night.

  “Do you have an order in which you fly them, or is it whatever your feeling that day or week?”

  He ran his fingers across his chin, drawing his thumb and pointer finger together in the center. “I suppose I rotate them the same, unless one needs maintenance or I’m going somewhere specific that requires a certain type of landing or takeoff.”

  She nodded. “Do you always fly to the base? To work?”

  “No. But it’s faster, so sometimes it’s just about how much time I leave myself to get to work.”

  “Do you do any kind of check before you leave the base?”

  Normally, Ramey hated answering questions in an interview. But he liked the way her voice filled his ears like the sweet sound of a perfect melody under the stars next to the ocean.

  “Standard SOP.”

  “Every time?”

  He nodded. He’d been harassed his entire life for being a ‘by the books’ man when it came to following procedure for every flight, except when your job is to test the limits and help create those SOP’s, better to air on the side of caution than be dead.

  “Do you let anyone fly or borrow your planes?”

  “I give lessons to a few people on my off time and I’ve let a couple of close buddies and my little brother borrow them.”

  Her lips turned into a smile. “Nick said he once nearly killed the both of you when you tried to teach him to fly.”

  He cocked his head. “The way he likes to tell the story is that I nearly killed us.”

  She laughed. “I read between the lines.”

  “Smart woman.” He gave her a little hip check.

  “Let me ask you this.” She pivoted her body, leaning her side against the plane, facing him and catching his gaze. “Who do you trust the most at the base?”

  “Myself.”

  She arched a brow.

  He rolled his eyes. “Roland. He’s the head of maintenance and he works with me on a project.”

  “What kind of project?”

  “I give kids with cancer and other illnesses rides in my planes. I started doing it when Roland’s daughter had to go through Chemo. It made
her happy and then other families asked and next thing I knew, Roland and I created a program to give sick kids rides and in some cases, flying lessons.”

  “That’s really sweet. How is Roland’s daughter doing?”

  Ramey sucked in his breath. “She passed six months ago.”

  “Jesus, I’m sorry.” She reached out, curling her fingers into his biceps.

  “Thanks.”

  “Is Roland back at work?” Tequila asked with a soft, tender tone.

  “He never really stopped working other than the week of the funeral. Working and our project helps him with the grief.” He took her hand, and held it at his side, running his thumb in circles against her palm, feeling the contrast of soft skin with that of a woman who wasn’t afraid of hard work.

  “I can understand that,” she said softly, then cleared her throat.

  He noticed tears welling in her eyes. He wanted to ask what kind of loss she’d suffered, but she spoke too quickly.

  “What about the person you trust the least?”

  “That’s easy. Jasper, my boss.”

  She tilted her, narrowing her eyes. “Why? He’s the one who made the initial contact with my bosses at the Omega Team.”

  Ramey had met both Athena Madero and her partner in business and in life, Grey Holden a few times. Stand up people and wicked ass smart. His brothers trust them with everything they held dear.

  And Ramey trusted his brothers.

  “He agreed too quickly to bring you in.”

  “You expected him to say no?”

  Ramey nodded, looking down at his hand covering hers. “Jasper likes to play tight to the rules and there is no way the government is bringing in an outsider before taking it in front of an inquiry, even if a plane was destroyed or worse, I died. So, for him to say yes and make that happen makes me suspicious.”

  “You think he’s behind this?” She put her hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently.

  Ramey shook his head. “I don’t believe so, but I think Jasper is hiding something.”

  “Like what? I can’t believe, based on what I’ve read about your boss, that he’d want to ruin you, much less kill you.”

  Ramey had to agree and he couldn’t think of a single motivation Jasper could have to hurt him. “Jasper’s hiding something. I don’t know if it has to do with my accidents, or something else, but I’ve thought he’d been acting off the last few weeks.”