The sun was setting as she was emerging from the azure sea, her face flushed and alive from her swim.
Even Botticelli's Birth of Venus doesn't compare to this vision, he thought to himself as he felt his heart constrict with joy at the sight of her.
Completely unaware of anyone watching her, she moves with the grace of a gazelle to her beach mat and gingerly picks up her towel. Softly she dabs at her face and briskly rubs her hair, and then pushes her head back making her long, honey-colored mane fly over and rest on her back. He inhales sharply, still watching her from the stone veranda of the bungalow, drink in hand.
Swiftly, she swivels on her heel and faces the sea again and watches with awe the sun bidding its farewell, as it descends into the sea ushering in the night. As the sun disappears behind the sea slowly she sits on the sand. Still looking out at the sea, she rests on her damp elbows, her legs stretched in front of her.
He takes a long soothing swig of his juice and it trickles down the heated wall of his throat. Slowly he drinks in the poetry that is she, drawn to perfection against a backdrop of the dancing sea and the sun-streaked sky covered in generous strokes of luscious purple, red and deep blue.
Carelessly she pushes her hair back against her shoulder and heaves a long, deep sigh, as she runs the soles of her damp feet up and down the sand feeling it tickle her toes.
Shaking himself out of the trance he's sinking deeper and deeper into, he pours a generous serving of the cocktail juice sitting on the side table into another glass, sinks two ice cubes into it, refreshes his own and decides to head to the beach and make his presence known. Taking a deep breath, as if giving a silent prayer for courage, he heads for the brick steps that descend from the veranda onto that stretch of beach on which she lies. With a look of excited apprehension drawing on his face he steps down, his warm feet sinking into the cool sand. His eyes still locked on her, he slowly walks in her direction.
She closes her eyes, throws her head back and listens to the rhythmic sound of the waves lapping against the shore.
Not wanting to startle her, he says in a low, soft voice "Juice?" She smiles, her eyes still closed.
"Mmmmm" comes her appreciation of the offer, but she still doesn't open her eyes. She takes her time and playfully opens one eye. The first thing she sees are a pair of sturdy, somewhat hairy, tanned legs, covered above the knees with a pair of relaxed, deep-blue shorts. Her sight inches up to above the shorts and what she sees makes her open her other eye –the epitome of washboard abs followed by a broad, foreboding chest. Her eyes linger there a second too long, then moves over his neck and finally rests on his rugged, stubbly face.
"Hi" he smiles into her eyes, shaking the drinks in his hands, making the ice click against the glass.
"Hi" she hums back, her smile broadening. She sits up and he moves from behind her and stands for a moment in front of her as she daintily dusts of the sand from her hands. He leans down and hands her the condensation-covered glass. She notices with appreciation the light rippling of his tummy muscles.
"Thank you." She crosses her legs as he puts one leg before the other and lightly plops to the sand, grinning.
"What?" she asks.
"Did you have a nice swim?"
"It was great!" she replies emphatically.
"Good" he says still grinning, his eyes suggestive, of what exactly, she doesn't want to admit.
"What?" she asks again, fidgeting slightly.
"What, what?" he asks back through his grin.
"You're grinning. Why are you grinning?"
"I like grinning" he shrugs innocently, his eyes smothered in mischief. She gives a little chuckle, not buying it, "Grinning is good"
He looks deeply into her hazelnut eyes and the grin is slowly replaced with a half smile. She feels her insides flip as she is caught in the intent gaze of his blazing black eyes. Her mouth feels dry; she takes a long sip of her cocktail. He keeps gazing at her without speaking.
"Whaaat?" she asks self-consciously.
"What, what?" he asks softly still staring at her.
"You're staring at me. Why are you staring at me?"
"I like staring at you" he answers devilishly. She chuckles in delighted embarrassment.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to stare?"
"No" he shakes his head innocently still staring at her, his devilish grin deepening. She blushes and looks away sipping at her drink. She looks back and he's still looking deeply at her.
"Stop it!" she says in mock indignation, unable to stop the grin on her face.
"Stop what?" he asks, playing stupid.
"Stop staring at me!"
"Why?" he asks in mock bewilderment.
"Because…because…because I said so" she replies emphatically.
"But I don't want to" he wails like a five-year-old. She laughs in disbelief.
He loves to make her laugh; she has such a beautiful, heartwarming laugh. It makes his heart soar to hear her laugh. He laughs back and takes another long swig of his cocktail. Dew from his glass drops on to the base of his neck and trickles its way along his bare chest down to his abdomen and finally disappears behind his shorts. She watches the droplet on its journey and tries her best to stifle a sigh. Quickly she takes a large gulp of her cocktail.
He gives her a fiery look and tells her purposefully "I like your swim suit." He drops his gaze lazily to her white bikini and lets it linger. She gasps in mock indignation.
"You are outrageous!" she says with a chuckle. He grins widely and nods blatantly,
"I like being outrageous"
"You do? I couldn't tell" she laughs.
"Yup I do" he replies, still grinning.
"You like a lot of things"
"You have no idea"
"Really?" she arches an eyebrow.
"Absolutely"
"Do tell, or do I want to know?"
He chuckles.
He looks at her with his devilish grin playing around his mouth again "But the thing I like best is putting you on the spot, you are soooo cute when you're embarrassed, so adorable" he raises both eyebrows briefly, teasing.
She opens her mouth in disbelief and looks at him, shocked, her heart doing crazy somersaults.
"I can't believe you just said that!"
"It's true, I like to see you squirm" he laughs, lingering a second too long on the word squirm.
"You are unbelievable!"
He laughs.
She takes her time draining the last of her cocktail, trying feverishly to think of what to do next; then it hits her.
Slowly, she lowers the glass from her mouth as she lightly traces her tongue along her lips in appreciation, her eyes never letting go of his. The effect is instantaneous; he bolts upright in full attention like an eager puppy waiting for his bone. Resting the cool glass on her knee she looks down for a moment, then from under her eyelashes she looks at him, her eyes coming alive with something that sets a low burning fire in the pit of his stomach.
At length she says in a low, honey-smothered voice, "You know" she drawls, swirling the last of the ice in her glass, "two can play at this game."
"Is that so?" he asks, his heart beating with anticipation.
"Uh huh" she replies smoothly, as she very slowly inches closer to him on her hands and knees, her eyes fixed on his face.
"That is so" she whispers, her face a breath away from his.
He grins like the cat that ate the canary.
She reaches her slender fingers inside the glass and grabs the fast-dwindling ice cube. Slowly she puts it to her lips and rubs lightly. He sticks his tongue, moving his face closer, making to lick the water off her lips and chin. She moves back.
"Uh, uh, uh" she shakes her head softly "not so fast"
He pouts.
"Awwww" she coos softly, her lips twisting into a half smile, "don't feel bad handsome."
Her legs folded beneath her she looks at him in mock seriousness.
"You look hot. Here this will cool you off."
With her eyes still holding his prisoner, she lightly and painfully slowly runs the ice cube down his taut torso, starting at the base of his neck and taking the same path the water droplet had taken before. She drops her gaze to his tummy and sees it constrict sharply under the sensation.
The lower the ice cube goes the higher the fire he's nursing in the pit of his stomach burns, threatening to consume him whole.
When the ice cube reaches his belly button she stops. As if abruptly, she brings the cube away and carelessly throws it over her back looking him square in the eye. Then, with the back of her curved index finger she wipes the water trail left behind, starting at his navel, going slowly upwards. Just shy of his neck she takes her finger away and teasingly licks off the water, her gaze still locked to his. She lets out a small "mmmm"
He attempts to move closer to her again, and again she moves away, but he doesn't stop. He moves forward, his palms planted on the sand on either side of her, she leans her back away from him and grins.
"Oh come on" he pleads.
"Uh uh" she giggles "No way!"
Still he doesn't stop, he's on his hands and knees, hovering over her, but she giggles and backs away on her elbows kicking the sand with her heels. In one graceful move she's on her feet. Looking down at him she repeats "No way!" and sways her hips cheekily from side to side.
"I'll get you!" he promises as he scrambles to his feet and darts towards her. She squeals like a five-year old and runs away her damp hair flying behind her. Her slender legs are no match for his athletic pair, and swiftly he catches up to her and firmly grabs her waist from behind.
Holding her in a vice-like embrace he takes her off the ground and swings her around, she screams and laughs intermittingly. Reluctantly he puts her back to the ground, turns her around briskly and tickles her mercilessly. She tries to get away but he's holding her close and she can't. She laughs maniacally and repeatedly asks him to stop. He says "Uh uh, no way!" and tickles harder.
"Do you give up?" he asks, still tickling.
"Never!" she gasps. He continues tickling.
"Stop, stop" she gasps, "I…..can't…..breathe" her face is very flushed. Alarmed, he stops.
"Are you alright?" he asks his voice very concerned. She gasps for air not speaking. Gently he pushes her hair off of her face, searching for a reassuring answer. Still she doesn't speak, breathing heavily not looking at him. Then all of a sudden she darts him a challenging look, grins and dashes to the water, giggling. It takes him a moment to recover, but he goes after her unable to contain his laughter as he calls after her "You are so going to pay for that"
She glances over her shoulder, already at the shore and lets out a defiant "Ha!"
He sprints after her, she turns around kicks some water at him and quickly goes deeper into the sea, thinking her won't follow her; but he does.
"No where for you to go now, you might as well give up" he teases.
"Absolutely not!" she defies, but he's already gaining in on her. She squeals in delight as he grabs hold of her under the water and swiftly brings her to him. As he turns her around to face him, she throws her head back and laughs. All hope is lost for him; he is her slave –her laugh has always been his undoing and right now is no different.
She brings her eyes to his, her laughter slowly dying away.
"Hi" she greets softly.
"Hi" he answers, embracing her closer to him. She squirms around. He chuckles and holds her tighter. She squirms some more.
"What are you doing?" he asks in delight.
"Squirming" she says innocently, "you said you like to see me squirm" she says deadpan, echoing his earlier emphasis of squirm.
Now it's his turn to throw his head back and laugh heartily.
"True, true" he starts, "I do like to see you squirm" he grins audaciously.
She giggles.
"Well" she starts slowly, "I like…." She stops.
"Yes, you like…" he prompts.
"I like…" she repeats looking with mock timidity into his eyes.
"Uh huh…"he prompts again in anticipation.
"I like" she pauses dramatically, "the sea" she throws her arms out widely.
"Why you…." He laughs.
"I told you two can play at this game" she says cheekily.
"Yes you did" he smiles lovingly at her. Her knees give way slightly. He holds her even closer to him.
"Well I for one like this" he says matter-of-factly, catching her completely off guard.
"This what?" she asks in a small, quivering voice.
"You in my embrace" he whispers softly. Her heart skips a beat. She smiles brightly.
"I have a secret" she whispers conspiratorially.
"What is it?" he answers, echoing her tone.
She moves her mouth closer to his ear "I like this too." She moves back and looks intently at him.
His eyes turn into burning coals as he brings his face closer to hers and claims her quivering mouth in a nerve-tingling kiss. It grows in intensity the longer they remain in contact, fed by the now raging fire inside of him. The heat of their kiss devours them, while the cool waves of the sea gently caress them, the mixture of sensations bringing every never in their bodies glaringly alive.
At length he pulls away breathing heavily, his eyes set ablaze. She smiles contentedly at him, her eyes closed. Slowly she opens them, "I like that" she purrs.
She gasps and her face lights up. He goes briefly under water still holding her. He comes up again squirting her playfully with water. She yelps and tries to dunk his head back into the water in retaliation. Not offering any resistance he goes back down, he pushes his head back up pretending to gasp for air and she pushes his head back down. He bobs down and up a couple of times and then stays down a while longer than usual. She pulls him up and he squirts her again. They laugh and he kisses her again, his lips moist and salty.
Finally he releases her soft lips. "I love you" he repeats his voice on fire.
