Free Down the Aisle by Christine Bell Page A

gone, a year before, they’d met another couple on their trip. They’d gone back to their villa, and during a Three’s Company style misunderstanding, she and Galen had been propositioned by them to engage in some down and dirty partner swapping. So when their car on this trip had pulled up to the same Grotto Villa that couple had stayed in, Lacey about had a heart attack.
    Galen laughed his ass off when he realized her first thought was that he’d changed his mind and wanted to take them up on it. Come to find out, he’d rented the villa because they’d had their first kiss in the grotto-style pool. How romantic was that?
    She let out a happy sigh and rolled to the side to plant one on her brand spanking new husband. The only sign he’d ever been there was the dent in his pillow, though. She pushed herself onto one elbow and listened closely. Waves lapping against the sand outside her window? Check. Low hum of the ceiling fan? Check. Hot man in shower? She strained hard to hear it, but nope. She hopped off the bed onto the warm, terracotta tiles and padded out of the room into the main part of the house. By the time she reached the lanai, she could hear it. The low male voice singing what sounded like a Katy Perry song.
    She closed the door gently behind her, maximum stealth engaged. He kept on singing, so she was pretty sure she was in the clear.
    She pulled the baby-doll nightgown she’d donned when they arrived over her head and tossed it onto one of the lounge chairs before padding across the cobblestones to the pool on her tiptoes. She found herself staring at the backside of a tan, buff, sexy, and mostly naked man standing under one of the manmade waterfalls. His broad shoulders tapered down to a lean waist that he’d maintained even after he’d retired from boxing. The thickly corded muscles that ran down the sides of his back were still lean and strong from hours at the gym. She slipped into the water, wading toward him, closer and closer. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth as she reached out a hand to—
    “You’re really taking your time about it, aren’t you?” He growled and turned to face her. Either he’d woken up with morning wood or he’d known she was there the whole time because his shaft was stiff and at the ready. She stepped up onto the ledge next to him and he moved closer, crowding her until her back was against the rock face.
    “You think you’re pretty sneaky, huh?” he asked, stepping to one side so that the cool water sprayed the front of her body. She gasped as the rush battered her hard nipples.
    “I love that. So sensitive,” he whispered, dipping his head to suck one pebbled tip into his mouth. She tensed and clutched his head to her, shocked that she could want him…need him so quickly. If he lifted her up right now, spread her legs and slid deep inside her, she would have been more than ready.
    He released her nipple with a soft pop and nuzzled her. “I bet you thought you’d come out here and land yourself a quickie, didn’t you, Mrs. Thomas?” he whispered.
    She wanted to answer him, but he stole the words from her mouth when he cupped her center with his hand and slid a finger into her in one sure move.
    “Ah, yeah,” he groaned in approval. “I think that is what you wanted. But guess what, babe?”
    She didn’t want to guess. She wanted to—
    “It’s not going down like that this time.”
    He dropped a kiss to her shoulder blade, then to the crease between her breasts, then lower. One on each rib, one over her navel, then one on each hip. He stopped there and let his teeth sink in just how she liked it. She gasped.
    “Mm,” she murmured, slipping her hands into his hair and pressing him closer. He wrapped his strong arms around her thighs and murmured her name.
    “Come with me,” he demanded. His tone sent a thrill straight to her core. As sweet as he could be, once the clothes were off, her man had no qualms about taking the reins. She had to