By the Book Read online

  She hadn’t felt sexy or attractive or even remotely interested in a man since.

  An erotic romance writer who’d lost her heat; the lovemaking in her stories ended up flat and they were too damn much work to write. Worse, once written they were unreadable.

  Which meant somehow she needed to rediscover her sensual side. The brush of her sensitive nipples against her tee shirt as she climbed out of bed and the trickle of need between her legs reminded her she’d somehow rediscovered an interest in at least one male, proving she hadn’t lost all of her sensuality. Look at what her body did in reaction to just the thought of Gray!

  Smiling, she tried to move her thoughts in another direction and she remembered the lengths her fellow authors went to inspire her. They’d sent her pictures, both real and computer generated, of a variety of interesting men, Embarrassingly well-endowed hunks with packages she really wouldn’t want pointed at her—it would have to hurt! Her author group kept forwarding ideas intended to get her hot and bothered and they wrote snippets meant to make her laugh and giggle and forget about Two-Minute-Mike Her best friend and critique partner, Nancy, had sent a silly little joke right before she left.

  A truck carrying a load of Viagra has been hijacked!! The police are looking for a gang of hardened criminals…

  Ha, ha!

  She understood her problem—she didn’t feel like laughing and unfortunately nobody “bothered” her anymore. Nothing got her creative juices flowing. Literally. At least no one had caught her interest and imagination until she met Gray Hawk. Her libido switched on and her mind sparked with all kinds of inspiration with just a glimpse of him. She wondered if the newfound interest could be a byproduct of jet lag. She hoped not. It was past time for her to start wondering about a man’s touch or what he would kiss like. Taste like. Feel like. Against her, skin to skin.

  She needed to recover her sensual side not only for herself, but also for her career. Since her publisher’s motto happened to be moresexmoresexmoresex, the lack of spark and excitement in her unfinished manuscripts was a big problem.

  Joey decided it would be wise to concentrate on something else before she started hyperventilating. This trip needed to be about putting the past behind her and moving forward. Besides, she hadn’t even looked at her retreat yesterday as she’d stumbled in the door with her suitcases, other than the fantastic view of the house she’d seen as she drove up. She’d followed the circular driveway to the back of the house where she’d parked the car in a daze. Even jet-lagged she’d immediately fallen in love with the place and the fabulous view of the ocean. The house was built on stilts, with a big wraparound porch and thatched roof with large windows—it looked like a Mexican palapa, the little beach bars scattered all over Mexico. The only thing missing was the alcohol.

  The short walk down the hall from the bedroom left her intrigued and she wanted to see what this place looked like. Starting a room-by-room tour, she soon realized she’d chosen the perfect place for a getaway. This place was incredible. It had high, open-beamed ceilings and hardwood floors, accented with all sorts of exotic woods on the walls and in the furniture. The cushions on the couch and chairs were a mixture of colorful Hawaiian prints, all reds and blues. She counted three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The bathroom located off the master bedroom included a beautiful picture window right in front of the whirlpool tub.

  Joey assumed the window overlooked the beach. Right now it was too dark to tell. Remembering the information she’d received on the home said there was a hot tub and outdoor shower in a private garden—guaranteed to be a ‘must use’ for any true tropical experience—she headed out the French doors in the master bedroom to look for it. Ahh…

  Standing in stunned amazement, she drank in the ambiance of the little piece of paradise outside the door. The master bedroom ran along one side of the house with the master bathroom facing the beach located in the part of the house that was on stilts. The bedroom was in the back and built on a small hill so it sat at ground level. Outside the bedroom, the owners had built a low rock wall enclosing a large area.

  Plants and flowering bushes filled the space. Hot pink bougainvilleas covered the rock surface of the barrier, creating a secluded and very private area. This part of the home appeared to be a lush, tropical paradise created to pamper the soul. The combination of textures and colors, of plants and lava rock and wood—created a sybaritic wonderland begging to be sampled.

  She saw a large hot tub in one corner. Tempting. But her body felt too energized and needy for a relaxing soak. Turning, she noticed an exotic outdoor shower built against the wall just outside the French doors and to the left. Small benches fashioned at different levels within a lava rock wall and a massage showerhead on a hose suggested enticing possibilities. Now this was more like it! After her dreams the night before, built around the temptation and inspiration of Gray’s hard body, she wanted some form of physical satisfaction. She could take advantage of today’s inspiration and put the showerhead to good use.

  The warm and exotically scented night air teased her senses, enveloping her in its humid touch. She felt her arousal blossom, grow.

  She’d turned the amber colored bug light on when she walked out the door. Taking a moment to glance over the walls, she reassured herself she wouldn’t be seen. There were no close neighbors who could glance out a window and see into this private oasis. Too dark to see much of anything away from the light, and remembering all the plants and bushes surrounding the back of the house, she felt comfortable stripping off her clothes. She could see Gray’s house up on the hill but it was pretty far away and there were no lights on in the windows. She should be safe.

  Joey’s body blushed in anticipation. Secure in the knowledge no one would see her, she still thought of Gray asleep in the house overlooking her shower garden and her toes curled tightly. Her body still tingled from the combination of meeting and then dreaming of hot sex with Gray. She hadn’t lost the faint throb of attraction in the hours since she first met him. Turning on the water she stepped under the warm pulsing stream. Oh, that felt good!

  Moaning, she closed her eyes and allowed the water to pummel her body. For a few minutes she just stood there, letting the stream run over her from head to toe. Reaching her hands up to brush back her wet hair, she then moved to detach the showerhead. Arching her back, she stretched her tight muscles and with slow anticipation brought the spray down to pulse over the front of her body.

  She picked up the new bar of scented soap resting in a tray and used one hand to run the fragrant bar over and around her neck and shoulders, and then moved to her breasts. Her nipples were still taut with her remembered dream and she hissed in frustration. Propping her foot up on the low ledge, she moved her hand and the bar of soap between her legs and then followed with the showerhead. Her body tight with growing need, she reveled in the sensations of vibrating water as it pulsed against her and manipulated her clit. Damn! She needed this. Heat and sensation combined with an active imagination, and Joey reveled in her very private version of paradise.

  * * * * *

  Focusing first on the porch light, Gray then shifted the telescope lens to a wider view—a view that had him shifting immediately to the edge of his seat. Joey wasn’t asleep.

  Instead, he found her with the powerful scope, displayed in spectacular glory within the small circle—naked and taking a shower on the outside lanai. The master bedroom porch was fully visible from this floor. Or…at least it was with the telescope. You really shouldn’t invade her privacy like this, he told himself sternly. Too late now.

  He watched with absorbed fascination as Joey reached up with one hand and removed the shower nozzle. The movement arched her back and provided a wonderful view of her breasts glistening in the spray. Spellbound, refusing to blink, he narrowed his eyes intently as she slowly moved the spray over her chest and followed the movement with one hand slick with soap. He stared through the eyepiece of the scope while she washed the back of her neck, her ch
est and finally her breasts. Take your time. His body protested, every fiber in his being wanted to run down the hill and offer to replace Joey’s hands with his own. He would give anything to be the one running his fingers over those plump globes, the one taking his time to tease her nipples into hard little buds.

  But noooo! She rushed right over those gorgeous handfuls. With only the amber light to bring out her curves, he felt immense frustration when he couldn’t see what color her nipples were, he desperately wanted to catalog each little nuance of her lush body.

  Groaning, he shifted in his chair as she smoothed her hand down her stomach and slipped it in between her legs. Out. In. Again, the movement was too fast for his sanity, as he wanted to savor this experience.

  He started panting. And sweating. His cock twitched and grew with her every stroke, straining against the material of the loose boxers he’d put on after his last shower.

  When Joey looked furtively around, he imagined she blushed, perhaps a little self-conscious of her actions. He took a moment to build his own fantasy. A fantasy where he held her in his arms and told her how he enjoyed watching her pleasure herself. He would reassure her and then tell her in minute detail what she did to his body when she touched her pussy for him.

  Wrenched out of his fantasy when she moved to prop her right leg up on one of the lower lava rock shelves built into the shower, he thanked the Menehune she still faced toward him. He prayed Kauai’s powerful little spirits wouldn’t let him down. Seconds later he cursed. Even with the telescope he couldn’t see enough detail, he could only make out vague seductive hints of what her sweet pussy looked like. Did she shave? Damn, he couldn’t tell.

  Gray repositioned himself several times as he grew increasingly uncomfortable in his chair when every nerve ending became stimulated to the breaking point. Each molecule in his body screamed at him to go to her. To fuck her. Long and hard and—God! He could just imagine the feel of her underneath him.

  He’d never been this excited with just the sight of a woman pleasuring herself. His body screamed for relief. Hell. He would have sworn he’d passed the age where he needed to finish himself off like a randy teenager, but it seemed there was no other choice. An ice bath wouldn’t help this time.

  Careful not to move his eyes away from the view, not wanting to miss one second of Joey’s pleasure, he let his hands fall to his shorts and he shifted up and pushed the fabric down to free his throbbing cock. The turgid length sprang free and grew in size with the light caress of warm night air against his bare flesh.

  Leaning forward, Gray bent his back and rolled his hips as he used his right hand to firmly grasp his thick shaft. He imagined Joey’s hands and her mouth—her body working to squeeze him, stroke him…and he began to slide his hand up and down. He timed the movement to the hip thrusting and sensual gyrations of Joey-Devine, as he pictured their bodies entwined…and she pleasured herself in the shower.

  Sensations escalated and his need grew desperate, he wanted to be buried in her body and the one making her scream in ecstasy while she convulsed around him. It wasn’t enough to fantasize over what she’d feel like, taste like, if he were in the shower with her. The detailed vision he created of the two of them fucking beneath the soft, increasing light of dawn caused his hands to tighten and his stroke to increase.

  His engorged cock was painfully erect. He gripped the shaft tighter and used his other hand to squeeze his aching balls. Gray panted. Come on Joey, stimulate your hot pussy for me, let it take you, baby, so I can go with you, he whispered to her in his mind. He wanted to wait for her, come in his hand at the same time he watched her explode under the shower, but he didn’t know if he could hold out. His body demanded he increase the pace of his hand. The throbbing crown wept pre-come under his ministrations and he swirled his juices around, using the fluid as lubrication while he masturbated.

  Joey brought her free hand up to tug on one of her nipples and she pinched and pulled on it while she imagined Gray’s mouth on her. Sucking. Licking. Biting. Groaning in ecstasy, she leaned her head back to enjoy the combined pleasure of the pulsing jet of water surging around her clit and pushing into her vagina. It felt so good, but the fantasy added so much more.

  In her mind, she could picture Gray’s head bent to her, sucking at her breast, his hips driving his cock deep within her. Gasping, she backed off…she didn’t want this to be fast. She wanted the dream of Gray’s body locked with her in pleasure to last. So she prolonged the torture, moving the showerhead away from her skin when she got too close to climaxing, and then back. Faster. Slower. Harder. The water vibrated along her slick folds, teasingly tapping her tight bud and pushing her to a higher pinnacle. Over and over the water pulsed and beat against her vagina, but she imagined the hard thrusting to be Gray’s cock.

  Her delay made the orgasm more intense when it burst over her. The sweet release flashed through her from head to toe. She ground her teeth together to keep from screaming and to keep her knees from buckling. Damn! Just thinking about Gray resulted in the best sex she’d ever experienced. Shaking her head, for a moment she let the sadness overwhelm her. How very pathetic.

  Turning the quickly cooling water off, she decided it was time to really start her much-needed vacation. She would repeat her new mantra. Old and well-used it might be, but it fit—today is the first day of the rest of your life. She intended to live those words.

  Totally unaware of Gray’s own eruption up on the hill, she rinsed herself off and headed inside for a towel.

  Gray swore. Shaking his head in bemusement, he glanced down at his now limp cock. God, what a mess. Not just the come all over his shorts, but the mess inside his head. Joey had mentioned, when he’d left her at her place that she’d be here for three weeks. He couldn’t stand it. As he stood to take his third shower in the last twelve hours, he realized one thing. It no longer mattered that she was a tourist and only on the island for a short stay. Tomorrow morning—no, looking out the window he saw the sky turning pink, scratch that—this morning he would call on his hot little neighbor and see what he could do about joining her in her next pre-dawn shower. No more voyeuristic orgasms for Gray Hawk.

  Chapter Three

  Joey dressed in a simple sundress and pulled her wild brown mane back into a ponytail. She still hadn’t unpacked, just sort of scattered things about her room. Unloading her laptop, she carried it and several of the reference books she’d brought with her for sensual inspiration out to the table on the lanai. A roof covered the porch completely, so even if she lost herself in her writing and a tropical storm came up—an almost a daily occurrence on this side of the island—her books and computer should be okay.

  Going back into the kitchen, she realized the coffee was still brewing and she grabbed a muffin from yesterday’s groceries. Settling back to wait, she contemplated where she would start today. Research. Might as well read some of the books she’d brought with her and see if she could come up with anything. Chuckling, she thought about the climax she’d just experienced in the shower. It was a good place to start; maybe today she’d get somewhere with her writing.

  She’d brought three partially written manuscripts with her. She liked the stories and felt them rich in character development and plot. But every place she needed the characters to get naked were the red typewritten words “insert sex here” She’d also developed a brief outline and hazy idea for a fourth book based in Hawaii. She didn’t want to waste the scenery and inspiration of such a beautiful place.

  She took a deep breath and thought about what her goals were for this working vacation. She promised herself to not focus on her inability to feel physical hunger and excitement anymore. Well, after this morning’s shower that may be a mute point anyway.

  She would erase Mike’s irritating voice in her head and would forget sex had become…place Tab A into Slot B. Uninspiring to say the least. And she would concentrate on what she wanted. What she needed. She thought what she needed was a simple change of scenery,
but maybe what she really should look for is a change of man and the courage to forget the hang-ups her ex-husband left her with. Too bad she’d found the perfect arousal for her mind while on vacation. She’d never find the nerve in three short weeks to do more than look.

  She didn’t need a therapist to help her see she suffered from posttraumatic divorce syndrome. Mike’s frequent and ongoing negative comments about her body, her sex drive and her deviant mind…damaged her self-esteem.

  Mike left her last year for a twenty-something bimbette tennis player after fifteen years of marriage, after trying very hard to convince her she was totally inadequate when it came to sex. Inept. Unsexy. Enough. Going down the same road would not be helpful. It didn’t matter anymore that Mike had been her childhood sweetheart, growing up only a block away from her parents’ house. They’d been married when she turned eighteen and he was twenty.

  Well, now she’d reached thirty-four. She didn’t look too bad and she knew she was intelligent and could be funny on occasion. If she wanted to, she could find someone else. If she didn’t believe her ex-husband when he said she was a frigid bitch. The idea of actually getting naked with anyone else petrified her. What if Mike was right? These thoughts did not make her happy.

  Replaying her revenge on the faithless jerk seemed to be the only thing making her chuckle these days. She was so proud of herself. Yep, thinking about what she’d done to his custom racquet made her giggle. Still.

  Snickering, she remembered the look on his face when he came to get his stuff from the house. There was his nine-hundred-dollar tennis racquet on top of the box, not enough wood left for a toothpick. Well, she’d paid for the damn thing and the tennis lessons with the home wrecker. She supposed, to be fair, there hadn’t been much of a home to wreck. She just didn’t feel like being fair.