Waves and Dreams Ch. 01

Author's note: Hey friends, I decided to completely revise this first chapter, it needed a lot more depth and since it was my first submission, I was just testing the waters. Please re-read it and leave me comments! I have really been enjoying working on this series.

"Tell me everything you need now, anything at all..." Soft vocals drifted through the house, she could hear it from where she sat at the table. No matter what, she always seemed to come back to these Lifehouse songs. Laney sighed, pushing the bottle away from and watching it slowly roll back, hitting her curled fingers. The incline of the table had led to a boring game for the last half hour. She looked down at her feet at the large black dog that was serving as a foot-warmer, at the moment. "Poor Rexie, he's so bored," she cooed softly, smiling at the answering thump, thump of his tail on the floor. The house was immaculately cleaned, everything was taken care of, and she was bored out of her mind. Most people at her job worked every day, but she took a few days off a month to work on her thesis. Getting her bachelor's is what had brought her to the island in the first place, but once she'd gotten it, she couldn't seem to stop. After achieving her master's, she'd plunged head-first into her doctorate thesis. And it was kicking her ass.

Finally standing up from the table, she let the bottle hit the floor as she moved into the living room, looking for her cat. No doubt he was asleep on top of the bookshelf. She called, softly, staring up at a short silver and black tail. "Tugger, come down here, Tugger." She heard some shuffling and a large silver head appeared over the edge of the shelf. She smiled to herself as he languidly stretched, moving to drop down onto the papasan chair, and then walk over to her slowly, as if he had all the time in the world and she was blessed at his acknowledgement. Sighing, she scooped up the large Bengal cat and cuddled him into her lap as she sat down. His beautiful spotted body gave the appearance of a wild animal, but she knew better than that. Rum Tum Tugger was just a big love bug, but that made for some less lonely days. Rex still lay at his spot on the floor of the kitchen, enjoying his nap, but she could tell his eyes were watching her. Bored, and noticing the gorgeous sun outside, she stood, picking up a leash. Rex was on his feet in a second, Tugger looking at both of them disdainfully. She clipped the leash onto the dog's leather collar, and bounded out into the sun, determined not to sit around all day. When she sat around, too many things started to try to flood back in. Things that she didn't want to remember.

*******

She was a goddess, or maybe a siren from the sea, meant to draw men to their deaths. But lying there, naked, in the sand, she was all his. Her body was tanned, perfectly, without the slightest tint of orange. He moved over her, covering her with his form as he stole a kiss from her parted lips, trailing lingering, desiring nips across her jawbones and down her throat, moving between her breasts. He took a nipple into his mouth, working restlessly against it as she moaned and pressed her body against his in desire. He teased it to a painful stiffness, and then moved to the other one, biting gently but not enough to bruise. Her blue eyes were full of hunger, heavy and half-lidded. He lowered himself down onto her body again, positioning his aching member against her entrance, and....

Woke up. Again. Jack allowed a noise of frustration to leave his lips, throwing the sheets off to help cool the sweat from his aroused body. He glared down at his erection, seeing it glaring right back at him. Every night, for the past few months, he'd been dreaming about the same girl. He'd always move to at last join their bodies together, and he'd always wake up as he was about to enter. Glaring at the clock, which glared back in angry red numbers, he saw he still had some time before he needed to leave to get to work. Subconsciously, his hand dropped down, hoping to ease the aching arousal. He closed his hand in a familiar fashion, pumping up and down slowly at first, thinking of his blond temptress on the beach. So aroused already, he was soon moving faster and faster, feeling that familiar clench that told him he was almost there. Finally, long spurts of seed shot out, and he shuddered, not relenting until he had drained all he could. Jack sighed, relaxing back into the sheets, sweating even more. Wiping himself off with a towel that had been left on the floor last night, he closed his eyes, disappointed to find he felt even more aroused. It just wasn't the same as getting to feel her...a girl he'd never seen or met, and probably never would.

*******

Working had done nothing to ease the unease that Jack had felt all day. He'd never liked working. At least, not in a fish market, stocking fish and smelling like shark had puked on him. On the island, catching fish to sell at the market was a respectable position, but the adrenaline, the challenge, the unknown, these were the things that were lacking. Anyone could do this, he thought, throwing another tuna onto the ice pile. God, I'd rather be surfing right now. Now that was a job he could get into. Too bad the pros were so difficult to break into, because honestly, it was the only thing he knew how to do, and the only thing he was good at. Great at, really. The fact that he was the best on the island didn't really mean much; no scouts came to Galveston to find professionals. The waves were hardly high enough to warrant decent surf, anyways. Back in Australia, when he'd had the chance to actually do something with his life, he might have made it all the way. But sitting here, throwing fish, those days seemed long gone. Jack turned to stare at the clock, wishing closing time would come so he could get down to the beach, forget his life for a few hours, and tune out the girl that continued to haunt him.

*******

Laney never planned on ending up at the beach, but it's where Rex always wanted to go, so here they were. They'd spent the entire day exploring the island, Rex delighting in the waves that crashed against him on the beach, and meanwhile Laney tried to find good specimens of seashells for her latest project. Truthfully, she had too many things going on to keep up such projects, but she found she would go crazy without something fun that she did just for herself. Not that her job wasn't fun, but still. She'd meandered down to her favorite private beach, opting just for a bikini top and little mesh shorts, accented with her favorite hot pink tennis shoes. Laney hadn't been much on fashion, but she hated running in heavy cotton clothes, and the outfit she usually jogged in let her run right in the surf with Rex, which was where he really wanted to be. The best thing about the private beaches on the island was the most obvious, no tourists. The locals usually came to this place, though, because of the great swell. A few surfers were out there now, getting some great waves. She stopped to watch, amazed by the grace they had. She did her fair share of surfing, but these guys were the true talents. She was drawn to one in particular, and though he was far out, he was definitely close enough to appreciate how handsome he really was.

Maybe not just handsome, either. This guy was drop-dead gorgeous. At least, to her. She'd had the most particular taste when it came to men, and most women didn't feel the same. Still, you'd have to be blind to not appreciate those washboard abs, she thought to herself. She watched the grace he exhibited as he rode a wave in, and she gasped a little, getting a closer look at his features. Like all locals, he was tanned from spending time at the beach, and his hair had been sun-bleached a little, but was still a light brown that hung as if he had no energy to cut it, but wasn't so long that he looked like a slob. She couldn't see the color of his eyes from where she was, but she had the feeling they'd have the same determined look in them she was seeing in his surfing. His jawbone was strong, masculine, and there was no facial hair to be seen, completely clean-cut. His body was long and sinewy, and she could tell he spent a lot of time out on the waves, to have such a form. His cheekbones weren't pronounced, but were average, and there was nothing in particular about him that was fascinating, except when she watched him surf. She felt the grace and power that he displayed as he took on the waves, and felt herself moving in time to him, even though he was out on the water and she was at the beach. She could see a red mark, faintly, on the side of his left ribcage, and she was curious how he'd gotten such a scar, in such a perfect circle. Laney watched, breath taken, as he nailed a fantastic wave and rode it in, hopping off his board as it beached and undoing the leash, then running up the beach, towards where she was standing.

*******

Running in after a long evening of stellar waves was just the adrenaline rush that Jack had been dying for. He pushed his hair from his eyes to survey the other beach goers. Most were surfers; some were just there for the sunsets. The best thing about living on the island for so long was that he knew the best private beach spots, where the tourists hadn't yet found. He looked up, seeing if the girl he'd noticed was still watching him. When he saw her, directly in front of him, he came to a dead stop. Flashes filled his mind immediately, flashes of dreams, flashes of disappointed mornings, and he gaped at her.

It was the same girl he'd been dreaming about.

He'd know her anywhere. She was wearing a top that made her clear robin's egg blue eyes stand out even more. Her figure was full, like a woman who'd just gotten her hips and breasts in, and was no longer a gawky teenager. Her blond hair was long, and hung to the middle of her back, falling in soft waves that the ocean air had created. Her mouth was captivating; full lips settled into an amused grin, and he could see white, straight teeth just behind. She was the perfect tan, it was obviously natural, and her eyes stared at him with the same fire he remembered from every dream.

After living here for so long, the girls hardly caught his eye, he'd seen enough of them and they all looked the same. Fake, plastic, and downright skanky.

She cleared her throat and he realized he was gawking at her. She smiled, a little shyly, but good-naturedly, and offered him her hand. "Hey, I'm Laney. You were really amazing out there."

In truth, he'd been showing off when he'd noticed a girl rooted to the spot, staring. Something about the male ego just forced boys to show off when they knew they were being watched. He took her hand in his and was surprised, pleasantly, at the self-assured grip she gave him. Her hands were tiny, really everything about her figure was petite, and he was surprised she was so strong. Her compliment made him glow. "Thanks! I love the adrenaline rush. I'm Jack."

His hand lingered in hers longer than necessary, and he was snapped out of the trance of those blue eyes by a low, throaty growl. He looked down and saw a giant, black animal that may have either been a massive wolf or a small bear watching him, hackles slightly raised, but teeth still covered, which was good. It was just a warning. He dropped her hand and took a step back, watching the dog and pleased that it calmed down and lay protectively in front of his goddess. She scowled at the dog, which he decided was a black German shepherd, and spoke, her voice full and ringing of laughter. "Sorry, this is Rex. The dog sat, but he still looked like he might snap Jack's leg in half. Jack tried to distract himself by making friends with the dog, his excitement bubbling up from his stomach, or maybe someplace lower. This was the girl, the girl he'd been dreaming about. He had to be careful not to blow this chance, she was obviously special.

Laney looked at Jack speculatively while he leaned down to try and spoke softly to Rex. He is so gorgeous. She plopped down in the sand, not missing the expression of pleasure on Jack's face, and leaned back, relaxing against the sand. With her eyes fluttered shut, she missed Jack's growing erection as he tried to hide it, sitting down in the sand next to her, still rubbing Rex behind the ears. They chit-chatted for a little while about the weather, living on the island, and how awful the tourists were, or "terrorists", as Laney called them, and then suddenly, she hopped to her feet. Jack stood up just as quickly, worried because of her abruptness. Without a word, she took off into the ocean, glancing behind her to see if he was going to follow. He realized she was playing with him and ran after her, scooping her up as they reached the surf. He spun her around before dunking her under the water, but he found out quickly she was no weakling, and although inches shorter than him, she still managed to dunk him, in return. Rex swam around them, barking happily, and then dove off after some minnows he saw, leaving the two of them alone.

In a moment of one of the wrestling matches, they suddenly both stopped, staring at each other. Jack had her scooped up and pinned against his chest, holding her like a child, and had her hands tunneled into his hair, as if to pull it if she needed an emergency release. They were both dripping with saltwater and sticky, their swimsuits clung to them. Although he was holding her pretty high, Jack knew she could felt his growing erection against her bottom. As if simultaneously, Jack dropped his head as Laney lifted her chin, and they met in a shy, tentative kiss. Laney felt the fire rushing through her veins, white hot and terribly arousing, and she tightened her hold in his hair, both the kiss and his obvious arousal fueling her. Their kiss quickly changed from tentative to hungry, and when Jack pulled back, he saw the desire in her heavy-lidded eyes just the way it was in his dream. She was panting softly, her lips slightly parted, and he could see how bad she wanted more. As bad as he wanted to take her, right there, he knew he couldn't mess this up. There was a reason he'd been dreaming about this girl. He could feel the heat and slickness from between her legs as she slid down into the water, and he grabbed her hand in his, pulling it to his mouth and sucking on one middle finger long and hard before letting her go. Her blue eyes widened in surprise, then pleasure, then disappointment as he released her.

Jack pulled her close, unwilling to let her off so easy. "Eat breakfast with me tomorrow," he murmured in her ear, feeling her trembling against him and knowing he had to leave before he took her.

She surprised him by backing up a little and shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I can't. I have to work," With a sigh, she moved away from Jack, as if to continue down the beach. Rex had reappeared and was by her side, wagging his tail. "Well, it was nice to meet you; maybe we'll see you around." Jack was surprised but smiled slowly and responded, "I sure hope so, I'll be sure to look for you next time I come down here. See ya, Rex." Then, before she could head off, he waded out of the water and grabbed his board, making his way down the opposite end of the beach.

Laney's eyebrows rose. Normally guys around here tried to take a girl home as soon as they met her. Maybe this one was different, she thought to herself, scratching Rex behind the ears and turning to head back to her house. Even so, it'd just be a matter of time 'til he found out, and then, another one gone. Sighing, she started off at a jog, Rex leaping in the waves and barking beside her. Despite her pessimism, she found herself hoping she'd run into Jack again very, very soon.