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“I changed my mind,” he rasps. “We’re not slowing down. Fuck that.”
Thank God because I don’t have control anymore, I’ve lost it, handed it right over to this man who knows exactly how to send me over the edge.
The pressure builds, mindless pleasure spreading through me, and he tightens his grip on my hips, fingers splayed across my skin. He kisses along my back and I arch up into him, but it’s not as deep and I need the depth. I need to feel all of him, everywhere. So I sink my face down into the sand, my breasts pressed against the blanket, knees wide and digging into the earth. He rears back with a guttural hiss, pounding into me like a man about to come undone.
Sand is all over my face now, in my hair and against the side of my cheek. I’m grabbing onto the beach around me for dear life but the sand slips between my desperate fists. Just when I can’t take it anymore, the pressure builds to a crescendo and I fight to muffle a scream. There’s nothing quiet about this moment, but at least the crashing waves help to drown out the sounds of our lovemaking. Fuck it, I scream his name anyway.
“Say it again,” he commands.
“Ethan!” My voice is a keening sob. I’m ablaze with pure adrenaline. The pleasure rolls through me like the crashing waves in front of us, taking command of my body and soul.
Just as I start to come down from the high, he speeds up until he’s cussing and releasing deep inside. I’m a whimpering mess but I truly don’t care. This is too good. He is too good.
We are too good.
He pulls me into his arms, cradling me against his chest, and wraps the blanket around us. He kisses my cheek, my mouth, the top of my head. “Just let me hold you,” he whispers.
Does he realize what an ask that is? Because he’s not just holding my bared body to his, but my bared heart. All of me is here with him, given freely. It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever done. I watch the dark ocean waves as they tumble into the shore, thinking of the night of the hurricane. As terrifying as that was, it doesn’t hold a candle to what this moment means for me.
He could break me. He could destroy me.
And if not him, our families hold that power to do it for us.
“You’re crying.”
I shake my head. I’m not crying. But then I lift my hands to my cheeks and find the salty wetness there. He’s right. “I’m just scared,” I confess, “because I’m so happy.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” He holds me tighter. “But I promise you, I’m never going to hurt you again and I’m not letting you go. We’ll figure this out. We’re a team now, okay?”
I nod against his warm skin, breathing in the spicy masculine scent of him, memorizing the way the stubble on his chin feels against my forehead and the way his arms cradle me like I’m something to be cherished. His words are exactly what I want to hear, but they’re also exactly what scare me. Because if we’re a team, then that means there’s a game at play, and the only games I know are the ones that end with a winner and a loser.
Fifty-One
It’s the tenth night of vacation, which means I’ve still got three full days left. Tomorrow Ethan is supposed to head back to the city, and I can’t help but daydream about what could be if he stayed and we got to be together openly. We could go to the beaches and the lakes, wander around the boutiques and pick out cheesy postcards together. He would take me out to dinner and then we’d spend the night in each other’s beds. We could date for real. But this isn’t that world. That world is a wish. And this one? This one belongs to warring families who will never stop.
At least Cooper is on our side, but I know Sybil never will be. I can’t even say I blame her for that. But I also can’t let her dictate my choices either, so for right now, I’m going to have to keep secrets, and I hate keeping secrets.
Sybil and I are out at a dive bar tonight, and this time she’s invited a man along. Reid is an old friend turned casual hookup who’s in town. The three of us are sharing a booth over drinks and I’ve never felt more of a third wheel than I do right now. Sybil and Reid are all over each other and every touch spears me with jealousy that I can’t be public with my man.
Reid breaks away to go grab another round of drinks and Sybil scoots in closer, her green eyes bright. “I think I’m going home with him tonight. Is that okay?”
I sit up taller. “More than okay. You go have fun and I’ll get a cab home.”
“Are you sure?” She peers over to where Reid is already on his way back with drinks. The guy is already undressing Sybil with his eyes, the sexual chemistry between them thick.
“Of course, I’ll see you in the morning,” I insist, because she can do what she wants but also because this opens up the perfect opportunity for me to do what I want.
She kisses my cheek, jumps up, downs her shot, hands me mine, and then promptly hooks her arm through Reid’s to drag him away, whispering in his ear as she goes. He follows her out the door willingly, not once looking back. I can’t say I blame him; the man is about to get lucky with a beautiful woman.
I leave my untouched shot on the table and call Ethan. We weren’t going to be able to see each other tonight, but it looks like fate is being kind. My aunt and uncle haven’t been keeping close tabs on Sybil and I, so as long as Ethan gets me home before Sybil returns, nobody will be the wiser.
Ten minutes later, a familiar black Range Rover rolls up to the side street next to the bar. Cooper jumps out of the passenger seat and holds open the door for me.
“Hi, Cooper,” I say, climbing in. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“We were on our way out for the night when you interrupted us,” he replies with an exaggerated sigh, closing me into the SUV and leaning into the opened window to speak to his brother. “If I’d known you two were going to hook up, I would have driven my own car.”
“Sorry,” I mutter as Ethan shoots him a glare.
