“Fuck,” he rasps, then his hands go to my bikini bottom, and his fingers slide underneath to find my sex. “Slippery. You’re desperate, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” I gasp. “Please.”
He bends down and kisses my neck, then bites softly before licking away the pain. “I’ve got you.”
I try valiantly to get my hand around him, but our hips are too close together and his hand is in the way. Then my mind blanks when his finger curls around and rubs my inner wall in the exact place I need him. My head falls back, and he kisses the hollow of my neck. Over the roaring in my ears, I can hear him saying something, but I’m too caught up in the orgasm that is hurtling toward me. I’ve never come this fast in my life, but it must be only mere seconds before I’m screaming out his name into the wilderness.
Afterward, we sit in the water wrapped up in each other’s arms. It’s the perfect respite from everything that’s happened in the last few weeks. I want to come back, maybe in the winter when snow is falling. We talk about nothing important, playing twenty questions to learn the mundane things about each other that we don’t already know. Favourite TV shows, sports teams, colours, that sort of thing. I never want to leave, but when we hear voices coming closer through the trees, I know our time alone in this idyllic place has come to an end.
The hike back to the truck seems to go by much faster, and soon we’re driving back to town. When we get to the road that would take us to the main drag where my apartment is, Ethan looks at me, asking a silent question.
“Take me to your place, Ethan.”
There’s no way I want to be apart from him again.
20
Ethan
Waking up with Summer in my arms every morning is like nothing else in the world. For a few moments before the pressures of the day hit, I can simply enjoy the feel of her warm body tucked against mine. Something shifted between us at the hot springs. I know my emotions for her are growing stronger; hell, I almost told her I loved her while we were in that warm water. But the timing wasn’t right. At the time I didn’t know why, but now I do. It’s not right because I’m still not being honest with her. In the week since we went for our hike, we have spent every night together, and every opportunity I’ve had to tell her about Devereaux Hotels, I’ve choked.
At this point, I know I’m a goddamn idiot. If I had come clean right from the start, it would be a nonexistent issue. And as Mila said, there is nothing stopping the company from reaching out to Summer directly. I can see now that it’s really not that big of a deal if she does decide to sell, not that I think she would. Summer’s home now, and she is settled into Dogwood Cove as if she never left.
The stress of keeping it from her is starting to show. We might be closer than ever while in bed, when the lights are off and there is nothing between us, but during the day it’s different. Whether I’m helping her at the resort, or working in the office, I know she can tell something’s wrong. She might think I don’t see her worried glances, or the hesitation before she kisses me sometimes, but I do. It kills me, knowing I’m the one responsible for her anxiety.
We’ve settled into what should feel like bliss-filled domesticity, but instead, my head is ruining it for me by constantly reminding me of how much I’m risking every moment that passes with this hanging over me.
When she kisses me goodbye at the door this morning, I can’t shake the sense of foreboding. I know things are going to break, I just don’t know when, or how it’ll turn out after.
“When I get home tonight, we need to talk,” Summer says gently, her hand on my chest. I drop my head to meet hers, covering her hand in mine. “Something’s wrong, Ethan, and you need to tell me what it is so I can help.”
God, this woman. Her heart is pure gold. But she won’t want to help when she finds out why I’m struggling. “I’m falling for you, Summer Harris,” I whisper to her, trying to hide the desperation I’m feeling. “No matter what, I’m so glad you came home.” I want so badly to tell her I love her. Because fuck, I do. But that would be cruel — to tell her that and then tell her I haven’t been completely honest with her.
But there’s no mistaking that it’s love shining on her face when she smiles at me. “I’m glad I came home, too. And I’ve already fallen for you, Ethan Monroe.” She presses one more kiss to my lips, and then she’s gone.
I spend the entire five minute drive to city hall going back and forth over how to deal with things. Maybe I can reach out to Devereaux and try to get him to let it go. Convince him he doesn’t want the resort. It would be a huge overstepping of boundaries, seeing as technically I have nothing to do with the resort, and legally I can’t exactly stop Devereaux from reaching out to Summer, but it’s starting to feel like my only option. Except that would mean I’d be lying to Summer for as long as we’re together. Which I want to be forever.
I can’t lie to her for the rest of our lives. It’s not who I am, and I know it’s not the man she would want to be with.
“Fuck,” I curse to myself under my breath. There is nothing but problems with no solutions facing me, and I don’t know what to do. I’ve never been in this situation before, and I hate it.
I walk down the hall to my office with only a minimum acknowledgement to the front desk staff. City hall is surprisingly busy, and it takes me a minute before I remember why. Planning for the Summer Solstice festival is underway. It’s an annual tradition in Dogwood Cove and something I was really looking forward to attending with Summer by my side.
When I enter my office and turn my ancient computer on, I take a minute to review the messages left for me in the few days since I was here. There are a few meeting requests and note from one of the receptionists stating Mrs. Henderson is coming in for a meeting today. But it’s the email sitting at the top of my inbox that makes my hands curl into fists.
Mayor Monroe,
I am extending this email to you personally, as a courtesy. I will be coming to Dogwood Cove to speak with the owner of Oceanside Resort this week. My team and I are moving ahead with our plan to purchase the resort and construct a hotel that will provide a luxury experience for all visitors to the area.
Perhaps we can connect when I am in town. I recognize the value of having a town official such as yourself on my side when it comes to permit applications and hope to further build our working relationship.
Regards,
Cole Devereaux
CEO Devereaux Hotels International
Shit. Fucking shit. Goddamn. He’s coming here. If he shows up in town and finds Summer before I’ve had the chance to come clean, I know even my worst-case scenario won’t begin to cover how upset she’ll be.
