“Babe,” I say, my hand on her cheek as I gently turn her back to me, my thumb pulling her lip out. “I’ve got you, okay? You can come and stay with me, or I’ll stay here, whatever you want. But you won’t be alone. You don’t need to be afraid.”
She blinks, swallowing hard as she stares up at me. “How the hell were you still single?” she eventually asks, her words quiet.
I bark out a laugh, my thumb brushing along her cheekbone. “I was waiting for you, obviously,” I say, kissing the end of her nose.
“No, but seriously, Kai,” she says, her hand on my chest. “Are you sure you want in on this? Because it’s going to get messy. Really messy.”
“Yes, Quinn, I’m sure,” I say, covering her hand with mine. “I told you, baggage doesn’t scare me.”
“It should,” she counters.
Chuckling, I lift her hand to my mouth and gently bite her knuckles. “Well, it doesn’t. And besides, did you miss the part about the most intense orgasm of my life? You think I’m gonna let your shitty ex deny me any more of those?”
Quinn bursts out laughing, which is exactly what I was aiming for, and I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close so she’s lying on top of me.
“I want this, Quinn,” I say, my eyes locked with hers. “I want this and you and every single piece of baggage that comes with you.”
“Why?” she whispers, swallowing hard.
I smile, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Because I’ve never met anyone like you,” I say, meaning it. “You’re...shit, Quinn, you’re fucking amazing, and I had no idea you were everything I wanted until I met you that day on the beach.”
“Noooo, surely not,” she says with a laugh.
“I’m serious,” I say to her. “Meeting you has changed me in ways I never could have imagined, but that I absolutely fucking love. So yeah, I will spend every night and every day with you, not just to protect you from that asshole, but because there is nowhere else I want to be. Okay?”
She stares down at me, eyes unblinking as she licks her lips. “I have no idea what I did to deserve you,” she whispers. “But I don’t care, because I’m keeping you.”
I laugh, giving her a quick kiss as I say, “Good.”
Quinn smiles, kissing me again, slow and sweet. When she lifts her head, she glances at my phone before turning back to me. “Do you think I should look at my post? Read the comments?”
“Do you want to?” I ask.
“No,” she replies, shaking her head.
“Then don’t,” I say with a shrug.
“Don’t?” she asks with a laugh.
“Don’t,” I repeat, sliding my hands down her back to her ass. “Besides, I can think of something else we can do instead.”
“Oh yeah,” she says, a smile on her face as she raises a brow at me. “Like what?”
This time it’s me grabbing her ass before I flip her onto her back, pinning her hands above her head on the pillow as I hover over her, my mouth on her neck, sucking hard as I murmur, “Fuck.”
After our morning romp in the sack, we both hit the water. Surfing with Kai is something I’ve come to expect, and while I’m by no means an expert, I am getting better. I laugh at all my falls and learn new things each time we go out.
It’s been great, especially with everyone joining us, getting to know all of them, and watching how good they are. They’re one of the most encouraging and friendly groups of people I’ve ever met.
“See, you just needed your own board,” Alana says when I ride a wave all the way to the shore. Meeting her there, I hop off and smile.
“Might also be all the practice I’ve gotten too,” I counter, shrugging my shoulders. “We’ve pretty much been out every morning, most of it on the baby waves. This is my first time on some bigger stuff.”
“Might also be all that cardio,” she jokes, winking at me. “He’s good, huh?”
“The best.”
“You’ve changed him,” she says, and I want to cringe at the idea. There’s nothing malicious in what she’s said. It’s just not true.
