God love him.
The guys all stand, pelting us with applause. Ace comes over and drops down to his knees, presses his lips to my shoulder, and murmurs, “That was the hottest fucking thing I have ever seen in my life.” I grin, beaming.
Ace helps me up and, very deliberately, leads me down the dark edge of the beach. The sky is so thick with stars it almost hurts to look. We linger by the rocks, me still catching my breath, and he just stares at me with a look so hungry it could devour me. Before I can say a word, he grabs my face and kisses me so hard I have to dig my fingers into his arms just to keepupright. His hands are everywhere, and I feel like if I don’t get air soon, I’ll faint right here on the rocks.
I push him away, gasping, and laugh. “What was that for?”
“For making me so fucking crazy about you,” he growls, and the sound of it is almost enough to make me drag him back to camp by the belt.
I shake my head, but my voice is soft when I say, “I feel the same. You... you do crazy things to me, sir.”
He studies me, his face so open it’s almost painful. “I want you in a way I have never wanted anything before.”
My breath hitches. “You do?”
“Yeah, I fuckin’ do.”
My heart skips a beat.
“Me too,” I whisper, not even sure if it’s loud enough for him to hear.
But he does.
His eyes darken, and I swear he almost says something else, but instead he just kisses me again, softer this time, slow enough that I feel every inch of him sinking into me. When we finally pull apart, I look back at the fire, at the others laughing and shoving each other, and for once I don’t feel like I want to be anywhere else but here.
“I have to pee,” I admit, wriggling away from him. “Find me later?”
“Oh, I’m goin’ to find you,” he grins, and lets me slip away toward the tree line.
I duck around the first tree and make sure no one is following. It is dark, but the moonlight is just enough for me to see. I do my business, then linger, enjoying the hush of the jungle. But after a moment, I hear a branch snap, and Aggie stumbles up behind me, her face flushed.
She’s giggling. “Don’t freak out, it’s just me.”
“I heard you from five miles away,” I tease. “You don’t know how to walk quietly.”
She bites her lip, then jumps up and down like she has something to say but doesn’t know how. “Can I tell you something?”
I raise my brows, then roll my eyes. “Girl. Always.”
She leans in closer, whispering, “I slept with Kellen.”
My jaw hits the floor. “What!”
I shriek so loud she presses a hand over my mouth. “Shhhhh!”
“You slept with Kellen?” I whisper-hiss.
She nods, eyes wide and sparkly. “I did. Last night. It was wild. We were talking on the beach, and I don’t know, alcohol and the moment... next thing I know we’re fucking and girl, oh girl, it was incredible.”
“And you’re only telling me now!”
“I was going to tell you today, but it was crazy!” She grabs my wrist, her palm sweaty. “I just... I don’t know. It was so damn good. Is this bad? It’s bad, right?”
I shake my head, then yank her deeper into the brush so the others can’t hear us. “Hey, we all have to enjoy whatever we can out here,” I grin. “Did you at least use protection?”
She giggles. “No, but I have the IUD, so I am good.”
“What about STDs?” I ask, eyes wide.
