“You’re sure?”
“Well … maybe one more, just to make sure there’s enough oxygen in my lungs?”
I pressed my lips to hers once more, loving how soft they were.How softshewas in my arms.And god, did she ever smell good.Floral and spicy.I couldn’t place the scents, but I liked what I smelled.I wanted to bury my nose in her hair and just inhale all damn day.
I broke the kiss this time.“Will you live?”
“I think so.Thank you for your valiant effort in not only keeping me from dying but also not making me feel embarrassed over such a clumsy fall.”
I sat back on my heels, then helped her sit up.“Everybody trips sometimes.No need to make them feel worse than they already do.”I helped her stand up next, and picked out the twigs and debris from her hair.
“This is why I keep my hair in braids,” she said.“Otherwise, it just gets full of stuff.Do you know where the elastics went?”
Shit.I think I left them in the truck.
She read my expression and shrugged.“No biggie.I normally have at least one on my wrist, but I guess today I forgot.”Then she started scouring the forest floor.
“What are you looking for?”
“A stick.”She reached down and grabbed an off-white twig about the length of a chopstick.It didn’t have any bark and appeared to be dry.Gathering all her long, wavy locks, she twisted them and held them against the back of her head before weaving the stick in until the bun stayed.“Nature always provides.Come on, let’s go.”She took off down the trail.
I followed her.I’d follow this woman anywhere.
“So you’re okay with the island knowing about us?”I asked as we wound our way through the trees toward the beach.
“No.But now that Jolene knows, it’s inevitable.So we’re just going to have to roll with it.”She glanced over her shoulder at me.“We need to tell the kids.”
I nodded.“I’ll tell Mabel when she gets home.”Scratching my jaw, I glanced up at the canopy of mixed evergreens and deciduous leaves.“What exactly do I tell her?What are you going to tell Austin and Honor?”
“I dunno.Probably that you and I get along well.We like spending time together, and we’re going to see how things go.That we’re taking it slow, going to hang out, go on some dates, and see if our feelings grow deeper.I’m going to keep it really casual.If I get too intense about it, then they’ll think something is up.”
“Yeah … yeah, that’s a good idea.Though Mabel has a tendency to take casual things and make them intense.She’s going to ask sixteen thousand questions, and I need to be prepared to answer all of them.”
We reached the beach, and the sun burned my eyes, forcing me to shield myself with my hand.God, this place was beautiful.The water glimmered, the birds soared, and the breeze was the temperature of the perfect hug.She beamed at me as she stepped up onto a worn log, then with her arms out like eagle wings, she walked across it.“Come on,Ox!”
She didn’t have to tell me twice.
I caught up with her and looped my arms around her waist.She spun to face me, and the sun made the yellow flecks in her eyes shimmer like gold leaf.“I’ve never had this,” I said.“I’ve never felt like this.”
“Me either.”She looped her arms around my neck.“So … we’re dating?”
“I would like to if you would.”
Her gaze turned serious.“I can’t breathe again.”
For a split second, I thought she was being serious, but when she smiled, all I could do was take her mouth with mine.
I’d never really kissed anybody like this before.Kyla and I didn’t kiss.So I guess, Naomi was technically my first kiss.
And I would remember every kiss with Naomi.I would remember every little whimper and moan she made.I would remember the way she liked to gently bite my bottom lip, then suck on it.I’d remember the way her neck tasted.I’d remember all of it.
An eagle screeched above us—we were always getting disrupted by birds—and she was the first to break the kiss.“You’re making it hard to go slow,” she murmured before stepping back out of my arms and continuing on down the logs.
The stiff column in my jeans agreed.
“Can I ask you something?”she said, not stopping as she made her way down toward the lapping waves.She glanced back and me, and I nodded.“I know Florida is severely lacking in the sex-ed department, but you had to know that what Kyla was doing was wrong.What stopped you from coming forward?From reporting her?”
“What stopped you from coming forward about your abusive ex?Why did it take him beating Austin for you to say it was enough?”
