Suddenly put on the spot, I glanced to Cade for help—but he was busy focusing on moat-rebuilding and ignoring his brother.
Luckily, I remembered we already had an answer ready that would stop this type of prying.
“For starters, the sex isphenomenal,” I said. Cade’s head snapped up while Harrison choked on nothing. “Your brother’s got the biggest?—”
“Stop.” Harrison gave a full body shudder. He stood quickly, his face twisted in disgust. “No talking about my brother’s sex life. Nope. This isn’t what I signed up for. Make as many sandcastles as you want. I don’t care anymore.”
He stormed off back to Madison, while I burst into laughter and tipped backward in the sand.
“See?” I propped myself up on my elbows and grinned at Cade. “I told you the sex thing would work.”
He shook his head and went back to dutifully redigging the moat. “You’re ridiculous.”
My grin widened, because it didn’t sound like he was complaining this time.
sparks
. . .
Cade
Taking Ellie’s bait with the sunscreen had been a terrible idea. Because now I knew exactly how soft her skin was, that her nipples would pebble underneath her distracting blue bikini if I rubbed sunscreen near them, and just how good her ass felt pressed up against me.
Three things I’d rather not know about someone I’d signed a business deal with.
And now we were all gathered around a campfire the fake doctor had built, sun-drunk and worn out from an actually fun day at the beach. Drinks were flowing, Lovejoy had pulled out a banged-up acoustic guitar to sing campfire songs, and I was on marshmallow-roasting duty for Ellie’s s’mores.
She was eating her fifth one when Lovejoy convinced Harrison to join her in a duet, and Ellie scooted closer to me on our shared log.
“These are so good,” she murmured, seemingly determined to lick every last smear of chocolate off her fingers. “Is rich people chocolate different? It tastes different.”
Ellie reached for a sixth s’more, and I shook my head in amazement. We’d eaten a full-on feast of roasted pig for dinner, yet here she was downing s’mores like she was starving.
At least they stopped her from chatting too much with the others. Harrison was the one I was most worried about discovering our ruse, but he’d stopped asking any invasive questions since Ellie shut him up.
“Are you sure you don’t want a s’more?” Ellie held hers out to me. “You’re not getting the full campfire experience if you don’t try one! They’re scrumptious.”
“I’m good.”
“You don’t understand.” She took another bite of the sticky mess and let out the softest of moans. When she lowered the rest of her treat, it left a smear of chocolate at the corner of her mouth. “They’re melty and gooey and warm and?—”
My hand moved before I could think better of it, reaching for her lips and cutting off Ellie’s rambling. I wiped the dark smudge with my thumb, then my curiosity got the better of me and I lifted it to my lips.
… Delicious.
The rest of the s’more dropped from Ellie’s hold, and she stared at my mouth with widening eyes as I sucked off the last of the chocolate.
My gaze lingered on her parted lips.
An insane thought popped into my head, which I quickly shoved aside, and I returned my full focus to the fire.
No s’mores for me, and definitely no more chocolate.
Ellie might be onto something, though, because I’d never tasted chocolate quite like that.
Our campfire lasted well into the night, until a blanket of stars filled the sky and the flames dwindled. The songs went from campfire favorites to ones I could only describe as Bliss Lovejoyoriginals, but somehow Madison and Piper knew all the words and sang along.
Ellie finished her s’more count around thirteen, though it wasn’t due to a lack of trying for more.
