Page 64 of Savage Surrender

Then I take off down the boardwalk.

Freddie’s laugh breaks loose behind me, and four sets of heavy footsteps hit the boards before I reach the first dune.

16

BIANCA

Freddie catches me first.

His arm hooks around my waist three boards from the end, and suddenly my feet are kicking at nothing while the champagne knocks against my ribs.

“Gotcha.”

His laugh tickles my neck. Mine escapes, loud and a little wild. Owen reaches us before Freddie can put me down and catches my thigh in one hand.

“You tripped me or I would’ve been here first.”

“That sounds like something the loser would say.” Freddie twists me out of his reach.

“Watch out for the bottle,” Weller calls, clearly already exasperated.

I hold the glass projectile trapped against my breasts tighter as Freddie jumps from the boardwalk. My stomach drops as we go down in a pile.

Sand gets in my hair, my mouth, and places where sand doesn’t belong. Freddie sprawls next to me and Owen rolls me onto him, one hand under my dress and spread over the bare curve of my ass.

“You came to the beach with no underwear, Princess? Weller’s going to freak the fuck out.”

“Maybe I want him to freak out.”

Owen buries his face in my hair and grabs my ass with both hands, pulling me closer.

“You’re crushing her.” Freddie tries to shove Owen’s arm off me.

Owen’s fingers run along the crease at the top of my thigh. “She isn’t complaining.”

Tristan stops at our feet. The wind pushes his hair off his forehead, giving me an unobstructed view of his watchful eyes.

Weller walks off the boardwalk and looks south along the beach, then north, checking the house and the dunes before his attention reaches the three of us in the sand. Owen’s grip hasn’t eased up at all.

Weller crouches in front of me. “Did you hurt your feet? There were some rough spots.”

I lift one, covered in sand, for him to inspect. “Nothing life-threatening.”

He runs his fingers over my sole anyway. His touch is efficient, his attention less so. It keeps returning to the boardwalk.

I push against Owen’s chest so I can get myself upright. His hand slides down my leg instead of releasing me, palm spread around my thigh. Freddie sits close on my other side. Apparently being caught by them is a life sentence.

I hold the bottle out to Weller. “Open this, please.”

“You need food, Bianca. You’ve barely eaten today.”

Freddie reaches into his pocket and produces a crushed packet of cashews. “I brought snacks.”

Weller looks at the offering with distaste. “You sat on them.”

“They’re easier for her to chew now.”

Weller takes the champagne but looks down the beach again. I tug on his pants until his gaze returns to me.